Chapter 17
I returned to the Duke’s estate.
Just to be safe, I stuffed a few mana crystals into my pocket. You never know when they might come in handy.
Sigh.
But even though I was looking at the unprocessed, pure mana crystals, my feelings were complicated.
There was a time when I used to stock hundreds, even thousands of these in my inventory—or rather, in my dimensional storage. Back then, I wasn’t envious of any other player in the game.
If it weren’t for this damn Sucker Score, I’d still be living it up.
Hah. Let’s think about this.
I made an effort to get my brain working, even with my exceptionally low intelligence stat.
Looking at the mana crystals, only the wealthiest nobles or skilled mages could afford to buy them. And the Spring Ball, as the system explained, was an exclusive event for high-ranking nobles. Only those with high trustworthiness could attend—lower-ranking nobles didn’t even receive invitations.
Even when invitations were extended to outsiders, only foreign royalty or mages and knights who had received honorary titles from the Empire were invited.
‘In other words, not just anyone can attend.’
That’s why Paula had been so intent on preventing my debut in society at the Spring Ball. It was the most effective way for her to hold onto her position as the 1st daughter of the Duke’s family.
“So, anyway, to sell the mana crystals, I’ll have to sneak into the Spring Ball.”
But the biggest obstacle was, of course, my Sucker Score.
In the game, I had always been stuck with low stats, which had led to my Sucker Score steadily increasing due to my failures at etiquette lessons. But now, after a few harsh lessons, I had a rough understanding of how the Sucker Score worked.
First, stress raises your Sucker Score.
Second, failing to meet the expectations of those around you also increases it.
Third, failing to live up to the expectations of being a “villainess” will—unfortunately—raise your Sucker Score as well.
Damn.
I figured that unless some random event or quest came up to reduce my Sucker Score to under 30, I wouldn’t be able to avoid serious consequences in this world.
But right now, my Sucker Score was at 80, due to all the failures in my etiquette lessons and the stress I had endured, and there was only one week left until the Spring Ball.
Since the ball would last three days, I technically had ten days left.
Given that, my options were pretty limited…
‘Looks like I’ll have to use that method.’
It made me uneasy, but what choice did I have?
This world was ruthless, and to get ahead, I had to play dirty and adapt.
Sigh, there’s so much to do.
I came to this conclusion after a series of restless thoughts, and then I flopped down on my plush bed.
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
After being fired for failing to pay wages and being freed from my K-slave status, I had never woken up before 8 a.m. in my life.
But today, I had to wake up early, which meant I had to get up at dawn.
As a result, when I got out of the carriage at 8 a.m., I was already feeling like a sickly chicken.
“Miss, are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“But… why are we here, of all places…?”
Sophie looked at me with a shocked expression.
Normally, Sophie would never question my actions, but I guess this place was just too unexpected for her.
“Is this somewhere I shouldn’t be?”
“Well, no, but… you know, we have to be modest here…”
“I know that much.”
Sophie’s nervous expression and my short reply were quickly explained by the system.
[SYSTEM] ‘Servant Sophie’ fears what kind of horrors you might commit in this place!
Reputation +5
Of course, I could understand Sophie’s concerns.
Why?
Because this place was…
[SYSTEM] New location unlocked! You have entered the ‘Patelles Temple.’
Yes.
This was the grandest temple of Demeter, the goddess who presides over the dimension of Orteira. Heh heh.
It might seem out of place for an evil-raising game, but in games like these, there’s always a balance—where there’s evil, there’s also good.
Besides, the real fun in such games was in corrupting those pious priests who knew only their god.
‘In this game, the paladin captain was one of the male leads who was corrupted by such actions…’
In the game illustrations, he was a fragile, sickly boy with silver hair and silver eyes. I wondered what he’d look like in person.
Oh, and I made sure not to cross paths with the paladin captain today. That guy had an uncanny ability to track down suspicious people and capture them. If I encountered him in my current state, I’d probably end up in some dungeon for interrogation.
Moreover, this paladin captain was a zealot—literally obsessed with the gods.
And by obsessed, I mean he’d waste no time in preaching to me, trying to “save” me. Every time he opened his mouth, it was like a sermon I couldn’t escape.
If I ignored him, the outcome would be a witch trial.
‘I’ve seen enough tearful tales of getting forced into conversions, pledging 800 prayers a day to Demeter’s statue…’
The zealot wouldn’t hesitate to imprison the daughter of a noble family for the sake of his god.
That’s why I had to be extra cautious not to run into him.
“Sophie, stay here.”
I ordered Sophie as I stood in front of what seemed like the central prayer room. Sophie looked up at me, bewildered.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
She seemed scared I might do something reckless.
I guess she was worried I might destroy something sacred, but I wasn’t about to clear up the misunderstanding.
Looking at her with her huge, worried eyes, I felt a twinge of pity.
‘First, I need to manage my own image here.’
After all, it was actually to my advantage that I was playing the role of the villainess in this situation.
“No matter where I go, I’ll be here. Stay and pray for now.”
“Y-yes…”
Sophie, still trembling, responded meekly, and I left her behind to enter the temple.
I had never been here before, but for some reason, the entire place felt familiar. It didn’t take long to reach my intended destination—the statue of Demeter.
Every Ark player would know what this statue looked like. Why? Because, at the end of a one-year playthrough, you’d receive a divine oracle at this very statue.
Depending on your choices, you’d either gain a class suited to your stats, marry one of the characters you’d worked to conquer, or achieve both and reach the final ending.
Of course, in my case, the ending was usually death, but for most players, this was the place where they either completed their mission or met their doom.
Anyway, the reason I was so familiar with Demeter’s statue was simple: I’d seen it before in the game.
The difference now, however, was that the real-life statue seemed even grander, more holy than the game’s image.
‘They really did a fantastic job on this statue.’
I stood before it, feeling conflicted, and closed my eyes in prayer.
‘Please, make this work.’
Help me earn some money.
Help me survive this year.
And while you’re at it, please hook me up with a handsome, fit man for my mental health. If not, I’ll settle for a peaceful farewell in a year. Just don’t let me die…
It wasn’t the most pious of prayers, but I finished it and walked over to the donation box beside the statue, where the same priest was standing as always.
“May Demeter’s blessing always be with you, worshiper.”
“Thank you. May Demeter’s blessing be with you.”
And the priest was none other than the ‘Offering Priest Kerak,’ the one I’d been planning to meet today.
