I rubbed my eyes and looked at the system again.
Still, nothing had changed.
Even when I asked it again, the answer was the same.
Not 1%, not even 0.1%—but 0.01%…?
Wait, does that mean to reach 100% divine power, I’d need to offer…
【It takes 1000 gold to increase divine power by 1%. Therefore, to reach 100%, you have 95,000 gold remaining.】
I’ve just earned 10 gold, and now I have to earn another 95,000?
How much is 1 gold in Korean won anyway?
【1 gold is equivalent to 100,000 won.】
So if I do the math, 95,000 gold equals… 9.5 billion won.
So in short, I need 10 billion won to reach 100%?
“Hah… hahaha.”
Ten billion. Ten. Billion. I have to earn ten billion?
“Hurk.”
The sheer shock of the number sent heat rising from deep within my body, slamming into my brain.
This sensation—this pain—I’d definitely felt it back when I was a detective.
It was stress rage syndrome.
* * *
“This is insane…”
Sprawled on my bed, I flailed my limbs, overwhelmed with frustration.
Unable to endure the internal chaos, I’d clutched the back of my neck and collapsed right there in the kitchen. Irik and Dietrich had carried me straight to my room in a panic.
Given my uncontrollable “Uurgh, huuuh—huuuek!” noises, they must’ve thought I was seriously unwell, because neither pressed me for answers and just told me to rest.
Now alone, I trembled with injustice.
“Hey! You! Sun God! T-t-ten billion? Billion?! Are you kidding me?! How the hell am I supposed to raise money I couldn’t even dream of touching in my previous life?!”
Back then, even saving 100 million won felt impossible—so ten billion? When, how?
Even if I only aimed for 40% divine power as planned, that was still 3.5 billion won!
“One billion per 1%. Heh… heheheheh…”
All I could do now was laugh like a lunatic.
The only silver lining was that money wasn’t the only solution.
As the number of followers increased, the god’s power would recover too.
That meant the more believers I had, the less I’d have to pay.
If I could manage both at once… well, it would still cost at least 3 billion.
“Sh*t!”
I slammed my fists into the bed in frustration.
I hoped that curse echoed all the way to the Sun above.
* * *
After carrying Ordell back to her bedroom, Irik and Dietrich were still half in a daze.
So many shocking events had happened in such a short span of time—they didn’t even know where to begin.
“Head Priest… what exactly just happened?”
Dietrich asked, dazed.
“She not only ate in the dining hall but personally inspected the kitchen—where she’s never even looked before—then exposed the chef’s embezzlement, found the hidden stash in a secret passage… Are we sure all of that was done by the saintess?”
Now that he listed it out, it sounded even more unbelievable.
Until now, all she’d done for two years was slack off, skip temple ceremonies, indulge in luxury, and throw tantrums. And now this?
“But why did she suddenly collapse at the end?”
That was the strangest part: the saintess’s fainting spell.
If Irik hadn’t caught her when she fell, she might’ve hit her head hard on the kitchen counter.
At first, he suspected she was faking it to avoid explaining herself…
But when Ordell fell into Irik’s arms, she was clearly in a serious state.
She could barely speak, letting out ragged, shallow gasps—it wasn’t an act.
“Ahem. Do you think she’ll be alright?”
It made Dietrich squirm just to ask, since he’d never once worried about the saintess before—but still, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
He glanced back at her closed bedroom door.
He used to avoid that door at all costs… When had things changed?
Was it because she really seemed to be changing?
“Her energy’s just a little off. As long as she rests, she’ll recover.”
“Well, she is capable of healing herself…”
Stop.
Irik’s footsteps suddenly halted.
Divine power or not, she’ll be fine?
That was something Dietrich could only say because he didn’t know Ordell was a fake saintess.
Her divine power was barely at the level of a trainee priest—if that. She had no healing capabilities.
There’s no way she could heal herself.
‘Should I go back and check?’
Only he knew the truth. So only he could help her.
Just as Irik made up his mind and began to turn around—
“Head Priest!”
A temple knight appeared at the end of the corridor.
“As ordered, we’ve locked Kento in the dungeon. We searched his room but found no further suspicious evidence.”
At the report, Irik had no choice but to stop.
Ordell’s health wasn’t serious enough to require immediate attention.
As the Head Priest, questioning Kento—the confirmed embezzler—took priority.
There could still be accomplices roaming the temple.
Even knowing that, Irik found himself reluctant to move.
“Head Priest?”
“…No, it’s fine. Let’s go.”
Irik turned—not toward the saintess behind him, but toward the criminal who waited ahead.
But even as he walked, all of his attention lingered behind him.
No matter what, he’d go check on Ordell after the interrogation was over.
“Oh, and the Commander of the Temple Knights is expected to return tomorrow after completing his mission.”
“That’s a relief. Report to me the moment he arrives.”
With a sigh, Irik nodded at the knight’s update.
The Commander—the leader of all temple knights—had been away on a deployment mission for half a year.
News of his return, especially now, couldn’t be more welcome.
* * *
It was past midnight.
In the kitchen, cloaked in darkness and devoid of even moonlight, someone was moving frantically.
Their hurried searching and rustling looked like… well, like a thief ransacking the place.
“Damn it, damn it! If it weren’t for that bitch, I’d—! I’m not letting this go!”
The dark silhouette rummaging beneath the counter spat out venomous curses.
His face briefly illuminated in the dark—it was none other than Kento.
He should’ve been locked up in the dungeon.
Things were not going well.
He never expected to get caught so suddenly and without warning.
And by Ordell of all people.
He had to escape and report this situation.
Grinding his teeth, Kento pictured her face again—that fake saintess who’d exposed him in front of the Head Priest.
That damn bitch. He wasn’t going to let her get away with this.
“Guh!”
Pain shot through his arm, and Kento’s face contorted.
The intense interrogation from the Head Priest had left his whole body aching.
The torture hadn’t been as bad as the threats—but still, it took everything he had to keep quiet about his other stash spots beyond the secret passage.
But there was no telling when the knights would start tearing apart the kitchen. He had to find it all and escape now.
The Commander hadn’t returned yet—this was his last chance.
But—
“Why the hell won’t this come out?! I can’t just leave it!”
The biggest stash had been in the secret passage, but combining the money hidden in the other three places would bring him close to the same total.
He couldn’t afford to leave a single pouch behind.
Now that the money in the passage had been taken, he had to grab every last coin he had left.
“Sh*t!”
But one pouch seemed stuck on something. No matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn’t come loose.
Grimacing, he used both hands—bad arm and all—and yanked with all his strength.
With a final pull and a grunt, the pouch popped out.
“Got it! Damn thing made me work for it!”
Kento leaned against the cabinet on the other side of the counter, chuckling as he held the heavy pouch.
And that’s when—
“Did you find the money?”
A chilling voice came from behind him.
“Gaaah! Wh-what the—?!”
Startled out of his wits, Kento screamed and stumbled backward, completely forgetting he wasn’t supposed to be caught.
The cabinet door creaked open.
And from inside, someone stepped out—long hair hanging like a ghost’s, partially covering their face.
“Hello, Kento.”
It was Ordell—former detective with a specialty in stakeouts, current saintess of the Grand Temple.