The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 94

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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 nothing as I watched Erendor’s expression change strangely.

“…Ascetic?”

“Am I frightening you?”

The ‘aura’ he speaks of is adjusted so that humans don’t feel pressured. And… ‘friends’ don’t fear friends. Right?

When I stared intently at Erendor, he avoided my eyes and began treating my hand.

“…No.”

The delayed response made me wonder if something was wrong with his hearing.

I rolled my eyes to look at my hand. The hand bleeding red blood was slowly being wrapped in white cloth.

It was awkward. This act itself. Originally, there was no need to do such things, wasn’t there?

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 21.7%-

 

“That’s enough. Don’t handle it roughly.”

He tied the knot and withdrew his hands.

I fidgeted with the hand covered in white cloth.

So clearly… I had operated my aura this way before.

When I deliberately released part of the aura I had blocked, golden light flashed over the cloth despite being covered by bandages.

The unpleasant sensation I felt in my hand disappeared. And the blood that had been flowing wetly over the bandages also disappeared.

Light particles floated up into the air and vanished. Brilliant golden light. The light that had been stolen… No, this isn’t the ‘Ascetic’s’ data.

“Ascetic, you…”

When I unwrapped the bandages my friend had diligently tied, only smooth skin was visible where the deep cut had been.

Yes, I had definitely used this power to create ‘Believers’.

And with this power I had regenerated my limbs, and my pierced carotid artery and-

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 25%-

 

Splurt.

“…!”

Something poured from my mouth. The power backflowed and my organs became a mess.

My friend showed a surprised expression. Blood blocked my airway. As my body convulsed and coughed, blood spilled all over my clothes.

He patted my back in panic.

After doing so for a while, I gasped and caught my breath.

“Don’t do anything until you’re stable.”

It seemed wise to comply.

I sat there in a daze. He roughly wiped the blood on me with clean bandages. Originally, such impurities would have disappeared without even touching the Ascetic’s body.

He had ‘Viola’ bring clothes.

Viola still couldn’t look me in the eyes.

Even though I was deliberately smiling brightly, the other person seemed to feel fear from me.

Erendor handed me clothes. An ordinary shirt and pants.

“You know how to dress, right?”

Informal speech, or formal speech?

When I searched my mind and retrieved data, there was information that I generally used informal speech with friends.

“Yeah.”

“Why are you speaking informally again… This is awkward as hell.”

And there was also data saying that when the other person uses informal speech, I should use informal speech back.

Since 10 pieces of data are mixed up chaotically…

Thud.

Erendor closed the door and left. I put on the clothes. For some reason, I remembered performing this task in a rattling carriage.

…Ah, my loyal and faithful believer. It was after the first meeting with Antonio.

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 29%-

 

Data is being sorted and pieced together.

About 29% or so. It seems I’ll be able to bring back the ‘Ascetic’ soon.

“Your airway is injured so you can’t eat. Try not to talk either.”

I nodded.

I still maintained my smile. In the data pieced together so far, the Ascetic was always smiling.

He was about to leave the room. I kept my mouth tightly shut and pulled on his arm.

“What?”

I made a request for a writing instrument, but unfortunately my friend didn’t understand.

Despite understanding various languages like Spirit language and Elf language, he couldn’t understand human gestures. Truly lamentable.

He eventually went outside the room in frustration and brought a writing instrument.

“Here, write it. What were you trying to say?”

[Request to bring writing instrument delivered.]

“…”

My friend’s expression became subtle.

“Anything else?”

[Cooperation in finding method to return to previous Ascetic]

“Me? You’re asking me to cooperate?”

My friend made another subtle expression.

“Hmm… I probably won’t be much help.”

I searched through the basic information given for Sernuan Lumiere.

[Friend: Friend means a human relationship that lasts for a long time]

Seeing the neatly written text, my friend showed a flustered expression. Then he scratched the back of his head and answered.

“Well, but we haven’t been together for that long, you know.”

So he’s not a friend?

I tilted my head.

Then… did he lie?

Matching my fluctuating mood, the power I had briefly suppressed leaked out.

My friend, Erendor’s complexion turned pale.

“No, of course we’re friends! We are friends, but… the definition of friend is slightly different. Even with little time, we can still be friends.”

Is that so?

I couldn’t find any data about friends other than the dictionary definition of friend.

“I can be called a friend even though I’ve spent little time with you. Because we’ve shared that many emotions.”

Had Erendor shared many emotions with the ‘Ascetic’?

It seems too many memory gaps occurred due to data loss.

Still, I think I understood what he meant by friend.

Once I accepted it, the bad feeling disappeared. Yes, that sticky and gutter-like feeling of betrayal…

My power was also naturally controlled.

I stuffed the enormous power back into this small, fragile shell.

There are cracks in my cut hand. The shell, the flesh, couldn’t withstand it and burst out.

‘I’ll need to manage these emotions quite well…’

If I even got angry, the power responding to emotions would overflow and shatter the flesh, spilling over.

Then that damn Lumensia would notice. Though she probably already has…

…This isn’t a memory of Sernuan Lumiere or the Ascetic.

I should request deletion of that data just now.

 

*

 

“Did you sleep?”

…?

It seems I fell asleep without realizing it.

After sleeping, I felt my emotions and memories had become a bit clearer than before.

On the table beside me, writing instruments were placed.

 

[Friend : Friend means a human relationship that lasts for a long time]

 

‘This writing… I didn’t write this.’

Did Erendor write it?

 

-Character Recovery Work until… 29.9%-

 

It would be troublesome if I keep flickering like this. I don’t know when I’ll be able to clear this temporary Quest.

If I remain in this jumbled state with tangled information, I’ll log out again soon. And then I won’t be able to log in again.

Logout… Wait, I remember seeing this word recently. It’s the Ascetic’s memory.

Memories related to logout surface. So, I am. The ‘Ascetic’ was…

Killed by Viola.

 

-Character Recovery Work until… 30%-

 

-“Well, I’m tired of using my head. Wouldn’t it be more damaging to the Empire to cut off the Ascetic’s head and hang it in the Empire’s marketplace instead?”

-“Wait a moment.”

-“Sorry about this.”

 

Stab.

A thin, sharp blade pierces through soft flesh and cuts blood vessels.

Then darkness.

That was the ‘Ascetic’s’ first death.

I became aware of my own death.

That was… an important turning point that allowed me to separate additional data more easily.

My self-identity is established.

 

[System Temporarily Paralyzed]

[Until System Recovery: 14 days]

 

While I was blankly organizing and sorting data on the bed, Erendor, who was beside the bed, spoke to me.

“Want to eat something?”

…I have a memory of seeing his face between deaths. Blood was coming from his eyes.

My throat still feels rough. Having a written conversation would probably help with recovery.

 

[Question: Health condition of eyes]

 

“Eyes? Ah~ that? You remembered that. It’s fine now. It got better after resting for a few days.”

It heals just by resting for a few days? Human bodies are weak yet recover well.

…Though it didn’t seem that way before?

Until I used my power, humans used to groan from illness and pain.

Ascetics would use their power to help such humans, and humans fascinated by that power believed in the Ascetic.

The Ascetic would use power to heal humans’ wounds, and in return, they would believe in the Ascetic. It was a kind of contract…

The person before me was a ‘friend.’ But he wasn’t a ‘believer.’

I gradually increased believers… and those faiths became the source that allowed the Ascetic to exist in this place.

So, the person before me had to become a believer.

 

[Question: Reason for not believing in me]

 

Friends trust friends.

Then why isn’t friend = believer?

“Uh…”

My friend made a troubled expression. This question seemed to be one that caused trouble.

I shouldn’t ask this in the future. For the smooth achievement of the temporary Quest.

But since I had already said it, the words couldn’t be taken back, so my friend tried to answer my question.

“I believe. Of course I believe. If I don’t believe in the Ascetic, who would I believe?”

The conversation seems to be going off track. But… the Ascetic in my memory seems to think it would be better not to ask further.

“You need to eat at least some rice porridge, so let’s eat now.”

I stared at him quietly and then nodded.

‘If he weren’t a friend, he wouldn’t take care of me this much.’

I drank the rice porridge he brought like liquid.

“You’re spilling it all while eating.”

The act of eating itself seems like it’s been a very long time.

I think I used to eat more fancy and delicious food before.

I could easily recall memories from that time.

Because the Ascetic, after possessing Sernuan Lumiere, treasured the memory of the meal prepared by his first believer.

 

-Character Recovery Work until… 32%-

 

After that… it seems I particularly didn’t eat meals. Because this body is already in a dead state.

What sustains him is faith. It’s a body that doesn’t need meals.

“Why are you spitting it out?”

After that… while having a meal with his first believer, Yelena had barged in.

And also the various course dishes eaten at the Banquet Hall.

“Want to sleep a bit more? Patients need a lot of sleep.”

I remember the humans lying like dead in Cardil’s Cabin. When the Ascetic used his power, they sprang up. That was because they were sick.

 

-Character Recovery Work until… 33%-

 

I’m not sick. It’s just that data and systems are tangled, causing errors.

I gently shook my head. White hair tied like Erendor’s hair flutters at the edge of my vision.

“Alright. Then I’ll clear the dishes and come back, so stay still.”

I didn’t answer or nod, but he strode out of the room.

I began looking out the window again.

It seems I need a bit more stimulation to find the right data. The more I review what the Ascetic did in the past, the more my self-identity will be established.

So I went out through the window.

 

*

 

Erendor fell deep into thought.

When Viola killed him, he had wondered if this world was going to end.

But here he was, taking care of the Ascetic, which was so unlike himself who avoided troublesome matters.

He wanted to make the Ascetic’s overflowing believers do this kind of thing…

But having whatever was inside the Ascetic burst out and destroy the world would be quite troublesome from his perspective too.

“Ah, damn it.”

Erendor, feeling annoyed all over again, kicked Viola who was rolling around on the living room floor.

Viola, who had become somewhat docile after that incident, didn’t fight back even though Erendor had kicked her.

In a life where nothing ever went well, this was one fact that pleased him.

The ifrit floating beside him also teased Viola by sticking out its tongue at her repeatedly.

The ifrit, being sensitive to energy, must have been quite shocked to see what was inside the Ascetic.

‘Now that the Ascetic’s condition has stabilized, it should be fine to take the ifrit along.’

He opened the door to the room where the Ascetic was staying, together with his ifrit.

There was no one on the bed.

No, there was no one in the room at all.

Only the white curtains fluttering due to the open window were making any sound.

“…Don’t tell me.”

Erendor’s face turned pale.

—————
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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