Chapter 1

“Hmm…”

A woman called Haru scanned the monsters inside the iron bars with curious eyes.

Then, as if something suddenly piqued her interest, she asked,

“But there are no price tags?”

The priest responded,

“Ah, that’s because these are not for sale.”

“Huh? They’re not for sale?”

Haru had come here expecting to obtain a monster to make a contract with, but was the information she received wrong? She muttered to herself in frustration.

“Excessive greed is a sin. Even if they are sinners who sold their souls to demons, they were once subjects of God. How could someone, especially a priest, dare to buy and sell them within the sacred temple?”

“Oh! Then are they being given away for free?”

Haru’s face lit up.

The way she looked at the priest changed, as if she were gazing at a revered saint.

However, the priest’s next words shattered her expectations.

“If you make an appropriate donation to the temple, we will transfer ownership of the monster to you. That way, our temple can serve God more faithfully with the devout donations of our followers, and monster tamers like you can obtain demons to protect other subjects from evil. Isn’t it a truly beautiful relationship?”

The admiration in Haru’s eyes instantly faded.

What? Then how is this any different from selling them?

This time, Sian, who had been quietly observing from behind, muttered under his breath.

The priest, seemingly accustomed to such reactions, responded with a kind smile, unfazed.

Haru continued to look around at the monsters.

She pointed at those that seemed in good condition and asked about their prices.

Each time, the priest would reply,

“If you offer a donation of 500 gold, I’m sure God will be pleased.”

“Hmm… That one would require a donation of about 800 gold; otherwise, it might be seen as disrespectful to God.”

“A donation of at least 300 gold would be necessary to receive God’s blessing for your future.”

Not once did he say, ‘This is the selling price.’

Instead, he skillfully danced around the wording.

It was almost comedic.

He sounded just like the leader of a shady cult.

Before I knew it, Haru was standing in front of me.

Our eyes met.

She stared at me intently.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul.

Some even exaggerate and call them a miniature version of one’s life.

That means you can read a lot from someone’s eyes.

Hers were brown, like a deep well, as if the starlight of the Milky Way had been embedded within them.

They were so beautiful, I almost felt jealous.

They were completely different from the dull, lifeless eyes of the caretaker who used to look at me.

There was no fear or disgust in them.

Only a hint of curiosity and goodwill.

If it were me, I would have been cautious and suspicious first.

I would have worried—Will this person harm me? Will they hurt me?

Even I think I’m a pretty twisted person.

That’s why I had this thought—

She must have lived a completely different life from mine.

She must have only seen beautiful things and been loved by many people.

Unlike me.

Someone like me, who has been abused, suffered misfortune, and lived a life with nowhere to turn, could never have eyes like that.

A warm, peaceful family without violence.

A wealthy home where tomorrow’s meals weren’t a concern.

Parents who were good people.

Friends she could rely on.

If I had even half of those things—no, even just a fraction of them—would I have been able to have eyes like hers too?

I looked away from her eyes.

I didn’t know why… I just felt a sudden surge of irritation.

A trivial jealousy over something I never had.

And disappointment in myself for getting irritated over such thoughts about someone I had just met.

“How much for this one?”

“Hmm… That one would require a donation of about 1,300 gold. We must appease the souls of the faithful who lost their lives capturing it.”

I let out a bitter chuckle at those words. It was too ridiculous.

Why would they need to appease the souls of those who had deliberately sought me out when I had been hiding, minding my own business?

If I had gone around indiscriminately killing people, maybe I could understand.

But I had only resisted to protect myself.

Moreover, the ones who had come to capture me had absolutely nothing to do with the temple.

They were just monster hunters looking to make a quick profit.

Yet, despite that, the temple was the one greedily pocketing the donation money under the guise of various justifications.

I never liked religious fanatics to begin with, but after coming here, I despised them even more.

They claim to act for the people, all while suppressing natural human desires.

And yet, behind the scenes, they indulge in their own desires as much as they please.

No, perhaps this is actually the most human behavior of all.

Hypocrisy.

Preying on the weak, bowing to the strong.

If I were the god they believed in, I would have wiped out every last one of them.

The fact that their god hadn’t done so could only mean two things—

Either God doesn’t exist, or he is just as corrupt as they are.

“What’s your name?”

Haru looked at me and asked.

“Tiamat.”

Tiamat—the name given to me by the priest.

I didn’t like the fact that it was something he had given me, but… a name is just something that distinguishes me from others.

I didn’t care enough to attach any more meaning to it.

It wasn’t like I had any particular attachment to the name I used in my past life.

Han Goyo. That was my name in my previous life.

“Goyo, my son. Do you know why your name is Goyo? It’s because I wanted you to be as silent as a dead rat. So don’t bother me and stay quietly in the corner.”

A bitter memory flashed through my mind.

“What happens to monsters that aren’t sold… I mean, transferred?”

Haru asked the priest.

The priest smirked.

Like someone who had just caught a perfect mark.

“There are several ways for these sinners, who have surrendered themselves to their desires and become monsters, to seek forgiveness from God. One is to form a contract with an excellent monster tamer like yourself and fulfill their duty.

Another is to donate their magic stone to the temple.”

“A magic stone… That’s practically the heart of a monster, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. Magic stones serve many beneficial purposes. They enrich the lives of the faithful and are also used to create weapons for their protection.

If the sacrifice of a single sinner can bring such great benefit to so many, surely God will absolve them of their sins.

Even if they are wicked demons who have given themselves to the devil.”

Haru hesitated for a long time.

As the silence stretched on, the priest grew impatient and decided to seal the deal.

“Hmm… Let’s see. This one has been here for quite some time without being chosen by a tamer. That means it has yet to receive the chance to atone for its sins.

If it fails to receive that chance once again… it may have to seek forgiveness through other means.”

He was outright threatening the woman before him.

If you don’t take this one, it might die.

It was likely just a bluff.

Would they really go through all the effort of capturing a demon, only to slaughter it like livestock just because it didn’t sell?

That would be a massive loss for them.

The fact that even the monsters who had been here much longer than me were still alive was proof of that.

Selling a demon to a tamer was far more profitable than breaking it down for magic stones.

It was worth dozens of times more.

So who in their right mind would go out of their way to kill something that could fetch a higher price alive?

For me, this wasn’t a bad situation at all, so I stayed quiet.

I wanted to finally breathe the air outside.

And while this was just a bluff for now, there might come a day when I really do lose my value as a commodity.

Once that happens, they really could kill me.

Negative thoughts always snowball.

And at the end of that spiral, I inevitably imagine the worst-case scenario.

Even when I try not to think about it, my mind locks me in a prison of my own fears.

Isn’t that just human nature?

That’s why fear marketing works so well, after all.