The Overpowered Cult Leader at the Academy Chapter 111

Chapter 111

Back of the Head (2)

“Oh. You ca?”

The mont I stepped out of the building, I spotted Aro. Aro was busily scattering talismans while helping suppress the enemy forces.

Aro, who had likewise discovered us, greeted us casually.

“Alive?”

“They’re no longer our responsibility now.”

At Aro’s question, I shrugged my shoulders. The Enhanced Soldiers had to be killed, but the regular soldiers were a bit ambiguous.

Of course, from my perspective, they were bastards who had betrayed once already, so I would cut them down imdiately, but Rama could think differently.

“You worked hard.”

“Yeah. You too.”

At so point, Soloven had approached us. I returned the sa words after hearing her tell us we had worked hard.

Soloven’s armor was relatively clean, but unlike it, her shield was dyed bright red.

“You’re suffering through the entire vacation.”

A trace of guilt could be seen on Soloven’s face. I responded indifferently.

“We’ll be compensated anyway, so it’s not like it’s difficult. We’re doing this because we’re being paid for it.”

“I see. That’s true.”

Soloven nodded with a calm smile. Seizing that mont, Aro took the spot beside .

“You worked hard, Senior.”

“Mm. You worked hard too, junior.”

Soloven bowed politely toward Aro as she greeted her. Aro also returned the greeting, knowing just how impressive Soloven’s performance had been.

Soloven left the area for Aro’s sake, since Aro seed uncomfortable around her.

“Do you dislike Soloven?”

Soloven, who was especially respectful toward her seniors, was popular among the upperclassn. Since she had a kind and upright image, most people viewed her favorably.

But from their very first eting, Aro had shown signs of avoiding Soloven.

“Could anyone hate soone that upright?”

I tilted my head at Aro’s words. Aro wore an apologetic expression.

“I hate fire. It’s hot, red, and... well, a lot of things. That junior is the incarnation of that kind of fire. This is instinctive.”

“Instinct.”

Did foxes hate fire? I thought about it, but no easy answer ca to mind. I mulled over the word instinct that Aro had brought up.

“Like how the Duhein Family loves the sea.”

“Is that so.”

I nodded vaguely. Even if Aro and Soloven didn’t get along, it didn’t really matter to .

If they didn’t get along, then so be it. It didn’t seem like they would create any conflict, so I decided not to think deeply about it.

“If I ask~ for compensation~ will I get scolded~?”

“‘I’?”

“……yo. You’re still sulking~ Does that an compensation’s gone down the drain~ yo!”

Canis, who couldn’t resist butting in, retreated easily at my chilling words.

Now it was fine since I had accepted Aro as a Believer, but back then I had truly been irritated.

“But still~ we’re reliable allies~ yo!”

“That’s why I’m only letting it go this far.”

As I spoke with my eyes widened, Canis hid behind Aro’s back. Aro, who seed to be feeling sowhat awkward, wore a troubled expression.

“Senior. What are you planning to receive as compensation?”

Perhaps she thought the conversation with Canis had ended roughly enough, because Winter carefully asked.

“When you received the contact, you said you’d just go imdiately, so…….”

“There wasn’t any ntion of compensation, but don’t worry about it.”

This world overflowed with frauds. There were even people in the Academy hiding their identities right now.

But because of that, trust and reputation carried a completely different weight. And in terms of trust, there was Soloven, who was reliable enough to state with certainty.

“……No. I just thought you helped without compensation.”

Winter’s question had carried a different intention. I let out a small laugh. Her pure deanor made smile without realizing it.

Winter tilted her head as she watched suddenly chuckling.

“She’s not even a Believer of the Religious Order, so there’s no reason for to work for free. Even if it doesn’t look like it, we risked our lives in this battle.”

After hearing my words, Winter’s face stiffened slightly. Only then did she seem to realize this place had truly been a battlefield.

“We’ll rest tonight and return to the Academy tomorrow.”

“Hm? What about the Rahorakti territory?”

At Aro’s question, I shook my head. Things had already escalated this much. Information had definitely reached the Duhein Family as well.

I wanted to rest comfortably inside the Academy, where even the Duhein Family couldn’t interfere. As for things like shield techniques, I could learn them slowly at the Academy later.

“Tonight, there’ll probably be a grand feast. Don’t mind what others think and participate. No matter what anyone says, our Religious Order played the leading role in this victory.”

After saying that, I left the battlefield and headed straight for the barracks.

***

“Co to think of it. Where’s Davide?”

Only after the sun had set did Rama officially announce victory in the war and prepare a grand feast. Alcohol and at were distributed for the soldiers who had suffered through the battle.

At the table where the key contributors had gathered, even finer alcohol was served. While everyone noisily enjoyed the celebration, it felt like one person was missing.

“Th-that. Um. Khk.”

“Drink so water before talking.”

Winter, who had stuffed apple pie into her mouth like a squirrel, tried to answer but grabbed her throat instead. Beside her, Aro handed over honey milk.

Winter hurriedly gulped down so wine and let out a sigh of relief.

“Senior is playing with the Earth Dragon.”

Perhaps embarrassed by her own appearance, Winter briefly cleared her throat before answering Rama’s question in a serious voice.

Finding her adorable, Aro and Canis watched Winter with pleased smiles.

“I see.”

“Co to think of it. I heard you’re a Cult Leader.”

The voice ca not from Rama, who was nodding, but elsewhere. Winter looked toward Talman, the Chief of the desert tribe.

“Warrior of the Flag. What is the na of your Religious Order?”

“W-Warrior of the Flag.”

Winter trembled slightly at the cringeworthy title. She knew well that the speech of those who used the title of tribe within the Empire tended to be highly abstract.

But hearing it calmly was an entirely different matter.

“It is the Anaye Order.”

Instead of Winter, whose words had gotten stuck, Aro answered politely. Talman carefully observed Aro before nodding.

“It’s my first ti hearing the na, but you possess remarkable abilities. We owe you greatly.”

“Not at all. It was thanks to everyone working hard.”

Rama examined Aro as she comfortably conversed with Talman. She wasn’t very tall, but her physique gave off a slender impression.

From the mask covering most of her face to her distinctive Far Eastern attire. More than anything, what caught Rama’s attention was that she had not put a single piece of food into her mouth.

“Pack up so food and alcohol.”

“Food and alcohol, you say?”

Rama, seated at the place of honor, gave the order to the assassin serving behind him.

Though the assassin responded in a puzzled tone, he quickly packed food and alcohol into a small basket.

“Then please continue enjoying yourselves. I’ll go bring food and alcohol to Davide.”

“I’ll co along as well.”

Rama asked for the group’s understanding and rose from his seat. Aro pulled Winter back down when she instinctively tried to follow.

Canis looked at Aro with a bright grin. Rama stared silently for a mont before allowing her to accompany him.

“The stars are bright, Senior.”

“They are.”

The desert night was chilly. The stars shone especially brightly in the dark night sky.

“He’s over there.”

Finding Davide wasn’t difficult. Since the size of the Earth Dragon he was supposedly playing with was overwhelming, it was impossible not to notice it.

They approached the Earth Dragon, which was coiled in a circle.

“He must’ve been tired.”

“Of course. Our Cult Leader was running around diligently, you know?”

They discovered Davide sleeping while leaning against the Earth Dragon’s body. Watching the deeply sleeping Davide, Aro spoke on his behalf in a playful voice.

“We should co back later. The Earth Dragon’s body temperature is quite warm, so he won’t catch a cold.”

“I’ll head back in after a little while.”

At Aro’s words that she would stay behind, Rama handed over the basket.

“Then I’ll be going now. Thank you for helping us today.”

“You worked hard.”

After exchanging brief farewells, Rama headed back toward the barracks. Watching Rama disappear, Aro imdiately transford into a fox.

“Hup.”

Aro, having neatly folded her clothes and tucked them into her fur, hopped over toward Davide. Soon, she settled down on top of his stomach.

“We got caught, you know?”

“So it seems.”

At Aro’s quiet words, Davide finally spoke.

Having awakened because he sensed soone’s presence, Davide realized it was Rama and Aro and simply remained still.

“I brought so food and alcohol. Want so?”

“Gladly.”

Rubbing his sleepy eyes open, Davide adjusted his posture and rummaged through the basket. He pulled out a well-aged bottle of wine and casually knocked the neck off with the side of his hand.

“So, how were today’s profits?”

“Quite satisfactory.”

It wasn’t rely satisfactory. It was the best possible outco: victory without anyone getting hurt. The rewards were solid as well.

Not only had they obtained a large quantity of Nuckles, but they had also left a favorable impression on the desert tribe. Their relationship with both the Kargula Family and the Rahorakti Forces had improved too.

“Are those two families really that impressive?”

“They are. Especially the Rahorakti Forces.”

Having ties with two of the most prominent families in the desert. Politically, it was an incredibly powerful card to hold.

“Co to think of it. What’s Abaddon?”

Rama had also promised additional compensation, so the result wasn’t bad at all. Considering that Magus had appeared earlier than expected and forced him to rush over here, this was an enormous achievent.

At Aro’s question, Davide fell briefly into thought.

“It’s the na of a demon that performs human sacrifices.”

“There’s a demon like that?”

At Aro’s surprised question, Davide nodded. Abaddon was the starting point that truly set Magus into motion.

The fact that no one knew about Abaddon yet ant the story still hadn’t diverged too far from the ga.

“Demons aren’t all necessarily bad bastards, though.”

Because they fit neatly into a good-versus-evil frawork, demons were often portrayed as evil forces in many subcultures.

But in [Difficult Dungeon], demons were simply the na of a race. Among them, there were definitely so fucking trash bastards, but there were also those who were far kinder than humans.

“The Empire still has strong resistance toward them. I don’t know about the Far East, though.”

Unlike the Far East, where all sorts of evil spirits existed, demons within the Empire were objects of rejection. That was because they had once been the main players behind the greatest rebellion incident in history.

“I’ll have to watch what I say.”

Davide drank from the wine while looking at Aro, who had completely settled down and closed her eyes. It was only sweet and not particularly tasty.

―Krrng.

“Oh. Go back to sleep. It’s nothing.”

The Earth Dragon, awakened by their conversation, looked toward Davide. When Davide stroked its scales, the Earth Dragon closed its eyes again.

On the spot where he had been petting it, the Emblem of Anaye was engraved.

‘There’s no rule saying Believers have to be human.’

While playing with the Earth Dragon, which showed him a strange fondness, Davide had suddenly gotten an idea.

He persuaded Anaye and gave the Earth Dragon a mark. Then he told it to bring any powerful desert creatures it encountered into the Anaye Order.

Having sohow accepted a field boss as a Believer, Davide let out a hollow laugh.

“The stars are bright.”

While stroking Aro’s soft fur as she rested on his stomach, Davide gazed up at the stars floating in the sky.

I’ll squeeze what I can out of the Rahorakti side at the Academy, and tomorrow I’ll thoroughly milk the Kargula Family and the desert tribe too.

With such happy thoughts in mind, Davide sprawled out limply.

“So warm.”

Entrusting himself to the Earth Dragon’s hot body temperature, Davide let out a sound like an old man. Sohow, the warmth reminded him of a hot spring.

Thinking about the 5,000 Nuckles he received from Rama and the Kargula Family’s villa made him grin automatically. There was still a mountain of things to clean up, but it was a villa nonetheless.

“Hehe.”

Davide snickered to himself for quite a while before eventually falling asleep.