The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 191

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

Chapter 191

Transcendents have emerged.

The Commander, who had been barely hanging on the edge of transcendence from the beginning, was the first, and Celestia was the second.

After gaining a title comparable to an Archmage in just a few months, she truly seized the Archmage title and now even aims for transcendence – Celestia’s talent was truly tremendous.

I created a place where they could fight each other without holding back, and the craziest ones grew the fastest.

‘It’s surprising that Erendor is taking longer than expected.’

Still, a Transcendent isn’t called a Transcendent for nothing. Those two are exceptional cases – it’s not that Erendor is falling behind.

Tuba is gritting his teeth quite a bit, but well… I’m not sure how that will turn out. I never had the luxury of thinking all these characters would become Transcendents in the first place.

“How about we go see the fish from over there this time?”

“That sounds… good.”

Over the past few days, Luan and Gretchin had become close to each other, which was fine except for the fact that I secretly felt a bit left out.

Yeah… I put two good-natured pushovers together, so of course they’d get along swimmingly.

Especially Luan, who had been human and then wasn’t, would naturally feel more favorable toward Gretchin.

According to my analysis, probably because Gretchin had held a part of me – my heart, even if briefly – he instinctively feels goodwill…

‘What does any of this matter anyway.’

I put them together so they’d be friends with each other, and they’re getting along better than expected, so there’s unexpectedly one guy feeling lonely?

So this is what happens when you have friends.

My body had also grown roughly 1.5 times larger than before, so now I couldn’t enter most ordinary houses alone, and I fell into trivial anguish.

While I was watching over the kids’ training, Cardil came running toward me in a panic.

“Gerard.”

Eyes filled with despair, trembling hands, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, teeth chattering against each other.

Cardil spoke while breathing heavily.

“Austin, Austin Gerard is…”

*

By the time I thought Austin Gerard was in danger, it was already too late.

What came to Cardil wrapped like a gift was a pair of Austin Gerard’s green eyes.

“This can’t be, this can’t be happening…”

And, as if to clearly indicate it was Austin Gerard…

They had enclosed it together with the brooch that only the Lion Heart Knight Commander wears.

Cardil sat collapsed, covering his face completely.

Even I was quite puzzled.

Austin Gerard. Who was he but a powerhouse on par with Yelena and Erendor?

Though I hadn’t seen him directly, in the game trailer he certainly had enough strength to fight the Commander evenly and lose respectably.

If such a powerhouse had his eyes gouged out like this, just how strong would his opponent be?

Most of the powerhouses in this world had come under my control. With the Commander and the Demon King now united under one will.

What powerhouse would have reason to touch Austin Gerard, who was clearly one of our people?

Who could be so overwhelmingly powerful as to do this to Austin Gerard?

Even searching through the Gods’ memories, my own memories, and the future statistics I’d seen through prophecy, there was nothing particular.

And the future statistics of prophecy are external things.

In other words.

‘Demons.’

Prophecy goes most astray when dealing with them.

Because they’re not of this world.

This was also why prophecy wasn’t a ‘foresight’ skill fundamentally.

Because it visually shows the optimal answers that the Gods governing this world came up with by racking their brains.

The other demon who had spoken to me and the demon who became my sacrifice.

The one who introduced himself as Eris said he didn’t have much combat power, so it wouldn’t be him.

Then is there yet another third demon?

‘Come to think of it, the premise that there are only two demons was strange to begin with.’

But why would a demon specifically target Austin Gerard?

Are they planning to use Austin Gerard as bait to lure out Cardil and wipe me out as well?

Though it seems more like a warning than that.

There’s no point in just racking my brains here.

“Do not weep so sorrowfully… Did I not say that as long as you are here, you need not cry like this?”

I gently embraced Cardil. Then I wiped away his tears and soothed his swollen eyes.

“And that Knight is alive.”

“…!”

The ether barely detectable at the edge of the sanctuary must surely belong to Austin Gerard.

Though there’s not much else visible.

Since they deliberately placed him at the sanctuary’s edge and intentionally concealed their position and condition, it wouldn’t be wise to recklessly go meet him.

“As long as life continues, all will safely enter my embrace. My Brothers and Sisters and family, pray for his safe return.”

I prepared to step forward.

Whatever the case, I must meet the person who was with Austin Gerard until the very end.

And in a corner of the fleeting prophetic memories, there was a familiar face.

Young Lady.

I thought it was time to meet her, but I never expected to meet again under such circumstances.

I reduced my size as much as possible.

Even so, I was roughly 2 meters and 30 centimeters tall.

If I made myself smaller than this, I felt like I’d literally throw up…

In this medieval era, someone of that height would be treated like a giant, so staying inconspicuous was impossible.

Gretchin asked.

“Where are you going?”

“Stay here with Ife and look after your family.”

“Can’t you tell us?”

Luan, now using crutches, limped over.

“If it’s something serious, I might be able to help too… don’t you think?”

Now that I think about it, my speech pattern passive might have unconsciously followed the late Sernuan…

Luan, with his jet-black hair and a half-and-half mix of Hanbul Park and Sernuan, was making an expression that made it hard for me to refuse.

However, if I were a weak mortal I might have given in, but now I have a body that has transcended mortality! I won’t be swayed by such a trivial expression…!

But since he might be sad if I left without saying anything, I gave him a slightly more kind explanation.

“In the gap of severed causality, in that pitch-black abyss, I glimpsed fragments of scattered time. That Knight’s disturbed time. At the end pointed to by those last memory fragments… a familiar woman stands.”

Cardil, who had been listening carefully to my story, asked.

“When you say woman…”

“The last person the Knight was with was the Young Lady. I shall go to her and ask in detail about the Knight’s final moments.”

Cardil’s lips twitched. He seemed to have noticed that I knew where Austin Gerard was.

This is why perceptive people become unnecessarily sensitive and ill-tempered.

“If this should be Lumensia’s trap to lure me out, it would be extremely dangerous.”

Gretchin didn’t notice, and Luan had known from the beginning.

Luan was holding his crutches but found them uncomfortable, so he just plopped down in a nearby chair. Gretchin naturally took Luan’s crutches for him.

“If you’re going to meet the Young Lady, there’s no need for the Ascetic to step forward personally, is there? Since there are many people, couldn’t we divide the work…”

“Luan, there’s something else for you to do.”

“For me…?”

“When you recover more, I hope you will soothe the Citizens’ anxiety as my Saint. I have other things to do later, so if you could take charge of comforting the people’s hearts, I would feel at ease… I respect your opinion.”

“Whatever you entrust to me is an honor beyond my worth.”

I had faith that Luan would do well since he had seen everything I’d done as an Ascetic anyway.

Thus I dumped my substitute role on him. Very convenient and nice.

“When a situation comes where I need to vouch for you, let me know. Gretchin, help Luan.”

Gretchin cheerfully accepted my unilateral command.

Is he that happy to be given work…? Anyway, they’re people I’ll never fully understand…

And besides the Young Lady, there’s another place I need to go…

The other combat classes were all busy grinding training experience, so there weren’t any available units I could actually use.

Using up all my units led to this situation… Though traveling alone is faster anyway.

I melted into the darkness.

*

I suddenly appeared before the Young Lady.

And got hit with a baptism of fire.

“Kyaaaah!”

It was the work of the bodyguard who had been staying by her side.

I waved the fire away, making it die down. Acrid smoke billowed throughout the mansion.

The bodyguard drew his sword and confronted me. The Young Lady was even startled by me and tried to evacuate.

I reached out my hand to reassure them.

“Do not fear…”

Uttering that familiar line wasn’t particularly my own will.

“Huff, huff, h-hiiik…!”

The bodyguard was on the verge of fainting.

‘Am I that scary…’

The Young Lady, with quick wit, stopped trying to flee and began observing me.

It seemed the problem was that I had my robe hood up and wasn’t showing my face, so I checked if my inner face was properly positioned and then removed the hood.

“…!”

“A-Ascetic? You were definitely dead… No, I heard news of your resurrection, but…”

The Young Lady quickly grasped the situation but seemed puzzled by my changed atmosphere, manner of speaking, and height.

“Time is short, so I’ll be rude.”

I closed the distant gap with one step and placed my hand on the Young Lady’s head.

With just that, I could find the memories I wanted.

Insight.

A passive ability that varies depending on how much potential each god unleashes.

Of course, it can only be used on those of lower rank than me, so it’s not used often…

I searched through the Young Lady’s surface memories.

*

-“I am Lion Heart Knight Commander Austin Gerard! Young Lady of the banquet hall, the lord is dying, so send a priest!”

-“…That’s how Lord Alderion and I came to be controlled by the Widow.”

-“There’s something the Widow is plotting in the Demon Realm. We must stop it.”

Kekekeke!

Suddenly, a woman’s high laughter echoed from within the memory.

-“We desperately need Young Lady’s help.”

-“Then what I need to do is act the same as usual… Cut off all the Widow’s limbs. Is that correct?”

.

.

.

-“Engaging with the first leg. But-“

-“Gerard, maintain communication.”

-“The Widow has appeared. The Widow… the Widow. Aaaaah!”

*

That was the end of the memories about Austin Gerard.

As I was pulling out of the memory, a cold energy climbed up me like frost, stickily clinging to the edges of my divinity.

“I see… The Widow has made her move.”

I said that as I removed my hand from the Young Lady’s head. Then my palm and fingertips crumbled like pottery.

“Huff-“

The Young Lady, whose memories had been read, staggered. The bodyguard supported her while being wary of me again.

I didn’t have time to worry about that.

My divinity. What could be called the foundation of a god had cracked.

Damn.

She knew I could read memories and had tampered with the Young Lady in advance.

‘Was she someone capable of doing such things?’

It wasn’t dangerous enough to put me in real peril, but it would be better to be careful for a while.

‘More than that…’

The memories of the gods who had witnessed the Widow’s schemes up close and knew of Lumensia’s deeds.

When I considered all of that together, what they had done was about as foolish as standing naked with honey smeared on them in front of a bear that had just emerged from hibernation.

In their own way, they probably thought they were trying to accomplish something…

‘Even if the Young Lady’s intellect and political maneuvering are excellent, in the end the Widow is bound to win…’

How could they possibly defeat someone who knows the future?

And how could humans possibly face someone who had already contracted with an Outer God?

It was a fight with as little chance of victory as a bear versus a naked human.

The Widow had orchestrated this entire situation.

‘As expected of Teacher.’

Our appearance, struggling like insects caught in a spider web, must be quite pleasing from Teacher’s perspective.

I almost let out a futile sigh. I tried thinking with a deliberately calmed mind, but in the end…

‘Things have gotten complicated.’

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