The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 100

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 100. Threads of Fate Woven One by One (2)

“Hmm? What is it?”
“There are… a couple of other matters I wished to ask about.”
Frihi studied Seol Jihoo’s suddenly solemn face intently. What was the young man driving at?
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“Could you use this Gold Bar to establish new grounds for us within Haramag?”
“…What did you say?”
Frihi’s tone rose sharply, and his ordinarily calm eyes narrowed slightly—as if he’d heard something entirely unexpected.
Seol Jihoo pressed on without pause.
“And I would ask you to lend me Ian.”
“Ian Denzel?”
Frihi’s brow darkened unmistakably. Ian was a mage belonging to the Royal Family and one of the few Earthians whom Frihi trusted.
The value of a mage was beyond question. If there were proper justification, perhaps—but to ask outright to “borrow” one sat poorly with him.
“Father.”
Teresa moved to speak, but Frihi raised a hand to stop her.
“Are these two questions connected to what you said you must tell me?”
“Yes.”
Frihi fixed him with a searching gaze, and Seol Jihoo opened his mouth to answer the unspoken demand for explanation.
He spoke of the Village Chief of Lamman Village and the Phantom Saint trapped in the Tomb within the Forest of Negation. As his account unfolded, interest kindled in the king’s otherwise impassive face.
“…So, then.”
Frihi leaned forward and clasped his hands together.
“You’re asking that all the residents of Lamman Village be taken into the city.”
“I’ve heard the castle’s capacity has limits. Yet if it is possible, I would humbly request it.”
“Hmm. Frankly, it’s a burden. The castle is already at saturation, I’d say. Dozens might be manageable, but to house hundreds of people…”
Frihi clearly wasn’t inclined to agree.
Relocating one’s home was no trivial matter. To accept them and then wash one’s hands of it would leave the people as refugees pure and simple. Better not to accept them in the first place.
In other words, permitting their migration meant providing not just living space but also a minimum means of livelihood.
“Your Majesty has said that Haramag deals more fairly with its people than any other Royal House. Though one has withdrawn from the world and one is but a spirit, both deserve reward more than anyone else who participated in this operation.”
Seeing the king hesitate, Seol Jihoo made his appeal with earnest conviction.
“…It’s true that Lamman Village’s location is ambiguous. Nor will I deny that I’ve felt inwardly it was unavoidable.”
Frihi exhaled a long breath, lost in thought.
“It’s not a matter to decide lightly. Yet if we use this Gold Bar, there is room for positive consideration.”
“Then I am grateful!”
The young man’s face lit up in a flash of relief.
“But—why?”
Frihi’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
“I ask you not to misunderstand. You are not an Earthian, are you?”
“Your Majesty.”
“I’m not here to debate philosophy or settle questions of right and wrong. Simply—you are an Earthian.”
Frihi emphasized the same point once more.
“Going to the Forest of Negation is one thing. But must you do this much for Lamman Village?”
“……”
“I don’t think you fail to understand, so let me speak plainly. In truth, if you merely sent money to buy food, the people of Lamman Village would rejoice and be grateful. Even the Village Chief would see it as sufficient repayment of a debt.”
He hadn’t thought otherwise, if he were honest. Part of him wanted to show some grace and keep the remaining coins for himself.
“If your conscience troubles you, I’ll tell you this much: Haramag has no surplus to care for its own people now. What I mean is, you asked in good faith, but the king considered various factors and declined. There are reasons enough. You may think of it that way and feel at ease.”
Yes, one could think of it that way. You asked, but I said it was difficult, so what could we do? Where would one find a better excuse?
“The point is, no one would reproach you for taking this gold.”
True. Who would curse him? All he need do was keep silent. Beyond that, with this gold alone he could become extraordinarily wealthy in an instant.
“And yet—you mean to use it for something that brings no renown or recognition. I find your true intention most curious.”
Yes, he felt the hunger for wealth. That much was true.
But.
There was something more important than the gold before his eyes. Had he not perceived it with the Nine Eyes, he would never have realized it at all.
Yet Seol Jihoo had confirmed it, and his resolve was set.
“I have no particular intention, Your Majesty.”
And so he answered without further hesitation.
“I simply act according to the Golden Rule.”
“The Golden Rule?”
“If one owes a debt, it’s only natural to repay it. Haven’t we just been given the opportunity to do so? There’s no reason not to.”
Frihi’s face was utterly baffled.
“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re saying. You don’t seem to enjoy word games.”
Seol Jihoo nearly said “I do enjoy games,” but managed to keep from drifting off the point.
“We also call it the Golden Rule.”
“The Golden Rule?”
“The Phantom Saint and the Village Chief — both treated me with their utmost sincerity. But I cannot shamefully wipe my mouth clean of that debt, nor can there be any compromise in how I reciprocate. To betray one’s benefactor would be a grave sin. Such half-hearted hospitality is worse than none at all.”
“…….”
“Your Majesty. If I cannot return what these two have given me in full, I can never expect to receive such kindness from them again. That thought frightens me greatly.”
When he finished his long reply, Frihi sat blinking — the look of a man who’d been struck hard.
“Never again expect to receive such kindness… is it?”
It was several minutes before the king opened his mouth again.
“Indeed.”
Leaning back against his seat, Frihi rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke.
“I see, in a way. Everyone has their limits of capacity, whether human or spirit. Even a phantom has such bounds.”
‘Limits of one’s capacity.’
The phrase struck something in him strangely. It was as though he’d struck upon the precise weakness in the Golden Rule itself.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I haven’t given you a firm answer yet. So let me ask once more.”
Frihi spoke in a low voice.
“Are you truly set on this? No chance of changing your mind?”
“No, Your Majesty!”
Seol Jihoo answered without hesitation.
Better to spend oneself generously than to live with an uneasy heart. Watching the young man smile openly at last, Frihi made his decision.
“…Indeed.”
So that’s why he was so eager to meet with me. He muttered this to himself so quietly that Seol Jihoo didn’t hear.
“Then, very well.”
At last the permission came.
“I shall grant the immediate relocation of all residents of Lamman Village, and provide support to them in every way possible using the gold I have bestowed upon you.”
A royal decree. Though the king had fallen into circumstances unbecoming of his station, his word remained weighty — not something to be reversed lightly.
“Furthermore, I shall personally take part in efforts to comfort the sorrowful spirit in the Tomb.”
Personally take part? What on earth did that mean?
“It means raising the caliber and dignity of the rites.”
Teresa whispered in his ear.
“A spirit’s station doesn’t disappear with death. Hundreds of years ago, she was elevated to the rank of Phantom Saint of the Empire itself — or so we’re told. His Majesty is saying he’ll show her the proper respect befitting that rank.”
His jaw dropped. He’d thought only to set out a simple offering and be a companion to her in solitude, but this… this was something he’d never imagined. Already he felt warmth spreading through his chest at the thought of the saint’s joy.
Watching the young man’s beaming face, Frihi settled back thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand.
“And?”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s consider the public works matter settled. Now, I’d rather we finish what we were discussing before. Preferably, something modest, if possible.”
Seol Jihoo was no fool. He caught the king’s meaning at once. Though the word “modest” came with a condition, it meant at the very least he wouldn’t be sent away empty-handed.
“Well… I….”
The king waited patiently, but the young man fell silent for a long time. This suggested that he truly had desired nothing beyond what he’d already asked.
“Take your time thinking. The night is long.”
Frihi spoke kindly,
“I should be getting up soon. I’m not one to put things off. I’ll need several nights of sleepless work if I’m to draw up the estimates.”
He rose from his seat, taking the gold with him.
“Father, you’re leaving? Won’t you stay a while longer?”
Teresa spoke in a tone that suggested he shouldn’t leave two of them alone at such a late hour, her tongue wagging with concern. Frihi looked utterly exasperated.
“Hah. She’s my daughter indeed, but what a scheming creature. Don’t say things you don’t mean. I told you to look for an opportunity and slip away appropriately — who was it that….”
He laughed awkwardly as he spoke,
“No, rather — I’m using the Lamman Village matter as a pretext to give you two time alone. How can you be so obtuse?”
Crack-crack — the sound of bones breaking. He quickly changed his tune. Teresa, who’d been twisting her neck and wrists, broke into an innocent smile.
“Oh my. How dim-witted this maiden is, having failed to grasp Father’s profound intentions. I shall leave everything in your capable hands — do devote yourself fully to matters of state.”
“Ah… it’s like leaving fish in the care of a cat.”
“What was that, Father?”
“I’ll make sure to say it plainly another time. I permit you access to the Storehouse, but do not touch the Royal Treasury, I beg you.”
“Oh, you worry too much. Besides, what you say is true — there’s hardly anything worth calling a Royal Treasury anymore, is there? No need to belabor the point.”
Teresa grumbled. Frihi smiled bitterly.
“Don’t squander the household funds. Though they say a daughter is a stranger once she marries, there’s still a proper measure to such things. Just thinking of when I sent off your older sister….”
“Come on. What do you take me for? Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t strip the place bare like my sister does with furniture and dishes.”
Even as she said it, Teresa’s gaze slipped away rather unconvincingly. By now, anyone should have caught on to what the two of them were really talking about.
Seol Jihoo, for his part, was staring blankly ahead as if he understood nothing. Frihi clicked his tongue.
“In this world or the next. Heroes are a curious breed. It might not be genetics at all—just a problem of willpower.”
He murmured as if lamenting, then said his farewells.
“A delightful conversation, a pleasant meeting. A worthwhile—a hopeful time. I’ll be on my way, so take your leisure and enjoy yourselves.”
Seol Jihoo wasn’t sure what he meant by “enjoy yourselves,” but he hurried to rise. However, Frihi casually placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke.
“And.”
His clear eyes fixed on Seol Jihoo, and a gentle smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth—the first smile either of them had seen since they’d met. Teresa’s eyes widened.
“Thank you for saving my daughter.”
In that moment, the strange sense of distance that had lingered subtly since their first meeting vanished. The gap between them had closed.
“Your Highness, I—”
“Ah, please.”
“There’s no need for thanks.”
Frihi laughed softly, patted Seol Jihoo’s shoulder a few times, and left the room.
“It’s rare to see him smile.”
Teresa laughed easily, as if it were nothing special.
“I haven’t seen Father smile in a very long time.”
“Your Highness doesn’t smile often, then?”
“Not so much that, I’d say.”
Teresa swallowed what she was about to say. There was no real need to explain.
“Anyway, shall we just settle our compensation talk between the two of us?”
“Oh. Are we going to the Storehouse?”
“Goodness, no. Why are you in such a rush? Let’s take our time, enjoy some dessert, and chat. We have plenty of time.”
‘Dessert!’
There was no reason to refuse. He hadn’t even tasted properly before, too nervous to enjoy it. The job had gone better than expected, and now they were alone. As his appetite slowly returned, Seol Jihoo swallowed.
“I would very much like that.”
“You can have high expectations. Once you taste it, you’ll be absolutely smitten.”
Teresa spoke with confidence and rose to her feet.
“Let’s go!”
“Where to?”
“My Bedchamber.”
“Ah… we’re not eating here?”
Given that they were in the Dining Hall, it was a perfectly reasonable question. Teresa smiled with amusement.
“This dessert ought to be eaten in a private space—it’s proper etiquette. Though there’s a certain thrill to eating it in the Dining Hall where we might be discovered, I suppose.”
The young man tilted his head. Teresa smiled with seductive charm and dangled the bait before him like a fishing lure.
“Come on, get up. Hurry! Not just anyone gets to taste this dessert.”
“Wow. It must be incredibly rare.”
Teresa’s expression said there was no question about it.
“Rare indeed. It’s a dessert that Mother and Father made themselves—one of a kind in all the world.”
The King and Queen made it with their own hands?
“What kind of dessert is it?”
“If I tell you now, it’ll spoil the fun.”
“Come on. What is it? Tell me.”
Setting aside how she even knew a word like that, he pressed her again out of curiosity.
“Well…”
Teresa licked her lips and gazed at him with fresh, bright eyes. Then she spoke.
“Me.”

Seol Jihoo vehemently objected, but when Teresa threatened not to give him the reward unless he came to the Bedchamber, he was dragged along reluctantly, resigned to his fate.
Still, he was fortunate: the dessert was a true delicacy. Soft and savory in all the right ways, he forgot himself and ate eagerly several times over.
And so Seol Jihoo found himself in the princess’s Bedchamber eating the Teresa Hasse Dessert with relish, and thanks to the princess’s delight at watching him enjoy it so thoroughly, he was able to leave laden with additional rewards.
‘I can’t believe such a dessert actually existed.’
Indeed, a dessert bearing the name “Teresa Hasse Dessert” truly did exist. It was a pale pink cake with a tartly sweet strawberry flavor.
When she was very young, her Mother and Father had created it especially for their youngest daughter, who had a weakness for sweets, making it by hand. They had named it after her to commemorate her birthday.
‘It tasted wonderful.’
He wanted to eat it again. Savoring the lingering sweetness on his tongue, Seol Jihoo returned to the Office.
‘Glad I went.’
Life brought lucky days like these. He’d repaid his debt to the Village Chief and had become able to help the Phantom Saint.
But that wasn’t all.
Looking at the rewards laid out on the table, satisfaction washed over him. Though the Royal Treasury—notorious for its empty coffers—remained beyond reach, what he’d received was lavish enough to make him wonder if he deserved it.
First, the +2 Steel Thorn: a magnificent mace with the dull sheen of metal. Forged from solid meteorite extracted from fallen stars, it boasted hardness ten times that of ordinary steel, and through two levels of enhancement, it had been imbued with magic that doubled its impact force on contact.
‘Cho Hong will love this.’
He’d been meaning to prepare a gift for Cho Hong as she ascended to a higher rank, and this mace would surely delight her.
A Cross Artifact had come with the haul as well. It wasn’t as valuable as Proof of Purity, but such things were rare enough to be worth their weight in gold. It would serve as useful leverage should he need to call upon Maria’s power in a pinch.
Convinced this was sufficient, he turned to leave the storehouse when Teresa stopped him. She left and returned with a gift—a Black Belt enchanted with permanent Pocket magic, allowing him to carry the contents of two bags wherever he went.
The only peculiarity was the way she’d handed it over while casting cautious glances around, pressing him with utmost seriousness to keep it hidden on his way out.
When he nervously asked whether it was truly his to take, Teresa flatly denied that it had been stolen from the Treasury. Seol Jihoo, who trusted the princess implicitly, accepted it without further hesitation.
On top of that, she pressed five hundred silver coins into his hands as a token of her regard.
“Ah.”
As he gazed at his collection with quiet satisfaction, the bracelet the Phantom Saint had given him suddenly came to mind. He immediately fished it from his pocket.
‘What properties does it have?’
Given that it was an imperial artifact, it was certainly no ordinary trinket.
Seol Jihoo activated his Nine Eyes—his usual observation ability—and fixed his gaze on the bracelet, which gleamed with golden light.
A moment passed.
“…What?”
His eyes, which had been softly smiling, widened to the size of lanterns.

(To be continued in the next installment)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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