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Chapter 194: Fake Followers (1)
“Even if you chew on it, it’s not going to be refreshing! What exactly are you complaining about?”
“That’s why people don’t trust nobles! Who would have thought the youngest of that reputable Berta family would do that?”
“Why aren’t the Knights of Light catching those guys quickly?”
What do you think?
These words are truly unpleasant, even to hear casually.
It’s sothing I’ve often heard passing through crowded streets.
It’s a clear insight into the thoughts of those directed towards Cyan Vert, the despicable follower of the vile mist.
But what are these words that I hear in my ears now?
“The world has changed. Who would’ve thought the day would co when people follow the black mist?”
“But if you look closely, they haven’t really done anything wrong, have they? They’ve killed corrupt nobles who deserved it multiple tis, and they haven’t hard people like us, right?”
“It’s certain that they’ve done what no one else could….”
Beyond doubt lies suspicion, and beyond suspicion lies questioning.
After all, humans are said to be imaginative creatures.
Anything, whether positive or negative, changes in various directions when repeated in thought.
They must be the sa.
I see the negative thoughts established from long-standing concepts of the Order of Light have transford into small doubts and questions over ti.
It’s not that I’ve lived unaware of this nature until now, but it couldn’t be an easy adjustnt for , unfamiliar with such reactions.
Safern, a central city of the Uship Empire, where I’ve returned after almost 10 years.
Surely the organization wouldn’t send false information, but out of curiosity, I ca to see if there really are factions claiming to be followers of the mist appearing throughout the empire.
The atmosphere has definitely changed.
Originally, mist was just a symbol of negativity to ordinary people, nothing more, nothing less.
It’s sowhat interesting that people are expressing doubts.
As I continued walking and listening to conversations,
“…..”
A hooded figure suddenly blocked my path.
Without a word, the person looked at with a penetrating gaze.
Seeing the intensity in their eyes, it seed they wanted sothing.
Feeling no malice, I casually t their gaze.
-Swish
Then they suddenly vanished.
Wondering what that odd person was up to, I considered just leaving, but there was a strange feeling, so I decided to follow.
The person stopped not far ahead, in front of a young woman similar to myself.
Just like before, they stared at her with a gaze that seed to hold so intention.
“…..”
In response, the woman made an incomprehensible gesture.
She seed to be grasping sothing in the air with both hands, then suddenly blew into it.
Before I could make sense of this bizarre behavior, the hooded figure seed to understand and whisked her away.
[What were they doing?]
Kaeram, who was watching with , asked, puzzled.
Unless one is a fool, they could realize that the gesture the woman just showed was so kind of signal for sothing.
While I’ve been wandering around, I wondered if there were any new signals from the mist, but that’s unlikely.
I may not know what it ans, but I definitely caught the gesture.
I approached a similar hooded figure wandering around and mimicked the sa gesture as the woman.
Then the woman perford the sa gesture as before.
At that mont, the hooded figure’s face flushed red, and after glancing around, he sent a look to follow him.
I didn’t hesitate and followed him imdiately.
We arrived sowhere after a short while.
Honestly, I expected a gloomy underground space or a deserted alley,
but this is quite unexpected.
The place I arrived at was none other than a monastery.
And not just any monastery, but one praising the god of light, Lundel.
For a mont, I wondered if I had co to the wrong place and stood there awkwardly for a while.
Whether from the outside or from within, it just seed like a very ordinary monastery.
Monks and nuns greeted people with smiles on their faces.
I could see the hooded figure from earlier and the woman he brought along.
Naturally, it’s not a good place for .
I thought about just turning back, but since I was already here, I decided to go in and see what was going on.
“Our Almighty God Lundel has bestowed new light upon this land, bringing about the current era of peace. According to His teachings, we…”
The sermon of the monastery’s head continued, sounding like a lullaby.
It wasn’t much different from what you’d see in a typical monastery.
Then why go through the trouble of exchanging strange signals and gathering people?
With various doubts in my mind, my gaze turned to the scriptures they shared.
“The light is the sun, and the sun is the light. The sun always remains with us, but occasionally, when the mist descends, we cannot see the sun. Therefore, the sun and the mist cannot coexist.”
Huh?
What’s this?
Wasn’t this supposed to be a sermon praising Lundel?
Why ntion the mist here?
You might think it’s just ntioning the importance of light, but it’s definitely not.
As I ntioned before, humans are incredibly imaginative, and given room for thought, they change in various ways.
Those who truly exalt the light wouldn’t compare themselves to the mist like this.
Then what is this scripture?
“However, we need to consider. Did only the light exist in achieving the current peace? All things exist in their places because they each have their own necessity. Moreover, the mist that we so vehently oppose may not be so different.”
The monastery head even expressed doubt about the existence of the mist.
I can guarantee that if soone were to utter such words in front of the light worshippers, that person would imdiately be branded a heretic and disappear into the morning dew of the gallows.
Indeed, there were so who showed skeptical reactions.
After reciting praises to Lundel for hours, to have such unfruitful remarks.
There seed to be quite a few people expressing their doubts.
What followed was amusing.
The smiling monks and nuns approached those expressing doubts and began to obfuscate their reactions with aningless words.
Then, those who were watching quietly closed their mouths and refocused on the monastery head’s sermon.
I was convinced.
These guys are no ordinary bunch.
Even if they can pass through this for now, it’s only a matter of ti before they fall.
Do they really not know that their misconduct could eventually be exposed?
As I pondered in disbelief, the hooded figure who brought here approached.
“…..”
He silently sent a signal through eye contact.
It ant to follow him.
I obediently got up from my seat and followed him.
He led to a small annex located right behind the monastery cathedral.
When he opened the creaky wooden door, a suspicious atmosphere emanated from the underground staircase.
Without a question, I followed down the stairs.
Well, this should be enough to consider so sinister activities are brewing.
A dim, lightless space of darkness.
Strange parishioners wearing black hoods lined the corridor.
As I proceeded down the path, a large pulpit soon ca into view.
Around it, nurous young n, presumably similar to , were seated.
Well, it’s sowhat similar to the mist’s void space.
[Hey, master.]
Kaeram, who had been following silently, asked with a questioning tone.
[Is this really a place where those scoundrels worship the idiot god?]
“No.”
I replied firmly.
I thought by now I might feel sothing akin to the power of the mist, but there was nothing.
Not even a hint of the mist’s power, let alone the slightest flow of mana.
As I wondered what kind of absurd place this was, I decided to take a seat for now.
After waiting for about five minutes, the monastery head who had been giving the strange sermon in the cathedral appeared again.
Was there sothing different this ti?
A slight change in atmosphere?
Unlike the previous atmosphere filled with laughter, there was a seriousness on their faces.
“Before we begin the sermon, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of you who have co to seek the truth of this land.”
It’s just like the actions taken before a lunatic starts spouting nonsense.
If you were to ask if it’s an anecdote, it is.
Among the targets I’ve dealt with during purification operations, there have been quite a few like them.
“For centuries, we have been forced to accept the erroneous concept of the Order of Light! Is the black mist the negativity that should be rejected in this land? Absolutely not! The god of the black mist, Aeru, is the almighty being who will bring about a new order to this land and is the pioneer!”
I barely managed to hold back my laughter.
Who’s bringing what?
If the parties involved were to hear this, they’d surely raise a question mark about what kind of lunatic talk this is.
It’s not that what I and the mist do is righteous, but being praised in this way is not desirable.
Who on earth injected such ridiculous ideologies into these lunatics?
Now, I’m even curious about their faces.
What if real followers of the mist show up… what would happen then?
Wait a mont.
A clever idea flashed through my mind, causing the corners of my mouth to involuntarily rise.
“Hey, Kaeram.”
[Why?]
“How about we have so fun?”
[…?]
Kaeram suddenly narrowed her eyes as if to say, ‘What are you talking about?’
* * *
Straight back, upright gaze, clear voice.
The most basic posture required for preaching to people.
The monastery head delivered his teachings to the people without a hint of hesitation or deviation.
“We are nearing the end! Like the day when the mist swept away the light that pervaded this world! The existence of the mist will reappear to us. And when that happens, we will…!”
-Thud
A small but strong resonance.
The gazes of those drawn by the sound naturally turned to one place.
About ten steps away from the monastery head’s podium.
A stranger, a man, stood atop the altar, casually surveying the congregants in the square.
For now, it didn’t seem like he was one of the fervent believers who rushed out after being moved by the monastery head’s speech.
Even amidst the sudden situation, everyone seed perplexed for a mont, but soon, unfamiliar black mist began to emanate from around the man.
“…!”
The most startled person was the monastery head.
Unlike the relatively puzzled other congregants, he seed to know what that aura was.
“S-So, is this really happening?”
When people are faced with unexpected situations, their usual thinking tends to co to a halt.
While so may overco such sudden situations well, most do not.
The monastery head was no exception.
He hadn’t even thought about standing up, let alone being able to.
A real follower of the mist had appeared before him.
All he could do in that situation was simply widen his eyes and grin.
“Why so silent?”
In the blink of an eye, the man’s body had moved right in front of the monastery head.
“The existence of the mist you all desired has appeared, shouldn’t you be pleased?”
No words ca out of the monastery head’s mouth.
It wasn’t because he had nothing to say.
His vocal cords simply seed to have stopped functioning due to overwhelming fear.
“Let’s hear more. What will happen when I appear…?”
The man, with a malicious smile, had a hint of interest and anticipation in his eyes.
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