Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Dawn's Miracles
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Why are classics classics, and clichés clichés?
There's always a reason why the popular stuff endures from way back.
Even if later generations call it stale or predictable, that's just because data from countless mass media has piled up, letting people foresee the obvious flow.
That's what twists and shocks are all about.
They leave the strongest impression when you least expect them.
Take *2001: A Space Odyssey*, for example.
To someone who's traced modern cinema back to its roots, it might just be a familiar scene they've seen before, but for the person experiencing it for the first time, it must have pierced their soul like a lightning bolt.
*So, it's understandable.*
Even in Korea, classic movies and dramas pulled that trope all the time.
Whenever a couple showed up, some thugs would inevitably appear out of nowhere, sneering, "Looks tasty, huh?"
It's a vibe that transcends eras and even dimensions.
So, I had to endure it.
Even if it felt lame, I had to play along. This was all karma, after all.
My karma, which looked utterly idiotic to everyone else.
"Ah, hello. Do you remember me, by any chance? From last time?"
Fluffy, cotton-candy brown hair and a sweet scent like sugar caramelized to perfection.
Bervert stood there in her academy uniform, cheeks flushed pink as she smiled up at me. I couldn't just spit in her face outright, so I curved my lips into a matching smile.
"Ah, from that wine tasting."
"Yeah. I never imagined running into you here, big bro..."
"Big bro?"
"Oh, you're not? You just seem a bit more mature than me."
*You've got to be kidding me. I have to have a sane conversation with this? Come on, me, tough it out.*
Suppressing the urge to curl my fingers, I let out a forced laugh.
"You're not wrong. Since fate brought us together like this, let me treat you to something."
I'm a scoundrel, and everyone sees me as one, their eyes dripping with undisguised disgust. But this innocent girl I met in the capital doesn't know I'm that infamous scoundrel, Adelian.
So, in front of her—Bervert—I'm not the scoundrel. I'm just a dumb, transparent rookie putting on airs.
I brainwashed myself with that thought, plastering on a smile while sneaking in awkward expressions that screamed *this doesn't suit me at all*, making sure Bervert didn't catch them.
At the same time, I escorted her inside with subtly clumsy etiquette.
This kind of acting works best when it's aimed at the audience around the mark, not the mark themselves.
Someone like Bervert, who loves manipulating people, must have eyes everywhere in this place. They'd report every twitch of my face, every gesture, every hint of awkwardness back to her in detail.
"Ah, the sun's already..."
I'd loaded her arms with sweet treats, and by the time we stepped out of the shop, dusk was settling in.
I'd gotten too into the performance inside; time had flown by unnoticed.
"Ugh, time already..."
I gauged how long it'd take to get back, then flashed a smile at Bervert, who gazed up at me with sparkling eyes.
Someone like Bervert, always showered with attention and adoration, would never deign to ask me outright to escort her to the academy.
And I, playing the self-indulgent scoundrel, wouldn't think to offer an escort—that'd be too gentlemanly for a scoundrel.
"Well then, see ya."
"Y-Yeah? Huh?"
A rich scoundrel doesn't walk a girl home.
"Oh, right."
Buying favor with cash or gifts? That's more my speed.
I pretended to dig in my robe pocket, pulling a fist-sized box from my subspace and tossing it to her.
"Here, for you. I'll be in touch."
"W-What do you mean?"
Before she could respond, I ducked into an alley. Zero scooped me up like luggage and whisked me into the pre-arranged carriage.
"Siren?"
"You got it. Someone like Bervert will figure out what it is by tomorrow at the latest."
"Won't that just make things more annoying?"
I changed clothes in the carriage, shrugging.
"Maybe. If Bervert wants in on splitting the Siren profits."
*If she's got what it takes, that is.*
I checked my shirt collar in the mirror Zero held for me, then spoke.
"If Bervert joins the fray, we'll learn at least two things. One: Has the Evil God Cult allied with royalty? And if so, who? Two: Is there a group big enough to divvy up profits operating out there?"
Plenty of smaller details, too.
I threw my black robe back on over my fresh clothes.
"Now, how much to make today."
Saintess of the Two-Faced God, Basaha.
May Ariel bless me.
With the power of her words and miracles—even roulette and dice cards.
Not guaranteed wins, but losses were small, wins were big. Even after splitting with Ariel, my pockets stayed heavy.
"Winning every time is getting boring. No thrill."
I muttered the classic line every gambling addict utters.
Winning money?
Sure, it's great. Fun, even.
But the real allure of gambling is that tension.
Of course, with my sense of affluence, I'm immune to addiction. Big wins don't overexcite me, big losses don't tank my mood.
I dangled the bait casually, and Ariel—figuring we'd grown close after a few meetings—beamed at me.
"Then... how about somewhere more exclusive?"
"Exclusive?"
Spotting my feigned boredom, Basaha's saintess Ariel twirled her fingers and whispered in my ear.
"A place you can only enter by wagering something... more valuable than money."
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
*Not exactly, but close.*
Gambler Valbus.
The dwarf who bet not just cash or artifacts, but people's memories on the table.
"For example?"
"Your talents."
*Someone pulling Valbus-style stunts?*
Valbus had lived eons, mad enough to gamble with gods, and was a capable earth fairy to boot.
*In a temple?*
"So... you can steal someone's trait?"
I whispered softly, and Ariel's shoulders twitched.
"Huh? Oh, no, not like that... More like... short-term employment..."
*Ah, a temp agency?*
Makes sense. Power creep goes insane late-game, but no one's ripping traits outright this early.
I grinned like I was hooked.
"Lead the way."
* * *
"You can't buy what they use here with outside money."
Ariel guided me—Zero disguised as a generic bodyguard—to an underground beneath the underground, even deeper. She spoke as she opened a door that seemed to lead to another world.
"Talents, rare artifacts, fulfilling requests, or..."
I smirked at her slow words.
"Trading rights to something."
"...Impressive."
"Ground swamp frog legs, 30 souls!"
"Fresh blood from that freshly subjugated count-level cyclops, 500 souls a vial!"
"Please, just lend me 1,000 souls, I beg you... I'll win this time, I swear... Huh?"
The ceiling glowed with blue veins of ore. Probably an old magic stone mine, long stripped bare, leaving only worthless dust clinging up there, emitting faint light.
It bathed this underworld in a bluish hue, like the faint glow just before dawn.
*The imperial capital's underbelly has it all. Old sewers and now this.*
I knew this place. The black market called "Dawn."
I'd seen it in the game as a hidden stage unlocked by certain conditions, and it appeared in the original story too.
But I never knew it tied to Basaha's priests, the god of coins and two faces.
I pressed down my twitching lips with my hand and spoke.
"Looks like just a quirky shopping street at a glance. This is a casino?"
"Yes. Technically, gambling's one way to earn souls, the currency here."
Buoyed by my sense of affluence, I drawled nonchalantly.
"Why bother with souls instead of regular money? Sounds like a hassle."
"No idea... Probably because they sell things here only purchasable with souls."
In *Innocence Saga*, Dawn was gamified for convenience, priced in in-game currency despite the bag of tricks.
The original story's Dawn came late, infrastructure collapsed, so it was gold or bartering.
Which made me very curious right now, at this point: What could only be bought with souls?
"What's that?"
Ariel hesitated before answering my question.
"Miracles."
Miracles?
I recalled one of Ariel's traits.
"Isn't that a bit too vague?"
I chuckled, and she replied more firmly.
"Absolutely not. Miracles are real. I hear the effect depends on how many souls you spend."
She added that even minor ones cost a fortune, being true miracles. I turned and grabbed a passing man.
"What are you doing?"
Ignoring Ariel's startled reaction, I faced the wide-eyed guy.
"W-What?"
"Hey. Got a question."
No souls on me yet, but they wouldn't stick around only here. I flicked a gold coin into the air; he snatched it and grinned.
"What do you wanna know?"
"Ever bought a miracle?"
He gave a subtle look, glanced at my hooded face, and spoke.
"Newbie, huh? Still don't believe in miracles?"
"Sounds like pie in the sky."
He bared yellowed teeth in a grin.
"Miracles are the surest bet here. Some regrow severed arms, others revive dying wives, and some even awaken new traits."
"You pour souls in, and you get what you pay for," he cackled.
"With goods or people, bad eyes can snag you defects. But miracles? Perfect—except you never know the soul cost upfront."
*Only the gods know.*
He added casually. I fell silent briefly; thinking his business done, he walked off.
Regrew severed arms, revived the dying, and above all...
Granted traits?
The gods here aren't omnipotent. Souls as payment temporarily lift restrictions in some system.
God of Coins. Two-Faced God Basaha.
Heads and tails. Two faces—closest yet never facing each other.
"Two faces" often implies the underside.
And miracles: Pour in, get divine payback proportional?
"Um... are you just gonna stand here?"
Lost in thought, I smiled slowly.
"Let's head back."
"Huh?"
"Lost interest."
*They probably wanted to lure me into betting something irreplaceable, forcing the Siren stake onto the table.*
*To erase this incompetence.*
*Burn myself on these "miracles" for even a scrap of a trait.*
*As a human, a living being—shouting worthlessness from every pore, that's how they see me.*
*They figured I'd snap the moment I learned miracles could be bought.*
"Um, I mean..."
"Let's go."
"Yes."
I nodded to Zero and retraced our steps, leaving puzzled Ariel behind.
Turning from Dawn, she hurried after me, flustered.
"A-Aren't you curious? About the miracles, or souls?"
"Does it have to be now? We'll come back."
"True, but still!"
"Or is there a reason I need to wager something right now, cash in souls, and hit the casino?"
I smiled as we left Dawn, walking the tunnel back to the upper gambling dens. Ariel gave an awkward laugh.
"Well, no, but..."
"Then, see you next time."
*After I sort out my thoughts.*