Resurrection Chapter 41 - What Manners!

I tightly wrapped my Demonic Sword, which was as good as my signature item, in bandages and hid it well. I also had Heesoo hyung push his greatsword as far under his bag as possible so it would not be noticeable, and then we started walking.

How many steps could we have taken?

“Heesoo-niiiiim!”

From somewhere, a piercing shout called out to him.

I flinched and turned to look in that direction.

Standing there was a man dressed in an outfit that looked like it had a sign attached to it that said, “I am a healer,” for anyone to see.

He was a man with light brown hair that was almost blond and a round face. He looked to be in his early twenties, but his impression was much younger.

Perhaps he looked that way because he was on the verge of tears with a flushed face. It is not often that you see a grown man on the verge of crying with such an expression.

He recognized Heesoo hyung at a glance, even though he had concealed his face with magic. Seeing him, the man stomped his feet and then burst into tears, crying, “Hwaaaang,” as he ran over.

“Heesoo-nim! Heesoo-nim!”

At the sound of someone calling “Heesoo-nim,” people’s gazes all turned towards us at once.

“Heesoo-nim? Is that Seo Heesoo?”

“Is that Seo Heesoo? No, it’s not.”

“No, he must be in disguise. Look at his weapon!”

“Oh, you’re right. It’s a greatsword! It really must be Seo Heesoo!”

“So it was true that Seo Heesoo appeared in Dungeon 77!”

I pressed my forehead and held back the curse that was about to escape my lips. In the meantime, the man who had reached Heesoo hyung poured out all sorts of questions.

“Heesoo-nim, do you know how much I worried about you? I cannot believe I am meeting you again like this! Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?”

Before Heesoo hyung could even answer, the man dropped to his knees with a thud and began to sob loudly.

“I am sorry. I tried to enter the Demonic Lair several times to rescue you, Heesoo-nim, but I just could not go in alone. I am sorry, I am sorry…!”

Heesoo hyung looked at him, seemingly troubled and apologetic, and said.

“Sikyeong-nim, please do not cry and get up. I am alright.”

“I wanted to save you, but I am sorry I could not. I thought I had to do something, but I was scammed several times while trying to recruit for a pickup party……. The other apostles just blamed Heesoo-nim and pointed their fingers, with no intention of helping… hic….”

“This is not something for you to apologize for, Sikyeong-nim. It seems you have been through a lot.”

“Still, sniffle sniffle……. Seeing you safe and sound like this is a relief, but at the same time, I am so upset…… uwaaahhhh…… uwaaahhh.”

Heesoo hyung helped the bawling man to his feet and began to soothe and console him. I watched the scene with a sour expression.

After a good while, once the man’s crying subsided, Heesoo hyung introduced him.

“This is Park Sikyeong-nim, the Second Apostle of the White Goddess.”

It was the first time I had heard the name, but his swollen face looked familiar. I remembered him sticking to Heesoo hyung like glue whenever Heesoo hyung was doing something remarkable.

When Heesoo hyung introduced me, Park Sikyeong bowed his head 90 degrees to me and said.

“Thank you for saving Heesoo hyung! I am indebted to you in a way that words cannot express.”

I replied in an unenthusiastic tone.

“Not really, I do not think it is something for you to call a debt. I did it because I wanted to.”

“Even so. Heesoo-nim is more important to me than anyone, so it is the same as if you saved me.”

“Ah, is that so.”

Although I intensely disliked him clinging to Heesoo hyung’s side, Heesoo hyung had been the one and only paladin in the world. He had fans as numerous as clouds, and there was no shortage of crazed fans.

Park Sikyeong was undoubtedly one of his fanatical followers. It seemed he had been tagging along after Heesoo hyung under the pretext of being an apostle of the same White Goddess. He quickly lost interest in me and spoke while looking solely at Heesoo hyung.

“You have gotten much thinner since I last saw you. Then again, it is only natural after suffering so much in the Demonic Lair. Do not worry, I will protect you from now on, Heesoo-nim. I will not leave your side even if I die.”

As he spoke, clutching his staff tightly, Heesoo hyung showed a look of unease. He lightly patted Park Sikyeong’s shoulder and offered his refusal.

“I am grateful for your words, Sikyeong-nim, but I will accept only the sentiment.”

“I know that you have become the First Apostle of Ulfheðinn, Heesoo-nim. You are a berserker? Then you will need a healer. I will help you with your training here in Dungeon 77.”

“As you said, I am no longer an apostle of the White Goddess, and I have only disappointed her, so I am not in a position to receive your help, Sikyeong-nim.”

“If the White Goddess did not approve of me helping you, Heesoo-nim, she would have stopped me long ago. Since she is silent, does that not mean she wants me to help you, Heesoo-nim?”

“I do not believe so. I am worried that you might end up in a difficult situation because of me, Sikyeong-nim.”

At his persistent refusal, Park Sikyeong’s eyes welled up with tears again.

After casting out Heesoo hyung, the White Goddess must have been greatly disappointed. The White Goddess had significantly withdrawn the grace she bestowed upon her apostles. Many apostles had difficulty using their abilities.

Naturally, the resentment of the apostles towards Heesoo hyung was beyond words. Without even knowing the exact reason why Heesoo hyung had parted ways with the White Goddess, they fabricated stories about him being corrupted and condemned him.

It must have been difficult to maintain his faith in Heesoo hyung amidst all that. As if recalling his past hardships, Park Sikyeong shed teardrops as large as chicken droppings and said.

“Everything else is fine. What is most difficult for me is the thought of not being able to see you again, Heesoo-nim.”

“I am sorry. Let us meet again on another occasion.”

“Please. Please take me with you!”

Watching Park Sikyeong cling to Heesoo hyung like a bagworm, I did feel it was a bit of a shame. A Second Apostle of the White Goddess would likely be a pretty skilled healer.

If we had a healer in the party, it was a matter of course that I would have to use my resurrection skill less often. He would be a great help, but the problem was that I could not use Resurrection in front of him. I could not accept him as a comrade without a guarantee that he would absolutely not divulge the secret.

Heesoo hyung gently placated Park Sikyeong.

“I will be sure to contact you when I return from the dungeon, Sikyeong-nim.”

“I am really begging you like this. It is dangerous for you to go alone like this! It is not just a regular dungeon, it is an S-rank!”

“I have a partner now, so I will be fine.”

“A pa-partner….”

Only then did Park Sikyeong seem to recall my existence. He looked back and forth between me and Heesoo hyung with a dazed expression, then said, as if in disbelief.

“Is it true that you are partners with Kim Yitae? I thought it was just a groundless rumor….”

With Park Sikyeong clinging to Heesoo hyung, I had been looking for a chance to cut into the conversation, and since my name had finally come up, I quickly jumped in.

“It is true, so why don’t you step aside now? As you know, we need to get into the dungeon.”

When I, who had rescued Heesoo hyung from the Demonic Lair and was also his partner, said that, Park Sikyeong hesitated. Without waiting for his reaction, I pulled Heesoo hyung’s arm.

Heesoo hyung gave Park Sikyeong a nod with his eyes, and Park Sikyeong’s face crumpled into a frown again. As we walked away and the distance between us and Park Sikyeong grew, Heesoo hyung, perhaps feeling a bit sheepish, said to me in an excuse-like manner.

“He is someone who followed me a lot when I was a paladin.”

“Looks like it. If I had not rescued you from the Demonic Lair, he looked like he was about to drag you away right then and there. By the way, why does he call you ‘nim’? Is that how apostles of the White Goddess usually are with each other?”

“Yes. That is how it usually is.”

“Ugh, gives me the creeps.”

To avoid wasting any more time, I hurried Heesoo hyung along our path. If we lingered, who knew what kind of commotion the people who recognized Heesoo hyung might cause next.

Among them, someone who knew my secret might be targeting Heesoo hyung, so it seemed safer to just enter the dungeon. It was because he had foreseen such a situation that Min Gongchan had told us to meet inside the dungeon.

My prediction came true, and before we had gone a few more steps, reporters who had been watching and waiting swarmed towards us. They shoved their recording devices at us without permission and poured out questions.

“Mr. Seo Heesoo! How do you feel about returning as a berserker?”

“Mr. Seo Heesoo, could you please give us a word on your thoughts!”

“Why did you part ways with the White Goddess?”

“What business did you have in the Demonic Lair?”

Amidst the commotion, Heesoo hyung’s expression was calm, but I saw his lips press into a tight line.

Even back in his paladin days, he had never welcomed the media’s attention. Knowing that this situation must be extremely tiring for him, I hastily pushed our way through them and continued on.

Just then, the Golden Emperor sent a message.

—The Golden Emperor sighs, asking why everyone is only looking for Seo Heesoo. He asks why you, who are far more outstanding, are not receiving any attention.

What an attention seeker. In a situation where it would not be enough to cover himself with a cloth and hide, he was whining about not getting attention.

Before I could retort, the reporters’ attention shifted to me as well.