Hope

Theus furrowed his brow as he thought back. He had very little information; from the fleeting glimpse he'd caught while shaking Brother Kaeschi's hand, he could only vaguely remember a few of the elements that made him up.

Out of curiosity, he had once made a point of memorizing several of the "inscriptions" that composed Brother Kaeschi.

Those inscriptions seemed subtly different from the ones he had just sensed on the walls of the Confessional.

Theus had never studied this kind of inscription, but in his previous life he had seen plenty of engineering blueprints. He was used to picturing the three-dimensional shape of parts in his mind, so he had immediately sensed that something was off.

The two kinds of inscriptions were basically identical in their overall structure, yet completely opposite in their finer details.

Maybe they served different functions. After all, one was part of a permanent building, while the other made up a mechanical body...

Hmm?

Theus thought of something else. Brother Kaeschi was almost indistinguishable from a human, and his handshake had felt like ordinary flesh and blood. The Candlelight Society priest who had killed him, on the other hand, had been covered in exaggerated, conspicuous mechanical parts...

"My lord? Lord Theus?" Chloe's wary voice came from the other side.

Theus smiled and softly apologized to Sister Chloe from the other side of the Confessional, promising that he was only curious.

After some reassurance, Chloe accepted his explanation, though she still seemed doubtful. After all, he had donated money. Surely they wouldn't throw him out over a little clumsiness.

Besides, Theus's apology had been sincere, and Chloe soon let go of her displeasure.

"Then please tell me what's troubling you. I'm here to listen to your... worries."

Theus gathered his thoughts. The hidden supernatural powers of the Candlelight Society had been an unexpected bonus, but he had come here with plenty of questions of his own.

"I have a few worries, and there are some things I'd like Sister Chloe to explain..."

He chose his words carefully.

By the time they left the church, the sun was nearly setting. Theus and Connor rode their horses back toward the estate.

There were no streetlights in this era, and traveling after dark was dangerous. Luckily, the estate wasn't far, and he could get back before sunset.

But it wasn't so easy for the island's fishermen to get home. Looking at the rutted road, Theus realized that if he wanted to start evening classes someday, he would have to solve the problem of lighting at night. Without light, all activities had to take place during the day.

He quietly made a note of that, then caught sight of the worry on Connor's face.

Theus understood why his old steward was concerned. The friction between the royal family and the Church was practically out in the open. As a vassal of the Empress, he shouldn't get too close to the Church.

In truth, he had no intention of getting too close.

The Church did possess some supernatural powers, but contacting them carried too much risk.

The "risk" here wasn't the same as it was for most people. Theus wasn't particularly concerned about the kind that threatened his life; he wouldn't truly die, and his body was more of a shackle to him.

But the Church seemed to have means beyond violence. He couldn't help wondering whether they had ways to control people's minds. The Church had plenty of fanatics, and Theus couldn't tell whether they were naturally so devout or whether the Church had used some kind of method on them.

At any rate, judging by what he had sensed in the Confessional, the Candlelight Society had put a great deal of thought into its construction. He didn't want to gamble on whether they might apply the same ingenuity to controlling people's minds.

"Don't worry, old Connor. I'm not planning to have much contact with the Church," Theus said.

"I just need to understand what they can do. You never know when we might need them to treat an illness."

Treatment—of both injuries and diseases—was one of the Church's main duties, as well as a way to rake in money.

Unlike the horrifying medical practices of the Middle Ages on Blue Star, the Church in this world genuinely knew a thing or two. Theus had just confirmed it for himself.

He had talked with Chloe about bloodletting and the theory of the four humors on Blue Star. She had listened in confusion and even advised him not to read such "superstitions."

Then Chloe had told him about the Church's various treatments, which already bore some resemblance to modern medicine on Blue Star. She had no concept of bacteria or the like, but she understood the purpose of disinfection and anesthesia. That was no small thing; with those concepts, they could at least avoid surgeries with a three-hundred-percent mortality rate.

The methods they used to achieve it were very much in the Church's style, though.

According to Chloe, the Church had a kind of "holy water." Washing wounds with it could prevent them from festering and becoming infected. The needles and knives used to stitch wounds also had to be washed. Burning a certain kind of incense and reciting prayers could make a patient briefly lose consciousness and feel no pain.

Theus was almost certain that supernatural powers were involved. The process Chloe described for preparing the holy water had nothing to do with disinfection, yet it really did kill germs.

Sigh. I wonder why this world has to conceal the existence of supernatural powers when they could benefit so many ordinary people.

Castel Island had exceptionally favorable conditions. There were fish in the sea and sweet fruit in the woods, so at least it was hard for anyone to starve to death.

But during his previous Descents, Theus had seen plenty of people starve to death in the Empire. Even in the capital, Rhine, there were vast slums. The factory workers' average life expectancy was under thirty, and people still envied them for having jobs.

This world was, by and large, sick.

Theus's expression darkened.

He wasn't a saint by nature. After gaining the ability to Descend into bodies, all he had wanted was to enjoy himself and make a grand show of his powers.

But with each Descent, all he saw were souls suffering in agony, pitiful people who fell by the roadside with hope and resentment still in their hearts. Gradually, his original plans faded.

His heart was made of flesh and blood, too. He had feelings. If he had the knowledge to change the world in his head, and so many bodies that he didn't have to fear death, then why not try to do something?

The more often he Descended, the more resolute he became. He would let the tide of industry sweep across this world, let the blood of insatiably greedy nobles stain their gold coins, let the executioners who ignited wars fall beneath the guillotine, and make sure even the poor and desperate had bread on their plates.

Industry would bring many new problems and new suffering to people, but no matter what, it would be progress. Progress was better than going around in circles.

No system could solve every problem once and for all, and neither could Theus. But he could give people hope.

Hope was enough. Humans were remarkable creatures; as long as they had hope, they had the courage to keep moving forward.