You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

"Ah, it’s so cold."

Choi Mi-yeon, waiting for Imanbok in the central garden, rubbed her cold hands against her pants.

"Here, hold this."

Jeong Soo-yeon handed a hand warmer to Choi Mi-yeon. Mi-yeon gratefully took it.

"Ah, unni, thank you. As expected, there's no one like you."

"Ugh, who else would take care of you, you clumsy thing? Keep the hand warmer with you! You’re not even feeling well."

"Heh, I guess I am a precious body."

The supervisor standing next to them interjected. Choi Mi-yeon, rubbing her hands with the hand warmer, glanced at him. He was a direct superior of Choi Mi-yeon’s father, Choi Seong-hoon, and they had been acquaintances for a long time.

Of course, Mi-yeon knew that it was nonsense, but what Lee Ah-rin had said was still on her mind.

‘Still, maybe I should ask my dad...’

"Why isn’t Seong-hoon uncle here yet? This is a rare opportunity for you to meet the leader."

"Haha, he was called on suddenly. He’s been busy lately."

The supervisor answered instead.

That’s right.

Jeong Soo-yeon had relayed to the supervisor that Mi-yeon would be meeting Imanbok instead of Lee Ah-rin. Upon hearing this, the supervisor, seeing that Mi-yeon had an important task, suggested that Choi Seong-hoon join them as well. After all, in the True Light Church, there was nothing more significant than meeting the leader in person.

‘Well, if what Lee Ah-rin said was true, there’s no need for such consideration. The supervisor is being so kind, though, so that doesn’t make sense.’

Now that I think about it, it was absurd. If the supervisor really had looked down on Choi Seong-hoon and wielded violence, would he have acted so kindly?

It was just nonsense.

‘Where did Lee Ah-rin go wrong?’

Thinking about it, it had been years since Lee Ah-rin had isolated herself within the church. Was it after her friend, who she considered a sister, died in an accident?

But no matter how you looked at it, this was simply the result of Lee Ah-rin’s lack of faith. She should have overcome it with faith in the True Light Church, just like Mi-yeon had done.

"Ah, Mi-yeon. Did you bring it? The one I gave you..."

"Ah, the protective stone? Yeah, I brought it like you asked."

Choi Mi-yeon pulled out the protective stone she had received from Jeong Soo-yeon a few months ago.

Honestly, she didn’t believe in these superstitions, but she had kept it out of gratitude.@@novelbin@@

The transparent crystal glowed faintly, reflecting light from the gaps between the buildings in the darkness.

It was said to have the power to protect its owner.

For some reason, it seemed a little cloudier than when she had received it…

Jeong Soo-yeon’s face brightened.

"Good, you brought it."

"But why did you ask me to bring it?"

"Huh? Oh, I thought it would be better if you received the leader’s blessing through the protective stone. You've been carrying it around, right?"

"Of course. It’s from you, unni."

Jeong Soo-yeon patted Mi-yeon on the shoulder like she was proud of her. The supervisor, who was standing nearby, smiled slyly.

"Our True Light Church sisters are all so close. Jeong Soo-yeon, you’re amazing."

"Haha, if you think that, please promote me this time."

"Trying to make up for missing Lee Ah-rin, huh? No chance."

"What are you talking about...?"

"Mi-yeon!"

While the supervisor and Jeong Soo-yeon were talking, they received a message, and Choi Seong-hoon rushed over. He had been working late into the night and arrived suddenly, sweat on his forehead.

"Why did you run so fast, dad? You could have come slowly."

"No, I had no choice but to run!"

Choi Seong-hoon, hurriedly arriving, grabbed Mi-yeon’s hand. His face was flushed red from how fast he had run.

"Why did I suddenly have to meet the leader? What’s going on?"

"Well, it’s..."

"Isn’t it an honor?"

The supervisor chimed in with a smile, joining in their conversation.

"I never expected that Seong-hoon’s daughter would meet the leader so quickly. It’s a good thing, so I called Seong-hoon to meet the leader as well. Isn’t that great?"

"Uh? Ah, yes, yes. It is an honor, but..."

Mi-yeon felt the slight tremor in her father’s hand that was holding hers. She felt uneasy as her father’s gaze seemed to waver.

"So, why exactly did our Mi-yeon get to meet the leader?"

"The leader asked to meet her, so why would there need to be a reason?"

"Right. Just consider it an honor. There’s no need to ask for a reason."

Jeong Soo-yeon responded sharply. Choi Seong-hoon swallowed.

"Still, when you call someone, you should at least know the reason. Why did it have to be Mi-yeon, especially when you’re trying to avoid other people’s eyes?"

"Dad!"

"No, you...!"

After Mi-yeon’s shocked cry, the supervisor sternly scolded Choi Seong-hoon.

"I don’t know what nonsense you’re thinking right now. This is utterly disrespectful."

"It’s natural for a father with a daughter to worry."

"Dad, why are you acting like this?"

"Mi-yeon, stay quiet. If anything happens to you..."

"Hehe, what are you all talking about so happily?"

At that moment...

"Leader, this way please."

"Be careful, it’s dark."

A group of people walked out from the prayer hall.

Mi-yeon blinked.

Among the dozen or so heavily armed hunters, what she saw was...

"Leader...!"

It was the religious leader she had only seen on the faraway podium.

An elderly man in a clean hanbok, with a long white beard, looked around the garden before standing next to his statue. The statue and the man looked incredibly alike.

"Hm, looks like there’s no problem."

Seeing that, Mi-yeon unconsciously placed her hands over her chest.

She had heard rumors that some followers fainted just from seeing Imanbok, and in that moment, she felt a surge of overwhelming emotion.

"Is this the young lady?"

Imanbok, the leader, looked at Mi-yeon with a gentle gaze.

It felt like a deep belief that had never been doubted from the moment she was born.

"Yes! Leader, have you been well all this time?"

The supervisor immediately bowed deeply to the floor. Mi-yeon hesitated for a moment, thinking she should follow, but Imanbok waved his hand.

"Hehe, why all this formal courtesy? I hate excessive manners. Especially from my own people."

My people...!

Those words brought an oddly reassuring sense of stability. For Mi-yeon, who had been raised inside the True Light Church from birth, it felt like a solid boundary being drawn for her.

‘I’m glad I stayed here after all.’

It was only here that someone useless as both a hunter and a person could be accepted.

As Mi-yeon was lost in her emotions...

"Mi-yeon. Come here."

Mi-yeon quietly rejected her father’s hand, pulling her away. Her dad was always clueless, but even in such a situation, it felt like this was going too far.

"Dad, why are you acting like this, being disrespectful in front of the leader..."

"Stop talking, come on..."

Just as her father was about to pull Mi-yeon behind him without noticing, there was a sudden sound.

Bang! Bang!

Mi-yeon recognized the sound as gunshots, followed by a shield being activated quickly.

"An ambush!"

"Enhance the shield and secure the escape route!"

The hunters surrounding the leader moved quickly. Mi-yeon blinked in surprise at the sudden situation.

The next thing Mi-yeon recognized was a woman's scream.

"Ahhh!"

Despite being close to the leader, Mi-yeon barely made it into the shield’s range, but Jeong Soo-yeon, who had been standing farther away, was not protected by the shield.

She was hit by a grenade that bounced off the shield, clutching her waist and collapsing to the ground.

"Unni!"

Mi-yeon was shocked.

"Unni!"

She was extremely flustered. Even though she had received an A-class potential rating, Mi-yeon had been judged unfit to pursue a career as a hunter due to not having received proper basic training, so she wasn’t familiar with combat situations.

And if the opponent wasn’t a monster, but a human...

A gunshot? Jeong Soo-yeon was shot?!

As Mi-yeon was about to rush over to Jeong Soo-yeon in a panic, she heard the supervisor shouting.

"Hey, you slowpoke! What are you doing! Stop Mi-yeon from going out!"

...What?

"Ugh! Mi, Mi-yeon!"

Mi-yeon, unable to move forward or back, stood awkwardly, looking over her shoulder at her father, who was reaching his hand out to her in desperation.

As always, he was treating her like the most precious thing in the world, desperately reaching for her.

"Dangerous, come here!"

"...Unni..."

"Quickly!"

"Right now, you’re more important, Mi-yeon!"

Just as the supervisor, who had just kicked her father, shouted those words, Mi-yeon’s mind became even more confused.

In the midst of the sudden gunfire and the chaos, seeing such actions left her unable to think clearly.

What did I just see? No, I must have misunderstood something. No, that’s not it either.

Maybe it’s understandable.

Since her dad was acting sluggish in this emergency situation, and he had always been clueless... Maybe her safety really was the priority...

"Hehehe."

Imanbok, the leader, stroked his long beard with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Everyone is really dependable."

"Don’t worry. It doesn’t seem to be magical ammunition, just regular firearms."

"Even with this, a normal shield won’t be breached."

"We’ve also identified the sniper’s position. We’ll send someone to handle it immediately. Please wait a moment."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunshots continued to ring out, but just as the guards had said, the bullets bounced off the shield without breaking through.

Imanbok stood proudly, almost as if he was out for a walk, smiling.

"I never worried in the first place. I trust our True Light Church members’ skills!"

Mi-yeon, however, found the conversation to be rather odd.

After all, Jeong Soo-yeon, who hadn’t made it into the shield’s range, was still lying on the ground, clutching her waist from the grenade hit.

Jeong Soo-yeon was still exposed to danger outside the shield.

Was this really a situation where there was no need to worry?

Red blood spread across the ground, staining it black.

As Jeong Soo-yeon, who had collapsed on the floor, lifted her head and met Mi-yeon’s gaze, relief filled her pained eyes upon seeing Mi-yeon.

"Th-thank goodness. You’re not hurt..."

"Unni!"

Mi-yeon’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at her, shocked that Jeong Soo-yeon, despite being shot, was still worried about her.

"Just wait, I’ll save you right away!"

"Supervisor, take Mi-yeon into the prayer hall quickly!"

Jeong Soo-yeon shouted. In that moment, Mi-yeon came to her senses when she felt a strong grip on her shoulder. The supervisor grabbed her and pulled her toward the prayer hall with a fearsome expression on his face.

"No! I’m fine, let me stay with Unni first!"

"What are you talking about right now! Quickly, into the prayer hall!"

The supervisor yelled at her with an urgent tone. It only added to the confusion, making it harder for Mi-yeon to think straight.

Of course, he was only worrying about her, but...

"Meow."

At that moment.

A black cat poked its head out from behind the statue.

It was a familiar cat. The one she had carried around all day, the one that had been left in the room when Lee Ah-rin had taken Jung Da-on and run.

Why was that cat here...?

When Mi-yeon locked eyes with the cat, she felt a sharp pain in her head.

It felt like being struck by lightning.

Suddenly, it felt like cold water had been splashed on her, and her spine shivered.

It was as if her magic had been released.

Mi-yeon blinked.

What is going on here?

In the corner of her vision, she saw an old, bent figure stroking a shabby beard.

"Our True Light Church members are truly loyal."

And the scent of Jeong Soo-yeon’s spilled blood, mingling with the warmth of the hand she was holding, filled the air.

In the middle of all this chaos, Mi-yeon noticed that Choi Seong-hoon’s wrist had been exposed.

Just as Lee Ah-rin had said, Mi-yeon had never noticed before.

A dark bruise had spread from his hand to his wrist.

It was a mark of someone who had been struck.

"Ah..."

Mi-yeon, unsure of what to do, stood frozen in place as Jeong Soo-yeon, who had been shot, shouted with a fierce expression.

"Quick, go to the lab! Keep the crystal I gave you safe!"

"...Unni."

This whole situation felt strange.

It felt like everything she had ever believed in was crashing down.

Unable to handle the sudden surge of reality, Mi-yeon stopped in her tracks.

Boom!

A fiery magic arrow flew through the air, striking the shield.

"Ahhh!"

"The shield’s broken!"

"It’s magic, magic!"

"A mage is here!"

The shield, which had withstood the barrage of bullets without breaking, finally shattered under that attack.

"Protect the primary target first!"

"We have five seconds until we re-cast the shield. Block with your bodies for now!"

The guards, flustered, prepared to cast a new shield while blocking the direction of the attack, surrounding Imanbok.

But...

Whoosh!

Mi-yeon felt something rush past her side.

It was a small woman.

The blade she held gleamed brightly as it shot out from the opposite shadow, where she had been crouching silently, ready for the attack.

The last thing Mi-yeon could recognize was the murderous gaze in Lee Ah-rin’s eyes.

Whoosh!

The blade flew swiftly, aimed at the back of Imanbok’s head.