You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

It was easy to break out of a cracked world.
The system sends praise to the user, ‘Jeong Da-on’.
 
"You're praising me now?"

Still, it was fortunate that I managed to escape before the system's protection wore off.
"Ugh! What is that?!" "That's bad."
I had just escaped from the illusory world when Maria screamed.

A huge clam, the manifestation of Margarita's illusory world, was snapping its mouth threateningly at its prey.
I quickly summoned my longsword, hiding Maria behind me, and readied it against the clam.
‘The sword's ready.’

A hollow laugh escaped me, but there was no other choice.
At the moment, I wasn’t proficient enough with magic, so this was more efficient.
I gave the clam a warning.

"If you try to swallow me again, the result will be the same."
That clam was the embodiment of the illusory world, and the core of Margarita's invocation magic.
If it was injured, it meant Margarita's soul had been hit as well.

It wouldn't benefit either side if I rushed in and took a heavier blow.
"Go back to your master and whine... though I’m not sure who’ll be whining."
I spoke those words, but it was more out of bravado than anything else.

I had used Maria to land a hit and seized the opening to escape, but honestly, I wasn’t exactly in a relaxed state either.
If I were to be swallowed again, I couldn’t be sure I’d escape this time, especially since the system’s protection was wearing thin.
"..........."
Ssshh!

But fortunately, the bravado worked.
The clam, which had been snapping its mouth threateningly, slinked back into the forest.
Only then did I relax, releasing the tension in my shoulders.

The longsword remained at my side.
‘...I’ve bought myself a little time.’
After the monster retreated, Maria, still disoriented, squinted at the sunlight filtering through the dense leaves.

Her mouth dropped in awe.
“Sunlight…”
Her voice was tinged with a sense of relief.

I surveyed Maria, now standing in the bright sunlight.
Could it be because she lacked food?
She was barely in her mid-teen years, maybe just on the verge of adulthood.

But there was no trace of youthful vitality in her. Her build was small, and she looked frail, with a face showing signs of hardship, gaunt and haggard.
Next to Margarita, she’d look like mud beside a pearl.
I didn’t need to ask how this girl had lived in Margarita's domain.

‘It’s not uncommon for lords to be harsh on their subjects.’
Margarita, I hadn’t expected her to be this harsh.
‘...Not that I have much to say.’

As a demon, I can firmly state that ignorance is evil.
When I was under Orbis, as the Emperor's brother and the Empire’s sword, I focused only on war and research, never bothering with the heirs to Orbis’ lineage.
I occasionally indulged my pity for the nephew I rarely saw, but that was it.

Had I known earlier that Margarita had grown up like this...
Rustle!
“What’s that noise?”

Maria was startled.
With the sound of leaves crunching, a massive beast appeared from behind a tree.
I laughed when I saw it.

“Robo.”
“King!”
Because, coincidentally, it was a wolf with gray fur—my subordinate.

“Hah...!”
But unlike me, Maria completely panicked when she saw it approach.
She had just escaped death, and now a giant wolf appeared in front of her.

“What is that?! A monster? Run...!”
“Isn’t it cute for a monster? Come here, Robo.”
“Grrr!”

Robo seemed happy to meet me again after hours, rolling around on the ground with excitement and poking at my face with his sharp snout.
That sensation brought me back to reality.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Anyway, there was no point regretting the past now.
I’m Jeong Da-on, not Lucifer, and more importantly, the past cannot be undone.
The play has ended, and time flows even as we look back on our memories.

“No, what kind of wolf is this?!”
Maria’s mouth hung open.
The giant wolf, acting like a puppy, was showing affection, which was quite surprising.

I frowned and pushed Robo’s snout away.
“You little... clean your snout before you get too close.”
“Grr?”

Robo pretended to be innocent, tilting his head, but I wasn’t fooled.
There was a faint, pungent smell coming from his snout.
Wriggle!

Sure enough, a foul-smelling smoke rose from the place where Robo had passed.
Maria grabbed the hem of my clothes with trembling hands.
She seemed to have guessed the identity of the smoke.

“That’s... my master’s sentinel.”
“Right. Robo, don’t leave it like that, finish it properly.”
“Grr!”

Robo seemed to abandon the idea of getting more praise and got up from his spot, heading to where the smoke was coming from.
He then pulled out a hidden prey from underneath a pile of soft leaves.
A shadow in human form hung from Robo's mouth, swaying.

Robo gave a sharp snap of his jaws, and then bit down on the figure.
Crack!
Black shards, like ash, poured from Robo’s teeth.

Maria jumped back in shock.
“Yikes!”
“They were made from ashes of wood, burned by darkness and fire.”

The twilight soldiers.
They regenerate from the darkness without needing additional mana, making them an efficient magic.
Of course, they struggle in daylight, hiding in shadows, but...

“...Even if you tried to run, these guys would have caught up with you at night, right?”
“Y-yeah.”
Maria nodded at my question.

“I clearly ran away from the mountain during the day, but when I fell asleep at night, I was back home.”
While the Count of Burk’s domain turned people into ghosts to fix them, the people in this domain were alive.
It meant there had to be a way to physically monitor them.

And these twilight soldiers were the same as the herding dogs Margarita used.
“I’m glad I have Robo with me.”
Robo was the better hunter.

When we entered the mountain’s edge, I detected Margarita’s magic and noticed the sentinels hiding in the mountain’s shadows.
So I ordered Robo to hunt the sentinels on his own.
Margarita would try to drag me back into the illusory world anyway, so it would be better for Robo to move separately.

Robo’s simple animal brain meant he wouldn’t fall under any illusions and could hunt the sentinels undisturbed.
Maria asked nervously.
“But if the sentinels are caught like this... won’t the master notice?”

“Yeah, she’s no fool either.”
Once the illusory world was shattered and the sentinels disappeared, she would figure out it was my doing.
She must have realized by now that I didn’t die and escaped.

Maria’s face turned pale.
“Then what do we do now? Shouldn’t we run?!”
“You know, they say naughty kids should get a smack.”

“W-well, that’s true, but!”
“Don’t worry... she can’t catch up yet.”
The illusory world had already been broken, and I’d taken down quite a few sentinels.

Margarita would need to reorganize as well.
No matter how much this was Margarita’s domain, her mana wouldn’t be endless.
She had already expended quite a lot of mana with the mental magic over this whole domain.

If she hastily used more mana to capture me, the hostages held over there would likely break free from the illusions.
‘Even if Yoo Han-ul isn’t reliable, Han Jae-young should be starting to snap out of it soon.’
But even then, I couldn’t just sit and wait for a counterattack.

‘A direct confrontation is out of the question.’
Though I dealt a blow to the illusory world, this domain still belonged to Margarita.
I had landed a small hit, but it was Margarita’s arrogance that allowed it.

If I faced her head-on again here, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
So, I’d have to take a different approach.
“...Where do the people living in this mountain stay?”

And for that, I needed to face Margarita with reality once more.
I asked Maria.
“Will you guide me to the village?”

 
I followed Maria's guidance through the mountain paths.
The path was quite rough, but thanks to Robo, it didn't take long.

“I’ve never ridden on a wolf before.”
I was riding on Robo’s enlarged back, running through the mountain.
Though it wasn’t as smooth as riding a horse, Robo was just as fast, so we arrived at our destination quickly.

The shabby houses were clustered together in the mountain village.
They seemed to be built on the flatter land, but every single one looked poorly constructed. It seemed they’d have to deal with the rain directly.
“This is our village. I… I’ve never left here since I was born.”

As she guided me to the village, Maria explained a little about herself.
Just as I expected, Maria had been born in this mountain and had never left.
“The adults always told me that if I left this mountain, something terrible would happen. They scolded me every time I tried to escape… but I was curious about the outside world.”

Maria, who wanted to leave, had always been treated as an oddball.
Living comfortably under Margarita’s protection, the villagers wondered why she would want to leave.
Maria’s gaze as she looked at the village was filled with sadness.

“Am I weird? How would I know if this is comfortable if I’ve never been outside?”
“Yeah, a caged bird always wonders about the world beyond.”
“I don’t really understand what you mean… but anyway, if the villagers find out the truth about our master, things will definitely change.”

Maria clenched her fist and spoke resolutely.
“I’ll try to convince everyone... Ah, Mom!”
“Ma, Maria?!”

Just then, a woman opened the door of one of the houses in the village and gasped when she saw Maria.
I was shocked too.
This was the same woman who had guided us from the mountain entrance to the monastery earlier.

‘Her mom?’
Now that I looked, she did resemble Maria.
“Why are you here?”

Maria’s mother grabbed Maria by the shoulder as she rushed to her.
Her face twisted in anger.
The atmosphere wasn’t right. It wasn’t the kind of attitude you’d expect from a mother welcoming her missing daughter back.

“Maria, what happened?”
“I… I almost died, Mom…”
“Speak properly!”

Maria’s mother harshly shook her, pressing down on Maria’s shoulder with so much force that I could see Maria turning pale.
“Didn’t you go to serve the master?”
“Serve? What are you talking about, Mom? I went to offer tea leaves, but they… pushed me off the cliff…”

“Stop talking nonsense! Was it a dream or something?”
Maria flinched as her mother yelled.
“You were chosen by the master, how could you come back? Did you make a mistake and get kicked out…?”

“No, I didn’t! I didn’t make a mistake, the master was trying to…!”
“Stop lying!”
“...Mom, you’re not believing me?”

Tears welled up in Maria’s eyes.
But Maria’s mother ignored her tears and relentlessly pressed her with questions.
“Speak properly. If you were kicked out by the master and ran away, you should go and apologize…”

“...Wait.”
I stopped their conversation before things got any worse.
Maria’s tears flowed down her cheeks.

“Mom, what’s wrong? Why don’t you believe me?”
“First… your mother needs a mental barrier.”
Maria’s soul was naturally strong, so her mental barrier hadn’t broken.

But Maria’s mother had completely lost her mental wall, capable of communicating without the barrier of language or others. Her mental state was almost shattered, beyond simple brainwashing.
‘No wonder her state is so bad… it seems like Margarita took measures to avoid any discomfort when taking Maria.’
Even though the villagers were normally docile, if a daughter had died right in front of their eyes, the sudden rage could have overcome the illusion.

So Margarita must have thoroughly broken down the mental wall of Maria’s mother.
Even if her daughter disappeared right in front of her, she wouldn’t be able to recognize it and would believe that she was honored to be chosen by the master.
That left only one option.

Snap!
“Ugh!”
Maria’s mother was startled when black flames suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Phamong’s torch blazed brightly.
‘It’s a waste of mana, but…’
As I strained to draw up mana, I tasted a hint of blood in my mouth, but it couldn’t be helped.

Even though she was from my past life, she was still my niece, and I wasn’t without responsibility.
“Get a grip. Look at who’s standing in front of you.”
Now that the illusory world, the core of Margarita's domain, had collapsed, it was temporarily possible to restore the mental state.

“Your daughter is here.”
“…Oh my God.”
Not long after, Maria’s mother screamed, calling out her daughter’s name.

“Maria…!”
Without hesitation, Maria’s mother embraced her, her hands trembling as she frantically searched Maria’s face.
“My God, Maria, you’re safe! Thank you, God…”

Tears began to flow down the woman’s face as well.
Maria sniffled, burying her face in her mother’s arms.
At last, a true reunion had taken place.

“Mom… I was so scared. The master tried to kill me, but that sky…”
“Shh!”
But before Maria could finish her sentence, Maria’s mother quickly covered her mouth, pulling her close protectively, and met my eyes.

There was a strong wariness in her expression.
She had lived under Margarita’s control all her life, and now that her daughter, whom she thought had died, had returned, it was only natural for her to be suspicious of me, a stranger.
“Who are you…?”

“I am…”
And just as I was about to answer...
“An angel, Mom!”

But before I could respond, Maria cheerfully answered for me.
“The angel who came down to save us from the demon!”
Wait a second.

I blinked.
...Where do I even start correcting this?