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Chapter 220

‘Resent? When did I ever resent Legba?’

Of course, there were times when I complained for no particular reason or disagreed with Legba\'s words. But there was never a time that I genuinely resented him. I took my phone out of my pocket and pretended to be on a phone call as I responded to Legba.

"Why are you suddenly going on about resentment?"

[I’m talking about what happened in the museum.]

I tried to recall what had happened at the museum. When I was holding the staff, Legba appeared and helped me. To be precise, he didn’t just help me—he helped everyone inside the museum. So I had no reason to resent Legba.

"No matter how much I think about it, I have no reason to resent you."

[Hasn’t the situation become more difficult because I revealed myself unnecessarily?]

After hearing his question, I fell into deep thought for a moment.

I eventually nodded. The situation had become more difficult. Romanican Church members, including Han Dae-Ho, had discovered that the Voodoo Cult had appeared in the museum. Now that the existence of the Voodoo Cult had been revealed, I had to be more cautious about my actions. Even a small slip of the tongue could become a cause for suspicion.

"Well... Leg- I mean... I don’t think the problem is because you revealed yourself.”

However, it wasn\'t Legba\'s fault. After confirming no one was around, I said, "Even if it wasn’t for you, the result would have been the same because of the weather anomaly.”

[It would have been easy to brush off the weather anomaly as some kind of coincidence, so isn’t my appearance a completely different story?]

"Well... if you hadn\'t helped, we would have died from the suicide bombs."

[If you had used a Voodoo spell, at the very least, you would have survived.]

"Everyone survived because you helped us. Our identities weren\'t exposed either. The situation has indeed become a bit troublesome though..."

I paused for a moment. I remembered what my uncle had said in the car.

"We’ve obtained the staff. Let’s think about the next steps later."

[You’ve suddenly become optimistic. You might end up in danger because of what happened today.]

"I\'ve always been in danger. Not much is going to change because of this.”

Enrolling in Florence Academy and going to school itself was a big risk for me. When Yu-Hyun found out my true identity, it was a huge risk to spare him instead of killing him. Taking risks had become familiar to me, and I was confident.

Above all, I ultimately decided not to use Voodoo spells until the end to summon Legba. It was the path that I chose without being influenced by the intoxication spell. Therefore, even if the outcome wasn’t good, at the very least, I didn’t want to regret my choices.

[Indeed, it\'s not going to change much in the grand scheme of things. It’ll just be a small change for you.]

"That\'s right."

[So, don\'t be too anxious about the changes that lie ahead,] Legba said.

Back when I first heard this, I thought it was just a usual piece of advice like any other.

"W-wait! Let me explain, listen to me."

However, when I saw Soo-Yeong in the underground chapel, I finally understood the meaning behind Legba\'s words.

Legba already knew that Soo-Yeong was here in the underground chapel. It was his way of saying that I shouldn’t be surprised by the fact that Soo-Yeong was already here.

[Did you think I said such a thing for no reason?] Legba said.

Somehow, his words annoyed me. I let out a deep sigh and looked at Soo-Yeong. She was hunched over as if she was scared to death.

Seeing her like that made my heart weaken for no reason. There could be a very urgent reason for her to come to the underground chapel. It seemed like I had scared her too much in the beginning. Furthermore, Soo-Yeong was also a legitimate member of the Voodoo Cult. It wasn\'t strange for her to come to the underground chapel.

I decided to listen to her explanation first.

"Sure, go ahead and explain."

Soo-Yeong let out a sigh of relief and said, "I ran away from home, but I had nowhere else to go."

"Is that so? Get out," I said without even a hint of hesitation.

Soo-Yeong clenched her fist.

"No! Why?"

"What a load of nonsense. Does this place look like a guesthouse to you?"

"W-well, it might not be a guesthouse, but I can stay here for a while! Do I not look pitiful? I came here because I had nowhere else to go!"

"You don’t look pitiful at all. Didn\'t you choose to leave your house? Go out and figure it out on your own. It\'s summer, so you won\'t freeze to death."

"..."

Soo-Yeong kept her mouth shut, perhaps because she couldn’t find any words to retort with. Instead, she glared at me with eyes full of resentment.

It felt unfair because it felt like I was being resented even though I didn’t do anything wrong, but I had no intention of changing my mind. She had a perfectly fine home, and she had no reason to stay here. On top of that, I had no reason to let her stay here.

Uncle intervened and said, "Hey, Sun-Woo... that’s a bit harsh, ain’t it? She must have her reasons. How about making a decision after listening?"

I furrowed my brow.

"What reasons?"

"Family matters," Uncle explained.

He heard that Ha Pan-Seok had brought his new partner home and that Soo-Yeong had found out about it. Instead of apologizing or feeling sorry, Ha Pan-Seok seemed rather brazen about it, which didn\'t sit well with Soo-Yeong.

Fortunately, she said that Ha Pan-Seok\'s new partner wasn\'t a bad person. However, what Soo-Yeong didn\'t like was Ha Pan-Seok\'s attitude. So she left angrily and ended up coming here because she had nowhere else to go.

"...You came here because you had nowhere else to go? Something seems off."

I felt a sense of unease as I listened to my uncle\'s story. Soo-Yeong\'s place was quite far from the underground chapel, and it wouldn\'t have been easy for her to come here alone. Moreover, Soo-Yeong didn’t know the location of the underground chapel. She couldn\'t have come all the way here alone.

I looked at my uncle.

"Well, um. Somehow it ended up like this. It\'s the responsibility of adults to take care of wandering kids like her, so..."

"I can\'t believe it... Were you in on it too?"

"Not exactly~ Hey, what could a kid have done wrong? And it\'s not like we\'re raising her here for the rest of our lives. We’re just letting her stay for a while. Is that so difficult?" Uncle explained in a long-winded manner.

It was quite obvious that Uncle was the one who had brought Soo-Yeong to the underground chapel.

I could understand why. Whenever Uncle saw children and teenagers in need, he would always go out of his way to help them. That was why he used to run an orphanage before the Holy War broke out.

"Alright, I understand the circumstances... Hey, you," I called out to Soo-Yeong.

"Yes?" she said, turning toward me with a surprised expression on her face.

"What about school? You can\'t attend school here, can you?" I asked.

"I can take a break."

"Get out."

"Ah, what is it again? I don\'t go to school often anyway!"

"Is not going often the same as not going at all? Sigh..."

I was just about to raise my voice, but I sighed and calmed myself down. Now was not the time to get angry and lose control. I had to stay calm and make rational judgments.

No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed like the right decision to send Soo-Yeong back home. That said, I couldn\'t just scare her away, either. I could force her out using various methods, but I didn\'t want to do that.

"Alright, let\'s decide with a vote."

In the end, I chose the most democratic method. I looked around the underground chapel and observed the people present. There was Soo-Yeong, my uncle, and Ji-Ah.

It seemed like my uncle would vote in favor of Soo-Yeong staying here, but Ji-Ah would want her to leave. After all, they didn\'t get along well.

"Those who agree to let Soo-Yeong live here, raise their hand."

"Wait! I’m not going to live here. I’m just staying temporarily—”

"Quiet. Anyway, raise your hand if you agree.”

I ignored Soo-Yeong\'s words and continued with the vote. My uncle raised his hand, and then Soo-Yeong cautiously raised her hand. I glared at her.

"Hey, put your hand down."

"Why? Don\'t I have the right to vote too?"

"No, you\'re ineligible to vote. Anyway, everyone put your hands down."

Except for Soo-Yeong, only one out of the three people agree to let her stay here. So the result was obvious.

"Next, those who disagree, raise your hand."

Ji-Ah and I raised our hands. Since two people raised their hands, it meant the majority didn’t want her to stay here.

"Well, since it’s 1:2 with a victory to those that disagree. Soo-Yeong, leave immediately without complaining."

"...This is really too much. I... I! Did you think I left my house because I wanted to?"

"Yeah, Sun-Woo! You\'re really being cruel. You\'re a heartless monster without any blood or tears! I even bought so much meat in consideration for Soo-Yeong."

I rubbed my forehead.

"...Then we can just feed her the meat and then send her home. Anyway, you can\'t stay here. That\'s the result of the vote—"

As I was speaking, Legba cut me off and said, [No, I\'m in favor too.]

It seemed like he wasn\'t joking as his tone was somewhat serious. I was perplexed. I didn\'t expect Legba to suddenly intervene.

He cleared his throat and said, [Isn\'t that child the next Cult Leader? It could be considered a form of education to observe how you live from the sidelines.]

"..."

"What the? Why did you stop talking?"

"It must be Papa Legba! Papa Legba must have said something, right? Am I right?” Soo-Yeong shouted excitedly.

The way she was bouncing around was more infuriating than cute. I sighed and nodded. If Legba agreed, it would be 2 in favor and 2 against. It was a tie.

Since only I could hear Legba\'s voice anyway, I could just ignore it, but it didn\'t sit well with me. Legba\'s words had some logic to them.

"...Alright, one more vote in favor. It\'s 2 to 2."

"Oh yes! So, I’m allowed to stay then?"

"No, if it\'s a tie, we have to have a revote..."

At that moment, Damballa slithered over and said, "Kid, I want to vote too."

Unlike her appearance at the museum, Damballa had become very small and cute. She climbed up on my body and onto my shoulders as she said, [My vote will determine that child\'s fate. Is that right?]

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it fate..."

[In any case, the fact is, my vote will be important, right?] Damballa said in a slightly excited tone, unlike usual.

"..."

Soo-Yeong and Uncle watched with fascination as Damballa climbed up my body while Ji-Ah took a few steps back, seemingly frightened.

When I nodded, Damballa descended from my shoulder and slithered toward Soo-Yeong.

"Damballa says she will also cast a vote."

"Ah, so then that snake is Dambal... arghh!"

Soo-Yeong had been nodding in agreement, but she screamed instead of finishing her sentence. Damballa was riding up Soo-Yeong\'s body. Unlike when she rode up my body, her movements were incredibly slow. It was as if she was trying to search for something.

[Hmm, while I\'m not sure if they have what it takes to be a Cult Leader, they do have the qualities of a Prophet.]

"Ah, ugh... I can\'t take this off, right? I mean, not this. This person?”

"Yeah, just stay still," I said.

Soo-Yeong watched with a pale face as Damballa climbed up her body. Damballa eventually reached her shoulder. Her long tongue gently brushed against Soo-Yeong\'s left cheek.

[Your face is very cute. Your personality is my style too... I really like it,] Damballa said, her tongue flickering.

[I agree too, kid,] she said.

"Ha," I sighed.

With this, there were 3 votes in favor and 2 votes against. I lost in the vote that I thought I would definitely win. I didn\'t know Legba and Damballa would intervene like this.

Soo-Yeong blinked and looked at me expectantly for an answer. I sighed and nodded.

"...Legba and Damballa are in favor with 3 votes."

"How many votes were not in favor?"

"2 votes."

Upon hearing my words, Soo-Yeong first had a bewildered expression, but then smiled innocently like a child. She then jumped around excitedly as if she had won something.

"Yes! So, it\'s okay if I stay, right? Why’d you have to bother with something like a vote when you were going to lose anyway?”

"If you don\'t shut up—"

My uncle interrupted me and said, "Come on, let\'s go eat meat! We still have that grill we bought last time."

He then walked out of the underground chapel with the groceries he had bought from the supermarket. Soo-Yeong followed my uncle with light steps.

I watched their backs. Actually, staying in the underground chapel wasn\'t a big problem for Soo-Yeong, but it annoyed me for some reason.

[Think of it as an opportunity to educate the next Cult Leader,] Legba said.

[Yes, kid. Accept the results obediently,] Damballa said.

[Soon, a time will come when that child is needed.]

[Indeed, they are a talented child.]

"Tsk," I clicked my tongue.