You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿ - Chapter 36

"How did you summon your familiar?"
The one who asked this question was Yoo Han-ul.
And, as I had already expected this question, I was prepared to answer.

"It was a reward for my achievement from the last dungeon break. I just used it."
"An achievement reward? That's not something that happens often."
Han Jae-young, who had been watching with interest, interjected.

As he said, apart from level-related stat improvements, the systemâs achievement rewards are not something common.
Most notably, the system doesnât make the criteria for such rewards clear.
From what I assume, the system probably gives out items if a person does something beneficial for human survival, or when it determines that growth will benefit humanityâs survival in the future.

The system does not provide criteria for achievement rewards to prevent malicious use.
Who said that?
I, the former Demon King, understand human malice better than anyone.
Anyway, thatâs not the important part.

"I think I got it because I fought the Shadow Ghosts with relatively low stats."
No matter what these two might think, if I say I received an achievement reward, they have no way to deny it.
"I think it was an achievement worthy of a reward. Donât you think so?"

As I said this, I subtly lifted my sleeve on my wrist.
The bandages were still wrapped around it.
Although I had received a potion from Han Jae-young to treat my urgent wounds, the wounds from the Shadow Ghosts hadnât healed easily.

Moreover, my stats were currently focused on mana, so my physical strength was quite low.
Yoo Han-ul squinted and examined my wound before taking out a potion from his inventory and handing it to me.
"Use this. Why are you still wrapped up in bandages?"
"If I overuse potions, my bodyâs natural healing power will decrease."

I didnât want to weaken my already low physical stats further.
Han Jae-young let out a scoff as if it were ridiculous.
"Bodyâs natural healing power? Are you trying to be an S-rank knight or something? We mages find it more beneficial to remove bodily pain so that mental focus isn't disrupted."

"So, thatâs why you couldnât use any magic and just sat there when the dungeon break happened?"
"..."
I had definitely hit a nerve with that one.

While Han Jae-young was silent, Yoo Han-ul sighed.
"I was just curious, Da-on. Donât be so defensive."
"I wasnât being defensive."

Even as I responded, I felt a bit uncomfortable.
But from my perspective, I had no choice but to be cautious about Yoo Han-ul.
Ignoring their gazes, I focused my attention back on Leo.

Leo, having quickly scaled the drainpipe, was sitting on the roof with his neck stretched out, looking down below.
Can you see me? Can you see me? Iâm up here!
Of course, I could.
Through Leo's shared vision, I looked down at the building from the rooftop.

The Chambit Guild's building had a well-like shape.
In the center of the empty building stood...
âDisgustingly.â

A statue of a man, looking exactly like a cult leader, stood tall in the middle.
I asked Han Jae-young, who was looking at me with interest.
"Whoâs the cult leader here?"

"The personâs name is Im Man-bok. Heâs a creepy old balding man with not much time left. Why? Is he inside the building?"
"Iâve heard that Im Man-bok is currently ill."
"Heâs not here, just his statue⦠yeah, that's right."

Seeing the statue of the balding old man, it was definitely the statue of the leader.
Yoo Han-ul frowned in disgust.
"Only a cult would have statues like this in every branch..."

"Exactly what I was thinking."
Leo, after confirming there were no special points on the roof, swiftly descended the building wall and landed in the garden. He then sneaked closer to inspect the leaderâs statue, twitching his nose.
This place feels bad!
It wasnât just the appearance of the statue that felt unsettling. Upon inspecting Leoâs senses, I could tell that the flow of mana around the statue wasnât natural and seemed to be stagnant.

Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a magic circle underneath the statue.
A mental magic type, no less.
âDid they set up a charm-type magic around the statue?â

If they placed charm magic around the statue of that balding old man, that was disturbing enough.

But it made sense that the cult leader's statue would have such magic placed on it.
Leo lightly tapped the bottom of the statue.

Should I remove it? Should I remove it?
Since Leo, in his animal form, was simple-minded, mental magic didnât affect him, which was fortunate.
Just then,
"Oh, look whoâs here, a little kitten?"

A man, who seemed to be in his 40s, appeared and spotted Leo as he was about to leave the building and pass through the garden.
He had a thick envelope in his hand, and as soon as he saw Leo, he crouched down and gestured at the cat.
"Where did you come from? You shouldnât be here. Come here."

"Grrr..."
What should we do?
"Just pretend to be a real cat."
"Meow!"

Iâm not a cat!
Leo protested, but he didnât reject my command. While still appearing to be a small black kitten, Leo stayed in place and stared at the man.
The man, having seemingly forgotten that he had just told the cat not to come inside, was delighted when Leo didnât run away.
"Oh, youâre cute. Heh, my daughter wanted to get a catâ¦"

Not running away or avoiding his hands, but making eye contact seemed to make him reconsider his plans about getting a cat, as if he was already imagining it as a part of his family.
"Though, for a cat, your paws seem a bit bigâ¦"
Just then.

Leoâs fur stood on end.
Footsteps approached, and there was heavy, labored breathing.
The person who had just come out of the building and into the garden was the same executive who had greeted us earlier.

As soon as he saw the man, the executive suddenly shouted and kicked the manâs shin.
"Hey, what are you doing here!"
"Ah!"

Thud!
The man who was kicked to the ground kneeled instantly.
â...Heâs hitting a civilian like that?â

The executiveâs stats didnât seem particularly high, but he was definitely an awakened hunter. Even at C-rank, there would be a clear difference in physical abilities compared to an average person.
This was certainly an excessive display of violence against a civilian.
The executive pointed a finger at the man lying on the floor with an angry expression, completely different from the friendly smile he had when greeting us.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you playing with a cat? You should have come running when I told you! Didnât I say the documents were urgent?"
"Eh? No, I was just told to sort out the ex-employeeâs details... ah, no! Iâm sorry!"
"Hey, use your sense! Do I have to teach you how to hold chopsticks too? Hurry up and bring it!"

"Y-Yes, here it is. The resignation papers for Im Jae-hwan. It also includes the evaluation from the interview and the salary details..."
The executive grabbed the envelope and hastily flipped through the documents.
"Nothing problematic, right?"

"Yes, everythingâs fine. No issues. His attendance was perfect, and he always attended the seminars and tithed regularly."
After hearing the conversation between the two through Leo, I checked again with Han Jae-young.
"Do you know someone named Im Jae-hwan?"

"Thatâs the name of the person who triggered the first dungeon break."
I clicked my tongue.
That confirmed that Im Jae-hwan was affiliated with the Chambit Guild.

Leo was still watching the interaction between the executive and the man from his vantage point.
"Is there no record of him in our intranet?"
"Yes? Oh, yes. We were told to store everything manually, so thereâs no record on the computer. Thatâs why it took so long to find..."

"Got it. Damn, why the hell are they coming here looking for someone whoâs already dead, like Im Jae-hwan? Weâre only three days away from our New Year event, and weâre busy as hell."
The fact that Im Jae-hwan was dead was definitely known.
While the executive was flipping through the documents in frustration, the man cautiously asked.

"Excuse me, sir?"
"What?"
"Did you say... this Im Jae-hwan passed away?"

At the manâs cautious question, the executive quickly turned his head.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Well... he seemed like a very loyal person to our church. And now that heâs passed away, I just thought maybe we should do something, like a memorial prayer..."

"Why are you asking me about that? Heâs been gone for a long time. Itâs not our responsibility."
"Well, he only left recently... ugh!"
Thud!

The executive slapped the manâs cheek hard.
It was a sound so loud it could have been heard across the room. Even Leo stood up sharply.

The man, who wasnât small in stature, was almost thrown off by the executiveâs punch.

The executive sneered at the fallen man.
"I never liked him anyway. This guy really has no sense. You think this is something you should say to me?"
I frowned.

âThis is a bit much.â
The man may have spoken out of turn.
But at least he didnât deserve to be hit like that.

"Should I just... throw him out?"
"S-Sorry! Iâm sorry!"
But instead of protesting or fighting back, the man desperately clung to the executiveâs ankle.

"I was careless! Iâll do better from now on. Please?"
The desperation in his demeanor was almost questionable. Was this job really worth begging for like that?
The executive clicked his tongue.

"You should be thankful your daughterâs a good match. Tsk, you ruined my mood. Donât show up in front of me again today."
The executive, still in a bad mood, grabbed the documents and walked away.
Once the executive was out of sight, the man got up from the floor and started looking around.

"...Nabi, are you still there?"
Leo, who had already hidden behind the statue when the executive arrived, didnât bother to respond. The man called out to Leo a few times with his swollen face, then sighed deeply.
"Aish, I shouldnât have interfered. But... for my daughterâs sake..."

The man trudged back the way he came.
Leo stealthily followed him.
Just as the man was about to enter another building...

Thud!
Look! Look!
Leo tapped something with his paw just beyond our view.
There was clearly a transparent wall where there should have been nothing.

A barrier preventing intruders.
And as soon as Leo made contact with it, he crouched down and assumed a defensive posture.
I could vividly feel how alert Leo was, beyond just physical distance.

There, hidden almost invisibly in the thick and transparent wall, was a faint thread of magic.
Familiar scent.
Leo didnât hide his rising animosity.
I closed my eyes, then opened them again.

When I cut off the shared vision with Leo, Yoo Han-ul quietly warned me.
"I hear footsteps. Da-on, put that down."
"Eh?"

I realized I was holding the pamphlet the executive had handed me earlier, unconsciously.
âWeâve entered the age of myth...â
The phrase written in large letters on the crumpled pamphlet.

It was what the cult leader had used in his speech, right?
It was the kind of thing that would make a personâs death seem like a noble mission, packaged into something righteous.
Iâve long understood the concept that sometimes, to be noble, one must sacrifice.

Not just understood, but it had become tiresome.
And now, the magic Leo had sensed, coming from someone familiar...
Click!

The door opened.
The executive rushed in.
He looked like a completely ordinary person, unlike the man who had been beating civilians just a while ago.

"Iâm sorry for being late. It took longer to find everything because we store everything manually."
"Aha, is that so? But you arrived faster than I expected."
Han Jae-young smiled as he took the envelope from the executiveâs hand.

The executive laughed, either understanding or not, as he chuckled.
"Well, to put it simply, this person did once belong to our church. He was a guild member too. But he resigned quite some time ago."
"I see..."

As Han Jae-young flipped through the documents, the executive continued.
"In fact, this is personal information, and technically itâs guild property, so weâre not obliged to cooperate. But of course, it's only natural to assist our S-rank hunters, who always work hard for national prestige and security."
Heâs joking, right? I could sue him for a privacy violation.

"Yes, yes. Thank you."
"...But actually, weâre outside the visiting hours for external visitors today, and everythingâs a bit chaotic right now. So, if you have more questions, maybe you can come back another day..."
"But weâre not just outsiders."

I started waving the pamphlet I had been holding in front of the executive.
"I found some parts of it rather inspiring."
"Eh... really?"

The executive looked at me with an incredulous expression, so I smiled broadly.
"Would it be possible for me to attend the doctrine class listed here?"