The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 9

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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

He answered with joy clearly displayed on his face.

“Yes. Of course. Would starting from the very next day be alright?”

“I want to relieve your pain as quickly as possible. I’m grateful for Brother’s consideration. May the sun’s grace be with you.”

I clasped my hands together and gave a small bow.

The Coachman awkwardly mimicked my gesture.

Watching him, I slowly swallowed my Red Wine. It was quite tasty with its appropriately bitter and sweet flavor.

I cut a piece of the Steak – whatever meat it was had a slightly gamey smell – and took a bite.

First, I had secured the most urgently needed initial Believer.

So what should I do next?

I chewed the meat thoughtfully.

‘While collecting powerful Artifacts one by one is important, I also need to invest the points I get from Believers to acquire new Skills.’

This incident made it clear.

‘Divine Aura’s effect is better than I thought.’

Investing in Skills is the right path.

The Artifacts I’ll obtain after this are hidden in places that are impossible to reach with my current abilities, so I need to level up my Skills more to get them.

‘If I’m going to act as a Cult Leader, I need to do it properly. Then what I need next is…’

Money.

Securing a source of funds.

Right now, just treating the sick will be enough for Proselytizing, but there’s no future after all the sick are cured.

Then the next target would be the easiest one – the impoverished class that can be won over with money.

For that, I’ll need plenty of money first.

I silently set down my utensils. After lightly moistening my mouth with wine and savoring the bitter taste, I spoke.

“Brother. Are you a Merchant Guild Leader?”

“Ah, well… it’s too grand to call myself a Merchant Guild Leader, but… I do run a fairly large trading business.”

The Coachman said this while hurriedly chewing and swallowing the food in his mouth. So he’s somewhat renowned among Merchants.

“Then… could you sell the things I have at appropriate places? The scene I witnessed outside earlier weighs heavily on my heart. I keep thinking of those who can’t afford even medicine or a piece of bread… I want to help them in whatever small way I can, but unfortunately, what I have are more like stolen goods than money, and it’s difficult for someone ignorant like me in these matters to handle. I need Brother’s help.”

“Ah, of course I’ll do it gladly. But what kind of items are we talking about…?”

I brought over the Bag I had placed beside my chair. It was the Bag the Coachman – no, the Merchant – had sold.

When I handed him the Bag, the Merchant took it respectfully with trembling hands.

When he opened the cloth Bag, his eyes widened.

The Merchant brought various items onto the Table and observed them carefully, then excitedly talked about his area of expertise.

“Gems and… Precious Metals, this is… Gold Coins that were minted quite a while ago. Especially the old Gold Coins should fetch a good price since there are many collectors. Ah, but it’ll take some time to get a good price – would that be alright?”

“That’s fine with me, but please hurry as much as possible if you can… It pains my heart to think of those pitiful souls wandering the roads suffering longer.”

It was just an excuse because I needed money now.

But the Merchant seemed deeply moved by my words.

“…Understood! I’ll do my absolute best. If you need more money, please ask me. Since I’m in the trading business, albeit modestly… I have some funds available.”

“No, this is my good deed, so I can’t ask for money. What you’re doing to help me now is already enough, and… Brother, you can help the neglected and weary souls later when your heart truly desires it. That will be sufficient.”

When I firmly declined, he looked ready to die of happiness.

Having this dark-skinned man fawning over my words feels somewhat strange…

“You truly are an Ascetic! I understand.”

He answered with a bright smile and poured red wine into my empty glass. I responded with a smile instead of words and cut a potato on my plate with my fork to eat.

I had no intention of using this money directly. Direct use is what amateurs do.

My funding sources are limited, and once I sell all these items, that’s the end.

Moreover, to keep surviving, I need to create Believers, but working? That would ruin the Cult Leader image.

Being a Cult Leader is like being a celebrity – brief ‘experiential hardship labor’ to understand their pain is fine, but making it your actual profession would shatter the Believers’ fantasy.

So how should I multiply the money?

Investment.

And for me, who knows the game’s knowledge and main story inside and out, there’s no better money-making method.

I know what will prosper and what will fail. I’ll truly look like a prophet.

Of course, it’s only a very small part of the future from the main story and sub-stories, but knowing future events makes investing easy.

“Ah, then could I make one more small request? There’s something I want to do for this world full of suffering…”

“Please tell me anything! I’ll do my absolute best to make it happen!”

“Thank you, Brother. You’re very reliable.”

If I get the money, the investment target is already decided.

‘Rabatenon Mine near the Border.’

An Abandoned Mine where work was stopped because no matter how much they dug, only coal fragments came out.

‘It was famous as a high-paying dungeon.’

Monsters had made their nest in the Abandoned Mine, so the mission was to subjugate the Abandoned Mine that had become a Monster den.

After subjugation, if you brought mining tools and went deeper into the Abandoned Mine, Magic Stone mining was made possible.

Those Magic Stones were quite profitable… It was a good dungeon for making quick money when your pockets were empty in the low-level days.

Of course, being low-level, the rewards weren’t as good as high-level quests.

But it was clearly the best choice available now.

Moreover, Magic Stones were one of the raw materials that sold for high prices in this world. In a medieval era without electricity, Magic Stones that were more effective and versatile than electricity were more precious than gold.

After all, there were theories that just grinding up special Magic Stones and consuming them could cure minor ailments.

Mines that produce such Magic Stones are rare and usually owned by nations… but this mine unfortunately stopped mining before even a trace of Magic Stone appeared.

Not knowing that digging just a little more would reveal a gold mine, if they knew, they’d be rolling around clutching their stomachs. It was fortunate for me though.

‘With the money from selling those, I’ll buy the mine ownership rights and hire a Mercenary Company and Miners…’

Since it’s an abandoned mine anyway, buying the ownership rights shouldn’t cost much money.

Since I’ll be going there periodically to mine, it would be better to buy the mine’s ownership outright rather than just mining rights.

‘I don’t need to hire very good Mercenaries either.’

Anyone who can swing a Sword will do. The Monsters dwelling inside would be level 7 at most anyway.

Since it’s a story that progresses in chapter 1.5, I remember the mine dungeon’s recommended level was also 5-7.

‘What level would 5 to 7 be?’

Thinking in terms of basic swordsman character stats, level 10 is about regular Mercenary level… so it would be amateur Mercenary level.

“Do you know Rabatenon Mine near the Border?”

“Hmm… I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with it.”

“That’s fine. Before I descended to this world, I saw the future…”

The Merchant’s eyes sparkled.

“The most precious things in the world were buried in that Rabatenon Mine. However, with Monsters appearing, it seems we can’t just send Miners.”

He was quick-witted.

“Then…! Could it be Magic Stones?”

When I smiled and moistened my throat with wine, he burst out talking.

“I’ll use the money you give me to buy the mine ownership and hire Mercenaries and Miners! Then there will be more profit, and with that profit we can achieve Ascetic’s greater purpose! To have such foresight! Ah…”

Being so quick-witted, he ended up handling everything I wanted to do. Indeed, being perceptive means getting assigned more work.

“The future I know must all be knowledge for saving those who suffer. I’m counting on you, Brother.”

“Then I’ll handle things quickly.”

“Yes, thank you for Brother’s warm heart.”

Yes! I’ve managed to get things done without lifting a finger!

“Compared to Ascetic’s burden, this is nothing. If you give me exactly 2 weeks, I’ll definitely get it done!”

“Yes, please don’t overwork yourself. Brother’s health is most important. Now that your Daughter is healthy too, shouldn’t you spend time with her?”

The Merchant was moved to tears by my words.

I had to console someone crying while eating, which was completely out of character for me.

I took the opportunity to place my hands on his body and show him the sparkling Ability Beam to strengthen his trust even more.

‘I should go to Cardil tomorrow too.’

I had to simultaneously proceed with gathering money to entice the impoverished and treating the sick for recruitment. The Believers would become my shield and soon my lifeline.

‘Things are really going well!’

*

“Commander, the Cult Leader’s body is not here.”

Clank.

The one who roughly sheathed his sword engraved with a lion walked over slowly and spoke to the Commander.

“Are you certain you searched thoroughly?”

At the Commander’s low voice, the one who had removed his helmet began to report calmly.

“Yes. Snow-white long hair like an old man’s with gray eyes, height reaching approximately 190cm – quite tall. Considering that hair and eyes can be disguised with magic, we investigated accordingly, but we could not find the corpse of any tall man.”

“Hmm…”

The Commander standing quietly in this cavern swept his gaze around the surroundings.

In the cavern where several corpses were rotting, there were not even the common flies or maggots. Only the bodies faithfully following the flow of time, steadily and slowly decaying.

Tap tap. When he struck his shoe heel against the stone floor, the blood that had dried and was no longer even damp crumbled into powder and fell. The torch’s shadow flickered on the dark stone walls.

Staying in this pit of ominousness not only made him nauseous, but he felt a tingling sensation starting from his hands and feet.

The Commander looked at the Knights who were investigating diligently. The elite of the elite. Lumensia’s sharpest spears and shields were uncharacteristically complaining of nausea.

Clenching and unclenching his tingling hands, he turned his gaze. At the cave entrance visible in the distance, the sun was slowly setting.

“Collect the bodies and let’s leave. Collapse the cavern.”

The Commander turned and gave the order. Along with clanking sounds, the Knights who had entered the cave moved in perfect coordination.

Frowning as he listened to the distant sound of the flowing stream, the Commander spoke to the Vice-Commander who had become bloodied from collecting the corpses.

“Capture the ‘Cult Leader’ and put him on the execution platform. That bastard must be killed.”

The Vice-Commander nodded.

“As Lumensia wills it.”

They had to clearly show the Children of Lumensia the fate of those heretical traitors.

The corpses of Knights who had died with their hearts stopped without a single wound and the corpses of heretics covered in sword wounds were laid out in rows on the grassland.

Once outside, all kinds of flying insects from who knows where circled above the corpses. That cavern was indeed suspicious.

The Vice-Commander drew his sword from its scabbard. Seeing this, the Knights retreated from the cave entrance.

As he raised his sword and gathered his energy, a light green aura clearly visible to the naked eye formed on the blade. When he swung the sword toward the cavern, that single strike collapsed the stone cave.

The underground entrance was completely blocked, leaving only a gap small enough for a mouse to enter. The Knights filled even that mouse hole with surrounding dirt.

Beyond the hill in the village, the watermill turned peacefully as the sun slowly set.

“Then I’ll go to the village first to conduct an investigation. If the Cult Leader is alive, he might have stopped by a nearby village.”

The tired-looking Vice-Commander sheathed his sword again.

“No, send only the Knights to the village.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“You and I are heading to Astrapolis. We received a report that someone there is practicing wicked sorcery.”

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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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