Chapter 249 – Capital Road (1)

The sky is dark, but the church fire is not extinguished. Ernrich Lumia hummed his hum, imagining Evan’s dignified appearance today. Candles flickered wherever the hem of her dress brushed against her, and the priests who walked her corridors bowed their heads with respectful eyes.

The church reform proposal that had spread from Ithaca was slowly but surely taking root, and the hero did not take any action, as if he had no power to stop Rumia from doing so. She was just spending her boring days signing papers and praying for those who asked for support.

There was a time when I longed for this kind of life. There was a time when she wanted to be the protagonist of a story that calmly changes the church by standing at the center of the church. But now she found squeezing Evan’s cock more enjoyable than caressing her church cross.

The act of whispering a moan in Evan’s ear gave him a deeper sense of uplift than praying.

So these days, the number of days she sighs has increased dramatically. She could join Evan in the capital if she had a little more time, but even that ‘just a little more’ time was close to her penance for her. Ernrich Rumia muttered as he opened the door to the main hall of the church.

“A little bit. Let’s be patient.”

“Uh, what? Priest Rumia?”

There were passengers in the main hall of the church. An old, bald priest was praying while looking at the church’s mural. He saw her Rumia, jumped up with her puzzled face, and nodded her head.

“Why are you here at this late hour?”

Rumia glanced at the old priest and said.

“I was taking a walk because I couldn’t sleep. Why are you praying at this late hour, priest? Now that the churches are also moving according to the reform plan, it will only be a matter of time before they regain their former selves. It will take time to clear the notoriety the Church has built up, but we are doing well, aren’t we?”

There was an expression on the face of Rho Shin-gwan, which was the opposite of the situation of the church, which was operating as if a sail was attached to the wind. He answered Rumia’s question with a smile.

“Priest Rumia. There is a story this old priest wants to confess. Could you please listen for a moment?”

Lumia frowned at the word ‘confession’ for a moment, then remembered that the old priest’s confession was not the kind of confession she thought she was, and nodded her head. She had a stronger perception that she was Evan’s woman than the perception that she was a priest.

“Yes. I will listen.”

The old priest looked at her mural as Rumia sighed as she settled into her chair.

On the wall of the church, there was a picture of the Shinma War in the distant past. According to legend, a long time ago, a god who protected this world would fight against a demon who invaded from the demon realm. The god and the demon clashed and defeated the demon, but the god also suffered a serious injury and went into a rest period.

Even in the state of being wounded, God bestows the blessing of divine power for humans, and the present church was created as humans prayed for the recovery of such a god. Rumia had heard this story in her first theology class. Even then, the story she heard interestingly came to her with a different feeling as it was depicted in vivid murals.

The figure of a demon painted red and the huge sword of God that stabs such a demon.

Demons were fleeing through the hole in hideous appearances, and people were rejoicing on the shoulders of the gods. Noh Shin-gwan said.

“Sir. I feel my faith wavering these days.”

Rumia couldn’t help but be surprised by those words. It was because Shin-gwan Roh was a man who had been silently protecting the church. He was a person who lived as a priest, representing the purity of the church, even when the priests of the church were corrupted by corruption and even when they called him foolish for not caring about corruption.

It was not to be taken lightly to say that he had doubts about his faith.

Deep down, Rumia was worried that he might have been found out that he was worshiping the demon Evan.

“…Why did you think that?”

So Rumia said with a nervous face. Noh shook his head and continued his story.

“Why did God send down a hero? Why did the hero who defeated the demon king not save the world and make this country look like this? Why didn’t Saint Alexander, as a Saint, save the church?”

Lumia couldn’t answer the old priest’s question. Because all the questions he raised were things that penetrated the core of religion. If there really is a God, why doesn’t he punish the wicked in the world? Why is it arranged so that the wicked can live affluent lives?

Why are good people killed unjustly?

Various theories have been put forward to explain this. Both the old priest and Lumia knew how to answer when a question like this came in. As she tried to put her cliche answer on her lips, the old priest cut her off and continued her speech.

“I felt many things while preaching to people with stories I could not understand myself. Is there really a God? Why didn’t God recover the sacred power of the priests who worshiped the devil? Why did Alexander keep the mighty divine power in his body until his death? There are so many things I don’t know.”

That was something Rumia was also curious about. Priests who worshiped the devil were the most dangerous beings in the world. It was because while being able to use divine magic, he devoted his body and mind to the devil, so he ate away at the organization from the inside.

But why does God allow these people to use divine power?

Does God really exist?

Rumia felt a wave of faith that didn’t exist, so she rubbed her temples. There was no reason for her to think about such a complicated problem. So she decided to pass it off with the proper words.

“…How do we know God’s will? Just pray and pray again. There’s been a lot of confusion lately, but in the end, it didn’t come back like this. Priest. Faith is not doubting. Who would like it best if we, who should save people from evil and lead them to the light, start to question our own existence?”

The old priest bowed his head at Rumia’s words.

“Priest Rumia. I’ve been questioning my faith lately. Once I started questioning what I really believed, there was no end in sight. I’m even afraid. In whose arrangement is this world moving? Couldn’t it be that, in fact, the devil rather than God rules the world? Could it be that the devil’s minions are playing with humans, plotting to devour the world? Ah, priest Rumia. I am very afraid.”

Lumia held the old priest’s hand tightly. Noh priest felt her warm body and shed tears. It was a look that had finally found light in the confusion brought about by fear and distrust. Rumia said.

“We will overcome. Do not worry. Shouldn’t we show that we are firmly guarding the light even in the trials of doubting our faith? Priest. You have to get over it.”

“…Yes. Priest Rumia. Thank you for listening to the confession of this ignorant and immature old man.”

The old man wiped away his tears. Then, after brushing his hair, he slowly made his way out of the main hall. Rumia let out a sigh as she watched the old man move like her silkworm. Now, doubts about this belief or the temptation to have fun these days were frequent.

People even talked about Ernrich Rumia as her new saint, but Rumia got tired of hearing about her worries and envy towards herself. She was waiting for something to happen in the capital as soon as possible.

For example, a rebellion against the hero causes a group of nobles to be purged or a large number of people are killed.

Rumia held her expectations in her heart, which her priest couldn’t contain, and prayed cautiously while observing her surroundings. Her sloppy pods and her roughly bent knees were so unfaithful that if God saw her, she would not want to punish her.

“Please.”

Did her prayers reach her? Busy footsteps approached Lumia, overshadowing her receding footsteps. Rumia, who had been sitting on her knees on the rough floor, got up from her seat as soon as she heard her footsteps, tidying up her clothes. She then clears her throat, clears her throat, and brushes the knees of her baggy priest’s robe.

“Priest Rumia! It’s urgent!”

Cried the messenger in white, sweating profusely. Rumia asked with a mild expression as usual.

“What happened?”

“It is said that there is a rebellion in the capital! It is said that the rebel army and the warrior army are currently fighting… !”

Rumia didn’t need that back story. No matter what the war situation was, it was clear that Hero Wolf would be the last victor, and the power in the capital would surely be crumbling. Rumia muttered from an angle her messenger couldn’t see, her fists clenched.

“At las.”