Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Nelliel pulled up a wooden chair and casually sat on it as she looked at him intently.

"So what are we going to do from here, Brother?" She leaned forward. "You said that it was all for the cult to grow, so what is your plan for that?"

’Plan, huh?’

"We can’t do that just yet."

From the moment they entered the empire’s borders, things became extremely dangerous. One wrong move and the empire would hunt down and annihilate them all. Since the empire’s faith was completely dominated by the church, any form of proselytization would be instantly branded as heresy.

Moreover, they couldn’t just let anyone join the cult. After all, it would risk someone with absolutely no faith joining the cult.

Someone like Adrian.

A member who doesn’t share an organization’s goals or ideology is poison to the organization, and they would do more harm than good.

That was why they would need to find a way to filter out such individuals so that only the truly faithful would join the cult and help it grow even further.

But since they were now in the empire, they had to grow quickly and become strong enough that the empire couldn’t crush them very easily.

And so, the plan was...

"The cult members now need to form small groups, and those groups will scatter throughout the empire to plant our roots."

There were roughly fifty priests, a hundred and twenty priest candidates, and about three hundred believers.

"Each group must consist of at least one priest, three to four priest candidates, and ten or so believers. There only needs to be one group present in one territory. Make sure to create a solid communication channel to keep track of each group."

Nelliel’s expression grew stranger the more she listened.

"But brother, why are we doing all this?"

His reply was flat.

"To create an underworld organization."

That was the best he could come up with. If he couldn’t easily grow the cult itself, then he would use the manpower of the cult to create and grow an underworld organization.

"Each group will create and manage a base of that organization in every territory. We will recruit as many people in that organization as we can so that it grows quickly, but the ones leading the organization will only be the cult members."

He then began explaining all the details about what they needed to do and how to go about it.

Standing up, Adrian rummaged through his luggage and took out a bag that made a metallic ringing sound at even a little shake.

He tossed it to Nelliel.

"These are some extra funds. Make sure to tell Rolf to use them wisely, because I won’t be able to give you any more of it. Moreover, the organization’s goal for now should be to make as much money as possible. Remember, only when we have money can we use it to grow the organization further."

One of the main reasons Adrian was even bothering to take all this risk was because if his guess was correct, then he was going to need an enormous amount of money in the future.

He couldn’t take money from House Ravenshade, since his mother would clearly monitor what he would use that money for.

So what he wanted the most from the cult was for it to become a source that could provide him with that money.

After that, Adrian even wrote a step-by-step guide on how to execute the plan as well as what mistakes to avoid and things to be careful of.

But even after he finished, Nelliel was still sitting in his room.

Adrian furrowed his brow.

"Why are you still here? Is there more you need to tell me?"

Nelliel nodded calmly, then smiled.

"There is. I told you last time that the report of findings from searching the area near the underground settlement would arrive by the time we reached the capital. It’s a bit late, but the report is finally here."

Adrian leaned forward and asked.

"Did you find something valuable?"

"Well," she scratched her head. "I don’t think I would call it valuable. Brother, do you remember the monster you slayed to save me? That white serpent with antlers? Turns out, that monster had its nest there with a lot of eggs. Most of those eggs seem to have been destroyed because of your battle against the horned wolves. But we found a single egg that was still okay."

She paused.

"That egg hatched recently, and a white baby serpent with tiny antlers came out. What’s interesting is that unlike the original serpent monster, this baby serpent has a pair of tiny white wings."

’So a winged serpent...’

Adrian remembered there being plenty of mythological mentions of winged serpents back on Earth. They were often described as guardians of sacred, hidden knowledge. Of course, this baby serpent was just a monster and had nothing to do with those myths from Earth.

He looked at Nelliel with a questioning gaze.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I haven’t told you this, Brother." Her lips curled up into a smile. "But we had skinned the original white serpent monster and decided to use its skin to create an armor jacket for you. You’re now the cult leader, so you need attire that matches your status, right? That armor jacket turned out really great and sturdy. It’s just a bit big for your current size, but you’ll soon grow enough that it fits you."

Adrian frowned.