The congregation went about their business as usual. A man made his way to the altar, speaking with Reverend Friedrich about his role. Small groups of the congregation began to form, talking among themselves about their lives. Some prayed, others read their Bible, but no one left.

“Missus Julia,” Sam said, smiling, Leon following closely behind. “It’s been a while since we’ve talked. I guess neither of us’ve had the time.”

“It has,” she replied. “Everything has been so busy since November 8th. You look well, however; I’m happy for you. Have you been completing your role?”

“We can talk about that later,” he replied, his eyes widening as he nodded slightly at Leon, who didn’t seem to notice. “I actually wanted to introduce ya to Leon here. Ya know how these new members are, wantin’ to learn more about the Church and all.”

Krause smiled at Leon. “Of course. Do you have any questions about our Church?”

Sam greeted Gloria, sitting down next to her and beginning a conversation. Krause held out her hand, and Leon shook it. “I think I understand the basics; Sam told me all about the Great Tribulation and the End of Days, though I still get them confused sometimes. Similarly depressing names, you know? Anyways, I don’t really know what to ask. I’m just here to get a feel for everything. Oh, wait, I do have a question. What are these roles and tasks you keep talking about?”

“Our roles within the Church are important tasks we must fulfill to prevent the End of Days. Each of us have different roles, each one specifically tailored to the person performing it.”

“And when do I get a role?”

Krause frowned. “I assume you will get a role once you officially join the Church.”

“Does everyone here have a role?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“That’s strange. Guess I’ll find out later, after I officially join. There’s not a lot of people here, though. Why is that?”

“I’m sure you understand that the Church must remain secretive to protect those involved.”

“Huh. Sam wasn’t being very secretive about it.”

“Hey,” Sam said, pausing his conversation with Gloria. “I think I can tell who I can trust.”

Leon laughed. “You told me about the Church the second time we met! Must be able to tell pretty quickly, huh?”

“You have a trustworthy… face.”

“Aww, thanks! I think you’re the first person to tell me that. Thank you so much Sam. But back to the main topic. I had assumed that the Church would be fairly large. Sam told me all about the Horb branch, how there were at least twenty members there, and that was a tiny farming village! There’s way too many people in Stuttgart for there to only be twenty Church members.”

Krause replied, “Like I said, we must keep a low profile to avoid being detected by the Army. If they found out what we are doing, then—”

“What are you doing?”

Krause chuckled. “You’re a curious one, aren’t you?”

Leon laughed. “That’s just my nature. Probably why I’m so open to joining the Church. Others have called it a cult, you know.”

“Exactly my point.”

“Then why recruit me?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call you a ‘recruit.’”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Sam is a sociable person, and… not particularly cautious. He probably thought it would be a good topic of conversation. Where did you two meet?”

“When I first met him, it was outside of my living quarters. We talked for a while, then he invited me out to get a drink. I declined, since I had work to do, but when I saw him a few days later, I agreed. That’s when he told me about the Church, and invited me to join.”

“What do you do for work? You said you worked for the Empire, studying the Beans, but that can’t be true, can it? There aren’t any Beans in Stuttgart.”

“You’re right, we don’t have any Beans, but we do have a lot of information about them. Reports from the attacks, sightings over the winter. We have enough to piece together how they work, but it’s still pretty difficult.”

“And your work made you curious about the Beans?”

“Of course it did!”

“Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? They’re beans, they’re moving beans. The people that call the Church of the Beanmeister a cult may not think they were sent by God, but they sure as heck aren’t anything I’ve seen before! I have an extensive history with animals, so I know what’s natural and what’s not, and from everything I’ve heard about the Beans, they are not natural.”

“I guess I never thought about it that way.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ve been in the Church for a long time. I guess I’ve grown accustomed to the absurdity of the situation.”

“I hope I can get as used to all of this as you have!” Leon said, looking around. “This is all still a little crazy to me, but in a good way. Anyways, it’s getting late, so I should be going. I don’t want my coworkers to start wondering about where I am. That would be a little awkward to explain!”

“May the Beanmeister bless you. Have a safe trip back.”

“Will do! Same time next Wednesday?” Leon asked, already making his way to the exit.

From the pew, Sam said “I’ll get you! Can’t be too cautious.”

“See you, Sam!” Leon called as he left the Church.

Krause turned to Sam, smirking. “There’s no way he’s who you were supposed to get.”

Sam laughed. “He wasn’t, but hey, he’s close enough! I was supposed to get some cute blonde that wears her hair in a lil bun on the top of her head. But she wasn’t interested, she ignored me every time I tried to talk to her. Leon, though, he just started talking and didn’t stop. Told me a lot of useful stuff too. Reverend Friedrich was happy to hear what I had learned.”

“He seems an interesting character, to say the least,” Gloria said. “I do not think we should trust him, however.”

“I like him,” Sam said.

“Were you being serious when you said he had a trustworthy face?” Krause asked.

“I mean, he kinda does.”

“That smirk was anything but trustworthy,” Krause said.

“For once, I agree with you,” Gloria replied.