Our Cause Is Not Justice

Iver immediately understood what "pure white" meant.

The way things are done in the Theocracy is that you can "give me face and let this matter rest."

—In essence, it's still about who has more face.

To put it nicely, it's a "sectarian state"; to put it bluntly, it's a gangster state.

This is probably why things on Cardinal Loki's side were difficult to handle before, but are easier to manage now.

It's because Loki is already dead.

As the leader of the Controlled Fire, he was not only the leader of one of the rings recognized by the Candlelight, but also the object of worship for virtually all the "Commoner Elf" of the Theocracy —or more accurately, the elves whose parents could not find a lineage.

In this Theocracy, lineage and wealth are not valued; the greatest resource is "influence." And under normal circumstances, this influence can be inherited. For example, "so-and-so's son," "so-and-so's daughter," "so-and-so's student," and so on.

Therefore, if one's parents have no achievements, no friends, and no prestige, then one cannot inherit influence from one's parents, and is essentially a "commoner" of another race.

The core of "Controlled Fire" is this group of elves—since they don't have any inheritance, why don't we all stop using the inheritance system? That way, resources will be fair.

Now that Loki is dead, his appeal and influence will inevitably decline. Furthermore, the Pope Guard has uncovered evidence of his crimes; although the full conspiracy is not yet confirmed, this will cause significant unrest among Loki's followers.

Once someone is dead, how many people are willing to follow a dead person?

There will certainly be fervent followers, but for most people, a dead man cannot lead them. If a new leader does not emerge from within the Controlled Fire in time, the organization itself will likely collapse; and even if a new leader does emerge, its influence will certainly diminish significantly.

"... From this point of view, killing a great figure in the Theocracy is actually less costly than harming a great figure."

Iver understood the meaning of pure white and felt a bit ironic. "What a... strange custom."

It's like provoking a gang leader versus killing him—the former is a fight to the death, while the latter offers the possibility of recruiting him.

Despite being a nation of dedication, it feels like a chaotic mess of gangs.

"That's how the Theocracy is."

Freya, however, disagreed. "Otherwise, why would I be here doing this research... The biggest advantage here is that the administrators are more likely to accept bribes. However, the bribes that can influence them are not money, but the 'fact of helping others'."

"For example, bringing that furnace out already violates the rules of the Theocracy. But because I promised to 'heal the amber,' it can stay with me temporarily. If I ultimately fail to complete it, I can simply return the furnace and hand over the completed parts. These things are all negotiable."

"That's right."

Pure White nodded and looked at Freya: "The research on ' Tears of Time ' is extremely dangerous. I hope you can suspend it."

"I have terminated the research and destroyed all the samples."

Freya immediately raised her hands in defense.

"That's good."

Chunbai nodded, his expression serious as he slowly said, "Although the deaths of Mercedes and Gloria have nothing to do with you, the root of the problem ultimately lies with you..."

"What can I do?"

Freya asked.

"Since your research findings have been used and indirectly harmed others, I will punish you by making you work hard to cure others. I hope you can develop a treatment that is more than 80% cheaper than existing treatments and has at least half the potency."

Pure White said, "I will sponsor your research and protect your patent, and then the Theocracy will obtain a permanent production license for this potion. We will send them to churches around the world as 'holy water' to alleviate the problem of insufficient magic power and excessive fatigue among grassroots clergy. Of course, you can still sell it to others or produce it yourself."

Give me three months.

Freya didn't haggle, but readily nodded and replied, "Three months at most."

"Okay." Chunbai nodded as well.

Then, the two of them looked at Iver at the same time.

Freya chuckled and shrugged. "See, Iver? In a sense, the Theocracy is the most pragmatic—because it allows 'good to counter evil.' So it's perfect for researchers like me who sometimes inadvertently cross the line."

"What if other people can't do what Freya did?"

Iver asked.

"Then go help others."

Pure White answered without hesitation, "Go save people, go treat patients, go do community work. Even in prison, produce something or do labor. We only try to punish or destroy someone if they cannot do anything to benefit others to atone for their sins, or if their sins are unforgivable."

"But in the Theocracy, 'punishment' itself is meaningless. Everyone is born guilty, and most people are not innocent, but rather they are not discovered or punished. There is too much lacking in this world. Rather than remembering the dead, we should do something for the living... or offer something."

"... Destroy, what does that mean?"

Iver keenly realized that Pure White meant "destruction" rather than "death penalty".

"You are very perceptive, that's good."

Pure White nodded appreciatively. "It will be helpful for your life in the Theocracy in the future."

"—Yes, the Theocracy usually does not use the death penalty. Because life is extremely valuable... If a person must be killed, then his death must be beneficial to others, and even to society as a whole."

"Those who Dedication Path of enlightenment can use their own lives to heal disabilities that are usually incurable, and even to heal the damaged souls of others; and if they do not have the ability to heal, they can use their lives to make various materials."

"Blood essence, bone meal, organ extracts... or even drug experiments, human dissection, organ transplantation, necromancy. A person's life must have some meaning. If living can only bring destruction, at least death should bring some meaning."

Seeing the stunned Iver, Pure White's expression turned serious. "If you truly intend to become Cardinal Bishop, you must confront this ' Necessary Evil '."

"... Necessary Evil?"

Iver heard the familiar words again.

"That's right. Punishing crimes is punishing evil, but using criminals is not, and destroying corpses is even less so—we must first recognize that this is a sin, and it goes beyond the boundaries of 'punishing evil.'"

"What we are doing is not just. But we must bear this sin and work for the benefit of more innocent people and the masses. You are Cardinal Bishop, and there are no laws in the Material Realm to punish you. Therefore, only you can supervise yourself—you decide what is in compliance and what is overstepping."

"...I see."

Iver nodded solemnly and sadly.

Undoubtedly, this is an "evil" that the ordinary residents of the Theocracy would not be aware of.

He also realized why he always felt that those Cardinal Bishop were all lunatics to varying degrees... As agents endorsed by the Pillar God, Cardinal Bishop were, in a sense, the highest-ranking people in the world.

If an ordinary person said this, one could say, "You have no right to do this"—but Cardinal Bishop truly do have the right to do so. And the one who grants them this power is the Nine Pillar Gods, who manage the souls of the dead and govern the entire world.

The so-called divine right of kings—although they are not monarchs, they possess supreme power equivalent to that of monarchs. This is also why Cardinal Bishop can govern a region in the world's most powerful country.

The Nine Pillar Gods who granted them power did not clearly define the specific scope of this power.

As long as it can be explained, one can act as one pleases.

The Nine Pillar Gods will revoke their authorization until they completely overstep their bounds.

In other words, the only thing that can supervise the behavior of Cardinal Bishop is their own conscience and morality. They are unaware of the Nine Pillar Gods's specific judgments and ratings of them, and can only rely on their feelings; moreover, these judgments are of little reference value, because the Nine Pillar Gods's standards of judgment even differ from one another, and although different Cardinal Bishop are all in the Theocracy, the sources of their authorization are different.

Thinking about this, Iver realized something again—

... Dedication Path does not necessarily mean one is a "good person".

In a sense, the ones who give are the most ruthless.

Because they sometimes know that what they are doing is evil... but for the ultimate purpose of good, they still carry it out steadfastly.

The most terrifying people are not the bad people who do bad things, but the bad people who firmly believe that they are doing good.

As the atmosphere in the living room grew heavy, Chunbai clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention, especially Iver's. "Alright, that's enough about that. But as an elder, I have one more special request for you, Iver..."

The young Saintess, who looked to be only in her early twenties, said this to Iver.

"I know."

Iver interrupted directly and replied, "I will apologize, heal, and compensate the innocent pastors I have affected."

Pure White nodded with relief at Iver's understanding. "Although I think it's fine as long as the situation is explained clearly. Everyone here is a good-tempered person and knows the Sacrificial Fire Art, so they can heal themselves quickly... The key is attitude. As long as you're not too arrogant, thinking you're superior, and don't hurt people without explaining, just leave."

"But how to handle it is up to you. If you have any questions or other problems, you can ask me or go to Cardinal Matilda."

"Yes," Iver nodded in response.

"Afterwards, the entire Controlled Fire will be under investigation, so they shouldn't have time to bother you. But even so, you still need to be careful of their retaliation... Loki still has some fanatical followers."

Pure White gave his instructions.

She sized up Iver and asked, "Do you really want to learn Advanced Divine Arts?"

"... Hmm? Why not?"

Iver sensed something was off about her tone and asked, "Is there some other danger to your life?"

Upon hearing this, Chunbai immediately smiled, "That won't be the case. This is, after all, the Theocracy; you won't encounter any life-threatening danger here."

"That's hard to say," Iver thought to himself.

He's only been in the Theocracy for less than three days, and he's already encountered so much trouble.

"If you want to study, you need to start preparing now."

Pure White said earnestly, "Advanced Divine Arts are not as simple as some kind of extraordinary knowledge; they are actually a complex ritual. It consists of three stages: the first part is mastering the skill, the second part is choosing a deity to complete a long ritual, and the third part is passing the deity's test and gaining their approval. The first stage alone has stopped countless people... so you don't need to be in too much of a hurry."

"Although not all the bishops of Avalon have arrived yet, you can start learning in advance... I'll bring you the relevant books tonight, and you can ask me any questions you have. I'll be at the Eleventh Ring repairing the broken ritual mirrors during this time, and I won't be going anywhere else. There's no need for appointments or recordings at the Eleventh Ring; you can come anytime."

"OK."

Iver expressed his sincere gratitude.