You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

"Your expression doesn't look good. Do you really dislike it that much?"

"There's nothing good happening, so why would I be happy?"

I had thought that today, at least, I might be able to rest.

I hummed a tune as I sat in the passenger seat, crossing my arms and focusing on the road ahead.

Honestly, I wanted to sit in the back, but because Han Jae-young had brought an absurdly expensive, unheard-of sports car, I had no choice but to sit in the passenger seat.

"So, where exactly is this 'Chambit Guild'?"

"The headquarters itself is scattered in various locations, but the biggest one is in Anyang, in the southern part of Gyeonggi. That's where the meetings of the followers are held regularly."

I see.

Right now, Han Jae-young and I were heading to one of the regional branches of the Chambit Guild.

It seemed that Han Jae-young and Yoo Han-ul thought the people targeting me were from some cult-like group. They had received a tip that the same smoke item used during the dungeon break had been acquired by the Chambit Guild.

In fact, they had even learned that the man who sacrificed himself to trigger the dungeon break in the first one had briefly been affiliated with the Chambit Guild.

Honestly, it all seemed to fit together way too well.

"Feels fishy. How is it that we're getting so close to the tail this fast? This isn't a trap, is it?"

"In the second dungeon break, there were no traces left, so we couldn't identify him. It seems that the first victim... the terrorist's corpse was the real wildcard. The National Forensic Service did a great job, after all."

Han Jae-young added a comment.

"And with this kind of psychotic terrorism, it wouldn't be possible unless it was a cult, would it?"

That made sense, too.

'If you're commanding someone to sacrifice their life, they must be a heretic or something.'

After all, everyone values their life, don't they?

Yet, if someone were to sacrifice their life for some purpose, it could only be considered madness.

And the belief that some absolute being will forgive and reward their sins only fuels that madness.

It was truly a convenient story.

No matter what they did, as long as they sacrificed their lives, they could be rewarded.

Then again, I sacrificed my life to the Hero's Sword in my past life. Shouldn't I be getting a reward as well?

Was it because the other side wasn't an absolute being that I didn't get rewarded?

"Ugh!"

Bored.
Leo, sitting on my lap, coughed.

I didn't summon you to entertain me. And, by the way, I am entertained.

"Are you not scared? Do you trust that familiar?"

"Familiar? Ah... I guess it's somewhat similar in concept."

The interesting thing is that the 'magic' I remember from my past life and the magic known in this world were not that different.

There were just some slight differences in terms and concepts.

Considering that the System, which is a collective human mind, developed magic as a weapon to deal with external invaders, it was an interesting fact.

Ultimately, it might mean that humans, regardless of the world or environment, always reach the same conclusion.

I pressed Leo’s paw down as I asked.

"What’s there to be scared of?"

"If you’re heading to the headquarters of a cult, even veteran hunters would be nervous, but you don’t seem to be worried at all."

"Well, you and Yoo Han-ul are coming along. Is there really any need to worry?"

Han Jae-young gave a subtle smile.

"Hmm, I didn't know I was trusted this much."

It’s not exactly trust, though.

If the cultists were to attack me, I’d probably use them as meat shields and run away.

Both of them are S-rank hunters, so they'd be tough enough to buy me some time.

"By the way, we got caught off guard last time, didn’t we? Are we really prepared this time?"

Honestly, if it weren't for that smoke in the last dungeon, Yoo Han-ul and Han Jae-young would have been able to respond immediately.

"Of course. It's not that sloppy."

As he spoke, Han Jae-young clicked his tongue, as if frustrated.

"The fact that that item even made it into the country was so unbelievable, we didn’t expect it."

Now that the incident had already happened, it was just an unnecessary excuse.

While not holding the steering wheel, Han Jae-young waved one hand in the air, pulling out two unfamiliar items and handing them to me.

"Here. You need to wear one on your nose and mouth."

One was a small device that could fit into your nostrils, and the other was something that looked like a transparent orthodontic appliance. It looked uncomfortable at first glance... and as I stared at it, wondering why I had to wear this, Han Jae-young added,

"It's an air purifying item. It filters out particles above a certain size. It was originally developed for preventing fine dust, but I thought it would work perfectly."

"...Do I really need to wear this?"

"As long as you block your respiratory system, it's the most efficient way. It uses very little mana."

For all the boasting, it didn’t seem like a perfect solution.

I looked at the unimpressive item.

After all, considering that the smoke item capable of subduing hunters was a fairly recent development, it might have been unreasonable to expect a flawless countermeasure.

Noticing my gaze, Han Jae-young cleared his throat.

"Your gaze seems a bit... unsettling. Is that just me?"

"It’s true."

"Hmm, this is a bit embarrassing. Maybe there’ll be an opportunity to recover my wounded pride?"

"Are you saying you want to fight a cult?"

"Not a bad idea. After all, they’ve got quite a long history."

Han Jae-young fell silent for a moment, as though reminiscing, then spoke again.

"Despite how I look, I’m actually a bit older. My skin's so good, and I look so young, so people don’t notice."

"You do look like it. So?"

"…The Chambit Guild, or rather, Chambit Church, is quite an old cult. They’ve been around since before dungeons and monsters even appeared. Back then, even without monsters, they said that a great disaster would befall Earth, and that to prevent it, you had to follow the teachings of the prophet. If they believed that without monsters, what would they have thought when the real crisis came?"

It wasn’t hard to imagine what happened next.

On the surface, life seemed peaceful, but in reality, everyone was living through their own personal hell. It’s not hard to imagine how attractive religion becomes to those who’ve been through tough times.

And then, monsters that seemed like they belonged in the Bible started appearing.

"They must have gathered all the money and followers."

"Yes, that's right. They believe that if they hunt monsters in accordance with the will of the gods, they will be rewarded. For them, this hell was almost like the stage they had been waiting for."

People had to face monsters using strange and new weapons like swords and magic.

Even now, with the system mostly in place, once a dungeon break happens, it spirals out of control. How was it when dungeons first started appearing?

"We've entered the era of myths again. This is the famous opening speech of the prophet."

The age of myths.

A time when heroes chosen by the gods killed monsters to gain fame.

Where death became glory, and that glory turned into immortality and became constellations.

It sounded like something a cult would say.

"So, the Chambit Guild has an unbelievably high dungeon raid success rate. Their members believe they are the chosen heroes."

"Is this a good thing for the country?"

"And their mortality rate is the highest. They willingly throw themselves into death to become glorious stars."

Han Jae-young stopped the car.

"Alright, let’s go. To the headquarters of these anachronistic fools."

We were guided inside a building that, from the outside, looked like a corporate training center.

And we met Yoo Han-ul, who had arrived early. He greeted us first.

"Hello, Da-on."

Was it just me, or did Yoo Han-ul seem a little stiff?

Had he become embarrassed by his actions after taking some time to recover?

Either way, his attitude didn’t really matter in the current situation.

"Hello! Wow, here we have Hunter Yoo Han-ul, Hunter Han Jae-young, and...”

The main event is this side.

The executive who rushed over at the sight of the S-rank hunters was gleaming with excitement.

"The hottest Hunter, Jung Da-on, is visiting!"

If I were really their target, it would be like a delicious meal landing straight into their mouths.

Seeing them rub their hands together in welcome was a little nauseating, but... well, it’s true that I'm currently one of the hottest topics in South Korea, so I can’t judge too quickly.

"Really glad to see you. Please, have something. Tea? Coffee?"

Their friendly, smiling face was perfect. Who would believe they were a cultist with a face like that?

"We didn’t come here to leisurely drink tea."

Han Jae-young’s smile was also perfect. If I had to rank annoying smiles, I think he'd be in the top spot.

He wasn’t lying about hating cults. He didn’t waste any time getting to the point.

Yoo Han-ul handed a photo to the now-stiff executive, still smiling.

"Do you know this person in the photo?"

I recognized the man in the photo immediately.

It was a bit unsettling.

The man in the photo had entered the supermarket where I worked, only to be torn apart and killed right after.

The executive glanced at the photo and made a face as if in trouble.

"No, should I know him?"

"Yes, I believe he works with the Chambit Guild."

"Oh, I'm sorry. There are so many hunters in our church, or rather, guild. I don’t think I know this person."

"The government system says he was an F-rank hunter."

Ah, the executive nodded as if he understood.

"Well, I guess it would be hard to know. There are nearly a thousand in the southern part of Gyeonggi alone. And if he was F-rank, he’d have been doing menial tasks, so…"

He wouldn't know someone from that rank, huh?

Han Jae-young nodded in agreement.

"Still, please check."

"Alright. I’ll check if any acquaintances knew him."

As the executive stood up to leave, he handed us a brochure with Chambit Church’s name boldly printed on it.

Once the executive left, I could see Yoo Han-ul and Han Jae-young exchanging looks.

They were probably thinking the same thing as me.

‘They already know he’s dead.’

The identity of the man suspected to have caused the dungeon break hadn’t been in the news yet.

Also, since we hadn’t stated our purpose when we came here, the executive’s calm attitude was strange. He seemed far too prepared.

Besides, he said ‘someone who knew him.’

He unconsciously used the past tense.

It was the perfect environment to apply pressure with three S-rank hunters.

Until now, the evidence had lined up so perfectly, I was starting to wonder if it might actually be a jackpot.

"But I don’t think that executive will give us any useful information. If they’re hiding something, it’s even less likely."

"You can’t expect to be full after the first meal. Anyway, something’s definitely going on, so let’s dig deeper."

"How do you plan to move?"

"If they’re really after you, Da-on, they’ll try to keep us here. Let’s wait here for now. Is that alright, Da-on?"

"Yeah."

There was definitely something off about this guild.

I glanced briefly at Yoo Han-ul.

Quest, "SAVE THE WORLD", would you like to participate?
The system’s message was still annoyingly persistent.

I still didn’t want to participate in that quest, but...

There was something I wanted to confirm.

"I actually need some time. I’ve let Leo out."

"Leo?"

"My familiar."@@novelbin@@

I hadn’t expected to get any solid information from the executive. It was laughable to think that a cultist would spill information to outsiders.

"As soon as we got out of the parking lot, I let him go."

Looking at the building’s exterior, I noticed the drainpipes were exposed, perfect for wild animals to enter and exit.

So, Leo had already climbed up the drainpipe and entered the courtyard inside.

"Let’s see what kind of information a stray cat brings back."

Not a stray cat!
Leo protested, having overheard me through our bond.