The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 304

Jin-Seo's breathing was a bit rough. Based on how she had come out of the sacred training ground, it seemed like she had been training alone. I unconsciously took a step back, and Yoon-Ah alternated her gaze between me and Jin-Seo and assessed the atmosphere.

Jin-Seo was about to approach me, but then she turned towards Yoon-Ah. She lowered her head and calmly examined Yoon-Ah's face.

"In-Ah? You look a bit different."

Yoon-Ah trembled slightly as she gazed at Jin-Seo without avoiding her eyes.

"I’m her si-sister."

Jin-Seo widened her eyes and then turned her gaze toward me.

"Really?" she said.

"Yes. She's In-Ah's younger sister. She just joined as a new student this year."

Jin-Seo slowly nodded upon hearing my words. Then she suddenly chuckled. She coldly glanced at Yoon-Ah with her eyes and said, “The sisters are both...”

"Hey, it's not like that."

Jin-Seo seemed unhappy that Yoon-Ah and I were walking alone together during lunchtime. I had to quickly explain the situation.

Yoon-Ah was a freshman at Florence Academy this year, and I got to know her through In-Ah. Today, we happened to run into each other on the way to school, so I decided to show her around the school a bit. I explained all this to Jin-Seo.

She nodded as if she understood everything.

"I get what you're saying. But why did you have to be the one to show her around the school?"

"Hmm, that's a good question. She'll explain that."

I couldn't come up with a suitable answer to Jin-Seo's question, so I passed the baton to Yoon-Ah.

Yoon-Ah glanced at me briefly, her eyes filled with betrayal. Then she smiled faintly toward Jin-Seo and said, "The only senior I know is Sun-Woo."

"Is that so? Now you know me too. I’m Jin-Seo.”

"Oh, I am Yoon-Ah."

Jin-Seo extended a handshake, and Yoon-Ah awkwardly accepted it. Jin-Seo smiled warmly at her.

"You look a lot like your older sister."

"Yes, I hear that a lot," Yoon-Ah replied.

I watched them awkwardly converse. The three of us naturally ended up having a meal together. Yoon-Ah and I hadn't eaten yet as we had been exploring the school, and Jin-Seo hadn’t eaten either because she had been busy training all morning.

Jin-Seo usually brought her own lunch instead of eating school meals, but she stated she would just eat at the cafeteria today.

After getting our meals, we found a suitable place to sit. I felt like it had been a long time since I had eaten in the school cafeteria. Perhaps because it was the beginning of the semester, the cafeteria menu consisted of dishes that students would enjoy. The food on the menu looked quite delicious. However, when I actually tasted it, I couldn’t taste anything.

"..."

In the past, I had sacrificed my sense of taste in a contract with Baron Samedi. I had forgotten about this fact because I hadn’t been eating well recently.

Despite the appetizing appearance and pleasant smell of the food, I sadly couldn’t taste anything when I put it in my mouth. When would my sense of taste return? Would it even return in the first place?

"It tastes delicious since I haven’t tried cafeteria food in a while," Jin-Seo murmured as she enjoyed her meal.

She only ate half of the school lunch and put down her chopsticks. Then she glanced over at Yoon-Ah frantically shoveling the food down.

"Have you decided which department you want to go for? Paladin, crusader, or priest?" Jin-Seo asked Yoon-Ah.

Yoon-Ah stared back at Jin-Seo with wide eyes. Her mouth was full.

Jin-Seo waited patiently for Yoon-Ah to finish chewing and swallowing her food. Yoon-Ah finally responded to Jin-Seo's question only after she had swallowed the food in her mouth.

"Well, I’m definitely not going to be a priest, but I was considering between paladin and crusader.”

Jin-Seo replied, "Crusader seems better."

I swallowed the food I was chewing and said, "Paladin is better."

Jin-Seo glanced at me, disappointed by my words.

"What are you talking about? The Department of Crusaders is more popular than the Department of Paladins."

"But the Central Crusader Order got wrecked, and the Central Paladin Order is still thriving."

The Central Crusader Order lost much of its prestige compared to before due to its crushing defeat in the battle against Yuk Eun-Hyung's mercenary corps. In that battle, the Central Crusader Order suffered heavy losses while fighting against the leader of the Voodoo Cult. In other words, I was responsible for the downfall of the Central Crusader Order.

"That's true. However, the crusaders are still stronger in battles," Jin-Seo replied, slightly discontent.

"Don't you remember the practical exam?" I said with a chuckle.

She had fought against me and lost in the most recent practical exam. Since it wasn't a practice spar, I used Bossou's power almost without limits, and thanks to that overwhelming difference, I overpowered Jin-Seo.

Jin-Seo listened to me and fell silent. Then she glared at me with a resentful expression.

"You really know how to rub it in. So, did you feel good about winning?"

"..."

Upon reflection, there was nothing good about winning against Jin-Seo in our arguments. Winning in a verbal spar against her was a loss, and losing meant winning. Thus, I decided just to keep my mouth shut.

***

After finishing our meal, we left the restaurant. Yoon-Ah said she had something to do and went to her classroom first, but she wanted to leave early because she found Jin-Seo uncomfortable.

Jin-Seo suggested that we take a short walk. We walked along the school trail. Quite a few people, mostly freshmen, were walking on the trail. The freshmen seemed to be enjoying themselves, chatting and walking along the path. We simply walked without talking.

I broke the silence first and said, "How’s the Northern Crusader Order?"

Jin-Seo tilted her head slightly, contemplating my question.

"It's the same as always. It was a bit chaotic after the director was arrested, but now it's just the same as usual."

"That's a relief," I said as I nodded.

The head of the Northern Crusader Order, X, was under investigation because of me and was soon to face a trial.

I was worried that Jin-Seo might face consequences because of me, but fortunately, that did not seem to be the case.

"How about over in the Central Paladin Order?"

"It's the same as usual over there as well."

Jin-Seo nodded and said, "Is that so?"

After that, she closed her mouth. Although she seemed to have something to say, she hesitated to speak.

I patiently waited for her to say something.

Jin-Seo looked around nervously and then said, "But what were you talking about with Yoon-Ah earlier? It seemed like you were having a very intimate conversation about something important."

"It was nothing important."

"If it wasn't important, you could tell me too, right?" Jin-Seo asked with a sly smile.

Although she was smiling, her tone sounded like she was interrogating me.

I quickly tried to come up with an explanation. The conversation I had with Yoon-Ah was somewhat related to the Voodoo Cult. Therefore, I couldn't tell Jin-Seo everything truthfully. Since I didn’t know how much of our conversation Jin-Seo overheard, being vague could also backfire.

After some thought, I finally found a suitable excuse.

"In-Ah," I said.

"What?"

"She said that In-Ah seemed tired from going to interviews here and there. Yoon-Ah seemed depressed that she couldn’t do anything for her older sister, so I comforted her."

"Oh... really? But why did you have to be the one to comfort her?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I'm the only senior she knows? She's still a freshman, so she probably doesn't have many friends."

Jin-Seo seemed to understand and nodded. Nevertheless, there was still a hint of displeasure on her face.

"I'm not sure if I can believe this. Are you just saying this but doing something else behind my back?"

"What are you talking about? You keep having strange suspicions."

"Because you act suspiciously."

Her suspicions weren’t completely unfounded. From Jin-Seo's perspective, there was some room for misunderstanding. I nodded and said, "I should be more careful not to get caught in the future..."

"What?"

I smiled warmly at Jin-Seo.

"Just kidding. I mean, I won't do things that will make you suspicious in the future."

She still seemed displeased, but she managed to smile back.

I looked at Jin-Seo’s profile, and she smiled as if she was dumbfounded. I wanted to finish everything and give her an answer quickly.

***

After school, I returned to the dormitory. I hadn’t visited the dormitory in a long time. It still felt spacious, but at the same time, it felt emptier. Dust had piled up in various places due to not cleaning, and the room had a faint moldy smell. I needed to clean my room.

I threw away unused items, dusted off the accumulated dust, and sprayed air freshener. While cleaning, I also rearranged the furniture a little.

After that, the atmosphere of the room completely changed. I felt like I had entered someone else's room, not my own. The unfamiliar feeling was nice.

As I lay down on the bed, the scent of the air freshener I sprayed earlier lingered. Since there was nothing else to do, I took out a book and started reading while lying down. Unlike the underground chapel, I couldn't practice spells or the power of the Loa in the dormitory.

While reading a book, I suddenly said, “Legba.”

Legba had not spoken to me in a while. He didn’t respond even when I tried to talk to him. It was as if he had completely disappeared.

Legba’s solemn yet familiar voice that I had heard for the past eight years felt like it had all been my imagination. He did not respond to me at all. My daily life was peaceful when Legba did not speak.

Uncle Jin-Sung had been very busy, so he was now relaxing after Anna, the Executive of the Gyeonggi Branch, came to the underground chapel. Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong also seemed to be getting along quite well. In-Ah, Jin-Seo, Dae-Man, Su-Ryeon, and Min-Seo... All the people I met at Florence Academy also seemed to be doing well.

The plan to arrest X and send him to the underground prison was progressing smoothly. After Legba's voice disappeared, my daily life became peaceful.

"Legba. I think it’s time you return. I miss your voice.”

However, I was afraid of that peace. The day for me to go to the underground prison to meet my mother was approaching. The closer that day came, the more fearful and anxious I became. It was scary to think that the peace and tranquility I felt right now would eventually be shattered. I would prefer the peace remain unbroken, but I was afraid that it would be shattered cruelly against my hopes.

I called out Legba’s name to momentarily forget such fears and anxieties. I figured talking to Legba might ease my mind a little.

At that moment, I heard Legba’s voice.

[It's been a while.]

Surprised, I got up from the bed and said, "What? You really came back?"

Legba said, [Sorry. The Loa had a secret meeting.]

"..."

I swallowed hard. I felt a hint of seriousness in Legba's voice.