The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 33

Saturday morning.

The wind carried a subtle floral fragrance as it rushed over and touched my nose. The sunlight was pleasantly warm, and the sky was blue without a single cloud.

The good weather seemed to lift my mood as well.

"You’re here."

When I arrived at the meeting place, Gu Jun-hyeok greeted me. For some reason, Jeong In-ah was nowhere to be seen.

"Where’s Jeong In-ah?"

"Bathroom. Ah, there she comes."

Gu Jun-hyeok pointed toward the station area with his eyes. In the distance, I could see Jeong In-ah approaching with quick steps from the station entrance.

Having always seen her in school uniform, her casual clothes gave off a different feeling. Light blue jeans with a white t-shirt, and a pink cardigan over it. The overall atmosphere was bright and fresh.

It suits her well.

It was a thought that came to me unconsciously.

Eventually, Jeong In-ah approached, fluttering the long sleeves of her cardigan as she opened her mouth.

"What? When did you get here?"

"I just arrived."

"You’re 5 minutes late. You know that, right?"

"Sorry. I took the subway in the wrong direction."

Actually, I overslept.

"Let’s hurry and go eat. I’m hungry."

"Where are we eating?"

"I decided that yesterday! Follow me!"

Jeong In-ah took the lead and walked ahead. Her cardigan sleeves fluttered as she took light steps.

The smile never left her lips, and her cheeks were faintly red with a rosy glow. She looked very happy. Gu Jun-hyeok and I followed behind Jeong In-ah.

The path to the restaurant was chaotic. Being a busy district, there were a lot of people. Everywhere was noisy with conversation. Occasional honking sounds pierced our eardrums.

And everyone passing by glanced at us. More precisely, not at us but at Gu Jun-hyeok. The reason wasn’t far to seek. It was because of Gu Jun-hyeok’s fashion today.

"Why are your clothes all... black?"

Today, Gu Jun-hyeok was completely black from head to toe. Black shoes with black slacks, a black polo shirt, and a black leather jacket.

You couldn’t say it didn’t suit him at all. Rather, it suited him quite well.

However, Gu Jun-hyeok’s features weren’t particularly gentle-looking. His eyes were fierce, making him look scary instead. With clothes like that on top of it...

How should I put it? He had a somewhat sinister feeling.

I unconsciously checked the back of Gu Jun-hyeok’s neck. It wasn’t that I suspected him, but seeing Gu Jun-hyeok dressed entirely in black from head to toe made me want to check for some reason.

Fortunately, there was no sign of anything like a goat tattoo. It was natural if you think about it.

"Why? Is there something on me?"

Gu Jun-hyeok touched the back of his neck and said.

"No? Just. The clothes suit you well."

I deflected by changing the subject.

"Ah, right? I think black clothes look good on me."

Gu Jun-hyeok smiled. He seemed inwardly pleased by the compliment that it suited him well.

It actually did suit him well. The atmosphere was just dark, so he unintentionally caught the attention of passersby.

Following Jeong In-ah like that, we eventually arrived at the restaurant. It was a restaurant serving fusion cuisine combining Western and Korean food.

"Wow. Whoa. Eek. It looks so delicious."

When the food came out, Jeong In-ah let out various exclamations while taking pictures. Gu Jun-hyeok’s fork lost its way and wandered in the air.

The food we ordered was ’Water Dropwort Rose Pasta,’ ’Webfoot Octopus Pizza,’ and such. They were somewhat bizarre dishes, but they were more delicious than expected, so we devoured everything.

"Wow. Amazing. So pretty."

Next was a cafe. Again, when the food came out, Jeong In-ah frantically took pictures. Gu Jun-hyeok’s spoon lost its way and wandered in the air. I felt a sense of deja vu.

"We came out to have fun, right? Why does it feel like we’re only eating?"

Gu Jun-hyeok put down his spoon. Clank, a dry sound rang out.

As I learned now, Gu Jun-hyeok doesn’t particularly like sweets. He eats them occasionally when he remembers, that’s about it.

"Mm? Isn’t that the same thing?"

Jeong In-ah said while frantically spooning custard pudding into her mouth. She loved sweets very much. She said when she eats them, her mind goes blank.

It was a fresh thought, but Gu Jun-hyeok and Jeong In-ah were really incompatible.

We ate lunch, ate dessert at a cafe, then came out and ate waffles again.

As Gu Jun-hyeok said, we really only ate. It was hard to tell whether we came out to have fun or went on a restaurant tour.

Only when our stomachs were full and we couldn’t eat anything more did we stop eating.

At Gu Jun-hyeok’s suggestion, we decided to walk around a nearby park to digest. When I checked the time on my phone then, there were still over 2 hours left until 6 o’clock. There was still plenty of time.

"Ugh, I’m so full. I can’t even walk."

Jeong In-ah stretched thoroughly. Her loose cardigan sleeves fluttered above her head.

"Of course you’re full. How do you eat so much?"

Gu Jun-hyeok looked at Jeong In-ah with a frowning face. He had left most of his lunch, and at the cafe too, he only occasionally nibbled at pudding but barely ate anything else.

Despite his build being big enough to chew and eat iron, his appetite was surprisingly small. It was unexpected.

While Gu Jun-hyeok sighed deeply and complained, trying to suppress his nausea, Jeong In-ah was walking ahead of us through the park with light steps. The smile on her lips was bright.

"She’s really excited."

Gu Jun-hyeok looked at Jeong In-ah and said in a low voice, almost muttering. His face was complex, seeming both happy and sad.

Jeong In-ah had clear expressions, making it easy to guess her mood, but Gu Jun-hyeok always had ambiguous expressions, making it difficult to guess his feelings.

"Looking at her, she has a really simple personality. She trusts people easily too."

Gu Jun-hyeok’s tone was strangely quiet and calm. The atmosphere was quite different from usual, creating an odd sense of discord.

"Why are you suddenly acting serious?"

I asked playfully, trying to lighten the mood. Gu Jun-hyeok listened to my words and then briefly became serious. His face hardened frighteningly stiff.

However, soon, Gu Jun-hyeok’s usual playful smile appeared on his lips.

"Just suddenly. I was wondering how I became friends with her. In the past, she didn’t seem so violent..."

Gu Jun-hyeok laughed while touching his shin.

"Speaking of which, when did you two become friends?"

I naturally continued the conversation.

"Well. Second year of middle school? I think it was 2 years ago, um. I’m not sure. We just somehow became friends."

"2 years isn’t that long..." I had thought Gu Jun-hyeok and Jeong In-ah were childhood friends. They seemed so close.

Gu Jun-hyeok looked at Jeong In-ah with vague eyes. Jeong In-ah was still hopping around the park.

"Right. But In-ah has such a good personality. So we became friends quickly."

"That’s true."

Jeong In-ah had the talent to talk freely with even strangers and become friends with them. The reason I became friends with Jeong In-ah was also thanks to her speaking to me first.

While I nodded and agreed with Gu Jun-hyeok’s words, Jeong In-ah walked over from a distance with big steps. Her pink cardigan fluttered like cherry blossom petals.

"What are you talking about without me!"

Jeong In-ah asked with a bright smile.

"Talking behind your back."

Gu Jun-hyeok said as if it was obvious.

Normally she would have immediately kicked his shin, but perhaps because she was in a good mood, Jeong In-ah just kept smiling brightly.

"Really? Let me hear what you said."

"Do Seon-woo said you’re ugly."

"Huh? Really?"

Jeong In-ah’s face darkened slightly. I hurriedly shook my head to prove my innocence.

"I didn’t say that. He’s lying."

"What do you mean you didn’t? You just said In-ah looks like a rotten peach."

"A rotten peach...?"

Jeong In-ah’s shoulders drooped with a dejected face.

"Ah, really no. Hey, stop saying nonsense..."

"Wow, Do Seon-woo, this is creepy. You’re not material for Florence. Go to Daehangno and act. You’ll become a ten-million actor."

"What. Really, no. This is ridiculous."

Gu Jun-hyeok pushed me to the end. The one who should become an actor wasn’t me but Gu Jun-hyeok.

He lied without changing his expression at all, which was so ridiculous and creepy that I was at a loss for words.

Jeong In-ah looked back and forth between me and Gu Jun-hyeok, opening her mouth with a puzzled face.

"So whose story is correct? No, are you guys making fun of me right now?"

"You just figured that out now?"

Gu Jun-hyeok said with a snicker. Jeong In-ah tried to kick Gu Jun-hyeok’s shin with an angry face.

Gu Jun-hyeok was already prepared to dodge as if he had predicted even that. It was nothing special, but there was unnecessary tension.

Bzzzz! Bzzzz!

However, the feared situation didn’t occur. It was because the phone in Jeong In-ah’s pocket vibrated.

Jeong In-ah stopped her intended kick and took out her phone. A call was coming from an unknown number.

"Hello?"

Jeong In-ah answered the phone without much suspicion. A low, deep voice leaked from the receiver. However, I couldn’t tell exactly what was being said.

"Ah, yes. That’s right. Ah. Then on Monday, ah. Yes yes. I understand. Yes."

Throughout the call, Jeong In-ah’s expression was seriously dark. She was breathing heavily, and her voice answering was trembling thinly.

I didn’t know what it was about, but I was certain it wasn’t good news.

Eventually the call ended.

Jeong In-ah looked at us with a dazed face.

"Uh, hey. I."

"What’s wrong?"

Gu Jun-hyeok asked in a cold tone. Jeong In-ah hesitated to answer, looking around anxiously as if uneasy.

Eventually she let out a deep sigh and opened her mouth.

"They found my younger sibling. Come to Seoul Eastern Holy Knight Order by Monday evening."

* * *

Upon hearing news that her missing younger sibling had been found, Jeong In-ah hurried home.

She had things to prepare, and even if she continued playing like this, she would be worried about her sibling and wouldn’t be able to play properly. We saw her off to the station without saying much and sent her away.

Eventually, Gu Jun-hyeok and I were left alone. Gu Jun-hyeok suggested going to a PC cafe, but unfortunately I didn’t know any games. There wasn’t much else to do, so we just disbanded.

When I arrived at the underground chapel, it was 5:47. Uncle and Kang Ji-ah were already waiting at the chapel.

"You’re here. Shall we go?"

With Kang Ji-ah’s stiff words, we left the chapel and set out for our destination. In preparation for any possible situation, I brought ’Baal’s Maw,’ and on the way we bought mung bean and lettuce seeds.

"Why are you suddenly buying those?"

"Just in case."

"Ah, okay."

Uncle nodded in understanding as if he grasped my intention.

Eventually the car departed. Uncle naturally sat in the driver’s seat, and Kang Ji-ah sat in the passenger seat.

I sat in the back seat, vaguely watching the world flow by through the car window. The sun hung on the horizon, spitting out red sunset clouds.

"Uncle. But Kang Ji-ah... Kang Ji-ah-nim? Kang Ji-ah-ssi?"

"Comfortably, just call me Kang Ji-ah."

While I was troubled about the proper way to address her, Kang Ji-ah spoke in a cold tone.

No matter how young she looked, she was still my senior. My heart wasn’t comfortable just calling her by name ’Kang Ji-ah.’

"How did you meet Kang Ji-ah-ssi?"

So I decided to just call her Kang Ji-ah-ssi.

"You know Voodoo used to run an orphanage, right?"

"I don’t know."

"Ah. You were young then too. Anyway, that happened, and she’s from there. It just worked out that way."

The explanation was too vague to understand the exact circumstances. Since he was busy driving right now, Uncle didn’t seem to want to explain at length either.

It wasn’t important, and I wasn’t particularly curious right now, so I decided to ask next time.

Eventually we arrived at our destination.

Lazaro Central Shopping Center.

For a place housing a pseudo-religion’s headquarters, it was an excessively ordinary shopping center. Rather, it was cleaner and better maintained than other shopping centers.

"It’s on the 5th basement floor here. Let’s take the elevator."

Following Kang Ji-ah’s guidance, we took the elevator. According to what Kang Ji-ah had explained before, the ’Fake Voodoo Church’ chapel was on the 5th basement floor.

But the elevator buttons only went down to the 3rd basement floor.

"Didn’t we come to the wrong place?"

"No."

Kang Ji-ah spoke firmly and pressed the 3rd basement and 2nd basement buttons simultaneously. Then the elevator went past the 3rd basement floor to the 4th basement, and finally down to the 5th basement.

Ding, with a clear sound, the elevator doors opened. Soon two men wearing bizarre masks greeted us. They were very tall, but not bulky, so they looked like scarecrows standing there.

The two men walked into the darkness ahead without a word, guiding us. Following them, we soon reached a crude and massive door.

"There are about 30 minutes left until worship, so please sit down and wait while praying. Oh, before entering the chapel, please be sure to wear these masks."

The two men handed us three masks. They were fancy masks you might wear at a masquerade ball. We silently received them and put them on our faces.

And we opened the door.

At the scene that unfolded beyond, I unconsciously gaped.

The ceiling was very high. Purple mist swirled in every corner of the chapel. In the vast chapel, there were so many seats that it was impossible to count them.

In all those seats, believers sat densely packed, praying. Some prayed quietly with clasped hands, while others stood up and screamed frantically while praying.

Madness filled the chapel. Dangerous, blind madness.

"Stop looking around. Let’s sit."

With Uncle Lee Jin-seong’s words, I finally came to my senses.

We found empty seats and sat down, then pretended to pray like the other believers.

30 minutes passed like that.

Click. Click. Click.

In the center of the chapel, on the platform. Dry shoe sounds rang out clearly and distinctly.

’Voodoo Revival Church.’

That is, the appearance of the ’Fake Voodoo Church’ leader.