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Chapter 254

I nodded in farewell to Han Dae-Ho. I was on my way back to the dormitory after finishing my duties at the Paladin Order as usual when I received a call from In-Ah.

She had been calling me a lot lately. The reasons were diverse. For example, she would call because she had nothing to do at night, or because she couldn\'t focus on studying, or because it was too dark after she finished her duties at the priesthood.

I answered the call, wondering what reason she would have today.

—Cough, hello?

"What is it?"

—Um... What are you doing this weekend? Do you have any plans?

I contemplated for a moment after hearing In-Ah\'s question. I had promised Yuk Eun-Hyung that I would arrange a place for his mercenary corps to stay and train, so I had planned to meet him this weekend. Other than that, it seemed like I would have a day left on the weekend. Since I no longer needed to treat Yoon-Ah, I had an unusually large amount of free time.

"I don’t have a plan. Why? Do you want to meet?"

—Huh? Oh, sure! I was thinking about hanging out before the exam period starts.

"Okay. What time do you want to meet?"

As we talked, I found myself in front of the dormitory. In-Ah hesitated before speaking up.

—Um... how about four o\'clock?

"Sounds good. Let\'s meet at the school gate at four then. I’m gonna hang up now."

—Huh? Wait, wait. Don\'t hang up.

I tried to end the call, but In-Ah urgently stopped me. I bowed to the dormitory supervisor and went into my room.

Feeling thirsty, I poured myself a glass of water. I planned to drink it right after ending the call with In-Ah, but she didn\'t let me hang up. Every time I tried to end the call, she insisted I shouldn\'t.

"Why are you telling me not to hang up? Do you have more to say?"

—...I was thinking about suggesting that we meet in front of my house instead of the school gate.

In-Ah mumbled incoherently.

I couldn\'t find the right words to respond with, so I stayed silent.

—No, I mean, my parents mentioned they wanted to see you last time, so I figured... I’m not the only one at home. My sister is here, and my parents are also here.

"Ah, let\'s do that, then."

—...I’ll hang up!

Beep.

After saying what she had to say, In-Ah hastily hung up the phone. I glanced at the disconnected phone for a moment, then gulped down the water I had been sipping. My foggy mind suddenly cleared up. At that moment, Damballa slowly slithered out toward me from her hiding spot. She climbed up my body onto my shoulder.

[What a cute child.]

"Can you hear her voice from the phone?"

[Of course. My hearing is sharp,] Damballa said, flicking her tongue.

I examined her head, but I couldn\'t figure out where her ears were.

***

On the weekend, I left the dormitory to meet In-Ah as planned. There was a chance that I would meet her parents, so I dressed neatly.

When I arrived at her house and called her, there was no answer. Pressing the doorbell yielded no response. I checked the time. It was exactly four o\'clock.

"What the?"

She abruptly told me to come to the front of her house, but when I finally arrived, she didn\'t come out, and I wondered what I was supposed to do.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door opened, and In-Ah came out.

"You\'re here? Sorry, I had something to do. I didn\'t know you were waiting outside. It\'s quite cold today. Come in quickly."

“...”

I didn\'t respond and just stared at In-Ah. She looked different from usual, which felt unfamiliar.

Her face, which had been pale and gaunt as if she was about to die, had a bit more flesh on it, and her smile when she saw me was bright and clear. She had dressed up a bit more than usual.

Suddenly, I remembered the first time she greeted me. Her lively appearance right now was as beautiful as, no, more beautiful than back then.

Perhaps I was staring too intently as In-Ah seemed flustered and shrank back.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Were you surprised because I look too pretty?"

"No... It\'s because I think you’ve gained some weight."

Slam!

Before I could finish my sentence, she closed the door. I stood there in shock, staring blankly at the closed door, then belatedly regained my composure and turned the doorknob. However, the door did not open. It seemed like she had locked the door.

I knocked on the door and said, "Hey, sorry. Can you please open the door? Hey, I said I’m sorry."

The locked door finally opened. However, the door chain was locked, so I still couldn\'t enter the house. In-Ah peered at me through the ajar door and said, "I\'ll give you another chance to answer. What did you say?"

"You look prettier because you’ve gained some weight."

"Hm... I\'m still not satisfied, but okay."

She finally opened the door for me. Finally, I could enter her house. The house was quiet. I couldn\'t see her younger sibling or parents. I looked around and asked, "Where are your parents? Are they not home right now?"

"Yeah, they should be back soon. My sister is sleeping in the room."

I had been prepared to greet them, but my plans were disrupted. If that was the case, she should have told me her parents planned to return late.

As I inwardly grumbled, Yoon-Ah, who was said to be sleeping in the room, opened the door and slowly came out.

“...”

Yoon-Ah, in her pajamas, stiffened as soon as she saw me. Then, she stared at me intently with a bewildered expression. Silence filled the air.

In-Ah alternated her gaze between Yoon-Ah and me before she said, "Oh, you\'re up? About what I mentioned last time, the one you were looking for—"

Slam!

Before In-Ah could finish her sentence, Yoon-Ah closed the door and went back into her room. Just before entering the room, her expression of extreme confusion still vividly lingered in my mind.

Even though I hadn\'t done anything wrong, I suddenly felt guilty. In-Ah looked at the door and let out a wry smile.

"Um, sorry. She feels a bit embarrassed, that\'s why. I told her you would come, but I guess she didn\'t realize it was right now."

"I understand... How is your sister doing?"

"Well, to be honest, I\'m not sure."

In-Ah then recounted the story of the day she was reunited with Yoon-Ah. Specifically, it was about the day she reunited with Yoon-Ah, was asked a few questions by the Paladin Order, and heard about Yoon-Ah\'s approximate condition from a healing priest.

Yoon-Ah\'s condition was quite good. She had some bruising, but it had healed, leaving only scars, and her nutrition and hygiene were also good.

There were some concerns about a decline in language ability, but it was not severe, and there were no major issues with other aspects of intelligence, including memory.

However, all memories from the time she was missing had completely disappeared, so it was impossible to know what had happened to her during that time. At first, she hadn’t even realized that she had been kidnapped and that she had been missing.

"There\'s still a lot we don’t know, but at least we found her. I was living my life thinking she was dead.”

"Yes, it\'s fortunate that we found her."

"Thank you."

"What\'s this all of a sudden?"

"You found her. That\'s why I\'m grateful! Can’t you understand that right away?" In-Ah shouted loudly, perhaps out of embarrassment.

I smiled and nodded, but I still felt uncomfortable about her gratitude toward me.

The Voodoo Cult was ultimately responsible for turning Yoon-Ah into a zombie, and it was also the Voodoo Cult that cured her. It was only natural for me as the Cult Leader to take responsibility for the actions committed by the Voodoo Cult.

At the very least, it wasn’t something that was worth receiving gratitude for. While it felt good to be thanked, it also made me uncomfortable.

"How is priesthood dispatch training going? It must be quite different from the Paladin Order," I said, breaking the silence and clearing my throat.

In-Ah had been sitting with a stern expression when she suddenly broke into a bright smile. "Oh, right! I was just about to mention that. I\'ve been receiving a lot of praise in the priesthood lately. They say I\'m doing a great job."

"Well, I’m not surprised. You’re quite smart, after all."

"Oh, it\'s quite overwhelming to receive praise from the school’s top student."

"Why are we talking about grades? This is completely unrelated."

I had achieved first place on the previous midterm exam with the help of Legba and Baron Samedi. It wasn\'t a result I had earned fairly, so instead of feeling proud, I felt embarrassed.

I mumbled a response, but In-Ah persistently teased me, clinging to the topic of grades. I wondered if she enjoyed seeing me flustered. We chatted about this and that, and before we knew it, it was already five o\'clock. For some reason, it felt like time was passing by quickly. I figured it was because I enjoyed talking with In-Ah.

"When are your parents coming?" I asked.

In-Ah looked at the clock before answering, "Hmm... around 6 o\'clock? Why? Are you hoping that they won’t come?"

"What are you talking about? I just want to greet them quickly."

"You seem flustered. Are you nervous?"

"No, not at all," I replied firmly because I was flustered.

She chuckled slyly and looked at me with narrowed eyes. While we were conversing, it turned six o\'clock, and In-Ah\'s parents returned. I stood up and greeted the two of them.

At first, her parents were surprised to see me, but after In-Ah explained, they smiled brightly and welcomed me.

"Your name is... Sun-Woo, right? I remember. In-Ah talks about you a lot."

"Ah, Mom! Why are you saying unnecessary things!"

The two of them were nice people. In-Ah\'s mother was a priest, and her father was a paladin. When I mentioned that I aspired to be a paladin, her father strongly expressed his disapproval.

He asked if I was curious about anything, so I asked him a few trivial questions. Her father kindly answered each of my questions.

"Oh, by the way, he got first place out of the whole school this time. I lost," In-Ah said.

"Aspiring paladins are usually smart and strong," In-Ah’s father said.

"You were almost at the bottom, right?" In-Ah’s mother said.

"There\'s always an exception," In-Ah’s father replied.

In-Ah\'s family and I gathered to discuss grades and Florence Academy. We also had casual and ordinary conversations like a typical household.

When In-Ah\'s father brought out the tea, Yoon-Ah also joined the conversation a little. Yoon-Ah hardly spoke and mostly listened.

When silence suddenly fell during the conversation, In-Ah\'s father said, "Thank you."

He did not add any other words besides ‘thank you.’ However, through his expression and tone, I could understand what he wanted to say and what emotion he wanted to convey when he said those words to me.

It didn\'t seem necessary to respond, so I just quietly smiled.

In-Ah\'s mother offered me a meal as it was getting dark outside, "Right, have you not had dinner yet? I\'ll prepare it, so why don\'t you eat before you leave?"

"Oh, it\'s okay. I\'ll get going now," I said as I shook my head and got up from my seat.

"Why? Isn\'t it better to eat a meal while you\'re here?"

"Yes, just have a meal before you go."

In-Ah and her parents expressed disappointment. Yoon-Ah, who had been sitting silently, also looked at me with wide eyes.

"Oh, I have plans to have dinner with my family. But thanks for the offer."

However, I packed my things and left without eating. I also declined In-Ah\'s offer to see me off. It was enjoyable to talk with her family. Her parents were kind and good people. In-Ah was the same.

Although I didn’t talk to Yoon-Ah, she was probably the same. They best fit the description of a harmonious and happy family.

However, the more I saw them, the more I felt like I shouldn\'t get involved. Even if I might not have been happy if I had been born into a normal family and had grown up normally rather than being part of the Voodoo Cult, what would it have been like?

As that thought crossed my mind, I began to feel nauseous. It felt like I was sitting in a place I shouldn\'t be.

Kaw—! Kaw—!

It was then that the sound of ravens crying broke the silence of the night. When I looked up, two ravens were perched on the fence, staring down at me.

Those were Jun-Hyuk\'s taxidermied ravens. I had seen them so often that it was no longer surprising for me to see them. I stared into one of the raven\'s murky eyes.

Flutter, flutter...

The ravens cautiously flapped their wings and perched in front of me. I sighed and closed my eyes tightly. Then, clenching my fist, I approached the ravens and said, "Ah, you... son of a bitch. Why do you keep coming to see me? Are you lonely?"

"No, it’s because you seem lonely. Kaw kaw!"

From its wide-open beak, I could hear Jun-Hyuk\'s eerie and unpleasant laughter.