How the Cult Saves the World

-My child, are you really going to do this?

'Of course.'

-But isn't this a crime?

Kyros asked me with a voice full of worry.

'Yes, it is a crime. But, the ones inside are more evil.'

-Hmm. Is there no other way than this?

'Yes. I don't like it either, but I have no choice.'

Of course, it was a lie. It was just a way to appease Kyros.

-I see. If my little lamb says so...

I heard a faint sigh from him. It seemed that Kyros had given up with both hands and feet.

Anyway, I arrived at the Rizes Church branch in Rovel.

I lifted my head and looked at the chapel inside the high wall.

'It's pretty even in the dark.'

It was clean and well-maintained for a building in Rovel, and it didn't look very old. All the lights were off because it was late at night.

And the weather was also calm, without a single breeze.

"It's a perfect night for infiltration."

I checked that the bright moon was hidden by the clouds, and then moved towards the wall.

The wall was high, but not impossible to climb over.

"Hup."

I jumped as high as I could and grabbed the edge of the wall. Then, I squeezed out all my strength and pushed myself up with both arms.

"Ugh."

This was killing me. Was this body for real? I barely managed to get on top of the wall.

'...Can I get down?'

I was worried. I had done too much exercise during the day. I was rested, but I still had muscle pain.

Damn it. I bit my lip and closed my eyes tightly as I jumped down.

Tud.

I fell down because I didn't land properly, but I wasn't hurt too badly.

-My child! Are you okay?

'Yes. Maybe.'

It was lucky that it was night. No one saw me like this.

I was about to sigh in relief when I saw a shadow above me.

'Oh, crap. Someone saw me.'

If it was a Rizes Church guy, he would have hit me with a weapon right away. So, I quickly looked up.

But the one looking down at me was Terdius.

'...Oh. Bad timing.'

Of course, in the original story, the heretic inquisitor of Diego Faith also visited the Rizes Church branch in Rovel at midnight.

But, Diego Faith couldn't infiltrate the Rizes Church's branch.

The Rizes Church's branch was protected by the power of Maseen wherever they went.

And, Maseen's protection couldn't be broken by the power of evil gods. They were both evil and evil, but they were too similar to each other to destroy one another.

At least for 'protection'.

Anyway, Terdius couldn't break through Maseen's protection either. That's why he was here too.

'I'm unlucky.'

It was my fault for thinking that Terdius would act like the heretic inquisitor in the original story.

The heretic inquisitor knew that it was hard to break into the Rizes Church, so he waited for a chance when their believers came out during the day.

So I thought Terdius wouldn't show up at night after yesterday. But he was still here.

'What should I do?'

I was just hesitating when a system message appeared.

[Unexpected Quest Occurred!]

[Unexpected Quest <Together with Terdius>

Content: Two heads are better than one! Move with Terdius.

Goal: Punish the Rizes Church branch in Rovel with Terdian.

Success: Slight increase in Terdius' favorability.

Failure: -]

[Do you accept?]

[Yes/No]

I skimmed through the content and felt incredulous.

'Are you kidding me?'

I didn't like the success reward. Favorability is just favorability, what's the meaning of a slight increase?

I didn't need to go with Terdian either.

I hesitated for a moment and then pressed 'Yes'. Then Terdius' lips opened.

"You want to die, don't you? Didn't I tell you to get lost?"

Yeah. I remember clearly. I tried to smile and answered.

"Ha, haha. You did..."

It was embarrassing and awkward, but I couldn't stay like this forever. So I brushed off the dirt on my robe and got up.

"Then why are you still here?"

"Um. Well..."

I didn't know how to explain. But Terdius cut me off.

"From yesterday and today, I can see that you are... trying to save the people of Rovel, aren't you?"

Oh, he's still sharp.

I nodded my head with the most innocent smile I could muster.

"Yes. That's right."

I'm just a religious person who wants to do good.

But Terdius' eyebrows narrowed.

"You?"

Hey, that's too harsh.

"What can you do? You can barely climb over a wall."

Ouch. Watch your mouth.

-That guy, he must have been brainwashed by that snake bastard! How can he talk so rudely?

'Calm down, Kyros.'

I was boiling too, but I was holding back.

But, he was picking a fight with me openly. He was different from the original story, so I was surprised.

"Get out of my way. This is my last mercy."

You?

I decided not to get angry. I accepted the quest anyway.

"Why are you smiling?"

"You can't even enter, can you?"

"What do you know?"

Terdius' murderous aura burst out. But I didn't back down.

"At least I can get inside."

I smiled as if to show off. Then Terdius' eyes wavered for a moment. It was like he was saying 'How can you?' but still.

"How do I believe that?"

Who asked you to believe?

"I don't care if you believe me or not. I just have something to do inside."

I spat out coldly and walked past Terdius.

"Then I'll go."

And when I took one step, two steps, and finally three steps.

"Stop."

Terdius grabbed my wrist.

He fell for it.

But I didn't care and looked at him with a blank face.

"What is it?"

"How are you going to get in?"

"Why do I have to answer?"

You don't.

Terdius clenched his mouth.

His fierce aura also softened a bit. This was the time to show him my hand.

"You want to get in too, right?"

"Yes."

"I can get in, so you need my help, right?"

"...Yes."

"Then let's make a deal."

"What?"

Terdius' eyes widened slightly.

"If you don't like it, I'll just go."

I didn't need to make a deal with Terdius anyway. There was no penalty for failing the unexpected quest anyway. It was just a little favor for the protagonist of the original story that I liked.

"Fine."

Terdius answered in a voice as small as an ant.

"But if you lie, you will die by my hand."

"Sure. Go ahead."

Only then did he let go of the strong grip on my wrist.

'Phew. He's so strong.'

But it was lucky that Terdius had a similar trait to the original story.

If Terdius had endured a little longer here, he would have met the Rizes Church's executive who came out of the chapel.

But he was impatient, so he was swayed by my words.

'Well, it was a life-or-death gamble for me too.'

I thought it was a tempting offer for him, so I could be bold.

"So what do you want?"

He asked me while rubbing his wrist.

"Simple. First, guarantee my life. No matter what happens, don't kill me."

He could kill me as soon as I helped him get inside.

"And after today, leave Rovel alone. No, leave Holden territory alone."

I finished my words and saw his eyes twitch slightly.

It was a top secret that Diego Faith was in Rovel.

"Well, I can tell by the snake mark on your neck that you're a high-ranking person in Diego Faith."

In Diego Faith, you could tell the rank by the position of the snake mark on the clothes. The closer the mark was to the head, the higher the rank.

Terdian's eyes narrowed.

"You have good information."

The position of the snake mark wasn't top secret, but it wasn't easy to find out either.

"You need to have that much information to work in this field."

I shrugged casually.

"Anyway, that's all I want."

Terdian was silent for a moment. He seemed to think for a few seconds and then nodded his head.

"...That's possible."

He probably accepted because he could finish off Rizes Church tonight with his power.

But should I use something like 'Oath of Truth'?

I didn't trust Terdius very much because he had changed so much from the original story.

Of course, he spared my life yesterday, so I had some trust in him.

-My child, can you really trust that guy?

'That's what I'm worried about.'

As I was thinking, Terdius opened his mouth suddenly.

"Swear by your name."

"If you want me to."

I guess I have to trust him.

In HSAW, swearing by 'name' was the same as risking your life.

If I had played HSAW only once, I wouldn't have believed it, but I played it until I mastered it, so I had no choice but to believe it.

In this world, there were countless cases of people killing themselves after breaking an oath by their 'name'.

"Okay."

Terdius' trustworthiness increased rapidly in me.

Then it was time to do my job.

I took off the robe I was wearing and met Terdian's eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"It's my turn now."

Terdius looked at me with a puzzled face.

"Here, put this on."

"This?"

"Yes."

He looked displeased, but he took the robe I gave him and put it on his shoulder.

'It's definitely big.'

When I wore it, it barely touched the floor, but when Terdius wore it, it stopped at his ankles.

'That's unfair.'

My hands trembled slightly, but I calmed myself down and put my hand in my pocket.

I took out a small glass bottle that I had prepared beforehand.

It was juice made from crushing moonflowers and white lizard tails.

'I'm glad I made enough.'

"What is that?"

"You'll see."

I answered Terdius briefly and poured magic into the glass bottle.

A small and faint light shone from my hand.

Using magic wasn't hard. After using the healing skill, I realized how to use it naturally.

It was like the instructions were automatically drawn in my head.

"It's done."

The red juice in the glass bottle turned white as it received magic.

"That power..."

"It's Kyros's power, the God that I serve."

Terdius looked confused as he looked at the glass bottle.

It couldn't be helped. It was supposed to be your place.

Anyway, I drank the white juice in one gulp.

"Ugh. It tastes awful."

Why are all the items in this world tasteless? Even Pasrel poison was poisonous.

"While you drink that, why do I only have this?"

He looked unhappy as he spoke, but I ignored him.

"I have to go in now. If we waste more time here, the sun will rise before we finish the job."

I tried to pass by Terdius.

But he grabbed my shoulder.

'What's the problem now?'

He stared at me with a piercing gaze. It wasn't murderous but full of suspicion.

He made me sweat even though I knew he couldn't kill me.

Then Terdius' mouth slowly opened.

"Who are you?"