Chapter. 17. Preparation for travel (4)
****
It took a few minutes to get out through the back door of the administration building and run down the back road used by inspectors.
“Luckily there doesn’t seem to be one here.”
“Does this look familiar?”
“I’m not as famous as you, but I’m also a celebrity. Usually, when I go out, Ian or Bex comes with me, but when I have to go out alone, I sometimes get help from these back roads.”
“Because I’m a celebrity… it’s a bit awkward to be treated like this in real life.”
“You have to get used to it. “Now you are such a celebrity that the news of your recovery is plastered all over the community.”
Squeak –
The smell of moisture and mold wafting in as the camouflaged door opens. It seems that it was connected to an external warehouse or something.
After a while, Dana got tired and sat down on an old box nearby, gasping for breath, so I plopped down next to her.
Okay, let’s take a moment to sort things out.
“So, those people are the self-proclaimed ‘Wasteland Branch of the Gwangmyeong Church’?”
As soon as I came outside, I heard a thunderous shout of “Latura!!!” and I thought my heart would stop. No joke. Really, one of the two would have twitched and stopped for a moment.
It’s not that it’s not, it’s just that I just emerged from the world of people who eat that shit.
As far as my thoughts went, I imagined [as it turns out, the war was lost miserably, and Edeorna, filled with resentment, dragged me in at the cost of her life and turned me into a brain in a barrel.]
It could be so, right? Because the end of March World was truly a picturesque happy ending. After marinating my brain in such happy imaginations, it’s perfect! The moment I snap my fingers, the cool northern cave unfolds before my eyes, and Edeorna approaches me with a cruel smile and asks, “Human, did you enjoy the dream I prepared for you?” While doing so, the torture continues again. Could it be something like that
….
.
.
.
I even heard that thought! I was really surprised! Damn it, next time I go to the hospital, I need to get psychological counseling! It’s a game that mixes so much with reality that you still don’t feel like you’re out of it!
“Those people definitely have a bit of a polarizing side.”
After hearing my impressions, Dana quietly nodded.
“First of all, they don’t really have any religious rituals or anything like that, right? “If it’s on that scale, it’s possible for divine power to be revealed, even if only slightly, in GG, right?”
“Um… you better calm down a little. First of all, it is a group that does not actually have that much religious influence. In the first place, the predecessor of the ‘Wasteland Branch of the Gwangmyeong Church’ was ‘Professor Park’s Official Fan Club’. “Rather than a religious group, it is a group with strong fandom tendencies.”
“Phew!”
It took an hour. Just in case, the next time you log in, Archbishop Norman is grinning and saying, ‘Saint. ‘Did you like the gift I sent you?’ I was worried that he was smiling sinisterly.
“They say it started out as a small gathering. As you know, the people protected within the dome’s sphere of influence each have a job assigned to them and their lives are quite tight. Most people’s hobbies are reading community posts or watching broadcasts. It is said that the small gathering of ‘Professor Park Official Fan Club’ started with the idea of having a meal with people who share such hobbies.”
A bowl of rationed food received by pedaling all day as a generator worker. It is said that even bland porridge was edible as a snack while chatting with like-minded people, so people who finished their day’s work would end the day by lighting a fire in a drum in the corner of the refugee camp and watching my broadcast on an old projector.
Up to this point, it is no different from ordinary gatherings that take place throughout the dome. Because gatherings like this don’t just happen among people who watch my broadcast.
“And you know… objectively, your broadcast has many aspects that could have a positive influence.”
“I?”
“Yes you are. You worry a lot about things that are already worn out among the wasteland people. Most of the scenes that appear on TV show people shedding blood and working hard for those things, and when they see that, they think, ‘Ah, I have to live like this too!’ “No one wants to reform, but at least it provides an opportunity to reflect on things that have been forgotten.”
Refugee camp. It goes without saying that refugees are a group that is not completely managed by the government. In the first place, more people than the capacity were brought in due to an accident.
Even if the human power generator workers were from the lower class, they were protected by the dome, and there were many who were not in the refugee camp. An old man who used up all his strength to get to Area 47. An orphan who was never accepted because Dome’s orphanage collapsed. Disabled patients, etc.
The group of ‘Professor Park Fan Club’ members who were receiving today’s rations after working hard could see poor people clutching their hungry stomachs in a dark corner.
In my hand, I held a half-eaten calorie bar.
The image of Professor Park, the idol saint, in the fast-flowing video.
‘…I feel a little bloated today. There’s an old man! Don’t stay there, come this way! It’s cold too.’
‘Do you mean me?’
‘Is there anyone there but you? ‘Did you eat anything?’
‘Ah, not yet…’
‘Then eat this and tell me a little about your life in the world. It was a bit boring because the professor happened to be moving around.’
‘Professor Kyo…? ‘Are there still universities left in this world?’
‘hmm? Don’t you know Professor Park? This guy can’t do this. Wait a moment. Hey James! [Empire Battle] You recorded it, right? Play that!’
Envy is the desire to admire an object and become like it.
The people of the ‘Professor Park Official Fan Club’ developed a certain mental thirst in the behavior of the object of their envy and their differences, and in order to quench that thirst, a culture emerged where they shared the rations they received today and even shared a little with those who were not part of the group.
The bowls that each person had been holding in their arms were set out on an old table that someone had brought, and
the meal became a simple banquet
. Due to the people who heard the rumor and gathered, the ‘Professor Park Official Fan Club’ meeting grew to the point where an application for regular meetings was required from the Inspection Department.
As more people gathered, the scale of ‘Sharing the Leftovers’ grew, and it became necessary for someone to take charge of the event, which had become more complicated for an individual to do.
That is why the ‘Wasteland Branch of the Gwangmyeong Church’ was founded.
The leader, Professor Park (away).
The rest are just believers.
“The funds raised in this way are officially donated to the administration in the name of the ‘Gwangmyeong Church’ and are being used for various purposes. “The fact that roads were recently cleared in the most remote areas of the refugee camp and that free rations were slightly increased also had an impact on those people.”
“…To the extent of building a road with donations?”
“It’s much bigger than I thought. You know? “In times of turmoil, pseudo-religions become prosperous.”
know. The only problem is that I woke up and found myself being revered as a divine being in that pseudo-religion.
It’s absurd that it started out as a fan club and became something of a religious group, but when it gets this big, it can’t just be dismissed as a joke.
“There’s no way there wouldn’t be noise in a place where money is collected and people gather. The fact that they have maintained such a good reputation while growing in scale… doesn’t that mean they have a head on their head? who is this? “The fan club president who has grown this cult while I was away?”
The fact that it is a group that gathers naturally without a special banner means that it does not have a strong central point. It is absolutely absurd to think that a group can be maintained by just fan sentiment.
It means that someone has seized this opportunity very well and solidified his position as the ruler of the ‘Wasteland Branch of the Gwangmyeong Church’ like a rock. A mythical being who is away and a priest who follows his will. Looking at it this way, it seems that we are following the standard of religious structure. Anyway, it was clear that he was quite a smart guy.
“I think you might be curious already, so I’m going to go see you now.”
“….now?”
“You said you were hungry? “Isn’t it natural that the resurrected saint Professor’s first meal would be a poor dinner, the starting point of the ‘Wasteland Branch of the Church of Gwangmyeong’?”
“Uh… That’s definitely a picture… Then why did you run away from the front gate earlier? You said you were going to meet me anyway. Even if it’s because I’m embarrassed…”
“There’s a difference between meeting people after receiving an explanation of what they’re doing and just meeting them blindly. “If you just listen to my explanation, they seem like nice people… but honestly, there are quite a few people who are a bit polarizing.”
“If it’s extreme, like the people I saw at the administration gate earlier?”
“Hmm… it’s similar. When I turn on your broadcast, I hear “Latura!” People who faint while saying ‘Latura!!’”
“Ugh. “That’s the level of a paladin.”
They also often stumble when I pass by them. I kept my eyes wide open as I recited prayers at rapid fire to keep myself sane, but it was hard to pass through the streets lined up left and right with those guys lined up on my left and right. I was scared.
Dana’s explanation made me even more reluctant to go, but she seemed to have made up her mind to eat there with me.
For some reason, I thought the warehouse was a bit worn out, and I had originally set my destination in the direction of the refugee camp. It seems like I’ve been planning for a while what I should do when I wake up.
“let’s go. “If you’re late, you might not be able to eat all the delicious food.”
“….okay. Let’s go.”
I pretended not to be able to overcome Dana’s strength as she clung to my arm and pushed me again, and walked in the direction she was leading.
You said you would do whatever you want, so what? If that means eating calorie bar stew in a refugee camp, you should do it.
Turn it off!
When the shutters of the old warehouse were lifted, a shabby refugee camp was revealed along with a strong smell of dust.
The original sign was made by setting up a tree on top of an iron base that had been torn down by sawing.
[Refugee Area D-3]
Beyond the sign, I could see a place where clouds of smoke were rising.
A fairly large scale of popularity.
The smell of sweat. The smell of alcohol. The smell of food.
Over there.
“Are you ready?”
“It’s sadder that we’re used to this kind of thing.”
There was something strange about having to go out and meet people from the church… but it was very strange.
Anyway, it is also true that I am more adept at dealing with these situations than anyone else in the dome.
After taking a deep breath, I walked out of the back alley of the refugee camp with Dana hanging on my arm.
Noisy voices.
Various types of pots were bubbling on a large induction stove that had been connected in parallel with a household heater, and ladies who looked well-suited to such work were pouring something into it and getting it wet.
“…religious gathering? this?”
“I told you. “Although it is somewhat polarizing, the activity itself does not have a strong religious flavor.”
On both sides of the long line, mat sellers were displaying home-made toys and handmade tools. What’s unusual is not the price of the item, but the fact that they wrote down the items they wanted, such as [I exchange it for a terminal rechargeable battery] / [I accept root vegetables for all medical supplies], and that the people in line seem to be familiar with it and are frequently bartering for it.
Some of them were of quite good quality, so I bowed my head slightly, and the mat seller, who noticed that I was popular, spoke cheerfully.
“Good evening brother! Ratura!”
“Oh yeah uh… Latura.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha! From the looks of it, you are interested in the talent that Kang Geum-pil has! Since each person has different innate talents, wouldn’t it be easier to live more easily if we share our talents in this way? If you need any metal work, just ask us! “We accept scrap metal, broken machine parts, and food!”
Uh… um… who?
“Kang… Mr. Geumpil?”
“hmm? Do you know me? Now that I think about it, it’s a voice I’ve heard a lot of times…”
A businessman slowly takes out the items he brought, tilts his head as if it’s strange, and gently lifts his hood.
Tang-tanggrang!
Wow!
And the businessman, who had just popped his head out of the dark alley and met my face, dropped all the metal parts he had seen with his hands full.
“Gyogyogyogyogyo…. professor?!”
.
.
.
.
.
Tang- Tang Lang!
At Mr. Kang Geum-pil’s scream-like shout, all the noise floating around like the air around him disappeared.
All that was left was the sound of the stew bubbling in the pot.
The sound of people holding their breath in vain.
The sound of a woman dropping a ladle as she was soaking a pot on a small ladder.
“Are you alive?”
“You really are a professor! La Latura!!”
People’s attention was drawn to Geumpil’s voice shouting once again as if to end their doubts.
A body half protruding from the alley.
A face that looked exactly like the one I saw in the ‘Hero Professor Park’ tribute video that was played ad nauseam at the dome one day.
The leather jacket of ‘that group’, the object of envy among the people in the refugee camp.
And then a face like white jade comes in after him. ‘Dana Elisha Hyacinth’ is treated as a spy if you don’t know about it in the dome. As it turns out, his partner.
“Oh, you’re here.”
“He really has come! “He personally stepped into this miserable land!”
“Professor Kyo! “My daughter’s body has changed a bit since the Orpheus disaster, so if you can just take a look…!”
“Don’t push! “I told you not to push!”
Secretly.
Secretly.
When all the circumstances showed that the person in front of them was really that person, people began to approach this direction one by one as if they were possessed.
and.
“Brothers! Stay calm! Are you planning on showing off a lot of ugly things on this special occasion of meeting the professor? “Didn’t we all know that he exists in this world like us?”
There was a shrill voice that quickly fell on people’s heads before they turned into a group of people losing their senses.
A table a little high above the surrounding area. The person in front of him.
‘Middle-aged woman. Curly hair terminal. One arm and green eyes.’
This is the first person I see. Perhaps that woman is the actual head of the ‘Wasteland Branch of the Church of Gwangmyeong’.
….A woman I had never seen before who suddenly turned me into a god of a pseudo-religion, and
Mr. Kang Geum-pil, a resident of the old [BDSM Town] whom I thought was dead until now as I had not heard from him since the District 38 incident.
And next to the one-armed woman, she jumps up and down and waves her hand…
“Mister! Misteryyy!!!”
….Cynthia. My nominal adoptive daughter has become much brighter than before.
“It seems like there are a lot of stories to be heard here.”
“therefore.”
“…Is that why you brought me here?”
“Because you are the most foolish person I know in the world. It seemed like in order for you to rest properly, you had to be fully aware of the situation with your Dom that had completely changed. If I just vaguely hear something has changed, I’ll get restless and go out on my own to find out. “I thought it would be better to show everything quickly and take a break.”
“Uh….”
Damn it. I have nothing to say. I’m sure I was drinking with my kids at home and thought, ‘But you know what? The status of Gwangmyeong Bridge in the wasteland is no joke.’ If I hear that sound, my butt will shake and I won’t be able to play.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I had a fantasy about going out with a girl, looking for a good restaurant, stopping by a clothing store, and having a boring time.
“Ah my first date. “You seem like a moodless woman.”
“Ah my first date. “I guess it’s a crime to fall in love with a big guy.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Dana’s response without saying a word.
okay. I left the date course to you anyway, so since you’ve come this far, you should enjoy it in your own way. It’s a date with hundreds of ‘my’ believers… It’s a special experience, so it’s perfect.
After changing my mind, I took a step closer to the people who had become frozen, unable to do either this or that.
“nice to meet you. “Survivors.”
Do not use words such as ‘brother’ or ‘compatriot’. First, let me show you that I am not some kind of divine being, but just a human being who exists in reality.
“…This is Professor Park that you all know.”
“I came to eat because I was hungry. Can I stand in line?”
And he subtly asks me to get out of the way. They don’t know what to do, so you need to tell them what to do.
“Ba bap. If you are hungry….”
“The Holy Son has come to the Eucharist!”
“Oh my gosh, how can I give you something like this? If you wait just a little longer, I’ll make you a decent meal right away…”
“It’s a lot. I, too, am someone who has caught and eaten radioactive mantises and sucked mice and snails. This is enough for a dinner, right? “Can I use this as a bowl?”
“Oh yeah….”
“Oh, please give me one more bowl. “I have company.”
They clung to me like I was climbing over a wall, and a politician on the campaign trail received two bowls with a smile on his face, like he was eating soup from the market.
Sweet.
“It smells surprisingly good, doesn’t it? “I was thinking of something like oatmeal with calorie bars and lots of potatoes.”
And naturally, I sat down next to the one-armed middle-aged woman who had shouted at the people earlier.
Cynthia hesitates as if she’s awkward when she gets close to her, but then runs to Dana’s side. It seems like the two of you got closer while I was away.
As I took the bowl and sat down, people also quickly got their bowls and started sitting around. Of course, without taking my eyes off the table I was at.
hmm. It looks like he wants to say something.
Everyone seems to be thinking of a scene from some sacred history, but I’m sorry, but I’m the one who couldn’t properly memorize a single prayer despite Archbishop Norman’s bloody efforts.
“I will eat it with pleasure.”
Gossip and
chatter –
“Uh…next time, I’ll pay to eat too, so don’t say too much.”
Slurp –
So instead of saying a prayer, I filled it with a cursory greeting and filled my mouth with a bowl that was almost overflowing.
It’s not enough to eat a precious meal, but if you eat it deliciously, that’s not a blessing. In this wasteland. This is enough.
As soon as I put my mouth to the bowl, the sound of people’s spoons clinking continued, and soon we started to return to the noisy clearing just like the first time. Of course, most of the chatter was about me.
“….professor. I lead the believers of the ‘Wasteland Branch of the Gwangmyeong Church’-”
“Let’s eat and eat.” Because I don’t think it’s something to talk about. “This is quite delicious.”
The middle-aged woman next to me hesitated for a moment at those words and then began to focus on her portion of the meal.
hmm. Let’s see.
‘At first glance, she is a woman who has lived a pretty barren life. Barter for group communal meals. A religion of this scale and this level of control targeting the old hero who became a vegetative person and left his post…’ To
think that good hearts were gathered among the people who raised the banner of good, I, too, went through a bit of a wasteland.
“Hoegahowi (狐假虎威)? Taking advantage of Professor Park’s famous reputation, they created a group with a trend of helping each other? A fence for the weak? Or is there something else? Hmm…”
“No, that’s…”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I have a habit of talking to myself while thinking, so stop. Let’s finish eating. “Hmm, there’s a lot of meat in this.”
….Maybe it’s because I only deal with political monsters in World 3, so it’s easy.
Seeing how they reacted so sharply to even casual remarks, it certainly seemed like they weren’t a group created just to have a laugh.
However, there is no way that President Young, the loser of this district, did not know what I knew right away, so it means that he also neglected it. That means it is not a group that is harmful to the social safety of Dome.
‘hmm. First, watch it and if you don’t like it, hit it and destroy it. If you think it’s okay… make a little adjustment.’
As it happens, if you are a cult leader, this is also an experienced position.
Since there is no real cult leader in the world who was a saint, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the top in the industry.
I’ll have to do a little research and see if it’s useful if it’s already like this. Because they don’t seem like such a bad group.
Slurp –
“How is it worth eating?”
“Isn’t it surprising? It was a hidden restaurant. Gwangmyeong Church.”
I enjoyed my first meal with Dana, with these thoughts running through my head. Surprisingly, this restaurant’s mixed stew was really something worth finding and eating. It’s hard to believe that Dana brought it here purely to eat it.
****
