How the Cult Saves the World

After Zain came down with a stunned look on his face, Troy resumed his human form. Zain stared blankly at him for a while before closing his mouth.

He must have realized that he shouldn't mess with Troy.

Anyway, now that we had crossed the wall and infiltrated the Palace, all that was left was to head to the west tower.

"Let's take a look at the Palace from there first."

"It's quite high, so it should be fine."

I nodded at Zain's words, who had regained his senses.

The distance between the wall and the west tower was not very far. We moved along the nearby roads, keeping our presence low. As Troy said, there was no guard at all.

"But where is the entrance...?"

"It seems to be here."

I left Zain and Troy, who were looking around, and headed to the back. The entrance to the west tower was hidden behind. Thanks to that, the guards wouldn't be able to spot us easily.

"Oh, it's locked."

Zain smiled as he saw the lock on the entrance. Then Troy pondered for a moment and said.

"Should I break it?"

"No, it's okay."

We couldn't make a loud noise here. I stopped Troy and nodded at Zain. Zain understood my intention and took out a master key from his pocket.

'This guy, he's really useful.'

"Wow, amazing. Zain. You have a great ability."

Zain licked his lips as he heard Troy's words and worked hard on the lock. And finally, the lock opened, and Zain opened the door.

"I'll go first."

Troy stepped forward and entered. The kid, he's so nice.

There was nothing inside the tower. The only thing there was was a spiral staircase that seemed to go on forever.

We didn't bother to talk and communicated with each other with eye signals. Troy led the way up the stone stairs, followed by me, and Zain was at the end.

The top of the tower was very dark. Only the flickering of the lamps on the walls made it possible to see in front.

The only sound that could be heard in the silence was the footsteps of climbing the stairs. And as we climbed and climbed, we finally reached the top.

"What is this..."

There was an iron cage at the top of the west tower. And inside it... a woman was lying on the floor.

At the same time, a quest window appeared.

[Sub Quest 'Light of Hope' 7. <The Secret of Bahano Palace> Clear!]

[Sub Quest Reward will be given.]

[Sub Quest Update!]

[Sub Quest 'Light of Hope' 8. <The Exiled Princess of Bahano Kingdom>

Content: You have learned the secret of Bahano Palace. Rescue the princess who is trapped there.

Goal: Save the Princess Arhen Bahano of Bahano Kingdom (This quest is a linked quest)

Success: Next quest clue

Failure: -

Final Success Reward: ???

[Do you accept?]

[Yes/No]

I pressed the quest's 'accept' button right away. I knew I would meet this person since the secret of Bahano Palace came out.

'Anyway... I finally met her.'

Arhen Bahano.

---

Arhen Bahano.

She appears as a capable ruler in the Usser Law. Of course, that's only possible in the scenario where I prevented the disaster.

"What? There's a person in here...?"

Zain muttered with a surprised look.

"I know, right. I was just thinking of looking at the Palace from this tower."

I pretended to be surprised too.

"I knew it. But I was too weak to say anything. I went ahead in case this person would attack us..."

Troy seemed to have noticed it too.

---Unexpected, isn't it? There's a person in here.

'Yeah, it is. I was very surprised.'

At that moment, the eyelids of Arhen, who was asleep, fluttered and revealed her blue eyes. Arhen quickly looked at us and got up.

"Who, who are you!"

Arhen backed away. She had nowhere else to go, so she leaned against the wall.

The woman with dark hair and blue eyes was wary of us.

I quickly took off the hood I was wearing. And I spoke with the most harmless face I could muster.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. We're just visitors."

"Did Celos send you? To make me take that medicine? You should know what my answer is!"

Arhen shouted.

"Who is Celos? We're not the ones he sent."

I pretended not to know, but Arhen's guard didn't lower. She glared at me and raised her voice.

"Who else, the wicked High Priest of the Rizes Church who deceived my father! How dare you try to mock me? Even if I'm exiled in this place, I'm the Princess of this country. I'm not someone you can treat as you please!"

Arhen's hand was trembling with fear. But her eyes were firm.

---My child, she's not addicted to that medicine. And she's a very brave girl with a clear mind.

'Is that so?'

---Yes. Can't you get her out of here? It's very pitiful.

'Well, I was thinking of doing that anyway.'

As I was talking to Kyros for a while, Zain, who was quietly watching the situation, whispered to me.

"Master, I know who the exiled princess of Bahano is."

He seemed to have heard of Arhen before.

"From what I know, she matches the appearance of Princess Arhen Bahano."

"Really?"

Zain nodded confidently. I looked at him and approached the iron cage. Arhen seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"Princess, I'm sorry if I startled you. We're from the Herpheon Empire. And I'm Leviathan, the leader of the Kyros Church."

"What? You came from Herpheon...?"

"Yes."

"...Now that I think about it, that accent, it's the Imperial language."

She was still on guard, but she listened to my words calmly. It seemed like we could have a conversation.

"Yes. And this is my servant Zain, and this is Troy, who is from the Mont tribe."

Mont tribe. Arhen's eyes widened a little at that word.

"Mont tribe... Aren't they the ones who were massacred by the oppression of the Rizes Church? There were survivors?"

Arhen was in a situation where she was exiled in the tower, but she had a lot of information because she was quick to notice and assess the situation before. She was exiled to the west tower about two months ago, so she must have heard about the Mont tribe before that.

As Arhen's expression softened a bit at the mention of the Mont tribe, Troy took off his hood tactfully. He also lifted the robe he had worn when he entered the tower and showed his tail. Arhen's guard completely disappeared then.

"So you are... not sent by Celos."

"That's right. We came here by chance. To put it simply..."

I told Arhen a brief summary of the story. The Kyros Church was opposing the Rizes Church, and we had dealt with the Rizes Church in Aldone.

And we came to Bahano to follow the will of the God of Beauty, Kyros, and help this place.

"Is that true?"

"Yes."

I even gave her a friendly smile. But Arhen's expression was not very bright. She had lowered her guard a lot, but her face was full of worries.

"I understand your intentions and your hearts. But... there are only three of you. You can't save Bahano by yourselves. Aldone might have been possible because the Rizes Church's influence was not that strong there, but this is not. Bahano is... even my father, the King, is being played by Celos."

"I see. But we won't back down. We won't give up either."

Arhen Bahano. She was a persistent and strong-minded person, more than anyone else. So if we showed her our will, she might join us.

More than anything, we needed Arhen's help to succeed in 'Bahano's salvation'.

"Princess, won't you join us?"

It was a silent moment. Troy, who had been quiet until then, opened his mouth.

But this guy, he was respectful to Kyros, but he was rude to the Princess. Maybe he doesn't think humans are worthy of respect.

"I lost everything to the Rizes Church. My tribe, the vast land, my family. And when I was in an endless swamp. The Leader saved me."

Troy appealed to Arhen with his eyes that were crude but sincere.

"The Leader fought against the High Priest of Aldone alone, and he broke the Protection of the Demon God there. There are still followers of the Kyros Church in Aldone."

Troy looked at me once and continued.

"I won't ask you to believe me easily. Just don't miss the opportunity. I will help the Leader to save this land. So that there won't be any more people like me."

Troy's words had no embellishment to deceive the other. But rather, his honest crudeness gave me reassurance.

I had thought of Troy as a great means of transportation until now. I'm touched.

---It seems that the darkness of his heart has lifted.

'Yeah, it does.'

As I was proudly looking at Troy, I heard Arhen's voice.

"...You're right. I was arrogant. I'm not in a position to choose anything right now. Even if you are a trap sent by Celos, even if you fail to save Bahano. Nothing will change if I just stay here. So."

She smiled self-deprecatingly, and then looked determined.

"Even if it's a thorny path, I have to walk it."

---

[Sub Quest 'Light of Hope' 8. <The Exiled Princess of Bahano Kingdom> Clear!]

[Sub Quest Reward will be given.]

[Sub Quest Update!]

[Sub Quest 'Light of Hope' 9. <The Salvation of Bahano Kingdom>

Content: You have rescued the Princess who was trapped in Bahano Palace. Now it's time to save Bahano Kingdom with her.

Goal: Save Bahano Kingdom (This quest is a linked quest)

Final Success Reward: ???

Failure: The destruction of Bahano Kingdom

[Do you accept?]

[Yes/No]

I sighed softly. There was no penalty for failing the quest until now, but maybe it was because it was the final quest now.

'Failure means the destruction of the Bahano Kingdom.'

And the final success reward was still not shown. It was a bit uneasy, but I couldn't refuse after coming this far. I pressed the quest acceptance.

"I'm sorry for doubting you."

Arhen said bitterly.

We were now back at the inn after rescuing Arhen from the tower. It wasn't too hard to get back to the inn since we gave her a robe.

She seemed to have relaxed a bit after arriving at the inn, but she was still a little suspicious of us.

"No, it's okay. I would have doubted you endlessly too."

"...I'm sorry. I should have treated you, but instead I only received your help."

"It's okay. Just eat this first."

I handed Arhen some bread. She looked quite thin under the bright lamp. It was too late for a decent meal, so I gave her some bread, and she ate it right away.

"Thank you."

She ate the bread quickly. She also gulped down the water that Zain gave her. When she had filled her stomach a bit, I opened my mouth.

"I want to hear what happened in Bahano during this time."

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