106 God Fragment
***[Artist Investigator 2]***
There are three ranks of inspectors in the Duke’s family, but there is no rank when you first start working as an inspector.
Are you going to be a candidate for investigator?
The incumbent investigator takes them along and goes through a period to find out if they have the qualifications, which can take several months if short and more than a year if long.
During that period, some people drop out and move to other departments, and some people are kicked out of the duchy altogether.
If you pass that period safely, you can only become a level 3 investigator.
Most investigators are level 3 even if they work for 10, 20, or 30 years.
If the ability is evaluated as considerable, it will be promoted to the 2nd grade, but it took more than 10 years at the fastest.
It doesn’t make much sense to him, but some investigators don’t like being level 2.
Such a person says that the first, second, and third grade work is the same, although the importance is different anyway.
However, when the class goes up, the pressure only increases.
so i don’t like it
‘Nonsense.’
If you’re going to do something, it’s better to do something important.
If you do the same thing anyway, you should get more money and more respect from people.
so i worked hard
While my grandfather, father, cousins, and brothers all worked as investigators, they worked really hard to stand out somehow.
To be honest, it’s not because I have ambition, it’s because I didn’t want to fall behind.
Many of my relatives are second-class investigators, and even my grandfather is a manager-level officer and my father is a first-class investigator.
If he, as a son, is still in the 3rd grade, he will lose face.
So I worked hard, reducing the time to sleep and eat.
And last month, I thought I would finally go up to the 2nd grade, but I failed in the screening.
I couldn’t understand why I fell, so I went to the examiner to ask, and he said that my grandfather had dropped it.
He was duly evaluated and promoted, and his paternal grandfather, who was connected by blood, dropped him.
Aside from the ability to become a 2nd class, I still lack the qualifications of my heart.
‘Damn Grandpa.’
What is the qualification of the mind?
If he had passed this time, he would have become the youngest and shortest level 2 investigator.
Then, at the gathering of relatives, both father and grandfather would not have been proud.
But why did you blow that opportunity yourself, Grandpa?
If he didn’t get along normally, he would have thought that his grandfather hated him.
You may have thought that you hated beyond hatred.
While looking at the temple grunting inwardly, an assistant priest with a youthful appearance came out of the building.
“Priestess!”
As he approached, the assistant priest lowered his eyebrows as if in trouble.
“Are you still waiting here?”
“I can’t leave until I meet the priest.”
“But no one knows when the prayers will end.”
The auxiliary fuse let out a small sigh.
“Still, isn’t it something to eat? Even at that time, it doesn’t matter. Please let me meet you.”
When he said that, the assistant priest opened his mouth with a puzzled face.
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen you for several days. Meals are just a little bit of soup in the prayer room. I don’t know when you’ll bring it.”
“Then, how do you put in some scorpions?”
The investigator begged, but the assistant priest just shook his head saying he was in trouble.
“I’m sorry, but no one can disturb you when you’re in the prayer room.”
“It’s an emergency right now. The number of monsters is increasing. At least a book that tells what the goddess’ wrath is…”
“I’m really sorry. Our temple is a very small place. The few books are really valuable and I can’t show them to outsiders at will.”
Although it looks soft on the outside, this young auxiliary fuse is very inflexible and rigid.
There was no gap at all to poke.
The investigator shrugged his shoulders.
Even if something comes and goes, what should I do, this auxiliary fuse doesn’t work like a broken wooden doll, but I repeat.
It’s like you’re not listening at all.
I heard the sound, but I felt like I didn’t understand it on purpose.
‘ha. When are the priests coming out?’
It’s already been 5 days since I came to this temple, and even then the priests said they were praying, and they are still stuck in the prayer room.
‘Something’s different about a 2nd or 1st level investigator.’
Would grandfather or father have been able to convince that young auxiliary priest?
Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get promoted to level 2.
I’m good enough, but my grandfather didn’t drop it on purpose, it’s just because I’m not good at it myself.
‘No, no, my confidence is going underground and I’m falling to the bottom.’
Then what happens is blocked.
The most important ability of an investigator is to believe in yourself and move forward even if it seems hopeless.
I firmly believe that one day something will appear.
My father said so.
Besides, there are already results here.
Priests here know about the goddess’ wrath.
The reason why such a level 3 investigator came, was because his role was simply to listen to the story properly.
‘But in this state, when will we be able to meet?’
Priests might come out tomorrow right away, but it might take a month, or in the worst case, it might take several months.
‘If I spend that much time on such a simple thing, I’ll be branded as incompetent.’
If that happens, it might be 10 or 20 years before I become a second-class student.
“Hey, priest!”
As he followed in the footsteps of the auxiliary priest, he began to pester again.
“Even though the temple is small, it would be difficult to clean and maintain it by yourself. How about making food for the priests?”
“When you pray to God, you have to be sincere with your food. I pray with a reverent heart when preparing ingredients or fetching water.”
“Then I’ll deliver the meal.”
“We cannot allow outsiders to enter the temple.”
“Hey, then…”
I have a similar struggle every day.
Of course there is no income.
‘If it doesn’t seem right, I’ll sneak in tomorrow. If I can’t meet the priest, at least I’ll have to look at the book.’
Investigators aren’t just doing surveys.
Although rare, they also steal.
I was learning how to erase without leaving footprints, how to open a door with a wire, and I was doing things that I couldn’t say on the surface.
Of course, it is our policy not to do such things as much as possible, but if you are a true investigator, you will not hesitate when you have to.
Even if it is punished by God!
“…”
Ha ha, I must have been a little careless to mention God.
My legs seem to tremble just a little bit.
In any case, it was the moment when he took off his feet to chase after the assistant priest again.
Suddenly, my vision went white, and something flashed.
A tremendous shock hits the entire body.
Almost simultaneously, bangs rang out from all directions.
It was like being inside a thunderclap.
“My God! Lightning!”
I hear the assistant priest’s voice.
It’s a thousand bees.
Sensing that, he fell to the floor stiff as a log.
Right before I lost consciousness, someone’s voice rang in my head.
[… Pieces of God… Pieces of God… Pieces…]
it’s a beautiful voice
It felt as if heavenly music was speaking.
Celestial… Celestial… Celestial?
“Goddess?”
He jumped up.
As if waiting, someone’s voice was heard nearby.
“You just woke up. How long have you been sleeping? It’s going to be late.”
The investigator blinked a few times.
The person who looked at him and spoke was an old man who looked like dried grass.
It’s old, but it’s wearing a priest’s uniform.
Apparently, this room is inside the temple.
“…”
He was obviously outside when he collapsed, but when did he come inside?
It’s only been a few seconds, but something is a little strange.
Besides, this place does not let outsiders into the temple.
For that reason, there was a small hut for visitors outside the temple.
After he arrived, he stayed in the cabin.
‘what is this.’
The senses acquired over the years as an investigator send a warning.
He shut his mouth, glanced quickly around the room, and then looked at the old man.
Apparently, the old man knows himself well.
No, they seem to think they know each other.
The old man sighed and came closer to look into his face.
“You bastard, what if you said you had to go find a piece of the goddess and be so belated? If you received a revelation from God, you should hurry.”
“… Ah… I…”
Receiving revelations, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?
I feel like I have to say something, but I’m so surprised and stunned that the inspector’s senses don’t work.
The old man chuckled.
“You look embarrassed because I’m going with you. I’m sorry that I’m going to get in the way, but I can’t let you go alone when you’re young. Besides, I also want to see with my own eyes the evidence that God is staying on this earth.”
Are you young? I was already over twenty.
I suddenly looked down at my hand, no, why did it happen like this?
my hands got smaller
It looked like the hand of a 11-year-old child.
The old man stroked his head with a bony hand.
“Once you find the piece of the goddess, let’s both protect it to the fullest. We must not kill what the goddess loves. Then the tragedy of this world will begin again.”
The old man chuckles.
The wrinkles deepened on the old man’s wrinkled face, like an apple that had drained all its moisture.
“Child, keep in mind. You must not let the piece of God die. Even if I disappear from this world, never forget. Protect the piece of God.”
piece of god.
That’s what I heard right before I passed out.
The moment I thought so, someone’s voice rang right in my ear.
“Calm down! Are you okay?”
When did you close your eyes?
Thinking about that, I opened my eyes, and this time the face of the assistant priest I saw before fainting came into my eyes.
The assistant priest had a surprised face.
“Lightning… You were struck by lightning. But no one was hurt. My God! It’s a miracle.”
Hearing the words of the assistant priest, the inspector swallowed a gulp.
My throat is sore and it hurts.
“…”
What he had just seen like a dream was probably a revelation from God.
Maybe it has already happened in the past, maybe it will happen in the future.
In any case, it was definitely something a god or a goddess showed.
It was no coincidence.
Forced to move his grit-filled throat, the investigator let out a voice.
“… God’s piece… what the hell… is that… what is it…”
“…”
The assistant priest’s eyes literally grew to the size of a lamp.
He looked down at the inspector as if frozen and muttered.
“Ask the head priest about that.”
After a while, the investigator was able to meet the head of the priest, whom he had not been able to meet no matter how much he slept for several days.
*
I thought maybe the priest here might be the old man I met in my dreams, but it was a completely different person.
The priest’s head here is round and looks like a moss-covered stone on the shore of a lake.
It’s just that I haven’t eaten properly for a few days, so my cheeks feel a bit swollen.
The priest first asked me about the dream I had.
Let’s tell the truth, the priest opened his mouth after thinking about it.
“That’s probably something that actually happened in the past. Records don’t survive, but it’s said that a long time ago, this world was almost on the verge of destruction. It’s a story told by priests.”
“Then the piece of God.”
“…”
The priest looked at him with a smile.
“First, let me ask you a question. Do you know that goddesses give blessings to humans?”
“Of course. Everyone doesn’t know.”
“is it so.”
The head priest nodded.
“Then, when the blessed person dies, where does the blessing of the goddess go?”
hmm? I had never thought of anything like that.
“Well. If you die, won’t the blessing go back to God?”
“Whoops.”
The priest smiled softly and opened his mouth.
“No. God’s blessings remain in this world. And they go looking for what they like.”
“…”
I’m sorry but I don’t know what you mean.
Blessings are not some kind of dog, and they are wandering around.
But I don’t think I was trying to make him understand.
The priest continued to speak.
“It is not specifically determined which aspect of a human being the goddess blesses. Sometimes it is because the color of the eyes is beautiful, and sometimes it is because the clearness of the soul is lovely, and sometimes it is because I like the voice. It is said that there are cases in which blessings are bestowed on a whim.”
“How do you know?”
“Well. It’s probably the result of observing the people who have been blessed so far. Actually, it could be a completely different reason. This is just what the priest tells the priest. I don’t know too much.”
This is why investigators don’t believe people’s words one hundred percent.
There are too many people in this world who talk as if they know what they don’t know.
The head priest smiled a little, probably guessing what he was thinking.
“It can’t be helped. How can we humans know what God is doing? We can only guess. Anyway, the blessing of the goddess does not disappear. As they continue to roam this world, they are attracted to each other and come together. They grow bigger and bigger.”
“…Uh, no way.”
The investigator’s eyes widened slightly.
No way, it’s a piece of God.
“Yes. A piece of God refers to a human being. It refers to a blessing that has grown from roaming around for a long time, uniting and absorbing each other. It is someone who has more blessings from the goddess than anyone else.”
“Then the number of monsters these days is increasing.”
“Blessings themselves are given only to humans whom the Goddess loves from the beginning. If such blessings are to the extent that they find themselves and attach themselves to them, it means that that human possesses more of the elements that the Goddess loves than anyone else. Such a person becomes unhappy or miserable. Imagine dying.”
“…”
“The goddess’ wrath will literally grow as if it will pierce the sky.”
God’s powers are not infinite in variety.
Each god had something he was best at.
There are gods who can move the wind or control water, and there are gods who can move the veins of the earth.
“The goddess of blessing is also the god of fertility. Her wrath leads to an increase in beasts harming humans.”
At the priest’s words, the investigator swallowed.
“Then, are you saying that somewhere, the human being called God’s Sculpture is becoming unhappy?”
“I think it’s either misfortune or danger looming or something like that.”
The troublesome thing is that the goddess’s wrath is not simply caused by God’s will.
From nob le mt l dot com
Just as humans cannot control their anger, neither can gods.
Even though he knows that even the person he loves will be in danger, he can’t stop his anger.
‘No, isn’t that too stupid?’
The investigator thought so, but he couldn’t speak and swallowed it down his throat.
It’s hard to be struck by lightning again.
I will die this time
“Then… what should I do to quell the goddess’ wrath? If the number of monsters increases because the god’s piece is in danger, then I just have to protect that person safely? Where can I go to find him?”
“I do not know.”
“…uh.”
No, that sounds really stupid.
The head priest let out a long sigh with a gloomy face.
“I was praying to find out, but no answer came back. Instead, you appeared.”
“…I’m just an investigator, so I don’t really know anything.”
“…”
maybe good
I came to get information, and there is a person who asks me to give information.
A sigh escaped from both of their mouths almost simultaneously.