King of Dobong-gu (7)

"I'll kill you! With my own two hands!"

"Ugh, so loud."

Yeomje would not stop shouting.

I frowned and snapped at him.

"Hey. Shut your mouth already."

"Kil— mph! Mmph!"

Huh? He actually obeyed my command?

"Don't tell me… only his mind made it through intact?"

His body was undead, so it obeyed me—but because the enslavement hadn't been done the normal way, his mind still felt free.

"Hmm. Doesn't really matter. You—stand on your head as punishment."

At those words, Yeomje immediately went into a handstand.

Hmph. Glare at me all you want from that position—you just look ridiculous.

"It's a bit cold. How about lighting a nice warm fire?"

Yeomje braced himself on one hand, stuck out the other, and breathed out a little flame. His eyes were still fixed on me with murderous intent.

This is actually pretty fun.

"Whoops—no time for this. Seah! Bring them back!"

The healing floor spread out again, and the skeletons Yeomje thought he had killed sprang back up in ten seconds flat.

"Mmph! Mmmmph!"

"I get what you're trying to say, but quiet down."

And with that, Yeomje Defense came to a close.

Two days later.

The aftermath of the battle was mostly cleaned up, and it was time for everyone to rest their exhausted bodies.

But late winter, with spring still nowhere in sight, was far too cold for resting.

Fortunately, we had just the talent for keeping warm.

"Ahh~ so warm."

"Isn't this a little much? Even for a human…"

"Seahhh. He's not human anymore."

Yeomje was doing squats in the front yard while spewing fire.

"——! ———!"

He was yelling and ranting, but I had already strapped one of my apocalypse-prep gas masks onto him, so I could not make out a word.

Still, completely silencing him felt a little harsh, so—

"And you're enjoying the Yeomje Campfire just fine yourself."

"Well, the house is a bit cold…"

Boilers needed gas, after all. A house heated only by space heaters was inevitably a little chilly.

Anyway, Yeomje's current state: human mind, undead body.

He carried out commands, but his mind refused to submit. Probably the work of that eternal something-or-other with the obscured name.

"Yeomje. The fire's weak."

"———!"

"Heh. Your body's honest, at least."

Through the faint stream of curses, the Yeomje-fire flared hotter, and I soaked in the warmth. I did not feel the cold, but I still liked this kind of atmosphere.

"Master, dinner is ready."

"Perfect timing. Seah, let's eat!"

And from this battle, I had gained something besides Yeomje!

The skill Once More Burning Soul.

After testing it every which way, I confirmed that this skill strengthened the power of the soul. You became a little stronger, a little smarter, and better able to use that power.

And undead whose souls had been strengthened… could, astonishingly, speak!

"Mari, your voice is pretty."

"Well, of course—it's me."

Rather than speaking directly, it felt like they vibrated the air with soul power to create sound. Since our souls were linked, I could even talk to the undead with just my mind now.

I had a feeling this skill would grow stronger the more I used and trained it.

"Ohohoh. Allow me to serve you Chef Mari's full course."

With her mouth now open, Mari seemed to be in a good mood and took on the role of daily chef. Her mannerisms had always suggested it, but her speech had a spoiled young-lady quality. What had she done for a living before?

"Canned food today?"

"I made a big decision—for Healer and Master."

Mari had been handling inventory management for a while. That was why she had always complained whenever I snuck a can. I used to barely understand her; now I was going to have to listen to real lectures.

"Thank you, Mari."

"Oh, please! I should be thanking you, Healer."

Is this girl talk? Hmm. No idea.

On the table sat yellow peaches, calorie bars, and canned tuna. Calling it "cooking" was a stretch—microwaved, with a sprinkle of pepper on top.

"Honestly, this isn't great, is it?"

"Well… no…"

"Master, I can hear you."

"Whoops."

Long-term storage food—taste was a lost cause. So I only ate the yellow peaches. I did not need the calories. I was only eating ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with them so Seah would not feel lonely.

"We really need to find some food somehow."

But diverting manpower just for Seah alone was hard—everyone was busy. Lahan had gone back to expanding the walls, and Ttacttac-i was focused on training the low-tier skeletons that had gained a bit of intelligence from the new skill.

"I'd like to ask Yeomje, but…"

"You've never actually had a proper conversation with him, have you? You've just been teasing him the whole time."

"That's fair."

I polished off the peaches and headed outside to find Yeomje. A few of the smarter skeletons, apparently given break time by Ttacttac-i, were sitting in a circle around him.

-Clack clack!

"Yeomje. I need to talk. Take the gas mask off."

"…Necromancer."

With the mask off, Yeomje looked utterly haggard, still maintaining the fire.

"Can these bastards not talk?"

"The ones who've been dead a long time can't."

"Damn it all… whenever I lowered the flames, they kicked me and harassed me! Until I got the fire going again!"

"Well, yeah."

He had burned them, and he had been disrespectful to me—it was only natural. Still, no need to needle him when I had come to talk. I could use that later.

"I wanted to have a chat."

"Ahh. Fine by me."

"What, you're just going along with it?"

"I was going to talk the moment you actually tried. No point refusing."

So it really was because I never initiated!

He had more manners than I had expected. The Yeomje in my head was pure rebellious high-school punk fighting everything in the world—I might have misjudged him a bit.

I had a lot of questions, but first… this one.

"Anywhere nearby to get food? Seah's got almost nothing left to eat."

"From the intel I have, there are people farming in Gangwon-do and Uijeongbu."

"Ohhh!"

I knew about Uijeongbu, but not Gangwon-do. The Special Safety Department's intel network was clearly something.

"While we're at it, tell me everything you know."

"Why should I?"

"If you do, I absolutely won't touch any civilians."

Lie. There was nothing to gain from killing civilians except skeletons and hostility from neighboring factions. Risk outweighed return.

"This is going to be a long story… you'll have to let me stop the handstand first if you want me talking."

Whoops—he was still doing it.

I had him stop the handstand and brought him straight inside to sit at the dining table.

"This is basically a round-table conference, huh?"

"It's a dining table, though."

"Close enough."

Since we were already in a meeting mood, I sent the crows to fetch Lahan and Ttacttac-i too. Gathering the executive staff for a talk—pretty romantic, right? Like an evil organization.

"First, Gyeonggi-do should be considered Special Safety Department territory, and the whole 38th Parallel zone is military."

"What's the military up to?"

"Self-interested bastards who've gotten extremely good at killing monsters pouring down from the north."

So the military had completely warped. Then again, a group that isolated and hierarchical not changing would be weirder. If they were handling monsters from North Korea, they were not entirely useless, were they?

-Clack!

"Huh? What was that?"

I looked at Yeomje for more info, but before he could open his mouth, Ttacttac-i spoke first.

-Clack clack.

"What? You used to be in the military?!"

Ttacttac-i's words went like this: in the early days of the collapse, he had been an Army major, but when the order came to kill civilians, he had fled with a few soldiers.

"An Army major… I had no idea."

"W-what happened to the soldiers who ran with you?"

-Clack. Clatter.

As time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠passed, one by one they had started getting decent jobs, and he had gone around in just a truck gathering food and helping small survivor groups. So he did not know much about the current military.

"Hmm. If we ever get mixed up with the military, I'll ask again then."

So that was why Ttacttac-i was such a good commander. Interesting, but the Special Safety Department came first.

"But why can't that skeleton—Ttacttac-i—talk? I can't understand him at all."

"Compared to the newbies, he lacks individuality, so he only makes those sounds. The rest of us can understand him fine."

"That's weird."

"I-I can't understand him either."

The Special Safety Department nearby in Seoul was a bigger threat than the distant military—that was a fact. So I should dig more into the Special Safety Department.

"Yeomje. Do you think the Special Safety Department will attack us again?"

"Absolutely not. Those sons of bitches are all cowards."

"Huh? Aren't they basically a security force?"

"They're just hanging on so they can grab a seat when the world recovers. They're not a righteous organization."

He added that he had only joined because nothing better existed.

"Any other major powers?"

"North Korea is a monster paradise, and everywhere else is basically an information black hole. They're closed off… and the Special Safety Department was already struggling just to handle Gyeonggi-do."

He also said that while he had been the strongest, there were quite a few people one tier below him. Beyond that, Seoul had plenty of small hunter groups, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠survivor communities built around people who had classed after the collapse, the survivor zone in Gangnam-gu, and so on.

Lots of information. No need to memorize every detail. I could ask again later. I could dig deeper, but this was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough for now.

"I'll ask more later. Next, I want to know about your abilities."

"Ha! If you're thinking of making me fight, forget it."

Yeomje was still surly, but I decided to put up with it. Whether he liked it or not, as long as his body obeyed me, he could not defy me.

"Yeomje. No—Lee Eojin. Don't talk so rough. How old are you again?"

"Eighteen."

"At that age, going around saying 'this bastard, that bastard' doesn't look good."

At that, Yeomje's face softened a little.

"Somehow… it's been a while since I heard something like that."

"Huh? Someone scolding you?"

"Yeah. The higher-ups at the Special Safety Department only ever wanted to use me."

Well, the world had more bad adults than good ones. I was not a good adult either. With this undying body, this little-girl form—I was not even an adult anymore.

"I'm not like that."

"I'll cooperate."

"You should have done that from the start."

I grinned. Looks like Yeomje had finally decided to work with me.

"Alright then, explain the skills you've—"

At that moment, an awakened zombie burst in, shouting.

"Raid! We're under attack!"

…Again?