Chapter 56

The initiation ceremony consists of a total of three stages.

“The first is the preliminary explanation, the second is the preliminary training, and the third is the main ceremony.”

“…….”

“…is what I understand.”

Chii-ik―

Flipping a piece of pork belly, Yu Seong-un asked.

“Is that right?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

The guardian of the prospective priest, Cha Eun-hyeok, who had been momentarily engrossed in the meat, nodded his head.

Under the command of Yu Seong-un, who had decided they needed a place to talk right after meeting at the station, they were seated at a pork belly restaurant.

The room, blocked off on all sides, was quite quiet and cozy.

“What we will be attending today is the preliminary briefing session. They say it’s a place where they explain everything from the characteristics of the priest profession to what kind of training they will receive in the future, and what kind of priest they can become.”

“The preliminary training must be a separate session for the prospective priests before the main ceremony?”

“It would be difficult to conduct the main ceremony right away for young children who know nothing. They learn things like the etiquette to be observed at the main ceremony and the roles they have to play… I think that’s what it was.”

Cha Eun-hyeok asked as he looked at his younger brother, Cha Isold.

“You said you’d enter the temporary dormitory right after the briefing to learn the ceremony etiquette, right?”

“Yeah, they said it would take about a day.”

Having said that, Cha Isold turned to Yu Seong-un and Seo Jio and smiled bashfully.

“…yo.”

“Ahaha, if you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to use formal language.”

“I’m good at using formal language.”

“Really? That’s impressive.”

Yu Seong-un chimed in and laughed.

“So it’s a two-day event in total?”

“No. It’s one day for the preliminary briefing and training, and two days for the main ceremony, so it takes a total of 3 days.”

“The main ceremony takes two days? It’s not my field, so I didn’t know, but it goes on for quite a while.”

“It seems that’s because the longer the main ceremony, the more advantageous it is for receiving a god’s gaze.”

“Then that makes sense. Come to think of it, it seems that renowned religious orders generally had long initiation ceremonies.”

Jio, who had been quiet until now, asked.

“Is the gaze of a god absolutely necessary?”

“…Well, that’s because a priest can’t do much without being chosen by a god.”

Cha Ara, who had been constantly stealing glances in the extraordinary situation of eating pork belly with Jio, who might be a monster or something else, continued.

“Just because you become a priest doesn’t mean you always get a chance to receive a god’s gaze. If there’s the biggest chance, it’s at the initiation ceremony when you’re first recognized as a priest, and the rest… what was it called?”

“Anyway, when there’s an event. Or if you get a fortuitous opportunity in a dungeon, or prove your competence as a priest, the probability of catching a god’s eye increases.”

“So I’ve heard.”

While his sister and brother were talking back and forth, Cha Isold, with his fluffy, puppy-like hair, was stuffing his mouth full of meat.

“Thish ish delishush.”

“Eat a lot.”

Yu Seong-un smiled as if he found it cute.

A rural resident would rarely have the chance to come to a restaurant, so he must be eating so deliciously, but even considering that, Cha Isold ate his food very heartily.

‘It makes everyone watching feel good.’

Perhaps Jio felt similarly, as he was pointedly placing meat in front of Cha Isold.

“Thank you.”

“You eat well.”

“I eat well.”

“Commendable.”

“Ehee.”

The three adults who knew Jio’s identity were watching the scene with a strange feeling. Especially the two Cha siblings.

‘Oh my, Isold….’

‘We have to do something about that sociability.’

They had definitely talked about the ‘Black Cape’ while eating dinner before coming up to Seoul, but seeing this, it seemed his younger brother hadn't realized that the ‘Seo Jio’ in front of him and the ‘Black Cape’ were the same person.

“…….”

“…….”

As the Black Cape openly took care of Cha Isold, Cha Ara, Cha Eun-hyeok, and Yu Seong-un exchanged glances.

‘Does he normally like kids?’

‘I don’t know either.’

Yu Seong-un shook his head, but on second thought, Jio was said to have been keen on feeding Cha Ara something when they met, too.

He also always gave gifts of food to Yu Seong-un and others.

Considering that, it seemed he just had a strong interest in filling someone’s belly.

“Umm….”

Well, what's good is good.

“Jio, what do you want to do?”

“Are you asking about the initiation ceremony?”

“It seems to be taking longer than I thought. Are you okay?”

Jio seemed to have a hard time when he was outside the picture frame.

‘How could he not have a hard time when he’s killing his class down to the level of an ordinary human.’

Even now, Jio was maintaining the level of an A-class Hunter with his usual class suppressed.

It would definitely take a toll on what should be called his soul, some essential part of him, and I didn’t know if he could last for 3 days.

“I was worried you might find it difficult.”

“That much is fine.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

In contrast to Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ara, who looked like they knew what the two were talking about, Cha Isold, who was diligently picking up meat, asked with a questioning face.

“Hyung, can’t you stay outside for long?”

“…….”

“Are you frail?”

Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ara were silently horrified, but Yu Seong-un, though a little surprised, decided to watch the situation.

He was curious how Jio would respond to the young human’s question.

Jio answered after a short pause.

“I do not think I am frail.”

“Then?”

“In my case, I believe my spirit is weak.”

“You don’t look like it?”

“I am trying to look like there is no problem.”

This answer was unexpected for Yu Seong-un as well.

‘…I don’t know if Jio’s spirit can be called weak, but….’

I thought I knew why he blamed his spirit instead of his body.

Lowering one’s class would be more mentally painful than physically.

But from a human’s perspective, he was enduring pain on the level of having his limbs cut off and being beaten, and that couldn’t be described as ‘weak.’

Seeing that, it seemed that unlike other beings of the Source, Jio did not consider himself a strong being.

‘No, it’s probably closer to being unable to.’

He had often shown signs of his personality and memories being disorganized, so it was natural that self-awareness would be difficult.

Like an elephant with poor eyesight that doesn’t know how big it is.

“Which god do you serve, bro?”

“A god?”

“Yes, I can feel something warm….”

At Cha Isold’s words, who seemed to be sizing something up as he gazed at Jio, Yu Seong-un’s eyes widened.

“You can feel that?”

“Yes? Um, yes. It’s very warm.”

“Oh….”

“Is this something I’m not supposed to feel?”

“Not that, but it’s rare for a priest to notice another person’s holy power.”

Yu Seong-un tapped his chopsticks.

“Especially a young priest like you who has no affiliated divinity.”

At those words, Jio muttered.

“Affiliated divinity, it sounds like a political party.”

“It’s probably similar? They say gods also have power struggles and fights over shares. The more followers they have, the stronger that god’s power becomes, and the easier it is to be active….”

“They are only gods in name; it seems they are not treated as sacredly as one would think.”

“They say a more secular image has formed recently after the Great Catastrophe.”

Having said that, Yu Seong-un lightly clapped his hands while holding his chopsticks.

“Congratulations, guardians. At this rate, Cha Isold will be chosen by a god at this initiation ceremony.”

“Uh… really?”

“Any god would covet a good talent. I’m not a priest, so I can’t guarantee it, but he seems to have a gift.”

Yu Seong-un added an explanation.

“In the first place, holy power is power borrowed from a god, so unlike magical power, it’s hard for others to feel it.”

“Ah….”

“Look, I’m an A-class Hunter, but I didn’t even know Jio could use holy power, and I didn’t know what kind of aura it was.”

“Oh, I see….”

Cha Ara looked at Jio with a strange expression.

‘I don’t know if it makes sense for a monster to use holy power….’

As if he knew what Cha Ara was thinking, Yu Seong-un nodded.

But he couldn’t say it openly in front of Jio, who thought he was human, so he let it pass.

Even in the midst of this, Cha Isold was persistent.

“So who is the god you serve, bro?”

“I do not serve any particular god.”

Yu Seong-un, with a stiff face, smiled awkwardly and whispered.

“Jio.”

“Yes.”

“It would be better to say you do.”

“Why would I say I do when I don’t?”

“Because people usually do.”

Whether a chosen follower or a devout priest, wielding holy power meant that one had been chosen by a god in the first place.

For someone who had even healed Cha Eun-hyeok with holy power to say he served no god made no sense.

From the humans’ perspective.

“…….”

“…….”

“If you use holy power without serving a god, that’s just….”

“Shut it, flower pig.”

“Sorry.”

At her brother’s wise, sharp warning, Cha Ara shut her mouth.

The only being that could wield holy power without serving a god was a god.

At the very least, it meant he was a being of an equivalent class.

‘My mouth is a disaster.’

It was well under control in front of other Hunters, but I didn’t know why my tongue became so free-spirited only in front of the Black Cape.

While Cha Ara’s pupils were quietly trembling, Cha Eun-hyeok was also trying hard to collect himself.

‘…It was so completely different from the image or atmosphere of the beings I know as gods that I thought, “no way, it couldn’t possibly be that,” but… at this point, wasn’t it too blasphemous for them to have introduced the Black Cape to Cha Ara as a monster she could talk to?’

Was his suspicion from last night, which was close to a delusional disorder, correct?

Cha Eun-hyeok was greatly shocked and felt a sense of skepticism at the way the world just went on as it pleased.

‘There was no need for me to know the truth about this immense being.’

He was extremely tired, but the youngest person here, Cha Isold, was as cheerful as ever.

“Wow, you can have holy power even without serving a god!”

No, you can’t.

‘That person is the strange one.’

Why is he pretending to be human and doing this here?

Cha Ara, a porter Hunter who had seen it all, and Cha Eun-hyeok, who had been seeing strange beings since he was young, skillfully swallowed their true thoughts.

But they didn’t get scared and ran out of their seats.

The ‘gods’ of this era were, in the first place, on the level of dragons enjoying the amusement of a medieval fantasy.

This was thanks to the occasional news stories about eccentric gods who disguised themselves as humans or monsters to enjoy life on Earth.

“…….”

Unlike the two Cha siblings, who had somehow accepted this situation, Yu Seong-un was conflicted in his own way.

‘…I knew that Jio had a great connection to the Source, but still, to have holy power….’

Yu Seong-un sighed inwardly.

‘It’s a bit strange. You can’t just possess divinity simply by having a high class.’

Could it be a problem related to Jio’s personality?

‘I still don’t know what kind of being he is.’

Yu Seong-un scratched his neck.

He had known for a while that Jio was unskilled at imitating humans.

Now that not only Cha Ara, who had been dragged to Jio’s dungeon, but also Cha Eun-hyeok seemed to have a rough idea, could this be hidden any longer?

“…….”

Perhaps sensing the atmosphere that had turned awkward in an instant, the Black Cape also seemed to become awkward.

‘Don’t be awkward.’

If you act like that too, the atmosphere will only get worse.

Hesitantly, Jio spoke.

“…I do serve a god.”

“Now you say it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Uh, no, I was just saying.”

Yu Seong-un, who had dealt with the whimsical and stubborn children of the Source, smiled cleanly and played along with Jio.

He didn’t want to anger this unknown being whose identity was still not identified.

“So which god is it?”

“The Sun God.”

“Right, that’s the most universal god….”

Even on Earth, the religion that had appeared in various parts of the world was the Solar Cult.

In this small country alone, there were over 50 sun temples.

To the point where many people knew it as a religion that had existed since before the Great Catastrophe.

And just as much, it was perfect for lying, ‘Hey, I’m a follower of the sun.’

“Ah, so that’s why it was warm.”

Only Cha Isold was fooled by Jio’s words.

“I like the Sun God too.”

“Thank you.”

Why are you thanking him?

‘Is he really not planning on hiding his identity?’

Cha Eun-hyeok almost choked.

It was the first time in his life he was eating at a restaurant, but he couldn’t taste the food.

Actually, the reason Jio had said thank you was that he was thinking of the old man resting in the main room of his cabin.

‘Father will be pleased.’

He had been feeling sorry for the sullen teddy bear because it had no followers and it was only natural for him as a son to feel gratitude towards Cha Isold, who said he liked the Sun God.

“Would it be alright if I introduced you to a Sun God that I know?”

“Wait a minute, Jio.”

Yu Seong-un put on the brakes.

“We have to give Cha Isold a chance to be noticed by other gods, too.”

“I only said I would introduce him….”

“Why are you making that introduction in the first place?”

“Isn’t it good if he makes more friends?”

“Can a god and Cha Isold be friends?”

“Why not?”

“Oh….”

Jio had intended to introduce the lonely old teddy bear, but from the adults’ perspective, who didn’t know the circumstances, it was as if he had said, ‘I’m something like a Sun God, and I want to befriend you.’

‘He really has no prejudice.’

This was definitely not a conversation to be had at a pork belly restaurant like this.

“…You really are big-hearted, Jio.”

“Thank you.”

“Right, let’s eat.”

It seemed I had to get him to see the initiation ceremony and send him back to the picture frame quickly.

***

“…….”

Bisabeol blinked at the text he received from Yu Seong-un.

“…The Sun God, huh.”

I hadn’t particularly thought it would be that one.

‘In the first place, I didn’t feel any divinity from Jio’s Portrait. It’s right to assume that it’s something you can’t feel unless he shows it himself.’

Besides, it was very unstable to define Jio’s identity as a ‘god.’

“That can’t be all there is.”

His divinity was just one of the many characteristics Jio possessed.

He was still a chaotic being.

He had the characteristics of a monster, had an ambiguous side like the children of the Source, and according to what Yu Seong-un said, he was also a being with godhood.

“At the same time, he resembles a human.”

Sometimes, he becomes a monster.

Sometimes, he becomes a human.

If so, sometimes, he could also become a god.

As if everything in the world was his derivative.

‘…But, if you look at it that way….’

In other words, it meant that Jio was the ‘Source’ of everything in the world.

“…….”

The Source.

“…Hmm.”

Is it possible for it to be a sentient being?

If Jio caused a slightly bigger incident, I would be able to find out for sure.

His goodwill was just a shame.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.