Chapter 56

“In that case, please continue searching,” I said, stepping aside politely. Leonis slowly brushed past me, but soon turned around and called out.

“Meriel.”

“Yes.”

“About yesterday.”

“……?”

I looked up at him with the corners of my lips lifted. Leonis looked down at me, seeming to choose his words for a moment.

“I was rude yesterday. That wasn’t my intention, but I found myself acting as if I were interrogating you without even realizing it.”

“It is I who should apologize for failing to be considerate of you, Young Master. It was a situation that would have been upsetting enough, yet I handled it as I pleased without asking for your understanding. My thoughts were shallow. Please, I ask for your forgiveness.”

“That, it is fine now. I am not concerned about it anymore. You shouldn’t dwell on it in your heart either.”

“I am grateful for your understanding.”

Since I had been forgiven in clear terms by the person involved, the matter of the sword was settled. The business should have ended there, but Leonis was still standing in the same spot. Since he didn’t leave first, I had no choice but to wait.

It was only after quite a while had passed that Leonis opened his mouth again.

“Regarding the prayer book Kairen lent you.”

“Yes.”

“How about we examine it together?”

“Are you interested in it?”

“Yes.”

I answered him sincerely, as he said he had become curious about it.

“In that case, please read it first. It doesn’t matter if I read it later. I can bring it to you right away…”

“That is not what I meant.”

“Yes.”

“I am asking because I wish for you to teach me.”

“By me?”

“I have only reached the level of being interested; I do not actually know much about theology. If I were to look into that book alone, I would remain just as ignorant as I am now.”

That was true. Whatever the subject, self-study is difficult, so it is wise to receive help if there is someone you can ask for instruction.

“You have studied theology deeply enough that you were once going to become a Saint. You would know it more deeply than I do.”

“Even so, I am not at the level where I could teach someone else.”

“Then let us study it together.”

I pondered, looking at him as he asked what I thought. When my hesitation dragged on, Leonis added abruptly.

“I am not forcing you, so if you are truly uncomfortable, it is fine to refuse.”

It wasn’t exactly that I was thinking of refusal first. As I said earlier, even if Leonis made me uncomfortable, it wasn’t a particularly big deal to me. I was just calculating in my head.

Right now, I had stopped by the library to look for things that could help with interpreting the book I’d borrowed. However, I had already read all the books related to theology here. Even if I rummaged through them again, I didn’t know how much more I could fill in from the contents I already had in my head. Perhaps I wouldn’t be able to gain anything at all.

What if Leonis were to participate in this process in the midst of that?

He had said he didn’t know much about theology. Although it had been a short time, in my experience, he didn’t seem like the type to be overly humble. So I believed he had spoken exactly as it was. He probably really didn’t know much.

It wouldn’t be of much help in the interpretation process. In fact, my time might just be consumed by teaching him.

However, he was the heir of a Count’s house, and his level of connections was quite high. The reference materials I could obtain through those connections had a high probability of being high-class materials that were usually difficult for me to access.

If so, I could expect there to be many things that would help in the interpretation process.

Even if it didn’t help with the interpretation itself, the possibility that the foundations of my knowledge would broaden was significant.

After weighing the losses and gains in my heart, I suddenly concluded that ‘it is not a loss.’

I looked at Leonis, who was still waiting for an answer.

“If you accept my condition, I will do so.”

“Which condition?”

I frankly stated that I wanted reference materials through his connections. I told him he didn’t need to overexert himself, but that I hoped he would make an effort as much as possible. It was a lenient condition I would never set for a slippery person, but with Leonis, I felt he would truly try as much as he was able.

Leonis thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Understood.”

Before looking for reference materials in the library, I had already read through the borrowed book once. So, after agreeing on the division of labor with Leonis, I decided to organize the parts I had roughly grasped and share them with him the next day.

On the afternoon of the third day, our joint study time was postponed to the afternoon because Leonis had an outing in the morning. As soon as Leonis returned, I dragged a blackboard into his study and picked up a piece of chalk.

“First, let’s start with a hypothesis. I view the period when this prayer book was written as the early period of Harten’s founding. Within about a hundred and fifty years after the founding. This was a time before the state religion was established, when various small and large faiths coexisted in the country. There was no single criterion such as a ‘Main God.’”

It is said that the faiths of that time occurred with every concept existing in the world, to the point where they couldn’t even be counted. The history of theology I learned is that only after they were gradually integrated and finally bound under a single criterion called the ‘Main God’ did the state religion finally become established in the mid-period of the founding.

“Therefore, the object of ritual in this prayer book does not assume a single existence. The faith of that time was so fragmented that, as a single entity, it was powerless. If so, what is this prayer book? It can be said that its main purpose is an anomalous ritual that gathers the concepts of all things scattered in the world according to need and transforms them into authority.”

“Now, have you understood up to this point?” I asked, tapping the blackboard with the chalk.

“If you have any questions, please ask.”

Leonis held his chin for a moment and fell into deep thought.

“Does that mean this is a prayer book concerning heretical rituals?”

At that, Kairen, who had been sitting next to Leonis, looked at him with a surprised face. Then, he hurriedly turned his head and met my eyes.

“Is that so?!”

He looked appalled, as if thinking, ‘Heretical books in my house?!’ I added an explanation to reassure Kairen.

“That cannot necessarily be said to be the case. As I said, currently, all those concepts are bound under the authority of the Main God. Even if one gathers them according to need, the feeling is ultimately that one is pulling out concepts belonging to the Main God, so strictly speaking, it is not quite heretical.”

So, the content of this prayer book was literally closer to being anomalous.

Kairen let out a sigh as he smoothed his chest as if relieved. Leonis asked Kairen bluntly.

“But why are you here? I don’t recall inviting you.”

“It shouldn’t really matter if I participate. It’s a book I lent you, anyway. Don’t be so petty.”

From what I heard, Kairen had been together with Leonis at the academic gathering Leonis had attended in the morning. Apparently, after hearing during their conversation that Leonis and I would be studying this book together, he had followed us right here.

Kairen asked me.

“Regardless, it means the content isn’t dangerous, right?”

“That’s a bit different.”

“Hmm?”

“If we’re talking about whether it’s dangerous or safe, it is on the dangerous side.”

“Why?!”

“Prayer in the current era is a method that relies entirely on the mercy of the gods. Giving and taking are both the will of the gods. Humans basically can’t do anything other than pray.”

The fact that a prayer-practitioner acts as a conduit should just be seen as their physical constitution.

“But the contents of this book are a bit different from the current laws. I said it’s about gathering concepts and changing them into authority, right? Doesn’t the tone sound strange? It doesn’t rely on the mercy of the gods; it sounds as if it is trying to extort it. It might have taken the form of a prayer book, but it still feels quite blasphemous.”

Kairen’s complexion turned poor again. He groaned for a while, then checked Leonis and me before saying.

“Please, let what we discussed just now stay between us….”

I nodded and comforted him.

“It is still in the hypothesis stage, after all. There is no need to be afraid prematurely. If we research it in more detail, a completely opposite story could be drawn.”

It might just be that I am the one unable to fathom the depth of the author. I tried giving Kairen hope, saying it might even be an incredible holy text, but he didn’t look like he was expecting much.

“Is it really right for us to dig any deeper than this?”

He scratched his head with a troubled expression. I thought Kairen was being overly timid.

“Wouldn’t it be fine to just research it? If it is concluded to be a truly dangerous book, we can just destroy the interpretation and offer only the original to the Temple. Since we voluntarily reported a suspicious book, we will probably be praised.”

“On the contrary, the Temple might turn our family library upside down.”