"You are... the leader?"
Riko asked, somewhat uncertainly.
The old man smiled gently. "Besides me, is there anyone else here?"
Just like the sounds they heard outside the door, the three of them quickly knelt down.
"Greetings, Your Excellency!"
"Yes, get up!" The cult leader smiled and nodded gently.
Seeing the three get up from the ground, the cult leader spoke:
Do you all know why I've called you here this time?
Miai asked excitedly:
"Is it because we can go to the other side now?"
"Yes, that's right!" the cult leader nodded in confirmation.
"Great! Riko, Momoe, we can finally go!" Miai looked at her two friends happily.
"Yes!" Momoe nodded excitedly upon hearing this.
Riko glanced at her two friends with a hint of worry, then turned to look at the cult leader.
"Um... Your Excellency, may I ask you a question?"
" Riko, don't worry, the cult leader said it himself, so there's definitely no problem! After all, haven't many people already been sent out one after another?" Miai quickly refuted her friend's words.
Although she was somewhat worried, she was more concerned that if the cult leader was questioned, they would be stripped of their right to go to the other side.
"Can..."
Riko wanted to ask something more, but was interrupted by the cult leader.
"It's alright, let her ask!" the cult leader said gently.
Riko took a deep breath and asked, "Um... we haven't been in the church for long, and we've only attended three gatherings so far. Why are we the first to be called?"
The cult leader chuckled softly upon hearing this and said, "Our cult doesn't follow a seniority system! If it were, wouldn't some of the veteran members who have been in the cult for almost ten years have already been promoted?"
"What is that?" Riko, somewhat puzzled.
The cult leader smiled slightly upon hearing this, but did not reply immediately. Instead, he asked:
Do you still remember what the doctrines we taught were?
Miai, standing to the side, nodded and answered quickly:
"I know that this world is full of suffering, but the other shore is a place of ultimate bliss!"
The cult leader nodded and gave Miai an approving smile.
"That's right, this world is full of suffering, but the other shore is bliss!"
"Only those who have truly experienced the bitterness of life are qualified to go to the other side."
"God will save them first!"
"As for other believers, no matter how devout they are in their faith, they must take a backseat!"
At this point, the cult leader paused, his gaze lingering on the three of them.
"And I think you should all have a real sense of the hardships of living in this world, shouldn't you?"
Upon hearing this Momoe Miai immediately showed expressions as if they had been hit where it hurt.
They were all workers at the same garment factory.
I have to get up and leave home at around 6 a. m. every day, and I don't get home until 9 or 10 p. m.
You could say you get home and immediately prepare to sleep, but before you're fully awake, you have to get up and go to work.
Even after working diligently all day, one could only barely maintain the status quo of survival.
If a family suffers a major disaster or illness and there isn't enough money, these women, as girls, even face the risk of being sold by their families.
It was under these circumstances that they heard about the church from their coworkers.
They claim that this church can send believers to the afterlife and change their current living conditions.
Yes, they heard about the other side from their other coworkers.
I've heard that there's a very prosperous country over there!
There, one could have a fairly good life without doing such harsh and arduous work.
And they will also receive a substantial reward.
Well, compared to now!
Of course, this is not entirely without conditions.
First and foremost, one must be sufficiently devout, which is a key reason why they would want to say they also felt something after they finished praying.
Secondly, a certain amount of money needs to be paid...
Thinking of this, Miai suddenly became anxious and looked up at the cult leader with a worried expression:
"But we haven't saved enough money to go out!"
The cult leader chuckled and said, "It's obvious you didn't listen to what I just said! Just like even the most devout believer has to take a backseat, even if you're rich, it doesn't mean we'll send you away just because you offer more money!"
"Master!!" Miai and Momoe looked at the Master with deep emotion.
The cult leader smiled and continued, "Of course, we can't completely avoid it, otherwise that would be blasphemy against God. You understand, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! We understand!" Miai and Momoe nodded repeatedly.
"So how much money have you saved?"
"I've saved over two thousand!"
"I've saved over three thousand!"
Miai and Momoe spoke one after the other, and then they both looked at Riko.
" Riko, what about you?"
Riko hesitated for a moment, then spoke:
"I've saved over five thousand!"
"Huh? That's a lot!! It's more than the two of us combined!" Miai a little surprised.
The cult leader smiled gently, "Then bring the money next time, and I'll arrange for you to leave!"
"Yes!" Miai and Momoe nodded repeatedly.
Only the Riko was still somewhat hesitant.
She still felt that all of this had come too easily!!
But if I don't go, will I have to go back to this monotonous, relentless work?
The cult leader seemed to see through Riko's thoughts. He gently rose and walked to Riko's side, saying softly:
"Child, you can go back and think it over carefully. You'll still have a chance to consider it before the next event. But if you don't give me an answer by then, then you won't have another chance!"
After the three left the house, the vice-leader came in again.
"So, Yamazaki, did they agree?"
The cult leader, known as Yamazaki, nodded, then slowly shook his head.
Two have agreed, and one is still hesitating!
Upon hearing that not everyone agreed, the vice-leader frowned, recalling the girl who had asked him a question when he was leading the way.
"Is it the woman with the ponytail?"
The cult leader nodded slightly. "Yes, it's her!"
"Being broke and still doing this, what a hassle!"
The vice-leader clicked his tongue in displeasure upon hearing this.
The cult leader smiled gently and said:
"Don't be so picky, after all, we're going to sell them!"
"Well, that's true, but could we sell a few more? Otherwise, we're running out of money!" the vice-leader said, still a little annoyed.
Upon hearing this, the cult leader sternly reprimanded him, "How many times have I told you? If you make any big moves, the police will be watching you!"
The vice-leader was reprimanded and toned it down a bit, but still said:
"Ah, you've said it so many times, I know! But if we reduce the number of smuggled people, we can sell more!"
The cult leader shook his head solemnly.
"We must maintain the current ratio so that we can conceal human trafficking under the guise of smuggling."
"That way, even if we get caught, it won't be a big problem!"
"Fine, whatever you say!" the vice-leader replied impatiently, his expression still somewhat displeased.
Just then, a sudden voice came from the roof.
"So, the other shore you just mentioned really is the other shore!"