Chapter 13. Proof of Faith (1)
Gebel was even more surprised by the words that he would teach Isaac miracles.
Priests could perform various miracles, from simply illuminating darkness or lighting candles to subduing enemies. But all such training began no earlier than the stage of a trainee priest.
The abbot's words were no different from saying he would take Isaac in as a priest. Considering the difficulty of becoming a formal priest, it was a hasty matter for a fourteen-year-old boy. Because even among monks, not many eventually came to wear the priestly robes. However, if he was a student taught and recommended directly by the abbot, becoming a priest was a simple matter.
“Will it be alright? As you said, Isaac is merely fourteen years old.”
“If a righteous heart and a heart that truly wishes to praise God are together, nothing is impossible. Do not worry. The Canon of Light shall move the world according to His principles.”
***
Immediately after finishing breakfast, Isaac headed to the backyard to help Gebel as usual. But the one waiting there was not Gebel, but someone else.
“Isaac.”
“Hello, Abbot.”
It was Abbot Yebuhareu.
Yebuhareu, skinny despite his tall frame, fiddled with his prayer beads as he looked Isaac up and down. But Isaac faced him without a hint of anxiety.
Because he had already overheard the conversation Gebel had had the night before.
*I’m in a situation where I don’t know when I’ll be caught on some pretext and hunted as a witch. So until I’m certain, I must be thoroughly careful.*
Especially now, as he was just beginning to show his potential, it was not a time to let his guard down. And today, he had to be particularly careful.
*If Abbot Yebuhareu comes to believe in me…… I can learn the miracles that will lay the foundation for becoming a paladin.*
Isaac met his eyes without looking away. It was out of the thought that he needed to show a confident and upright attitude. But Yebuhareu discovered something unexpected on Isaac's face.
*Well now…… if I don't teach him properly, he’ll grow up to break a few hearts.*
Isaac, who had been unable to fully blossom his charm due to his poor nutritional state all this time, had grown remarkably thanks to the effects of his recent predation. Luster began to return to his once-dull skin, and as his gaunt limbs filled out appropriately, an astonishing appearance began to blossom.
Yebuhareu looked at that face and let out a cough without realizing it.
Ordinary children found Yebuhareu’s gloomy demeanor frightening. But rather than being afraid, Isaac had an expression that looked forward to what would be said.
*They say children grow up suddenly; is this what they meant?*
He thought that perhaps Gebel’s words that Isaac was a Holy Body might be true.
On the other hand, Isaac was thinking something outlandish.
*What a nasty expression.*
Isaac suddenly worried that such a thought might be branded as blasphemous, so he quickly thought of something else.
“I hear you show talent in swordsmanship, Isaac.”
“Ah, yes. Though I am lacking, I am learning diligently.”
The Canon of Light did not forbid priests from wielding swords. On the contrary, it often encouraged it. In this harsh world, setting out on a pilgrimage without a weapon was a foolish act. Moreover, if one were killed by the Undying Cult, they would suffer a fate worse than death, so for priests journeying to the East, self-discipline was essential.
“How many prayers have you memorized?”
“The mealtime prayer and the morning prayer, roughly…….”
“How much of the scripture have you memorized? Do you know Psalm of Dawn, Chapter 4, Verse 8?”
“……I do not know.”
Isaac was at a loss for an answer, but in truth, it was a grievance to him.
For most orphans of this era, it was fortunate enough just to reach adulthood without starving to death. If they learned a skill or found a way to make a living, it was a successful life; learning to read was a luxury. The monastery too merely provided an ‘opportunity to learn letters’; they did not make them memorize scripture content one by one.
In other words, Yebuhareu was making an outrageous demand of Isaac, who had not even been at the monastery for a few months.
“If you train your sword while your eyes are not yet fully open, how will you know whom to cut and whom to protect? I am concerned you may be trying to achieve too much in too great a haste.”
*To become a paladin, I’ll need to memorize scripture to some extent, but telling me to study already is too much.*
Isaac grumbled inwardly but did not harbor great displeasure. He realized that Yebuhareu had come to find him and say these words to give him some kind of opportunity.
*If he cuts my useless labor hours and tells me to memorize scripture or do transcription work during that time, that would actually be good.*
In truth, Yebuhareu’s inner thoughts were different.
*If Isaac is such a talented child, I must keep a firm grip on him now so he does not go astray.*
Even if his sword training rested for a moment, he had to be made into a righteous person who properly understood the words of the scripture. If he gained overwhelming strength too quickly at a young age, rather than raising a saint, he might end up raising a mere ruffian.
If there was one thing Yebuhareu did not know, it was that inside Isaac’s head resided an old man who had already lived enough years.
“I am sorry. Because of the incident where my friends were nearly hurt, I felt powerless and acted clumsily without properly understanding the proper order. I reflect on my mistake.”
Isaac did not talk back and instead apologized humbly. But contained within was an inner thought prodding Yebuhareu, reminding him: *You know how the kids almost died a while ago? Who saved them then?*
Yebuhareu too belatedly recalled the incident and flinched.
He looked at Isaac for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“You are right. What is important is the heart, not the verses of scripture. I was wrong.”
*Huh? This old man looks like a stubborn geezer, so why is he admitting it so quickly?*
Just as Isaac was puzzled, Yebuhareu continued.
“I shall personally teach you the words of the Canon of Light. This will be faster than rote-memorizing the scripture.”
In any case, Isaac could not escape Yebuhareu’s grasp.
Isaac, who was now receiving personal lessons from the abbot, followed behind him.
***
“Now then, the words that the Canon of Light delivered to the Prophet Ruatdin were as follows. You must know that the heat of a bonfire rising on snowy mountains is truly the same as the heat of a bonfire rising in a desert of suffering…….”
Yebuhareu walked around the monastery with Isaac, muttering the words of the scripture. Isaac felt sleepy, but because Yebuhareu kept talking while walking without stopping, he could not doze off.
*I even listened intently to fairly boring classes, but this is too much…….*
In truth, Isaac had no interest in religion. The most perplexing thing since becoming Isaac was exactly that.
He had been an atheist.
Of course, the word atheist itself was absurd in a world where gods truly existed, but the fundamental foundation in his head was exactly the mindset of a modern person.
That the reality of each individual was more important than the great will of those on high.
But the people of this world valued that great will. In other words, it meant that if Isaac wanted to live successfully in this world, he had to at least pretend to have faith. He had thought the day would come eventually, but actually sitting through such an intensive lesson was perplexing.
He knew, of course, that it was a precious opportunity to receive personal tutoring directly from the abbot.
The problem was that Yebuhareu did not seem particularly talented at teaching.
“……Again, the Canon of Light ignited a flame in a closed room, and the room filled with smoke. Then the flame was extinguished. The Canon of Light showed this and spoke to Ruatdin…….”
Isaac was exasperated by the feeling that he might fall asleep at any moment.
*I think I’d rather take a physics class…… Hmm?*
Isaac suddenly felt that Yebuhareu’s words sounded somewhat familiar. Until now, he had not paid much attention to the verses of scripture. He had merely thought of them as something to memorize someday, meaning he had not taken them to heart.
But forcing himself to concentrate on Yebuhareu’s words, a subtle part prodded his memory.
“……The Canon of Light spoke, saying that charcoal and smoke that have already burned do not return to wood. As light and heat are instantaneous and only flow past, be mindful to love and cherish the moment…….”
*Isn’t this…… thermodynamics?*
A flashing realization swept through his mind.
Isaac had not majored in physics. But he had knowledge of the basic outline. Isaac realized that the words Yebuhareu was muttering matched the shallow physics knowledge he possessed.
Only then were all the things Yebuhareu had said and the contents he had seen and heard from the scripture properly input into his head.
It was like a moment of enlightenment.
The teachings of the Canon of Light were modern physics explained through spoken language alongside lessons, rather than mathematics.
*No, surely not, is that why…….*
……it’s called the ‘Canon of Light’?
Light is the fastest. And with its immutable speed, it holds an immutable measure in the common knowledge of physics.
If the Canon of Light is God, then He is essentially the God of Physics.
Isaac realized that absurd fact and was at a loss for words.
He had thought he needed to force himself to believe in the Canon of Light, but from the very beginning, he had been a follower of the Canon of Light.
For he had been a modern person, and common physics knowledge had been like air to him.
“Isaac.”
Just then, Yebuhareu suddenly shoved his face in front of Isaac’s eyes. At that gloomy face, Isaac startled and stepped back.
“It seems you were thinking of something else while I was teaching.”
“……I was reflecting on the abbot’s words once more.”
“Is that so? Then you would know if I ask you about the bonfire episode again.”
The bonfire of snowy mountains is the same heat as the bonfire of the desert.
In the scripture, it is interpreted as content preaching the benevolence of the Canon of Light, that its authority shines equally upon all things in the world regardless of good or evil.
But the content has nothing to do with benevolence or equality.
“It means that what is hot is hot everywhere, and what is cold is cold everywhere.”
It was an overly simplified explanation, but he had to simplify it to this degree for the people of this world to understand. But Yebuhareu’s expression twitched as if he felt something upon hearing Isaac’s words.
Instead of getting angry, he opened his mouth with a grave attitude.
“The episode of the closed room?”
“It means that everything in an isolated space only continues to change form; it does not disappear or newly appear.”
“The episode of the ash?”
“It means that what is high moves to a low place, what is hot becomes lukewarm, and what is gathered scatters.”
“Hah…….”
Yebuhareu opened his eyes wide and looked at Isaac. Watching Isaac answer without hesitation, he constantly stroked his face.
There were parts in Isaac’s words that could be pointed out as heresy if taken the wrong way.
But Yebuhareu, who had studied the scripture for decades, could instinctively feel that the ‘essence’ of the words left by the Canon of Light was hidden in his words.
Ruatdin’s scripture had been revered as the word of God.
But over hundreds of years, translations and transcriptions had added the opinions and interpretations of priests.
It had become content more pleasant to hear and more didactic.
However, Isaac’s words were closer to the honest essence with all those interpretations stripped away.
*As if…… like Ruatdin who transcribed the words of the Canon of Light?*
When Yebuhareu thought that far, he felt a shock as if lightning had struck his head.
Gebel had said Isaac was a Holy Body.
A being chosen by God, one who bore miracles within his body.
Until now, Yebuhareu had been half-convinced of his words.
But what Isaac was saying now was enough to test him.
*If that is true, does that mean I dared to try testing one chosen by God?*
Yebuhareu could feel at least a portion of the shock Gebel had felt.
Was this what it meant to be a Holy Body?
But Isaac was somehow different from the other Holy Bodies Yebuhareu had met. He was a figure who instilled an unstable feeling, as if the ground beneath one’s feet was shaking.
*If Isaac is a Holy Body, he may possess a mission great enough to overturn the era.*
Feeling that burdensome gaze, Isaac wondered what he had done wrong.
*I thought I answered quite well. Should I have made it more refined?*
From Isaac’s perspective, he could not tell whether Yebuhareu’s frightening face was one thinking *To think there is such a foolish boy in my monastery,* or one thinking *To think a devil spawn is before my eyes.* But he was certain that if it was the essence of the Canon of Light as he had grasped it, the answer was clearly correct.
*Of course, if they asked me to explain it with formulas, I absolutely couldn’t.*
All Isaac knew was the concept itself.
And even that, a very summarized version.
But thanks to that, he could at least appear knowledgeable to Yebuhareu.
Yebuhareu was silent for a long while before finally opening his mouth.
“Remarkable, Isaac.”