Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

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

Little John thought carefully for a long time, until he was sure that there was nothing missing, and then he answered anxiously, "Yes, that's all I know."

That look reminded Dominic of his graduation defense, carefully draining every drop of his brain that he could remember, and at the last minute giving the dean and the invited reviewers a cumbersome but as complete an answer as possible.

He didn't know which sentence in his answer moved the reviewer and made him willing to sign the passing report; just like Little John at this moment, he didn't know which part of the 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 basketmaker's shoulders 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 your soul has been cleansed. Continue to pray and be faithful to your faith so as not to fall into sin again."

"Thank you, Father. If possible, I would like to offer a donation to the Church to show my gratitude."

The pardoned little John repeatedly drew in front of him with a distorted prayer posture, trying to get up and go to the house to get something.

The monks stopped him and said that they would not accept any form of reward for accepting confession.

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

After instructing little John not to talk about this matter with others, the two avoided the main road and hurried away along the path they came from.

After walking a distance and leaving the village behind, the two looked at each other and spoke almost at the same time:

"You think..."

"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 a bit similar to what we encountered that night?" Field was afraid that he was not expressing it clearly enough, so he added, "Do you remember that it was the first time, when we were still talking about supper."

"You remember it too?"

It couldn't be more impressive. The traces of the rolling sound in the memory were so clear that without special reminders, it was certain that the two were referring to the same thing.

"I thought..."

I thought it was an occasional omission of the eyes, missing a flash; I thought it was a distortion of the mind by fear, fabricating a memory.

Even now, the subconscious mind is still instinctively denying its existence, trying to explain it as another technical error of the rough soul of mortals, and whitewashing it with various reasons.

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

"But what is that?"

The echo of the sound of the collapse of the rocks in the high places and the echo in the valley? Just like the resonance inside the church. Or is it the rare astronomical phenomenon caused by the clouds and mountains blocking the light at a special angle?

It seems that there is still room for maneuver and it can be interpreted in a logical way.

Unlike what ordinary people imagine, although the seminary is mostly conservative, its attitude towards exploring "the laws of operation set by God for the material world" is actually quite contradictory. It does not like researchers to interpret things without authorization, but allows them to explain things from the perspective of universal natural laws within the framework 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 the church society and more able to win over paganism.

Natural philosophy suddenly became the last refuge. The two monks hid behind the shelter of the material worldview and got great comfort.

"I heard that the captains who went to the far north sometimes saw the glory hanging from the sky. Maybe what we encountered was similar. It was just a astronomical phenomenon that only appeared in specific areas." Dominic, who read widely, gave an answer to his companions and himself.

"Do you think it's reasonable?"

"All phenomena are unreasonable before they are explained."

Compared to continuing to be troubled by some invisible and intangible feelings, Dominic felt that he needed a clear question and the answer to the question more. 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 then he just needed to fill in the answer.

"Field, I have a good idea."

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

Please...collect 6...books...!

"Don't you want to write something new in the report? How about this, a local phenomenon that has never been figured out." Dominic felt that the idea was good as he talked, and this idea made him feel vaguely excited.

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

"And we can also explain that at least half of the rollover was an accident, not entirely a problem of ability." Field had to admit that the idea made some sense, but the actual feasibility needed to be proven.

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

"Personal knowledge is always limited, and that 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 time, no matter how rare it is."

"Just a reminder, you must have forgotten the status of all the books in the monastery, right? Baron Prier doesn't seem to like collecting books."

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

As a member of the Knights, even if they cannot be borrowed, I believe that most of the church members will still be willing to lend them.

In short, the matter is not difficult. The biggest trouble is to personally visit the settlements with churches nearby and spend a lot of time to collect and organize relevant records.

And what is most lacking now is time. It is expected that they will not be needed in the manor before the Holy Day. Just prepare the report to be submitted before going out each time. Four or five days is enough to travel between nearby settlements.

"Is this considered as leaving the post without permission?" Dominic, who imagined the entire plan, was 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!"