How the Cult Saves the World

When was silent for a moment. She closed her eyes and then opened them again. She parted her lips and spoke.

"About ten months ago, the Rizes Church entered Bahano."

When the Rizes Church first infiltrated Bahano, they started from the small villages, just like they did with other branches. The only difference was that they soon requested an audience with the King.

It was not uncommon for religious groups to visit the King as a courtesy, so the King of Bahano accepted their request.

The Rizes Church offered the King a large amount of jewels and gold coins, and secretly gave him Happy. The King of Bahano was a hedonist by nature, so he took it without hesitation.

'He was always like that. Simple, stupid, and incompetent.'

I was not surprised. He was not a very important character, but anyone who played the game would know what kind of King he was.

Meanwhile, Arhen seemed to understand my nod and continued her story.

"They must have known that my father enjoyed pleasures and approached him accordingly."

Arhen bit her lip slightly and resumed her speech.

After the King of Bahano received Happy from the Rizes Church, it didn't take long for him to become completely addicted to it.

That's when it started. The King began to get close to the High Priest of the Rizes Church, Celos. Celos, who received the King's favor, naturally gained power, and the Rizes Church, backed by his power, started to distribute Happy to the public.

"From then on, Bahano began to shake. No, to be honest, it must have been shaking even before that."

Arhen added with a sunken eye.

After that, Haven Bahano, who was designated as the next king, also became addicted to Happy.

Arhen's sister, Melina Bahano, raised a rebellion against the King and Celos, but she was killed by the mad King, and Arhen was locked up in the tower and tormented by the Rizes Church.

The High Priest Celos toued with the king in front of Arhen, and he deliberately did not feed Happy to Arhen. He told her to watch Bahano crumble.

"After that..."

Arhen trailed off. Bahano, walking the path of destruction by the King who fell into pleasure.

'It's the same as the original story.'

There was only one difference.

The Divine Protection had moved to the Palace. The problem was that this one thing made the situation very complicated.

"I see. You must have had a hard time."

I looked at Arhen and spoke with a sympathetic face. Of course, I felt genuinely sorry for her, since I was seeing what I used to see as a game story in reality.

"Rizes Church..."

On the other hand, Troy, who heard Arhen's story, clenched his fist so hard that it turned white and muttered. The hatred in his eyes was clearly visible.

"They shook a whole country. The Rizes Church bastards... They crossed the line when they had the Way of the Sage."

Zain also seemed to be quite angry, as he brushed his hair back with a sigh.

'But Kyros is quiet.'

The one who would have been the most sorry for this story did not say anything.

'Kyros?'

I tried to call him, but there was no answer.

'Did he go to see the kids?'

He must have gone to the temple by himself. Well, it's not a big deal, since he does that often.

"That's all I have to say. Now I want to hear your story. Do you have a plan?"

Arhen looked at me with eyes that were brighter than before. I put on a business smile and answered.

"I don't have a grand plan yet."

As soon as I said that, Arhen's eyebrows furrowed. At the same time, the expressions of Zain and Troy, who were sitting around her, hardened a bit.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I have some rough ideas, though."

Zain came closer to me at that moment. He poked my side and whispered.

"Master, do you really have no plan at all?"

"I don't have a detailed plan, but I do have some ideas."

I was not the type to plan and act for everything. But that doesn't mean I have no thoughts at all. I had been thinking about the methods I used in the Way of the Sage and sorted them out roughly.

"I have faced the Rizes Church several times and survived. So I know how to fight them to some extent. Don't worry."

I said with a smile, but Arhen looked skeptical. She tilted her head and pondered for a while, then opened her mouth.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"First of all, I have set a few goals."

"Goals?"

"First, the Divine Protection. The Rizes Church and the Diego Church have the Protection of each God. Oh, of course, we have it in the Kyros Church too."

"Protection?"

"It's something that contains the power of the Gods, and it's used to protect the temple. Simply put, it's a shield that protects a certain area."

Arhen nodded as if she understood. I continued.

"If we destroy the Divine Protection, the power that protects the Rizes Church will disappear. And right now, the Divine Protection is in the Palace, as far as I know. Have you ever seen it?"

"The Divine Protection... Well, what does it look like?"

"It's a black sphere the size of a human head."

"A sphere, a sphere."

Arhen thought hard. Then, her lips curled up.

"Yeah. I've seen it. I'm sure I saw it in the High Priest's 's room in the Palace."

I had a rough guess, but it was exactly right.

"I see. And the second goal is the High Priest. If we capture the High Priest's body, the Rizes Church will be tied up for a while."

"...Yeah. I know that too. But it won't be easy."

"Yes. It won't be. There will be guards and priests around the High Priest, or the forces under the Rizes Church. But you don't have to worry too much about that."

I shrugged my shoulders. And I pointed to Troy and Zain with my hand.

"These guys are pretty strong."

"I know that the Monts are strong, but..."

Arhen looked at Zain with a suspicious eye. Then Zain jumped up from his seat.

"Princess! I'm pretty strong! And Master, why did you leave yourself out of the story?"

"I'm nothing but a force, you know."

"Ha, really. I've seen you beat up monsters with that weird stick so many times!"

I gestured to Zain to calm down. Then I met Arhen's eyes, and she seemed to be interested in me.

"I heard you're the leader, but you're also on the front line."

"...Well, yeah."

"Anyone who leads a group should set an example."

Arhen's lips rose slightly. She didn't seem to be negative, which was a relief.

"Besides, there are other forces that are not here right now. They can help us anytime."

"How many are they?"

"...Two, but they are stronger than me, so you don't have to worry."

"So, there are five of us in total?"

"Yes."

Arhen nodded after hearing my answer.

"I see. What's next?"

She seemed to accept it.

"The third goal is to secure all the mandrake heads that are circulating in the kingdom. They are the cure for Happy."

I said that, but I knew it was not easy to secure the supply. And Arhen seemed to know that too.

"That's impossible."

Arhen said flatly.

"All the mandrake heads in the kingdom are now... with the High Priest, Celos."

"Celos?"

Zain asked, and Arhen added an explanation.

"When Celos started to visit the Palace frequently, he bought them all. I wondered why he did that, but it turned out to be the cure for Happy..."

Arhen touched her temples. She was very sorry, but there was nothing she could do. Not many people knew that mandrake heads were the cure for Happy.

Besides, Celos acted as he pleased.

"Actually, I said it as the third, but securing enough mandrake heads is the most important."

"Even though it's hard to get any, you want enough?"

"When I entered Bahano, I saw that more people than I thought were addicted to Happy. And you said that even His Majesty was addicted."

"But-"

"We have to stop the atrocities of the Rizes Church as soon as possible. You don't think that you only have to save His Majesty and not the people, do you?"

Arhen shook her head violently and shouted at my words.

"Of course, saving the people is a natural thing to do!"

"Then let me ask you this. Do you know where the High Priest keeps the mandrake heads?"

Arhen nodded.

"There is a separate palace where the High Priest lives in the Palace. Before I was locked up in the tower, I saw Celos moving the mandrake heads to the separate palace."

"I see. I understand. And there is one more thing I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Do you know how to get to the separate palace where the High Priest stays without being noticed by the guards?"

That was what I was most curious about. No matter how many times I played the game, the routes of the guards were not detailed. I just had to choose from a few options and I could move automatically.

"...First, tell me how and when the guards in the Palace move."

At Arhen's words, I was finally able to smile sincerely.

---

Bahano Palace, Celos's separate palace.

It was late at night, but the High Priest Celos was awake.

He left his bedroom and hurried to the High Priest's room, where the Blessing of Masein was. He had received 'his' call while he was asleep.

Clank.

Celos, who opened the door of the High Priest's room and rushed in, approached the Blessing behind the curtain. And he lay flat on the floor.

His white hair touched the cold marble, but he didn't care.

[Human.]

A low and gloomy voice came from the Blessing.

"Yes, yes!"

At the holy voice, Celos couldn't even lift his head.

[Something intruded near the west tower a while ago.]

"Yes, yes? What is that... How can there be an intrusion when there is a Blessing?"

[I don't know what trick they used, but they escaped the Palace with the human who was trapped in the west tower.]

"Wh, what? They escaped with the Princess?"

[Yes.]

Celos's eyes widened as much as possible. He had unconsciously lifted his head, which was clenched. But he soon realized his mistake and was startled and lay down again.

"But that's almost impossible..."

[Yes. But they must have found a weak spot in the Blessing.]

Celos broke out in a cold sweat. Did the Diego Church notice something here? As he thought that, he heard his voice again.

[So we move the plan forward.]

The plan. They only had one plan.

"Ah, I understand. I will execute it as soon as the sun rises."

Celos swallowed his saliva. Then, the voice continued.

[No. The plan starts now.]

The voice ended there, but Celos felt like he heard this laughter.

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