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Chapter 99: Juliana (4)

“Ah! Are you referring to the book you found in the inner room?” she asked.

“Yes, I am. Upon reading it, I think it was actually worth finding out. It seems like a legend… Well… Anyway, it’s interesting,” I answered.

“It must be fun to read. Could you tell me about it?”

Sun Hee-young’s curious expression was evidently visible. She had been snooping around me all day as we prepared to head back to Lindel. In fact, it was a nice opportunity to talk, as we hadn’t really conversed with each other, except when it came to volunteering activities.

Meanwhile, Jung Hayan clung onto my arm tightly, shooting Sun Hee-young a cautious look. I knew she also wanted a moment to know about the story.

‘Ah, well, it’s not that long, anyway.’

It would be nice to have something to talk about while we headed towards our next destination.

“The story started exactly 10,000 years ago,” I began.

“Ten thousand years?” Hee-young asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. This is a story before the birth of Benigore, the Holy Empire, where we’re currently located. It’s stated that a terrible battle took place. It’s also said that it had been a religious war centered between believers who worshiped the god of curse, and those who followed the god of blessing.”

“Ahhh…” Hee-young nodded.

“Have you ever heard of it?” I asked.

“Yeah. The religious war created the Holy Empire, after all. That’s an interesting story,” she replied.

“Yeah. At that time, it was said that Juliana was a saint serving the god of curse, and Gedric was a saint serving the god of blessing. The two didn’t collide directly, but they always listened to each other and stood on the front line. It was also written that 15 years after the beginning of the war, the two collided on the front lines. In any case, there was a big battle in which almost all of the troops were deployed,” I narrated.

“The Berman Cliff Battle,” she added.

I was surprised at her sudden response, so I tilted my head and asked.

“You know of it?”

“Anyone who has served in a temple always learns the most. Of course, I haven’t heard of anyone named Juliana or Gedric, but… If Kiyoung’s book is authentic, we could add it to the history books we currently have,” Hee-young explained.

“Well, I’m not sure if it’s related to the Holy Empire, but… that might be the case. Anyway, countless believers lost their lives, and Gedric and Juliana also fought until the end and fell off the cliff,” I retold.

“So, what happened?” she asked curiously.

“Actually, the record of this time is not described in the book. It only says that Juliana and Gedric returned to their respective temples exactly a year later. Of course, Juliana’s diary is very accurate, but it is embarrassing to explain in further detail.”

It was to be expected, after all.

Gedric and Juliana survived together for nearly a year in a cave on a distant cliff and eventually developed feelings for each other.

People nodded in response as I continued to explain. It was indeed an interesting story if one were to ignore the explicit content in between.

“From then on, it seems that Juliana and Gedric started meeting. The war had gone into a lull, so there were many opportunities to meet. Colossal damage was dealt on both sides during the Battle of Berman Cliffs. Of course, the two gods initially tried to separate the two, but they already loved each other too much,” I narrated as if it was my own experience.

“So, that’s why she became like this,” Hee-young commented and had a moment of reflection.

“Yeah. Of course, the two were angry at each other’s gods. Under such circumstances, Gedric built a small shrine in the temple of the god of blessings… That is the dungeon we went to, the Cursed Shrine. The two decided to stay here, and as a result, the gods became angry and tied them to this shrine,” I recounted.

“Ah…”

The god of curse cursed Juliana, thereby trapping her in that room forever, and the god of blessing blessed Gedric, turning him into a wanderer.

Of course, the god of blessing did not allow Gedric to find Juliana.

“I’m sorry.”

At Jung Hayan’s words, Sun Hee-young nodded and spoke again.

“It would be natural for the shrine to be cursed. Building a shrine dedicated to other gods in the basement of the temple… It’s a big offense. Perhaps the undead army outside the Cursed Shrine were also affected by the curse itself.”

“In Gedric’s diary, it was said that the god of blessing blessed them with eternal life, but from their point of view, it must have been a curse. The story ends here. In short, Juliana was forever waiting for Gedric, and Gedric was forever wandering in search of Juliana, whom he could not find.”

It wasn’t a heavy story. However, Jung Hayan seemed moved.

“That’s so sad… She waited for someone who would never come…”

I couldn’t help but pat her head. Seeing this as an opportunity, Hayan hugged me tightly.

“Then, you mean that the undead found in the room on the left was Gedric, Oppa?”

“Huh? Oh, right…”

In the process of searching for an unknown survivor, Gedric, as well as a group of undead, were found. We didn’t have to search to figure out who we had discovered. It was because I was able to find an interesting item in his arms.

[Gedric’s Proposal Ring - Heroic-Grade]

[You can resist Juliana’s curse.]

As I glanced at the items in my hand, I felt like I could roughly understand this dungeon’s original strategy.

In addition, why Kim Hyunsung went around so late at night, and what the identity of the undead that the former party saw here.

Perhaps the first way to attack the Cursed Shrine was to find Gedric wandering here. To catch him would mean gaining the needed resistance against Juliana.

However, that would be a tricky ordeal. It was a huge shrine, after all. It would be close to impossible to find Gedric successfully. On the other hand, not gaining resistance meant bearing Juliana’s full wrath.

In our party’s case, we figured out a way to resist the curse before discovering Gedric.

Had a little more time passed, Kim Hyunsung could have found Gedric, but the expedition’s results were not bad overall.

“Love is definitely scary,” Hee-young remarked.

“Yeah.”

I can empathize with that more than anyone else. My gaze fell on Jung Hayan.

Anyway, in the meantime, I would have to learn as much as I can about Gedric. Juliana was currently still asleep in her sword, but I didn’t know when she would wake up. Thus, I needed to be prepared.

“By the way, I know it hasn’t been very long since we’ve gone, but I’ve seen no sign of reinforcements that he promised to bring,” I remarked.

“Who?” Hee-young asked.

“Lee Seolho, one of the retired members,” I replied.

“Ahhh. Perhaps it is because the Red Mercenary Queen has not yet returned, or some other problem occurred. Anyway, we completed the dungeon at a faster pace than expected,” Lee Sang-hee interfered.

“Oh, we were fortunate to have Kim Hyunsung with us, then. If we didn’t, we’d probably have died in there,” I remarked.

“Ah, yes. I’ll ask about what’s happened when we get back.”

‘Hah, they probably wish we’d die during this expedition.’

The timing was definitely ambiguous, but Lee Sang-hee seemed fixated on trying to excuse Lee Seolho’s behavior.

“My Hyung is so kind that I’m sick.”

At this, Park Deokgu and Jung Hayan nodded. However, Sun Hee-young’s expression did not look good.

‘I guess she doesn’t like him either.’

These old men, including Lee Seolho, were no different from the vagrants in the poor. They were useless beings who refused to move on their own. They stepped on others and tried to make a profit by torturing them.

I’ve already said it before, but the difference between him and the poor was that he had gotten luckier than them. However, they were all the same—just lumps of cancer in our society.

‘Oh… How has it been going, anyway?’

What I had asked Lee Jihye to do suddenly came to mind.

She would have almost finished what I asked for, but I had to think about the possibility that we couldn’t finish the job because the timing of our departure had been earlier than expected.

Then I saw someone running towards us from afar.

‘Park Gahyeon?’

The figure in sight was certainly Park Gahyeon, which Lee Sang-hee sent to the guild one step ahead of us. It meant something had happened.

Seeing her anxious look, I began to feel both excited and worried for any upcoming news.

Eventually, she reached Lee Sang-hee, panting and trying to catch her breath.

“Ugh… Vice Guild Master…”

“Did you share the news? Why have you come back alone?”

“We did everything as ordered. I have news to deliver… I can’t help but…”

“Please calm down and tell me.”

I noticed that she felt reluctant to share the news with everyone. However, she had no choice. Upon successfully regaining her breathing, she spoke again.

“The… The Guild Master has died.”

“What?!”

“The guild master… He died.”

“Why…? The curse should have been lifted…”

“I heard it was exactly three days ago since you accomplished the expedition… He died quietly in his sleep. I knew I had to inform you right away.”

Lee Sang-hee closed her mouth, at a loss for words. Park Gahyeon, meanwhile, had burst into tears. I’ve never seen the Blue Guild Master, but I could surmise that his personality wasn’t that bad.

Logically speaking, this wasn’t a bad situation for our party. We could gain more influence and control over the guild in this manner.

Nevertheless…

‘Why’d it happen so suddenly?’

The timing was definitely odd. Of course, it could prove to be advantageous for some people. On the other hand, it could have been an effect of being exposed to the curse for so long, but…

‘Is this Lee Seolho’s doing?’

It was just a guess, but a very convincing one at that.

“First, let’s hurry to the guild… Please keep up with our pace, everyone. We’ll get there soon. We need to settle the situation.”

“Of course, Lee Sang-hee.”

And so, the party members trudged on with heavier steps.

Perhaps because of the unexpected news, Lee Sang-hee led the expedition with her mouth shut, and the other party members also stepped in silently, comforting Lee Sang-hee.

Soon enough, the Free City of Lindel appeared in our sights. We could also see Lee Jihye and the other retired Blue Guild executives waiting for us at the entrance.

Seeing that some of the Black Swans were with them, I knew something was up. Suddenly, I found this entire situation ridiculous, and I resisted the urge to laugh.

“Congratulations on surviving, Lee Sang-hee. I was just about to find you…”

“More than that, Seolho, what happened to the Master? Is he really dead?”

Only

“Yeah. He at least died peacefully.”

“Ahh, where is the body?”

“It’s in the guild’s basement. It’s been three days, yet I still don’t know what to do with the funeral…”

“Ah…”

Their conversation had already bored me at this point. As the two continued to discuss, I looked at Lee Jihye, who smiled and tapped her leg.

‘Ah, there it is.’

I knew a more detailed story would come my way soon.