Does a Holy Relic Really Exist?
Ha.
Noel let out a sigh and immediately glared at the ghost.
“Hey. What do you think you're doing? If you're going to do it, at least do it right.”
Shouldn't he be giving him nightmares or leaving physical scratches or something?
Instead, he was using a petty method that caused pain without leaving a single trace.
“Huh...?”
“Not you, Sihun. The guy clinging to your back.”
“I did it because he's annoying! What of it?”
“What is?”
“That jerk... he says there's something he really wants to do, but his parents are completely against it! I did it in a fit of anger, alright?”
Noel was quite shocked by those words.
There was no way a ghost would help like this without any benefit to themselves.
“Didn't you say he was... a bad sort?”
Yeong-hyeon stroked his chin for no reason.
It seemed his worries had been entirely unnecessary; wasn't this actually a good ghost?
“Did you get hit on the head when you died or something...?”
“What are you talking about? It's unfair enough that I'm dead. You want to die too?”
“Do you pray with him too? Is that why?”
“......”
The mouth that had been running so smoothly suddenly shut tight.
Only then did Noel flash a mischievous smile.
“You do pray with him, don't you? If your heart has become so devout, you should hurry up and ascend to the afterlife. Why are you still clinging to him?”
“Do you really... pray with me?”
Sihun was surprised, but at the same time, a swell of anticipation rose within him.
Being able to share his faith was a source of immense joy.
Since going to seminary would mean living mostly cut off from the outside world.
Even though he couldn't see him, just knowing he had a comrade brought him a sense of comfort.
“It certainly looks that way. Though he seems incredibly embarrassed about it.”
“Shut up! You're so annoying...!”
The ghost barked at Noel.
But no matter how fiercely he tried to act, it just sounded like a puppy yapping.
“Do not raise your voice.”
At Asin's command, the ghost shut his mouth, merely pointing a trembling hand at Noel.
“...I'm glad, then.”
As Sihun smiled softly, the ghost lowered his hand and let out a long sigh.
“That guy is a total idiot. You know that, right?”
How on earth was Noel supposed to know that?
This was only his second time meeting Sihun.
“Stop tormenting Sihun's parents now. You know it's bad for you too, right? Since you're not an idiot, I trust you understand what I mean.”
Regardless of the circumstances, Noel delivered a firm warning.
It was only because he had repeatedly prayed in a place that could be considered divine territory that his erosion had been washed away. If he kept tormenting people like that, far from recovering, his state would become even worse than before.
“Did you hear me?”
When there was no response, Noel asked again.
“Then what about that idiot...?”
“What about him? Oh, and I'll have an Einspänner latte and a slice of cheesecake, please.”
At Noel's sudden order mid-sentence, Sihun nodded and stood up.
He had been hovering, waiting for a chance to ask what Noel wanted to eat.
‘Since it's this simple, I should just be satisfied with getting a free treat.’
“I'll be right back.”
Sihun smiled and hurried off.
“Hey. Is he your servant or something?”
When the ghost flared up, Noel snorted.
“This is my rightful payment, and I'm only taking this much because he's a friend. Besides, the only reason Sihun is running around like that is because of you. Why did you have to go and torment his perfectly innocent parents and cause all this trouble in the first place?”
“......That mouth of yours is seriously annoying.”
“So? Keep talking.”
“You have no idea how much he's suffering over his career path right now, do you?”
“I don't.”
“I'm only telling you this because you're his friend, but if he keeps going like this, something terrible is going to happen.”
“Not yet, it won't.”
There was no scent of death lingering around Sihun.
Why was this ghost acting like this toward someone who still had plenty of life left in him?
The ghost stared at him with a dumbfounded expression.
“So? Every time Sihun's parents opposed him, you went and tormented them, is that it?”
“Yeah. If I hadn't, he would have already...”
“Why are you projecting so much?”
“...What?”
“Is that why you kept following Sihun around? So he wouldn't end up like you? No, wait—you saw yourself in him, and it made you angry. That's why you kept clinging to him, right?”
Since Sihun had a cross over his head, most ordinary ghosts wouldn't even dare to approach him.
Even if it wasn't to the extent of Asin, God would have granted him some reward for his faith.
Noel had wondered why this ghost was stubbornly lingering nearby despite that, and it turned out this was the reason.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something, but Sihun is not you.”
Noel bluntly pointed out the common delusion ghosts fell into.
“You are dead, and whatever Sihun does is none of your business. Sihun's life belongs to Sihun.”
He wasn't even family.
There wasn't a single sliver of justification for him to interfere.
“...You're entirely right. It's so accurate I can't even argue.”
“Right?”
Seeing Noel's bright smile, the ghost slowly unclenched his fists.
He was incredibly annoying, but he was absolutely right.
He let out a long sigh.
“......I hated him because he reminded me so much of myself. I followed him around school, thinking of nothing but how to mess with him. Sometimes I'd trip him, other times I'd flip his lunch tray.”
‘What? That was him?’
Yeong-hyeon narrowed his eyes.
He had assumed Sihun just had weak wrists.
“How petty.”
Noel glanced sideways at Sihun, who was waiting in line.
“You know he has great grades, right?”
“Of course. They're incredible.”
The words slipped out of Yeong-hyeon's mouth almost reflexively.
Sihun was practically at the very top of his class, after all.
“I was really good, too. My parents wanted me to go to medical school, but I wanted to be a teacher. I guess he thought his parents would give up if he failed to get into medical school, just like I did. But it doesn't work out that way.”
The ghost let out a self-deprecating smile, his shoulders slumping.
He looked at Noel with an even more desperate gaze than before.
“He's... exactly like me. They keep pressuring him to retake the exams. They keep screaming that medical school is the only answer. If this keeps up, he'll die. His spirit will break, and... he'll die. He might end up wandering the school forever, just like me.”
Slowly, the ghost's face contorted with pain.
Even though Noel had told him not to project, the tragic scene was clearly playing out before his eyes.
“Did you wish to save him?”
At Asin's question, the ghost looked up at her.
His eyes widened slightly.
Who did he want to save?
“Not Sihun. I mean you.”
Noel asked him point-blank.
Though his spirit form was intact, it didn't seem like he had met a peaceful end like Yeong-hyeon's original soul.
In other words, it was a question of whether he regretted his choices.
The ghost was speechless for a moment, his eyes trembling.
“......I suppose so.”
The corners of the ghost's eyes slowly drooped.
“...You're right.”
Having finally admitted the truth he had been ignoring all this time, a look of relief washed over his face.
“Don't worry. Sihun is nowhere near his time to die.”
Noel watched Sihun walking back with a cheerful stride.
“Is that true...?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
There were no Grim Reapers hovering around him, after all.
“Are you two still talking?”
“Sihun.”
“Yeah?”
“The ghost said he was just really worried about you and wanted to help.”
“I never said that!”
The ghost snapped back, flustered.
“Really?”
“He said your parents are pressuring you to retake the exams for medical school?”
Sihun was briefly taken aback, but soon replied.
“...Yeah. I thought they'd give up if I failed to get in, but they didn't.”
At Sihun's reply, the ghost watched him with bated breath, looking incredibly tense.
“So, are you going to live according to your parents' wishes?”
“No. I don't want to.”
Sihun shook his head.
His voice was quiet, but his resolve was firm.
How could the ghost not realize this when he had been watching him all this time?
“I'm going to work a part-time job and save up some money first. I need to become independent. I'm an adult now, right? Besides, the Father said he would help me out. I'm incredibly lucky.”
At those firm words, the ghost beamed brighter than anyone else.
Was it relief?
“The ghost is absolutely thrilled by what you just said.”
“...W-when did I ever?”
The ghost instantly wiped the smile off his face.
“It's kind of fascinating and nice, feeling like I've gained an invisible friend.”
Sihun smiled warmly, clasping his hands together.
“Since he seems to like praying, you should call his name whenever you're bored. If he grows well like this, he might even be able to protect you one day.”
“Hey. Am I a plant or something?”
“Grow? How... does he grow?”
Sihun looked quite serious.
“I mean his rank will go up. If you pray a lot, he might become a Guardian Deity someday. So, what's your name?”
Noel looked at the ghost.
“......Lee Hosin.”
“His name is Lee Hosin. Call him often. I think he'll be able to help you out. Reassuring, isn't it?”
Noel finished speaking and looked at Asin.
“Indeed. Having a heart that wishes well for another is the very first step.”
“Did you hear that, Hosin? A very, very grand Guardian Deity just said so, so listen carefully.”
Asin was a god-class Guardian Deity.
A spirit like him would normally never even get to lay eyes on her.
At Noel's praise, Asin wore a pleased smile.
‘Well, that's one thing sorted out.’
It had been incredibly simple.
Since he would encounter plenty of situations like this once he opened his shop, it was best to adapt quickly.
‘For a minor matter like this, would about fifty thousand won be enough?’
He did need to think about his rates.
‘I also need to figure out the fortune-telling aspect.’
The best way to make up for his shortcomings was, of course, using ghosts.
Since he had mimicked a fortune-teller using ghosts before.
“...Oh, right. That priest he mentioned? He seemed to be in a bit of a tight spot.”
At Hosin's words, Noel paused.
Hadn't everything just been resolved nicely?
If something went wrong with the priest who was supposed to help Sihun, things would fall apart again.
“Huh...?”
Realizing Noel wasn't looking at him, Sihun simply sipped his drink.
“Sihun. You said the Father is in trouble?”
“......!”
Sihun froze instantly.
Had Hosin told him?
He nervously toyed with his thick eyebrows.
“You know those things they call Holy Relics? Apparently, one was stolen. They checked the CCTV, but they couldn't see anything.”
‘A Holy Relic...?’
Noel wondered if he had misheard.
It wasn't as if there was any actual divine power in this world.
The most he had seen was a cross floating over someone's head.
“There are Holy Relics here...?”
At Noel's question, Sihun nodded.
Didn't every cathedral sell souvenirs under the name of 'sacred objects' or 'holy relics'?
The most common one being a rosary.
“I'm pretty sure every cathedral has them.”
Noel froze for a moment at those words.
‘A Holy Relic... isn't something that common, though?’
Wasn't it an item bestowed by a god?
Even high priests valued them more than their own lives.
And they were selling them at every cathedral?
His mind was starting to boggle.
“I don't know how much you've heard, but they lost a Holy Relic that was said to be imbued with divine power.”
“Do real ones actually exist?”
When Yeong-hyeon asked, Asin proudly pointed to herself.
“If the power of the heavens exists, how could the power of a god not?”
Asin's words only made Noel feel as if he were sinking deeper into a labyrinth.
Did they sell divine power in all shapes and sizes here?
‘Why...? Are they that short on cash?’
Were the clergy in this world different from the priests in his original world?
“The priest who offered to help me is the head priest of that cathedral, so it really is a huge problem.”
He truly hadn't intended to ask for help with this.
After all, this was a completely different matter.
“Are you sure it's a real Holy Relic?”
“To be honest, I don't know if it's real or not. But there are a few select cathedrals that house Holy Relics said to contain divine power, and the one I attend happens to be one of them.”
“You must go to a pretty big cathedral, then?”
“No. Apparently, it just has a very deep history.”
Listening to Sihun's reply, Noel temporarily pushed aside his confusion.
He felt the need to see what it was first.
More than anything, he was curious.
Since he had never known what the Holy Relics the priests cherished so dearly actually looked like, he wanted to see one, even if it was in this world.
“By any chance, do they need help from someone with a... different perspective?”
Noel smiled brightly.
‘The cathedral staff can't be excluded from my clientele either.’
From what he knew, didn't they quietly run exorcists or something similar?
They would make excellent clients.
“Honestly, it did seem like they needed it. It really looked as if a ghost had stolen it.”
“But Sihun, I charge for my services. I don't work for free. If you're okay with that, go ahead and contact the Father. Otherwise, I'm heading home.”
“Wait. Just a second!”
Sihun stood up excitedly and rushed out of the cafe.
“He's your friend, can't you do it for free?”
“If I were going to do that, I would have become a priest myself, wouldn't I?”
Noel elegantly countered Hosin's grumbling.
Clap, clap.
Yeong-hyeon clapped his hands together and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Even under Hosin's glare, Yeong-hyeon spoke his mind.
“He's got a point.”
As soon as they got out of the taxi, Noel looked up.
“...Sihun? Is this the right place?”
“Haha, there are... a lot of stairs, right?”
“That's an understatement.”
Noel already wore an exhausted expression.
When fleeing, the thing he hated most was climbing places like this.
The pursuer hated it, and he hated it too.
Because of the steep stairs, only the very tip of the Holy Cathedral was barely visible.
“Climb up with some energy. You're in for a surprise.”
Yeong-hyeon shrugged and said.
His physical body wasn't that weak anymore.
“Once you start walking, it's actually not that bad of a climb.”
“I suppose so...?”
Noel steeled himself and stepped onto the stairs.
How long had they been climbing?
As about half of the Holy Cathedral came into view, he had to narrow his eyes.
“...It's incredibly radiant?”
“We did clean the cathedral very thoroughly.”
At Sihun's reply, Noel stared at him intently for a moment.
His gaze was somewhat sharp.
“Are you not talking about this...? We worked really hard on the outer walls too.”
“I mean I can see its power.”
“Really? You can see that?”
“I'm saying it because I can see it. This place is the real deal.”
It wasn't some half-baked, lingering energy; it was genuine power.
“I feel... a little sick to my stomach, actually.”
“Sihun, I'm not talking to you.”
Noel spoke briefly to Sihun, then addressed Asin.
“Is it because the energies are clashing?”
“Indeed. It is different from the power I possess, and it is rather intense here.”
“Will you be alright?”
“On the contrary, it is good. Is this not a form of training?”
Asin raised a hand and laughed heartily, her expression growing even more resolute.
“If you're fine with it, then let's go together.”
“Are you alright, Master?”
“Of course I am.”
Whether it was the heavens or a god, both were benevolent forces.
It was only natural that they would embrace even death.
Yeong-hyeon seemed perfectly fine as well.
‘More importantly, this is starting to get interesting.’
With that level of power, it was highly likely a genuine Holy Relic actually existed here.
His anticipation swelled at the thought of potentially seeing a real Holy Relic today.