Chapter 230

After leaving the cafe, I walked with In-Ah to her house. Since we were heading in the same direction, I figured I might as well accompany her all the way home.

I glanced at her. She was walking toward her house silently with a troubled expression. It seemed like she was deeply lost in thought.

"...When will you start going to school?"

In-Ah eventually broke the long silence. I stared into her eyes, which seemed to be filled with sadness for some reason. "I would need to go during the period before and after the exam, right?”

"Then you’ll be coming soon."

"That's right. Probably in about two weeks..."

There were about two weeks left until the exam period. At that time, whether I liked it or not, I would have to go to school. Healing Yoon-Ah was important, but doing well on the exams was important too.

The reason I enrolled in Florence Academy was to become a prelate and qualify to enter the underground prison where my mother was being held captive. If I used Yu-Hyun, I could qualify to enter the underground prison sooner than planned, but there was no guarantee that he would move according to my wishes.

So I had to prepare everything from Plan A to Plan B and Plan C.

"I'll go in two weeks."

Since that was the case, I had to cure Yoon-Ah within weeks before the start of the exams. Two weeks seemed a bit tight, but I needed to cure her in at least three weeks. That way, there wouldn’t be any disruptions when studying for the exams. After all, I wanted Yoo-Ah and In-Ah to reunite as soon as possible.

“You say that, but you’re not going to come after two weeks, right?” In-Ah replied bluntly.

She pouted. I hadn’t seen her like that for a while, so I couldn’t help but snicker.

"I really am going to come."

"Make sure to come. It’s boring being alone at school.”

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“Don’t you have a lot of friends? Just hang out with them.”

“I don’t have any friends. At least none like you.”

"...Did you really have to add that last part?"

In-Ah smirked after hearing my response. We talked while walking, and before we knew it, we suddenly found ourselves in front of her house. After exchanging goodbyes and seeing her enter her house, I turned to go back to the underground chapel.

At that moment, In-Ah quickly came out of the house again and grabbed my wrist as I was about to leave.

"...Do you want to go a bit later?" In-Ah asked in a slightly urgent tone.

I was so taken aback by what she said that I looked at her blankly, unable to come up with a response.

She held my wrist while looking up at me. Eventually, she lowered her gaze and continued, "I-I was just saying... There’s no one else at home anyway...”

Seeing her rambling a bunch of excuses, I nodded and replied, "I'll come later."

I still hadn’t cured Yoon-Ah. I had to go back to the underground chapel quickly. Above all, I didn't think I would feel comfortable staying at In-Ah's house when Yoon-Ah hadn't fully recovered yet.

In-Ah slowly nodded and let go of my wrist.

"...Okay, be careful on the way home."

Then she went into her house. I watched her enter her house before returning to the underground chapel.

* * *

I hadn't been at school for a few weeks, but I had to briefly visit the school due to dispatch training. It was time for the students to gain practical work experience by working where actual clergymen worked, such as the Paladin Order, Crusader Order, and Priest Order. All students had to choose a place they wanted to undergo dispatch training and submit an application. I also went to school to submit my application.

Normally, after submitting the application and passing the first round of document screening, each student would have an interview and receive a final acceptance notice to undergo dispatch training at their chosen place. However, thanks to Han Dae-Ho, I was assigned directly to the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch without going through procedures such as a document check or an interview.

There wasn’t much for me to do. I just had to occasionally go to the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch and perform some miscellaneous tasks whenever they called me over. They said that the real practical work would be assigned after the exams were over. They also said that doing it this way was more convenient for both the Paladin Order and the students.

I spent the rest of the time practicing the reverse spell technique in the underground chapel. I only used the technique on Yoon-Ah.

"Ugh."

I used the reverse spell technique on Yoon-Ah a few times and spewed out some blood as a result. When I went outside my room to take a break, I encountered Soo-Yeong. Upon seeing me, she furrowed her brows and took a few steps back. I felt a little hurt by that.

"You're so openly disgusted by me."

"It's not that I'm disgusted... Go look in the mirror. What's up with your appearance?"

"Wh-what's wrong?"

"Ah, just go wash up quickly!" Soo-Yeong yelled angrily.

I went to the bathroom and examined my face in the mirror. There was a lot of blood on my face and clothes. My eyes were bloodshot, and my lips were dry and cracked. I didn't look like a living person. I could see why Soo-Yeong had been startled.

I washed up, drank some water, and quickly ate a meal. I wasn't hungry, but I figured it would be best to eat something. While I was eating, Soo-Yeong sat across from me.

"What are you doing all the time? Is it because of that girl who turned into a zombie?”

"How do you know about that?"

"I heard it from Ji-Ah," Soo-Yeong said nonchalantly.

I nodded and continued eating. Nothing would change even if she knew. There was no particular need to hide this information from Soo-Yeong.

She silently watched me eat. Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, I put down my utensils and looked at her.

"Why do you keep staring at me? I can't eat with you watching."

Soo-Yeong hesitated and said, "Um, can I also take a look at her?"

“What?”

Upon hearing my dumbfounded response, she mumbled, "The girl you said had turned into a zombie. I want to see what condition she's in. And if there’s anything I can do to help, then I want to do so.”

"The best way for you to help is to stay still.”

“...Ah, is that so? Never mind then. You do it yourself. Keep bleeding out like that every day and just die then," Soo-Yeong grumbled.

Although her words were harsh, I could sense concern in her tone.

I ignored her and contemplated while eating. I wondered if it would be okay to show her Yoon-Ah's condition. I wondered if she wouldn't be shocked... or anything like that.

Once I made up my mind, I put down my spoon and said, "I’m going to eat this and go back into my room, so you can come along too.”

I didn’t plan on dying anytime soon, but if I did, Soo-Yeong would become the Cult Leader. Although she didn’t know how to use it at the moment, there would come a day when she would need to use the zombification spell. That was why she had to see as well.

She needed to understand what the zombification spell was and why it shouldn't be abused.

"Really? Is that really okay?”

“There's no reason why you can’t. However, you are only allowed to watch from the side. Don’t do anything. You’re not allowed to unleash Voodoo magic either.”

"Okay, so I just have to stay still, right?"

"Exactly," I said with a nod.

I needed to warn her clearly about this.

The Staff of Reversal, or the poteau mitan, was capricious. It might not only absorb the Voodoo magic that I unleashed, but it might also unintentionally absorb any Voodoo magic from Soo-Yeong too. If that happened, a spell that I didn’t intend to use might be cast, causing harm not only to Yoon-Ah but also to Soo-Yeong.

I finished eating and got up from my seat. Then I headed toward Yoon-Ah’s room and Soo-Yeong followed me. I entered the room with the staff in hand. There, we saw Yoon-Ah sitting there quietly, waiting for me.

"Is it her?" Soo-Yeong said.

Soo-Yeong’s reaction was calmer than I expected. I thought she would be surprised to see her for the first time, but instead, she nonchalantly approached Yoon-Ah.

Then, she carefully examined Yoon-Ah's face. Yoon-Ah blinked and looked at Soo-Yeong. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a while.

"...She’s really pretty. When she’s standing still, she’s like a doll.”

"Be quiet!"

"Ah, that scared me. What the—?"

"She probably doesn’t actually want us to be quiet. That’s the only thing she knows how to say at the moment.”

"Ah... I see," Soo-Yeong said as if relieved.

After unleashing Voodoo magic, I directed the spell to the staff and said, "Do you know why she turned out like this?"

Soo-Yeong nodded. "I have a rough idea from Ji-Ah."

She looked at Yoon-Ah for a while and said, "...Poor thing."

Soo-Yeong's expression, which was always bright, was dark at the moment. I briefly put down the staff and watched the two of them.

What did Soo-Yeong feel when she saw Yoon-Ah? Probably not much different from what I was feeling right now. Sometimes I wondered whether it would be fine to let go of all the hatred and live my life like my uncle had said after healing Yoon-Ah.

I wouldn’t have to think about the Holy War anymore, and I could just live in peace. I wouldn't have to hate anyone, and no one would have to hate me. I wondered if it would be fine if I lived while being satisfied with the small, happy moments in life.

I thought about such things whenever I saw Yoon-Ah because I wished there wouldn’t be any more people who would end up like Yoon-Ah, Soo-Yeong, or myself.

Some might call it the thoughts of a deadbeat, but still...

Clank!

"Cult Leader."

Someone opened the door and entered. It was Ji-Ah. She had said that she would stay in the Gyeongsang Branch's underground chapel for a while to deliver something to Gyeongsang Branch executive Yuk Eun-Hyung. However, she was back earlier than expected.

It was strange. I frowned. Not because she had returned earlier than expected, but because her arm was wrapped in bandages. That wasn't the work of a doctor. It seemed like she had wrapped the bandages as best as she could to stop the bleeding.

"Nuna?"

"Kyaa...! Your arm! You’ve got blood on your arm!" Soo-Yeong screamed, pointing at Ji-Ah's arm.

I put down the staff and approached her.

I examined Ji-Ah's left arm. Several layers of bandages were tightly wrapped around her arm. However, despite this fact, the bandages were already soaked with blood. The blood that the bandages couldn't absorb dripped onto the floor.

Ji-Ah was sweating and struggling to support herself with her shaky legs. Her eyes, which were looking up at me, barely had any focus. She looked dangerously unstable as if she could lose consciousness and collapse at any moment.

As I supported her, Ji-Ah untied the bandages wrapped around her arm and said, "I'm really sorry. I’ll leave the treatment to you, Cult Leader."

I looked at her arm, which was covered with bandages. There was a gunshot wound on her arm, and blood was gushing out of the hole.

I quickly covered the hole with my palm. My heart was racing. Breathing became difficult.

I barely managed to catch my breath. "How... did this happen?"

Ji-Ah collected her breathing in my arms and then said, "...The Gyeongsang Branch and Executive Yuk Eun-Hyung are under attack."