Hobart knew that the Pain Witch before him was wise enough to understand what he meant.
He continued, "You should have realized that the Church's power comes from Beyonders, but its strength and potential depend on the number of believers.
"Only with enough believers will there be enough fresh blood. Even if the Beyonders suffer heavy losses, they can be replenished to a certain extent in the shortest possible time.
"Besides, the power generated by faith, the gathering of information, the acquisition of wealth, and the establishment of channels will all follow naturally.
"Although many religious figures are unwilling to admit it or even think along those lines, the truth is this: Ordinary people are the key to a Church! What Churches should be fighting for—and have always been fighting for—is the power of ordinary people's faith."
Monica listened intently. The Gnostic Society's upper ranks had long possessed similar ideas; otherwise, they would not have gone to such lengths to develop believers.
But before this, none of them had possessed such a clear line of thinking.
Fors and Helen, on the other hand, felt that they were hearing an entirely new theory, and found it quite novel.
Hobart continued, "Then here comes the key issue. Since you are competing for the faith of ordinary people, the image of the Church—or rather, its clergy—among the public will be extremely important.
"If you always want to bring pain, despair, and disaster to the people, then naturally they will not believe in your teachings.
"But if you bring pain to scoundrels, become an image that makes evil despair, and become a disaster to lawbreakers, your image will change drastically. People will willingly become believers of the Gnostic Society."
Helen hurriedly asked, "What about pleasure?"
Hobart smiled. "Isn't making the people you love feel