SQUELCH.
The boy collapsed as an arrow pierced through his chest.
“Got him! I caught the monster bastard over here!”
Over the knight’s excited shout, another noisy clamor overlapped in the boy’s ears.
-Get up! You have to get up, Noel!
Why were the ghosts, who could do nothing but chatter like this, saying that today of all days?
Noel’s body trembled as he pushed his upper body up.
“···Sh···ut up.”
He had no idea how many arrows had struck him, but blood was streaming down.
This was not good.
Still, Noel gritted his teeth and reached a hand behind him.
Black smoke whirled, and the ghosts that had done nothing but chatter noisily took form.
-Hurry and run!
He knew.
He had run yesterday.
He was running today.
And he would have to run tomorrow, too.
“The monster, the monster bastard’s power is······ Aaagh!”
Screams rang out from where the knights had been.
In the meantime, someone riding a black horse snatched Noel up and galloped away.
“······Noel!”
It was his mother.
She pulled Noel tight into her arms.
“Are you··· all right?”
The child was so cold that fear surged up in her all at once.
She was afraid even to speak.
“······Mother.”
“Hold on. You have to hold on. You have to hold on no matter what.”
He needed to hurry and tell her he would hold on in response to those words she kept repeating, but he was so sleepy.
His mouth would not move.
‘······I’m tired.’
Is that why?
‘Then again, I’ve been hunted, forced to hide... Of course I’m exhausted by now.’
What did it matter that the emperor had been killed by a necromancer like him?
For all anyone knew, the man had been so weak-hearted he saw his own shadow at night and died of a heart attack.
The bastard had been dead for ages, and yet the current emperor was still wiping every last necromancer from the empire to avenge his father.
What had he done wrong?
He had been hunted every moment.
Starved.
Spent over ten years unable to sleep at night.
He was sick of it.
“······Noel! Noel!”
But since his mother was calling him so desperately, he had to hold on, did he not?
‘Please don’t worry. ···I’ll be all right today, too.’
Noel smiled and slowly closed his eyes.
***
THROB.
A violent pain brought the man to his senses.
WEE-OO, WEE-OO.
The noisy sound made his whole head ring.
It was a sound he had never heard in his life, yet it felt strangely familiar.
“Moth······.”
He stopped just as he was about to call for his mother, and the moment he opened his eyes, his breath caught.
A ghost with its head crushed and blood streaming down was staring at him.
“···Move.”
The man spoke and reached out to sit up, then lowered his gaze at the damp sensation.
It was blood.
As he extended his hand, blood was dripping from it.
‘···Huh?’
It was not his hand.
His body had not finished growing yet, but his hand had become larger.
Why?
“Aaaah!”
“Someone, someone··· fell! Call 119!”
Screams rang out from all around, making his head ring.
-···Who are you?
‘What’s he talking about?’
At the ghost’s words, the man turned his head, and his eyes widened.
A completely unfamiliar scene unfolded before him, unfamiliar enough to make his heart race.
What was that enormous building, and what was that strange thing made of iron?
And yet he knew where this was and what those things were.
Words and knowledge he had never known poured haphazardly into his head.
In that contradictory situation, the man’s eyes rolled upward, and he collapsed.
***
“Patient Do Yeong-hyeon. How is your head feeling?”
At the doctor’s words, the man looked at the doctor from where he lay.
When he woke, he was told that the surgery had gone well and that there were no major abnormalities, but they would have to monitor his progress.
They said his guardian had come, but he did not know who that was, and there was a caregiver there.
“It does throb a little.”
“And your arm? Is it uncomfortable?”
The man looked at the cast, then shook his head.
He had heard something about screws being put in and whatnot.
“It’s fine.”
“Prescribe more painkillers.”
The doctor was whispering quietly to the nurse.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
The doctor left with a gentle smile.
The man smiled, too.
Once the curtain was drawn, the man stared at the ceiling and thought.
He was Noel Teurus.
But he had taken root in a body he did not know at all.
Its owner was the man floating up there by the ceiling with his head cracked open.
His name was Do Yeong-hyeon.
He was a young man who had only just come of age.
The cause of death was cardiac arrest brought on by a suicide jump.
He had fallen onto a car, so it seemed his body had escaped serious damage by luck.
‘Thanks to that, before death completely encroached on the body, my soul seems to have settled in, but only necromancy can make something like this possible.’
The power to communicate with souls, give souls physical form, and even borrow their strength.
Placing a lost soul into another body was also one branch of necromancy.
‘Does that exist in this world, too? No, before that, why did I··· move to a world like this?’
Still full of questions, Noel got up.
He pushed the IV stand and went outside.
Yeong-hyeon followed him, too.
After going outside, Noel sat on a bench near the hospital.
“All right, let’s talk. You must have questions for me, too.”
Noel looked at Yeong-hyeon.
-Who are you?
“Noel.”
At the name, Yeong-hyeon thought of a foreigner.
Anyone would hear it as a foreign name.
-Why are you··· occupying my body?
“That’s a funny thing for a dead person to ask. Any regrets?”
-No. I’m just curious. It’s fascinating.
“There are better things to find fascinating. If you’re dead, leave it at that and get lost. Don’t ask me to hear you out. Satisfied?”
Noel firmly waved his hand dismissively.
It seemed that even in a different world, ghosts were just as clingy.
In his original world, ghosts often came blindly seeking him out because he was a necromancer, then threatened him.
-By any chance, are my memories still in your head?
“Enough that I won’t have trouble living? Why?”
At that, Yeong-hyeon looked at Noel and hesitated.
-···So.
“Don’t do that. Don’t start making requests, saying it’s unfair or whatever. Or what? Are you going to threaten me?”
Because he was a necromancer, he could see ghosts, but aside from a very tiny number, he did not like them.
Did they not always struggle to do after death what they could have done before dying?
As if that changed anything.
Every time, he felt like extinguishing the soul itself, but that could lead to encroachment.
‘···If I’m encroached on, I have to soak my whole body in ice water until the encroachment drains away.’
How horrifying and annoying was that?
And even that was only a stopgap; if the encroachment grew severe, there was no answer.
-No! If you grant my request, I was going to help you and give you money, too.
Noel paused for a moment, then looked at Yeong-hyeon with startled eyes.
“······You’ll give me money?”
-Right. I’m dead, but you still have to live, don’t you? Then you’ll need money.
“Why···?”
-What do you mean, why? If you grant my request, I’d be really grateful. When you fainted, I wandered around nearby, but no one could see me. It felt strange.
Yeong-hyeon smiled, but it looked grotesque.
Noel extended a finger.
Black mist swept over Yeong-hyeon’s body, and his smashed head and the blood covering his entire body returned to normal.
“···You’re really strange.”
-Am I? Isn’t this normal?
“Seeing ghosts is strange. Aren’t you going to report me?”
That was exactly why he hated ghosts.
There were always traitors.
The same was true even among necromancers.
A ghost would recognize a necromancer and tattle to another necromancer.
Then the traitorous necromancer would inform the empire and get other necromancers killed.
How could he possibly like ghosts?
-What··· report are you talking about?
“There are people who see ghosts here, too. Won’t people like that be hunted or something?”
-Those people get paid, though.
At the mention of money, Noel’s eyes widened.
“They··· get paid?”
-Right. People go to them, praise them for being powerful, even cry and thank them. You don’t have that where you’re from?
At that absurd fact, Noel felt his common sense crumble.
They could see ghosts and still earn money.
They could see ghosts and not get reported.
They could see ghosts and not be hunted.
A world that fantastic existed?
Noel looked around.
Perhaps because it was a hospital, there were quite a lot of ghosts.
-Where are you going all of a sudden?
At Yeong-hyeon’s question, Noel replied lightly.
“To check if it’s true.”
Noel strode forward.
They seemed to be an elderly couple; the man was pushing the woman’s wheelchair.
They looked very affectionate.
But around the woman, a middle-aged male ghost was crying.
The situation clicked at once.
Noel blocked the two people’s path.
“Wait a moment. There’s a ghost attached to you right now.”
The two of them looked at Noel with bewildered expressions, but Noel asked the ghost without hesitation.
“Why are you crying?”
-···Y-you can see me?
“I asked why you’re crying.”
-Because I pity my wife. She suffered because of me all her life, and now she’s being deceived by that fraud.
“What are you··· doing right now?”
The man bristled.
“You there, stay still. Is that old lady rich?”
-Before I died, I took out a lot of insurance to help a friend of mine. You do not know how relieved I was after I died. But my wife··· came down with a terrible illness. It is all my fault.
The dead husband began crying again.
“I get it.”
Noel nodded lightly.
“You let it go. He seems to have hurt his head quite badly. Young man, we’re all right, so go back inside. It’s cold.”
The woman spoke carefully and smiled.
She seemed kind.
“Ma’am.”
“Yes.”
“That man is a fraud who came after your insurance.”
Noel pointed at the man.
At the gesture, the man flinched.
-I heard all his plans to steal my wife’s seal, secretly register a marriage, and then change the insurance beneficiary to himself.
“He says he’s planning to steal your seal, secretly register a marriage, and then change the insurance beneficiary to himself. Did you leave your seal with that old man?”
At what was no different from a finishing blow, the man flew into a rage.
“Y-you little bastard!”
“See? He’s acting like that because his conscience got pricked first. Your dead husband is crying because he’s so worried about you. He can’t go in peace like this. Cut that man off quickly.”
“Hey! What are you? What the hell are you?”
The man approached, looking at Noel as if he were completely insane.
-Tell them you’re a shaman. That’s what they call it here.
Yeong-hyeon quietly informed him.
He should help with a good deed, after all.
“I’m a shaman. I helped you now, so give me money.”
Noel held his hand out to the woman and shook it cockily.
The man grabbed Noel by the collar without warning.
“Are you insane? You treat someone like a fraud and then demand money?”
“Stop.”
“We’re going to the police station right now! Right now!”
“I told you to stop!”
At the woman’s words, the man looked at her, huffing with anger.
His expression was strange.
“···You. Don’t tell me you believe that lunatic?”
Despite the man’s question, the woman wheeled herself inside.
“You! Wait!”
The man followed her just like that.
Noel could hear him making excuses, but that was not important to him.
“···You lied to me.”
He glared at Yeong-hyeon.
He had not received any money.
Had he not just been treated like a madman again?
-A liar? Me? This is your fault.
“What?”
-Even if blurting things out without warning is normal where you’re from, at least here, anyone would hate being spoken to like that. There’s a reason people open shops and receive customers.
‘···Ah.’
Noel understood what he meant.
His own knowledge and the knowledge in Yeong-hyeon’s head kept colliding, making it quite difficult to find his balance.
In his original world, everyone knew ghosts existed, but not here.
“You’re right. I approached it wrong. You’re definitely going to be useful.”
He was a ghost absolutely necessary for adapting to this world.
“From now on, when I do something like this, you tell me.”
-That’s easy enough. Then······.
“···Wait. Let’s talk inside. It’s damn cold.”
Noel shivered and hurried back inside the hospital.
It was winter here, too.
***
“···This is your fault.”
Noel glared at Yeong-hyeon.
Perhaps because Yeong-hyeon was hovering around him, ghosts had begun to hover around him, too.
They even spoke to him, and it was so noisy he thought he might die.
His head already hurt like hell, too.
He did not even know how he had slept yesterday.
Who knew a day could be this long?
-But··· when they ask, how can I ignore them? They all feel the same way as me. At first, it was fun that no one could see me, but now it feels kind of strange.
“Then they should give me something.”
Noel dragged the IV stand outside again.
‘The ghosts here are definitely docile, though.’
The ghosts in his original world would ask politely once, then, if he refused, immediately threaten to tattle to another necromancer.
The ghosts here simply asked, then asked again.
The problem was that they did it all day long.
When he looked back, they were lining up and coming toward him.
“Ah, just go away!”
When Noel shouted, a passerby flinched and looked over, but there was nothing there.
They merely saw the bandage wrapped around his head, silently thought, ‘He must’ve hurt his head,’ and moved away.
Noel headed toward the place where he had first come out, then stopped.
-Please wait. It will only take a moment!
It was the dead husband he had seen then.
‘What a pain.’
He had only stopped for a moment, but a wheelchair quickly approached.
It was the old lady from then.
The person pushing it from behind was not the old man, but someone who looked like her daughter or caregiver.
“···Young man.”
The old lady spoke.
“What is it?”
“······Is he crying a lot?”
Noel raised his head and looked at the dead husband.
“He was crying then, but he isn’t now.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He’s smiling now. Looks like you got rid of that fraud.”
-Of course. She got rid of him, all right. My wife is as sharp as ever.
The ghost laughed loudly.
“Young man···.”
The old lady called Noel in a trembling voice and reached out.
Noel looked at that hand, then clasped it.
The old lady’s hand settled over the back of his own.
“Thank you, truly.”
When she gently stroked it, Noel froze in place.
It felt terribly unfamiliar.
“That money is the price of my husband’s life. I··· did not even know, and I kept a beast at my side.”
The old lady held out an envelope from her pocket.
“This is your shaman’s fee.”
Noel slowly received the envelope.
It was true.
He had only said he could see ghosts, and she had really given him money.
-Young man.
At the dead husband’s words, Noel turned his head. Light was winding around him.
He had let go of his lingering attachment and was preparing to leave.
-Thank you very much. Could you please tell my wife that I will go on ahead first, so she must take her time, live a long, long life, and come slowly?
Noel looked at the envelope.
He had been paid; why would he not do that much?
“Your late husband says he’ll go on ahead, so you should take your time and live a long, long life before coming.”
When Noel pointed with his finger, the old lady turned her head.
“Old man. I’ll live so long you’ll envy me, so go somewhere good now.”
When she smiled brightly, the dead husband also smiled brightly and disappeared, leaving behind shimmering light.
***
“···You were right.”
After returning to the hospital room, Noel looked at Yeong-hyeon.
“I can earn money, and I don’t get reported or hunted.”
The corner of Noel’s mouth lifted.
Had that not just been proven?
She had called it a shaman’s fee, and it contained a full 1,000,000 won.
He had earned money.
Was this not the first time he had earned money with this power?
“So what’s your request?”
-What? It was money?
One of the ghosts staring at him opened his mouth.
Noel’s gaze turned to that ghost.
It was a middle-aged man with a smooth, bald head.
He pointed at himself confidently.
-You should’ve said so sooner. I’ve got quite a lot. I hid it somewhere even my wife and kids don’t know about. That bothersome fellow is looking at us, but who cares? It’s not like that fellow is going to do it for us. What do you think of my offer?