CH 122

‘…!’

Did I get caught?

I stood up and looked at the Warden with the most nonchalant expression on my face.

They said that even if you come to the tiger’s den, you will live as long as you keep calm. I have lived without fear, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.

“You mean me?”

The Warden approached me, frowning and looking at me up and down.

“Where do you belong?”

The muscular Warden had a very suspicious look.

I didn’t know what to answer, so when I moved my gaze to the whip in his hand for a moment, I heard the Warden’s voice again.

“Your face looks familiar, are you the prisoner from construction site no. 7841 who ran away yesterday?”

“Yes?”

“Her crime was eating without paying her whole life.”

He said, pointing at me with both hands holding a whip.

“Eating… Eating without paying?”

And she was sent to the labor camp for such a small thing?

When I was a little surprised, he added a word and praised himself.

“To be exact, 1,352 times eating without paying. My memory is very precise and amazing.”

How crazy… Worth the role of slavery.

I don’t know who it is, but that woman who looks like me, she left her wallet for granted.

After a bit of hesitation, I opened my mouth. If this continues, I’ll be misunderstood as an eating-without-paying criminal then I’ll have to build a garage and a tower over there.

“I’m not the sinner you think, I’m aliv…”

And then, somewhere, a child’s voice was heard.

“W-Wait!”

The Warden and I looked back at the same time.

There I saw a well-dressed boy of about thirteen, gasping for breath.

The child’s hair was dark green, his eyes were brown, and he had the face of a nobleman.

“Ah, Sir Ravi.”

The Warden looked at the child and hurriedly lowered his head.

“The Director has arrived. I was ruling the sinners well.”

Judging from the courteous attitude, the child was probably superior to the Warden.

“And just like this, I caught the eating-without-paying criminal.”

The Warden glanced at me and said.

As soon as he finished speaking, a child named Ravi jumped up and stood in front of me.

“To think that you called her the eating-without-paying criminal. This is Sir Kairos’ guest.”

It seemed that Kairos had overheard me.

‘The lost one has definitely escaped.’

Hearing the child’s words, I felt relieved.

Meanwhile, the Warden held his breath.

“Huh, this sin… No, are you saying that this is Sir Kairos’ guest?”

“Yes. Apologize if you’ve been rude to the guest.”

At Ravi’s words, the Warden politely bowed to me.

“I’m sorry. It seems that I was mistaken.”

Thanks to the child named Ravi, the atmosphere changed in an instant.

I accepted his apology with a relaxed smile. It felt bad that I was completely misunderstood, but I thought it might be because he has a strong work ethic.

“You could be mistaken. Go and quickly work. It’s a waste of time.”

The human trafficking couple is taking advantage of this opportunity to take a break, you know.

Even in death, such things must suffer without rest.

“Thank you for accepting my apology. Sir Kairos’ guest. Please stay in peace.”

After a while, the Warden returned to his spot.

“You worms can’t work properly?!”

The booming voice rang out again.

***

Meanwhile, the child called ‘Ravi’ standing in front of me introduced himself with a smile.

“Welcome to Salerium. I’m Ravi, the middle manager of Salerium District 72. I heard from Sir Kairos the reason you’re here.”

If it’s District 72, I’ve come to the right place.

What Draive recorded was District 72, which that woman said where she belonged to.

“Ah, my name is Ariel. As you may have heard from Sir Kairos, I came because there is someone I need to find.”

The child nodded as if he knew, then he opened his mouth again.

“First, I’ll guide you to the court.”

I followed Ravi through the magnificent temples.

“It’s very wide and big.”

“It takes countless zones to contain all the dead in the world. Constructions are always ongoing.”

“Are you using criminals for those projects?”

“Yes. Depending on the severity of the sin, there are sinners who do simple chores, but there are also those who have to do such hard work.”

It felt like a good system, to say that the sins of the past were judged well.

Because there are many people who commit sins yet don’t pay the full penalty.

“Then are they also sinners?”

I said looking at the women wearing blue dresses that came down to their calves.

They were holding cleaning tools.

“Ah, no. It’s not just sinners who work. There’s an ecosystem here, shops, and jobs. There are towns and villages. Even among the dead, being hired by Salerium is considered an honor. The treatment is good. They’re treated well.”

“Then, it seems that the slave warden from earlier was also hired.”

“Ah, yes. The Wardens of Sinners use a special marble that Sir Kairos received as a gift from the God of Benevolence, Oman, to determine qualifications. We recruit those who have lived a good life in their lifetime but are good at treating others harshly.”

Somehow, I thought it was a view that Oman would like.

“What can I say…”

There was a time when I imagined the world of death to be like a dark world of demons.

“The appearance of Salerium… It’s a different feeling than I thought. Should I say it’s brighter than I thought?”

“All newcomers say so. The prosperity of Salerium is all thanks to Sir Kairos.”

It was a view not much different from the present. Only a little lonely and quiet like dawn.

Maybe it could be a little more noisy outside the temple. Just like where people live.

After walking a little further, I arrived at the grand gate. Ravi reached out and the door opened, revealing the interior of the temple.

“This is District 72’s residence where Sir Kairos usually stayed. These days, he hasn’t come back as he has something important to do.”

Does Ravi know the said important thing… is to protect my oracle room seat?

And the fact that he’s happy to see his name engraved on the chair every day.

“But what exactly is a district?”

“Since the number of the dead is countless, we manage them by dividing them into 198 districts. There are temples like this in each district, but recently, he mostly stayed in District 72. He said that it’s a great place to peek into the ‘trust room’ from afar since District 72 is close to the ‘mat’, but I didn’t understand what he meant.”

‘I know, but for the sake of Kairos’ dignity, I’ll put up with the remarks.’

I followed Ravi up the spiral staircase to the top. Along the stairs, I saw books stacked tightly against the walls.

There were countless numbers of ‘Books of the Dead’, and I was curious about what was in them.

But there was no time to read such thick books right now.

“Ravi, please allow me to meet all the women who worked in the clothing management department of the Shrine 4 three years ago. Not one of them left.”

According to the records of Draive’s conversations with Camilla, she revealed the department she worked in at the Salerium.

It was the clothing management department of the Shrine 4 in District 72. She probably has a different name instead of ‘Camilla’.

According to the books I have read so far, when people die and enter Salerium, they discard their previous names and are given new names.

“I understand, if you wait in the office for a while, I’ll make the necessary preparations.”

When I followed Ravi to Kairos’ office, I widened my eyes in surprise. And I caught Ravi by words as he was about to leave.

“Excuse me… Ravi, this is…?”

It was an astounding view.

It was because the ceiling and walls were covered with bromide. The problem was that the characters in the bromide were familiar people. Kyle, Cass, Reihausd…

Looking at the quality of the painting, it was the work of a skilled professional.

The problem is that they look quite bizarre, but in a subtle pose. Besides, why are they shirtless?

“Ah, you mean the poster?”

Ravi glanced around and smiled.

“This is Sir Kairos’ taste. It’s a work drawn by the best painters in Salerium.”

“If it’s his taste…”

Looking at them, I suddenly thought of this.

‘Kairos… the reason why he was so anxious to join my oracle… Perhaps…?’

At that moment, the books on the bookshelf in the office caught my eye.

I started looking at the titles of those books.

[The Crown Prince Usurps the High Priest]

[The Merchant Lord Buys the High Priest Today As Well]

[The Crown Prince and the Demon King’s Secret Deal]

[He’s a Fake High Priest but the Crown Prince and the Marquis Are Obsessed With Him.]

‘So it was this…’