Chapter 8: Chapter 7: Hard emotions

The half-baked priest was trying to swindle me again. Of course, I was sure that he knew that I won't fall for his tricks or be intimated by his presence, but the fact that he kept on trying was becoming irksome.

He scratched his head, knowing that he has been caught red-handed again.

"Sorry about that, here you go. All ten crowns sterling" He said, yanking out another note and placing it in my palm.

"Are we good now?" He added.

However, I grabbed the cash tightly and quickly placed it in my pocket. Bowing down while still in front of him, I said "Thank you for your gratitude Priest Elijah. May the god of pestilence and medicine poison your enemies to death and cleanse away any evils in your life".

And with that, I rushed into the building. Without even giving him enough time to reply, I shut the door closed after my entrance and immediately headed towards the third floor.

I worked towards my apartment with silent and steady steps in order not to alert the other workers that were in the building.

Why was it necessary?

It was a necessary decision, that is unless I wanted to be a messiah and announce my arrival to the begging arms of several inhabitants who toil and work every day only to receive scraps that were not even enough for their daily needs.

Let's not talk about even buying enough food for their bodies to even form a pile of shit.

"Bamm!!" I slammed the door the instant I walked into my apartment. Listening to the rhythmic sounds of several doors opening and closing, I sighed in relief.

I know that beggars don't have a choice, but for some of them, I would rather spend my money on a whim than give them a dime.

Stupid fuckers think that they can just stay at home and beg their dinner out of a 16-year-old boy with arching legs and blisters on his hands.

Since I was trapped in the same situation as them, pity was the last thing I felt for them when I couldn't even feel pity for myself, my mother, or aunt Gabi who would go out every day just to put food on the table.

Nonetheless, I sighed, heavily.

For the past 13 years, my life has been a wrecking ball of misfortune and luck.

I sighed again.

I removed my shoes and walked towards the couch, falling asleep instantly I landed on the soft comfy pillow.

I yawned, tiredly.

Today had been a busy day. But, it wasn't that bad anyway. And since service will be starting in some hours, taking a little nap won't be that ba...

…....…..

"Ding!!" "Ding!!!"

"Ahhhhhh-hhhhaaaaa!!!" I yawned, after being stirred awake by the sound of my alarm clock.

Standing up, I walked towards the clock wondering what time it was while I cleared away the sleepiness from my eyes.

"Huh!!" My gaze froze at the time.

Oh no!! No - -No

Damn it, I am already late for the service!!

I immediately rushed to the sink, washed my face, took the hymn book that I always kept below the couch and dashed out the door.

On my way, I couldn't pick up the traces of anybody in the building, which concluded my guess that I was indeed late.

Quickly, I went towards the church which was a very large building next to the worker's building. Passing through the gates, I walked into the church and was instantly greeted with the sight of a full congregation, with the Priest, preaching on the altar.

"I am small,

I am a speck,

I am nothing,

Standing here in an open space as my god cast his plague upon the shadows of my enemies".

"PRAISE BE TO GOD NOGUDI!!" I quickly mixed in with the masses and followed them as they recited the words of worship.

"He heals my wounds with his medicine,

And even in my days of sorrow,

With thorns beneath my feet,

He heals my heart and comforts my soul".

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"PRAISE BE TO GOD NOGUDI!!" I recited.

"Hey brat" But just as I peeled my ears for another word of the sermon, a familiar voice sounded in my ears.

I snapped my head over to the direction of the voice and was instantly greeted with the grinning expression of Priest Elijah.

I am fucked, aren't I?

"You are late" He said "This is what I would say if 10 people didn't arrive today with your poster in their hands".

His grin widened.

"Don't worry, because of your good work today, I will let you off the hook. But, don't forget that if you are to come late again, I will mark you absent from the service and have you deal with the consequences yourself".

Although his tone was cold, nonetheless, I exhaled in relief.

Today might just be my lucky day!

He scoffed at my exaggerated expression "Come and meet me after the service to collect your bonus" He added.

I nodded my head while rejoicing internally.

Who would have known that ten out of thirty people that received the church posters would have come today?

While my head was filled with various thoughts regarding the best practical way to spend my bonus, he spoke again "You know, I have never seen you pray".

Turing my head towards him, I replied with a wry smile on my lips "That isn't right Priest Elijah. How could I not pray when I am in the presence of the great god Nogudi, the main god of pestilence and me….".

"Quit it" He immediately interrupted my words. A scowl found its way to his face, and instantly, I knew that he was pissed.

"I am a Priest, and there are times when even I don't have the urge to pray, but I still do it regardless. So trust me, boy, when I say that I know when you are praying and when you are faking it" He turned to look at the altar, before setting his gaze back on me.

A priest calling me out for not properly praying to their god is a recipe for disaster. I need to find a way to resolve this fast, or else, I am done for.

I resisted the urge to show the disgruntled expression on my face.

"I am sorry Priest Elijah, but I don't think that I like the way you are doubting my believe i..."

Again, he interrupted my words.

"One more lie from you brat, and I will tell the Priest that someone in our presence wants to lead the ending prayers. I am sure that he would love to see how big your beliefs are in god Nogudi" He said, plainly.

I gulped.

"I have been watching you boy, ever since more and more people started coming to the service with your posters, I locked my attention on you"

I genuinely don't like the bad feeling churning in my stomach right now.

"Come on, stop looking at me as though I am some sort of bad guy. It's my job to take note of promising pupils, if not, I won't be standing all day beside the gates" He said, while he pinched his nose together.

Well, you are intimidating a 16-year-old. And considering your position and powers, you sorta are!

But I couldn't let him know that.

He sighed deeply before he continued "You see, I am only worried about your health and mental fitness because you remind me of the kind of boy I once was".

I blinked, internally bemused at his words.

'I am a 38-year-old office worker from another world, trapped in the body of a 16-year-old. I am not sure you can even correctly guess what kind of boy I was' I thought.

But, still, I let him finish while putting on a bewildered expression on my face.

"During the war, I couldn't believe what was happening or whatever I was seeing. Everything I knew. Everything I once believed in, was crushed under the preposterous revelation of the crusade. It was hard for me to move on with my life, and it was even harder to see and interpret the world around me the way I did before"

"I was on a mental breakdown because of all the losses and hardships the crusade had caused in my life. Still, do you know what I did when nothing seems to make sense anymore?" He said, staring straight at me.

His face showed a more serious expression than I ever thought that I would ever see on a man that has tried several times to scam me of the little changes that I always managed to secure for myself.

Nevertheless, I shook my head in response.

He nodded, and continued, reminiscing about something with a long distant look in his eyes "I prayed. I know that it might sound stupid, but at the end of one particular day, in the middle of the night, when everything in my life seems to be colourless, I decided to do one last thing before I committed suicide. And that was to walk to the nearest church and pray"

"Can you guess which church was that?" He added, his smile brightening up little by little.

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