The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 124

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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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Chapter 124

 

“Mm.”

 

I looked at the newspapers and documents with satisfaction, seeing they had reached a level where they praised me.

 

It wasn’t just that I had brought only the praising documents to look at – this was the overall mainstream trend.

 

[Whoa~~ Just like last time, the Saint prevented another disaster this time too~~? Even the rain of elixir fell?! I believe. Gomen (meaning Ascetic Amen) or Semen (meaning Sernuan Amen)]

 

It was roughly that kind of feeling.

 

It turned out the Central Church was trying to control the media, but it didn’t seem to be working well.

 

That meant the media was on my side! The Empire’s citizens too! On my side! Even Teacher! (Temporarily) on my side!

 

“Mmhahaha…”

 

Oops, for a moment the smile of a mastermind plotting schemes had slipped out.

 

“Ahem.”

 

I cleared my throat and returned to my usual ascetic appearance.

 

Now let’s begin the religious reformation.

 

‘Originally I was just going to make the Central Church mine, but this is…’

 

The Central Church had caused so much trouble that it was problematic. The more I looked into it, the more the Central Church was truly garbage that couldn’t be used for anything.

 

This situation was like… well, if I had to make a comparison…

 

Like buying and eating what I thought was chocolate chip bread, but it was actually raisins instead of chocolate chips.

 

Or like thinking a tangerine was fine and grabbing it from the box, only to find it was rotten and getting my fingers soaked with rotten tangerine juice.

 

To put it plainly.

 

Chopping off innocent people’s heads during the Great Purge.

 

Or invading innocent countries claiming it was God’s command.

 

Threatening other countries to offer their sacred relics as tribute, claiming those sacred relics belonged to them…

 

Huh… why does this remind me of some invasive country…?

 

So if I made the Central Church mine, I’d have to shoulder all those sins and go around apologizing.

 

That won’t do! Absolutely not!

 

I had no intention whatsoever of shouldering such massive injustices myself and living the life of a real ascetic, especially given Sernuan Lumiere’s already unfairly difficult life!

 

The Central Church? I’ll just suck out all the sweet benefits and throw it away!

 

I used my somewhat quieter vacation time after the festival to establish a new religion.

 

“To establish a religion, I need religious doctrine first, right?”

 

Something closely related to life, maintaining ethics appropriately, but with passages I could use well for my purposes…

 

“As expected, cults should invest in food and beverages.”

 

And using Antonio’s trading company to create various funding sources under my name…

 

“Can’t miss out on cultural performances either.”

 

I referenced various events and the music industry from our country’s K-pop business, where highly educated people put their heads together to consider how to most efficiently empty fangirls’ wallets.

 

I never knew my career in sales and my major would shine in a medieval fantasy setting.

 

Of course, it wasn’t that medieval people were stupid.

 

They were just incomparably innocent compared to modern cults that had been ground down in a vicious capitalist society, gnashing their teeth desperately.

 

And the modern cult that had been ground down in a vicious capitalist society, gnashing teeth desperately, was me.

 

“Kekekekek…”

 

I also designed a logo, though it wasn’t really much of a design.

 

When I was actively using the system, I just copied the glittering tattoo I had bluffed about being a symbol of an excellent believer.

 

‘I was lucky that mark was convenient to use~’

 

After all, symbols and logos are meant to reveal the nature of their organization!

 

It was an image with a candlestick, sword, and circular border intricately engraved in relief.

 

It was the mark that I (the system) had carved on several people including Antonio and the pregnant woman back when I was clueless.

 

I don’t know why the system automatically created and used this mark, but fortunately when I searched through all the other knight orders and guilds, there was no similar mark.

 

For a simple drawing, it would be a trident inside a circular border, with a diamond below that trident.

 

It was such a simple symbol.

 

“Hmm… What should I use for the verse.”

 

If they both believe in my religion, it would be good to have something to recognize each other as believers.

 

“The oath to recite when joining…”

 

My experience of being dragged into a cult during college was being put to very good use.

 

“I guess this is enough.”

 

It was the moment when a very sophisticated religious group was born in this medieval world of crude absolute monarchy and theocratic politics.

 

“Next…”

 

It was time to go collect payment for all the running around I did during my Central Church days.

 

And so I made good use of the remaining 2 weeks before meeting the leader of Harmony.

 

I toured noble houses, went out to the streets under the pretense of checking on citizens… expanding my ‘temple’.

 

I was making the bishops and priests I had marked at the Central Church into my allies, making them believe in me rather than the Central Church.

 

With Divine Aura and the current sentiment, it was sufficient work. My position in the Empire now was almost equivalent to a god.

 

Of course it was natural, since the moments I proved my supernatural power weren’t just one or two…

 

Those who had directly encountered me were now slowly exceeding tens of thousands, so word of mouth spread in an instant.

 

They thought of me as the Reincarnated God of Lumensia.

 

‘It was a bit annoying that they thought of me as that damn Lumensia, but that’s something I can correct later.’

 

“…”

 

‘Now that some faith is returning, it seems the system is slowly starting to act up again.’

 

I sighed and placed my pen on the desk with a sound.

 

Thud!

 

No one around. Okay. I checked if anyone was present and muttered to the air.

 

“I’m doing what you want, so could you please stop trying to mess with my head and change my thoughts? It’s very unpleasant.”

 

“I know you’re all listening, I heard everything from that serpent of the World Tree, Servantis or whatever.”

 

“Anyway, you failed at ganging up on me and brought me here, so don’t go demanding this and that, you losers.”

 

“…”

 

“No wait, thinking about it makes me kind of annoyed. Why did you stuff me into this time-limited body without saying a single word or giving me a guidebook? You conscienceless Gods!”

 

I finished ranting alone at the air.

 

These guys are currently defeated and scattered like soul orb fragments from some famous anime.

 

Getting angry at such beings would only be a loss for me. Oh my fate. Ugh, my stomach is churning.

 

“Urgh.”

 

I spat out blood. I don’t know how I lived back when I had to wipe this up one by one. The red blood stained my hands, and the moment I ‘recognized’ it, the blood disappeared.

 

This was the reason I was getting so angry. This damn penalty!

 

I couldn’t tell since the System Window wasn’t appearing, but it was probably because I hadn’t collected the Sacred Relics in time.

 

‘The Believer penalty should have been filled long ago…’

 

Though I call it a penalty, this was ultimately due to too many heavy souls entering Sernuan Lumiere’s body…

 

Well, to put it simply, the main computer was trash and the C drive was about to explode.

 

Here, the auxiliary drives or various auxiliary devices were the ‘Sacred Relics.’

 

The identity of this penalty was that I was handling too much right now, causing lag and the computer suddenly shutting down and causing chaos.

 

“Damn it…”

 

If I couldn’t receive the ‘Veil’ from Boss in two weeks, things might become a bit troublesome.

 

So I spent two weeks contacting Harmony with a heart more desperate than waiting for delivery when a well-fitting mouse breaks after being dropped.

 

My contact targets were usually Kalebrin or Erendor.

 

Viola would panic and faint whenever I spoke to her through Voice Transmission, and I was somewhat afraid of Tuba…

 

Because Kalebrin was living there in a state of no-mind, being treated like a cute youngest daughter.

 

‘It’s good that she looks satisfied, but it also makes me feel somewhat bitter…’

 

I didn’t even raise her, so what’s this feeling like I sent my daughter to her in-laws’ house…

 

I contacted Erendor through Voice Transmission.

 

-‘A village near the border… Where was it again. Let’s meet at the red-roofed house in Fons Village?’

 

‘Yes, then I’ll go there.’

 

‘When you come, could Kalebrin buy some candy? Boss is troubled because there’s no candy shop here.’

 

When I first entrusted Kalebrin, she was treated like a little rat by that Boss, but somehow Kalebrin became Boss’s beloved youngest daughter. I should go ask about it…

 

‘What would be good to give to other members like Commander, Tuba, Viola… and others?’

 

-‘Only me, Kalebrin, Boss, and Violin are meeting.’

 

‘Is there anything you need or want to eat?’

 

-‘Ifrit says he wants to drink alcohol.’

 

‘Isn’t that what you want to drink, Erendor?’

 

-‘Anyway, there’s nothing else besides that. Just buy candy.’

 

‘Yes.’

 

In the end, I didn’t buy alcohol.

 

*

 

I headed to Evergrace Street holding a sparkling gem-like gift candy box in one hand and other items.

 

Since using a Portal would leave records, this time I asked Celestia, who was preparing for the 1st-class Mage exam.

 

Celestia was a genius who could use long-distance movement magic on two people including herself!

 

Of course, it couldn’t be used during combat and required preparation time, but still.

 

Celestia, whom I met this way, seemed somehow gloomy.

 

“I heard.”

 

What, what did you…?

 

I reflexively tensed up.

 

“Arm guards to Yelena the Inquisitor, and a staff to Uncle Cardil… you gave them…”

 

Uncle…

 

Is Cardil already at the age to be called uncle…

 

The (future) uncle nearly fell into despair upon hearing Celestia’s words.

 

I want to be a young man forever…

 

Celestia was depressed. The (future) archmage covered his face with both hands in despair, emanating heavy mana.

 

“Why is there… nothing for me…? I was, I was looking forward to it…”

 

But I had already heard about this from (Uncle) Cardil!

 

When I contacted him to check if he was safe and asked about Cardil’s situation through voice transmission, I heard that he had been depressed for weeks because my god hadn’t given him a gift.

 

Having taken on the role of Santa Claus, I pulled out the prepared item as if I had been waiting for this moment.

 

“It was a surprise.”

 

“…!”

 

“Please open it after I leave.”

 

“As expected of my god…!”

 

No.

 

It’s just a collaboration between kindergarten teachers and parents who made children write “what they want from Santa Claus” while preparing for Christmas.

 

Celestia suppressed her desire to tear open the wrapping paper right away and grabbed my hand with enough excitement to bounce around.

 

“I’ll depart right now!”

 

“Ugh.”

 

And after just closing and opening my eyes for a moment, the place where I was standing had changed from inside a noble’s luxurious mansion to a dense forest.

 

“Phew, that’s exhausting… I need more mana to return, so I’ll wait here. Just in case you need me when you come back too!”

 

“Yes, since it’s a small village, it would be better if you avoid the residents.”

 

“I can at least cast recognition-lowering magic, so don’t worry.”

 

I parted ways with Celestia like that and went to find the house with the red roof.

 

Crash bang thump!

 

I heard sounds from the entrance, and then Kalebrin rushed into my arms.

 

And from inside the house, I heard a deep male voice.

 

“Don’t run, you’ll get hurt.”

 

“I, I, I missed you…!”

 

“I missed you too. How is your body? Shall we go inside and talk?”

 

Kalebrin nodded and gently grabbed just my pinky finger to lead me inside.

 

And I could see the leader of Harmony holding a ladle in the kitchen.

 

“…?”

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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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