Chapter 7: God and the Church

"Could my luck really be that bad?"

Shade speculated about his chance encounter with Dr. Schneider just moments ago. Fortunately, the rumbling of his stomach pulled him back to reality; for now, the commission was indeed the most important thing.

Less than twelve hours since his transmigration, Shade had already been forced to learn how to endure hunger. If he had transmigrated into a forest, he might have had a chance to hunt; if it were a chaotic era, he might have had a chance to scavenge for food.

But in a large, orderly city like this, one had to follow the rules to fill their stomach. Shade stood at the entrance of the newspaper office, watching the "upper-class" individuals entering and exiting the club across the way, hoping the sensation of hunger would pass. Fortunately, he only needed to stand in the fog and wait; if he had to give chase, he would truly be at a loss.

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

He wanted to complain about his own incompetence, but the current situation left him with no choice. He could only hope that the lady would appear soon so he could submit his report to his employer.

As he stood there lost in thought, someone handed him a flyer, and Shade took it instinctively. Looking up, he saw a smiling, round-faced missionary wearing white priestly robes. On his left chest was the holy emblem of the church, and a black pendant hung around his neck as he distributed papers to the nearby crowd.

Looking down, he saw that the paper thrust into his hand was promotional material for the [Church of War and Peace]. While rummaging through the house for items earlier, Shade had learned about the religious landscape of this world and knew this was one of the orthodox churches.

In the past eras of this world, there were stories of many gods, but in the current age, only five deities were officially recognized by the government and the public. Thus, the mainstream faith of the world consisted of these five orthodox gods

The Father of Peace, also known as the [God of War and Peace], whose holy emblem is a white dove with light gray wingtips;

Mr. Dawn, also known as the [God of Light and Shadow], whose holy emblem is a circle with a gap at the top, colored brass;

The Old Man with the Lantern, also known as the [God of Sun and Earth], whose holy emblem is a sun motif, golden yellow;

The Lady of Creation, also known as the [God of Creation and Destruction], whose holy emblem is a wrench, silver-white;

The Lord of All Things, also known as the [God of Nature and Evil Thoughts], whose holy emblem is two overlapping leaves, one withered yellow and one green. The old man who had been transporting the corpse not long ago was a member of the Church of Nature.

"Hmm? Why are the divine offices promoted by the orthodox gods all relative concepts?"

Thinking of this, Shade suddenly had more thoughts about this world. But that vague, indescribable feeling could not be expressed clearly to himself. In the haze, he seemed to touch upon some kind of power, and a whisper sounded in his ear

【You have sensed 'Miracle'.】

This time it was "Miracle," one of the four elements. So far, Shade had come into contact with everything except [Profanity]. According to the information mentioned by the voice in his mind, it seemed that only by touching the complete four elements would one have the qualifications to touch the mysterious and push open the door to the extraordinary.

"It seems simpler than I thought. It's only been half a day and I've already touched three-quarters of them."

Then, the woman's laughter rang out in his head again; it was truly pleasant to hear.

The five orthodox churches were not hostile toward one another; their relationship was at least much better than the relationships between human kingdoms.

The strength of the churches varied in different regions, but in the Pearl of the North, Tobesk City, churches for all five denominations existed, and they maintained a relatively "friendly" competition.

Shade thought about these things while looking at the printed material in his hand, lamenting that he didn't need to "invent" the printing press himself. Although the print quality wasn't very high, at least...

His eyes widened as he suddenly discovered important information. Most of the flyer introduced the doctrines of the orthodox god [Father of Peace] and welcomed believers and pagans alike to come to the church to listen to the weekly scheduled sermons and preaching activities.

Crucially, at the very bottom of the paper, it was written that by holding this flyer and queuing at the church entrance at 5:30 PM on the weekend, one could receive free relief food. It even added in small print that no matter how long the line was, as long as one appeared before 6:00 PM, they were guaranteed to receive a number tag and would definitely get food.

Even though it was embarrassing to go and collect such relief food, it at least let Shade know that he definitely wouldn't starve to death today. He rubbed his nose, noted down the address of the [Church of War and Peace], and then quite solemnly folded the ink-heavy flyer and tucked it into Mr. Hamilton's notebook.

He whispered a thank you to that deity in his heart. Although the feeling of hunger had not yet subsided, his mood was at least much better.

"My luck isn't actually that bad."

Shade thought to himself. Knowing that once the investigated Lady Lasoya entered the club, she wouldn't come out for at least an hour or two, he wondered if he could find that missionary to chat with.

Faith in gods was universal in this world; atheists were the minority of the minority. Of course, as long as one didn't openly shout that they didn't trust in gods, it was actually fine, but Shade intended to learn about these so-called orthodox gods. In a world where faith existed, knowing nothing about these matters was even more dangerous.

He was still thinking about how to strike up a conversation, but the missionary had already walked away. He felt quite regretful, but he didn't chase after him, choosing instead to continue standing there and waiting. After all, once he had established a foothold, he would have plenty of time to learn about all of this.

There were actually quite a few people standing at the newspaper office entrance just like him; most were reporters waiting for new information, and a small portion were idlers working for the newspaper. Today was Saturday, and even though the weather was foggy, Valente Pedestrian Street, being a main thoroughfare, was very lively, so standing there with so many people didn't seem out of place.

Although it was called a "pedestrian street," carriages were not prohibited. Shade observed the club while also sizing up the passing pedestrians and carriages, believing this would help him better integrate into this place.

A burnt smell permeated the air; this was, of course, the smog. But the smell wasn't very heavy; it was just the fog lingering in the air, which became thicker as the sun shifted from overhead toward the west.

Shade worried about his physical condition. While his mind wandered, he saw another carriage stop at the club entrance. He immediately looked up and peered over; it was actually Mr. Lawrence, the husband of his client.

"This is interesting. An unexpected harvest."

He whispered to himself, noted the time, and wrote the information in his notebook.

His client, Mrs. Lawrence, was generous. If he could catch her husband meeting his mistress at the club on the very day he submitted his report, he might be able to get an extra reward.

"But it's also possible that the angry woman will implicate me."

Shade mused, hoping to see the scene of Lady Lasoya greeting Mr. Lawrence at the club entrance, but unfortunately, Mr. Lawrence walked into the club alone.

Even from a street away, Shade could see the smile and excitement on Mr. Lawrence's face; he certainly hadn't come to the club to play cards or drink tea.

"Good luck to you."

He said in his heart, shaking his head as he recorded Mr. Lawrence's attire for the day in detail to prove the authenticity of his report.