Chapter 264: The Call (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 264: The Call (2)
The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, the sight that met my eyes was similar to the one in my memories, yet far more divine and pristine.
In a space as beautiful as a painting stood a woman, smiling radiantly toward me.
I see.
This is who you truly were.
It was only natural, but all traces of the violations she had endured and her broken body had vanished without a trace.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Distinguished Guest. Though I am lacking, I hold the position of Saintess within the order.”
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”
“You are a fascinating person.”
“Pardon?”
“You say it is our first meeting, yet your eyes look as though you are seeing someone you already know.”
It wasn’t exactly a prior acquaintance. And it certainly hadn’t been a pleasant encounter.
“I’m not sure about that. I wouldn’t know.”
“Fufu, is that so? I apologize for saying this after we were the ones to call for you, but I must ask you to wait a moment. I am told the preparations will be finished shortly.”
“Was it not you who called for me, Saintess?”
“Hmm, Distinguished Guest. To be honest, I am not the type to enjoy meaningless questions and answers. That is precisely why I was chosen as the Saintess who serves the God of Contracts and Trade.”
She was smiling brightly, but her point was clear: she didn’t care for useless probing.
“I apologize if I have offended you. However, do you not already have an inkling as to who it was that summoned you?”
“I asked because I wanted to deny it if possible.”
After saying it, I wondered if it might come across as blasphemous, but surprisingly, she let out a soft chuckle as if she had heard something amusing.
“Indeed. To priests like us, meeting that being is a supreme honor, but for those who follow a different god—or none at all—it is only natural to be a bit reluctant.”
She’s more understanding than I thought. I expected someone titled ‘Saintess’ to be a bit more eccentric.
To be honest, I half-expected her to pull out a silver dagger and scream, “How dare a wretch like you be reluctant to receive the grace of the Great One!?”
…Wait, was I wrong? Perhaps this is the normal reaction, and I’ve just been meeting too many strange people lately?
“If it is not an imposition, why don’t we share a conversation until the preparations are complete? I was not the one who invited you directly, but I find myself quite interested in you as well.”
“Interested…?”
“Yes, interested. How could I not be? Even though you are not a believer, I can feel that being’s grace so strongly upon you.”
She was still smiling, but the atmosphere around her seemed to shift slightly.
“If that were all, I might simply think of you as a candidate for a new Saint. But that is not all, is it? You carry so many things within you, Distinguished Guest.”
Uh oh, did she catch on?
“How can someone who possesses divine power also harbor demonic energy, mana, and the miracles of another god within their body? And as if that weren’t enough, you even carry the shadow of a dragon.”
…Wow, a Saintess really is a Saintess for a reason. I thought I was hiding my energy well, but she saw right through everything.
“That’s impressive. I was trying my best to hide it, but you see through it all, don’t you?”
“Oh, it is not that I am particularly great. Anyone born with the talent of Soul Sight would be able to see it.”
Soul Sight, huh?
It wasn’t exactly a rare thing in this world; talents often overlapped.
“I am telling you this now in case you have any strange ideas, but our order has no intention of being hostile just because you harbor demonic energy.”
Now that was a bit unexpected.
“Possessing divine power does not make one a saint, and possessing demonic energy does not make one a villain. There may be differences in doctrine, so other orders might feel differently, but at the very least, we believe that indiscriminate hatred toward demonic energy is not particularly good.”
Ooh, that sounds quite plausible. Is this what it means to be a Saintess?
“Indeed. What truly matters is not the energy one harbors.”
She declared this with a truly magnificent, beaming smile.
“Is it not about what kind of contract you have formed with it, and what kind of coexistence is possible?”
…Hmm? Wait. What?
“Even if coexistence is impossible, we can still be friends depending on what kind of profit can be gained. As long as the contract is not broken, what does it matter what kind of person the other party is?”
Is that right? I feel like that’s not something a religious person should be saying.
“Fufu, did you feel a bit of contempt just now?”
“…Honestly, I think it’s a bit unusual.”
“I understand. Our doctrine may seem a bit materialistic compared to other religions. But a contract is a promise. If it is carried out properly, it is a wonderful thing in itself. And if the other party breaks it first, it is a means of maintaining one’s own legitimacy.”
She smiled and pulled out a piece of paper, beginning to write something down.
“It may look like distrust, but it is because we want to believe more than anyone else that we form contracts. The miracles exercised by our god are always like that. It is the power to give binding force to a mere verbal agreement, and to turn a promise written on paper into an ironclad oath.”
What she wrote on the paper was a very simple sentence.
[Until leaving this room, one shall not tell a single lie.
As collateral for forming the contract, Natasha shall provide Kang So-hyun with any one desired reward within her power.
Should this contract not be fulfilled, Natasha shall ignore all conditions and face absolute death.]
“What do you think? If this contract is made, I will be able to trust everything you say. And you will be able to receive whatever you want from me.”
Ah, I remember this now.
“Don’t you think it’s a truly wonderful thing?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Pardon?”
“First of all, where is the guarantee that your name is actually Natasha? Second, I have no way of knowing what kind of questions you’ll ask. What if you catch me in a critical weakness that makes it impossible for me to even make a wish?”
“Hmm, then how about this? Before the contract, I will show you my identification, and I will add a condition that you can exercise the right to remain silent up to four times for questions you absolutely cannot answer.”
“Oh, that sounds a bit more plausible than before, but still no deal. I still don’t know what questions you’ll ask, and there’s no clause saying you can’t ask the same question twice, right?”
I was nitpicking, but she seemed to be enjoying it, laughing even more.
“Usually, most suck… I mean, pure-hearted people bite the hook if I concede once, but you are certainly different, Distinguished Guest.”
You were about to call me a sucker, weren’t you?
“It’s because I’ve been scammed like this more than once or twice.”
In fact, before my regression, the contracts I made with those rotten bastards in the orders were full of loopholes. They would slip through them and provoke me constantly.
I wondered if the doctrine of the God of Contracts and Trade actually stated that it was okay to fleece a sucker.
Anyway, I was just playing along because I remembered those times, but she burst into laughter again as if my words were the funniest thing she’d ever heard.
“This is fun. Given my position, opportunities for such equal conversation or contract-making are quite rare.”
“I’m glad you’re having fun.”
“Haha, I’m sorry. But this, too, is the teaching of our order.”
…Wait? The part about fleecing suckers? Really?
“It is that perfect trust requires a perfect contract. A contract that serves as an absolute and perfect rule, leaving no room for any other elements to intervene.”
“What about mutual trust?”
“I won’t say it’s meaningless, but it is far too weak and uncertain.”
“Honestly, I kind of agree with that.”
A promise with no binding force is one that is rarely kept.
I knew that better than anyone.
And yet.
“I thought you might say that.”
“But that’s exactly why it has meaning.”
“…Pardon?”
“No, I’m just saying those things exist too.”
She tried to study my expression with a questioning look, but soon her body flinched, and she let out a breath.
“Mmm, there were many things I wanted to ask you, but unfortunately, I must postpone them until next time. Our Master says the preparations are complete.”
“Is that so?”
Then let’s see if I can meet them.
The being known as a god of this world.
The moment I nodded, the woman in front of me lost strength in her body as if she were sliding into sleep, but she soon opened her eyes amidst a shimmering haze of light.
Her blue eyes had turned a deep red—a performance clearly intended to signal that she was a different person than she had been just a moment ago, which I found quite amusing.
“You are a suspicious child. Are you doubting whether I am actually the same being as this girl?”
“I think there’s a possibility.”
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I am not. This child has simply received a bit too much of my love.”
“I see.”
“Mmm, this isn’t right. Is there nothing you are curious about? Honestly, I didn’t expect you to bow your head or anything, but you are far too composed.”
“What could I possibly be curious about? The one who called me was rather…”
…What was the name again?
“Did you forget my name?”
“…My apologies.”
“Fine. I have seen a glimpse of your humanity, so that is enough.”
She… no, the being descended into her looked at me with interest and nodded.
“Child, I am the god who presides over all trades that occur in this world.”
“Yes?”
“That means I govern everything from you selling your soul to a devil, to you gaining power through talent, and even the promises you do not remember.”
“Is… that so?”
“Above all, do you not have a contract within you made with one of my servants?”
Servant…?
-The Will of the Saint shrugs its shoulders.
“…Yes, that child.”
…Wait? Did she just sound like she was about to sigh?
“Actually, the reason I called you today is to inform you of the limits of the contract that foolish servant made with you.”
By contract, did she mean Resurrection?
“That contract was made when that child was still a human soul, born out of a desire to soothe a lingering, powerful grudge. It is a very lacking contract. Such a contract is not right, so consider this a place I have prepared to correct that child’s mistake.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what she was talking about.
“…What do you think that Innate True Qi you use so freely actually is?”
“…Isn’t it something like the fundamental energy one is born with?”
“Hmm, it’s not entirely different. It is like the fuel a person consumes from the moment they are born until their final breath. That is the true nature of the soul. Then, what do you think it means for a soul to become vast?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Yes, of course. You likely thought of your soul becoming vast as just a convenient power. However, this is a very dangerous thing.”
Using light, she began to slowly draw a picture in the air.
“While you had almost exhausted the soul you originally possessed, you accepted ownerless souls into your body through the contract.”
In the drawing labeled ‘Me,’ the words ‘Me + Something’ were added.
“It might have been fine the first once or twice, but you have repeated this countless times. Normally, a person’s ego would collapse. At the very least, they should have become a vegetable.”
The drawing became increasingly jumbled and mixed, with the portion of ‘Me’ continuously shrinking to a half, a quarter, an eighth, and so on.
“Yet you are fine. Why do you think that is?”
“…I don’t know.”
“It is because the rank of your soul is high. It is so sturdy and magnificent that mixing in ordinary souls poses no problem. It is a soul and a vessel so large that it is hard to believe it belongs to a human. Hmmm, do you understand why I am telling you this?”
“Is it because it’s still dangerous?”
“You are clever.”
She looked at me as if she were proud, but it wasn’t particularly good news for me.
“It is magnificent, but in the end, it is a human soul—and one that has even been shattered into pieces once before.”
“Are you saying the total amount of Innate True Qi will no longer increase?”
“No, it will increase. In fact, that is the problem.”
“Pardon?”
“It will continue to increase, without any regard for your limits. Eventually, the boundaries will break and overflow; your soul will grow so vast that you and the things that are not you will inevitably become indistinguishable.”
Oh, I don’t know exactly what that means, but no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t sound positive.
“…Then what happens?”
“To give you the most negative case, you will go mad. You will become a lunatic and run wild. How could you maintain your sanity when the boundary between you and what is not you collapses?”
“…And the positive case?”
“You will die. And you will die quite miserably at that.”
For a moment, I wondered how dying could be positive, but a lunatic with a vast soul and multiple reinforcements… yeah, dying definitely sounded better.
“And then there is the most negative case of all.”
“…Pardon? There’s another one?”
“Of course, there is. It is something far sadder and more negative than dying or going mad.”
“What is it?”
“I cannot tell you.”
…After coming all this way?
“Because I am certain that if you hear it, you will walk that path. So please, instead of that path, why don’t you try walking the other path I propose?”
She spoke to me with a truly benevolent face.
“If you leave it to me, I will nullify the contract—since it was a faulty one to begin with—and turn you back into an ordinary human.”
Her gaze as she looked at me was so full of pity and sympathy.
So full of warmth.
That it made me want to reach out and take her hand without even thinking.