Chapter 373: Christine’s Wish |
After becoming the representative of her zone in the second round, Christine’s influence grew day by day.
‘Calling me a Saint is an overly exaggerated title...’
She was uncomfortable being called that, but there was nothing she could do. She was the only one capable of fully healing wounds, so it was natural for people to follow her.
‘Taking care of people’s wounds has led me to gather this large number of followers.’
She only wanted to gain experience, but people thought she was offering her healing services for free and began to gather in small groups, forming an organization. They called themselves the Followers of the Saint.
There were already more than a hundred people gathered.
Having people who protected and revered her was good, but it was also a burden.
Then she met someone.
The prophet Ryu Min.
People like Ma Gyeong-rok benefited from his skills.
Christine did as well.
“Christine, in the eleventh round, you will be in danger. Your life could be at risk.”
“Is it them?”
“Among your followers, there are traitors. Their nicknames are Douglas and Berber.”
“What?”
Even though his accuracy rate was 100%, the prophecy was hard to believe.
They, who had been together since the second round, were going to betray her in the eleventh round?
‘I can’t believe it. The prophet must be wrong.’
Christine silently waited for the eleventh round, hoping the prophecy was incorrect.
But then.
“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this moment? It’s been hard to hold back until now.”
When the eleventh round arrived, the prophecy came true.
Douglas’s betrayal.
The paladin and bodyguard of the Saint was the leader of the betrayal.
With eyes full of greed, he seemed like a different person from the Douglas she knew.
“Douglas... how could you...?”
“It’s a natural instinct to choose the most convenient side to survive, isn’t it?”
Douglas had made a pact with the Church of Despair to kill the Saint, but his plan fell apart due to Black Scythe’s intervention.
Christine’s faith in her followers also crumbled.
“See? My prophecies never fail.”
“...I’ll believe you from now on.”
Since then, Christine’s path became clear.
She relied solely on Black Scythe, following his prophecies and completing missions.
She fought against the destruction god Chaos, participated in wars, and survived several rounds.
Finally, she reached the Hall of Wishes holding the Wish Stone she had long desired.
[Welcome to the Hall of Wishes.]
[You can ask anything you want.]
[You can do so out loud or in your mind. We will answer sincerely.]
‘Ask anything?’
There was a question that had been lingering in her mind.
As a servant of God, she couldn’t avoid asking that question.
“Do gods exist in this world?”
[If you mean divine beings, yes, they do exist.]
“No, not divine beings, but the God who created Earth and life.”
[If you mean the creator god, there is the Mother of Life, Gaia.]
The existence of God.
Having believed in God all her life, that question wasn’t as important to her.
There was something else that truly intrigued her.
“Then, did that Gaia create this system? The survival game system?”
[That’s correct. Gaia created the system and implemented it in the human world.]
Christine, who had studied theology and cultivated her faith, had always had doubts since 1.8 billion people were trapped in the survival game.
If God truly existed.
If He did, why didn’t He protect us?
Why did He subject us to such desperate trials?
Finally, that doubt was cleared up.
‘So, the God I believed in was the one who created this system...’
The God who created the survival game and pushed humans into despair was precisely that God.
It was the moment when her faith felt betrayed.
‘I will no longer believe.’
Christine decided to abandon it.
“I’m going to make my wish. My wish is to live a normal life. Without any connection to theology.”
Renouncing all her faith.
————
Before expressing her wish, she listened to the system’s rules.
After leaving the hall, the world she would find would not be the same but a newly copied one.
And the players in that world would not remember the wish at all, only she would.
‘A false world where the wish applies? But it seems so real...’
Seeing her father cry in front of her, she couldn’t think it was false.
“Christine, you came back alive! You came back alive!”
“Dad...”
Her father was truly crying, worried about her.
How could she reject that as something false?
‘These are real people. Only the world was copied, but they are the same people I knew.’
The life she would live from now on would also be real.
A genuine life where she could paint her own canvas.
As soon as she understood that.
Hug-
Christine hugged her father.
“Don’t cry, dad.”
This is my real father.
————————
After calming down, her father made a surprising announcement.
“I’ve decided to sell the church.”
“What? Why all of a sudden?”
He could have solved financial problems with an arranged marriage to Ma Gyeong-rok. Why?
“Is it for some economic reason? Is it hard to maintain...?”
“That’s not it. It’s because I no longer have faith.”
Nathan sincerely confessed his feelings.
“Of the 1.8 billion people in the world, only 97 survived. Even though the survival game is over, it’s a global disaster. If there were a God, would He have allowed such a catastrophe?”
Her father, like her, had also lost faith in the existence of God.
Hearing his story, she realized it wasn’t a recent decision but something he had been thinking about all along.
If he should really believe in God.
“How can I continue serving God under these circumstances? I will no longer believe in that entity. I’ll only devote myself to the family.”
“Father, then...”
“Yes. I’ll now leave everything, the priesthood and all, to live a normal life. Christine, with you.”
Christine’s eyes widened in surprise, realizing that her wish had truly come true.
———————
Although the population had decreased by a quarter, the world kept turning. However, it was difficult to find people aged 15 to 29. With only 97 survivors out of 1.8 billion, it was an inevitable outcome. The disappearance of people of working age threw the world into chaos. High schools and universities ceased to function, and there were plenty of part-time jobs available. But just as many shops were closing down.
However, the store where Christine worked was an exception.
“Customer 83, here’s your burger combo. Is it to go? Enjoy. Customer 84, your order...”
Christine started working at a burger joint. It was her first time having a part-time job, so there were many things she was clumsy with, but after a few days, she quickly got the hang of it. However, it wasn’t as easy as she expected, given the overwhelming number of customers.
‘It’s strange. Although it’s uncomfortable to say, this place was empty when I first started working here...’
Since she began working, the number of customers started increasing until eventually, there weren’t enough seats. What had caused this change?
She found out by talking to the manager.
“Is it tough, Christine?”
“Oh, I’m fine. But there are a lot of customers for it not being a weekend, right?”
“That’s inevitable. Our only worker in her twenties is serving burgers here. How could they not come? And besides, you’re very pretty.”
“Excuse me?”
At 20 years old and with beauty comparable to a model, it was natural that Christine attracted many customers.
“So the reason for so many customers... is me?”
“Of course, didn’t you know?”
Christine nodded, truly surprised.
“It’s shocking that our star didn’t know she was a star. Haha!” The manager smiled and went back to the kitchen, busy with the flood of orders. He was so busy that there wasn’t time for chit-chat among the staff.
‘Sigh, I’ve been working harder than necessary.’
Although it was difficult, Christine was happy. She loved making burgers and living a normal life. However, she didn’t like having so many people following her. There were many who still called her ‘Saint,’ and she had suffered betrayals because of that.
‘It’s good to be busy. I don’t have time to recall those bad memories.’
With a positive attitude, she was preparing to pack a burger when someone suddenly spoke to her.
“Hey, miss. Are you really 20 years old?”
A middle-aged man with a bulging belly approached her abruptly.
“Aren’t you really 30 and just pretending to be younger to attract customers? Isn’t that a scam?”
“Excuse me?”
Although confused, she felt she had to respond so the man would leave.
“That’s not the case. I’m 20 years old.”
“So you survived that hellish survival game? You were a player?”
Sometimes, there were customers who asked about her past in the survival game, something she preferred not to remember.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So, are you a Slayer? In the fourth round, they had to kill each other, right?”
“We didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t real. Now I’m working, please, could you...”
“Can’t you chat a bit? Huh?” The man, who seemed to have imagined something, began to smile lewdly.
“Or do you prefer to chat privately? There’s a motel next door. How about a ‘physical conversation’ after work?”
A lunatic. That’s what Christine thought as she tried to avert her gaze.
Bam!
“How dare you ignore an adult when they’re talking to you?” He grabbed her wrist tightly.
“Let me go, please.”
“I can’t do that.”
Christine tried to pull away, but she couldn’t match the man’s strength.
At that moment, Christine saw someone.
“Ugh!”
Someone grabbed the man from behind, like a snake.
“The lady asked you to let her go.”
A voice that was familiar to her.
“Let go of her hand.”
The man released Christine’s wrist while frantically slapping the arm of his captor.
“Ugh, no, let go...!”
Finally, the man lost consciousness and fell to the floor.
A man stood over him.
“Ma Gyeong-rok?”
It was Ma Gyeong-rok, her fiancé by convenience.
“Christine. What are you doing here?”
“Huh?”
“You’re here selling burgers and that’s why you didn’t answer my calls?”
“...”
Christine had ignored Ma Gyeong-rok’s calls, thinking their relationship had ended now that the church was sold. But it seems he didn’t think the same.
“It’s not over yet.”
If he had done the research to find her workplace...
“Our relationship doesn’t end until we get married.”
Ma Gyeong-rok took Christine by the wrist and led her out of the place.