Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System

Chapter 361: Chapter 77: Should Even a Candle That Illuminates the Darkness Not Be Lit?

Father Anderson smiled bitterly. "You could say that, My Lord. I just don’t know if this counts as perseverance or a cowardly compromise. The Holy Throne was hasty, yet his vision was grand. And all I can do... is this tiny little bit."

"Then, Father Anderson," Murphy’s voice echoed clearly in the simple room, "let’s talk about the path Pope Fuer II chose. He sought to use the supreme authority of the Church Court to impose reform from the top down, to redefine justice in the name of God, even at the cost of shaking the very foundations of the old order. In your opinion, was this path itself correct? Or, to put it another way, was it feasible?"

Father Anderson froze. He slowly raised his head, his normally gentle, gray-blue eyes now churning with incredibly complex emotions.

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he remained silent for a moment, as if carefully studying the legend from the Northern Territory before him, the man in the wheelchair, trying to see past his placid expression into the depths of his thoughts.

"Lord Melfield, forgive my boldness... but before I answer your question, perhaps I should first ask one of my own."

He paused, his gaze locked on Murphy. "I may be in the Glamorgan Territory, and while it is remote, I am not entirely cut off from the world. I have heard of your reputation: the Thunder Sword, Governor of the Monte Territory, the Holy Protector. Legend has it that you spent more than thirty years transforming a barren borderland in the Northern Territory into the prosperous and peaceful place it is today. You established a new order, enacted fair laws, and introduced new techniques for farming and craftsmanship, allowing your people to live and work in peace and contentment."

His voice rose, thick with long-suppressed excitement. "What you have done, at least within your own territory—is it not two different paths leading to the same destination that Pope Fuer II envisioned? Haven’t you also, within the scope of your power, established an order that is more just, more effective, and benefits the majority? His Holiness attempted reform from the lofty heights of the Holy Throne, while you put it into practice from the very foundation of a Baron’s Domain. The specific obstacles you each faced may differ, but your direction... surely it is the same, is it not?"

He took a small step forward, his gaze blazing. "This is why, when I first met you, My Lord, I showed you the portrait of His Holiness and told you that this was his Path. That being the case, My Lord, why do you ask me whether his Path was correct or feasible? Is your own Monte Territory not, in a sense, the answer?"

Count Raymond’s emotions surged as he listened from the side. He glanced from the Priest to Murphy, his expression full of anticipation, as if hoping to hear this Legend affirm the Pope’s path. Such a confirmation would be the most powerful inspiration for his own beliefs.

Murphy met Father Anderson’s blazing gaze.

"Father, you see the ’fruit’ of the Monte Territory, but you may not have fully seen the ’cause,’ nor the unique conditions that allowed this fruit to be borne."

"Let us set aside the Monte Territory for the moment. Let us return to Pope Fuer II, to the path you believe in—one of ’bestowing grace and justice from the top down, in the name of God.’"

"Father, you serve Oriane. You should understand the human heart better than I do. Every heart is different, and their desires are even more so."

"A farmer desires favorable weather and light taxes. An artisan desires a steady stream of orders and respect for his craft. A merchant desires unobstructed passage and tenfold profits. A nobleman desires a stable domain and ever-increasing authority. And for a man of the cloth such as yourself, the desire is perhaps the salvation of souls and the spread of the faith."

"The Pope’s reforms were intended to be a blessing to all, but the very blessings these people hope for are often in conflict with one another."

"Lowering a farmer’s taxes might cut into a nobleman’s profits. Regulating a merchant’s trade might be seen as hindering freedom. Expanding the Church’s relief efforts might be viewed by secular lords as an erosion of their power."

"When His Holiness attempts to distribute his blessings equally, how does he reconcile these disparate, even contradictory, desires? This ’justice’ promised in the name of God—when faced with a tenant farmer’s desire for land ownership and a lord’s insistence on traditional rights, how exactly is it to be defined?"

"Is it a universal measuring stick for all desires, or does it ultimately become... just another standard hijacked by the desires of one faction or another?"

"The more profound issue is that human desire is like a deep valley—not only does it take many forms, but it is impossible to fill. Today, you act in God’s name, promising them a fairer share and providing them with aid. They might weep with gratitude and see you as the light."

"But what about tomorrow? When that grace becomes routine, when their expectations rise in step with the possibilities you have shown them, and when one day, due to natural disaster, human calamity, or any other reason, you can no longer provide—and may even need them to make a temporary sacrifice..."

Murphy paused, his gaze landing on the Priest’s face as if it had physical weight. "What will happen then? Will the very people who once saw you as their savior sympathize with your plight and weather the storm with you? Or, because they did not receive what they felt they were ’owed,’ because the ’God-promised’ justice has once again slipped from their grasp, will they harbor a resentment far more blazing and dangerous than before?"

...

「Meanwhile, in the distant north, at Monte Castle.」

The investigation and purification ceremony, personally presided over by Archbishop John of the Crescent District, had concluded two days prior.

The entire process was solemn and reverent, conducted in accordance with all sacred rites.

In the end, the Archbishop announced that Sir Carl Heinrich was confirmed to have tragically died in an assault by a wandering Evil Power, a most unfortunate event.