You Should Have Said So Sooner
Thwack.
A boy collapsed as an arrow pierced straight through his chest.
"I got him! I got the little monster!"
Over the excited shouting of the knight, a cacophony of voices buzzed loudly in the boy's ears.
—Wake up! You have to get up, Noel!
The ghosts, who usually did nothing but chatter uselessly, were surprisingly urgent today.
Noel trembled violently as he forced his upper body off the ground.
"Shut... up..."
He didn't know how many arrows had hit him, but blood was pouring from his wounds. This was bad.
Gritting his teeth, Noel reached out behind him. Black smoke swirled into a vortex, and the noisy ghosts began to take physical form.
—Run! Hurry!
He knew. He had run yesterday. He was running today. And he would have to run tomorrow.
"The monster... the little monster is using his power—! Argh!"
Screams erupted from where the knights stood. In the chaos, someone riding a black horse swept Noel up and galloped away.
"...Noel!"
It was his mother. She held him tightly in her arms.
"Are you... alright?"
The boy was so cold it struck terror into her heart. She was almost too afraid to speak.
"...Mother."
"Hold on. You have to hold on. No matter what, you must survive."
He wanted to tell her that he would hold on, to reassure her as she repeated those words like a prayer, but a heavy drowsiness washed over him. His lips refused to move.
...I'm so tired.
Perhaps that was why.
Then again, anyone would be exhausted after a lifetime of being hunted and living in hiding.
What did it matter that the previous emperor had supposedly been killed by a necromancer? For all anyone knew, that weak-willed man might have died of a heart attack from staring at his own shadow in the dark. He was a man who had died long ago, yet the current emperor was still slaughtering every last necromancer in the empire under the guise of avenging his father.
What had he done wrong?
He had spent over a decade being hunted at every turn, starving, and spending sleepless nights in terror. He was sick and tired of it.
"...Noel! Noel!"
Yet, with his mother calling out to him so desperately, how could he not try to hold on?
Don't worry... I'll be fine today, too.
Noel smiled faintly and slowly closed his eyes.
Throb.
A sharp, searing pain jolted the man awake.
Whirrr, whirrr.
A noisy, mechanical hum vibrated through his aching head. It was a sound he had never heard before in his life, yet it felt strangely familiar.
"Mo..."
He tried to call out for his mother, but the moment he opened his eyes, he gasped. A ghost with a shattered skull, dripping blood, was staring straight down at him.
"Move..."
Grunting, the man reached out to push himself up, but a damp sensation made him look down. It was blood. As he lifted his hand, blood dripped from it.
...Huh?
It wasn't his hand. His body had been that of an adolescent boy, but this hand was much larger. Why?
"Aaaah!"
"Someone... someone fell! Call 119!"
Screams erupted from all directions, making his head throb even harder.
—...Who are you?
What is he talking about?
The man turned his head toward the ghost's voice, and his eyes widened. His heart hammered against his ribs as he took in a completely foreign landscape. What were those towering buildings? And what were those strange metal contraptions moving on the streets?
Yet, somehow, he knew exactly where he was and what those things were. Unfamiliar words and concepts flooded his mind all at once. Overwhelmed by this paradoxical rush of information, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
"Mr. Do Yeonghyeon. How is your head feeling?"
Hearing the doctor's voice, the man looked up from his hospital bed. When he had first woken up, he was told that his surgery had gone well and there were no major complications, though they still needed to monitor his progress. He was told a guardian had visited, but he didn't know who they were, and only a hired caregiver remained by his side.
"It throbs a bit."
"Does your arm feel uncomfortable at all?"
The man glanced down at his cast and shook his head. He recalled hearing something about pins being inserted. "It's fine."
"Prescribe some more painkillers," the doctor whispered softly to the nurse. "Well, I'll see you later then."
With a gentle smile, the doctor left the room. The man offered a faint smile in return.
Once the privacy curtains were drawn, the man stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
He was Noel Teurus. Yet, he had possessed a completely foreign body. It belonged to the man currently floating near the ceiling with a shattered skull. His name was Do Yeonghyeon, a young man who had just reached adulthood. The cause of death was cardiac arrest resulting from a suicide jump. He had landed on top of a car, which, by some stroke of luck, had prevented his body from being completely pulverized.
Thanks to that, my soul was able to take root before death could fully encroach upon the body. But the only thing capable of making such a miracle happen is necromancy.
The power to communicate with spirits, grant them physical form, and borrow their strength. Transferring a lost soul into another body was indeed a technique of necromancy.
Does that power exist in this world too? No, more importantly, why was I transported to a world like this in the first place?
Plagued by endless questions, Noel pushed himself out of bed. He wheeled his IV stand along as he walked out of the ward. Yeonghyeon's ghost followed closely behind. Noel made his way outside and sat down on a bench near the hospital garden.
"Alright, shall we talk? I'm sure you have plenty of questions for me." Noel looked up at Yeonghyeon.
—Who are you?
"Noel."
Hearing the name, Yeonghyeon immediately thought of a foreigner. It certainly didn't sound like a local name.
—Why are you... in my body?
"A bit of an odd question for a dead guy. Do you regret it?"
—No. Just curious. It's fascinating.
"There are better things to find fascinating. If you're dead, you should just move on. Don't go asking me for favors. We clear?" Noel waved his hand dismissively.
It seemed that no matter the world, ghosts were always incredibly clingy. In his original world, spirits would constantly seek him out, demanding favors or even threatening him because he was a necromancer.
—By any chance, do you have my memories in your head?
"Just enough to get by without any trouble. Why do you ask?"
Yeonghyeon hesitated, looking at Noel with a conflicted expression.
—Well, you see...
"Don't even start. Don't give me any sob stories about how unfair your life was or ask me for favors. What, are you going to threaten me next?"
Although he could see ghosts because of his necromancy, he disliked them intensely, with very few exceptions. They always made a desperate fuss about doing things after death that they could have easily done while alive. As if that would change anything.
Every single time, he wanted nothing more than to obliterate their souls entirely, but doing so risked encroachment.
If I get encroached, I have to submerge my entire body in ice water until the backlash fades.
It was incredibly painful and tedious. And even that was just a temporary fix; if the encroachment became too severe, there was no turning back.
—No! I was going to say that if you help me, I'll help you in return and give you money.
Noel paused, his eyes widening in surprise as he stared at Yeonghyeon.
"...You'll give me money?"
—Yeah. I'm dead, but you have to keep living, right? You're going to need money.
"Why...?"
—What do you mean, why? I'd be so grateful if you did. While you were unconscious, I wandered around, but nobody could see me. It was a really strange feeling.
Yeonghyeon smiled, but with his shattered skull, it looked grotesque. Noel extended a finger. A shroud of black mist swept over Yeonghyeon's spectral form, purifying his shattered head and blood-soaked body back to their normal, clean appearance.
"You're... really unusual."
—Am I? Isn't this normal?
"Seeing ghosts is supposed to be abnormal. Aren't you going to report me?"
That was precisely why he hated ghosts. There was always a traitor. It was the same even among fellow necromancers. A ghost would recognize a necromancer and snitch to another, who would then report them to the empire to have them executed. Under such circumstances, it was impossible to like spirits.
—What... kind of report are you talking about?
"There must be others who see ghosts here. Won't I get hunted down?"
—Those people actually get paid, though?
At the mention of money, Noel's eyes widened.
"They get... paid?"
—Yeah. People actively seek them out, praise them for being highly skilled, and even cry tears of gratitude. You guys don't have that where you're from?
This absurd revelation shattered Noel's understanding of common sense. Making money despite seeing ghosts? Not being reported despite seeing ghosts? Not being hunted down despite seeing ghosts? What kind of utopian fantasy world was this?
Noel looked around. Perhaps because it was a hospital, there were ghosts lingering everywhere.
—Where are you going all of a sudden?
At Yeonghyeon's question, Noel replied casually, "To see if it's true."
Noel strode forward. He spotted an elderly couple; the husband was pushing his wife's wheelchair, looking incredibly affectionate. However, a middle-aged male ghost was weeping right beside the woman. Noel immediately got a sense of the situation. He stepped forward and blocked their path.
"Hold on a moment. You have a ghost clinging to you right now."
The couple stared at Noel in utter bewilderment, but Noel ignored them and turned directly to the ghost. "Why are you crying?"
—Y-You can see me?
"I asked why you're crying."
—I feel so sorry for my wife. She did nothing but suffer because of me, and now she's being deceived by that con artist.
"What on earth... do you think you're doing?" the elderly man snapped, visibly offended.
"Just hold on a second. Is this grandmother wealthy?"
—Before I died, I took out a lot of insurance policies to help a friend. I was so relieved after I passed away. But now my wife... she's fallen terribly ill. It's all my fault.
The deceased husband burst into tears once more.
"I get the picture," Noel muttered, nodding slightly.
"Dear, calm down. He looks like he hurt his head badly. Student, we're fine, so please go back inside. It's cold out here." The grandmother spoke gently, offering a warm smile. She seemed like a truly kind soul.
"Grandmother."
"Yes?"
"That man is a con artist who's after your insurance money." Noel pointed a finger directly at the grandfather. The old man flinched at the gesture.
—I overheard his plan. He stole her personal seal to register a marriage in secret, and he's planning to change the insurance beneficiary to himself.
"He stole your seal to secretly register a marriage and change the insurance beneficiary to himself. Did you entrust your seal to him?"
At this decisive blow, the old man practically leaped in outrage. "Y-You insolent little brat!"
"See? He's reacting like that because he's guilty. Your late husband is crying because he's so worried about you. He can't cross over in peace like this. Cut ties with him immediately."
"Hey! Who do you think you are? What are you?!" The man glared at Noel as if he were a complete lunatic and stepped closer.
—Tell them you're a shaman! That's what they call them here, Yeonghyeon whispered urgently, wanting to help a good cause.
"I'm a shaman. Now that I've helped you, pay up." Noel held out his hand toward the grandmother, shaking it casually.
The grandfather suddenly lunged and grabbed Noel by the collar. "Are you out of your mind? You accuse me of being a fraud and then demand money?!"
"Stop it."
"Let's go to the police station right now! Right now!"
"I said, stop!"
At the grandmother's sharp command, the old man huffed and looked down at her. His expression was incredibly tense.
"...Dear. Surely you don't believe this crazy kid?"
Ignoring his question, the grandmother rolled her wheelchair forward and headed back inside.
"Dear! Wait!"
The old man quickly chased after her. Noel could hear him desperately making excuses, but he didn't care about that.
"...You lied to me." Noel glared at Yeonghyeon. He hadn't received a single cent. Once again, he had just been treated like a lunatic.
—A liar? Me? That was entirely your fault!
"What?"
—Even if blabbing things out of nowhere is the norm where you're from, anyone here would hate it if you approached them like that. There's a reason shamans set up shops to receive clients properly.
...Ah.
Noel finally understood. Because his own knowledge and the memories in Yeonghyeon's head kept clashing, it was quite difficult to find his bearings. In his original world, everyone knew ghosts existed, but that wasn't the case here.
"You're right. My approach was wrong. You're actually quite useful." This ghost was definitely going to be necessary for him to adapt to this world. "From now on, if I do something like this, you have to guide me."
—That's easy enough. In that case...
"Hold on. Let's talk inside. It's freezing out here." Noel quickly hurried back into the hospital. It was winter here as well.
"...This is all your fault."
Noel glared at Yeonghyeon. Perhaps because Yeonghyeon was lingering around him, other ghosts had started to gather as well. They kept trying to talk to him, and the constant chatter was driving him insane. His head was already splitting. He didn't even know how he had managed to sleep last night. He had no idea a single day could feel this long.
—But... they're asking for help, so how can I just ignore them? They all feel the same way I did. At first, it was kind of fun that nobody could see me, but after a while, it gets pretty lonely.
"Then they should offer me something in return." Noel dragged his IV stand outside once again.
Though, the ghosts in this world are certainly much gentler.
In his original world, a ghost would ask nicely exactly once, and if refused, they would immediately threaten to snitch to another necromancer. The ghosts here, however, simply begged and pleaded over and over. The problem was that they did it all day long. When he looked behind him, they were practically lining up to approach him.
"Ah, just go away!" Noel snapped.
A passerby flinched and looked around, but seeing nothing, they glanced at the bandages wrapped around his head, quietly thought, Ah, he must have a head injury, and quickly steered clear.
Noel headed toward the spot where he had sat earlier, but suddenly froze.
—Wait! Please, just a moment of your time!
It was the deceased husband from earlier.
What a pain.
He had only paused for a second, but a wheelchair was already rolling rapidly toward him. It was the grandmother. The person pushing her this time wasn't the old man, but someone who looked like her daughter or a caregiver.
"...Student," the grandmother spoke.
"Yes?"
"...Is he crying a lot?"
Noel raised his eyes to look at the late husband.
"He was crying earlier, but he isn't anymore."
"Really?"
"Yes. He's smiling now. I take it you kicked that con artist to the curb?"
—Of course she did! My wife has always been sharp as a tack. The ghost laughed heartily.
"Student..."
With a trembling voice, the grandmother reached out to him. Noel stared at her hand for a moment before gently taking it. She placed her other hand over his.
"Thank you so much."
As she gently patted his hand, Noel froze. It was an incredibly unfamiliar sensation.
"That money was my husband's life insurance. I... had no idea, and I almost let that beast take it all." The grandmother pulled an envelope from her pocket and offered it to him. "This is for your services."
Noel slowly accepted the envelope. It was true. He had simply used his ability to see ghosts, and he had actually been paid for it.
—Student.
When Noel turned at the late husband's call, he saw the spirit enveloped in a soft, glowing light. He was finally letting go of his lingering regrets and preparing to move on.
—Thank you so much. Could you tell my wife that I'll be waiting for her, so she should take her time and live a long, long life before joining me?
Noel looked down at the envelope. He had been paid; there was no reason not to grant such a simple request.
"Your husband says he'll go ahead first, so you should take your time and live a long, long life before you join him."
As Noel pointed toward the empty space, the grandmother turned her head.
"Dear. I'll live a life so long and full that you'll be jealous, so go on ahead to a better place now."
As she smiled warmly, her late husband beamed back at her, dissolving into a shower of sparkling light before vanishing entirely.
"...You were right."
Back in his hospital room, Noel looked at Yeonghyeon.
"I can make money, and I won't get reported or hunted down."
Noel's lips curled into a smirk. Had he not just proven it?
The envelope contained a whopping one million won. He had actually made money. It was the first time he had ever earned a living using his powers.
"So, what is it you want me to do?"
—Wait, so it was all about money?
One of the ghosts who had been staring at him spoke up. Noel shifted his gaze to the speaker. It was a bald, middle-aged man. He pointed to himself with a confident grin.
—You should have said so sooner! I've got a decent amount of cash stashed away. Hidden in a place my wife and kids don't even know about. I know that annoying guy over there is glaring at us, but who cares? It's not like he can do anything about it. So, how about my offer?