Chapter 69
“S-sorry……. I-it’s been a long time since I last looked directly at someone’s face…….”
The head in Lumina’s arms stammered, its gaze darting from side to side.
The sly, teasing attitude she had shown me until just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
Her face was bright red all the way to the tips of her ears, and she didn’t know what to do, unable even to meet my eyes properly.
Like a very shy girl.
This was practically a different person.
Could having a face really change someone this much?
“It’s all right. You can take your time getting used to it. Is anything bothering you?”
Just as I carefully tried to take a step closer,
“D-don’t come any closer!”
The head in her arms squeezed its eyes shut and cried out urgently.
“Y-you’re too close right now! I-I haven’t mentally prepared myself yet……. Ah, no, I-it’s just too embarrassing having you look at me like this, so please step back just a little, hng?!”
Lumina’s head, which had been pouring out words, suddenly looked flustered.
Lumina’s embarrassed reaction was unfamiliar and refreshing.
“Aaah, wh-why am I, why am I acting like this? M-Mincheol, should we stand a little farther apart for a moment?”
Once I put a little distance between us, she seemed to feel better and returned to her usual way of speaking.
However, her breathing was rougher than usual.
She looked unable to regain her composure, even her shoulders heaving.
“This distance is just right. Let’s take a little time to get used to this here….”
The opposite was true of her body, however.
Clomp, clomp.
It was striding toward me instead.
“Uh……. Ms. Lumina?”
“H-huh? W-wait a second. Why is my body doing this?”
The head in her arms pulled its chin in as it tried to move away from me, but the body that had walked over came right up in front of me.
“A-aaah! Th-this isn’t my will, so w-wait a second, Mincheol…….”
Then it clung tightly to me.
Ssswish.
Even the arm not holding her head slowly stretched out and seized the hem of my clothes around my waist.
A much richer and sweeter floral scent than before wafted from her body pressed against mine.
“Ms. Lumina, you’re telling me not to come closer, but you keep coming toward me?”
“N-no, I’m not coming closer! M-my body is moving on its own……!”
Lumina’s face had now turned red like an active volcano on the verge of erupting.
From her field of vision, her own body clinging to my waist and leaning against me must have been impossible to miss.
“W-why is this happening……. I keep losing control…….”
She looked down at her own body in confusion.
She seemed not to have expected things to go this far.
Was she trying to cling to me because physical contact with me had awakened her consciousness?
“Let go of me! I said let go, you stupid body! Mincheol’s going to get the wrong idea!”
Lumina’s head cried out urgently, but her body only tightened its grip on my clothes and even leaned slightly toward my shoulder.
“Uuuugh…….”
How much time had passed?
The hand gripping my clothes tightly gradually relaxed.
As though it had finally had its fill of warmth, her body at last took a step back.
“Haaah, f-finally…….”
Only then did Lumina fully regain control of her body and let out a relieved sigh.
She must have been quite flustered by her body moving on its own, because beads of sweat had even formed on the face in my arms.
“Are you all right now?”
“Y-yeah. That just now was really……. It’s my body, but I couldn’t control it……”
Lumina took two steps back and still couldn’t properly meet my eyes, lowering her gaze instead.
“I-I’m sorry……. It wasn’t my will.”
“You usually tease me like that, but you’re awfully shy today.”
“Th-that’s……”
The face held around my waist turned bright red.
“This is the first time anything like this has happened to me……. Maybe it didn’t feel embarrassing before because I didn’t have a face?”
It was quite amusing watching her ramble in confusion.
“But do you have to carry your face around like that from now on?”
At my question, she suddenly came to her senses and shook her head.
“Not necessarily. Having a detachable head is more convenient than you might think. It can stay detached like this, but it can also be attached…….”
After saying that, she took off her helmet.
Blue flames surged up from her neck.
She handed me the helmet, then carefully lifted her own head with both hands.
“Phew. I’m getting nervous over something like this.”
She brought her head toward the top of her neck.
Fwoosh-!
The blue flames rising from the cross-section of her neck surged upward and gently enveloped her head.
Just as when she wore her helmet, her head did not join to her neck. Instead, it softly settled atop the wavering flames and floated in midair.
It was a mystical sight.
Blink. Blink.
The head resting on the flames blinked twice, then finally met my gaze at a normal eye level.
“……”
The moment she looked at me with her real eyes.
Lumina’s cheeks still held a faint blush, but this time she did not avert her gaze.
“Mincheol.”
“Yes, Ms. Lumina.”
“Thank you. Truly……. It’s all thanks to you.”
She smiled softly.
Her voice was not its usual playful one, but a graceful voice filled with sincere gratitude.
When I looked directly at her beautiful smile, I felt a tickling sensation in one corner of my chest.
This is pretty embarrassing.
I think I understand why Lumina had been so flustered and backed away.
“You promised we would find it together.”
“Hehe, that was very manly of you.”
She was back to the Lumina I knew.
A slightly bashful older-sister figure, full of composure.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to express my gratitude.”
She was fidgeting, unable to hide her embarrassment, when—
“Now, now, I’m sorry to interrupt this heartwarming moment! But shouldn’t we start withdrawing before more of the scavenger stragglers outside the fortress arrive?”
Manager Kim cut in, clacking his jaw.
At the same time.
-Scavengers are entering the fortress! Come out through the escape route we discussed. We’ll be waiting.
A message came from Manager Millelo.
“…We’ve accomplished our objective, so there’s no reason to delay.”
I could have sworn Lumina clicked her tongue.
Was it just my imagination?
We hurried out of the fortress and headed toward the bike we had left at the base camp.
Getting out of the fortress was not difficult.
The remnants of the Army of the Dead had belatedly realized they had lost their commander and caused a commotion, but we quickly broke through their surveillance net.
Beside the four-wheel-drive off-road SUV, Lumina’s bike stood neatly parked in the dawn air.
I naturally picked up a helmet and asked her,
“Should I ride on the back like when we came?”
At my question, Lumina’s shoulder stiffened as she fidgeted with the helmet.
Her gaze moved between my hand and the rear seat of her bike, then she blushed and shook her head.
“N-no! That’s not a good idea right now……! You ride back in Manager Millelo’s car!”
Since recovering her head, she had become far more self-conscious and awkwardly pushed me away.
Apparently, she was embarrassed by the thought of riding through the wastelands while being hugged from behind.
When she had no head, she had been the one ordering me around.
I was a little disappointed.
“Oh, is that so? Understood. Then I’ll go by car…….”
Tap tap tap!
It was just as I was turning around.
Lumina’s right arm suddenly shot out and began briskly tapping the rear seat of the bike with her leather glove.
Her dynamic hand movements seemed to shout, Get on!
“H-huh?”
“…Ms. Lumina? You told me not to ride.”
“Th-that’s……. I’m not the one hitting it! This stupid body is moving on its own……!!”
Her mouth kept telling me not to ride, but her body continued tapping the seat.
“D-don’t ride it, seriously!”
Tap tap tap tap tap!
Now she was pounding the rear seat as though she intended to break it outright.
Puff puff puff puff.
The shining blue flames at the connection between her neck and face were puffing out tiny flames.
It was the pattern of flames she showed when she felt embarrassed.
Faced with behavior that revealed her true feelings so blatantly, I finally couldn’t hold it in and let out a snort of laughter.
“If I don’t get on, I think your hands are going to completely destroy the bike.”
“Uuuugh……. Why is my body doing this?!”
Lumina, wailing as she tore at her hair, finally put her helmet on.
“Just get on…….”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I obediently climbed onto the rear seat of the bike and wrapped my arms around her waist much more gently and carefully than when we had come here.
Vroooom!!!
We rode back to Taepyeong City along the wasteland road beneath the shining moon.
***
After entering Taepyeong City’s territory following a brief inspection by the golem police, we soon encountered a familiar figure.
-You finally got your head back, Ms. Lumina. How beautiful you look.
The red glow of Belarus’s eyes fell on Lumina as she got off the bike, the lich having emerged from the darkness.
-Well, everyone has done an excellent job. Just as successful as I expected.
Belarus clapped his bony hands together.
-The Army of the Dead shouldn’t bother us anymore. Their leader and officers were killed by an unidentified group, so the army will soon fall apart. This should result in considerable cost savings. Hahahah.
As he let out a clattering laugh, Lumina took off her helmet, revealing her flowing brown hair, and furrowed her brow in displeasure.
The blue flames burning along the edge of her neck flared with a Fzzzt! and spat sparks.
Even after recovering her head, the flames continued to flicker according to her emotions.
“You knew it was my head, didn’t you?”
-How hurtful. As I told you, I do not lie. We could not be certain either that it was truly Ms. Lumina’s head. As you saw for yourself, the mana dwelling in the head was so dense that even I could not see through it. The sealing device on the outside was troublesome as well.
The lich Belarus shrugged his shoulder blades.
“Don’t make me laugh. You expect me to believe Endless just tossed my real head to me as a gift?”
-A gift. That isn’t entirely incorrect. But I would prefer it if you called it an investment in the future.
“An investment?”
-Ms. Lumina, surely you didn’t think we would hand over a power source capable of creating a small fortress in an instant without receiving anything in return?
Clack.
His jawbones clacked together with an unpleasant sound.
-In the world of business, when something comes in, something must go out as well. Now it’s time to settle accounts.
“…Let’s hear what kind of nonsense you’re planning to spout.”
-To put it bluntly, Endless Corporation believes it owns a certain ‘stake’ in the head currently perched atop Ms. Lumina’s neck. Without our information and manpower, you would never have recovered it. Isn’t that right?
“So?”
-Of course, we would be delighted if you could pay the value of this stake in cash……. Unfortunately, I understand that Ms. Lumina’s current financial situation does not leave her with the means to do so right away.
Lumina clenched her fist.
5 billion won.
If not for the 5 billion won he had extorted from her at the auction, she could have handed him the money and sent him packing.
She did not have that much money left.
So that was why.
That was why he had demanded 5 billion won at the auction.
Belarus’s red eyes narrowed.
-Please don’t misunderstand. We have no intention of forcing Ms. Lumina to work as an employee of our company by using her debt as leverage. We are proposing a very reasonable contract. As an equal partner……. Or perhaps in the role of an outsourced consultant.
“And if I refuse?”
-Then, based on our legitimate rights, we will have no choice but to reclaim the stake in Ms. Lumina’s head that we possess.
His tone was polite, but the meaning of his words was vicious.
“Right. I knew merchants like you bastards wouldn’t just hand it over without a fight. So what exactly are you telling me to do?”
-Ms. Lumina…….
Belarus became solemn, his red eyes glowing.
What kind of proposal required him to act so serious?
I grew tense as well.
-How about becoming the exclusive model for Endless Corporation?
Huh?
“W-what did you say?”
Lumina asked Belarus again, as though she wondered whether she had heard him correctly.
“A model?”
-That’s right. You heard me correctly. I was worried you might not yet have fully appreciated what it feels like to have a new face.
“A model? What does that even…….”
-Exactly what I said. We have assessed the value of Ms. Lumina’s appearance and body as extremely high. At a minimum, we believe it is almost on par with the current Seven Heroes. Until now, we considered the fact that you had no head a disadvantage for a model, but now that you’ve recovered even that head…….
“You think I have value as a model?”
-Precisely. A dead person’s body that still gives off the vitality of the living! And an appearance capable of capturing the eyes of the living! Wouldn’t it possess a vitality that makes the dead remember the vigor they had while alive? To Endless, Ms. Lumina’s body is truly a one-of-a-kind existence.
“……”
-Don’t worry about payment. I, Belarus, am an undead who believes in clear give-and-take. If you work for us, we will pay you compensation commensurate with your efforts. We will actively help you find your memories.
At that moment, Lumina’s bristling demeanor abruptly faltered.
“…What?”
-Even after recovering your head, you must have been deeply disappointed that your memories of the past did not return. And if it weren’t for that human young man, you wouldn’t even have been able to reconnect properly.
Belarus’s red eyes flashed as though he had struck the heart of the matter.
-Ms. Lumina, you desperately want to find your lost memories, don’t you? We have already identified several places where your true memories may be sealed.
“…My memories are sealed?”
-Whoever did that must be a truly vicious being, wouldn’t you agree? We found several mana signatures similar to the one in Ms. Lumina’s head. At first, we thought they might simply be similar heads……. But once we determined that the enormous energy possessed by the Army of the Dead was Ms. Lumina’s head, there could only be one possibility.
“You mean that’s my memories?”
-That’s right. If you become our model, we will fully support you with that information and the cost of searching. What do you say? It’s quite an attractive offer, with nothing for you to lose, wouldn’t you agree?
It was a proposal far beyond anything I had expected.
I had assumed he might demand that she provide military assistance, or try to bind her with a contract that let him use her however he pleased.
But a model.
It was such a sudden proposal that even Lumina was momentarily dumbfounded.
It didn’t seem like a bad offer.
But still.
‘We need to calculate the settlement properly.’
I stepped between them.
“Before we discuss the contract, let’s properly settle our accounts.”
-…Human boy?
Belarus’s eyes turned toward me.
-Properly settle our accounts? Are you suggesting that Endless Corporation has presented you with some predatory contract?
“Not exactly. But isn’t the accounting of our contributions a little too one-sided?”
Endless claimed that its contribution was substantial and asserted a stake, but
I was missing from that stake.
“Let’s include my share and calculate everything again from the beginning.”
We could discuss the contract after that.