How the Cult Saves the World

Elzes and Hayen felt their hearts pounding wildly.

And they opened their eyes so wide they couldn't possibly have hidden it. For a brief moment — a very short moment — the two exchanged glances and communicated silently.

Revelof noticed their exchange of looks immediately. Whatever startlement the two had felt was already gone in an instant, as they quickly pulled a mask of complete ignorance over their faces.

Among them, Elzes swiftly spoke to Revelof:

"What do you mean by that? A base? What kind of a base would people like us have?"

"Th, that's right. We're just ordinary people."

Hayen backed Elzes up as well. But Revelof responded to their lie with a bright smile.

"I already know that you are the 'rebel forces.'"

"What? What are you... what are you talking about?"

"That's an absurd thing to say."

Elzes and Hayen protested with expressions of as much total ignorance as they could muster. But Revelof was unyielding.

"Your name is Elzes, and you are one of the officers of the Odret rebel forces. As for this one... they don't seem to have been part of the rebel forces for very long."

Even when they had denied it strongly, Revelof stated the blunt facts one by one — and the expressions of both of them froze.

And then, the very next moment—

Thwack—!

Hayen sprang from his seat and moved to attack Revelof immediately. But that clumsy attack was instantly restrained by Elzes.

"Stop it, Hayen."

"B, but Elzes, this person knows our identities!"

Hayen said to Elzes in a panic. At that, Elzes nodded slowly.

"I know. But don't act rashly."

Even as she spoke steadily, Elzes kept a close eye on Revelof. This man with the face of an angel — and the manner of a demon — was doing nothing but smiling without a single change in expression.

If only it had been any other expression, she might have been able to read his intentions at least a little. But precisely because it was a smile, she couldn't make out at all what he was thinking.

'On top of that, there's no escaping this man right now.'

Elzes grasped precisely the situation they were in. That there was no way to break through Revelof and flee from this carriage, no matter how much they denied it or resisted.

'This man effortlessly dealt with the Diego Church priests and bishop who had been chasing us.'

Moreover, the two of them were currently inside Revelof's carriage. Meaning there was no way to escape Revelof, no matter what.

No matter what they tried.

Tension hovered around Elzes's eyes. Just then, Revelof's lips parted.

"I know full well what you're both thinking right now."

He spoke gently to the stiff Elzes and Hayen.

"You're probably trying to think of a second option since you can't escape from me."

Revelof knew very well that the two were frightened. So he spoke more softly than usual.

"But there's no need to worry. I did not come to attack you. Just as I did a moment ago, I came to protect you."

As Revelof spoke with sincerity, only then did the expressions of both of them ease slightly.

"Wh, what? What exactly do you mean by that..."

Elzes asked again with an expression that couldn't believe it.

"I can't tell you the details right now."

At Revelof's words, Elzes fell briefly silent. Instead, she quickly worked through it in her head.

'Right. If this man had intended it, Hayen and I would have been dead long ago.'

But the Kyros Church leader had not done the slightest harm to either of them. He had even treated Hayen's and her own injuries.

Almost as if he truly meant to protect them.

And on top of that — his identity, which Diego Church itself had confirmed.

And so Elzes, after long deliberation, arrived at her answer.

"......I understand your intention, Church Leader."

Elzes spoke slowly, with a faint trace of tension in her expression.

"But even so, I can't take you straight to the base."

Revelof nodded at her words. That much he could understand.

"Then guide me to a place connected to the rebel forces."

"Understood. Let's go to Odret first."

The corner of Revelof's mouth curved up gently.

"Haaa."

Cedric Herpheon let out a low sigh. After arriving at the destination with Terdius, the two had combed every corner of the small city of "Setle."

Not only had they combed it — they had also made inquiries of the residents of Setle about the rebel forces. But the two could not find a single trace of the rebel forces.

'I had expected this.'

Cedric leaned back against the carriage seat and looked out the window. He had a rough idea of it himself. The sightings of rebel forces in the small city of "Setle" were already several weeks old. They had clearly cleared away every trace of themselves before leaving.

And so Cedric was now heading to the next city together with Terdius.

'Before the rebel forces are put in any more danger, we need to find them.'

At the very least, they had to find them before Diego Church did. Because only then would there even be a chance of negotiating with Diego Church.

"Haaa."

Cedric sighed again without thinking. At that, Terdius — who had been sitting across from him with his eyes closed — opened his eyes. Then Terdius watched Cedric and slowly spoke.

"Why do you sigh like that, Second Prince?"

At that, Cedric's body gave a small flinch. It felt just as if Terdius were telling him to stop sighing.

'I was wondering why he'd been quiet so long.'

When they had been going around "Setle" together searching for traces of the rebel forces, he had not feared Terdius so greatly.

But now that just the two of them were alone again, Cedric was still afraid of him. Terdius let out an inward sigh and added:

"Second Prince, I am not blaming you right now. I simply asked because I was wondering what you were worried about."

Terdius maintained his expression as gently as he could as he spoke. Only then did Cedric release the tension he hadn't even noticed he was holding, and said:

"I suppose... it seems like it will take a long time to find the rebel forces' base."

Cedric looked out the window and added with serious eyes:

"I worry that even as we are searching for them at this very moment, some of them may already have been captured by Diego Church..."

Terdius looked at Cedric and said nothing. It was a worry anyone could have.

Then Cedric turned his gaze to Terdius. And with a slightly worried expression, he asked:

"By the way, I wonder how Leviathan the Church Leader is getting on. He's alone, so investigating will take him some time..."

At that, Terdius — who had been quietly listening to Cedric — opened his mouth swiftly.

"You don't need to worry about Leviathan — the Church Leader. He is someone who can accomplish anything, even on his own."

"What...?"

Cedric knew Leviathan's reputation well enough to have a rough idea. But he had thought this particular task would be difficult. His body was only one, and this was a race against time.

"Still, finding rebel forces who have made up their mind to hide won't be an easy thing. Even we took quite a long time to investigate 'Setle.'"

Cedric said with a sigh-tinged tone. At that moment, Terdius shook his head lightly and smiled faintly.

Cedric was completely taken aback. He had never seen Terdius smile during all the time they had spent together.

Granted, the time Cedric had spent with Terdius had not been particularly long. But from the first moment he had seen him until now, Terdius's expression had been as good as nonexistent.

Seeing Terdius's expression soften like that struck him as rather remarkable. And so Cedric looked at him with his mouth slightly open.

Then Terdius spoke, still with that faint smile:

"You needn't worry about that, Second Prince. Leviathan is someone who makes even the impossible possible."

At Terdius's words, which bordered on conviction, Cedric could only nod.

And the carriage carrying the two of them continued onward toward the next town.

All without knowing that at this very moment, Leviathan had captured two rebel forces members and was on his way to meet their leader.

The rebel forces' base city, "Odret."

In terms of size alone, if it were to develop, Odret could rival cities of considerable stature — but unfortunately, its circumstances were harsh.

Most of the facilities within Odret were run-down, and the living conditions were effectively no different from a slum.

And somewhere within that Odret, there was a shabby tavern that remained open at all times even as every other shop around it had closed.

It was in better condition than the other buildings in Odret, but compared to buildings in other cities, it was naturally a place on the verge of collapse.

The name of that tavern was "Lejiwell."

Even though all the shops around it were closed, Lejiwell had not a single customer inside — just flies buzzing around lazily.

And even in these circumstances, there were two people keeping watch at Lejiwell.

A well-built bartender in his mid-forties with a thick beard, and a male employee in his early thirties.

The two were carrying on with their respective tasks inside the customerless tavern in their own way.

The bartender was wiping and re-wiping the few glasses in the establishment until they squeaked, and the employee was sweeping a floor that had almost no dust with a broom over and over.

"Another day with nothing but flies."

At that, the bartender let out a hearty laugh as he spoke. The employee narrowed his eyes and shot him a look.

"Every person in this neighborhood barely has the money to buy their own food — who's going to come in for a drink?"

"Well. Someone might, you know?"

"Not a chance. You know that just as well as I do, Boss."

The employee said flatly, yet the bartender kept right on chuckling.

"Shall we just close up early and head back in?"

The employee set aside the broom he'd been industriously sweeping with, tucking it in a corner, and came up to the bar.

Then he perched on a creaking chair.

"At this rate, today won't have any customers either—"

Just as the employee was about to declare that today too, as always, there would be no customers—

Creak—

The firmly shut tavern door opened. And two people walked into the shop.

Those two were faces both the bartender and the employee knew well. But they were ones who should have had no reason to come here.

And so the eyes of both the bartender and the employee went wide. Then, in the next instant, both their expressions turned sharp.

'Elzes and Hayen coming here means...'

The bartender gripped the handle of the sword hidden beneath the bar.

And in the next moment, the tavern door creaked open once more as someone else entered.

The one who stepped into the tavern with a faint smile was Revelof.

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