Tyranny of Steel

The next day arrived with Berengar having slept alone in the chambers he was provided; he desperately missed the warmth that Linde ’s body had provided him these last few months; as such, he had difficulty falling asleep. After all, he was accustomed to spooning with his lover during the night, so much so that something felt horribly wrong without it.

Berengar decided to make today one of his rest days and thus spent his morning lazing about in bed; it was not until eleven in the morning where he finally rose from his much-needed rest and got prepared to face the day. As a man who was accustomed to sleeping in until the break of dawn, he was pleased with the long sleep he had gotten, especially after considering how long it took him to fall asleep during the night prior.

After arising from his bed, Berengar opted to take a bath and was extremely disappointed by the primitive wooden tub with linen cover, which Adela ’s family had used; this was undesirable, to say the least. It reminded him of the painful days when he had first reincarnated into this alternate Earth. Needless to say, he made his bath as short as possible as there was simply no way he was going to enjoy himself in such a pitiful excuse for a tub.

Berengar spent the remainder of his free time getting caught up with Adela, who was deeply concerned about his ongoing conflict with the church; she herself had personally studied Ludolf ’s Manifesto and the teachings of Berengar ’s Reformation. Though she agreed with most points, she still felt that the Church was not nearly as corrupt as outlined in the paper. Especially now that Berengar was excommunicated and condemned as a heretic, she felt it necessary to discuss religion with him now more than ever.

”Berengar, I worry for your soul; the Pope has condemned you as a Heretic! Do you not worry about the afterlife? ’

Berengar merely smiled as he embraced Adela into a hug, he was glad that she was concerned for him, but the truth was he did not believe in such things; at most, he would be reincarnated again as he had already experienced. If not, he would become food for worms, as he had previously thought before his brief experience with death. As for the existence of heaven and hell, he was certain such things did not exist. Nevertheless, he did not admit to it and instead tried to comfort the girl with a similar message he had delivered to the Pope in the past.

”The Pope may have the authority to excommunicate me, however when I finally perish from this world and am set before the gates of heaven. Ultimately it is God, not the Pope, who shall determine whether I am worthy or not of entry to the Kingdom of Heaven. ”