Chapter 7
Chapter 7
My room was on the smaller side, as we lived in the smaller rooms during winter for better heating.
It was a place lovingly tended to by my now-deceased nanny and everyone in the mansion.
As a result, it was cozy, filled with things I had cherished since childhood.
I placed a chair in front of the fireplace and sat down, hugging a cushion to my chest as I quietly thought about Cassis, whom I had just seen.
“I want to cry.”
[Then cry, Irina.]
“But I won’t.”
[That’s not bad either.]
I pouted at my system, which responded kindly, and buried my face in the cushion.
“By the way, I’m curious about something.”
[What is it?]
“Cassis rejected me. But there’s still a quest, right? How does that work?”
[Hmm. If you ‘accept,’ you’ll end up paying off Luwin’s debt one way or another.]
“Cassis refused my help. But I want to help him.”
Because Cassis didn’t reject me because he could do it alone, but because he thought I wouldn’t be of any help.
If I were someone ordinary, rejecting would be the right thing to do.
But I have the system.
Having the system overwhelmingly tilted the situation in my favor.
“If I accept the quest, will the debt I have to pay be much less than Luwin’s actual debt?”
[Yeah. Most likely.]
“Then Cassis would be better off with me around.”
[He can’t pay off the debt without you in the first place.]
Getting confirmation from the system made me feel more at ease.
I opened the screen to check the quest again.
“But, it’s a quest, and there’s no reward?”
[…Preventing the empire’s downfall.]
[…Peace for the continent.]
“That’s the quest content. There should be a separate reward.”
The system grumbled at my dissatisfied words.
[Our Irina wants so much…]
[It’s okay. It’s because you’re like this that you can protect the empire.]
[Well then, Irina. What do you want as a reward?]
I thought for a moment.
The continent’s greatest wealth?
No, that doesn’t mean much.
And anyway, if I succeed in the process of paying off the male lead’s debt, I thought I could earn a lot of money.
After much deliberation, my conclusion was simple.
“A wish. Grant me a wish within the system’s capabilities.”
[…Is Irina a scammer?]
Yes, yes.
Your Irina Seike is a scammer.
[Sigh. Alright. It’s not like the debt to be paid is small. Let’s go with a wish.]
The debt to be paid isn’t small?
I felt a bit uneasy, but I quietly read the new quest window that appeared before me.
[Do you want to accept the quest?
<Accept>
<Reject>
If you select ‘Accept,’ you will become the helper of the hero (to-be).
If you select ‘Reject,’ all subsequent quests will be discarded, and a new main quest ‘How to Bring About the World’s End Faster Than Anyone’ will automatically be executed.
If you successfully complete the ‘Prevent the Empire’s Downfall’ quest,
the rewards will be ‘Arschen-Idelbach’s Wish’, ‘Continent’s Most Handsome Man’, and ‘Fame’.]
“What…”
Arschen, Idelbach…?
I was dazed by the familiar names, then quietly shocked.
“Arschen and Idelbach are the twin gods, aren’t they.”
Arschen and Idelbach are the guardian deities of the empire.
And they were my personal system?
Why on earth?
No, more than that, is it okay for gods to be this sloppy?
Looking at the tutorial quests the system gave me when paying off our family’s debt, things couldn’t have gone this haphazardly.
[SYSTEM | The system rubs its nose.]
[The world originally runs in such a haphazard way.]
[The same goes for everyone in the neighborhood~! We’re doing really well at this level!]
I quietly closed my mouth and returned to the original quest window.
After learning that Cassis Luwin was the knight who had helped me, I had no intention of choosing ‘Reject.’
But seeing the additional explanation, I felt I absolutely shouldn’t choose it.
If I give up becoming the helper of the hero who will save the empire, I have to bring about the world’s end.
I’ve seen this a lot in games.
The protagonist turning into a villain.
Usually, such characters were eliminated by the true protagonist’s hands.
[There’s no such thing here because you’re the true protagonist, Irina.]
It was shocking enough that this system, which had been with me for over 5 years, was actually a god, but I felt a bit intimidated by the secrets of the world that were gradually being revealed.
[Is this reward not enough? I’m giving you the world’s most handsome man.]
[You might want a beautiful woman instead of a handsome man! How about it? Should I give you a beautiful woman too?]
[Then should we change the quest reward to ‘beauty’…?]
[I’m quite close to Leashrang, the goddess of beauty! Just say the word. I’ll give you everything.]
No, it’s not like that.
I really can’t believe these gods are the guardian deities of this empire.
In the meantime, the modified quest arrived again.
[SYSTEM | Part of the main quest has been modified. Please check the quest.]
[The rewards will be ‘Arschen-Idelbach’s Wish’, ‘Continent’s Most Beautiful Person’, and ‘Fame’.
Additional rewards may be given sequentially if intermediate quest goals are achieved. Additional rewards may change according to the situation at the time.]
The changed quest not only changed ‘handsome man’ to ‘beautiful person’, but also included information about additional rewards.
It seemed to be a device prepared by the system to provide generous help.
‘System, you’re very favorable to me.’
[That’s because you’re the hero who will save this world.]
‘The hero is Cassis, not me.’
[‘A hero without Irina Seike is a failed hero.’]
I kept my mouth shut at the system’s firm words.
And slowly pressed the ‘Accept’ button in the middle of the quest.
Ding, ding, ding, ding-!
[SYSTEM | The main quest ‘Prevent the Empire’s Downfall’ is now in progress.]
[SYSTEM | The main quest ‘Repay the Debt of the Grand Duke Luwin Family’ is automatically in progress.]
[SYSTEM | Please check the ‘Repay the Debt of the Grand Duke Luwin Family’ quest.]
[SYSTEM | A sub-quest for the ‘Prevent the Empire’s Downfall’ quest has arrived. Please check.]
[SYSTEM | A sub-quest for the ‘Repay the Debt of the Grand Duke Luwin Family’ quest has arrived. Please check.]
[SYSTEM | The current progress of the ‘Prevent the Empire’s Downfall’ quest is 0%.]
[SYSTEM | The current progress of the ‘Repay the Debt of the Grand Duke Luwin Family’ quest…]
Unlike the tutorial, the main quests had so many related quests and sub-quests that the system window started ringing at a rapid pace.
I collapsed, retching at the screen filling my vision and the incessant ‘ding-‘ sound.
[SYSTEM | …The debt to be repaid is ‘99,999,999+’ Jurang.]
What?
As I was losing consciousness, I was terrified by the enormous amount of debt that appeared before my eyes and slowly lost my mind.
* * *
It was only after retching for a long time, rolling on the floor with a headache, that I could finally calm down.
I turned on the system window to check the newly updated debt.
The debt I had to repay was written in the top right corner of the system window.
[Balance: 99,999,999 Jurang]
It was originally more than this, they say.
But due to the limitation of the number of digits the system could express for debt, it ended up like this.
The system, or should I say god?
[No. Whatever you’re comfortable with.]
‘…Thank you.’
Anyway, the system said they would just let it slide, telling me to pay only that amount.
So the amount I have to repay is 99,999,999 Jurang.
“This is crazy.”
Seeing that enormous number made my breath catch.
The debt of our Seike family was 5 million Jurang.
But now I have to repay an amount more than twenty times that.
[Irina, don’t worry too much. We’ll help you this time too.]
[That’s right, that’s right.]
These scammer gods didn’t even tell me the debt amount.
[If we told you, you wouldn’t have done it.]
Of course.
If I had seen that amount, I would have just pressed ‘Reject’ and contributed to the world’s destruction.
‘I feel wronged. Give me more rewards.’
[Hey! Isn’t a wish enough…!]
‘What if I pay off all the debt? It’s just paying off debt and that’s it! Give me something more financial.’
It seemed too frustrating to work so hard to pay it off and end up penniless.
When I actually paid off all the debts of the Count Seike family, I felt relieved, but I couldn’t ignore a slight feeling of emptiness.
I know that from now on, everything we earn will become our property, but at the time, we barely had enough money to buy food to eat.
[Alright…]
No sooner had the answer finished that a system notification flew in.
[SYSTEM | A reward has been added to the second main quest ‘Repay the Debt of the Grand Duke Luwin Family’.]
When I checked, a ‘Reward’ item was added below the phrase ‘Sub-quests are being prepared’.
[Reward: 99,999,999 Jurang
Condition: To be paid on *($ㅇnlㄴ]
The condition was broken and not clearly visible, but the reward was enormous.
“You’re giving… all the money I pay back?”
[How about it! Worth doing, right?]
“I’ll do my best to pay it off!”
This is totally worth doing.
I would have done it even if they just gave me the 5 million Jurang I painfully paid off.
Eight nines?
Of course I have to do it.
Getting confirmation of the reward from the system made me feel even more reassured.
Phew.
Good.
Cassis Luwin.
My male lead.
I will definitely pay off all your debts.
Well, I’ll save the empire from destruction while I’m at it.
“Alright! The problem is, how do I convince the Grand Duke to hire me?”
The system was silent for a long time at my dull question.
Then with a ‘ding-!’, a quest arrived.
[SYSTEM | A sub-quest for the main quest ‘Prevent the Empire’s Downfall’ – renamed ‘Downfall Quest’ – has arrived.]
[‘Irina Seike’s Job-seeking Diary
Irina Seike now has to work at the Grand Duke’s house to prevent the empire’s downfall.
But?
She was rejected earlier, right?
Irina Seike’s job-seeking diary for getting a job at the Grand Duke’s family.
Starting now.
Drum roll.
01. Prove your abilities
02. Gain recognition from Cassis Luwin
03. Get hired
Reward 1: An unstable, hard job with no work-life balance guaranteed
Reward 2: Taking one step back from the empire’s downfall]
[SYSTEM | ‘Irina Seike’s Job-seeking Diary (0/13)]
“…Why is the tone like this?”
[Sorry. It was hard to create a quest in a short time, so I just wrote it roughly.]
Of course, I can understand it, but the tone was very cheap.
If I were to say, “This is how our empire’s guardian deity actually speaks!” in front of the emperor, I’d probably be fined for blasphemy.
Moreover, the quest was too rough.
There’s no proper guidance, and why are the rewards like that?
“How am I supposed to prove my abilities?”
[Go Irina!]
[Irina Seike can do it!]
Really, at times like this, these systems are of no help at all.
