You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿-Chapter 118

“Da-on, you seem... fine?”

Han Jae-young, who had been rushing toward us, stopped upon seeing James Chen lying on the floor.

The transformation had already been undone.

Honestly, it was a relief that Han Jae-young wasn’t seeing me in my transformed form. It wouldn’t have been a pleasant sight.

“And this one doesn’t seem fine at all. What on earth did you do? How did you end up in this situation?”

“Well, I don’t know either. He just fell over here on his own?”

When lying, it’s troublesome if your face gives you away. I answered shamelessly.

“And I didn’t really do anything. He was already half-dead, so it was easy to subdue him.”

At those words, James Chen glared at me fiercely. His eyes seemed to have a lot to say.

But that was only for a moment.

As soon as our eyes met, James immediately dropped his head.

There was still white foam from the pain around his mouth.

I’m glad he’s aware enough.

If he had acted recklessly, I had planned to move the ‘Godo’ within him right away.

“Glad to see Da-on is fine, but...”

Han Jae-young turned his gaze toward Layla.

His eyes seemed to be trying to squeeze even the moisture out of dry sand, filled with suspicion.

“I suspect this might have been intentional, Lopez.”

“...I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”

Layla admitted it with a pale face.

“But it wasn’t intentional. It seems my skill didn’t work properly because I wasn’t in the best condition...”

“Is that your excuse?”

“Wait a moment, Hunter Han Jae-young.”

I stopped Han Jae-young, who was about to interrogate Layla.

“Nothing happened in the end, right? It’s just lucky we didn’t miss him.”

“Excuse me?”

Han Jae-young looked at me in disbelief.

“Are you being threatened or something? Why are you siding with Lopez? Maybe try being on my side for once?”

“It’s true that she’s not in good condition. It’s true she’s injured.”

“And after all these years of Lopez’s experience, are you using that as an excuse...?”

While I was bickering with Han Jae-young unnecessarily, Yoo Han-ul silently approached James and tied his hands and feet even tighter before speaking.

“First, let’s get out of here. The police should be waiting outside.”

Lee Pyeong-hwa had arranged to contact the police at the scheduled time and wait outside. Then, after appearing in front of the police outside the dungeon, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) we planned to arrest James Chen as well.

“Anyway, even if Lopez Hunter clears her name of the embezzlement charge, she’ll still have to explain why all this happened.”

Yoo Han-ul cast a strict gaze on both James Chen and Layla Lopez.

That gaze lingered on me for a brief moment before moving away.

“If there was something else, something different from what we’ve discussed... the investigation will uncover it.”

When I mentioned the plan earlier, they followed without much objection, but I guess they didn’t fully trust me.

It made sense, though, considering Yoo Han-ul’s personality.

He would follow my lead, since I was the victim, but not trust Layla.

It wasn’t just the outcome, but the process that mattered, a personality trait that hadn’t changed since my past life.

“They’re not going to do a proper investigation anyway... Never mind, talking about it would just make things worse.”

Han Jae-young, who hadn’t trusted my words or Layla’s, shrugged his shoulders.

He seemed to be saving his words, probably because this wasn’t the first time he’d had these kinds of conversations with her.

Meanwhile, I met Layla’s eyes, who had been silent throughout the entire exchange.

Layla nodded slightly.

I’ll send you the destination coordinates.

Layla had faithfully followed my instructions.

As soon as the inventory scan was successful, she calculated and sent me the destination of the teleportation magic item James Chen had.

She could do that because it was an item she had made herself.

Even teleportation magic items weren’t perfect, though, and had a limited range.

Keep Han Jae-young and Yoo Han-ul busy.

At the same time, I had successfully bought some time, keeping the fact hidden from both Han Jae-young and Yoo Han-ul.

Thanks to that, we were able to capture James Chen safely.

I spoke to Layla.

“Layla Lopez, congratulations. With this, you can get James to confess and clear your name.”

At those words, Layla’s eyes widened for a moment before trembling slightly.

It was hard to tell what the fleeting emotion was, and soon she lowered her head even more.

“...Yeah, thanks.”

“Thanks, you say.”

It looked like a heartwarming scene.

I smiled for the first time in a while.

It had been a satisfying deal.

When I first suggested the deal to Layla Lopez...

“A deal? What do you mean...?”

“I’ll clear your name.”

“What did you say?”

Layla looked at me, her face showing that she couldn’t quite believe what she had heard.

“Clear my name... You? Why would you do that?”

“I said it’s a deal.”

Her questions were understandable, but I had something I needed from this woman.

“I need your power.”

“I don’t understand.”

Layla asked, her eyes trembling.

“You need my power, but... What... You’re already such a powerful magician. Why would you need me?”

Though she spoke as though her pride had been hurt, it was undeniably true.

“Power doesn’t always mean magic.”

As a great magician, it probably bruised her ego, but in human society, there were things more important than magic.

“Information, power, and capital that I can control. That’s the kind of power I need.”

I had realized something painfully recently.

No matter how strong I was as a grand magician, or how much of a Demon King I had been in my past life...

‘Damn military.’

As a citizen of South Korea, having awakened as a hunter, I had no choice but to fulfill mandatory military service.

It was a truly annoying shackle.

In that sense, Layla Lopez was the perfect person to move in my stead.

At least I had confirmed that she wasn’t involved with Orbis.

‘And she has potential.’

Her unique skill, Inventory Scan, was very useful, and I was also envious of her item crafting ability.

Once she cleared her name, it would be easy for her to rise through the ranks of the Hunter Association again.

That way, my scope of action would expand as well.

Though her weak political connections were a bit concerning, I could always substitute that with another pawn.

“So... When I return, you’re planning to use me as your pawn, right?”

Layla didn’t just go along with the deal easily.

“Pawn? What are you talking about? We’ll help each other out.”

That was closer to the truth.

I was going to use all her resources.

“But even if that’s the case, do you think you need to be concerned?”

I calmly placed my hand on Layla’s shoulder.

Layla instinctively tried to pull away, but with her hands tied, it was futile.

“If you don’t accept the deal, you’ll be finished anyway.”

“Ugh!”

“I’m giving you a lifeline.”

When I applied pressure to her shoulder, it trembled under my grip.

“Don’t you want to clear your name?”

“I...”

“You’ve been developing items for everyone, right?”

I said in a tone that seemed pitiful.

“But if you fall like this... everything you’ve done will belong to someone else... What was his name? James Chen?”

At my words, Layla swallowed.

And finally.

In her eyes, filled with despair and pain, a fire of anger and desire burned brightly.

I knew this would happen.

Layla Lopez had always taken great pride in her career.

She had fought fiercely to reclaim her status, even if it meant kidnapping me.

“...I...”

Layla hesitated, her lips twitching, before she finally asked.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why do you need my power?”

It was a heavy question.

“Does it really matter?”

“It does. Honestly, you could cooperate with someone else instead of me.”

“That’s true.”

“But why are you using my weakness and making this deal, what kind of favor are you asking for...”

Layla trailed off, as if she was afraid of what I might ask.

What should I answer her?

The honest answer was... that I wanted to kill my past life’s kin and protect my present kin.

“Well, it’s not important.”

I didn’t need to reveal my weaknesses to Layla.

Then, what should I say to this question?

As I was pondering, I suddenly read the message that appeared in front of me.

“...To save the world?”

The system asks for your help on the ‘SAVE THE WORLD’ quest.

I had been ignoring it, but it had always popped up in the corner of my vision when I wasn’t paying attention.

“What?”

Layla responded incredulously.

“Save the world? What an absurd and meaningless thing to say...”

“Yeah, it’s a meaningless thing to say.”

I thought so too.

But when you think about it, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Killing Orbis would, in the end, save this world.

Even if that wasn’t my intention.

Layla’s eyes, which had been studying my expression, seemed to glimmer with an unknown light for a moment before closing as if in thought.

“...Alright.”

After a long pause, she finally said it.

“Let’s make the deal.”

I smiled brightly for the first time in a while.

“Good choice! We’re going to be great trading partners.”

“So now, you’ll undo this?”

Layla gestured toward the handcuffs that bound her.

“The deal has been made, right?”

“Oh no, not yet.”

There’s no way a deal with a devil would be that easy.

“We’ve made the deal, but the foundation of any deal is trust. But you’re the one who tried to kidnap me and hand me over as an experiment.”

“Huh?”

“If I let you go, you might change your mind and refuse to help me, even if I ask for it.”

“...If you’re going to say that, why did you offer me a deal in the first place?”

“I’m just saying we need a safety net in our relationship.”

As my finger touched Layla’s chin, she grimaced in discomfort.

“Do you want to write up a contract? I don’t have an item with binding power right now, but I can make one after we leave here if you want.”

“Ah, no need. I have it. An item that can bind you.”

“Really? Then let’s use that. Now, free my hands.”

“No, the safety measure I’ve prepared can work without using your hands.”

“What kind of device... ugh!”

I approached Layla and firmly grabbed her chin and neck.

Being held by me, Layla couldn’t say a word, only silently staring at me.

In her eyes, I could still see traces of mistrust.

Probably because I had shot at her legs earlier.

Doing good deeds will bring blessings – The quest is ongoing.

Even the system seemed to doubt me, flashing this message.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m not going to kill you. As I said, I’m just installing a safety measure.”

I don’t trust human promises.

Especially not from someone who could sacrifice others for their own goals.

When I pried open Layla’s mouth with my finger, she gasped in shock.

“Be careful not to bite your tongue.”

Then, I took the opportunity to pour the ‘Godo’ into her open mouth.

Layla twisted her body in surprise, but the worms filled with my blood quickly slithered down her throat.

I saw tiny, rice-sized worms quickly burrowing into her body through her skin.

“W-What is this?!”

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

When I confirmed the worms had fully entered her body and released her chin, Layla started writhing wildly.

“I-I-itchy. It itches! What did you make me eat?!”

She couldn’t scratch herself due to her tied hands, and she struggled desperately.

“You made a deal, didn’t you? So why are you like this?!”

The system reminds ‘Jeong Da-on’ of the ongoing ‘Do Good Deeds, Receive Blessings?’ quest.

User ‘Jeong Da-on’ cannot act in socially inappropriate ways!

I shouldn’t let the stats drop here.

I quickly grabbed Layla’s hand and poured magic into it.

The itching that had tormented her body stopped immediately, and she froze.

I guess the pain had vanished as if it were a lie.

Layla stared at me in disbelief.

“What is this...?”

“Welcome, Layla.”

I said warmly, hugging her and releasing the ropes binding her hands.

Her body trembled, terrified.

I’d explain what she ate and how she’d need to regularly get magic from me to stop the pain. I would tell her later.

Was it too much for her to want revenge after just a little suffering?

Well, I am a demon, after all.

“I look forward to working with you.”

And a contract with a demon is always unfair.