Chapter 856

【 I-IT’S YOU?! 】

After leaving the Eternal Church, Frank led his personal guard to the slums to pay a visit to John, the rumored Saint of the Goddess of Life.

Saint John seemed to be quite famous in the area. Whenever Frank asked anyone where he could find him, they would immediately show a respectful expression and eagerly point him in the right direction.

This made him even more curious about John.

Frank was not unfamiliar with the Church of Life. During the campaign to eliminate the demons entrenched in the southern territories, he had often fought alongside the elves who worshipped the Goddess of Life.

Those elves were quite different from the descriptions he had read about in books throughout his life. They were fearless and courageous, passionate about combat and adventure, and seemingly natural-born warriors.

However, although they were highly warlike, they unexpectedly possessed warm and kind hearts.

Frank often saw them enthusiastically helping commoners, and they were exceptionally friendly toward the mercenaries who fought alongside them. There was none of the arrogance and aloofness he had originally associated with the elves described in the books.

Because of this, combined with the various rumors surrounding the Maple Moon Free State, Frank had become deeply curious about the Church of Life and had naturally developed a strong favorable impression of it.

He had even specifically asked an elf for a copy of the Codex of Life and read through some of its teachings. Although he had not yet embraced the faith himself, many of the ideas contained within the scripture had left a lasting impression on him.

Of course, having a favorable impression was one thing, while politics was another.

Even though he was very curious about the Church of Life, Frank had always kept the two matters clearly separated.

He had always believed that if he wanted to change everything, he still had to start with the Eternal Church, which was deeply rooted in human society.

However, after his attempt to visit Saint Adam was rejected, combined with everything he had witnessed along the way, the Eternal Church’s inaction, its collusion with the corrupt nobles, and so on, a trace of doubt finally appeared in his heart.

Even Saint Adam no longer seemed to care about commoners and would only receive nobles as guests. Frank truly did not know whether the Eternal Church, which had once represented light and justice, could still bring hope to the people…

With a somewhat dejected mood, Frank arrived at the slums under the guidance of his guide.

However, the moment he entered the slums, he was immediately stunned.

Frank had been to plenty of slums before.

And in his impression, slums were always synonymous with filth and disorder.

The stench was overwhelming, there was no order whatsoever, people’s eyes were empty, and its residents clothes were tattered…

Yet the scene before him was completely beyond his expectations.

“Is this really a slum district?”

Looking at the renovated buildings before him and the clean, orderly streets that had clearly been well maintained, Frank could not help asking.

“Sir Knight, this is indeed Larona’s slums.”

The guide replied proudly.

“Lies! We are not nobles who have never seen a slum before. You might be able to pass this off as a commoners’ district in the inner city, but how could this possibly be a slum when it is this clean?”

His personal guard Roland frowned and spoke displeasedly.

“No… Sir Knight, Larona’s slums weren’t like this a few months ago. This is all thanks to Lord John and his elven friends…”

The guide hurriedly explained.

“John? Elves?”

Frank raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. Lord John said that change must begin with ourselves and with the small things around us, one step at a time. Just as it says in the first chapter of the Codex of Life, Life, Rights, and Struggle: ‘If we cannot even sweep our own house, then how can we hope to sweep away the troubles of the world?’”

“If we cannot even change the environment we live in, how can we talk about changing the world? How can we pursue hope?”

“Opportunities always belong to those who are prepared. Light and hope will not come on their own. We must take action and pursue them through our own will…”

“And the first thing we must do is change our state of mind! We must allow our lives to regain their vitality and vigor!”

“That is why… Lord John led everyone in renovating the area…”

“Oh… We also have to thank the elves for this. I heard that many of them are admirers of Lord John. They follow Lord John, spread the teachings of the Goddess of Life, and it was they who, under Lord John’s direction, used their miraculous magic to improve everyone’s living conditions.”

Seeing the guide’s expression, Frank could not help but ask:

“Are you also a believer of the Goddess of Life?”

The guide nodded and answered proudly:

“To answer you, Sir Knight, yes, I actually became a believer of the Goddess of Life on the very first day Lord John arrived here in Larona. Not only that, my entire family has also become followers of the Church of Life!”

Hearing this, Frank’s heart stirred.

“You’re a resident of this slum as well?”

“Yes.”

The guide nodded.

Frank’s expression changed completely.

Now, he was genuinely astonished.

If he remembered correctly, the vast majority of slum residents had always lived in a dazed and hopeless state. They were people forgotten by the city and the nobility, and their status was barely any higher than that of slaves in the black market.

They had no hope and no future. At any moment, they could be killed by guards venting their frustrations or by passing bandits. They could also become caught up in gang conflicts and die without even knowing why…

Even Frank had never held much hope for them.

He knew that the Empire was sick.

So if he wanted to overthrow this decaying country, he would need the support of the people.

However, when he spoke of the people he considered worth relying upon, he was actually referring to commoners who had received at least some degree of education…

This brought up an important point.

Although the World of Seiguës was roughly comparable to Earth’s late medieval period, the existence of magic meant that the dissemination of knowledge and literacy rates in this world were far higher than those of Earth during a similar period.

Of course, knowledge concerning supernatural powers such as magic and martial arts remained largely inaccessible to ordinary people.

Commoners who had received basic education accounted for roughly one-fifth of the Empire’s population.

One-fifth might not sound like much, but the composition of this group was extremely important.

They were primarily prosperous free citizens, merchants, wealthy farmers, and various Supernatural Experts.

The latter were particularly important, as the vast majority of low-ranking Experts throughout the Empire were commoners, and these low-ranking Experts accounted for more than eighty percent of all people with supernatural powers.

In other words, low-ranking Experts were the foundation of supernatural power, while the commoner class was the foundation of low-ranking Experts.

At present, as the mana capacity of Seiguës continued to rise and Experts across the world entered a period of explosive growth, this was the social class experiencing the most obvious changes in strength.

In Frank’s view, if this force could be united, then anyone who could managed to do so would surely possess the power to shake the rule of the nobility.

On the other hand, he had little confidence in the poor and slum residents who made up nearly eighty percent of the Empire’s population.

They had received almost no education, and Experts were rarely born among them.

Their physiques were generally weak due to malnutrition. Even if a slum resident possessed hidden talents, it was extremely difficult for them to awaken their supernatural powers through their own efforts despite the ongoing resurgence of mana in this era.

Moreover, because their mental strength was often weak, the quality of their faith was generally low as well. Even the Eternal Church had gradually begun to neglect them as its influence continued to grow.

In this supernatural world, they were the weakest people at the very bottom of society.

Yet the guide standing before Frank was completely different.

Although his clothes were covered in patches, they looked as though they had been washed perfectly clean. His eyes were also bright and full of life, completely lacking the dullness and despair Frank had come to associate with the residents of the slums.

Sure, the guy was somewhat thin, but his entire demeanor was sunny and spirited, completely different from the typical slum resident Frank knew…

Were all of these changes really accomplished by that Lord John?

Was this what the Church of Life had brought?

And all of this had happened in less than three months?

Frank’s gaze changed.

As though he had suddenly realized something, he hurriedly raised his head and looked around the vicinity, searching for the locals who lived in this area.

And when the residents of this slum came into view, what he saw were faces just like the guide’s, faces filled with hope and light.

Their eyes shone brightly, as though they had finally found something worth looking forward to.

Not only that, Frank was even shocked to see that there were quite a number of Experts among them!

Their strength was not particularly high, and judging from their aura, they seemed to have only awakened their powers recently.

But even so, this was already extremely astonishing.

After all, this was a slum, the very place in the entire human society where Supernatural Experts were least likely to emerge. Even slaves kept by nobles had a far greater chance of becoming one!

Clean streets, residents with smiles and hope on their faces, and one newly awakened Expert after another…

If such a scene had appeared in a commoners’ district in the inner city, Frank would not have been surprised like this at all.

—But this was a slum in the outer city!

Or rather… a slum in the true sense of the word!

And these changes had most likely taken less than three months!

Three months!

Only three months!

What could mere three months accomplish?

Three months was only enough for nobles to make a single tour of their territories.

Three months was only enough for nobles to hold a single grand banquet.

For ordinary people, three months was barely enough time to recover from a serious illness or slowly rebuild their lives after a disaster.

Yet in just three months, the slum before him had undergone a complete transformation…

It was practically a miracle!

Frank stood there silently, unable to take his eyes away from the scene before him.

The more he looked, the more difficult it became for him to reconcile what he was seeing with everything he had previously believed about the poor.

Frank opened his mouth slightly, his expression filled with emotion.

An indescribable sense of shock rose within his heart.

At this moment, he suddenly felt that he might have missed many things while he had been fighting demons in the southern territories.

At this moment, he also suddenly realized that perhaps his understanding of the Maple Moon Free State had been somewhat mistaken…

Most of those who had fled to the Maple Moon Territory were citizens who had been displaced by the war.

As for the slum residents, they did not have enough money to pay for passage aboard merchant ships.

Therefore, Frank had always believed that the government of Maple Moon had relied on the commoner class that had migrated there to grow stronger as a result…

But now, he realized that he might have been wrong all this time.

The vast number of slum residents whom he had previously disregarded… seemed to contain a powerful force of their own.

A sudden impulse welled up in Frank’s heart.

He wanted to meet Saint John as soon as possible. He wanted to know how he had accomplished all of this.

How had he managed to transform a place that had once been filled with poverty, despair, and disorder into what stood before him now?

How had he given these people hope, dignity, and even the opportunity to awaken supernatural powers?

Frank wanted to know.

He wanted to understand what kind of power the Church of Life possessed that could bring about such a transformation in such a short period of time.

Taking a deep breath, he dismounted his horse and walked further into the slums.

It was not difficult to find where John was.

When Frank was led before him by the guide, John was inside a makeshift clinic, using what appeared to be some sort of divine magic granted by the Goddess of Life to treat the poor’s injuries and illnesses free of charge.

He wore a sacred white robe, and a faint radiance surrounded his body, giving him a peaceful and warm presence.

He was not particularly tall and was even somewhat thin, but he stood perfectly straight. His small frame seemed to contain an immense amount of strength, as though his seemingly ordinary body concealed an extraordinary will.

Frank could not determine his exact age, but he should have been a middle-aged man under forty.

Yet despite being under forty, John gave off a sense of having experienced the vicissitudes of many years. There was a calmness and maturity in his demeanor that seemed far beyond his actual age…

There was also something worth mentioning. For some reason, the moment Frank saw him, he felt that this famed Saint John looked extremely familiar, as though he had seen him somewhere before.

But he was certain that he had never met anyone with such an extraordinary bearing!

At the same time, Frank finally realized that the Eternal Church… was truly beyond saving.

On one hand, the Saint of the Eternal Lord remained secluded inside a temple under the pretext of living in seclusion, refusing to see anyone other than nobles.

On the other hand, the Saint of the Church of Life could walk among the common people, personally treating the poor and even freely teaching them knowledge while giving them hope for the future…

The difference between the two was immediately apparent.

If this was how their respective Saints behaved, then what does this tell about the Churches as a whole?

At this moment, Frank thought of many, many things…

“Those who distance themselves from the people will ultimately be abandoned by the people; those who turn their backs on the times will ultimately be cast aside by the times…”

For some reason, this sentence suddenly surfaced in Frank’s mind.

It was a passage he had seen while reading the Codex of Life.

At the time, it had not made much of an impression on him. He had simply regarded it as another philosophical teaching contained within the holy scripture, without giving it much thought.

But now, as he looked at John’s focused gaze and the respectful eyes of the poor gathered around him, Frank suddenly felt… that he understood some deeper truths about life.

“Lord John, pardon for the intrusion but there is a knight here who wishes to see you!”

The guide called out to John, who was busy treating the patients.

Hearing the call, John finished casting the final healing spell and slowly raised his head to look at their direction.

Instantly at that moment, Frank felt as though a pair of radiant all-seeing eyes had turned toward him.

For some inexplicable reason, his heart tightened. Even though he had met many important figures before, he still felt a trace of unease at this moment.

He straightened his body, placed his right hand over his chest, slowly bowed, and performed a standard knight’s salute.

“Greetings. I am Frank, leader of the Dawn Mercenary Group. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord John.”

Hearing Frank’s words, a trace of surprise appeared in John’s eyes. Gradually, that surprise transformed into delight akin to meeting an old acquaintance.

“Sir Frank? Is that really you? What brings you here?”

As he spoke, John looked Frank up and down before sighing in admiration.

“It has only been a few months, but you seem even more stronger than before.”

Frank was slightly stunned.

A puzzled expression appeared on his face.

“Lord John, have we… met before?”

“Hm? Have you perhaps forgotten about me?”

This time, it was John’s turn to be surprised.

Then he smiled gently and said:

“Sir Frank, we met a few months ago at the gold mine outside Luke City. At that time, I had not yet received Her Divine Grace’s blessing…”

Luke City?

The gold mine?

Frank was bewildered.

He carefully examined John once more, trying to recognize something from his appearance, while John simply continued smiling and allowed him to examine him.

Slowly, the gates of his memory opened.

Gradually, the middle-aged man bathed in holy light before him overlapped with a certain figure in Frank’s memories…

“Wait… I-it’s you? Ol… Old John?!”

Frank’s eyes widened.

Unable to contain his shock any longer, he blurted out in disbelief.

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