The Warden of The Witches

Chapter 150:

The Flying Noodle Cult

The next day, Rebecca visited the Rose Prison once again to report on the investigation to Aiden in his office.

"...The details are all in this report. We destroyed Vera's stronghold, but I'm sorry, I couldn't apprehend her," Rebecca said apologetically.

"This isn't something you should apologize for," Aiden smiled and glanced over the report. "Being able to disrupt her workshop where she mass-produced puppets in the city, that's already quite an achievement. Considering the current situation, she shouldn't be able to replicate a similar stronghold in the short term."

From the arrest of Priscilla to the appearance of the first puppet used for murder, the time gap was short. Vera probably wouldn't have had the time to set up a second workshop capable of mass production—normally, she wouldn't even have been able to manage two workshops on her own.

The Inquisition was continuing its investigation into vera, and the mounted police were checking rental properties in each district during their patrols. It would be difficult for vera to make a comeback in the short term using the same methods.

She would either have to stop her activities and hide, or she would have to try to leave the city that was now hunting her down, unless she still had some unused trump cards up her sleeve.

Aiden decided to continue observing from the prison for a while. The one who should be anxious now was not him but vera.

"Furthermore, here is the information on that cult you asked me to look into before. I've printed a copy for you," Rebecca pointed to the data that Aiden was holding.

"Thank you, I appreciate your attention to this," Aiden switched to the next document, carefully reading the information.

The Cult of the Chopstick Users... It seemed likely to have some connection to the transmigrator. It wouldn't hurt to learn a bit more about them.

And then he froze.

"This seems to be a local cult that started in a village in the northwest region of the Old Kingdom of Reis over two hundred years ago, it's name was....." Rebecca recalled.

"The Flying Noodle Cult..." Aiden murmured as he stared at the photocopied report.

"Yes, that's the name," Rebecca nodded.

Aiden blinked rapidly.

It wasn't the Chopstick Cult, but the Flying Noodle Cult...

Although the text in the documents was in the language of this world, the meanings roughly aligned—flying... noodles... monsters... cult...

This was likely not a coincidence. Just looking at the name was confirmation enough—this cult was definitely founded by some predecessor transmigrator.

Another unfortunate soul summoned by Mephilia? No, maybe not. Although he had inherited this body through the power of 'Wisdom,' there was no evidence to suggest that wielders of other authorities couldn't do similar things.

Moreover, the being in control of this authority at that time might not have been Mephilia after all.

"How could you forget such a distinctive name?" Aiden asked Rebecca.

Rebecca immediately frowned, "Well, I've dealt with many cases of cult scams when I was a junior inquisitor. Some cult names were truly bizarre. I remember when I first started, there was a cult that claimed to promote rapid hair growth, selling plain water as a miracle hair tonic, and they made quite a bit of money."

Aiden was momentarily at a loss for words.

The previous Aiden had been promoted to a senior inquisitor quickly after entering the Inquisition due to his achievements, so he hadn't dealt with ordinary cults that were purely about showmanship and deception.

In this world, where "gods" not only truly exist but also diligently updated, there are countless cults. Rebecca had likely encountered numerous cases of religious scams, where the eccentric names of cults were as common as could be, making the name "Flying Noodle Cult" not particularly noteworthy to her.

However, for Aiden, the name was impactful—it was an ironic religious entity that had existed in his previous world, now abruptly appearing in this world's history.

Aiden continued to examine the information at hand.

Two hundred and ten years ago, in the Old Kingdom of Reis in the western part of the Southern Continent, a mysterious cult named the Flying Noodle Cult emerged in a small village. The followers of this cult used two thin wooden sticks as utensils during meals, and various types of long noodles, including stir-fried noodles, noodle soup, and mixed noodles, were considered sacred meals. The founder of the cult was an unnamed witch.

During that time, the Kingdom of Reis was a theocratic nation where the official religion was centered around the Earth Mother Goddess for bountiful harvests. The royal family and the church held an extremely oppressive stance towards non-believers. However, with the kingdom plagued by epidemics and widespread famine due to droughts, the status of the Earth Mother Goddess in the common folk's eyes plummeted.

The witch who established the Flying Noodle Cult possessed the miraculous power to make wheat grow rapidly in the fields. She sympathized with the villagers' plight, helped the village overcome crises, taught them disease prevention, and agricultural knowledge, earning the admiration of the local villagers.

The Flying Noodle Cult that she founded rejected the doctrines of praying to the Earth Mother Goddess for prosperity and instead advocated worshipping food that could nourish. They revered the so-called Flying Noodle Monster as their divine entity, contrasting it with useless deities, promoting the worship of sustenance over empty prayers.

In this tumultuous backdrop, the Flying Noodle Cult, challenging the dominance of the Earth Mother Goddess religion, rapidly spread, causing alarm within the royal court. The queen commanded local lords to suppress it, which backfired, fueling widespread discontent against the Earth Mother Goddess and sparking an uprising under the banner of the Flying Noodle Cult.

The uprising initially progressed smoothly, overthrowing local lords to establish strongholds and engaging in conflict with the kingdom's counter-rebellion forces. However, with the support of allied nations, the rebellion was ultimately crushed. The witch who founded the Flying Noodle Cult disappeared after the defeat of the rebel forces, leading to the downfall of the cult.

Could this unnamed witch be his predecessor transmigrator?

Teaching advanced disease prevention and agricultural knowledge to villagers, establishing a satirical religion to challenge the backward ruling religious beliefs... These were maneuvers that only a transmigrator would likely undertake.

Aiden attempted to recall scant historical knowledge from his memory but only retained a faint impression. He turned to Rebecca for guidance: "Rebecca, how did the Old Kingdom of Reis ultimately meet its end?"

Rebecca pondered for a moment and responded, "Well, after the uprising of the Flying Noodle Cult, there were several more prominent uprisings in the Old Kingdom of Reis, leading to a decline in the kingdom's power. Taking advantage of this weakness, neighboring empires invaded. The queen was assassinated during this period, and allies turned traitorous. Eventually, the kingdom was defeated and partitioned."