Chapter 2
“What did you say?”
“Simply put, you ended up wearing someone else’s clothes. Unfortunately, you inherited the karma of a person who committed some of the most heinous deeds, and thus suffered all the consequences meant for them. That in turn caused a chain reaction of problems, trapping you in an endless cycle of suffering.”
What the heck does that even mean? Too fast!
Regardless of my confusion, Maphius continued talking quickly.
“She happened to receive karma that made her suffer all the wrongs she had committed herself. Things like a day repeating without reason, or being misunderstood for things she didn’t do. Troubles she should never have experienced. I honestly don’t know how such a mistake happened.”
No, seriously, could you slow down a little?
I tried hard to understand what Maphius was saying.
It was like listening to a foreign language—I couldn’t shove it into my head right away.
“…Could you repeat that?”
“Due to our mistake, Lady Eon, you were deprived of the life you should have had, and suffered instead.”
Hmm… Uh… Oh… So—
“Even my death?”
“You could say that, yes.”
So basically, someone else did wrong, but I paid the price.
Right? That’s what it sounds like!
But for someone admitting a fault, his tone was far too calm and indifferent.
To me, the one who had endured all that pain, Maphius brushed it off as a “simple mistake.”
So my entire hellish life… was just a mistake?
Even my head getting chopped clean off?
The emotions I’d kept buried deep began to churn violently, like someone had stirred them with a stick.
If I could, I’d hurl every curse word I’d ever learned at him.
I dropped the polite speech.
“A mistake…? Even when a person died?”
Isn’t that going too far?
Even if my life was weird, I know you just don’t say things like that.
Maphius clasped my hands, which were gripping his clothes like I was hanging off them, and smiled faintly.
“That’s why we want to compensate you.”
I was speechless.
“Now…? I, I—”
Once my emotions started to boil, I was overcome with such resentment it was unbearable.
Every time I tried to speak, my throat choked up.
And all this time, it was stuff I shouldn’t have had to go through!
“This time, we’ll give you a proper life. If you wish to erase the painful past, we can erase your memories as well.”
“…Don’t lie to me.”
“You might change your mind if you hear me out.”
“I don’t need it.”
“You’ll give me whatever I want? Like, what—an absurd fortune?”
Somehow, I’d calmed down enough to sit on a soft, plush sofa. It was so big my legs dangled in the air.
With a small round table that had appeared from who-knows-where between us, it felt like we were just in an ordinary mansion—well, if you ignored the fact that everything was pure white.
But I still wasn’t bothering with polite speech. I was still mad!
He’d been trying to persuade me for hours.
And since he kept saying he’d give me whatever I wanted, I reluctantly decided to negotiate.
“Isn’t it a waste to just end it like this? I’ll give you a real chance. A chance to be happy. A brand new life, no less.”
That line did catch my interest a little.
Maphius said he would return my original life and let me enjoy the happiness I was supposed to have—twice over. And then he asked if there was anything else I wanted. When I asked what he meant, he told me to just say anything first.
Not that I was tempted by the thought of money alone—no, it was more about the injustice of it all.
Thinking about it, my miserable life apparently wasn’t even my fault, but theirs. And now they were offering me a new life, so… yes, I was a little intrigued.
I’d seen too many situations in the last 12 years where money could have solved everything easily.
I’d even sworn that if I had another life, I’d be born rich—or else never be born again.
In the end, I gave up on everything, but still.
“Yes, as long as you follow a few precautions, I’ll grant your wish. But there’s little time. This may be our mistake, but it’s still something that could disrupt the balance of the world, so we have to do it in a way that deceives God’s eyes.”
“But if this world was created by God, is it okay to trick Him?”
“That’s why I’d like to finish this before He notices. So—what do you wish for? A warm, loving family? A long, healthy life? What will it be?”
His question made me pause in thought.
Granting anything I wanted? Sweet words like that always had a rotten aftertaste.
How many times had I followed the promise of bread, only to get beaten instead?
I’d never had anyone I could trust, so could I trust someone who claimed to be God’s proxy and manager?
No—if anything, he seemed more suspicious than the people who’d deceived and tormented me before.
But the fact was, I was already dead. I’d suffered all the injustice I could take, and then I’d just died.
Whether I trusted him or not, maybe it was better to take whatever compensation I could for my miserable life.
“Money.”
“Money?”
Maphius tilted his head.
“I never had a family to begin with, so I don’t need one. Just give me the equivalent in money. As much as possible! And a comfortable house to live in. I’m sick of sleeping in cold alleys.”
“…”
“A house with plenty of firewood, so I can keep warm. And no one’s allowed to steal it. I’m not going to stay up all night guarding it. Can you do that?”
“Ah, I see. That’s not difficult.”
Clang! Clink!
With the sound of metal striking metal, gold coins began piling onto the table.
“…”
I didn’t want to look surprised, but my mouth opened on its own.
Whoa, that’s a lot…
As the pile grew taller, coins began spilling onto the floor.
What a waste!
I quickly bent to pick them up, but just as I expected the endless rain of coins to continue—it stopped.
“…?”
Half-bent over, I looked up.
I already had a few coins in my hand.
“This should do it. The equivalent value for all your suffering, injustice, and your very life, Lady Eon.”
“That’s it?”
I mean—it’s a lot! More money than I’d ever seen alive, for sure!
But he was supposed to be a manager, wasn’t he?
The pile on the table was by no means small, but for the price of my life, it felt… lacking.
“One million gold.”
I stared at Maphius with a sour expression.
He said he’d give me anything. And one million gold is my life’s worth?
How much is one million gold, anyway?
I remembered hearing that the most expensive house in town was worth hundreds of thousands to a few million gold.
Even I knew, despite my age, that one million gold was less than a life was worth.
The way he was talking, I thought it’d be something like billions.
“It doesn’t seem enough, does it?”
Did he think I was stupid?
This wasn’t funny.
Seeing my blatantly displeased face, the man laughed out loud.
“But it’s true. The funds I can freely use aren’t exactly limitless. I do have some money allocated elsewhere, but…”
“…”
“So I’d like to make you a proposal, Lady Eon.”
