You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿-Chapter 94

I couldn’t say I didn’t understand their perspective.

The villagers didn’t know their situation from the start.

They didn’t even realize they were essentially already dead.

So from their point of view, it must have seemed like outsiders suddenly invaded and disrupted their once peaceful home.

Though, in truth, that "home" never really existed to begin with.

"Leave! Leave now!"

The people, who had gathered in a crowd, started shouting and pointing fingers at us.

"What are you going to do if we’re cursed because of you?!"

"You outsiders, what the hell did you do?!"

They weren’t really thinking deeply before speaking.

Words overflowing with suspicion and malice.

Just because someone is a victim doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good people.

Some can’t accept that fact, though.

"Ha! I told you to drive them out!"

The boy named Jax, who had thrown stones at me earlier, was now screaming loudly.

"Throw them out now! If the castle collapses, the curse will hit us too!"

It was obvious that he was an ignorant child, probably just repeating what the adults, or rather, the sorcerer, had told them. But still, it didn’t feel good to hear.

As the people’s agitation grew stronger and their anger began to boil, Yoo Han-ul stepped forward.

"I understand you’re shocked."

He didn’t seem to care about the direction the anger was taking, standing calmly with a composed expression. Was this what it took to be a hero?

"But please calm down for a moment and listen to us. We—"

"Wait! Everyone, calm down!"

The Village Chief, supported by others, rushed forward to stop them.

But even with the Village Chief’s intervention, the people’s uproar didn’t settle easily.

"Village Chief, you don’t need to treat them kindly! Look at what those bastards did to the castle!"

"Yeah, we should have thrown them out when they hurt Jax!"

"They’re only three of them."

"Yeah, thanks to that old man, things just got worse!"

Bang!

An agitated man shoved the elderly chief in the chest, and the Village Chief stumbled and fell backward.

"Ugh!"

"Grandpa!"

"No, no! Village Chief!"

"Shut up!"

Though some tried to stop the man, he was already beyond control, his anger escalating. He stormed toward us, holding a large shovel as though ready to swing it at any moment.

"You bastards, if you curse our village...!"

Bang!

The man slammed the shovel into the ground with a threatening force.

"I’m going to beat you senseless! You have no idea who you’re dealing with! In my day, I was a—"

"Yoo Han-ul."

Han Jae-young waved his hand, sounding annoyed.

"Just speak and get rid of them. We don’t have much time before the escape window closes."

"...Do you want me to handle it?"

"I think you’d be better at it than Da-on or me."

After hearing that, Yoo Han-ul looked between me and Han Jae-young, then sighed.

For some reason, it felt like I’d been ignored.

"...Everyone, please listen carefully."

Yoo Han-ul addressed the villagers, his tone serious.

Given the situation, it made sense for Yoo Han-ul to take the lead. His presence as a "hero" added weight to his words.

"This castle isn’t cursed. Actually, the sorcerer has been using magic centered around this castle, and... "

"Wait!"

Just as Yoo Han-ul was about to continue, someone interrupted.

"Stop, stop talking!"

The Village Chief, now standing up with help, hurriedly stepped forward and cut him off.

"Stop it. No more talk!"

The urgency in his voice made it clear he knew more than he was letting on.

I exchanged a look with Han Jae-young.

"You think he knows?"

"It seems that way. But how...?"

And that wasn’t the only strange part.

"What’s the old man doing? Don’t you dare—!"

"Shut your mouth, you ignorant fool!"

The Village Chief yelled at the man who had raised the shovel, and, unbelievably, even knelt down before him.

"Please, I beg of you. No, I’m asking you."

"V-Village Chief!"

"Grandpa! Why are you—?"

The villagers were whispering among themselves, not understanding what the Village Chief was doing. But he didn’t waver. He kept his head lowered, facing Yoo Han-ul.

"I will apologize for my previous behavior... Please."

"...Please get up."

Yoo Han-ul, looking troubled, stared down at the kneeling chief. The Village Chief’s desperate actions made it hard for him to continue explaining, it seemed.

‘Honestly, being soft-hearted is a problem.’

Yoo Han-ul helped the elderly man up, then, in a voice low enough that only the three of us could hear, asked quietly.

"...It seems like you know what I’m about to say. How did you know?"

The Village Chief sighed and, with a dark expression, glanced between me, Han Jae-young, and Yoo Han-ul. It seemed like he had resigned himself.

"To be honest, I don’t know everything. I only know that there’s powerful magic around this castle, and it’s been affecting us."

"Exactly what kind of effect are you talking about?"

The old man paused, seemingly contemplating, before finally confessing.

"We haven’t aged or died. We’ve been living for centuries."

This was somewhat surprising.

The souls trapped in this barrier were supposed to absorb the magical energy of the surrounding area, so I had assumed that they wouldn’t be able to perceive the passage of time.

But hearing the Village Chief’s words made Yoo Han-ul’s gaze turn sharper.

"So, you’re trying to stop us from revealing the truth and destroying the castle... so you can continue to live forever?"

"No, no. I’m the only one who knows that we’ve been living for centuries."

The Village Chief shook his head in disbelief.

"Everyone else doesn’t even realize it. They’re just living the same day, over and over, unaware."

Listening to the Village Chief, it seemed that the others, just like I had suspected, had no idea how long they had been living in this state. They just kept repeating the same day, trapped in a loop, oblivious to the truth.

"I’m not always of sound mind either. Only when outsiders came into the castle would I occasionally regain my senses."

The Village Chief explained that he had been under a suggestion to tell outsiders not to approach the inner castle.

But when an outsider did enter, he instinctively felt something was wrong.

"Why did only you sense the difference?"

"Well... I was a magician, too. A weak one, but I also researched souls."

That made sense.

The fact that an outsider was able to break through the barrier and enter the inner castle meant that they were extraordinary in some way.

The villagers had the ability to resist absorbing magic, which meant they had some kind of power.

If someone with enough power made it to the inner castle, the magic structure would inevitably move, creating a gap, which the Village Chief had sensed when he briefly broke free from the suggestion.

"I tried to escape, but... I didn’t know what to do. When the castle absorbed an outsider, I would lose myself again, living like a lab rat running on a wheel."

"Then why did you ask us not to tell the villagers?"

"They couldn’t handle it. Who could bear such a truth?"

The Village Chief clutched his chest, looking pained, before he turned and looked at someone.

At the end of his gaze stood Jax, the boy from earlier.

"Since the castle has collapsed, the magic will soon dissipate. I just hope that others die without knowing the truth. If they learn it, it will only cause them more suffering."

"But..."

"Please. I know this might sound shameless, but... think of the villagers who don’t know anything and will just die without understanding."

"Wait a minute."

Han Jae-young interrupted with a sigh.

"We’re just leaving, fine. But now that the inner castle has collapsed, the villagers will eventually realize the flow of time. They’ll sense the change."

"I know that."

"If we leave without saying anything, you’ll be blamed for siding with the outsiders."

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"That’s something I’ll deal with."

The Village Chief looked surprisingly at peace, almost as if he had been preparing for this moment for a long time.

"If the castle is gone, our end isn’t far either. We can bear it for a while longer."

"You can’t heal the wound if you don’t squeeze out the pus."

"Even if you squeeze the pus from a corpse, what’s the point? I just want to die peacefully."

"That’s your selfish wish. Others may have different opinions, though... I’m done."

Han Jae-young shook his head.

"Alright, Yoo Han-ul. I think we’ve heard enough. Just say it, no, I’ll..."

"...Then, I’ll give you time."

"Hey."

Han Jae-young frowned, but Yoo Han-ul didn’t mind.

"I understand that you’re confused, Village Chief. But as my friend said, everyone has the right to know the truth."

Yoo Han-ul stood the Village Chief up and handed him a staff.

"So, by the time I return, please think about how to tell others the truth. Until then, I’ll bring a way to save you all."

"What... What did you say?"

The Village Chief’s eyes widened in shock.

"A way to save us? Is there really such a thing?"

"Honestly, I’m not sure. But I will try."

"My God."

The Village Chief grabbed Yoo Han-ul’s hand tightly. The desperation was clear in his eyes.

"How... How can you help us, and why are you helping us?"

"It’s not me. It was my other companion who suggested this."

At that, Yoo Han-ul suddenly pointed to me.

I flinched, surprised to be suddenly singled out after staying quietly behind him.

Why me?

"He said he wants to help you no matter what."

Yoo Han-ul’s eyes were strangely distant as he looked at me. I felt a chill.

"To the villagers, he says it’s not your fault."

Is this really happening...?

‘Am I being recognized as the hero’s companion?’

Why does it feel like everything is suddenly so creepy?

I rubbed my arms, trying to get rid of the goosebumps that wouldn’t go away.

"My God. To think that I’d ever be this grateful..."

The Village Chief held Yoo Han-ul’s hand, tears welling up in his eyes as he looked at me.

"Thank you. Thank you... No, thank you so much...!"

"The barrier will remain for now. Until I return, please ensure no one gets near the inner castle. We don’t want any more unintended victims."

"Of course. I’ll make sure to explain things."

The Village Chief nodded obediently, his face now filled with hope, something we hadn’t seen before.

I was glad I left this conversation to Yoo Han-ul.

I wouldn’t have been able to face them with such expressions.

Soon, the system’s countdown was finished.

Dungeon escape is now possible in 00:00:00

The system will protect the user until the dungeon escape.

"I’m going first."

Escaping from the dungeon always starts with the weakest.

I waved at Han Jae-young and Yoo Han-ul.

My body turned transparent and disappeared from their view.

I heard the villagers' surprised voices.

Pop!

Then, one by one, Han Jae-young and Yoo Han-ul disappeared.

After that...

"A-are you...?!"

The Village Chief jumped back, startled, when I suddenly reappeared before him.

"What... What # Nоvеlight # is this?"

At his question, I shrugged.

"I still have some things to do."

Due to a system error, the user, ‘Jeong Da-on’, cannot escape the dungeon.

I had cast the invisibility magic and pretended to leave, but now I needed to finish what I started and return before anyone noticed.

I quickly moved, for my real objective, achieved with Yoo Han-ul’s help, was still ahead.