So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 18: Business Trip (3)

After that, I continued walking around Aksu County with Jin Hayeon and Branch Leader Ma Gang-il, observing the villagers and asking questions.

After about an hour of patrolling, the sky had turned completely black.

Most of the residents had already gone home, and there were hardly any people visible in the village, so we returned to the branch.

“Young Master, have you formulated any thoughts?”

When Jin Hayeon, who was walking beside me, asked, Branch Leader Ma Gang-il also looked at me with interest.

“I have a few things in mind.”

Though I said few, honestly, there were too many to count.

It was natural. From my perspective as someone who had lived in modern times, their way of life was too antiquated.

While there were overflowing needs for change, I had no intention of addressing them all.

That would only lead to a terrible hell of paperwork.

My only concern was this: Which of those should I address so that my master would be moderately satisfied? And which one should I choose to lessen my workload.

Lost in thought, I suddenly felt a strange sensation and turned my head.

“???”

For some reason, Branch Leader Ma Gang-il was standing still, staring at me with a surprised face.

Even Jin Hayeon, though not as apparent as Branch Leader Ma Gang-il, seemed somewhat surprised.

‘She’s… Surprised?’

Having spent all day together for the past half-month, I could tell her expression was slightly different from usual.

“Is there some problem?”

When I asked in a blunt tone, the surprised Branch Leader Ma Gang-il answered, “As expected of someone chosen by the Supreme One. To find not just one, but several things to change in mere hours…”

“Ah…”

Only then did I notice my mistake.

Branch Leader Ma Gang-il had probably worked here for at least several years. My offhand comment could easily be interpreted as an insult to his experience. However, true to his nature as a fanatic, he showed no signs of being offended or jealous.

Instead, he seemed overwhelmed with admiration.

My mistake wasn’t about offending him. It was about…

‘…I need to be more careful.’

Like during the previous dinner and today too, things that seemed completely obvious to me were often viewed as surprising by these people.

‘I thought they’d only be amazed by technology like smartphones, TVs, or even light bulbs.’

There was a common cliché that used to appear in Japanese manga or novels where a character from the modern world would astound the inhabitants of a fantasy world with everyday items.

—Ah, this is what we call a lighter.

—Ah, this is what we call a K-2 rifle.

Being a humanities major, I had dismissed such scenarios, as I couldn’t even create a lighter, let alone a rifle.

When I first arrived in this world, I’d considered advocating for democracy. But in a world ruled by the Imperial Family, such talk would have led to my swift execution as a rebel. Thus, as a lowly waiter, I kept my mouth shut and remained oblivious to the fact that my knowledge of humanities could also be considered revolutionary in this world.

This was something to be mindful of. After all, I was a nobody in this world— an orphan and a former lowly servant of an inn.

The fact that I possessed such knowledge would inevitably raise suspicions.

“Indeed. The Supreme One’s judgment is impeccable,” Jin Hayeon declared.

Fortunately, the two fanatics beside me simply attributed my insights to Master’s brilliance.

‘Thank goodness they’re idiots,’ I thought, relieved.

I opened my mouth to subtly change the topic.

“By the way, Branch Leader Ma Gang-il, you don’t seem to suffer from the side effects of Demonic Arts. Have you perhaps achieved Transcendence?”

From what I’d observed while working together until now, he always burst into hearty, cheerful laughter that didn’t match his fierce face while mingling with villagers.

He didn’t feel at all like a Demonic Art practitioner.

But Branch Leader Ma Gang-il hastily waved his arms at my question as if it were absurd.

“Hahaha. How could a mere Branch Leader like me achieve Transcendence? I just learned Demonic Arts with mild side effects, so it’s not very noticeable. Young Master. Hahaha.”

His mention of Demonic Arts with mild side effects piqued my curiosity.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me what those side effects are?”

“Hahaha. It’s nothing much. Just a minor side effect where I tend to feel happy for some reason. Hahaha.”

“…”

Apparently, the side effect was mania.

“Actually, the Demonic Arts I practice are said to induce uncontrollable laughter and mental instability at the Extremity stage, even in dire situations. One could even suffer seizures from laughing too hard. But my talent is limited, so I haven’t reached Extremity yet. It’s… fortunate, yet unfortunate. Hahahaha!”

“…”

Perhaps because I now knew the diagnosis.

His hearty laughter somehow felt pitiful.

* * *

After returning to the branch headquarters.

I was able to learn new knowledge about the Demon Cult through Jin Hayeon.

She said that people like Branch Leader Ma Gang-il, who regularly interact with local residents, generally learn “relatively” safe Demonic Arts.

In other words, those assigned to branch headquarters typically either learned arts with side effects that were less likely to harm others or their cultivation level was low.

High-ranking cultists who had mastered powerful Demonic Arts from the Hall of the Demonic Way were typically assigned to the Martial Arts Division, patrolling Xinjiang, undertaking missions, or stationed at the cult’s headquarters.

It made sense. Placing individuals like my Eldest Senior Brother, with his intermittent explosive disorder, or my Third Senior Brother, plagued by paranoia, among ordinary civilians would be disastrous.

She also mentioned that while uncommon, some practitioner outside of the Hall of the Demonic Way members who demonstrated exceptional talent and achievements could be promoted from branch headquarters to the Martial Arts Division or headquarters.

“Have all your questions been answered?”

When I nodded at Jin Hayeon’s question, she rummaged through her bundle and pulled out some books, ink, and paper.

“Why are you taking those out?”

“Now that you’ve finished all your tasks for today, shouldn’t we start studying the doctrine?”

“Ah…”

Since I had been running around since early morning under the pretext of lightness techniques training and had even patrolled the village in the afternoon, I had completely forgotten that she had come all this way for my studies.

“I miss my diary.”

At my frustrated muttering, Jin Hayeon tilted her head and asked.

“What did you say, Young Master?”

Jin Hayeon couldn’t understand since I had mumbled in Korean.

* * *

The next morning.

After bathing and practicing my breathing technique, the joyous occasion of breakfast arrived—breakfast with Master.

“Hahaha. Eat comfortably.” Master said with a benevolent smile. But as soon as I lifted my spoon, he launched into his questioning.

“So, did yesterday’s tour inspire any thoughts?”

As expected, Master couldn’t distinguish between meal time and work time.

Swallowing my sigh, I put down my spoon and opened my mouth.

“I thought of one thing, Master.”

“Oh? I’m curious about what you might have thought of.”

Branch Leader Ma Gang-il also put down his spoon and looked at me curiously.

After looking back and forth at the faces of the two middle-aged and old men filled with anticipation. I calmly opened my mouth.

“We should establish schools in every village and have our cult’s branches teach the children.”

“Schools… Is there a specific reason for this?”

“The biggest reason I thought of schools was because of Branch Leader Ma Gang-il’s story.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Master’s gaze turned toward Branch Leader Ma Gang-il.

Master’s gaze immediately shifted to the Branch Leader, who responded with a nervous, manic laugh.

I further elaborated, “Didn’t you mention yesterday that most villagers are illiterate, forcing you to teach the doctrines verbally?”

“Hmm. He certainly did say that. However, in that case, shouldn’t we teach adults as well, not just children?”

“There is no need to do that. They are already devout believers. Also, they are too busy making a living to have time to study characters.”

Master frowned. “You are implying while the adults are already devout believers, the children are not.”

“!!!”

Ma Gang-il immediately leaped from his chair, prostrated himself, and began banging his head on the floor.

“It’s my negligence, Supreme One! I will work more actively to spread the teachings to young children!”

Seeing Ma Gang-il bleeding from his forehead, I quickly interjected, “It’s not the Branch Leader’s fault! The circumstances have changed!”

“The circumstances have changed? Elaborate.”

Cold sweat drips down involuntarily.

While Master wouldn’t harm me right away, I didn’t know what might happen to Branch Leader Ma Gang-il if I said the wrong thing.

“The way our Heavenly Demonic Divine Cult has expanded its influence is simple. We protected the common people of Xinjiang from the wicked, and in the process, we spread our doctrines. However, it has already been nearly two hundred years, so now there are almost no bandits or evildoers left in Xinjiang. Especially in Aksu, which is close to the main headquarters, I heard that they are almost extinct.”

“Precisely. While the older generation is deeply grateful to our Cult, the younger generation cannot relate to their experiences. Furthermore, human nature is inherently evil. Moreover, humans are inherently evil. When kindness overflowed continuously, they tend to view it as a right.”

Adding a famous quote from a certain movie to reinforce my argument, Master nodded with an “Indeed.”

My words aligned with one of the core tenets of the cult’s doctrine: “Human nature is fundamentally evil.”

“So, you’re saying that children, having never experienced significant hardship, might take our benevolence for granted.”

“Yes, Master. More so when adding the fact while less egregious than the wicked imperial court, our Cult still collects offerings. In time, someone might question, ‘Why should we contribute to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?'”

“That’s a valid concern.” Master, seemingly convinced, turned to the still kneeling Ma Gang-il. “Branch Leader, rise. As my disciple said, you are not to blame.”

“U-Understood, Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.”

Ma Gang-il who stood up still looking dumbfounded was staring at me with admiration.

Since he was looking at me with such an expression while bleeding from his forehead, it was an even more burdensome gaze than usual.

But Master seemed unconcerned about such things, merely glancing at the risen Ma Gang-il before looking back at me.

“So ultimately, you’re suggesting we use the warriors of each the cult’s branches to teach children both letters and doctrine.”

“Yes. Humans are greatly influenced by what they see growing up. The gratitude for receiving an education, coupled with early exposure to our teachings, will greatly increase their likelihood of becoming devout followers.”

“However, you’ve overlooked one thing. As you said, commoners barely make ends meet. Will children have the leisure to attend school while they’re busy helping with their parents?”

“That’s why we have them.”

I answered while pointing at Branch Leader Ma Gang-il.

“The branch members have been helping with odd jobs since the rate of criminalities decreased, right? It’s enough for the branch to set aside one or two members to teach the children. The rest can just do their usual duty.”

“Haha. As expected, you have thought of everything. Your excellent comprehension combined with the side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword has produced a very excellent result.”

“I, I guess so. Ha, haha.”

Since I couldn’t correct Master’s misunderstanding, I could only laugh awkwardly.

After that general framework was set, Master and I began discussing the details.

“First, we should should begin with the Thousand Character Classic. Even young children can master it within a year.”

“That’s correct. However, as you know, the Secret Record of the Heavenly Demon contains characters beyond the scope of the Thousand Character Classic.”

“We can’t teach children the Secret Record of the Heavenly Demon directly anyway since it contains much difficult content. We need to create a simplified doctrine book for children using only characters from the Thousand Character Classic.”

“Hmm. Since we have time while they learn the Thousand Character Classic, we can create the simplified doctrine book during that year.”

“Yes. If we teach children this way over about two years, all children in Xinjiang will be reborn as followers of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

“Hahaha. In that case, the task of creating this simplified doctrine…”

Before Master could finish speaking, I quickly interrupted.

“It requires the expertise of those well-versed in the scriptures and with long-standing experience within the Cult. While I wish to undertake this task myself, I haven’t even mastered half of the scriptures. Assigning it to me risks disseminating inaccurate information.”

I couldn’t allow my workload to increase again.

In fact, I had chosen schools among various options precisely because I had this in mind.

The people operating the schools would be the branch members from each region. It had nothing to do with me.

The same went for the simplified doctrine book. I, who had just started learning the doctrine, couldn’t create it.

“Indeed, this task seems a bit too early for Il-mok to handle.”

At Master’s words, I almost let out a cheer of joy.

‘I dodged the extra work bullet!’

Having achieved my goal, I quickly opened my mouth to prevent my Master from setting another trap.

“Master, the food is getting cold.”

“Ahem. You’re right. I shall consider the remaining details upon returning to the headquarters. For now, let’s enjoy our meal.”

Though it could have been mistaken for a meeting, we were clearly in the middle of ‘breakfast.’

However, even after Master’s permission, having a comfortable meal was difficult.

“W-wouldn’t it be better for Branch Leader Ma Gang-il to treat his head a little and then eat?”

Ma Gang-il was casually spooning food into his mouth with dried blood caking his forehead.

But Ma Gang-il merely laughed heartily at my consideration.

“Hahaha. It’s fine. It’s already dried up so it doesn’t matter much. More importantly, as expected of the Supreme One and his disciple. Such brilliant ideas flow so effortlessly I was so engrossed in listening that I didn’t even notice the blood trickling down my face. Hahaha.”

Branch Leader Ma Gang-il was simply bright and cheerful.