Chapter 62: The Power to Make Laws

“An evil organization’s base? I don’t remember any unofficial groups in the Duchy of Nohan that local Lords couldn’t handle.” George crossed his arms over his chest.

Priest Gavin’s expression became somewhat heavy: “If we fight a Lord head-on, of course, no organization can take root completely within a Territory. However, it is very easy to do underground activities to infiltrate and trick some ignorant commoners. Usually, they just want to squeeze money out of people. There are so many villages in a Territory, and if the officials are not careful, those guys can get out of control. But this time is different from usual. It seems that Devil worshippers are mixed in. It is said that dozens of people have already died, so it is no wonder the other side is nervous.”

‘Do I really have to say this is a time of trouble? Now even Devil worshippers are showing up. I used to only hear about such things in the stories of Bards. How did they suddenly appear in the Duchy? Could it be that the situation in the Kingdoms of Lucia and Cruz gave them a chance to stir up trouble? If that is really the case, the information sources of those cultists must be much more reliable than ours.’ After the initial shock, George immediately started thinking, ‘Luckily, we implemented the background check system for foreign residents and increased the number of civil servants managing affairs. Plus, with four years of constant surveillance and suppression of private gatherings within the Territory, this kind of trouble finally didn’t fall on us.’

“A sacrifice of dozens of people should have created at least one or two Gray Rock experts with spell-like abilities. But even so, a Viscount’s Territory shouldn’t be unable to handle such a small matter.” George asked with some confusion.

Priest Gavin explained the mystery to George: “The three leaders of the cultists were killed, two of them. But one felt the wind was changing and ran away early. It is hard to say if there are still any cultists hidden in the Territory. They probably hope the Temple will send people over to identify them. This is our strong point as the Temple of the Lord of Justice! As for anything else, that is not something I can know.”

“So why did you bring up legal consultation matters before?” Knowing Priest Gavin’s personality, George teased him a bit without any anger.

Priest Gavin laughed it off: “Isn’t that just a professional habit? After all, this counts as one of our Temple’s main business and principles. Anyway, anyone coming to our Temple for business has something to do with these two things, so mentioning it is never wrong.”

George thought it was indeed so. ‘Priest Gavin is really right! Yesterday’s bounty reward was related to both legal matters and fighting evil creatures. Like the previous contract business, it was also related to the law.’

“Say, won’t leaking the news about Viscount Brent to you have any bad effects on yourself!” George asked with some worry.

Priest Gavin waved his hand and said: “How could that be? Do I look like someone who doesn’t know the difference between important and unimportant things? With this bit of news, if you send someone to visit Viscount Brent, you can definitely find out about eight or nine parts of it. I would never tell a real secret even if they beat me to death. Besides, even if there were secrets about this matter today, I wouldn’t know them either. And other matters can never compare to the business in your Territory.”

“But even if the deal is made, it will take some time to prepare for the formal establishment of the Court. Even ignoring the tedious legal improvement work later on, we won’t be able to start accepting cases until next spring.” Seeing the other party was too enthusiastic, George had to pour some cold water on him to make him wake up.

Suddenly, Priest Gavin became a bit uneasy. He asked with a tentative tone: “To be honest, can you give me a hint? Can our Temple also participate in the legal improvement work? Of course, all articles must be approved by you before they can be promulgated. I think it shouldn’t have any bad effect on you, right?”

‘If it is just a proposal or a planning suggestion, it shouldn’t affect the power to make laws. Kings, Lords, or Governors make temporary or permanent laws and amend or abolish existing laws. This is the foundation of the original power to make laws. It is just that the people involved in the revision will inevitably mix their own time views into the laws they handle. Although there will not be any big mistakes because of my final check, the tone of the law will still be stamped with their marks to some extent.’ George instinctively wanted to refuse this request.

However, to avoid making the relationship too stiff and affecting future cooperation, George still asked, “If it is about the Temple, forget it. Why are you so enthusiastic about this matter personally?”

“Because I was the one who initiated this cooperation on the Temple’s side. If there is legal revision and improvement work, I will definitely be able to participate. For the Clergy of our Temple of the Lord of Justice, participating in the construction, revision, and improvement of new laws can almost be said to be the best way to understand and practice our Dogma.” Priest Gavin first explained the benefits he might get, and then explained the key points to George, “In short, a perfect and just law itself can not only spread the name of our Lord, but more importantly, it can strengthen and perfect our Lord’s clergy to a certain extent. For the Clergy participating, this is not only a process of self-improvement but also makes it easier to gain the attention of God and even Divine Grace.”

“Hiss—” George took a sharp breath. ‘I only remembered that law is the embodiment of the ruling class’s will. I didn’t expect that in a world with True Gods, almost everything is somehow connected to God. Will my previous series of reforms intersect with gods like the War God or the Noble God? But since my little doings should not involve the Clergy of those gods, it shouldn’t make those high-up gods pay attention. If they did, they would have sent people already. Don’t scare yourself again. The world will be normal without me. Don’t think you are too important.’

After comforting himself and dispelling some doubts, George looked up at Priest Gavin. The other party looked at George with hopeful eyes, making George shiver several times in a row, making his heart feel a bit creepy. But since the other party had such a reason, George could not simply reject them all. ‘Plus, the Temple of the Lord of Justice belongs to the core force of the Lawful Good alignment. It shouldn’t have legal clauses that are so high above the water that they make heaven angry and people resentful. Besides, the final decision still rests with me. I will just not adopt any clauses that are unfavorable to rule.’

After weighing the pros and cons, George had a clear idea in his mind about the final plan. He spoke up: “I think we should decide on this matter after I meet with your High Priest. We haven’t even settled the cooperation details yet. Why are you already thinking about this? Don’t you think it is too early?”

“That’s right, I was too eager on this side. Everything needs to wait until you and the High Priest set the tone of the matter before we discuss it in detail.” Priest Gavin also felt that on this matter, he seemed to have acted far beyond his current status. George actually understood this very well, after all, this was related to the other party’s future prospects. At this time, few people could remain calm.

To relieve the somewhat oppressive atmosphere after this conversation, George changed the subject: “Why is the receptionist I met at the Temple gate today different from yesterday’s one!”

“I think you should know that the receptionists in front of the Temple are mostly chosen from our Lord’s devout believers. Because they are volunteers, basically, different people take turns every day.” Priest Gavin thought George was pretending to be stupid, but knowing he should ease the atmosphere, he pretended to explain to George, “However, in the Inner City, it is impossible for the Temple to be staffed by ordinary Commoners like the Temples in the Outer District. They find it very hard to pass the check at the city gate. So, most of the people here are servants from Noble families who believe in our Lord. Therefore, relatively speaking, the changes in the receptionists here are less.”

After hearing Priest Gavin’s explanation, George had a new question: “If what you say is true, those people should all be ordinary believers. But the little girl today seemed to be a trainee Clergy!”

Priest Gavin smiled and explained: “Are you talking about little Annie? She is indeed a servant training in our Temple. From my introduction just now, you should understand that the sources of believers responsible for reception in this Inner City Temple are very few. If we happen to have everyone busy, we can only let those trainee servants take up the burden. Luckily, this doesn’t happen often, so it doesn’t affect normal training. But how did you know she is a servant? I think it is not that easy to tell.”

“Haha! Haha!” George picked up his cup and laughed awkwardly: “I just casually said, ‘Hope you become a formal servant of the Lord of Justice soon.’ I didn’t expect the other party’s reaction to be so intense. Doesn’t this make her identity clear?”

“Annie is indeed a good servant. If we just talk about ordinary Clergy, her talent is not outstanding, but it is quite good. However, in our Temple of the Lord of Justice, the memory and interpretation of legal documents is the main part of the assessment.” Seeing George looked ignorant, Priest Gavin made a further explanation, “Although rumors outside say that all Priests in our Temple are Paladins, there is actually a group of pure ordinary Priests. Not everyone has the talent to be a Paladin. So, although this is considered important in the Temple, it is not really that important. But legal documents are the key cornerstone. If she cannot pass this part, she cannot become a formal Priest. I think she must be very troubled right now.”