You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

The moment I stepped into the dungeon, I knew.

I knew exactly who was connected to Yoo Han-ul's disappearance.

It was because this place was far too familiar.

And this child... her actions hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Da-on, what’s going on? Do you know them?"

"…………"

"Da-on!"

Han Jae-young asked, but I didn’t answer.

Because right now, he wasn’t asking me.

...Right now, Han Jae-young was pressing against thin air.

So was Son Hyeong-hwa, and Lee Hyun-jun.

"Stop talking nonsense and tell us where Han-ul is!"

"Yes, don’t get distracted by that. Let's finish this quickly."

They were all looking in different directions, talking freely.

In their sight... they were probably seeing enemies they themselves had created.

They were completely entranced.

"Why are you talking? Wasting mana like that?"

The woman laughed.

"If you had just let the mental barrier fall, nothing would have happened... but now you’ll suffer even more from resisting."

She was right.

Had I not said anything, they would have already forgotten who they were.

Thanks to me infusing mana through my words and giving them some support in their minds, they could resist, but...

I glanced at the system message.

• System Warning
• The system requests help from user ‘Jeong Da-on’.

'...Even if I want to help, it's not possible.'

Right now, this was the best I could do.

Originally, a powerful magician deceives the world with their language and conquers realms by the magic contained in their soul.

And when a magician stays in one realm for a long time, the entire area begins to obey them.

Once a realm is conquered, it’s hard for others to take it back.

The breathing grass and trees, even the air, tend to obey the magician.

And this entire mountain was certainly this woman’s realm.

That’s why Han Jae-young and the other S-rank hunters slowly and quietly infiltrated this woman's realm as they climbed the mountain for hours, just like the woman who guided them here and everyone else in the mountain.

'...She was stronger than I expected.'

Even if I had warned them, it wouldn’t have changed anything.

Entering the opponent's magical realm is like that...

And more importantly, we had no other choice but to enter this realm.

• The system reminds user, ‘Jeong Da-on’, of a transaction.

"Stop whining and wait."

The demon never forgets a deal.

But this woman in front of me, unlike Count Burk, was a much stronger magician, so it would take some time to fulfill the deal.

"Still, it’s impressive that you’ve damaged the magic structure I fully control. It’s been centuries since something like this happened."

Her hair, her eyes, her face...

Nothing had changed from the last time I saw her.

I nodded.

"Noble pearl, Margarita."

The woman responded naturally.

"Morning star of the fall, Lucifer."

It was a greeting from an old royal court.

Lucifer.

I truly didn’t expect to hear that name again.

Margarita’s eyes narrowed.

"Whether you’ve reincarnated or just changed bodies... you no longer resemble me at all. It's a pity. I liked your face. Ah, you're still cute though. It's just that you lack elegance."

"Yeah, you're still as rude as your mother's younger sibling."

In truth, she couldn’t help but resemble both me and Orbis.

Margarita was the daughter of Orbis, my older sister.

So, to me... she was like a niece.

I never expected to meet her again.

Let alone after reincarnating as Jeong Da-on.

"Still, we were family once. Let’s have a chat. Want to take a walk?"

Margarita came closer and hooked her arm through mine. The feeling was like a slippery fish, repulsive.

Of course, she knew that in her own realm, I couldn’t do anything.

‘She’s really the same.’

Orbis, who had ascended to the throne, and I, just her younger sibling, and Orbis's biological daughter had different standings.

The heir to the throne was ranked higher than I was, and this girl knew that very well.

Margarita, while linking her arm with mine, babbled on, speaking of old memories that had long lost form.

"Do you remember this place? This is the monastery where I was sent to when I was disciplined. Sometimes you came to visit me."

"...You begged me to bring you white bread and good wine, didn’t you?"

Exactly as she said.

This was the monastery Orbis sent Margarita to whenever she misbehaved.

It was far from the capital, so once you went there, you’d be stuck there for at least a year.

Margarita cried, claiming she couldn’t endure the severe ascetic lifestyle, but Orbis was strict.

Just like with me, there were no exceptions for her successor.

‘Lucy, I really don’t want to go. Can you tell Mom, please?’

There was a time when she was a little girl throwing a tantrum like that.

Orbis, who needed a successor, would sigh and think, "When will she ever take responsibility?"

"It’s a really fun memory."

Margarita smiled, her eyes gleaming.

...Despite all the trouble she caused, she was an excellent magician.

As our family was.

"Come here, Lucy."

Margarita, still holding my arm, led me outside the building.

The garden of the building, long neglected, was rarely well-kept.

"It’s a mess, isn’t it?"

"Yeah."

"Even if I tried to hire a gardener, I don’t know what I’d be doing. Even after living this long, I still find it hard to trim the grass. I must have no talent."

"You have no talent for that. It’s funny that you even tried. You still can't objectify things."

"...Your tongue is still sharp, just like before."

It was no longer the time to be formal.

I looked around the garden as Margarita led the way.

The overgrown, neglected garden was adjacent to a cliff.

From one corner of the garden, the strange view of the mountain could be seen all at once.

On top of the high peaks, eternal snow had accumulated, and beyond the mountain, the sea sparkled in the sunlight.

It was a beautiful, if eerie, sight.

"Still, I’ve reached the age where I can appreciate the beauty of this vast natural scenery. Isn’t it funny?"

It was a rare view in reincarnated Korea.

But...

‘...It’s grotesque.’

In my eyes, something different was visible.

The entire mountain carried Margarita’s breath.

It was completely her realm.

‘She’s showing off how perfectly she has taken control of this place.’

Even I, as strong as I was, couldn’t break such a perfect structure in one go.

If only I could find Yoo Han-ul...

The Hero's sword is honest enough to dispel all illusions.

‘It will take time.’

I needed to find Yoo Han-ul, wherever he was.

I wasn’t very curious, but I asked Margarita, who was smiling like a child with her arm still linked with mine.

"The woman who guided us here, her mental barrier was almost nonexistent."

"Well, that’s easier, isn’t it?"

Margarita grinned.

"To live in my realm, there can be no secrets from me."

"...Are you planning to keep her alive?"

"Of course. I need workers in my realm too. They’ll be happy. They work regularly from morning to night, eat, sleep, and enjoy the happiness of raising children... It’s the last bit of luck left in this world. They’re grateful to me."

"And if they want to leave, do you let them?"

"Oh, if they want to leave, try to convince them. They’ll probably attack you instead. They might think you’re jealous of them because they’re happy here."

Margarita was still smiling at my question.

"Oh, someone asked that a long time ago. I think they promised to free me on the day that the eternal snow turns red with my blood."

So that’s why the eternal snow was red.

What a ridiculous story.

No human could climb the peak where eternal snow had accumulated.

Even if someone broke free from the brainwashing, they wouldn’t be able to reach that mountain, and ordinary people could never kill Margarita, so it was impossible from the start.

"What happened to this world?"

"Oh, now you’re curious about that?"

The tone in her voice seemed to blame me.

"You can see that this world is doomed, Lucy. Do you want to laugh at its fate?"

"Why would I think that?"

"The world you abandoned, the world that abandoned you, has ended up in ruin."

"I’m not that self-important, Rita."

It was true that I had once been at odds with this world.

But I wasn’t important enough for the world to end just because I died.

"If humanity is doomed, it’s not because of the Demon Lord I killed, but because of their own desires."

Margarita laughed at my words. It was a smile painted in green.

"Ah, you haven’t changed... That’s why I don’t want to talk to you anymore. That’s why Lucy is always hated."

"I’m used to being hated. Your hatred doesn’t wound me."

"Yes, the morning star of the fall is meant to be hated. Our empire’s sharpest sword."

"Looking back now, it’s a funny name. I’m a magician, not a sword."

"Well, if you call it the Empire’s staff, it sounds lame."

...She actually has a point.

It was then.

Clink, clink!

The sound of armor clashing echoed as a man walked out of the monastery building.

The massive armor gleamed in silver, dazzlingly polished.

"Your Highness, do you need help?"

The knight bowed and asked, and Margarita replied cheerfully.

"No, it’s fine. We’re just having a pleasant conversation, so wait outside."

"Understood."

The knight responded politely, but despite wearing knight’s armor, he wasn’t a knight.

It was... Yoo Han-ul.

"...Sigh."

I looked up at the sky.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but sigh.

What’s the point of dragging this out to find Yoo Han-ul?

An honest sword to dispel illusions?

Give me a break.

‘Honestly, the Hero really isn’t useful when it counts.’

• The system requests help from user ‘Jeong Da-on.’

At this point, I think there’s a problem with the system’s hero selection.

Both Yoo Han-ul’s disappearance and this familiar monastery.

I had expected Yoo Han-ul to be captured here, entranced.

But still, seeing him in such a pathetic state made me sigh even more.

Maybe we should just change the hero?

‘...Wait, is it partly my fault?’

I had dug into his mental barrier, and every time the system returned his memories, I happened to be nearby, confusing him even more.

So naturally, he became vulnerable to mental magic.

But I never expected it would end up like this.

"Finding someone to serve as a knight has been a while. I’m quite happy."

Margarita was just smiling as she looked at me.

I guessed her intentions from that face.

‘Did she not see Yoo Han-ul’s past life?’

If Margarita had seen Yoo Han-ul’s past life, she wouldn’t be messing around, making him play knight.

But it’s odd that she couldn’t see his soul.

She shouldn’t have failed to recognize the soul of the most famous knight in the Empire.

‘Then... maybe the system is protecting him.’

The system’s favoritism for heroes isn’t surprising anymore.

But, that favoritism is actually helping.

‘If that guy just snaps out of it, he might still have a chance to fight back.’

There was a possibility.

If Yoo Han-ul, just like last time, raised his sword and twisted the tense magical structure, even for a moment.

I stared hard at Yoo Han-ul.

‘Snap out of it...’

"We have a lot to gain. A one-armed, one-eyed swordsman, a magician, and even a fairy. We won’t have to worry about mana for a while."

"...This isn’t your first time doing this, is it?"

"Why are you asking as if you already knew?"

Margarita scrunched up her nose and laughed. It was the smile that once charmed so many.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

She resembled Orbis.

"Is it wrong to absorb other lives to survive? Every creature has to eat something to live. It’s not a crime. It’s just life."

Crrr!

As Margarita said that, vines shot out from the ground.

The vines wrapped tightly around my ankle.

They were thick and strong enough to break my bones.

They weren’t ordinary vines.

But I wasn’t surprised.

"Is this what you’ve prepared?"

Margarita was a magician capable of casting powerful incantations.

Naturally, I expected she had prepared something.

And since Margarita was a golem who absorbed others’ mana to extend her life, she wouldn’t miss a delicious prey like me.

"Of course. Weren’t you here to kill me anyway?"

Margarita looked at the vines around me and smiled.

Soon, my body was lifted, and I was heading towards the cliff’s edge, towards the void.

"But I’m disappointed. I thought I’d get to play a bit longer, but this is all you’ve got?"

"......"

"I’m not a little kid anymore. How do you feel about what I’ve done to you?"

I looked down at the cliff.

At the bottom of the cliff, a giant clam waited, mouth open, as if waiting for prey.

Once I was swallowed by that mouth, everything would become Margarita’s source of life and mana.

The embodiment of greed, wanting to survive.@@novelbin@@

Margarita’s incantation magic, ‘Praise of Life,’ was like that.

"Praise of life, huh? It’s funny. A clam in the mountains. I’d fail it in aesthetics."

"...People never change, even when they're reborn."

Margarita shook her head.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again. If we’re born again, let’s meet then."

It was all a play with a fixed ending.

Before I fell, I asked.

"Just one question, Margarita."

"What?"

"Where is Orbis?"

"Oh my, a baby bird doesn’t know where its mother bird is."

Margarita smiled innocently, like a child, and pushed me into the clam’s open mouth.

Before I was swallowed, the child’s words reached my ears.

"I’m just waiting for the return of the mother bird, who’ll bring me food."