Evil Gods Don’t Save People

"You."

Two gazes met, tension heavy in the air.

"Who are you?"

After having tea with the Evernight Goddess above the gray fog and chatting about recent events, the Fool had gone back to the real world.

Then, as He wandered through a random boat while observing some potential prey, a commotion had erupted. He had decided to observe when a Beyonder found Him, thus resulting in the current situation.

At this point, it would have been fine. If only the other person was a random Beyonder, that is.

Zhou Mingrui stared at the woman looking down at Him, a familiar shade of chestnut brown hair falling down her shoulders and eyes so different yet so similar to someone He once knew.

If her appearance wasn't enough, then the god's spiritual intuition confirmed it.

He had encountered Emperor Roselle's daughter.

Zhou Mingrui stood still, His thoughts unreadable as He saw the one His compatriot was most proud of, Roselle's 'princess'.

Was this the first time they met?

If He remembered well, her name was…

"Bernadette…"

The person in question only glared harder, activating her Mystery Pryer eyes.

However, already used to dealing with Beyonders from the Hermit Pathway, the Fool had already taken measures from the moment He identified the other person—if He was going to kill Roselle's daughter, He'd rather it being voluntary than an accident; He didn't want the other person to suddenly lose control mid-conversation.

Thus, Queen Mystic only saw a void, making the situation even more perplexing as it was impossible for her Mystery Pryer eyes to be unable to see anything.

She frowned, now a little more on guard.

"I asked you a question."

To these words, the god did the only thing He could do, finally breaking out of His thoughts.

Facing Bernadette, He put on a mask, curling His lips into a smile that didn't betray any of His real emotions, and gave an answer.

"My name is Gehrman Sparrow."

At the same time, He couldn't help but wonder.

In that case, what were His 'real emotions'?

Maybe He had put on a smile because He didn't know either.

Wasn't it instead because He refused to acknowledge what He had realized?

"What are you doing here?"

To the cold voice, Gehrman Sparrow replied, His composure too calm to really be an innocent Beyonder who had accidentally gotten involved in this event, "I was merely passing by."

He didn't bother making up an elaborate excuse, not particularly needing to gain her trust nor fearing her attacking Him.

Bernadette stared at the stranger of unknown identity and unknown Sequence facing her, trying to decipher His intentions. Even the name He had given her may be fake.

How could He have been 'passing by' on a deserted pirate boat? The timing was also suspicious.

She had uncovered the trace of some evil god believers and caught them in the middle of doing human sacrifices. After chasing after them and hunting them down, she had now encountered a suspicious man who she could not see through with her Mystery Pryer eyes, something impossible for an ordinary Beyonder.

At this point, there was nearly no doubt that he was with-

"Are you with them?"

Stealing Bernadette's thoughts, Gehrman narrowed His eyes slightly, pretending to be suspicious of the other Beyonder all while remaining calm.

After all, acting was a specialty of the Seer Pathway.

The air then became heavier, a unknown pressure coming from the man in front of her.

'What?'

Unknowingly, instead of interrogating Him, the situation was now reversed.

Queen Mystic stared at Gehrman Sparrow, her conviction shaken by these strange actions.

As a God, even if He didn't have much experience interacting with humans, the Fool still had a long life.

In a battle, you must take the initiative to turn things to your advantage. Take the lead and control the flow in your favor.

Stealing the other person's thoughts had given Him enough information to do so.

As for whether this conversation counted as a battle, it all depended on the perspective.

Thus, merely expressing His suspicions about her before she could question Him was enough to defuse the situation.

"I didn't expect Roselle's daughter to fall so low," He sneered coldly, a menacing tone in His voice.

Now less wary, Queen Mystic shook her head.

"No, I was chasing them."

Then, she frowned, resisting against the pressure.

"But what about you? How can I know you aren't with these cultists?"

She still asked the question as a formality, her doubt about not being able to see through Him unresolved.

As if He were put in a difficult position, Zhou Mingrui lifted the pressure and repeated Himself.

"Well, I told you, I was just passing by when a commotion happened. I sensed the energy of evil god believers from afar and thought about intervening when you arrived."

How do you 'pass by' in the middle of someone's pirate boat?

However, everyone had secrets. It didn't matter as long as the other side had no intention of harming others.

Now what intrigued Bernadette was something else.

"How do you know who I am?"

Zhou Mingrui indifferently deflected the question.

"Of course, who wouldn't know who 'Queen Mystic' is? You are famous."

Bernadette nodded before thinking about something.

"Why don't you help me find the cultists?"

The other party seemed like a high-ranking Beyonder anyway. Moreover, she could use this as an excuse to keep an eye on him in case he was really a dangerous person.

Her spiritual intuition told her that this mysterious Beyonder would be helpful.

"Their leader is a Sequence 2 Beyonder. If you could sense them from afar, your pathway must be one with more developed spirituality. Even finding them would be helpful."

Zhou Mingrui stared at her. The woman, who should be prideful as a High-Sequence Beyonder and the famous Emperor Roselle's daughter, was asking this of a stranger whom she didn't know the Pathway nor the specific Sequence.

However, He didn't know that it proved how important this matter was to Bernadette.

"I will reward you handsomely."

Convinced, Zhou Mingrui agreed.

A collaboration between Queen Mystic and Gehrman Sparrow thus began.

After discussing the details, they decided to contact each other again when they found a trace of the evil god believers. Zhou Mingrui then received the incantation to summon Bernadette's messenger and they parted ways.

Although He could have divined the cultists' whereabouts on the spot, the Fool planned to let a few days pass before contacting her again. He didn't want her to see Him as too strong either when He was currently hiding His status while playing Gehrman Sparrow.