Episode 71
“I just can’t wrap my head around it.”
“Exactly. Why is this happening in the middle of a meeting…?”
“If he wants to prove he’s a prophet, why not just show us? Why call us separately?”
“Maybe he’s trying to deceive us with his sly tongue, to sow discord among us.”
The scholars of Judaism and Islam, summoned by Marshall, waited their turn with mocking smiles on their faces.
Even though there were only about ten of them, the one-on-one meetings were taking longer than expected.
Rabbi Eliyahu, who had been openly displeased from the start, clicked his tongue in frustration.
“This is ridiculous. What nonsense in the middle of an important meeting…”
“Indeed.”
Eliyahu turned to the Islamic scholar beside him.
“Do you have any idea why, Ahmad?”
Though they weren’t close, he knew the man’s name well enough. He was a disciple of the famous Ibn Rushd. Ibn Ahmad shook his head.
“Not a clue. But someone should be coming out soon, right?”
As if on cue, the heavy door swung open, and the first Jewish rabbi emerged.
“Oh! Finally. What did that charlatan say?”
Unlike when he went in, Shlomo Yosef’s face was ashen, and his hands trembled as he shook his head.
“Uh… uh…”
“What’s wrong? What did he say? Did he threaten you?”
“Threaten? Absolutely not! Don’t jump to conclusions!”
Shlomo’s panicked shout made Eliyahu and Ahmad instinctively step back.
“Why such an overreaction? We just asked what he said.”
“You’ll understand once you go in. Excuse me.”
With that, Shlomo hurriedly left, his head hung low.
There was something strange in the way he looked at them—a mix of emotions that was hard to decipher. It seemed like a blend of camaraderie, pity, and perhaps even disgust.
Logically, it couldn’t be what it seemed, but they’d find out soon enough.
Eliyahu, now slightly tense, followed the voice calling him inside.
Once inside, Eliyahu instinctively glanced around, but as expected, only Marshall was there.
“Why did you call us here, interrupting such an important meeting? And what did you say to Shlomo to scare him like that?”
“Scared, was he?”
“He looked half out of his mind! He’s not the type to be rattled so easily. What did you say?”
“Perhaps his conscience was pricked.”
“Conscience?”
Marshall sighed deeply, his gaze fixed on Eliyahu.
“What do you think of this Jerusalem Council, Rabbi?”
“What do you mean…?”
“This meeting is of great importance, even in the eyes of God. We were careful in selecting participants. But it seems there were oversights. No matter how thorough the investigation, human efforts have limits.”
“What are you implying…?”
Is he suggesting that those summoned here are unworthy? This is blatant intimidation.
Shlomo might have been weak enough to fall for such cheap talk, but not him. He prided himself on living a life without shame…
“I hear you’ve committed adultery.”
”…?”
No one should know that. Eliyahu’s mind raced with a thousand thoughts.
‘How could he know? Was there a witness? If so, I would’ve been ruined long ago… Is there a traitor? But why would they contact someone from Europe?’
The only explanation was that he was making a wild guess based on the Ten Commandments.
“Where did you hear such baseless accusations? This is an intolerable insult! I will formally protest to the Christian side!”
“That’s what they all say.”
“Because it’s not true!”
As Eliyahu raised his voice, he suddenly recalled Shlomo’s trembling exit. Could he have heard something similar?
“Eliyahu, you can deceive people, but the One above sees everything. You know this, don’t you?”
Marshall continued, pointing skyward with a calm voice.
“Adultery with a disciple’s wife, and then causing his death to silence him… Are you even human?”
“W-what!”
No one should have known. How could he possibly know?
Eliyahu’s face turned pale, his lips quivering uncontrollably.
This wasn’t a lucky guess.
Eliyahu had indeed had an affair with his disciple’s wife. To keep it secret, he had informed radical Islamic factions of the disciple’s whereabouts, leading to an attack.
The disciple’s wife, devastated, became his, and she was now pregnant.
He had taken every precaution to ensure his involvement was never discovered. The child was to be seen as the late disciple’s, and he, the benevolent mentor caring for them.
But now, his darkest secret was exposed, and Eliyahu trembled uncontrollably.
“This reminds me of a biblical story. King David sent a loyal soldier to his death to take his wife, Bathsheba. God sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke him. History does repeat itself, it seems.”
“I… I’m not…”
“Your reaction is eerily similar to the others. You wondered what I said to frighten them. Now you know.”
“Could it be… that the Lord truly…?”
Eliyahu realized his reaction mirrored Shlomo’s earlier.
And he understood.
Shlomo wasn’t just afraid of Marshall discovering his secret.
He was terrified because he realized that God, the omnipotent Yahweh, knew all his sins.
“Are all those summoned here…?”
“Yes. Those unworthy of participating in this sacred meeting. Their names and sins were revealed to me. Each sin is different, but the previous one was worse.”
The possibility that Marshall had uncovered their secrets through some vast network of information was… impossible.
Unless Edward Marshall wielded immense power in the Islamic world, which he didn’t. He had only recently arrived from Europe.
To have uncovered the secrets of ten people, secrets so well-guarded that exposure would mean ruin…
With his spirit broken, Eliyahu bowed his head and wept.
“I… I couldn’t resist my desires! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!”
His prayer of repentance was directed not at Marshall, but at the God above.
Marshall watched silently, clicking his tongue softly and waving his hand dismissively.
“Is saying sorry enough after causing a death? If you truly wish to repent, you know how you must act from now on, don’t you?”
“But if I acknowledge you as a true prophet, I can’t guarantee my life…”
“Eliyahu, you scoundrel! You dare prioritize your safety over the Lord’s will after breaking the Ten Commandments?”
Marshall’s previously gentle tone vanished as he stood and pointed directly at Eliyahu, his voice booming.
Eliyahu’s mind went blank, and he fell to the floor, groveling and pressing his forehead to the ground.
“I’m sorry! I’ll follow! I’ll give up everything to follow the Lord’s will!”
“You’ve made the right choice. Those words were not mine but the Lord’s message to you.”
Marshall’s voice returned to its gentle tone as he helped Eliyahu to his feet, patting his shoulder.
Leaning on Marshall’s support, Eliyahu managed to stand, his hands still trembling as he opened the door to leave.
Outside, Ahmad asked the same chilling question.
“Finally, you’re out. What did he say?”
“Uh… uh…”
“Why are you acting like this too? What did he say? Did he really threaten you?”
“Threats? What nonsense are you talking about?”
Ah, so this is how Shlomo must have felt.
It was easy to imagine how he must have looked at those outside, which only made it more depressing.
Pretending to know nothing, yet realizing they were all guilty of similar sins.
Naturally, feelings of disgust would seep out.
”…You’ll understand once you go inside. I’ll take my leave now.”
Eliyahu, who couldn’t stand being there a moment longer, ignored the voices calling him and returned to the hall.
His steps still felt unsteady.
“Oh, God…”
He muttered the same words over and over, like someone who’d lost their mind.
About twenty minutes per person.
After roughly three hours, I returned to my seat.
The meeting had dragged on so long that we had no choice but to end the first day’s session, much to everyone’s discontent.
“How can you delay like this when we asked for evidence?”
“This is just stalling.”
“We can’t conduct a meeting like this!”
But then, as if on cue, those who had met with me began shouting at the top of their lungs.
“This man has done nothing wrong!”
“The Count of Auvergne… no, he is indeed a prophet sent by God!”
“Oh Allah, please forgive us!”
“Adonai! Elohim! Please forgive our sins! We didn’t know what we were doing!”
The reactions from the Jewish and Islamic sides, rather than the Christian, left everyone stunned.
“Have you all lost your minds? What on earth is happening…?”
“Ah! God is watching everything. Inshallah!”
“Oh Elohim, please!”
“Have these people truly gone mad?”
Eliyahu, Shlomo, Ahmad—all of them were terrified, yet they ignored the criticism around them, kneeling and praying to the heavens.
The hall turned into chaos, like a bustling marketplace, with the roar of voices echoing in my ears.
I sat back, savoring the sweet sound like an angel’s song.
Saladin’s gaze in my direction was quite a sight.
Ah, delightful!
There’s nothing as entertaining as sowing discord.