Chapter 39
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 039
Chapter Title: The Cult Leader and the Fanatics (4)
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‘Kids, huh?’
The people in the basement.
Every one of their faces looked so young.
And the ones in the back were genuinely children.
They'd been hidden behind the leaders up front, so it was only now that I spotted them.
‘Doesn't look like fanatics devoted to the cult leader.’
After observing the survivors.
I concluded they weren't zealots.
They were skin and bones, to the point their health was worrying.
If these kids were followers of the Benediction Church, the cult leader wouldn't have locked them underground and starved them.
‘Hmm, what to do.’
I was pondering what to say when.
The boy at the front cautiously spoke up.
“Um, excuse me...”
Was that the signal?
The kids who'd been eyeing me all burst out at once.
“Please spare us!”
“We'll do anything! Just don't kill us...”
“I don't wanna get eaten!”
They looked utterly desperate for help.
Everyone was pleading to be saved, turning the place into a noisy marketplace in seconds.
I wanted to help, but not like this.
First, I needed to calm them down.
“Sir Bear. Settle the kids down.”
I said that to Bear.
He bellowed in a short, sharp shout.
“Quiet!”
His voice boomed like thunder.
The kids flinched and clamped their mouths shut.
One was so startled they let out a “hic!” and hurriedly covered their mouth with both hands.
Good. Now we could finally talk.
“Why were you locked up here?”
I asked the boy at the front.
He seemed the oldest among the basement survivors.
“The cult leader imprisoned us.”
That was the start of the story.
It wasn't all that surprising.
These kids were from Rabbitfarm. On the day the village fell to the Benediction Church, they'd been shut away underground with the adults.
There had been over a hundred at first.
But one by one, on the cult leader's orders, they were taken outside until only these kids remained.
And the fate of those who left?
Turned into Kudraks or fed to them.
One or the other.
The kids' survival wasn't unrelated.
Even if they made Kudraks from boys or young children, they'd be weaker than from adults.
And as monster fodder? Their undeveloped bodies meant less meat to consume.
So the cult leader had saved them for last.
They'd have died eventually, though.
If I hadn't come, not a single survivor would be left down here.
‘Hold on. What about the guards?’
The sentries at the village entrance.
If they followed the cult leader due to enchantment magic?
Now that he was dead, their minds might have cleared.
In that case, I should hear their side too.
“Sir Bear.”
“Yes?”
“Remember the guards at the entrance?”
“Yes.”
“Check if they're okay, and if they're still there, bring them here. Then patrol the village for any other survivors.”
“Understood.”
I was giving him a bunch of tasks that could've annoyed anyone, but Bear responded vigorously without a hint of complaint.
This was the best choice for me, though.
He was the only one I could entrust with it.
I couldn't send Gilbert the skeleton, after all.
‘Should I hire more people?’
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
Bear continued.
“Lord Heros. Call Gilbert here. Once he arrives, I'll head out to carry out your orders.”
“People might freak out.”
“Better than leaving you alone, isn't it?”
“I can protect myself. Don't worry.”
I reassured him like that.
He hesitated, clearly uneasy about leaving me by myself, then slowly departed.
Even as he went, he kept glancing back worriedly.
His gaze felt like that of a parent watching a child play alone by the riverbank.
It was a strange feeling.
‘Don't I inspire any trust?’
Ever since that day I nearly died as a human chamber pot fulfilling the Hyperactive Grimoire's demands.
Bear had become hyper-vigilant about my safety.
For me, it was welcome.
An escort doing their duty properly.
Anyway, with Bear off on his tasks, I couldn't just sit idle as the employer.
Time to focus on the kids in front of me.
“Alright, shall we chat a bit more?”
I said to the children.
Then flashed a smile.
To cut to the chase, there weren't just two guards.
Twelve in total.
The cult leader must have deliberately left that many.
To rotate shifts guarding the village entrances.
He used Kudraks as watchdogs, but if that got exposed, he'd face attacks from orthodox churches like the Sky Church, Jade Night Church, or Purification Church.
So human guards were camouflage to look like a normal village.
‘Predictable. So predictable.’
The cult leader must have played it safe until he'd built enough power to avoid easy subjugation.
His thinking was transparent.
But that made his actions even harder to understand.
Rumors of the Benediction Church had spread everywhere—why was he still holed up here?
‘Whatever. Lucky for me. I got to learn new magic because of it.’
There must've been a reason he couldn't leave the village.
To increase the Kudrak numbers, maybe.
Or preparations for new spells.
Nothing else explained it.
‘Anyway, the guards are in good shape. Lucky break amid the misfortune.’
The guards were clear-headed.
Including the two who'd guided me from the entrance.
They no longer looked dazed like before.
Clearly, the cult leader's death had snapped them out of it.
Mind control magic, just as I'd guessed.
The problem? None remembered recent events.
‘Their latest memories are all over the place.’
Over half the twelve guards were from out of town.
They only recalled their home villages being attacked—nothing after.
Even the Rabbitfarm locals were similar.
Oh, and these twelve weren't even real soldiers.
The cult leader had just gathered burly men to act as sentries.
‘In summary, the cult leader turned three villages including Rabbitfarm into ruins. How many hundreds did he kill? If I'd left him alone, the damage would've been worse.’
Glad I'd come early.
Otherwise, I might've faced hundreds instead of dozens of Kudraks.
My mana would've run out before the monsters, and I'd have lost the fight.
Then he'd have ripped out my heart.
Just imagining it gave me chills all over.
‘Okay! So what now?’
I'd killed the cult leader and dismantled the Benediction Church.
Rescued ten kids from the basement and twelve brainwashed guards.
But all twenty-two wanted to join us?
Suddenly, my party's ballooning.
Time for me to decide.
Travel with them or not.
‘Can I handle that many?’
Asking myself that.
I concluded yes.
The biggest issue was food, but hunting could cover it.
Animals were plentiful around here.
Monsters too.
‘In that case... no reason not to help.’
Twelve able-bodied men would boost our combat strength.
Trustworthiness was a concern, but I couldn't know until I saw for myself.
So, moving on.
The kids were the problem.
They'd inevitably be baggage.
Weaker than adults, inexperienced, limited what they could do.
But abandoning them felt wrong.
‘My conscience won't allow it.’
Sympathy.
It was holding me back.
Ignoring it might bring gains, but oddly, I felt no desire to.
If I tuned out that inner voice, my humanity would wear away.
I'd become someone else entirely.
Eventually, a stingy bastard.
Like the villagers who'd despised me.
The worst outcome.
‘Alright, at least to the nearest village.’
That was my decision.
Following my desires.
More work for me, but peace of mind.
That was enough.
After spending the night in the ruins of Rabbitfarm.
We loaded two wagons with pots, blankets, tents—anything useful for camping.
Oh, and food, of course.
Grains, dried fruit, salted meat.
We swept up what was left in the cult leader's mansion.
Only enough for three days, though.
“Let's go!”
With preparations done.
My shout restarted the journey.
Unlike before, it brimmed with energy.
Our group had grown, after all.
Rumble.
The wagons began rolling slowly.
The livestock had become Kudrak chow, so humans pulled them instead of horses or mules.
Two per wagon.
Rotating shifts, naturally.
It was hard labor.
‘Feels like I've made it big.’
Over twenty people obeying my orders—such thoughts bubbled up.
Like I'd become nobility.
Ahead of myself with superiority, but I felt justified.
Didn't I deserve to savor this much?
As I basked like that.
“Lord Heros!”
The two scouts up front.
One called to me.
Urgency in his voice—something was up.
‘No way, this soon after leaving...’
Thinking that, I hurried forward. The man who'd called pointed ahead.
“Someone's coming this way.”
“Huh?”
I followed his finger.
There, a horse and rider approached rapidly.
“What the...”
As distance closed, details sharpened.
The approaching figure was a man.
Couldn't see his face behind a visored helmet, so I scanned his gear instead.
Yellow-dyed padded armor overlaid with gleaming chainmail.
Not enough—he had chain stockings for leg guards too.
Even gloves and boots reinforced with chain.
Such lavish equipment?
Definitely a noble.
The moment I pegged him.
He shouted our way.
“I am Baron Birch! Bandits have attacked me—I need your aid! Please help!”
I'd planned to seek out a noble, and here one came to me?
No reason to hesitate.
“Everyone, battle ready!”
I yelled to the group.
This was my chance to rise.