Necromancer Survival

lls, he cautiously looked at me and answered with a distorted smile, “Th-This is… where Mother hit me a while ago.”

     “……”

     “The bleeding has stopped now… So, you can climb onto my back.”

    “……”

     “I’m serious.
A-Are you unable to touch it because it looks so disgusting? However, Lee-kyung-ssi, you won’t be able to run away on that leg…”

     I forgot what I was going to say and could only look at Koo Hui-seo’s desperate face.
In the end, I was forced to carefully clamber onto his back.

     It may be true that Koo Hui-seo was beaten before, but he was able to raise my weight and straighten his knees without a groan.
He rose from his prone position, carrying me on his back, pressing hard against my thighs with his arms.
Like that, he started running into a new room–just across the hallway.

Tap, tap, tap…

     The sound of bare feet hitting the marble floor echoed softly throughout the hallway.
Koo Hui-seo often stumbled because the weight was a little too much to handle, but, still, the boy progressed at a fast pace.

     I buried my face into his back, peering at the large and small paintings that hung in the hallway.

     I wasn’t the painting’s subject this time around.
The painted man was Koo Hui-seo–the backgrounds were all terrible.
Scenes of Koo Hui-seo’s past–such as dangling soldering irons from his tongue, Chairwoman Shin standing behind him with a whip, or plunging the young Hui-seo into a lake–were depicted in stark clarity.

     “Gasp, gasp…”

     “…If you’re having a hard time, you can just support my weight as I walk.”

     “No…! M-My room is just over there…” Koo Hui-seo shook his head stubbornly even though his neck was drenched with sweat.
That made me realize that Woo Ragi, who had even used his skills while carrying me on his back, was quite extraordinary.
At the same time though, my heart felt heavy when I recalled the last time I saw the swordsman.

     Meanwhile, Koo Hui-seo clenched his teeth and managed to arrive at the small room at the edge of the corner while carrying me atop his back.
He opened the door, placed me on the bed, and sprawled out on the floor.

     I watched Koo Hui-seo sweat buckets for a short while before turning my gaze out the window.
I could immediately see a round lake and a beautiful, forested garden.
“Koo Hui-seo-ssi.
How can I escape this place?”

     By the time I turned my attention towards the ex-chimera again, he stared back with a pale expression.
He looked like he had something to say.

     It was a strange expression on his face–one mixed with awe and anxiety.
I looked at him quietly without rushing him; Koo Hui-seo shed tears while staring at my face.
After big droplets fell–wiped by his sleeves–the floodgates opened, and he began to bawl.

     ‘Why is he crying?’

     I observed him, feeling a little bewildered and uncomfortable.
At that moment, Koo Hui-seo began to talk again, bowing his head as if he had committed a crime.
“That’s…”

     “Yes?”

     “A-Actually, I’ve also made great efforts to escape this place…”

     “……”

     However, after that, he fell silent for a long while again.
I didn’t want to rush him, but honestly my legs were now numb and my body was just so tired.

     Koo Hui-seo stared at my exhausted face as he continued speaking with that pleading voice.
The issue, though, was that his words came out as babbles.
I frowned and had to cut him off, “Say it again–what did you say?”

     “…That is to say… We can’t leave..”

     “…What did you say?”

     “W-With my strength… We can’t leave… Sorry… I’ve been looking for a way out, but…”

     I didn’t mean to interrogate him, but it seemed like my questions just filled him with more guilt.
Of course, when I think about the reason we fell into this ‘place,’ I suppose it’s true that the fault laid in Koo Hui-seo…

     ‘It doesn’t seem like he intended for this to happen though… Something dire must have happened before he managed to barge into my home.’

      I didn’t want to forcibly ask him to explain himself, but Koo Hui-seo’s attitude was deeply frustrating.
He seemed way too depressed and hopeless for someone who intended this sort of situation.

      Of course, though our dilemma may be unintentional, it was still annoying.
I really wanted to hit him.
However, my priority would be to find a small clue to solve the problem rather than to strike someone who wouldn’t even rebel anyway.

      I had no choice but to beckon the ex-chimera closer.
Koo Hui-seo approached hesitatingly while wiping away his tears.
I tried not to be annoyed by the way he shuffled forward, like a worm.

      In the end, Koo Hui-seo sat down on the mattress a small distance away from me.