CHAPTER 88
We left our money with the Adventurer's Guild.
There was no way the Guild Master, Evans, would try anything funny now.
He would undoubtedly look into me on his own.
And with every truth he uncovered, he would grasp the danger more and more.
From now on, whenever he saw me, he would bow his head and do whatever it took to be obsequious.
He was at least sharp enough to do that.
And this wouldn't be limited to just Evans.
I had made a number of moves recently.
Just back in Nox, the Owner of Nox herself saw me with the Sword Lord.
She hadn't paid me much mind at the time, but as time passed, the story would change.
She, too, would eventually retrace the events surrounding the Red Flame Lord.
Of course, it was unlikely my name would come up in that investigation.
The Dog Keeper who might have told them about my Resurrection magic was already dead.
When I asked the Madame of Monghwagol, she had been thrilled to make the arrangements.
It was the Dog Keeper’s just deserts.
But apart from the Owner of Nox, the number of people growing suspicious of me was increasing.
The Saintess, Lua, whom I had met.
I still vividly remembered the covetous look in her eyes, visible through her pure white vestments.
She had taken an interest in me and had me investigated.
As a result, she must have deduced many facts from the path I've walked.
That meant that one day, scum like Black Dawn or the Radiance Faith might learn of my existence.
I had done plenty of things myself.
It wouldn't be strange for my existence to be gradually revealed to the outside world.
The pieces of the picture I was painting were falling into place.
This recent expedition into the 2nd World was the most crucial card.
‘I should probably contact Inferno soon.’
To Ririran or the Sword Lord, it must look like I'm walking a very precarious tightrope.
In fact, I felt that way myself.
But that very precarity would soon become my shield.
The danger inherent in Resurrection magic.
Those who knew its risks would never hand me over to the enemy.
I cannot die.
For that very reason, those who hunt me will only grow more desperate.
Because no matter how many times they kill my allies, or how many times they kill me, the dead will just keep coming back.

“Harua, what have you been thinking about so hard all this time?”
I turned to my side to see Aranseol tilting her head as she asked.
It was a fair question, as I had been walking lost in thought ever since we left the Adventurer's Guild.
“It’s nothing.”
I’m fine.
I could die any number of times; my mental fortitude had already surpassed its breaking point, so I didn't care.
I’ll just come back to life anyway.
That was the mindset I lived with, so it didn't really affect me.
But would Aranseol be the same?
Would Babiyen or Horizon?
For them, death was not a guaranteed return.
If they stayed by my side, they could one day face an irreversible death.
As a form of insurance, I had Ririran store one of each of their fingers, but even that wasn't a perfect safety net.
The situation was growing to an uncontrollable scale.
Could Aranseol endure such a storm?
Or rather, was there any reason she had to endure it in the first place?
‘…What am I even thinking?’
I knew my relationship with Aranseol had grown stronger than before.
But to think I was having these kinds of worries.
It was laughable, especially for someone who detested the people of this world.
“Aranseol.”
“Hm?”
“If I told you to abandon me and run without looking back, would you do it?”
But the words left my mouth of their own accord.
For some reason, I felt I had to hear her answer.
Aranseol stared at me blankly for a moment, then her eyebrows shot up.
“Instead of asking me to protect you, you’d tell me to run?”
“I’ll just come back to life anyway. And given the nature of my Ability, my enemies would much rather try to recruit me.”
The road ahead.
There’s no telling what might happen.
Black Dawn’s actions were growing more radical, and they were moving forward with their plan.
In the midst of it all, my existence would become more and more prominent.
Anyone could see I was positioning myself in the eye of the storm.
“Harua, do you like dying?”
Hearing her next question, I blinked.
It was completely unexpected.
“I hate dying. I learned how terrifying it is through you, Harua.”
To disappear from this world.
That sensation is truly horrifying, and so fleeting.
It was something only Aranseol, who had experienced death, could say.
“So I don't want you to experience death. I hope that because I'm here, you'll have to die even one less time.”
“You know I’m heading down an increasingly dangerous path.”
“I do. That’s why I’m trying so hard to walk it with you.”

Aranseol pushed her head forward and gently thumped my chest.
“So you keep walking too, Harua. If you fall, I’ll be there to pick you up.”
Is that so?
For some reason, a short laugh escaped my lips.
I raised my hand and playfully ruffled Aranseol’s hair.
“Hey, what was that for?”
“I just felt like it.”
My mind felt at ease.
Conversely, my resolve hardened.
I’ll get stronger.
I’ll become so strong that no one can ever hold me back.
It was with that resolution that I returned to the inn.
“Harua.”
A familiar face was there.
A thick beard and a disheveled face beneath a worn-out robe.
But the darkness that had once clouded his face was gone.
The moment I saw him, my expression instantly brightened.
“Bulldog-ssi!”
Bulldog. He had finally returned from the Radiance Faith.

Bulldog, who had left to find his wife’s soul.
I breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that he had finally returned.
So he did make it back.
“Harua.”
“We can talk later. Let’s go to your house first.”
Returning his wife’s soul was the priority. He wore a choked-up expression before nodding his head.
Bulldog-ssi led the way, and I followed behind him.
“Aranseol, you should go on ahead and rest.”
“But…”
“It’s fine. I’ll be done in a minute.”
Aranseol looked at me for a moment, but instead of listening, she followed right along.
“I still want to go with you.”
She’s stubborn.
If that's what she wanted, there was nothing I could do.
Together with Aranseol, I headed for Bulldog-ssi’s house.
A short while later, we arrived. Inside, his wife lay quietly on the bed.
She was still breathing, but her eyes remained closed.
I’d heard that before Bulldog-ssi left, he had informed his son of the situation.
His son had apparently been coming almost every day to look after her.
Looking closely, I could see various magical tools placed around to ensure she could survive even while asleep.
The money Bulldog-ssi’s son had saved for his wedding was being spent here.
“Elena.”
Bulldog-ssi’s face was filled with emotion.
It seemed he had come looking for me right after returning, without even stopping by his house first.
He must have sought me out because he didn't know what might happen if he tried it alone.
It was the right choice.
When it came to resurrection, there was no greater expert than me.
“Where is the soul?”
“It’s in here.”
Bulldog-ssi fumbled with his robe and pulled it aside.
There was a small, strangely shaped jar.
It was about the size of a forearm.
Mi-myeong fluttered out from my chest.
It circled around the jar.
Mi-myeong was a being close to a spirit body.
Judging by its reaction, it seemed he had found the right one.
“Do you know what to do now?”
“They said I should open the jar near the body.”
A hint of anxiety flickered across his face.
He was nervous because he had never done this before, and there was a chance of failure.
“Don’t worry even if it doesn’t work. As long as the soul is released, my Resurrection magic should work properly.”
Of course, in that process, his wife would have to stop breathing again, but that was fine.
I would revive her immediately with Resurrection magic.
“Right. I trust you.”
Bulldog-ssi took a deep breath and stood before the bed.
Then, he slowly opened the lid of the jar.
The inside of the jar was empty.
To us, who were not spirit bodies, there was nothing to see.
But Mi-myeong was different.
The creature fluttered up and circled the jar.
Then, it approached the wife’s face.
It looked as if it were guiding the soul.
My little Mi-myeong was working hard.
I also found myself tense as time passed.
“Ugh, mmm…”
A voice came from the wife’s lips.
The color drained from Bulldog-ssi’s face.
He put down the jar and rushed to his wife’s side.
“Elena!”
As Bulldog-ssi cried out, his wife’s eyelids slowly opened.
She stared blankly at Bulldog-ssi for a moment, then tilted her head.
“...You?”
“Elena, thank goodness. I’m so glad!”
He embraced his wife and burst into tears.
His wife, for her part, looked completely bewildered.
Watching the two of them, I felt some of the tension leave my own body.
Thankfully, everything had gone as we’d hoped.
“Harua.”
Aranseol came up and patted my shoulder.

She, too, was telling me I’d done well.
Yes, I’m glad things worked out.
Mi-myeong fluttered over to me.
It hadn’t done anything visible, but I raised my hand to praise it for a job well done.
Mi-myeong landed on my palm and tickled it with its downy fluff.
Just as I was wondering what it was doing, my body froze.
I stared silently at Mi-myeong.
Naturally, Mi-myeong offered no reply.
It had simply conveyed a single fact to me.
“Bulldog-ssi.”
“Ah, yes, Harua. Thank you so much. This is all thanks to you.”
“Of course. But shouldn’t you call your son over?”
His mother had woken up.
The son would surely want to hear the news as soon as possible.
Bulldog-ssi seemed to agree with me and nodded.
“Right, I have to get him.”
“I’ll watch your wife. I need to check her condition anyway.”
“Got it. I’ll be right back!”
With that, Bulldog-ssi dashed outside.
The normally composed man was in a tizzy now that his wife was back.
And because of that, there were things he couldn't notice.
I pulled a chair over and sat in front of his wife.
“Elena-ssi, it’s been a while. I know you must be confused, but I’d like to check your health. Could you give me your arm for a moment?”
“Ah, yes, Harua-ssi. What in the world is going on?”
I checked the arm she extended; her pulse was beating normally.
Confirming this, I quietly wrapped my hand around her wrist.
“What’s going on? How dare you spout such nonsense after grafting an Apostle onto a person's soul.”
At my next words, the wife’s body froze solid.
But it was only for a moment.
Her pupils turned crimson, forming the shape of a bizarre crown.
A wave of crimson malice swirled around her.
I knew this feeling all too well.
The Radiance Faith.
This was the red divine power harbored by those pieces of trash.
“Harua!”
“Aranseol, block the door.”
I instructed Aranseol, who had drawn her sword, and quietly looked at the wife.
“Wow, how did you notice?”
She smiled refreshingly.
And I had seen the one inside her before.
To be precise, it was someone I could never forget for the rest of my life.
“Bloody Crown.”
The Archbishop of the Radiance Faith, who serves the Transcendent, the Owner of the Lazy Throne.
The Red Crown.
Bloody Crown.

He was the son of a bitch who ordered my limbs to be torn off.