Hieronymus and Joanna have returned.
Looking at Hyungkesuni’s confident attitude and Hieronymus’s response, it seems they must have discussed Hyungkesuni taking care of me in advance.
Hmm?
You can call it surveillance if you like. After all, I’ve been being watched from the very beginning, and I haven’t done anything that could give others a reason to criticize me.
Considering the profession of a witch, are they trying to study me?
If that’s the case, I have no intention of being studied quietly.
Because in such situations, if I let my guard down and get sealed, I won’t be able to gain warmth.
Whether seals actually exist, I still don’t know, but in a world with magic, the chance of such things not existing is relatively low.
Everyone tends to throw something difficult to face under a lid and toss it into the future, right?
It’s only natural that most of the time the results aren’t good.
Anyway, Hieronymus told me he had prepared warmth.
Wow! Finally!
I’m so excited!
He said a few more things in between, but they don’t really matter!
Hieronymus said he would come to get me after lunch, called over Hyungkesuni, and left together.
And then it was just Joanna and me left.
Back to the daily routine.
Since I’ve come to a new home, I stood up and looked around the room. It’s smaller than the last one, but there are plenty of windows, making it feel much more open.
What’s fascinating is there are clean glass windows.
As far as I remember, wasn’t glass something that came out quite later? Or, thinking of stained glass, has it existed since the Middle Ages?
I’m not sure.
But at least I know this world has developed somewhat.
Of course, I know parts of this world through the memories of those who have licked it until now, but I don’t know the details.
From what I can see, the landscape is a patchwork between medieval and modern times. Magic-made tools form the infrastructure in between that landscape.
Magic is a fairly commonplace skill. In fact, I frequently saw it in the house where Rebecca Rolfe lived, and I often encountered magical items during Joanna’s childhood and shortly after their marriage.
Of course, I barely saw it after becoming poor.
At best, the items made using magical techniques to light the streets were all there was.
As I was estimating the technological level of this world while looking at the glass window, Joanna came over and opened the window wide.
Oh, did she think I was just staring because I didn’t know how to open it? I took the opportunity of the open window to look outside.
Most of it is wasteland. There are sparse grasslands, but mostly it’s filled with rocks and sand. The trees look like plants that have evolved into forms similar to cacti.
It certainly seems unsuitable for someone to live here.
In other words, it’s an area hard for people to approach. A perfect environment for a gigantic cult to nest in.
Religious groups tend to retreat to such remote places, right?
It’s hard to get in and also hard to get out.
A perfect place for a cult to thrive.
Even if I escaped, most of the villages around here belong to Future Hope Church, so there are hardly any allies.
And such sects obsessively capture and publicly execute apostates. That’s how they can keep people bound with fear.
In other words, if something goes wrong, escaping this cult will be quite a tough job.
Or else, I better make sure I never need to escape this cult.
I slowly followed Joanna’s earlier action in reverse and closed the window. Then I sat down on my bed.
There isn’t particularly a sinister vibe here.
No, technically speaking, it’s not inside this room but outside. There’s less sinister energy than the four I encountered underground, but the number is about five times more.
I must be quite scary, huh?
I wish they’d calm down a bit.
After all, I’m in the form of a young girl. Well, I might look like a child due to my short height, even though I have a pretty big chest.
Isn’t a little girl supposed to be an object of trust?
Thinking that while I’m resting in the room just like when I was underground, Joanna starts working just like she did down there.
She starts cleaning around, and when the time comes, she goes out to prepare food. The difference from underground is that Joanna has very short travel time.
There’s a restaurant nearby.
Since it belongs to Future Hope Church, which has many believers, there’s a large kitchen.
But Joanna doesn’t go there. This building has several kitchens. It’s not that they use cheap and abundant ingredients, but rather fresh and rare ones in a dedicated kitchen.
Dressed as a religion, there’s a separate place for such high-ups. Honestly, it’s quite laughable.
I eat what Joanna brings, and when I return the dishes to her, she takes them back to wash and dry them.
But Joanna is still in the dining area.
Then Hieronymus came over.
“I’ve prepared the place to bestow blessings. Please accompany me.”
Finally, I can gain warmth!
I joyfully followed Hieronymus as we walked.
But it seems Hieronymus isn’t concerned that Joanna isn’t around?
Is he really just indifferent to her being one of the believers?
What a shame. If Hieronymus valued her, he would have brought her along so I could see and learn a lot, right? Whether they are an enemy or a subordinate, I could observe their responses.
It’s not good to push for what isn’t there.
I continue walking in his footsteps.
He led me not outside but underground.
As we walked for some time, I realized where we were heading.
To the altar.
The place I was summoned to first.
I arrived there.
As I opened the door to the altar, it was already packed with believers. In fact, it was much more crowded than when I was summoned. This means far more people have come.
I don’t know what they intend to do, but I obediently followed along.
Hieronymus and I climbed the stairs of one side of the stepped pyramid.
When we reached the stone chair on the altar, Hieronymus seated me there and began to preach like a cult leader.
The flowery language was quite long, but to summarize briefly, it was simple.
You are unhappy.
But the god has granted you.
If you believe, happiness will come.
The more you pray, the greater the happiness.
In the end, there’s an underlying hope for someone to save oneself.
On top of that, he introduced me as the apostle of the god they believe in and said that I would now perform miracles.
He explained that by offering sacrifices, blessings would be bestowed.
Hmm, so they really think I need to give them warmth to provide blessings.
So that’s why it took so long.
I guess I was wrong for not speaking up.
But I’m not planning to correct that.
I’m not going to answer unless they ask.
And later when someone asks if I really needed sacrifices, I’ll say that it was never mentioned.
There’s a hint, though.
When Joanna received a blessing, I never received a sacrifice.
So, it’s actually Hieronymus’s mistake for not asking.
I sat on the stone chair as Hieronymus instructed and waited. Whose warmth will I take, and blessings in exchange?
After concluding his sermon, Hieronymus ordered two people.
A man and a woman.
No.
No, actually.
In the embrace of the two people walking towards us was a baby each.
According to Hieronymus’s explanation, they are a couple and their child. The children are twins.
To the couple that came up, in a respectful voice, Hieronymus told them they were chosen. Now, to receive blessings, they must offer a sacrifice.
They joyfully extend their babies toward me without a hint of doubt.
The light shines brightly, but the warmth is relatively low compared to it. In fact, the couple in front of me has a slightly smaller amount of light but far more warmth.
Looking closer, they really are newborns.
Bright red babies that can hardly open their eyes.
A man’s old memory cries out, asking if I will really steal the baby’s warmth.
Am I really willing to fall below humanity?
Well, do I really want the warmth of a baby? I’d much rather have parents with more warmth.
But that’s not what Hieronymus desires, right?
Hmm.
Then should I at least leave one scar? I pointed at the baby while sitting in the stone chair.
“The warmth is too low. I want more warmth.”
And I stood up from my seat.
“But since it’s what Hieronymus wants, I will take the warmth.”
Yes. Everything that happens from now on is what you wished for. The system of sacrificing the baby and bestowing blessings is all set up by you.
I pushed myself a little deeper into Rebecca Rolfe’s body.
Still, deep cracks formed in my skin, and dark purple mist flowed out from them.
I stood up from the stone chair and approached the place where the four gathered. I looked at the parents and asked.
“I’ll give myself to you. But later, when you finalize everything, I’ll take everything you have. Do you understand?”
When I said my usual line, the two responded with huge smiles, saying yes without hesitation.
I first directed my gaze to the baby to gain warmth. The mist flowed slowly from my body and approached the baby.
Two faint warm sensations.
The baby’s skin slowly turned a shade of blue. With a crackling sound, its body twisted, and its face changed. Its orbits popped out, and its eyes multiplied. Sharp horns and spines sprouted all over its body, and its skin split as muscles bulged out.
The two babies screamed.
Meanwhile, the dark purple smoke passed over the babies and reached the couple. I shoved myself into them.
The two’s skin turned pale. Both their eyes and hair turned purple. The man grew a bit taller and bulkier, while the woman’s face became more beautiful and her figure morphed into a much more ideal shape.
Almost simultaneously, both transformations were complete.
Now, the two that have become monsters charge at their parents. The man, however, makes a blade with his hands and splits the monster charging at him in half, while the woman extends her tentacles from her arms and pierces the monster to death.
And then, as if fascinated by what they’ve become, both examined their bodies with curiosity.
Both of them knelt down toward me with smiles wide enough to split their faces. They were originally ordinary man and woman. The man went bankrupt after being swindled by his close friend, and the woman was ostracized by the female group in the village due to her misfortune.
So they escaped and joined Future Hope Church.
They met inside and nurtured their love. But that didn’t mean their broken hearts returned to normal. On the contrary, they believed Future Hope Church gave them happiness and fervently became fanatics.
And the result is this.
By receiving blessings, they became happy. Even sacrificing their own child, it meant nothing compared to Future Hope Church.
Standing before those two, Hieronymus shouted.
“This is the blessing of our god!”
The enthusiasm of the cult members filled the altar.
In the grayish memory, a man grumbles in resentment, but, well.
Is that more important than chasing warmth?
I want warmth.
I’d do anything for warmth.
Anything.
