Faith

With that thought, Altair spoke towards the carriage window, "Nir, change course to Daqiao South District, the Church of Harvest on Rose Street."

The carriage slowly stopped, and Nir's voice came through, "Understood, Count Altair."

Vera blinked her large eyes and asked curiously, "Count Altair, do you believe in the Earth Mother Goddess?"

As for this question, his own thought was that he did not have such a faith. Most people like him would not have faith in gods, or such a concept.

After all, the principles he believed in were based on survival, and then extended to personal ideals. For example, Roselle Gustav and Huang Tao belonged to this category.

Altair smiled and said to Vera, "No, I'm just curious, and since it's nearby, I just want to take a look."

"Vera, what about your and Irene's faith? What gods do you believe in?"

Hearing this, Vera directly replied, "We don't have any gods we believe in, neither before nor now. Their existence means nothing to us."

When the carriage stopped and Altair and Vera got off, they saw a church that was not very large. Compared to the three major churches of the Kingdom of Ruun, it could be considered small.

The outer wall of the church was inscribed with the Life Emblem of wheat ears, flowers, and spring water surrounding a simple infant. The architectural style was distinctly different from the surrounding buildings.

As Vera stepped off the carriage and steadied herself, she looked at the building before her and asked in surprise, "Is this the church of the Earth Mother Goddess? Why is it so small? I remember the Earth Mother Goddess Church is also one of the Seven True God Churches. This building is so different from what I imagined!"

Altair did not intend to stop Vera from saying this, as it was indeed the truth.

Although there were no explicit restrictions on faith in this world, and "freedom of religion" existed on the surface.

However, freedom of religion came with various limitations, such as relatively fixed belief systems in different regions, making it difficult for foreign beliefs to take root.

Local churches would even destroy other "heretical" beliefs, leading to vast differences in the religious environment across regions.

For example, the North Continent mostly believed in the Seven True Gods, the South Continent mostly believed in the God of Death and the God of Restraint, and the East Continent believed in the True Creator.

"Freedom of religion" was merely diplomatic rhetoric. In the Kingdom of Ruun, located in the North Continent, people's beliefs were mostly limited to only three of the "Seven True God Churches."

The headquarters of the "Church of the Goddess of the Night" was in Winter County, Kingdom of Ruun, and it had numerous noble followers, giving it significant social influence.

Historically, Bexland was the headquarters of the "Church of the Lord of Storms," but for some unknown reason, it later relocated to "Pasu Island," yet it left behind a deep foundation and influence.

The "Church of Steam and Machinery," or rather the "Church of the God of Craftsmen," was renamed after the Industrial Revolution initiated by "Roselle Gustav" led to a divine descent. With the influence of the Industrial Revolution, this church gained many followers among the industrial class and technical personnel in Bexland.

It was estimated that "Roselle Gustav" in the early stages would never have imagined that he would completely cut off his own retreat.

Helping "Steam Girl" to completely digest the potions and ascend to a stable divine position, if they met later, he would definitely mock her in person. Just thinking about it was amusing.

Of course, this did not mean that everyone only believed in these three gods. Others also believed in the other gods, but the evangelism of other churches was limited.

For instance, this "Earth Mother Goddess Church" had believers and churches in the Kingdom of Ruun. However, there were significant restrictions on its evangelism.

This was because she was not part of the local original beliefs. The main church of the "Earth Mother Goddess Church" was in the Forsak Empire, and it was also ostensibly the "mother" of the "God of War."

Given that the two countries were hostile, the royal family would not be foolish enough to support the enemy by allowing their own people to believe in "It."

Altair thought for a moment and directly said to Vera, "Let's go, we've arrived at the entrance. Let's go in and take a look."

After speaking, Altair slowly walked towards the church.

Perhaps due to the small number of believers, the church doors were not wide open but were half-closed.

He reached the door and, without much effort, easily pushed open the church doors.

Looking at the surrounding decorations, he thought, "As expected of a church named after the Earth Mother Goddess. The church's decorations are less ornate and solemn, and more warm and peaceful. The interior decoration also revolves around the core themes of abundance, life, and the earth."

Sunlight shone through the stained glass, casting dappled light and shadows on the murals that resembled rippling wheat fields.

The surrounding sculptures were mostly reliefs of various plants, and at the edges, there were even pottery pots planted with various crops. The air was filled with the fresh scent of soil and plants.

This caused the underlying code of his soul to surface. He felt that if he had transmigrated into a world that could develop steadily, he would definitely join it, as it would allow for peaceful farming and a leisurely life.

While Altair and Vera were still admiring the church's decorations, a tall "giant" slowly approached from a side door of the church. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that this person was wearing the bishop's attire of the Earth Mother Goddess Church.

The cleric, dressed in the bishop's robes, approached the two of them. He did not interrupt their admiration but waited silently for them.

After Altair finished admiring the church's decorations, he looked towards the approaching figure.

In fact, the moment the cleric appeared, he had already sensed the person through his spiritual senses, but seeing that the person made no strange moves, he withdrew his spiritual senses and continued to admire the surroundings.

When he looked at the cleric, the latter also nodded slightly at Altair, as a gesture of polite greeting.

Altair returned the greeting and then re-examined the cleric. This cleric was definitely over 2.2 meters tall. Did he have giant blood?

He appeared to be around fifty or sixty years old, with a stern face, light blue eyes, and was wearing brown bishop's robes.

Although he was wearing the bishop's robes of the Earth Mother Goddess Church, the aura of killing intent he exuded could not be hidden or changed. Altair deduced that this person must have killed many people.

Only the bishop "Utrasky," mentioned in the original work, would fit this description.

He was originally a pirate, and it was also written in the original work that he was the only bishop of the "Earth Mother Goddess Church" at the "Church of Harvest" in Bexland. Confirming his identity was quite easy.

When Vera came back to her senses, she looked beside her and let out a startled cry, "Ahhh!"

Altair reached out and patted her back, indicating that he was still there and comforting her.

Once Vera calmed down, the bishop stepped forward with a look of apology and said, "I am truly sorry, young lady. I really didn't expect to frighten you like this."

Vera, who was patting her chest with her hand, heard the apology from the other person and said directly, "Bishop, I'm fine. I was just startled when I suddenly realized someone was beside me after coming back to my senses. It's nothing serious. It's also my fault for being too engrossed."