Chapter 1289
“What do you think?” I asked.
Miki frowned slightly before taking her hand off the guild master’s head. “I’m not sure we should do anything.”
A few days had passed since I had spent a night with Miki. I was trying to get several things set up before I did the dimensional jump. Since I would be trapped on Earth for a week, I wanted to make sure nothing was being left behind that would cause any problems. The problem that wore on my mind the most was the karmic infection that had invaded all of the people. I had managed to make it so they could function normally by karmic manipulation, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still there.
Most of the citizens didn’t know about such a karmic issue, so to keep things under wraps, I visited Ruby and the guild master. After spending a few minutes checking him with her spiritualist powers, Miki ended up giving an answer that was just a bit disappointing.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
In my mind, it seemed like a rather simple thing to repair their contaminated souls. Well, not simple enough for me to manage on my own, but with Miki’s help, I was thinking we’d have a chance.
Miki raised her hands. “It’s not that I’m saying it isn’t possible, I’m just suggesting it isn’t necessary.
The guild master frowned slightly. “From what I understand, this Karmic control is like some kind of mind washing, right? Someone could program me to act against my character? I don’t want to turn into a mindless zombie again. This town has dealt with enough zombies.”
I had to nod in agreement. When I first arrived in Chalm, they were under attack from an overflow of zombies coming from an aggressive but new dungeon. That’s what had ended up starting me on this strange path I was on. Then, only a few months later, upon freeing the city of ghosts and rebuilding, the equivalent of a rage virus broke out, turning the city once again into one filled with a zombie menace. I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing there was a switch in my head that could turn me into a violent monster.
However, Miki was shaking her head in disagreement. “It’s not like that. This karmic infection came from Deek, and only Deek can control it completely. Even Elaya, for all of her knowledge, could only broadly influence your emotions, as the source of the miasma all came from Master. Only Master would have the ability to influence you, and no offense, if Master wanted to do this, he could forcibly infect the city at any time using his dungeon.
“Ah… that’s true…” The guild master scratched the back of his head. “It’s just a lot to ask…”
“All we have to do is trust in Deek,” Ruby spoke up, and then shot the guild master a hard glare. “Don’t you?”
The guild master stiffened and then laughed. “Of course, I trust him! Most of the people in town consider him a savior! It’s just… what’s the point in keeping it?”
Miki shrugged. “Having Deek’s karmic infection will protect everyone from miasmic attacks. You won’t be influenced by the negative effects of dungeons, and you will have a high resistance to curses. In a way, it’s like having a pseudo-god soul. Furthermore, it will mean that Deek can trust you guys.”
“Trust us?”
“Take Demon Lord Aberis, for example. He wouldn’t have been able to invade the soul of someone who had already been infected by Deek.”
“I mean… there won’t be another Aberis, will there?” the guild master looked worried.
“You never know. At the very least, citizens of Chalm won’t be able to be turned into spies or otherwise be influenced by dark forces.”
“So, it’s like that…” Ruby sighed. “Then, I suppose I have no problem leaving things as is.”
The guild master still didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure there aren’t some other potential problems with it?”
Miki stiffened lightly, but when I gave her a nod to continue, she spoke up. “There may be one. Since Master’s miasma is in direct contact with your souls, people who are infected by Master’s miasma may find themselves more… susceptible… to Master’s…advances…”
“Huh?” I jerked up.
“I mean, people will like Master more!”
“Why did you word it the other way?”
“Isn’t it because Master keeps finding women to seduce?”
“This is hardly the same thing! Name a single woman in town who is infected that has come to desire me more?” I declared.
After a few moments of silence, all of our heads turned to a certain person.
“Why are you looking at me?” Ruby cried out.