The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 16

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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

In the process, the tobacco fell from his hand.

Ugh! There’s going to be a forest fire!

Fortunately, it seemed the fire went out as it fell. He glared at me with blazing eyes.

“Tell me in detail.”

He’s not going to hit me, right? Right?

“It’s still too early, Cardil… Everything has its time.”

Cardil’s mouth moved wordlessly.

“The fact that I have the power to save more people, that must be true.”

“Yes. I cannot lie. As an ascetic, I must not speak falsehoods. Ah, are there still many patients in the hut?”

“…Yes. They’re especially looking for you.”

“Oh my, it seems Cardil is suffering too much, which troubles my heart.”

“Well… it doesn’t matter. If I hadn’t prepared for this much hardship, I wouldn’t have left the religious order.”

Cardil stomped on the tobacco with his heel, crushing it out. It looked like he was beating me instead, making me flinch.

He picked up the cigarette butt, put it in the metal case he carried, then entered the hut. Even in this fantasy medieval world, he was a courteous smoker.

“Haaaaah…”

“Hnngh, hnnnn…”

From the hut came the groaning sounds of patients, just like when I visited before.

But that was nothing. The ones who were really on death’s door didn’t even groan, just lay there like corpses.

Cardil began explaining near the bed where a patient lay.

“This patient is suffering from aftereffects of the epidemic that went around last year. These are diseases that don’t respond to priest’s healing, holy water, or various medicines. At first it was a rare type of disease, but after the epidemic spread, all sorts of people are suffering from it. Despite being incurable, it’s also highly contagious, so we’re quite troubled… well, you wouldn’t need to worry about that.”

Oh… I didn’t know that before.

Since I had no medical knowledge and just shot purification beams, I didn’t know these detailed circumstances.

“Saving suffering souls is also my mission, so I simply do my best as an ascetic.”

“…I wish the church members thought the same way.”

Most fortunately, Cardil’s favorability event seemed to have ended well.

From how much he’d been talking to me, it seemed his view had improved from thinking I was trash running a cult to feeling uncertain whether to trust me or not.

[Temporary Believers: 8]

The temporary believers had even increased from 7 to 8!

Of course, that temporary believer might not be Cardil… but anyway, it going up was good.

I drew upon the power of the purification relic again to save the patient. Since I’d been working with Cardil for several days now, we were perfectly in sync.

When I performed purification, he treated the awakened patient. In that process, believers had already increased by 6.

In a country strict about heresy where believing in other gods was unthinkable, could they really trust me this easily? That doubt arose, but…

Combining what Cardil said… there wasn’t really a reason not to believe.

Now that religious distrust was beginning to emerge, when I acted like a cult leader while emitting these light effects, medieval people were easily fooled.

Especially a mysterious man who could cure incurable diseases with ease.

Hmm… if I were a medieval person, I think I would have believed too.

Unlike modern times with rapid media development, here the only entertainment was watching executions.

I caught my breath. There wasn’t the same exhaustion as the first day, but acting as a cult leader was somewhat tiring.

There were about 2 patients left who needed treatment.

Whether it was word-of-mouth effect or something, several times more people flocked here than before, so I could fill up quickly. Since they became believers as soon as I treated them, it was like fishing in a fish farm.

[WARNING!]

[system: If believers remain at ’37’ after 27 more hours, physical collapse will begin in stages.]

‘At this rate… I can leisurely receive the believer reward by tomorrow. Maybe even today if I’m fast.’

Rather than buying something new, leveling up Weakness Detection would be better, right? I was curious what would happen if I leveled it up more…

Baptism needed 10 points to reach level 3.

Since I’d need Weakness Detection more than Baptism from now on… leveling that up would be better.

During the treatment process, Cardil spoke to me.

“Do you truly believe you can change this empire? This country full of useless customs and corruption…”

Probably what that church member said earlier was really bothering him.

Rather than cursing himself, he seemed to be pondering whether this empire and the Central Church could change for the better, and whether he could actually do it – a problem before belief itself.

Cult mental care, here I go.

“My power alone would certainly be insufficient. However, if the brothers unite with one heart and mind, what could we not accomplish? We could change not just this empire, but the entire world.”

I spoke in a firm voice, as if giving him confidence.

“If this empire and the Central Church become sources of people’s suffering, shouldn’t they necessarily be changed?”

I drew upon my power. Golden light shone on the veil I was wearing.

“If necessary… even if we have to uproot and rebuild everything.”

Paaaah.

Light bloomed from my hands.

Unlike the chaotic light streams and particles from the beginning, some flowers and sun-like marks bloomed before disappearing. Definitely because of the enhancement, it was more sparkling and prettier than before.

Cardil listened to my words while giving vitality to the awakened but weakened patient. He stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke.

“That’s… your mission.”

“It’s a life lived solely for that purpose.”

“…The deal you broke off last time, was that really broken off by your will?”

Uh, wait a minute.

That… I don’t really know about that? A deal? Wh-what deal?

Cardil gave me a sharp look.

Because he suddenly asked about Sernuan Lumiere from before my possession, my hand stopped in mid-air.

I moved it casually again right away, but sensitive Cardil surely noticed.

“Before leaving the religious order, when I met you… the you I saw then and the you now seem somewhat different.”

Of course we’re different! We’re different people!

I couldn’t answer and quietly treated the patient. There was nothing I could say…!

If I answered carelessly, I might lower Cardil’s favorability that I’d worked so hard to build. I might even be suspected.

“Well, people naturally change. Especially if they experience events in a short time… they can change even more. Anyway… what I wanted to ask was this.”

Cardil, who had washed his hands in water, let out a deep sigh.

“That deal you proposed first about establishing a public medical system and hospital. Why exactly did you break it off? If you were going to do this anyway, you didn’t need to cancel the deal.”

Uh… he did that?

Sernuan Lumiere? Him?

Hmm. Wasn’t it probably for cult purposes? Even now, seeing how I selectively treat people, establishing a public medical system or hospital would have been better for gathering believers.

But I can’t say that directly!

“That’s something I cannot tell you. However, please know that breaking the deal was not my intention.”

“Fine. I’m not the type to cling to past matters. I’m just satisfied that you’re caring for patients even now.”

Phew… thank goodness.

It seemed Cardil just asked out of curiosity.

If he’d pressed further, I would have really been in trouble!

‘Sernuan’s past… I need to think about it more.’

I survived because Cardil had a straightforward personality, but if he were the type to pry persistently, I would have been dead immediately.

I finished treating the last patient. The believer count had risen well.

[Believers: 39]

At this rate, I could clear the sub-quest by tomorrow at the latest.

I sat down to rest, feeling relieved. I was tired.

It seemed well past lunchtime… I wasn’t hungry since I’d eaten breakfast, but wasn’t Cardil hungry?

“So, don’t you have any thoughts of making that deal again?”

After finishing the treatment, Cardil said that.

Hmm, a hospital.

I had thought it would be nice to establish one.

But since Cardil brought it up like this… well, I could make a token deal to build some favor.

I spoke with a light heart.

“Excellent. It would become a lighthouse that suffering souls could come to see.”

Anyway, building a hospital and establishing a system would take a lot of time and money. It’s not something that would happen right away!

Sorry to Cardil, but all I need is to get the Healing Relic!

With thoughts like a highway robber, I sat down in the chair.

While Cardil was doing follow-up treatment, an Enthusiastic Woman was enthusiastically explaining ‘precautions’ to everyone. She was a patient I had treated on the first day. I was getting familiar with her now.

“Therefore, you must be careful so that the Ascetic doesn’t get branded as a heretic…”

The precautions she mentioned were just repeating my announcements. It was really convenient and nice that she did it on her own. Nice.

Those who heard her made serious faces as if these precautions were matters of great importance and nodded their heads.

Some even followed along with the crude prayer the Enthusiastic Woman demonstrated.

As I quietly watched this scene, Cardil handed me a sandwich and said.

“Come to think of it, have you ever heard the story that the spring water in the Witch’s Forest is healing water that cures all wounds?”

The sandwich made of lettuce, tomato, bacon, and coarse white bread looked quite delicious at first glance.

I took the sandwich and listened to his story. Accepting small talk is also an excellent virtue of a cult leader.

“It was a legendary tale told by my first patient who has now passed away. His hometown was a Minority Tribe deep inside the Witch’s Forest, and he said the spring water in the Witch’s Forest was healing spring water – if you drank that water, internal injuries would heal, and if you poured the water on wounds, it would miraculously cure them.”

Wait a minute.

Isn’t this about a Healing Relic?

I had a hunch.

“That patient eventually passed away because even that healing water couldn’t cure his illness. But anyway, it was an interesting story.”

I tried to act nonchalant and continued the conversation.

“What happened to that Minority Tribe?”

“Ah, that’s also an old story – they all died when the Empire conquered the Witch’s Forest. Some might still be alive, but… if such spring water really existed, wouldn’t the Empire have already dug down to the lake bottom and be using it?”

Cardil chewed his sandwich wearily like a tired office worker, saying legends are just legends.

This is a world where legends become reality.

To dismiss it as just a legend… there was a 100% chance it was a Healing Relic.

‘Witch’s Forest, spring water. These clues aren’t enough. If the Empire really combed through the Witch’s Forest thoroughly, they would have found that relic too. But in the end, it was the original Cardil who found it and handed it over to the Religious Order.’

Then how was Cardil able to find that relic?

“The sandwich is delicious. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Don’t mention it. I didn’t make it anyway… that, what was her name again. The Pregnant Patient gave it to me last time.”

I couldn’t taste the sandwich. My entire mind was captivated by the Healing Relic.

Why was only Cardil able to find that relic?

Did that Minority Tribe not know about the relic’s existence?

Was it related to the Dead Patient?

There might be a mechanism where the relic could only be identified through relics or words passed down by the Dead Patient.

‘Damn, there are too few clues.’

I need to probe Cardil a bit more.

“That legend is quite interesting.”

“If such spring water existed, there wouldn’t be people suffering like this. It’s regrettable.”

“Didn’t the patient who returned to God’s embrace tell you any other legends?”

Cardil’s eyebrows twitched, but he just chewed his sandwich with a tired expression before answering.

“That spring water was… even during droughts or when big fires broke out in the forest, it remained so clear you could see the bottom and never dried up. And… ah, there was something a Central Church Priest who came to investigate said back then. I just remembered.”

Cardil picked up the quill pen on the desk and continued his work.

“After that massacre, the spring water turned red like blood, and any animals or people who fell into it would melt away without leaving even a bone. That’s why the Empire didn’t take it… even when they tried to use it as poison, it melted everything – iron, pottery, everything – so there’s a superstition that it happened because of the curse of the massacred Minority Tribe Members.”

Cardil rubbed his nose bridge tiredly and finished speaking.

“I don’t know anything more than that.”

I nodded and ate my sandwich. It was fortunate I was covered by the veil.

I got the gist of it.

‘I need to go to the Witch’s Forest. As quickly as possible…!’

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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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