Chapter 57

“Oh, they’re having an initiation ceremony.”

“Should we watch for a bit?”

“I was cold anyway, so this is great.”

“Which cult is this event for?”

“I think it’s the Solar Cult….”

“If it’s the Solar Cult, it’s worth watching.”

No matter which religion’s initiation ceremony it was, they didn’t block spectators, even if they weren’t related.

This was because the more members there were at the initiation ceremony, the higher the possibility of a god descending.

“Thanks to that, we got a seat too.”

“There are more people than I thought.”

“It’s hard to receive a god’s gaze with just one or two people gathered.”

Of course, there were cases like Jio.

‘Not all gods are like you.’

Even though Jio’s identity had not yet been confirmed, it had become certain that he was the subject of some divinity.

It was just that more factors had been added, making it more confusing; there was no reason to deny the fact.

The Cha family had already moved to the seats for event officials.

Yu Seong-un, who had scanned them with his eyes, offered Jio a seat.

It was a table at a moderate distance from the murmuring crowd.

“Shall we sit here?”

“Sounds good.”

Perhaps it was because being too close to humans was chaotic, or perhaps burdensome.

Jio went and sat in the seat Yu Seong-un offered, as if welcoming it.

Thanks to that, it was easier to talk.

‘…Most of them are civilians, not Hunters, so they probably won’t hear our conversation from here.’

Yu Seong-un, who had moistened his throat with the water on the table, opened his mouth.

“Can you handle divinity?”

“By divinity, do you mean the authority of a god?”

“You could say it’s similar. Or, how should I put it… you could also call it something like a certificate.”

“Ah, so it is a certificate.”

“Indeed…?”

Although he was momentarily puzzled, Yu Seong-un soon added.

“It’s not strange to express it that way. It could be seen as a god’s certificate.”

Divinity is different from what is commonly called holy power.

The power that a human chosen by a god handles with their help is called holy power, and divinity refers to the godhood of a single god itself and the authority derived from it.

They were beings of a completely different class.

“…….”

Jio, who seemed to be recalling something, spoke.

“If you were referring to the certificate, then yes, I received it.”

“…You received it?”

“I was the only follower.”

“…….”

Yu Seong-un knew instinctively.

‘…Is this related to the blonde, blue-eyed Jio I saw at Cheonggyecheon before?’

I had guessed that when Jio’s personality changed particularly, there was also a change in his appearance.

The image of Jio, whose hair had been dyed platinum blonde like a fallen leaf that had changed color after dipping its foot in water, was still vivid in my mind.

‘But because of his particular connection to water, I thought it would be a sea god, or a river or pond, something like that….’

For the sun to come out of nowhere was quite interesting.

If Bisabeol had been here, he probably would have felt the same.

I wondered what the story was.

“Receiving a god’s certificate, that’s amazing. It’s not something that usually happens.”

Although he expressed his admiration as if it were no big deal, as far as Yu Seong-un knew, it was something that never happened.

No god gives their own class to a mere human.

‘Why would they needlessly do something that would make both the god and the human suffer.’

But Jio’s voice was still blunt and business-like.

“He said he did not want to be alone anymore.”

“…The previous Sun God before you?”

“As I was the only follower, I interacted with him, ate together, talked… as we spent more time together like that, he seemed to feel a fear of being alone like before.”

“…….”

“Then he gave me this certificate. He said he wanted to share what I see and hear, and that it was half a gift. Although he called it a certificate, it does not seem to be something with a physical form.”

Yu Seong-un mumbled with his lips.

‘Should I say… the former Sun God was too weak, or that Jio is amazing….’

It was probably the latter.

Usually, a god is a one-and-only being and doesn’t feel lonely from being alone, but perhaps in the process of their interaction, Jio made the god feel such emotions.

In that case, Jio was indeed amazing.

‘Besides, if he were an ordinary human, he wouldn’t have been burdened with such a load in the first place.’

If I thought about it in the same context, it would be more accurate to say that because Jio was a being close to a god’s class from the start, that Sun God recognized him as an equal, felt lonely, and also gave him godhood as a gift.

“…….”

Though that would make the identity of the being called Jio even more unknowable.

If he was at a level that the Sun God would judge as an equal, didn't that just mean he was a different kind of god?

At the very least, it meant he was a being of a high enough class to be able to contain divinity.

What should I define that as?

‘What in the world are you?’

The more I dig, the more unknown stories come out.

I wish someone would just organize it into one thing.

***

The preliminary briefing proceeded quickly.

“It’s not taking as long as I thought.”

“Perhaps the schedule is tight.”

“Could be, they need time to train the prospective priests.”

A simple class. The definition of a priest.

How such a priest should act, what virtues are necessary….

After a light explanation about those who serve a god, the conversation continued with stories related to the initiation ceremony.

The content mainly consisted of the training and benefits that the prospective priests would receive.

“After you have all spoken with your families, the prospective priests will follow me. Prospective priests without guardians, please come to me in advance.”

As the dark-blonde priest spoke, several children hesitantly approached him.

A priest with a strong impression, as if from a fantasy movie, led the children.

His Western facial features and curly hair were impressive.

Although such Western faces could be easily found in Korea now, perhaps because he was a priest, his atmosphere was different.

Jio’s gaze, which had been observing the head priest, fell to the children below him.

“It seems those children’s families did not come.”

“Well… while the family is the most universal form of human organization, in this day and age, there are more cases of humans who are not formed into such blood-related groups.”

Yu Seong-un nodded as if he knew what Jio was curious about.

Jio, whose knowledge of humans had some ambiguous aspects, would know that ‘humans form family communities,’ but there are always exceptions.

“You can see that most of those children are not particularly clean, right?”

“I see.”

“They’re probably Carnation Children who have awakened as priests.”

“What is a Carnation Child?”

“Should I call them orphans who actively seek out guardians.”

On the outskirts of the city, there are the poor, who are 4th-class citizens, and there are also quite a few intentionally abandoned children.

To the point where there's a saying that it's a trash can for abandoning humans.

“Among them, Carnation Children are children who promote themselves on the street to find a guardian to take them in.”

“They promote themselves?”

“Yes. A child who wants someone to take them in holds a flower. A child in slightly better circumstances holds a real carnation. If not, they fold a flower out of tissue or paper… as long as it looks the part, the meaning will be conveyed.”

The so-called ‘Carnation Children’ was a culture created right after the Great Catastrophe, when many orphans were being created.

“The Great Catastrophe happened in the spring, and after that came what was called Parents’ Day… a day when children would give carnations to their parents. So they made carnations in memory of their deceased parents, but they had no one to give them to.”

Adults who felt sorry for such situations began to take in the children holding colored paper carnations one by one.

The clever orphans who saw these folded carnations they had no intention of making and went out to the streets holding them, and this became the beginning of the ‘Carnation Children.’

“Actually, I don’t know the details either. It was something that happened a generation or two above me….”

“I see.”

“Anyway, starting from there, even now, orphans who want to be adopted prepare carnations in that way. Whether they fold a carnation from tissue or colored paper, pick a flower blooming on the street, or work hard to get money to buy a single carnation… it means ‘please take me.’”

“It doesn’t seem like they go through proper adoption procedures. Is there no risk of the adoption being annulled again?”

“Why wouldn’t there be? It’s one of the social issues listed in elementary school textbooks. They say it was noisy for a while because there were many children whose adoptions were annulled in that way right after the Carnation Child culture first emerged. There’s no way things have gotten any better now.”

No one thinks of seriously adopting a Carnation Child.

“The Carnation Children themselves, too. Right after the Great Catastrophe, they might have been adopted with the intention of being treated like family out of pity, but now it’s just… like hiring a free worker? It’s closer to that feeling.”

“…….”

I don’t know why I keep hearing such surprising news every time I come to this hometown of mine.

‘The world has become a very scary place.’

If I’m not careful, I could have my nose cut off while my eyes are open. Physically.

“But isn’t it possible that those children are just simple orphans and not Carnation Children?”

“Even if they awakened as priests, the temples usually only take responsibility for the Carnation Children.”

“Why is that?”

“Because they are a good source of labor?”

“…….”

Where have children’s rights gone?

“…Don’t look at me like that, it’s scary when you condemn me with your eyes. In the first place, 4th-class citizens who are neglected without any particular poverty relief policies are not well-employed by general companies. Unless it’s some back-alley manufacturing labor.”

“Is it difficult for a 4th-class citizen to get a formal job?”

“In the first place, 4th-class citizens have a bad stigma attached to them as ‘pests who entered the city without the ability to handle it and just planted their butts down.’ Not everyone is like that, but they usually lack the will to work.”

“…….”

“Even if you hire them at full price, their efficiency is low and the public’s perception is not good, so no one wants to take them unless they want to be cursed at by customers. The perception of 4th-class citizens is that bad. It’s because they are under the city’s protection without making any proper effort.”

A company that hires a 4th-class citizen receives bad looks from the citizens.

Why give an opportunity to vermin who try to share in the city’s interests while lazing around like bedbugs without doing anything?

“In the same vein, a temple doesn’t necessarily accept a child from the slums just because they manifested as a priest. The probability of being chosen by a god is low, and they don’t have the capacity to take care of a poor child while receiving bad looks… that’s the context.”

“The calculation is clear.”

“Unlike other 4th-class citizens, the Carnation Children’s will to work can be confirmed through the ‘carnation,’ and since they are still young, the public’s perception is not entirely bad. Unless they have already been chosen by a god, if an orphan who has merely awakened is in a place like this, there is a high probability they are a Carnation Child.”

“…….”

Jio made up his mind.

‘I’ll just watch the initiation ceremony and bolt back to the picture frame.’

This harsh world.

I couldn't live because it was so tearful and scary.

It wasn't that he didn't feel sympathy, but to decide to break down this social atmosphere all by himself, Jio was just an adult who had only gotten older.

Hoping for the world to become warmer, Jio looked around.

It was intended to distract himself, but his mind became at ease sooner than he thought.

“…….”

“Why? Does something resonate since it’s the same Sun God lineage?”

“I was thinking that it feels good because it’s warm.”

I didn't know why, but I felt welcomed.

“Especially that divine statue….”

“…….”

“……?”

I’m sure my eyes just met with the statue in the form of a goddess.

Jio blinked about twice.

‘What, is this a ghost story?’

His judgment was swift.

‘Nothing happened.’

He decided to treat it as a hallucination.

“The divine statue is wonderful.”

“I think there was some kind of blank just now, but I’ll let it slide, since I don’t want to get involved in the affairs of gods with the body of a mere human.”

“Thank you.”

He didn't understand Jio's burden, but from the position of a mere human, Yu Seong-un gritted his teeth and avoided the miracle that had appeared before his eyes.

He, too, was a member of the Collectors guild, after all.

Yu Seong-un had definitely seen it too.

The gazes that openly poured out when Jio praised the temple’s atmosphere and the beauty of the divine statue.

Yu Seong-un had never felt such a direct gaze from a god.

‘Please cause these miracles when I’m not around.’

He didn’t want to get involved in the slightest.

“Our dear Cha family seems to be talking too, how about you try to join in.”

“Sounds good.”

The two of them ignored the god’s gaze with their whole bodies, but the priest who served her could not.

There was a priest who was looking at the two, who were about to head towards the Cha family, with wide eyes.

‘We’re screwed.’

Yu Seong-un thought so without realizing it.

The dark-blonde priest clearly seemed to be the high-ranking priest who was presiding over this event.

To be at a place like this, he was surely one of the priests who served a bishop at close range.

In other words, it meant he was a person who could not fail to know where the Sun God’s gaze was directed.

“…….”

“…….”

A strange tension filled the air.

“…….”

With a face that seemed to have realized something, the blonde priest gave a faint bow.

Perhaps because of his strong impression, it was a particularly sacred-looking gesture.

Yu Seong-un realized the meaning of that bow.

‘He noticed.’

It seemed he had realized that Jio possessed divinity.

“Jio.”

“Yes, please speak. I am listening.”

“Shall we go back right now?”

“If it were a problem that could be resolved by doing so.”

“Probably not, right…?”

Yu Seong-un wanted to go home from work.

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