The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 61

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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

As I whispered through telepathy, Austin Gerard enthusiastically accepted my orders.

It was fortunate that the people from the banquet hall hadn’t contacted him first. If the Banquet Master had approached him first with additional orders, Gerard would have been somewhat suspicious even of my words.

-‘Then I’ll arrange to join you in three days.’

The waterfall near the World Tree. Also known as Elar’s Tears.

Unlike the waterfalls on ‘Earth’ where tremendous amounts of water cascade down, this one features water that flows gently like a trickle, befitting its name of tears.

That water shines beautifully, and the scenery leading there is famous for being pretty. I actually thought it was quite beautiful when I saw it in-game too.

The moisture from the water of unknown origin falling from the waterfall mixes with the subtle magical power in the air to create shining crystals among the leaves…

The brilliant sunlight streaming in scatters the light caught in the crystals, making them shine beautifully.

You don’t need to worry about the light concentrating and causing a forest fire. As befits a place with a waterfall, water spirits called Undines mainly inhabit there.

That Elar’s Tears is located in the center of Senta, true to its natural setting, so it takes two days just to get there by portal.

Moreover, I have to wave at people along the way and give them some blessings – here, receive your blessing! Whoosh whoosh! – so it’ll inevitably take about three more days.

I lay down for a moment, then bolted upright. Just resting on a day off wouldn’t be very Korean of me.

When I quietly opened the door, there was no one in the corridor. It seemed they had cleared away all the guard personnel so they could rest comfortably. Instead, they probably installed wiretapping and surveillance devices.

There are probably similar surveillance devices in the corridor too. Even if I can’t see them, there are likely Senta personnel hovering around me.

I walked leisurely down the corridor. I’d get some fresh air and enjoy the surrounding scenery.

Actions like me moving alone to obtain useful items, or moving Kalebrin who’s resting in her room to set her up as a substitute would be unavoidable here.

After all, we’re here as an envoy to a hostile nation where war could break out again at any time.

If I were to act suspiciously for no reason, I’d end up planting the seeds for a Senta vs Empire war before leaving.

If that happened, all the groundwork laid at the banquet hall – the ~truce negotiations for peace~ and such plans would be ruined.

That absolutely cannot happen. I need to go to the Demon Realm and… have a conversation with the Demon King.

‘That’s the only clue I can have right now.’

[Main Quest! Spread faith to people all over the world.]

[Penalty for failure: Death]

Why I would die if I don’t follow what this status window says.

No, from even ‘before’ that. I had to find out why I ultimately became Sernuan Lumiere in the first place…

‘What? I can think about this?’

Before, when I tried to dig into why I was in this situation, something seemed to press down hard on my head.

Still, just in case, let me just remember this.

If I recall this a couple more times, unknown things might squeeze and burst my head again.

I left the castle where the lodgings were.

Before my eyes was a vast garden, which definitely seemed to pursue a different aesthetic from the Empire.

The Empire neatly trimmed their landscaping trees, planted only one type of flower or matching colored flowers, and made marble fountains. They created gardens heavily touched by human hands…

This place’s garden seemed like nature itself had been transplanted here.

The landscaping trees stretched their branches this way and that, and various types of flowers bloomed in the garden.

There was even a natural pond and valley, thanks to not filling in the water stream from the distant valley but leaving it as is.

‘I only saw it in-game, but Senta really does have a lot to see.’

The Empire has too harsh an atmosphere to be called a fantasy world. There aren’t many fantasy-typical different races either.

They should have made the starting point Senta instead. You nameless bastard who made me Sernuan Lumiere.

Senta was the best for fulfilling fantasy romance.

Ah, really, the romantic half-elf swordsman NPC of Senta was the coolest and best rather than Sernuan Lumiere. A spirited swordsman who works with spirits is better than a creepy cult leader.

I brushed off a nearby bench with my hand a couple times and sat down. The wind swept through my long hair. Pretending to enjoy a rare moment of leisure, I assessed the outside situation.

‘They’re not being too strict with surveillance. Well, I have virtually no combat power. If they’re going to be wary, they’d be more wary of the people around me…’

The large tree behind me made an unnaturally rustling sound.

My neck tensed up instantly. Surely it’s not an assassin? Having been hit with a triple combo of poisoning, unknown assassination threats (attempts), and terrorism over the past few days, I naturally became tense.

When I slowly turned around in a tense state…

“Oops. Ahahaha.”

A sturdy adult man hanging from a thick tree branch awkwardly climbed down from the tree.

‘What the…’

He approached me with an embarrassed smile, scratching his head. As he got closer, I could recognize who he was.

‘Why are you here…?’

Rather than Sernuan Lumiere, the spirited romantic spirit swordsman is better! – the one playing the spirited romantic spirit swordsman in that-

“I end up greeting you like this. Hello! I’m called Erendor.”

It was Erendor.

“Hello, Brother Erendor. What business did you have with that big old tree?”

Even as a half-elf, he had the blue eyes typical of elves. Ordinary blue eyes are the symbol of elves not contracted with spirits, while mysteriously glowing blue eyes are the symbol of elves contracted with spirits.

His long hair, somewhere between blonde and brown, was swept back except for two strands on the sides.

Even his signature Ifrit was floating beside him, so no matter how I looked, he was definitely the in-game Erendor.

‘Wait, why can I see the Ifrit?’

According to the setting, seeing spirits should only be visible to those with innate talent.

“Hahaha! What a delightful fellow. Actually, I don’t have business with the old tree. I actually came here to meet you.”

“Me?”

I asked in puzzlement. As he took a big step closer, a shadow fell over the bench where I sat. He was quite large. It was natural for an elf to be tall, but I didn’t expect him to have muscles too.

‘Sernuan is just lanky.’

Whatever. If I ever break free from the system and find freedom, I’ll definitely work out to have broad shoulders like that.

“That’s right. Ascetic… and Saint. I’m the person who’ll guide you to ‘Elar’s Tears.'”

Elar’s Tears requires a ‘guide’ with elf blood flowing… but why Erendor of all people?

He has a spirited and somewhat airheaded personality befitting a romantic spirit swordsman, but he’s not gullible. Personally, I was really happy to meet him, but… happy, but…

‘For the current me, it would have been better if some other elf had come…!’

Is it because I said I wanted to become Erendor? Is that it, fate!

As I remained silent for a moment, he scratched his head again, seeming embarrassed. Then he began to explain.

“Elar’s Tears is truly beautiful. Maybe because of that, there are many people who come to see it without permission, and it’s overflowing with mages and plunderers trying to collect the tears. There are even those who poach herbs and animals. So we put up a barrier a while ago. About… 30 years ago?”

I couldn’t understand the time sense of a half-elf who considered 30 years as “a while ago.”

“Anyway, even with the barrier up, we set it so that up to 10 people can accompany if someone with elf blood is with them…”

Ah… this was all stuff I already knew. He probably thought I didn’t know and was kindly explaining it to me.

Memories of struggling to save an elf NPC in a sub-quest suddenly flashed by. Of course, I saved them and wandered around the elf forest a bit, but I couldn’t go see the World Tree that was blocked off as a map area.

“The elves must have a lot of hardships too.”

“Well. It’s not particularly my job, so I didn’t really care… but they said a Saint was coming. I’ve been quite interested in the Empire.”

This was also all stuff I knew. And the reason I’m avoiding Erendor right now is…

“I see. I think the Empire would have less to see than Senta for someone to be interested in.”

“Hahaha! What a really delightful fellow you are! It’s really funny hearing a Saint born and raised in the Empire say this!”

Because his interest in the Empire wasn’t particularly good interest for me.

He’s interested in the ‘demon sword’ in the Empire. And that demon sword is… currently stored safely in Marquis Alderion’s secret villa.

He probably approached like this now because of his envoy status that allows him to travel between the two nations. The fact that I’m a Saint and Ascetic who handles mysterious abilities and whatnot… none of that mattered to him.

‘Did he aim for a way to meet me since illegal entry is impossible regardless of permission or whatever…’

From his perspective, whether it worked or not, he would have wanted to meet me and at least try. Though it’s like a bolt from the blue for me.

Hmm… or is it?

He wants the ‘demon sword’ and I’m holding onto the ‘demon sword’ like a burden.

I want the sacred object and he’s an elf who can access the sacred object. Half-elf, but still.

I smiled brightly and patted the seat next to me.

“Please sit next to me.”

“Oh, truly kind as befits a Saint. May I excuse myself for a moment?”

When he sat next to me, the bench that had been quite spacious became full.

I heard elves are naturally bad at building muscle, but seeing this makes me think that’s not true, or maybe it’s just because he’s a half-elf…

“Saint. How’s the Empire these days? Actually, newspapers are too biased and… they only contain partisan stories. I’m very interested in the Empire, so I’d like to hear it directly from your mouth, Saint. Could you tell me about it?”

“Hmm… about the Empire? I’ve lived almost entirely in the temple, so I don’t know much about outside affairs, but…”

I paused for a moment before speaking.

If I had boldly demanded information like this, others would have torn me apart. Really, it’s better to have a good body than a good brain. No need to rack your brains and cause a fuss.

Just looking at those muscles and the great sword strapped to his back made me want to fabricate stories and ramble on endlessly—truly, having a good body is the best.

“The weather has been quite unpredictable lately.”

“Weather… Right, since Centa is part of Great Nature, the weather does fluctuate quite a bit. It’s interesting that the Empire experiences the same.”

He answered with an expression that said ‘This isn’t the kind of conversation I wanted.’ But naturally, the basics of small talk always start with the weather.

“Yes. Thanks to that, there were floods and I lent a hand with flood rescue.”

“So does the Saint continuously go around saving people?”

“To be precise, my mission is to eliminate human suffering from this world.”

He seemed to be trying his best to suppress his bored expression, but it was written all over his face.

Having struggled to keep the mask of ‘Sernuan Lumiere’ from slipping among all sorts of suspicious people like the widow and Yelena, such a reaction was refreshingly candid.

At this point, he’s rather cute.

“Is that so? Well, you’re a friend carrying quite the grand mission, aren’t you?”

Erendor wore an expression that said ‘As if that’s possible.’ I just smiled broadly.

Right, a good dog should at least be allowed to catch a whiff of meat.

“Come to think of it, I received a request to lift a curse on a certain sword, and the story behind that sword was quite fascinating.”

A gleam appeared in his eyes. I smiled sweetly and tucked my wind-blown hair behind my ear.

“Would you like to hear it? It will be very… very interesting.”

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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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