A Sovereign's Gift
King Yeomra's gaze brushed past them briefly, but he showed no particular reaction.
Only Jinhon was left trembling in sheer terror.
Whew.
Asin let out a soft, quiet breath.
Before lowering her hand, she looked at Noel.
Though she understood Noel's amusement, the manifestation of the God of the Underworld in the mortal realm was no laughing matter.
―Refrain from laughter, child.
Asin warned him with a stern look, and Noel nodded, signaling he understood.
...Whew, I almost burst out laughing, Noel thought, pressing his lips tightly together.
"I have borrowed the vessel most comfortable for me. My pronunciation is clear enough, I trust?"
A tiny white mouse, wearing a miniature official's hat on its head, sat with an air of supreme dignity.
Seeing it clad in a tiny official robe—heaven knew where it had found such a thing—made it nearly impossible for Noel to hold back his snickers.
―Your voice is perfectly clear.
Asin replied, and Noel kept his eyes fixed on King Yeomra.
It seemed his true form could not cross over to this side.
The mouse's eyes were a striking, unnatural blue. Looking into them, Noel felt an eerie, hypnotic pull, as if he were being sucked into an abyss.
The sheer weight of his presence alone set him far apart from even god-class spirits.
It's a miracle Kkamangi isn't here, Noel thought.
"Strangely enough, I have always shared an excellent spiritual wavelength with mice."
King Yeomra offered a gentle smile through the mouse's tiny face.
It had been comical at first, but the atmosphere in the room began to shift.
The smirk quickly vanished from Noel's lips.
It was a mere mouse, yet it felt colossally, impossibly massive.
How to describe it?
It felt as though he were standing before a grand tribunal.
"Since it is dangerous for me to utter your true name, may I address you simply as 'young friend'?"
"Sure. Call me whatever you like," Noel replied.
At Noel's casual response, King Yeomra offered a brief word of thanks and studied him.
"I cannot recall the last time I met a shaman who could hear and see us so clearly. With each passing generation, the genuine ones fade away while charlatans run rampant. It is truly lamentable. Sometimes, I cannot help but wonder if the spiritual soil of this land has gone bad."
Noel had heard others lamenting the decline of true shamans, but he hadn't expected to hear it from the King of the Underworld himself.
Maybe... I should have pretended I couldn't see anything, Noel thought with a pang of regret. Standing out was rarely a good thing.
"Does the land really have that much to do with a shaman's power?"
King Yeomra let out a hearty laugh at Noel's completely unfazed attitude.
"You are remarkably bold. Are you not afraid of me? Most mortals tremble in my presence."
"I haven't done anything wrong. Why should I be afraid?"
King Yeomra's eyes narrowed.
A sudden gust of wind swept past Noel, but he merely blinked.
What did he just do? Noel wondered.
King Yeomra looked momentarily taken aback.
Why?
Confused by the reaction, Noel glanced to his side. Asin was staring at him with a tense, rigid expression.
―...Are you unharmed?
"Why? What did he do?" Noel whispered back. It was hard to answer if he was okay when he didn't even know what had just happened.
"Since you claimed to have done nothing wrong, a brief curiosity prompted me to verify the truth of your words. Old habits die hard, it seems. Whatever my reasons, I apologize if I have offended you."
Though King Yeomra's gaze softened once more, Noel couldn't shake off the memory of his fleeting shock.
After debating whether to ask, Noel simply offered an easygoing smile.
"Well, I'm the one who said I didn't do anything wrong. It's only fair that you check."
"To possess such understanding as well... I shall remember this as a most delightful encounter. ...Ah, forgive my delayed manners. Thank you for preventing the order of the underworld from collapsing."
King Yeomra bowed his head in deep gratitude. Despite his tiny mouse form, a profound, bone-deep exhaustion seeped through his words.
"Don't mention it. I only did what had to be done," Noel replied casually.
"No, indeed. It is not a task just anyone could accomplish. It was an exceptionally difficult feat."
Though it sounded like praise, Noel felt a strange prickle of discomfort at the deity's words.
As if to prove his intuition correct, King Yeomra began to waddle closer.
A mouse walking forward on two legs should have looked ridiculous, but there was absolutely nothing funny about the pressure radiating from him.
"Whether by mere coincidence or divine providence, only the heavens know... but did your entry in the Register of the Dead not suffer a critical error?"
Why was he bringing up the Register's error now?
"It certainly did. You have no idea how shocked I was when I heard the explanation," Noel said, deliberately putting on an aggrieved expression as he took a step back.
He had possessed Do Yeong-hyeon's body, yes, but had that been of his own volition? Absolutely not.
"It appears another type of anomaly was involved in this recent incident as well. By any chance, do you know anything about it?"
As King Yeomra spoke, Noel felt a chilling, invisible blade hovering right at his throat.
Ah. So that's why he was buttering me up with all those compliments? Well, I suppose it's only natural to suspect me.
Noel chuckled inwardly.
The circumstances were almost too perfect. He just happened to cross paths with Hwaran, a furious god-class spirit, and on top of that, there were traces of Necromancy woven into the power binding her.
It was entirely reasonable for the ruler of the underworld to be suspicious.
And they perceive Necromancy as an 'error' here?
At the very least, it was now crystal clear that Necromancy was a foreign power that did not belong to this world.
But then, why did the sphere that imprisoned Hwaran carry the distinct trace of Necromancy?
Noel pushed the thought aside and shook his head.
"I really don't have much to tell you about that. I assume the Grim Reaper has already briefed you on everything."
"I have read the report, yes, but is it not always better to hear it directly from the source?"
King Yeomra casually wiggled his tiny front toes, acting as if it were a light, trivial matter.
But Noel refused to let it slide.
"But tell me, is this meant to be a conversation? Or is it a threat?"
Noel smiled at King Yeomra, but his eyes remained ice-cold.
Asin gently tugged at the hem of Noel's sleeve.
―Patience, child.
"It is a conversation," King Yeomra replied smoothly.
"Then would you mind putting away whatever scary thing you've got pointed at me? I'm too terrified to speak."
King Yeomra stared at him, thoroughly intrigued.
"You can feel that?"
"Of course I can. What were you planning to do with it?"
"Both the living and the dead lie far too often. 'I didn't do it,' 'I don't know,' 'It was a mistake,' 'It just happened.' Those are the excuses I hear most. It is truly remarkable how much mischief a single tongue can weave."
Smiling with a mouse's face made him look incredibly uncanny. Was he trying to exert psychological pressure?
"I grew so disgusted by it that I habitually keep a truth-detecting aura active around me. As long as you have no intention of lying, you need not pay it any mind."
If that's how it is...
If they wanted to play dirty, he could easily play along and slip away.
"I don't know anything about that error," Noel said, carefully choosing words that would bypass the truth-detector. He truly did not know why Necromancy had been inside that sphere.
"I don't even know what kind of power it is."
While it was mixed with Necromancy, he didn't know the exact nature of the spell used. He wanted to find out himself.
"My involvement was purely accidental."
He had only gone there to earn some quick cash while handling a case, and because he despised the hypocritical way someone had cast a curse to avoid their own doom.
"I did see some sort of sphere, but before I could examine it closely, it shattered under the power the Mountain God gave me. That's all."
"A good child," King Yeomra said with a faint smile.
It was the absolute truth, perfectly matching the report. And good children deserved rewards.
"Of course. I might not live a life of selfless devotion, but I've never walked a wicked path." Noel readily accepted the praise.
"The investigation will continue, and Jinhon will keep you updated. You will likely be of great help to each other, so I wish to bestow a gift upon you."
"Oh, what is it?" Noel immediately perked up at the word 'gift'. There was no reason to refuse a freebie.
"When an error occurs in the Register of the Dead, strange things tend to gather around you."
"What kind of strange things?" Noel tilted his head, wondering what could possibly be drawn to him.
"On rare occasions, escapees from hell slip into the mortal realm and cause trouble."
...I literally just saw one, Noel thought, his tongue itching to speak. Hadn't he just run into an escapee from hell on his way here?
"And what those wretched souls covet most are individuals like you, whose entries in the Register are fractured."
"Why? What does the Register have to do with them?"
"Perhaps because they have endured the fires of hell, they can perceive the seam connecting a soul to its vessel. Even to my eyes, the gap between your body and your soul is visible. When such a gap exists, it becomes far easier for them to slip inside and seize control."
―Do you mean... they can force possession?
Asin gasped in shock. That was incredibly dangerous.
"Indeed. Normally, the Register would correct itself swiftly, but your case is... complicated. To fix your entry, two souls are required. Yet, only one soul has crossed over to the underworld. You are not dead, and we cannot simply kill you to balance the ledger. Thus, you must remain in this state until your natural demise."
Well, since I'm the one who took over Yeong-hyeon's body, I guess it can't be helped.
Regardless of Asin's deep concern, Noel didn't think much of it.
Back in his original world, countless spirits had lusted after a Necromancer's body. Naturally, he had countless defenses prepared against such attempts.
Unless I permit it, no one can take this body from me. Noel kept his mouth shut. There was no need to boast.
"Your Majesty... May I... speak a word?"
Then, Jinhon raised his hand tentatively, his fingertips trembling violently.
"Choose your words wisely, Jinhon. Once spoken, words can never be retrieved." King Yeomra openly pressured his subordinate.
"Before coming to meet Your Majesty, we encountered an escapee from hell."
The moment the words left Jinhon's mouth, King Yeomra was standing right in front of him.
He stared at the Reaper in silence. Just as Jinhon's trembling reached a fever pitch, the deity smiled and offered his praise.
"I was wondering when you would bring that up. Well done."
"...Thank you, Your Majesty."
King Yeomra patted Jinhon twice on the shoulder before instantly reappearing in front of Noel.
"Jinhon is a remarkably capable worker. As you saw earlier, those escapees will occasionally be drawn to you. Your Guardian Deity will surely protect you, but since your bond is bound merely by a contract, I worry it might be somewhat fragile."
King Yeomra had instantly seen through the nature of Noel and Asin's bond, recognizing it as a simple contract.
Asin flinched slightly, but she quickly found her voice.
―This is...
"It is quite alright. That is simply another path. You have violated no laws."
―Should this child err, I shall bear his punishment in his stead.
At Asin's unhesitating declaration, Noel's eyes widened in sheer shock as he stared at her.
"Asin...? Why would you say that?"
Making a promise to him was one thing, but swearing an oath before the supreme ruler of the underworld carried an entirely different weight.
―I have harbored this resolve from the very beginning.
Following Asin's gentle smile, King Yeomra let out a booming laugh.
"How fascinating. I share the same sentiment as you, Guardian Deity."
King Yeomra looked at Noel with a warm smile.
"It is rare to find someone of your caliber. Since you are here, enjoy a long stay in the mortal realm before you cross over to my domain."
With those words, he reached out with a tiny front paw and touched Noel's shoe.
Accompanied by a shower of gentle, glowing particles of light, a warm, soothing energy surged deep within Noel's chest.
"This will seal the gap between your soul and your flesh. And one day... it shall serve as a great strength to you."
King Yeomra's gaze grew incredibly deep as he looked at Noel.
What is it? Why is he looking at me like that? Noel found the look unsettling. It felt as though the deity were probing into his very essence.
Even if I ask, he won't tell me, will he?
He knew the answer already.
"You are... No, never mind. Let us meet again. If I manifest for too long, this poor little mouse might perish. Jinhon will explain the rest."
The white mouse closed its eyes.
When it opened them again, its fur had turned pitch-black, and its eyes had reverted to a normal, dark beadiness.
Startled by the humans standing before it, the mouse scurried away and vanished into a corner.
So it really was just a normal mouse, Noel thought, genuinely surprised.
―He has departed.
Asin murmured. Noel scowled in annoyance.
"Hey, Grim Reaper. Is he always like that? Leaving his sentences half-finished?"
He absolutely detested that sort of cliffhanger.
"No... He is a most... benevolent sovereign."
Jinhon's voice and eyes trembled in unison.
Noel could see exactly why corporate life was so brutal. The Reaper's forced smile was painfully obvious.
"So, does he have some task he wants to assign to me?" That was certainly what King Yeomra's parting words had implied.
"Yes? No... I haven't received any official reports, so I honestly don't know," Jinhon replied, looking thoroughly bewildered. He hadn't been told anything about a task.
"Ah, please take this."
Jinhon reached into the air and pulled out an object. It was a braided cord ornament.
Asin reacted instantly.
―How... how did you find this?
Asin stared at Jinhon in utter disbelief.
"Well, I do spend my days running back and forth between the mortal realm and the underworld. I happened to stumble upon it. Your name is Asin, correct?"
―...It is.
"Consider it a token of our gratitude. Well then, I shall take my leave."
What about me? The words rose to the tip of Noel's tongue, but seeing how profoundly moved Asin was, he swallowed them down. He simply smiled and waved goodbye.
"...Ah. It's here."
Just as Jinhon was about to depart, he checked his phone, his expression instantly stiffening.
"A highly valued soul, who had agreed to work in the underworld before their passing, is refusing to cross over for some reason. It seems their demands are beyond what we can handle on our own."
"Wait a second. An agreement made before death?"
"Ah. We are chronically understaffed, so we often recruit promising candidates before they pass away. We treat our office recruits with the utmost respect. At any rate, I will look into this further and send you a text message."
Jinhon bowed politely to Asin and Noel before vanishing into thin air.
Noel let out a long sigh and turned to look at Asin, who was gently caressing the braided ornament.
"Asin."
―Let us depart now, child.
Asin smiled, but her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"Did you lose it?"
―Yes. It must have been before my passing... for I lost it upon the battlefield.
The very battlefield where she had met her end amidst the stench of blood and the cold tang of iron.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
―...Aigoo, aigoo! This cat is going to kill me!
―I don't eat humans!
Contrary to its words, Kkamangi was currently biting down hard on a ghost's hand. Noel had no idea why.
Tamrang, whom he had sent to break them up, was merely crouching in a corner, blankly inspecting an antique.
Noel pressed a hand to his forehead.
...What an absolute disaster.
He had no earthly clue what had transpired in his absence.