Lazy Salvation

Dear beautiful stranger,

I want to recount a brief story for you.

It starts with my grandfather; he used to smoke cigarettes all his life. He was a regular human, so it affected his health pretty badly.

When I turned ten, my mother told him, “If you want to see your grandchildren get married, quit smoking right now.”

Tears welled up in my grandfather’s eyes as he finally realized the price he would pay for smoking.

That very day, he quit smoking completely.

Three years later, my grandfather passed away from lung cancer.

He and I were very close, and his death broke me.

My mother, who was also quite heartbroken at the time, seriously told me, “Please, never smoke. Don’t repeat what your grandfather did to our family.”

I agreed.

Now, at twenty-eight years old, I regret never having tried smoking.

Because the way you keep bothering me is so utterly infuriating that I would probably end up getting cancer anyway.

For fuck’s sake, leave me alone.

…

Astrid had no choice but to open her eyes yet again due to the disturbance of the woman before her.

She had been getting bothered by her for seven days straight now, and her irritation had reached its peak, but the most she did to express it was a mild glare.

…not counting the very colorful language currently running through her head.

Anything more would require too much effort on her part.

‘Honestly… where are you, Kokan? Aren’t you my lover or something? How can you let this woman bother me so much? Tsk.’

“Astrid, good morning.”

“...”

“I see you are looking as grumpy as always. Your constant mood is refreshing, if nothing else.”

“...”

“I have some good news for you. This will be the last time I’m visiting.”

“Hm.”

An actual response.

That was how pleased she was with the news.

“Oh? You’re looking quite satisfied there. How cute.”

“...”

Astrid was just about to close her eyes and return to the arduous work of embodying her concept when Alice’s next words froze her eyelids in place.

“I was going to tell you about a place where you can sleep much better than here, but looking at you, I guess you don’t need it?”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Actually, it wasn’t the words themselves that drew a reaction out of her, but a certain old Path Skill of hers.

Havenfinder.

It was a passive skill that gave her a supernatural intuition. This intuition only worked when the possibility of finding a safe place where she could sleep undisturbed surfaced.

This skill was the reason why she did not resist when Kokan kidnapped her. It whispered to her that following him would lead her to a harbor with minimal disturbances.

From then on, the skill remained dormant, making her think that the top of this tower was the most suitable place.

…That was until now.

Alice pretended not to notice the unusual amount of attention she was receiving from this sloth and slowly stood up, as if she were going to leave for good.

“Well then, goodnight.”

click…clack…click…clack…

“Wait.”

“Hm?” Alice took a glance back.

“I want it.”

“Oh? But aren’t you already looking quite comfortable here?”

“Your place seems more comfortable. I want to go there.”

Astrid spoke more words than she had in the last month combined, astonishingly.

Alice smiled silently at that.

“I see.”

She returned to her seat by the bed and spoke gently.

“Little Astrid, since you look so eager, I will tell you about this place briefly.”

“It is a sanctuary for weary souls. Sleeping there is a heavenly experience, akin to being engulfed by the world’s gentlest breeze.”

“No one would disturb you there; you could manifest the best environment that suits you with a simple thought.”

“…and the best of all… you don’t have to move a single finger to reach it… because it is a sanctuary of dreams… all you have to do is… dream.”

“I want it.”

Astrid spoke with as much intensity as her lazy soul could muster. She even slowly lifted her hand toward Alice, as if she wanted to grasp this place right then and there.

“I can see that.” Alice smiled gently. “But this realm I talk about is not without a master. Its Lord is called Mercy, and he is a revered god who would not allow just anyone into his home.”

The Archmage’s expression turned into a reluctant pout.

“So I can’t…?”

“You can go. But it’s not as simple as wanting to go. Nothing in this world is free, Astrid Arde. So is this.”

Alice’s voice finally took on an even tone. With the other party’s desire firmly in hand, she finally took the upper hand.

“What’s… the price?”

“Lord Mercy wants to rescue one of his people. If you help once, then he shall allow unrestricted entry to his realm.”

“…”

‘What a dilemma!’

Astrid thought in lament.

‘To move or not to move…’

Astrid tried to convince herself that she was fine as she was. There was no need for change…

But the seductive lure of a better place was simply too overpowering for her.

‘With just a little effort, I can secure a better place for thousands of years to come…’

‘Ahhh!!! Screw it. I give up~’

“Ok.”

“Good.”

Alice smiled in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Astrid reluctantly reached out with her hand and moved her mana after years of stillness.

It condensed into a white orb at the tip of her fingers before solidifying.

“Take this. Crush it when the time comes.”

Alice took the orb with a strange expression. She could feel the dense conceptual power inside it.

‘There is no way these are the concepts of a mere Third Step… Even for a Second Step, they are unusually dense.’

Alice did not have much experience recognizing concepts beyond the Third Step, but one thing was for sure.

This Archmage appeared to be much more mysterious than she let on.

‘Either way, the stronger she is, the better it is for me.’

Alice securely tucked the orb into her pocket and stood up to leave, this time for real.

But Astrid’s voice stopped her again.

“Are you a cult…?”

‘Huh?’

Alice did not understand the question at first, but then it dawned on her.

The way she talked about Lord Mercy as a mysterious deity made it easy for people to interpret him as an evil god.

After all, the only recognized god of humanity was the Eternal. Every other deity was either a figment of imagination or an Evil Entity out to corrupt and cause carnage.

Meanwhile, Mercy was just Ashen cosplaying as a benevolent deity.

“No. We are not a cult. The thing I hate the most in this world is cults, their gods, and everything tied to them.”

Alice tried to speak impassively, but the sheer hatred in her tone caused the drowsy Astrid to believe her on the spot.

There was simply no faking so much hate and malice.

“So you don’t have to worry. No crazies would disturb you there.”

“I see.”

“Good night, Astrid. I will call you soon.”

“...”

Tok.

‘I hope I don’t have to move too much when the time comes…’

Astrid felt some anxiety at the thought.

‘How bothersome. This is too stressful. I don’t want to think anymore…’

And so, as always, she used the most effective cure for every problem she encountered.

She went back to sleep.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!