Surviving as a Cult Leader in Another World (On Pause)

"The results of the preliminaries will be announced in the afternoon, huh."

1 PM.
That's when they said the results of the preliminaries would be announced.
Looking at the sundial, the current time was roughly 10 AM.
That meant there were 3 hours left.
What should I do with this free time?
Naturally, I had a place in mind.
My current life is set on a predetermined track, so to speak.
"I need to go to the church and kick out those thugs."
The fact that Lady Psyche's illness was 'Malingering', something only the Count and the Countess knew.
And they said it should stay that way.
It seemed that even the Countess didn't realize her daughter was faking her illness.
Therefore.
I, Monk Hyde, was becoming known as 'the man who cured the Countess's illness through a mysterious method'.
What does this mean?
It meant that I could legally expel Priest Manaan and his cronies who were occupying the church.
The church is mine now!
Although it was nothing more than a dilapidated piece of land, the fact that I could establish a pioneer church made my heart swell with emotion, and I felt like tears would well up.
"It took a long time."
Overwhelmed with emotion, I headed to the church.
As I burst through the door, the men who were gathered like sewer rats, chattering amongst themselves, fell silent.
They were greatly flustered when they saw me, trembling and not knowing what to do.
I said to them,
"Manaan and his cronies! As promised, I cured the Lady's illness within a week, so please leave the church immediately."
It was a truly exhilarating moment.
Did the Lord feel something similar to what I felt now when he whipped the merchants and swindlers who occupied the temple?
As I was contemplating how to decorate this place, Priest Manaan calmly walked out in front of me.
Then, tilting his head, he asked,
"Promise? What are you talking about? Did we make a promise?"
"Ha! Are you pretending not to know now? Didn't you promise to quietly hand over the church if I cured Lady Psyche's illness within 7 days? We even had it notarized in God's name."
"Huh, it seems you're mistaken. How could sinners like us dare to make a promise in God's name? We never did that. Isn't that right, everyone?"
At Priest Manaan's question, the Iron Plaque priests looked at each other.
Then, they nodded vigorously and started babbling, "That's right! We never made a promise!"
I was curious to see how they would react, and this is what they came up with.
Honestly, it wasn't surprising.
According to the Bible, the 'human' race was not trustworthy.
Faith is something that applies to the relationship between God and humans, not between humans.
"It's not surprising that despicable and incompetent people would lie. Fine. But you'd better think carefully. If I become the Count's son-in-law, you'll be severely punished. It won't just end with excommunication then. Are you sure you're okay with that?"
Even though Count Agarphe had lost some of his power, he was still a nobleman who commanded 500 soldiers and 5 knights. It wouldn't be difficult to expel a single Bronze Plaque priest from the church in the Agarphe territory.
Soon, Manaan frowned and sneered.
"Hyde, I don't know what kind of trick you used to cure Lady Psyche's illness, but coincidences don't happen twice. The probability of you becoming the Count's son-in-law is lower than the probability of a demon going to heaven."
Manaan was extremely confident.
The way he was certain that what I did was a 'coincidence' seemed like he had some kind of backing.
What could be making this liar so brazen?
For a priest to bury something notarized in God's name…
Anger started to build up within me.
"Manaan, you guys are worse than heretics or cultists. You hypocrites who invoke God's name but don't act accordingly."
Why are pastors more criticized than other professions for the same mistakes?
It's because pastors usually talk about goodness and justice.
When those who speak good words with their mouths act differently, people are greatly disappointed and even feel anger and disgust.
It's these kinds of people who give the church a bad name, and to me, these internal enemies were more dangerous than cultists, heretics, or pagans.
Snort-.
Then Manaan laughed.
"Go ahead and insult and mock us all you want. Young Master Oscar is already here in this land. Young Master Oscar will marry Lady Psyche and fulfill Archbishop Archibald's plan."
"Archbishop Archibald's plan? What's that?"
"It's not something a foreigner like you needs to know. Archbishop Archibald doesn't talk about his plans carelessly to anyone."
As he said this, Manaan seemed to subtly flaunt his close relationship with Archbishop Archibald. Indeed, Archbishop Archibald was this guy's trump card.
It was so obvious that I thought he might have other insurance, but this was rather disappointing.
"I can just ask Archbishop Archibald myself. I was planning to meet him soon anyway."
"Why would the Archbishop meet a nobody like you? Wooden Plaque Monk Hyde. It seems you're just a young boy who hasn't even awakened to holy power. You're not even a priest."
Saying that I'm not a priest because I haven't awakened to holy power…
That's a very funny statement.
"Manaan, you said it yourself. The important things for a priest are the Bible and faith. You said things like holy power are meaningless, right? Why are you changing your words now?"
"…"
Priest Manaan closed his mouth.
I added to him,
"Are you denying the teachings of Archbishop Archibald, whom you respect so much? I think the Archbishop would be very disappointed if he heard what you just said."
"…!"
Manaan's face turned red.
He looked very annoyed, but he kept his mouth shut as if he didn't want to argue with me.
What a nasty bastard.
If I were still Lust, I would have immediately handed this guy over to Wrath of the Deadly Sins as a punching bag and made him wish he were dead.
As the righteous and devout clergyman Hyde, I had too many restrictions to follow.
Gasp-!
I was startled by my own thoughts.
Am I actually missing my cult leader days?
No!
That must never happen!
It's the Lord's role to punish sinners anyway.
Even if I leave them alone, guys like Manaan will surely receive divine punishment.
But, just like I did with Nomad, the abbot of Emrys Monastery, it would be okay to give them a little 'wordplay', right?
Swish-.
I extended my index finger.
As everyone's gaze focused on my finger, I spoke with a fervent wish for their punishment.
"Manaan and his cronies. If you keep lying in God's name like that, you'll receive divine punishment. From now on, every time you lie, may your conscience ache as if it's being pierced by a thick needle."
With those words, I left the church.
Lunchtime, when the sun was high in the sky.
1 PM.
Large scrolls were hung in every alleyway of the Agarphe territory where people could pass.
"Announcement of Preliminary Candidates!"
"Knight Loras"
"Monk Hyde"
"Doctor of Theology Selim"
"The above 3 have been declared as preliminary groom candidates for the Count's family!"
"The finals will be held at 2 PM in the reception room of the Count's mansion. Candidates who fail to arrive on time will be disqualified, so please be aware!"
It was a natural result that my name was included. What surprised me was that Loras's name was there too. How did that ignorant knight solve the problems?
"Actually, it doesn't matter. I'll win the finals anyway."
I returned to the Count's mansion to participate in the finals.
I was worried that Priest Manaan or his cronies might try to prevent me from reaching the mansion by 2 PM to get me disqualified.
As I hurriedly arrived at the Count's mansion, I ran into a tall knight with blond hair.
He clicked his tongue at me, "Tsk-."
I said to him,
"Knight Loras, I don't know how you solved the preliminary problems, but it's a shame that your proud arm is about to be broken."
"My arm? Why?"
Knight Loras feigned ignorance.
Given that even priests who had notarized their promises in front of God were lying, it would be difficult to expect a conscience from an ignorant knight.
I expected him to react like this, but it was so predictable that it was boring.
"Hey, servant brother passing by. Was your name Brocks? You must have heard our conversation when I was making a bet with Knight Loras. Do you remember our bet?"
I had memorized the faces and names of everyone who was around when I made the bet with Knight Loras. The servant, who smelled of horse dung, was greatly flustered when I spoke to him.
He looked at Knight Loras and me, then shook his head.
"…Wh-what bet? I don't know anything."
So, are all the people in the Agarphe territory like this?
Not a single person keeps their promises.
They call themselves the 'Agarphe of the Covenant'.
They're people who barely survived by betraying the royal family, so I guess it can't be helped.
I was surprised that 'War Maiden Psyche' was born into such a family, and I shouted loudly to those around me.
"Does no one really remember? That if I passed the preliminaries on my own, I would break Loras's arm? And if I failed, Loras would break my arm? Are all Agarphe people liars?"
At my question, the passersby and servants looked at me with very uncomfortable expressions.
As I took a deep breath to shout again, Loras, who seemed quite flustered, said,
"Oh, I remember now. We did make that bet. It was just a joke. Did you really believe such a bet, where we'd break each other's arms? I wouldn't have broken your arm even if I had won, brother."
This bastard, he's trying to brush it off as a joke because he doesn't want a big fuss and gossip. It's because of lowly guys like him staying in the mansion as the top knights that the Agarphe family is declining.
Priest Manaan and Knight Loras.
There was only one way to punish these despicable liars.
For me to become a member of the Count's family.
That's when it happened.
Psyche appeared before the people, clad in shining silver armor.
When Knight Loras waved his hand as if in greeting, saying, "Psyche!", Psyche seemed to have noticed us.
Soon, Psyche approached us.
While Knight Loras was delighted, saying, "Psyche, did you come to see me?", Psyche frowned at me.
"Hyde, you were already qualified for the preliminaries, so why did you write those answers? You're such a self-centered person. I have something to ask you first, so let's go."
Saying that, Psyche led me to the reception room.
I found it quite unexpected that Psyche was personally guiding me when she spoke in a voice so low that only I could hear.
"There are people in the mansion who don't like you. They might try to prevent you from reaching the exam hall by 2 PM."
My prediction and Psyche's guess overlapped.
"Psyche, to think our thoughts align like this. It seems we are indeed destined to be partners who help each other. Lady Psyche, to be honest, I fell in love with you at first sight."
I confessed my feelings sincerely.
A relationship that we were able to meet even after going back in time.
It was truly fate!
I don't know if my sincerity was conveyed properly, but Psyche blushed deeply.
"Wh-what are you saying? I'm the one who's going to ask the questions. First, what's written on this answer sheet. Did you come up with all of this yourself? Is it true that the shape of this land is not flat but spherical?"
"It's true. I can prove it. This land is spherical. To be precise, it's slightly elliptical."
"But if what you say is true, doesn't it directly contradict the Church's teachings that the world is shaped like a plate? Hyde, are you arguing against the Church's teachings while dreaming of becoming a priest?"
How should I answer this?
I felt Psyche's piercing gaze and realized that the 'finals' had already begun.