Chapter 53, Contact
The small meeting ended with one conclusion.
We would strike the Order first.
Part of that decision came from the confidence we had gained after already fighting the Company once.
But the biggest reason was that even if we died, I could regress.
After obtaining the book, the number of attempts we could make had basically become infinite.
Even if we died, we could recover from it.
Of course, we still needed to be careful.
The Order might possess a sealing-type Mystery that could counter regression.
“Our biggest problem right now is that we don't know where the Order's branch is located.”
Arlin spoke while checking her staff.
The one who answered was Hwa-ryeon, who was slowly sharpening her sword.
“Didn't we already decide how to deal with that? We were going to trace their activity through the internet.”
After deciding to attack the Order, we spent a long time gathering information about them.
That alone took almost an entire week.
We learned many things.
What stood out most while searching the internet was that the Order was extremely active.
They mainly used divine power to perform good deeds, such as saving people's lives.
There were even quite a few people online who worshiped the Order after being saved by them.
But after collecting enough incidents and information, we realized that the intention behind those good deeds wasn't completely pure.
Everything they did eventually led to one result.
Worship.
Just like the believers of the Church of Nihility worshiped the statue.
Just like the raiders worshiped Epsilon.
No matter what the target was, people touched by the Order eventually developed feelings of worship.
We still didn't know exactly what purpose lay behind it.
“Yes. We already decided that yesterday. But I thought of a better method.”
“What is it?”
“What is it?”
Lee Yeonhee and I asked at the same time while gathering information about the Order online.
Even as I asked, I pressed my tired eyes with my fingers and carefully massaged them.
Lee Yeonhee looked at me with concern and used divine power.
My condition became perfect in an instant.
I thanked her, then looked toward Arlin.
She spoke with a thoughtful expression.
“According to the information we found, the Order usually approaches religious groups with considerable influence first, especially groups at least around small to medium size.”
“Right.”
“And we also found information that they show favor toward the leaders of those religious groups.”
She took a breath before continuing.
“Honestly, even if we somehow find one of the Order's followers and interrogate them, people so deeply filled with faith probably won't give us any useful information.”
“...That's true. But didn't we already discuss that problem? We concluded there wasn't really an answer.”
“No. I thought of a new answer. We create our own religion. One large enough that they come to us first.”
Everyone else reacted with disbelief.
I couldn't.
The moment Arlin said we should create a religion, a group of people immediately came to mind.
Quite a large group.
Around...
252 people?
Arlin nodded as if confirming exactly what I was thinking.
In other words, she really was suggesting that we create a religion.
Using the former Church of Nihility believers who now worshiped me as the Flame.
It was an absurd suggestion.
But I couldn't completely reject it either.
It actually sounded much more realistic than finding members of the Order and torturing information out of them.
“...”
Still, when I remembered the overwhelming behavior of the fanatics who followed me, creating a religion suddenly seemed like a terrible idea.
I might not be able to return people who had already fallen into fanaticism back to normal.
But deliberately dragging normal people into fanaticism made me uncomfortable.
Even before morality, it stabbed directly at my sense of responsibility.
I wasn't a god.
I wasn't some being capable of granting blessings to people who believed in me.
So I rejected Arlin's suggestion.
She nodded without complaint, almost as if she had expected me to do so.
“Then there is a second method. It is much easier and more convenient than the first. No one will be harmed. Some people may get a little angry, but no one's life will change because of us.”
“...What is it?”
Arlin grabbed Lee Yeonhee by the wrist and brought her over to where I was standing.
Then she gave an instruction to Lee Yeonhee, who stood awkwardly beside me.
“Lee Yeonhee, place your arm around Yuhyeon's shoulder.”
Lee Yeonhee tilted her head in confusion.
But when Arlin urged her, she followed the instruction.
Her slender arm passed over my shoulder and wrapped around my neck, pulling me close.
“Turn your waist a little too. Make sure the wings are clearly visible.”
Lee Yeonhee followed the instruction and pressed herself closer to me while twisting her body.
A soft, warm sensation pressed against my chest.
Arlin immediately took my phone from my pocket and snapped a picture.
Then she used a simple photo editing app to blur both my face and Lee Yeonhee's.
I kept watching the screen because I was curious about what she was planning.
Arlin opened an internet gallery with practiced movements.
