The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 101

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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

The widow entered the banquet hall with familiarity.

As soon as she stepped into the large hall, familiar faces came striding toward her, all filled with anger.

At this rate, someone might grab her by the collar.

The widow thought calmly and surveyed the hall with dead eyes.

He strode toward the widow so forcefully that the black veil she wore fluttered.

Rude and… vulgar.

Though it was customary to wear veils so they couldn’t recognize each other’s faces when meeting in the banquet hall, this had become meaningless as the banquet had continued for so long.

“What is the meaning of this without a single word of consultation!”

Everyone gathered here already knew who was squealing like a pig before slaughter.

Another marquis who had stolen Marquis Bernator’s reputation and wealth pointed his finger at her accusingly.

“Those with noble blood gather in the sacred banquet hall to discuss the Empire’s prosperity and Lumensia. Wasn’t that the banquet hall’s founding purpose? Yet you suddenly close the doors to everyone in the banquet hall overnight!”

The widow had no intention of listening any further.

“Since you’re kindly telling me that you entered rudely and without invitation, I can see what kind of pathetic thoughts are in that brain of yours.”

Anyway, they would be dissatisfied that she, who held the banquet hall’s power, had made it impossible for everyone to sit in the banquet hall’s chairs.

“You witch who devoured my husband…!”

“The banquet has lasted too long… It’s simply time to end this banquet and prepare for the next one.”

When a meal begins, it has an end. The same goes for banquets. Even endlessly served dishes will eventually show the bottom of their plates.

“Right before the Empire’s grand festival when everything is chaotic… Even for you, this crosses the line.”

“With the political situation in turmoil too…!”

“I wonder if the Emperor even knows about this!”

The widow rolled her tired eyes under the black veil.

“The quick-witted noble bloods already didn’t come here for the next banquet. They say the loudest squealing pig gets slaughtered first.”

On those empty plates, only new main dishes for the next banquet would be placed.

Bang!

The door slammed shut and wind blew in. The flickering candles suddenly went out from the wind, leaving only smoke.

The nobles all turned toward the door in surprise at the sound.

The faint light coming through the window revealed what that wind was.

Glittering thin threads.

“Uh… uhhhh…?”

Thin, barely visible threads extending from the widow filled the entire banquet hall.

“It’s good to eat in moderation, but with so many idiots around, there’s no choice…”

Their feet all lifted smoothly from the floor. They struggled as they floated up as if being dragged into the air by something.

“Guk.”

Some couldn’t even make a sound and instantly floated upward.

All five who floated in the air had their necks strangled by thin threads.

The widow looked up at them calmly and muttered.

“They’re all replaceable anyway…”

Naturally, to bring in new tableware, the old worn plates had to be discarded.

Crack, snap snap.

The widow chose to handle things noisily rather than quietly strangling them.

Simply because of an extremely emotional and human reason: ‘they annoyed her when she was tired.’

If they’re going to die anyway, they might as well serve as stress relief.

Bang.

The people hanging like sausages in the air came pouring down like rain, starting with one.

Crash, thud, smack, clatter.

The widow didn’t clean up the fallen corpses. The servants would handle it anyway. As they always did.

The banquet hall opened and closed three times. During that time, the servants did their best to maintain and repair the banquet hall.

“I was already tired from Austin Gerard giving me trouble.”

She was quite fatigued from controlling people without leaving a single wound and performing the difficult task of spatial movement.

The widow let out a deep sigh.

“Now it’s time to send invitations to the new banquet hall members? Really, having so much to do is troublesome. If there were at least one useful guy, I’d make him do it, but I guess I don’t have luck with subordinates.”

*

Lady Serbiana’s estate.

One day, the young lady received a letter from the widow.

《To Lady Serbiana》

In this season when autumn’s breath becomes frost,

We finally open seats for a new banquet in the deepened time.

This banquet is not merely a private gathering to commemorate the season.

This marks a pause in the long-hardened order,

And serves as a prelude for new voices to find their rightful place.

Inviting you to this gathering is a great honor and symbol of trust not easily granted to anyone.

From now on, new people will take seats in this banquet hall.

Those accustomed to old balance will step down, and those who know the truth and those with the will to change the world will face the coming global crisis together, beyond the Empire’s welfare.

This banquet hall is no longer a place to discuss only the Empire’s affairs.

This will become a command center embracing the world, where only sincere intelligence and courageous will shall be respected, not anyone’s family name or title.

I hope you will join us for that first chapter.

Your wisdom will suit this place better than anyone’s.

-From the widow under falling leaves.

“In the end…”

The young lady showed a complex expression after reading the letter.

“I need to contact the Ascetic.”

Though she was a young lady who ruled the underworld, there had been no news since he went missing while providing support to disaster-struck Centa.

This was despite having all her information sources focused on the Ascetic’s whereabouts.

Even Yelena the Inquisitor, who stuck close to him as a surveillance agent, and Kalebrin had no news.

Of course, the latter had no human relationships or transaction records, so getting news was naturally difficult, but the former having no word was definitely strange.

‘The widow must have moved first to block information about the Ascetic.’

And this letter’s content meant she had replaced almost half of the banquet hall’s members.

Let’s set aside the question of whether she could do such a thing despite the widow’s large stake in the banquet hall and the resistance it would cause.

‘Recently there were many vacant seats in the banquet hall, so even small fry were trying to get in. The banquet hall members being replaced was bound to happen eventually.’

The young lady decided to gauge the widow calmly through this single letter. She was exceptionally confident in reading others’ intentions, if nothing else.

If she hadn’t possessed such talent, she would have died long ago.

However, even that exceptional brain was helpless against incomplete puzzles.

‘From the looks of it, there are hardly any existing banquet hall members left, just full of new faces. Still, isn’t it a bit unusual for the widow to suddenly replace the banquet hall members like this? Maybe the widow’s situation changed… But I’ve been consistently reported that the widow never left her mansion. There’s no possibility of a substitute. I’ve been receiving faithful reports. Ah, let me organize my thoughts for a moment.’

The Ascetic’s sudden disappearance. Yelena the Inquisitor’s intentional information blockade. The Empire facing the festival period. Chaotic Centa. The sudden turnover of banquet hall members… Intentions, purposes, dreams, ideals, future.

‘What the widow will accomplish in the Empire, and what she wants… What can’t even someone who manipulates and controls the Empire at will do? What does such a person want?’

The young lady racked her brains over the answer that seemed within reach but not quite, but ultimately there was only one conclusion.

‘Let’s find the missing Yelena the Inquisitor.’

Since the information seems intentionally blocked, she’s probably not dead. Then there would be more information to catch from that inquisitor than from the Ascetic.

‘I’ve already searched so much for the Ascetic that there’s nothing more to find. Going further would be a waste of manpower, money, time, and effort…’

Come to think of it, wasn’t it the widow who recommended Yelena the Inquisitor as a surveillance agent…?

She suddenly stood up from her desk and grabbed her head. She did so because she was disgusted by her own stupidity.

‘Damn, I was missing such an obvious clue…! I’m disqualified as an information broker.’

It was a disaster that occurred from focusing only on the Ascetic and her father being ill.

The young lady hurriedly called her aide and ordered.

“Investigate and organize everything about Yelena the Inquisitor from her childhood records to current records. Especially anything connected to the widow. Everything, as fast as possible!”

The Young Lady quickly headed to her data storage room.

And so the puzzle pieces came together one by one.

*

Blood was pooled abundantly on the stone floor.

A crude torch installed on the stone wall flickered as it burned.

One man collapsed face-down in the pool of blood and another standing upright were reflected in it.

“Crotal.”

“Urgh….”

“I don’t care what you do. I never intended to in the first place. But you still have to fulfill your duties, don’t you?”

To get the sound the conductor wants from an instrument, it must naturally be tuned.

This was the room where Crotal, Erendor was being tuned.

“Right?”

Erendor wouldn’t answer even if it killed him. Blood vessels were vivid on his already once-broken forehead.

“If there is freedom, there must be a corresponding price to pay.”

Even after Erendor thought he had become considerably stronger, he could never once beat the Boss.

Every time he rebelled, he would get beaten to a pulp like this and collapse repeatedly.

Just now too, the moment the Boss said, ‘Shall we finish the tuning soon?’, he had charged and gotten beaten to death like this.

‘How can someone become like that?’

Even after becoming stronger, he couldn’t become as strong as the Boss.

When he tried asking the Boss for teachings, he would just say that they were made of different materials so there was nothing he could do even if he taught him.

At best, it was only combat experience from occasionally rebelling and getting beaten by the strong, learning to take hits less painfully.

Viola had already received healing from Violin and left after mocking him for a long time.

Later, he would definitely drag Viola along and throw her in front of the Ascetic.

‘I’m the idiot for bringing that bastard here out of kindness to heal him…. Damn it.’

Now he didn’t even have the heart to get up and rebel more. Erendor rolled once on the cold stone floor.

If he kept getting beaten like this, he’d probably be among the top in the world for taking hits. No? What’s the point of being among the top. He should definitely be number one.

“I’ll give you a piece that suits you…. This should be easy to perform.”

“You beat me too violently so I can’t hear well.”

The Boss had amazingly avoided hitting parts that would affect his hearing, so it was a completely ineffective excuse.

“I heard you found a way to enter the Empire legally.”

That bastard Viola….

The Commander would do anything when it came to talk about the Empire.

In the midst of that, since I found a way to enter the Empire, he seems eager to use it.

“Go into the Empire and ruin their festival. You may kill people, but avoid civilians as much as possible. Only pick and kill high-ranking nobles.”

“You don’t care what happens to my reputation? At this rate, not only me but even Harmony, which has been quiet until now, will be dragged up to the surface. What if wanted posters start circulating?”

“That’s not for you to worry about. High-ranking nobles…. Yes, you know about the ‘Banquet Hall’, right?”

“Viola really spilled everything down to the last detail, didn’t she.”

“Kill as many people from the Banquet Hall as possible.”

“The security there will be tight too. What if I die in the process?”

“There will be support.”

Creak-

The sound of an underground iron door opening was heard. Erendor just lifted his head while lying down to look in that direction.

“Ha-ahm.”

Someone yawning leisurely walked in slowly. The Boss’s expression softened slightly.

“Tuba.”

Erendor’s eyes widened slightly.

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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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