The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 105

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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

No, my tier 1 dealer…!

She came back beaten up!

“….”

Yelena turned her head away, avoiding my touch. I could only smile at her.

I deliberately didn’t ask why or where she had gotten into this state.

Because I had a good idea. I knew who had done this to her.

In the first place, there weren’t many people who could beat up an Inquisitor like this.

Inquisitors themselves were in a separate class, managing priests and all.

Those who laid hands on Inquisitors could face summary execution. That was also why they could reign as objects of terror.

So who could have beaten her to a pulp like this?

‘It’s obvious….’

It was Teacher.

Teacher, who had assigned Yelena to me as a tool, had made an ‘example’ of her, turning her into a bruised banana before sending her back.

‘Damn it! My precious tier 1 dealer!’

What’s more, whether she was quite shocked by this incident or not, I could feel that her ‘trust’ in me had been somewhat threatened.

‘The connection is scattered.’

For example, I could feel that people like Kalebrin, Cardil, and Antonio were connected to me as solidly as umbilical cords.

Through those umbilical cord-like, root-like ‘paths,’ I could steal glimpses through my believers’ eyes or transmit words through voice transmission.

Yelena also had a sturdy enough path to use voice transmission. But now….

‘Teacher must have sowed discord about me.’

What the hell is this state like a crumbling unpaved road! The result of my long years of cultivating trust has become a complete mess!

‘Yelena was already a hard-to-find dealer that I wanted to keep close…. Anyway, Teacher really isn’t helping my path forward.’

Having such thoughts that would have horrified the real Sernuan Lumiere without a care, I healed Yelena’s wounds without even touching her.

“It wasn’t necessary.”

“Is that so?”

“It didn’t hurt at all.”

“But Sister’s heart seems to be in great pain.”

“How would you know that…? Please stop acting like you know everything.”

Yelena answered with a sharp tone. I wasn’t hurt or anything.

It seemed that being beaten to death by the widow while hearing certain words had wounded her considerably.

Originally, whether animals or humans, when they’re hurt they become sensitive and needlessly wary of others.

But soothing and comforting wounded people to make them your allies and bind them to you is a cult leader’s specialty!

Taking advantage of weak and injured people’s vulnerabilities and manipulating them with words – such gaslighting methods are the ultimate cult techniques.

Fully aware of what evil I was committing, I whispered to Yelena, trying to win her favor.

“You must have heard certain words from the widow. I know everything. I just distinguish what to say and what not to say. I’ve known since Yelena first met me that you came as a watchful eye to monitor me and report to the widow.”

Yelena’s expression changed as if her secret had been discovered. I spoke as if it was nothing.

“However, Yelena must have decided what information to pass to the widow. You must have sometimes conveyed information favorably to me…. I know you also worked hard to protect me.”

“How…? No, there’s no point asking about this….”

She muttered. I smiled broadly and spread my arms.

“So you can confess everything to me. It’s called confession. Though I’m not a proper priest, wouldn’t confession to a Saint be not so bad? Come, your secrets will be kept in complete confidence.”

Yelena stopped scratching her neck.

“It doesn’t matter anyway since the string has snapped. Whatever I say, my existence won’t even be a threat to that person….”

She showed a sad expression.

“I wanted to become a sword to pierce her.”

Now it’s confession time, so I just need to shut up and listen. Originally, comfort and such things are said after hearing everything.

Yelena fell for my trick and began telling me what had happened, and even about her past.

It was a long and very complicated story.

Well, stories told in a confused and chaotic state of mind are usually messy and complicated.

‘To summarize, Yelena lost her family on suspicion of heresy during the Great Purge and was sent to an orphanage like me. After that, she caught the widow’s eye and formed a mother-daughter bond to become family, and from then on her life was consistently directed toward one thing. The questions “Why was my family purged?” and “Are heretics really bad?”‘

I could understand why I didn’t know about her in the game. She was ostracized for the complex reasons of being a commoner who rose meteorically, a parachute appointment, and the timing of the Great Purge.

Moreover, Yelena’s personality itself was the type that couldn’t stand injustice and would charge in, so she probably made enemies while working as an Inquisitor and got killed.

I also learned why Yelena cooperated with me so actively.

Destroying the Central Church and revenge against the Inquisitor who killed her parents. Information about ‘heretics’ to find out if heresy was really bad.

She had been cooperating with me to obtain that.

‘So what stance should I take here?’

God, teacher, family, supporter, guardian, avenger…. Anything.

“Mother surely won’t believe in my usefulness anymore…. I asked for a chance, but I’m already, already someone unreliable. That’s the kind of person she is, someone who can quickly replace even a daughter she’s known for decades, she probably never trusted me from the beginning…!”

Through this visit, I learned what Yelena had heard while being beaten. And what situation she was in.

Disappointment and fear toward her mother…. The sense of defeat and wounds from being unable to overcome the pressure and succumbing.

When all my resolutions and plans had turned to bubbles and I didn’t know if I could rise again, couldn’t even dare to try.

Self-loathing and disappointment in herself for having to beg for opportunities just to survive.

In summary, a fighting dog had returned defeated from the arena.

“Then what does Yelena want to do now?”

She hung her head low and, unable to contain her anger, punched the wall. It seemed to crack. I should definitely not mess around.

“Revenge, revenge is enough. I want her to suffer more than me….”

“Isn’t this a choice made from immediate anger?”

“…My parents were everything to me. I couldn’t live after losing them, but the widow said she’d become my new family. She became my mother. But even that mother didn’t trust me and was using me as a chess piece. Of course, I was using mother too, but….”

“How confusing. You look like a paper boat swaying in rough seas.”

She whipped her head up. Her expression was full of anger. Her usually flowing, neatly tied hair was a complete mess.

“Now, Yelena. Shall we find the middle way? Don’t you have the ability to find the right path without being biased and move forward on the correct road? The ability to navigate by finding the North Star in the dark, wave-tossed vast ocean.”

“What kind of pie-in-the-sky nonsense….”

“Is revenge really what you want? I’ll ask again, Yelena.”

“I…. I want revenge. They killed my family for ridiculous reasons. Is it wrong to want to give them the same pain?”

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I think those who have suffered have every right to return sufficient pain to those who made them suffer.”

Isn’t telling victims to endure too old-fashioned and unfair? And giving up revenge because it’s difficult? Let’s try it first and then think about it. At least that’s how I think.

However….

“The dead don’t return, and the target for your revenge blade has already disappeared, hasn’t it? The Inquisitor who killed your parents must have died long ago.”

“How do you know that….”

That much comes out quickly when you look at documents from a Saint’s position.

Yelena had already completed her revenge.

The first thing she must have done after joining the widow’s line was killing most of the Inquisitors – it would be strange if there were no records.

You need to plan your life well after revenge so you don’t feel empty.

Tsk tsk, this is why amateur revenge ghosts don’t work out.

You can’t properly get revenge with the weak mindset of ‘I’ll get revenge on that bastard and then die too!’

You have to eat three delicious meals a day, sleep well, and live happily while maximizing your happiness – that’s how you can better mock your enemy who has fallen into the abyss.

“I’ll ask again. What do you wish for?”

Unlike the immediate answer from before, this answer took some time.

I could feel the badly damaged, uneven, and faint roots gradually becoming solid.

How should I explain it – it’s a very subtle feeling.

If I focus more on this sensation, it feels like countless bundles of wires are connected to me, providing the abstract concept of faith.

It’s as pleasant a sensation as the smell of freshly baked bread and looking at the dawn sky.

Yelena’s answer came.

“I want the truth.”

My mouth curved into an arc.

“You’ve found the middle way, Yelena.”

My essential tier 1 deck dealer had finally come to her senses. With this, she would become even more powerful. Usually this is when the awakening cliché happens, right?

“I need to know what secrets the Central Church, and furthermore this world, is hiding. So that more young ‘Yelenas’ don’t appear.”

“I’ll support you and walk that path together, Yelena. As a prophet and pioneer, I’ll always walk ahead of you on your journey. I’ll take the wind, rain, and stones for you, helping ensure your middle way doesn’t waver.”

Vitality had returned to her eyes. It was a fresh, life-giving green that made you want to keep looking, completely different from the widow’s dull, dark green eyes.

Her firm expression softened as she returned to her usual natural smile.

“Yes, Ascetic. I will become a sword on your path as well, cutting down enemies. As an ‘Inquisitor.'”

It was the moment when ‘Inquisitor’ Yelena came into my hands.

I smiled. Now Yelena could join the upcoming ‘Prometheus’ project.

*

Yelena felt relieved as she relaxed the tension in her body. The Ascetic came behind her and began arranging her hair.

He combed through my disheveled hair with his fingers and started another conversation.

“Now that you’re ready to face the truth, let me tell you a very small truth.”

“Truth…?”

It’s probably nothing major. At most, it would be amusing if it were something trivial like the Ascetic actually being a woman.

“Actually, Lumensia wants to destroy this world.”

“….”

Swish, swish.

Only the sound of hair being combed could be heard.

‘What did he say?’

I said I was ready to accept the truth, but suddenly he just casually says something like that?

‘He’s not the type to lie. No, really not?’

I asked the Ascetic again, unable to believe it.

“What did you say?”

The Ascetic answered again as kindly as usual.

“Lumensia is trying to destroy the world. We must stop him.”

Yelena felt like her head was about to explode.

‘That’s not a very small truth…!’

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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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