Failed Possession Chapter-10

# Chapter 10

—

In a world where beings called gods truly exist, humans cannot possess nations or become kings.

That is why, instead of kingdoms or empires, this world has cities.
Of course, not all cities are the same. Their size, population, economic strength, military power, and countless other factors combine to determine a city’s standing.

Lutran was a great city acknowledged by everyone.

Its land area and population alone were several times larger than Aldor’s, and the families that governed the city were prestigious noble houses that had maintained their authority without wavering for hundreds of years.

And in Lutran, there were three major powers.

The **Dercia Magic Tower**, led by the Tower Master Thunderbolt Orca.

The **Namgung Clan**, one of the Five Great Eastern Families and a faction with great influence even within the Orthodox Heaven Alliance.

And the **Ascad Family**, who could practically be called the true rulers of present-day Lutran.
The Ascad Family, which held major influence even within the Cartel—the alliance of western houses—had supported Lutran’s economy for a very long time.

The fertile granaries surrounding Lutran were the result of the Ascad Family summoning high priests of the God of Earth and the God of Abundance from the religious federation city Union to bestow blessings.
And roughly half the goods circulating through Lutran passed through the trading companies owned by the Ascad Family.

‘I miss this place.’

Thirty years had passed, so he had worried a little, but from Yuri’s memories and Elena’s added explanations, Lutran’s current state wasn’t much different from how it had been in the game.

The true power of this great city was still the Ascad Family.

There were other families, of course, but even if they united, they couldn’t surpass the authority of the Ascad Family, which belonged to the Cartel’s Pride.

The Namgung Clan was the same.
Though they had left the East and settled in Lutran fifty years ago, to the city’s old ruling houses they were still nothing more than uncouth outsiders.

The Dercia Magic Tower hadn’t changed either.
Though those lightning mages could slaughter countless people if they wished, they remained an ivory tower that kept its distance from the city’s political struggles.

Because they stood in that position, the Dercia Magic Tower received great treatment here.
Simply being a mage of the Dercia Magic Tower meant one would never feel inconvenience in city life.

The reason Elena had received a house as a gift upon reaching the 4th Circle wasn’t because Thunderbolt Orca was personally rich enough to buy houses casually.
Such gifts themselves were tokens of goodwill and welfare from the Ascad Family toward the Dercia Magic Tower.

In fact, every year the Ascad Family sent donations that vastly exceeded the Magic Tower’s entire annual budget.

Mages raised in abundance would not turn hostile toward the Ascad Family even far into the future.

And in that way, the Ascad Family had ruled Lutran for ages.

The Namgung Clan, which had only arrived fifty years ago, could never compete with the benefits accumulated over such a long time.
It was true they held great influence within the Orthodox Heaven Alliance, but the “swords” they boasted of posed no threat at all to the Ascad Family.

In truth, back in the game, it had been hard to really feel just how impressive the Ascad Family was, or how enormous this city was.

The scenery of a “great city” looked miserable compared to modern game graphics, and the Ascad Family—the Cartel’s Pride—became nothing more than an experience and money farm once you reached high levels.

> [If you want a tip to earn money while hunting Dercia Magic Tower mages, attack the Ascad Family. Even unnamed Ascad NPCs drop millions of Cels by default, and attacking them always summons Dercia mages. If you kill the head of the family, Thunderbolt Orca spawns immediately.]

> [If you hire a Salho Gate assassin and wait in front of the Magic Tower, you trigger a forced battle event with Thunderbolt Orca, but that’s inefficient for limited honor farming. If you’re aiming for the Hall of Fame, it’s better to farm Ascads for resources.]

That was what the most-viewed guide written by THOR123—practically the father of lightning mages in the community—had emphasized.

Yuri had once translated it and tried it himself.

It was true enough.

‘Though it wasn’t only Dercia mages who showed up.’

In the game, the Ascad Family had been treated like golden goblins.

But in reality, you couldn’t treat them that way.

—

—

 

The house Elena owned—granted through that wealthy Ascad Family—wasn’t some enormous mansion.

Still, it was incomparable to the communal housing Yuri had lived in.

A two-story detached house with a small garden.

Yuri stood blankly in front of it, and Elena, stepping down from the carriage behind him, lightly smacked his shoulder.

“Why are you just standing there?”
“Nice house.”

At his sincere comment, the corner of Elena’s lips twitched upward. She magically pulled over her travel bag and shrugged.

“Well… isn’t it pretty normal? Still, it’s not mine forever. Once I reach the 6th Circle, I have to return it.”
“They’ll give you a new one instead.”
“How did you know?”
“If they take back the house they gave you, they’d have to give you another one.”

Even if she never reached the 6th Circle, it was a house she could live in for life.

Lee Su-hyeok at twenty-seven had lived in a cheap one-room rental.
Twenty-year-old Yuri had lived in a room without even a bathroom or kitchen.

But Elena, the same age, lived in a two-story house with a garden.

‘Getting your own home isn’t easy in this world either.’

He let out a deep sigh.

Haryeong approached his side.

“May I just leave the carriage here?”
“If we leave it, someone will come take it.”
“Don’t tell me you’re staying in this house too, Haryeong?”
“No. I stay at a nearby inn.”
“You’re pretty passionate about your escort duty. Is that okay?”
“I’d prefer to stay by Lady Elena’s side, but she dislikes having her personal space invaded.”

Then why bring me home?

Yuri looked at Elena in disbelief.

“Yet you intend to keep Yuri in the house. Truly hard to understand,” Haryeong added, nodding knowingly.

“There are exceptions,” Elena quickly defended.

She explained that the escort mission had started when she took a Rank-4 Adventurers’ Guild request outside the city.

After more back-and-forth, Yuri cut off her rambling excuses.

“Alright, alright.”

She oddly looked relieved.

“You don’t hate the idea of living in my house, do you?”
“You said you don’t like people invading your space.”
“You’re different. We used to sleep together as kids.”
“That was when we were ten.”
“So what? We’re not even sharing a room. I told you, there are plenty of rooms.”

She reached for the door.

Yuri could see the mana she released flow into it.

‘As expected.’

Now that he was conscious of mana flow, he could even see the magic embedded in the door—complex intertwined formulas.
He couldn’t understand them yet, but he could tell Elena’s mana acted as the key, unlocking the spell.

That alone was enough.

If you could see through a formula, then as long as you could reproduce it, you might be able to use the magic yourself.

Of course, knowing formulas didn’t mean you could solve everything. Deeper understanding and repetition would be needed.

Still, it was enough.

Moments like this made Yuri keenly aware just how monstrous a possessor’s mana affinity and comprehension were.

Which meant he had to be even more careful.

—

—

“Then I’ll visit after drawing up a new contract. Do you plan to go out today?” Haryeong asked.

“I should stop by the Magic Tower and report.”

“Understood. I’ll visit tomorrow at the usual time.”

“Okay.”

“Unexpected. I thought you’d stay home for about a week.”

“What’s unexpected about that? I may have brought Yuri, but I’m still a Dercia mage. Of course I go every day.”

Though she spoke casually, Haryeong could tell Elena secretly wanted to stay.

But it couldn’t be helped. A 4th Circle mage affiliated with the Tower had to submit quarterly reports.

“I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Haryeong bowed slightly and left.

Watching her go, Elena glanced at Yuri.

Anyone could tell from his clothes that he was from the countryside.
They didn’t smell, but they were old and worn enough to be unpleasant to look at.

Naturally, Elena didn’t have men’s clothes at home.

“We need to buy daily necessities for you too.”

“Me? I brought what I need.”

“Throw them away,” Elena said immediately.

“How many years have you worn those? You don’t even take care of them. Don’t tell me they’re gifts or sentimental or something?”

“No.”

They were clothes orphan Yuri had bought himself.

And it was true—he hadn’t taken good care of them. There were no washing machines here.

Maybe there were detergents or fabric softeners, but orphan Yuri had never used such things. He was the type to wash everything with cheap laundry soap from Gordon’s General Store.

Current Yuri was the same.

He knew the clothes were worn out. He still had half a bar of soap left. Buying better stuff felt like a waste of savings.

So he hauled cold water from the well and hand-washed them himself.

“If I throw them away, I’ll have to buy new ones. I don’t have money.”

He still had some savings, but spending them on clothes or underwear felt wasteful.

“Who said you had to buy them? I’ll buy them, so don’t worry.”

Honestly, he wasn’t worried.

Of course Elena would buy them for him.

Someone might think he was shameless trash for thinking that, but Yuri felt no shame. To begin with, it was Elena telling him to throw away perfectly wearable clothes. And the savings orphan Yuri had painstakingly gathered since his pickpocket days might not even amount to a single month of Elena’s living expenses.

“Still… I’m just taking and taking from you.”

Even if he thought that way inside, he couldn’t act blatantly shameless.

Back in Aldor, he could afford to behave rudely to cut ties with Elena. But now they had already come all the way to Lutran. If he acted like that here, he might end up living a lonely, pathetic life in a foreign city.

“I’m doing it because I want to.”

Elena’s cheek twitched as she answered.

After watching her for a week, Yuri had realized something—Elena tried strangely hard to suppress her smile in situations like this. Yet when she showed off, she grinned with an almost obnoxious confidence. That was just how Elena was.

“Anyway, don’t just stand there. Come inside.”

She held back the spreading smile, but she couldn’t hide the happiness leaking into her steps.

In truth, Elena was in a good mood.

When she first received Gordon’s letter and set out, she had been worried about Yuri… but if she were honest, she had also felt disgust toward him.

Ten years was a long time.

Elena knew she herself had changed a lot since her orphanage days, and she had assumed Yuri must have changed too.

She had guessed he wouldn’t be doing anything worth bragging about. She hadn’t bothered investigating further—thinking about it now, maybe she just hadn’t wanted to feel disgusted. She hadn’t wanted to be disappointed in him.

Yuri’s situation had been worse than she expected. A situation that naturally led to disgust. Doing trashy things, becoming trash.

But after meeting him…

He wasn’t as much of a wreck as she had feared.

And that made her happy.

“There’s a bathroom on the first floor and one on the second.”

They passed through the small garden and entered the house. Standing in the middle of the tidy living room, Elena put her hands on her hips and looked back at Yuri.

“It’s equipped with basic household magic tools, so it’ll be way more comfortable than where you used to live.”

Just one glance told him that was true.

There was no hearth that needed firewood shoved in manually.

Yuri couldn’t help but admire the unexpectedly modern-looking kitchen.

“Don’t you need to handle mana to use magic tools?”

“No way. This house has mana stones built in. Even you can just turn that valve and the fire will light.”

When he saw the bathroom and toilet, he nearly teared up.

Just like she had said about Aldor, the toilet wasn’t a pit latrine.

A faint fragrance filled the clean white restroom. There was a gleaming flush toilet. The bathroom had a sink, a bathtub, and even a shower.

‘All hail magic.’

He couldn’t help but feel grateful for the civilization of a great city where magic had seeped into everyday life.

“You can use the study on the first floor freely. The magic books there are just common ones, so it’s fine to read them.”

The more she introduced the house, the more excited Elena’s voice became.

It was a twisted desire to boast—how someone who once had nothing as an orphan had succeeded this much in this city.

“You really made it big.”

It wasn’t hard to notice that obvious desire.

So Yuri reacted exactly how she wanted and admired it. The admiration itself was sincere.

Elena immediately puffed up with pride.

‘Does she realize her chin keeps lifting higher and higher…’

Elena, the top success story of Aldor Orphanage and now a 4th Circle mage of the Dercia Magic Tower, went upstairs.

“You can use that room.”

It was completely empty—no furniture at all.

“I’ll go buy what you need later. A bed, a desk, a chair…”

She counted items off on her fingers, muttering.

“Where’s your room?”
“Right next door. That room in the corner is storage—you can go in there. But not my room!”
“I won’t go in, so don’t worry.”

Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t.

Glancing over, he saw mana flowing through the door itself.

‘Security magic, probably.’

Elena’s room was the only place inside the house with protective spells.

“You said you’re going out? I don’t have to come with you?”
“Mm… yeah, it’s fine. I have to stop by the Magic Tower first.”

She looked a bit apologetic.

“Can I use the ingredients?”

“Huh? Why?”

“We haven’t eaten yet.”

Elena’s eyes widened.

“You’re… going to cook yourself?”

“I lived alone for three years after leaving the orphanage. I can cook at least that much.”

There was a small lie mixed in.

He could cook, yes—but he wasn’t that skilled.

So he had studied.

While wandering Aldor’s library and bookstores looking for magic or martial arts manuals, he’d found cookbooks and read them seriously. If he couldn’t at least eat well in this miserable life, he felt like he might really want to die.

[ I tried cooking myself, and honestly, it was terrible. I may know magic, but I definitely have no talent for cooking. ]

That had been written in Elena’s last letter.

He didn’t know how bad “terrible” meant since he hadn’t tasted it, but Yuri believed his cooking was at least past “edible”—it actually tasted good.

Even Elena, who had everything, didn’t have cooking skills.

But Yuri did.

“You said you couldn’t cook?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Then since I’m freeloading, I’ll handle the housework.”

Elena’s eyes trembled.

This house had always felt satisfying yet strangely empty.

Now, with Yuri here, it suddenly felt real.

“Okay.”

Elena parted her lips, then hurriedly composed her expression.

“What if someone comes while I’m out?”

“No one will, so don’t worry.”

“You never know.”

“Then don’t open the door. Just say the homeowner’s out.”

Standing at the door, Elena hesitated instead of leaving immediately.

“I—I’ll be back before sunset at the latest. If… um… if I’m late and you get hungry… eat first.”

“I’ll wait.”

She didn’t respond right away. She suddenly turned around.

“…Okay.”

A slightly delayed answer, holding down the corners of her lips.

“See you later.”

He saw her off and closed the door.

‘Now I’m finally alone.’

There was no time to relax or get sentimental.

First, he needed to figure out whether it was safe to practice breathing exercises in this house.