Chapter 56
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 56
The initiation ceremony was divided into three stages.
“First is the preliminary briefing, second is the preliminary training, and third is the main ceremony.”
“…”
“…At least, that’s the gist of it.”
Sizzle—
Yoo Seong-un asked as he flipped a slice of pork belly on the grill.
“Is that correct?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
Cha Eun-hyeok, the novice priest’s guardian, nodded, his attention momentarily captivated by the sizzling meat.
Deciding they needed a private place to talk after meeting at the station, Yoo Seong-un had taken the lead and brought them to a pork belly restaurant. The private room he’d booked was quiet and cozy.
“What we’re attending today is just the preliminary briefing,” Cha Eun-hyeok explained. “I heard it’s a session that goes over the nature of the priest class, the kind of training they’ll receive, and the different paths they can take.”
“And the preliminary training is where the novice priests get separate instruction before the main ceremony, I assume?”
“Yes. It’d be difficult for young kids who don’t know anything to jump straight into the main ceremony. I believe they learn things like proper etiquette and their roles during the main event… something like that.”
Cha Eun-hyeok glanced at his younger brother, Cha Yi-sol. “They said you’ll be entering a temporary dormitory right after the briefing to learn all that, right?”
“Yeah. They said it takes about a day.”
After answering, Cha Yi-sol turned to Yoo Seong-un and Seo Gio with a beaming smile.
“…Sir.”
“Ahaha, you don’t have to speak so formally if you’re not comfortable.”
“I’m good at it.”
“Really? That’s impressive,” Yoo Seong-un chimed in with a laugh.
“So the whole event takes two days?”
“No. One day for the briefing and training, and two days for the main ceremony. Three days in total.”
“The main ceremony takes two whole days? I had no idea. That’s quite long.”
“I think it’s because a longer main ceremony increases the chances of receiving a God’s Gaze.”
“That makes sense. Come to think of it, the more prestigious religious orders do seem to have longer initiation ceremonies.”
Gio, who had been quiet until now, asked, “Is a God’s Gaze absolutely necessary?”
“…Well, a priest who isn’t chosen by a god is pretty much useless.”
Cha Ah-ra, who had been walking on eggshells during this surreal meal with Gio—who might be a monster or something else entirely—finally spoke up.
“Just because you become a priest doesn’t mean you’ll always get a chance to receive a God’s Gaze. The biggest opportunity is during the initiation ceremony, when you’re first recognized as a priest. The other times are… what was it again?”
“Basically, during major religious events,” Cha Eun-hyeok added. “Or if you get lucky in a dungeon or prove your worth as a priest, the probability of catching a god’s eye increases.”
“That’s what they say.”
While his older siblings talked, Cha Yi-sol, with his fluffy, puppy-like hair, stuffed a huge piece of meat into his mouth.
“Thish is delicious.”
“Eat up,” Yoo Seong-un said, smiling warmly at the sight. People from the provinces rarely had a chance to eat out, so it was natural for him to have a good appetite, but even so, Cha Yi-sol ate with an incredibly endearing enthusiasm.
Just watching him makes me feel good.
Perhaps Gio felt the same way, as he was particularly busy placing freshly grilled meat onto Cha Yi-sol’s plate.
“Fank you.”
“You eat well.”
“I eat really well!”
“How admirable.”
“Hehe.”
The three adults who knew Gio’s true identity watched the scene with complicated feelings, especially Cha Ah-ra and Cha Eun-hyeok.
Oh, Yi-sol…
We really need to do something about how trusting he is.
They had definitely discussed the ‘Black Cloak’ over dinner before coming to Seoul, but from the looks of it, their younger brother hadn’t connected the dots. He had no idea that the ‘Seo Gio’ before him and the ‘Black Cloak’ were one and the same.
“…”
“…”
As the Black Cloak openly doted on Cha Yi-sol, Cha Ah-ra, Cha Eun-hyeok, and Yoo Seong-un exchanged glances.
Does he usually like kids?
I have no idea.
Yoo Seong-un shook his head, though he did recall hearing that Gio had been just as intent on feeding Cha Ah-ra when they first met. He was also constantly giving food to Yoo Seong-un and the others.
Considering that, perhaps he simply had a strong, instinctual urge to keep everyone’s bellies full.
“Hmm…”
Well, whatever the reason, it wasn’t a bad thing.
“Gio, what do you want to do?” Yoo Seong-un asked.
“Are you asking about the initiation ceremony?”
“It seems like it’ll take longer than we thought. Are you okay with that?”
Gio always seemed to struggle when he was outside his frame.
Of course he’d struggle. He’s suppressing his status down to that of an ordinary human.
Even now, Gio was limiting himself to the level of an A-Rank Hunter. It had to be taking a toll on his soul—or whatever his fundamental essence was. Seong-un wasn’t sure if Gio could hold out for three whole days.
“I was worried it might be too hard on you.”
“I can manage that much.”
“That’s a relief.”
While Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ah-ra watched their exchange with knowing expressions, Cha Yi-sol, still busy devouring meat, looked up with a puzzled face.
“Hyung, can’t you stay outside for long?”
“…”
“Are you weak?”
Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ah-ra gasped in silent horror. Yoo Seong-un, though slightly surprised himself, decided to just watch. He was curious to see how Gio would respond to a child’s innocent question.
After a brief pause, Gio replied, “I do not think my body is weak.”
“Then what is it?”
“In my case, I believe my mind is weak.”
“You don’t look like it, though.”
“I am trying my best to appear so.”
Even Yoo Seong-un found this answer unexpected.
…I’m not sure if ‘weak’ is the right word for Gio’s mind, but…
He thought he understood why Gio would blame his mind rather than his body. Suppressing one’s status inflicted a mental agony that far surpassed any physical pain. By human standards, enduring such a thing was like having your limbs severed while being beaten to a pulp; it was hardly something that could be described as ‘weak.’
From this, it seemed that Gio, unlike other Existences of the Origin, did not view himself as a powerful being.
No, maybe it’s more that he’s unable to.
Since his personality and memories often seemed disorganized, it made sense that objective self-awareness would be difficult for him. He was like an elephant with poor eyesight that didn’t realize its own immense size.
“Hyung, which god do you serve?”
“A god?”
“Yes. I can feel something warm…”
As Cha Yi-sol stared at Gio as if measuring something, Yoo Seong-un’s eyes widened.
“You can feel that?”
“Huh? Um, yes. It’s super warm.”
“Oh…”
“Is it bad to feel this?”
“It’s not bad, but it’s rare for a priest to sense another person’s holy power.” Yoo Seong-un gestured with his chopsticks. “Especially a young priest like you, who doesn’t have an affiliated divinity yet.”
At those words, Gio muttered, “An affiliated divinity… It sounds like a political party.”
“It’s probably similar,” Yoo Seong-un replied. “They say even gods have power struggles and fight over market share. The more believers a god has, the larger their influence grows, making it easier for them to operate…”
“They are called gods, but they do not seem to be treated as sacredly as one would think.”
“I suppose they’ve developed a somewhat secular image recently, especially since the Great Catastrophe.” Saying so, Yoo Seong-un lightly clapped his hands, still holding his chopsticks. “Congratulations, guardians. If things go well, young Cha Yi-sol might get chosen by a god at this initiation ceremony.”
“Uh… really?”
“Any god would covet a talented person. I’m not a priest, so I can’t say for sure, but he definitely seems to have talent.” Yoo Seong-un elaborated, “Holy power is a force borrowed from a god, so unlike mana, it’s difficult for others to sense it.”
“Ah…”
“See? Even though I’m an A-Rank Hunter, I didn’t even know Gio could use holy power, let alone what kind of energy it felt like.”
“Oh, I see…” Cha Ah-ra looked at Gio with a complicated expression.
Does it even make sense for a monster to use holy power…?
As if reading her mind, Yoo Seong-un nodded slightly. But since they couldn’t speak openly in front of Gio, who still believed himself to be human, he let it slide.
Even amidst this, Cha Yi-sol remained persistent.
“So, which god does Hyung serve?”
“I do not serve any particular god.”
Yoo Seong-un leaned in, whispering with a stiff, awkward smile. “Gio.”
“Yes.”
“It would be better to say you have one.”
“Why should I say I have one when I do not?”
“Because normally, people do.”
Whether one was a chosen believer or a devout priest, wielding holy power inherently meant having been chosen by a god. For someone who had healed Cha Eun-hyeok with that very power to claim they served no god made absolutely no sense.
At least, not from a human perspective.
“…”
“…”
“If someone uses holy power without serving a god, then that just makes them…”
“Shut up, piggy.”
“Sorry.”
At her brother’s wise intervention, Cha Ah-ra clamped her mouth shut. An existence that could wield holy power without serving a god could only be a god themselves. At the very least, they had to possess a status equivalent to one.
My big mouth.
She was usually so good at controlling herself in front of other Hunters. Why did her tongue always get so loose around the Black Cloak?
While Cha Ah-ra’s pupils trembled, Cha Eun-hyeok was also struggling to pull himself together.
…He’s so completely different from the image and vibe of the gods I know, so I thought there was no way… But at this point, wasn’t it incredibly blasphemous of us to introduce the Black Cloak to Ah-ra as just a ‘monster you can talk to’?
Did this mean his suspicions from last night, which had felt like paranoia, were actually correct? Cha Eun-hyeok felt a profound sense of shock and skepticism at how haphazardly the world seemed to operate.
I really didn’t need to know the truth about this terrifyingly immense existence.
Despite the heavy atmosphere, the youngest person in the room remained bright and cheerful.
“Wow, so you can have holy power even without serving a god!”
No, you can’t.
That person is just weird.
Why is he pretending to be human and hanging out with us?
Cha Ah-ra, a porter Hunter who had seen it all, and Cha Eun-hyeok, who had been able to see strange existences since childhood, skillfully swallowed their thoughts.
They didn’t freak out and run away, however. In this day and age, ‘gods’ were viewed much like dragons from medieval fantasy enjoying their leisure. This was thanks to the occasional news reports about eccentric gods disguising themselves as humans or monsters to enjoy life on Earth.
“…”
Unlike the Cha siblings, who had somehow managed to accept the situation, Yoo Seong-un’s mind was complicated in its own way.
…I knew Gio was an existence closely connected to the Origin, but for him to possess holy power of all things…
Yoo Seong-un inwardly sighed.
It’s a bit strange. Just because someone has a high status doesn’t mean they can automatically take on divinity.
Could it be related to Gio’s personality?
I still have no idea what kind of existence he is.
Yoo Seong-un scratched his neck. He had known for a long time that Gio was clumsy at imitating humans. Now that even Cha Eun-hyeok seemed to have caught on—not to mention Cha Ah-ra, who had been dragged directly into Gio’s dungeon—there was no point in trying to hide it.
“…”
Sensing the instantly awkward atmosphere, the Black Cloak also appeared visibly uncomfortable.
Don’t look awkward, Seong-un thought. If even you act like that, it only makes things worse.
After a moment of hesitation, Gio spoke up.
“…I do serve a god.”
“Only now?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Having dealt with fickle and stubborn Children of the Origin before, Yoo Seong-un smiled smoothly and played along. The last thing he wanted was to anger an unidentified existence whose true nature was still a mystery.
“So, which god is it?”
“The Sun God.”
“Right, that’s a common one…”
Even on Earth, the Sun Cult was a religion that had appeared all over the world. In this small country alone, there were over fifty Temples of the Sun. Many people even knew it as a faith that had existed since before the Great Catastrophe. Because of that, it was the perfect, generic lie to throw around.
“Ah, that’s why it felt warm!”
Cha Yi-sol was the only one who bought Gio’s words.
“I like the Sun God, too.”
“Thank you.”
Why are you the one thanking him? Does he have any intention of hiding his identity at all? Cha Eun-hyeok almost choked. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t taste the food he was eating.
In truth, Gio said thank you because he was thinking of the old man resting in his cabin’s main room.
Father will be pleased.
He had been feeling sorry for the teddy bear, who was depressed over his lack of believers. For a son, feeling grateful to someone who expressed fondness for the Sun God was only natural.
“Would you like me to introduce you to a Sun God I know?”
“Wait a minute, Gio.” Yoo Seong-un slammed on the brakes. “You should give young Cha Yi-sol a chance to catch the eye of other gods, too.”
“I only said I would introduce him…”
“Why are you making that introduction in the first place?”
“Isn’t it good to have more friends?”
“Can a god and young Cha Yi-sol really become friends?”
“Why not?”
“Oh…”
Gio was simply planning to introduce the lonely old teddy bear to a new friend, but to the adults who didn’t know the circumstances, it sounded like he was saying, ‘I’m basically the Sun God, and I want to befriend you.’
He really has absolutely no prejudice.
This was not a conversation to be having in a pork belly restaurant.
“…Gio, you really have a grand perspective.”
“Thank you.”
“Right. Let’s just eat.”
Yoo Seong-un felt a sudden, urgent need to get this initiation ceremony over with and send Gio back into his frame as quickly as possible.
*
“…”
Bisabeol blinked at the text message from Yoo Seong-un.
“…The Sun God, huh.”
He hadn’t expected that particular affiliation.
In the first place, no divinity was felt from Gio’s portrait. It’s only right to assume it cannot be sensed unless he reveals it himself.
Furthermore, Gio’s nature was far too unstable to be definitively labeled as a ‘god.’
“That cannot be all.”
His divinity was merely one of the countless characteristics Gio possessed.
He was still a confusing existence. He possessed the traits of a monster, had ambiguous aspects like the Children of the Origin, and, according to Yoo Seong-un, was also an existence with divine status.
“At the same time, he resembles a human.”
Sometimes he was a monster. Sometimes he was a human. If so, then sometimes he could also be a god. It was as if everything in the world was merely a facet of him.
…But, if one looks at it that way…
In other words, it meant Gio was the ‘Origin’ of everything in the world.
“…”
The Origin.
“…Hmm.”
Was it possible that the Origin was a personified entity?
If only Gio would cause a slightly bigger stir, he would be able to find out for sure. It was just a pity that Gio was so cooperative.