I had thought Kanu was well-read, but I had never expected at all that he was a follower of the Church of Infinity until he said so himself. Although I hadn’t interacted much with cultists, judging by prejudice alone, could someone really appear so no different from a normal person on the outside?
······I felt strange. A nausea and discomfort, as if I had swallowed bugs, crept up into my head. I began to suspect that among people I had never imagined, there might be more believers of the Church of Infinity. There might even be some among those who had helped me.
Unlike me, who was startled inside, those around us seemed to think the religion Kanu believed in was no different from Emma believing in Dagon of the deep. Ah. Their attitude was of the “so here’s another guy who believes in a weird religion” sort, but rather than respect for the other’s beliefs, it was closer to having no interest at all or simply looking on indifferently. Was I the only one terrified?
I wanted to pour out questions to Kanu about the Church of Infinity that was occupying the undersea base right this instant. But if it appeared that I misspoke or was overly interested, the questions themselves were hesitant, for fear of being interrogated with questions like how did you get that information or why are you interested in that. Is there no one else curious about the Church of Infinity besides me? ······There isn’t. I cautiously asked Kanu.
“What does that religion do?”
“It’s a religion where people who want to turn back time gather.”
Wasn’t it a religion that liked sharks? They were doing extremely radical environmental protection and anti-pollution work—was all that just a smokescreen? The information I’d gotten from the people I met in my dreams differed from what Kanu was saying. Then which information should I believe?
“To what time do they want to turn back?”
“To whatever time they wish. Everyone has a past they want to return to, or an event they want to make as if it never happened.”
As soon as he heard that, Benjamin, who had been quietly sitting in a corner, sneered at Kanu.
“A completely crazy psycho bastard. How can a person go back to the past.”
To think that in my entire life, I’d ever agree even a little with Benjamin’s words. How can a person go back to the past. ······I’d probably just had a really vivid, strange dream. It was probably a coincidence or two matching up with reality, something like that. Kanu spoke with an attitude that paid no mind to Benjamin’s sneers and insults.
“There are people who think that way. I don’t even intend to lead the charge in changing those people’s minds. I don’t even particularly want others to believe what I believe.”
A brief silence fell. If—really, if—it wasn’t that I had dreamed, but that I had actually returned to the past, then why did this happen to me when I hadn’t even joined the Church of Infinity?
Afraid that if the silence dragged on, the topic would shift entirely, I asked Kanu again anxiously.
“If you join that religion, can just anyone gain such a benefit? Going back to the past, I mean.”
I won’t look suspicious asking this, right? Do I look suspicious? Do I look too interested in the Church of Infinity? ······I do look interested. Damn it. Kanu answered my question casually.
“Hm. A benefit, you say. Hope that you can return to the past? That’s the biggest one. I don’t know if just anyone can obtain it. I didn’t join believing in it one hundred percent myself.”
“······Are there conditions to join the Church of Infinity?”
Now I must look like a full-fledged prospective cult recruit. A complete newbie wanting to join. ······My mouth tasted bitter. The others looked like they couldn’t care less whether Kanu believed in swordfish or squid, so there was no one but me to ask the questions.
With each question I asked Kanu, the gazes directed at me looked less and less kind. More and more people were making expressions as if asking whether I was in on it with him. It couldn’t be helped. If not now, who else could I ask about this?
Among those who had revealed themselves as believers of the Church of Infinity, including the people I met in my dreams, there had been no one who showed me such a kind and good-natured attitude, and Kanu was the only one without a weapon. Kanu thought for a moment and then answered slowly.
“As far as I know, there weren’t any particularly big conditions. It’s just a matter of whether those requesting to join are actively eager to go back to the past or not. Donations are paid by those who want to pay, and volunteer gatherings are also left to one’s discretion. I understand that if a believer wishes, they can receive financial support from the Church of Infinity or receive free treatment at affiliated hospitals. In the past, there seemed to be detailed conditions for joining, but now they’ve mostly disappeared. ······I’m not sure of the details. I didn’t join recently.”
I recalled that one of the believers had said they joined the Church of Infinity and received money. I had thought the ultimate goal of a pseudo-religion was to thicken the leader’s greasy belly or thin out the believers’ wallets even further. But piecing together the stories of Kanu and Tyler, it didn’t seem to be a place whose goal was money. Logan scrunched up his face at Kanu and said.
“Financial support? Free treatment at a hospital? Hey. You join some weird religion, pour money into it, and end up ruining your health and looking like a beggar?”
Kanu smirked and spoke to Logan.
“My health is ruined, and I’ve already paid about 41.5 billion won.”
“······Lie. Where would you get that kind of money.”
“The ten thousand dollars in my account now and this are all I have left.”
Kanu, who had spoken calmly, pulled a lighter from his bosom and shook it. In the center of the lighter, a diamond about the size of a thumbnail was embedded in a refined design. Kanu rubbed the embedded diamond with his fingertip. Seeing Kanu show no particular reaction even after some time, Logan—who worked at the same center—had been sitting slumped on the floor, but stood up and shouted.
“Are you crazy?!”
“What?”
Unlike his opponent’s composed voice, Logan jumped up and down in excitement. Those vibrations instantly spread throughout the elevator. At Emma’s bellow—asking if they all wanted to die together in the stopped elevator—Logan read the room and slumped back down onto the floor.
Carter and Benjamin, who had been listening from afar while pretending not to, instantly flew to Kanu’s side. Sam and James also seemed to be hearing about donations for the first time, so they all but ran to Kanu’s side and huddled together.
I was surprised by the amount too, but······a sudden hunch struck me that people wouldn’t pay any attention to me now. So I too began listening to Kanu’s story comfortably. Logan bulged veins in his neck.
“You paid that much money just to join a pseudo-religion? Are you insane?!”
“It’s possible to pay. I don’t really need money that much. I don’t have anyone to pass it down to anyway.”
A young man dying at a young age had spoken.
“Did you throw everything—house and all—into that cult? Are you flat broke?”
“I will pass my house and remaining savings down to my younger sibling through inheritance.”
Then Carter, who was beside him, spoke as if he were about to burst.
“You should have given it to me! Even now, tell that Church of Infinity whatever-it’s-called and get the money back to give it to me!”
“Are you kidding? Did something go wrong with your brain—aren’t you completely out of your mind, not just a little?! 41.5 billion won, you stuffed that that th-th-that kind of money into a pseudo-religion?!”
Logan was so shocked that his pronunciation faltered; he bit his tongue in the middle of speaking. Sam, who had approached, threw a large arm around Kanu’s shoulder. On the opposite side, James put his arm around Kanu’s shoulder.
“Bro. If you need an account to donate to, I’m always right here. You can borrow my account anytime.”
“You had that kind of money? Judging by how you spend, it didn’t seem like you lacked it.”
“You should have donated to an environmental group or a volunteer organization instead.”
Kevin, who had been watching this spectacle from afar, muttered softly. I couldn’t understand it either, but it seemed the very fact that he had thrown such a huge sum into a pseudo-religion was a huge shock to everyone here as well. Indeed. It was an amount that didn’t feel real. 41.5 billion won? 41.5 billion won?
No matter how many times I thought about it, the amount just wouldn’t register in my head. I would never offer that kind of money to a religion. Never. What is 40 billion won. If I only had 500 million, I could pay for Mom’s surgery, my younger sibling’s college tuition, and pay off my debts. Yu Geumi, who had been listening quietly, asked Kanu softly.
“Do they give you a donation receipt for what you gave there?”
At those words, Kanu chuckled.
“That was funny. Asking for something like that from such a tiny religion is asking too much.”
Before Kanu even finished speaking, Kim Gayeong had been whispering softly into Yu Geumi’s ear, and because I was close to the two of them, I heard everything they said.
“······He’s the craziest person I’ve ever seen.”
Hearing that, Yu Geumi made a puzzled expression and whispered into Kim Gayeong’s ear.
“Didn’t you say that Arthur guy was the craziest?”
“That guy wouldn’t spend money like that though, right?”
As Kanu did not deny the amount he’d spent on the pseudo-religion even after some time, Carter—unlike Logan, who had shut his mouth—spoke as if he were bursting with anger.
“It’s not a joke, it’s real? You really stuffed that much money into a religion! Ugh!”
Carter asked Kanu as if trying to hold himself back.
“You put in over 40 billion won and got something for it?”
“As I already said, a chance to go to the past.”
“I’ve seen countless drug addicts and alcoholics, murderers and all kinds of lunatics, but a guy like you is a first even for me!”
Kanu shrugged at Carter and said.
“There are people like this in the world too.”
Kim Gayeong let out a low sigh, furrowed her brows, and asked.
“Just what past do you want to go back to that you paid such a huge sum?”
“······I want to go back about 600 years.”
Not 6 years or 60 years ago, but 600 years. Is every cultist’s head like this? I don’t understand any of it. What was there in the 1400s? I’m bad at history. I only remember it was the Joseon Dynasty then. Was there anything special? Carter and Benjamin looked at each other and began to talk.
“Is that even possible with that money?”
“Do you believe that?”
“If you have money, you can go to Mars. If you paid that much, why wouldn’t the past be possible?”
“Does he look like he has that kind of money?”
Benjamin snickered as he looked at Kanu, and Yu Geumi asked Kanu as if bewildered.
“Are there many people with a religion like yours in this undersea base?”
Nice one, Yu Geumi! It was a question I’d kept wanting to ask but couldn’t bring myself to for fear of looking strange. Kanu shrugged his shoulders and said.
“I don’t know. I’m not the Church of Infinity’s HR manager or PR manager.”