“Ratt has mentioned you before, Mr. Hamilton. Good morning.”
In the early morning mist, the three individuals conversing in front of the Dawn Church greeted each other.
Though Bishop Owen appeared elderly, his voice was spirited. He looked Xia De up and down, then commented to Priest Augustus that young people nowadays were much more energetic than those of their generation.
Bishop Owen was quite talkative and easily drew Xia De into the discussion about the Holy Prayer Festival activities they had just been discussing.
The Holy Prayer Festival is always the busiest time for the Dawn Church each year, yet they must always come up with something new. The Orthodox Church is not a rigid organization that fails to keep up with the times. For example, this year, in addition to the traditional religious activities, church tours, religious story performances in the church side hall, and large-scale sermons in Dawn Square, the church plans to produce some simple promotional materials to distribute to Outsiders, spreading the influence of the Holy Prayer Festival and the Dawn Church.
“What promotional materials did the church ultimately choose?”
Xia De was curious about this and asked the two elderly men.
“Something that has the widest impact, will definitely not be thrown away after receiving it, and will be especially cherished.”
Priest Augustus said, and then Bishop Owen, standing by the wall, smiled and handed something to Xia De:
“Mr. Hamilton, how about you give your opinion on this from your perspective.”
Xia De leaned in to look and saw a silver coin in the bishop’s aged palm.
“A silver coin?”
He picked up the coin. The upper side bore the numbers “1053” and the words “Holy Prayer Festival.” The back side was the holy emblem of Mr. Dawn. He lightly tapped it twice, confirming it was not pure silver.
An old gentleman walked out of the nearby church and greeted Bishop Owen, also looking curiously at Xia De. From Bishop Owen’s response, this old gentleman held the title of Viscount.
Priest Augustus then introduced to Xia De:
“It’s not pure silver. The center of the coin is mixed with some alloy; it’s just a commemorative coin. At market price, it’s worth about 4 shillings and 7 pence. But the cost isn’t particularly high. We collaborated with the Lady of Creation’s church and used special metal they sold us at a low price. This offset some of the cost. Those alloys were scraps, originally commissioned by the Delarion Kingdom for… ahem, I can’t say that.”
Priest Augustus’s tone held a hint of pride:
“We prepared 20,000 coins. On the day of the Holy Prayer Festival, they will be distributed near Dawn Square along with promotional leaflets. This doesn’t violate Delarion’s coinage policy; it’s just a small commemorative coin. Detective, what do you think of this idea?”
“This is an excellent idea.”
The Outsider praised the idea, then saw dense cursive letters around the side of the coin, which, when connected, read:
“Light illuminates shadow, shadow follows dawn.”
This phrase is usually used as an opening or closing in the prayers of the followers of the Orthodox God, Mr. Dawn.
This act, equivalent to directly giving out money, was simply the most effective promotional method. Twenty thousand coins wouldn't cost more than eight thousand pounds, which was nothing for the wealthy Orthodox Church.
He had originally thought he might be able to offer some good ideas to help Priest Augustus, but no idea could compare to simply giving out money. Especially since the Kingdom did not intend to pursue the matter of coinage rights.
“However, this still requires good preliminary publicity work to let people know what will happen on that day as much as possible. Also, preparations must be made for how to deal with it if too many people come, and the twenty thousand coins are distributed, causing dissatisfaction among those who arrive later. If you ask me, it would be better to distribute them in time slots, for example, five thousand in the morning, five thousand at ten a.m., five thousand at three p.m., and five thousand at six p.m. This ensures that people in each time slot have a chance.”
Xia De said casually while observing the coin’s details. Priest Augustus looked at him in surprise:
“That makes a lot of sense. We actually originally prepared to just issue one-shilling coins if the number of people exceeded expectations.”
The church was even richer than Xia De had imagined.
“But people need to realize that God’s grace is not infinite. Generous giving cannot leave a deep impression on people, but conditional blessings can make people understand God’s strictness and compassion.”
Xia De concluded. He had seen this kind of “limited edition gift” idea many times in his homeland.
Even Bishop Owen looked at Xia De with some surprise now. He waved goodbye to the Viscount, very pleased with Xia De’s idea and perspective, and so he asked with a chuckle:
“Mr. Hamilton, young people with ideas like yours are rare. Speaking of which, have you studied theology?”
The bishop tested him.
“No, my education level is very low.”
After speaking, he winked at Priest Augustus, hoping he would gloss over the topic. He wasn't the original Xia De, and no matter what he said, such a question could lead to problems.
“Hamilton Detective’s background is not very good, but I have always believed that humble origins can highlight the value of a person’s efforts.”
Priest Augustus tried to shift the topic. Seeing that the bishop still wanted to ask Xia De questions, he preemptively asked Xia De in a way that advanced but did not retreat:
“However, Hamilton Detective is indeed a very thoughtful young man. Not only what he just said, but he also often raises interesting questions. Even without studying theology, he is still happy to ponder life and the world. Oh, poor young man, if he had the money to attend a higher academy, he might have become a university student.”
“Mr. Hamilton, what kind of questions have you pondered?”
Bishop Owen had a good impression of Xia De. Now, his curiosity was piqued by Priest Augustus’s words, so he smiled and asked Xia De again.
Priest Augustus still wanted to smooth things over, but Xia De thought about it and slightly shook his head at the Priest. Not all questions needed to be avoided. He was quite interested in discussing issues with theologians in a world where gods truly existed.
So he put on a thoughtful expression, then tilted his head slightly as if looking at the sky:
“Standing in this world, one always has many thoughts. For example, I once pondered whether our world has a name.”
“Oh? That’s an interesting question. Why would you think that?”
Bishop Owen frowned slightly and asked inquisitively.
At this moment, the three were still standing at the church entrance, with the impressive church doors right beside them. The morning mist made this morning a bit gloomy. People kept passing by them, but because of Xia De’s question, all three were focused on the conversation that followed:
“Bishop Owen, Priest Augustus, you see, only when people realize that two cities exist do they name their own City; the great geographical discoveries fifty years ago, when the New World was discovered, led to this continent being called the Old Continent. So, does this world have a name, like ‘Azeroth’ or ‘Ionia’? This also relates to whether people perceive the existence of other worlds… If the world has no name, then it means that, at least in the current perception of gods and humans, the world is unique.”
He hoped he could express his meaning clearly, but he also felt quite regretful saying this. Realizing that this world, currently in the midst of the steam age, has no name, meant that finding a direction home from this world’s worldview would probably be very difficult.
“This… is truly interesting. Few people can ponder the relationship between humans, gods, and the world from such a high perspective.”
Bishop Owen said after a long while. The old man’s gaze towards Xia De had changed somewhat. For an Outsider, pondering this question was very common, but for a person from this world, it was a way of thinking that almost transcended the world.
“A wonderful line of thought, a very theological speculation!”
Bishop Owen hesitated for a moment, seeing that Priest Augustus was still pondering, and then asked kindly:
“Mr. Hamilton, perhaps you really could study theology… Speaking of which, which deity do you believe in?”
“Belief? I…”
He was surprised by this question and quickly asked himself in his mind:
“What do I believe in?”
“Why ask me?”
The Outsider had never considered such a thing before, and saying he was a non-believer at this point would certainly not do. Among the five options of the Orthodox Church, Mr. Dawn was immediately ruled out, as such a lie would be easily exposed by the bishop in front of him. Among the remaining four options, it seemed any of them could work.
He winked at Priest Augustus, but the latter also seemed to have no solution. So he could only bite the bullet and say:
“I should actually be considered a shallow believer of the Lady of Creation. I really admire the Creation Church’s excellent contributions to steam machinery in recent years.”
“A shallow believer, huh? Have you considered converting to our Lord, Mr. Dawn?”
Bishop Owen asked again. Such a question would be an insult to devout believers, but it didn't matter for shallow believers.
“Temporarily… possibly… I’ll have to consider it.”
His tone carried uncertainty.
“That’s a pity. However, Mr. Hamilton, you can learn more about our faith from Priest Augustus. You might find it interesting. An excellent young man like you would certainly be helpful to the church’s development… No more talk. It’s better than a non-believer having to fill the Wall of Non-Believers after death.”
Bishop Owen expressed his regret about this.
