Chapter 101.1

"Ah, oh, argh...."

I forced myself to swallow the groans leaking out of my mouth as I walked toward my lodging. Dizzying pain was spreading from the location where the chopstick had stabbed my lower back. It felt as if a piece of hot metal had seared my back, but I didn't show any signs of pain in front of Ha Pan-Seok. It was to maintain my dignity as the Cult Leader.

[You shouldn't have lied,] Ogun said coldly as if mocking me.

"Be a bit more gentle when you stab it in. It hurts so much it feels like I’m going to die..."

[Stop complaining. Originally, I was going to stab your heart. I showed mercy by stabbing into your back.]

"You really aren’t flexible at all."

[There's no need to show flexibility to someone who is not honest.]

Ogun's tone of voice was extremely cynical. As suggested from our conversation so far, Ogun and I didn't get along well. Ogun liked honest people, and he disliked people that lied often. I was someone that often, no, frequently lied. Therefore, it was impossible for our relationship to be good.

So, I couldn't use Ogun's power except in special cases.

[Before I go, let me give you one last piece of advice.]

"What advice... Can't you just let me go?"

[Don't get too caught up in a false life. Falsehood might end up swallowing the truth.]

A false life. He was referring to me using a false identity to attend Florence Academy.

[Make sure you keep that in mind.]

With those parting words as a warning, Ogun disappeared.

[Ogun has always been known for being inflexible and straightforward. The rumors about his personality are widespread.]

Legba filled the void that was left after Ogun had departed. I felt thankful for Legba’s thoughtfulness in comforting me after I had gotten thrashed by Ogun’s frosty words, so I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s still a little too extreme, in my opinion.”

[He became obsessed with honesty after his relationship with Baron Samedi went south. He’s a pitiful guy. Give him a break.]

I silently nodded and walked to my lodging. Legba said that Ogun became obsessed with honesty after being betrayed by Baron Samedi. I think I remember hearing that Baron Samedi had scammed him...

I didn't know the details. I only vaguely remembered parts of the stories my mother used to tell me when I was young. Anyway, Ogun and Baron Samedi didn't get along well. It was rare for any of the Loa to have a good relationship with Baron Samedi in the first place.

[...Personally, I believe it would be good for you to heed Ogun's advice,] Legba said in a quiet voice when I arrived at my lodging.

I half-heartedly nodded and lay down on the bed to sleep. It was already two in the morning. Perhaps it was because I had used the power of the Loa too much today, but I fell asleep the moment I closed my eyes.

***

The morning at the mountain lodge began with the sound of birds chirping. Outside the window, the eerie scenery of the dark mountains had disappeared. In its place was the scene of leaves glistening in the warm sunlight while swaying as if to announce it was morning.

Ji-Ah was the first among the three of us to open her eyes, and she immediately brewed two cups of coffee—one for her teacher and one for herself.

Ding dong—!

"Ah, hot..."

Just as she was about to pour hot water into the cup, a loud doorbell sound rang. That startled Ji-Ah, and she burned her hand in the water. She roughly rinsed her reddened skin with cold water and hurriedly walked to the front door. Through a small gap in the center of the door, she checked who had pressed the doorbell.

“...”

For a brief moment, her face scrunched up, but then she returned to her regular expressionless face. She calmly returned to the kitchen as if she hadn't seen anything. Then she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Ring—! Ring—!

Bang bang!

She tried to ignore it, but after trying the doorbell, they started banging on the door. Ji-Ah had no choice but to walk back to the front door. And then she violently swung the door open.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Thud!

"Ah, ouch...."

On the other side of the door was Ha Soo-Yeong.

She was rubbing her forehead, which had been hit by the door that had been abruptly opened. She was the daughter of Ha Pan-Seok, one of the leaders of the rebellion. She was an arrogant child who aspired to be the Cult Leader without understanding her place.

Ji-Ah faintly smiled as she glared at Soo-Yeong.

“What are you here for?” Ji-Ah said. Animosity was leaking out from her voice.

Soo-Yeong glared at Ji-Ah with sharp eyes and asked, "Do Sun... Where is the Cult Leader?"

"He is sleeping. Please come back later."

"Ah, wait—!"

Ji-Ah tried to close the door with a stern attitude, but Soo-Yeong shouted and wedged her foot in the door opening. Ji-Ah tried to forcefully close the door, but it wouldn't shut. She didn’t know about anything else, but when it came to strength, Soo-Yeong had the upper hand over her.

"Ah, I said I would like to talk to the Cult Leader. And you, it’s not respectful to close a door in front of someone like that."

“And is causing a ruckus in the morning after suddenly arriving without notice supposed to be respectful?”

“What? ...I can’t believe this little kid is screwing with me here—!”

Soo-Yeong’s face reddened, and she was about to raise her voice, but then she abruptly stopped. Her gaze was fixed on someone who was beyond Ji-Ah's shoulder. Following Soo-Yeong's gaze, Ji-Ah turned her head and saw the Cult Leader walking towards them while looking as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep.

"Why is it so noisy so early in the morning? What’s going on?"

"A peddler arrived, so I was trying to chase them away."

"A peddler?"

Sun-Woo glanced beyond the door as if he was puzzled. Soo-Yeong was staring defiantly at Ji-Ah with an angry face.

"Soo-Yeong? Why are you here?"

"Well, I had some questions and some things to say, so I came here, but that bastard—!" Soo-Yeong said in a raised voice as she threateningly pointed at Ji-Ah.

Sun-Woo's face crumpled slightly. “That bastard?”

“...That pipsqueak! She just randomly closed the door—”

“That pipsqueak.”

“That-that person. She kept trying to close the door,” Soo-Yeong murmured while hunching her shoulders as if she was feeling pressured. Sun-Woo looked back and forth between the two people facing each other with the door between them. He then stared blankly at Soo-Yeong with tired eyes and asked, "So why did you come?"

"...I wasn’t sleeping last night. That's why I came."

Soo-Yeong delivered a somewhat meaningful remark. Sun-Woo's face showed a perplexed expression. He shifted his gaze to Ji-Ah.

"...Um, nuna."

He cleared his throat and continued to speak.

"I'll be back in a moment, so please tell Uncle."

"Yes, I understand. Have a safe trip."

"Thank you. I'll be back real quick."

Ji-Ah tried not to reveal her mixed feelings as she bowed her head.

Sun-Woo left his lodging along with Soo-Yeong and disappeared out of Ji-Ah’s sight. Ji-Ah closed the door and finished pouring the coffee. The boiling water had long since cooled down. Meanwhile, Jin-Sung woke up from his sleep and roughly tidied up his messy hair before approaching Ji-Ah.

"The bed here is comfortable. I slept really well. What the... Who did you make this coffee for?”

"While making mine, I made one for Teacher as well."

Jin-Sung received the cup with a dumbfounded expression.

"I should be paying you money for helping out, but instead of me paying you, you're doing volunteer work that I didn’t ask for? I appreciate it, but... Ah, right. What about Sun-Woo? Is he still sleeping?"

“He said he had something to discuss with Soo-Yeong, so he briefly went outside.”

“What does he have to say so early in the morning? Did they come to some sort of mutual understanding when they met in the mountains yesterday or something? Youngsters these days...”

Jin-Sung sipped his cup of coffee. On the other hand, Ji-Ah stared at Jin-Sung with an anxious gaze instead of drinking the coffee she had made for herself.

"Does the Cult Leader not like coffee?" Ji-Ah asked out of the blue.

Jin-Sung chuckled in response.

"Probably? Well, he certainly doesn't drink multiple cups a day like I do. He's still young. He’s at an age where his mind works just fine even without caffeine."

"I see..." Ji-Ah nodded and lifted her cup to sip her coffee. It tasted lukewarm and bitter.

***

Between the mountain lodge and the underground chapel, there was a space with a large stone grill as the centerpiece that was surrounded by wooden tables and chairs arranged in a circle. It was an outdoor restaurant created by Yun Chang-Su for hosting events such as barbecue parties.

I dragged Soo-Yeong to this location and sat on a random chair that was lying around. Soo-Yeong sat across from me.

"You said you didn't sleep last night?"

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It just happened..." Soo-Yeong said with hesitation.

When I went to the lodge to reeducate Ha Pan-Seok yesterday, Soo-Yeong wasn't sleeping. Judging from her expression, it seemed like she had also overheard bits of the conversation between me and Ha Pan-Seok.

But it didn't really matter. Although the things that I discussed with Ha Pan-Seok weren’t particularly good for Soo-Yeong to listen to, they weren’t particularly bad either.

"How much did you hear?"

"...That you attend Florence Academy and that you promised to save our brother."

I nodded. If that was the case, then not only was Soo-Yeong eavesdropping not a bad thing, but she had basically only listened to the parts that were greatly beneficial for me. Soo-Yeong looked at me with widened eyes. Various emotions flickered through her gaze. There was a hint of surprise, and there was even a glimpse of sadness.

"Is it true?" she asked.

"What is?"

"That thing that you said... That you would find him. Even if you had to die in order to do so.”

“Obviously, that’s the truth. You know I can't lie in front of Ogun, don't you?"

"I know, I know that, but..."

Soo-Yeong lowered her head. The reason she asked, even though she already knew, was because she wanted to confirm the truth directly from my mouth. I had a vague idea of what she might be feeling right now. After all, we were both in the same situation since both of us had a family member who was trapped in the underground prison of the Holy See Headquarters.

"Don't worry. He’ll still be alive for sure.”

My mother was dragged into prison after my father was immolated, and Soo-Yeong’s brother was also dragged into an underground prison after killing the leader of the Levi Order, who had ruthlessly burned and killed the Voodoo Cult members during the Starless Night. They had to still be alive. They absolutely had to be alive.

"...Thank you, even if it's just empty words, Cult Leader," Soo-Yeong said from the bottom of her heart as she laughed. I thought she was crying because her voice was trembling, but when I looked at her eyes, not only were there no tears, there wasn’t even any moisture. I smirked and stood up from my seat.

"Are we done talking now? I can go now, right?"

"No, no, no... Wait. I have one more question to ask."

Soo-Yeong urgently grabbed me as I tried to leave.

She expelled Voodoo magic power from the fingertips, drew three Voodoo magic arrays, and then proceeded to fuse them together. Her skills had improved incomparably compared to yesterday when she had struggled to fuse even just two Voodoo magic arrays together.

In just one night, she had improved this much.

"I was able to merge up to three spells through practice yesterday... How do I figure out the principles behind this?" Soo-Yeong asked before I even had time to be surprised.

That put me in a bit of a tough spot. I was somewhat able to explain the principles behind merging two spell arrays to create a fusion Voodoo spell, but once the number of fusion spells went over three, it became a bit difficult to explain. The characteristics of each spell intertwined with one another, resulting in a complex phenomenon that was hard to describe in words.