Chapter 42: CH 39

Chapter 39
 
     Seo Dawon passed Kim Sangyoon, who was still bent in half on the floor and stood by my side. As his footsteps neared, Kim Sangyoon’s breath caught in his throat; when Seo Dawon stood in front with me, Sangyoon could no longer dare raise his head.
     As for Seo Dawon….He seemed to be enjoying Sangyoon’s reaction. His face was the most delighted I had ever seen it.
     How wicked…
     However, it was evident that his wickedness was effective; whatever I would say would have great effect. I sighed and called out to the trembling shell of a man. “Sangyoon-nim.”
     “…..Yes.”
“First….I’d like to clear up a misunderstanding.”
    “…….”
     Kim Sangyoon still clung to the floor, but I knew he was listening. I didn’t stop for an answer and continued, “I’m not close with Bae Jaemin. The Barnasiums had nothing to do with him. Those Barnasiums I sold….belonged to this guy here. He’s my….”
     Then, I considered how to explain my relationship with this man. “….Friend. That’s why I lent him my name,” I said, awkwardly. However, Seo Dawon didn’t seem to object and remained silent.
     After a pause, Kim Sangyoon finally responded, “Yeah…”
     “And this guy,” I pointed towards Seo Dawon, “He’s on REALLY bad terms with Bae Jaemin. Same with me. Enough to kill him, actually.”
    Since Kim Sangyoon had his forehead plastered to the floor, I couldn’t read his expression. However, when I mentioned ‘killing,’ Bae Jaemin, he flinched and stopped breathing for a moment. As intended, he took my words seriously.
     However, the harsh words killed his courage to respond. I continued to speak, despite the tense atmosphere. “And Sangyoon-nim…You already know, right? There’s no use trying to flatter Bae Jaemin while Ahn Joosung exists. The two already act as if they are two halves of one body.”
    “……”
     “Bae Jaemin won’t care for anyone who has less than Ahn Joosung and his golden spoon. No matter how hard you crumple your pride, Sangyoon-nim, Bae Jaemin won’t ever pay attention to you.”
     Kim Sangyoon was still silent.
     Though, when Seo Dawon whispered, “Honestly, you already figured that out, haven’t you?” Sangyoon nodded softly. To some extent, our persuasions had some effect on the man.
     I spoke again with a little more confidence, “Ahn Joosung is living quite nicely thanks to Bae Jaemin, right? You may have talent, but talent is worth half of money and connections. Sangyoon-nim may be one of the most famous Warriors now, but what about 1 or 2 years later?”
     I blurted out whatever complaints that I thought he may have, drawing all sorts of conclusions from his brief conversation with Seo Dawon.
     As a fan who regularly watched Kim Sangyoon’s streams, I knew how much pride he took in his ability.
     And since he was a User that was on the verge of breaking into the Ranker lists, he was sensitive to every small detail of raids. After venturing into a Dungeon with him and his party, I could guess how much he detested losing everything to someone like Ahn Joosung.
     In addition, he was well known for relentlessly picking fights with Users who compare him to others in livestream chats. In particular, if the compared party was a Warrior, he would be in a bad mood for the entirety of the stream. Long-time fans have learned to refrain from making jokes that would provoke Kim Sangyoon’s sensitive nature….
     It occurred to me that a man with such pride could not stand someone like Ahn Joosung, who masked his incompetence with his social status.
     Kim Sangyoon must hate Ahn Joosung as much as the latter hates him.
     Additionally, Kim Sangyoon was obviously afraid of the man as much as he hated him. More than his overwhelming background, Kim Sangyoon was struck with the foreboding premonition that someday Ahn Joosung would overtake him through the sheer brunt force of his resources.
      He was driven to ridiculous acts such as breaking into another’s home in this anxious state of mind, pressured by the helplessness of his situation.
     “……” Kim Sangyoon did not confirm nor deny anything after I quieted down.
      But his thick hands shook, tearing and grasping at the garden lawn. Seo Dawon and I waited for him in silence, waiting for his tremors to pass.
     Shortly afterward, Kim Sangyoon said with a hoarse voice, “…Will you also kill Ahn Joosung?”
     “Yes.”
     “….Do you have a way to kill them without incurring consequences?”
     Good.
     Kim Sangyoon had been completely tempted through our manipulations. Seo Dawon and I exchanged meaningful glances.
     “Raise your head.” Seo Dawon ordered.
     The Warrior flinched but slowly raised his head like an obedient dog. When I looked into his eyes, it looked as if Kim Sangyoon aged 10 years during the interrogation.

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     He then carefully turned towards Seo Dawon. The ghostly Mage’s face was scrutinized, every inch and pore; Kim Sangyoon gasped in astonishment, “S-Seo Dawon….!”
     Seo Dawon smiled at the Warrior, who was frozen in disbelief. “Now you know why we want to kill Bae Jaemin.”
     “This is ridiculous…! Ah, Then…Don’t tell me, at the Tower of Command….?!”
     “Well, we can talk about that kind of thing gradually.” Seo Dawon cut off Kim Sangyoon’s rambles and sent Kim Sangyoon a [vow of submission].
     A red parchment-shaped system message floated over to Kim Sangyoon and unfurled before his eyes. Kim Sangyoon began to read the contract with a confused expression, “Vow of submission….?”
     “I’ve set some ground rules that our party must follow. Read it out loud.” Seo Dawon said.
     “….One. I, Kim Sangyoon, will obey Choi Lee-kyung’s order for the foreseeable future and must actively cooperate in his plans….”
     After reading the first rule, Kim Sangyoon glanced at Seo Dawon with a reluctant and vague expression. At the force of the Mage’s glare, he flinched and turned back to the parchment. “Two. I, Kim Sangyoon, will not tell anyone about this contract. Three. In return, I, Kim Sangyoon, will be protected by Choi Lee-kyung…..?”
     “You get the gist, right? Then sign your consent underneath your name.” Seo Dawon spoke as if the contract was fair and ordinary; Kim Sangyoon bit his lips but eventually raised his finger.
     While hesitantly writing, letter by letter, he asked, “Did all the other Red Lotus guild members survive as well?”
     Neither Seo Dawon nor I deigned to give him a response. He eventually yielded to our stubborn reticence and said, “I’m done….”
 
          ╔═════════ ∘◦ ✾ ◦∘ ══════════╗
‘Vow of Submission’ is now in effect.
You’ve subdued your opponent through force and made him agree to a humiliating contract! The influence of evil has grown within, resulting in an increase to dark or curse attribute attacks by +0.1%.
          ╚═════════ ∘◦ ❈ ◦∘ ══════════╝
 
     An uncomfortable message popped up as soon as Kim Sangyoon signed the parchment. The signed contract returned to my hand and disappeared into the system space.
     Because Necromancers are evil in nature, will doing horrid things like this benefit me…? This train of thought was rudely interrupted by an alarm.
 
          ╔═════════ ∘◦ ✾ ◦∘ ══════════╗
Servant ‘Seo Dawon’s’ summon duration period has ended. There’s a 23:59:59 second cooldown before he can be resummoned.
          ╚═════════ ∘◦ ❈ ◦∘ ══════════╝
 
     The surroundings suddenly brightened; the moon in the sky returned to its ordinary yellowish hue. The gloomy atmosphere had changed completely.
     While I could still see Seo Dawon, Kim Sangyoon had lost sight of him. “Huh? Seo Dawon-nim…Where did he go?” He asked, with a visibly perplexed expression.
     “It seems the max time we have is just 30 minutes.” Seo Dawon said, mouth set in a grim line. He seemed to be calculating something.
     I looked back at Kim Sangyoon awkwardly, “Please wait a moment. There’s something I need to do…”
     Turning away from the warrior, I returned my attention back to Seo Dawon’s mumbles. “I’m glad we finished the interrogation before the summoning ended. Let’s go to the Dungeons with Kim Sangyoon tomorrow.”
     “……Hm……” I agonized to find the proper answer to his comment and to the strange ways events unfolded this evening.
     For now, I decided to address Kim Sangyoon, who continued to tremble in my yard with a slack face. I felt guilty as I looked upon his pale, large, and sweaty body, alongside the piss stain on his pants. Though it was all Seo Dawon’s doing…somehow I also felt at fault.
     “Excuse me…For now, why don’t you dry your clothes inside?” I asked.
     “Ahh…Yes.” Finally aware of his own shameful appearance, Kim Sangyoon flushed a bright red and followed behind me.
     Seo Dawon, the instigator for this entire mess, complained, “You’re actually allowing a guy like that into our house?”
 
 
TL: MC – *wondering what to call Seo Dawon*…..He’s a “friend”
(Tbf, any other explanation would bring raised eyebrows no matter what he said)

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