### Chapter 441 – Room 206, The Room of Curses – ‘The Demon King who Revives after 100 Days’ Re (6)
—
– Han Kain
—
‘Thank you for the daily bread.’
“…”
Early in the morning, I woke up on my soft, white bed. A luxury that a Level 4 citizen could never enjoy, but for me now, it’s just another day.
I am a god now!
“…”
I’m making crazy noises first thing in the morning. Not quite a god, but I’m playing the part of a divine prophet.
While my official status remains that of a Level 4 citizen, the ‘Han Kain cult,’ not the Demon King cult, is filled with numerous Level 3 and 2 citizens.
Thanks to that, I ditched my mining job a few days ago and landed a decent house.
But of course, the loyalty of my followers doesn’t come free.
“Please let Patrick get struck by lightning while taking a walk!”
“… that’s a bit harsh for a prayer.”
I’ve half become a god in every sense of the word.
—
As I stepped outside, a luxury car was waiting for me. As I opened the door, familiar faces greeted me.
“Good morning, Elena, teacher.”
“Good morning!”
After exchanging pleasantries, the teacher in the driver’s seat switched on the engine and spoke.
“Yesterday, an official directive was issued to the agents: don’t monitor the cult anymore. The justification? Religious freedom.”
Article 20, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea states that all citizens have freedom of religion. Room 206 has a twisted future of Earth, so of course, the concept of religious freedom exists here.
“Please let the professor catch the flu and cancel class! Flu, flu cancel class!”
“… Professor flu? Is this a prayer or a curse?”
“Kain?”
“Nothing.”
It’s just a concept.
If someone starts talking seriously about human rights, the informers drag them away to undergo the relentless reason treatment.
Therefore, the cessation of persecution against the ‘Han Kain cult’ isn’t due to human rights but rather an order from Songyi, who holds actual power in the city.
Thanks to that, the cult can now hold public gatherings.
“Well, it’s good to expand the cult’s influence, but didn’t anyone put up a fight?”
“Many. They claim that a crazy girl sitting on a throne is a sign the city will go to ruin.”
“… I see.”
“It’s not like we prepared for this succession ages ago. Suddenly, people swearing loyalty to Songyi just feels strange.”
—
At those words, Elena was taken aback.
“W-What if they rebel against Songyi?”
The teacher chuckled at this.
“What does it matter?”
“Excuse me?”
“Elena, we’re not going to govern this city for 10 or 20 years, right? It’s been about 14 days, I think?”
The very title ‘The Demon King who Revives after 100 Days’ suggests that we’ve got a maximum of three months to sort this out.
So, what the city turns into is of no concern to me.
Rebellion? Side effects? As long as they don’t occur within the next couple of months, I’m good.
This is the approach of someone who can revert time.
“Kain, do you remember what we talked about a few days ago? That there might be an Administration Bureau or a similar organization in Room 206?”
That’s the conclusion reached by the ‘City Management Team,’ which includes Eunsol, Songyi, and others.
“Hmm… even if there are, they probably aren’t functioning normally right now.”
If they were, they should have made some sort of move when the Demon King attempted to descend at the first opportunity.
“That’s true. The organization likely crumbled, leaving only a few survivors operating individually.”
“Some keywords come to mind. Perro, Miro, and Sijo, among others.”
“Could it be that Miro was a high-up in that secret organization?”
“Also, Sijo could have been a lower-ranking employee in that same organization.”
Considering this, it makes sense why Miro, despite being sealed, has such a faint presence—and why Sijo might not know Miro.
Of course, it could all be completely different in reality.
“Have you confirmed your understanding of the scenario?”
“Yes.”
Meaning that consuming the Demon King cult indicates we’ve also secured paths leading outside the city. Because of this, I’m now able to use blessings, and undoubtedly, I keep checking the scenarios regularly.
However, the update on the scenario has stalled for the past few days.
Thus, I’ve memorized it all.
—
“Scenario: The Room of Curses – ‘The Demon King who Revives after 100 Days’
The power of the mayor who rules the city has effectively fallen into the hands of participant Songyi.
The souls of the lower classes sustaining the city are about to be toyed with by participant Han Kain.
Finally, the hotel party has begun to engulf both the upper and lower echelons of Paradise!
However, even having obtained the secrets of the mayor and the cult, the secrets of Room 206 are still shrouded in enigma.
Ultimately, the hotel party aims to make contact with Sijo…
—
“The scenario update has stopped. Have you told Songyi?”
“Of course. Songyi is probably plotting something right now.”
“Hmm.”
“Why the long face?”
“It feels vaguely unsettling.”
“Unsettling?”
“Never mind.”
—
Wait, did Songyi merely say, ‘The mayor’s power has fallen into their hands’?
As the one who established the cult, I’m the one about to play with the souls of the lower classes, right?
Only the phrasing about me feels malicious.
Just as I was feeling slightly annoyed, a prayer echoed in the air.
“Oh Lord, I am O’Brien. Oh, I plan to confess my feelings to Elena today. May my confession be a success—”
“Ugh! E-Elena!”
“Kain? What’s wrong?”
Please don’t tell me it’s a homonym?!
“Elena, do you happen to know someone named O’Brien?”
“Yes? One of the PDs at the broadcasting station, why do you ask?”
“Do you have a schedule at the station today?”
“Only a simple variety show in the evening.”
“Cancel it. Just say you have the flu.”
“What?”
“There might be an explosion at the station tonight. I just saw the future.”
“Explosion?! Suddenly?!”
—
I’m set to kick that cocky O’Brien out of the cult.
“Kain, we’ve arrived. Shall I call you ‘Lord’ from now on?”
The teacher seemed to be enjoying the entire situation and laughed lightly.
—
“Therefore the Lord says, ‘You are the most faithful sheep, and great glory and blessing await you!’”
—
— Wowwww!
The cult’s gathering was no longer held in dark, dank basements.
During the day, we rented a massive gymnasium under the bright city lights.
Naturally, I could spot several informers hiding about, looking uncomfortable, but that was that.
The mayor said don’t touch them, so what can the informers do?
“Sure~ if it’s unfair, you go be the mayor yourself!”
“Kain, that thought just slipped out of your mouth, didn’t it?”
“Ah! The sermon lightened up a bit, I guess.”
“… You seem quite normal at times.”
“Really?”
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
—
The teacher chuckled lightly and opened the door like a chauffeur serving a cult leader.
“Aren’t you being a bit too obvious? Is that the Mayor’s direct inspection team? Won’t they suspect you?”
“They think I’m ‘undercover’ as a driver to keep an eye on you, Kain.”
“Ha!”
Songyi ordered them to stop monitoring the cult, and the inspection team dismissed that order, sending out agents to spy instead.
But that agent turned out to be the teacher, making it just like leaving the chicken coop in charge of the cat—you’d expect a hilarious situation.
—
—
‘Oh Lord, today’s gathering was truly moving. My eyes watered seeing the cult finally tread the path of glory.’
“Oh my, the response from the believers is fantastic.”
“… You said you could hear their prayers?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly does that feel like? I want to hear it honestly, as an old companion.”
—
The teacher suddenly became serious, catching me off guard.
I had no intention of hiding any information regarding the inheritance anyway.
“W-Well, so—”
‘Ah~ Lord, that prophet seems a little sketchy. Is he really legit? I’d do a better job than that guy if I spoke!’
“What the heck! You do it, you little—!”
“Kain?”
“… Nothing.”
—
Once the holy sun started gathering faiths and prayers, I began hearing voices from the worshippers.
For convenience, I call it a ‘voice,’ but even if I plugged my ears, I could hear it.
Most are just simple wishes like ‘Thanks for another day,’ but some held desperate hopes.
Of course, not all those hopes are particularly desirable.
As I explained, the teacher cautiously asked.
“What do you think when you hear those hopes?”
“Eh?”
“…”
“…”
“I watched you closely during the gathering. I began to distinguish between what was performance and what was genuine.”
“Fair enough.”
“In communicating with the believers, you recited past events that they hadn’t even shared. Is that the power of the holy sun?”
“Kind of.”
“It was incredibly mysterious. Even knowing it’s due to the inheritance power, it was still amazing. I’m sure everyone will view you as the Messiah without questioning.”
“… But there are folks doubting if that guy is a scammer?”
—
At those words, the teacher appeared slightly surprised.
Of course, there are all kinds of people in the world, so there’s no need to get overly invested in one or two exceptions.
“Hmm, well, there are people like that everywhere. Still, despite that, there were occasionally puzzling moments.”
“Puzzling moments?”
“I’ll ask again. What do you think when you hear the believers’ wishes?”
“…”
I hadn’t done anything specific for them, but there was a believer who was overjoyed, claiming their success was thanks to the god’s blessing.
I genuinely celebrated that man’s success.
Then there was a woman crying about her son suffering from an incurable disease with no treatment costs.
I held her hand in sympathy and promised to gather funds from wealthy believers to help her.
“If my eyes are not deceiving me, Kain, who read the believers’ hearts, looked genuinely ‘sincere.’”
“…”
“If it had been Eunsol or Jinchul, I’d have accepted it. They naturally have that kind of sensitivity. But you, Kain…”
“…”
“Under ordinary circumstances, you’d be like, ‘Oh lady, your son’s gonna die since the Room of Curses is gonna disappear! So cut the nonsense!’”
“Ah, no! I’m not that kind of jerk!”
“I was just using an example. I meant you wouldn’t get that into NPCs’ stories.”
—
I understood the words.
The metaphor the Owl had once used about white paint and black paint came to mind.
The holy sun leads me in a direction ‘different’ from the grimoire.
“Think about it.”
—
‘Hey, can you just kill Patrick for me?’
“… By the way, teacher.”
“I’m listening.”
“Who’s Patrick? You know, when I hear the prayers of the same person, I sometimes get a feel for who they are.”
“Is that so?”
“This morning, Elena has been praying for Patrick to die.”
“…”
—
– Yu Songee
—
In a garden filled with blue trees rarely seen in Paradise.
The soothing classical music playing from afar paired with the fresh filet mignon on the luxurious table.
It’s a luxury the Level 4 citizens still rolling around in the mines can’t even dream about.
At this moment, I felt an extreme tension rising and swallowed hard.
Gulp!
It was not from either of the two people around me.
“So delicious! You should eat more, too!”
“… No, thanks.”
A girl with a cute face and brown bob hair. Amazingly, she’s the oldest among us in Paradise.
Some call her ‘Sijo’ or ‘Hero.’
As the meal approached its end, she curiously observed me and Leon.
“So, Leon. You’re really handing over the mayor position to this kid?”
“Correct.”
“Isn’t that a bit early? She looks rather young.”
“Didn’t I mention it before?”
“Is it because you’re on borrowed time? She’s the only one holding Kadiruf’s power now?”
“Seems you know your stuff.”
Like always, Leon didn’t sugarcoat anything about me being older than my age, sticking to the essentials.
“Hmm…”
Sijo surveyed the mayor closely with inscrutable eyes before turning to me.
“What’s troubling you? There have been other successors from the Kadiruf family before.”
“True. But Leon, one thing intrigues me.”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you really make this decision out of your pure will?”
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