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Chapter 143

“No idea. I suppose I’d like to die as late as possible?”

"If that’s the case, I believe it is better for you to choose the next Cult Leader as late as you can as well. And I suggest you choose carefully."

"Isn\'t it better for me to decide quickly? Since I don\'t know when I will die."

"That mindset is the problem, Cult Leader," Ji-Ah said in a sharp tone once again.

I was slightly taken aback.

"What? What’s wrong with my mindset?"

"Just because the next Cult Leader has been chosen doesn\'t mean it’s alright for you to die."

“I’ve never once thought that it was alright for me to die.”

"Didn\'t you choose the next Cult Leader in preparation for your death?"

"It\'s just a precaution. Many ominous events have occurred lately, and no one knows when I will die.”

Ji-Ah stared at me with slightly narrowed eyes as if she was dissatisfied with my answer. I stared back into her eyes.

There was a moment of silence. Not long after, Ji-Ah turned her gaze away and said, "I understand. Anyway, please don\'t die."

"Just because I don’t want to die doesn’t mean that I won’t die."

"Don\'t die," Ji-Ah repeated once again while staring intently at me.

Her tone was almost commanding. It surprised me a little because up until now, she had never spoken to me with such a firm tone before.

"Miss Ji-Ah, you should speak for yourself. You almost died last time due to the incident that occurred while you were secretly investigating the Satanists."

"That... Why are you bringing up the past?"

"Is the investigation on Inquisitor Joseph going well?”

"Ah, yes. It’s going well...” Ji-Ah mumbled and avoided my gaze.

“...It’s not really going that well, but I’m working hard. Since he’s an inquisitor, there isn\'t much information available, and the security..."

According to her, the inquisitors were affiliated with the Holy See, so it was not easy to gather information about them like ordinary people or regular clergymen. Due to the fact that the information belonging to the Holy See was so securely guarded, she was currently indirectly gathering information through safe methods. I had no real domain knowledge of information gathering, so it was difficult for me to understand what Ji-Ah was saying. Nevertheless, it seemed like she was doing well.

"By the way, Miss Ji-Ah."

Something suddenly came to mind while we were talking about information gathering. At the time of the incident, mercenaries arrived at the Florence Academy main gate and prevented the paladins from entering. From what I heard, the name of the mercenary group was called the Ravens.

"Do you know about the Ravens Mercenary Group?"

"Yes, I do."

Ji-Ah kindly explained details about the Ravens Mercenary Group. It was originally a group of farmers in charge of unowned land in Incheon that banded together to create the Ravens Mercenary Group.

The deputy leader was known for his skills, and the leader’s identity was shrouded in mystery. Due to their recent defeat by the Eastern Paladin Order, their reputation had slightly declined.

I had a feeling that I knew who the leader of the Ravens was. I suspected that it was one of the traitors who had left the Voodoo Cult during the Holy War. I wasn’t certain, though. For now, it seemed like it would be a good idea to investigate them with Ji-Ah’s help.

"Would it also be possible to investigate them as well? It would be easier to investigate mercenaries rather than inquisitors, right?"

"Investigating the mercenaries... will be slightly more complicated than investigating the inquisitors."

"Why?"

"To investigate mercenaries, I have to rely on word of mouth... So, I have to approach active mercenaries and acquaintances to obtain intel. It\'s similar to when I investigated the Satanists."

"Ah, then don\'t do it."

Previously, Ji-Ah was kidnapped by Satanists while investigating them. If she got kidnapped once again while investigating the mercenaries, then I would ultimately have to be the one to rescue her. If that was the case, then it was better not to conduct an investigation.

After listening to my words, Ji-Ah momentarily closed her mouth and pouted.

"...I can do it."

"It seems dangerous, so just don\'t do it."

"It\'s not that dangerous because many different holy artifacts can help with investigations and tracking nowadays."

"What if you end up getting kidnapped last time?"

"...I won\'t make the same mistake again. I guarantee it."

"You never know. What do I do if you get kidnapped again? Do I have to go save you again?”

"..."

Ji-Ah fell silent.

If the investigation was dangerous, it would be better for me to do it instead of asking Ji-Ah to do it. It was natural for me to take risks for my goals, but sacrificing others for my goals was unacceptable. No matter what happened, a cult leader could not sacrifice their followers for their own personal gain.

“Just focus on investigating the inquisitor, please. If investigating the inquisitor also gets dangerous, don’t investigate any further.”

"Yes, I understand..."

She reluctantly nodded her head.

While I was still thinking about the Ravens Mercenary Group, I felt Ji-Ah\'s gaze. When I looked up, I saw Ji-Ah staring daggers at me.

"Why? Is there anything else that you want to say?"

"What? No, um..."

She hesitated for a moment and then avoided my gaze before letting out a deep sigh.

"It\'s a little strange to be called Miss Ji-Ah. It\'s kind of, well..." she said.

"Yes, go on. Miss Ji-Ah," I said.

"...It feels distant."

"But Miss Ji-Ah, you said it was okay to call you Kang Ji-Ah before."

"That was... when we first met, and now the situation is..." Ji-Ah explained hesitantly.

She was clearly flustered. It had been a long time since I had seen such distinct changes in her expression. Maybe everything felt unfamiliar because I had crawled out after dwelling in the corner of my room for such a long time.

Ji-Ah was still frantically trying to explain herself when she eventually trailed off and then looked at me with a pouting face.

"...Please don\'t laugh. This is serious."

"I\'m not serious, though. It was a joke."

"Seriously..."

Every sentence we exchanged was filled with mischief. Ji-Ah let out a faint snicker. Her laughter briefly surfaced and then faded away in the blink of an eye. That fleeting smile remained deeply etched in my mind.

The more I got to know her, the more diverse her expressions seemed to become. Or perhaps her expressions had been diverse from the beginning, but I hadn\'t noticed them, and it was only now that I could finally discern her expressions.

Regardless of what it was, I thought it was a good change.

When I returned to my room after eating, Legba said, [How about going outside for a bit? You look like a mess because you haven’t touched grass in a while.]

Come to think of it, I hadn’t gone outside for multiple days now.

I was anxious that someone might be watching me, and due to the feeling of helplessness that had accumulated after staying inside for an extended period of time, I was afraid of going outside. There was also the fact that I didn\'t have time to go out because there were too many experiments to conduct.

"Even if I don\'t want to go out, I have to go out soon," I replied while looking at the mold growing in one corner of the ceiling. Summer had come, and the environment in the underground chapel was becoming increasingly harsh.

[Yeah, come to think of it, the school closure period is almost over. Are you disappointed?]

"A little bit. Relaxing at home was nice and comfortable."

[Even if you\'re disappointed, there’s nothing that can be done. If a student doesn’t attend school, they’re no longer a student. Don’t forget your duty as a student,] Legba said before laughing.

It seemed like it was just yesterday that he was droning on about the duty of a cult leader, and today, he was talking about the duty of a student. I couldn\'t tell which of Legba\'s words were serious and which were jokes.

***

Since the underground chapel was located underground, it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Of course, the temperature and humidity could be adjusted to a tolerable level with air conditioning. As long as the building was well-maintained, there were no major hygiene issues. However, just the fact that I was living underground in the middle of summer made me feel miserable and unhappy.

Thus, I applied for a dormitory.

A week before the end of the school closure period, selective attendance was permitted. Those who needed to use the school facilities or had business in the office were allowed to enter the school. It was during this time that I visited the teacher\'s office and applied to live in the dormitory.

Living in the dormitory would allow me to escape the harsh environment of the underground chapel, and it also allowed me to avoid Joseph\'s suspicion and surveillance.

However, there were some drawbacks, such as having to obtain permission every time I wanted to go out at night, which limited my freedom to some extent. But it was a drawback that I was willing to accept. After all, if a needle was hidden in a haystack, no one would be all the wiser.

"Are you going straight to the dormitory as soon as you go back to school?" my uncle asked.

He returned to the underground chapel after a long time. I nodded.

"Probably. There\'s nothing good about staying here for a long time."

"I see. It’s a room for two people, right? Ah, Florence Academy has lots of money, so do they give you a room to yourself?” my uncle asked somewhat sarcastically.

"Normally, I’m supposed to get a room for two people, but since there’s a room left over, they gave me a single room."

"Oh... it seems like they are swimming in money."

"Yeah."

I absentmindedly nodded and was about to enter my room when I suddenly felt that my uncle’s face looked a little unfamiliar. It felt like seeing him after a very long time. The reason why was simple. It was because I was actually seeing my uncle after a very long time.

"What have you been doing lately, messing around like that?"

"Hey, do you really have to express it as messing around like that?"

"What have you been doing, roaming around like that?"

I corrected my question as my uncle demanded. While checking his phone, my uncle absentmindedly said, "It\'s nothing special. Just helping someone with their identity."

"Someone? Who?"

"The Gyeonggi Branch executive. You know, the one who escaped to China.”

Due to her extensive religious activities, the Holy See tracked down the Gyeonggi Branch executive, and as a result, she had to flee to China in a hurry.

At first, she fled to China, then she went to Russia and then Brazil, and she traveled all over the world. She even wandered around on an unnamed island. According to my uncle, the identity laundering step was already over, and once her disguise was complete, she could enter the country immediately. It meant that she would most likely reveal her face at the next executive meeting.

"You will be surprised when you see her. She’s pretty."

"Really? I don’t remember her being that pretty though?" I said curiously.

Although I wasn\'t in a position to judge someone\'s appearance, objectively speaking, that person didn\'t have a conventionally pretty face. Instead, there were noticeable flaws on her face. I remembered her face as one where the flaws were parts that gave it appeal.

My uncle raised his finger and pointed at my face as he said, "After the surgery, she became a completely different person."

"Ah, I see," I replied casually.

Regardless of how attractive that person became, it had nothing to do with me. I never really liked her in the first place. She had a talent for annoying me with her constant nagging. Just the thought of hearing that annoying voice again gave me a headache.

***

It was time to return to school.

I remember feeling excited and nervous when I went to the school for the first time after going through various hardships and enrolling in Florence Academy. Looking back now, I wondered why I had been so excited about something like this. I guess it was fairly obvious that my excitement had significantly fizzled off compared to the first day of school.

I arrived at the classroom just in time to avoid being late.

The first thing I noticed was an empty desk. It was the seat that Jun-Hyuk used to sit in. There was a single white chrysanthemum on the desk.

Ye-Jin entered the classroom shortly after and quickly noticed it.

"What the... Who put this here...!"

Ye-Jin picked up the chrysanthemum and threw it in the trash can. Then she looked around with a flushed face as if she was angry. It looked like she was trying to find the culprit.

However, all the students simply stared at her with innocent faces as if they had no clue who the culprit was.

Ye-Jin stood at the front of the classroom and let out a deep sigh.

"Everyone, I\'m sure you’ve all heard that Jun-Hyuk went missing, either through the news or through acquaintances. If you didn\'t know, now you know. But in any case..."

Ye-Jin said with a gloomy expression on her face, "Being missing and being dead is different. Putting a chrysanthemum on a missing person\'s desk like this is extremely rude and ignorant behavior. Do you understand?"

None of the students answered. The classroom was filled with silence.

In-Ah turned around from her seat in front of me, and our gazes met. She quickly turned her head and avoided my gaze. For some reason, she seemed to find it difficult to make eye contact with me.

The silence continued for a while, and Ye-Jin slowly scanned the faces of the students sitting in silence.

She closed her eyes, let out a deep sigh, and then said with a faint smile, "Well, then, let\'s start homeroom. Since there are many important announcements today, please listen carefully..."

There were indeed many announcements. Most of them were trivial, and I already knew about the contents of the major announcements.

If I were to mention two shocking facts I learned today, the first was that the length of the school summer vacation period was going to be subtracted by the length of the school closure period. The system was designed so that if students didn’t fulfill the required number of days of attendance, they would face penalties. Thus, they said that there was no choice in the matter.

‘I won\'t be able to go to the beach...’

Since there was no summer vacation, that meant that I wouldn’t be able to go to the beach. Well, to be frank, I wouldn’t have been able to go regardless.

The second shocking fact was that the first semester\'s first and second exams were now combined, and thus, the written and practical exams would be conducted back to back. The date of the exam was nineteen days from now. It was said that this was announced through a text message during the school closure period.

Judging from the expressions of the other students, it seemed like everyone besides me already knew about this.

"Everyone, prepare well. Due to this incident, the schedule has been pushed back and combined, so the weight of the exams will probably be a little heavier than the other exams. The practical exam will also be the same."

While nervously sweating and checking my phone for the text message I had received from school, Ye-Jin said, "There are still many parts of the schedule that have not been confirmed yet, so I\'ll let you know again when they are confirmed..."

Ye-Jin\'s voice no longer reached my ears. I diligently checked the message history, hoping to find a notification about changes in the exam schedule.

...Nothing. There was nothing.

No matter how many times I checked, nothing appeared. I checked again, and it was certain. I had never received a text message related to the exam schedule.

I felt that there was a need to raise a complaint about this.