Surviving as a Cult Leader in Another World

Dihon's body began to be enveloped in a red mist.

It was as if a red border had appeared around his body.
"My body is overflowing with strength…!"
Finally, Dihon shouted, raising both of his hands high.
Seeing him like that, no one would have thought he was a boy suffering from heart disease.
"Hyde, what's going on! My son Dihon is actually getting healthier after eating Witch's Weed! I thought Witch's Weed was a poisonous plant!"
Count Doban seemed unable to comprehend the situation.
I decided to briefly explain what was happening.
"The body of an Aura user is healthier than you might think. Young Master Dihon, who has endured the cult-like treatment from Selim until now, is a testament to that."
For Aura users, poisons have less effect, and medicines sometimes show stronger effects.
Although he wasn't an Aura user, I had seen Loras survive for days after chewing and eating raw castor bean seeds, which are poisonous. So I wondered if Dihon, who might be an Aura user, could overcome the poison and absorb only the medicinal components faster, and it turned out to be true.
"I think I'm healed!"
Thump, thump thump-.
Dihon was throwing punches in the air.
"My son Dihon's illness is cured! Is that true! Dihon!"
"Dihon, are you really okay? Let your mother hug you!"
Everyone was rejoicing at his healthy appearance.
Only Selim was horrified.
"Th-this can't be."
"Now, Selim, go smash your head against the wall and die."
"...!"
Selim was greatly flustered.
And looking at his expression, I had a feeling I would hear the words "I was just kidding!" once again. Oscar and Loras had both done that.
But this time, there was something Selim couldn't escape from.
"Selim, looking at the ledger, the source of the 20 gold coins you received every month is unclear. You've been sending 10 gold coins to Florence every month, haven't you? Without any explanation."
"Th-that's!"
Selim's expression turned very unpleasant at my question.
10 gold coins every month.
That's 120 gold coins a year.
It had been five years since Selim started the treatment, so a whopping 600 gold coins had disappeared through Selim's mysterious remittances.
"That's the money I sent to Sir Parmas…! I've been receiving advice from him on treatments, how to use herbs, and so on…!"
"Really? Then we can contact Sir Parmas and ask him how much money he received each month."
I thought Selim must have embezzled some of the money.
Because apart from the money sent to Parmas, the ledger was meticulously kept in many other areas.
But I didn't trust people.
Humans are beings who betray, lie, and easily fall into sin.
Selim must have been one of those guys, and if he had embezzled money, I thought he would have hidden it in these remittance records.
Then Selim said,
"Confirmation bias! You're just saying whatever sounds plausible because you think I'm the culprit! Hyde, and you're insulting my master, Sir Parmas, right now!"
Confirmation bias-.
He was a more educated guy than I thought.
"Hyde, I demand a trial!"
A trial?
Do I have to go through that hassle again because of a petty guy like Selim?
Why do people not readily admit their sins?
Soon, Selim shouted,
"Lady Milione! Please be a fair witness in this trial! Sir Parmas will be my defense attorney in this trial!"
Milione's expression was indifferent when Selim called her name.
She looked bored to death, examining her fingernails, and then spoke nonchalantly,
"I can't be a witness. Because I'm going to be Hyde's second wife. The Archibald family will not participate in this trial for the sake of a fair judgment."
"S-second wife?"
Selim seemed greatly flustered.
The story of me taking Lady Milione as my second wife was still a secret that only a few people knew.
So it seemed Selim was a little late to the news.
"That's ridiculous. Did Lady Psyche really allow that? That's a lie. Hyde, why you…! Why only you…! I'm smarter than you…! Why doesn't anyone recognize my true worth!"
"You're smarter than me?"
This was something I couldn't easily overlook.
It would be trivial to compete in memorization with me, who could memorize entire books.
I decided to compete with Selim in 'rhetoric', which was his specialty.
"Selim, ask me anything. Even a math problem you like."
"Alright! Tell me what 3275 multiplied by 3214 is!"
Multiplication of four-digit numbers.
It would take a little time.
Fortunately, I had learned mental arithmetic thoroughly from an abacus academy teacher who volunteered at the orphanage when I was young.
Four-digit multiplication is easy.
"The answer is 10,525,850."
"What? How did you─."
"Why, are you surprised that I answered so quickly? Then it's my turn to ask now, right? Can I ask anything?"
I approached Selim and bit his head hard.
Selim seemed very surprised by my sudden attack.
"Argh! Wh-what are you doing!"
"I said I could ask anything."
"You crazy bastard! Lady Psyche! Look! The man you took as your husband is this rude! My lady! Please believe my innocence!"
Selim called for Psyche.
Is he trying to escape this situation by using the kind-hearted Psyche?
But unfortunately, Psyche wasn't here.
"Hyde!"
Just then, Psyche appeared from afar.
Psyche was carrying a fairly large chest, and every time she took a step, there was a loud clinking sound.
"Hyde! Just as you said, there was a box full of money hidden under Selim's house! There's so much gold! I couldn't count it all, but there must be at least 300 gold coins!"
That's it.
Psyche found it well.
"Selim, petty guys like you hide money in your house. Do you know why? Because if you hide it outside, you can't sleep because you're worried that someone might find it and take it."
"...."
"It's an enormous amount of money for a mere Doctor of Theology to have. Even if you add up all the salary you've received so far, it would barely reach 100 gold coins. What is this money-."
"You son of a bitch!"
Selim seemed to have finally lost his mind.
All the evidence was clear, and countless people had witnessed it. In such a situation, Selim wasn't the type to keep his sanity.
"Dihon! If only you had listened to me! I told you not to drink the medicine!"
Selim now shouted at Dihon.
Did Dihon, a mere 10-year-old boy, seem like the easiest target among us?
"I thought it might be a little fun, but it's so childish, I can't stand it."
At that moment, Lady Milione moved.
Crack-.
Milione grabbed Selim's arm and slammed him to the ground in an instant. As a result, Selim's shoulder shattered with a horrible sound.
"Argh! Ouch! Ugh! You crazy bitch! My arm─! Do you think you can get away with this? I'm Sir Parmas's disciple! Even Archbishop Archibald can't ignore Sir Parmas─."
Thump-.
Milione raised her foot and stomped on Selim's chest with all her might.
With a cracking sound, Selim's ribs were shattered.
"Ugh─."
"Selim, this man threatened me and insulted the Archibald family. Count Doban, can I take charge of this man?"
Who threatened whom, you crazy bitch!
Even though Selim did something wrong, to cripple him in front of everyone like this! With such injuries, even if his bones healed, he would have to live as a disabled person for the rest of his life.
My whole body hurts!
However, Count Doban shook his head.
"Even though he looks like this, Selim is a member of our Agarphe Count family. It would be right to handle the matter within the Agarphe Count family. Selim, we will hold a trial. Would you like to request a defense attorney?"
Selim was in no condition to defend himself.
He barely managed to open his mouth and say, "M-Ma, Ma-," which I think meant "Master."
He probably meant he wanted to request Sir Parmas as his defense attorney.
"I have a carrier pigeon heading to Florence. Count Doban, please leave the sending of the pigeon to me. I think we'll get a reply within half a day."
Milione sent a carrier pigeon to Florence.
Half a day later, Doban read the reply and said,
"Selim, it seems Sir Parmas is excommunicating you. And he says he has nothing to do with this embezzlement case, so please believe his innocence."
"…Ah…."
Selim looked like he had lost everything after being excommunicated by the master he trusted. This must be what a man who has lost everything he has built up looks like.
"Selim, you know the law better than I do. You will surely face the death penalty, but everyone deserves a chance. What do you say, will you defend yourself?"
"Uh, uh-."
How can he defend himself in that state?
I said to Selim,
"Selim, if you ask for my help, as a devout believer and a monk, I will gladly defend you. I can reduce your sentence from death to life imprisonment."
"Ugh uh-!"
Selim shook his head violently.
Finally, Selim was dragged away by the people, making horrible noises.
A makeshift execution ground.
Originally, the priest of the local church should have prayed for the condemned, but with Manaan and Oscar Archibald, the church's priest, absent, that process was omitted.
"Then, in the name of Count Doban Agarphe, I will behead the condemned."
Agarphe's executioner appeared with a sharp sword, and finally, Selim's head rolled on the ground along with the flashing blade.
Thud, thud, thud, splash-!
Execution.
I thought the death penalty was too harsh for stealing money, but that's how it was in this dark age where there were no human rights or anything.
"Move aside!"
"They say the belongings of the executed bring good luck!"
"He must have eaten well with the embezzled money, because he's bleeding profusely!"
People were swarming around, trying to dip their bread in the blood spurting from Selim's severed neck.
It was a dizzying sight in many ways.
"Selim, there was a time when that guy called me uncle and followed me like a son. For him to embezzle money and betray me like that. There's no one to trust in this world. Really─."
Count Doban staggered as if he was feeling exhausted.
Countess Wilhelmina and Psyche supported him as he left, and now only I remained.
"Poor guy. I offered to defend him."
I pitied Selim.
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like a crime deserving the death penalty.
Since he was crippled by Lady Milione, it would have been the right punishment for him to live in prison for the rest of his life, repenting in that state.
As I was pitying Selim, Milione approached.
And then she clicked her tongue at me.
"What's so pitiful about him? He deserved to die. You're called a boring and uninteresting man because you act so hypocritical. But well, even that Oscar had a hard time with him."
Milione seemed to take human life lightly.
Because her true identity was Wrath, the Deadly Sin, who called herself Wrath.
But I was different.
I was Priest Hyde, who knew that human life was more precious than anything in the world.
"Hyde, you're going to Florence, right? Not just for my marriage, but to ask your father to dispatch troops from the Holy Knights?"
"That's right."
"You should give up on the troops. Just be content with getting my marriage done there. Well, I don't know if that will go well either."
Saying that, Milione exhaled.
She seemed to be feeling a little uncomfortable somewhere.
I handed her a wooden potion bottle.
"You have a weak heart too, don't you?"
"...."
Milione glared at me with narrowed eyes.
It was as if she was asking how I knew she had a weak heart.
Actually, I didn't know that Milione had heart disease.
But I knew that Wrath, my cult partner, had a heart condition and was taking medication.
Wrath's explosive 'strength' put a strain on her heart.
━This medicine? I got it from killing the Walpurgis witches! It's called Digitalis, Witch's Weed, and they say it's good for the heart! Of course, if you take it without knowing anything, it's just poison!
Yes-.
That's why I was able to save Dihon.
So this medicine was a small reward for that experience.
Of course, Milione scoffed.
"If you think I'll look at you favorably because of this, you're mistaken."
That night-.
I went up to Agarphe's tower, wearing my mask.
My partner was already waiting at the top of the tall tower, and she was also wearing a swirl mask.
"Lust, did you hear? The Milione you raped is thinking of marrying Hyde!"
"I heard."
"But Milione really hates Hyde. Even if they get married, will their relationship as husband and wife work out well? Milione will probably be brainwashed by you, Lust, and kill Hyde!"
You crazy bitch!
Of course, I decided not to say that.
"Milione, she will have to love Hyde."
"Even if what Milione actually likes is Lust of the Beasts, not Hyde? You mean she has to have sex with a guy like Hyde? She'll strangle him to death on their wedding night!"
I also think you'll strangle me.
Being forced to marry a man she doesn't even like and have children with him-. Wrath was definitely not that type of person, right?
She would rather tear her husband apart.
I spoke solemnly,
"Hyde, he's the most devout man in the world. He would never lay a hand on a vulgar and rude bitch like Milione."
"Hyde, is he that kind of man? I don't think so. Alright, Lust! Want to make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"If Hyde can't hold back and forces himself on Milione─. Show me the face behind your mask."
"Alright! But in return, Wrath, you must never interfere with that man named Hyde. I won't interfere with Milione either. Let's not show ourselves for a while."
"Okay. Keep your promise."
Good.
Now Wrath wouldn't suddenly appear and kill me, Hyde. Of course, I couldn't be sure.
Whoosh-.
I turned around.
Tomorrow was the day the carriages and processions heading to Florence would depart.
I had to go to bed early for the long journey.