Sorcerer’s Handbook

Mental damage compensation.

This concept, which Ashe had previously dismissed as an irrelevant fantasy akin to “team-building on a workday,” suddenly became a reality for him—for the first time, he found himself on the hook for mental damage compensation.

The accusation was that “when Igor insulted Miss Yvaren, you remained silent and did not intervene, thus being complicit in the group bullying of Miss Yvaren.”

Ashe almost wanted to applaud Gospel’s robust legal system for allowing lower-class workers to bully capitalists. The most alarming part was that, after spending 1 Gospel point to verify, he found that Gospel indeed ruled in such a manner.

However, this was a civil matter. If the people do not bring it up, Gospel will not pursue it. Even if pursued, it would not matter much. Although the victim could make reasonable demands of the perpetrator, if the perpetrator refused to comply, Gospel would at most lower their ranking list evaluation, and only by a tiny bit—compared to the Blood Moon, which places a high value on human rights and freedom of speech, Gospel is surprisingly lenient on public opinion. Unless it causes significant social impact, Gospel is extremely tolerant of casual remarks.

The Blood Moon prohibits racial, gender, and educational discrimination because these forms of discrimination genuinely exist there. Conversely, Gospel’s indifference to public opinion is because the populace harbors little resentment, or they hide it well. Casual remarks and heated words are not lauded but are instead criticized and educated by rational individuals, exemplifying the idea of good currency driving out bad.

Although Ashe and his companions had only traveled through a small part of Gospel, just from the cities of Azura, Vamora, and Mephila, they no longer expected Gospel to have any PVP zones.

Other kingdoms might have areas where “the sun does not reach every shadow,” but in Gospel, the “radiance of Gospel is truly omnipresent.”

Casual remarks wouldn’t incur significant punishment, but this leniency only applied to ordinary people.

Now that Ashe and his companions had fallen into Belldate’s hands, this small mental damage compensation was just a scout probing their psychological defenses. If Ashe dared to refuse the compensation, he could expect to dream of himself turning into Miss Belldate’s husky tonight.

Of course, Yvaren couldn’t make excessive demands. Gospel is fair and just, so the detestable blue-haired dwarf made a small request: aside from Lise, both Ashe and Harvey had to wear weights all afternoon as a sign of their sincere apology.

She didn’t let Lise off out of respect for the elderly or the young. Gospel has protection laws for minors, and Lise was still just a child. A simple apology would suffice. Adults shouldn’t hold grudges against children.

However, as Lise’s nominal guardian, Ashe had to bear Lise’s share of the burden too-double the weights.

As for Igor, Ashe couldn’t even imagine the torment he was enduring. However, Igor’s most valuable asset was his appearance, so he might have to sacrifice his looks a bit… Damn, he suddenly couldn’t take pleasure in Igor’s misfortune.

“Hu… ha…”

Wearing double his body weight while cleaning, Ashe was exhausted to the point of nausea. He could barely lift the cloth in his hand. He wanted to just lie down and rest, but he forced himself to wet the cloth and continue wiping the dust off the statues.

Even though no one was supervising Ashe’s work, he didn’t dare slack off. By accepting the cleaning task, he had essentially made a Pact with Yvaren: Ashe would complete the work, and Yvaren would pay him in bell points.

In theory, Ashe could totally touch fish and earn Yvaren’s money, thereby reverse-exploiting the big capitalist Belldate.

But the problem was, no one supervising Ashe didn’t mean Gospel wasn’t supervising, or that the Virtual Realm wasn’t.

Belldate herself wasn’t terrifying; it was the iron fist behind her that was.

The phrase “you can’t take advantage of Belldate” applied to all employees working for her. If Ashe took the salary without doing the work, it would be considered a breach of the labor Pact. He would then have to open his mental window and thought palace to Yvaren, and soon, he would unknowingly overdraw his Bell-Pay to buy the Ultimate Divine Weapon, Lala Fatty, and then think that being a dog wasn’t so bad after all.

The number of statues in this main house is just too much… Ashe was wiping down a statue of a female sorcerer holding a staff. He wasn’t sure which medieval fairy tale she was from, but there were many similar statues, covering various races and factions. Ashe even saw a Bewitcher dressed like a holy knight. It seemed the Belldate Family had a penchant for collecting.

As Ashe was diligently cleaning the crevices of the female sorcerer statue, his heavy body caused him to accidentally knock over a nearby bucket, spilling water all over the floor. This made the already burdensome job even more challenging.

Sighing, the Cult Leader knelt down to wipe the marble floor.

While he was cleaning, someone suddenly appeared in front of him. Ashe looked up and saw a girl with short wine-red hair, dressed in a butler uniform, also kneeling down to wipe the floor.

Noticing Ashe’s gaze, she smiled and said, “It’ll be quicker if we clean together, right?”

“What about your own work?” Ashe was a bit surprised. This was his assigned work area, and generally, servants didn’t wander into other areas except to use the restroom. Not only because they were busy, but also because thoughts like “slacking off” or “visiting others” to reduce work efficiency didn’t cross their minds.

“My job is to patrol the main house and help everyone complete their tasks,” the red-haired girl said. “You’re new here, right?”

“Hmm?” Ashe wasn’t wearing his “Fiend trench coat” now, but the Twisting Mask was mandatory. Whether he wore it or not, others would see him with the mask on, so he was quite easy to recognize. However, Yvaren had said that no one in the manor would pay attention to them. Ashe could only trust in the Dominance Sect’s power. “Why do you think so?”

“I remember the faces of all the servants in the manor,” the red-haired girl said with a slight smile. “Nice to meet you, my name is Anfel.”

“That’s impossible. This brutal manor has eighty thousand servants. How could you remember them all? You must mean the servants in the main house, right?” Ashe scoffed. “But yes, I am new here. My name is Akamashi Sparashi…”

“Ashe Heath.”

Seeing Ashe suddenly hit by the true name, Anfel blinked. “Don’t worry, no one here will report you.”

Is this the power of the Dominance Sect, where even if they know I’m Ashe Heath, they won’t report me? Ashe suddenly grew curious. “Why won’t you report me? Don’t you know I’m the top-ranked piece on the Art Ranking, and the Empire is hunting me down?”

“I know, but this is the Belldate manor. If you’re working here, it means the patriarch of the Belldate Family has approved of you,” Anfel said. “We all trust the judgment of the Belldate patriarch.”

“The patriarch of the Belldate Family? You mean Yvaren?”

“Yes, we usually address her as Ms. Belldate,” Anfel reminded him. “Only those very familiar with her can call her by her first name. In daily interactions, we use ‘Miss,’ ‘Master,’ or ‘Your Excellency.’”

Ashe hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back, then finally couldn’t help himself. “Do you realize you’ve been brainwashed?”

“Brainwashed?” Anfel tilted her head. “By the way, you used the prefix ‘brutal’ to describe the manor earlier.”

“Although you might not feel it, you’ve all been enslaved by Belldate,” Ashe briefly explained Belldate’s concept of dominance over the populace. “It’s due to her evil Miracle of Domination that you’re wasting your youth, working and consuming endlessly as adults, and then going on dangerous adventures in old age, all to build her brutal dictatorship!”

“The reason you won’t report me is because Yvaren has hypnotically suggested you let go of any malice towards me!”

Since learning about Belldate’s secrets from Annan, Ashe had been holding this in. Fortunately, no one had approached him to poke at his sensitive points over the past few days, so the Cult Leader managed to keep it in. But now, chatting with Anfel, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He couldn’t resist showing off the Dominance secrets he knew, trying to awaken a lost lamb.

But he seemed to forget that if he truly awakened the lost lamb and Anfel refused to follow Yvaren’s orders, it would mean Anfel was free from all restraints and could report him as the Fish that Escaped the Net and source of disaster.

“Oh…” Anfel nodded heavily, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Just when Ashe thought she understood, Anfel sighed. “Mr. Heath, you…”

“Just call me Ashe.”

“Mr. Ashe, it seems you have many misunderstandings and prejudices about us.”

“What? Are you saying what I said was false? Was I deceived?”

“No, everything you said is true, but…” Anfel thought for a moment, then leaned closer to Ashe and said, “Don’t move, look sideways at that floor-to-ceiling window.”

Because there was a lush sycamore tree outside, the green-tinted window could barely serve as a mirror. Ashe looked at the window and saw a reflection of him and Anfel, their faces seemingly close together-though it was just a visual misalignment.

Ashe understood. “You mean everything I said is true, but it’s just one perspective?”

Anfel nodded. “Let me ask you three questions first. When you were young, did you have many things you wanted to buy, many places you wanted to go, and many experiences you wanted to have?”

“Yes.”

“When you were working, did you wish for a beautiful and virtuous wife, a few mischievous but lively children, and weekends off to create more memories with them?”

Ashe, who had always hoped to find a beautiful wife and then let a Substitute raise the family, had to answer honestly, “Yes.”

“When you’re in your fifties or sixties, with your children grown and tired of work, wouldn’t you want to see how the world has changed over the decades, visit the grand landscapes you didn’t dare to when you were young, and take on the final challenges of your life?” After asking, Anfel shook her head. “But we’re still young, so we can’t answer that question.”

But Ashe already understood her point completely.

“You think the people of Mephila are not under Belldate’s domination, but are acting of their own free will?”

“I’ve actually been to other cities and learned about life in different parts of the Gospel.” Anfel continued wiping the floor as she spoke. “When young people are most eager to experience various lifestyles, they have plenty of time but no money; when middle-aged people are busiest and most stable, they have lots of money but lack time; when elderly people have experienced all the world has to offer and are weary of life, needing to rekindle their passion, they are often tied down by their descendants.”

“If we could give the money from middle age to the young, then many problems would be solved. The young could grow up happily and carefree, establish their careers and families satisfactorily, and in old age, they wouldn’t have to worry about their descendants because their children could also advance their middle-aged money.”

“In the ranking list of cities by resident satisfaction, Mephila has always been in the top five. But I believe, apart from Vamora, which cheats with stimulating gases, Mephila is undoubtedly the happiest city,” Anfel said earnestly. “We make the most of our youth while playing, honor our dreams while working, stay true to our partners and children when marrying, respect the passage of time in old age, and stay true to ourselves in death.”

“Yes, Belldate does subtly influence us, using our work value to build this manor, just as you said. But is there any city without domination or rule? Vamora? Modora? Nabistin? Or the wilderness, the Abyss?”

“The people of Mephila aren’t unaware; they know everything, understand everything, and still choose the life they love. You can ask any Mephila resident, and they will tell you: ‘I can live my life to the fullest; Belldate has not wronged me.’”

“Everything in the world is subject to cycles of domination. Time, space, the past, environment, bloodline, race… even the gods might not dare to claim they are free,” Anfel chuckled. “Recognizing reality and bravely facing challenges, that’s what we Mephila people do.”

“What do you think, Mr. Ashe?”

Damn it, I almost believe you!

It sounds pretty good to be Yvaren’s lackey!

I’ll max out my credit with a billion bell points, live an amazing life, and then let my Substitute work off the debt!