Krafft's Anomaly Notes

Chapter 351 Believe in Science
"My friend, you have confessed your sins and your father's sins frankly before the Heavenly Father, but I want to remind you that confession needs to be sincere and complete. Have you confessed all the mistakes without covering up or concealing anything?"

Little John thought about it carefully for a long time, until he was sure that he had not missed anything, and then he answered nervously, "Yes, that's all I know."

That look reminded Dominic of his graduation thesis defense, where he carefully squeezed out every bit of his brain and gave the dean and invited reviewers a cumbersome but as complete an answer as possible at the last minute.

He didn't know which part of his answer touched the judges and made them willing to sign the report; just like little John at this moment, he didn't know which part of his confession suddenly caught the two monks.

Field, who was walking around, also stopped and stood quietly by to listen.

"May the Lord have mercy on you and your father, and may He forgive all your sins through the authority given to me by the church."

The trembling of the basket maker's shoulder seemed to be transmitted to Dominic's own arm. He tried three times before he touched the holy emblem he carried with him and pressed it against the other's forehead.

“Now that your soul has been cleansed, continue to pray and be faithful in your faith so that you do not fall into sin again.”

"Thank you, Father. If I may, I would like to make a donation to the church as a token of my gratitude."

Little John, who was pardoned, repeatedly drew in front of him in a distorted prayer posture, trying to get up and go into the house to get something.

The monks stopped him, saying they would not accept any kind of payment for accepting confessions.

The heat-deficient sunlight penetrated the mist, and morning had arrived in the basin. Buckets knocked against the well wall, pots and pans collided, and the sharp friction of old doors opened and closed came one after another.

After instructing Little John not to talk about this matter with anyone else, the two of them avoided the main road and hurried away along the path they came from.

After walking a distance and leaving the village behind, the two of them looked at each other and spoke almost at the same time:
"You feel……"

"I think……"

Dominic took a step back. He needed other people's opinions to confirm whether he was mentally ill or it was true. "You go first."

"Is the thunder he mentioned similar to what we encountered that night?" Field added, fearing that he had not expressed it clearly enough, "Do you remember the first time? We were still talking about supper."

"You remember that, too?"

It couldn't be more impressive. The impression left in memory by the loud noise of the ball rolling down was so clear that without any special reminder, I was sure that the two were referring to the same thing.

"I thought……"

I thought it was an occasional oversight of my eyes that caused me to miss a flash of light; I thought it was fear that distorted my mind and fabricated a memory.

Even now, the subconscious mind instinctively denies its existence, trying to explain it as another technical mistake of the crude mortal soul, and whitewashing it with various reasons.

However, the truth mercilessly uncovered the scars of memory that had not yet healed, dragging them back to that night.

"But what is that?"

Is it the sound of rocks collapsing from high above and echoing in the valley? Like the resonance inside a church. Or is it the clouds and mountains blocking the light at a special angle, creating a rare astronomical phenomenon?
There seems to be room for maneuver and it can be interpreted in a logical way. Unlike what most people imagine, although theological seminaries are mostly conservative, their attitude towards exploring "the laws that God has set for the material world" is actually quite contradictory. They do not like researchers to interpret things without authorization, but they allow them to explain things from the perspective of universal natural laws within the framework and without touching the core of the doctrine.

This is conducive to combining faith with rational knowledge and creating talents who are more adaptable to the needs of church society and better able to debate against paganism.

Natural philosophy suddenly became the last refuge, and the two monks found great comfort behind the shelter of the material worldview.

"I heard that captains who go to the Far North can sometimes see rays of light hanging from the sky. Maybe what we are experiencing is similar, a celestial phenomenon that only occurs in certain areas." Dominic, who reads a wide range of books, gave an answer to his companions and himself.

"Do you think it's reasonable?"

“All phenomena are irrational until they are explained.”

Rather than continue to be troubled by invisible and intangible feelings, Dominic felt that he needed a clear question and an answer to the question. Whether it was right or wrong, as long as it looked decent, it would make people feel at ease.

The good news is that he finally found the question, and now he just needs to fill in the answer.

"Field, I have a great idea."

"What?" In Field's impression, his classmate was not the kind of person who often had ideas.

"You want to write something new in the report? How about this, a local phenomenon that has never been understood." The more Dominic spoke, the better the idea became. This idea made him feel vaguely excited.

He was not sure where the feeling came from, as if a traveler who had been trudging for a long time in the middle of the night suddenly saw a light ahead and wishfully believed there was a warm fire there.

"And we can also explain that at least half of the rollovers are accidents, not entirely due to ability issues." Field had to admit that the idea made some sense, but its practical feasibility remained to be proven.

"The key is how you figure it out. Just based on our experience and one oral account?"

"Individual knowledge is always limited, which is why the Lord taught people to write down their knowledge on parchment. Since it is a celestial phenomenon, it should have been recorded by someone over such a long period of time, no matter how rare it is."

"Just a reminder, you haven't forgotten the state of all the books in the monastery, have you? Baron Priyère doesn't seem to like collecting books."

"Of course I haven't forgotten, but you also have to remember that our ancestors established a parish in this mountain forest decades ago. You should be able to find their heritage in the church outposts in most settlements." Dominic was full of confidence in this alone.

As a member of the Knights Templar, even if I cannot lend it out, I believe that most of the fellow believers would still be willing to lend it out.

All in all, the matter is not difficult. The biggest trouble is to personally visit the settlements near the churches and spend a lot of time to collect and organize relevant records.

What they lacked the most now was time. It was expected that they would not be needed in the manor before the Holy Day. They only needed to prepare reports to be submitted before going out each time. Four or five days was enough to travel back and forth between nearby settlements.

"Does this count as deserting one's post?" Dominic, who had imagined the entire plan, was still a little worried.

"No, according to Mr. Kraft, this is called exercising subjective initiative and arranging time reasonably." Field stretched out a hand and high-fived his companion. "Our wonderful report will definitely not disappoint him!"