The Resolve of the Undead
Same night. Crack-crack-crack.
The ground split open a short distance from the hideout, and four undead rose from the earth—everyone except May, who had stayed behind to guard Joyeon.
"Karl, Ron. I believe you were far too disrespectful toward our master today."
Lara Tiasia was the first to surface. She glared at the two skeletons, her voice icy.
Sorry, milady. But our master is simply too adorable—what can we do~? Kyahahaha!
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Karl, who had apparently been a cheerful knight even before death, answered with his thoughts without the slightest hint of shame, laughing uproariously.
Watching you charge in so recklessly reminds me of milady's childhood. How could I not laugh?
"W-what does my childhood have to do with anything?!"
Lara Tiasia shouted, clearly embarrassed by Ron's remark.
As Lady Tiasia said, you two really do take your jokes too far.
Jack, the last to emerge, sided with Lara Tiasia.
Furthermore, I wonder if Lady Tiasia isn't being a little too harsh on our master. As you know, he is still young. On top of that, he comes from a world without even monsters. Would it not be acceptable to proceed a little more slowly?
"Absolutely not."
Lara Tiasia firmly rejected Jack's suggestion and shook her head.
"Have you forgotten why we died, Jack?"
That is...
"Father was content simply becoming a noble. After my brother became a royal guard knight, he grew complacent. And I... I only enjoyed gathering people without ever thinking about nurturing them."
At her words, even Karl and Ron—who had been laughing moments ago—fell silent.
"Mistakes can happen. Even if that mistake costs me my life. But there will be no second time. I will never allow such a meaningless death to occur again. For that to happen, our master must grow stronger. And..."
Grrr...
A beast's howl echoed from afar.
"We, who protect our master, must also become stronger—no matter what."
The skeletons nodded at Lara Tiasia's words.
That's why we're out here tonight, isn't it? I wonder how many we can hunt.
Want to make a bet?
Ron suggested a wager to make the tedious monster hunt more entertaining.
Sure. Whoever hunts the most gets to be our master's next sparring partner.
Karl immediately agreed and even set the stakes.
A bet...? Do I have to participate as well?
Jack, who had been watching, looked troubled.
Come on, Jack. We're all skeletons now—our old jobs and ages mean nothing. We're equal followers revived solely by our master's power!
However, in my previous life I was a butler, so I'm not particularly skilled at fighting...
If you want to protect our master, even a butler needs to know how to use force.
If you keep backing out like this, you might end up completely left behind someday, Jack.
Grrr!!
The howl sounded much closer now.
Crackle!
Moments later, a bear over three meters tall pushed through the bushes. It was a Red Grizzly—a monster from the magic world, not modern Korea.
ROOOAR!!
Having spotted them, the Red Grizzly swung its massive paw at Lara Tiasia, who stood closest.
Clack.
Left behind, you say...
Jack muttered as he stepped in front of Lara Tiasia.
BOOM!
The Red Grizzly's paw struck Jack squarely—or rather, it tried to.
Of course, I never intended to stand in the back with my hands behind my back.
The attack that could have crumpled steel like paper was stopped by Jack's bony hand. Not even a scratch appeared on his bones.
When it comes to protecting our master, I won't lose to anyone. Shall we have a proper fight today?
A red glow began to emanate from Jack's previously empty eye sockets.
Shiver!
In that instant, the Red Grizzly instinctively realized the being before it was far beyond anything it should provoke.
The monster hurriedly tried to pull back its paw.
Grab.
But Jack had no intention of allowing that. He seized the paw with the very hand that had blocked it.
Ahahaha! Jack finally took the bait!
Things are about to get fun.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Karl and Ron opened their jaws wide and laughed uproariously. Then—click!—they snapped their mouths shut and unleashed the same red glow as Jack.
We'll give you the first move, Jack.
It has been a while for you, after all.
This seems like far too much favoritism toward me.
The skeletons bantered playfully while the Red Grizzly, its paw still trapped, couldn't even think of fleeing. Before long, Lara Tiasia had appeared behind it.
"I told you to stop playing around."
She grabbed the terrified monster's head and shoulder, then—riiiiip!!
Graaaah...!
With nothing but raw grip strength, she tore the living Red Grizzly apart. Her power was overwhelming beyond belief.
Lara Tiasia casually tossed the corpse aside like a toy.
"Just because you've gotten a little stronger lately doesn't mean you can act arrogant. If you get careless and injured, it will only drain our master's mana."
That's cheating, milady—acting like you're giving advice while stealing the first kill~
Lady Tiasia has already secured one.
So milady is joining the hunt as well.
"I'm not joining—I'm giving orders! Enough chatter. We begin the 'cleanup' now."
Yes, ma'am~!
At Lara Tiasia's sharp command, the skeletons assumed their stances and dashed toward the source of the howls.
****
More than a week passed.
"I want to go outside!"
Joyeon suddenly shouted at Sirius while eating breakfast.
"...You mean for a walk?"
"No! I want to leave this place!"
Sirius's face twisted with complicated emotions at Joyeon's sudden bombshell.
"What nonsense is this all of a sudden? Sounds to me like you want to die. Do you even understand what's happening out there right now?"
"I do. Chaos and war... and new things we've never seen before are waiting out there!"
Joyeon's eyes sparkled as he answered.
"...I think I understand what you're thinking. Do you know how many people have died trying to adventure out to see those 'new things'?"
"I wouldn't know. How would a kid like me know that? Do you know, Boss?"
"I don't either. Because the dead disappear without a trace. Do you want to become one of them? Why are you so desperate to leave this hideout—the safest place left in this world?"
"Because our master is not someone meant to rot away in a place like this."
Lara Tiasia, standing beside Joyeon, cut in. Sirius rolled his eyes toward her.
"Rot? Here?"
"Yes. Staying here would mean rotting."
Though Sirius might have been offended by her blunt words, instead he listed the benefits.
"Food, clothing, and shelter are guaranteed. If you stay put, not only will you survive, but I'll even bring you the forbidden texts you want. With my connections amid the world's chaos, you could profit handsomely. You could even learn magic."
"However, our master's greatest power—black magic—has limits when cultivated in such a peaceful place. Furthermore, our master has had no contact with the outside world at all. You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Lara Tiasia countered with the drawbacks.
"...Tiasia. Did you put him up to this?"
"......"
She didn't deny it.
"What a pain..."
Sirius clicked his tongue in irritation at the unexpected situation. Just as Lara Tiasia had said, he had deliberately withheld all outside information from Joyeon—and for good reason. Joyeon was a walking bomb whose dangerous ideas even Sirius couldn't predict.
Within fifteen minutes of the world fusion, he had wandered the unknown world and nearly gotten captured and killed by his own subordinates. Despite knowing the risks, he had secretly read forbidden texts and even gone out at night to experiment with necromancy on corpses. Recently, he had almost died trying to break his cursed shackles by force. Anyone with basic sense or intelligence would hesitate, yet Joyeon showed not a shred of caution—only regret after the fact.
Sirius had reached one conclusion: At first I thought he was just stupid, but he's actually a madman who doesn't even value his own life. If I don't block the things that interest him in advance, he could die at any moment.
That was why Sirius had tried to prevent Joyeon from taking interest in the outside world.
"I didn't do it out of malice. He's useful to me. It would be a loss for me if he died because of pointless curiosity. If anything, I'm the benefactor who kept him alive this long."
"I won't deny that. Thanks to you, I was able to meet our master as well. But any more than this is a waste of time."
Lara Tiasia declared firmly.
"This world is dangerous—dangerous enough to kill even someone as powerless as me without resistance. In this world, power is everything. The power to survive."
"Don't you think the timing is too unstable? This could put your master in danger."
"I believe it's better than staying here and dying without even being able to resist. Besides, we are prepared to lay down our lives for our master."
Realizing further discussion was pointless against the resolute Lara Tiasia, Sirius turned to Joyeon.
"...Why do you suddenly want to leave? I already said I'd prepare the forbidden texts for you."
"I just got curious about what's happening outside after listening to Lara. Also, I need to visit a temple to remove these shackles~ And... well, I should check how my mom and dad are doing too."
"Haah..."
As expected, Joyeon hadn't thought very deeply. Because of that, Sirius couldn't come up with any convincing reason to dissuade him.
"Where are you planning to go?"
"First I'll stop by the school, then head toward the hospital where Mom works—she's a nurse. After that~ probably the temple?"
"...Wait a moment."
Sirius finally stood up and left the dining room. Joyeon watched him go, then spoke to Lara Tiasia beside him.
"Maybe I should've just left without saying anything."
"That would have been easiest, but given the contract and our future relationship, I think it's better to part on good terms. However..."
Lara Tiasia's usually expressionless face shifted to one of concern.
"Will you really be all right? To be honest, I agree with Sirius. The chaos hasn't settled yet. We have no idea what might happen."
She was now saying the exact opposite of what she had just argued to Sirius.
"That's exactly why we should leave now. Where's the fun in moving after everything's over?"
"......"
Sirius had judged correctly—Joyeon was a madman beyond control. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized just how mad. Simply withholding information wasn't enough to stop him.
From the very beginning, it had been Joyeon—not Lara Tiasia—who intended to leave. Lara Tiasia had planned to protect him inside the hideout, hunting monsters every night to grow stronger. She had believed sparring with them would be sufficient training for Joyeon.
But Joyeon had no such intention. The moment he escaped the leash Sirius held over him, he had already decided to leave. And now, roughly a month after the contract, he refused to wait any longer.
Originally, he had planned to sneak out last night, but a flustered Lara Tiasia had barely managed to stop him and asked him to speak with Sirius first. She figured that if Sirius tried to stop them, that would be fine in its own way. Judging by the situation, however, Sirius seemed to have already given up on preventing Joyeon from leaving.
Creak.
The dining room door opened and Sirius returned.
"Joyeon. Come outside."
With that, he left again.
"...? What now?"
"I don't know."
Joyeon and Lara Tiasia followed him out of the dining room.
****
Waiting for Joyeon outside were a considerable number of guns and ammunition, about ten books, and a large backpack.
"Take them. Honestly, giving you forbidden texts feels like handing over a bomb... but Tiasia will manage them well."
"Ooh~!"
Joyeon showed interest in the forbidden texts and backpack, then began checking the contents with May.
"For someone who opposed this, you've prepared quite thoroughly, haven't you?"
Lara Tiasia asked Sirius with a puzzled look.
"I never intended to keep him here forever. If I had, I wouldn't have made the contract in the first place. It's earlier than planned, but I always intended to let him go eventually."
"Jerky. Tastes awful. There's a sleeping bag too. This is going to be heavy, isn't it?"
Clack.
I'll carry it. Don't worry.
"Ah, it's fine. I can just put it in my inventory. It's not like it's a weapon or anything."
Clack.
Then shall I carry the iron ball?
"I'll drag the iron ball myself, and Lara can carry it when I run out of mana. You guys stand out too much. Even in the magic world, undead get negative looks, right? And in our world it's even worse."
Clack...
I see...
May looked dejected, thinking she wouldn't have much to do.
"Still, May has to cook every day. You know that, right?"
Clack!
Of course! I'll do my best to serve you delicious meals every time!
Sirius sighed as he watched Joyeon and May chat like they were preparing for a pleasant trip.
"You really don't change—charging ahead without a second thought. I just hope my investment doesn't end up being completely meaningless."
"Don't worry."
"Boss~! How do you use this gun? I haven't even gone to the military yet, so I don't know!"
"I didn't give it to you to use. It's for arming the skeletons. Though I'm not sure it'll even be useful."
"Still, I should know how to use it too."
"Give it here."
Though annoyed, Sirius taught Joyeon how to handle the gun and gave him advice about avoiding unnecessary danger outside.