The Bewilderment of the Sacrificial Second Princess

Chapter 67: Four Gods of the Sinn Fe Nation

I basically only find enjoyment in unverified stories.

Religion… I come from the Faithnum Empire where there is one, but after witnessing its corruption, I view God not as something to believe in, but rather a character in a fairy tale. I did not have faith in my home country’s state religion.

Upon my marriage to the Baratonia Kingdom, I renounced my home country’s religion. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from my heart, and when I learned that there was no religion in the Baratonia Kingdom, I was pleasantly surprised.

Even if there is a God, the system in Baratonia of worshiping a king who governs well as God suits me perfectly. The king, from my perspective, provides tangible benefits to the people that are more concrete than an uncertain deity, and the political system that is tied to flesh and blood is more easily comprehended by the people and can be worshiped. Additionally, if the king is worshiped, they cannot betray the people.

However, religious leaders often speak with a forked tongue. They do not make any political contributions, but instead confuse people’s hearts and the teachings of the scriptures… or rather, the scriptures are not properly understood, and their interpretations change with time. Depending on the era, they are inconsistent. The teachings of God are often distorted to serve the convenience of those delivering them.

I have always detested the revisions made to the national scriptures.

Despite my distaste, I accepted the religion known as “Four Gods” in the Sinn Fe language without hesitation.

The text contained references to Hillian’s peculiar incantations and was written as if it transcended our current civilization.

Initially, I perceived it as a picture book due to my limited comprehension, but upon reading it thoroughly, my perspective was altered by the informative explanations.

To begin with, the comprehension and resolution of “celestial bodies (astronomy)” were much more advanced than I had anticipated. I initially believed it could serve as an academic publication, but it turned out to be a scripture. For those who do not believe, it may be considered a fanciful tale.

In essence, there is a phenomenon known as gravity, and there are forces of attraction and repulsion, and celestial bodies are seen as similar “stars” positioned at a certain distance due to these forces. The stars shining in the night sky are said to be the remnants of past ages, even though they reach our eyes.

As per the teachings of the Four Divine Sects, celestial bodies are constantly in motion, and there are “favorable days” and “unfavorable days” based on their arrangement. The movement of celestial bodies is always monitored and considered as a message from the gods.

Additionally, it is said that the temple holds a model of the celestial bodies that continuously moves while maintaining a constant distance. This model is referred to as the “Sacred Relic Opart” and is said to be an object that cannot be replicated with current technology.

By comparing the positioning of this continent with the movement of the celestial bodies, analyzing ancient remains, identifying the locations of valuable stone mines, the quantity mined, the types available, and summarizing the customs of each region, it appears that there is a “person in prayer” at the center and each of the “Blue Dragon”, “Black Turtle”, “White Tiger”, and “Vermilion Bird” gods are located in the east, west, south, and north respectively.

It appears that the Blue Dragon represents Jupiter and the character “dragon” represents the praying person. This planet is said to have a strong affinity with the sun. Although I am not familiar with the religion of the Dragonate Kingdom, it seems that Randy-sama entrusted the valuable “precious stone” to Hillian, the priest of the Blue Dragon shrine and one of the priests of the Four Deities religion.

Like celestial bodies, compatibility can also repel one another. If Hillian was not deemed a suitable priest of the Blue Dragon, Celgyu may have prevented him from handling the stone.

When I compare the comprehensive map of the continent that Gauche showed me once and the association of the “Four Deities” based on celestial bodies in my mind, there are indeed remnants that once replicated the power of those celestial bodies and precious stone mines that I desire to align with them on the land.

“Incredible…”

“…I find you even more extraordinary.”

“The prayer inscribed here is, in other words, a priest receives a ‘baptism’ by burying a ‘holy fragment,’ which is one of the ‘sacred relics,’ in the forehead. Through this act, inanimate objects, particularly valuable stones with power or areas where such power is concentrated, can be comprehended… or I can’t seem to find the right words to express it.”

Hillian paused his work for the day as the sun was setting behind the window.

“To attain that understanding, a priest-in-training must undergo five years of training…”

“I am not a priest-in-training. I do not reject the Four Religions, but I have no intention of joining either. I find it intriguing that something like this exists and I can accept it easily. I simply understand and reason behind it, but I do not blindly believe in the religion or gods.”

A crease appeared between Hillian’s brows. He wasn’t seeking understanding from me, but only tolerance. And even though I can understand and tolerate, I don’t hold a blind faith in this religion or deities.

I simply tolerated it. The reason I was able to accept it without any objections or reservations was because the scriptural text was written in a manner that aligned with my own thought process.

I prefer not to have something I cannot comprehend implanted in my mind. And the prayers, they don’t seem like a means of communicating with a deity, but rather with something else. I struggle to fully embrace concepts like miracles, compatibility, and ‘human attributes’ derived from the positions of celestial bodies and birthdays.

Followers of the Four Gods religion consider all of these occurrences as miracles from the gods, and their beliefs are documented in the scripture. The priests, as part of the miracle, are said to have the ability to communicate with non-human entities by possessing something mystical within their bodies. That is likely the language of the Four Gods.

When I brought this up with Hillian, he listened quietly and let out a sigh of defeat, uttering “That’s just how it is…” in a bitter voice.