Chapter 284

EP.284 Oracle #2

I, who usually don’t ride in this car, followed Silvia from afar in a different vehicle.

“Look at her…?”

When we met, she pretended to take a walk in the office apartment park, but she’s heading somewhere else.

That means she lied to me.

I thought something was off from the corridor, and now I see I was right.

Let’s see what she’s up to.

Silvia soon took a taxi and left the neighborhood.

She didn’t go far.

After about 10 minutes, she got off at a fairly large cathedral.

‘Cathedral?’

Why did she suddenly come here?

It’s not a place she usually even glances at.

It’s not like her faith suddenly exploded…

After paying the taxi fare, Silvia had a conversation with a priest who happened to be at the entrance.

I secretly turned on the voice function on my device.

-You wish to offer a free prayer?

-Yes, is that not allowed?

-Of course, it’s possible. I just wanted to confirm since you’re a sister I’m meeting for the first time. You can go in and sit freely.

-Is there an entrance fee?

An innocent question.

The priest chuckled softly.

-No, there isn’t.

-Thank you, Father.

-No need to thank me… May God’s grace be with you…

A free prayer… Praying in a cathedral without even being Catholic?

It’s all very puzzling.

Judging by her asking about the entrance fee, it seems like it’s her first time here today… Let’s wait and see.

Silvia left the cathedral about an hour later.

After politely greeting the priest, she hailed another taxi and headed somewhere.

This time, the place she visited was a church.

She stayed there for almost 2 hours before leaving.

Next was a temple. She took a flying taxi all the way to Seoul and visited a famous one.

Cathedral, church, and temple.

All representative places related to religion.

What’s going on? She doesn’t seem interested in learning about a new religion like Adelle…

Two hours later, Silvia’s expression as she left the temple wasn’t very bright.

It seemed like things didn’t go well.

After leaving the temple and heading downtown, she seemed hungry and entered a fast-food restaurant.

Watching Silvia eat a hamburger through the transparent glass, I made a call, and she, startled by the phone screen, quickly mumbled something.

Then she answered the phone politely.

-Yes, Jihyuk. Is it done?

“Not yet, I was just wondering what you’re up to.”

-I… just finished my walk and came to eat.

“You’ve been walking for quite a while, huh?”

-Just… walking made me think a lot.

“Really? I don’t know what’s troubling you, but the door for conversation is always open. You know that, right?

-Yes… I know. Thank you.

After exchanging a few more words and hanging up, I observed Silvia.

Her face was tense.

She looks sorry for deceiving me.

It’s not a big deal. I’m curious about Silvia’s intentions as she seems to be deviating.

While deep in thought holding the steering wheel, I received a call from Adelle and picked up the phone.

“Hello.”

-Mr. Jihyuk! Why aren’t you in the lab?

“I had some business at the company. If you wanted to meet, you should have called earlier… Anyway, I’ll be there soon.”

-How long?

“I should be there in about 30 minutes.”

-Good. I’ll time you, so hurry. It would be good if you brought some tuna kimbap on your way. Include tteokbokki too.

“Okay.”

Does Adelle know? About Silvia’s strange behavior?

I should casually bring it up.

Starting the engine, I turned the car towards Eunpyeong-gu.

**

Leaning my chin and staring intently at Adelle.

Adelle, who was slurping tteokbokki and kimbap, noticed my gaze and asked.

“Would you like a kimbap?”

“Yes.”

Adelle picked up the largest kimbap from the edge, dipped it halfway into the tteokbokki sauce, and handed it to me.

I quickly took the kimbap, ate it, and swallowed, then grinned.

“It’s delicious. Give me one more.”

“If you were hungry, you should have bought two servings.”

“I wasn’t particularly hungry… Seeing you eat made me want to steal some. Are you reluctant to give it to me?”

“How could that be? You can have it all.”

After eating another kimbap from Adelle, I rinsed my mouth with water.

“Adelle.”

“One more?”

“No… On my way to the lab, I saw Ms. Silvia.”

“Hmm? Sister Silvia?”

“Yes. I saw her by chance… She went into a temple in Seoul and came out.”

“Temple?”

She tilted her head at a 30-degree angle.

Her eyes were wide open, staring at me.

The sudden mention of such a place seemed to confuse her.

“Why would sister go to a temple?”

“I asked you. Do you have any clues? Like if Silvia has started believing in Buddhism…”

“That can’t be. Sister said this at lunch today. She wants to become a full-fledged believer of the Rosario religion and is curious about everything about him, so she asked me to tell her what his voice is like.”

His voice… Suddenly curious about his voice?

Don’t people usually want to know what their god looks like first?

“Come to think of it, sister was unusually nosy today. She asked me if I didn’t say grace before meals… She said she hasn’t been praying lately and was worried…”

“You don’t usually say grace before meals, do you?”

“Exactly. Sister is too worried about me, it’s a problem.”

She’s not even an official believer, yet she said such things to Adelle, the saint?

It was definitely nosy. The usually thoughtful Silvia wouldn’t have done that.

Judging from the situation, it seems she raised the issue for the first time today…

This could be seen as a sudden change in her state of mind.

The cause is clearly related to Rosario.

Otherwise, there’s no reason for her to ask Adelle such questions, and her continuous visits to religious facilities can’t be explained.

‘I need to keep an eye on her.’

After all, Silvia is in my grasp.

Whatever she does, she can’t escape me.

@@

By nightfall, Silvia, who had visited a total of six religious facilities, fell into despair as her expectations were completely wrong.

Failure, failure, and more failure.

Far from meeting Rosario, she only wasted time.

Returning home, Silvia finished her shower and lay down on the bed.

Adelle must be meeting Jihyuk.

She wanted to meet him too, but after all this running around, what was it all for…

Staring at the ceiling, Silvia muttered to herself.

‘This is too much…’

After talking as if she would tell me something in my dream, she just disappeared… It’s very disappointing.

In her desolation, Silvia sighed deeply, her eyelids closing briefly before opening again.

At that moment, Silvia’s vision changed.

Even though she was clearly lying down, now she was standing.

Thump!

Her heart raced. This was exactly what she experienced when she first met Rosario.

The place was different, but it was certain.

She had been summoned by Rosario!

Calming her rough breathing, Silvia looked around.

Pillars exuding a sense of solemnity lined both sides.

The walls were entirely white.

Overall, it resembled the temple she briefly visited while on Adelle’s planet.

In the center stood a massive statue.

A statue radiating such dazzling beauty that no amount of praise would suffice.

Silvia was certain that statue was Rosario.

‘W-what should I do now…’

Should I just wait? Like last time?

Thinking this, Silvia stared intently at the statue.

Truly, a beauty that could suck you in.

Despite being made of emotionless marble, it was incredibly beautiful.

Now I understand why Adelle said no matter what you imagine, it’s beyond that.

“Wow…”

As Silvia let out a pure exclamation and took a step towards the statue,

-Silvia Reeves. Daughter with a strong heart.

The voice that echoed in her head yesterday was heard again.

“Gasp!”

She was startled.

Because the statue had spoken.

No, actually, the statue didn’t move at all.

But it felt like it was speaking.

‘C-calm down…! Calm down…!’

Struggling to compose herself, Silvia opened her mouth, hoping not to break the moment.

“R-Rosario… is that you…?”

She wanted to ask confidently, but her words stumbled out.

Showing such a state during the first audience… It was embarrassing.

Among the reactions of those who had an audience with Rosario, hers must have been the most pitiful.

-Yes, Silvia Reeves. I am Rosario, the Lord God of the Heavenly Realm.

The tone itself was filled with humility and grace.

A heavenly voice. It felt like my ears were being purified.

And I was so happy.

The fact that Rosario answered my question.

Her mouth agape, she realized she was still standing.

What kind of rudeness is this? I should kneel immediately.

But I can’t. It feels like an invisible force is tightly constricting my body.

This must be Rosario’s power.

But I didn’t feel sorry.

It just felt natural.

Unable to do anything, she swallowed hard at Rosario’s gentle tone.

-Thanks to you gathering divine energy, we can have this conversation here without a temple. I want to express my gratitude. My daughter.

Divine energy? Does it mean the prayers I offered at the church and cathedral?

Then my actions weren’t meaningless.

“T-thank you…! Please don’t say that. I just did what I had to do…”

As the conversation continued, I regretted my un-believer-like speech.

“I’m sorry… My speech is… very pitiful, isn’t it…?”

-Do not feel unworthy, my daughter. Your heart is fully conveyed to me.

What a merciful statement.

My chest is filled with satisfaction.

After thanking Rosario several times, Silvia asked.

“Um… You sought me out, right…? You have something to tell me… right…?”

-Yes.

“But why… not Adelle, but me…”

-My other daughter and representative, Adeline… Your sister, I cannot reach her with my voice.

What kind of nonsense is that…

The voice of the omnipotent Lord God can’t reach her?

“H-how come…? Adelle is a saint…”

-Because someone resembling Helix is gnawing at her heart.

Helix… I’ve read about him in Genesis.

He was the pure evil who corrupted the first saint and made her betray Rosario.

-And you are the same.

“Me…?”

Silvia, who heard the shocking story, opened her mouth wide.

“M-me too…?”

-Yes, you too, like Adeline, have fallen into the trap set by him.

“But I’m talking to you now, Rosario…?”

-Thanks to your strong heart, you have driven away the power of evil. But that power still resides in a corner of your heart. Please…

Bzzzt!

With a strange sound, Silvia’s vision flickered momentarily.

Like there was noise.

Silvia instinctively knew.

The time for conversation was almost over.

-Please do not lose that heart. Resist with Aether.

Aether was the original name of Aiter.

So Rosario knew about Aiter.

Maybe he even created it.

Bzzzt-!

The noise grew stronger once more.

Feeling urgent, Silvia tried to speak.

But no voice came out.

Like a goldfish, she only opened and closed her mouth, and Rosario continued.

-I have already intervened too late, but you still have time. There is not much time left before he gains the qualifications of an evil god. Pure Aether will guide you to the right path. Aether is the same as all things created from nothing. Remember this.

Whoosh-!

As soon as Rosario finished his advice, Silvia’s body floated in the air and began to move away from the statue.

She realized the conversation time was completely over.

My mind isn’t even sorted out yet, and we have to part already… It’s absurd.

‘Rosario…! Please wait…! Is that person Tairat? Where is he now!? Tell me! Give me an answer! Don’t send me away like this!’

Flailing her arms, she shouted inwardly, but it was futile.

There’s a mountain of things I want to ask… It’s driving me crazy.

But at least I got the instructions.

I should try gathering divine energy again tomorrow to attempt another conversation.

As Rosario’s voice no longer reached her, Silvia tightly closed and opened her eyes.

Thinking that doing as when she came here might wake her up.

And her prediction was correct.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the dark ceiling.

“Haah…”

Feeling a bit more accustomed now, Silvia sat up.

And then she,

“You were talking quite passionately in your sleep, are you okay?”

At the calm voice of Jihyuk by the bedside, she was so startled she almost fainted.

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