Chapter 321: Evil God's Game (5)

Translator: DreamscribeHe had become Reist, the good-for-nothing Fourth Imperial Prince!

He might have been dead last in rank among the princes, but the power, might, and wealth an Imperial Prince held were formidable. He owned the fourteenth planet in the Sanctuary, and he owned as many as eight planets in the central region as well.

The regions outside the Dimensional Barrier went without saying.

Whenever a rare dimension was incorporated into the Kalsus Dimensional Empire, he would immediately take part in the auction and pour in enormous sums of money.

"Is spending money the only thing you know how to do?"

Jinwoo said this while giving the bear doll a firm squeeze.

Lines like 'I love you!' and 'Thank you!' came out of the bear doll. It was something Jinwoo had made as a trial run, to give to young children.

[Ugh, urgh! Aaargh!]

Every time Jinwoo jabbed at it with his finger, Reist's scream burst out.

[P-please, give me back my b-body. Please....]

Bear-doll Reist sobbed and pleaded desperately. Reist was exactly the sort who groveled before fellow princes and imperial family members but regarded anyone beneath them as mere garbage. The slaves Reist killed for a hobby alone numbered in the thousands every year.

[Evil Karma Rank: A]

Evil Karma Rank A.

It was nearly on the level of having wiped out several whole dimensions. Even the bear doll enchanted with Preservation Magic couldn't withstand the evil karma; it darkened until it turned pitch black and became a black bear.

"Just stay in there for about a hundred years."

[A-a hundred years? A-and after that...?]

There was a slight difference between one year in the Kalsus Dimensional Empire and one year in Arsilan, but it amounted to only a few days, so it could just be called one year.

[Evil God] Endure! 100 Years!

Endure 100 years inside the bear doll.

Then you can come out of the bear doll.

A quest window appeared in front of bear-doll Reist.

What would happen after enduring the hundred years?

He would be flung into the Soul Moon and made to suffer for all eternity. But Jinwoo did not tell him that fact.

It was because he looked forward to the despair of Reist, who would emerge a hundred years later brimming with hope.

The life of a bear doll that could neither move nor sleep began from this moment. Since Preservation Magic had been cast on the bear doll, it would automatically repair itself even if destroyed, so there was no worry of it being damaged.

"So then, what shall I try?"

Suddenly, the good-for-nothing of the house had become competent!

Perhaps this was a cliché. Jinwoo had come purely to stir up chaos, so there was no need for him to become competent.

"Is anyone there!"

At Jinwoo's shout, the butler came scrambling in a hurry.

Reist's butler was Berto, the second son of Count Fred. He came from the Fred family, which had served the imperial family for generations, and one could only become the heir by enduring the imperial family's whims and surviving to the very end.

Serving the imperial family was a tremendous honor, and that went double for an Imperial Prince who held a claim to the throne. That held true no matter what became of the individual's own fate.

Surviving an Imperial Prince was powerful proof that one could become a count.

Berto lowered his head and waited for a command.

"I'm bored. What would you have me do?"

"I fear that my lowly opinion might sully Your Highness's noble will."

Jinwoo snorted a laugh.

"My ears have already been fouled just from hearing your voice."

"Since Margrave Kalgul happens to be here as well, why not hold a banquet? If you announce that the Margrave has become Your Highness's trusted confidant, Your Highness will shine all the more brilliantly."

Jinwoo shook his head.

At that, Berto gulped down his saliva and broke out in a cold sweat. Because of Reist's whims, Berto too had nearly died more times than he could count.

Jinwoo looked around and spotted a 'Stone Game.'

He roughly knew how it was played. When Jinwoo cast his gaze toward the Stone Game, Berto quickly rushed over and set the Stone Game up in front of him.

Kalgul stood silently behind Jinwoo.

"Who plays the best?"

"W-well, that's...."

Kalgul grinned and looked at Berto.

"Now that I think of it, I once heard a rumor that my master's butler plays quite well."

No such rumor had ever existed.

Berto flared up and tried to glare at Kalgul, but he couldn't, because of Jinwoo's gaze.

'D-damn the imperial family! Those goddamn nobles....'

He himself was a noble too, but in any case, Berto ground his teeth inwardly and cursed wildly. Jinwoo and Berto sat down to play the Stone Game.

Beating an ignorant prince was a given, but he could never actually win. Nor could it be obvious that he was going easy. He had to teeter on the edge of balance and then throw the game.

"I-I'll begin now."

As the Stone Game got underway, Kalgul pretended to offer whispered advice. It was on Jinwoo's orders. Berto had meant to go easy, but when he began falling behind, he played his hardest. Even so, he was defeated overwhelmingly.

"How dull."

"I-I-I'm sorry!"

Berto threw himself flat to the ground.

Jinwoo looked at him and clicked his tongue. Berto felt like a death-row convict facing his execution.

"Is there no better opponent?"

"W-well, that's...."

Berto was the one who played best.

He began racking his brain desperately. He tried to think of anyone he could bring in right this instant, but nothing came to mind.

"What about those vermin?"

Jinwoo said, screwing up his face.

He was referring to the slaves.

Around the great manor there was a prison holding slaves brought from the Dimensional Realm. There were many nobles who offered up slaves to curry favor with Reist, and there were also quite a lot of slaves Reist had personally bid on at auctions.

The prison's capacity was ten thousand people, and whenever it exceeded that number, they periodically incinerated the excess. Enlarging the prison would have solved it, but the reasoning was that doing so would ruin the scenery of the garden.

"For vermin, there ought to be a clever one among them."

"I'll go find one right away!"

"You'd best hurry, before I lose interest in you."

Berto slammed his forehead hard against the floor.

When Jinwoo waved his hand, he ran straight out.

Berto wielded formidable power on this planet, but it was all thanks to Reist. The moment he was cast out by Reist, horrific ruin awaited him.

He summoned the manor's servants and headed for the prison.

"Find the smartest... find a slave who plays the Stone Game well!"

At Berto's urgent shout, a single sentence surfaced in the servants' minds.

'We're screwed.'

Reist was definitely up to some crazy shit again.

The entire staff could be ground up and thrown out. Being a noble didn't matter. There were plenty of nobles in the Sanctuary, and they could be replaced at any time.

Berto and the servants thoroughly inspected the slaves.

Then their eyes fell on a female who had been bought for the highest price. She was a rare slave with the highest intelligence rating.

The wings on her back were as splendid as a peacock's, and her skin had such a sheen that it was like looking at a jewel. Her appearance, too, was outstanding enough to tempt any noble.

She was a slave captured from a dimension whose Dimensional Incineration had recently been completed.

She was also fated to be stuffed and mounted as a decoration in the garden. Since slaves lost their beauty over time, for a slave like this it was standard practice to have her stuffed while she was at her most beautiful.

"Female, do you know how to play the Stone Game?"

Her eyes were dead, as though she had lost all will to live. She merely sat still with an expressionless face.

Around her were the kin who had been brought along with her.

Berto knew the reason why.

Knowing that she cherished her kin dearly, the prince had bought them together so that he could torture them in front of that female.

When Berto gave the order to a servant, the servants dragged over one of her kin. When Berto drew a fine dagger and pointed it at her kin, her eyes wavered.

"I'll ask one more time. The Stone Game, do you know how to play it?"

"...I do. At the Slave Training Facility..., I learned it."

That, at least, was a relief.

He could only hope that female would keep the prince in a good mood.

"If you lift His Highness's spirits, I won't lay a hand on these vermin."

With the servants gripping her kin's wings, she trembled violently and nodded.

"Take her away. Wash and dress her up quickly and present her to His Highness!"

The servants hurriedly dragged her off, washed her, and clothed her in a beautiful gown. They even styled her hair before bringing her to Jinwoo.

It was such swift work that even Jinwoo was impressed.

It was skill honed through all the time spent being tormented by Reist.

Jinwoo peered into the soul of the woman standing before him.

[Lv.12]Raphne

Race: Raynar

Sex: Female

Dimension: Regin(Destroyed)

The primary race of the Regin Dimension.

A race with splendid wings that loved dancing and singing, and used the power of their wings to color the skies of Regin beautifully. Their intelligence was considerably high, so they built an advanced civilization, but their dimension was incinerated by the Kalsus Dimensional Empire's army.

He could read the information within her soul.

Through communication he could receive support from the Magic Tower, which was made up of the Evil God's creatures, so there was no need for him to use his own power.

"Sit."

Raphne sat down in front of Jinwoo.

Raphne was composed, but it was Berto, rather, who was tense and trembling. It was because everything hinged on Raphne. Berto quickly set the Stone Game to its starting position.

Raphne was expressionless, but inside her heart she was weeping.

She was crying out and begging for salvation. But faced with one hopeless situation after another, she had half given up.

"Just playing it straight would be no fun. Let's make a wager."

Raphne looked at Jinwoo with dead eyes.

Jinwoo wore a twisted smile at the corners of his mouth, sank deep against the chair's backrest, and lifted a wineglass.

"If you lose, I'll dismantle every last one of the vermin in that prison. The prison ruins the look of the garden far too much. But it seemed like a waste, so I'd just been leaving them be."

"Ah...."

"Disposing of them within the Sanctuary would be a bit much, so I'll have to send them to the Slaughter Planet outside."

Tears streamed down Raphne's face.

Her kin, and the people in the same plight who had leaned on one another to endure in the prison, were all going to die.

"I-if I win..., if I win, then what...?"

Raphne asked desperately.

"I'll set you free."

"A-are you setting only me free?"

"That, well, I'll think about depending on how things go. Ah! It might be fun to stick Berto into the empty spot you leave behind."

Berto flinched and trembled all over.

Raphne clenched her fists tightly.

It was an absurd wager.

Even if she won, there was no guarantee she would be freed. No, she would not be freed. But she had no choice except to accept the wager.

"Well then, let's begin."

The Stone Game, with ten thousand lives and Berto's trip to the prison riding on it, began.

True to a race with a high intelligence rating, Raphne played the Stone Game well. She focused desperately in order to win.

'Not bad at all.'

Jinwoo was impressed.

Judging by intelligence alone, she seemed to be on about Tiris's level.

The Stone Game itself was nothing special, but matching wits and moves against Raphne was enjoyable in its own way. Every time Kalgul pretended to whisper to him, the state of play tilted in Jinwoo's favor. Raphne bit her lip and trembled faintly.

'M-my next move should be....'

She concentrated until her head ached.

The game grew tense and evenly matched. In that moment, Jinwoo deliberately broke the rules and wrecked Raphne's formation.

In a single stroke, the game flipped and became Jinwoo's victory.

"T-that goes against the rules...."

"I am the rules."

At Jinwoo's brazen arrogance, Raphne was stunned senseless.

"How dull."

In any case, it was Raphne's defeat.

Raphne trembled and poured out tears.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! J-just one more chance...!"

Raphne pleaded, but Jinwoo only watched her with a cold gaze. Berto clenched his fists. The thrilling ecstasy of having survived was ruling over his whole body.

Jinwoo rose from his seat and looked at the thoroughly worked-up Berto.

'Games and wagers, huh....'

There was nothing here but the Stone Game.

If he brought over something from Earth, couldn't he get the nobles addicted?

'Las Vegas.'

Las Vegas came to Jinwoo's mind.

Gambling, and what if he applied all the game content packed into the Arsilan Saga? Magic that manipulated dopamine levels wouldn't be greatly affected even within the Sanctuary.

This is going to be fun!

A plan formed rapidly in Jinwoo's head.

Having organized his thoughts, Jinwoo shifted his gaze to the sobbing Raphne.

"Kalgul."

"Yes, my master."

"Dispose of her."

Kalgul knelt and bowed his head.

"Berto. Follow Kalgul's instructions."

"I shall obey your command!"

With light steps, Jinwoo slipped out of the room and headed for the bedroom.

'This corridor is damn long.'

He shook his head as he walked down the pointlessly long corridor.

Alright then, let's set up a gambling den in the Sanctuary!

* * *

Raphne fell into despair.

Watching the people being loaded into the cargo hold, all she could say was that she was sorry. Because she had lost the wager, they had fallen into a fate of being brutally slaughtered. But they did not resent Raphne.

"Dying is the easier way."

"If we just endure a brief moment of pain, we'll be able to find peace."

"It's all right."

Life in the prison had been so horrific that they would sooner wish for death. Being slaughtered and killed was far better than being stuffed and mounted alive.

The vessel left the Sanctuary without any interference and reached an outlying planet of the central region. There existed no one bold enough to dare touch an Imperial Prince's vessel. On the contrary, they either escorted it or let it pass through first, ahead of everyone else.

When the vessel arrived at the spaceport, soldiers appeared and made them all disembark.

Batus and some nobles approached them as they stood trembling. Batus gave a nod and then opened his mouth.

"Please follow me."

Batus was courteous. Come to think of it, the soldiers weren't coercive either. It was strange how they moved like machines, but they were fairly courteous.

Batus had the soldiers remove all the restraints that had been binding Raphne and the slaves, then loaded them into a vehicle.

The vehicle arrived at a great manor.

Following Batus's guidance, they went down into the manor's basement.

"Wh-where is this?"

"Haah!"

"It's beautiful...."

As a beautiful landscape unfolded before them, all the slaves were spellbound. Only then did Batus let out a deep breath and spread his arms toward the slaves.

"Welcome to the Evil God's Shelter! All of you have received the Evil God's blessing and become Arsilanians."

"A-Arsilanians?"

The moment Raphne felt puzzled, a sharp prickling sensation ran through her head, and the common language of Arsilan was implanted in her. It was the same for the others as well.

Those who had become Arsilanians before them smiled and welcomed them.

Raphne could not for the life of her understand what was going on. She had thought she was being dragged to a slaughterhouse, yet a scene like this, akin to paradise, had unfolded instead.

"You've been through so much. Food and a place to rest have been prepared, so come this way!"

Batus guided them with a saintly smile.

"Ah! You're Lady Raphne, aren't you?"

"Yes? Th-that's right."

"The Evil God asked me to deliver this to you."

Batus politely handed Raphne a letter. Raphne carefully began to read it.

[You're good at the Stone Game. Anyway, since I cheated, I'll count it as your win. This is the reward for that.]

It was handwriting that felt warm and kind.

"Hng...."

Raphne's tears fell in drops onto the letter.

Her kin came over to Raphne and pulled her into an embrace.

For the first time in a very long while, Raphne was able to hear everyone's joyful laughter.

*****

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