How the Cult Saves the World

When the box opened, what I saw was a single white flower that glowed by itself.

It looked like a mix of lily and rose, with a vitality that seemed alive even without roots, and a faint fragrance that filled my nose.

This was an item that only the one who served the God of Beauty, Kyros, and closest to him could obtain. Kyros' holy relic.

[You have obtained Kyros' holy relic, 'Kyros' Flower'!]

-Oh, yes! It was my flower! It's been so long! My child, do you know what this flower is?

'What is it?'

I pretended not to know, like talking to an excited child, Kyros laughed and answered.

-Haha! Yes, you wouldn't know. This flower is very old, one that I cherished dearly. I grew it myself, and wore it everywhere.

Yes. This was the difference between holy weapons and holy relics.

Both were made by gods, but holy relics were used by gods themselves.

That's why they were more precious.

-So hurry up and put it on your ear!

'...Okay.'

So this is how it goes.

Yes. I knew this would happen when I found the flower.

I had to do this for Kyros to regain his power.

I closed my eyes tightly and put the flower on my ear.

As soon as I did, the flower shone and began to disappear.

Through me, it returned to where it belonged.

-Thank you, my child. Thanks to you, some of my power has returned.

'I'm glad.'

This was why I had infiltrated Rizes Church.

There were holy relics that Kyros had used, buried all over the world.

In the original work, Kyros' power grew stronger every time he found them, and Terdius used that power to defeat Diego Faith.

I also came here to use that power.

At that moment,

a system message appeared in front of me.

[You have obtained the title 'Kyros Faith's Idol'.]

['Kyros Faith's Idol': You have worn Kyros' Flower! You are as charming as the God of Beauty, Kyros!

-Title option 'Fan Service': You can make someone a follower of Kyros Faith with a 10% chance by winking at them. If you fail, there is a 1% chance of being despised by them. (Only usable three times per person)]

What? What is this...?

There was no such title in the original work...

'First of all, what is that option?'

I was speechless and stared at the system message.

Then,

Terdius came over after healing his subordinates.

Kyros also shouted at me excitedly.

-My child! I'll share some of my power with you!

'Ah, not now!'

I didn't know how he would share his power, but Terdius was coming so I couldn't do it now.

-Huh? Oh, okay.

He sounded a bit sulky, but I couldn't comfort him now.

I quickly hid the box with my body and greeted Terdius.

"I'm going up now."

Fortunately, he didn't notice anything strange and said calmly.

But, is he asking me to go with him?

"Ah, I still... have to take care of more people."

I made an excuse hastily and he turned his body away from me.

"I see."

Oh. Wait.

"Wait a minute."

I quickly stopped Terdius. Then he looked at me with his head turned.

"What?"

Is this an opportunity?

An opportunity to make Terdius a follower of Kyros Faith.

It would make things easier later on.

It was a bit awkward that the method was winking...

'Oh well, let's try it.'

I had three chances anyway. So I thought 'Let's just do it' and winked at him with my right eye.

Then at that moment, another system message appeared.

[Title option 'Fan Service' has failed!]

[The target 'Terdius' despises you!]

At the same time, Terdius' gaze turned cold as he looked at me.

...Damn.

"What are you doing?"

His voice was as cold as the air around us.

He was merciful not to kill me right away.

I tried to make an excuse desperately.

"Something got in my eye."

He didn't buy my excuse and his eyes were still cold.

"Well, see you later."

"Did you stop me just to say that?"

"...Yes."

Then Terdius turned away from me and left the prison quickly.

'Ah. I'm depressed.'

After Terdius left the prison, I sat there blankly for a while. And after some time, I came to my senses.

'It's okay. I wasn't on good terms with Terdius anyway.'

Even though he despised me now, he wouldn't kill me.

And if I cleared the sudden quest, Terdius' favorability would increase slightly, so it would be fine.

I comforted myself and my shattered mental state recovered a little.

'...But I never expected to be so devastated.'

I winked at someone for the first time and received contempt in return. I felt incredulous at myself.

Well, I still had two more chances to make Terdius a Kyros' believer, so I decided to hope for the future.

For now, I got up from my seat and took out the mandrake root that was left in my inventory.

'I hope there's enough.'

I crushed the mandrake root with my hand and approached the iron bars. Then, I fed the villagers a little bit at a time.

It took some time to feed them all since there were many of them.

When I was finished with my task, I felt exhausted.

'When will this body get stronger?'

I stretched my limbs in frustration when I suddenly heard a voice.

-My lamb.

It was Kyros' cheerful voice calling me.

'Yes, Kyros?'

-My little lamb, I will share some of my power with you now.

There was no Terdius around, so it should be fine.

-Just breathe calmly. It will be over soon.

I felt a sudden wave of nervousness.

My whole body started to glow white. From head to toe, a warm and gentle power seeped into me.

I felt vitality coursing through my body, even though I was just breathing. It seemed like my weary body regained its vigor.

This is amazing.

-Although my power is still insufficient to heal all your wounds, you should feel much better now.

Kyros sounded a bit sad, but he was fine.

'I feel much better, thank you. And I'm still healing, so I'll be fully recovered soon.'

I wasn't a doctor, so I couldn't diagnose myself accurately. But, I was sure that this was the best condition I had been in since I woke up in Revelof's body.

Before, I felt like I had weights on my shoulders and head, but now they were gone.

I wanted to find Kyros' relics as soon as possible.

Then, I started to walk faster. I had nothing else to do in the dungeon, so I planned to follow Terdius.

I climbed the stairs in one corner of the dungeon and opened the door. A gloomy corridor appeared before me.

"Ugh."

I smelled the foul odor of blood and saw the dim light of the lamps. I could see the scene clearly.

The bloody corridor was littered with corpses.

I didn't need to look closely to know that they were priests and soldiers of the Rizes Church.

'This is insane.'

It felt like this was not the Terdius I knew.

-How horrible.

Kyros sighed. Still, It couldn't be helped.

Terdius was the third apostle of Diego Faith and a heretic inquisitor after all.

I frowned and walked past the corridor.

Terdius had cleared out most of the Rizes Church branch in Rovel by himself.

I followed the trail of blood that Terdius had left behind.

I climbed more stairs, and neither I nor Kyros spoke a word.

Then, I reached a splendid door.

The blood trail ended here, so Terdius must be inside.

Carefully, I grabbed the bloodstained handle and opened it. A room with crimson lamps flickering inside appeared before me.

I saw Terdius' back standing there.

"Krrk--- kck!"

Terdius was staring coldly at a man who was choking in his grip.

The man had a greedy face and wore many ornaments along with a priest's robe. He was Pero, the deputy chief of the Rizes Church branch in Rovel.

It felt like time had stopped for a moment.

It took only a few seconds for Terdius to strike Pero's vital point and knock him out, but for some reason, I couldn't blink or breathe.

Was it because the robe I had given him was soaked with blood, or was it because Terdius' hand was stained red?

I just stared blankly at him, even when Terdius threw Pero over his shoulder.

And when he turned around, his eyes met mine directly.

What broke me from my frozen state was a system window that appeared before me.

[Unexpected Quest <Together with Terdius> Cleared!]

[You will receive an unexpected quest reward.]

[Terdius' favorability has increased slightly.]

Only then I could exhale a breath.

I had seen Terdius fight in the dungeon, but for some reason, this was the most terrifying.

Maybe it was because I had seen so many corpses on my way here.

"Haa..."

But, I couldn't be afraid anymore.

This world was like that from the beginning.

And this world was now my home.

Maybe someday, I would also stain my hands with blood.

I clenched my trembling hands.

And then, I got up.

Terdius had left, so it was time for me to do my own thing.