Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 7 God and the Church

"Could it really be just my bad luck?"

Shard pondered over his recent encounter with Dr. Schneider. Fortunately, the grumbling of his stomach pulled him back to reality. Right now, the commission was indeed the most important thing.

Less than twelve hours since crossing over, Shard had to learn to endure hunger. If he had crossed into a forest, there might have been a chance to hunt; if it was a chaotic era, there might have been a chance to find food.

But in a well-ordered big city, filling one's stomach required adhering to the rules. Shard stood at the entrance of the newspaper office, watching the "upper class" coming and going from the club nearby, hoping the sensation of hunger would pass. Fortunately, all he needed to do now was stand in the fog and wait. If he needed to pursue someone, he really would have been at a loss.

"I haven't heard of any transmigrators who starved."

He wanted to complain about his incompetence, but the current situation was beyond help. He could only hope that the lady would appear soon so he could submit his report to his employer.

As he stood there thinking, someone handed him a flyer, and Shard took it mechanically. Looking up, he saw a smiling, round-faced missionary in a white priestly robe. A holy emblem of the church adorned his left chest, and a black pendant hung at his front, as he distributed flyers to the nearby crowd.

Looking down at what had been stuffed into his hand, it was promotional material belonging to the Church of War and Peace. While rummaging through items in the house, Shard had learned about the religious situation in this world, knowing this was one of the churches of the True God.

In the past eras of this world, there were quite a lot of stories of deities, but in the current era, only five deities were officially recognized by both officials and the public; hence, the mainstream religion of this world was that of these five True Gods—

Father of Peace, also known as the God of War and Peace, bearing a holy emblem of a dove with tips of light gray wings;

Mr. Dawn, also known as the God of Light and Shadow, bearing a holy emblem of a circle with a top notch, brass-colored;

Lantern Bearer, also known as the Sun and Earth God, bearing a holy emblem of the Sun Pattern, golden in color;

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

Lord of All Things, also known as the God of Nature and Malice, bearing a holy emblem of two overlapping leaves, one yellowish-brown and one green. The old man who had transported a corpse recently, was a member of the Church of Nature.

In this world, belief in gods was widespread; atheists were actually a tiny minority. Of course, as long as one didn't publicly declare their disbelief, it was actually not a problem, but Shard was interested in understanding more about these so-called True Gods. In a world where belief exists, being completely ignorant of such matters was even more dangerous.

He was thinking about how to start a conversation when the missionary walked away. Regretfully, he did not follow, instead continuing to stand and wait, knowing there would be time to learn all this once he was more firmly established.

He wasn't the only one standing at the newspaper office door; most were reporters waiting for news, and a few were idlers working for the newspaper. Today was Saturday, and even though the weather was foggy, Valente Walkway, being a main thoroughfare, was bustling, so the crowd there did not seem out of place.

Though called a "walkway," it was not prohibited for carriages to pass through. Shard observed the club while sizing up the pedestrians and carriages passing by, thinking this would help him better integrate into the surroundings.

The air was filled with a scent of burning, which was, of course, the smog. The odor was not very strong, only the mist in the air thickening as the sun moved from overhead toward the west.

Worried about his health, lost in his thoughts, Shard saw another carriage stop in front of the club. He immediately looked up, and it was Mr. Lawrence, the client's husband.

"Interesting, an unexpected gain."

He whispered, noting the current time and writing the information down in his notebook.

Mrs. Lawrence, the client, was generous. If he could catch her husband with his lover at the club on the day he submitted his report, she might even give him an extra reward.

"But it might also be an angry woman implicating me."

Shard pondered hopefully to see Lady Lassoya at the club's door welcoming Mr. Lawrence, but unfortunately, Mr. Lawrence entered the club by himself.

Even from across the street, Shard could see the smile and excitement on Mr. Lawrence's face; he was definitely not at the club just to gamble on cards or drink tea.

"Good luck."

He thought to himself, shaking his head as he detailed Mr. Lawrence's attire for today to validate the authenticity of his report.