episode_0018

Wheeing-!!

A northern fortress with iron walls where biting winds blow.

The saint and the phantom party arrived at a place where only snow and frost piled up all year round.

, a play produced in collaboration with church members including the choir.

Thoroughly prepared to perform it.

“Welcome, Your Grace!”

An officer who salutes briskly as soon as he encounters Saint Beatrice.

He glanced at the Phantom and the rest of the group and reported with a reverent attitude.

“All the knights on duty today have gathered at the fortress training grounds! Everyone is counting the days until the show begins!”

“Thank you for your hard work, sir. Please guide these people quickly.”

“Your name!”

With a cheerful reply, the officer led us in the direction of the training ground.

It was a large space where the training facilities had been temporarily dismantled and a stage set up for today’s performance.

“Okay, everyone, take your seats! As previously announced, the Holy Lady has prepared a special performance for you all! Please watch with a respectful heart and be thankful for the love of the Holy Lady!”

An officer who commands the knights who have gathered in line.

It’s quite impressive that the power was turned on so well even in the cold and difficult times.

“… … ”

“… … ”

But in contrast, the knights don’t even give a single cheer.

Their dark expressions were filled with deep sorrow and fatigue.

The sorrow and fatigue cannot be dispelled with just one visit from a saint or one consolation performance.

“… … The fortress of iron walls is a bastion that was completed during the time of Emperor Shi Huang in cooperation between the empire and the religious order to prevent the overflow of demons.”

A saint who speaks quietly, exhaling pure white breath.

Her pale cheeks turn red like apples, unable to withstand the cold.

Somewhat apart from the actors on stage, the choir, and the knights in the audience, she spoke quietly with the Phantom.

“This is a place where life is always at risk, and the surrounding natural environment is an extreme battlefield. It is protected by the holy knights who have devoted themselves to their faith, with only their faith.”

“… … ”

“Do you know what this means, Phantom?”

Beautifully grown eyelids with oily silver eyelashes.

She added, looking at the Phantom with her mouth tightly shut.

“If the Exodus performance fails, we all may have to pay a big price. Me, you, and the people who are living safely and happily in the warm south.”

Even a natural barrier can ultimately be maintained only when supported by human will.

Countries that share our faith provide support, but that alone is not enough.

If the will of those who guard the wall is not secured, everything will eventually collapse.

But Phantom’s answer was still firm.

“Don’t worry, my lady. I swear you won’t fail. Have you forgotten what we agreed to name the protagonist?”

“Ah, yes. Moses (מֹשֶׁה). It is an ancient word meaning ‘one who brings out to land’. It is definitely a fitting nickname for a shepherd who crossed the sea.”

“That, that, that’s right.”

“Huh? Why are you stuttering?”

“Nothing. I just think that sometimes some languages or cultures… …even if they’re from completely different places, are surprisingly similar.”

“Phuhuhu, all of a sudden?”

A saint who bursts into laughter like a little girl.

She continued speaking, waving her hand lightly.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll be looking forward to it, Phantom. I wonder if your genius will show up this time too.”

“You are too kind.”

The playwright accepts her words with a pretended humility.

But Beatrice was not speaking in vain.

‘Writing is a clear window to the soul, Phantom.’

Beatrice narrowed her eyes without anyone knowing.

He rolled his dull, pale eyes that had lost their light and muttered to himself.

‘I want to find out through this performance. What exactly is the meaning contained in your strange soul?’

Clearly, his talent in creating a series of blockbuster hits that shook the empire cannot be ignored.

But it was also true that the great writer had an unprecedentedly strange soul.

So, I wanted to check it out for myself this time.

How well that man can write a religious play praising God.

What will be the true color of the soul that his work will reflect?

[… … This story is a mysterious and sacred record of what happened long ago in a pagan kingdom called Egypt.]

An introduction to the background of the actor in charge of the narration that just started.

From this point on, the curtain rose on in earnest.

The Christian Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament covers the story before the appearance of Jesus. The New Testament covers the story after the appearance of Jesus.

And the person who holds the most importance in the Old Testament records is none other than Moses.

Before Moses appeared, the Hebrew people in the Bible were nothing more than lowly slaves.

[Get to work! You lazy slaves!]

[Build a pyramid for the Pharaoh, the great ruler and living god!]

The oppressors of Egypt, the ‘pagan kingdom’ that served false gods.

Under them, the Hebrews, a people who serve the ‘one true God’, suffer every day.

It’s common to build huge pyramids under the blazing sun while being whipped.

Pushing ahead with the construction of the national treasury buildings of Pidom and Rameses.

They even went so far as to drown all newborn male babies in the Nile River for fear of rebellion.

[Ahhh, no! Baby!]

[My baby! Please have mercy! Kill me instead!]

[Dirty Hebrew slave bitch! Don’t get out of here!]

[All newborns this year are to be thrown into crocodile food! This is the decree of the Pharaoh, the incarnation of the great Horus!]

Egyptian soldiers mercilessly take away the prop cradles as they finish their speech.

The Hebrew slaves were struck by the shocking disaster of losing their beloved children overnight.

And while the cries of the slaves echoed throughout the town.

[Alas, Elohim (אלהים)! Our God! Where are you?]

The Hebrews cried out the name of the god who had forsaken them and tore their hearts in grief.

[Why do you turn away from our suffering? Do you not hear the cries of your people?]

[The pain of the whipping! The bitter saltiness of sweat! Why have you left us here!]

[Save us! Save us! Send us to the beautiful land flowing with milk and honey!]

“… … !”

Throb, thump! The knights who had been so calm until now are starting to get a little shaken.

The blood-curdling cries of the Hebrews groaning under Egyptian rule.

This is because the lines that reminded them of their situation touched their hearts.

And this was exactly the effect I intended.

‘Depending on the situation the audience is in, the reviews can vary greatly.’

This is exactly what the 1950s absurdist play, Waiting for Godot, proved.

is simply a play about two men waiting for a man named ‘Godo’.

Even the problematic altitude never appears on stage from the beginning to the end of the work.

Therefore, when Samuel Beckett presented this experimental play, the public could not help but feel puzzled.

When viewed from the perspective of the general public, is nothing more than a difficult and bizarre piece of work.

But when the play was performed at Quentin Tarantino Correctional Facility in California in November 1957, the 1,400 inmates who saw it were moved to tears and gave a standing ovation.

Prisoners who had been deprived of their ‘freedom’ well understood the feeling of frustration from endlessly waiting for something.

Even if ‘altitude’ really did appear, I knew it would be very disappointing compared to expectations.

‘… Of course, if it had been a story about someone else’s religion, there probably wouldn’t have been much of a reaction.’

But surprisingly enough, the story of Moses, which is about to unfold, is very similar to the story of the Shepherd who crossed the sea, a saint of the Catholic Church.

According to the records, the ancient saint, the shepherd who crossed the sea, lived as a prince in an unknown pagan kingdom.

He committed a great sin and ran away from the kingdom, but received a revelation from the god and quickly returned to his hometown.

The miracle of God saved a slave people who were exploited in a pagan kingdom.

It is said that he crossed the sea, migrated to a distant land, and established a theocratic nation that remains only in legend.

So, I guess the knights will also notice and think, ‘This is an adaptation of the record of the shepherd who crossed the sea.’

Although the details of the story have a lot of holes, the main job of the writers of religious dramas in this world is to adapt/modify those ‘holes’ to an appropriate level without making them blasphemous.

That’s why I could project the character of Moses onto the adults of this world without any hesitation.

‘The unidentified ancient kingdom was changed to the country of Egypt, the exploited people were given the name Hebrew (עִבְרִים), which means ‘to cross’ in the ancient language, and the legendary theocratic nation’s name was made up as Israel (ישראל), which means ‘God crossed’.’

Meanwhile, the play was busy continuing.

[I’m sorry, my baby. May God look down on you. I pray every day that you will always be safe and happy.]

Jochebed, Moses’ biological mother, continued to raise her newborn son while avoiding surveillance.

Eventually, unable to endure the soldiers’ pursuit, she puts baby Moses in a basket made of woven reeds and sets him afloat on the Nile River.

Hoping that the baby will miraculously survive.

And amazingly, the miracle happened.

An Egyptian princess who happened to be bathing near the Nile River.

She found Moses floating down the river and took him in as her adopted son, raising him with great care.

[Oh my! What a cute baby!]

Of course, the princess also had a vague idea of this baby’s origins.

But despite that, she didn’t hesitate to give up the baby.

The Pharaoh’s cruel decision to slaughter innocent newborn babies, citing concerns about rebellion.

This is because voices opposing this were already quite loud within Egypt.

[I will name this baby Moses and raise him as my adopted son.]

[From today on, this child will be my son and a member of the royal family of Egypt.]

“Moses? Moses. Is it an ancient word meaning to bring out to land?”

“… … Well, the name is fitting for a shepherd who crossed the sea.”

“He’s sincere compared to those who just give him any name like Tom or Peter.”

Mumble, mumble. The knights pretend to be indifferent, but you can see that they are gradually becoming more interested.

Looking at this, I smiled bitterly and let out a deep sigh of relief.

‘It’s fortunate that the ancient language used in the Catholic Church and the Hebrew used in the Bible are very similar.’

Without similar luck, it would have been quite difficult to complete Exodus.

Moses, Hebrew, Israel, etc. The Bible is one in which when the meaning of a word disappears, its content also fades.

In any case, in the irony that the evil deeds of the Pharaoh, who tried to prevent the slave rebellion, gave birth to the saviors of the slaves, Moses was able to grow up comfortably as a member of the Egyptian royal family.

But that comfortable time didn’t last long.

Moses was always indignant as he watched the persecution and abuse of his fellow Hebrews.

In a fit of rage, he ended up killing and burying the supervisor who had been harassing his fellow countrymen.

Moses, who committed murder for the first time in his life, was terrified and fled in the middle of the night for fear that his sin would be exposed.

While wandering alone in the desolate wilderness, he meets a priest of a foreign tribe and begins to settle in the land of the nomads.

I hung out with them like that for a full 40 years.

For countless years, Moses lived as a shepherd, escaping from his miserable reality.

[Moses, my Moses.]

One day, he went out to look for a lost lamb.

Until I came across a burning bush on the sacred mountain.

[You are… … who are you?]

[I am I. I am the God of your ancestors, the God of heaven. I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cries of anguish.]

The voice of the voice actor, whose mysterious yet warm resonance is maximized through a magical sound device.

The voice actor spoke to Renoir, the actor playing Moses, who was kneeling in front of a thornbush and looking bewildered.

[So I am sending you as their Savior. Go and rescue my people from Egypt.]

[Who am I to rescue my people from Egypt? I am not good at speaking, and I am not capable of answering when they ask me the name of the Lord. Please send someone else.]

[Moses, who gave man a mouth? Was it not I who created the mute, the deaf, the sighted, and the blind?]

Moses hesitates, unable to accept that he is the savior of the Hebrews.

God rebukes his foolishness and timidity with a harsh and stinging voice.

But God did not simply criticize Moses’ burden.

[I will be your strength. I will be your mouth, and I will show you proof that I sent you with my own hands.]

Colorful lights illuminate the stage with warm colors in sync with the voice actor’s lines.

The colorful light creates an optical illusion as if God’s love is embracing the protagonist’s entire body.

[Moses, take up your staff with both hands.]

[Through this staff you will perform my miracles… … ]

The flame of the thornbush slowly goes out with the last request of God.

Only then does Moses realize that what he has seen is not in vain.

Moses, who had thus realized his fate, turned around and prepared to go back.

His own compatriots who are suffering endlessly.

To the kingdom of Egypt, the homeland that the Hebrews were waiting for.

“Phantom? Is this really okay?”

A brief break during the performance of for a break.

The saintess asks, looking at the knights sitting on the seats and chattering.

She pursed her lips with a hint of anxiety on her face.

“I won’t deny that it’s definitely an exciting piece of work. But you haven’t forgotten its original purpose, have you? What the Paladins need right now is… … ”

I know very well what the saint is worried about.

To be honest, up until now, has just been a fun consolation performance and entertainment.

It’s not much different from the common, common religious dramas of another world.

There is still no decisive blow to boost morale and revive faith.

Of course, ‘not yet’.

“Do you know the saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword”?”

“No. This is my first time hearing about it.”

The saintess shook her head in confusion at my question.

At this, I shrugged my shoulders and conveyed the meaning.

“A sword can only cut one target at a time, but a pen can cut numerous targets at once with the magic of ‘influence’. Sometimes, a well-written word can change the world faster and more surely than a well-sharpened sword.”

“Hmm.”

The saintess stared at me with a slightly puzzled expression.

Perhaps he is thinking, ‘When we fight each other, isn’t the sword mightier than the pen?’

Of course, what I just picked up is just a metaphorical expression.

The pen is not some Excalibur, it’s really mightier than the sword.

“Have you forgotten the revelation God gave to Moses?”

At this, I smiled and joked around with my mouth wide open under my mask.

“God will be the mouthpiece and strength for the knights with His merciful love. So, let’s not lose faith and go all the way. With the heart of Moses who returned to the pagan kingdom to save his compatriots.”

A saint who blinks her eyes repeatedly, perhaps speechless, having lost her sight long ago.

It looked like a white rabbit that was being beaten, and I wanted to pet it.

Of course, it would be considered blasphemy, so I won’t really do it.

“Ah, it looks like they’re going to resume the play again.”

Renoir and the troupe actors return to the stage, gathering their props one by one.

Behind them, the church choir prepares to sing in earnest.

Glancing at them, I said to the saintess.

“Let’s watch together. How Moses saves the Hebrews.”