## Chapter 498 – 498. God’S Atlantis
“Mr. Kang Myungjin? Haha, our church welcomes you. I heard you wished to make a donation?”
Herpo smiled benevolently.
「I sensed hypocrisy. Hypocrisy deceives.」
It seemed Herpo had used his unique trait.
‘Seeing this message, hypocrisy and deception must be similar traits.’
However, my deception was SS-rank. A mere A-rank hypocrisy wouldn’t work on me at all. Of course, he was completely unaware of this fact. He probably thought his hypocrisy was working.
“Yes. I hope it will be used for the children. I have money, but… I can’t do the work of caring for children like you all. I want to help the children in this way, at least.”
Herpo’s smile deepened.
“I swear that all the money will be used for the children.”
“Isn’t this the Angelus Legion? If it’s the Angelus Legion, I can trust them.”
“Haha. Thank you for your trust. By the way… how much is the donation…?”
“I’m thinking about 5 million pennies.”
“Heok! That much…?”
Herpo deliberately made a fuss. 5 million pennies. In Korean won, that would be about 50 million won. It was a lot for a donation, but not enough to surprise Herpo.
“5 million pennies… is it too little, after all?”
“Not at all! 5 million pennies is a very large sum! And what does the amount of the donation matter? Mr. Kang Myungjin’s willingness to donate for the children is beautiful.”
“I see. Then 10 million pennies would be better.”
“…I’m sorry to say this, but I heard that Mr. Kang Myungjin runs a shop. Is it okay for you to spend such a large sum of money so lightly…?”
I had a lot of money. In pennies, it was worth billions. It was money I had earned using my inspector status last time.
“I used to work with a wealthy merchant from the west. I opened a shop with the money I earned then, but I still have a lot of assets left. I was lucky and became a nouveau riche, but I don’t know how to manage money, so I just run a shop. Oh, do you know the wealthy merchant from the west?”
“How could I not know that merchant? Of course, I know him. I see. Are you friends with the wealthy merchant from the west, Mr. Kang Myungjin?”
Herpo’s demeanor changed slightly. It seemed he had become interested in me. More accurately, he was probably curious about how much money I had.
‘That look is sizing me up to see if I’m a pushover.’
I could feel greed from him. As a high-ranking member of the Angelus Legion, he had enough money, yet he was still greedy.
“Haha. Of course not. I just worked with him once a long time ago.”
“You’re not related at all…?”
“Yes. We’re not related at all. I know my place. He and I don’t belong together.”
I emphasized that I had no background.
“Haha…. This is a very rude question, but what are your total assets? We need to know the financial status of those who wish to adopt children. We can’t send a child to someone who has nothing.”
“I have about 200 million pennies in assets that I can use right away.”
“200 million pennies…!!”
This time, Herpo’s eyes widened as if he was truly surprised.
“Is this enough to qualify for adoption?”
“…There are still procedures left, but financially, it’s sufficient. Is there a child you wish for?”
“I want a pretty girl to work at the counter. It would be good if she was an adult so that she can be put to work right away.”
“There are over 3,000 children in this area alone. Please take your time to look at the children. Ah, the children’s wishes are also important in the adoption process. If the children refuse, the adoption cannot take place.”
“Yes. I have no intention of taking them by force.”
We smiled at each other. What was certain was that our smiles were not born of goodwill.
“Have you looked around the village? If you’re okay with it, I’d like to guide you around and introduce you to the children.”
“I would be grateful if you would.”
“Most of the population in this village are children. This church mainly cares for children under the age of 10, and children nearing adulthood live separately in the outer buildings. According to the rules, they have to leave for other areas once they become adults, so we teach them jobs according to their aptitudes.”
“Do the children want to go outside?”
“There aren’t many children like that. They know that it’s safer here than outside. But this place is for children who have nowhere else to go. Once they become adults, they have to become independent. That’s the rule here.”
The buildings outside the church were not as good as the church, but they were still quite decent. Most of the children over the age of 10 were working.
Children doing laundry, children carrying buckets full of water, children logging, children cooking, and so on.
“But don’t problems arise between the children? Like children fighting each other, or children having children….”
“They are all good children. There are occasional fights, but… there are no serious fights. And we separate the children by gender. Boys with boys, girls with girls.”
As Herpo passed by, all the children bowed their heads with bright faces.
“Hello! Bishop!”
“Yes. Helsi. You’re working hard.”
“Bishop! Who is the person next to you?”
“He is a merchant who wishes to adopt a child.”
Herpo was popular. All the children seemed to genuinely respect him.
‘He’s deceiving all the children well.’
I watched the girls carefully as Herpo guided me. The children greeted me without any hesitation. The girls, in particular, showed interest in me. It was probably because of my handsome face, which I was deceiving them with using Deception (SS).
I memorized the names of the girls who were already beautiful enough to be called beauties and the girls who had the potential to become beauties.
“That house. Part of the roof of that house is broken.”
“Hmm. That’s right. I’ll have to fix it tomorrow or the day after.”
“I want to give the children a more sturdy roof. I’ll donate an additional 1 million pennies.”
Herpo’s eyes flashed for a moment before returning to normal.
“Haha… isn’t that too much of a donation…? It makes us feel burdened.”
“It’s because I’m impressed by the children who live bravely without parents. Please accept it.”
“…Thank you. I will use it for the children.”
Soon, Herpo led me to a secluded place. He pretended not to know and showed me the poor houses and the sick children. Each time, I increased the amount of my donation.
I played along, even though I knew Herpo’s intentions.
“That child….”
I found a girl with short gray hair wearing a dress. She was a bit too old to be called a child. She was prettier than any of the girls I had seen so far, and her figure was outstanding. She was holding a basket full of laundry in her hands.
“That’s Sasha. She will have her coming-of-age ceremony in two months and leave this place.”
“……Her aura and appearance perfectly match the atmosphere of my shop. I want to adopt her.”
“Hmm… well, she already has a place to go.”
“Has she already been adopted?”
“Not exactly…. But in two months, she will be working as a maid for the Baron Galon of Galon Territory in District 3,547.”
She already had a place to go.
And there was a high probability that there was a backroom deal between Herpo and Baron Galon. There was no reason for a noble like a baron to come all the way here to find a maid.
“I want her to come to my shop. Is there any way?”
“Hmm. Well….”
I could hear Herpo’s mind working. He was definitely thinking about how to get more profit.
“There’s a contract issue. We might need at least 5 million… no, more than 10 million pennies as a penalty.”
In short, he was asking for more than 10 million pennies.
“Is that all? I’ll cover the contract fee!”
“Mr. Kang Myungjin. Please don’t answer so easily and think more carefully. It’s a whopping 10 million pennies.”
“In my opinion, she is a talent worth more than 10 million pennies.”
“…Okay, Mr. Kang Myungjin. But if Sasha says she doesn’t want to, please step down. We have no intention of forcing a child to go anywhere.”
“Yes! Of course!”
With Herpo’s introduction, I was able to talk to Sasha alone.
“Sasha. Won’t you be my child? I can entrust the counter of my shop to you.”
“……The counter?”
Unlike her haughty appearance, Sasha was a shy girl with a small voice when you actually talked to her.
“It’s a kind of figurehead. If you do well, I’ll give you a chance to move up.”
“But I’ve never done anything like that before…. I’d rather do maid work, which is familiar and comfortable….”
“Maid work isn’t as comfortable as you think. You wake up in the morning and clean, and you do chores until you go to bed at night. You don’t have many days off, and you can’t earn more than 150,000 pennies a month.”
“…….”
Sasha’s face hardened. It seemed she knew that maid work was hard. But she probably had no other choice.
“If you don’t mind, can I ask how much you’ll be paid as a maid for Baron Galon?”
“…I agreed to receive 90,000 pennies a month with room and board provided. They promised to increase my salary… as I gain experience.”
“If you become my child, I’ll guarantee a monthly salary of 300,000 pennies, at least one day off a week, and free time as soon as the evening comes. Room and board are not a concern since you’ll be part of my family.”
“But….”
Sasha glanced at Herpo. Herpo smiled kindly and nodded.
“The contract with Baron Galon is fine. Mr. Kang Myungjin has agreed to pay all the penalties. Sasha, choose as you wish.”
“……Please give me some time to think.”
“I’ll be staying at the church for the next five days, so please think carefully and give me your answer.”
“……Yes.”
As I smiled and spoke, Sasha quietly blushed and nodded.
•••
It was dinner time.
I was able to meet and talk with other people who wanted to adopt children. There were about 12 of them, and they all seemed like good people on the surface. But some of them were probably in cahoots with Herpo, and some were probably trying to adopt children with dark intentions.
Deceiving an angel like Ariel wouldn’t be difficult if you used special items. An investigation by the Angelus Legion? Herpo, a high-ranking member of the Angelus Legion, could easily avoid it if he used his power.
As I had dinner with them, I secretly put poison in their food. Tomorrow morning, two cold corpses would be found, and the village would be turned upside down.
‘I should kill about two more people the next day. To avoid suspicion, it’s better to randomly kill not only visitors but also some of the people who work here or some of the children.’
I watched as two men ate the poisoned food.
•••
12 AM.
I quietly opened the window and went outside.
I was used to hiding my presence, and I made my body transparent using the Illusitor. It was unlikely that anyone would see me by chance.
I headed to the building across the street. It was the building where the nuns lived. I headed towards the room of Sister Lucy, whom I had found out about in advance. The door was locked with a latch.
‘It’s easy to smash the door… but considering what will happen later, the window is better.’
I stood in front of the window. The curtains were drawn, so I couldn’t see inside.
‘Heavenly Demon Energy.’
The Heavenly Demon Energy was sharpened to a point on my fingertip. A sword aura had manifested on my fingertip. It was impossible in reality, but in my current Heavenly Demon state, it was an easy feat.
I used the sword aura to make a small hole in the window. Then, I put my finger in and unlocked the window. I carefully opened the window and entered the room.
I found Sister Lucy lying on the bed. Unlike the black nun’s habit she had been wearing, she was wearing light pajamas and was fast asleep under a blanket.
I closed the window and approached her, covering her mouth with my palm. Then, I lifted the blanket. I grabbed her J-cup breasts, which were wrapped in her pajamas, tightly with my hand.
“Huu… Hiss, uh?!”
Lucy, who had woken up, met my eyes.
“Hello, Sister Lucy. It’s a good night.”
