Gods and Churches

"Could my luck really be this bad?"

Shade speculated about his chance encounter with Doctor Schneider just now. Fortunately, the growl~ of his stomach pulled him back to reality. The commission was indeed what mattered most right now.

Less than twelve hours after transmigrating, Shade had already been forced to learn to endure hunger. If he had transmigrated into a forest, he might have had a chance to hunt. If it were the Chaotic Epoch, he might also have found some food.

Yet it had to be this orderly big city, where filling his stomach required following the rules. Shade stood at the newspaper office entrance, watching the club frequented by "high society" not far away, hoping the hunger would pass. Fortunately, he only needed to stand in the fog and wait now. If he had needed to give chase, he truly would have been helpless.

"I've never heard of a transmigrator starving."

He wanted to complain about his own incompetence, but there was nothing he could do about the current situation. He could only hope That Lady would appear soon, so he could submit his report to his employer.

As he stood there thinking, someone casually handed him a flyer, and Shade casually accepted it. Looking up, he saw a round-faced missionary with a cheerful smile. Wearing a white priestly robe, with The Church's holy emblem on his Left Chest and a black pendant hanging before his chest, he was handing out papers to the nearby crowd.

Looking down, Shade saw that the paper stuffed into his hand was promotional material from the Church of War and Peace. When searching through the house earlier, he had learned about this world's religious landscape and knew this was one of the Orthodox Churches.

In this world's past eras, there had been stories of a great many gods. But in the present age, only five gods were officially recognized by both the authorities and the public. Thus, the world's mainstream faith centered around these five true gods—

Benevolent Father of Peace, also known as the God of War and Peace; holy emblem: a white dove with pale gray wingtips;

Mister Dawn, also known as the God of Light and Shadow; holy emblem: a brass-colored broken ring with a gap at the top;

Old Man with the Lantern, also known as the God of Sun and Earth; holy emblem: a golden Sun Sigil;

Lady of Creation, also known as the God of Creation and Destruction; holy emblem: a silver wrench;

Lord of All Things, also known as the God of Nature and Malice; holy emblem: two overlapping leaves, one withered yellow and one green. The old man who had transported the corpse not long ago was a member of the Nature Church.

"Hm? Why are the divine domains preached by the true gods all opposing concepts?"

Thinking of this, Shade suddenly found himself with more thoughts about this world. Yet he could not better articulate that indescribable feeling to himself. In his haze, he seemed to brush against some sort of power, and a whisper sounded beside his ear:

You have sensed 'Miracle.'

This time, it was "Miracle," one of the Four Elements. So far, Shade had encountered all of them except Blasphemy. According to the information mentioned by the voice in his mind, it seemed that only by touching the complete Four Elements could one qualify to touch the mysteries and push open the door to the extraordinary.

"This seems simpler than I thought. In less than half a day, I've already encountered three quarters of them."

Then the woman's laughter sounded in his mind again. It was truly pleasant to hear.

The five Orthodox Churches were not hostile toward one another. At the very least, their relationship was much better than those between human kingdoms.

The churches held different levels of influence in different regions. But in Tobesk City, the Pearl of the North, all five churches had cathedrals, and they maintained a relatively "friendly" competition with one another.

Thinking about these matters, Shade looked at the printed leaflet in his hand and sighed that he would not need to "invent" the printing press either. Though the print quality was not particularly high, at least—

His eyes suddenly widened as he noticed important information. Most of the flyer introduced the doctrines of Benevolent Father of Peace and invited believers and nonbelievers alike to visit the church for scheduled weekly scripture readings and sermons.

More importantly, the bottom of the page stated that anyone holding This Card could line up outside the church at five thirty on weekend afternoons to receive free relief food. A line of small print also said that no matter how long the line was, As Long As one appeared before six o'clock, one would definitely receive a number token and definitely receive food.

Even if receiving such relief food was embarrassing, at least Shade now knew he definitely would not starve to death today. He touched his nose, memorized the address of the Church of War and Peace's cathedral, then folded the strongly ink-scented flyer with great care and tucked it into Mr. Hamilton's notebook.

He quietly thanked that god In Heart. Though the hunger had not faded, he felt much better.

"Maybe my luck isn't that bad after all."

Shade thought to himself. Knowing that once the Lassoya entered The Club, she would not emerge for at least an hour or two, he wondered whether he could chat with that missionary.

Faith in gods was widespread in this world; atheists were a minority among minorities. Of course, as long as one did not openly shout that they did not trust the gods, it was not really a problem. But Shade intended to learn more about these so-called true gods. In a world where faith existed, knowing nothing about such matters was even more dangerous.

He was still considering how to strike up a conversation when the missionary had already gone far away. He felt quite regretful, but did not follow him. Instead, he continued waiting there. After all, once he had established himself, there would be plenty of time to understand all this.

Quite a few people besides him stood outside the newspaper office. Most were reporters waiting for fresh news, while a small number were idle workers employed by the paper. Today was Saturday. Though the weather was foggy, Valente Pedestrian Street, as a main road, was bustling. Thus, so many people standing here did not seem out of place.

Though it was called a "pedestrian street," carriages were not prohibited. While watching The Club, Shade also studied the passing pedestrians and carriages. He believed this would help him better fit in here.

The air was filled with a burnt smell, naturally the scent of smog. But it was not particularly strong. Only the mist lingering in the air grew thicker and thicker as the sun shifted from overhead toward the west.

Worried about his physical condition, Shade let his thoughts wander when he saw another carriage stop outside The Club. He immediately looked over and was astonished to see Mr. Lawrence, the employer's husband.

"Interesting. An unexpected gain."

He murmured, noted the current time, and wrote the information in his notebook.

Mrs. Lawrence, the employer, was generous with money. If, on the day he submitted his report, he caught her husband meeting his lover at The Club, perhaps she might give him an additional reward.

"But an enraged woman might also take it out on me."

Shade thought wildly, hoping to see Lassoya greet Mr. Lawrence outside The Club. Unfortunately, Mr. Lawrence entered it alone.

Even across a street, Shade could see the smile and excitement on Mr. Lawrence's face. He definitely had not come to The Club to play cards or drink tea.

"Good luck."

He said In Heart, shaking his head as he carefully recorded what Mr. Lawrence was wearing today, to prove the authenticity of his report.

PS: An extra chapter. I didn't expect that after changing the contract status only yesterday, there would already be more than ten monthly votes. Thank you for the support. We have also reached a total of 100 recommendation votes, so this chapter is a celebratory extra update. The evening update will proceed as usual.