Not A God

Chapter 16 - God With No Name

The Age of Steam: Dr Beak

Lederer is staying at the Old Tom's Inn in Lost Town. It was an inn that had been in operation for many years, and it was clear that the family had taken great care of the age-old building, but the years had not prevented the bricks and tiles from becoming old. Walking down the corridors of the inn, the wooden floorboards creaked with the weight of the building, and with a somewhat apologetic look, old Tom led Lederer up to the third floor, the best single room in the inn. Lederer sensed the owner's kindness and with a smile on his face gestured that he did not care about such small details.

"Mr Bruce, welcome to Lost Town, we haven't had many customers here all year, you're a rare out-of-towner for me, I'm really glad you've chosen to stay with us." Old Tom, the shopkeeper, smiled with a very kind smile.

"May the Almighty bless you with a pleasant time of travel!"

Old Tom said, clutching the pendant hanging around his neck with reverence. Lederer looked at it curiously and saw that it was a reverse cross pendant, exactly the same as the one the worker had given himself earlier.

So Lederer also took out the pendant he had in his pocket and said with curiosity, "Old Tom, what a coincidence, I have one of these pendants, given to me by a kindly townsman I met earlier, may I take the liberty of asking what this pendant represents? Forgive my presumption and ignorance, I have been wandering outside for too long and am really out of touch with the trends."

At these words, Old Tom immediately looked at the pendant in Lederer's hand, and his face suddenly turned a little subtle, as if he was angry and suppressing his anger. Lederer saw the change in Old Tom's mood and wondered in his heart; after all, he thought he had been gentle enough in his tone, and that even the fanatic devotee of the unknown god should not be blamed for his ignorance because of it.

So Lederer asked out, inquiring whether he had said anything wrong.

Old Tom shook his head, his expression returning to normal, and explained: "Oh, my Lord Almighty, you misunderstand me, I am not angry, I am happy that Mr Bruce can also bask in the light of my Lord! And I am sorry that I am not the one who is spreading the light of my Lord to you, that is why."

But there was no reason for him to pursue the matter any further, after all, it would be unpleasant to ask too many questions of a visitor from a foreign land. So Lederer stopped there and listened as old Tom began to sell himself on the new god of their town, an all-powerful God. It was inconceivable that a bearded, middle-aged man could say so many complimentary words, a long list of exaggerated adjectives piled on top of the unnamed god without fail, and the more he spoke, the more his face glowed as red as if he were drunk.

"...... It's a pity it's so late in the day, or I'd like to go on and introduce you to our almighty Lord, the all-powerful ancient god!" As he talked and worked, Old Tom helped Lederer pack his bags and took his leave with a red face, before finally giving the name of the god.Lederer smiled and thanked Old Tom.

CLICK -

Watching Old Tom descend the stairs and quickly unlock the door to his room, Lederer placed his suitcase next to his bed before frowning and pondering the new gods believed in this isolated town.

"Ancient God?"

A name that had never been heard before. Incredible as it was to say, born in this steam age of rapidly advancing technology, Lederer was not actually a devoutly religious man and had travelled more and seen more. He had even begun to wonder if gods really existed; after all, they had never appeared to him in person, nor had they ever manifested any miracles in the world.Especially during the Black Death a year earlier, his trust in the existence of the gods had fallen to the breaking point.