The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 219

We went through the arrival process the moment the plane landed. The arrival process was completed in no time, thanks to the help of the accompanying clergymen. The airline staff checked our faces and names and sent us on our way, skipping most of the other procedures.

I was worried about getting caught because I had the staff in my carry-on, but luckily nothing happened.

After we skidded through international arrivals, I opened my passport to look at my name and face. Although it was definitely me, it didn't look like me. Uncle had given me this passport. I felt miserable upon realizing that I had to live undercover for the rest of my life.

I went out to the airport lobby. It was pitch dark outside the window.

"Seoul West Paladin Order, please gather in front of the airport for a message!"

"Central Crusader Order, move to the location that was announced earlier. I have instructions from the Holy See."

"Looking for the Northern Priesthood~!"

I heard the sound of the clergymen who had traveled with us, looking for their comrades and greeting their families.

Han Dae-Ho had said to leave if our family came to pick us up, but otherwise, to stay put with the Paladin Order. Then he headed toward where the Eastern Paladin Order members were gathering.

The first to leave was Ha-Yeon. Sung Yu-Da had come with a car to pick her up. Unlike his usual calm demeanor, he rushed over to Ha-Yeon, and they left the airport together.

Su-Ryeon and Dae-Man's families came next to pick them up. Su-Ryeon's family seemed like an ordinary and loving household, while Dae-Man's family stood out because Dae-Man was the only one in his family with a large build.

"Ah, Ms. Jin-Seo."

Jin-Seo's family hadn’t come, but a driver came to pick her up instead. I remembered meeting the driver from before.

Jin-Seo turned her head and glanced at me before following the driver.

She stared at me for a while. "Get home safe."

"...Uh, you too."

And that was the end of our farewell.

The only ones left were Yu-Hyun, Min-Seo, and me. Despite waiting for quite some time, Yu-Hyun and Min-Seo's family did not come. We stayed dead silent as we waited for them.

Yu-Hyun, Min-Seo, and I didn't say a word. Yu-Hyun seemed to be lost deep in thought.

"Is your family not coming?" I casually asked Min-Seo.

Min-Seo nodded as if she didn’t think too much of it.

"They won’t. We don't have a car. I took the subway when I came," she said.

"I see."

"What about you? They’re running late?"

"Well... for reasons similar to yours, they aren’t coming."

I didn't have a family that would come to me. In that sense, we were similar. Min-Seo seemed not to understand what I said entirely and tilted her head, but she didn't say anything more.

That was the end of our conversation. Then, someone tapped my shoulder.

"...What?"

When I turned my head, I saw a familiar face.

"What's up? I came to pick you up."

It was Uncle Jin-Sung. He was dressed in a suit, and his neat appearance felt unfamiliar. I glanced at Yu-Hyun and Min-Seo just in case, but they seemed uninterested in whoever had come to pick me up or whatever was being said. Or maybe they were pretending not to be interested.

I hurriedly left the airport with my uncle, thinking nothing good could come out of it for Yu-Hyun to see my uncle's face.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Is someone chasing you?"

"Yeah."

"Really? Then that makes sense."

We got in the car. I sat in the passenger seat and looked out the car window as the airport faded further into the distance. I saw a crowd of clergymen bustling in front of the airport. I didn't say anything until the car entered the highway.

"What's going on? There are so many clergymen."

"As long as we don't do anything suspicious, we'll be fine."

"But..."

The problem was Yu-Hyun. He knew that I was the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult. He might not have noticed because he had been lost in thought, but he would surely be curious about my uncle's identity.

There might be a way to confuse him, but the fact that he might become suspicious was important.

I hadn’t had the chance to tell my uncle that Yu-Hyun knew my identity, so he was oblivious to the fact that Yu-Hyun knew I was the Cult Leader. I didn't know how to tell him about the situation.

I didn't want to tell him the truth. I felt he would be disappointed in my abilities when he found out that someone had discovered my true identity. But if I didn’t tell Uncle, I felt like something like this might happen again. It didn’t really matter to me, but I couldn’t let the people around me suffer.

"The guy with yellow hair and tanned skin that was next to me. Did you see him?"

"Huh? Uh, uh. Is he your friend?"

"He knows my true identity."

Vroom—!

Suddenly, my uncle pressed the gas pedal. The car shook slightly from side to side and sped through the darkness.

My uncle spoke up when the car slowed down and gradually regained stability. "What... Did you just say that he found out your true identity? When? Just now?"

"No, it's been a while."

"But why haven't you..." My uncle couldn't continue.

It seemed like he wanted to ask why Yu-Hyun was still alive or why I was still at Florence Academy. He seemed to be contemplating which question to ask first.

"Due to the circumstances, he decided not to report me. And I decided not to kill him."

"What circumstances—no. Why did you get involved in the first place?" my uncle asked.

I explained everything in detail, from Yu-Hyun being the grandson of the current Pope to the blessing he used, what happened during the practical exam, and what happened when I kidnapped and brought him to the underground chapel.

My uncle listened quietly as he drove. My uncle’s expression was surprisingly calm when I finished the story.

"...Yeah, so that guy is the candidate for the Pope... and is the bastard from the Starless Night."

"You know about him?"

My uncle let out a bitter laugh. "Of course I know him."

Well, he wouldn't be able to forget that day. Several members of the Voodoo Cult, who were quite close to my uncle, had been killed. From what I knew, Uncle had also almost died back then.

"And you don’t know exactly why he's not reporting you?"

"Yeah."

"Figuring that out will be the first step. That way, we can gain an advantage," my uncle muttered.

He was right. If I knew why he wasn't reporting me, I could use Yu-Hyun's information more effectively while also having the upper hand. My uncle nodded slowly and said, "More work for me, I guess. Sigh... I guess this means I’ll be busy."

"Why, to dig up information? It won't be easy."

My uncle laughed. "Do you think it was easy to make your passport? Everything I do is difficult. Whether it’s hard for me or not, I have to do it. That is my job, after all."

"...I guess."

"Like you said, it might not go well. There must be various complications, with him being the Pope's grandson and all."

"From what I gathered, it does seem a bit complicated."

"Right. Always be cautious. We don't know exactly what his intentions are. He could report you whenever he needs to."

I nodded. Uncle continued driving. The congested roads near the airport gradually became less crowded. Now that he was more relaxed while driving, my uncle changed the music. A calm song played.

Uncle checked the side mirror briefly. "In case... I usually don't say things like kill lightly," my uncle mumbled. "That fucker... In the absolute worst-case scenario, like the worst-case scenario, we should consider killing him."

I nodded mindlessly.

After the song ended, the next song played. This time, the song was upbeat and lively. My uncle used the change in atmosphere to change topics.

"Oh, by the way, did you manage to find what you were looking for? The, what was it, staff?"

"It's in the suitcase."

"That's a relief. I heard something happened when you went there... That was you, right?"

I nodded.

"Did you get hurt? You seem fine to me."

"Yeah, I’m good. But... I just have a bad feeling."

"About what?"

I gave my uncle a general rundown about what had happened in the museum. I added that Han Dae-Ho and other clergymen might have noticed the existence of the Voodoo Cult and that I might face questioning or suspicion when attending school next week.

Obtaining the staff was undoubtedly good, but I feared the price I paid in exchange for it. I was afraid that what I had lost was too significant compared to what I had gained. Uncle listened to me and didn't say anything. He just continued driving. He looked like he was lost in thought.

After a while, Uncle nodded and opened the window.

"Let's think about the next steps later. We've obtained the staff, and it’s not a problem we can solve now."

The wind came in through the half-opened window. The wind was so strong that my hair blew all over the place. I couldn't hear what my uncle was saying because the sound of the wind was too loud. It shouldn’t have felt refreshing, but for some reason, it was.

*

Because I wanted to leave my staff in a safe place and also wanted to try using it as quickly as possible, I planned to head straight to the underground chapel. However, on the way to the underground chapel, my uncle parked the car in front of a grocery store.

"We rarely come here, so let's get some good food. Since I can't cook, let's just get some meat."

"You want to eat meat in our chapel, underground?"

My uncle looked around. "We can eat it on the rooftop. After all, the whole building is ours."

He bought meat, lettuce, and herbs and put them in the shopping cart. But when I looked closely, there was too much meat in the cart for Ji-Ah, my uncle, and me to eat.

"Why did you put so much meat?"

"The more meat, the better~," my uncle said and put all kinds of meat in the cart.

After finishing the shopping, we returned to the underground chapel. First, I opened the suitcase and took out the staff. I held it in my hand for no reason. I was excited, but I felt a strong sense of responsibility.

Just because I had obtained the staff didn’t mean I could use the reverse spell technique overnight. First, I had to learn how to use the staff, and only after becoming quite proficient could I learn the reverse spell technique. Then, I had to practice it again and again to be able to heal Yoon-Ah.

There was a lot to do. I needed time to learn how to use the staff, study the theory of the reverse spell technique, and practice using the reverse spell technique.

I needed to divide time more efficiently. I would have to reduce the amount of sleep I would be getting if it came to that.

"Quiet... you first... manners..."

"...Hey! So... a bit..."

"You two... starting again..."

However, the kitchen was strangely noisy. I heard Ji-Ah's voice first. It sounded like she was arguing with someone. I also heard my uncle's voice, as if he were trying to mediate a fight.

The only people who should be in the underground chapel were Ji-Ah, my uncle, and me. But if Ji-Ah was fighting with someone else, that meant that someone other than the three of us had entered the underground chapel.

Carefully putting the staff back into my suitcase, I walked slowly toward the kitchen.

"...Why are you here?"

And there I was, looking at a face that should not be there. Instinctively, I unleashed Voodoo magic, and she opened her mouth in surprise as she saw the Voodoo magic swirling around my hand.

"W-wait! Let me explain. Listen to me."

Somehow, Soo-Yeong was here in the underground chapel.

TLN Won Suk: ‘The more meat, the better~.’ Another wise saying from Uncle.