Chapter 83: Explanation

Compared to Hiren, who was completely clueless, and Craig, who was totally confused, Mr. Val, who knew more about the world itself, made some guesses.

To make Hiren’s worry a thing of the past, he had to reveal at least a little something. However, George would not expose all his cards to others. He picked the parts that were relatively already exposed to talk about: “This is indeed an ability based on the Vow of Poverty, but the price is not paid by me.”

“The price is not paid by you? So that means His Highness made a move.” Knight Val thought for a moment and immediately understood the key point.

Although Mr. Val had pointed out the key point, Hiren and Craig, as outsiders, still could not understand due to their limited knowledge and experience. However, there was a difference between the two of them; if this were an anime, Craig, who was pretending to be cute and dumb, would currently have dizzy spiral eyes. And Hiren, who had basically recovered his true self due to the previous breakthrough, was of course much better off.

Of course, even though the seal on his rationality was unlocked, habits formed over so many years were not so easy to change. Asking when he didn’t understand was Hiren’s most direct approach, but unfortunately, in the past years, even when he asked questions, he completely ignored the atmosphere and occasion, causing quite a few jokes. But in the current situation, he should be able to distinguish the occasion, but unfortunately, the time had not yet come for him to truly understand.

Hiren lowered his right hand rubbing the back of his head and asked: “Dad, do you mean that although George used the Vow of Poverty, he doesn’t need to practice asceticism for a lifetime like others?”

“It shouldn’t be the true Vow of Poverty either! Otherwise, it would really create a lot of capable people. There is no way there wouldn’t be any news spreading by now. We will have to let George explain it himself.” Saying this, Knight Val winked at George.

Knight Val’s hint was very obvious: he wanted George to say some unimportant details or things that would definitely become known, just to satisfy the curiosity of the two little guys beside him.

George thought for a moment, ‘My ability is so similar to the Vow of Poverty that it will be exposed sooner or later. Instead of letting others guess wildly, I might as well confirm it as a simplified version of the Vow of Poverty. When someone uses this condition to target me later, I will surely give them a surprise. Although I feel a bit sorry for Hiren and Craig who are being used, this won’t have any bad effects on them.’ “Ahem! Ahem!” Having made his decision, George pretended to clear his throat and said: “This isn’t exactly the Vow of Poverty. Because the price is paid by someone else, I have no access to a series of abilities related to promoting goodness. So, it is no longer an ability that extremely restrains Evil targets like the Vow of Poverty. It is more like a common general enhancement effect.”

“But even so, the price the other party needs to pay is quite significant. George, you indeed have something amazing about you. There is no love without a reason in this world, and no hate without a reason. What I am curious about is what exactly you paid, George, to make His Highness take action.” Every question Knight Val asked hit the nail on the head, and at the same time, it didn’t touch on sensitive topics that would make George unable to refuse.

‘Anyway, this news can’t be hidden for long. After all, it’s not something that can be classified as a secret. I think High Priest Virginia probably didn’t issue a gag order in this regard. Perhaps in a few days, one of the clergy present will use this news as a topic of conversation. After all, spreading that news is also very beneficial for the Church of the Just Lord. No matter what, that was a rare miracle in many years, and the only thing that can be kept secret is the specific content of the blessing!’ George thought for a while, then pouted and popped out a word: “Knowledge!”

“Knowledge? It looks like, if nothing unexpected happens, the strength of the Church of the Just Lord will steadily improve in the coming decades!” Knight Val folded his arms, touched his chin, and said with great certainty.

“Wait a minute! The information in your conversation just now was too messy. Let me summarize and connect the information I just got.” Hiren’s timely interjection relieved the atmosphere that had become a bit serious due to the conversation. His subsequent scratching of his head and cheeks was even more effective.

‘The old Hiren wouldn’t have been able to grasp the timing so accurately; it would have been good enough if he didn’t make the atmosphere stiff. It seems that after his Rank increased, Hiren has started to change into a normal person. But this is clearly something to be happy about. So why do I feel so complicated in my heart? Where does this serious sense of incongruity come from?’ For some reason, such contradictory thoughts popped up in George’s mind. In fact, this was George’s uneasiness and his desire for control acting up since he traveled to this world. But in any case, the old Hiren who acted without thinking was much easier to control than he is now. However, George just hadn’t noticed the influence of this subconscious emotion on his normal thoughts for the time being. Perhaps it was because the negative emotions in George’s heart had been constantly decreasing during this period, so the remaining part, which was abnormally stubborn, was magnified.

Under the gaze of the two, Hiren seemed to have quickly solved the problem just now. He looked at Craig, who was still confused beside him, and said: “If I guess correctly, this is what happened. George used his unique knowledge to exchange with the Lord of Justice for this ability, a side-effect-free simplified version of the Vow of Poverty. And Dad, you said that the strength of the Church of the Just Lord will steadily improve in the next few decades. From this point of view, the knowledge George paid seems to be very precious, at least to the Lord of Justice.”

“Of course. Otherwise, do you think the other party strengthened George with such an ability purely out of kindness? Although this is not too difficult a thing for a god, removing the price George had to bear, the divine power needed to be paid afterwards is no less than creating a Divine Artifact. Of course, this does not count the materials needed to make a Divine Artifact. Transactions between gods and mortals are never completely equal. Of course, this does not mean that the Deity is unjust, but that the two sides have different views on things. Even the kindest and most just Deity has never placed mortals on an equal status with themselves. So, if the other party gave George such a benefit, then what he obtained must definitely far exceed his own payment. Plus, George said what he paid was knowledge, which is even more impressive. The effects produced by knowledge in the hands of different people can be completely different. And for a god, the effects produced by the knowledge used can even influence the pattern of the entire Continent to a certain extent.” Knight Val summarized the content of his previous conversations with George. At the same time, he made corresponding explanations based on his own understanding.

This detailed explanation made even the young Craig understand the cause and effect. At this time, he blinked his starry eyes and asked: “I heard before that the Church of the Just Lord fights on the front line against Evil creatures. If they become stronger, there will be a lot less trouble in the Territory. Also, George didn’t seem to mention the Church of the Just Lord before, how did you know that!”

“Oh! Now that you mention it, I remember. I heard somewhere before that although the Church of the Just Lord is quite powerful, it has many enemies. Do you think if George’s matter becomes known to them, it will lead to being hunted down?” Hiren started being a jinx again, but this time he didn’t receive any condemnation from anyone.

Knight Val waved his hand and said: “No, no. At least not openly for this reason. In a sense, this interaction between George and His Highness the Lord of Justice can be called a transaction of knowledge. Such behavior is protected by the Goddess of Wealth and Trade and the Lord of Knowledge. Plus, although some related news will spread from the Church of the Just Lord to a certain extent. But except for the Lord of Justice himself, no one knows the true value of the knowledge George paid. Judging from past situations, no one has ever been killed by the enemies of the Church because of transactions with the Church. At least I can’t find a corresponding example.”

Hearing this, Hiren and Craig both breathed a sigh of relief. It could be seen that they were really worried about George’s safety. However, George, as the person involved, seemed to know about this beforehand. From beginning to end, he did not show any movements or expressions of worry.

“However! Although it is unlikely to cause any big problems. But to minimize the risk, keep everything you learned today confidential.” Knight Val put away his smile and said with a straight face, ‘Especially you—Craig, pay attention and don’t forget. Otherwise, I won’t let you have any candy. Also, I will answer the second question you just mentioned. Didn’t George go to the Temple of the Lord of Justice this morning to negotiate cooperation? But as soon as he came back, he dragged us to test his new ability. Isn’t it obvious that he got this benefit from the Church of the Just Lord?’

This time it was Craig’s turn to scratch his head. He said in a childish voice: “It makes it seem like I’m even dumber than Hiren now.”

Another wrong statement made the faces of the other three people present look not very good.

George quickly exchanged glances with Knight Val again. It seemed that it wasn’t just Knight Val who was going to look for Sir Bart later.