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Chapter : 71
In Seoul’s busy downtown, if you’re not burying your head in your phone with a seriously stressed-out face, this is a common experience:
“Do you know the way of truth?”
“You have a very kind aura.”
“Excuse me, may I speak with you for a moment?”
The moment you respond to that harmless-looking approach, you’re immediately swept off—to a pyramid scheme or a cult…
As someone who was almost lured into selling everything from probiotics and omega-3s to protein shakes, I couldn’t help but be wary of lines like these.
‘Are you a good person… or an evil one?’
Chills. Goosebumps.
Ernst Heine, known among Ark players as a devout believer of the gods.
Was this guy… not devout but just straight-up insane?
To make things worse, after tossing that suspicious question my way, he was smiling a pure, flawless smile.
Was it just me, or was there a vivid madness gleaming in those silver eyes?
‘What should I say? How do I answer this?’
I must’ve encountered him at least a hundred times while playing Ark.
But in the game, all he ever did was swing his sword at monsters, rambling about the grace of some goddess named Demeter. He never spouted anything as insane as this.
Could it be that in the game, the “male lead filter” suppressed his madness?
“Believer?”
“Ah, yes?”
Was I silent too long?
The cheerful lunatic called out to me again.
“I truly want to know, that’s why I ask.”
“So you’re asking whether I’m… a good person or an evil one?”
“Yes.”
“Well…”
I couldn’t make sense of the question at all.
Besides, how would I even know if I’m good or evil?
I mean, if we’re being technical, I am “the most notorious villainess in the Bregenz Empire,” so I guess that makes me evil.
But if I answered like that, I had the sinking feeling this madman would stab me with the holy sword on his belt.
“Why are you asking something like that?”
After some intense internal debate, I decided to stick with the game concept.
I’d go full “no-filter evil villainess” mode. I mean, you can’t fight crazy with normal, right?
“There’s a strange energy about you, believer.”
“…?”
That answer sounded deranged, but I couldn’t just brush it off as madness.
Because Ernst Heine had a setting—he was sensitive to “energy.”
“What kind of strange energy are you sensing…?”
“Your nature may not be evil, but there is an evil aura surrounding you. It seems people around you view you as evil…”
Was he talking about my notoriety?
My notoriety stat had already exceeded 300, which was pretty high for early gameplay.
So then, was his question about good or evil… based on that?
“Strangely, though, I sense Demeter’s pure energy within you.”
Huh? What was that supposed to mean?
I couldn’t make sense of Ernst’s words.
I’ve played Ark countless times, and not once had I ever been linked to Demeter, the goddess worshipped in the dimensional world of Orteira.
No voices, no prophecies, nothing. In fact, even long-time players like me barely knew anything about her.
She was just the goddess who created and maintained Orteira. The one god everyone believed in. That was about it.
‘Ah, I guess she’s not the only god.’
There were evil gods too. Some of their followers became dark mages if they had magical talent.
Sometimes they’d show up as mid-bosses in dungeons during warrior trials, but their only purpose was to spice up gameplay.
To me, the gods in Ark were more of a side-setting, not part of the main gameplay.
“Did something come to mind?”
Ernst asked solemnly, seemingly interpreting my silence in some meaningful way.
“Ah, no.”
I quickly shook my head.
I had no idea why we were even having this conversation, but getting involved with Ernst was a surefire way to ruin my future.
“I don’t really understand what you’re saying… Haha, it’s a bit complicated.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Those glass-like eyes scanning me made my skin crawl.
‘It’s fine. It’s all fine.’
I tried to reassure myself.
There was nothing to feel guilty about. My notoriety was high, but I had already worked on lowering my karma. I just needed to stay calm.
“I understand, believer. You came all the way here for dawn prayer—you must be devout. Perhaps I was out of line.”
“No, not at all. Hahaha…”
Phew. I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, it seemed my innocent act had worked on him.
Ernst shifted his gaze from me to the offering priest, Kerak.
“Kerak.”
“Y-yes?!”
What the heck? He told Kerak not to say anything earlier, and now he’s startled like that?
I focused my hearing on their conversation, praying Kerak wouldn’t say anything weird.
“The offering box is placed too far forward. It may pressure the believers.”
“Ah! Yes, yes! I’m sorry! I didn’t notice!”
As Kerak flailed and pushed the offering box back behind him—
Something flashed through my mind.
‘Wait, this is… an opportunity?’
Seeing this greedy priest flustered by Ernst’s gaze gave me a wicked idea.
“Oh my goodness, I made a mistake!”
I raised my voice dramatically.
I failed to control the volume, and my shout echoed loudly down the corridor—but that didn’t matter.
The point was…
“?!”
“…?”
I definitely got the attention of my two targets: the mad believer and the greedy priest.
“What seems to be the matter, believer?”
As expected, Ernst asked considerately.
I pulled out my now-light coin pouch and looked between it and the offering box with an awkward expression.
“I think… I accidentally put the wrong amount in the offering box…”
Kerak’s face turned pale.
I captured his expression with delight and responded to Ernst’s question.
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
“I meant to donate 5,000 dalings as a sign of devotion, but my hand slipped, and I think I put in 50,000 instead. That money was given to me by my family for something important…”
“Oh dear.”
As expected, Ernst examined the offering box with a serious face.
Each time his eyes moved, Kerak visibly flinched.
‘Heh… you little punk.’
You thought I’d let you just swindle my money?
Even if you earn more, taxes go up—but the price of items doesn’t change based on wealth.
‘I won’t let this slide.’
That money was hard-earned—well, not by me, but by my mining slave, Randolph, who worked through the night collecting mana stones.
“The donation amount seems unusually high for the number of believers who visited at dawn.”
“Eek!”
At Ernst’s chilling voice, Kerak quickly stepped forward.
“Come to think of it, I did think it was too much… I suppose you made a mistake. I should have confirmed with you first. Haha…”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I was so eager to prove my faith to the goddess that my hand just slipped.”
Ernst nodded and looked at Kerak.
“Please adjust the amount in the donation ledger and return the excess to the believer.”
“Y-yes, of course…”
Kerak hastily pretended to adjust something in the ledger, then handed me the money.
Exactly 45,000 dalings.
Heheheh…
‘You thought you could scam me?’
No more sucker behavior from someone who was grave-robbing at dawn.
[SYSTEM] Well done! You stopped the corrupted offering priest Kerak from unjustly extorting money! Gullibility –10
Satisfied by the system message, I tucked the returned money into my robe and bowed slightly.
“I’m so glad this was resolved. Then, may the goddess’s blessing be upon you both.”
I had no more business here. Goodbye, suckers.
“May the goddess always be with you.”
“May she watch over you.”
I barely heard the two of them returning my farewell as I hurried away.
Finally, I felt like I could sleep in peace tonight.
