Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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Rustle.

Swoosh.

It wasn’t particularly eerie, but right in the middle of a mountain path, with not a soul in sight.

As she watched the branches swaying in the wind, Song Ha Yeon pondered.

‘Why did they ask me to come to a place like this?’

When someone mentions a meeting spot, isn’t it usually a café or a restaurant?

However, this place was anything but that kind of atmosphere.

After thinking for a moment, Song Ha Yeon managed to arrive at a plausible conclusion.

‘Oh, maybe they don’t want to be seen by others?’

If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be weird at all.

And it also meant that the Lord of Hell must be a famous person know by most.

‘Ugh, I’m so nervous.’

In reality, it wasn’t so much nervousness as it was curiosity and anticipation, but either way, her heart was in turmoil.

Just as Song Ha Yeon was trying to calm her racing heart, she sensed a faint presence coming from the other side of the forest path.

Rustle.

“Ah.”

She quickly turned her head to see what it was, but there was nothing there.

“Huh?”

By now, her perception, evaluated as B-rank, was significantly detached from that of an ordinary person, so it couldn’t just be a simple misinterpretation.

With that thought, she carefully surveyed the area and noticed something odd.

Swoosh.

Behind a large tree at the edge of the mountain path, something like silver strands was fluttering.

‘That’s…’

Enhancing her vision with magical power, she saw more clearly. It was undoubtedly human hair.

“Um, is anyone there?”

No answer came back.

‘What on earth is happening?’

At this point, something mysterious began to seem suspicious to Song Ha Yeon.

Silver hair was certainly not a color common among modern people.

‘Could it be…?’

Considering hiding and refusing to talk, she couldn’t rule out the possibility of it being a monster leaked from an unconfirmed Dungeon Break.

With her magic heightened and anxiety coursing through her, Song Ha Yeon approached at an angle where she could quickly check it out.

Tap tap!

“Who… Ah?”

Hiding behind the tree was a girl with a completely unexpected appearance—a pure-white girl.

With yellowish silver hair, pale red eyes, and a small stature.

If the Helena she had seen last time exuded an image of a noble princess, this girl seemed to radiate the aura of a fairy from a storybook.

Seeing Song Ha Yeon approach quickly, the girl flinched, looking slightly scared and pulling away.

“Um, uh…”

Finally, the girl blurted out something in familiar Korean.

Her appearance certainly didn’t look Korean at all, making it quite a surprise. Flustered, Song Ha Yeon quickly apologized for earlier.

“Sorry! Were you startled? I thought you might be suspicious.”

“No, um…”

“Where are you from? The U.S.? France?”

In truth, judging by her appearance, she didn’t seem to be that young, but there was something about her that instinctively triggered a protective urge in Song Ha Yeon.

Under the barrage of questions, the girl made a somewhat displeased expression as she held up her smartphone.

[Arriving soon.]

[I’m here! Where are you?]

[Master?]

Those were the messages Song Ha Yeon had sent to the Lord of Hell just moments before.

As she examined the girl closely, Song Ha Yeon momentarily fell into cognitive dissonance.

‘Uh….’

Having her master’s smartphone meant that at the very least, the girl was someone related to him.

With her reasoning, Song Ha Yeon clapped her hands together.

Snap!

“Ah! Are you perhaps the child of my master’s errand?”

Shake shake.

“Then, are you a friend of his?”

Shake shake.

Confused by the continuous negations, Song Ha Yeon suddenly recalled knowledge from last time, and with a bright smile, she declared she had finally got it right.

“You’re a Summon! I’ve heard that top-tier Necromancers can create Undead that are almost indistinguishable from real humans; wow… I’ve never seen one before!”

But that too turned out to be incorrect.

The girl looked at the astonished Song Ha Yeon and softly replied.

“Y-you can’t even recognize your master….”

“What?”

And that was the first meeting with the Lord of Hell, Baek Eun Ha.

#

To be honest, I had somewhat anticipated this.

‘…’

If she were an ordinary person, she wouldn’t be able to nonchalantly do broadcasting in front of more than five thousand viewers.

‘…This feels a bit uncomfortable.’

In short, Song Ha Yeon was not just a socially-active person; she was a super social butterfly.

Even from a distance, I could feel that unique vibe, and it made it difficult to approach her.

‘This is a real party person….’

Despite just standing there, a natural stream of positive energy flowed from her. It was incredibly dangerous for me right now.

On an instinctual level, my body refused to approach.

As if there were a natural law forbidding a social butterfly and a wallflower from occupying the same space, my feet wanted to step back.

“Sh-should I at least bow down?”

At first, Song Ha Yeon seemed skeptical of my words, but after I demonstrated some Necromancy that I had taught her a few times, she finally accepted the truth of it.

“…Follow me.”

“Ah, yes.”

Still, I managed to gain something.

Perhaps because we had built a fairly long relationship, I could manage to speak informally to Song Ha Yeon this time around.

Maybe this troublesome side effect was slowly improving.

“So, where are we going?”

“…To my house.”

“Ah, I see…”

On our way home, I calmed my churning stomach and conveyed various precautions to Song Ha Yeon.

So from now on, we would pretend to be friends made through an online game.

“Ah. Yes. We’re game friends, right?”

And thus, only the final hurdle remained.

Taking Song Ha Yeon home and having her verified by Seo Ha.

Considering that I was saying I was going to dungeon crawl with a B-rank Hunter I met online, there was no way they would easily trust me.

Ding-dong.

Click.

We arrived home, and the moment I opened the door, the two met each other’s eyes.

“Uh.”

“Ah.”

Both let out small gasps simultaneously, wearing strange expressions.

“……”

What’s going on?

I tilted my head at their unexpected reactions, but at that moment, as if they were in on some secret, both of their gazes suddenly fixed on me.

“…Ugh. What?”

It was as if they were asking why I hadn’t mentioned this in advance, and it was Song Ha Yeon who spoke up first.

“You’re related to Baek Seo Ha?!”

“W-wait, didn’t I mention it…?”

“You did not! Oh, no, what do we do?”

Song Ha Yeon shouted in mixed surprise and fear in her eyes.

Thinking back, I remembered her saying something about being a fan of Seo Ha in a previous conversation.

I turned my head away from her resentful gaze and suddenly found myself looking at the other owner of the glance.

“What about you? Why do you know her?”

“…Is Song Ha Yeon really your game friend? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

It seemed that Seo Ha also knew Song Ha Yeon. The reason for that became clear from Seo Ha’s following words.

“She’s the hottest talent in the industry right now. We were in a scramble to recruit her on our side. I certainly told my sister about it two days ago….”

Clearly, two days ago, I had probably tuned this out while gaming all night.

“S-sorry.”

I soon came to learn that Song Ha Yeon indeed seemed to be someone of interest to the Clear White Guild, where Seo Ha belonged.

Given how unguarded she seemed in front of such a person, it was quite a shocking situation.

“……”

It seemed a strangely tangled situation was unfolding.

I fidgeted, trying to avoid the glances from both of them.

Thus, finding myself in an unexpected three-way encounter, I entered the house.

#

“So, you got to know each other while playing games?”

“Yes. She has great skills, so I asked questions and received guidance… and that kind of thing?”

As the conversation progressed, Song Ha Yeon subtly tilted her head, signaling if I was doing this right.

I eagerly nodded in response.

“How curious.”

“Y-yeah, right.”

It didn’t take long for the awkwardness to dissipate. They were both high-rank Hunters, and they had plenty of common interests to discuss.

And thus, the real conversation began.

“So, what can you do alone?”

“Huh?”

“The strongest monster you can defeat 1-on-1.”

The atmosphere felt like an interview for a huge guild. Under Seo Ha’s sharp questioning, Song Ha Yeon stammered through her answers.

“Um, I could probably take on a B4-rank Poison Wolf…”

“That’s a bit lacking.”

“I-if I push a little harder, a step up like the Crystal Wolf should be okay.”

Seo Ha’s questioning barrage was diverse and relentless. They were checking her on not just combat but even theoretical aspects, making Song Ha Yeon look pretty unfortunate.

Yet, at some point, the subjects started to become a bit strange.

“So, how should you handle a dispute like that?”

“Block the line of sight and step forward to draw attention… and what was it?”

“No matter what, you must lead the situation so that you’re not left out of the conversation. Your sister tends to shrink and can’t say anything with just a bit of a jab.”

“Ah….”

The conversation felt pointedly directed at me, making me uncomfortable. But alas, I had no choice but to endure.

“Fidgeting and making a subtle face means there’s something unsaid or discontent. In such cases, take the lead and resolve it.”

“Ah, yes.”

“If it’s something difficult to resolve, feel free to mention the guild’s or my name.”

“Really?”

After some time passed, the conversation wrapped up, and Seo Ha ultimately agreed to form a two-person party with just the three of us.

Just listening to them drained me.

“Well, then before we leave, can I get your number…?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you!”

Ding-dong.

Click.

As soon as the front door opened, Song Ha Yeon turned around with a beaming smile.

‘This has me feeling…’

It felt oddly like I was losing a disciple, leaving me with a distinctly complex emotion.