***
‘···Wow. That evil spirit is really god-grade.’
As soon as Noel came near Sumi’s Side Dish Shop, he was slightly surprised.
If an ordinary evil spirit was on the level of a hornet’s nest, that thing was a calamity.
Ordinarily, he would have just ignored it and left.
But a good idea happened to occur to him.
‘I just happen to need a ghost I can call a god.’
There were largely three things a ghost that did not pass on could become.
An evil spirit.
A god-grade ghost.
A god.
Here, god-grade did not mean a real god.
It meant one who was not a god, yet could perform miracles that affected the living.
It was terminology from his own world, but what did that matter?
First, a god had to have an insane number of followers and had to be able to leave a mark on those followers, like a cross.
Therefore, the being Si-hoon believed in was a god.
The personal god a shaman served could be classified as a god-grade ghost.
‘Besides, it seems she’s aware she’ll become an evil spirit.’
She was holding her power in check so the erosion would not spread around her.
Seeing that meant she was maintaining some degree of reason.
‘But why is she messing with the shop owner’s child?’
That was the question.
That was all the information he could know before entering.
Even when he asked the other ghosts, even those talkative ones usually recoiled and fled in disgust.
After reaching a conclusion, Noel spoke to Yeong-hyeon before going inside.
“Older brother.”
-Hm?
“It’s dangerous, so you’ll have to wait here.”
At Noel’s words, Yeong-hyeon only looked at him with worried eyes.
-You really are okay, right?
“I don’t do things that cost me.”
-Then that’s a relief. Go on.
Only then did Yeong-hyeon smile brightly.
He had already seen and knew that Noel’s power was very strong.
He did not know what kind of power it was, but it was extremely special.
“I’ll be back soon. Don’t follow anyone.”
At Noel’s words, Yeong-hyeon reacted as if dumbfounded.
-That’s what I should be saying. Not everyone is kind, so stay on guard. Don’t give in to everyone just because they’re desperate. There are even people who demand your bundle after you save them.
When it looked like his words would grow long, Noel moved his feet as if fleeing.
-Noel! Don’t run away just because you think I’m nagging!
***
“···Excuse me. There’s a line here, you know?”
When Noel ignored the line and strode straight into the side dish shop, one of the waiting customers spoke up.
“I’m not here to buy side dishes.”
Noel looked at that customer, then slightly raised his head at the bird symbol on their forehead.
‘What’s that?’
An old woman was sitting upright.
When she opened her closed eyes, a pure, clear sensation surged toward him.
-Child. I will apologize in her stead. That child’s sense of justice burns too fiercely, you see.
With a god-grade evil spirit here right now, this one was no ordinary being if she could come this close.
What should he call that ghost?
‘She isn’t quite god-grade··· but she’s rather strong.’
-Child. If it’s all right, would you tell this child to throw away the large mirror at home? I will repay this kindness.
“Throw away the large mirror at home. Don’t go near it.”
Noel spoke without hesitation.
Regardless of what expression that customer made, it was right to stay on good terms with a ghost like this.
-Thank you.
The old woman clasped Noel’s hand.
He could feel her using power.
-You will find what you seek.
A bird symbol appeared on the back of his hand.
To think she could use this much power.
‘Do I need to add something besides god and god-grade ghost?’
-I am that child’s guardian spirit. It is an old promise as well.
At the old woman’s introduction, Noel nodded lightly.
It would be good if he could see her again later, and even if not, had he not received power from her now?
‘A guardian spirit? I should call it mid-tier god-grade.’
Thinking lightly, he tried to go forward, but did not turn his head at the “Excuse me” that caught his ear.
He had no business with that person anyway.
Ignoring the various words he heard from behind, Noel looked for the owner.
“Excuse me, customer.”
Even at the cautious question, Noel only said, “One moment,” and strode toward the owner.
Perhaps because the guardian spirit’s blessing had settled there a moment ago, a sword symbol was visible on the owner’s forehead.
However, no guardian spirit existed around the owner.
What did that mean?
“Customer?”
“Excuse me, customer. You can’t do this.”
The part-timer tried to stop him, but Noel deliberately held out his injured arm and stood in front of the owner.
Now that he had come this far, the evil spirit’s voice could be heard faintly from above.
-······Return it. Please··· return it.
Even after becoming an evil spirit, she was still pleading.
Was it because she was a guardian spirit?
“Shamans came in and out, and even gut rituals didn’t work, did they?”
“······.”
The owner did not open their mouth, but looked at him with distrustful eyes.
Noel understood well enough.
“Going to the hospital didn’t help, and no matter what you did, your daughter showed no sign of getting better, right? Is that all? The house keeps staying cold no matter how much you turn on the heating, doesn’t it?”
How much of a fraud did these words of his sound like, too?
But the owner would have no choice but to cling to him.
He was not the desperate side.
“The fee is usually paid in advance, but this time, let’s make it afterward.”
Noel made a great decision.
This way, the other side’s heart would soften at least somewhat, would it not?
“You have nothing to lose anyway, so guide me.”
At Noel’s voice and gaze, which pushed forward confidently, the owner wavered greatly.
***
The owner’s daughter was sick.
They did not know why.
Just one day, suddenly.
There was no way to explain it except with words like that.
Going to the hospital was useless.
This hospital and that hospital both said they could not find the name of the disease.
They went to churches, cathedrals, and temples.
Everyone said they did not know.
So the owner clung to shamans.
They gave as much money as the shamans asked for.
If they were told to hold a gut ritual, they held one, and if they were told to write talismans, they wrote them.
The result was that nothing changed.
Their daughter simply kept withering, on and on.
Every day, every day, it felt as though the ground might cave in beneath them, afraid she would die at this rate.
“There’s a guardian spirit here.”
The person who had been silently climbing the stairs suddenly spoke.
“···Pardon?”
A guardian spirit?
The owner’s gaze quickly sank.
“I understand. If there’s a guardian spirit, why is everything like this? That’s what you’re thinking, right?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“This is happening because that guardian spirit lost her damn mind for some reason.”
“···Pardon?”
“It’s bewildering, isn’t it? Same for me. I’ll go and soothe her properly.”
“W-wait a moment.”
“Yes.”
“······So.”
Sss.
The owner drew in a breath.
“You mean the shamanism side was··· correct?”
“Yes. It seems you were scammed quite a lot.”
“······.”
The owner’s face twisted completely.
“At least I don’t run scams. I haven’t even received money, have I?”
Noel extended his hand.
He was only pretending to be a shaman, but well, since their work overlapped, were they not roughly in the same field?
“Don’t come in. And··· um, it may get noisy. But I’ll try to make sure there’s no damage.”
“Should I··· close the shop?”
“No. You need a lot of money right now, don’t you? Keep doing business. You’ll need money to give me, too.”
If the owner continued doing business even with a sick daughter at home, they must have been scammed quite badly.
But what could be done?
The desperate side always had no choice but to bend first.
“I don’t need anything, so I’ll come down when it’s all over.”
Noel cut it off first.
He needed this, he needed that.
That person must have heard endless demands like that.
He had no idea why so many things were needed to exorcise an evil spirit.
“Go. And don’t come up until I come down.”
Noel smiled.
It was not as if watching would cause any problems.
It would simply bother him.
“Please··· I’m counting on you.”
The owner withdrew in a somewhat doubtful voice, but Noel understood.
In his original world, even though people knew necromancers existed and that ghosts existed, when this kind of thing happened, they would often look at him with distrustful eyes.
How much worse would it be here, where there were more people who thought ghosts did not exist than people who believed in them?
Before entering through the door, Noel extended a finger and drew a long line from left to right.
A black curtain appeared and flowed downward.
As it fluttered as if struck by wind, he reached out.
The black curtain soon turned into a black door.
It had no effect on the living, but it was a kind of barrier that blocked the dead from entering or leaving.
In places where the living stayed, the dead also had no choice but to go out through doors.
‘As if I could let my fake god get away.’
Noel grasped the door.
HISSSSS.
A sound rang out as though his hand were melting, but he did not mind.
‘So you made a barrier too, huh?’
Rather, black smoke whipped around in Noel’s grip, and the barrier made on the door was revealed.
Unreadable characters appeared everywhere.
But he could read them.
‘Because it’s language used by ghosts.’
Expulsion Command.
To put it simply, it meant get lost.
“You shouldn’t do this. You’ll hurt my feelings.”
Noel sneered and turned the doorknob.
Click.
With the sound of it opening, the barrier shattered.
He had been told the top floor was used as the home.
The door opened, and the sight revealed was astounding.
In this place, cold enough to make his skin ache, there was a black being that could not even maintain a shape.
Countless swords pierced the ghost’s body. Judging from their trembling appearance and the nature of their power, it seemed she had used her own power to suppress herself.
‘I’ll have to shake that off. The erosion is severe.’
The fierce cold made Noel’s lungs ache with every breath, but he strode forward.
After wrapping black smoke around one hand, he grabbed the black thing covering the guardian spirit’s body.
Then he snatched it away as if yanking off a blanket.
It was disgusting, filthy erosion, so his whole face twisted.
Pinching his nose with his injured arm, he shook off the erosion.
Each time it pattered down like dust, the black thing in his grip regained its original color.
‘It’s a cloak.’
It was a navy cloak studded with stars.
It was an object that belonged to the guardian spirit.
When the erosion left on the floor wriggled, Noel reached out.
Purple fire flared up.
When he threw it at the erosion, it burned in the purple fire.
It was fire that burned erosion.
As warmth circulated through the room, he turned his head and looked at the guardian spirit.
Only now could he see her form.
She wore clothing from the past, but he did not know what it was.
He merely felt that she seemed like a warrior.
“You’re the guardian spirit, right?”
Noel returned the cloak to the guardian spirit.
That had been blocking the erosion all this time.
-Who··· are you? How did you enter this place?
She spoke and looked at him, but even the whites of her eyes were dyed black.
The erosion had not fully drained away yet.
“Is that so important? You’re supposed to be a guardian spirit, so how did you end up like this?”
-···I ended up doing something I should never have done.
“You cursed the one you’re supposed to protect?”
-······.
Perhaps he had struck the mark. The guardian spirit bit her lip and even lowered her head.
-You should··· destroy me. I believe that with your power, you can do it.
“Are you insane? That would put me in trouble.”
-If you are thinking of divine punishment······.
“I don’t know what divine punishment is. If you were in the state you were in earlier, destroying you would’ve been fine, but not now.”
Because evil spirits were terrible stalkers, avoiding any dealings with them was the right move.
But he did not avoid a fight that came looking for him.
If it was an evil spirit stained by erosion, almost no encroachment occurred even if he destroyed it.
‘Right, not now. I went to the trouble of shaking the erosion off the cloak and even got rid of that erosion.’
-I have··· done something I should never have done.
The self-reproach began.
Those complaints gathered one by one to become erosion, and then built a shortcut toward becoming an evil spirit.
“From what I heard earlier, you were asking for something to be returned. What is it?”
Noel cut her off and asked.
There had to be a cause behind her becoming an evil spirit.
-······You heard?
“Yeah.”
-I had··· a sword. Even after death, it was my oath and symbol that I would protect this family.
“And that person took it?”
Noel pointed at the room.
One of the swords the guardian spirit had driven into her own body was embedded in that door.
Doors were important anywhere.
They were entrances and exits, and were they not the most important structure marking that this was a single territory?
Therefore, doing something like that to a bedroom door was an act of cursing not only that territory but also its owner.
-···Yes. I am bound to this place. I could not go retrieve that sword.
“With your power, you can enter dreams and tell people.”
-I already did. I asked her to return it. I begged her to return it. But··· she ignored me.
The erosion embedded in the guardian spirit’s eyes rippled.
-Countless times.
The temperature around them began to drop again in time with her chilled voice.
-I begged truly countless times.
The corners of her mouth rose.
Little by little, she began to laugh.
It warped into a spine-chilling sound.
-···Is this all I receive in return for protecting this family? If the price of my protection is to be abandoned like this······.
CLAP!
Noel clapped his hands together.
It was not a simple sound.
A bell chime clear enough to pierce through sullied ears followed behind it, and the guardian spirit startled violently as she came to her senses.
“Are you lucid now?”
-······.
The guardian spirit’s gaze changed.
She was looking at Noel as a being whose identity she could not know.
But she closed both eyes and greeted him.
-Thank you. I am truly grateful.
‘Not bad.’
Ghosts who said thank you despite possessing power were rare.
He liked her even more.
“I’ll find that sword for you, so come to me. I just happen to need a fake god.”
Noel reached out his hand.
Even in the eyes of a shaman, she would surely look like an extremely impressive god.