The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Jin-Seo woke up to the sunlight streaming down at her face from the window. She had a slight headache, but she still felt relatively refreshed.

When she first opened her eyes, she had been surprised by the unfamiliar sight. However, after realizing that she was on a mission trip and that she had been sleeping in someone else’s room, she was relieved.

She stretched and got out of bed. However, upon realizing that she was in one of the rooms that were assigned to the men and that Sun-Woo was sleeping in her room, she was surprised once again. No, she was shocked.

The memories from yesterday flooded into her mind sporadically.

"Oh shit..."

She didn’t remember everything, but she remembered enough to let out a curse unintentionally. She had no idea why she had done such things and why she had said such things. Jin-Seo looked around the room, but Sun-Woo was nowhere to be found.

She went out to the living room. She saw Yu-Hyun sleeping on the sofa and Sun-Woo crouched on the living room floor, asleep.

"..."

Upon seeing that sight, she recalled the scene from her dream. The sweet dream that she had seen through the influence of black magic. She tightly closed her eyes and erased the faint scenes of the dream from her mind.

After merely inhaling a whiff of alcohol, she ended up drunk and caused a ruckus. And then she entered someone else’s room without permission, chased away the original owner, and fell asleep on their bed. She didn’t have the right to think about such dreams.

Jin-Seo wanted to apologize immediately but was unable to forcefully wake up Sun-Woo in order to do so. That said, she couldn’t just wait until he woke up, so Jin-Seo quickly gathered her belongings and left the accommodation.

"This is driving me crazy...." she muttered with deep regret.

* * *

"Kyaaaah!"

I woke up to a commotion. The scream had definitely come from Ha-Yeon. Perhaps an accident had happened, so I abruptly stood up.

The first thing that came into sight was Dae-Man’s body, which was sprawled on the floor, and Ha-Yeon was terrified by the sight. Ha-Yeon seemed surprised after seeing Dae-Man sprawled in front of the room where she was sleeping.

I wasn't the only one who came running after hearing the scream. Yu-Hyun emerged from somewhere and looked back and forth between the screaming Ha-Yeon and Dae-Man sprawled on the floor.

"What the–what the heck is going on?"

Ha-Yeon’s eyes were wide like saucers as she glanced around the room and said, "...W-where is this place?"

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.

"What do you mean where? This is our accommodation... If you're awake now, go back to your own accommodation."

"What? Our accommodation... huh? Ah... gasp."

Ha-Yeon failed to complete her sentence, and her expression froze. It seemed like she had belatedly remembered yesterday's events. She shifted her gaze in different directions and then eventually lowered her head as if she were embarrassed.

Then she covered her face with her palms and hurriedly left our accommodation. Her steps were extremely hurried.

Shortly after, Min-Seo and Su-Ryeon came out of the room they were sleeping in. Both of them had hazy gazes because they were still half asleep. Min-Seo combed her hair with her fingertips and said, "What was that scream just now? Was it Ha-Yeon?"

"Yeah. She was shocked when she saw Dae-Man," Yu-Hyun replied, pointing at Dae-Man who was still sprawled on the floor.

"Heh, I can see why she was shocked. Why is Dae-Man lying on the ground like that?" Su-Ryeon asked, widening her eyes and taking a few steps back.

Before responding, Yu-Hyun glanced at my face and assessed the situation. I silently pressured him to come up with an appropriate excuse.

Perhaps my intentions got through to him as Yu-Hyun turned his head toward Su-Ryeon and smiled. "He did drink quite a lot yesterday. So perhaps he fainted because of that?”

“He’s built like a mountain, and yet he’s surprisingly feeble. Hey, Yu-Hyun, we’ll be off now.”

"Yeah, sure thing~"

"Shit, my head hurts so fucking much..." Min-Seo muttered as she left with Su-Ryeon.

Even as she was leaving, Su-Ryeon continuously glanced back at Dae-Man. She seemed concerned.

I went into my room to wake up Jin-Seo, but I didn’t find her inside. Perhaps she had already gone to her accommodation.

After seeing everyone leave, Yu-Hyun stretched his body and said, "Ah, I’m exhausted. I shouldn’t have called those guys over. Drinking alone is definitely less of a hassle.”

He swept his shaggy blonde hair back and continued, "But why were you sleeping in the living room? Didn’t you go into your own room yesterday?"

"Jin-Seo came into my room, so I just came out," I said casually.

Yu-Hyun covered his mouth as if he was astonished.

"Jin-Seo went into your room? Are you guys crazy?"

"You're the crazy one for inviting the girls here."

"This and that are completely different. Hey, no matter how you spin it, a girl going into a guy's room...”

"Stop pissing me off. It’s making me want to kill you.”

"Ah... yes sir~” Yu-Hyun nodded.

Meanwhile, Dae-Man woke up. Perhaps he had a headache as he rubbed his temples with his hand. After barely regaining his balance, Dae-Man walked unsteadily toward the living room.

"...Why was I sleeping here?" Dae-Man asked.

"You, don't you remember what happened yesterday?"

"Yesterday... Ah, shoot. How could this be...”

It seemed like Dae-Man had also belatedly regained his memory. He grabbed his head as if overwhelmed by a wave of self-loathing and said, “To think that I was merely defeated by alcohol! How weak...!”

After seeing that sight, Yu-Hyun muttered, "That guy’s crazy for real."

He wasn’t wrong. Dae-Man was probably the only one who could say something like this in this situation. I thought about what happened yesterday and felt tired all of a sudden, so I sat down on the sofa. Yu-Hyun cringed as he approached the window.

"Argh, smells like booze... Ah, hey, but why’d you tell me not to drink that alcohol? Everyone suddenly started dying after drinking that,” Yu-Hyun asked as he opened the window.

"It's because the alcohol has a high alcohol content, so I figured you all would cause an accident if you drank it,” I said, casually lying.

"Ah... I see," Yu-Hyun said with an indifferent nod.

I stared vacantly at Yu-Hyun as he took in a breath of fresh air from the window. Originally, I had planned on telling him that the alcohol had been manufactured at Yeom Man-Gun's factory and that an intoxication spell had been engraved in it, thus making it dangerous to consume. However, after thinking about it more deeply, I realized there was no need to mention such a detail to him. It was best not to tell Yu-Hyun too many things, at the very least, for the sake of the distant future.

"Hey, ain’t the weather just stunning today, Dae-Man?" Yu-Hyun asked.

"Indeed. It's a perfect day for exercise!" Dae-Man exclaimed.

While looking at the weather outside, the duo revealed their admiration. The early morning sunlight was shining down from the clear blue sky.

[It will probably get cloudy soon. Isn’t that so, kid?] Damballa said from somewhere.

I went back into my room, grabbed my bag, and placed Damballa inside. She squirmed as if she found the inside of the bag very uncomfortable.

[Kid, if it’s going to be like this, I think I prefer the suitcase. This is way too uncomfortable.]

"Just bear with it for a bit. Because soon..."

Soon, there would be a situation where Damballa could rampage as much as she wanted. Although I didn’t say the following thoughts out loud, Damballa nodded as if she understood everything.

* * *

“Everyone brought the items that I gave you yesterday, right? We’ll be quite busy today. We have many places to visit. First...”

As planned, we gathered in the underground first floor of the auditorium. While Han Dae-Ho briefly explained today's schedule, I observed the conditions of the other students.

I thought Dae-Man would be in the worst condition, but he was surprisingly fine. His stamina was truly overwhelming. Yu-Hyun, Min-Seo, and Su-Ryeon also seemed to be in relatively good condition, but Jin-Seo and Ha-Yeon looked particularly unwell. The two of them continuously sighed, as if just standing there and listening to Han Dae-Ho's story was burdensome for them.

"...Did you guys not sleep well last night? Your condition seems off."

Han Dae-Ho also seemed to notice that something was off with them. He glanced suspiciously at Jin-Seo and Ha-Yeon, then quickly shifted his gaze toward Yu-Hyun. He then beckoned Yu-Hyun with his hand.

"Yu-Hyun, come forward."

"Me? Why me?"

Yu-Hyun pointed to his chin with his finger and stepped forward as if bewildered. His acting skills were truly astonishing.

Han Dae-Ho glared at Yu-Hyun with furrowed eyebrows. He just slightly narrowed his eyes, yet his expression had become incredibly menacing.

"What did you do yesterday? Why are the kids like this?"

"I don't know! Perhaps they couldn’t sleep because they were busy playing together? We also stayed up late playing."

Han Dae-Ho looked at Yu-Hyun, Jin-Seo, and Ha-Yeon one by one as if trying to verify the truth of his words.

Yu-Hyun and Jin-Seo pretended to be nonchalant, but Ha-Yeon could not withstand the menacing gaze and ended up dropping her head toward the ground. Han Dae-Ho tilted his head slightly.

"Yu-Hyun, did you drink alcohol yesterday? No, did you bring alcohol?"

Han Dae-Ho was very perceptive. Yu-Hyun casually smiled and shook his head. Now that I thought about it, Yu-Hyun had a habit of smiling subtly when he lied.

"Huh? I didn't bring any... But why are you asking me?"

"Because no one else would bring alcohol except for you."

"You're being really unreasonable here. I’ve been living a diligent life these days...”

Midway through Yu-Hyun’s sentence, someone snickered. “Hehehe, ah, so-sorry.”

Su-Ryeon had unintentionally let out a laugh after failing to read the atmosphere.

Han Dae-Ho stared at Yu-Hyun with even deeper suspicion in his eyes. Yu-Hyun also failed to control his expression as he shifted his eyes downward.

“If you tell me the truth, I’ll let you off the hook. Did you drink or not?”

“...”

Yu-Hyun tightly sealed his lips. Silence filled the air.

"We did hang out together at night."

It was me, not Yu-Hyun, who broke the silence. At this rate, we would get lectured all day and never make it to the museum, so I decided to take the initiative. Han Dae-Ho furrowed one eyebrow and stared at me. I focused on keeping my facial expression under control.

"What do you mean?"

"There is a garden terrace and a cafe on the central floor of the hotel, so we secretly went out at night to have some fun."

"There was a cafe on the terrace? I didn't see such a thing."

"It's there. We chatted and enjoyed the scenery until late at night before returning.”

It was true that there was a cafe on the garden terrace. It would be a lie to say that we hung out there, though. Han Dae-Ho looked at me with suspicion.

"So, you’re saying that you didn't drink any alcohol?"

"As clergymen and students, shouldn't we refrain from drinking?"

"Yes. That’s indeed correct, however..."

Han Dae-Ho glanced briefly at Yu-Hyun before nodding with a sigh.

"Yeah, as long as you didn't do anything strange... Alright, let's go. If you're tired, you can nap during the trip."

Fortunately, Han Dae-Ho believed me. Deceiving him was an unpleasant thing to do, but there was no other choice.

We followed Han Dae-Ho out of the hotel and headed toward the bus. On the way, Yu-Hyun tapped me on the back. When I turned around, I saw Yu-Hyun drenched in cold sweat.

"Wow, that was freaking nice. Thanks, dude,” Yu-Hyun said.

I didn't respond to him. It seemed like he was unaware that I disapproved of their actions. Either that, or he didn't care whether I disapproved of their actions or not.

* * *

Today went by smoothly. The schedule was monotonous and boring. For the sake of exploring the religious culture of another country, we visited a temple. We even attended a missionary mass by following the guidance of a missionary priest who had come along with us.

The schedule was so boring that some small incidents on the bus were the only interesting things that happened.

We continued our trip after eating dinner.

Min-Seo said, "Ah, Dae-Man! I told you not to push me. It’s so darn narrow that I can’t even breathe, you bast... you jerk!”

Dae-Man was sitting next to her, and because of that, Min-Seo was unable to breathe properly. Due to being conscious of the fact that Han Dae-Ho was in the same vehicle, she suppressed the swear words from escaping her lips, but it sounded extremely awkward.

Even after hearing Min-Seo’s nagging, Dae-Man didn’t hunch his body. Instead, he straightened his posture even further.

"It must be because my body is too big. It's something to be proud of."

"Hey, do you want to die? Hunch your body before I dislocate your shoulder.”

"Hunching the body is not a correct posture.”

“You’re just a balloon-muscled shrimp that has no real strength, and yet you sure like to act like a big shot.”

"What did you say? I can’t accept what you said just now.”

Su-Ryeon was listening to their conversation, and she burst into laughter. The only reason why we had been able to pass the time without getting bored was because the duo would start up a ruckus every time we went to a new location.

I was lost in thought as I leaned my forehead against the window and stared outside. Anxiety and excitement swirled inside my head. The reason for this was because the next place we were visiting was the museum.

It was the National Museum, the place where the Staff of Reversal, or the poteau mitan, was located. The thought of finally finding the staff filled me with anticipation and excitement. However, I also felt a little anxious.

No, I wasn’t just a little anxious. I was very anxious.

It was because no notable incident had occurred in all the places we had visited today. For some reason, I felt anxious because it was peaceful. It was strange.

Soon, the car arrived at the museum. It was a huge and fancy museum. According to my knowledge, the Staff of Reversal looked very rough, thus making it difficult to distinguish from an ordinary branch at first glance.

The fact that such an item was displayed in such an extravagant museum felt weird.

Upon getting out of the car and arriving at the museum's entrance, Han Dae-Ho said, "You are free to explore the museum as you wish. However, make sure to move in groups of four or three. It's safer that way. Also, don't lose the holy artifacts I gave you."

He would also be at the museum but moving separately to allow us to explore independently. He added that if anything happened, we should contact him using the Burning Bush Twig holy artifact.

Jin-Seo, Dae-Man, and Min-Seo were in one group, while Yu-Hyun, Ha-Yeon, Su-Ryeon, and I were in another group. Everyone was overwhelmed by the magnificent interior of the museum, and their eyes sparkled as a result.

However, I didn't have time to admire such things. I needed to seek the cooperation of the staff immediately to deactivate the museum's security system. To do so, I first had to separate from the group.

"Um... where is the restroom?" I asked the student council members enjoying the sights as if the thought had just occurred to me.

Su-Ryeon looked around, then shrugged as if she didn't know.

"I don’t know either. I can’t see it anywhere around here. Ask the staff... oh yeah, we can’t ask them.”

"Still, since they are employees of a tourist site, wouldn't they know some Korean? Or perhaps English?" Ha-Yeon said.

Su-Ryeon nodded as if she agreed.

I naturally distanced myself from the group and said, "I'll go look for the restroom and come back. You guys go ahead and explore."

"Yeah, sure. We'll be over there, near that thing... We’ll be looking at that big statue over there, so come find us there," Yu-Hyun said.

I nodded and left the group. I hurried and searched for the staff member that Yun Chang-Su had mentioned. According to Yun Chang-Su, someone among the museum staff wore a unique necklace, and that person was a Voodoo Cult member working at the museum.

Finding the staff wasn't difficult. It was thanks to the fact that the staff member had a necklace with a unique skull-shaped decoration. The employee initially treated me kindly, thinking that I was just a regular tourist. However, their expression changed when I pulled out the envelope with Yun Chang-Su's signature from my pocket.

"..."

The employee mumbled some incomprehensible words and began to unfold and read Yun Chang-Su's letter. They even ran their fingers over the words as if trying to confirm that it wasn't a copy.

I waited for the employee's response while discreetly observing Han Dae-Ho and the other student council members. My throat felt dry from the tension. It was because of the thought that this employee might not be the Voodoo Cult member I was looking for.

Then, the employee respectfully lowered their head and offered their hand for a handshake.

As I shook his hand, the employee spoke in broken Korean. "It's an honor, Cult Leader. Please, follow me."

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