The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 100

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Fire

For now, I had a rough idea of how Teacher had found me.

‘She must have planted something on Erendor.’

Something that couldn’t be discarded, something Erendor would continue to keep with him – she must have given him such a thing to track our location.

“Ascetic sir…? Are you hurting somewhere again?”

“Ah, no. I was just lost in thought for a moment. I’m fine.”

“If, if it hurts, te, tell me….”

Kalebrin showed concern. Those who stayed by my side even when I lost my memory were truly precious. I should put more effort into managing my believers.

“Since we need to wait here for Erendor to come, let’s stay in another room for now. And don’t enter this place.”

Yelena nodded.

Kalebrin glanced at the broken wooden wall.

The monster corpse I had defeated was nowhere to be seen, leaving only traces of a fierce battle with something.

“Then…. shall we have a meal?”

“Mmm….”

“Ascetic sir, please rest here.”

“I’m no longer in pain.”

“Tsk.”

I recalled how Yelena had fought during this time and quietly sat on the sofa. It seemed wise to listen to her….

While sitting and waiting for them to prepare the meal, I began handling the tasks I had postponed due to my physical pain.

Just sitting idle was too boring and inefficient.

So the first thing I needed to do was this.

To update my faithful believer Antonio, whom I hadn’t had the mental capacity to contact, about my current situation.

Fortunately, the distance between the Empire and Erendor’s cabin was relatively close.

It was just within the range my power could barely reach.

‘Antonio, are you well?’

-‘Ascetic sir!’

As soon as I made contact, Antonio responded with a booming voice.

-‘I, I was worried since there was no contact for several weeks…!’

Well, that’s understandable.

Antonio and I had been regularly exchanging contact for information sharing and handling unexpected situations.

But…. the ‘me’ without memories only had the purpose of ‘recovering holy relics and creating believers,’ nothing beyond that.

In a confused and simplified state, it would have been difficult to handle Antonio’s contacts and other matters.

-‘Right now, I’ve entered the underground market with some help from the Young Lady. However…. it seems more time will be needed.’

When I treated the Young Lady’s person, she gave me a token to access the underground market along with information.

But I was someone who rarely went to markets even in the original world. What kind of world is it these days? It’s not a world where you need to go out and sweat while shopping.

So I passed the underground market access rights to Antonio, who was the most trustworthy and capable of handling market affairs in this world.

However, even Antonio seemed to find it difficult to obtain important information with just one access token.

What I was aiming for was information about holy relics or craftsmen’s items of similar value. Or the Widow, Harmony, and such….

-‘Bu, but if you give me one more week, I’m sure I can bring you information or artifacts that will be helpful to you, Ascetic sir…!’

Perhaps the brief silence sounded like I was about to scold him, as Antonio hurriedly began defending himself.

I need to manage my believers.

‘Antonio, you are my faithful servant. You’re the pioneer who first followed my will, so why are you pleading with me?’

-‘I…. I am….’

‘Your heart that believes in me and can move forward together toward my ideals. That’s more important than any object or information.’

Antonio paused. While we were connected, his feelings faintly reached me as well.

‘Time is finite, but the heart is eternal and infinite. I hope you act slowly without being impatient.’

If Yelena wants a reliable comrade, I can be that comrade for her.

If Kalebrin wants miracles, I can become the angel who brings miracles.

If Cardil wants a capable supporter, I can do that.

To get what I want, I should prepare the appropriate product.

Antonio wanted a perfect ‘God’ from me.

-‘I was foolish. I still become a foolish wanderer before you, Ascetic sir…. I will offer prayers of repentance once again.’

‘It’s fine to wander. I will always shine my light— just follow that light, my servant.’

-‘Yes, I understand. I will always pray for your well-being.’

I severed the connection with him.

The emotions and sensations that had been felt through the weak connection disappeared.

As my own senses returned, I suddenly felt lonely.

‘This happens when I connect on my own without the system’s assistance….’

The system only told me how to use skills and no longer interfered with me beyond that.

Perhaps to do that, the system might be in a dormant state while recovering my body condition that was close to half-resurrection.

‘Whatever, it’s better than not being able to use power like before.’

Goodbye to the days when I couldn’t use skills due to system maintenance! Now I can use my power at full 100%!

‘The debuff is still there, but still, this is something.’

If I overuse my power, there would be a debuff where my body bursts again.

Between facing death without using power vs just taking the debuff, wouldn’t it be the latter?

‘Still, debuffs are troublesome, so I’ll have to make the believers do everything for a while.’

Even after my memories returned, I only thought about riding the bus with my believers.

Isn’t it natural for humans to choose the easier path between difficult and easy ones?

“Time to eat!”

Menu items that seemed to be prepared by scraping together everything in Erendor’s house were spread out on a creaky-legged dining table.

“Thank you for the meal, Sisters.”

It’s polite to eat deliciously for those who prepared the food. My taste buds, which had felt dull, caught the food’s flavors more sharply than ever.

It tastes stale and has a gamey smell…. There’s also a fishy smell. No, why does bread smell fishy…?

I worried about food poisoning for a moment…. but it should be fine. My body constantly runs purification. This reminds me of being poisoned in the Empire.

“It’s delicious.”

“Is it?”

Yelena was eating as if she had to eat to survive, and Kalebrin made a few attempts with her spoon before just tearing at bread.

“We’re out of ingredients, so I think I need to go down to nearby houses to get food supplies.”

Right, food. Important stuff. This body no longer needed sustenance, but our believers needed food.

“Kalebrin and Ascetic sir stay here. I’ll go alone and come back.”

“Will that be alright?”

“Go, going alone, is…. dangerous….”

“Ascetic sir is a patient, so someone needs to stay by his side, and I often did this kind of thing when working as an Inquisitor. So I’m probably more skilled than Kalebrin.”

“Couldn’t Kalebrin and I go get food supplies?”

“Ascetic sir…. please realize that you’re currently a known face not only in the Empire but also in Centa. If rumors spread that a Saint is wandering around getting food supplies, the situation will change rapidly. We can’t wait a week for that bastard either.”

She was right. To build up Centa’s power over the Empire, it was still time to stay quiet.

‘I also had to fulfill Erendor’s request for just one arm.’

If it were a simple request, I could have refused…. but this was quite complicated.

We exchanged requests based on mutual trust. I couldn’t refuse that request.

Even without knowing the exact reason, I realized that trying to break or avoid that request would damage my dignity.

In the end, I could only nod and say this.

“The sun will set soon, so let’s go the next day.”

“That’s what I was planning~”

Since the room where I mainly stayed had one wall broken, we decided to sleep in one room to avoid the cold wind and for security.

“Ascetic sir should sleep on the bed…!”

“I refuse.”

There was a brief argument, but it was decided that I, who no longer needed sleep, would stand guard.

Both seemed tired from combat and fell asleep quickly. The bed was narrow, so they slept hugging each other closely, but only sleeping Kalebrin’s expression looked crumpled while Yelena looked comfortable.

I reviewed my plans alone in the quiet room. Naturally, this led me to think about the Widow.

‘Teacher….’

The teacher who took in Sernuan Lumiere from an orphanage on the verge of being shut down due to an incident, and was entrusted with his education.

The fact that I was unconsciously using high noble etiquette was all thanks to her harsh education.

‘Her deliberately taking my side at the banquet hall, coming to see me after the meal, all of it….’

‘If it were the original Sernuan Lumiere, he wouldn’t have even thought of defying the widow. So the widow must have found it strange from the beginning that I was freely moving around after my possession.’

‘Could my possession of this body also be part of the widow’s plan?’

‘What the widow ordered Sernuan Lumiere to do was merely to gather believers, but how exactly does that help her?’

‘For absolute power? To survive? I can’t guess her intentions.’

‘Is it likely that her stabbing me with a sword just now was a thoughtless action? Since me, Erendor, and Yelena all went silent as a group, she came to see me, and seeing that her useful tool wasn’t thinking straight, she helped me come to my senses. But if I think that’s all there is to it….’

Neither her intentions nor her plans. I know nothing, so it’s frightening to speculate freely.

I don’t know from where her plan began.

Perhaps I’m already caught in the spider web she’s woven… I don’t know.

No, probably so.

There was only one thing I knew.

In Sernuan Lumiere’s memories, the slightly younger widow affectionately calling him ‘Cel’.

Her bright red lips curved in a smile, and the mole below the corner of her mouth.

She had beaten Sernuan Lumiere to a pulp in the dark night with only one lantern lit on the table.

“You’re asking why I’m making you do this?”

“Of course…. for the greater cause.”

“And for my sake too.”

“I hate being used. I hate having someone else decide my life.”

“Now, here’s today’s lesson. If you don’t want to be used, struggle with all your might. That’s ultimately the privilege of the living and of humans.”

The result of struggling was miserable.

That was….

No! Don’t think about it! Don’t think about it…. Please….

In the end, the conclusion led to one thing.

‘Betray the widow.’

I clearly know that the widow is using me too. Then it would be best to stop letting myself be used by her.

Just as my teacher taught me.

If you don’t want to be used, you struggle. Of course, the more something caught in a spider web struggles, the more it gets tangled in the web and hastens its death….

But if you just stay caught, you’ll eventually be devoured by the spider.

Even if it means risking death, I have no choice but to struggle.

‘When I return, I should magnificently ruin the Empire’s festival.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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