Lord of the Mysteries — Extra: An Ordinary Person’s Daily Life P1

Part 1

“You have been granted an opportunity to meet His Holiness the Pope.”

Barton heard a man in dark-blue bishop’s robes speak to him.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not see the man’s appearance clearly. He only felt that the face seemed to be covered by a layer of grayish mist.

Of course, none of that was important. As a devout believer of the Lord, being able to meet His representative on earth was undoubtedly the greatest honor Barton had ever received in his life.

He was so excited that he found himself momentarily unable to speak. His body trembling faintly, he followed behind the bishop and entered the hall ahead, step by step.

Barton was likewise unable to describe the hall in any concrete detail. He only knew that it was magnificent and splendid, exuding such immense pressure that he could only lower his head in submission.

At last, he arrived before the steps.

At that moment, it seemed as though he had been granted permission, and he instinctively raised his head.

Then he saw a large golden retriever.

The dog wore a gorgeous dark-blue robe that resembled a curtain and a triple tiara embedded with many kinds of gems. It sat upon a massive throne, silently gazing at him.

“…”

Barton froze.

This—this is His Holiness the Pope? Shocked and terrified, Barton felt an intense fear surge up within him.

He abruptly opened his eyes and saw the dawn light illuminating the ceiling.

Huff, huff… Barton sat up, breathing softly, trying to quickly shake off the influence of the dream.

“What happened?” His wife sensed something was wrong and propped herself up.

Barton shook his head.

“A nightmare.”

He did not truthfully tell his wife that he had dreamed His Holiness the Pope was a golden retriever.

He dared bet that his wife would surely say, with a face full of horror:

“How could you have such a blasphemous thought?”

At that point, he would only be able to shrug and say:

“Just a joke.”

One must not bring troubles into family life. This place was a paradise on earth where one relaxed the mind… Besides, women found it difficult to understand deeper, more profound questions. Their strengths lay in emotional thinking and compassion… Barton no longer dwelled on his dream. He climbed out of bed and went to the washroom to brush his teeth.

After breakfast, he kissed his wife and children goodbye, left home, and took a trackless public carriage to his workplace at the edge of the city.

He was employed by the Loen Antiquities Collection and Preservation Foundation. With a respectable salary, he counted as middle class even in Stoen, the capital of East Chester County.

On the way, Barton idly observed the streets outside.

Because Stoen had not been directly affected much by the previous flames of war, it still retained its original prosperity. Carriages, bicycles, pedestrians, and stray dogs moved in crisscrossing streams, lively and noisy.

Barton had long since grown used to such sights and normally would not have felt anything. But last night’s dream made him uneasy whenever he saw a stray dog, as though it were an incarnation of His Holiness the Pope and needed to be greeted respectfully.

“Storms above, please accept my repentance.” Barton raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and lightly struck his left chest.

After a while, he arrived at the Loen Antiquities Collection and Preservation Foundation. Exchanging greetings with his colleagues, he entered his office.

After hanging up his hat and coat, Barton relaxed and leisurely began preparing himself a cup of black tea with some unusual herbs added. He was already approaching middle age, and his energy was declining in every aspect. He always hoped he could make up for that in a relatively simple and not especially painful way.

Once his tea was ready, Barton picked up several newspapers placed on his desk, intending to adjust his state before beginning work.

“Backlund’s economic situation improved significantly last quarter…”

“A new pirate known as a ruler has appeared on the Sonia Sea and the Berserk Sea—the Queen of Stars…”

“Fruit trade negotiations in Desi Bay…”

After slowly finishing the newspapers, Barton took a sip of tea and officially began work.

“Fernal’s letter?” While checking the documents on his desk, Barton discovered a letter from an old friend.

The man was an archaeologist who had close cooperation with the Loen Antiquities Collection and Preservation Foundation.

Barton immediately picked up his letter opener, took out the letter, and read it carefully:

“My dear friend:

“My students and I have discovered some interesting ruins in the mountains of Sivellaus County. They may have belonged to survivors from the Fourth Epoch…

“In that stretch of history we still do not understand well enough, for various reasons, they left the cities and entered the mountains, no longer interacting with the real world, existing instead as tribal groups…

“Perhaps they were still guarding something, but that has long since been buried by time, leaving behind only broken buildings and corpse after corpse…

“My students and I will conduct a protective excavation here, hoping to find more useful relics that can help us restore part of Fourth Epoch history. I wonder whether your foundation would be interested?

“…Here, I solemnly invite you to send a team to confirm whether our work is real and effective…”

Go into the mountains… The first things that appeared in Barton’s mind were not relics or history, but buzzing mosquitoes, a damp and gloomy environment, and camps watched by wild beasts.

He shook his head, picked up paper and pen, and prepared to draft a document regarding this letter, to be submitted to his superiors.