The Soul-Harvesting Puppeteer - Chapter 61

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 61
Some time later, in Midland Seoul.
Ju Yeon-hee collapsed forward onto her father’s body.
“Ugh, Father… oh, oh God…”
Her frail hands gripped his with desperate tenderness.
Before her lay Ju Hyung-seon’s corpse, miraculously whole.
Originally, the Girit had not only severed Ju Hyung-seon’s body into three pieces but skewered each section on sharp wooden stakes—a sight too grotesque to bear with open eyes.
Han Eol had poured Grade A Potion over the remains and stitched him back together.
The potion had sealed even the puncture wounds clean and rendered the rot-darkened flesh presentable once more.
As a result, Ju Hyung-seon’s body, now laid to rest in the morgue of Gangnam Shinseong Hospital, appeared almost serene.
‘Can grief run this deep?’
Han Eol watched Ju Yeon-hee, her tears unceasing before her father’s remains, and felt something stir oddly in his chest. Without thinking, he scratched the back of his neck.
Han Eol had grown up an orphan, untethered by parents, and could not fully fathom the depth of what she felt.
Yet in another part of his heart, he found himself envying Ju Hyung-seon.
‘When I die, will anyone grieve for me with such sincerity?’
Han Eol’s thoughts drifted unexpectedly toward the bonds of blood—parent and child, the ties that bind a family.
It was then that Lee Myung-woo, standing beside him, spoke.
“Thank… you.”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
Han Eol turned to him, eyes widening slightly.
Lee Myung-woo’s voice had been so soft and low that Han Eol wasn’t certain he’d heard correctly.
“Ahem. I was saying thank you for handling my father-in-law’s… arrangements.”
Lee Myung-woo was a man unused to expressing gratitude to others. So he masked his embarrassment with a deliberate cough.
Han Eol shrugged.
“There’s nothing to thank me for. Your wife has always been kind to me. I wanted to do at least this much for her.”
“Mm…”
Lee Myung-woo faltered.
The words “your wife” struck something hollow in his chest. He opened his mouth to say something to Han Eol, then closed it firmly.
Meanwhile, Ju Yeon-hee’s quiet sobs gradually subsided into stillness.
Chapter 2
Ju Hyung-seon’s funeral had already taken place. So Ju Yeon-hee forgave a second ceremony and instead had the body cremated, the ashes interred in the family tomb.
No one from outside was invited. Only her husband, Lee Myung-woo, and her son(?)—Han Eol—kept her company in the pouring rain.
While Lee Myung-woo and Ju Yeon-hee stood in silent prayer before her father’s memorial portrait inside the tomb, Han Eol stepped outside to watch the rain.
Whoooosh—
The sound of rain seeped coolly into his ears.
‘Hmm.’
Han Eol tilted his head back, gazing up at the sky as it wept.
November rain carried a peculiar weight, stirring something in him he couldn’t name.
The sky overhead was a bleak, sullen gray. He traced the gloom with his eyes.
In truth, rain falling in Midland Seoul defied the laws of physics.
Seoul now orbited Earth from a geostationary orbit beyond the atmosphere, did it not?
Yet clouds gathered above and rain fell regardless—a phenomenon that made no physical sense whatsoever.
But Han Eol paid such considerations no mind.
Honestly, his learning was shallow, and he knew little of physics anyway.
‘Seeing the rain brings back old earth to mind.’
Han Eol found himself turning toward the past.
During his years in the orphanage in Daejeon, water often ran dry, and he’d had to fill buckets with rainwater whenever a storm came.
The orphans like him had barely managed to wash properly, rationing water as they did.
Now, though, Han Eol luxuriated in showers morning and night, and soaked himself in whirlpool baths whenever he pleased.
‘Ha. Quite the rise in fortune. Quite the rise.’
Han Eol let out a soft laugh and turned his thoughts elsewhere.
‘I’ll need to venture back into Highland’s 5th Continent before long. And I should think about how to go forward from here too.’
As Han Eol mused on these prospects, Lee Myung-woo emerged from the tomb.
He approached and spoke to Han Eol.
“You have plans this evening with Min-cheol and Min-seo, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Han Eol nodded once.
Lee Myung-woo studied the boy intently.
‘Lord. There’s no match at all. Looks so docile on the surface, yet he charges fearlessly into that living hell teeming with those powerful Demon Beasts—Girit—and retrieves his father-in-law’s corpse without hesitation. I know the boy’s gift, the Demon Spirit Reversal Flow, makes him a natural predator to Demon Beasts, but this is reckless beyond measure. His nerve knows no bounds, and his abilities are frankly broken.’
Lee Myung-woo fell silent for a moment, then his thoughts turned to his two nephews.
‘Originally, I worried that Min-cheol and Min-seo might give Han Eol a hard time. But now it looks like my two niece and nephew are fretting over whether they’ll survive in this fellow’s hands. Well, I’ll be.’
Lee Myung-woo clicked his tongue inwardly and then gave Han Eol a word of caution.
“When you meet them properly later, you’ll see, but Min-cheol and Min-seo aren’t bad children. They’re your closest relatives, so I’d appreciate it if you could look kindly on them.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Han Eol nodded absently.
Six o’clock in the evening arrived.
A luxury SUV, boasting substantial weight and presence, departed from Lee Myung-woo’s mansion in Hannam-dong, heading toward the Han River bridge.
Then, as traffic clogged the road, the SUV’s wheels folded inward and it lifted off with a low hum, like a drone. The Mana Stone embedded in the vehicle’s underside blazed with blue light.
‘Oh? It can do flight mode too?’
Han Eol gazed downward at the ground below with fascination.
Gliding lightly across the Han River, the SUV transformed back into vehicle form and pulled up to the entrance of a restaurant in Cheongdam-dong.
The moment Han Eol arrived at the restaurant, an attendant opened the car door. Even upon seeing the exceptionally rare luxury SUV, the attendant’s expression remained unchanged.
“Are you the guest Han Eol?”
The attendant, dressed in a tailored suit and with hair neatly combed back, verified Han Eol’s identity the instant he stepped out of the driver’s seat.
“Uh… yes, that’s right.”
Han Eol hesitated briefly before answering.
The reason he’d faltered was unfamiliarity with the surname Lee.
The attendant’s eyes flicked up and down, quickly assessing Han Eol from head to toe, then broke into a practiced, professional smile.
“Please follow me. There are people waiting for you inside.”
The people awaiting Han Eol were none other than his (?) cousins—Lee Min-cheol and Lee Min-seo, a brother and sister.
‘Phew.’
Han Eol puffed out his cheeks and exhaled.
Han Eol wasn’t particularly outgoing by nature. Therefore, this occasion felt uncomfortable for him.
But then he reflected that these social engagements were the price to pay for the luxuries now afforded him as the son of the Shinseong Group headquarters director, and he couldn’t do much about it.
The restaurant Lee Min-cheol had reserved occupied an entire three-story building in Cheongdam-dong.
With so many tables available, booking this restaurant was like plucking a star from the sky.
This was because the restaurant ranked in the top three fine dining establishments in all of Midland Seoul.
Consequently, the restaurant’s annual reservations typically filled up entirely by early January, and the prices were staggeringly high.
Yet today, Lee Min-cheol had rented the entire third floor.
When one was a direct descendant of the Shinseong Group’s owner, one could force-cancel other people’s reservations and create a space for oneself whenever desired.
But this powerful man, Lee Min-cheol, now had his throat parched.
Was it nerves about meeting Han Eol?
Lee Min-cheol gulped down the lukewarm barley tea in his cup, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and clenched and unclenched his fists several times.
Beads of cold sweat had begun gathering on his palms.
Lee Min-seo at the adjacent seat was equally visibly nervous.
That was precisely when the elevator chimed, arriving at the third floor.
“He’s here.”
Lee Min-cheol and Lee Min-seo’s gazes turned toward the elevator in unison.
Presently, guided by the attendant, Han Eol approached the table by the window on the third floor.
Chapter 3
Since it was November, night had fallen even though it was only six o’clock. The restaurant window framed a softly glowing cityscape outside.
Perhaps it was because the restaurant wasn’t positioned directly on the Han River boulevard but rather one block inland? The night view wasn’t spectacular, but it had an intimate quality instead.
Moreover, from the table where Lee Min-cheol was seated, a glimpse of the Han River could be seen between the buildings.
The attendant brought Han Eol to that very table with the finest view, then bowed deeply toward Lee Min-cheol.
“I’ve brought your guest.”
The attendant’s manner toward Lee Min-cheol differed markedly from his manner toward Han Eol.
In fact, the attendant had already formed a rough sense of Lee Min-cheol and Lee Min-seo’s identities.
Direct heirs of the great Shinseong Group.
Potential next-generation power brokers who might one day stand at the apex of Shinseong Group.
This was what the attendant had inferred about Lee Min-cheol’s station.
And that guess was nearly accurate.
Over the past several years, Lee Min-cheol had occasionally rented out the entire third floor of this restaurant to entertain guests, and each time, the invited guests would be overwhelmed and flustered, spending their time bowing and scraping before the siblings.
Just as junior nobles summoned to the court of a king would fidget and shuffle nervously.
Observing these guests, the restaurant attendant felt a vicarious satisfaction, as though he himself were Lee Min-cheol’s right hand.
‘This clumsy-looking fellow too will soon be bowing ninety degrees and licking his boots before these people, I’d wager. Ha ha. Whether I’m just an attendant or he rides around in a luxury SUV, we’re the same lowly rank before them. Ha ha ha.’
Thus the attendant consoled himself inwardly.
But Lee Min-cheol’s reaction was entirely different from his usual demeanor.
“So you’re Han Eol.”
Lee Min-cheol rose abruptly from his seat to receive Han Eol.
Even Lee Min-seo, who was normally aloof, hesitantly stood up as well.
‘What?’
The server’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Lee Min-cheol and his sister, then at Han Eol.
Soon the course began.
‘Wow, this is food?’
Han Eol had never experienced fine dining before, so each dish that arrived one after another filled him with wonder.
As each course appeared, the tablet screen installed at Han Eol’s place displayed the dish’s name and a brief description.
Yet the name and the actual dish created a curious disconnect.
For instance, the next course was labeled “Persimmon,” and Han Eol immediately imagined the sweet fruit.
But what arrived on the plate had the appearance of a persimmon, though it wasn’t truly one—and it was smaller than an actual persimmon.
As Han Eol listened to the chef’s explanation, he scooped up a generous spoonful of the persimmon dish.
Multiple layers revealed themselves, delighting his eyes first.
Then the various seafood and meat filling the “persimmon” created a symphony of flavors, aromas, and textures on his palate.
What was especially charming was the subtle hint of actual persimmon flavor woven through it all.
“Hah.”
Just then, Lee Min-seo let out a small sigh.
Han Eol, absorbed in the food, came to himself and turned his eyes toward Lee Min-seo.
She flinched.
In truth, Lee Min-seo had no intention of dismissing Han Eol.
Yet the reaction she’d just shown—it unavoidably resembled a chaebol’s daughter looking down on an orphan cousin with the air of ‘Is that really so amazing? Well, when would someone like you ever get to eat something like this?’
Flustered, Lee Min-seo shook her head.
“No, I just…….”
Lee Min-seo was about to make an excuse when her brother Lee Min-cheol quickly interjected.
“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
The attention Han Eol had been directing at Lee Min-seo naturally shifted to Lee Min-cheol instead.
“Yes, well, it’s a flavor I’ve never experienced before, and it really suits my palate.”
Han Eol spoke only after chewing thoroughly and swallowing.
Lee Min-cheol and Lee Min-seo’s father, Pioneer Division Commander Lee Sung-woo, was the younger brother of Lee Myung-woo, but had married early, so his children were older than Han Eol.
Lee Min-cheol was twenty-five years old this year.
And Lee Min-seo was twenty years old this year.
By comparison, Han Eol was only eighteen years old this year.
Moreover, Han Eol’s registered age of eighteen actually meant his real age was only sixteen.
Which made Lee Min-cheol seem less like a brother to Han Eol and more like an uncle.
“Is that so? Haha. Then shall we ask for another plate of just the persimmon after we finish the course?”
“Well, I’d like to try everything first and decide later. If my stomach gets too full, I’m planning to stop.”
“Of course.”
Lee Min-cheol nodded with a bright expression.
To be honest, Lee Min-cheol had taken a liking to Han Eol.
At first, he had worried that Han Eol might come across as threatening.
Today, both Lee Min-cheol and Lee Min-seo had been filled with wariness about Han Eol, which stemmed from how shocking the video they’d seen at Shubikyeon had been.
Yet the Han Eol they actually met proved to be an entirely different person from the one in the footage. To their eyes, Han Eol looked so youthful that he didn’t seem like a full-grown adult at all—and in fact, he was still a minor—and his personality was gentle and approachable.
Above all, Han Eol had the quality of being a pleasure to talk with.
‘Is it because he’s so easy to get along with?’
The Puppeteer Who Harvests Souls
Author |
Junon
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Team
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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