You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

To be honest, I think it's completely absurd that the System is asking me to help Yoo Han-ul.

It was one thing to treat me, the "Destroyer of Worlds," as a potential threat in my past life, but now it ties me to some ridiculous quest with a strange name, and as if that's not enough, it even asks me to help a hero and defeat the Demon King of this world?

No, let's compromise for a second. Since I already got this nonsensical quest about "being blessed if you do good deeds," I suppose I could do some good deeds. After all, it might also help boost my stats.

But then the System goes and gives me a clue to figure out who "humanity's enemy" is by showing Yoo Han-ul memories of my past life.

‘Is this telling me to just die on my own or what?’

If Yoo Han-ul finds out that I was the "Destroyer of Worlds" he killed in my past life, he would surely welcome it.

From the start, the fact that the System showed Yoo Han-ul those memories was highly suspicious.

There are three people who appear in those memories.

Yoo Han-ul, the hero from his past life, the Demon King who was killed by him, and the king who ordered the Demon King’s defeat.

If there was a question on a test asking which of these three could be considered "humanity's enemy," it would probably be the first question, and the easiest one at that. Anyone would think the Demon King who died at the hands of the hero would be "humanity's enemy."

Here I am, doing good deeds in the name of this ridiculous quest about receiving blessings for doing good deeds, but it's really frustrating.

Why in the world are all the connections from my past life gathered in this world?

‘Did the gods decide to throw all my enemies into this world?’

If I think about it like that, maybe my earlier thoughts about there being no gods are wrong.

If the two enemies who took my life in my past life are both reincarnated into this world, then this relatively peaceful world might actually be the punishment given to me.

"Thwack."

Leo, who had been ripping apart the toy Jung Da-jeong hastily bought for him, suddenly stopped and widened his eyes. The squeaker inside the toy had broken.

• It’s broken!

"Wasn’t that what you were trying to do?"

• Nope.

Thwack, thwack.

After hitting the toy a few more times with his large paws, Leo turned back to look at me.

• I can’t control my strength. It’s weird!

"Well, I guess you’ve had a nerf ever since you came to this world."

Honestly, traveling through dimensions like this in such a strange way must have caused some significant damage to his body.

Leo drooped his ears and looked at me, pretending to be pitiful.

• Master, help? Help?

"You’ll have to wait a bit to get the materials needed to rebuild your body."

He was a subordinate I infused a piece of my soul into. His body, made from rare and extraordinary materials, would require a lot of money and luck to be recreated.

"Meow..."

Maybe it was because we hadn’t seen each other for a while, or maybe it was because his body had shrunk, but Leo fell onto the bed without saying anything. Even though Jung Da-jeong bought him a new cat hideout, he didn’t even glance at it.

I scratched Leo’s tiny head and fell into thought.

‘So, how does that other side exist in this world?’

There are many possibilities.

Maybe, like me, they were reincarnated with memories of their past life, or maybe like Yoo Han-ul, they have no recollection. Perhaps, like Leo, they accidentally descended into this world. My past life’s blood relatives were also powerful wizards, so any of these scenarios are possible.

But the most surprising thing is still something else.

What in the world did they do to become humanity’s enemy?

Humanity’s enemy.

I became the "Destroyer of Worlds" in my past life because the system, a collective intelligence of human beings, judged that my existence was detrimental to the survival of the humans in that world.

So, the "enemy of humanity" in this world must also have been judged in the same way.

And Yoo Han-ul was once again selected as the individual to fight that "enemy of humanity."

‘Really unlucky.’

In both my past and present lives, I end up stuck in the mess between my siblings, having to clean up after the world. It’s a pitiful situation.

These connections from my past life are really sticky.

Not just Yoo Han-ul, but also this "enemy of humanity."

When the Supermarket Dungeon Break happened, I felt an odd sense of discomfort. It was something only someone who knew my unique magic could have accomplished.

But if it was the work of someone who knew my past self, everything makes sense.

And while some things make sense, there are still things that don’t.

‘How did they even recognize me and attack?’

How did they realize that I was the "Destroyer of Worlds" from my past life?

‘And I still don’t get why they attacked me in the first place.’

I won’t deny that my connections from my past life were complicated.

Honestly, it was a tangled mess that I’d rather not remember.

But in the end, that past life was neatly wrapped up with the hero, who was one of the enemy's subordinates, killing me.

‘If you think about it, shouldn’t I be the one who should be resentful?’

What’s the point of going so far as to cause a Dungeon Break and vent their frustration? They were the ones who won.

"Really, I don’t understand these guys. Right?"

"Meow."

"What’s with that crying sound?"

Leo, trying to escape my touch, rolled around on the bed.

Still, petting Leo did make me feel a little more at ease.

As Han Jae-young pointed out, after seeing Yoo Han-ul’s memories, I had become a little more anxious.

Until now, I hadn’t really thought of whatever enemy was out there as a major threat. After all, only I knew that my soul was actually the "Destroyer of Worlds," and if things really got dangerous, I could just grab Jung Da-jeong and run away to another dimension.

But now things are different.

I clenched my fist.

‘I’ll have to find them and kill them first.’

The problem is that the System only gave me a hint and didn’t show exactly where this "enemy of humanity" is or who they are.

And that makes sense, since the System is just a collective intelligence born to increase humanity’s chances of survival. It’s not some all-knowing, convenient tool.

In other words, the System only recognized that humanity is currently under some kind of threat.

‘Well, if they caused a Dungeon Break with human lives as the price, the System would definitely feel threatened.’

In just one week, two humans were turned into shards and died.

That in itself means a hole was forced into the safety net of this dimension…

"Growl!"

Leo, who had been rolling around on the bed, suddenly made a sound as if scratching his neck.

• Intruder!

"Intruder?"

As I tried to get up, I heard the sound of a car engine.

It sounded like a small car struggling to climb up a hill.

I raised an eyebrow.

No way.

The car engine stopped in front of our house, and for a while, there was no sound.

Leo, still alert, kept his ears pricked up.

• Strong! Stronger than master!

"How do you know that?"

• Why wouldn’t I know?

This little guy.

I stepped out of the room and opened the door. A head suddenly popped up over the small car. The cold air made the atmosphere look hazy.

Leo, who had come into my arms, let out a little sound.

• Scary!

I suppose it’s understandable for Leo to be scared.

In his past life, or rather, from Leo’s perspective, it was an enemy he’d collided with multiple times.

He even died a few times.

• Why here?!

Exactly.

"Yoo Han-ul?"

As expected, standing in front of my house was none other than Yoo Han-ul, wearing a hospital gown with a padded jacket on top.

Yoo Han-ul was startled when he saw me open the door.

"Why are you surprised? This is my house."

"Ah, no. Ah… did you figure out I came because of the car noise? Sorry about that."

"You don’t have to apologize. Of course, it would’ve been nice if you had contacted me first if you had something to discuss."

"Ahahaha, yeah."

His response lacked energy.

I looked carefully at Yoo Han-ul.

‘This guy… looks really off, doesn’t he?’

Unlike the heroic figure who had wiped out dozens of monsters with a sword in a dungeon, he now appeared lifeless and sickly. Something was definitely wrong with his condition.

He didn’t even acknowledge the odd cat in my arms.

"Shouldn’t you still be in the hospital?"

"Yeah, I should be."

The problem wasn’t just his physical state. He seemed dazed, almost like his soul wasn’t here.

Yoo Han-ul opened his mouth in a dazed state.

"I thought I needed to see you…"

"…"

"…"@@novelbin@@

A brief silence passed between us.

It was Yoo Han-ul who broke the silence first, looking flustered.

"Ah, no! That’s not what I meant… I’m not saying I have any weird intentions…!"

"………"

Rather than Yoo Han-ul’s reaction, I sighed as I checked the surroundings.

There had been a few reporters lurking around here since yesterday, but thankfully, there was no one around now.

If someone had caught this scene, it would have made for a pretty hot New Year’s news story.

It would be a headache if it got mixed up with scandals involving Yoo Han-ul, considering the already noisy news.

"Don’t misunderstand, well, not that I think anything’s wrong with you…"

"I know. No misunderstanding."

If I were a normal 19-year-old girl, I might have felt a little excited by Yoo Han-ul’s words, but I’ve been through way too much.

At least I’m experienced enough to detect even the slightest hint of doubt and conflict in his eyes.

‘Probably… the aftereffects of the “Self-Exploration” spell.’

Yoo Han-ul isn’t the kind of crazy person to run out of the hospital just because he’s infatuated with a woman he’s just met a few days ago.

The cause is that I cast the "Self-Exploration" spell on him.

Basically, it penetrated his unconscious mind, so he couldn’t consciously recognize me, but his unconscious would’ve detected traces of my magical power.

And for someone as sensitive as Yoo Han-ul, an S-rank Hunter, that would have been an unpleasant feeling he couldn’t ignore. It would be like having his private space invaded.

The truth is, if the System hadn’t given me a quest to help Yoo Han-ul, this would have been an incredible violation.

After all, no one wants their thoughts to be exposed.

Of course, if I hadn’t helped him, Yoo Han-ul would probably still be lying in the hospital for another month, so I guess I could be called ungrateful.

Though, from Yoo Han-ul’s perspective, he might have preferred lying in bed for another month rather than letting someone invade his mind.

‘He probably doesn’t even realize it’s his past life’s memories yet…’

But the real problem is that the System gave me such vague information.

The scene where the hero kills the Demon King, the unpleasant traces of magic left in the unconscious.

And the magic that matches the traces—mine.

It’s all too suspicious.

If I were in their shoes, I would’ve killed me without a second thought.

I’m really irritated just thinking about it. If I had known, I wouldn’t have used the "Self-Exploration" spell to help him.

‘...It’s already spilled, so there’s nothing to be done now.’

Now, how should I treat this guy?

Actually, that’s one of the things I’m debating.

‘It would be more efficient to join Yoo Han-ul’s quest to find humanity’s enemy...’

Since the System gave me this quest, I’d cooperate as much as possible. Plus, as a "hero," if I became his ally, the "Good Deeds Bring Blessings" quest would likely go well. Putting aside my discomfort, just looking at it from an efficiency standpoint, it makes sense.

But the biggest problem is... I need to hide my true identity from Yoo Han-ul.

"Well, Da-on."

Yoo Han-ul spoke up. His expression was serious.

"I’ve asked this before, but I’ll ask again."

"...Alright."

"Have we met before?"