How the Cult Saves the World

Troy was the one who called me, but why was Zain smirking with his lips curled up? To be precise, along with his mouth, one of his eyebrows was also raised.

"I don't know what kind of place Kyros Church is. But I still want to follow you."

Troy said to me with a serious look in his eyes.

"I'll do anything."

His eyes seemed to beg me to ask him anything.

"Okay. If that's what you want."

I answered with a pleased smile. I was already thinking it would be nice to have him, and he came to me voluntarily. How lucky.

"Thank you!"

Troy smiled brightly. It was a pure smile like a child's.

"Hey, I told you to be polite."

Zain spoke again, as if he was displeased with Troy.

"It doesn't matter if the Leader is okay with it."

But Troy didn't back down. Eventually, Zain stepped back and looked at me.

"I'm asking you again, can I speak informally to you too?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Tsk! So then, are we done here?"

He asked with a sharp look in his eyes. Why are you glaring at me?

"We still have something to do."

I said that and left the High Priest's room. Zain and Troy followed behind me.

"What do we have to do?"

"We're going to the underground prison. There are still people trapped there."

"Oh..."

As we left the High Priest's room and entered the corridor, we saw Rizes Church priests scattered everywhere.

'How should I deal with Hamel's corpse and the priests?'

Before, in Rovel, Terdius had killed them all, so I could clean up using the Purification Light. But the priests here were still alive.

"Leader, can I take care of them?"

Troy, who was also looking at the priests, asked me. His eyes sparkled. Somehow it felt ominous.

'Um...'

I nodded after a moment of hesitation and said.

"Sure. Just don't kill them."

"I'll just erase their memories and throw them out."

He said that with a bright smile. His expression felt like pure evil somehow. But the method itself wasn't bad, so I agreed. As soon as I did, Troy started to move hastily.

Zain and I passed by Troy and moved along the path. The path leading to the underground prison. Only our footsteps broke the silence. Zain broke it further.

"I heard that the successor of the Mont tribe knows many spells, but it seems that guy is the successor."

"That's right."

---Oh, really? Spells.

Kyros exclaimed in wonder.

"So that's why he's so rude."

Zain added another insult to Troy, which I ignored as best as I could. He continued talking.

"But if this place becomes Kyros Church's Temple from now on, how will you manage it?"

"I won't do it right away. I have to deal with Bahano first, and then think about it later."

"Hmm. Alphius or Chester can go back and forth here, so why don't you ask the kids?"

Zain asked me with a curious look in his eyes. This world didn't have child protection laws developed, so he might think that way.

"That would be hard for the kids. The Aldone Branch should be dealt with after Bahano's matter is over."

"I understand."

We chatted as we walked and soon arrived at the underground prison.

We pushed open an iron door that was not locked and entered inside.

A corridor lit by torches appeared. We couldn't see anything yet, but we could clearly feel a stale aura from inside.

"Be careful."

I warned Zain and walked quietly, killing my presence. It didn't take long for the path to end. What appeared at the end of the path was a wide space.

And inside it,

"Kieek!"

There were dozens of soldiers who had turned into monsters.

"Wow! You scared me!"

Whiik! Puk! Puk!

I swung my mace at three monsters that rushed at me. And at the same time, I released holy power from my other hand that wasn't holding the mace.

"Kraaak!"

The monsters vanished with a strange scream.

Pwing- Puk! Puk!

Zain was also engrossed in battle as much as I was. The arrows he shot with holy power pierced through the monsters' heads and they turned into dust and disappeared.

---Good job, my kids!

Puk! Puk!

We killed and killed the monsters that ran at us until we finished cleaning up. Seeing their combat skills improve day by day, I wondered if they had some talent for me.

---Awesome! My kids!

"Hoo."

I wiped off the sweat on my forehead and put the holy mace into my inventory. Zain was behind me, collecting the arrows that had fallen to the ground. Beyond him, I saw the iron bars of the underground prison.

There were quite a lot of people locked up in the iron bars, similar to Rovel. But their condition was worse than the people in Rovel.

The people of Aldone had most of their bodies dyed blue, and they made weird noises at me and Zain.

"Krrr."

They were no different from having lost their minds. But they hadn't completely turned blue yet, so there was a way to save them.

"Ugh. They're scary."

"Don't be afraid. They're still closer to humans."

---That's right. Yes. They're not fully monsters yet, so they can be saved.

'Of course.'

I passed by Zain, who was reluctant, and approached the iron bars. Then I opened my inventory and used the Purification Light.

Paaah-!

A bright white light spread out in an instant and filled the underground prison. And that wasn't all. This bright and warm light spread throughout Aldone.

Seeing that, I closed my eyes.

'Why is this always so flashy.'

Damn, I didn't want to attract attention here.

I didn't know if the priests of the Diego Church who were heading to Bahano would be in Aldone.

But I couldn't help using the Purification Light.

'I can't just watch them die.'

When I opened my eyes again, the people in the cell had returned to their original appearance. Their blue skin had turned back to human, and their cloudy eyes had regained their focus.

'The effect is good.'

"What on earth, how did you do this?"

On the other hand, Zain, who was startled by the dazzling light, came up to me and asked.

"It's the power of Kyros."

"Wow..."

Zain exclaimed again. He was not the only one who couldn't help admiring.

"This, this can't be. Finally... finally we're back."

"My mind is clear!"

"Sniff, we're not monsters anymore."

"Wah, mom."

The people each exclaimed, shed tears, and hugged each other. I smiled weakly at the sight.

'If I had known this, I wouldn't have suffered for the past few days.'

For the past few days, I stayed at the inn not only to rest, but also to make a potion out of mandrake root, which was the antidote for Happy.

The potion combined with mandrake root and healing skill was more effective than just eating the herb. I thought it would be good to use it on those who were almost transformed into monsters.

'...Well. Good is good.'

As I thought that, the people's eyes were already focused on me. The system appeared at the same time.

[The citizens of Aldone witnessed an amazing sight!]

[Now they will focus on you!]

[For 10 minutes, the probability of everyone here becoming a follower of Kyros Church increases by 50%.]

Huh, the event buff is similar to Rovel's. It's a great deal.

"Did you save us?"

"That white light... It felt like it washed us away. You did it, right? I think I saw it."

Some of them must have been sane enough when I used the Purification Light. That's good. As I was about to answer their questions, Zain stepped forward before me.

"That's right. This is Leviathan, the Leader of the Kyros Church. It was Kyros's power that dwelled in him that saved you."

"Kyros Church? Leviathan?"

"He also defeated the Rizes Church that tormented you."

He's getting better at playing along. I couldn't help smiling and opened my inventory. And I changed into my leader's outfit. Then not only did the people's eyes gather on me, but Zain also looked at me in surprise. Haven't you seen it before?

Ahem, ahem. First of all, I cleared my throat.

Actually, I wanted to appeal to them as hard as before, but today I didn't feel like it.

The system message said that they would focus on me, not on my 'speech'. So this time I'm going to use a different method.

I smiled at them with a sales pitch.

"I am Leviathan, the leader of the Kyros Church. Kyros is always with you. And he will always take care of you. All he wants is your faith."

That's it for today's sermon. What will steal their hearts is something else.

I checked that their attention was only on me and took a deep breath.

I decided to be as devout as possible.

Then I closed my right eye and winked.

Please, please let this work this time. Please! I have the system buff and the leader's outfit buff, so please!

[You have successfully activated the title option 'Fan Service'!]

[52 citizens of Aldone have become followers of Kyros Church!]

Finally, it worked. This damn Fan Service.

Actually, I was hesitant to use this option, but I was tired of explaining everything to people every time. Of course, I didn't preach that many times. But for some reason, I felt pressured to come up with new repertoire every time.

How easy and nice it is to charm people with just a wink. I don't even have to think about sermon sentences!

"Ah, Kyros."

"So that's it. Kyros saved us."

I smiled proudly as I listened to their stories. And I turned my eyes to the side.

I met Zain's eyes, who had a face like he had eaten shit.

...Damn.

---

"Thank you, Leader!"

"Thank you so much!"

I opened the door of the underground prison, freed the people who were trapped, and bid farewell to the followers. They greeted me and Zain earnestly as they left.

"Someday we will open a temple here, so please visit us."

I didn't forget to promote with a sales smile. It was still a long way to open a branch of Kyros Church in Aldone, but you never know.

As I watched the people go away, I opened my inventory and changed my clothes. I put away the leader's outfit, put on the clothes I was wearing before, and turned my robe over. Then I felt a sharp look.

"What? What?"

"No, no."

It was Zain.

He had been smiling brightly with me as we bid farewell to the followers until a moment ago, but now he was looking at me with a strange look.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

"Well, if you say so... Leader... What was that just now? Did you get dust in your eye or something?"

He narrowed his eyes and frowned as if he didn't like my wink. I felt a bit defiant at his expression.

"What do you mean? It's my secret weapon."

"Huh?"

He seemed more confused.

"I'm handsome, right? Everyone falls for me with one wink."

Instead of being embarrassed, I went out with confidence. Zain's face became more sour. Why are you picking a fight?

---My son, you did well. You make me proud.

'Haha. Thank you. I'm proud of myself too.'

Actually, I didn't intend to increase the followers in Aldone... but since it turned out this way, I had no choice. I had to leave for Bahano as soon as possible.

"Leader, everything is ready."

Thud.

I was startled and speechless. Troy suddenly appeared from above. This guy has a knack for surprising people like a black panther beastman.

"You scared me! Why did you pop out without a sound?"

Zain was as surprised as me.

"Good job, Troy."

"No problem. By the way, I threw Hamel's corpse to the monsters."

He spoke casually as if he was saying 'I'm back from school'. Troy made me a little scared. And I wasn't the only one.

Zain's face twisted even more, and he looked back and forth between me and Troy. He shook his head miserably. I could see him lamenting in his mind.

I left Zain behind and moved on.

"Let's go to Bahano."

The dawn was breaking slowly. It was time to go to Bahano for real.