The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 20

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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

A robe hood made from woven animal hide. When she removed it, her curly black hair cascaded out abundantly.

‘It’s strange that she can walk around so normally in this Poisonous Forest. Though she doesn’t look mentally normal. Hmm… I’ve never seen someone like her even in the game, so what exactly is she?’

I just wondered what kind of person she was. As I stepped back, thinking of fleeing in the opposite direction, the clear water mixed with the black water.

The muttering person’s blood-red eyes gleamed as she asked.

“Are you… a Spirit…?”

Does she plan to kill me if I say no?

Looking now, she was holding a long wooden staff in her right hand. It seemed to be a wand… so she must be a mage?

Hmm, I’m not sure if she’s a high-level mage, but she seems quite insane. Judging by her jewelry, she appears closer to a sorcerer than an orthodox mage…

Hmm.

Still, seeing that she doesn’t rashly approach the inside of this lake, it seems she doesn’t have this level of poison resistance.

The fact that she’s a ranged type was a bit concerning though…

“I’m not a Spirit…”

“Then… a, a Fairy?”

“I’m not a Fairy either, just a person.”

The person with disheveled black curly hair scratched it with sharp fingernails and pointed at the lake, asking.

“I, I see… I see… Then, why, why are you alive? That, that place… is where you die if you enter…”

“Are you worried about me?”

“Uh uh… um, I, I was curious…”

Now the person crouched down near the lakeside and asked.

It’s not a hostile attitude. I took a few steps forward. I’m getting cold and want to get out soon, but what is this situation.

“I see. That’s because I have Divine Protection.”

“Di, Divine Protection…?”

I said Divine Protection, but it’s actually the Sacred Relic Power.

My body had become so numb that I couldn’t feel the cold anymore. If I stayed longer, I might really freeze to death.

“Yes. I’m an Ascetic who must fulfill a mission.”

“Wh, what’s an Ascetic?”

“One who walks God’s path, bearing the mission to save suffering souls.”

“Diffi, difficult.”

“Um, to put it simply, one could say I’m someone walking the path to become a god.”

“Hmm. A, a fragment of God.”

…Fragment of God?

What is she talking about.

A term I’d never heard before came up.

I put on a smile and spoke in a gentle voice as I approached.

Behind me, my long white hair looked like the movement of fish.

Water flowed down my cheek. It was probably water from my hair. I lightly wiped my cheek with the back of my hand and walked toward the shore.

But with slight wariness, I didn’t approach any further once the water reached about my waist. Of course, she didn’t seem likely to be hostile toward me.

“Then may I ask what your name is? I don’t think I heard it.”

“Ka, Kalebrin.”

Wait a minute.

Kalebrin?

The Kalebrin?

I was flustered by a name I never expected.

Well… Kalebrin wasn’t a woman who looked this mentally unstable.

She was definitely a major character who appeared from the main story Chapter 3 onwards.

Wasn’t she the epitome of a career woman with neat, formal mage attire and a black staff embedded with red gems, who secured a major position in the Magic Tower through efficient work?

Even then, her hair was between a bob cut and short cut.

Not someone wandering the Witch’s Forest with disheveled, curly hair like this!

I suppressed my confusion and smiled.

I judged that I could use this situation to my advantage.

“I see, Kalebrin. What brings you here?”

“Herbs… grow, grow nearby… so I came to gather, gather them…”

“I see. Are you someone who practices Pharmacology?”

“Uh… ye, yes, broadly speaking. I, I want to purify the po, pollution of this forest… then everyone will re, return to this forest.”

“Who are you waiting for? Depending on the situation, I think I could help you.”

I smiled and scooped up some pitch-black water with one hand. The water that touched my hand quickly became transparent and clear, mixing with the lake while giving off a pleasant scent.

“Uh uh… who, who I was waiting for… we, well. I don’t re, remember well… but I. I have to wait for someone.”

Hmm, did the Red Witch of the Magic Tower have this kind of backstory? I’m sure she only briefly mentioned coming to the village after doing some research in the forest.

It felt like I was cheating to peek at a major NPC’s secret settings.

“This place isn’t good for your health due to the poison, are you alright?”

“Uh huh… I, a, alone… if I’m alone. Pre, preventing poisoning is so, something I can do. Complete, complete purification I ca, can’t do. So I thought… I’d ca, call a priest, so I called one… but, but the priest bu, burned down the vi, village.”

It was rambling speech. I listened while thinking “I see” and manipulated the system.

[Faith required for Enhancement: 100]

[Would you like to enhance the Sacred Relic ‘Chalice of Asclepius’?]

‘Y.’

Flash. Light burst out from the chalice in the water as if it was about to explode.

I hope Kalebrin doesn’t get startled and cast magic at me. Of course, from what I heard, she probably can’t kill me because of my usefulness.

Paaaaa-

As the light faded, the lake was clear without a single black spot.

‘Huh…’

An unexpected side effect…

“The, the Spring Water…”

[Sacred Relic: Chalice of Asclepius | +1]

[New Additional Effect: Binding Available]

I guess all the additional effects are standardized. The next enhancement might be automatic healing of the bound user’s body or something?

As expected, Sacred Relics have much better functions than petty skill leveling.

[‘Chalice of Asclepius’ User: Undetermined]

[Would you like to register a user?]

“The Spring Water has returned…”

[‘Chalice of Asclepius’ User: Sernuan Lumiere]

User registration completed.

I’ll think about where the tattoo was engraved after I change out of these wet clothes later.

I walked out onto the shore.

“You’re, you’re not a Mermaid… you’re really a person…”

What was she thinking.

Even though I explained I was a person, she was thinking of something else, which was absurd.

It was quite shocking that she, the epitome of a career woman, was actually something like a sorcerer at the extreme end of being scatterbrained.

“Ho, how did you do that?”

“What are you referring to?”

“Uh… re, restoring the Spring Water. Can, can I do it too? Huh?”

Hmm. Since I did it with the Sacred Relic Power, it would probably be impossible for her?

But giving false hope is the standard route for a cult leader.

“Of course.”

“How, tell me how to do it.”

“You simply need to believe in me. If you truly believe, what could be impossible? I am an Ascetic bearing a sacred mission. If numerous sincere beliefs gather, I will soon shed my identity as an Ascetic and live again as a God.”

I placed my hand on my chest and kindly extended my hand to her as she sat collapsed.

“Believ… what?”

Did I use too difficult a word?

My cold hand touched hers.

She hesitated for a moment, then gripped my hand tightly and stood up.

Her height seemed to be around the mid-170s, but since I wasn’t of average height, there appeared to be about a head’s difference between us.

“How do I do it…?”

Oh dear. My heart feels heavy trying to deceive someone so pure and innocent.

“Enough to… die in my place, perhaps?”

Though my heart feels heavy, I still have to pull off this con.

“Uh… umm…”

“As expected, you can’t believe me. I understand. How could you trust someone you just saw?”

“No, no… I, I believe you. That power… I’ve never seen someone with a fragment of God before, but I’ve heard, I’ve heard of it.”

…Wait a minute.

She’s ‘heard of it’?

“Could you tell me what you’ve heard?”

“Uh… yeah… but, but. Aren’t you cold? Your… hands are cold. If you’re cold, you’ll die. Can I warm you up…?”

“If that is your will, I will gladly accept it.”

She struck her staff on the ground with a thud. The jet-black gem instantly emitted a red light. As her sharp fingernails touched my chest, warmth spread from my heart throughout my entire body.

“I am grateful for your kindness.”

“So, so. The fragment of God is… our, our tribe’s le, legend.”

Tribe.

Ah, I see.

She seemed to be one of the Tribal People who were massacred back then.

Her mind was severely damaged during the massacre, and she believes that if the forest returns to normal, her dead Tribe Members will come back.

Wait, if I purify it and they don’t return, isn’t she going to try to kill me?

I suddenly feel a sense of crisis.

“In the legend… there, Lumensia. Be, besides her, there were ten other gods…”

The game I used to play, [Forgotten Legends.]

Literally translated, forgotten legends.

The secrets that had been tightly wrapped were being unraveled in fragments from her mouth.

“The… the gods disappeared… only Lumensia remained… and they said the other gods would re, return.”

This Tribal People. She was massacred on charges of heresy.

From what I heard her muttering earlier, it seems the contamination had been progressing even before the Inquisitors came.

She had called for a Priest to deal with it, but all the Tribal People ended up dying on heresy charges.

Her speech patterns and habits must have originated from there.

The guilt that she had gotten all her family and relatives killed.

Unable to bear the great shock from that, she erased her memories to survive, and has been living with the false belief that they could return if the forest became normal again.

“You… from you, I feel that, that feeling.”

It’s probably because of the Sacred Relic.

“A, a fragment of God. You have that.”

She seemed to have misunderstood because of the Sacred Relic.

But well…

If it’s a misunderstanding that works in my favor, shouldn’t I just leave it alone?

I smiled and stroked her hair.

“Yes, that’s right. The correct history was being passed down here.”

“We, we were remembering.”

“You were doing well. More than that, it truly pains my heart to see the forest in this state.”

“As, Ascetic. Could you help? Help the forest re, return to how it was before.”

“Those who remember the legends should rightfully receive God’s mercy. That is God’s will, and isn’t it my duty to fulfill it?”

Even with her disheveled bangs, it was obvious that her expression had brightened.

“However, for that to happen, my power needs to become stronger. Just purifying that lake earlier was overwhelming, so if I don’t purify everything at once, it would be useless.”

Her brightened expression became gloomy again.

Oh dear, this really makes me feel bad…

“As an Ascetic walking God’s path, I still have many shortcomings. Please understand with generosity.”

“Yeah… it’s, it’s okay. How can I add to your strength? What can I do?”

Hmm, would it be okay to bring the Red Witch to Antonio’s House?

“For now… would you like to stay with me and learn the path of faith? Sister Calebrin possesses clear wisdom, so you will surely be able to enlighten yourself properly.”

I made a recruitment offer like that.

“Uh… no, I can’t.”

I was rejected.

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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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