CH 43

It was clear that the sin of greed was insane. It was not human.

Setting that aside, I was actually really impressed. How could it use such an offensive tone?  

I looked down at the black fox, deciding that continuing to deal with it would be a waste of time.

“Okay, let’s move on…..Fox, are you greedy?”

[That’s right.]

“Where are we?”

“[It’s a temple from the past. Where you humans sealed me away.]

“The past? Is this the past?”

[Correct.]

I suddenly fell into a strange place, and to make things more complicated, it was now somehow a space from the past?

Apparently, after being sealed by the heroes of the past, Greed seemed to have been bound to the temple of that time.

‘So, I was sucked into the place where Greed was sealed?’

Raeyan described it as a summoning, so this situation I was going through didn’t seem to be a normal situation.

What on earth do I have to do to get out of a place where only a broken temple remains? When I thought that I might never be able to get out of here, I felt dizzy.

‘Lets calm down first.’

After I calmed down, I looked at Greed again.

The cute-looking black baby fox tilted its head.

[You are the first human to come here.]

“Oh, it’s an honor–”

The moment I answered with emotion at the fact that I was the first, Greed firmly cut me off.

[An uninvited guest.]

“Oh, I’m sorry…..”

Greed. This guy has a knack for bringing people up and down.

Hah. After sighing lightly, I sat down on the base of a pillar that I could easily sit on.

I felt something sticking under my thigh, so I put my hand under and felt something bumpy.

When I took it out, it was the damn seal stone that brought me to this strange place.

Seeing that there was no reaction even if I held it in my hand now, it must be because I had already been sucked into the place where Greed was.

Lost in thought, I fiddled with the sealing stone with one hand.

Even though I still wasn’t not feeling well, I prioritized what I should do now.

First, trading with Greed.

Second, getting out of here safely.

‘All right.’

Now that I’d decided what to do, all I had left was to do it. I beckoned to Greed as it roamed around me.

“Come here. Greed.”

[Don’t give me orders.]

Greed approached me with a feisty reply.

No matter how much you think about it, Greed was a bit… It seemed stupid.

‘Isn’t “don’t give orders” shorter than “don’t give me orders”?’ 

What even is the economy of language? It’s just an extreme concept.

“Concept……no, Greed. Why don’t you make a deal with me? I need your ability.”

[Did you just say deal?]

“Yes, deal.”

[Can you pay the price?]

Greed asked sternly, as if to remind me that he was a Sin.

‘What? Do you see this Sin?’

Saying this and that about prices after definitely seeing me with a sealing stone earlier – you’re trying to scam me.

According to Raeyan, even the heads of the families were unaware that the owner of the sealing stone could make a deal without paying a cost.

Naturally, Greed had to be thinking that I didn’t know anything.

“I’ll listen and decide. What’s the price you want?” I continued in a serious manner to see how Greed would play the situation out. 

[Give me 90% of your life span.]

“Do you want me to die? No, are you serious?”

I almost made a death threat myself, but I managed to hold onto my reason. 

Greed answered earnestly.

[I mean it seriously.]

‘Then I’ll deal with you sincerely.’ 

I raised my head, pursed my lips, pretending to be seriously thinking about the conditions Greed had proposed.

“I wasn’t going to say this….. But, I’m actually terminally ill. So even if I give 90% of my life expectancy, it’s only about three months.”

[3 months? Too few.]

“Do you think so too? With a body that will die anyway, I planned to earn a lot of money and live happily ever after! That’s what I thought…so I was going to summon you……”

I intentionally pretended to be pitiful and made a sad expression, but Greed did not change his expression even a little bit.

[No need for 3 months.]

Seeming unperturbed by human emotions, Greed flatly rejected the price.

“Then is there any other price that you want?”

I had no intention of paying, but I asked anyway in anticipation of what I would be asked for this time.

The answer that came out of Greed was a spectacle.

[Give me the rest of your life.]

“Hey, that’s garbage!”

I didn’t think Greed would be so greedy.

It was a ridiculous transaction condition to ask for all the remaining life span when it was said to be a time limit.

I had no intention of actually negotiating, so it wasn’t a huge shock that the negotiations broke down.

I immediately changed my attitude. I deliberately shook with the sealing stone, so that it could clearly be seen and said to Greed.

“Hey there, boss. I did my research before summoning you.” 

[What do you mean?] 

Greed pretended to be indifferent.

‘So that’s how it is.’

I laughed as hard as I could.

“The fact that the owner of the seal stone can enslave you.”

I deliberately imitated Greed’s tone to piss it off.

[………!]

The eyes set in the cute fox face shook inexorably.

With this A and B were clearly decided. 

(T/N: like in contracts where party A has advantages over party B)

“Give me your hand first.”

I haughtily demanded the hand of Greed. Greed staggered back and refused my order.

[That’s not my special skill. Therefore it’s not subject to trade.]

Fine then…Let me sternly command– 

“Being cute is also a skill. Give it quickly.”

Pock! 

Greed put out its front paws. I felt good when the small paws, which boasted soft, glossy fur, touched the palm of my hand.

I gave a second order, while fiddling with Greed’s front paws.

E: “Call me master from now on.”

Greed flatly refused.

[No. My master is someone different.]

“Who is it?”

[The great god, who will rule this world, Irkala. Worship him.] 

“……..?”

Why do you speak normally now? 

It felt as if a religious zealot was preaching at me, so a sense of rejection naturally welled up.

“Forget it.”

[How dare you ignore Ikala-.]

“Anyway, I’m the owner of the sealing stone, so follow my orders well from now on.”

[………]

“Greed, answer.”

[I got it.]

That’s how I enslaved a black fox with a strange way of speaking. The first plan succeeded as originally aimed.

Then all that was left was the second plan.

Going right back to where I was.

“Hey, Greed. How do I get out of here?”

[……. Since we made a deal, you can go out with me.]

Greed turned its head and answered, perhaps because it was upset because the situation didn’t go its way.

The method was simpler than I thought. I still had Greed’s paws in my hand and lifted him up.

[What are you doing!]

“I have to get out of here. Let’s go, it’s an order.”

I still had a headache and felt nauseous, so I wanted to get out of this space as soon as possible.

[Okay. Leaving now.]

After Greed’s words, the wind blew from the front.

The moment I closed and opened my eyes, the scenery surrounding me changed.

There was a murmur from Greed but Elodie didn’t hear it.

[But why do you smell like my master?]

*** 

The great war of Ishtar.

The heroes who sealed the sins held a meeting regularly to check whether the seals were well monitored and maintained.

Adenmir, who attended as a direct descendant of the Wallent imperial family, waited for the end of this meeting while ignoring the tedious words of the high priests.

The direct descendants of each family were scattered everywhere while waiting for the prayer meeting to be prepared.

There were not many people. On the contrary, the number of priests in the temple was higher.

The number of participants was as follows.

Duchess Angellus and her daughter Dorothea Angellus.

Duke Leon Kreundel, head of the Kreundel family. Since he was single and had no children, he attended alone this time again.

Next, the Duke and Duchess of Perdia and their two sons.

The last one was Severes, but the family head was absent due to a coma, so a collateral and aide attended as a proxy.

‘It’s boring,’ Adenmir thought to himself. 

And while Adenmir was hoping for the meeting to end soon, the Perdia’s were listening to the Priests.

“Ah, I miss Sister.”

Themis, who was sitting elegantly, replied with a smile at Carlot’s words.

“Elodie wouldn’t think so.”

“What does mother know? I know her best, right?”

Themis laughed at Carlot´s proud words.

Although he was her son, she felt sorry for him that he was proud, not knowing that Elodie was only thinking of becoming independent.

Carlot, who had been talking about his older sister, began to look around.

“Should I bring back a souvenir?”

“What souvenir?”

Carlot grinned at Jansi’s question and pointed at something next to him.

“I can break down this statue and take it.” 

The faces of the priests nearby turned white at Carlot’s remark that he would take the stone statue from the temple as a souvenir.

Jansi laughed and stopped him.

“Stop it, Carl. There’s no way Lili would like a rock.”

The faces of the priests turned blue this time.

‘It’s blasphemy….!’ They all seethed at once. 

The prayer meeting began shortly afterwards, maybe because of the desperate wishes of the priests.

The place where the prayer meeting was held was called the “Spring of Ishtar”, which was the sanctuary in the middle of the great temple.

What was unusual was that the fountain was flowing in the courtyard, not in the building, so overhead it was cool and open.

Of course, no one focused on the boring, old-fashioned prayer.

“Then the second hero attacked Greed,  and the earth shook and the temple collapsed….”

It was when a boring prayer was recited.

The old high priest sprang up from his seat with eyes wide open.

“Oh, oracle. The oracle has descended!!”

Oracle.

Not only the priests, but also the direct descendants of the four families were surprised to hear that an oracle that hadn’t come down in recent years actually descended.

The very excited high priest began to recite God’s words as it was.

“A savior will come down to save the world from disaster-!”

At that very moment.

Splash-!

Someone suddenly fell from the sky into the fountain.

“…….!”

It was an unbelievable sight, and most of those who witnessed the scene covered their mouths with both hands.

The uninvited guest who fell into the fountain muttered as she pulled on her clingy clothes.

“Ah, it’s cold! What, now? Is this water torture….?!”

The first person to respond to the jittery voice was the Perdia family.

They all opened their mouths at the same time.

“Lili?”

“Sister!”

“Elodie?”

“Why are you here?”

The last, low voice didn’t come from a member of Perida, but from Adenmir instead. Startled by their voices, the surprised uninvited guest raised her head with wide open eyes.

‘What, this is…..a temple?’

Elodie, a suspect, who suddenly became a temple intruder, greeted them with an awkward smile.

“Hi…..How are you?”

“………..”

“………..”

Unfortunately, no one seemed to be saying hello.