How the Cult Saves the World

'He's much more handsome than the illustration.'

-My first believer, who is that boy? He's quite beautiful, though not as much as you.

'What? Oh... I wonder. Who could he be?'

Sure enough, as Kyros said, Terdius was not a Good of Beauty, but he was also among the beautiful ones.

Terdius looked around carefully as if he was looking for something.

I quickly turned my head away as I felt like our eyes would meet.

'But why is he here?'

There was still time before the original story began... Oh, no.

I realized I hadn't counted the time I spent complaining.

It was time for him to enter Holdenring. That means...

'Soon, that incident will happen.'

I would eventually run into him while moving for the main quest, but not yet.

And at this point, I couldn't exactly tell where Terdius belonged. Let alone his clothes.

I couldn't guess his affiliation because he was wearing a robe like me.

Also, if I assumed he was from Diego Faith,

'I would be doomed if I got involved with him.'

So, I moved in the opposite direction of Terdian.

Fortunately, the knights who escorted me wore plain clothes, so they didn't attract attention.

I wondered and looked around the street for a few minutes.

'Why does it seem like everyone is staring at me?'

-Of course, they are.

'Why?'

-You are my first believer, and I am the God of Beauty! How can people not be intoxicated by your beauty?

Kyros' cheerful laughter followed.

'Ah, yes. Well... that's true.'

I felt it every time I looked in the mirror. It was all thanks to the beauty enhancement skill, my appearance was improving day by day.

Was my faith in Kyros that strong?

Or was it because I knew of Kyros' existence, and that also counted as faith?

Anyway, although I thought I was quite beautiful, I didn't expect it to affect a street full of strangers.

'Maybe things will be easier than I thought.'

It was about time. It had been an hour since I arrived in Elyn. I had to shake off the knights.

I couldn't go shopping for the medicine with them. They would report it. Furthermore, if my family found out what the medicine was, they would oppose it with all their might.

I had the holy relic stick anyway, so it wasn't that dangerous without a knight escort.

Of course, my body was weaker than a leaf on the street right now.

'But, I have a lucky item.'

My current state was no different from a beginner at level 1 who holds a max-level weapon.

It would be fine.

'I just have to wait for the right moment.'

We entered a quiet street and saw a bench where we could rest.

Along with the knights, I headed straight to the bench. I sat on the bench and leaned back to show them how tired I was.

"Are you exhausted? Do you want to go back?"

I breathed heavily and the knight asked me with a worried look. I shooked my head.

"I'm fine. I just need a break."

"Okay, I understand."

At my words, the two knights guarded the bench. Didn't they know that this would attract attention..? Apparently not.

"Um. I have a favor to ask."

I smiled and spoke to them. There seemed to be no one among the servants in the mansion who could resist my smile.

"Can you buy me some water and some simple snacks?"

"Yes. Okay. Jack, go get them."

"Wouldn't it be faster if you both went?"

"What? But... then you would be alone, sir. What if you faint while we're gone?"

"Hey, it won't take more than five minutes. I need some freedom too."

The knights looked troubled. Oh, just a little more and they'll agree, right?

"I've lived in the mansion all my life. Even if it's just for a moment, I want to be alone for a while. I won't budge from here. Okay? Please."

I gathered my acting skills from when I used to work as a service worker and tried to look as pitiful as possible.

I hoped my beauty would do its job too..!

"...Okay. If it's just for a moment, then it's fine."

"But you have to stay here. We'll be back soon!"

It worked!

"Okay! Don't worry."

Sorry. I lied.

In an instant, the knights disappeared into the crowd. I took this opportunity to take out my glasses from the inventory and put them on.

And then, I started running at full speed.

"Huff, huff!"

But, why was I out of breath after running just for a few seconds?

This damn body.

-My child, are you sure you're okay doing this alone?

'Of course. I have the stick you gave me.'

-But...

I was sorry for the knights, but I had no choice. I have to heal my body first.

So I ran at the fastest speed I could. Even though I was much slower than a running child...

I finally arrived at my destination.

The back alley behind Elyn's downtown. Even in broad daylight, the dark alley was deserted.

But, it was fine.

'Left here, and then right.'

The map I saw in the game was already in my head.

I walked quickly to where I was headed, a small pub with no name and an empty sign.

There was no customer in the old and worn-out pub.

Instead, an old man who was wiping a glass at the bar greeted me.

"Welcome. What can I get you?"

I felt a slight chill.

'The dialogue is exactly the same as in the game.'

I brushed my left arm and calmly answered.

"I came to get a Levial flower."

The old man's eyes sank deeply. He looked at me as if scanning me, then opened his mouth after a while.

"Follow me."

The cold air hit me as I followed him down to the basement. After walking down the dark corridor, I soon arrived at a door at the end.

Knock, knock-knock, knock.

The old man knocked on the door in a certain rhythm and the door opened.

"Go ahead. You'll find what you want here."

The old man turned around and disappeared the way he came. I went straight into the room.

The basement was filled with musty air. There was a table covered with a red cloth and a man sitting in front of it.

Behind him was a sturdy iron door.

"Hmm, this is not a place for a fine young lord to come."

As I looked around, the merchant smirked and looked me over.

He was a handsome young man with green hair and brown eyes.

'He's better than the illustration, too.'

By the way, was he trying to flirt with me?

I smiled back at him and threw him a pouch from my chest.

Clink.

As the heavy weight fell on the table, the merchant quickly opened the pouch.

"Gasp!"

His eyes widened as he saw the gold coins filling the pouch.

It was part of the money I had received from Paul before I left.

Sevenus said it was my first outing and asked him to take good care of me.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

The merchant smiled widely and politely asked me after checking the amount.

He had been fidgeting before, but now he was sitting upright.

'Who would say he's not a money lover?'

The most important thing for a secret shop to survive was trust.

And he was a guy who would do anything for money, so there was no risk.

He came back with a blue bottle in his hand after a while.

"Here you go! The finest Pasrel poison."

I took the bottle and checked the item. It was Pasrel poison, as described in the original. It had a sweet smell, a buttery smell, and a beer smell mixed together. I put the item in my chest and turned around.

"Please come again, sir! And don't forget to look for me, 'Zain'!"

Huh? Look at this guy.

The merchant, Zain, didn't reveal his name easily.

There was only one situation where he would reveal his name.

It was when he smelled money.

'Maybe things will be easier than I thought.'

I put the Pasrel poison in my inventory as soon as I left the pub.

-My lamb, why did you buy poison?

'I have a use for it.'

-Really? But this way... isn't this the wrong way back?

'Ah, yes. I have something to check.'

As Kyros said, I wasn't heading to Elyn.

I was heading deeper into the back alley.

The alley was just a passage connecting Elyn and this place.

When I reached the end of the alley, another village appeared.

'It's worse than I thought.'

This was 'Rovel.'

A slum with an opposite atmosphere to Elyn.

The village was full of old buildings that looked like they would collapse at any moment, and some people were lying on the street.

There were also some people that walked like zombies with their shoulders drooping.

'Rovel was always a slum, but they said it wasn't this bad.'

I scanned the view of Rovel as if to imprint it on my eyes. Especially, I focused on people's appearance.

They had blue spots on their exposed bodies.

'As expected...'

There wasn't much time left until the 'second disaster' occurred in Holdenring.

'But I don't have much time either, so I should go back for now.'

I planned to come back soon.

Before the real 'disaster' appeared.

"Ah, I'm tired."

As soon as I finished my meal, I threw myself on the bed. I felt like I could fall asleep at any moment as I entrusted my body to the soft sensation.

But I got up right away. I still had something to do.

-My lamb, how about refraining from personal actions next time?

'Right, I'll try to do that as much as possible.'

When I went to Rovel alone and came back to Elyn.

The faces of the knights who found me were grim. They said they would have gone back to the mansion and brought the knight squad if I had been a little later...

'I have to sort this out now, or it might get more annoying later.'

I apologized earnestly to the two knights, saying that I was excited because it was my first outing.

I begged them to keep it a secret since it wouldn't happen again.

Fortunately, the knights who felt sorry for me agreed to my words.

'I can't lose the freedom I've barely gained.'

I loosened my stiff body with some light stretching and headed to the bathroom attached to the room.

I took out the Pasrel poison that I bought today from the inventory. The reaction began as soon as I swallowed a sip.

"Cough!"

-Ah, my child! Why did you drink that?

A surge of pain wrapped around my whole body. It felt like I had been electrocuted, and my heart rate sped up.

-Wah, no! My precious first child! You can't die like this!

"Keuk!"

Blargh---

I vomited blood after the pain. Thankfully, the pain subsided gradually. My head still hurts, though.

'I'm fine, Kyros.'

-How can you be fine? You're bleeding a lot!

'This is a medicine. The medicine for the disease I have.'

-Hmph, no. How can a poison be medicine? Sob, if only I was a little stronger, I would have healed you with my divine power. Sob, it's all because I'm useless.

I comforted Kyros and started sprinkling hot water on the bathroom floor.

-Hmph, okay, if you say so as my believer... but what are you doing now?

'Cleaning. Luckily, I vomited blood here. It's easy to clean up.'

He screamed when I answered while cleaning diligently.

-How can you say that so easily?!

And Kyros' nagging didn't stop until I finished cleaning the bathroom.

...Save me.