The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 45 - The Star's Oath (1)

 

 

The threatening momentum of the mage — as if he might lunge at me at any moment — visibly subsided. No doubt it was because Kang Ye-seong was standing beside me.

 

Lee Man-deuk glared at me, eyes wide, then spoke. “Muse, step away from that bastard.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Hard to believe, I know, but that bastard is rotten to the core. Like, really bad.”

 

If I hadn’t already earned Kang Ye-seong’s trust, he might have believed the cursed mage. But I had earned Kang Ye-seong’s trust, and because of that he didn’t. Instead he asked, “Mr. Lee Man-deuk, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Why do you say the CEO is such a bad person?”

 

Kang Ye-seong defended me desperately — even though he had personally seen me knock Lee Man-deuk unconscious with a punch to the jaw.

 

Grateful for that, I only smiled in silence.

 

Still, what a joke. Me, a bad person? Seo Do-hwan seemed to think so too; he chuckled and said, “Do you really think you’re a good guy? Before Kang Ye-seong showed up, who was the one trying to threaten the boss?”

 

Lee Man-deuk, who lived in Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, ground his teeth, but he didn’t dare act rashly.

 

He was still bound and rigged with tasers like before. On top of that, he was soaked with cold water, which made it even harder for him to move.

 

Maybe he thought I was no different from someone like Kim Sang-cheol. At that, Lee Man-deuk swallowed hard, as if deciding something. He was probably thinking of teleporting away with Kang Ye-seong — that habit of his never changed, no matter how many regressions he went through. I smirked and pressed the remote, switching the tasers on.

 

Zap!

 

“Urgh…!”

 

I’d set it to the weakest level, but because he was soaked the shock hit him hard. Lee Man-deuk groaned and glared at me.

 

‘So what?’

 

I wasn’t scared in the slightest.

 

So I smiled and said, “Don’t try any tricks. I know all your habits, all your quirks. And don’t spout nonsense to Kang Ye-seong either.”

 

“I only intended to tell Muse the truth about you.”

 

Disgusting.

 

“Then should I tell Muse everything about you, Mr. Lee Man-deuk?”

 

The smile on the mage’s lips twisted. He clearly didn’t want the man he idolized — the one he’d admired while committing his crimes — to know the truth. What a pathetic bastard, incapable of putting himself in someone else’s shoes.

 

Anyway,

 

“Let’s stop this pointless back-and-forth and just talk. You’ve got plenty of questions you want to ask me, don’t you, Mr. Lee Man-deuk?”

 

“Yeah, I did.” Lee Man-deuk let out a twisted smile.

 

When his tone suddenly shifted, Kang Ye-seong’s eyes widened in surprise. Though Lee Man-deuk eased the menacing scowl on his face, his sharp voice remained unchanged.

 

“But I’ve changed my mind. How do I know the story you’re about to tell me isn’t laced with lies?”

 

At his reasonable suspicion, I simply shrugged.

 

“There’s a way to find out if I’m lying, isn’t there? We can use that—and exchange answers to our questions.”

 

It was called the Star’s Oath.

 

A spell where both parties wagered their lives and exchanged questions that could only be answered with the truth. Under its power, both the caster and the target were compelled to respond honestly to every question.

 

And should either lie, evade, or attempt to threaten the other in any way—

 

‘Their heart would stop.’

 

It was a terrifying spell, no matter how many times I thought about it. Perhaps realizing that I was indirectly referring to the Star’s Oath, Lee Man-deuk frowned.

 

“How do you know about that?”

 

“If you’re curious, ask.”

 

His frown deepened. Still, he soon replied,

 

“Fine.”

 

At his word, the constellation of the Big Dipper appeared above both our heads.

 

“Wow…”

 

Lee Yoo-seong stared up blankly in awe. Seo Do-hwan and Kang Ye-seong also looked visibly startled.

 

I was the only one who remained calm before his magic. Lee Man-deuk, clearly dissatisfied with my composure, spoke.

 

“Three questions each. Whatever the question, you have one minute to answer. How about it? Fair enough?”

 

When I nodded lightly at his added condition, Lee Man-deuk immediately asked:

 

“Who the hell are you?”

 

Of all things, he asked a question I’d already answered countless times. Smirking, I replied,

 

“As I said, I’m a returnee.”

 

“Fuck! That’s not the kind of answer I want!!”

 

Lee Man-deuk’s voice was thick with anger.

 

“Do you think I asked without knowing that?”

 

“Of course not. But still—”

 

Too bad.

 

【According to the Star’s Oath, a true answer has been given.】

 

“Looks like your magic accepted that as a valid response.” 

 

Lee Man-deuk’s face contorted. He looked ready to beat me to a pulp if not for the oath. Serves him right — why ask the same question repeatedly?

 

More importantly—

 

“Now it’s my turn to ask a question, isn’t it?”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

Lee Man-deuk replied indifferently, as if to say, Ask whatever you want. At that attitude, I asked without hesitation.

 

“Why on earth did you cause that accident?”

 

“Accident? What accident?”

 

“Don’t play dumb.”

 

The feigned ignorance in his tone made me grind my teeth. I clasped my hands together, forcing myself not to swing a fist at him, and opened my mouth.

 

“If you don’t want Kang Ye-seong to hear this, cast a soundproofing spell. I’ll be considerate.”

 

Lee Man-deuk narrowed one eye slightly.

 

“How considerate of you.”

 

And then he did it—he cast the soundproofing spell. He must really not want Kang Ye-seong to ever learn that the accident involving my grandfather was his doing.

 

‘One day, I’ll have to tell him.’

 

But only after destroying every book that serves as the returnees’ source of power. If I told him before that, and Lee Man-deuk lost control, things would get messy.

 

Whoosh—!

 

The air trembled as a hazy barrier formed around us.

 

Perhaps because of the sudden spell—

 

“C-CEO!”

 

Kang Ye-seong’s alarmed voice rang out. Those outside couldn’t hear what was said within the barrier, but those inside could still hear outside.

 

I gestured to reassure Kang Ye-seong—as well as Seo Do-hwan and Lee Yoo-seong, who both looked ready to rush in at any moment—then turned back to the mage.

 

Meeting my gaze, Lee Man-deuk smiled faintly.

 

“You’re asking about the accident your grandfather got caught up in, aren’t you?”

 

I didn’t answer—just nodded.

 

There was no way he’d caused that accident out of simple boredom. Unlike Lee Yoo-seong, Lee Man-deuk had no qualms about harming others—but he valued his daily life more than anyone.

 

If he’d truly acted out of boredom, he wouldn’t have done something that would make him the clear culprit. Fortunately, his answer was straightforward.

 

“Because I was asked to.”

 

…Asked? By who?

 

My eyes twitched faintly.

 

Of course, my grandfather—the steadfast pillar of AMA, the largest multinational corporation in Asia by market cap—had plenty of enemies. But none of them would have asked Lee Man-deuk to stage an accident using his powers.

 

At that moment, the magic confirmed it.

 

【According to the Star’s Oath, a true answer has been given.】

 

There was no falsehood in his words. I tightened my clasped hands and spoke.

 

“Let’s move on to the next question.”

 

“It’s my turn, isn’t it?”

 

The mage, who never forgot to take his turn, asked with a crooked smile.

 

“Before returning to this world… what exactly were you?”

 

Lucky for me, that was an easy one. But Lee Man-deuk looked genuinely curious. It made sense—he knew I was a returnee, but not what I had been in the world I came from. 

 

Did he think I was a mage like him?

 

Not even close.

 

“I was a slave.”

 

“What…?”

 

Lee Man-deuk stared at me in disbelief, but—

 

【According to the Star’s Oath, a true answer has been given.】

 

My words were true.

 

He stammered, visibly shaken.

 

“R-Really? You were really a slave? That’s not a lie?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I had lived as a slave for a thousand years. Still, Lee Man-deuk refused to accept it and shouted,

 

“Lies! There’s no way you were a slave!”

 

“But it’s true.”

 

If I’d lied, I wouldn’t still be alive—the Oath would’ve stopped my heart long ago. Knowing that, Lee Man-deuk bit his lip and fell silent.

 

“Anyway, it’s my turn now, right?”

 

Lee Man-deuk frowned. Smiling broadly, I asked my next question.

 

“Who asked you to cause the accident?”

 

“Someone like the CEO Kwak did.”

 

“That’s not what I asked.”

 

Of course—

 

【According to the Star’s Oath, a true answer has been given.】

 

The Oath confirmed his reply.

 

Damn it.

 

I’d ended up on the receiving end of the same kind of teasing I’d just given him. More than anything, I wanted to wipe that smug grin off his face with a punch—but—

 

‘Hold it.’

 

I still had one last question left for Lee Man-deuk. Once the Oath ended, I could deal with him then. Just as I made that resolve—

 

“Now it’s my turn, huh?”

 

Lee Man-deuk smirked, but when he spoke again, his tone was cold and sharp, as if he’d never smiled at all.

 

“How do you know so much about me?”

 

What a ridiculous question.

 

How could I know so much about him?

 

The answer was simple.

 

“You told me.”

 

“What kind of bullshit—!”

 

Lee Man-deuk snapped, his voice rising—but—

 

【According to the Star’s Oath, a true answer has been given.】

 

I hadn’t lied this time either. I gave him a faint smile and said, “It’s not bullshit—it’s the truth.”

 

Across the 365 regressions, there were plenty of times when Lee Man-deuk had stabbed me in the back. But there were also times when he hadn’t. In those lives, he’d opened up to me—shared his stories, and answered any question I asked with surprising sincerity.

 

‘Now, I can only get that information through magic like this.’

 

There was a time when I didn’t need spells to hear it.

 

“Right, it’s my turn again, isn’t it?”

 

Lee Man-deuk looked like he had more he wanted to say, but he fell silent—still mulling over my earlier words.

 

Anyway, I asked:

 

“The person who asked you to cause that accident…”

 

I trailed off for a moment, hoping it wasn’t true.

 

“…Was that person a returnee, like me?”

 

At that, Lee Man-deuk’s lips curled into a smile. Then, he finally spoke.