The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 103

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

Fire

Immediately agreeing with an “alright, okay” here would be amateur.

However, I can’t refuse the opportunity to receive Harmony’s help with my plan to ruin the festival and later gain entry into Harmony itself.

“The sound of your gears turning… I can hear it all the way over here….”

Tuba glared at me with hollow eyes from beside me. I responded with a laugh without being flustered.

“Of course. From my perspective, you’re asking me to ruin an event that’s like the face of my homeland with my own hands. Don’t you think there’s enough reason to worry?”

Especially right after Teacher had personally given me a ‘warning’… If I ruined this, Teacher would really give me penalty points.

How could I appropriately get my spoon into this plan?

Tuba’s wariness was too high to try extracting anything more.

‘Since I can get the veil, maybe I should back down a step here…’

There wasn’t really anything I desperately wanted to gain from Harmony anyway.

Right now it would be good to earn favor by giving something myself. Of course, within limits where I don’t lose out.

“There’s even an Inquisitor here brazenly, after all~”

Yelena was diligently bringing food to Erendor with an annoyed expression. Erendor was peacefully chatting while mindlessly chewing his food.

“Well then, take your time thinking it over.”

“Ugh, please swallow your food before speaking.”

Yelena grimaced and handed him a handkerchief.

“You try getting beaten and starved for a week. See if you can focus on anything.”

“Who beat you up like that?”

“Mmm. Boss?”

“Was there really a need to… be so cruel?”

“I was usually pretty disobedient anyway…. Hmm, I probably made them angry by failing the mission and acting shameless about it.”

Erendor spoke as if it was nothing at all. Yelena asked in disbelief.

“Just because they were angry… doing that to a fellow organization member?”

“That’s just how it is here.”

“Don’t you resent your Boss?”

“Resent? Well. I just like Boss’s power, that’s all.”

Yelena made an indescribable expression, then pursed her lips and shook her head.

She seemed to be saying ‘what a lunatic.’ Her thoughts were so transparent I felt like I could hear her mind.

‘Maybe it’s not my imagination…?’

Tuba showed slight displeasure.

“I hope your deliberation ends quickly…. So you don’t waste my time….”

“It’s fine. I’ve made my decision.”

“Oh…?”

“The Empire is my homeland and… where my precious people are. But if it’s to protect more people, it would be an unavoidable choice.”

A sharp glint flashed in Tuba’s eyes.

“I thought you’d have strong loyalty to the Empire….”

“A nation is simply a nation. It poses no constraints on me. If my simple wish for all humans to not suffer gets blocked by national walls, I wouldn’t have started this path in the first place.”

“Even if casualties occur while ruining the festival…?”

“No innocent person will be hurt or killed. Because I’ll be there.”

“What gives you such confidence to say that…?”

“There’s a suffering-looking Erendor right here. May I?”

“What. I was hoping to receive it actually.”

Erendor shrugged his shoulders, giving permission for contact. Since he was within my sight range anyway, I could heal him without much effort….

But right now I needed to make a good impression on Tuba.

I gestured to Tuba as if telling him to watch carefully, then quietly approached Erendor and placed my hand on him.

Sparkle.

From where my hand touched, metaphysical golden vine patterns climbed up Erendor’s body and completely erased his wounds.

In the air, fluttering golden and white dust-like lights were dancing. It was like a small, quiet fireworks display.

It was beautiful enough that not just Tuba, but everyone in the hall stared in fascination.

“There, you won’t be in pain anymore. Brother. You’ve worked hard.”

“This is really… you’re truly a Saint…. truly a Saint….”

Tuba exclaimed in admiration.

“Thank you for the praise, Brother.”

I smiled slightly.

“But before joining this operation, there seems to be something we need to clarify about our relationship.”

Tuba raised an eyebrow. Erendor spoke first.

“I’ll say this upfront, there’s nothing more to offer. Friend. This is already the maximum.”

“Revealing your hand first in negotiations…. You just shut up….”

I smiled lightly.

“It’s not a negotiation. I don’t want anything more anyway. Well, I’ll be falling out of the Empire’s favor by carrying out this operation…. The number of people trying to eliminate me will increase too. Getting Harmony’s help then will be sufficient.”

I was already planning to increase my recognition within the Empire by carrying out this operation together, so there was actually no loss.

“I didn’t say I’d help…. But if you finish this job well, it’s not impossible….”

“I have a few curious questions here.”

“Speak….”

“Is the purpose of ruining the Sunrise Festival perhaps… related to Lumensia?”

Tuba made an intentionally expressionless face. Erendor answered while mindlessly chewing bread without much thought.

“Yeah.”

“I see.”

I like straightforward answers. The Banquet Master and Widow try to measure everything, which is annoying because you have to be measured back.

Hearing his answer, a satisfied smile naturally appeared.

This single statement would become the foundation for a proposal I’d make in the future.

I was now gathering comrades to bring down Lumensia together.

Kalebrin, Yelena, Cardil, and Celestia alone weren’t enough firepower for ‘Operation Prometheus’ to kill a god.

But if I could make Erendor, who was already strong enough and would certainly become stronger, into my ally…. The operation would become much easier.

If I could draw in Erendor, and furthermore all of Harmony… that would be even better.

Killing a god is honestly something that seems impossible even to me right now.

‘Even with the Demon King’s cooperation as a Transcendent, I can’t grasp how to do it. I only have Divine Powers of defense, healing, and purification. Even if I get that veil, I can’t beat up Lumensia…’

For now, let’s focus on gathering strong party members and concentrate on the conversation.

“So your Boss wants to kill Lumensia?”

“Killing a god… We’re not quite at that level…. What human could kill a god anyway….”

Tuba spoke as if talking to himself.

“Boss just hates the Empire to death, that’s all.”

I nodded slowly in understanding.

“The Empire has many sins. I don’t know what your Boss went through, but I understand that pain.”

“Nothing else you’re curious about?”

“No. If I ruin the festival well, your Boss will want to meet me too. We can talk more then.”

“Such confidence…. You must have some great plan…?”

I just smiled.

“It’s a bit awkward to say this, but… insiders usually know the most weaknesses. You two have found the best collaborator.”

Erendor fidgeted as if he wanted to jump out right away.

“This is exciting.”

*

I explained to them in detail how the Empire’s festival proceeded and how it was scheduled to proceed this year.

And I also explained how to ruin the festival in the most dramatic and symbolic way possible.

“Simply causing a loud disturbance wouldn’t feel like ruining it…. It’s a good plan….”

It was a plan that even earned a passing grade from Tuba.

“But if we do this, Harmony’s authority will be damaged, so that’s concerning.”

“Well, that’s just… the Boss will be a bit annoyed, but it doesn’t matter….”

“We get more individual requests than group jobs. This level won’t even affect our reputation, right?”

“That’s fortunate then.”

“But… what’s this about cutting off an arm…? Crotal….”

When I explained the plan earlier, I inevitably had to mention some of the balancing act between the Empire and Senta. Even for Tuba, he showed quite a surprised expression.

Tuba looked at Erendor.

“Uh….”

“It’s fine. An arm grows back quickly anyway.”

I spoke to Tuba as if making an excuse.

“Like a lizard, how disgusting….”

“….”

That was a bit hurtful.

“If we can really get that kind of effect on Senta with just one arm… it would be a profitable deal….”

“Now, we’ve wasted a lot of time, so let’s get moving.”

“I’ll hand over the veil after the operation is over… focus on the mission….”

“Yes, understood.”

“I should be the one to cut the arm, right?”

Erendor drew his great sword and aimed it. Yelena and Kalebrin flinched, but I stopped him.

“It’ll be unpleasant to watch, so it would be better to move to another room for a moment.”

This is my first time having my arm cut off while being this prepared.

‘Let’s focus on suppressing the complete regeneration of the arm. Excessive bleeding is dangerous, so I need to regenerate while slightly covering the severed area….’

We moved to another room. Erendor scratched his cheek while holding his sword.

“Should I just cut below the elbow?”

“No, cut it right below the shoulder.”

“Uh… won’t that be too inconvenient and painful?”

“It needs to look dramatic.”

“You say you want to eliminate all the pain in the world, so why are you so lenient about your own pain?”

I just smiled vaguely.

“In the face of a greater cause, one’s own pain must be postponed.”

“A cause… a cause, huh. That’s quite difficult.”

Erendor gripped his sword firmly. I secretly swallowed my saliva. Cold sweat seemed about to break out.

I’m afraid… No, I’m not afraid. This much is nothing compared to what I’ve endured before.

“I’ll cut it so it won’t hurt.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at those words. How could he cut off an arm without it hurting? Really, how ridiculous….

Erendor’s arm moves.

Thunk.

The arm fell off. The arm that dropped to the floor looked like a mannequin’s arm, not like my own.

The bloody arm, despite being severed, still retained a faint amount of divine power and quickly purified the pool of blood that was dripping down.

In excruciating pain, I focused as much as possible on the wound area, thinking about preventing complete regeneration and only healing the blood vessels and flesh.

The flowing blood gradually stopped. When I came to my senses, I was drenched in cold sweat. Erendor was supporting my body and looking at me with worried eyes.

How long have we even known each other? I’m not even that important to him, yet he pretends to worry like this… How ridiculous.

What would Teacher think if she saw me like this? Would she be surprised? Probably not. She wouldn’t be surprised. She would just… be angry that I had escaped from her control.

“Hahaha….”

I wanted to show her this sight as soon as possible.

*

“Report! The Empire’s dispatched Saint has defeated all the monsters and is returning!”

“The Saint…?”

“The undead horde around Senta has been completely annihilated! It appears he directly attacked their stronghold during his missing period!”

“That can’t be…!”

“Additional report! The Saint has been severely injured! He lost an arm during battle and is currently returning!”

Meanwhile, everyone in Senta was confused by the suddenly ended disaster situation.

“The Saint… our Empire’s person… gave up his arm to protect Senta’s citizens?”

“Even though they’re from an enemy nation, a person saved people… I’ve never heard of such a thing!”

“That damn Empire person went that far?”

“When he visited before, he helped us so much too… He truly is a Saint…!”

“To smile even after losing an arm… That’s a true Saint sent from heaven, not some facade that the Empire props up!”

“That person isn’t from the Empire, he’s everyone’s Saint!”

This news quickly reached everyone’s ears.

Including the Young Lady.

“I heard the report. It seems the Saint cut off his own arm directly.”

*

The Widow heard it too.

“….”

The Widow maintained her silence in a room where not a single ray of sunlight entered, staring down at the letter for a long time.

It was too dark to guess what expression she was making or what thoughts she was having, but one thing was clear.

She was extremely angry.

“Hah….”

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