SNBF 08

Chapter 08

Still, the ghosts here looked far less frightening than Korean ghosts.
I took comfort in that fact.
While staring at the ghost’s lower half, I noticed the money.
“If I do this one more time, how much more could I earn…”
A sudden wave of greed tightened in my chest, and I pinched my own cheek.
Ah, so this is why people get addicted to gambling.
“Ugh, get a grip.”
I shook my head.
Although I had said, “Come to me if you want to play again,” I had no intention of continuing gambling for the people who actually came.
The “Saint game” was just bait to draw people in.
Opportunists chasing a million gold, those curious about the existence of a saint, or people simply in need of entertainment—anyone was welcome.
As long as they could make me famous.

[I should leave this lodging first. Guests will be coming soon. Since I told them to find Saint Dorothy, I need a landmark.]
[Then no one will be able to find you, right?]
[All the vagrants here are my guests. I just have to give them the new address, and word will spread naturally.]
[Good idea.]

My elders always said that found money should be spent quickly.
If you hold onto money that isn’t truly yours, it will vanish in vain.
“Looking at all this money, I feel like I might get unnecessarily greedy…”
“Child, if a shaman lets greed get out of hand, the gods will punish them,” my mother’s words came to mind.
If a shaman forgets their duty and seeks money and fame, the gods leave, and misfortune follows.
The gods… don’t give everything. They take plenty too.
“So, I need to stay level-headed.”

Even if I had too much money, there was nowhere to spend it.
I’m the type of person suited for a peaceful, small-town life.
Yes. More than anything, the most important thing is not to see a ghost’s lower half the moment I open my eyes.
Once everything is done, a new life awaits, free from the pesky ghosts and the name Park Seonnyeo.
I steeled my resolve and left the room.

“This house seems like the most suitable property.”
“An excellent choice! Since you said one room will be used as a study, this size is perfect!”
Study? It’s actually a shrine.
I smiled and signed the contract, even stamping it just in case.
“Um… how about the deposit—”
The real estate agent spoke cautiously.
It wasn’t a luxurious mansion, but it wasn’t a house a vagrant like me could easily pay for either, so his worried look made sense.
“Oh, I can give it right now.”
Even though I entered the vagrants’ lodging broke, my backpack felt heavy.
Everything in the hastily bought backpack was money.
This world had no mobile banking or smartphones.
I suddenly realized how safe and convenient it was to transfer money from my seat in the modern world.
Carrying it all personally made me anxious.
Banks existed here too, but only in the capital—not in a place like this.
When I eventually succeed and go to the capital, I’ll open an account first.
“How much did you say it was?”
“Three million.”
The cost of three carriages.
I only needed to pull out three pouches of gold coins from my backpack, but my heart pounded.
Should I give the money while in the office? Or say I’m just stepping out for the restroom?

[Dorothy, what’s wrong? You look nervous…]
[Ah, I’m worried he might steal my backpack. I was planning to take out the money where he couldn’t see.]
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he won’t even know where you take the money from,” Agatha said confidently.
Can a god do something like that…? Well, I guess anything is possible for a god.
Trusting Agatha’s words, I forced myself to ignore my anxiety and opened my backpack.
“Here it is. All gold coins.”
“Whoa—”
I pulled out the three pouches, and the agent’s eyes almost popped out.
Yet his gaze didn’t go toward the backpack.
It was as if he couldn’t see it at all.
The agent soon introduced a reliable interior designer, gave more details about the house, and left.

[Shall we get ready to receive guests now?]
[Dorothy, I want pancakes.]
[Ugh! Dorothy’s busy!]
The interior could be solved with money, anyway.
We were in a win-win relationship, and yesterday’s earnings made me endlessly generous.
[Shall we go shopping then?]
[Yay! Awesome!]
[Sorry, Dorothy. Everyone’s like starving hyenas…]
[No, it’s my pleasure. Hoho.]

We were finally at the starting line.
I imagined the guests who would come—although the process would be a bit scary and exhausting, the sweet freedom waiting afterward made me smile.
“Come, Theodore…!”
I had the backing of eight gods!
Why fear an emperor?
I happily bought plenty of food for my gods and returned to my “home.”

Time passed quickly.
I realized something whenever I saw my mother.
A shaman has to act well.
People get swept up when a dramatic atmosphere is created in front of them.
Creating the right atmosphere could make or break a shaman’s business. To achieve that, a shaman had to act well.

But what about a saint?
Having no basic knowledge about saints, I wondered: do they need to act, too? Regardless, business had started…

“Agatha, you said saints appeared before, right? What were they like?”
“Ah, that person was the origin of the oracle priest receiving divine messages. Their title has changed from saint to priest now. They laid the foundation for the current religion, very different from you, Dorothy.”

Truly different.

“So how did they deliver the oracle?”
I asked, probing for some dramatic flair.
“They wrote it on paper and sent it to the royal family.”

A deflating answer.
An oracle announced by the royal family—how was I supposed to do that?
Having no knowledge of Western occultism, I eventually decided to hold bells and a five-color flag.
The bells were occasionally shaken for effect, and the flags were used to interpret omens, like my mother did.
The brightly colored flags naturally made people tense.

“What on earth is this…”
I tied the bells together and made the flags myself, as no one sold them here.

[Dorothy, what are the bells and flags for?]
[Agatha… do you know what a performance is?]
“Huh?”
[To make people believe, you need some sort of performance. Especially for those of us starting from the bottom.]
“Performance… ah, like knights wearing decorative armor to intimidate the opposing army?”
Agatha, being war-oriented, always explained things with military analogies.
“Exactly! Even a single action carries meaning, and interpretations follow. Depending on what symbols the other side shows—”
“Ah… yes, that’s it.”
It roughly made sense.

While preparing the bells and flags, I arranged the shrine.
I created an altar, placed statues of the eight guardian gods, and offered foods each liked.
Instead of preparing meals daily, this made it convenient for them to eat freely…
Somehow, it turned into a ceremonial table with white marble and beautiful silverware.

“It feels really strange.”
“This shrine is so fun, Dorothy! Wow, these blueberries are delicious.”

Yes. If the gods are happy, many blessings will return to me…

Thus, a shrine with a vague mix of Eastern and Western styles was ready.
Perhaps all my input came from my mother’s influence.
Finally, the shrine of “Saint” Dorothy was open.

“The saint of gambling disguised as a game, is this the legendary ‘that being’ or a fraud?”
A man with jet-black hair so dark it chilled the soul, and eyes like the clear blue autumn sky, murmured in a pleasing low voice.
Tall, broad-shouldered, slim-waisted, long-legged—someone whose presence made anyone look back once.
He was the first love of countless ladies, the envy of men… yet now feared for his intense personality.
Emperor Theodore Elliot.

Having ascended the throne at 26 after the previous emperor’s death, it had been less than a year, yet his aura overflowed.
His innate dignity made his anger look even more deadly.
Anxious subordinates lined up, watching his every move.
The atmosphere was tense.

“Look. The Imperial Daily says… ‘Saint Dorothy begins to sweep across the empire beyond Demong.’ Only I, the ruler of the empire, didn’t know this ‘saint’ swept the empire.”
“…I apologize.”

Theodore set down the “Empire Morning” and the “Imperial Daily,” the two most widely read newspapers in the empire.

“This info seems to come from a journalist from a city near Demong. Nobles in the capital haven’t met the saint yet—”
“What does the reporter’s hometown matter when the news spreads across the empire?”
“…I just wanted to say the capital hasn’t heard of the saint yet.”
“Not knowing because they’re not in the capital? My informants are more useless than a journalist.”

Was this the work of the temple?
A saint of gambling.
Naturally, news of such acts wouldn’t reach Emperor Theodore before the saint became famous.
Nobles probably treated the “Saint game” as entertainment. Not entering the capital, Theodore wouldn’t hear of it.
Yet trivial things sometimes grow quickly.
That was his oversight.
Busy with road plans, the fortresses were quiet, so he didn’t pay attention. Yet this happened.

“If it’s the temple’s doing… they must be desperate.”

“Calling someone a saint from legends long ago. This isn’t child’s play. I’ve done well so far.”
Though he said “child’s play,” it would be a problem for Theodore if the saint became famous. Rumors of a legendary saint’s rebirth would sway public opinion toward the temple.
Perhaps the temple had been wise.

Anyway, he had to handle this before it escalated.

“…I apologize.”
Theodore clicked his tongue.
“What about the high priest’s movements?”
“No movements yet.”
“Confusing.”

Theodore frowned.
Suddenly blindsided, nothing certain—he hated this.
“Keep monitoring.”
“Yes.”
“And… phew.”

The emperor’s sigh made his subordinates shiver.
A ruler both kind and merciless. What punishment awaited them?

“Bring the saint to me. Quickly, quietly, and unnoticed.”
“Yes?”

The newspapers had already spread across the empire.
Theodore’s priority was securing the saint.
Finding their temple connection, and showing how audacious this “Saint game” was.
“Get the saint to me by any means.”
“…Yes.”

If the saint became famous, the temple would become overconfident.
Theodore could not allow that.