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Chapter 43

"Alright, we'll begin the doctrine exam. Everyone put your books away."

Saturday arrived, and I sat at the Temple, barely hiding my withering expression.

The official exam to advance from intern priest to lower priest was in five months, but it wasn't determined by that single test alone.

We had to take monthly exams and score above a certain threshold, and only after passing the official exam could we finally become lower priests.

Even though lower priests were still at the bottom, they were considered full Temple members and treated very differently from intern priests.

For example, unlike now where I could only access the intern priest office and the central museum, I'd be able to enter various Temple buildings... and compensation would be a regular salary rather than a freelance contract...

'If I become a lower priest, I'll have access to more information.'

But to do that, I had to wait five more months.

And the exam was just interpreting Park Geo-seong's essay! I didn't want to overinterpret and assign meaning to this kind of essay!

Just then, exam papers were distributed to the intern priests seated in the office.

A mid-level priest proctored us and announced the start of the exam.

I checked the exam paper. The questions looked like this:

1. When a problem occurs in the organization, the one at fault is always ( ).

2. When the organization faces an economic crisis, subordinate employees should act by ( ).

3. When a problem occurs within the organization, immediately ( ).

4. When you achieve good results, it's thanks to ( ).

5. When there is a manual, always follow ( ).

I glanced at the person in front of me. He had written:

1. When a problem occurs in the organization, the one at fault is always (the party who committed the error).

2. When the organization faces an economic crisis, subordinate employees should act by (working hard to save the organization).

3. When a problem occurs within the organization, immediately (report).

4. When you achieve good results, it's thanks to (your efforts).

5. When there is a manual, always follow (the manual).

But those weren't the right answers. My answers were...

1. When a problem occurs in the organization, the one at fault is always (the lowest-ranking employee).

2. When the organization faces an economic crisis, subordinate employees should act by (voluntarily working without pay).

3. When a problem occurs within the organization, immediately (cover it up).

4. When you achieve good results, it's thanks to (your superior).

5. When there is a manual, always follow (your superior's orders).

I quickly filled in the answers and submitted my paper first.

"Oh-ho..."

The mid-level priest who checked my paper had a glint in his eye.

"Excellent. You may leave first."

"Yes, thank you."

Sigh, so I had to waste five more months here.

Letting out a sigh, I stepped out of the office and stood in the hallway, waiting for the other intern priests to finish their exams.

Since the only place I could be was this office anyway...

Just then, a stack of papers on a chair in the hallway caught my eye.

"What's this?"

It seemed to be papers a mid-level priest had brought—they looked like a higher-level exam than the doctrine interpretation test we took.

1. For such matters, just say they'll be communicated after internal review.

2. Act ASAP and agilely.

3. No, I said BCC, not CC—why can't you understand?

'Is this the exam for advancing from lower priest to mid-level priest?'

It was far too easy for me.

Since I was bored anyway, I took a blank piece of paper beside me and wrote down my interpretations with a pen.

1. For such matters, just say they'll be communicated after internal review.

   -> Just ignore this matter.

"After internal review" or "after internal discussion"—these were just meaningless phrases in trash companies.

2. Act ASAP and agilely.

   -> Act as quickly as possible.

"ASAP" and "agile" were startup terms. "ASAP" meant "as soon as possible," and "agile" was just "agile."

They were terms commonly used in startups, but if they felt oddly out of place in this sentence, that wasn't just my imagination.

It was definitely just a boomer CEO trying to imitate startup jargon.

Now, the last remaining one was number 3...

3. No, I said BCC, not CC—why can't you understand?

   -> I said blind carbon copy, not carbon copy.

This was email terminology. CC meant "carbon copy," visible to the recipient; BCC meant "blind carbon copy," hidden from the recipient.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah!"

A voice came from beside me, and I jumped up from my seat.

Several mid-level priests were standing there, looking at me.

"That looks like a mid-level priest's document."

One of the mid-level priests, seeing the mark on the paper, frowned.

"Did you dare to view an unauthorized document?"

"I'm sorry..."

Damn, should I ask Aria for help? No, Aria would definitely throw me under the bus.

Just as I was in trouble, one of the mid-level priests snatched the paper from my hand.

"Wait, this is..."

"What is it?"

Their expressions changed as they examined the interpretations I'd written.

"The interpretation for number 1 is quite accurate. But numbers 2 and 3..."

"This is content that hasn't been interpreted yet."

"Yes, that's what we were researching..."

"If this is the meaning, it fits perfectly in the context of the scripture, doesn't it?"

They suddenly looked at me with excited eyes.

"Hey, do you have a talent for linguistics?"

"Linguistics? Um..."

I should answer yes here. That would be the natural thing to do.

It seemed the content I'd deciphered was something not yet uncovered in this world.

"Yes, I think I have a talent for linguistics. I've been interested in it since I was young."

"Wait, we need to review this."

"Wait here."

The mid-level priests whispered among themselves, then left me behind and walked away.

After that, even after the other intern priests' exams ended, I had to wait in the hallway for over an hour.

And then...

"Hey, come here right now!"

"It's a perfect interpretation!"

"If you have a talent for linguistics, you should have said so earlier!"

The mid-level priests exclaimed in unison.

"High Priestess Aria wants to see you, so hurry up and go!"

Oh?

---

"Heheh, I do have an eye for talent, don't I?"

Aria, having me seated before her, praised herself for the achievement I'd made.

Having unexpectedly entered a High Priestess's private office as an intern priest, I awkwardly glanced around.

Aria stared at the deciphering notes I'd written for a long time.

"If you have a talent for linguistics, you should have said so earlier."

"Haha, I didn't know I could be of help... It's just a guess based on looking at the scripture, after all."

"But this might need some explanation. What exactly are 'blind carbon copy' and 'carbon copy'?"

3. No, I said BCC, not CC—why can't you understand?

   -> I said blind carbon copy, not carbon copy.

I explained this item.

"I thought that 'carbon copy' might be an act of sharing responsibility with others..."

"Oh."

"Simply put, 'CC' means 'someone else is watching, so answer properly. If things go wrong, this will be used as evidence to hold you accountable.'"

"That fits perfectly."

"With 'BCC,' it's the same—if things go wrong, you'll be held accountable, but you don't let the other party know someone is watching."

I secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

I thought this alone might seem suspicious since I couldn't clearly explain how I'd interpreted content not in the scripture—but perhaps because it was a breakthrough in an otherwise stuck interpretation, Aria seemed more pleased than suspicious.

"Good, good. I need to report this to the High Priest."

Aria looked at me with a satisfied gaze and spoke.

"Listen carefully. It'll probably take about a week..."

"Yes."

"You've rendered a service to the Temple, so you'll likely be promoted to lower priest."

What? I became a lower priest by deciphering Park Geo-seong's scripture?

It turned out Park Geo-seong was useful in my life after all...

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