Chapter 37: Church without Missionaries (2)

May replayed what she knew.

The Viper gang she’d seen yesterday were notorious gangsters who had once made the entire street tremble.

For them to be driven out so easily by just one person, as if a child’s wrist was being twisted.

That strange sight lingered in May’s mind all night.

In truth, in these lower streets, strong power was, in itself, absolute authority.

A privilege that could obtain anything desired.

It was stranger not to wield it freely.

But the man in the priest’s attire yesterday, and the Church of Radiance he belonged to, were somehow different.

They clearly possessed power, yet they didn’t flaunt it carelessly.

If they had wanted to, they could have extorted protection money from the shops in this area like the gangsters, but they didn’t.

They simply lived quietly amongst their neighbors.

That was clearly different from any group May had encountered living in this back alley her whole life.

That’s why it was so impressive.

Thoughts about them wouldn’t leave her mind.

When morning came the next day, May found herself walking without realizing it.

Finally, she arrived at the cathedral door.

Without knowing what she wanted to confirm herself.

May cautiously opened the door and went inside.

Then, a female believer who had been waiting welcomed her with a warm smile.

“Welcome, sister. Is this your first time?”

==========

May, without realizing it, looked around.

‘It’s… actually not bad?’

The interior of the cathedral, which she entered following the believer’s guidance, was unexpectedly clean and tidy.

She had expected the closed-off, gloomy atmosphere typical of cults, but this place was much more reverent, solemn, and even felt well-organized.

That impression grew stronger when she was guided through the corridor to an inner office.

Usually, when meeting an individual in such a place, they tend to assert more authority, but this was an unusually comfortable space.

The soft-colored wallpaper and the windowsills adorned with small flowerpots even exuded a comfortable and warm feeling.

There, May sat facing a gaunt man.

He was a thin man, as if he hadn’t had a proper meal in ages, but his gaze towards her was gentle and calm.

“Welcome, sister. I am Deacon Meyer.”

The man greeted her softly first and offered her a seat.

“Yes, nice to meet you….”

May replied awkwardly and sat opposite him.

She hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say first, but the deacon spoke first.

“Yes, I heard you were concerned about the safety of your shop.”

As if such visits were not uncommon, he took a document from a drawer with a familiar expression and handed it to May.

‘…..A pledge form?’

The content of the document she hesitantly accepted was as follows:

First, dedicate one-tenth of the shop’s net profit to the church monthly.

Second, the church accepts her as a sister in faith and protects her.

Third, a holy symbol proving this will be provided, which can be displayed in the shop.

That was all the content.

It was so concise that there was no room for any other interpretation.

However, one word among them particularly caught her eye.

‘Holy symbol…?’

At that word, May inadvertently recalled the horrific scene from last night.

The shop where the Viper gang members had been helplessly thrown out, there was definitely a peculiar emblem hanging there.

It seemed that was the church’s holy symbol.

May asked again.

“Is this all? Are there no additional things to pay, or conditions that must be strictly followed? For example, having to attend worship services……”

Deacon Meyer still shook his head with a gentle expression.

“You don’t necessarily have to. Forced faith has no meaning. Faith that springs voluntarily from the heart is a true blessing. Of course, if you wish, sister, you are always welcome to attend mass, but it is not an obligation.”

“Then….. you’re saying you’ll protect me, even though I’m not a believer?”

May’s voice was still full of doubt.

But the deacon simply replied as if it were natural.

“With the offerings you provide, sister, we can help many more neighbors in need. You too are contributing to practicing that love. Therefore, you are already fully qualified to be called a sister in faith.”

May still couldn’t shake off a somewhat uneasy feeling.

Because the conditions were too absurd.

Not because it was expensive.

Rather, because it was too cheap.

It was strange that they would guarantee safety in this lawless back alley for a mere 10 percent of the net profit.

Even the Viper gang extorted thirty or forty percent of sales as nominal protection money in their territory, yet they didn’t provide proper protection and, on the contrary, often resorted to threats.

Unable to hide her suspicion, May asked again.

“Are there perhaps no other conditions? How long is the contract period?”

Deacon Meyer shook his head once more.

“As I mentioned before, faith is free. If at any time you no longer feel comfortable with this promise, you can return the holy symbol and stop the offerings without any problem. We respect your choice, sister.”

Still strange.

Everything was so unconventional.

But recalling the terrifying sight of the gangsters approaching from across the window last night, she had no other choice.

Even if it was a scam, no, in her current desperate situation, she had to grasp even this rotten lifeline.

May finally nodded slightly after a period of silence.

Deacon Meyer smiled faintly and handed her the document along with a star-shaped holy symbol attached to a necklace.

Thus, the short meeting ended.

Returning to her shop, May hesitated for a while, holding the holy symbol in her hand.

Then, with a deep sigh, she hung it inside the window where it was most visible from the outside.

‘Will this really… be okay?’

With a heart full of anxiety and, at the same time, a glimmer of desperation, she gazed at the displayed holy symbol.

=============

And a few weeks passed.

In the past, when violent organizations occupied this commercial area while receiving protection money, they would extort enormous sums yet often show a nonchalant reaction to incidents and accidents experienced by the merchants.

Even if robbers or thieves looted a shop and fled, they mostly stood by idly unless the protection money to be paid to the organization was also stolen.

However, since one couldn’t protest to a fearsome violent organization for not keeping its promise, May and many others had experienced infuriating incidents more than once or twice.

But over the past few weeks, the people affiliated with the Church of Radiance who occasionally visited the shops had a completely different attitude.

“Sister, has everything been alright?”

“Yes, thanks to you. Thank you always.”

May didn’t know, but they were actually former mercenaries who had successfully completed numerous missions in the past.

Such types sometimes even performed the roles of fixers and detectives.

Thanks to that, they were truly experts at resolving incidents and accidents.

If a problem arose in a place displaying the church’s holy symbol, they would accurately apprehend the culprits in less than half a day.

“The robbers who looted the shop during the day, are these them?”

“Yes…. That’s right. I’m sure. How on earth….?”

Their surprising resourcefulness and work processing were astonishing.

May didn’t know, but the help of homeless believers situated throughout the back alleys also contributed greatly to this work.

Residents from all over the streets who received food from the church through charitable activities willingly provided testimony necessary for resolving cases.

In fact, even the police found it difficult to obtain such full cooperation.

The fear of what retaliation one might face for reporting a crime was an unwritten rule in these back alleys.

But the Church of Radiance was different.

They were already members of this back alley, practically its de facto rulers.

If someone tried to retaliate against a believer who cooperated with the church, the church had repeatedly demonstrated its power to eliminate the group attempting retaliation overnight.

So, after petty criminals and gangster organizations that recklessly caused trouble in shops were completely eradicated, no crimes occurred in the commercial areas displaying the church’s holy symbol.

Then, other small business owners who had been indifferent to the church’s appearance also began to visit the cathedral one by one.

“Excuse me…. Is this the organization called the Church of Radiance?”

“Can we also be protected if we believe in… Radiance-nim?”

“Of course, brother.”

Eventually, it reached a point where only shops without the holy symbol were targeted by crime, so all shops in the commercial street displayed the church’s emblem without exception.

As the number of holy symbols increased like this, public order in the vicinity noticeably stabilized.

As public order improved, vitality naturally returned to the area.

People who previously hesitated to walk around after sunset now moved about the streets with peace of mind, which led to an increase in foot traffic, and business at her restaurant and various other shops began to thrive as well.

As hourly profits increased, there was no longer a need to keep the shop open late into the night as before.

As working hours decreased, May’s life also began to have some leisure.

A life where she could have dinner with her son after evening and chat with him had arrived.

“How was school today?”

“The teacher praised me for doing my homework well! Want to see?!”

“Really? You’re such a good boy, my son. Let mommy see too.”

Actually, all these changes felt bewildering to her.

She had only gathered the courage to visit the cathedral once.

All her life’s problems were being solved as if by magic.

Troubles that no one could solve had vanished like melting snow, leaving her dumbfounded.

Gradually, curiosity naturally arose.

The Church of Radiance…. What kind of people were they to help others like this?

And what was this love of God they kept talking about?

A positive curiosity began to sprout towards stories she had dismissed as pipe dreams.

It was soon time to close up for the evening.

The shop was still bustling with customers, but a gentle smile, rather than fatigue, graced May’s face.

She glanced briefly at the busy kitchen area and then muttered to herself, as if thinking aloud.

“The cathedral…. Maybe I should visit too.”

============

I pointed to a specific part of the report I had just received and asked again.

“A request to establish a new church came from the 10th Street area as well? Why?”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

It was that strange.

“We haven’t even started charitable activities over there yet, have we?”

Why on earth were people from another district, with no connection whatsoever, wanting to follow the church?

It was an expansion so fast, abnormally fast, that it was bewildering.

Receiving my questioning gaze, Yoanna replied with her characteristic enigmatic smile gracing her lips.

“Well. Perhaps they instinctively realized the true love of God?”

Here we go again.

Yoanna was undoubtedly competent, but sometimes when it came to matters related to faith, her way of thinking became a little strange.

A tendency to interpret all situations overly optimistically, or miraculously.

It was necessary to filter her words to some extent.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing right now.

Rapid expansion of the church’s influence certainly had its pros and cons, but it wasn’t a serious enough issue to worry about immediately.

However, there was a more pressing matter that needed to be discussed.

“Is the investigation finished? Has it been confirmed how much the deficit was this month?”

Yoanna, still wearing that enigmatic smile, handed over a new report.

“Would you like to see for yourself?”

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything.

Rather, I had entrusted the investigation because I was worried about serious consequences.

That was understandable because, in the world I originally came from, the main source of income for religious organizations was donations from believers.

It wasn’t for nothing that clergy were obsessed with tithes.

It was almost their only independent source of income and was directly linked to church operations.

But look at the believers our church was currently proselytizing to.

Weren’t most of them impoverished people struggling with daily life?

Naturally, the donations or offerings they could voluntarily give were almost nonexistent.

Yet, we were actively helping believers in difficult circumstances, spending far more substantial amounts.

To the question of what would be left if we just kept giving like this, we couldn’t just keep repeating hollow answers like, ‘You are what’s left.’

Running an organization is ultimately a reality.

Currently, we were using slush funds hidden by illegal organizations, but money, once you start spending it, disappears in an instant.

This was especially true because the charitable activities we were implementing had almost no productivity whatsoever, being closer to donations and volunteer work.

Therefore, I thought we needed to manage funds as efficiently as possible from now on, so I had requested Yoanna and the church administration to meticulously organize and report the financial status.

However….

Seeing the number written on the first page of the report, I doubted my eyes.

“The church operating expenses… are at a 27 percent surplus? How is this….?”

I was so dumbfounded that I had to recheck the number several times.

Looking at me like that, the girl still wore that unknowable smile.

“Radiance be praised, perhaps?”