Rhodes Island does not exist.

"If this so-called Lord you speak of could do anything, how could my parents have died in the mine?" The girl struggled restlessly on the ground, trying to prop herself up with her hands.

It turned out to be the case.

After listening to the priest's speech, the believers' gossip, and the girl's obviously angry words, the doctor roughly understood the inside story.

Although the town is a cradle of Lateranism, the girl questions the power and effectiveness of the religion because of her family's tragic circumstances. In her self-destructive behavior, she has become what she is now, and she is undoubtedly despised by the town's residents.

"Bullshit gods, bullshit faith."

The girl muttered curses as she sat up, spitting out a mouthful of dust she had swallowed when she fell.

The doctor noticed that as the girl did these things, the expressions on the faces of the followers around her changed significantly.

It was a shift toward anger and gloom, like the dark clouds before thunder.

Isn't it only natural that things turned out this way?

The doctor couldn't help but sigh inwardly for the girl.

In this small town steeped in religious atmosphere, to publicly blaspheme in front of believers, and even in front of priests from Iberia, the girl clearly hadn't thought through the things she was doing.

-

Thank you segment.

Chapter 72, Part 71: Deep Sea Tales - Seven Lambs to the Slaughter

"Ah, Doctor, please wait a moment."

Amiya raised her right hand, waving her forearm like a student who urgently needs to use the restroom during class, and then picked up the communication terminal in her other hand, gesturing to the Doctor.

A line of names was displayed on the terminal screen, but it was too far away to see clearly.

Anyway, it's just that someone needs to talk to Amiya.

Since there was no audience, the Doctor, as the narrator, could only wait for Amiya to finish her temporary tasks before continuing.

"Hello, hello~"

Amiya answered the message on the other end, her little face beaming with a smile.

Gazing at Amiya, the Doctor couldn't help but reflect on the original intentions and purposes behind the construction of Rhodes Island.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps the things he experienced in Iberia back then also formed part of his ideal.

-

five minutes later.

"Hmm, hmm... yes, that's it." Amiya nodded, while spreading her notebook on her lap and writing something with a pen. "Okay, I understand. Goodbye then."

"call."

The phone hangs up.

Amiya put away her terminal, placed the paper and pen back into the small pocket on her chest, and patted them lightly.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, there was a sudden issue with the purchasing department, but it's been resolved now," Amiya said with a smile. "You can continue now."

"The purchasing department... is that Kroos? If it's her, she should report everything directly to me or Kal'tsit, right?" the Doctor asked.

“No, no, no, that’s not it.” Amiya waved her hand. “We can’t trouble Miss Kroos with everything. She’s not the only one in the purchasing department.”

"Isn't that how it is?" The doctor tilted his head in surprise. "Besides her and her drones, are there other people in the purchasing department?"

"Yes, there is..." Amiya's expression showed a slight hint of embarrassment.

"Alright, now that you've finished dealing with it, I'll continue." The doctor cleared his throat and took a sip of lukewarm tea.

"Yes, Doctor!"

Amiya sat upright, like a model student in class.

-

Are gods just illusions?

This question is meaningless.

Even if you're a city dweller who's lived in the city for years, you wouldn't have such doubts after learning some stories about Laterano, Sherag, or Ursus.

Gods exist in every civilization.

Yan has its own gods, Dong has its own gods, Ursus has its own gods, and Laterano naturally has its own gods.

It's just that ordinary people can neither see the appearance of these gods nor feel their existence.

But this does not prove that God does not exist.

If you cannot prove that something does not exist, then it does exist.

Clearly, this kind of rogue theory is nothing new; most people living on Terra have already seen enough of it.

The problem is, can anyone prove it exists?

Or rather—He exists.

-

That's roughly how it happened.

The doctor returned to the tavern.

In just half a minute, he recounted the entire incident to the bartender.

"So you mean, Levini stole your bag, then bumped into the bishop from Iberia at the street corner, and after being accused of her crime, she cursed the Lateran sect in front of the bishop?"

The bartender was so surprised he couldn't even close his mouth.

In his view, this undoubtedly violated all the strict laws and taboos in Iberia.

“Yes, I’ve always been reluctant to get involved in religious matters, so I just took the box and came back.” The doctor nodded. “That girl, you said her name is Levini, right? To be able to openly rob people on the street, maybe she’s a pitiful person… but in that kind of environment, I really have no intention of protecting her.”

“You are right.” The bartender poured the doctor a glass of warm water and gently placed it in front of him. “Levini is a well-known orphan in the area. Her parents died in a mine owned by a family in Syracuse when she was seven or eight years old. With no one to rely on, she could only live on the charity of the townspeople. But she somehow picked up bad habits and always liked to do petty theft and even rob out-of-towners.”

"So you mean, she didn't grow up in a malicious environment?" The doctor took a sip of water from his glass.

“It’s hard to say.” The bartender shook his head. “After all, not having parents means not having a family education. All the townspeople can provide her with is food and clothing. Although most people here are Lateranists and are generally kind, it’s hard to guarantee that she won’t develop rebellious tendencies.”

No one does evil without a reason.

The doctor placed the water glass on the table, his expression becoming slightly serious.

“Her behavior must have some purpose,” the doctor said. “Girls like this…or children, because of their age and experience, do not have a mature concept of right and wrong, so all their actions are actually based on the expression of their inner world.”

“I’m thinking.” The doctor’s gaze fell on the several bottles of murky liquor behind the bar. “Perhaps the death of her parents had a greater impact on her than anyone thought, and this impact is something that the townspeople with their devout faith cannot understand or erase.”

“That gentleman, as I mentioned before, isn’t an indigenous person, so what you’re saying…” the bartender explained.

“I don’t need you to be,” the doctor shook his head. “You just need to understand what I’m saying.”

"What?" The bartender looked completely bewildered.

"For someone whose faith has collapsed, love based on faith is actually a harm and a burden."

The doctor looked at the bartender and spoke slowly.

"Love born of faith... Ah, welcome! What would you like to order...?"

With two sharp turns in his tone, the bartender's expression in the doctor's eyes changed rapidly from confusion to clarity and back to confusion in those two seconds.

Footsteps and the sound of door hinges came from behind.

A guest is coming.

The footsteps sounded unusually heavy on the wooden floor.

The doctor slowly turned his head and saw the visitor he had met briefly earlier.

It was that priest from Iberia.

"You really are here."

With a devout smile, the priest slowly approached the doctor, holding his staff. Their familiar manner made it seem as if they were blood brothers from a past life.

"Father, what brings you here?" The doctor moved his chair and got straight to the point.

“Ah, it is like this.” The priest slightly raised his staff and looked at the doctor, saying, “I intend to take that blasphemous girl back to Iberia, so I hope that you, as a victim and witness, can also come with me.”

Chapter 73, Part 72: Deep-Sea Tales - Preschool Education

"Our Lord in heaven."

The doctor sat in the back seat of the carriage, pondering why he was there.

Two priests, holding crosses, prayed devoutly in the front seats of the car.

May all people hallow your name.

Places enveloped by maritime climates tend to have very little dust, so even though the vehicles provided by the Iberian Church were the kind of off-road vehicles that were rare on the market, they didn't leave any dust clouds in their tracks.

“Thy kingdom come.”

About an hour ago, the Iberian priest came to the Doctor and told him that he and several brothers and sisters planned to take Levini back with them on their return journey to receive the church's care, education, and trial. The Doctor, as the sole victim and witness in this incident, was also asked to attend the trial.

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Although the doctor was somewhat interested in the girl's upbringing and had heard that the Iberian Golden City never allowed outsiders to set foot there, he was not very willing to leave because he had an appointment in the town the next day.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

After all, he always keeps his promises; if he is to keep an appointment, he must arrive at the designated place at least an hour before the agreed time.

Just like this time when I sat in the tavern for hours.

"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors' debts."

However, after he told the priest about these things one by one, the priest generously said that if the person the doctor was waiting for arrived in the town, the clergy stationed there could take him directly to Iberia.

Now the doctor had no reason to refuse.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

However, if he had to say, he was more concerned about the fate of the girl who robbed his luggage than about the shrouded Iberia.

After all, Iberia is not considered a benevolent place in the eyes of the world.

"For the kingdom, the power, the glory—all are yours, forever and ever—"

Perhaps this seemingly simple transaction within Iberia will turn into a bizarre adventure he will never forget.

The professor gazed up at the skylight, staring at the pale sun.

The priests in the front row clasped their hands together.

"Amen!"

"vomit."

Levi, sitting opposite him, narrowed her eyes, clearly showing her disgust at the noise coming from the front seat.

But she controlled her volume very cleverly, keeping it just within the range that the doctor could hear but those in the front row couldn't.

—That's right, this is the interior of this church-themed off-road vehicle with a cross painted on it.

The two priests sat in the driver's cabs on the left and right at the front, while the doctor was assigned to sit with Levini.

The driver's seat is arranged the same as in a regular vehicle, but the layout of the rear seats is somewhat similar to that of a motorhome or prison van, consisting of two opposing vertical rows of seats separated by a table.

“You hate Lateranism,” the Doctor said, keeping his voice low enough to be heard from the front.

"Don't talk to me like that." Levini turned her head away, her face full of the stubbornness of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl.

“I don’t think our relationship is inherently adversarial.” The doctor wasn’t entirely helpless when it came to dealing with children. “You took my luggage, so I should be the one ignoring you right now. But I took the initiative to talk to you, which means I’ve forgiven you.”

"……what?"

Levi was momentarily confused by the doctor's statement, and fell into a blank.

"That means you bullied me, but I won't hold it against you. On the contrary, I'm willing to talk to you," the doctor smiled.

But Levi's statement clearly didn't resonate with the doctor.

"Come on." She glanced at the doctor. "I've seen plenty of hypocritical outsiders. You're no different from those guys who chant scriptures and worship gods. You're all pretty much the same."

"Hypocrisy?" The doctor looked at Levini with gentle eyes. "If you want to accuse someone, you must provide solid evidence. Young lady, what is the basis of your accusation?"

“I…I don’t know! Stop bothering me.” Levini looked a little angry. “Stop saying such complicated things, who understands?”