Who Knocks at the Moonlit Door

The group was genuinely stunned when they entered the backyard of Edward's home. He had renovated it in the style of an American villa from his previous life, with irregular raw stone wall bricks and log-veneered exterior walls, an orange-red tiled roof, white-painted bay windows, and a swimming pool covered in azure-blue mosaics at the center of the yard. The yard was filled with various green plants, making it feel as if they had suddenly stepped from winter into the height of summer.

Seeing the expressions on the three of them, Edward thought: It seems this style of decoration suits the aesthetic of people in this era. He had originally wanted to go with a Chinese courtyard style, but the large swimming pool he envisioned clashed with that aesthetic, and the curved surfaces of flying eaves and brackets were too complex for his Shaping Technique to handle. So he settled for second best and decorated it in the style of an American villa from his previous life.

To fulfill his desire for swimming even in winter, he had also flashily installed a glass canopy over the entire backyard, turning the whole yard into a large greenhouse.

"Please, come inside. This is the living room. Make yourselves at home. I'll go prepare things."

"Tsk tsk tsk, boss, you really went all out. Do you know how much alchemist-made glassware costs? Each piece is priced in silver coins, and you used it for a canopy," Alice said with an air of expertise.

"Money is just a number to me. The key is living comfortably," Edward said, putting on airs, completely forgetting the mercenary face he had when selling that sword.

Beside him, Princess Andrea and the baby-faced pastor nodded in agreement, thinking that this unfathomable lord's previous actions must have had deeper meaning, and that he shouldn't be judged by worldly standards as some kind of "reclusive master."

An hour later, in the first-floor dining room of Edward's home, the table was laden with all kinds of delicacies. The main dish was the potato bread Edward had freshly baked.

Pastor Elvin, who had observed the entire process, even made a few loaves under Edward's guidance. He then copied down the recipe. The baby-faced pastor looked as if he were already full, even before eating.

Princess Andrea seemed distracted. While waiting for Edward to cook, the captain of the knights, Reinhardt, who had been alerted by the city gate guard, came by once with Duke's Mansion's head butler, Mr. Hunter. The knight princess borrowed a side room from the master and had a half-hour closed-door meeting with the three of them. Afterward, the captain returned to the Duke's Mansion with a grave expression, while Mr. Hunter and his assistant went to the Rainforest Trading Company.

Only Alice, while waiting, looked around excitedly, took off her shoes, sat by the pool, and splashed the water with her jade-white feet. If it weren't someone else's house, she probably would have gone for a swim.

Edward, now changed into a home T-shirt and wearing an apron, came out holding a large pot of soup and called everyone over to eat.

During the meal, the slit-eyed pastor ate with peace and contentment, the young mage girl ate with unrestrained gusto, while Princess Andrea, after the earlier events, seemed distracted, as if she had lost interest in the food.

After the meal, Edward knew the others had other matters to attend to and didn't press them to stay. He also packed a few boxes of exquisite pastries for "Senior" Alice.

Then Princess Andrea boarded the waiting carriage outside and, leading the two, headed straight for the Holy Light Church. After a private discussion with the bishop, the group went together with him into the Duke's Mansion.

Meanwhile, Edward, with nothing to do, returned to his underground laboratory to begin some experiments he had planned earlier...

Time passed into the dead of night. The moon hung high in the sky, casting a silver glow over the ground. A tall, graceful figure darted swiftly through the streets. Her heart was uneasy, but worry and curiosity filled her, driving her to sneak out of her home for the first time late at night.

Edward changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth, and washed his face, ready to go to bed. Just then, his doorbell suddenly rang. It was the first time it had rung since he installed it.

Edward, still in his pajamas and slippers, went to the door—the one on the side wall of the backyard, not the front door of the shop. It was the same door Princess Andrea and her group had used when they left earlier.

He pulled open the door, and as expected, Princess Andrea stood outside in her gray-black knight attire.

"Please, come in, Princess. I knew you would come," Edward said with a yawn, then continued, "I just didn't expect you at this hour. I thought you'd come tomorrow."

Princess Andrea said nothing, clutching the longsword tightly to her chest as she followed Edward into the first-floor living room.

The two entered the living room. Edward invited the princess to sit on the sofa and, just like their first meeting, brought out the same black tea and biscuits. Thinking back, this was only their third meeting.

This time, the princess didn't touch the biscuits or tea on the coffee table. She sat there, her eyes slightly unfocused, staring at the flickering flames in the fireplace at the center of the room.

Edward walked over and sat across from the princess. The living room lights weren't all on, making it somewhat dim. The firelight reflected off the princess's distracted profile, casting a faint, flickering glow. Edward found himself staring as well. The late-night silence felt especially profound.

Seeing the awkward silence, Edward started looking for a topic:

"Princess, has the matter of the potato reserve been arranged?"

"Oh, yes, it's been taken care of. This afternoon, I, along with the bishop of the Holy Light Church and Elvin, explained things to my father. From now on, the duchy will fully commit to purchasing wheat, potatoes, and other grains, and will moderately restrict immigration entry.

The pastors of the Holy Light Church will promote potato bread to bakeries across the country and will send word across the New Continent that potatoes can be used to make bread," the princess said, snapping back to reality as she explained to Edward, but a hint of melancholy and exhaustion showed in her eyes.

Edward had seen the princess's dashing, spirited demeanor at their first meeting. He had also witnessed her stunning appearance at the second. But now, with that melancholy look in her eyes, he found her even more real and endearing.

Edward thought back over the day's events and continued asking:

"About what I taught you—entering the 'inside' with that sword—and what I said to you at noon, you haven't told anyone else, have you?"

"Of course. I imagine even if I did say it, not many would believe it, right?" Princess Andrea replied.

"Without experiencing it firsthand, no one would believe it. But you deliberately avoided Pastor Elvin and Miss Alice to ask me alone—did you want to keep it a secret from those two as well?"

"Mm... yes. After all, if Elvin heard what you said today, it would shatter his faith, wouldn't it? To keep it from him, I have to keep it from Alice, and Alice is a girl who can't keep anything to herself..."

"Princess, you're truly a gentle person," Edward said with a smile. "But what are you afraid of?"

"I..." The princess started to speak but didn't know where to begin.

"Then before I explain everything to you from start to finish, please promise me that what I say tonight will not be repeated to anyone else. Not even your family!"

"I swear..." Princess Andrea raised her right hand, looking somewhat urgent.

"Good," Edward interrupted. "Just keep it in your heart. Sometimes inner conviction is stronger than words."

"First, let me guess what you fear most. Is it the terrifying thought that your own body and mind are deceiving you? When I said, 'Even your brain is deceiving you,' I clearly saw your pupils contract."

Princess Alice nodded vigorously. The idea of her body being beyond her soul's control, without her even realizing it, was the deepest fear hidden in her heart.

"Before I explain, you first need to understand what 'God' really is.

He is the collective of all intelligent beings. The thoughts of all of us are mixed within Him. He is chaotic, even lacking self-awareness.

When all thoughts converge, stripping away all differences, the one thing that remains the same is just two words—'to live'!"

The knight princess's eyes widened upon hearing this. From childhood, she had been taught, heard, and seen that God loved and cared for the world. This "blasphemous" talk completely overturned her worldview.

Edward gave her a moment to process, then continued:

"Does it feel like what I'm saying overturns everything you know? But if you think carefully, you'll see that what I'm describing doesn't conflict with common understanding at all.

He has no form, yet He is everywhere. He is indifferent to human birth, aging, sickness, and death. Yet many records in the classics show that before great disasters befell humanity, many prophets received His divine warnings. That gives us the illusion that God cares for the world. In truth, He only reacts to things that affect His 'living'—that is, warnings of disasters that would drastically reduce the population."

Edward's explanation eased the tension in Princess Andrea's expression.

"Because He has no concrete self-awareness and only does good, never harm, you can think of Him as the most benevolent deity.

From another perspective, you can also treat what happened to us today as a natural phenomenon—like rain or wind, a kind of natural weather. Moreover, this 'natural phenomenon' doesn't occur often; even if it's not a once-in-a-lifetime event, it's something you can only encounter by chance, not by seeking it."

Edward concluded:

"So you really don't need to worry about such a phenomenon. Because during a Divine Revelation, this 'separation of two realms' won't cause you any harm, even if your body is misled. And no one can exploit this phenomenon to do anything unfavorable to you or anyone else."

After listening to Edward's detailed explanation, Princess Andrea let out a long sigh. Then she asked:

"Then why did you send me 'inside'? What was the point of that?"

"Have you heard of the church's baptism? The ritual performed when joining the faith."

"Yes, that's common knowledge."

"Then your going 'inside' was a kind of baptism—and likely the most original form of it."

"God is a benevolent deity. He grants benefits to those who carry out His prophecies and prevent disasters from coming. That benefit is baptism. Using the world's purest 'Sea of Light' to wash away the 'filth' from the prophecy's executor.

As for what that 'filth' is? Based on records from various churches and mythological legends, I think it refers to the bottlenecks encountered during the advancement of supernatural power—not a direct leap to the Fifth Stage.

For the baptized, though the road ahead is long, it has already become a smooth path."

Princess Andrea was now completely at ease. The curve of her lips betrayed her inner joy. Then, another doubt surfaced in her mind.

"Then... why did you have to send me in?"

This question seemed the same as the one before, but its meaning was different.

Edward stood up and walked to the living room window, gazing at the silver-white moon hanging high in the sky. He wanted to say, "The moonlight is beautiful tonight." But the words that came out were, "Alice and Elwin are destined for boundless futures. I can see you're good friends and family to them. I don't want the gap between you to grow so wide that while they're still in their youth, you've already grown old..."

"So you're a gentle person too..." Princess Andrea's eyes sparkled, as if a few mischievous Stars had escaped from the corners of her eyes.

"Grrr..." The sound of a stomach growling broke the delicate atmosphere. The Knight Princess's cheeks flushed red.

Then Edward said:

"It's so late—you haven't had dinner yet, have you? How about I cook you some noodles?"