Chapter 199: Dawn Society

The distance from Quill Avenue, where Miss Louisa lived, to Dawn Square, where the Dawn Cathedral was located, was quite far. To prevent missing the time, Xia De took a rental carriage at the intersection. He first sent Mia home, then headed to the cathedral.

Tobesk in midsummer was also shrouded in smoke, and because of the hot weather, the scorched smell in the air was becoming increasingly unbearable. On the way to the cathedral, while Xia De stuffed the leaf into the cover of his decorative pocket watch (Note), he looked out the carriage window at the style of this steam age.

The fast-moving streetscape, decent gentlemen and barefoot children, low walls clinging with weeds and grand aristocratic mansions, dense steam pipes and porters carrying sacks—all of this was explaining to Xia De the balance and imbalance of this era.

But the Outsider knew that this was a node in the progress of civilization. For civilization, there has never been any absolute balance; there is only dynamic relative balance.

He was lost in thought about these things, so much so that when he got off the carriage, he almost forgot to pay the fare. For this, he was quite embarrassed and gave an extra two pennies. The middle-aged coachman with a hunched back didn't dislike it but instead thanked him happily; two pennies were also valuable to the lower-class poor.

It was now the second Thursday of the Month of Thunder, and with the Saint Prayer Festival getting closer, the clergy of the Dawn Cathedral were also becoming busier. But Priest Augustus still took the time to welcome Xia De at the cathedral entrance and hugged him with exaggerated enthusiasm:

"Remember to pretend to be injured."

This was the priest's whispered reminder when they hugged, after which he asked with a natural tone of concern:

"Xia De, is your injury alright?"

"Cough, cough."

Xia De didn't know what symptoms internal bleeding should manifest, so he pretended to cough weakly a few times:

"The Doctor said I was lucky, and young people have strong bodies, so it should be fine."

"Very good, very good, Mr. Dawn will bless you."

Saying this, he led Xia De into the cathedral.

Whether it was a world with gods or a world without gods, functional buildings like cathedrals were always built to be grand and solemn. Even though it wasn't his first time entering the Dawn Cathedral, when both feet stepped inside the building, he still couldn't help but lower his voice and slow his steps.

Of course, this also had to do with the power the cathedral itself possessed. In this world where thoughts could influence reality, the cathedral itself had the blessing of the True God's power, plus the protective measures set up by Ringed Shushi, and the power contributed by the believers' long-term thoughts. The safest place in Tobesk was actually the cathedrals of the five True Gods, not the Yodel Palace.

The two walked one after the other, quickly passing through the main auditorium of the Dawn Cathedral, and then entered the rear of the cathedral from the side corridor. Priest Augustus kept greeting people along the way, among whom a few clergy members seemed to know who Xia De was and shook hands with him very enthusiastically.

It seemed that what happened yesterday noon also had an impact on the church itself.

They soon arrived at Bishop Owen's office. After knocking on the door, Xia De and Priest Augustus entered the room together.

The old Bishop had just been reading documents with his reading glasses on. Seeing the two enter, he temporarily put away the things on the table. He took off his glasses, adjusted his expression, and then said to Xia De very kindly:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hamilton, please sit. I invited you here today because I want to discuss with you the topic of... faith."

Xia De raised an eyebrow; it was indeed this topic.

The conversation that afternoon went very pleasantly. Bishop Owen, on behalf of the Dawn Society, asked Xia De if he was willing to convert to Mr. Dawn. This was not only because Bishop Owen appreciated Xia De, but also because of the silver coin that was hit yesterday morning.

This matter, under the church's promotion and the royal family's tacit approval, had already spread. The church wanted to use this to promote the faith of the Dawn Society, while the royal family wanted to show that they were indeed blessed by the True Gods.

And for the Dawn Cathedral, such a coincidental and dramatic event was definitely good material for promoting the church for the Saint Prayer Festival and even in the future. And the key to this was that Xia De Hamilton, as the protagonist of the story, had to become a believer, so that it could show Mr. Dawn's care and blessing for his believers.

"Mr. Hamilton, last time you said that you were only a shallow believer of 【Lady of Creation】, so what do you think of the faith of 【Mr. Dawn】?"

"Very good."

To be precise, the values of the Five Gods Society did not conflict with Xia De at all. The church played the role of being enlightened and progressive in this era.

"If you are willing to join us, I can personally baptize you."

This was the condition Bishop Owen proposed.

After all, it was a church, and it involved faith, so one could not use conditions like pounds to lure people into the church; the clergy had such a bottom line. But having the baptism personally presided over by a Bishop of a large diocese itself represented many things. Simply put, Xia De would be considered "one of our own."

For example, Room 2 on the second floor of No. 6 Saint Theresa Square had been queuing for exorcism, but if he were "one of our own," he wouldn't need to queue at all. For example, the faith group of Mr. Dawn was widely distributed; if Xia De encountered things he couldn't handle while processing detective commissions, the church wouldn't mind providing help to one of their own.

Of course, the premise was that Xia De truly became a believer.

"That's no problem."

Bishop Owen gave Xia De time to think, and Xia De didn't answer immediately. He had thought about this before coming, but he definitely couldn't agree immediately; that would make him appear not pious. He pretended to struggle and hesitated for a full ten minutes before giving the answer. The Bishop showed a gratified expression:

"I knew you would make the right choice."

Becoming a believer meant many conveniences, and all Xia De needed to pay was some time, learn the religious classics that were necessary to remember, and then have time to come to the Dawn Cathedral, participate in some prayers, and listen to some sermons. Compared to the benefits gained, the price paid was completely acceptable.

The only thing to consider was whether joining the church as such a "pseudo-believer" would attract the gaze of the True God. But thinking carefully, in such a large church, there must be more than one so-called pseudo-believer. Since others were fine, he would naturally be fine too.

After all, compared to true high-dimensional existences, whatever a mortal like a small ant thought was superfluous.

Bishop Owen was probably afraid that Xia De would go back on his word, so he arranged the baptism for him that very afternoon.

The so-called baptism was the initiation ceremony. The baptism ceremony used by the Dawn Society was the relatively traditional sprinkling rite, that is, under the holy emblem, a high-level clergy member qualified to serve as the officiant would chant scriptures, pour or sprinkle water, and drop water on the forehead of the person being baptized.

The Five Gods Society mostly used such ceremonies, but each church had its own characteristics. 【Mr. Dawn】 was the 【God of Light and Shadow】, so the baptism required that besides the holy emblem, the body of the person being baptized must be able to be located in both shadow and light at the same time.

This was not difficult in an era with gas lamps, but being surrounded by a large group of people and being illuminated by a high-power portable gas lamp at close range made Xia De feel that this sultry afternoon was even hotter.

Of course, in the traditional sense, people accepting baptism also had to pass a faith examination and be recommended by three clergy members who knew the situation well before they could be baptized. But with an old-school clergy member like Priest Augustus around, plus the miracle-like event yesterday noon, Xia De skipped this step directly.

"It's good that I don't have to write an application or report."

This was Xia De's sigh when wiping his face with a towel after the baptism ceremony. Coming to this era, writing reports had already become a norm of life.

"Xia De, how high do you think the literacy rate is now? How many people can write their own names?"

This was Priest Augustus's helpless retort.

In short, the Outsider had a verbal faith in this world. Although Saint Byrons in the far north was equally powerful, it could not affect the detective in Tobesk in his daily life. And the Dawn Cathedral was rooted in civilized society; joining the cathedral meant that life would become more convenient.

As a token of appreciation, after the baptism, Xia De gave the commemorative coin embedded with the bullet head to Bishop Owen. Bishop Owen naturally wouldn't be stingy and pulled a stack of books from the bookshelf to give to him. Those were religious classics; since Xia De had become a believer, he couldn't afford not to understand these.

Besides this, Xia De also got a small bottle containing a transparent liquid. When Bishop Owen handed this thing to Xia De, even Priest Augustus on the side felt surprised:

"No. 3 Holy Water?"

The entire bottle of liquid in his hand, even if it was highly likely to be diluted, had a value that would definitely not be lower than 100 pounds.

"Yes, Mr. Hamilton. This is a specialty of the church, a magical liquid that can treat injuries and illnesses. I know you were injured, but you still have to attend a banquet on Sunday night, so take this back and sprinkle it on your wounds."

The old Bishop winked at Xia De:

"The gods truly exist, and the church is not as simple as you think... You won't regret today's decision."

He made a few gestures on his chest and then silently prayed to the gods.

Xia De nodded and looked at Priest Augustus again:

"Priest, I remember the Dawn Society accepts donations, right?"

"Yes, part of the donated money is used for cathedral maintenance, and part is used directly to help the poor."

Xia De hadn't forgotten what he said yesterday noon:

"Alright then, I want to donate... 10 pounds."

No matter what, in an era where mystery and steam coexisted, becoming a believer of a True God had no harm. Sometimes, Xia De would also imagine, if the first person he met wasn't Doctor Schneider, but he was recruited by the church, then his life in this strange world would probably be completely different from now.

"But there are no 'ifs' in this world..."

The church arranged a carriage to send Xia De back to Saint Theresa Square. Xia De looked out the window. The sun was setting, and a busy day was about to end.

"Might as well consider some more realistic problems."

He leaned lazily against the back of the seat.

【For example, what should we eat tonight?】

The sunset glow spilled onto his side face, and Xia De was amused by her, but shook his head:

"No, for example, what exactly the exorcist from the church who comes to confirm the situation tomorrow morning will be able to find in Room 2 on the second floor." ===== CHAPTER 200 =====