Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Why Are You Worshipping the Jar? (3)
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Priests often carry a glow within them.
I've seen plenty.
But this intense radiance was a first.
Blinding enough that I couldn't make out the person's form...
"...."
The energy emanating from the light was multifaceted.
I spoke without thinking.
Pure admiration.
"Warm... and benevolent."
And that wasn't all.
"A solidity like water rather than rigidity...."
Countless fish swimming within that water.
Exactly like that.
I was gradually drawn deeper into the light.
"Are you a protector?"
My brow began to tingle.
My spiritual energies stirred on their own, parting the light.
The moment my vision cleared, I could read the soul's temperament.
To think something like this was contained within a person's soul...
Traces of a soul long honed and refined.
My mouth fell open on its own.
"...An ancient city wall."
"...."
"A city wall that should stay put keeps wandering around, causing trouble..."
City walls don't move.
They simply hold their ground.
That was the life this man was meant to live—the life he wanted to live.
"Still, you've learned well. The god you serve is quite pleased."
"Huh..."
With that, the ritual ended, and my mouth closed again.
There were no more words to convey.
The deity I served also found this elder quite admirable.
The reaction from the divination came immediately.
A deep yet light tone.
"...Have you ever seen such a monstrous bastard..."
Monster...?
I'd given him a divination on our first meeting, and he calls me a monster?
To a benevolent shaman, no less.
"Hey, what the hell is this guy?"
Parmon the elder chuckled.
"...You can laugh too? In all my years, I never thought I'd see you crack a smile."
"Chris is a shaman."
"....A shaman?"
"He says he borrows the gods' power to resolve the grudges of the dead. He even finds happiness for the living."
"Borrows the gods' power? You think that's all there is to it?"
His voice was highly agitated.
And I knew this reaction better than anyone.
When living as a shaman, the day comes when you receive the god.
Sometimes in dreams, sometimes as a thunderous voice during mountain prayers.
Every shaman shows that kind of face upon receiving the god.
"I just saw traces of a god on you. Explain yourself."
"Spot on."
What more was there to explain?
He'd seen it exactly as it was, and there was nothing more to say.
This elder probably had a rough idea already.
"Were those words just now from the god?"
"Yes."
"Huh.... Do you even know what you just did?"
What else? I'd performed the ritual.
Overkill reaction for a single divination.
The elder spoke with a look of utter exasperation.
"What you just did was deliver an oracle."
Admiration burst from our elders.
They clearly hadn't considered it.
Even I hadn't thought of it that way.
"Huh...!"
"Now that you mention it, yeah!"
"Now that you mention it? You crazy old coots..."
For a priest, he had quite the foul mouth.
The complete opposite of the light he exuded.
He probably packaged himself that way on purpose.
"Oracle? It's divination. Divination!"
"Not divination—an oracle!"
"Why yell at a patient? It's already blinding enough."
"With your eyes closed, you're getting blinded...?"
Hearing him yell made my body feel even worse.
I was already dying from the curse's backlash.
The more I thought about it, the more outrageous it seemed...
I extended my hand toward the elder.
"Hand it over."
"What?"
"Offering fee."
Parmon the elder's friend had to be somebody important—which meant he had money.
He'd yelled at me, so it was fair to charge extra this time. Totally legal.
It was just one phrase, but the ritual had been a big one.
"5 silver. Offering fee: 5 silver."
"....What's an offering fee?"
Parmon the elder explained in my stead, since I was unwell.
"It's payment for a divination."
And then it started.
The priest elder's meltdown.
"Taking money? For an oracle? Selling divine words for cash?"
He looked ready to foam at the mouth.
I could barely see, but I swear I heard bubbling.
Was that his insides boiling?
"You son of a bitch!! Selling the gods' will for money?!"
He finally started rampaging.
"I'll set the church hierarchy straight!!"
About five minutes of chaos later?
The priest elder sat back in his chair, somewhat calmed.
"....."
".....Klein. You're Chris, right?"
Correction.
He wasn't calmed yet.
He was glaring at me like he wanted to kill me.
"So, you can see even with your eyes closed? You see souls too?"
"Yes."
"Huh... Am I just too old... Which god do you serve?"
"....."
"No way..."
Probably exactly that "no way."
A shaman who doesn't know their own god.
Honestly, even I was a bit embarrassed.
"Well... Sometimes when they descend, they look like a grandpa or grandma..."
"That's all you have to say after receiving an oracle solo...?"
Klein's energy wilted.
He looked half-given-up on everything.
"The Earth God Illia is sometimes described that way."
"Illia?"
Somehow, I didn't think it was that god.
Shamans could tell instinctively.
Normally, you learn at initiation, but in my case, I got zapped by lightning and blacked out.
"Any gods related to lightning?"
"None."
As expected.
No such god existed in my memory either.
Why was my deity hiding their identity so tightly?
"You see souls, but your physical eyes are fine. So not divine eyes..."
"Divine eyes?"
"Eyes saints and saintesses are born with. But in exchange, their physical eyes can't see."
What a shame.
From what I'd heard, it was similar to spiritual eyes—but being born blind?
The saints here were probably low-spec shamans.
"No oracle foretold a saint appearing... So what the hell are you?"
Klein the elder asked me.
"Any aftereffects after an oracle?"
"...Just a bit tired?"
"Normally, you'd be bedridden for ages. Receiving an oracle through personal power is impossible to begin with."
After a moment's thought, Klein the elder shot to his feet.
"I need to head to the church. For the wraith matter, I'll assign my disciple."
"...Pardon?"
"I'd like to heal your eyes, but I see traces of a god there too. Better to leave them be."
With that, Klein the elder left.
"....Heh heh, some things never change."
"Ramon, why are all your friends like that?"
"You're my friend too."
Temper or no, I'd been stiffed again.
"My 5 silver..."
Gullak and Klein the elder.
Total owed: 10 silver.
It wasn't about the money.
Leaking heavenly secrets without paying up.
Way too much, even among peers...
Come to think of it, everyone I had on credit was in the same line of work.
We ate.
Rested easy.
Hard to believe there'd been a day this comfortable since arriving here.
If not for that one person, it would've been even better.
"....Can't you stop staring?"
Brown hair, brown eyes.
Clear gaze and a warm smile to boot.
Not a shaved head, but this monk-like guy was glued to my side.
"Speak casually."
"Ha... fine."
This guy's name was Hans.
So now I had two Hanses with me.
"I said stop staring?"
"Master told me to watch everything."
This guy, who'd shown up as Klein the elder's disciple, hadn't said a word—just kept watching me.
His gaze was as intense as Irene's, if not more.
"And why do you have that?"
Hans was cradling the bottle containing Hans Uncle like a treasure.
'Worshipping it like a spirit jar' fit perfectly.
"Illia's grace shows no favoritism."
"...Yeah. Do whatever."
It was a wildly unbalanced sight.
Pure white priest robes with a talisman-adorned whiskey bottle in his arms...
Fine, whatever about the way he looked at me.
The real problem was this.
Mumble mumble.
Mumble mumble.
"Ha...."
At that moment, a brilliant light erupted from Hans's hand.
Whoosh—
"Um... it's blinding..."
"Holy magic's light isn't harmful to the eyes. It actually soothes them."
Flash—
Flash—
"...."
He kept repeating the act, saying he'd cast purification on the booze bottle.
Thanks to that, my eyes were constantly dazzled.
This damned spiritual eyes didn't vanish just because I closed them like normal eyes.
No matter how much I dulled my senses, that light kept boring into me.
"Chris."
"What?"
"Can I receive an oracle too?"
"Not an oracle—divination."
"All words from the gods are oracles."
"...."
I could concede "oracle" by local common sense, but I couldn't divine for Hans.
"Can't do yours."
"Any particular reason?"
"You're in the same line of work as me."
"So no oracle descends?"
"No—your master bolted without paying."
"...."
"Got 5 silver?"
"...."
Mumble mumble.
Flash.
"Shouldn't you pay instead?"
Flash.
This bastard was definitely ignoring me through gritted teeth.
"Give me Hans Uncle. Mess that up, and an evil spirit possesses it."
"...I'll take care of it."
"The 5 silver?"
Flash.
"Hey."
"....Illia!!"
Flash.