How the Cult Saves the World

After the quest was updated, I went to bed, already half-asleep, trying to catch up on sleep because by the time I finished treating the temple patients, it was already noon.

Having stayed up all night to make the cure, I was utterly drained. Sleep was no longer a choice but a necessity. Besides, I found it easier to move around at night anyway.

When I finally woke up, it was after a long, deep sleep in my office. Outside the window, the deep night had passed, and dawn was approaching.

"Church Leader, aren't you tired?"

Could it be that he had been waiting for me to wake up?

As soon as I stirred, Alphius entered my office,as though he'd been standing by.

I hoped there wouldn't be another crisis.

"I'm fine. But what is it? Did we get another patient?"

"No, not a patient this time! I brought food. Jacob prepared a delicious meal for you, since you're so tired!"

Alphius pushed in a cart loaded with food, smiling brightly. Behind him, Zain and Troy followed, clearly drooling.

"You two haven't eaten yet?"

"Of course not! We were asleep all the way till now since returning to the temple. Because of that, we're starving,"

Zain replied, his face shiny and oily, which indicates the opposite of what he was saying.

Troy, standing beside him, stared longingly at the food cart, looking like he was ready to pounce. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Well then, let's all eat together. Alphi, is that okay?"

"Of course, Church Leader."

With a smile, Alphius began setting the table. Once everything was arranged, Zain and Troy sat down across from me.

"Enjoy your meal, Church Leader. If you need anything, just call me."

"Thank you, Alphi."

I offered Alphius a seat to join us as thanks, but he declined, saying he'd already eaten along with the senior members. Besides, as one of the senior members, he didn't necessarily have to eat.

Once Alphius left, we started eating. I took a sip of the clear soup.

Meanwhile, Troy dove straight into the main dish---chicken. Zain glared at him while nibbling on his salad.

"Troy, how can you start the main course before the Master finishes their soup?"

At moments like this, Zain's adherence to Confucianism surpassed even mine.

"It's fine, just eat comfortably."

I didn't mind anyway. As long as I had enough to eat.

"The Church Leader says it's okay."

"Ugh."

"At times like this, Zain seems really fussy."

Although Zain sighed, Troy continued eating in peace. As we ate, I struck up a conversation.

"Did you both get enough rest?"

"Yes, I feel a bit less tired."

"Same here, Leader."

Though the break hadn't been long, they both looked refreshed. That was a relief.

"Good. Once we're done eating, prepare to leave again. We're heading to Prell."

"Prell? Could it be that..."

Zain's expression stiffened at the mention of leaving again, but at the mention of Prell, he asked back. It seemed like he had heard something in the meanwhile.

"Yes. That's where the Goblin Disease started."

"But... is it really safe for us to go there?"

"Of course. The disease isn't contagious to us anyway."

I took a sip of the fruit drink that had been served for dessert.

"But...where exactly is Prell?"

"It's a small town halfway between the capital where we visited and Holden Estate."

At Troy's speed, it'll take about a day to get there. The work in Prell wouldn't take long.

'Assuming there won't be any variables from the hidden route...'

Surely, nothing would happen.

Right?

***

After dinner, I called Zain, Troy, Alphius, Chester, and Sasha together.

We met in the reception room of the priests' quarters, where the patients were isolated. On the table, 100 bottles of the remedy I'd prepared the previous night were neatly arranged.

"Alfie, Chessy, Sasha, this is the cure for goblin disease."

"Oh, I see."

"Wow! Did you make all of this by yourself?"

"...Wow."

I couldn't help but smile at the different reactions of the three children. Nodding, I continued.

"Exactly. So if a patient with goblin disease shows up while I'm away, you only need to give them one bottle. I'll leave about 100 bottles here, just in case."

Of course, the number of new goblin disease patients in the territory shouldn't increase significantly while I'm gone. At most, there might be 50 patients in the latent phase.

"And if you run out of medicine or face any other issues, contact me immediately."

"Yes, Church Leader. Don't worry."

After giving them a final reminder, I left the temple with Zain and Troy.

Since the blockade on Holden territory hadn't been lifted yet, we had to escape discreetly. I rode Troy, who had transformed into a black panther.

"But, Master,"

Zain spoke from behind me as we traveled after I told Troy the way to Prell,

"why has Goblin Disease, which disappeared ages ago, suddenly reappeared?"

Zain's serious tone made me pause briefly before answering. I answered slowly.

"Well, there are many reasons why a disease that disappeared long ago might reemerge...but I suspect someone deliberately spread it."

"Hmm. Really? Why would anyone do that?"

"Faith often arises from hardship and adversity, even if the faith is misplaced in the wrong direction."

This was exactly why goblin soldiers appeared in the original storyline---Diego used the plague to expand his influence.

When a plague spreads and countless children's lives are at risk, all parents inevitably turn to God.

If, at the perfect moment, Diego's Church developed a cure, even non-believers would start placing their faith in Diego.

'It's a very simple and easy method.'

In the original story, the ratio of believers in the Kyros Church and Diego Church was roughly equal. But now, Diego's Church has far more followers.

'I didn't expect him to use this tactic here.'

The fact that Diego was resorting to spreading goblin disease, despite already being more influential, made me wonder if something had changed within Diego.

'What's going on? What are you up to?'

Even with my knowledge of the original story, I couldn't predict the outcomes of hidden-route variables.

So, I had no idea why Diego was doing this.

'Could it be because the Kyros Church believers are growing by the day?'

It wasn't an impossible theory, but it didn't feel like the whole picture.

The Diego Church follower count far outweighed any gains made by the Kyros Church.

'Or maybe... There's another reason entirely.'

Unable to decipher their intentions, I decided to focus on the task ahead.

So we continued on. With Troy running tirelessly, the distance to Prell shortened rapidly.

***

By evening, we stopped at a small mountain near Prell to let Troy rest and regain his stamina.

"Jeez, this is tough."

Oddly enough, Zain, who was sitting on top of Troy, seemed more exhausted than Troy, who had done all the running. I glanced at him sitting in the grass, and perhaps it pricked his conscience, so Zain complained.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I had a hard time too! The path wasn't exactly smooth with how quickly he ran."

"It wasn't any different from me. It wasn't that hard of a time."

"That's because your stamina is leagues ahead of mine, Master!"

Zain shot back, sulking.

I laughed and handed him a simple snack I had prepared earlier.

"I've told you this many times: you need to exercise."

"But I do exercise."

"And you're still in this state?"

As if my words had hit the nail on the head, Zain pouted and mumbled something under his breath, too quiet for me to hear.

I'll just ignore him. Nearby, Troy, who was resting against a tree, ratted him out.

"Leader, that guy is cursing  you."

"What? No I'm not! That rascal and his goddamn ears!"

"Yeh, you did. I heard you say you want to punch the Leader in the mouth."

"N-no, I didn't!"

Zain scrambled toward Troy to stop him from talking. But Troy easily dodged him, leaving Zain's attack thwarted. I sat back, chewing on a piece of jerky.

"Zain, if you really want to do it, go ahead and hit me."

As I said that with a smile, Zain's expression hardened.

"M-Master, I didn't mean it! Really!"

"No, no, it's fine. Come on, hit me. I'll even let you. Yeah? Come on."

Instead of retaliating, Zain knelt quietly.

I nodded, accepting his apology.

-Child, your expression is oddly scary today for some reason.

Kyros remarked after he returned from his hangout at the temple while we were on our journey to Prell.

'What about my expression?'

-Yeah. That child looked genuinely terrified.

'That's because Zain was wrong to do that. I didn't mean to actually scare him.'

-Ugh. I don't believe you.

After that brief and pointless exchange, we all settled down for the night.

Since we were camping, I crawled into a makeshift tent. By now, I was used to sleeping on the ground from countless similar nights.

'Besides, it's my own little personal space.'

We always pitched our tents far enough apart to give each other privacy, making it surprisingly comfortable. 

It didn't take long before I drifted off to sleep.

***

Suddenly, I found myself in a familiar place. A familiar ceiling. Familiar faces.

'Levi, are you okay?'

'My son, are you alright?'

It was my parents---or rather, Revelof Holden's parents looking at me.

They looked at me with deep concern etched on their faces. Beside them stood a young Sevenus.

For some reason, I recognized this moment. It was a memory from long before I contracted Malone's disease.

I was recalling a time when I had the flu in the middle of summer.

'Levi, you're having a hard time, aren't you?'

Young Sevenus clutched my hand as tears streamed down his face. He couldn't have been more than ten years old. Seeing him cry tugged at my heart.

'No, Brother. I'm...cough... fine," "I" said, smiling despite the flu ravaging my body.

Maybe it was because I had a family that cared for me, even though I was sick, I felt happy because of my family's care for me.

Then, as I closed my eyes and reopened them---

"......"

I woke up from the dream.

"Ha..."

I exhaled deeply and covered my face with both hands. The memory in my dream felt so vivid, so real---almost as if I'd truly lived it myself.

'I really hate this feeling...'

These dreams of Revelof Holden always left me unsettled.

This growing sense that I was Revelof Holden---it was suffocating.

The longer I stayed in this world, the harder it became to shake off the sense of alienation creeping over me.