There Is No Hidden Villain in This Novel Chapter 46

“The roots of the World Tree can never be mended to their original state once they are severed, but that’s how strong the desire is to sever someone else’s thread. The idea of wanting to rule over fate…”

“…”

“It’s not like everyone dies when you cast a curse on them, and you can defend yourself with a talisman or a protective charm, but it’s expensive to get a proper one. A low-quality one can’t block a curse, and well, it might be a different story with your family’s wealth, but…”

“I don’t understand what you’ve been saying for a while now. Just why are you doing this to me?”

It wasn’t that I wasn’t curious about the lore he was laying out, but it was becoming hard to listen to anymore. Because my nerves were shot. So I asked him straight out, and Shin Myohan looked as if he was the one being wronged.

“Stop playing dumb. I’m the one who’s frustrated here. Casting a curse is on a whole different level from just taking a knife and killing someone. It’s a high crime that ignores the laws of physics, reassembles the elements, defies the Creator God, and violates fate. The shaman has to risk his life too. Have you truly experienced the pressure of the Origin and still fail to be cautious?”

“So why are you saying that to me…”

“You, you sent a request to my grandmother.”

Excuse me?

I did?

“I’m not curious about who you’re trying to cast a curse on, and I’m not going to ask. But I’m telling you that no matter who it is, my family will absolutely not take the job!”

…Ah, now I get it. Why our conversation was just going in circles. It seems Cassis de Millang sent a request to Shin Myohan’s family to kill someone…

‘I have no intention of casting a curse on anyone…’

What’s the point of grilling the transmigrator for the crazy things the original body did…!

‘Ugh. This innocent transmigrator is being falsely accused.’

Shin Myohan, you rotten bastard. You’re taking out your anger on the wrong person. If you got slapped in Jongno, you should raise hell in Jongno. I’m telling you to consider the feelings of an innocent person who got grabbed by the collar.

Of course, since we have the same person’s head, I understand why you grabbed my collar. But.

‘But it’s unfair—!’

Did I ask to be transmigrated! To put it bluntly, I was living a damn good life! My brothers adored me (the rest is omitted). It feels like just yesterday I was living a promiscuous life from the waist down, but this damn transmigration ruined everything. No, okay, if someone who felt that living wasn’t really living and wanted to run away somewhere was suddenly transmigrated to another world, that would be a sweet deal.

‘But that wasn’t me!’

Being satisfied with the present was my greatest strength. And I was satisfied with my life! The reason I adapted well even after being forcibly transmigrated was probably because my strength manifested smoothly, but when this legendary, side-splitting incident of me getting chewed out because of the original body’s track record occurred, I got pissed off. No, I was moderately angry, and later on, I just felt sad. It was enough to make the tip of my nose sting.

‘My life of receiving allowance from my brothers and fawning over my great-grandfather… I miss it…’

But there’s a limit to escaping reality. Now that I’ve transmigrated, this is my reality. Whether it turns into gruel or rice, I’m the only variable who can sort out this mess.

So what should I say?

Simply agreeing and understanding won’t make an impact. That won’t be enough to cut off his persistent suspicion, so let’s confuse his mind with something completely different.

What would be good? What should I say…

“Alright, I will grant you a passing score.”

Myohan reacted fiercely to my words, which came out without much thought.

“What? No, did you not understand what I said? I said I won’t take your request—.”

“Yes, you are speaking about the curse, are you not?”

“Right, so—.”

The truth was my head was completely empty, but I just smiled meaningfully as if I knew something, and Myohan, who had been glaring at me in silence, pondered something on his own before hesitantly and slowly opening his mouth after a long while.

“Don’t tell me, it was a test?”

Yes. Shin Myohan. That’s it.

“You were testing us with whether we would accept the request or not?”

“—I, for one, detest a flock of crows that picks up any dirty work indiscriminately.”

Thank you so much for misunderstanding all on your own…

I sent him thanks dozens of times inwardly while speaking cynically on the outside.

‘Faithfully sticking to the Cassis de Millang concept…’

Emphasizing the demeanor of an arrogant and ruthless schemer…

While I was passionately playing the part, Myohan’s slitted eyes were wide open.

“…You’re really arrogant, aren’t you?”

“For someone saying that, you don’t look all that offended, do you?”

“No, what should I say? It’s true that I should be offended since I was tricked, but it’s more fascinating to have learned the reason why the man called Cassis de Millang is feared by all, so I’m at a loss for words? Wait. Before that, can I hit you just once? I suddenly feel annoyed.”

“Haha, and if I were to forbid it?”

“…This is really impertinent, but can I say just one thing?”

“If it is impertinent to me, it would be better for your well-being to swallow it.”

“Every single thing you say is really annoying…”

Despite saying that, Myohan didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. In fact, he even showed a hint of refreshment, like a person who had shed a heavy worry, to the point that even I was dumbfounded.

What are you so happy about when I just told you I was playing you? But like an old insect that had shed its old skin, he was smiling with genuine relief and satisfaction.

“Since you have succeeded in earning my trust, I will submit the request later through an employee…”

“I’m glad. I was wary, thinking you were the kind of guy who would cast a curse on someone, but you weren’t.”

“…Ah, you must have thought there was nothing I wouldn’t do based on the rumors, right? However, do not let your guard down. Because it is the truth. Unfortunately, it is not up to you to decide when you will be betrayed.”

“Still, it means you’re not a person who would commit such acts without hesitation. That makes me happy.”

“My, have I been underestimated?”

“You just seemed like a slightly better person.”

Myohan said that and grinned, and the General God, who had hidden his form and was preparing to draw his sword, had at some point revealed his form so that his presence was visible to those with spiritual sight. He cheerfully waved his hand at Cassis, but I, not having forgotten that he had intended to cut me down, ignored him.

Instead, I asked this.

“This is something I’ve been curious about for a while, and now that you’ve judged me not to be a dangerous person, I would be grateful if you could give me a definitive answer.”

“Sure, go ahead and ask.”

“I’ve been seeing your General God since last time, does that mean I also have spiritual power?”

He began to speak with a relaxed and calm face, as if he had become much more lenient.

“Actually, whether it’s magic, martial arts, Taoist arts, or shamanism, they all become similar when you reach the extreme. People who are great in their respective fields can become sensitive to the energy of other fields as well. I mean, when your senses become sensitive, you start to feel all sorts of things, right? It might be that your eyes are sensitive, just like that. Or maybe you really do have spiritual power.”

“Can you not reach a definite conclusion?”

“Have you ever seen a doctor give a definite diagnosis? They all do that because they need to leave room to avoid responsibility. Still, if I had to make a diagnosis, I don’t think you’re a spiritual person.”

“Your basis?”

“For a de Millang, you have relatively few vengeful spirits clinging to your blood, but you still have layers of accumulated resentment and a curse passed down through generations. If you had proper spiritual power, you wouldn’t have been able to stay sane until now…”

Huh?

‘What the heck is this now?’

Layers of accumulated resentment? A curse passed down through generations?

The de Millangs have something like that?

“The de Millangs…?”

I tried to hold it in, but the words slipped out. I managed to cut myself off midway, but in any case, my plan to pretend I knew everything Cassis de Millang was supposed to know, no matter what he said, had failed. Damn it! By the time I managed to smooth out my frowning brow, Shin Myohan’s slender eyes were rounded as if he was a little surprised.

“Oh, it’s not actually that serious. All family names have it to some extent. Things passed down from the past.”

“Ah.”

“Power dwells in things that are connected. The longer time passes.”

What the. So that’s what it was.

This was information I already knew. I was just startled for a moment hearing words like vengeful spirits and curses for things that were described in the original work with the term ‘karma that follows the blood.’

Thinking about it, it makes sense. How could a family that has been around for a thousand years not have a thousand years’ worth of karma following it? Especially in a world jumbled with supernatural abilities and mysteries like magic and whatnot.

“That power can be positive or negative. But every act performed to build power inevitably harms something else. In that sense, the weight of the blood that dwells in the de Millangs is immense. Isn’t that why you chose blood magic? To use the deep-seated karma in your blood as a sacrifice?”

“Yes, you could say that.”

“You’re the same when it comes to not giving a straight answer.”

Myohan seemed to be in a completely good mood now. Perhaps he even felt a sense of camaraderie, as he smiled quite playfully at me. At this point, I was carefully considering whether to cut him off, having used him as much as I could, or to drag this out into a reasonably not-bad relationship.

No, for fuck’s sake. I hope you don’t treat me like a bastard. It’s not that I’m a bastard, but that Cassis de Millang is a bastard, so I just have to live faithfully to the concept. If you ask if that comes with any psychological resistance or distress, well, not really.

‘It is because my own personality is also of that sort. Hoot hoot.’

I hope no one asks me what I’m so proud of to be laughing like that. It’s hard to become a person with a personality like Cassis or me!

I assert that having this kind of personality would be harder than getting into Korea University. There’s no basis for it, but it’s probably true anyway. I do express my condolences for the fact that it’s not in a good direction, but what can I do when I was born this way?

Just as I was thinking that, I felt a presence next to me. It was too close. I thought I’d gotten quite a bit stronger, but I didn’t read the presence until it got this close?

“I believe I told you not to skip your meals!”

But it was already too late to react. With a whoosh, my arm was grabbed. Ah, meals are not the problem right now! Still, it was a relief that the person was, as expected, Ryuseong.

For an opponent to be skilled enough that Cassis de Millang couldn’t read his presence, the only trustworthy one is Ryuseong!

‘…He is trustworthy, right?’