Ch. 222 - End of Summer (3)

Chapter 222: End of Summer (3)

How often does an ordinary person encounter mythical beings like the ‘Twelve Divine Moons’ in their lifetime? 

Even if they did encounter such beings, would anyone believe it? 

Jeliel had lived a life assigning monetary value to everything and encouraged capitalism. She wouldn't have flinched even if a legendary being from folklore appeared before her. 

In her world, money was almighty. She couldn’t trust anything unless she saw it with her own eyes and could assign a price tag to it. 

This pragmatic and rational mindset had never led her astray, so she lived without doubting it.

It’s often said that money can’t buy happiness. Jeliel never believed that. The more money she had, the happier she felt. 

However... 

As the undisputed wealthiest person in the world, she controlled everything with her money. However, Jeliel realized today that there were things that money couldn’t buy. 

‘Follow that path.’

The voice of an old man echoed in her mind. It was undoubtedly the voice of one of the Twelve Divine Moons. 

Despite meeting the existence that every mage in the world yearned for, it did not stir her emotions. She simply followed because she sensed a hint of hope from him.

"Hey Henry. How's life these days?" 

"Don’t even ask. Business tanked this summer. Give me some rice wine." 

"Tsk. Tsk. That’s why I told you to quit early and start a business." 

Southern Waning Moon Plains, Myoho Lake.

The lake was located at the center of the southern plains trade route. Over the years, it had become quite a sizable village, notable for the beast people with tiger-striped cat ears.

Swaa! 

Jeliel sat quietly in a street tavern with her face hidden under a hat, and sipped water. She wasn't hungry but needed minimal nourishment to keep walking. 

She quietly listened to the merchants' conversations around her while eating.

"Sigh... Right. Maybe I should have gone into business with you."

"Did the rain ruin your business?"

"Well. The rain pours down like this every year, so that's no excuse."

A young merchant drank a strong liquor, notable for its bamboo-made cup. 

"Honestly, my business skills aren't the problem." 

"That’s what every failure says." 

"No, seriously. The Wind Merchant Guild's coated umbrellas were a huge hit, and business was booming." 

"And then?" 

The young merchant whispered while looking around cautiously. 

"... The Starcloud Trading Company completely overturned the market." 

"What? Them again?" 

"Yeah. Their new product clashed with ours, so they turned the market upside down to stop us from selling." 

"Selfish bastards." 

"They always do that. If they think they might lose, they flip the whole board. But they're too powerful for us to do anything. We can’t help it."

Clatter!

"...!"

"Wh-What was that?" 

The merchants were quietly criticizing the Starcloud Trading Company. They were startled by the sound of a water cup toppling over nearby. 

"... Sorry."

Jeliel quietly apologized, set the cup upright, and wiped the table with a tissue. Her fingers trembled. She knew well what they were talking about. 

Of course. 

It happened under Jeliel’s orders. Her father had always led the business with integrity and never resorted to such dirty tactics. 

However, when she became capable of thinking like a merchant, the Starcloud Trading Company was shaken by her father’s stubbornness. Unable to bear it, Jeliel began to engage in underhanded tactics secretly.

‘If it makes money, I’ll do anything.’

She had killed people and brought down entire companies. Devoid of a sense of guilt, Jeliel acted without hesitation. 

"Sigh. Anyway, it’s a big problem. My wife and kids are waiting at home, and our food will run out by winter. We’ll have to worry about food before summer ends."

"Tsk. Tsk. Don’t worry. I’ll help. How about working with me until your business recovers?"

"... Thank you, really."

"No need to thank me. You saved my life back then, so I’m just returning the favor. In a way, you saved yourself. Haha. Didn’t that sound cool? I should put that in my autobiography later."

"It would have been perfect without the last part."

"Hahaha!"

Although the conversation ended warmly, would others feel the same? 

At that very moment, countless people somewhere unseen were suffering and dying from poverty. 

Jeliel might be the cause, or maybe not. 

But what was it that kept causing waves to crash harshly in her mind?

‘...I could help.’

Right now, she could save that young merchant by handing him a few gold bars. 

With her wealth, it was entirely possible.

"Oh dear, this business is doomed..."

"Sigh. The economy is like this these days..."

"What happened to the butcher who left for business?"

"I heard he went bankrupt."

Not just the young merchant; people everywhere were lamenting their misfortune. 

The stories were not limited to Myoho Lake.

Jeliel had crossed the Waning Moon Plains and visited numerous tribes, villages, and cities on her journey to get back Baek Yu-Seol, and they all shared the same concerns.

And the primary reason they struggled was due to her aggressive business policies. 

Something was piling up inside her. 

Suddenly, she was struck with a thought.

‘...I can change this.’

Not everything could be bought with money. 

She realized that recently, but the world still ran on gold. 

If she could change the world with her overwhelming wealth...

Surely, that boy would be happy. 

He was someone who sacrificed himself for others rather than caring for himself.

Jeliel walked without stopping, and traversed the entire Waning Moon Plains. She walked through rainy mornings, foggy dawns, and clear nights under a sky full of stars. 

This was a place completely untouched by magical trains or warp holes, a true natural land. 

At the end of her journey.

"You’ve arrived."

Jeliel finally reached her destination. A towering cliff pierced the clouds, and atop it stood a pristine white temple. 

There, the familiar old man stood before her, waiting with his hands behind his back. He gestured for her to follow and pointed forward.

Ahead of her lay a set of stairs... Stairs that appeared to lead to the sky. 

"Some people call this the Stairway to Heaven. Ridiculous. Heaven is the afterlife, foolish humans."

The old man's joke wasn’t funny, but Jeliel laughed.

"It’s a path to the past. Go there yourself and bring back Baek Yu-Seol."

The stairs soared high into the sky. There was no end in sight.

"But there’s something you must remember."

The old man spoke with a stern expression to Jeliel, who was now at the foot of the stairs.

"I may be a drunkard and a gambler, but I am a divine being connected to the constellation. Those who are laden with sins and karma cannot step on these stairs."

"Why?"

"Because stepping on them would bring pain worse than death. Judging by your face, you've accumulated countless sins throughout your life."

It was true, so she couldn't argue.

"You... You might actually die. A half-elf who hasn't even lived half a century cannot endure such karma."

"I can do it."

"Well. If you have the courage, atone through this pain. All the despair and sorrow they felt will be entirely yours to bear."

"No."

Shaking her head, she spoke with a determined face.

"I'll accept this pain because it’s my doing, but I won’t atone this way."

“Then how?”

"I’ll atone in my own way."

She could never return what she had taken from them. 

She would have to live her life bearing the burden of her sins. 

So, she would cast aside her mask and devote herself to the world in the only way she knew how.

"This pain... is the punishment I deserve."

Jeliel removed her shoes, and without a moment's hesitation, she stepped onto the stairs. 

In that instant, it felt as though her entire body was being shredded by a saw; a terrible pain assaulted her soul.

"...!"

Her eyes widened and turned bloodshot. 

She took another step. 

No scream escaped her lips. 

One step. 

Another step. 

With her eyes tightly shut, she ascended the stairs, enduring and accepting all the pain. 

She had no thoughts of running away now. 

If she were to run, she would rather fall and die. 

But she couldn’t die here. 

If she did, Baek Yu-Seol might never return to this world.

Each step brought a new wave of hell, and with each step, she wanted to scream and faint, but she endured.

'I have no right to collapse. Many have felt this pain because of me.'

The blade of ‘emotion’ that invaded her dry heart brought a tearing pain to her soul, but ironically, it was also her emotions that allowed her to endure. 

A desperate feeling for someone. 

How far had she climbed? 

She didn’t look at her destination. 

It would be more accurate to say she didn’t have time to look. Her soul was barely hanging on. It was no less than a miracle she was still alive. 

Even her breath was labored, her feet numb, and new waves of sorrows and despairs seeped through the cracks of her heart, whispering her to give up. 

But she couldn’t stop now.

Could this still be called willpower? 

No.

Now she was moving purely on instinct. 

At the last moment, she tripped, unable to lift her foot anymore, and barely stood after glueing her ankle on the stairs. 

‘Ah...’

She realized.

If she fell now, she would never rise again.

‘I can’t…’

If she fell here, no one would be saved.

But she had no strength left to right her falling body, so she entrusted herself to the laws of nature.

Thud!

… Yet. Strangely enough,

Even though she thought she had fallen, it didn’t hurt at all. 

Could it be that after all the suffering she had endured, this was nothing?

“… I heard someone was coming to meet me, and it was you?”

At the sound of the voice, Jeliel slowly opened her eyes. 

There, at a distance close enough to feel his breath, was the boy’s face.

‘Ah.’

She had succeeded. 

She had climbed those endless stairs and finally reached him.

Weakly lying in Baek Yu-Seol’s embrace, Jeliel gave a faint smile. 

It was the most surprising and wondrous sight in the world, so much so that Baek Yu-Seol was genuinely shocked.

“What’s with you? Did you eat a vegetable bun without the vegetables?”

Despite her longing to see him, the first thing he did upon reuniting was make such a dull and humorless joke. 

Despite that, he was unmistakably Baek Yu-Seol, undeniably and truly Baek Yu-Seol.

Jeliel laughed through her tears.

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