Reverse Dungeon

Ian grew more irritated by the second, yet he still tried to justify himself.

“If I were doing this just to be praised, then it wouldn’t really be a good deed, would it? If those people manage to live well afterward, that’s what truly matters.”

The latter half was directed at Keith.

‘In the end, it’s all reputation management.’

The aftermath of the ‘Oasis Village’ incident involved properly explaining everything to the village chief and escorting the villagers to a new settlement. Naturally, an act like that would dramatically increase the ‘Savior’ reputation stat. If someone were properly progressing through Ian’s route, his title should already have changed from the sheer amount of reputation he’d accumulated.

Ian didn’t want that.

Ideally, the villagers would live long, comfortable lives while cursing him the entire time. Since he had overachieved on the quest, he’d earned both the experience points and a decrease in the ‘Savior’ reputation.

Originally, the reputation increase had only applied to Keith and the quest targets, but recently even the elves had started counting toward it, which made things increasingly difficult to manage.

Ian sincerely hoped the villagers would survive for a very long time and continue hating him with all their hearts.

Dawn slowly crept across the desert, and soon the sands would begin to burn beneath the sun once more.

Whether the magic vanished or not, the desert heat alone was deadly enough to kill travelers. The chief’s desperate objections hadn’t been unreasonable.

Normally, Ian would have escorted the villagers at night and moved them before sunrise, but—

He reached into his inventory and pulled something out.

[Tears of a Mermaid (A)]

Summons rain around the user.

(Casting time varies depending on the user’s level of ‘Virtue’.)

Cooldown: 24 hours

It was finally time to use the reward he’d received from the mermaid princess.

“Huh?”

One of the elves recognized the item immediately.

Ian placed the mermaid princess’s pearl earring in his palm.

‘Use.’

The effect manifested moments later.

Clouds gathered across the empty sky. Pure white masses rose out of nowhere, swallowing the ascending sun whole.

Then rain began to fall.

A soft drizzle descended from the clouds—clear, clean rain, gentle enough that a cloak alone was enough to keep it off.

Ian guided the clouds toward ‘Oasis Village’. The drifting rain spread across the desert, cooling the scorching sands just enough for people to travel during the day.

The elf stared in admiration.

“So that’s how you use it. That village chief seemed pretty influential, but I bet most of the villagers are already cursing my regulars by now, huh?”

“Let them,” Ian replied indifferently. “What are they supposed to do when there’s nothing left?”

The elf folded his arms and slowly looked Ian up and down.

“At first, I thought my client simply disliked killing. But now I see it’s more like a habit with you. You try to save everything. Even when we first met, you were busy growing plants.”

‘Does the World Tree count as a plant too?’

Ian was mildly shocked by how boldly the elf simplified things.

“Did you save the plants they were farming in the dungeon too?”

“Of course. I didn’t expect much, but they were being cared for properly. My client has a talent for saving things.”

“God is with us,” Keith said unexpectedly, treating the elf with unusual kindness.

Ian narrowed his eyes slightly.

What exactly was the elf trying to say?

“So the chief fears my client now. Probably hates him too. But even then, you still save them. You even give them a way to survive afterward.”

“What exactly is your complaint? Say it clearly.”

“The mermaid princess, I could understand. But saving even your enemies? People like that would stab you in the back the first chance they got. Ah, I know what you’re thinking. The gap in strength is too large for them to try anything. But people die surprisingly easily. What if the porridge the chief served had been poisoned?”

“It wasn’t, though.”

Ian hated hypothetical questions.

He’d grown sick of them long ago.

If my parents hadn’t died. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

If my relatives had taken me in.

If there’d been even one person on my side.

If my parents were actually alive somewhere.

If they came back and took me away.

Questions like that never helped anyone. They only made life more miserable.

“Come on, imagine it. We have imaginations for a reason. What if the robbers had slipped poison into it instead of a sedative? What would my client have done then?”

“I wouldn’t have eaten poison in the first place... and I probably would’ve done the same thing anyway,” Ian answered sourly.

Had there ever been an event where armed bandits stormed ‘Oasis Village’ to murder Ian’s party? One extra act of villainy wouldn’t have changed his decisions.

This game loved the cliché of ‘he was actually a good person.’ Everyone always had some tragic excuse attached to them. Compared to that, the bandits of ‘Oasis Village’ committing theft still fell comfortably within acceptable redemption territory.

Otherwise, the game wouldn’t hand out experience points for saving them.

Saving lives rewarded far more experience than simply slaughtering everyone cleanly.

“Saving people who never thank you. Sparing people who repay kindness with hostility. Showing mercy even to those who would gladly kill you.”

‘That sounds almost mocking.’

No matter how Ian heard it, it sounded like the elf was calling him a fool.

Was this bastard picking a fight?

Ian tilted his head slightly and looked at the elf. That constant grin made his thoughts impossible to read.

And it was unbelievably irritating.

“No, seriously. We accomplished what we came here for, didn’t we? So what exactly is your problem?”

If Ian had ignored provocations like this back in school, his life probably would’ve been much easier.

He brought the camel to a stop and climbed down onto the sand.

This guy was a five-star character. A potential recruit. Their affinity had been steadily rising until now.

At the moment, none of that mattered.

If Ian had actually been capable of multitasking, his life might have turned /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ out very differently.

As soon as Ian stopped, the rest of the group halted as well and dismounted their camels.

Keith stepped between Ian and the elf, physically blocking them from one another.

The instant Ian saw him, his thoughts abruptly halted.

‘Wait... wouldn’t this trigger Keith’s trauma too?’

Keith had once spoken bitterly about a world that failed to appreciate kindness.

Cold sweat prickled down Ian’s back.

But then Keith turned toward the elf and said calmly,

“Kindness possesses value in and of itself. It is not something performed in exchange for gratitude. The act itself is the purpose.”

“...?”

“Isn’t that right?”

He looked to Ian as though seeking affirmation from a teacher.

Ian vaguely remembered saying something similar back in the Underwater City.

“Yeah... that’s right.”

He’d only said it back then to escape an awkward situation. He never imagined Keith would remember it—let alone take it so deeply to heart.

Had anyone ever truly accepted Ian’s words before?

He never took back what he said, but somehow it always felt like his words never truly reached anyone.

Things he had never said became attributed to him.

Things he had never done became his accomplishments.

And yet Keith believed every word completely.

It felt strangely unsettling.

‘No, not completely.’

When had I ever said anything that profound?

The version Ian remembered had involved far more stumbling and a lot less dignity.

Keith continued speaking.

“Despite serving Lord Ian, it seems you still understand nothing. God always watches over us. Once you realize that, sincerity toward oneself becomes inevitable. Whether one’s sincerity is acknowledged by others matters little. At most, perhaps...”

Keith’s gaze shifted toward Ian.

“...there may be a few precious people whose recognition truly matters.”

Ian froze.

For some reason, he couldn’t look away from him.

“...Really? I’m jealous.”

The elf’s voice cut through the moment.

A wave of discomfort washed over Ian, but when he turned toward the elf, he abruptly snapped back to reality.

The smile had vanished from the elf’s face.

Without it softening his expression, he suddenly looked like an entirely different person.

“Those chosen by God really are different.”

The elf smiled faintly.

“Watching the two of you, I think I finally understand. Honestly, I feel like I’m learning a lot on this journey. Guess people really do travel to broaden their horizons.”

Ding!

[Dorian(?)’s affection level has increased.]

Ding!

[Dorian(?)’s affection level: 93%]

‘...?’

Ian frowned.

After acting creepy as hell, now the affection level was going up?

A perfectly reasonable suspicion crossed his mind.

Was this character bugged beyond just the status window?

‘Figures.’

It had been suspicious from the start that saving lives didn’t increase his affection level.