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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 23: Heretics
East of the continent. A center of trade connecting to the East.
There lies a region known as the Free City of Campbell.
Having been a trade hub for a long time, Campbell suffered from a persistent headache due to the influx of various races and cultures.
Religion.
The Solar Theocracy consists of believers in the One God Sol Invictus who unified the continent's faith.
The Great Earth Theocracy, an indigenous religion of the East, followers of the desert guardian god Yara.
Even warrior gods worshipped by warriors from the polar regions, and heretics who had fled persecution by the Solar Theocracy.
As a city where all sorts of religious people gathered, conflicts frequently erupted among them.
Ultimately, the matter was settled over a hundred years ago when the Free City's mayor declared 'Freedom of Religion,' but religion remains an unresolved seed of conflict in Campbell.
Perhaps it's fortunate that they no longer resort to violence against each other as they once did.
“Hooo…”
Bishop Yuna of Campbell Cathedral sighed repeatedly, feeling the wrinkles forming on her face.
“Is this everyone for today’s service?”
“Yes, Bishop…”
It was the weekend mass. A mass held once a week.
However, the number of believers gathered in the cathedral barely reached a dozen.
Bishop Yuna lamented the paltry number of worshippers, a stark contrast to the splendid and grand appearance of Campbell Cathedral.
The Free City of Campbell is an arena where the pride of various religious orders is on the line.
Therefore, she had been ordered to build a conspicuously large cathedral, dispatch a bishop, and establish true faith in this city of apostates.
But now, Campbell Cathedral was merely a flashy facade.
Bishop Yuna began the mass before the handful of believers who remained.
***
The Free City of Campbell.
Referred to by the Solar Theocracy, the sole faith, as the Land of Apostasy, its prominence was palpable right from the entrance.
“Wow~ I've never seen a city this big except for the city of Solar Theocracy!”
As Henry exclaimed in awe while looking around the city, Aaron retorted snidely.
“Hmph, compared to the city of Solar Theocracy, it's practically the countryside.”
Even Aaron, saying this, seemed intimidated by Campbell's splendor.
It's a city where trade with Eastern pagans takes place.
With diverse cultures and wealthy merchants putting up sign boards to promote their shops, the workforce beneath them and related service industries inevitably flourished.
Campbell was a place where money was raked in.
They had heard Campbell was wealthy, but it seemed they hadn't expected it to be to this extent.
"I heard they proclaimed freedom of religion, but I find it hard to believe. Setting aside the Eastern pagans, wasn't the mayor strictly from the continent?"
"You're badmouthing a mayor who died a hundred years ago."
Jenny shrugged and tapped the shoulders of the three.
"Huh? They're coming towards us?"
As Jenny gestured with her chin, there was a group watching the four.
They approached Ray's party directly. Then, smiling broadly, one spoke.
"Hello, brothers and sisters. Are you new to the city?"
"Huh? Ah... yes."
The four answered, bewildered by the broadly smiling people.
Then, a woman with a benevolent smile continued.
"Actually, I felt a very good energy from all of you. Here, if you don't mind, why not visit our church and learn more about that good energy?"
The group handed over flyers with smiles.
The four accepted them, still bewildered.
「What miracle do you need most right now? Confirm the words of truth and be saved!」
'Getting proselytized as priest.'
The situation was ironic, but it would be difficult for the others to know Ray's group were priest.
The Free City of Campbell was a region where all sorts of religions ran rampant. As a result, ambushes targeting religious figures were frequent.
Therefore, having entered the city in plain clothes prepared beforehand, no one would know that Ray's group were priest from the Solar Theocracy.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing! Our proud Sol—mph! Mph!"
"Oh dear~ Little brother. Having a strange fit again! Sorry, he's very shy around strangers!"
Jenny clamped her hand over Henry's mouth as he was about to self-destruct. Meanwhile, Ray responded to the proselytizers.
"Sorry, we're visiting for other reasons, so I don't think we'll be able to attend the church."
"Oh dear. Still, how about coming just once to hear some good words?"
The proselytizers clung persistently. Aaron, a devout believer, scowled deeply and was about to step forward, but Ray smiled and accepted the flyer.
"Alright, we'll try to visit once. What is your name?"
"Ah! I am Mare, a missionary from the Sun-Moon Cult."
"If we visit, I'll look for you. Could you give us flyers for our whole group?"
The missionary beamed at Ray's response. They handed out flyers to each member of Ray's party before finally leaving.
"...To accept a flyer from those wicked pagans."
"Aaron, they might still be watching, so don't even think about ripping it."
At Ray's words, Aaron relaxed the grip he had on the paper, looking dissatisfied.
"Why did you even talk to those heretics? They deserve immediate punishment."
"Aw~ If we tried to chase them away immediately, they would've just clung on tighter, you know? I know their methods well."
In his past life as Pastor Kim, street proselytizing was common regardless of religion.
However, among them, the extreme persistence of cults was notorious even in Korea.
"First off, that kind of proselytizing method has a high failure rate. Most people ignore it. But they cling persistently with the mindset of 'just gotta hook one.'"
Surprisingly, the way to get rid of such types is to listen to them actively.
"If the target responds positively, they think there's a higher chance they'll actually visit. In this case, their follow-up tends to slacken."
"Hey, how does our little brother Ray know that?"
'I know it well.'
After all, Protestants played a significant role in the battleground of 21st-century modern street evangelism.
"As expected of Brother Ray! Warlock Slayer! Witch Hunter!"
"Henry, you need to learn how to be quiet in the street first."
Anyway, the four headed towards Campbell Cathedral, posing as merchants visiting the city.
"Wow~ The cathedral is really enormous, isn't it?"
"It rivals the cathedrals of most major cities."
The four marveled at the splendor and majesty of Campbell Cathedral.
Located in a prime downtown spot even within Campbell, the cathedral was immense in size and grandeur.
Indeed, the Solar Theocracy. With plenty of money, they could build such a respectable cathedral in a bustling area like this.
"But if the cathedral is this amazing, how can it be so empty?"
Henry questioned how such an eye-poppingly grand cathedral could be on the verge of collapse due to a lack of worshippers.
"Well, I think so too."
Considering the situation here, it seems plausible, but is there ever a grave without an excuse?
"Let's go inside first. She should be waiting for us."
The interior of the cathedral they entered was as splendid and glittering as the outside.
Judging by appearance alone, one could never imagine it was a local cathedral in decline.
"Who are you? It's not time for mass yet."
A middle-aged nun stepped forward as the strangers visited.
Aaron stepped forward and introduced himself.
"We are members of the Armed Organization from the Solar Theocracy. We heard you needed assistance."
"Ah...! I will fetch the Bishop immediately!"
The nun ran off, her face brightening.
Ray's party soon faced a group of priests walking from the inner part of the cathedral.
Middle-aged female and male priest.
Ray naturally approached the male priest and bowed his head.
"Greetings, Bishop. I am Ray Anderson, a apprentice member of the Armed Organization."
"..."
"..."
The male priest hesitated. Ray tilted his head.
“Bishop?”
Why isn’t he accepting my greeting? As Ray wondered and lifted his head, Aaron grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
“You brat! What rudeness is this! My apologies, Bishop! This ill-bred fool has committed an offense!”
“S-sorry, Bishop.”
“We apologize, Bishop! Please forgive us!”
As the party bowed their heads in unison, Ray with bewilderment at the female priest.
“You ill-bred lout…! Can your eyes not see the symbols on her bishop's vestments?!”
As Ray remained dumbfounded, Aaron scolded him.
Ray finally grasped the difference between the woman called Bishop and the man.
Certainly, the woman’s robes looked more luxurious… but Ray had mistaken the Bishop for a different reason.
“A woman… is the Bishop?”
“…?!!”
The air instantly froze.
***
Ray had misidentified the Bishop based on gender because of his preconceived notion that this place was like the Middle Ages.
In the Middle Ages, women could not hold high positions.
Especially not in conservative religious circles.
But a female bishop? Was such a thing possible?
“You sexist pig!”
“N-no. It’s a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding. I just didn’t know women could become bishops…”
“Little brother Ray! Are you saying women can’t handle important jobs?!”
Jenny shot up, indignant. Ray shook his head desperately.
“No, no. Uh, among the priests I know, there are many excellent nuns! I didn’t think that!”
“Brother Ray… women can become bishops and even the Holy Pontiff. Men and women are equal, so why did you think otherwise?”
Wait, this is the Middle Ages?
Wasn't gender discrimination standard, with female priests topping out at abbess at best?
“Hoo… Ray Anderson. Until now, I thought you were merely ignorant due to being ill-bred.”
“Aaron, that’s not it…”
“But you were sexist. I'm disappointed that you judge people by their gender.”
There were several differences between the Middle Ages Ray knew and this world, but the advancement of women in society was a primary one.
Aura users who wielded aura, or believers blessed by the Holy Spirit through the power of faith.
Their abilities were distinguished by how skillfully they handled aura or how deep their faith was to receive divine power, not by gender.
Since the upper echelons of society were determined by ability rather than gender, gender equality naturally occurred faster than on Earth.
Ray, having spent his entire life until now in the church of the rural village of Obello, was vulnerable when it came to worldly affairs.
“Brother, I still think you're a good person. Maybe a little… sexist, but people can have rough edges. If you just correct your thinking going forward…”
“N-no!”
Me, a sexist! Me, a sexist!
I can't accept it. Ray, no, Pastor Kim was a person of common sense who had lived through the 21st-century era of universal equality and devotion to human welfare.
He had never discriminated based on gender!
“Little brother Ray needs to take a gender equality class.”
“Something like that exists?!”
“Tsk, and I just thought you were uneducated until now…”
“N-no. I… I'm not a sexist…”
Amidst the disappointed gazes of his companions, Bishop Yuna returned, bringing tea and snacks.
“You must be tired from your long journey, brothers and sisters. Please have some tea and cookies.”
Despite Ray having made a sexist remark right in front of her, Bishop Yuna didn't lose her benevolent smile.
Ray could only squat down, protesting his innocence under his breath.
In the end, Aaron proceeded with the conversation on his behalf.
“Bishop, we came regarding the request you sent to the Theocracy. How may we assist you?”
In response to Aaron's question, Bishop Yuna briefly explained the current request.
“We've recently become severely short-staffed. You just need to help out until new personnel can be dispatched.”
The content was nothing special. It was essentially volunteer work, after all.
However, Ray was more interested in the content written in the postscript than the volunteer work.
“Bishop, I heard that heretics recently poached believers and even priests from the cathedral.”
“Ah… I suppose I should explain that part as well.”
Bishop Yuna began her story with a sigh laced with lament.
“It began when new believers started coming.”
Although Campbell, unlike other regions, has numerous religions running rampant, the Solar Theocracy is the most major one.
Moreover, if there's a large cathedral nearby, some believers are bound to visit, drawn by its splendor.
Until a few years ago, Campbell Cathedral was the largest religious force in Campbell.
“The new believers… no, those individuals, at some point, formed a secret group within the cathedral. At first, they called it Gospel study, so I thought they were just people with fervent faith.”
They created a 'Gospel Room' like that, building friendships while studying the scriptures and doctrine.
By the time they had sufficiently gathered personal information about the believers drawn into the Gospel Room, they would propose this:
“There's a school that studies only the words of our Lord Sol Invictus. Wouldn't you like to learn there together? They provide food and even support tuition fees.”
It's not easy to reject an offer outright from someone you've built a friendship with.
Thus, believers left one by one, only to be absorbed into their order.
“What? How could that happen? Devout believers falling for heresy!”
Henry was indignant, seemingly unable to comprehend it.
Aaron and Jenny also looked baffled, but Ray understood perfectly well.
'You can't underestimate the infiltration power of cults.'
Their method is a proselytizing tactic widely used by cults even in modern times.
Trained cult missionaries use their characteristic friendliness to infiltrate communities, thoroughly gather personal information like the target's hobbies, tendencies, assets, and occupation, and then recruit them.
Of course, most attempts fail due to resistance.
The problem is that these attempts happen in large numbers, and even if only one out of a hundred is successfully recruited, it's a gain for the cults.
Because they know how to perfectly squeeze every single believer dry.
“They are heretics! We must immediately bring the Holy Knights and subjugate them!”
“It won't be easy.”
All eyes turned to Ray.
“Nominally, they claim to be a denomination of the Solar Theocracy, correct?”
At Ray's deduction, Bishop Yuna nodded with a sorrowful expression.
“Yes, like the Reformed New Faith and the Starlight Theocracy… they claim to be a branch of our Solar Theocracy.”
Just as Christianity is divided into various denominations like Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox, the Solar Theocracy also had separated branches.
The Empire reigning in the south of the continent was one such example, and the island kingdoms beyond the western continent also declared independence, claiming to be branches of the Solar Theocracy.
Like denominations established through interpretations of doctrine and political motives, they too claim to be a separate branch.
'We are ultimately brothers of the same faith, just with different interpretations of doctrine!'
They must have exploited that angle to lower the resistance of Solar Theocracy believers.
This is commonly done by the countless Christian-adjacent cults overflowing in Korea.
“Recently, perhaps having no more business in our cathedral, they've apparently started street proselytizing.”
“Street proselytizing?”
“Yes, I heard they are people claiming to be the 'Sun-Moon Cult.'”
Sun-Moon Cult.
Somehow, the name sounded familiar.
The four looked at each other blankly, recalling a recent memory.
「Ah! I am Mare, a missionary from the Sun-Moon Cult.」
The proselytizers who had approached with the typical 'Do you know the Way?' or 'I feel a very good energy from you' lines.
They were the cultists who had infiltrated Campbell Cathedral.
“Now! I explained about them so you all would be wary. There's no need for you young brothers and sisters to concern yourselves with it.”
“…Yes, understood.”
But knowing didn't change what they could do. Not for now, anyway.
“The weekend mass will begin shortly. Would you like to participate?”
“Of course!”
It was the natural thing to do for a priest visiting a cathedral.
The four unpacked their belongings and immediately headed to the sanctuary.
“Sol Invictus. It is a blessed time.”
Bishop Yuna stood at the pulpit, presiding over the mass.
It was natural for a bishop to officiate the mass in a cathedral of this size, but…
“Huh?”
As the sermon reached its midpoint, Ray swallowed hard as a possibility flashed through his mind.
“Munya… mm, I'm full…”
“Me too… succeeded gloriously in the mission…”
“Hwaaah~ yawn”
Barely 30 minutes after the mass began.
Ray looked at his comrades, fast asleep, and at Bishop Yuna, continuing her sermon in a kind and gentle voice, and guessed at a certain possibility.
'Don't tell me… did all the believers leave because the sermons are boring?'
Bishop Yuna of Campbell Cathedral.
Her sermons were horrifically dull and sleep-inducing.
She's not a human Jigglypuff, but…
“Hooo…”
This… this won't do.
Hold on, put Ray Anderson away.
It's time for Star Pastor Kim Gwango to take the stage.
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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