Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Chapter 11 - Earth
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When did my life turn into this?
At this point, I just wanted to chuck it all and head to the countryside to live out my days farming or something.
Though with this body, I probably wouldn't last long at farming anyway.
'No, even if I run away, the contract would still be there.'
Thinking about it, no matter how I handled the Heavenly Demon—success or failure—my ultimate fate had already been sealed.
Seriously, was there no way to break this damn contract?
If I died before scraping together 10,000 points, I couldn't leave even if I wanted to, right?
...
In any other situation, those words might have sounded pretty romantic. But given the circumstances, all I could think was that it was one hell of an obsession.
I wished she'd direct that ability somewhere else, but no—her idea of using it was to monitor the Heavenly Demon she'd kidnapped from another world.
'If you're talking about that verbal contract from Earth, your credibility isn't exactly sky-high anymore.'
Considering the mess when this contract was made, I doubted it had gone down peacefully back on Earth either.
For starters, I had zero clear memories from Earth.
'Then how did you seal the deal on Earth?'
'You said there was a verbal contract and a summoning on Earth too. That's how I ended up here. So there must've been a reason I agreed to the summoning. And interference power? That would've been needed—how'd you cover that?'
Now that I thought about it, there were so many nagging loose ends.
Unlike the Saintess, who'd been monitoring me 24/7 for decades, my intel on her was limited to whatever she let slip. The info imbalance was massive.
And 10,000 points—the insane amount that'd take about 27 years here. How the hell did she scrape that together on Earth?
Unless she never spent a single one from birth, but I didn't remember living that long there.
No clear memories, but I was pretty sure I hadn't hit my mid-twenties...
'That's the line cheaters use on the people they're cheating on.'
'I was never even dating the Saintess... Anyway, just explain.'
I'd accidentally stirred the pot again, so I hurried her along before the flames reignited.
... Saved me?
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
I stared at the Saintess with a dumbfounded look, and she continued her explanation.
...
For someone calling herself a saintess, she sure sold out her goddess an awful lot.
Though I guess that was her way of proving her innocence...
And a hole punched through the gut? That sounded way worse than now.
'...It was that complicated?'
'...'
Looks like my life on Earth hadn't been all that great either.
'What about the points for the summoning?'
Unless Earth had some point-farming cheat like Yeo So-cheon, how do you even gather 10,000 points at one per day?
But that question resolved easier than expected.
'How much?'
Whoa, Earth's god was a total pushover.
Even if weaker, a tenth of the cost...?
'10,000 years—what, is that a neighbor's dog or something?'
Earth was a world I couldn't return to anyway, and had no desire to.
What happened there was none of my business.
...Come to think of it, if things were that bad, going back wouldn't have been any better, right?
Returning in this body would mean a whole new identity anyway, so maybe no issue?
There was a time I'd assumed I'd go back to Earth for sure—could've been a disaster.
'Gut stabbed on Earth. Buried under women in the martial world. Labeled a stud in fantasy land?'
'...'
Was there some massive sin I committed in a past life to deserve this existence?
Did I go on a rampage as an incubus or something?
Not one world, but three all like this? Maybe the problem was me.
If I'd treated approaching women like they were diseased, maybe I wouldn't be in this mess.
'...Should I start now?'
The scariest part was that things could get even worse here.
Even if I somehow got the Heavenly Demon off my back, reducing it by one, I could still screw up and attract more women. That terrified me.
From now on, treat all women like wild beasts and swat away any that approach...
"U-Um..."
"?"
"Y-You've had this serious look since earlier, like you were deep in thought... Is it because of me? Am I making you uncomfortable?"
...
Oh, right—there was a woman right here.
-Mumble mumble
'...Hmm.'
No need to be harsh with a 14-year-old kid.
If my memories were intact, maybe, but right now my body was adult while my mind was a total child. Plus, as the Sword Empress's husband, this girl—her disciple—shouldn't drag me into that mess.
"No, it's not you... Just some work issues."
"Oh... What kind of work do you do?"
"Fortune teller."
"Pardon?"
"The kind who reads people's fortunes for money. Yeah, that one."
Admitting you were a fortune teller as a job felt kinda shady.
Fortune teller sounded nice, but over half were con artists, so...
I'd gotten that treatment plenty before proving my skills and getting famous.
"What, do I look like a con man?"
"N-No! I'm just surprised! I've heard of people like that, but it's my first time meeting one!"
"...Yeah, not a job you run into every day."
Especially not for a Mount Hua disciple in training.
They hated fortune tellers—something about twisting heavenly secrets for cash from regular folks, defiling the heavens or whatever. But I didn't care.
If it bothered them, they could do it themselves.
I was earning with my own skills—why were they pitching a fit?
"U-Um... Could you maybe read my fortune too?"
After all that, her request caught me off guard.
"Pardon?"
"Oh, w-wait— I don't have any money. Forget I asked."
"Eh... It's not like I couldn't."
"Really?!"
"I'm not exactly hurting for cash right now anyway..."
What was I gonna do, charge a kid?
As the Sword Empress's disciple, she was basically my...
'Uh...'
In this world, a master was like a parent. So did that make me her stepdad?
'...'
Never thought I'd have a 14-year-old daughter at my age.
Wait—before losing my memories, I'd tried to kill my stepwife(?)
'...Something's seriously off here.'
I'd sort out this weird family tree later...
"What do you want to know? Wealth? Romance? I can do health too."
"Not really curious about that st— Wait, you can read romance fortunes?"
"Of course I can—"
-Halt
I'd almost answered on reflex, but memories from the Demonic Cult made my mouth snap shut.
Sure, the Heavenly Demon was an outlier, but...
"Nah. On second thought, I can't."
"But you just said—"
"Forgot I'm retired from that. Next."
Romance fortunes were done. Permanently.
It probably wouldn't happen to normal folks like with the Heavenly Demon, but I wasn't risking even a 0.01% chance.
"Then health, please."
"Sure, health it is..."
I settled on health and, after ages, slipped back into my trade, channeling heavenly secrets—
"Having fun with that, are we, disciple?"
-Gasp!
"Eek!"
Master's voice boomed from behind out of nowhere, and I yelped before I knew it.
"I wondered how a talentless brat like you scraped by out in the world. Turns out you're fleecing people with this scam. No wonder it sucked thirty years of qi right out of you."
"M-Master?"
"Those weird nightmares had me worried... But of course—abusing heavenly secrets like this. Idiot."
"W-Was that not allowed?"
"Think about why all decent cultivators shun the secular world and hole up in the mountains. You're lucky you haven't gone mad yet."
"...?"
...Looks like I'd been living on the edge all this time.
