Chapter 9
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 9
I rubbed my eyes and examined the system once more.
Yet the contents remained unchanged.
Even after asking a second time, the answer that returned was identical.
Not 1%, not 0.1%, not even 0.01%...?
Wait, then how much would I need to donate to achieve 100% divine power...?
【1% requires 1,000 gold, so 95,000 gold remains to achieve 100%.】
I've only earned 10 gold and now you're telling me to earn another 95,000?
Just how much is 1 gold in Korean won?
【1 gold equals 100,000 Korean won.】
So calculating it, 95,000 gold comes to 9.5 billion won....
To put it plainly, reaching 100% costs 10 billion won total.
"Ha, haha."
10 billion, 10 billion. I need to earn 10 billion won?
"Gasp."
The shocking sum sent a wave of heat surging from deep within my body, striking my brain like a hammer.
This sensation, this agony—I'd felt it before during my detective days.
It was rage-induced illness.
* * *
"I'm losing my mind...."
Sprawled across the bed, I thrashed my limbs against the mounting fury.
Unable to overcome the rage in the Kitchen, I'd collapsed clutching the back of my neck, and Airic Dert and Dietrich Warren swiftly carried me to the Bedroom.
Making nothing but strangled sounds, my condition appeared so dire that the two men refrained from further questioning, merely urging me to rest before departing.
Left alone, I trembled with indignation.
"Listen here, God. Ten, ten billion, billion, ahhhhh! Are you joking?! I've never even touched that kind of money in my past life, so how am I supposed to——!"
In my previous life, I'd struggled to save even 100 million won, let alone 10 billion, so when could I possibly accumulate all of it?
Even if I only aimed for my target of 40%, that's still 3.5 billion won!
"Just 1% costs 100 million. Kekeke, kekekeke...."
Now only hollow laughter escaped me, like someone who'd lost their sanity.
The one saving grace was that money alone wasn't the only solution.
Increasing the number of believers would also restore divine power.
In other words, the more believers I gained, the less money I'd need to contribute, so I could pursue both paths simultaneously, but....
Even so, I'd need at least 3 billion won minimum.
"Damn it!"
I struck the bed in frustration.
I could only pray this curse reached the sun itself in the heavens.
* * *
After escorting Ordel Kiris to the Bedroom, Airic Dert and Dietrich Warren stood in a daze.
Shocking events had unfolded in succession, leaving them at a loss for words.
"...High Priest. What on earth just happened?"
Dietrich Warren asked with a bewildered expression.
"Not only did you dine in the Dining Hall, but you inspected the Kitchen—a place you wouldn't even glance at before—and suddenly exposed the head cook's embezzlement, then discovered hidden funds stashed in the Secret Passage.... Is this truly something the Saint accomplished?"
Listing it all out only made it more absurd.
For two years, all this person had done in the Temple was slack off, skip Temple events, indulge in luxury, and cause trouble—those four things alone—and yet she had achieved all this...?
"But why did she suddenly collapse at the very end?"
That was right. The most shocking part was the Saint's fainting spell.
If Airic Dert hadn't rushed to catch her as she suddenly collapsed, her head would have struck the kitchen counter and caused serious injury.
To be honest, at first I suspected she was feigning unconsciousness to avoid explaining the situation....
But Ordel Kiris's condition, cradled in Airic's arms, was quite severe.
She couldn't speak properly, only emitting ragged, gasping sounds—it was absolutely not malingering.
"Hmm, will she be alright?"
Worrying about the Saint, something I'd never done before, made my body feel twisted and uncomfortable, yet I couldn't help but be concerned.
Dietrich Warren glanced toward the Saint's Bedroom.
That firmly closed door had always been something I wanted to avoid, but somehow things had changed.
Perhaps it was because the Saint truly seemed different now.
"Her vital energy is merely slightly disrupted. There's no serious problem, so she should recover with a little rest."
"Besides, the Saint can heal herself."
Thump.
At that moment, Airic Dert's footsteps suddenly stopped.
With divine power, she would be fine.
That was something Dietrich Warren could only say because he didn't know Ordel Kiris was a false Saint.
Her divine power was comparable to or even inferior to that of an apprentice priest. Because of this, she had no healing ability.
There was no way she could heal herself.
'I should go back.'
Only he knew this truth, and only he could help her.
Just as he turned to leave, it happened.
"High Priest."
A Holy Knight appeared from the end of the Corridor.
"As you commanded, I've imprisoned Kento in the Prison. I searched his room, but found no further suspicious evidence."
At the Holy Knight's report, Airic Dert had no choice but to stop.
Ordel Kiris's health wasn't in such critical condition that he needed to go immediately.
So for now, his priority as High Priest was to interrogate Kento, who had committed embezzlement.
His accomplice might still be walking about the Temple of the Sun God.
Yet knowing this, why wouldn't his feet move forward?
"High Priest?"
"...No. Let's go."
Airic Dert began walking forward toward where the criminal awaited, not toward the Saint behind him.
Yet all his attention remained fixed behind him.
He decided he would visit Ordel Kiris after the interrogation was finished.
"Ah, and the Holy Knight Commander will complete his mission and arrive sometime tomorrow, it seems."
"That's fortunate. Report to me as soon as he arrives."
At the Holy Knight's report, Airic Dert exhaled a breath of relief.
The Holy Knight Commander—the commander of all Holy Knights serving the Temple of the Sun God—had been away on a dispatch mission for the past six months.
News of his return at such a turbulent time was nothing short of a blessing.
* * *
It was well past midnight, the dead of night.
Without even moonlight to illuminate the space, someone moved frantically in the shadowed corner of the Kitchen.
The desperate way they rummaged through every conceivable place made it look as though they were committing theft.
"Damn it, damn it! If only that cursed thing hadn't happened! I'll never let this slide!"
A dark silhouette rummaging beneath the counter spat out vicious curses.
As his face briefly came into view, it was none other than Kento—the man who should have been locked in the Prison.
The situation was dire.
I never imagined I'd be discovered so suddenly without warning.
And to make matters worse, the one who exposed me was none other than Ordel Kiris.
I had to escape this place immediately and report what had happened.
Kento clenched his teeth as he pictured Ordel Kiris's face—the one who had revealed his secret before the High Priest.
That damned bastard. I'll never forgive this.
"Ugh!"
At the pain shooting through his arm, Kento's face twisted grotesquely.
His entire body ached from enduring the High Priest's brutal interrogation.
Still, the torture itself was nothing compared to the threats.
Thanks to that, I had managed to keep hidden the location where I'd stashed the embezzled funds beyond the Secret Passage.
But I had no idea when the Holy Knights might search the entire Kitchen, so I had to find everything now and escape.
With that terrifying Holy Knight Commander still away, this was my last chance.
But then....
"Damn it, why won't this come out! I can't leave it behind!"
The Secret Passage held the largest portion of the embezzled money, but the combined total from the other three locations came close to matching it.
So I couldn't afford to leave any of it behind.
Since I'd already lost the money in the Secret Passage, I had to take everything else.
"Damn!"
But the money pouch I'd hidden seemed to be caught on something—no matter how hard I pulled, it wouldn't come free.
In the end, Kento gripped the pouch with both hands, even using his injured arm.
And the moment he threw his weight backward with a sharp cry, the pouch finally came loose.
"Got it! This cursed thing, making me suffer like this!"
Kento leaned his back against the drawer unit across from the counter and grinned wickedly as he gazed at the heavy money pouch.
That instant.
"Found the money?"
A sinister voice came from behind him.
"Ahhhhhhhhh! W-what! You're insane!"
So startled that I forgot the danger of being discovered, Kento let out a shriek and stumbled backward in panic.
The drawer's door swung open, and a figure emerged from within.
Between hair that hung down like a ghost's, a face revealed itself—none other than....
"Hello, Kento?"
Ordel Kiris—a former detective specialized in stakeout operations, now serving as the Saint.
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