The main church of the City of Charmant is the church of steam. It was originally a religion about the god of craftsmen and merchants; however, the steam revolution in the Victorian empire changes everything. The royal family decided to break the hold of the church on the mainland, so it propped the little-known church. Now that little-known church is one of the major churches on the continent. 

The church advocates advances in the field of science and most countries also give certain privileges to scientific guilds. These brought scientific breakthroughs that would not have been possible in the next 200 years. 

Such a church is at the center of the City of Charmant. 

 

John looks at the large imposing church. He slowly mixes in and follows a group of people into the church. 

Inside the church, he marveled at the tall ceilings and columns. The ceiling and the walls are decorated with mythology. Giant moving gears can be seen protruding. 

"May the symphony of gears be with you?" A robed man greets John and the others.

"And also be with you." The group replied.

Noticing John's feeling of being out of place, the man smiled amicably and approached closer. 

"Hello, brother. Welcome to the church of steam."

"Uhhh... hello... I just think ... maybe i ... need to pray." John tried to find his words.

"Of course, our church's nave is always open to the public. If you like a more intimate talk, you can go to the confession booth."

"Thank you." John nodded and walked to one of the empty benches in the nave.

Seeing John's actions, the man quickly returned to the front and greet the incoming worshippers.

 John in his seat closed his eyes and slowly meditates in silence. 

 

Meanwhile, a carriage slowly approaches the church. Inside sat Hildegard and Sue. 

As the carriage approach the church, strange nausea bubbled inside Hildegard. 

"Mistress, you don't look so good. Are you sure we should go to church and not to a clinic?"

"I will be fine once we get to the church."

Once the carriage stopped at the entrance of the church, nausea suddenly stopped like what Hildegard believed.

"See,  I'm fine." Hildegard showed a small smile to Sue.

Sue rolled her eyes as she first opened the door. 

As Hildegard stepped out of the carriage and looked at the building, she felt a feeling of disgust in her body.

'Why does looking at the church feel like looking at ... at a building made of fecal matter.' She exclaimed to herself.

If someone looked at Hildegard's shadow at this moment, they will discover that it has turned into a giant fly.

 

-- inside the head office of the church of steam

"Reverend Charles, all of the investigations in the northern district has gone cold. None of the special officers found any clues about the anomaly, " Deacon James reported.

"We will keep an eye on any weird activity..." just as Charles talks. He felt his whole body stiffen and worms burrow into his skin. Buzzing sounds can be heard in his ears. 

Then the feeling quickly disappeared. Like a sprung spring, Charles stands up from his seat. Noticing, he could finally move, Charles slumped back in the chair.

"Charles, are you alright." James saw the weird actions of his boss and quickly went to his side.

"You didn't feel anything." Charles weakly asked.

"No! What happened!" James asked.

"A class 1 or higher might have appeared in the city... let the country HQ know. We should postpone the investigation of the matter until we get more instructions from HQ."

 A knock at the door brought the two back into reality. 

"Come in." Charles quickly hides the excitement from his voice. 

A male monk enters and reports. "The daughter of the city lord is here for a visit."

"Does this family know how to schedule appointments? Unlike them, we have our schedule to stick to" Deacon James grumbled as he rubbed his forehead.

 

Hildegard is showing her iconic smile to worshippers and church officials. 

'I feel my stomach churning. These people smell like they ate and bathed in fecal matter. I need to control myself.' Hildegard encourages herself.

Soon Deacon James was in front of the Hildegard.

"Miss Hildegard, we welcome you to our humble church. On tidings has brought you here, my dear child?" He piously asked.

To Hildegard, the stench has increased in folds. 

"Due to my father's birth anniversary, I simply want to pray at the church nave and talk to the city folks." She replied.

"Ohh!? If that is the case, then I apologize that I won't be able to attend to you.  I have important matters to attend to. Sister Sue, can you please escort Miss Hildegard."

James quickly returned to the deeper parts of the church.

Hildegard went to the frontmost part of the nave. She kneeled and prayed like a devout worshipper.

'Ignore the smell, ignore the smell...' Hildegard chants in her mind. 

 

Meanwhile, John finally awakens from his meditation. After stretching overtly, he quietly exited through the church door. He nods and smiles at the helpful man from earlier.

The man simply waved his hand and then returned to talking to other attendees.

As John walks back the street, he mulls. 'I'll pause painting for a bit. I'll check the bookstore on what I might do next.'

After buying meat and vegetables in the city's open market. He went to an old bookstore. Its dark green paint has faded and the words Tom's Bookstore can barely be seen. From the dust-covered windows, you can outlines on bookshelves and a pile of books. 

Entering the bookstore, the musky smell of old books rushes through the nose. 

"Good day, Old Tom. Any new books this week?" John greets the old man reading the newspaper. 

Tom pointed toward an old pile of books with his chin and then went back to reading the paper.

John slowly searches the pile with eagerness. After a while, he found books that piqued his interest: Tribes of the Lost Jungle, and Treatise on the Rapier.

'A book about the tribes in the southern continent and a sword manual about rapiers' John thought as he looked at the books in front of him.

John bought the books and quickly returned home. He is eager to start reading the book tonight.

At night inside his room, John took the sword manual to his table.

'Even though I wanted to own a gun for protection, the country heavily regulates buying one. Plus, I think using a sword has its charm.'  John murmured as he opened the book and began reading.