Chapter 3. Faith and Status (5)

Although the novel calls it modern fantasy and glosses over it, in this world where that setting is reality, the power wasn’t fully accepted easily from the start.

In this world where the concept of holy power has become common sense, the image of an institution called a ‘hospital’ is not what it used to be. The image of the profession of doctor has also naturally changed from before.

Those who had been researching science had to rack their brains. If magic and physical laws were perfectly compatible, it would have been fine, but that magic influences the physical world, yet its laws are impossible to explain scientifically. Similarly, alchemy is also a different realm from chemistry.

Naturally, there were many clashes between the ‘new fields’ and the ‘existing fields’, and it seems that the opposition from the ‘existing fields’ with higher social status was quite strong. Living within the church, I didn’t feel it much, but there were quite a few protests, and of course, there were also those who denied it all as a scam.

And those who couldn’t accept all of that ended up taking the position of ‘modern conspiracy theorists’.

People who claim that the world is wrong, not them, and that the absurd things that currently dominate the world are all fabricated by government conspiracies.

There are indeed people who stubbornly refuse to go to church and reject holy power, but most of them come to church when they need it and receive the help of magic. In fact, the latter is the majority, so their social image is not very good.

“Uh… so, Anna-ssi?”

“Yes, I am Anna.”

However, in my eyes now, this person looked like a savior.

Because, after all, isn’t this person here to deny my divinity? There’s no reason to refuse.

What if a person is a bit hypocritical? I also deny that the being above is God, yet I confidently draw upon holy power when healing people.

“Are you Saint Candidate Anna-ssi?”

So, I wasn’t annoyed by the question that came back again.

Yes, normally people would imagine a much more fanatical person as a Saint Candidate. Not someone who lives life as freely as I do.

“Yes, I am Anna, the Saint Candidate. This is my escort knight, Ria… no, Sister Maria.”

“Maria is my baptismal name, and my real name is Lee Chae-eun. Please take care of me… Well, I’ll be in the back, so feel free to talk.”

Ria said that and stepped back to sit.

And she started giggling as if she were watching something incredibly amusing.

……Why?

No, well, Ria probably just finds the whole situation amusing. Given her wicked side of enjoying teasing me, it’s a natural reaction.

Ignoring Ria, I sat back down facing the defense attorney.

And the defense attorney’s expression was a little subtle.

“Um, do you perhaps not have any other name besides your baptismal name, Anna-ssi?”

“Ah, yes, right?”

Although I’m usually just called Anna and don’t often think about it, the name Anna is just my baptismal name.

Actually, the thought ‘it’s just my baptismal name’ is a bit strange. In Christian cultures, which are common in the West, infants are baptized at birth, and the name received then is used as their own name. Even in this country, baptismal names are often used as one’s own name.

The reason for specifically designating a name as a ‘baptismal name’ was to allow for the possibility of choosing a separate name when going out into the secular world. In a way, this is also a result of institutional agreement, and it was a response to some of the backlash that arose when an official religion emerged in South Korea, a country that was secular to begin with.

The church’s administration is different from the government’s administration. Therefore, to live as a member of this society, follow that administration.

It’s probably maintained in a dualistic way for that reason.

“Is that so…”

Hearing my answer, she somehow wore a slightly sad expression.

……Already?

“Um…”

As I opened my mouth, puzzled by her reaction, she blinked and smiled.

“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet. Nice to meet you, Anna-ssi. My name is Choi Soo-bin. I am the representative of the Unified Theory Research Institute.”

As she said that, she handed me a business card.

“Unified Theory Research Institute?”

As I tilted my head, reading the name of the institute on the business card, Choi Soo-bin smiled again and said,

“Yes, it’s a research institute that studies the phenomena occurring in this world. And it’s a research institute that studies a single common theory connecting those phenomena. It’s an institute created to properly research what people call holy power and magic with the theories we know.”

“…….”

Uh, wait a minute.

This gives me a bit of an eerie feeling.

Ah, of course, this person is perfect for my current situation. She was someone who advocated atheism and tried to view the world scientifically in every way.

But still.

In fact, physical laws and mathematics are not as ‘perfectly’ logical as most people think.

Even mathematics, which seems perfectly intuitive and logical, consisting only of numbers, reveals contradictory aspects when examined closely. While there are efforts to compensate, there are probably no mathematicians who deny those contradictions.

The same applies to physical laws, which are applications of mathematics. General relativity and quantum mechanics have conflicting aspects. According to the laws of physics, the laws of the microscopic world dealing with extremely small particles should apply equally to the macroscopic world dealing with planets and stars, so there should be a theory that explains both, but that is not the reality.

Of course, scientists know the fact that they ‘don’t know’. Physical laws are not a world completely conquered by humanity, and therefore, with continued research, there is hope that a theory explaining both can be created.

But at the same time, they do not assert that it can be ‘completely unified’.

That is the essence of scientific skepticism.

Moreover,

“It has been determined that holy power and magic are phenomena separate from physical phenomena…”

That’s right. In the first place, apart from the most important parts of physical laws like quantum mechanics and relativity, magic and holy power were only just beginning to be researched.

But separately from that, the areas that magic and holy power deal with are not ‘material’ areas. There are no ‘particles’ and ‘waves’ that are the basis of physical laws. Although they are visible to the eye, from a purely physics perspective, those two phenomena ‘do not exist’. Yet they influence reality.

Scientists are slowly uncovering the mechanisms of these phenomena, which are far more complex than quantum mechanics. And at least ‘so far’, there is no theory that links them to physical laws.

“No, that’s not true.”

But Choi Soo-bin cut me off and replied.

“There is a theoretical basis.”

“Theoretical basis…”

It’s something I’ve heard of in reality. Numerous theories that tried to unify physical laws.

However, very few of them were proven through experiments. Opinions were divided even among scientists.

Even if it received some recognition and an academic field was established, a foundation for research would be created… I felt sweat forming on my forehead.

But perhaps not properly recognizing my expression, Choi Soo-bin continued to speak.

“I’ve heard about you, Anna-ssi.”

“Y-you have?”

I had also seen Choi Soo-bin on TV. Although the TV content was about ridiculing people like her.

Strictly speaking, it was a program of the ‘People like this in the world’ genre.

“Yes, I’ve heard that you are fighting for the truth even within the church, in a situation where you could become a privileged class. The incident of sending a letter to the Cardinal is a well-known story among us.”

“Ah, yes.”

I could only reply like that.

“Actually, under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking like this during the verification process. Usually, someone like a Saint Candidate could pressure with authority.”

That’s true.

Uh, no, wait a minute. Does that mean?

“Thank you for calling me here.”

Eek.

“Surely, this is also a right you were able to obtain because you continued your struggle within the church? If so, we cannot afford to waste such an opportunity, can we? Because we don’t know when they might change their minds and try to kick me out.”

Uh, no.

I didn’t call you.

I think the church called you on their own initiative.

Ah, I think I understand a little.

My stance from the moment I became a Saint Candidate until today has been perfectly consistent. There is no God, and the being above is not God.

Therefore, the church accepted my opinion. From the moment I came here, they assigned a ‘defense attorney’ who would be a perfect fit for me. Just like assigning a public defender in a trial.

“Well then, shall we start by discussing your abilities, Anna-ssi? Let’s first find out if it was truly due to that ‘holy power’, or if it was simply a coincidence!”

Hearing that, I felt something was wrong and hastily looked back.

But far away, my escort knight, who was supposed to protect me, was just smiling brightly with an amused expression on her face, watching me.