How the Cult Saves the World

My mother's hands moved with extraordinary skill—rivaling even Zain's.

'I think this might be the best knitting I've ever seen.'

Zain was quite the expert too, but my mother looked like someone who had done a great deal of knitting.

And I wasn't the only one who noticed—Sevenus too looked at her with a startled expression.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me. Could it be that Sevenus had inherited his knitting talent from our mother?

'In that case, what about me...'

Why, despite everything, was there still no great improvement in mine? While I was thinking that, I heard my mother's voice.

"Hehe, why are you both staring at me like that?"

She seemed to have felt our gazes. I looked at her and asked,

"Mother, you're absolutely wonderful at knitting."

"Am I? Surprising, is it?"

"...Yes. When did you get so good at it? You were always so busy."

I was genuinely curious about this. She had grown up as the heir to the territory since childhood—knitting wasn't something that would have been part of that upbringing. And Grandmother was the type to teach swordsmanship before she would teach knitting.

At that, my mother's expression brightened even more. She let out a small laugh and answered.

"Well you see, Levi—and Sevi—I learned while I was pregnant with the two of you."

"Pardon?"

I was taken aback by her unexpected answer. My mother had always been such a formidable knight, and the Holden family was fundamentally a knight family, so I had assumed knitting would have nothing to do with her.

Seeing my surprise, my mother added with a gentle smile,

"I wanted to do something myself for my own children—for you. Of course, I could have bought anything with money, but I wanted to give you gifts made by my own hands."

"Is that so..."

"Yes. So I knitted scarves for both of you myself. When you were newborns, I made things like hats and socks too—but the scarves are what you used for the longest time."

At my mother's words, I let out a soft laugh. Then I replied,

"That's right. My scarf was yellow, I remember."

"Oh, you do? That's right, Levi. You wore that scarf until you were seven. Even when it got holes in it and started to unravel."

"Yes, I did. I didn't know that was something you'd knitted yourself, Mother."

I answered with a sincere smile. But then, a moment later, it struck me.

'Wait—why do I know all of this so well.'

It felt as vivid as if I had lived through those moments myself. As though memories that had been sleeping in the back of my mind were naturally surfacing.

'What is this... am I imagining things?'

While I was thinking that, my mother looked at both Sevenus and me in turn.

"Sevi, you seem to have quite a talent for knitting too."

"Thank you."

Sevenus replied stiffly. Even so, he didn't stop knitting. And then my mother's gaze moved to my hands.

I had already stopped knitting, but my mother looked at what I had managed to make and smiled faintly.

"Hehe, Levi."

"Yes, Mother."

"Your handiwork though... is exactly like your father's."

My mother's expression, as she brought up my father, held within it longing, tenderness, and all manner of other emotions.

"Is it?"

"Yes. He wasn't particularly gifted at knitting either."

I had finally found the source of the problem.

My cursed knitting skill clearly came entirely from my father.

—Like father, like son, it seems.

Kyros chimed in to tease me, seizing the moment. In reality this was quite a trivial matter... but it still irked me somehow. Outside, followers were lining up saying "Church Leader, Church Leader"—and here I was being put down over knitting. Damn it all. To think I'd be treated like this over something like knitting!

'...Ugh. It's not as if I don't want to be good at it.'

—There, there. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

I was half-listening to Kyros's laughter when my mother smiled and asked me,

"If you'd like, Levi—shall I teach you a little?"

At my mother's question, I nodded and replied.

"Yes, please."

***

Perhaps thanks to the special coaching from my mother—even though the carriage ride wasn't particularly long, my skills improved considerably in that short time.

'As expected, Mother—a hidden master...!'

Gazing in admiration at what I had made, I vowed to carry today's lesson with me for the rest of my life.

"Levi, come down now."

"Ah, yes, Mother."

We had arrived at our destination, and the carriage came to a stop. Following my mother and Sevenus, who had stepped out first, I moved along as well.

Even after just a short walk, the fresh mountain air—so completely different from the air around the temple—filled my lungs deeply.

The Holden family villa was located in the mountains near a mid-sized town called 'Belseth.' The area bore the name Belseth Mountain, but in truth, one could just as well have called the entire mountain Holden Mountain and been done with it.

'As always, money really is everything.'

Because the entire mountain was Holden family property. Of course, that didn't mean citizens were barred from passing through.

Only the area immediately surrounding the family's villa was restricted; everywhere else was open for free passage.

"Wow..."

And when I caught sight of the grand villa nestled deep in the mountain, I was genuinely awestruck.

While my mother and Sevenus were issuing various instructions to the servants who had accompanied them, I stood gazing at a mansion far too large to really call a villa.

A grand gate, and beyond it a beautifully tended, vibrant garden—and a stately white manor, dressed up splendidly.

And behind the manor, the mountain slopes, clear air, and birdsong all came together to create a truly villa-like atmosphere.

'Though the villa is enormously large.'

Of course, it wasn't as vast as the Holden main estate. But it was easily as large as the manor of any respectable noble.

'Truly Holden.'

There was a reason this family had such a long and storied history. As I stood there in admiration, it seemed things had been sorted out to some degree.

"Welcome, My Lady. Young Masters."

The servants who had been residing at the villa greeted us. And the servants who had come with us were already carrying the luggage inside.

"Good to see you, Seltz."

I watched as my mother exchanged greetings with the servants, and took stock of them. There weren't as many servants as at the main estate, but there were still quite a few.

'They don't visit the villa every year—yet more than twenty people live here.'

Marveling once again at the Holden family's wealth, I noticed Sevenus approach.

"Let's go in, Levi."

"Yes, brother."

I followed my mother and Sevenus inside. I gazed at the beautiful garden within the villa grounds, then stepped into the building.

'Oh—this place...'

I looked around the interior of the villa. The high ceilings and open, airy interior were remarkably beautiful.

'I'm sure I heard it was built a very long time ago.'

I had been told the building itself was old, but the interior didn't look it at all.

It had an air of luxury and sophistication that almost felt like a hotel. And yet, there were parts that looked undeniably familiar.

My feet moved of their own accord, carrying me forward. Through the hall, past a corridor lined with various decorations, I found myself finally arriving at the last room on the right side of the second floor.

'Yes—I'm certain of it.'

Back when I had visited the villa as a child, this was always the room I used.

I immediately opened the door, which had been closed. Inside was a neatly tidied room.

A wide veranda with an unobstructed view of the mountain and the valley, a study, a sofa, and a bed.

Everything was similar to how I had used it in the past. Then, belatedly, I realized.

'These memories—where do they come from...'

Memories surfaced clearly in my mind. As a child, I had looked up at the night sky from the veranda. I had marveled at the countless stars. I had looked longingly at the valley I wasn't allowed to enter.

'...Am I becoming more and more absorbed into Revelof?'

A sudden fear gripped me. What if, at this rate, the person I used to be would be erased forever? In truth, since coming to this world, the frequency with which I recalled my previous life had dropped sharply.

'It's still okay. For now.'

I still remembered my previous life perfectly.

While I was thinking that,

Knock knock.

I heard a knock and replied briefly, and a servant's voice followed.

"Young Master, lunch is ready."

Lunch was ready already? Had I really been lost in thought for that long?

"I'll be right there."

I replied shortly, then took one more look around the room. Nothing new came to mind. Shaking my head, I left the room with a lingering unease.

***

The first meal at the villa was quite satisfying. For the first time in a long while, I ate comfortably with my mother and Sevenus as Revelof—not as the Church Leader.

With the good food and the ease of the atmosphere, the tension melted away like snow.

After that, we each decided to do as we liked and agreed to meet again in the evening.

My mother chose to spend time in the garden, since she had come for rest. Sevenus said he would look through the books the villa had on offer.

And I headed to the valley. The valley I had only ever watched from a distance as a child, never once allowed to enter due to my poor health.

"Young Master, we'll accompany you."

The knights assigned to guard me tried to follow, but I resisted firmly.

"It's all right. I'm not going far—I'll stay near the valley."

"But—"

"You don't need to worry. I have the holy power Lord Kyros has granted me."

I gave the knights a light demonstration of my holy power. Enough to make them understand that I was at least a mid-ranking member of the Kyros Church.

'That should be fine.'

My mother and Sevenus thought of Revelof Holden as a low-to-mid-ranking member of the Church, after all.

"In that case... understood."

I managed to change the knights' minds, and was able to head to the valley alone.

Breathing in the fresh mountain air and gazing at the valley—whose current wasn't particularly fierce—made my heart feel refreshed as well.

'If I were a little younger, I might have jumped right in.'

But at my current age, that sort of pure-hearted impulse wasn't quite there anymore. Besides, it wasn't hot enough to actually make me want to leap into the water.

—Oh, what a beautiful place! I want to walk alongside you!

'No. There may be eyes watching.

The valley was quite close to the villa, and the knights might approach at any moment.

—Hmph. Then I'll definitely come out tonight.

'We'll see about that.'

I finished my walk along the valley with a light exchange with Kyros.

The mountain night seemed to come especially early. Before I knew it, the sun was beginning to set, and I turned and made my way back toward the villa.

And as I stepped without much thought into the building—

"I-it's an emergency!"

A knight came sprinting into the building, out of breath.

"A report has just come in from a knight who was out in Belseth village—a horde of monsters is heading toward Belseth village!"

At those words, I immediately amplified my energy-sensing using holy power. Faintly, I could feel a force approaching from the distance.

A force unmistakably carrying the energy of—'Black Arc.'

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