Chapter 38 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon and One Good Deed a Day
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In this world, there are Earth Gods who live their lives treading upon the soil.
On the outskirts of this city, in a desolate forest, there lived a most peculiar yokai deity.
One Good Deed a Day. Commonly known as Ilseon.
A yokai deity compelled by an obsession to perform one good deed every single day.
Yet, because of this daily pursuit of good deeds, she had instead earned herself a notorious reputation...
Safe Dungeon District.
"Help... save us!"
At the entrance to a C-Grade Dungeon in the northwest, the 'Red Umbrella' Dungeon.
Five or six Awakeners, covered in blood from their injuries, lay sprawled out screaming.
And standing before them was a yokai deity in white robes wearing a teapot-shaped mask—Ilseon—moving about busily.
"Please bear with it just a little longer. Moving now will just misalign the bone again."
From the ridiculous teapot mask came an unexpectedly clear and bright young girl's voice.
"I've set the bone and splinted it, so it should heal with time."
"Get lost! Who asked you to set our bones?"
One of the screaming Awakeners yelled out.
"We don't need your treatment! The Association's rescue team will be here soon! They've got Healers, so just leave us alone!"
"I can't do that. If I leave you like this, the wounds will get infected."
"That's why we said mind your own... urk!"
The protesting Awakener rolled his eyes back and screamed as Ilseon twisted his dislocated arm.
"Please bear with it. I'm just setting the bone."
"P-please, just leave me alone. Aaaagh!"
Ilseon ignored their pleas, twisting their arms with diligent focus.
Not far away, atop a dilapidated building, a shadow watched the scene from afar.
It was the Heavenly Demon.
"Divine power flows through her body. So, a god."
The Heavenly Demon had just returned after acquiring the relic 'Stretchy Bone' from a lizard-type monster, the Demon Lizard, to craft a precision measuring tape at Jang Chaewon's request.
It would have been a hassle on his own, but he'd been eager to test out the demon-faced mask he bought yesterday, so he'd hurried to the dungeon.
But then he heard agonized screams from somewhere, and curious about what was happening, he had rushed over.
"Aaaah! Stop! Please! Pleeease... ughhheeng."
Every time Ilseon forcibly reset a broken bone, tears like chicken droppings streamed from the Awakeners' eyes.
"Not a god, then..."
The Heavenly Demon shook his head as he observed.
"Just someone who enjoys torture."
Four days later. Around 10 a.m., inside Bokbok Interiors.
Ring ring ring.
A shrill bell rang out from the old desk phone. A Divine Request had come in.
Jang Chaewon shot up from her desk and grabbed the morning glory-shaped receiver.
"Yes, Bokbok Interiors."
She blinked her large eyes as she silently listened to the voice on the line.
"Oh, hello?"
Her expression turned peculiar as she opened a drawer.
Inside was a red envelope, containing an illustration of five beautifully blooming flowers.
"Oh, yes."
She pondered for a moment after looking at the envelope, then spoke politely.
"I'll check the schedule and get back to you right away. Yes, thank you."
Click.
Jang Chaewon's expression soured after hanging up. The Heavenly Demon, who had been mopping, stared at her blankly.
"What's wrong."
"Mm. A Divine Request."
"Your expression isn't good."
"Well..."
Jang Chaewon's face carried an awkward smile.
"This client has a bit of a bad reputation."
"Reputation?"
"Yeah. It's a yokai deity called Ilseon-nim, and there are rumors she doesn't entrust jobs but instead plays nasty pranks on people."
"Entrusts a job, then plays pranks... Sounds amusing."
The Heavenly Demon licked his lips as he gripped the mop handle, prompting Jang Chaewon to wave her hands.
"No, no, it's not confirmed... Anyway, that's the rumor. Not long ago, even the 7th District lighting store rejected a request from Ilseon-nim."
She bit her lip as she gazed down at the red envelope.
"So I'm hesitating. Whether to send you, Heavenly Demon, or turn it down."
"No need to hesitate."
The Heavenly Demon set the mop back in the storage room and dusted off his hands.
"Thus far, this seat has overcome every adversity, no matter the harsh conditions. Meaning, I can perfectly execute any request."
"Mm..."
"Moreover, my internal energy remains at merely half a jia. I'm in no position to turn down work."
Jang Chaewon gave a wry smile.
Unlike ordinary requests, with Divine Requests, the Heavenly Demon had handled them flawlessly without issue.
"Alright. Got it."
She shrugged and picked up the morning glory receiver again.
Deep in a forest on the city outskirts.
The Heavenly Demon, carrying a large toolbox with yellow hoses wrapped around his body, stared at the ramshackle hut.
"Strange. It's clearly a Divine Request."
A god's dwelling should naturally brim with divine power rising from the earth.
Yet no divine power could be felt near the hut. And peering through the window, the interior looked less like a home and more like a workshop or storage shed.
Creak.
At that moment, the hut's door opened, and a small shadow slowly stepped out.
"You're from Bokbok Interiors, right?"
The Heavenly Demon couldn't hide his surprise upon seeing the figure.
'This one...'
It was the teapot-masked figure who had forcibly reset the bones of those collapsed Awakeners at the dungeon entrance not long ago.
As the Heavenly Demon's mouth fell open, the teapot mask—no, Ilseon—spoke in a cheerful voice.
"I've heard a lot about you, Heavenly Demon-nim. You came from another world, right?"
The teapot mask seemed equipped with a speaker, blending the clear voice with a mechanical tone.
"Um, Heavenly Demon-nim?"
The Heavenly Demon snapped out of his daze, clasping his hands together.
"Ah, pleased to meet you. Teacher Il."
She was a yokai deity, but speaking in a young girl's voice from the upside-down teapot mask, so he settled on calling her Teacher Il.
Ilseon seemed pleased with the title, letting out a clear laugh.
"Yes, yes, nice to meet you."
The request from Ilseon was to repair this dilapidated hut.
The wooden floor and ceiling were damaged in numerous places. The Heavenly Demon carefully inspected the interior, then connected an air tacker to his portable compressor.
Pssh.
Hearing the connection sound, the Heavenly Demon felt a strange thrill.
Until now, he had only watched carpenters use them, but at last, he held an air tacker capable of firing staples with compressed air.
"Then I shall begin."
Pssshhh.
Pfft pfft.
With each shot of the staple gun, the crumbling wood affixed neatly.
To be honest, the Heavenly Demon's carpentry skills were closer to those of a hack carpenter—what they called a 'dog carpenter.'
But the house was so rundown that simply piecing the wood together made it look somewhat repaired.
"I'll help you."
Ilseon stepped forward, but the Heavenly Demon shook his head.
"It's fine. It's dangerous, so stay back."
"No. I'm Ilseon. Of course I have to help!"
Ilseon flexed her arms with a spirited grunt and approached the Heavenly Demon.
"Should I hold this here?"
"I'll fetch the tools for you."
"Wait a sec. The ladder seems a bit crooked."
But every action from Ilseon was not help—it was pure sabotage.
"Don't tear apart the spot I just fixed."
"Don't point the staple gun at your own butt."
"Don't touch the ladder when someone's on it."
Whenever Ilseon moved, repaired sections collapsed again, staples fired into the Heavenly Demon's rear, and the sturdy A-frame ladder folded up.
"Hup."
The Heavenly Demon swiftly thrust out an arm to catch the wood, shifted his hips to dodge the staple, and landed gracefully with elegant footwork.
"Your help is fine, but it's better if you just stay still."
At the Heavenly Demon's stern words, Ilseon clasped her hands apologetically.
"I'm sorry."
But it was an endless loop.
Whenever the Heavenly Demon tried to work, Ilseon would intervene, and chaos would ensue.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Each time, Ilseon would tear up and extend her hands.
"I was just trying to help!"
'I see.'
Only then did the Heavenly Demon realize why Ilseon had such a bad reputation.
Ilseon could never stay still. And every attempt to help turned into mayhem.
"Don't help. No—just stay put."
"I can't do that."
"Then you intend to keep interfering?"
The Heavenly Demon glared, and Ilseon bowed her head deeply.
"It's not interfering... I'm helping."
"No need."
"I'm One Good Deed a Day. How could I not help?"
At that moment, a spark of defiance ignited in the Heavenly Demon.
"Very well. Then try helping this seat."
The Heavenly Demon channeled his internal energy alongside his Heavenly Demon Great Ability.
Ilseon's madcap movements were too fast even for him to handle fully.
Whoosh.
His body, now shrouded in pale mist, blurred into super speed, beginning repairs on the hut.
At the same time, Ilseon also moved at super speed—not to help, but to interfere.
"I'll help..."
"I'll pick up the tools..."
But the Heavenly Demon's motions were like lightning.
No matter how Ilseon sabotaged or ruined things, he restored them in an instant, gradually fixing the hut.
"Done!"
In the end, the crumbling hut was somewhat repaired.
Despite wearing the Lightless Blood Battle Robe that quickly dried sweat, the Heavenly Demon's body was soaked. He'd had to exert full effort just to evade Ilseon's persistent interference.
"I couldn't help after all."
Gazing at the sinking sunset, Ilseon shed tears.
"One Good Deed a Day... but I must help someone once a day..."
The Heavenly Demon wore an utterly baffled expression.
"Why on earth must you help someone once a day?"
"That's the reason I became a yokai deity."
Ilseon, head bowed, slowly removed her teapot mask.
"In truth, I was the spirit beast raised by the Medical Immortal Elder 1,500 years ago—the Wise Spirit Silver Snake."
With the mask off, a dazzlingly beautiful girl's face appeared.
Ilseon, with translucent skin and silver hair, had large, elongated eyes gleaming with mystical light.
"The Medical Immortal Elder saved countless lives with his medical arts. Watching him, I vowed to do one good deed every day."
"And so... you became a yokai deity?"
"Yes. My desire to accumulate even a little good karma reached the heavens."
Now understanding her story, the Heavenly Demon could no longer blame her actions.
"But Teacher Il, what you've been doing isn't good karma..."
"I know. But I'm called a yokai deity, yet I have no real abilities. How could I help others? Big or small, I have no choice but to do whatever I can."
As Ilseon drooped her head listlessly, the Heavenly Demon asked,
"One thing I'm curious about. Why repair this rundown shack in these remote mountains?"
"All I know is the medical arts I learned peeking over the Medical Immortal's shoulder. With dungeons causing injuries left and right in this city, I wanted to build a medical facility to treat and help Awakeners."
The Heavenly Demon's eyes widened slightly.
The 'treatment' Ilseon had performed before was a method only creatures without pain receptors could endure.
"These days, people rarely ask for help from others. Still, I've been getting by day by day aiding Awakeners..."
She seemed truly upset, tears streaming down.
"But today, night falls and I still haven't done a good deed... I don't deserve to be a yokai deity."
"Mm."
Ilseon glanced cautiously at the Heavenly Demon and said,
"Any other places need repairing? I could definitely help this time."
"Absolutely not."
The Heavenly Demon shook his head firmly.
The moment Ilseon did anything, this barely repaired house would fall apart again.
"Waaah. I really want to help."
Even for the emotionally parched Heavenly Demon, it was hard to ignore the pitiful sight of the lovely girl weeping.
"Please. Isn't there something I can help with?"
"Ah."
A brilliant idea suddenly struck the Heavenly Demon.
"If you studied under the Medical Immortal, surely Teacher Il is proficient in medicine?"
Ilseon nodded, and the Heavenly Demon continued.
"Then, rather than treating directly, how about brewing elixirs and distributing them to people in the dungeons?"
"Elixirs?"
"Potions with great efficacy. In my world, a fellow called the Holy Physician brewed fine medicines and shared them with the sick."
"Brew... potions?"
"Indeed. With injuries pouring in from dungeons here, sharing potions good for wounds or stamina recovery would be a huge help."
Ilseon's face lit up as if struck by great enlightenment.
"Potions. I can't believe I never thought of that!"
"Glad I could help."
"But I only received help from you, Heavenly Demon-nim..."
"Nonsense. Today's request alone has greatly aided this seat."
Ilseon smiled faintly as the Heavenly Demon grinned.
"Truly, thank you."
As she extended her hand, mystical light flowed, and the Heavenly Demon's body grew feverishly hot.
"I've added a bit more reward than the contract amount."
The divine power she infused equated to roughly seven years of cultivated true energy in internal energy terms.
'Half a jia plus seven more years of功力 gained.'
Feeling the potent true energy writhing, the Heavenly Demon clasped his hands.
"Truly a great help. My thanks."
A few days later.
Around lunchtime, inside Bokbok Interiors.
*Slurp.*
The Heavenly Demon and Jang Chaewon sat side by side at the reception table, eating jjajangmyeon.
-A mobile clinic has suddenly appeared in the Safe Dungeon District—exercise caution. The potion distributed by the unidentified person in a teapot mask, claiming it's a recovery tonic, actually boosts muscle growth but has the side effect of turning one's temperament violently aggressive...
"Ugh, what's with this weird nonsense now."
Jang Chaewon clicked her tongue as she watched the news on the TV in the corner of the office.
"Awakeners they call them, but they're just risking their lives in those dirty, dangerous, demeaning jobs, and she pulls pranks like that. What a nasty person."
"Mm."
The Heavenly Demon stared blankly at the TV, his face turning bitter as he smacked his lips.
"I gave... needless advice."
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