The Lord Is Also a Mother

Maria could also see that at the city gate, groups of people were pouring in, while some who were found to Infected were prevented from entering.

These people, as if they had been prepared, silently pushed the child they had been protecting all the way into the city, and then, like everyone else, came to the outer roadside and silently knelt down.

Few chose to argue, and even fewer voiced their discontent at the injustice they had suffered. They simply sent their children to the city, where they joined the kneeling pilgrims in worship...

This made Maria frown.

To be fair, under normal circumstances, Laterano is actually one of the better groups of Infected... They don't particularly discriminate against Infected; they still guarantee their civil rights to a certain extent. However, they won't allow these people to enter the city...

There's nothing we can do about it... Even if there are repeated Infected and ordinary people, but no one can ignore the fact that Infected are walking pathogens.

The Laterano simply expelled him, rather than executed him, which actually surpassed the actions of many other countries.

Logically, after sending their children here, these people should be able to leave and try to survive, right?

Why... are you still kneeling here?

"Isn't that amazing..."

Just as Maria was Maria, a voice slowly drifted out from beside her, carrying a hint of bored laughter.

Maria turned her head to look.

It was a person dressed as a nun... but not quite like the nuns Maria remembered who were always dressed in black.

She wore a long, flowing white dress without a drawstring, only a hem that almost touched the ground.

Her posture was gentle, her hands clasped together, and her pure white hair and golden eyes gave her a unique sense of holiness and majesty.

There is also a unique trumpet-shaped opening at the wrist.

"These people... after bringing their children here, they just kneel here and pray like they're waiting to die."

"..."

Don't you think this is terrible?

As the woman spoke, she turned her head slightly and squinted at Maria.

"The actions of these people... are simply those of irresponsible bastards who completely rely on others..."

"They are all from the area near Laterano, and they learned Laterano doctrines from a young age..."

"They believed that the Laterano Church would save every believer, and it was based on this idea that, after their inner fears erupted, they abandoned everything and led their hopes here, sending their children into the city without a second thought..."

"It seems that as long as they do this, their lives are complete; they have done everything they could."

The woman's words were filled with helplessness and confusion. After a moment of silence, she spoke again.

"They treated their faith as their life, even to the point that their faith transcended their own lives... But this is not the true meaning of the Laterano Church's existence."

The woman's words were soft and even carried a hint of helplessness and annoyance.

She didn't really come to mock the pilgrims with Maria; she simply felt it wasn't worth it.

Many of these people are not Oripathy Infected, and their lives are actually quite good.

Even if they were worried about their safety after the outbreak of war, most people would actually have the opportunity to seek a living in other cities... The journey to those cities would be shorter, and they might not contract Oripathy on the way.

Will the war they imagine actually break out?

Laterano and Sarkaz have a blood feud spanning a thousand years, but that doesn't mean they'll ever have a major war... In fact, although Laterano is constantly at odds with Sarkaz, they haven't had many full-scale wars.

It's just that the scale of each outbreak is somewhat terrifying.

But their unwavering beliefs led them to make this choice.

What troubled her even more was her inability to explain whether these people's actions were right or wrong.

Maria wasn't really interested in discussing these religious issues; she simply remained silent for a moment before asking a question.

Why are you telling me this?

Judging from her attire, the woman must be an important figure in the Laterano Church... Such words should be spoken to someone she trusts, not to herself.

Especially the idea he just proposed.

She questioned whether these people's actions were in accordance with Laterano doctrine... In a sense, her words completely used the church as a tool...

This is blasphemy for those extreme religious figures!

This could cause her a lot of trouble.

"Because I overheard your conversation with those children."

The woman smiled, then turned her head away again.

"Since I heard that, I believe you might be someone I can discuss this issue with..."

The woman had only recently arrived here and was only just now learning about the people who had come to kneel and worship.

But it's precisely because she knows that she doesn't understand.

The Laterano doctrine itself is meant to discipline everyone's actions... If everyone follows it, then everyone can live a happy life.

Ultimately, Laterano's doctrine is simply about keeping people alive.

But what these people are doing is courting death!

This made her extremely frustrated and indignant.

"Then you might be disappointed, I'm not interested in these questions..."

Maria spoke calmly, expressing her stance.

The woman was also somewhat curious.

Are you... a believer?

There are actually quite a few people without faith in Terra, but... the woman doesn't quite understand why Maria has no faith, would come to a place like Laterano.

"It was just a coincidence."

Maria didn't say much, but simply shook her head and looked at the woman.

"All right."

The woman realized she might have the wrong person and shook her head helplessly, but after a moment, she still asked Maria one last question.

"So, as someone without faith, what kind of doctrine do you think can truly guide people?"

"What kind of doctrine...?"

Maria paused for a few moments, her eyes slightly lowered.

Meanwhile, the woman beside them also cast a curious glance.

After a moment of contemplation, Maria shook her head slightly.

"In my view, there is only one doctrine that can truly be called a guiding principle for people..."

What is it?

"... to become human."

Maria spoke, uttering what was on her mind.

This answer clearly surprised the woman.

She thought Maria would say something about truth, goodness, and beauty, or something like "live on."

But...

"To become human?"

The woman murmured, her eyes somewhat lost.

"To face everything with a human attitude..."

"Whether it's disaster or happiness, we are born into this world as human beings, and we should face everything as human beings..."

"Don't try to transform yourself into something else... A person is a person, not a tree, nor a wild beast..."

"To live, and to die, should both be done with a human being's identity and mindset..."

"Everything... should be like this."

As Maria spoke, her eyes remained fixed on the crowd in the distance.

After listening to Maria's speech, the woman smiled.

"Your definition of a person seems a bit too broad..."

Perhaps.

Maria also admitted that her definition of "becoming human" was indeed too vague... If she had to say, what is a human being, what does it mean to be human... There is actually no precise definition for any of these things.

But Maria still gave this answer.

Maria has seen many people abandon their original selves in an attempt to gain more tactile experience in their lives, but the final results are always ridiculous and absurd.

In her repeated encounters with monstrous monsters, Maria realized that the best thing a person can do is to be a person.

Do what you want to do, take responsibility for everything you do, whether it's living or dying, you should make your own choices and accept them with equanimity.

Its core meaning lies in being a human being, rather than transforming oneself into something that does not belong to oneself.

"If we follow your requirement... then to make this world a better place, everyone would have to be a saint..."

The woman sighed softly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Maria's idea.

But at that moment, Maria slowly turned around.

"Civilization makes the world a better place, but before civilization, at the very least, every individual should be a human being..."

"Beasts cannot understand civilization..."

410

Chapter 410 The Lord is the Mother.

This strange woman's Renia...

In their final moments apart, she still revealed her name to Maria...

Her original intention was simply to find someone to confide in... but after talking with Maria for a while, she suddenly realized that Maria was a completely different kind of person from them.

She was not a dogmatist; her words were not filled with rigorous logic and elaborate rhetoric. Instead, they were simply the sharp conclusions that Maria had drawn from her own experiences.

This greatly interested her.

After all, rather than the pile of dogmatic knowledge she hadn't truly grasped, she really wanted to talk to someone like Maria who clearly had a lot of stories to tell.

In response, Maria prepared to reveal her name to him.

But in the end, Renia refused.

Let's maintain this kind of relationship...

She smiled and told Maria her thoughts, and Maria silently accepted the relationship.

Of course, Maria wasn't entirely clear on the specifics of this relationship.

A state of knowing someone yet not knowing them...

About a week later, Maria was suddenly summoned by the Laterano Notary Office.

"It's inside, ma'am."

Two figures dressed as guards stood beside Maria.

After opening that giant-like gate for Maria, they stood at the entrance, weapons in hand.

After Maria had completely gone inside, the door was slowly closed.

The light gradually faded.

In contrast to Aegir's chilling interrogations, the Laterano Notary Office had a completely different style.

The church interior is not large. A towering statue, over ten meters tall, stands inside, its arms outstretched towards everyone in front of it. Behind it, instead of the usual stained glass, a simple circular window allows only warm light to stream out.

Behind it, a light seemed to emerge as if a miracle had occurred...

Are you a follower of the Laterano Church?

The three men approached Maria.