How the Cult Saves the World

I was dumbfounded.

-But, but...

Although he was a 'god', he was crying. I felt sorry for him somehow.

'...Kyros, I'm sorry. Don't cry.'

-Sniff.

'I made a mistake.'

-Hmm. I know.

Thankfully, Kyros' crying gradually stopped.

By the way, Kyros was so timid.

There was no direct appearance or communication of Kyros with the male protagonist in HSAW, so I had no idea that his personality was like this.

Anyway, what I had to do now was decided.

'Kyros, do you have a name for your religion that you want?'

I asked Kyros after he had completely stopped crying.

-Yes! Of course!

Kyros answered in a bright voice.

-How about the Beautiful and Glorious Golden Beauty of God Kyros Faith?

'What...?'

-My lamb, I am the God of Beauty. You don't know that, do you?

It's true, I didn't know. Kyros was only described as a good god in the original work, so I didn't know his title at all.

'Oh, yes. I knew that.'

But from now on, Kyros would be like my direct boss, so I had to please him a bit.

Although it seemed like I already messed up by making him cry.

'But don't you think that's too long? How about just naming it after Kyros' name and calling it Kyros Faith?'

There were many religions in the world. But unlike the world I lived in before, most of the religions in this world were named after their god's name. So, Kyros Faith seemed like a reasonable name.

-Aren't you too simple?

'No. This is a good length. It's easier for the believers to call it.'

-Hmm. Now that you say that, I see. Okay, you are my first believer so let's do as you say. A weak god like me has to listen to his believer...

No, this guy...

'I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay?'

-Hehehe. I was joking.

What?

[Tutorial Quest <Religion Creation> Cleared!]

[You will receive the tutorial quest reward.]

As soon as the agreement on the religion name was over, a message appeared. I looked at the translucent window and lit up my eyes.

Quest reward!

I was very curious about what it would give me since the quest content only showed a question mark for the reward. And I was also excited.

Thump thump.

My heart was beating happily when Kyros' voice continued.

-I will reward you with a holy relic for working hard for me.

As soon as he said that, my vision turned white. I couldn't close my mouth. It felt like I had gone blind for a moment. The handsome man surrounded by light had a familiar yet unfamiliar appearance.

Long red hair that reached his waist, sparkling golden eyes, a high nose, and a sharp face. He was a perfect piece of art. He simultaneously looked majestic and beautiful because his bare upper body was delicately muscled.

"Wow."

Even though he was a man, I couldn't help but admire his appearance.

But that moment didn't last long. He disappeared in an instant, and all that was left was a white sphere of light.

"Huh...?"

-Ahem, ahem. I tried to manifest myself to deliver my first holy relic, but I guess I'm still lacking in power.

I heard Kyros' awkward voice and I was worried that he might dig a hole again.

Fortunately, he didn't do that.

By the way, Kyros, you were hundreds of times more handsome than the illustration I saw before. Are you really the God of Beauty?

I have to make a statue of that face someday.

For now, I reached out my hands towards the sphere that appeared after Kyros disappeared. Then it gradually came closer to me. Soon, the sphere of light came on top of my hands and started to transform into something long and thin.

And finally, it revealed its shape.

"....?"

This is a holy relic?

No matter how I looked at it, this was just a wooden stick. It was about 1m long, with a thickness of about 20cm at the head, and it got thinner as it went down. It was just the right size to hold with one hand and swing around.

But why is the holy relic a stick...?

I couldn't believe it.

There were many other holy relics that Kyros used in the original work.

There were swords, shields, and various other types.

'But why do I get a stick?'

[You have acquired the holy relic 'Kyros' Stick'.]

Along with the item acquisition message, information appeared.

[Kairos's Stick (Holy Relic)

Grade: Mythical Item.

Description: A stick with the power of the God of Beauty, Kyros. As this is the first item given by Kyros, who is weak in power, the power of the stick will exponentially increase according to your faith in Kyros.]

The appearance was just an ordinary wooden stick, but the content was different. But why does the power depend on my faith? The holy relic must be stronger than ordinary items regardless.

The good thing was that this item was an offensive-type weapon and also a 'holy relic'.

In any case, I needed a weapon soon and this was just my luck.

'Thank you. Kyros.'

-Hehe, don't mention it. It's nothing for my first believer. Although I did squeeze out all my strength...

I ignored Kyros who seemed to be fishing for compliments and examined the stick.

'Hmm... does it have that function too?'

If this world was the hidden route of HSAW and there was a system, it would probably be similar to the original work.

'Inventory.'

Swoosh—

As expected, I was right. A large translucent window appeared just by thinking of inventory in my head. It looked almost identical to the inventory I saw in HSAW.

I looked at the countless empty slots in the inventory and put the stick inside. Then, the stick was sucked in and took the top spot.

"Phew."

That was a relief. I almost had to carry that monstrous thing around. I sighed in relief and sat down on the bed.

By the way, if there was an inventory, there would also be a status window or a skill window.

'Should I check?'

Knock knock.

At that moment, someone knocked.

"Sir, it's time to wake up."

I realized it too late at the voice from outside the room. I quickly turned my head and looked out the window. It was already morning.

I woke up in the middle of the night, but I had a lot of things to do, so I didn't realize how fast time had passed.

I decided to look at the status or skill later and lay down on the bed right away. And I covered myself with a blanket as naturally as possible.

I had no choice. Revelof Holden was weak in the morning.

"Sir."

Maybe because there was no answer, the door opened. And the one who came in was Paul Crown, the butler of Choro.

The old man with a kind impression was a butler who had served the Holden family for a long time.

He knew the real Revelof well, and he could easily notice if I showed a different attitude.

So I had to do my best.

_Cough, cough. _"Good morning, Paul."

I pretended to wake up and greeted him with a cough. Thanks to Revelof's memories that were engraved in me, I could act smoothly. And Revelof's personality was similar to mine, so I didn't have to act much.

Paul didn't seem to feel anything strange either, and he came closer to me.

"You look happy today, sir."

"I feel a bit lighter today."

"Oh, that's good. Really."

Paul's eyes moistened in an instant. He looked at me with pity.

He couldn't help it. Revelof Holden was a terminally ill person who had an incurable disease that no doctor could cure.

'He said he had about a year left to live, right?'

So, Revelof lived on painkillers every day.

Revelof Holden's disease was 'Malone's disease', which only existed in this world. It was a disease caused by being bitten by a Malone bug.

Most people just felt itchy when they were bitten by a Malone bug, but some unlucky ones got a serious disease.

The Malone bug infiltrated the blood vessels and parasitized the host, absorbing blood and nutrients until the host died. It dried up the host and turned them into stone statues.

At this point, there was no cure for Malone's disease in this world.

The Malone bug had antibodies to most treatments.

But, I knew how to cure it.

‘The male protagonist got Malone's disease in the latter part of the original work.’

I knew what the cure was and how to get it, so I would get better soon.

‘The timing might be a bit vague, though.’

Anyway, I wouldn't die while spacing out. I didn't want to die so meaninglessly.

"Do you want me to call Dr. Frang?"

Paul, who looked at me pitifully, asked. I shook my head.

"No, I'm fine."

Dr. Frang was the Holden family's physician, but I refused right away.

Actually, I felt heavy since I woke up in this body. But I was okay for now.

There was no bleeding, which was one of the main symptoms of Malone's disease.

But Paul seemed to understand differently. His eyes reddened and then moistened.

"Sir..."

Soon, Paul grabbed my hand with his wrinkled hand. Then he turned his head and wiped his tears.

"Please don't lose your will. I beg you."

"Uh, uh? Yeah."

Paul took out a handkerchief and blew his nose, then smiled faintly.

"You must be hungry, I'll bring your meal to your room soon."

"Wait, Paul."

I stopped Paul who was about to leave the room.

"I'll eat in the dining room today."

"Excuse me?"

Paul was surprised again. Revelof always ate alone in his room.

I thought about doing that too, but I changed my mind.

'I need freedom.'

I didn't want to stay in this room like Revelof did.

I had to get the cure as soon as possible to save my life. I had to get better before I could do anything else.

Of course, I could send a servant, but that might raise suspicion if I suddenly changed my appearance.

'So I have to make a plan first.'

The morning of the Holden family was always busy like any other noble family. The servants paid attention to everything, but there was one part that they put the most effort into.

It was cleanliness.

They especially cared about it for the sake of the second son of Holden who had an incurable disease.

Of course, the second son, Revelof Holden, didn't wander around the mansion much, but you never know.

"I hope our sir will get better soon."

"Yeah, me too."

The servants sighed softly and continued to clean. And then, they were surprised.

"Sir Revelof!"

It had been almost a few years since the second son of Holden came out for breakfast.