[‘Creative Economy Manager’ likes random elements.]

“You should tell me what the options are and let me choose.”

“For now, let’s call the one with the button Hypocrisy and the one without it Bae-ryun.”

“.......”

“Come on, now.”

The names of the options are all uncomfortable, but I decided to match the rhythm here.

“Hmm, right hand.”

Reed opened both hands at the same time. The right hand I chose was empty.

“Bae-ryun. You chose well, Ailet Rodelin. I like it very much.”

He raised the corners of his mouth seductively.

“Come on, let’s go do something bad together.”

Chapter 2. Preparation for the Great Undertaking

In order to get to the destination, I had to physically move even using a space transfer stone.

I got on the carriage connecting the villages and enjoyed the rumbling with my butt.

I sat across from Reed. He had burned his knight uniform and changed into a plain shirt and pants.

The plain outer garment with no special decorations draped over his shoulders added to his languid charm.

[‘The Scales that Judge Souls’ is dazzled by the decadent long-haired handsome man.]

[‘The Architect of the Skyscraper of Trials’ shouts that he cannot accept long-haired male characters in genres other than martial arts.]

[‘The Scales that Judge Souls’ is displeased with ‘The Architect of the Skyscraper of Trials’ conservative tastes.]

[‘The Eyes that Watch Over the Chaos of All Things’ makes a hasty move to make her a female character so that everyone will like it.]

Aren’t these guys working?

The handsome man who had been standing still like a still life slowly tilted his head. I had been staring at Reed for too long without realizing it.

He looked at me with eyes that asked what his gaze meant.

“Do you have anything you want to say?”

“Just. I was just looking at your outfit.”

“Why? Isn’t it weird that it’s not Elfenheim’s uniform?”

It was negative.

“No. It suits you well when you’re neat.”

It was a compliment, but Reed didn’t take it well. He quickly unbuttoned two of his buttons on his neck like a sullen temper, crossed his legs, and folded his arms.

I hate being called neat, you know.

In a display of his extreme self-loathing, he wanted to erase everything he had considered virtues when he was a paladin.

A question suddenly occurred to him.

“But can I find strength slowly? Isn’t that more urgent than money?”

“Of course I want to find strength first. It’s disgusting to see such a weak, insect-like body.”

I almost flinched. The face he had when he showed his self-loathing was almost the same as when he was obsessed with the destruction of the world.

Contrary to Agnes’s words that the three great powers were sealed with gold, I was wary because he seemed to be using his power little by little. However, if he was expressing his disgust so sincerely, then his strength must have been reduced to an absurd degree.

Reed showed me his left forearm. The black stigmata wrapped in barbed wire seemed to symbolize the sealed corruption.

“But to break this gold, I have to do good deeds.”

“.......”

“I don’t feel like it right now.”

His hand, clenched into a fist, quietly dropped to his knee.

<Eyelet.>

Agnes’ voice calling me was lower and more serious than usual. I waited quietly for him to speak.

<Can I let him find all his strength?>

Well.

<You don’t trust him completely.>

Right.

<Isn’t there a device you can control? It would be nice if I could put on a leash.>

That’s something to think about.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was flat and uneven. It was natural, since he couldn’t hear Agnes’ voice or read my thoughts.

The carriage stopped.

“Guests, you must walk from here.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I jumped out and looked around. The magnificent natural scenery came into view in a wide open field of vision.

A deep green carpet of grassland that seemed to exude vitality. The wildflower colony embroidered in the middle was beautiful.

It was beautiful in itself, but the most spectacular thing was the towering mountain.

The mountain, whose peak was decorated with ice that hadn’t melted for ten thousand years, boasted the highest elevation on the Serentra continent.

What was the name of that mountain? So... ... .

“It’s different in spring. How is it?”

Reed’s question suddenly interrupted. He wondered why I wanted to ask him about his impressions, but he answered earnestly.

“The view is really nice...... um?”

Suddenly, I realized.

The scenery here is familiar.

The ice-crowned mountain, the colorful wild flowers poking their heads out on the carpet.

‘Not here.’

- Please.

The dying man pleaded. His earnest wish was cruelly broken, and his eyes eventually turned into resignation. He took care of his wounds and soon after, he let out his last breath.

‘Cinematic video location!’

A calm low-pitched voice rang out as if it was lingering in my ears as I honestly shrugged my shoulders.

“Eltio Mountain is where I died on the 100th episode.”

“.......”

Oh, crazy. You brought me here?

I barely moved my creaking neck joints to look back at Reed.

I expected to see his eyes shining with a mad desire for revenge. However, his condition was better than I thought.

“Aren’t you curious about who killed me in the last episode?”

The tone was calm enough to be everyday.

The sound of the wind rustling through the trees filled the gap in the conversation. Reed seemed to be waiting for me to answer. It felt like he had some kind of tenacious patience.

An answer that was no good. If avoiding it was impossible, I should at least skip it.

“Do you resent that person?”

“.......”

His face seemed like it could answer yes and no at the same time. After much thought, Reed, like me, skipped the answer.

“I’m just curious.”

“What?”

“Did you cry a lot?”

“.......”

“Actually, I did something bad right before I died.”

A bad thing?

In the fragments of my 100th memory that I glimpsed, there didn't seem to be any such behavior, so what did he do?

Reed answered my question with his eyes.

A hand reached out. A thumb gently touched my cheek and brushed it. The action of wiping something overlapped with the video.

Yes, he had used the Guardian of Attribution right before he died. The meaning of that action came to me anew.

When I think about it, that's true. He and I were bound by the Healing of Attribution and Guardian of Attribution skills due to our connection in the tutorial. My healing skill was miraculously amplified for him.

And my divine power was still at the 8th level. No matter what fatal injury he had, as long as he was breathing, I could revive him with one healing.

Nevertheless, I neglected his injuries. By neglecting him, I killed him.

On the other hand, Reed took my wounds with Guardian of Attribution.

Instead of taking the rawness of my cheek, it left a deep scar on my soul.

At this point, I may have been a little too immersed.

“You.”

“.......”

“You’re really bad.”

My thoughts turned into words without even going through my head. I was surprised and hurriedly looked at Reed.

I found a small tremor in him. In his eyes looking at me, in his fingertips touching my cheek.

In the silence, his throat trembled once. He chose to keep quiet, so he took his hand away and turned around.

“Let’s start again.”

We climbed up the foot of the mountain and began a full-scale hike.

<Hiking is good. When you reach the top after shedding rainbow-colored beads of sweat, your head becomes clear as if you’ve meditated.>

Reed had only said that the destination was the middle of Eltio Mountain. I was starting to get tired of the riddle that he had given me under the name Bae-ryun.

“Now, tell me. What are you going to do?”

“I’ll tell you when I get there. Of course, you’ll know right away.”

About two hours later, a stone gate hidden in moss and undergrowth greeted us.

[<System> Discovering a hidden area and updating the system map.]

[<Area> ‘Strict Order and Goodness Shin Seong-gyeong’s Tomb’

The tomb of Mu Elinas, the first Order Shin Seong-gyeong, buried 500 years ago.

Note: Many pagans were forcibly sacrificed when Shin Seong-gyeong’s body was placed there. Be careful of the vengeful spirits that flock there.]

Reed said, knocking politely on the stone gate.

“Here is the tomb of the Order Shin Seong-gyeong from 500 years ago. There are many grave goods buried here.”

“Were you planning to rob the tomb?!”

“Yeah. By the way, the other option, Hye-sun, was to raid the thieves. I didn’t really want to meet the Harpy Queen, so that’s good. Thank you for choosing well, Aylet Rodelin.”

“Oh, right.......”

The stone gate opened, and the difference in air pressure caused a gust of wind. The murky air that had been half a thousand years old inside the tunnel blew straight ahead, exposing his forehead and mine.

I summoned my divine power. The system window had warned of an attack by vengeful spirits earlier. I was planning to send them all to the side of Unryung-nim with exorcism. But.

“The path is open. Let’s go.”

“......Wow, as expected, chaos evil.”

There were vengeful spirits seeping out from the stone wall, going, “Wow, wow, wow.” But I didn’t have to do anything.

<Wow, scary... ... .>

<Something strange came in... ... .>

<This is so evil... ... ugly... ... A wicked being... ... .>

<Soo, I have to hide... ... .>

The vengeful spirits went back into the wall. I can’t catch them and exorcise them like this. I calmed down my divine power.

I walked along the curved passage. The structure here was like a snail shell, and the end of the path reached the center of the Sunjangneung Tomb.

“We’re here, Aylet Rodelin.”

The place we °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° arrived at was a huge circular cavity.

In the center was a magnificent stone coffin that seemed to contain the body, and at regular intervals on the wall, huge angel statues stood tall, showing off their warrior-like majesty.

“You’re buried in a good place, Muriel.”