7. Bishop Barkius (3)
It was just about lunchtime, and the dining hall was still empty. I looked around the vacant room and smiled contentedly.
“I’m the first one here.”
It wasn’t that I was particularly thrilled about being the first to eat. I didn’t have much of an appetite to begin with.
The reason I was pleased was that I could work without interruption. It wasn’t that I had to do it today, but it’s always better to finish tasks early if possible, isn’t it?
As I hummed a tune and entered the kitchen, the chef, who had been working diligently, widened his eyes in surprise. I brought my index finger to my lips and grinned, and he returned to his work with a bewildered look.
“What should I choose…”
[Are you planning to poison the food?]
The devil reflected on the pot’s wall asked, his eyes twinkling. Speaking of poison, isn’t that a bit too ominous?
“Poison, how rude. I’m just going to cast a curse that causes a bit of food poisoning, that’s all.”
[A curse or poison, both seem equally ominous.]
“At least people don’t die like they do from poison. And I’m only casting a curse to finish what I’ve started, you know?”
[Is that so? My apologies.]
What does he take me for? Snorting in amusement, I cast a curse on the children’s food that would cause stomach cramps and then left the kitchen.
There’s a bit of time until lunch… Maybe I’ll take a short walk.
I left the dining hall, imagining the minor commotion that would occur later. Even though my walk was just around the dining hall, standing still inside without eating would look suspicious.
I decided to take a leisurely stroll, leaning back like an old man.
From afar, I could see the children rushing towards the dining hall after their classes. I smiled as I watched them swarm into the dining hall like a pack of dogs.
“Maybe it’s time for me to go in.”
With a broad smile, I walked lightly into the dining hall. The children who had arrived earlier were hungrily clearing their plates.
It was just a simple stew with smoked meat and bread.
‘They’re eating so heartily. Is it really that delicious?’
I did add a bit of seasoning, but I didn’t expect them to enjoy it so much. I picked up my food and stirred it with a spoon, then took a bite.
I didn’t mind the curse. After all, I was planning to be affected by it too.
‘It doesn’t taste particularly special.’
The stew was well-cooked and the bread was freshly baked. The smell was nice, but I still didn’t have an appetite.
The stew I ate with Nae was more delicious. The meat I ate with Nae was more delicious.
As I was about to take another bite, an image of Nae suddenly came to mind, and I quietly put down my spoon. I lost not only my appetite but also the desire to eat anything.
“I hope you come soon…”
As I waited, the dining hall door opened, and the long-awaited Archbishop Barkius entered. Despite his frail body, his face was sunburnt, probably from diligently going around the village doing his duties.
He looked much healthier compared to the pale face he had when he only briefly walked around the cathedral every two weeks.
‘In a way, did I do him a favor?’
I, who had been chuckling, was the first to trigger the curse on the child who was about to stand up after eating. Suddenly, the child felt a sharp pain in the stomach, dropped the bowl in surprise.
“Ah…!”
Crash!!
With the unpleasant sound that made the area under the eyes tremble, the child who fell to his knees wrapped his stomach with both arms, grimacing. The sudden commotion startled all the children around, and the bishop, who was entering the dining hall, also witnessed the scene.
In a split second.
A lowly desire flashed across the bishop’s face.
However, the bishop quickly composed his face and hurried over to the fallen child. Another child, who had been observing the fallen child from close by, looked at the approaching bishop with a tearful face.
“What happened!”
“Bi, Bishop! Ka, Kaul suddenly collapsed!”
The sight of the child, sweating cold sweat while clutching his stomach, was clearly abnormal. The bishop, who had been observing the child’s condition with a serious expression, widened his eyes as if he felt something inside the child.
He must have realized that the child’s suffering was due to the curse.
Well, he should realize it. It was blatantly obvious.
“My… my stomach…!”
“Is your stomach hurting? Okay, it’s okay now. I’ll fix it right away.”
Barkius said, din’t say God help, but I’ll fix it.
I’ll fix it, he said.
With my trembling hand covering my mouth, I twisted a smile and triggered the curse on the children who were eating around me all at once.
Of course, I was included in that.
“Aaaah!!”
“Mommy…!! My stomach, my stomach…!!”
“What is this…!”
“Bishop…! My, my stomach hurts so much!!”
All the children who had eaten even a bite of food writhed in pain and shed tears.
The children clung to the bishop’s legs, crying out for help, begging for salvation.
Salvation. Salvation from this pain.
Looking at such children, the bishop’s face was not filled with worry or sadness.
A twisted smile was etched there.
Ambition, desire for recognition, sense of accomplishment, superiority, vanity.
Lowly desires that boil up when one in a superior position bestows upon those below.
“Don’t worry. I will, I will save you.”
The bishop’s act of kindness was no longer for others.
It was not an act of kindness for the sake of goodness, but an act of kindness for himself.
Hypocrisy.
Pride.
The appetite that I thought had disappeared boiled up like crazy.
Even though I hadn’t eaten anything, it felt like I had devoured a thousand feasts.
At that time, when he was receiving gratitude while lifting each child’s curse.
The nuns, knights, and priests who were just entering the dining hall were also shocked by the scene inside the dining hall and approached the children.
No, they tried to approach.
“Stop!”
“Bishop!? Why are you telling us to stop!!”
“It’s a curse! I can handle it, so don’t touch them!”
At the bishop’s firm attitude, the priests and knights obediently followed, their faces filled with confusion.
It was clear what they were thinking.
‘”He must have his reasons.”
“Is it a curse that we can’t handle on our skills….”
However, unlike the two, the nun looked at the bishop with a face full of astonishment.
She couldn’t understand why he was saying such things.
The knight, whose brain was filled with muscles, and the newly appointed priest, let it pass.
But the nun who teaches medicine couldn’t understand.
The children are in so much pain, why is he telling us not to touch them?
The effects of a curse diminish with a blessing prayer, so why is he treating each one individually?
Her confused eyes were visibly trembling.
‘Interesting.’
Smiling from an angle that others couldn’t see, I clasped my hands in prayer, looking at the approaching bishop.
The bishop, who had knelt on one knee by my bedside, helped me up.
I opened my eyes with difficulty and spoke with trembling lips.
“Bishop… my… my stomach hurts so much….”
“Yes. You’ve suffered. Now that I’m here, you’ll get better.”
“I prayed to God… but my stomach… it’s not getting better….”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get better now.”
The bishop said so and recited the prayer of the sun, and the curse inside me disappeared.
I opened my eyes wide and looked at the bishop.
The bishop gently smiled and stroked my head.
“My…! Thanks to the bishop, my stomach is better…!!”
“That’s right. You endured well.”
“Even God didn’t listen to my prayers…! But the bishop saved me!”
At my blasphemous words, the nun looked at me in astonishment.
But the bishop just smiled and said nothing.
*
*
*
After the commotion in the dining hall, that evening.
I lay on the ceiling of the cathedral, watching the nun arguing with the bishop in his office.
The nun passionately argued that the bishop had become strange, explaining about blasphemy and pride.
But the bishop stubbornly cut off all her words.
-What’s the problem with God’s representative, saving a child on behalf of God?
-Representative? That’s blasphemy!! We are spokespersons! We’re just the ones who proclaim God’s will!
-That’s for ordinary people! I am Saint Barkius! A man who received the name of a saint that even the Pope of the Holy Kingdom could not receive!!
-That’s exactly what pride is, Bishop Barkius!!
-How dare you speak so freely from that position!!
Although others might have felt the commotion and knocked on the office door, no one approached the office.
They made sure that no sound leaked out, so they wouldn’t be heard from outside.
-This matter… will be formally reported to the Holy Kingdom…!
-Hmph, do as you please. God is on my side.
I smiled broadly as I watched the nun leave the office, biting her lip.
This is the end of the story for this place.
Thx.