Chapter 38
I returned to my house after completing my schedule for the day and lay in bed. I closed my eyes and tossed around for two hours, but I couldn’t sleep. Instead, it became harder to sleep as time passed.
I went outside to get some fresh air, but it was colder than I thought, and there was nowhere to go. So I had no choice but to go to the underground chapel. It was about two in the morning at that time.
“What the? You’re not sleeping?”
My uncle was reading a book in his usual place. I was wondering what kind of book it was, so I checked. As expected, it was a book about money. He was a very consistent person.
"Is that another economic book? We have a lot of money now. What’s the point of reading that?"
“That’s not right. If we have money, we should think about putting that money to work.”
“What if you end up losing money again?”
“Would you not go fishing just because you’re afraid of worms? There is always a risk to return.”
His words were not completely wrong. Uncle continued, "And you have to put money to work. If you leave it alone, it’ll slowly lose value."
"What are you talking about?"
“The amount of money remains the same, but prices go up every year.” Uncle shrugged his shoulders and said it as if it were an obvious fact. His explanation was not very clear, so I didn’t know exactly what he was trying to say, but I vaguely understood.
My uncle continued to drone on about money for a few minutes after that. It was some random rabble about supply and demand.
“—Thus, in conclusion! The source of the money can be obfuscated. In technical terms, it’s called money laundering.”
His lecture initially started with macroeconomics and investment advice but eventually shifted toward money laundering.
I was a novice in this field, so I had no idea what techniques he employed. In any case, my uncle was an expert in laundering illegally acquired funds so that the money could be used in the regular market.
"The money confiscated from Han Su-Yeop is in the process of being laundered right now.”
"How long does it take?"
"It takes two days minimum and a week maximum."
Apparently, the cash and commodities in Han Su-Yeop's room were in the process of being laundered. When I carefully asked the amount, he said, "Even if I give up my religious life, three generations can play and eat for the rest of their lives."
In any case, it meant that there was a ridiculous amount of money. It was an amount that easily covered the losses incurred from the stock investment from last time.
"Su-Yeop, get me some coffee."
"Ugh...”
With a groan, Han Su-Yeop went to make a cup of coffee. My uncle looked at Han Su-Yeop with a smug expression.
As a result of the fusion spell that I cast, Han Su-Yeop more or less became a zombie. However, he had not completely lost his intelligence, so it was possible to educate and train him. Thus, Han Su-Yeop became an errand boy for the underground chapel. The first thing that Uncle taught Han Su-Yeop was how to make coffee.
Soon, Han Su-Yeop served up coffee. My uncle accepted the cup and took a sip.
"It's a little bland. It's definitely convenient, but it’s a shame that he sucks at controlling the amount of water.”
"Aghhh...” Han Su-Yeop made a sound as if he was repenting for making a mistake. My uncle continued reading his book with the cup in his hand.
Although Han Su-Yeop had been punished, and I was able to take all his money, my heart still felt heavy. It was because Yoon-Ah became a zombie and was still wandering inside Baal's Maw.
I had no idea how to turn zombies back into humans. That meant that Yoon-Ah might have to live as a zombie for the rest of her life. When I thought about that, it felt like my vision was going dark.
[Don't worry about it. If you ask that guy, I’m sure there will be a way.] Legba said as I was trying to relieve my mixed feelings with a sigh. That guy referred to Baron Samedi.
"Surely, right?"
[Of course. He knows everything. Although I hate to admit it.] Legba said as if it were natural. It was somewhat comforting.
Indeed, there was surely a way. Even if there wasn’t a way, I would find a way.
I reaffirmed my resolve and moved to the warehouse that was located in the corner of the underground chapel. As I opened the door to the underground chapel and went inside, I saw Ji-Ah sleeping on top of a mattress in the corner of the room.
I had no idea why she was sleeping in there even though there was a bedroom and a lounge that was available. I went past Ji-Ah and searched the warehouse. I was able to find the Altar that we stole from Han Su-Yeop, and I took it out. To be precise, we didn’t steal it—it was simply returned to its rightful owner.
I placed Altar in a decent location and searched for something to sacrifice. The voices of Loa, who were excited at the thought of receiving a sacrifice, rang in my head.
[Oh, finally! Is it finally a sacrifice? I've been so hungry that even my hair follicles have dried up at this point!]
[Be quiet, please. Shouting like that is demeaning.]
[You're looking forward to it too. You speak as if you don’t want a sacrifice, but your body is being honest.]
[Sacrifice. Half a year. It’s been! I, very looking forward to. I can’t stop laughing!]
The Loa chatted noisily in their respective tones. I ignored them and focused on finding a sacrifice.
Soon, I found a box of sacrifices for the Loa. Because it had been half a year since the box had been touched, dust was piled on top.
"There's not much."
I opened the box and looked inside. There were not many sacrifices, and they were not particularly of high quality either. If I were to grade the sacrifices, I would say they were somewhere between lesser and intermediate.
But there was nothing else I had to offer, so unfortunately, I could only offer these as sacrifices.
Once the money confiscated from Han Su-Yeop that was currently going through laundering became available, I would be able to buy high-quality sacrifices with that money. However, the priority at the moment was to put out the urgent fire.
Using the Altar, I sacrificed the offerings that were inside the box.
[Phew, Come at me. I am the [strongest] right now.] N0v3l--B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.
I gave the Horn of Bullfighting to Bossou.
[Thank you! I’ve satiated my hunger a little. I’m sorry for last time.]
"You look really tired today. Do you want to sleep a bit?" In-Ah said as if she was worried. She seemed to think that it was because I was tired. I shook my head and moved my gaze back to In-Ah. Even if I tried to sleep, I didn’t think I would be able to anyway.
"What's that?" I said while pointing to the shopping bag that In-Ah was holding. She smiled with vigor and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Her face was filled with anticipation and excitement.
“I’m seeing my sister today. I was going to give her a gift.”
"Oh, you’re sister. They said that they found her...”
"Yup! I'm going to do practical training in the morning and then leave early during lunchtime to go to the Paladin Order immediately."
I felt my heart tighten for some reason. I lifted my head and silently gazed at In-Ah. Her brown hair was slightly curly. Her bright brown eyes were twinkling. It was something I only realized now, but her eyelashes were long, and her double eyelids were quite thick.
She looked so similar.
When I looked In-Ah, Yoon-Ah came to mind and made me feel depressed. And when I looked at Yoon-Ah, In-Ah came to mind, and my heart would sink. In-Ah and Yoon-Ah looked too similar to each other. They were so similar that it felt cruel.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
Oblivious to how I was feeling, In-Ah smiled brightly. She took out a hand mirror and examined her face from different angles.
"Huh? There's nothing on my face. Why were you looking at me like that?”
"Just because. You looked so happy."
In-Ah looked out the window and said, “Isn’t that obvious! Of course, I would feel happy. That's right, the cherry blossoms are slowly beginning to bloom too.”
Outside the window, I could see buds that had formed on the branches. The sky was clear and blue, and fresh sunlight was shining down on the buds like a warm embrace. It was an exceptionally beautiful day, but that made my heart feel even worse.
"Are you sure?"
"Huh? What?" In-Ah tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
"You said that the Paladin Order found your sister. Are you sure?"
"I won’t know that until I go there. But wouldn't it be almost certain?" In-Ah answered with a slight frown as if she wondering why she was being asked such a question. The atmosphere, which had been warm just a moment ago, now felt somewhat stiff and cold.
"Right."
I said no more and just nodded.
"Why did you ask that?”
There was still a smile on In-Ah's mouth, but unlike before, it was a little forced. The wind flowing from the gap in the windows blew and shook her hair.
Ring.
A ringing noise came from somewhere. However, there were no bells nearby. The image of Yoon-Ah screaming in the damp Baal’s Maw flashed through my eyes and disappeared.
"Just in case. I thought it would be better not to expect too much."
The smile around In-Ah's mouth gradually hardened and soon disappeared. Her shining eyes were already empty.
Only then did I realize that I had made a mistake.
“Sorry, what I just said was–”
“Hey.” Without even giving me a chance to apologize, In-Ah spoke to me icily.
My heart felt numb as if it had frozen over. In-Ah gazed at me with empty eyes that were deeper than the abyss.
“You sure are saying some strange things.”
“It was a mistake.”
“You told me not to look forward to it. That’s not something you say on accident.”
She was absolutely right.
I was already well aware that her sister had become a zombie. I also knew that she was endlessly screaming while trapped inside Baal's Maw. I already knew that she wouldn’t be able to reunite with her sister even if she went to the Paladin Order today. I already knew that her expectations and excitement would soon be replaced by grief.
If expectations were high, then disappointment would also be high, so I had said so in the hopes that her mental stability would not collapse. It was not something that I said by mistake—it was something that I earnestly said from the bottom of my heart.
"I'm sorry."
"Can't I look forward to it?"
My belated apology was lost in the wind.
“The Paladin Order called me and said that they found my sister. Isn’t it fine for me to look forward to it?”
I lowered my head in silence.
“Why are you telling me whether I should look forward to it or not?”
Her voice trembled as she asked, "...Just who do you think you are?"
The silence was fleeting, but it felt like it would never end. In-Ah glanced at me with empty eyes, and she soon got up from her seat and left the classroom.
Smash.
The sound of the door closing was loud.
Ring, rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle.
The sound of the bell ringing and the sound of the iron bars shaking kept echoing in my head.
Slide–!
"Hey. In-Ah, why are you so mad? What the? What happened?”
Jun-Hyuk came in late and made a fuss.
His timing was truly masterful.