The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 190

Joseph climbed up the lavishly decorated stairs and pressed the doorbell without hesitation.

Woof, woof! Growl...

The sound of barking dogs echoed out from beyond the closed entrance door. The barking sounded fierce and menacing, and there were many of them. It was obvious that there were at least several medium-sized dogs present. Ye-Jin waited for the door to be opened with anticipation. She really loved dogs.

Click.

It didn't take long for the door to open.

"Ah, Joseph, is it? Long time no see. What brings you here? You didn’t even contact me beforehand."

"It’s not like this is the first or second time I’ve visited you without contact, am I right? I came because I'm in the middle of an investigation and wanted to ask for your advice... Oh my."

Woof, woof!

Joseph stopped talking midway and faced the enthusiastic dogs that had stepped out toward the entrance to greet him. Each dog was so big that even Joseph found it difficult to respond to their enthusiastic welcome. Ye-Jin gently stroked the head of one of the dogs that approached her.

As the dogs' excitement subsided, Joseph said, "Whenever I see them, they always seem so lively."

"Haha... In my opinion, they could have been a little less energetic. It's always so difficult for me when guests come over."

Joseph took off his shoes and neatly placed them on the shoe rack before stepping into the house. Ye-Jin silently followed along.

"I suppose that would be the case. But were there originally four of them? I remember there being five," Joseph asked.

In response to Joseph's question, Joseph's friend responded with a bitter smile and said, "They passed away recently."

"Oh... that's unfortunate. They seemed healthy when I last saw them."

"I found out later on that they were sick. They didn't show any signs of pain because they were thinking about their owner. That fellow was always foolishly kind.”

As Ye-Jin listened to the story, she suddenly felt a lump in her chest. She could understand the heart of a dog who thought about its owner, and she could also understand the owner who said hurtful things about such a dog despite not meaning it.

Joseph nodded slowly.

"I asked something unnecessary. Are you okay?"

"Is there anything that can be done even if I’m not okay? I just have to continue living like this... So, you came to seek advice for an investigation?" The friend briefly glanced at Ye-Jin.

Joseph smiled. "This friend of mine just became a priest and is full of talent, so I've been taking them around with me."

"Really? I—"

Joseph interrupted Ye-Jin. "At first, I brought them along thinking I could teach them, but now I find myself learning from them. They've been a great help in this investigation as well."

His voice tone was slightly higher than usual. Ye-Jin was initially taken aback, but then politely bowed her head toward Joseph's friend.

"Hello, um, I'm Ye-Jin from the Southern Seoul Priest Order."

"Ah, Ye-Jin... Your name sounds familiar. Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Ji Hye-Sung from the Central Paladin Order."

"Yes, it's an honor to meet you." Ye-Jin confidently greeted him.

She used the formal tone she had used when she first joined the Priest Order. Ji Hye-Sung smiled kindly and looked at Ye-Jin before suddenly standing up from his seat as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, I forgot to bring the tea. Joseph, you’ll probably want coffee... As for you, Priest Ye-Jin, what would you like?"

"Oh, I'll just have water, thank you."

"I'll have water too. I don't really feel like having coffee today," Joseph said.

"I never thought I’d see a day when Joseph doesn’t feel like drinking coffee. Anyway, I understand. Sit here and wait comfortably," Ji Hye-Sung said before going to get the tea.

The fragrant scent of green tea wafted out of the kitchen. When Joseph sat down, Ye-Jin also sat down next to him as if she had been waiting to do so.

"What are you doing?" she asked in an angry tone.

Her tone was sharp, but her voice was a whisper. Joseph didn't pay much attention to her words.

"If you think about the future, it’s easier this way. I'll create the opportunity, and then you can help me search this friend's house."

"No, it's not about it being easier. Why did you call me a priest? You should have at least called me a bishop.”

"Why? What's the problem?"

"I mean, how old do you think I am? If you call me a priest, who would believe it...?"

"There are quite a few people who become priests at that age. You were just unusually fast. Anyway, you have a baby face, so there’s no problem."

"..."

Ye-Jin had a lot to say but decided to keep her mouth shut. It was because Ji Hye-Sung was coming out of the kitchen.

Ji Hye-Sung placed two cups in front of Joseph and Ye-Jin, and a teacup filled with green tea in front of himself. While Ji-Hye Sung was sipping the teacup, Joseph observed him closely.

"Did you always like green tea?"

"Ah, I've been obsessed with collecting tea leaves recently."

"I remember you used to collect alcohol before," Joseph muttered quietly.

Ji Hye-Sung closed his eyes as if admiring the scent of the green tea before smiling faintly.

"Well, I used to be obsessed with alcohol, but... after quitting drinking, I sold all the collected alcohol and switched to tea leaves."

"You've always enjoyed collecting things. I never really had a taste for such refined hobbies."

"Ah, now that I think about it, you've always liked hunting, shooting, and things like that. I thought it was a barbaric hobby, but it's just a matter of having different tastes..."

"I like it because it's barbaric. It feels like I’m awakening my inner instincts,” Joseph said before sipping water from his cup.

Then he looked at Ye-Jin, who was sitting next to him, and continued, “Now that I think about it, from what I can remember, this friend also likes to collect things. I wonder if you’ll be able to get along with her.”

“Oh, is that so? Is it alright if I ask what you are collecting?”

"I vaguely remember... that you like to collect sacred paintings, right? Am I correct?" Joseph said to Ye-Jin while signaling with his eyes.

Ye-Jin nodded.

"Yes... collecting sacred paintings is my hobby," she replied with an uneasy expression.

She struggled to maintain her facial expression because she was forcing herself to lie. However, on the contrary, it looked like she was a rookie behaving indecisively in front of their boss. Joseph believed that it was actually going well.

Ji Hye-Sung listened to Ye-Jin and burst into laughter.

"Oh, whenever I have the opportunity, I collect sacred paintings too. It's more like an investment rather than a hobby though. So, what got you interested in collecting sacred paintings?"

"..."

Ye-Jin was unable to easily answer and looked at Joseph for help. However, Joseph paid no attention to Ye-Jin and instead watched Ji-Hye Sung who was happily chatting with joy.

Ye-Jin felt a sense of betrayal, but she soon smiled and said, "It's a little hard to explain in words... I feel that the grandeur and the way light is expressed are so captivating."

"It seems like you know something! The grandeur felt when facing sacred paintings is hard to put into words. The way the old painters express light in an attempt to capture Adonai's reverence and nobility is awe-inspiring."

"Haha..."

Ye-Jin didn't know how to respond, so she just laughed.

At that moment, Joseph interrupted and said, "Hey, don't you have a room in the basement where sacred artworks are displayed? I think I saw it once before."

Upon hearing those words, Ji Hye-Sung hesitated for a moment, but then glanced at Ye-Jin's face and smiled as if relieved.

"Right, I do."

"If you're okay with it, how about showing it to us? I think she would really enjoy it."

"Ah... of course, I'm fine with that. But weren't you here to ask for advice on the investigation? Shouldn't this friend also hear about that?"

"I can advise her later, but if she doesn’t see the sacred artworks in the basement now, we might not get another chance."

"That's true, but..."

"Do you remember? Even someone like me who didn't know anything about sacred art was deeply moved when I visited your exhibition room. So if someone like priest Ye-Jin, who is familiar with this field, visits your exhibition room, just imagine how deeply moved they would be!"

"Ah, jeez. I understand, I understand. I'll give you the key, so feel free to look around and then return."

Ji Hye-Sung got up from his seat as if he were reluctant, then took out a key from somewhere and handed it to Ye-Jin. She received the key in a stupor. As soon as she received it, she looked at Joseph, who was discreetly watching her, and their eyes met.

There was a lot of meaning in that gaze. Ye-Jin couldn't decipher everything that Joseph's gaze indicated, but at the very least, she grasped what she needed to do right now.

"If you go down the stairs over there, there's an iron gate with a padlock hanging on it. Just unlock the padlock with that key and go in. It might be a bit dark, but it’s because the painting could get damaged if it's exposed to light... So I would appreciate it if you were to bear with it," Ji Hye-Sung rambled on.

Joseph nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be here talking with Ji Hye-Sung, so take your time and come back whenever. We have plenty of time."

"Ah... understood."

"If possible, observe as much as possible. It’s a rare opportunity," Joseph said while staring directly into Ye-Jin's eyes.

Ye-Jin nodded and walked toward the stairs. She realized what Joseph meant by his words when he said that he would create the opportunity. The flow of the entire conversation, starting from asking about whether Ji Hye-Sung liked tea to discussing hobbies, was part of Joseph's plan.

Clank.

Ye-Jin descended the stairs, unlocked the padlock, and pulled open the door. Just as Ji Hye-Sung had warned, the room was incredibly dark. There was barely enough light to see the paintings.

However, Ye-Jin's purpose was not to admire the paintings. This amount of light was sufficient for simply searching through the room and collecting evidence. No, it was because it was dark that it was sufficient.

Ye-Jin recalled Joseph's words as she walked through the endless darkness.

- In Satanism, there is something called the Coven. The Coven gathers together in secret to perform rituals to summon their leader.

- In that gathering, there will definitely be some sort of evidence or proof to prove that they are Satanists. And such evidence would inevitably be tainted with remnants of black magic.

Sacred artworks could be seen within the darkness. Ye-Jin felt as if the eyes of the figures depicted in the artworks were watching her. The light depicted in the sacred artworks was tainted by the veil of darkness, transforming it into a dreary and ominous light.

- You just have to find that evidence.

Ye-Jin reminded herself of Joseph's words and regained her composure. She constantly pondered what she needed to do. She mulled over the words written in the document that Joseph had given her. If she were a Satanist, she wondered where she would have hidden the evidence.

Ye-Jin took a deep breath and sniffed the air. Perhaps the exhibition hall had been neglected of maintenance, as the air was filled with the musty smell of dust. Besides the smell of dust, she caught a faint scent of paint from the paintings, followed by a whiff of some kind of chemical. The smells were difficult to distinguish as they were all mixed together.

"..."

However, if she concentrated, she could definitely smell something distinct. She could differentiate that smell from the scent of everything else.

It was the scent of black magic.

She wouldn't have been able to smell it under normal circumstances. It was because she didn't even know what scent black magic had, or if it had a scent at all. However, she remembered the enchanting and thick scent of black magic from the dream that she had while under the influence of black magic during the previous practical examination.

"Ugh...!"

As she followed the smell, she encountered a strong stench in front of one of the paintings. The smell of black magic was so strong that it completely overpowered the smells of all the dust, paint, chemicals, and other miscellaneous odors. The smell was not coming from the painting, but from beneath it.

It was easy to figure out that there was some sort of space behind the painting. If she moved the painting, the source of the foul odor would be revealed. It was probably ‘proof’ of Satanism.

Ye-Jin grabbed the frame and was just about to move the painting...

Creak...

"What are you doing right now?"