The priests from the New Church who came to see me were fidgeting and glancing around nervously.

They looked like they were scared of something, just like anyone would be standing in front of a gun barrel that smelled like gunpowder.

Given that these were supposed to be calm clergy, it was pretty strange.

“Uh, I’m not quite getting the situation here. What is it that you need to be scolded for?”

“We have sinned.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’ll explain slowly. The sins we’ve committed….”

* * *

A priest from the New Church Knight Order.

Ignatius was once a noble with a promising future. As the eldest son of a well-respected central noble family within the empire, he chose the path of priesthood purely because he believed he was chosen by the Lord.

A spiritual experience. One day he woke up after being called by an angel in a dream and realized he was blessed.

Ignoring his family’s opposition, he threw himself into a monastery, studied theology, and was ordained as a priest. Because of his unique background, he was different from other priests who had been immersed in religion since childhood.

This made it tough for him to fit in with the other priests. It wasn’t so much that the other priests excluded Ignatius; rather, he kept a distance from them.

Like all priests, he took particular pride in having received his priesthood directly from the Lord.

“In fact, all the priests of our New Church Knight Order were folks who didn’t fit in with the existing church priests. We kinda took pride in that. The duty of a priest is to dedicate oneself to the Lord, so any personal relationships that don’t benefit the Lord are pointless. We kept saying that while diving even deeper into theological studies. When we joined the New Church Knight Order, we were thrilled to spread the gospel free from the old customs of the church.”

“I get that to some extent. After all, for those who think trials are a hero’s privilege, wouldn’t they take pride in themselves while being tossed around by hardships?”

“As expected, Venerable Homer, you are wise. Yes, but now we realize how arrogant we were. Actually, even saying that sounds arrogant. So, um, we realized that we knew nothing at all.”

“What happened?”

“Well, an agent of some noble… A rather powerful one, came to see us. Not sure where they heard about us, but they invited a priest from our ‘New Church’ to their mansion. They requested a baptism for an illegitimate child. We accepted the request. Oh, this doesn’t mean we were bribed or anything. It was purely out of the belief that even an illegitimate child deserves the Lord’s blessing.”

Illegitimate child. And baptism.

The baptism of a child born to an unmarried mother was a pretty hot topic in this world. Often, illegitimate children didn’t get baptized because, well, they weren’t born under the sacredness of marriage.

In a world where God exists, that basically meant they were treated as less than human.

Just like beastmen. Priests around here often treated illegitimate children similarly and denied them baptism.

“After that, more folks started seeking out priests of our ‘New Church’ for various requests. They were people who were discriminated against by the ‘old customs’ of the Church. A widow who lost her husband in the war wanted a new marriage sacrament with her new husband. I accepted this request. I thought the new relationship with the woman, who was steeped in sorrow, deserved to be blessed. So she received her second marriage sacrament.”

Up until that point, Ignatius was really into his storytelling, but then he just couldn’t continue and started mumbling instead.

Then, as if in despair, he covered his face with both hands. After a few deep breaths to gather himself, he managed to continue speaking.

“Then, a noblewoman who had divorced her husband requested a marriage sacrament with her new husband. This is where ‘our’ opinions started to diverge.”

Ignatius and the priests of the ‘New Church’ standing behind him glanced at each other.

These were the most moderate and generous people of the church. But not everyone shared the same standards of ‘generosity’.

“As a result, the noblewoman received her second marriage sacrament. Some priests objected, claiming it was wrong, but not many priests were required for a marriage sacrament. The priests who agreed cited the ‘widow’ as an example, arguing that the Lord’s blessing should be fair for all. Meanwhile, the others claimed this was a betrayal of the Lord’s blessing.”

Ignatius went on to recount the various ‘requests’ they received afterward.

He talked about how many had been discriminated against by the church’s traditions and how diverse the opinions of ‘New Church’ priests were on these issues.

There were so many examples that he spent almost an hour sharing them all.

Contraception, illegitimate children, homosexuality, tradition, unmarried mothers, widows, prostitution…

Some examples were trivial and personal, while others were broad enough to cause constant debates within the church.

And they had no standard to tell right from wrong.

That’s because they were the New Church. They had totally forgotten the Pope’s words, the old laws, and the doctrines of councils and only spread the gospel using the light of the Lord’s words.

“It was only then that we understood why those foolish stubbornnesses, which we considered ‘old traditions,’ existed. We realized that faith and mere words were not enough to illuminate a world filled with shadows. We belatedly grasped just how varied the shapes of those shadows are and how deep those pits go. By the time we came to our senses, we found ourselves repeating the outdated practices of the ‘Church.’ Instead of praying for wisdom from the Lord, we were following the very traditions we used to despise.”

“I understand.”

“No. No, you don’t. Author Homer, you wouldn’t even be able to begin to comprehend how wickedly we’ve changed.”

With his eyes tightly shut, Ignatius confessed like a sinner before a priest.

“We denied a woman her last rites. She passed away without even the hope of finding comfort in the Lord’s embrace. …Before we knew it, we had become more rigid and conservative than the ‘Church.’ We were no different from the legal scholars mentioned in the Bible.”

“….”

“If this keeps going, the ‘New Church’ will just end up being a record of utter failure. So, I must ask you, Venerable Homer, creator of ‘Father Brown.'”

Then, he bowed his head like a sinner asking for penance.

“Please scold us. And bestow your teachings upon us.”

Their gazes were as reverent as apostles looking upon their savior.

In their eyes was a mix of awe and fear, as if they believed lightning from heaven could strike and judge them at any moment.

“…I’m just a writer. I don’t think I can help much.”

“No. Venerable Homer, haven’t you received the Lord’s miracles?”

“To me, it was simply my work.”

“You wrote Don Quixote, The Sorrows of Young Werther, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Little Prince, Alice in Wonderland, Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, and Father Brown.”

“….”

“And didn’t you also give speeches reading the Bible to those who followed you?”

“Yeah, I did….”

“You made greedy tycoons feed orphans, compelled noblemen obsessed with worldly wealth to support orphanages, and ensured every child could receive an education.”

“Yes.”

“How could such things be possible with just human wisdom?”

Indeed, such feats weren’t achievable through mere human wisdom.

The works I penned were just copyright-infringing copies of masterpieces that had been cherished on Earth for ages, my speeches were echoes of the most moving oratory, and my projects mirrored the most successful marketing strategies.

These accomplishments stood as the collective wisdom built up over years by many people, not just one single individual.

“We are certain, Venerable Homer, that you received wisdom from the Lord. Thus, we wish to borrow your wisdom.”

“…I don’t know much about doctrine. I’ve read the Bible, but I’m no theology expert.”

“That’s okay. Please, we ask for your wisdom.”

“….”

I was uncertain if this was the right thing to do.

I wasn’t the savior they seemed to think I was, nor a visionary bursting with inspiration.

I was merely a plagiarist who had swiped the ‘history’ of my past life.

So…

“Alright. Since you gave me advice while I was writing Father Brown… It’s only fair I take up the role of the advisor too.”

“…Thank you!”

If they wished to seek advice from the ‘history’ I had pilfered,

then I’d be swiping ideas all over again.

* * *

“If they’re after the words and true meanings of the Lord, who am I to judge them? I should lend a hand to guide them on the right path, but if they remain unchanged in their devotion and faith, then that’s their own role to fulfill.”

I even borrowed phrases from Pope Francis.

“Have you heard of civil unions?”

I swiped more systems from my past life.

“When a child torments their parents, it isn’t because they’re possessed; they’re just hurt. I think we ought to create some ‘parenting education’ guidelines for parents.”

I also plagiarized ideas from Teacher Oh Eun-young.

And so, I brought forth various moral discourses from my ‘previous life’ into this world.

Through this process, the New Church encountered a devout and sincere beastman named Grey.

That’s how Grey came to receive baptism.

* * *

[“Father, if I’ve committed any sin, it must be just that. Do you intend to impose any penance for that sin?” Bulnoi spoke carefully.]

[“I won’t impose any penance.” Father Brown replied, gathering his hat and umbrella with a playful smile. “I came here to spare you from any potential penance you might have faced.”]

[“Then, what penance have I happily avoided?” Bulnoi asked with a grin.]

[“It was the gallows.”]