The Man Who Once Lied
Last updated 2026-07-10
The Man Who Once Lied is an Intel Quest in Nasha Town. It can be enabled in the Intel Exchange interface after completing all four of the previous Intel Quests.
Steps
- Talk to Nefer
- Return to the Curatorium of Secrets with Nefer
Dialogue
- (Listen to Sarin and Nefer talking)
- Sarin: Here you go, Lady Nefer — the book you were looking for.
- Nefer: Let me see... Ha, would you look at that? Finally, an actual copy of "The Man Who Became a Mule."
Is that... Nefer? Surely she can't be here for a commission?- Paimon: Yeah, Nefer doesn't seem like the kind of person who "takes" commissions... More like the kind who dishes them out.
- Yeah... exactly.
- Maybe I should have her give me some easy ones.
- Paimon: Hey, if you start taking work from Nefer, there'll be none left for Jahoda...
- Paimon: Still, what sort of job is Nefer delegating to the Adventurers' Guild? Paimon's kinda curious...
- Let's ask about it later.
- Better not bother Nefer right now.
- Nefer: Not bad... This is exactly what I was looking for. The Adventurers' Guild must have quite the impressive network, tracking down a long-lost story like this...
- Sarin: Haha, well, that's all thanks to our hardworking adventurers.
- Sarin: There were quite a few setbacks along the way, but in the end, we managed to find a collector in Snezhnaya who had a copy.
- Nefer: How ironic that a story about the desert would end up somewhere like Snezhnaya...
- Nefer: Well, thank you for your efforts. I'll send over the payment as promised.
- Nefer: Also, Mr. Sarin — please keep this commission active, and raise its priority level. I'll cover the additional fee as well.
- Sarin: Not a problem. It's our honor to do business with you, Lady Nefer. If you'll excuse me, I'll go get everything sorted.
- Nefer: My business is done, you two. You can come out and ask your questions. I know you're "curious"...
- You knew we were here?
- Talk about eagle-eyed...
- Paimon: You even heard what Paimon said!? Huh. Guess that's what makes you the boss...
- So, you're posting a commission?
- Nefer: Something like that. It's more like a long-term partnership I have with the Adventurers' Guild.
- Nefer: Come, let's head back to the Curatorium for a cup of tea. This isn't the best place for sharing stories...
- (After entering the Curatorium of Secrets)
- Nefer: ...Huh, looks like Jahoda's not back yet.
- Nefer: Wait here. I'll go brew some tea.
- Ashru: Meow...
- Here, kitty kitty...
- Ashru: Meow, meow meow!
- Paimon: Hehe, who's a good kitty... C'mon, shake!
- Ashru: Meow?
- (After Nefer brews the tea)
- Nefer: Alright, help yourselves. Cream and sugar is over there if you need it.
- Nefer: Looks like Ashru's taken a real liking to you. Back when I first brought him home, he was as fierce as a little lion.
- Nefer: He didn't let anyone get close except for me. Anybody else who tried would have his little fangs and claws to contend with...
- Paimon: Seriously? You'd never guess he used to be aggressive...
- Ashru: Meow, meow meow? Meow...
- Nefer: That was a long time ago, when the two of us had just arrived in Nod-Krai.
- Nefer: Back then, we had no one to rely on but ourselves. And to survive in a place like Nod-Krai... We had no choice but to bare our claws and teeth.
- Nefer: ...Of course, things are different now.
- Nefer: Anyway, it's about time we satisfied that curiosity of yours. I'm guessing you want to know more about my "long-term partnership" with the Adventurers' Guild?
- I still can't believe you would need to post a commission...
- It must be for something really important.
- Paimon: You mean like, some kind of extra special treasure even Nefer can't get her hands on?
- Nefer: It's special, no doubt about that. But whether it counts as "treasure"... Well, that depends on how you see it.
- Nefer: Here, this is the book I asked the Adventurers' Guild to find for me. Take a look.
The Man Who Became a Mule
Once upon a time, in Sumeru City, there lived a fool known to all by the name of Ortba, the son of a merchant and a dancer. He was hopeless with numbers and could never keep up at the Akademiya. He was so gullible that he would fall for every trick the merchants used to cheat him. He would believe even the most absurd lies spun by the clumsiest of charlatans, giving away his Mora and even shedding tears of pity in the process. It was said that even the most primitive of desertfolk were wiser than he.
Everyone thought Ortba a fool, but no one knew why. They would laugh and say he was an idiot, a man so hopeless he could earn no living nor make a name for himself.
But Ortba's parents and the friends who truly understood him did not care about what the others said. Instead, they would always say, "He is kind from the very bottom of his heart, and that is the highest form of wisdom one can possess."
Time passed quickly, like sand being swept away by the wind. A kind friend helped Ortba find a job leading a mule. The work was hard and the wages were meager, a burden few could bear for more than a few days. But Ortba took to it with a happy heart, for the mule, with a scar upon its ear, was more genuine and true than anyone else in the whole bazaar. When hunger stirred within it, it would whinny and gently nudge him with its head. Then, when it had its fill of feed, it would close its eyes, lay its head in Ortba's lap, and nicker softly. Never once did it lie to him, and never once did it complain.
But one day, a swindler set his sights on the fool and his mule. He was a shameless man, a scoundrel whose name has long become lost to the wind. He made his living by lies and deceit, and with every coin he gained, he sowed only sorrow and anger in the hearts of others. So vile was he that even the scorpions of the desert kept their distance.
It was on a day when Ortba and his mule were carrying goods from the desert that the swindler saw his chance. He followed them quietly from a distance and waited for Ortba to finish his work.
Before he returned to the city, Ortba decided to rest for a while at an oasis.
The swindler pounced when Ortba wandered off to pick some fruit. He crept over and stealthily slipped the lead rope from around the mule's neck, allowing an accomplice to lead the beast away. The swindler then placed the rope around his own head, crouched low to the ground in the mule's place, and waited for Ortba to return.
Ortba, fruit in hand, stopped and stared at the swindler in shock. "Oh? Who are you!?" he exclaimed, knowing at once that the man crouching before him was certainly not his four-legged friend.
"I am a swindler," the crook confessed, his voice thick with feigned sobs. "I was a man without a single moral in his bones, a wretch wicked and despicable."
"To make money, I told countless lies, caused harm to countless people, and even deceived my own mother."
"To punish me, my mother went into the desert and, with her very own tears, pleaded with Al-Ahmar to teach me how to be good."
"So, Al-Ahmar turned me into a mule to silence me and make me pay for my foul deeds through my actions instead. I would only become a human again when I learned how to be a truly good person."
Ortba listened to the swindler's lies. As the swindler wept crocodile tears, Ortba shed real ones of his own.
"How sad! But you've turned back into a human, so you must now be a good man!"
Ortba jumped up with delight and took the swindler's hands in his own. He then placed all the fruit he was carrying into the swindler's hands.
"You are my friend. I have watched you drink with your head in my lap and sleep by my side. I have love for you, and it makes my heart happy that you have become a truly good person."
"Go back to your mother. I am sure she still loves you and is shedding tears for you right now. Go back, and take this fruit with you. She'll be so happy to see you!"
Holding the fruit in his hands, the swindler felt his throat, which had told countless lies and other foul things, choke up with sand. But he simply nodded his head and, in his mind, told himself:
"What a fool, what a fool... Only a complete fool would be taken in like that."
Once the swindler had gone, Ortba picked up the rope — his heart filled with joy. He ran back to the city, eager to share the story of his mule with his friends.
One of Ortba's friends, a mercenary, turned crimson with rage as he listened to this tale. The powerfully built man sprang to his feet, his hand flashing to the hilt of his sword, as he exploded:
"That stinking lowlife! He fooled you! He took advantage of your kindness for a few coins!"
"Tell me his name! I'll tear that rat's tongue out myself so he can never lie to another good man like you!"
Despite his friend's indignant fury, the smile never left Ortba's face. He gently guided the mercenary's hand from the hilt of his sword to his cup, which he then filled with mead.
"I am moved that you are angry for my sake. But the way I see it, what happened was a good thing..."
"If his words are true, then there is one less villain in this world to be punished. And in his place, there is one more person who has learned the meaning of repentance and regained their morals."
"If what he said was a lie, then there is one less person in this world who would cheat his own mother. And one less tearful mother who had no choice but to curse her child."
Another friend, who had already built a reputation for himself at the Akademiya, interjected:
"Ortba, I admire your kindness. It is a wisdom that humanity so grievously lacks, yet holds in the deepest contempt."
"But the wicked must be held to account, lest the virtuous be exploited with impunity..."
"While I believe this swindler should first face due judgment... Principles be damned! He has committed a grave affront against my friend, and for that alone, he deserves to be lashed!"
Sensing his friends' frustration, Ortba paused. He raised the jug of mead and filled his friends' cups, but his fiercely loyal friends remained silent. Their brows were furrowed as if a whirlwind of sand and dust was swirling around them, carving countless ravines and valleys from their features.
Then suddenly, another friend burst through the door of the tavern, shouting,
"Hey! I just saw that mule with the scar on its ear! It's right there in the bazaar!"
Hearing this, the mercenary gulped down his mead in one go, then shouted:
"Alright! It looks like the rat has left a trail. If we follow it, we're bound to catch him!"
Ortba, his friends by his side, rushed to the bazaar. And sure enough, there stood the mule, right in the middle of the marketplace. Ortba was filled with shock, and he ran toward the creature as if he had something to say.
The mercenary was already asking around for the mule's seller. But the scholar, who knew all too well what Ortba was like, held onto his sleeve gently, trying to stop him from doing anything too strange, like talking to the mule.
But Ortba softly patted the scholar's hand, then bent over nonetheless to whisper:
"Why have you become a mule again? Did you lie to your mother and break her heart once more?"
"You'll have a hard time with someone else. Listen, I'll buy you back and take you with me."
"Don't say a word until then. Otherwise, I may not be able to pay your price."
Just as Ortba was counting the Mora in his pocket, a hand came to rest on his shoulder. The hand belonged to a man with tanned skin and eyes like pure gold. He gave a slight squint as he said gently:
"I am the owner of this mule. Do you want to buy it?"
"Yes, I want to buy it. He is my friend. In fact, he..." Ortba looked down and stopped himself from telling the rest of the story. He believed the man would not want the world to know what he had done.
"I can't sell it to you right now. Besides..."
The man reached for another rope from behind him and handed it over to Ortba.
"This is your faithful friend, my dear Ortba. Take it home with you."
Ortba stared at the animal in surprise. It had a scar on its ear, just like the first one. The mule, recognizing its longtime companion, nudged Ortba with its head, and Ortba responded by ruffling its mane. But what...
"This mule looks just like my friend," said the astonished Ortba, wondering how one man could have turned into two mules, and just what grave sin he must have committed to receive such punishment.
"Yes, he's also your friend," said the tanned man with a smile, "But he has committed a crime. So I am punishing him by turning him into a dumb mule so that he may never speak again."
Ortba blinked for a moment and realized who the man with the rope was. But his thoughts were only of the friend he had once rescued, who was now on the wrong path again.
"But what crime did he commit? Did he lie to his mother again?" Ortba asked sadly.
"No, but the crime he committed is a hundred times greater than that," the man answered. "He betrayed a rare kindness, and so he shall never be saved by another's kindness again."
Ortba had more questions, but before he could ask them, his vision was obscured by a sandstorm that came out of nowhere. When it cleared, the man was gone, but in his place were his friends who had found their way to him and were now asking where the swindler had gone.
Ortba told them sadly, "He made another mistake and was turned into a mule. I hope this time, he will have another chance to turn a new leaf."
With the rope in his hand, Ortba turned for home alongside his friends. Along the way, he thought.
"I need to make more money. Goodness knows how much I'll need to buy him the next time I see him."
- Paimon: Oh, it's like a... fairytale from Sumeru!
- Is it a clue to finding hidden treasure?
- Is there some kind of riddle hidden inside?
- Paimon: Uh oh, not another riddle-filled treasure hunt! Well, uh... have fun! Paimon's gonna sit this one out...
- Nefer: Relax, it's just a story passed down among the desert-dwellers of Sumeru. There's no secret treasure, and no hidden riddles.
- Nefer: The only reason I went to such lengths to find it... is because it has to do with my father.
- Your father...
- Nefer: That's right. From what you've seen before... you no doubt remember the fate that befell us.
- Nefer: Before he brought back those so-called "spoils of war," before our little village ended up buried under the desert sands... He used to tell me stories.
- Nefer: You know what Sumeru was like back then. Tales like these, stories full of wisdom and warmth, were something only the lucky few living in the rainforests got to hear.
- Nefer: But for the desert-dwellers, cut off from "civilization" by the Wall of Samiel... wisdom and warmth were luxuries we couldn't afford.
- Nefer: The stories passed down in the desert had one purpose, and one alone — to teach children how to survive.
- Nefer: In desert tales, people who waste food get turned into scorpions, those who waste water end up losing their tongues...
- Nefer: The stories taught us to be kind, but to be scarce with our trust... to lie and deceive, as long as we didn't get caught.
- Nefer: But, I suppose my father didn't want me to turn out like everyone else.
- Nefer: He would take these stories and change them... imbue them with more... warmth.
- Nefer: In the versions he told, liars turned into mules, killers fell off cliffs... But, picky children... ended up with a toothache, at most.
- Paimon: Paimon kinda gets where he was coming from. After all, who doesn't wanna see their kids grow up with the right values...
- So, what did you think of those stories, Nefer?
- Nefer: Me?
- Nefer: I couldn't get enough of them. I'd spend my days counting down the minutes to nightfall, when Dad would lull me to sleep with another one of his stories.
- Nefer: Then, come daytime, I'd grab his storybook and go tell them to the other kids.
- Nefer: They were so envious of me. No matter where I went, there was always a line of kids trailing behind me. They would do whatever I asked, just for the chance to hear a story.
- Nefer: And then, one day, it all came to an end, and now, all that remains of those times is buried under the sand. My father, my friends, my tribe... and all those stories, too.
- ...
- Nefer: After that, I went to the Akademiya. It was there that I first discovered the "original versions" of some of his stories.
- Nefer: In those versions, the liars were never punished, the murderers walked free... After all, if you fall for a lie, you deserve to be deceived. If the blade is in your hand, you get to write the rules...
- Nefer: And picky children? They ended up just like the ones who wasted water — turned into lizards, doomed to spend the rest of their days crawling under the rocks.
- Nefer: Only then did I realize that it was my father who'd been "deceiving" me all along, weaving a false world of warmth to shelter me from the harsh realities of the world.
- Nefer: But once my father was gone, that world collapsed with him, and I had no choice but to face the truth.
- Nefer: Luckily, though, I was a quick learner. Before long, I'd turned into exactly the kind of "desert-dweller" he'd worked so hard to keep me from becoming.
- Nefer: After that, it was all lies, deceit, revenge, and ruin — themes that have played out in the desert a thousand times over. But I'm sure you know that all too well.
- So the reason you started collecting these stories...
- Was to find out what the originals were really like?
- Nefer: More or less. I just want to know exactly how many lies a father might tell his own daughter.
- Nefer: As the only person in this world he ever deceived so completely, I suppose I owe it to him to make an equally comprehensive record of his distortions. Besides, anonymity seems a cruel fate for such a prolific twister of the truth.
- Nefer: Anyway... Hmph, I'm sure Thoth, the Ibis King, would approve of what I'm doing.
- Nefer: After all, he was the one who sent me in search of something that could "discern truth from falsehood."
- Nefer: When I was young, the stories my father told me shaped my understanding of the world.
- Nefer: Whereas their original endings... Heh, well, they taught me what this world is really like.
- Nefer: And it's true — for me, they really did help me "discern truth from falsehood."
- Nefer: I figured that gathering them up might be the key to finding the answer the Ibis King was looking for.
- Nefer: So, after I established myself in Nod-Krai, I started using every available channel to track down the stories my father once told me.
- Nefer: The problem was, nearly all of them were folk tales, parables passed down in the desert through word of mouth. Very few were ever written down.
- Nefer: But living all the way out here in Nod-Krai, it wasn't like I could just go wandering around the desert to find those who still remembered them.
- Nefer: As for Jahoda... Well, I was short on manpower as it was, so I needed a different plan.
- Nefer: And, considering the countless adventurers at their disposal, I decided to strike up a long-term partnership with the Adventurers' Guild.
- Nefer: They bring me stories passed down among the desert people, I pay them accordingly, and sometimes, even do them a little favor in return.
- Nefer: Mr. Sarin was more than happy with my terms, so we soon came to an understanding. And from the way things have been going, I'd say our arrangement has worked out rather well.
- So... What's special about the story you just got your hands on?
- Nefer: Ah, well... This was the very last story my father ever told me — the only one whose ending he left unchanged.
- Nefer: A man who spent his life distorting the truth... Buried under the desert sand the one time he chose not to lie.
- Nefer: Hah... and look, it even says: "Deep down, his was a heart of gold — and that is the greatest wisdom of all." How ironic is that?
- Nefer: Anyway, I can make a copy of this story if you're interested.
- Nefer: Ah, and I just realized... You're an adventurer too, aren't you, (Traveler)?
- Uh... Y—Yeah, I am...
- What makes you ask?
- Nefer: Well, being an adventurer means you've traveled far and wide and seen many things...
- Nefer: I was just thinking... We could sign an agreement for a long-term partnership of our own.
- Nefer: If you ever come across any stories about the desert-dwellers of Sumeru, bring them to me, and I'll make it worth your while.
- Paimon: Wait, was that your goal this whole time? Just to ask us that?
- So, there was a commission at the end of this, after all...
- Well, taking commissions is what I do, so... Okay!
- Nefer: Wonderful! Then, here's to a long and fruitful partnership.
- Nefer: And speaking of partnerships... Why isn't Jahoda back yet?
- Nefer: Was that job I gave her really that difficult?
Descriptions
The intelligence requested by Nefer, owner of the Curatorium of Secrets, is of highest priority to obtain.
Intel Exchange Interface, before enabling the quest
Nefer has obtained the storybook she sought, which records a tale of desert-dwellers. Follow-up commissions related to this matter will be handled by the Adventurers' Guild.
Intel Exchange Interface, after enabling the quest
Other Languages
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | The Man Who Once Lied | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 曾许出谎言的人 | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 曾許出謊言的人 | |
| Japanese | かつて嘘をついた者 Katsute Uso wo Tsuita Mono | |
| Korean | 거짓말을 한 자 Geojinmareul Han Ja | |
| Spanish | El hombre que mintió | |
| French | Une personne qui a menti | A Person Who Lied |
| Russian | Человек, который однажды солгал Chelovek, kotoryy odnazhdy solgal | |
| Thai | ชายผู้เคยโกหก | |
| Vietnamese | Người Từng Nói Dối | |
| German | Eine Person, die einst falsche Versprechungen gemacht hat | A Person Who Once Made False Promises |
| Indonesian | Orang yang Pernah Berbohong | |
| Portuguese | Uma Pessoa que um Dia Contou Mentiras | |
| Turkish | Yalan Söylemiş Bir Adam | |
| Italian | L'uomo che mentì |
Change History
Released in Version "Luna II"