Chapter 5: Preparation

"We found this ring in the easternmost territory of the God of Confusion. At the time, it was in a man's possession. He had listened to his girlfriend's words that 'accepting this ring would prove your love for me' and ended up cursed.

"And the man's girlfriend was originally a noble's maid. After a night of intimacy, the noble gave this to her as a token of affection..."

At this point, the merchant was suddenly interrupted by Naclis:

"But doesn't the curse only transfer if the recipient knowingly passes it on?"

"This is the tragic aspect of human nature. That young lady received nothing from the noble, yet gave him her whole heart, endlessly sacrificing without boundaries. Then she turned around and made constant demands of her boyfriend who truly loved her. After he accepted the ring, she broke up with him. By the time we found the ring, that young lady was already married. We purchased this ring for one copper coin."

The man was desperate to get rid of the ring, but the merchant guild still paid the one copper price. The Falling Star Merchant Guild worships the God of Vows and Wind, and with divine protection, any transaction automatically establishes a vow. Those who break their vows become cursed.

At the same time, divine blessings allow them to reach every corner of the world. However, even for them, retrieving this ring required considerable effort. If one completely lost self-healing ability, even clothing could grind one's flesh bloody.

For this delivery, the guild dispatched many people to take turns transporting it. A single person delivering it could easily die on the journey.

After the transaction concluded, the merchant left this place. Right now he urgently needed rest, and he wasn't a follower of the God of Bountiful Harvest either. Being surrounded by Bountiful Church members made him somewhat nervous.

"Mirrorheart, you hold onto this for now. Don't move around unnecessarily during this period. If you feel uncomfortable, give the ring to Naclis."

"I don't want it."

Mirrorheart took the ring but was clearly disgusted by it, casually tossing it onto the table.

Though she verbally refused, Loren still felt a wave of physical relief - undoubtedly the result of the curse being lifted.

The curse transfer has nothing to do with what is said aloud. As long as there's internal consent, the curse will transfer. So Mirrorheart hadn't truly refused Loren. From their meeting ten years ago until now, Mirrorheart had never once disobeyed Loren's commands. She genuinely considered herself Loren's possession.

Mirrorheart wasn't human either. She was some kind of supernatural creature that even Loren didn't fully understand, possessing strong self-healing abilities. Loren had summoned her while experimenting with a certain ritual.

"What kind of mischief are you up to now?"

Facing Loren's questioning, Mirrorheart appeared completely at ease. She sat at the dining table, wrapping a strand of hair around her finger, crossing her legs with one over the other. Her high heel was half-off, the tip of her black stocking-clad foot hooking the shoe to keep it from falling:

"First, that merchant said you needed to do something for me to give me the ring. Second, this is second-hand. If you want to give me an engagement ring, you'd better prepare one yourself. I wouldn't even mind a soda can ring."

Loren didn't know how to respond, so Mirrorheart took it as his silent agreement.

Anyway, no matter what antics Mirrorheart pulled, she would never truly interfere with Loren's plans, so Loren didn't particularly care. After settling everyone, Loren planned to return to his bedroom to continue preparing bullets.

Followers of the Outer Gods hide very deeply, with many having official support. It would be difficult for the church to find them, but Loren remembered the specific locations.

Like many transmigrators, his memory improved significantly after crossing over. Memories from before remained clear to this day, which was why he could copy songs - though he modified the lyrics himself. The melodies worked, but the lyrics couldn't be directly transplanted.

So Loren still remembered every Outer God follower stronghold. But after living here so long, Loren also understood the petty schemes of those nobles and wouldn't truly shake the foundation of the Outer God followers. Many nobles still needed them.

There was one thing that held little use for players but held strong appeal for nobles... lifespan. And Pluto happened to be able to grant lifespan to followers. In the kingdom, one rarely heard of major nobles dying of old age followed by lavish funerals - this was a prime opportunity for wealth accumulation. These money-obsessed nobles wouldn't miss the chance to hold funerals.

These were already open secrets, and Loren naturally wouldn't expose them. His goal was to eliminate all nearby strongholds that posed threats to him. The rest weren't his concern.

The church couldn't possibly be unaware of these matters, but having threats allowed believers to understand the church's role and provide more devout faith. It benefited both sides.

Night fell before Loren even had time for dinner. Mirrorheart eventually brought it to his bedroom.

Loren planned to exhaust all his mana in one go, but his mana pool was too large to deplete quickly. It wasn't until deep into the night that it finally ran low, and that's when knocking sounded at his bedroom door.

"Come in, Naclis."

"How did you know it was me?"

Naclis pushed the door open. She was wearing a black sheer nightgown that clearly revealed her underwear. Loren glanced up - black lace underwear, which he had purchased himself, in children's size.

"Because Anna and Mirrorheart don't knock before entering."

Naclis hadn't expected that reason and fell silent for a moment. During this time, Loren continued busily enchanting bullets, seemingly unconcerned by her arrival.

"Are you planning to do something major recently?"

After entering the bedroom, Naclis looked around, wanting to sit beside Loren, but there was only one chair in the room. Eventually she could only stand.

"Yes, I'm taking the church to eliminate the followers of the God of Greed. You should all stay home properly during that time."

Towards Naclis, Loren remained completely open. But he soon realized something and stood up.

He stood before Naclis, who was 170cm tall. Loren only needed to slightly lower his gaze to see her flawless face, meeting her golden eyes, before finally placing his hand on Naclis's head.

"Be good, stay home properly tomorrow. I'll be fine."

Naclis's hair felt incredibly smooth to the touch, the wonderful sensation making Loren stroke it a few more times.

Feeling the touch on her head, Naclis bit her lip. From the very beginning until now, Loren had always treated her this way - like a child.

Naclis hoped Loren's feelings toward her would change, but she also feared losing this most sincere affection. Eventually Naclis lowered her head and relaxed her clenched fists.

Seeing Naclis still uneasy, Loren simply showed her the Tarot Card: The Tower and explained its effects to her.

With this, even if truly trapped, Loren could completely escape. An ability like intangibility was simply overpowered.

After comforting Naclis, Loren returned to his seat and continued enchanting bullets.

Some time passed, and seeing Naclis showed no intention of leaving, Loren spoke again:

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

"Mhm."

Naclis suppressed the joy in her heart and responded softly.