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Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Former Hero Party's Otherworld Happening (3)
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After the war ended, the wish Mirni made at Io's temple was for "more money, more gold."
She received mountains of gold from the goddess. Overnight, she became the richest person in the kingdom.
From that day on, Mirni spent money like water.
She threw parties so lavish even high nobles would hesitate to host, every single day. She surrounded herself with crowds of handsome men and beautiful women singing her praises.
It wasn't exactly about building a harem.
As a catfolk who loved and cherished beauty, she was simply gathering people to satisfy her aesthetic tastes.
Of course, the mere fact that she'd go to such extremes over something as trivial as her personal sense of beauty was enough to leave anyone aghast.
Beyond that, places like casinos—where she'd once been too wary to even glance at during her Hero Party days—now felt like casual strolls. She dove headfirst into her gambling lifestyle every day.
There was even a time she sat motionless like a sturdy tree, holing up in a casino for an entire month, gambling nonstop.
One might think she was raking it in to stick around that long. But no, that wasn't the case.
No matter how divinely gifted Mirni was, pulling stunts like that in a casino would get her branded a criminal on the spot. She had to rely purely on her own skills, and even at her best, she was just middling.
She lost hundreds of times more than she won—a dream customer for any casino. But the thrill of gambling stripped away her reason.
Even so, her fortune didn't vanish.
The mountain of gold from the goddess was enough to sustain hundreds of thousands of commoners for life.
It wasn't going anywhere.
However...
"Where'd all my gold go?!"
Like an oasis destined to dry up someday, her golden mountain crumbled. All that remained were a few coins scattered on the floor.
"You've spent it all, Mistress." "What? No way! It's only been a year!" "That's why it's so impressive. How you burned through it all in just one year... I can't even imagine." "..."
In a way, this was an achievement too.
She'd amassed the kingdom's greatest wealth—albeit through a loophole—and squandered it all in a single year.
Even if you gave someone else ten years, they'd struggle to pull it off...
It felt more like she'd tossed gold out like trash.
"H-how much did I even spend?!" "Just about the kingdom's entire annual budget." "..." "And you've racked up some debt too."
There were times she didn't pay back loans from the casino.
Chump change she ignored, with her astronomical wealth.
But chump change piles up, and soon it's no longer chump change. Enough to ruin a life.
For penniless Mirni, anxiety gnawed at her. In the end, she turned to loan sharks and plunged back into gambling.
"Just this once. If I hit it big, I'll quit for good."
Earning an honest living to pay it off? Not an option.
Having tasted endless wealth, the parvenu couldn't accept being poor again.
She sought the easy path. Made foolish choices.
In the end, Mirni didn't win her money back.
More precisely, even when she won, she kept gambling. Cycles of win and loss left her broke again.
"You'll need to repay what you borrowed from the casino." "You know about the interest, right, customer?"
Casinos and loan sharks.
To pay them off, Mirni sold everything she owned.
Her palace-like mansion, jewels, dresses.
Relics and books from her Hero Party days.
Even the royal pardon she'd received...
With each sale, she grasped at where it all went wrong.
From rags to riches overnight, now riches to rags just as fast. She was a street beggar again.
If she'd snapped out of it here—worked honestly or sought old ties—it might've been fine. But people rarely learn fairy-tale lessons.
She sank deeper into the abyss.
Unable to forget her gambling-addicted, gold-drenched life, she pulled off a heist.
Targeting high nobles' homes in the capital—and even royal assets!
Old habits die hard.
But the kingdom wouldn't ignore a Hero Party member's actions. They pieced it together and issued a nationwide warrant.
"Capture Mirni. Massive reward to whoever brings her in, dead or alive!"
Mirni went from hero to criminal in a flash. Her life turned blood-red.
Her past as a hero meant nothing.
Mercenaries and bounty hunters pursued her relentlessly, day and night.
Once, a top mercenary band nearly captured and violated her. Another time, sniffing around a casino almost cost her a wrist and an eye.
Day by day, body and soul withered. Mirni hit her limit.
She even considered suicide.
But...
"I... I can't."
Mirni wanted to live. She didn't want to die.
Better to die in battle than suicide—which she knew would send her to Hell's depths for eternal torment.
The five goddesses deemed suicide a sin.
Faced with no peace even in death, Mirni could only flee endlessly.
Eventually, she reached her homeland.
The catfolk village.
She figured she could hide there, if only for a while.
However...
"..."
What lay before Mirni's eyes were her kin, cold corpses soaked in blood.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Mirni collapsed right there.
She wanted to deny the unbelievable reality. Her hands trembled uncontrollably.
Why had her clan been massacred?
They'd committed no crime. Why...?
"B-because of me...?"
Mirni questioned herself.
Yes, she'd done wrong. But she was a Hero Party member who'd saved the world.
Even for capital crimes, some leniency was common sense.
But this? What the hell was this?!
Endless self-questioning yielded no answers.
Her world spun, knees buckled, reason slipped. She wanted to pass out.
"Again?"
A flash of memory like a life review, laced with an old comrade's scornful voice.
"Keep it up, and you'll get yours big time."
"...Luke?"
"Feels free now, right? No one's watching. Whatever you do gets forgiven, brushed off. But remember: your sins come back. Even the 'small' ones hit like a truck."
"..."
"Mirni, grow up."
"Aaaahhh...!!"
That day, with her clan—family in all but blood—slaughtered, she learned guilt for the first time.
Afterward, Mirni developed tremors in her hands.
The worst affliction for a thief.
She had no thought of suppressing or curing it.
Casinos or gambling dens made her vomit. Touching others' things brought fever.
Half a year later, wandering back alleys, she reunited with Sylvia by chance—and rejoined her old party.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The midnight confession finally wrapped up. Yuseong wore an inscrutable expression as he slowly repeated himself.
"So, in conclusion... you got the shakes?"
"Y-yeah. Happens every time I'm near a casino. World spins, nausea hits too."
"..."
Just hearing it screamed stress-induced mental breakdown.
Her first taste of guilt had broken her.
Yuseong stared at her for a long moment.
Gauging if she meant it, weighing her words.
"...Get out, for now."
"D-does that mean...?"
"Proposal's on hold. Still hard to buy it."
"Th-thank you!"
Mirni's face lit up, gratitude pouring out as if she'd never worn that woeful look.
Her cheer felt so off, so alien, her facial muscles strained. Yuseong sighed, calming his chest.
"You still there?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [...I am.]
"One question. What's the state of your kingdom right now?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [....]
"Assuming that story's true, the king's gone off the rails... Right?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [....]
"...Looks like he's dead set on starting a war. Makes sense—he's put up with a lot."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [...As perceptive as ever.]
Io's voice brimmed with sorrow.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Listening to Mirni's tale, what struck Yuseong was the disconnect.
Stealing from royal assets? Sure. But executing a Hero Party member? And wiping out her clan?
This was blatant.
"Just forcing a pretext."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [...Spot on.]
Using Mirni's misdeeds as an excuse to undermine the Hero Party's prestige. Then elevate royal authority.
'That bastard...'
Only one guy fit the bill.
King of Odin—one of Midgard's five kingdoms, named after an ancient god. He called himself a sage ruler, but whispers knew him better as the [Jealous King]. A tyrant.
'Nirver, that fucker finally crossed the line.'
With the Hero Party's popularity skyrocketing, his petty jealousy boiled over. Perfect prey in Mirni.
'The little bitch is drowning in inferiority.'
To Yuseong, King Nirver was just a whiny brat riddled with complexes.
Obsessed with being number one. Couldn't stand anyone above him. A top-tier loser.
Yet incompetent, lazy too.
Somehow still king. That world was weird.
Back to the point: Why the sudden reckless charge from that idiot Nirver?
The reason was simple.
'That moron's always wanted war.'
He had to be the best. Ignite war, seize dominance over the five kingdoms!
True to his greed, even when all Midgard united against the Demon King, he alone nursed war ambitions post-victory.
Now the Demon King falls. A Hero Party member slips up?
Prime chance to bolster his throne.
But.
"His methods are so petty and cruel. Dragging in innocent catfolk."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [....]
"Why didn't you stop him? You could've."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [...I tried. But it wasn't easy.]
"Not easy?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [...Few know this, but granting a wish strips a god's influence over the mortal realm for a time. At least ten years.]
"...A risk like that, huh."
Makes sense—can't grant infinite wishes without cost.
"That incompetent timed it perfectly, then."
In a theocracy, ten years without a god weakens divine sway. Perfect for the king to sacrifice innocents and cement power.
Terror politics. The worst method, but devastatingly effective for tyrants.
Io gnashed her teeth.
The kind-hearted pushover goddess was truly furious.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [I was enraged. How dare he commit such sins for petty desires! That scum and all tied to Nirver—they'll burn in Hell's fiercest flames, the Calamity Fire, for eternity!]
"Won't bring back the dead."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [I've guided the catfolk souls to their rest.]
"..."
Godly omnipotence when it counted.
Surprising side of her, but he kept cool and asked.
"Does Mirni know? This wasn't her fault—it was the king's greed?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [She does. She's no fool—three years taught her much. But she'll never forgive herself. No excuse erases giving the king pretext, losing her clan.]
"..."
Now Yuseong got why the fair goddess favored them so.
It was tragedy from her powerlessness in Midgard. For this kind pushover, guilt must weigh like gold mountains.
'Always tormenting herself over nothing.'
Yuseong shook his head, sighing unwittingly.
'Why's my mouth so bitter?'
Lately, he craved smokes more than ever.