The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 3

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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

What is that thing?

With white hair draped like a monster, blood stained on white clothes.

At its waist hangs a Sword of Judgment, and in its hand a candle to light the way.

With gleaming eyes and a sinister smile…

That thing

“Brother.”

That monster grinned and spoke human language fluently.

The voice wasn’t unpleasant to hear, which sent chills down my spine.

I’d rather it kept talking

Now is the time when the sun sets.

Residents living in the mountains, not in the capital, eat dinner around sunset and go to sleep.

They don’t come outside the village late at night. Who knows what monsters might appear, and even without monsters, the world is quite dangerous.

But what kind of man approaches barefoot at this hour, with clothes soaked in blood?

I was just driving alone because I encountered bandits on the way, lost my escort, and had urgent cargo to transport, but why is this happening…

And this inexplicable uneasiness and uncomfortable sensation I’m feeling now.

What on earth…

As if from the sky, numerous

Many

Eyes…

Dozens

Of something

Not human…

Intently watching

Me

It seemed

Like.

So

Now

Am I

Breathing

AmIactuallybreathinghereareallyalivewhatamIdoingnowwhoamIwhatismyexistencedoesmyselftruelyexististhisworldreally-nonononononono

“This place.”

A gentle voice, neither male nor female, cut through my thoughts.

The gaze I felt from somewhere disappeared.

…

What was I just thinking about?

“Do you know what region this is? As you can see, I have business, and I don’t know where this is.”

Ah, I was trying to answer his question.

“Ah, yes?”

What was I thinking in front of that person.

“Yes… this is…”

Looking at those blood-soaked clothes… he must have already committed some deed.

What on earth did the Guard Unit do when they saw someone like this? He should be thrown in prison immediately!

My heightened and sharpened eyes could make out the sword pattern at his waist.

That’s… a sword only the Lion Hearts carry.

The knights died to this person!

And this person has a sword from the Lion Heart Knights, who are called the most elite among the knight orders.

My heart pounded. My head went blank.

My back became damp and sweat filled my hands gripping the reins.

He clasped his hands together to avoid trembling. If he showed fear in front of him…

“…”

He treated him as politely as possible, like dealing with nobles he met during business trips.

“Th-this is a small village called Nebria… It’s an insignificant village with its back to Whisper Wood, somewhat distant from the capital…”

It tilted its head briefly, then smiled like a doll. Eyes the color of burnt ash curved slyly.

“Ahh…. I see. Then, kind brother, I’ll pay you a modest fee, so could you take me to Astrapolis?”

If I answer that I can’t take you, will you kill me? With that sword at your waist?

Are you planning to add more blood to those clothes that can no longer be called white?

He had no choice but to nod at those threatening words.

But perhaps because that strange gaze had disappeared.

He made a somewhat bold statement.

Since he was a merchant, if this strange thing was conducting business, he judged he shouldn’t lose money at least.

That was the instinct of a born merchant who had made his fortune through trade alone in this country.

“But Astrapolis is quite far, and with monsters swarming these days, just the two of us, you and I, would be too risky.”

He swallowed.

Despite the cool early autumn weather becoming cold as night approached, he felt cold sweat pouring down.

“Oh my… Then should we hire mercenaries?”

White thread-like hair scattered with head and body movements. The thing making a genuinely regretful expression seemed almost human.

That felt even more disgusting.

“Astrapolis is too far, but I can drop you off nearby. If that’s acceptable…”

He wanted to drop this thing off somewhere quickly.

Because it was half-obvious that the blood on the clothes belonged to knights.

But if he dropped him off in a strange place, he seemed likely to kill him with curses or something, so he was afraid to do that too.

“I’m truly grateful, brother. May God’s blessing be upon you…”

And he clasped his hands together.

He briefly wondered if he might be a heretic. Who makes prayers and blessings to the sun god in that posture?

But whether this monster was a heretic or whatever, what did it matter.

He should be grateful to Lumencia just for keeping his head attached.

“It’s humble, but please ride in the cargo compartment. There’s food too, so please eat a little during the journey…”

“I’m truly grateful.”

And so the monster climbed in.

*

Wow~ Medieval people in the fantasy world are so kind~!

It wasn’t like this in the game, but he’s more gentle than I thought?

The cargo compartment isn’t too bad either… and he gave me food.

The only strange thing was that he trembled excessively whenever he looked at me.

He was shocked from the first impression too…

Is it because my clothes are still blood-red even though I scrubbed hard in the stream?

Anyway, whether the coachman trembles or not, I just need to get to Astrapolis now, so I didn’t bother asking.

In Astrapolis, where I’m heading, there’s a Sacred Necklace.

And since that Sacred Relic is probably obtained after defeating the boss in main story chapter 2, it should definitely still be there at this time when chapter 1.5 is just progressing.

The boss guarding the Sacred Relic is one I can defeat even with my current power level of 0. It’s a boss that requires luck and strategy rather than strength.

I’m not particularly hungry, but I just rummaged through the cargo compartment.

Probably a merchant who sells various goods in bulk, as all sorts of items are scattered throughout the cargo compartment.

Oh, clothes.

Can I buy some clothes?

If I keep walking around in these blood-stained clothes, timid people will surely report me.

Fortunately, the cargo compartment had various clothing items including not just shirts and pants, but also shoes.

I pulled back the cloth at the front of the cargo compartment.

I could see the coachman’s back. I tapped his shoulder and called out to him.

“Brother.”

“Hueok.”

As soon as my hand touched him, he jumped in surprise.

He was so startled he nearly leaped off his seat, which made me feel a bit sorry.

“…Yes, my lord.”

Now I feel bad about even talking to him…

I deliberately smiled kindly and spoke to him.

“Could I buy the clothes in the cargo compartment?”

“Yes, yes… The boots are 8 florins per pair, and the shirt and pants together are 12 florins.”

“Could I buy a bag as well?”

“Yes… That, that you can just take.”

Yes, free loot.

“Thank you, brother.”

The coachman’s reluctant voice and suspicious expression bothered me. However, since he was the one who said it was free, I shamelessly took the items.

I roughly combined meal money, transportation costs, and a tip and pressed it into his hand.

Even after that, I still had money left. That was fortunate. The travel money I’d scavenged from among the corpses was more generous than I’d expected.

I changed into ordinary shirt and pants. I also properly put on shoes on my feet that had been bare until now.

Maybe the coachman was trembling because I was someone with white hair in a disheveled state, barefoot, wearing blood-stained clothes?

‘I do look kind of crazy…’

It was understandable that the coachman was startled. I felt unnecessarily sorry.

I stuffed the blood-stained clothes into the bag. Maybe I could use them later if I washed them.

And these clothes didn’t seem to be ordinary clothes.

They looked like ritual garments… I’ll probably find out more when I gather more information later, right?

But the real problem is this.

[system: If believers remain at ‘0’ after 3 more hours, gradual physical collapse will begin.]

[00:59]

Now I only have about an hour left.

The only person around me is this coachman I just met who trembles whenever he sees me.

He even seems to be afraid of me.

Even if I persuaded him by saying ‘If you don’t want me to harm you, believe in my god~’ and he reluctantly said ‘Yes! I’ll believe! Amen!’ I’m not even sure if that would count.

I don’t even know what god to tell him to believe in.

To remember what god the cult leader character who only appeared for 1.5 chapters believed in, my brain capacity was already maxed out just remembering the main story.

Of course, if I said ‘Sernuan Lumiere believes in this god~’ I’d probably think ‘Ah, right. He believed in that?’ but it’s not like I can play the game again here…

Still, I should try hard to make believers. Physical collapse sounds painful and awful…

I’m the ultimate coward who didn’t even commit suicide because it seemed like it would hurt, and now physical collapse and torture? I absolutely refuse with all my might.

What god did the cult leader character believe in?

I wasn’t a novelist to come up with new god settings.

Then… right.

I positioned myself in the cargo compartment close to the coachman.

It was a position where I couldn’t see his face directly but could hear his voice.

“Brother, do you believe in god?”

The answer came back quickly.

“Of course I believe.”

“But why do you fear me?”

I couldn’t hear any sign of the coachman who was just beyond the thin blanket.

Not a single breath, not a single sound of clothes rustling.

The only sounds I could hear were the rustling of insects, the horses snorting and the dull sound of hooves.

I guess asking if he was scared was a bit much…? Even in a fantasy world, that was rude, wasn’t it?

I thought about apologizing but decided against it. Don’t waver. The key to being a cult leader is eloquence, intonation, and tone.

Clear, trustworthy eyes and a firm voice! Impressive words!

“Soon monsters will swarm near Solaris.”

But this was actually a fact.

Monster hunting points would periodically appear near Solaris, and players would swarm there to hunt them and farm experience… ah, memories…

I don’t know if it’ll still be like that now that it’s become reality, but I think it probably will.

It was an experience farming location that was updated after main story chapter 1.5 was released.

And what does it matter if it’s not? I just need to make him believe.

Truth doesn’t matter to a fraudulent cult leader.

“If you have relatives or loved ones there, it would be good to tell them to evacuate in advance… or, it would also be good to go there with things needed for monster hunting and make a big profit.”

The carriage gradually came to a stop.

I pulled back the cloth in the swaying cargo compartment and looked down at the coachman.

“My lord, who exactly… are you? Who are you to see the future like this…!”

The coachman seemed to want to say something but was just staring at me as if his words were stuck.

This person seems too frightened.

It would be troublesome if he wet himself. It would be dirty.

I smiled and brought my finger to my lips. Then I soothed the grown adult man as if comforting a child.

“Shh… Do not fear… How can you be afraid when I am here? If there is something you fear, please tell me.”

The coachman hung his head.

“I, I fear my wife and child dying from illness…”

“Illness… may I ask what kind of illness it is?”

“It’s an incurable disease… Even when we called a doctor from the capital who was said to be skilled, he just kept saying he didn’t know, and we can’t cure it at all, so now the child is bedridden. The child is only 9 years old…”

“How can Lumencia be so heartless.”

I looked at him with a pitying expression.

“If you are truly faithful, shouldn’t she heal your child from the illness? She should have prevented the illness in the first place… This trial is far too heavy for a young child and you.”

With a voice that truly, genuinely pitied his misfortune.

I whispered.

“That burden, would it be alright if humble I took it upon myself instead?”

“Is there… is there some kind of method…?”

Yes, I must be lucky.

Well, if I were really lucky, I wouldn’t have been dragged into this game and gotten this shitty quest about proselytizing and whatnot.

What parent in the world would let go of someone who could cure their sick child?

I feel sorry for using the sick child, but I have no choice. I want to live too.

I spoke as if I had a way to cure the child.

“Perhaps meeting you on this road was fate, brother. I am going to Astrapolis to save your child from hell…”

Wide, hopeful eyes looked at me.

“Is there something in Astrapolis?”

Despite fearing me, the coachman desperately grabbed at the hem of my clothes.

I clasped my hands over the hand that grabbed my hem.

Perhaps because this body was quite tall, there was a height difference between me and the coachman, and even our hands differed by about a knuckle’s length.

My pure white hand without a single scar was placed over the coachman’s scarred hand with its dark, sun-tanned skin.

I looked straight into the coachman’s face and smiled gently.

“But first, brother. Do you believe in me?”

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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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