Chapter 105: Uninvited Guests (2)
The meeting of the cult continued with Daniel in front of them, nervous that his lies would be exposed.
The cult still had many important issues to discuss.
One of them was the mission that the first and second apostles had been sent to perform.
Daniel had only learned of their deployment at this meeting, but he kept his mouth shut as if he knew it all along.
Perin, who had just joined the meeting, was also quietly listening.
Roan, who was leading the meeting, asked Eutenia a series of questions.
“Apostle. Did you succeed in securing the alchemist you were aiming for?”
“I did manage to bring him back alive. But he doesn’t seem to last long by the looks of it.”
“So you did succeed in securing him. Is his life in danger by any chance?”
“I think it might be risky in the worst case scenario. But even if he dies, it won’t be a big problem.”
Eutenia’s gaze shifted to Arcrosis, who was in a corner of the meeting room.
King of the Undead Arcrosis.
He was a legendary demon who could command hundreds of thousands of undead.
Eutenia looked at him and asked.
“Isn’t it possible to revive him even if he dies with the power of the King of the Undead?”
Eutenia wanted to revive the alchemist as an undead through Arcrosis’ power if he died.
Daniel thought it was a devilish idea.
How could anyone think of such a thing?
But for Arcrosis, who was questioned by Eutenia, it didn’t seem to matter much.
Arcrosis nodded at Eutenia.
He raised his finger, which was nothing but bones, and spoke to Eutenia.
-“It’s not hard to make him a lich as long as he has a minimum of form left.”
“What if he becomes a lich? Will he lose his memory or something?”
-“It won’t be a problem unless he’s severely damaged.”
“That’s good. We won’t have to look for another target if something unpleasant happens.”
Eutenia looked satisfied with Arcrosis’ answer.
This meant that they had a plan to revive the alchemist through Arcrosis if he died.
It was indeed a cult-like behavior that served an evil god.
Daniel shivered slightly at the sight of the cult’s conversation and nodded his head.
The discussion about Eutenia’s mission continued for a few more words.
“I’ll proceed with the philosopher’s stone once the alchemist regains consciousness.”
“Is that so?”
“And Perin agreed to take responsibility for moving from the island to the cult. It might take a little longer if we need anything else.”
“I understand. I trust you with this mission, Apostle.”
“Eventually, everything will go according to His will.”
That was the end of Eutenia’s story.
Eutenia finished her conversation with Roan and reached for a bread in the basket.
Daniel’s eyes also turned to the basket with bread.
For some reason, he felt like there were more breads in the basket than last time.
It must have been Daniel’s illusion.
Sometimes it happens.
When people are tense, even the surrounding objects can appear distorted.
The number of breads that Daniel remembered might have been distorted because he was so nervous last time.
“Next… Estasia. I heard you have something important to say.”
Roan moved on to the next topic and looked at Estasia this time.
After Eutenia, it was Estasia’s turn, who had changed the atmosphere of the meeting room strangely.
Estasia looked around at the other participants with a dark complexion.
Her expression was ominous to anyone who saw it.
Daniel swallowed his saliva at the sight of Estasia.
She seemed to be about to bring up something serious.
As if to prove it, Estasia brought up an important issue to everyone around her.
“Another angel came down from heaven.”
“Another angel came down? Is it His doing?”
“…No. It seems like he came down with an order from heaven.”
Everyone around Estasia looked troubled by her words.
Daniel also had his own worries after hearing her words.
The Estasia in front of him was an evil angel sent by an evil god.
If what Estasia said was true, then this time a proper angel came down from heaven.
He thought that what was supposed to come had finally arrived and nodded his head as if that was so.
Then Roan spoke to the attendees with a very serious face.
“One of the six goddesses has sent down her own kin. She must have a plan to wreak havoc on the world with her foolish and ugly angel.”
“Pfft.”
Foolish and ugly angel.
Daniel felt a surge of laughter as he heard that story.
It was a combination of three words that did not match at all.
Even in the midst of fear, he heard a bizarre word that made his lips curl reflexively.
Suddenly faced with the urge to laugh, Daniel put a strong force on his face.
His face, strained from trying not to laugh, turned into a fierce expression in an instant.
“What’s wrong, Daniel?”
“…”
“Don’t tell me…”
Roan narrowed his eyes and looked at him as he saw Daniel’s appearance.
Daniel’s eyes moved quickly as he met Roan’s gaze.
He would be doomed if he laughed here.
He had to come up with a plausible answer somehow.
Under the pressure of his surroundings, Daniel managed to exhale the air in his lungs.
Then, with a dark face, he looked at Roan and gave him a hastily made excuse.
“Just hearing the story… makes me uneasy. How dare they try to go against the will of the great one…”
“That’s very like you, Daniel. I thought you would say something like that.”
“I’m sorry if I disturbed the meeting.”
Fortunately, Roan did not doubt Daniel.
Rather, he seemed impressed by Daniel’s loyalty to the great one.
Phew.
Daniel let out a sigh in his mind and relaxed his fist under the table.
As he was relieved by the crisis that had passed in front of him,
Roan looked at Daniel again.
“By the way, Daniel.”
“…What is it?”
“Can you tell me where your hideout is?”
“Hideout?”
Daniel’s fist tightened again as he heard Roan’s words.
Hideout.
It must have been a request to reveal his whereabouts.
He thought that someday he would have to face such a question, but he did not expect it to be now.
Daniel looked at Roan with a tense face and asked him why.
Roan smiled brightly and told him the intention of his question with a friendly attitude.
“The great one has ordered me to help you. Especially, I need to know for sure where your hideout is.”
As soon as he heard the reason from Roan, Daniel realized one important fact.
He could not escape from this question no matter what he did now.
Cold sweat began to run down Daniel’s back as he looked at the meeting room.
***
“Haa, haa…”
Daniel woke up from his dream with a rough breath in the farm where the sun was shining down.
He got up from the haystack with a butcher knife in his hand.
He was startled by the sight of the butcher knife as soon as he woke up and put it down.
He must have been preparing to ship out the livestock and got dragged into the meeting.
He looked around as he caught his breath and saw the ring on his finger.
The ring he had found last time was still on his finger.
“Ah…”
Daniel frowned as he remembered something as soon as he saw the ring.
It was because of the conversation he had with Roan at the meeting.
In the meeting room, Roan asked Daniel for the address of his hideout.
It was because he had received a trust from the evil god to help him.
It was a trust given by none other than the evil god himself.
The evil god who kept sending back the ring did not know where Daniel was either.
Daniel had no choice but to tell Roan the truth about where his farm was located.
“I’m in big trouble, big trouble.”
Daniel shook his head as he recalled the unpleasant memory.
It was only a matter of time before someone from the cult came here since he had given them his address.
If that happened, they would also find out that he had no great abilities.
The cult would not harm Daniel recklessly since he was chosen by the evil god himself.
But how could he face Roan if they found out that he was not a great assassin?
He felt his chest tighten just thinking about it.
He felt an urge to rip off the ring on his finger right away.
“Is the owner here?”
“…?”
As Daniel was wandering around the barn, worrying, he heard a stranger’s voice from outside.
The voice that came from outside was a thick male one.
Daniel was startled by the voice calling him and looked outside the barn.
Two cloaked figures were entering the farm from the border.
They had swords on their waists as they entered the farm.
They did not look like thieves, but it was still a bad situation.
“Is the owner not here?”
He could not ignore the voice that kept ringing outside.
Daniel had no choice but to go outside as they kept calling him.
Thud. Thud.
The cloaked men came straight to Daniel as he stepped out of the barn.
The men with imposing figures stopped in front of Daniel and looked down at him over their hoods.
“I’m the owner of this farm… Who are you?”
“We don’t need to know that, we just have something to ask you.”
“Yes, yes… Please ask.”
As he answered, Daniel saw something flickering behind the cloak.
He faintly saw a familiar pattern between the cloaks that covered their bodies.
It was the symbol used by the Temple of Abundance that Daniel had found.
Cold sweat ran down Daniel’s forehead as he saw the symbol.
It was obvious who they were, hiding the symbol of the temple.
Heretics Inquisitors.
That was who they were, standing in front of Daniel right now.
“We’re chasing a suspicious person around here.”
“Yes.”
Daniel’s alertness rose to the highest level as he recognized their identity.
The Heretics Inquisitors were those who executed the followers of the evil god and black magicians.
And Daniel had received a ring from the evil god and was summoned to a meeting.
If they found out about that, they would execute him on the spot.
Daniel continued to answer while watching their moves.
They also scrutinized Daniel’s appearance in detail.
“Have you seen anyone with suspicious behavior or appearance lately?”
“Behavior or appearance… No, I don’t know.”
“You don’t seem to know. Well, if you’re busy with farm work, that might be possible.”
Thud. Thud.
The Heretics Inquisitor who heard the answer came closer to Daniel by a few steps.
Then he grabbed Daniel’s shoulder with his gloved hand.
He looked into Daniel’s eyes as he held his shoulder and asked another question.
Not about a suspicious person, but about Daniel himself.
“You’ve been running this farm for quite a long time, haven’t you?”
“Yes, yes…”
“Then why are you sweating so much?”
“I’m not feeling well today, so I keep sweating…”
“Oh, I see. You’re not feeling well. You should take it easy with your farm work.”
Daniel used his health problem as an excuse for the Heretics Inquisitor’s question.
He was not at an age where his body was strong.
The Heretics Inquisitor nodded his head reluctantly, even though he looked doubtful of Daniel’s story.
It was difficult to keep holding someone who said he was not feeling well.
He let go of his shoulder and stepped back.
Then he stroked his beard and warned Daniel as if to say something.
“We’re going to be around here for a while.”
“For a while… You must have something important to do.”
“That’s right. So you should know what to do if you see any suspicious people…”
“Of course. I’ll let you know right away if I find any.”
Daniel nodded reflexively at the Heretics Inquisitor’s words of warning.
That was the end of their questioning.
They turned their bodies and headed for the border of the farm as soon as they finished talking.
Just like when they came in, heavy footsteps echoed.
The Heretics Inquisitor who had talked to Daniel turned his head and added one more thing before leaving the farm.
“By the way, that’s a nice ring. Other people must be jealous of you.”
He said his last goodbye and left the farm.
Until the Heretics Inquisitors who had visited the farm disappeared from his sight, Daniel felt a chill that covered his whole body.
