Chapter 56

The induction ceremony was made up of three stages in total.

"The first is the preliminary briefing, the second is the preliminary training, and the third is the main ceremony."

"..."

"... Or so I understand."

SIZZLE.

As he flipped the pork belly, Yu Seongun asked,

"Is that right?"

"Ah, yes, that's right."

Cha Eun-hyuk, the guardian of the prospective priest who had briefly been distracted by the meat, nodded.

Immediately after meeting at the station, Yu Seongun had decided they would need somewhere to talk, and under his leadership, they were now seated at a pork belly restaurant.

The room, enclosed on all sides, was fairly quiet and cozy.

"What we'll be listening to today is the preliminary briefing."

"It's apparently a session that starts with the characteristics of the priest profession and then tells us what kind of education he'll receive from now on and what kind of priest he can become."

"And the preliminary training is where the prospective priests receive separate instruction before the main ceremony?"

"It would be hard to proceed straight to the main ceremony with young children who don't know anything."

"They learn things like the etiquette they have to observe during the main ceremony and the roles they have to perform... I think that was how it went."

Cha Eun-hyuk looked at his younger brother, Cha Yi-sol, and asked,

"You said you'll enter a temporary dormitory right after the preliminary briefing and learn the etiquette for the main ceremony, right?"

"Yeah, they said it takes about a day."

After saying that, Cha Yi-sol turned toward Yu Seongun and Seo Jio and smiled bashfully.

"... Sir."

"Ahaha, if it feels awkward, you don't have to force yourself to speak formally."

"I'm good at speaking formally."

"Really? That's impressive."

Yu Seongun laughed and played along.

"Then it's an event that takes two days in total?"

"No."

"They said it takes one day for the preliminary briefing and preliminary training, then two days for the main ceremony, so three days total."

"The main ceremony takes two whole days?"

"It's not my field, so I didn't know, but they hold it for quite a long time."

"I think it's because the longer the main ceremony is, the more advantageous it is if you want to receive a god's gaze."

"That makes sense, then."

"Come to think of it, I feel like the induction ceremonies of well-known religious orders were generally long."

Jio, who had been quiet all this time, asked,

"Is a god's gaze absolutely necessary?"

"... Well, priests can't really be active in any major way unless they are chosen by a god."

Cha A-ra, who had been constantly watching everyone nervously in the extraordinary situation of eating pork belly with Jio, who might or might not be a monster, continued.

"Just because someone becomes a priest doesn't mean they always get a chance to receive a god's gaze."

"If there's any biggest chance, it's at the induction ceremony when they're first recognized as a priest, and the rest is... what was it again?"

"Anyway, when there are events."

"Or if they come across a fated opportunity in a dungeon, or prove their abilities as a priest, their chances of catching a god's eye go up."

"That's what they said."

Even while his sister and brother exchanged conversation, Cha Yi-sol, who had fluffy hair like a puppy, stuffed a huge amount of meat into his mouth.

"This is goohd."

"Eat lots."

Yu Seongun smiled as if he found him cute.

People in the provinces probably did not get many chances to come to restaurants, so of course he would be eating with such relish, but even taking that into account, Cha Yi-sol ate in a very pleasing, hearty way.

'Just watching him makes me feel good.'

Jio must have felt something similar, because he was especially diligent about placing meat in front of Cha Yi-sol.

"Thangk you."

"You eat well."

"I'm good at eating."

"Admirable."

"Ehehe."

The three adults who knew Jio's identity watched the sight with a strange feeling.

The two Cha siblings, in particular, felt that way.

'Oh dear, Yi-sol...'

'We need to do something about that friendliness of his.'

Before coming up to Seoul, they had definitely talked about "Black Cloak" over dinner, but judging from that behavior, his brother had apparently not realized that the "Seo Jio" in front of him and "Black Cloak" were the same person.

"..."

"..."

As Black Cloak openly took care of Cha Yi-sol, Cha A-ra, Cha Eun-hyuk, and Yu Seongun exchanged glances.

'Does he usually like kids?'

'I don't know either.'

Yu Seongun shook his head, but thinking about it, Jio had apparently been focused on feeding Cha A-ra something when he met her too.

He also always gave Yu Seongun and others things to eat.

Considering that, it also seemed like he was simply very interested in filling people's stomachs.

"Hmm..."

Well, if it was good, it was good.

"Jio, what do you want to do?"

"Are you asking about the induction ceremony?"

"It seems like it'll take longer than I thought."

"Are you all right with it?"

Jio seemed to struggle when he was outside the frame.

'He's suppressing his level of existence to that of an ordinary human, so there's no way it isn't hard.'

The current Jio was also suppressing his usual level of existence and maintaining himself at the level of an A-class Hunter.

Whether one called it his soul or something fundamental, it was probably taking a toll on him, and Yu Seongun was not sure if he could endure three days.

"I thought it might be hard on you."

"That much is fine."

"Then that's a relief."

While Cha Eun-hyuk and Cha A-ra looked as if they understood what the two were talking about, Cha Yi-sol, who had been busily picking up meat and eating it, asked with a puzzled face,

"Hyung, you can't stay outside for long?"

"..."

"Are you weak?"

Cha Eun-hyuk and Cha A-ra were silently horrified, but Yu Seongun was only a little surprised and decided to watch the situation.

He was curious how Jio would respond to a young human's question.

After a brief pause, Jio answered.

"I don't think my body is weak."

"Then?"

"In my case, I think my mind is weak."

"It doesn't look that way."

"I am trying to look as though there is no problem."

This answer was unexpected even to Yu Seongun.

'... I'm not sure if it would be right to say Jio's mind is weak, but...'

He thought he knew why Jio had blamed his mind instead of his body.

Lowering his level of existence would probably bring greater mental pain than physical pain.

But by human standards, he was enduring pain on the level of having his limbs cut off and being beaten, and that could not be described as "weak."

Looking at that, Jio did not seem to consider himself a strong being, unlike other Root entities.

'No, maybe it's closer to saying he can't.'

Since he often seemed as if his personality and memories had not been sorted out, it was only natural that it would be difficult for him to view himself objectively.

Like an elephant with poor eyesight that did not know how large it was.

"What god do you serve, hyung?"

"A god?"

"Yes, I can feel something warm..."

At Cha Yi-sol's words, as he stared at Jio as though measuring something, Yu Seongun's eyes widened.

"You can feel that?"

"Huh? Um, yes."

"It's really warm."

"Oh..."

"Am I not supposed to feel things like this?"

"No, it's not that, but priests who can notice another person's holy power are rare."

Yu Seongun flicked his chopsticks.

"Especially a young priest like you, with no affiliated divinity."

At those words, Jio murmured,

"When you say affiliated divinity, it sounds almost like a political party."

"It's probably similar."

"They say gods have power struggles and fights over shares among themselves too."

"The more followers a god has, the greater that god's influence becomes, which makes it easier for them to act..."

"They are gods in name, but it seems they are not treated as divinely as one might think."

"I heard that, in recent times after the Great Catastrophe, they've taken on a somewhat more worldly image."

After saying that, Yu Seongun lightly clapped with his chopsticks still in hand.

"Congratulations, guardians."

"If things go well, Cha Yi-sol may be chosen by a god at this induction ceremony."

"Uh... really?"

"Any god would covet good talent."

"I'm not a priest, so I can't guarantee it, but he seems to have talent."

Yu Seongun added an explanation.

"To begin with, what we call holy power is power borrowed from a god, so unlike mana, it's hard for others to feel."

"Ah..."

"Look, even though I'm an A-class Hunter, I didn't even know Jio could use holy power, nor did I know what kind of energy it was."

"Oh, I see..."

Cha A-ra looked at Jio with a complicated gaze.

'I'm not really sure it makes sense that he can use holy power even though he's a monster...'

As if he knew what Cha A-ra was thinking, Yu Seongun nodded.

But he could not say it openly in front of Jio, who believed he was human, so he let it pass.

Meanwhile, Cha Yi-sol remained steadfast.

"So who is the god you serve, hyung?"

"I do not serve any particular god."

With a stiff face, Yu Seongun smiled awkwardly and whispered,

"Jio."

"Yes."

"You'd better say you do."

"Why would I say I do when I don't?"

"Because normally, you would."

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

For someone who had even healed Cha Eun-hyuk with holy power, saying he had no god he served made no sense.

From the humans' perspective.

"..."

"..."

"If you can use holy power without having a god you serve, then that's just..."

"Shut up, flower pig."

"Sorry."

At her brother's wise rebuke, Cha A-ra shut her mouth.

A being who could handle holy power without a god they served was none other than a god.

At the very least, it meant they were a being with a level of existence equivalent to one.

'My mouth is the problem.'

She controlled herself perfectly well in front of other Hunters, so why did her tongue become so free only in front of Black Cloak?

While Cha A-ra's pupils quietly trembled, Cha Eun-hyuk was also trying hard to gather his thoughts.

'... The image and atmosphere are completely different from what I know of gods, so I thought surely, no matter what, it couldn't be that... But at this point, wasn't it way too blasphemous for them to introduce Black Cloak to Cha A-ra as a monster you could communicate with?'

Did that mean his suspicions from last night, which had bordered on delusional illness, had been correct?

Cha Eun-hyuk felt tremendous shock and disillusionment at the sight of the world running in whatever direction it pleased.

'There was no need for me to go out of my way to learn the truth about such an incredible being.'

He was extremely tired, but the youngest person here, Cha Yi-sol, was cheerful anyway.

"Wow, so you can have holy power even without a god you serve!"

No, you cannot.

'He's the strange one.'

Why was he pretending to be human here like this?

Cha A-ra, a porter Hunter who had seen all sorts of things, and Cha Eun-hyuk, who had seen strange beings since childhood, skillfully swallowed their true thoughts.

But that did not mean they freaked out and ran from their seats.

To begin with, in the current era, "gods" were on the level of dragons enjoying a medieval fantasy amusement.

This was because eccentric gods who disguised themselves as humans or monsters to enjoy life on Earth occasionally made the news.

"..."

Unlike the two Cha siblings, who had somehow accepted this situation, Yu Seongun had his own complicated feelings.

'... I knew Jio was a being deeply connected to the Root, but even so, having holy power is...'

Yu Seongun inwardly swallowed a sigh.

'A little strange.'

'Simply having a high level of existence doesn't mean one can possess divinity.'

Could this possibly be an issue related to Jio's personality as well?

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

Yu Seongun scratched his neck.

He had known for a long time that Jio was clumsy at imitating humans.

Cha A-ra, who had even been dragged directly to Jio's dungeon, was one thing, but now that Cha Eun-hyuk seemed to have roughly noticed too, how could hiding more possibly help?

"..."

Perhaps realizing that the atmosphere had turned awkward in an instant, Black Cloak also looked awkward along with everyone else.

'Don't look awkward.'

If even you do that, the mood will get worse.

After hesitating, Jio said,

"... I do have a god I serve."

"Now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, nothing."

"I just said it."

Having dealt with fickle and stubborn Root's children, Yu Seongun smiled neatly and played along with Jio.

He did not want to anger an unknown being whose identity he still had not grasped.

"So what kind of god is it?"

"The Sun God."

"Right, that's the most common god..."

The religion that had appeared in various parts of the world even on Earth was the Sun Cult.

Even in this small country, there were over fifty temples of the Sun right now.

There were so many that quite a few people knew of it as a religion that had existed since before the Great Catastrophe.

And because of that, it was perfect for lying and saying, "Hey, I'm a believer of the Sun."

"Ah, so that's why it was warm."

Cha Yi-sol was the only one who believed Jio's words.

"I like the Sun God too."

"Thank you."

Why are you the one thanking him?

'Does he really have no intention of hiding his identity?'

Cha Eun-hyuk nearly choked.

For the first time in his life, he was eating at a restaurant and could not taste the food.

In truth, the reason Jio had said thank you was because he had thought of the old man resting in the bedroom of his cabin.

'Father will be pleased.'

When he had already felt sorry for the teddy bear, who was dispirited because he had no followers, feeling grateful to Cha Yi-sol for saying he liked the Sun God was only natural as his son.

"May I introduce you to a Sun God I know?"

"Hold on, Jio."

Yu Seongun hit the brakes.

"We should give Cha Yi-sol a chance to catch the eye of other gods too."

"I only said I would introduce him..."

"Why are you introducing him in the first place?"

"Isn't it good to have more friends?"

"Can a god and Cha Yi-sol become friends?"

"Why not?"

"Oh..."

Jio had intended to introduce the teddy bear growing old alone in solitude, but from the adults' perspective, who did not know that situation, it was the same as saying, "I am something like a Sun God, and I want to make you my friend."

'He really has one hell of a lack of prejudice.'

This was absolutely not a conversation to have in a pork belly restaurant.

"... Jio, you really are broad-minded."

"Thank you."

"Right, let's eat."

He felt like they needed to quickly let him watch the induction ceremony and send him back into the frame.

* * *

"..."

Bi Sabeol blinked at the text message from Yu Seongun.

"... The Sun God, huh."

He had not really thought it would be that side.

'To begin with, I didn't feel divinity from the Portrait of Jio.'

'It would be right to assume it is something that cannot be felt unless he personally shows it.'

Moreover, Jio was much too unstable to definitively call his identity a "god."

"That can't be all there is."

His divinity was merely one of the countless traits Jio possessed.

He was still a confusing being.

He had the traits of a monster, had ambiguous aspects like the Root's children, and if Yu Seongun was right, he was also a being who possessed godhood.

"At the same time, he resembles a human."

Sometimes he became a monster.

Sometimes he became a human.

Then sometimes, he might also become a god.

As if everything in the world were a derivative of him.

'... But if you look at it that way...'

In other words, that meant Jio was the "Root" of everything in the world.

"..."

The Root.

"... Hmm."

Was there a possibility that it was a being with a personality?

If Jio caused a slightly bigger incident, Bi Sabeol would be able to find out for certain, but it was a shame that Jio was so benevolent.