How the Cult Saves the World

In the original novel, when Terdius contracted Malone's disease, he had five choices to make.

The correct one was to ingest Pasrel Poison.

'I remember that he had to drink a sip every day until the Malone worms came out of his body.'

Pasrel poison was made from magical herbs and it damaged the most vital part of the organ when consumed.

But for someone with Malone's disease, the Pasrel poison recognized the 'Malone worms' as the most vital part of the body.

It cured the disease with poison. It was really a case of fighting poison with poison.

Furthermore, Pasrel poison only attacked what it had targeted once and left everything else untouched.

'But, it's too expensive and hardly anyone thinks of using poison as a cure.'

That was why Malone's disease was considered incurable.

Besides, there weren't many people who suffered from Malone's disease in the world.

Because of that, it was a field with little development and research.

'I should let them know about the cure later.'

It would be nice to subtly inform the medical community or develop it independently within the family.

Since I don't have the conditions right now, I'll have to think about it later.

'...Well, it's not urgent.'

Anyway, if I keep ingesting Pasrel poison, the corpses of Malone worms will come out of my body.

I don't know how long it will take.

Speak of it, In the original novel, Terdius ingested Pasrel's poison only a few days after he got Malone's disease.

He was cured in less than a day.

'But my body is...'

I had been suffering from Malone's disease for over 10 years, so there was no guarantee of how long it would take me to recover.

Maybe it was a lifelong disease.

'Still, I'll be grateful if my condition improves.'

I already felt better.

I had cleaned the bathroom and returned to my room not long ago, so it was less than 30 minutes after I ingested the poison.

'My body feels light.'

I had no headache or dizziness.

I smiled and took out a robe from my inventory and put it on with a hood.

-Young lamb, where are you going at this hour?

Kyros, who had been whining until a moment ago, asked in surprise.

Indeed, it was a bit late to go out.

'Uhm, I'm going to save the world?' I answered lightly with a smile.

Carefully, I opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

The Holden family's schedule started early in the morning and ended early as well. So even though it wasn't long after dinner, the hallway was quiet.

I could hear some servants walking around occasionally, but it was fine.

Everyone who stayed in this mansion knew that Revelof Holden always went to bed early.

'So even if I sneak out, no one will look for me.'

In other words, all I had to do was escape carefully.

I walked down the empty hallway as quietly as possible.

Fortunately, I didn't run into anyone until I reached my destination.

'This is it.'

The place where I stopped was Holden's library.

The entrance to the library was a large arched wooden door. Instead of a handle, it was a disk.

Holden's symbol was engraved on the disk, a sword wrapped with rose vines.

If a member of Holden touched this disk, it would glow blue and open the door, just like now.

Creak---

I looked at the door that opened automatically. The library was only accessible to members of Holden for generations.

Externally, it was because of the countless books collected by Holden's first lord.

'They say there are more books here than in the royal palace.'

I went straight into the library. The library was magnificent in size. It was around two floors tall and as wide as a large hall.

On the high shelves were books packed tightly, some of which were rolling on the floor.

"Cough!"

Well, there was a lot of dust. I covered my mouth with my hand and closed the door of the library.

-My little lamb, didn't you say you were going out?

As I walked in, Kyros inquired me in a puzzled voice.

'You'll see.'

I smiled and headed further in. As I walked past the tall shelves, it started to get dark.

There were lamps maintained by magic in various places in the library so I could see better. But the light was hidden by the shelves and disappeared as I went deeper.

Fortunately, I found what I wanted before it was completely dark.

The smallest and oldest shelf among the countless shelves.

"This is it."

Unlike other shelves that were packed with books, this shelf only had ten books and was as tall as me. Immediately, I moved my foot.

Thud!

When I kicked the right leg of the shelf lightly with my foot, the shelf started to shake.

Squeak---

A small wooden door appeared behind the shelf that slid to the right.

-Wow! A secret passage!

Kyros exclaimed and I felt inexplicably happy. I immediately pulled open the wooden door.

Behind the wooden door was nothing but darkness that couldn't be seen an inch ahead. But, I felt a faint breeze blowing.

'It must be connected to the outside.'

But it was too dark, so I opened my inventory. I took out a lantern that I had prepared in advance.

'Oh, right. I should wear glasses too.'

No matter how few people knew my face, I couldn't risk revealing that I was the son of Holden.

Besides, what I was going to do was something that I couldn't let anyone see my face.

'Well, let's go.'

After I finished preparing, I slowly headed inside. The interior was like a cave that only one person could move through.

In fact, this place was a secret passage that connected to the outside and had existed since the first lord of Holden.

It was a place that the first lord of Holden made to escape from his work.

I learned about this space thanks to Revelof's memory.

When he was very young, Revelof heard a story about the first lord from his mother.

'It's probably the only place in the mansion that connects to the outside, so only members of Holden can use it.'

This passage led to an alley near Elyn.

-My lamb, how are you going to save the world?

'It's simple.'

-Hmm?

'I'm going to spread your doctrine.'

That way, the world wouldn't end.

-Oh, yes. That's right. That's right. But, my lamb, do you know about my will?

I already know it from reading the original novel, but I can't pretend to know it directly.

'...I don't know.'

-Hmm. That's right. Naturally, you don't know since my power is still weak.

There was a sigh in Kyros' voice. He seemed a bit gloomy. I asked him kindly.

'What is your will, Kyros?'

-Actually, the doctrine is something that humans decide, not gods. But if I can convey my will...

Kyros hesitated for a moment.

-There is nothing more precious than life in this world.

As expected. Kyros' will was the same as in the original novel.

But...

'Kyros, you are the God of Beauty. Actually, I thought you would say that there is nothing more precious than beauty. It's surprising.'

It was a question that I had every time I played the original novel. And the question was resolved with Kyros' faint laughter.

-My lamb, the title of God of Beauty is not something that I gave myself. It's because I'm so beautiful that people naturally gave me that title.

'Ah, yes. Yes. Of course.'

I answered vaguely and moved on. There was silence for a while and Kyros suddenly said,

-My little lamb.

'Yes?''

-...Actually, I am...

Kyros stopped and hesitated. Why is he like this?

-I can't forget those people I saw earlier.

'What?'

-You know, the people we saw in the back alley. Can't we help them?

That's when the system window popped up.

[Subquest triggered!]

[Subquest <Saving Lives>

Description: Accept the will of Kyros, the God of Beauty, who feels sorry for the people of Rovel, and save them.

Objective: Cure the people of Rovel (0/10)

Success: ???

Failure: -]

[Do you accept?]

[Yes/No]

I scanned the quest and unknowingly lifted the corners of my mouth.

Really... He's too lovable.

I immediately pressed [Yes] and answered.

'I was on my way to Rovel anyway. Just like you, I can't forget their faces either, Kyros.'

-As expected, I knew it! You are truly my believer!

Kyros praised me enthusiastically.

-You are my first believer!

...He seemed too excited.

Well, actually, going to Rovel was a side mission.

The main mission was to prevent the second disaster that would happen in 'Holden Territory' in the original novel.

'If I prevent the disaster, I can save the people of Rovel.'

Besides, Rovel was...

As I was lost in thought, I realized too late that I had reached a dead end.

-Oh, this way is already blocked.

Kyros sighed, more excited than me. Instead of answering, I just lifted the lantern up.

-That is...!

The light of the lantern illuminated the ceiling of the cave. But there was a material that was clearly different from the inside of the cave that I had seen so far.

It was a large disk with Holden's emblem engraved on it.

I immediately put the lantern in my inventory and stretched out both hands toward the disk.

'I found it.'

The height wasn't too high, so my hand touched the emblem right away. The disk recognized me and glowed blue like the library door and moved smoothly.

As soon as that happened, I saw the night sky with the cold night air.

I stretched out my arms and pushed against the ceiling and jumped lightly. Fortunately, I was able to climb up easily.

Even though I am recovering from Malone's disease, my body was so weak that I ran out of energy quickly.

"Haa, haa."

I caught my breath and looked at where I had come out. The floor returned to normal as if nothing had happened. To others, it looked like an ordinary stone floor.

'I should memorize the location, just in case.'

I looked around to prepare for when I came back. The place where I came out was a narrow alley.

I remembered the geography as I left the alley. It wasn't hard to remember since I had been here once before.

I walked quickly through Elyn's night streets and headed to the back alley.

Before going to Rovel, there was a place I had to stop by first.

The people of Rovel were currently addicted to a drug-like substance called 'Happy'.

To be precise, it was more like a poison that was similar to a drug. So, fortunately, it could be cured.

Then, the place I headed to was...

"You're back again, customer."

The secret shop where I bought Pasrel poison.

Unlike when I came during the day, Jain greeted me this time. He smiled brightly as soon as he saw me and welcomed me with open arms.

"I didn't expect you to come back so soon!"

This guy, he didn't think I would look for him at all?

Still, time is time.

"Well then, shall we go inside?"

I followed Jain to the basement.