Chapter 24

The next day.

After finishing the task of granting blessings in exchange for warmth, I returned to my room.

Hieronymus, who always wears similar attire, didn’t leave right away like usual. Instead, he sat at a table and chair located in a rather spacious corner of the room.

He wants to have a conversation.

So, I sat across from him.

But instead of starting the conversation immediately, he orders Joanna to bring us something to drink. Joanna bows her head and leaves, and Thungkeschuni isn’t here.

Until Joanna returns, Hieronymus remains silent.

I don’t know if this is a meaningless waste of time or a way to put pressure on someone. But if it was meant to pressure me, it failed. Hieronymus…

Because I don’t have any meaningless time.

I’m always watching those who’ve received my blessings as they move around.

Of course, I didn’t say that fact out loud.

Because no one asked.

Since no one asked, Hieronymus remained silent until Joanna returned with the drinks and placed them down. As soon as Joanna set the cups down, Hieronymus began to speak.

“Miss Rebecca, I heard you tried to go outside yesterday.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I said that while sipping the drink in front of me.

Hmm? A hint of disdain flickered across Hieronymus’s face. Did I do something against etiquette?

Great. Now I have more ways to subtly provoke him under the guise of ignorance.

Basically, Hieronymus and I have a contract, but we’re closer to enemies.

We use each other.

The contract itself is full of lies—it’s practically nonexistent. And I assume Hieronymus knows that too, not just me.

So, we remain cautious. Though compared to the beginning, his expression towards me has shifted from dangerous opponent to just a brute with strength.

Still, he’s dangerous. While I wish he’d lower his guard a bit, I took another sip of the drink. It’s sweet but has a taste between tropical fruit and bitter roots.

Judging by how Joanna brought it out, it’s probably close to a vintage liquor. That might be why Hieronymus doesn’t touch his drink.

Me?

I drank it all at once.

Hieronymus carefully examines my face or perhaps looks for intentions behind my response. Then he shows an expression of disappointment.

“Are you dissatisfied with this place?”

“The body weakens if it doesn’t walk. This flesh needs to move.”

Yeah, many videos show walking is good for health because humans who walked long distances survived.

Even here, it seems evolution follows a similar path—if you don’t move, your muscles start to weaken.

Hieronymus nodded as if guessing something.

“In that case, I’ll prepare a place for you.”

“I need to walk long distances. Not flat places, but irregular ones. This body requires such terrain to maintain its functions.”

It’s purely what the body needs. No lies here. Didn’t fitness videos back in the days when I was human suggest the same thing?

Back then, I watched plenty of those videos, but they never motivated me to exercise.

At my request, Hieronymus fell silent. Such a place would be outside, not inside the building.

Meaning I need to walk outside.

More encounters will happen.

My reputation within the Future Hope Church has already grown significantly. What changes will occur when people meet me?

Think about it, Hieronymus, and try to restrict my actions.

Because I’ll plant seeds through rules you haven’t established yet.

Hi hi.

***

Hieronymus, the fake religious leader. Yasle looked at the outsider standing emotionlessly before him.

There’s some truth to what the outsider says.

The outsider is trying to maintain the body it inhabits, so it orders food and asks for physical training.

Once, the body possessed by the outsider suffered severe damage.

Using various weapons crafted with techniques remembered from the Linglang Sect era, its head was severed. Yet, it devoured its attacker and healed the wound.

Though the regeneration of Rebecca’s body was due to the power of the outsider inside her, Hieronymus perceived it differently.

Initially, Hieronymus believed the warmth sought continuously by the outsider was necessary to maintain the body.

From a human perspective, that makes sense.

Because having the ability to drastically alter someone else’s body instantly while putting so much effort into maintaining one’s own seems strange.

A god shouldn’t seem so insignificant.

Long ago, during Yasle’s time as the leader of the Linglang Sect, he encountered a god that behaved like a beast.

Despite its animalistic appearance, that god didn’t actually eat anything after hunting.

Yasle personally dealt with such gods.

Not only that, records from the Linglang Sect indicated gods lacked biological characteristics.

Additionally, when gods possessed human bodies, the hosts ceased behaving human-like. The current behavior of Rebecca contradicts this.

At most, they enjoyed fine food and wine.

However, strangely, the bodies inhabited by gods remained intact until the gods left. If the gods departed properly, the person could live on normally afterward.

Based on these facts, Rebecca isn’t particularly extraordinary.

But Yasle judged thus:

If I block Rebecca now, she might retaliate. Preventing her from maintaining her body could be seen as hostility.

It’s similar to taking away a beast’s nest.

“Understood, Miss Rebecca. If Joanna and Thungkeschuni accompany you, you may proceed as you wish.”

Just in case, two mobile individuals were assigned.

And Yasle decided to add two warriors under the pretense of protecting Rebecca.

That way, even if something unexpected happens, he believed it could be controlled. After all, this entire area belongs to the Future Hope Church.

Through 45 days of staged performances, everyone knows Rebecca is an important figure.

The grand show where miracles happened at the Future Hope Church was a massive success.

Let’s ignore the act of offering sacrifices to receive blessings. To those with clear minds, it seemed suspicious.

But then…

Under Yasle’s direction, members of the Future Hope Church received blessings without offerings. People with missing limbs or fatal injuries were restored to their original forms—stronger, cooler, or more beautiful than before.

Yasle worked like this:

Those devoted to the Future Hope Church received better blessings.

Following his commands yielded greater rewards than making offerings.

Offerings vs. Devotion.

He deliberately divided them and guided them toward directions beneficial to him.

In between, Rebecca wasn’t just a tool but became the blessing itself. Easy to use, visually appealing, and most importantly, devoid of violent power.

Like a creature created specifically for utilization, she greatly empowered Yasle.

Thus, even if Rebecca wandered around the territory tightly controlled by the Future Hope Church, Yasle allowed it.

No, he wasn’t worried about Rebecca’s actions themselves.

Rather, he feared strange individuals approaching Rebecca.

For example, there’s Andrew, who tried to gain Rebecca’s favor.

His real name is Andrew Jacks.

He was one of the figures governing religions before the Future Hope Church adopted its current name. Of course, being the top dog doesn’t mean he was number one.

Originally, the Future Hope Church operated as a loose network. Strictly speaking, it was closer to a local folk religion.

To simplify, Andrew held a position akin to a Korean Protestant pastor, running his own church independently.

Thus, besides Andrew, countless others acted as leaders.

What Yasle did was systematically organize and construct a cult-like structure.

If Yasle had no ill intent, one could say he elevated a local religion to a universal one.

Interestingly, without that ill intent, creating such a massive organization would have been nearly impossible.

Anyway, some members still viewed Yasle’s rapid reforms unfavorably.

Ideally, one should educate children to eliminate dissenters and form cartels to secure high positions over generations.

But that takes several generations.

Yasle, driven by revenge, couldn’t think that far ahead.

So, he cobbled together elements of fanaticism and expanded them maliciously, mixing everything to create the current pseudo-religion known as the Future Hope Church.

Therefore, Yasle focused not on Rebecca but on those approaching her.

He let Rebecca roam freely within the Future Hope Church because he considered her a well-behaved beast.

No, he planned to use this opportunity to capture troublemakers. Direct punishment was risky, but interfering with a disciple amounted to blasphemy, which was easier to punish.

When divine sanctity is desecrated, people lose rationality easily.

Because they feel their most important value has been stolen. Humans react painfully to loss.

“So, can I go out today?”

At the outsider’s question, Yasle nodded.

“Yes, of course. Miss Rebecca, but Joanna and Thungkeschuni must come with you.”

“Yes, understood. Hieronymus, I’ll do that.”

Hieronymus never touched his drink, stood up, greeted Rebecca, and immediately exited the room.

As the door closed, shadows deepened in the corridor. A gray-haired girl with a bluish tint, Thungkeschuni, approached.

Tuck.

A dark blue curtain enveloped the area, blocking light and sound—an impenetrable silence. Within it, Thungkeschuni spoke.

“Did you permit it?”

“Yeah. Even beasts react dangerously if their home is threatened, so denying permission might’ve been riskier.”

“Home?”

Thungkeschuni momentarily didn’t understand Yasle’s words. But soon realized he referred to Rebecca Rolfe’s body as the outsider’s home.

“One could see that body as a nest. But aren’t you worried she’ll escape?”

“If she runs, we can catch her and lock her up. But since she’s worked diligently so far, giving her this reward seems fair, no?”

Yasle looked at his accomplice. She helped establish this false religion by eliminating threats, controlling corpses, and dismantling rival organizations.

The Witch of Ecstasy.

During her time in the Linglang Sect, according to doctrine, she shouldn’t have existed under the same sky as them—an enemy. From Yasle’s perspective, a woman driven purely by pleasure.

Yet, she was a powerful witch capable of surviving against the sect. So, when the sect fell, Yasle sought her out. He thought she’d gladly assist someone abandoning their deity to create a false religion for revenge.

And as expected, she offered her help.

She was unpredictable and could betray him anytime. But as long as he kept her entertained, she’d aid him until his revenge was complete. That was their agreement.

With murky eyes void of light, she stared at Yasle and said,

“Don’t regret this.”

“On the contrary, I plan to use this opportunity to root out troublemakers, Thungkeschuni. I’ve ordered Rebecca to take you and Joanna along, so monitor any humans who approach.”

At that, Thungkeschuni hesitated to speak but eventually nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I’ll follow the order. Leader of the Future Hope Church.”

With a tap of her cane, the dark blue curtain disappeared.

Thungkeschuni stepped inside, and Yasle, putting on the mask of Hieronymus again, moved forward.

Too much work awaited to enact his revenge.

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