The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 71

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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

I said this while taking out the veil I had carefully tucked into my pocket and putting it back on.

The translucent veil covering my face obscured the expression of the man in front of me. I felt somewhat relieved.

“I believe Centa and the Empire have endured long conflicts, making it difficult to discuss an immediate ceasefire or reconciliation.”

Right, me becoming a God Slayer and an Adversary and all that… that’s still too early. Later. Much, much later.

At times like this when I need to take each step carefully, I must focus on the present rather than looking at the future.

“That would certainly be the case…”

“However, people tend to unite their strength when facing the same pain and great disaster.”

“Pain and great disaster… you say?”

“There’s one fact I’ll share only with you.”

What I’m working hard to set up now is something that actually happens to Centa.

In the game story, Centa suddenly gets attacked by undead.

With a massive undead assault coming for the first time in roughly 150 years, followed by consecutive monster attacks, Centa suffers great damage.

The Empire wouldn’t miss the opportunity when their rival Centa was staggering like that, so the Empire quickly finished war preparations and invaded Centa…

Pushed back by the Empire’s forces that had been confronting them, Centa gradually walked the path to destruction, and by the time I killed the Demon King, Centa had become the Empire’s colony.

First, I need to prevent that foundation. It would be troublesome for me if Centa perished here.

‘Now that I think about it, those undead… were they created due to the absence of the God of Life? Hmm, since they’re things that didn’t die in the first place, it seems like the God of Death isn’t doing their job properly…’

No, let me stop thinking about such big things. If I go down that path, it won’t be deduction anymore but writing a novel.

“Wh-what kind of thing could it be… Ahem, since this conversation might get lengthy, shall we find a proper place rather than the carriage?”

When I set the atmosphere, Centa’s Second-in-Command even started stuttering, showing his flustered state.

I readily nodded.

“Yes, if that would make you more comfortable, let’s do that. More importantly, I hope only you would know about this fact.”

“J-just me? What about His Majesty the King…”

“If you deliver this information, His Majesty will demand to know how you obtained it. And it could escalate into a national crisis…”

I trailed off my words.

“Then the full details of the kidnapping incident would also be revealed…”

It’s a lie. I just need the Second-in-Command to know so that Centa can gain the power to ‘appropriately’ deal with the disaster.

In my current position where I need to walk a tightrope very well, it would be troublesome if Centa became too big.

And I had said something at the banquet hall. I need to appropriately sow discord among Centa’s high-ranking officials so I’ll have room to infiltrate later.

However, I need to make Centa stronger to keep Lumensia in check.

Since it would be troublesome if the Empire gained more power, I should give a bit more strength to Centa, which is competing for first and second place with the Empire.

So I’ll secretly deliver information about the disaster I know to only the Second-in-Command, not the King, to provoke conflict and enable Centa to overcome the disaster that’s about to strike.

The Second-in-Command, understanding my words, nodded his head enthusiastically as if he had realized something.

“That would certainly make things complicated. I understand. However… depending on the content, would it be alright to at least deliver it to His Majesty? I’ll tell him not to take any major direct actions…”

“Yes, of course. How could I dare to prevent words meant for a nation’s leader? Since he’s the head of the great nation of Centa, naturally he should be aware of everything happening below to run the country smoothly.”

I already knew the Second-in-Command would tell the King anyway.

Even though I made various excuses saying not to tell, if something really big happened, he’d scurry off to tell the King.

The person in front of me isn’t even registered as a ‘Believer,’ so there’s no way he’d listen to me.

Normally, someone at the level of Second-in-Command would monopolize this information and appropriately walk a tightrope between the King and their own power, but…

This guy in front of me doesn’t have that level of ambition.

Far from having ambitions to become King or advance his career with this information, he’d be busy just preserving his current position. To preserve his position, he’d quickly offer up this information too.

Right now, he’s probably just thinking about doing this job well to gain the King’s recognition and save the people.

This was evident from the game story and from his current attitude.

‘So I’ll also inform the Third-in-Command about this information.’

I’ll deliver information to the Second-in-Command as a Saint to subtly reach the King’s ears, and approach the Third-in-Command with my ‘God’ cosplay to help him appropriately seize power.

I closed my eyes, using the excuse that I was tired and wanted to rest briefly. The Second-in-Command told me to rest comfortably and even covered me with a blanket.

With my eyes closed, I opened my status window for the first time in a very long while. I hadn’t properly looked at my status window since the World Tree, and I needed to check the sacred relic rewards too.

[Possessed Skills]

-Weakness Detection Lv. 2

-Baptism Lv. 2

-Divine Aura(passive) Lv.1

-Scales Lv. 1

-Punishment Lv. 1(auto)

-Voice Transmission Lv. 2

[point : 75]

[Faith: 209]

[Sacred Relics in Possession]

-Asclepius’s Cup | +5

-Ranoop’s Necklace | +4

-Kaldir’s Ring | +4

The faith I had saved up was running low from enhancing the defensive sacred relic to +4. Though it would fill up again with a few healing beam gestures when I return anyway.

I looked at the most important Believer count window.

[Target Believer Count: 2000]

[Current Believer Count: 1507]

[Time Remaining Until Next Penalty]

[67:44 minutes]

‘Almost 2 days and half a day… I need to gather 500 people within that time.’

If this were the first time, it would have felt overwhelming, but… with my current position as a Saint, it seemed quite doable.

Even if I receive a penalty… wouldn’t twice be okay?

[Uncollected Sacred Relics: 3/9]

[Sacred Relic Collection Period: 45 days]

‘The sacred relic collection period is quite generous too.’

I don’t know if it properly heard what I said inside the World Tree, but the status window’s attitude has somewhat returned.

‘Let me check the sacred relic rewards.’

[Random Skill Tree Unlock Ticket x1]

This time too, it was unchanged – a Random Skill Ticket.

‘I don’t particularly need any skills right now.’

The skills unlocked at my current level aren’t things I need immediately. There were Mind Control, Life Drain, Ritual, Sanctuary Declaration and such. The rest were skills I already possessed.

Looking at the system’s other skills and inferring, Mind Control seems like it can control minds as the name suggests, but I think there’s a high possibility it won’t work if the level is a bit high. Like Weakness Detection.

Life Drain doesn’t matter since I have healing relics anyway. Ritual seems like it would be used to gather faith points or strengthen Believers…

None of them were needed right now.

‘What catches my attention is Sanctuary Declaration.’

I had no idea what effect it would produce. Would it be used for defense or offense? Or maybe it’s an area buff?

‘It’s a bit much to invest just out of curiosity. My points are at a subtly tight 75 points.’

It would be better to raise my level a bit more and buy one when the next skills are unlocked.

[Ascetic – Sernuan Lumiere | Lv.7]

‘My level went up in the meantime.’

The last time I checked, it was probably when I wasn’t even level 5, so when did it rise this much?

Did my level go up because I got a sacred relic and my skill window became quite robust? Or was it from fighting the Serpent? From diligently going around healing people?

‘I still can’t figure out the level system. Even if I shout into thin air, those status window bastards won’t tell me anything.’

My title was also attached, probably changed during that version 1.1.5 update last time.

‘If they’re going to do these minor patches, they could at least throw me a clue or something.’

I should give up on getting any more help from the system.

I opened the voice transmission window.

The target to connect to was Centa’s Third-in-Command.

Even in the game story, he was ambitious enough to hand Centa over to the Empire – a pro-Empire faction member.

[Target Search: Unar Bashelim]

[Would you like to connect?]

I would contact Unar Bashelim.

[Connecting…]

‘It was fortunate that I memorized his face and name back then.’

The faces I memorized when first entering Centa and greeting the high-ranking officials really came in handy.

[Connected!]

-Current thoughts are being transmitted to the target.

‘Unar Bashelim. God informs only you. Soon Centa shall face nature’s trial.’

I kept my tone as low as possible and spoke one beat slower than usual. I had to pay attention to my voice here.

Calmly, and as if no emotion could be felt.

-‘G… God? What, no… Am I hearing things? God really, really exists…? I thought it was just Empire nonsense…’

Good, just as expected. I never thought he’d believe it from the start.

‘The stones you have built up shall crumble, the language you sang shall fall silent, and the intelligent beings shall wail and crawl upon the ground. Blood and tears shall form rivers, and even when they pray to that time and to God, the heavens shall be merciless. What remains for Centa shall be only dust and silence.’

-‘This can’t really be a dream or hallucination. I’m hearing it so clearly.’

I could hear the other party’s thoughts churning frantically at my words. I deliberately didn’t respond. Most humans imagine more in the face of silence.

Even without me speaking, humans fill in the blanks of silence themselves, tailoring and imagining as they please.

‘Listen well. Soon the northern border shall collapse. What walks on two legs and sheds tears there shall no longer be living nor breathing. Corrupted and rotting beings with crushed souls shall surge forth, and they shall covet fresh blood and warm souls. Blood and flesh shall become their sustenance, and those whose souls are stolen shall walk the same steps and make the same wails as those who harmed them.’

-‘Undead that haven’t appeared for hundreds of years are coming…? At this time of all times?’

‘You who have ears to hear this warning, prepare for Centa’s destruction!’

I deliberately didn’t cut the communication and listened to his raw thoughts. It’s a mistake that those experiencing voice transmission for the first time commonly make.

-‘I don’t know if it’s real or not, but looking at recent trends, it’s hard to ignore the content. Even if I mention this, no one would believe it. Then I shouldn’t inform the King about this information, but invest in related industries and prepare for disaster. In the current situation, it wouldn’t cost much. If something happens, my position rises, and even if nothing happens, it’s not a big loss.’

Good. Just as planned. I don’t need to hear the rest.

I smiled inwardly. As expected from someone with great ambition, he would move this way.

Even if he ends up taking a bigger position than I thought, it’s better than Centa being devoured by undead and walking the path of destruction.

I was satisfied that Unar was moving as I intended and cut the connection.

[Connection Terminated]

‘The King who hears the news will also prepare countermeasures, so Centa won’t be completely overthrown. For now, I’ll just deliver this much and supplement more later if needed.’

I couldn’t be reassured with just these few words. After all, isn’t the first button the most important?

Centa’s path to destruction began with this undead attack.

“We’ve arrived. Please rest for a moment while I quickly secure a conference room and contact the attendant.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed slightly and got off the carriage. Even though I had enhanced the defensive sacred relic by 4 levels, the stiffness remained.

Just then, Kalebrin, who had been riding in another carriage, yawned lazily and walked over to me with quick steps.

The book I had given her was tucked under her arm, and it seemed she had been reading it diligently in the carriage.

‘Doesn’t she get motion sickness?’

Kalebrin opened the book wide and explained enthusiastically to me on the way to the lodging, but there was no way I could understand it.

“So, so… once we re, return to the Empire… I need a laboratory… yeah.”

So there’s work to do when we return to the Empire. Creating Kalebrin’s secret laboratory.

“Then I’ll give Antonio a heads up separately.”

“Thanks.”

I responded with an eye smile and guided Kalebrin to her room.

Perhaps because the environment had changed, she kept trying to enter the adjacent room. Originally Yelena would guide her, but now Yelena wasn’t here…

‘Come to think of it, Yelena, Cardil, and Erendor will probably return in about a day.’

I changed clothes in the room assigned to me. The clothes themselves were clean, but threads were coming loose here and there, and the pants were even quite worn out.

‘Getting Erendor to come over to the Empire might be possible even without the Banquet Master’s help.’

If I go to Centa under undead attack to help people and give credit to Erendor or key figures in Centa, relations between the Empire and Centa would improve, at least temporarily.

The banquet hall figures could profit from the situation, and the Third-in-Command with more power could control Centa.

I just need to control that Third-in-Command to get what I want.

If I command the Third-in-Command, Erendor can come over to the Empire and take the sword. Then there’s no need to get help from the Banquet Master.

I pulled out the long hair that had gotten inside my t-shirt and combed it while looking in the mirror.

The slightly disheveled white hair was neatly arranged. Sernuan Lumiere in the mirror somehow looked melancholy.

‘I have no regrets, Sernuan. Technically, I’m a victim too, you know? I didn’t want to enter your body either.’

Knock knock.

It seemed time to go. I got up and did a final check of my appearance.

When I opened the door, an attendant bowed in greeting.

“I am El, the attendant assigned to guide the Ascetic.”

I smiled and greeted him back.

“Please take care of me, El. I have one small request… I’d prefer if there were no mirrors in the room where I’m staying.”

“I’ll remove them after showing you around.”

“Thank you. May blessings be abundant.”

I just didn’t want to see my face, so please don’t think too much about it.

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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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