The villain's way to tame the protagonist

Anser walked through the narrow corridor and came to a small room. This was the confession room set up in every church. Well... things like religion are actually very different in many places even if they are separated by a world.

The church was not small and there should be quite a few priests. There was a priest in the confessional. Ansel pushed the door open and sat down in the narrow compartment. He talked to the priest on the other side through a wooden door covered by a curtain.

"Young man, you don't look lost or miserable."

A very gentle male voice came from the other end of the door. It sounded like a middle-aged priest with rich experience. He asked very kindly: "I can sense your confidence and vitality. Are you lost?"

"No, priest," Ansel replied respectfully, "I think I did come to see you."

"Oh? I've never seen a young man as handsome as you. Have we met before?"

"Not really. I just want to ask some questions to a priest. Any priest will do."

The priest in the confessional did not get angry, and still advised gently: "Then you can go to the backyard of the church to find Priest Jeff. He is taking care of the flower garden. I hope you can leave the confessional to the lost people who want to confess, okay?"

Master Anser played the role very naturally, showing the stubbornness and willfulness of a young boy: "But no matter which priest I am, I would not want others to hear the question I want to ask. Are you sure you want me to ask other priests?"

The priest in the confessional smiled and said, "Okay young man, let me answer your question. What do you want to ask? About the existence of God or our doctrine?"

He seemed to treat Anther as a young man who was curious about God and the church, and he intended to patiently answer Anther's questions.

But under Xin's gaze, the question Anser asked was -

"Why do you believe in God and why do you join the church, priest?"

"..."

Both the priest on the other side of the door and Xin, who had no idea what Ansel was going to do, were stunned by this question.

After about three or four seconds, the priest reacted and asked, "Young man, why are you curious about this question? This is not something a child of your age would consider."

Unfortunately, the boy he met was not a real boy... Well, it was a real boy, but a somewhat abnormal boy.

"Don't answer a question with a question, priest," Anser asked seriously. "It's not polite."

The priest was stunned for another two seconds, then smiled and shook his head: "I'm sorry, I was rude. Well... why believe in God, why join the church? This is really a very distant thing."

"I am not a Christian, but a citizen of the Empire. I was born in the South Territory. When I was a child, my father moved our family to East Port for business. It has been almost... forty years now."

The middle-aged priest did not resist telling his past, and he spoke calmly: "On the first day I arrived in Donggang, I saw a large ship that I had never seen before. It was also the first time I saw the church flag. The priest who got off the ship saw that I was looking at them, so he gave me a book of doctrine."

At this point, a platinum-colored book that was old but well-maintained was sent over through the small window in the center.

The priest did not mind sharing this precious thing to him with the young man he had never met before: "If you are interested, you can take a look."

Anser accepted the teachings naturally and asked curiously, "So from that time on, you decided to become a priest?"

"No, of course not." The priest laughed heartily, "Because I couldn't understand what was written in this book at all. I didn't even know the Imperial language at that time, so how could I understand the doctrine that had not been translated?"

"It's just an opportunity..." The priest's sentiments were filled with the breath of time, "an opportunity for me to gain God's favor."

"In that case, what happened to the priest that made him choose to become a priest?"

"Well, when I was thirteen, my father was framed and his business went bankrupt. He owed a huge debt and jumped into the sea in despair. His partner betrayed my mother and me when we tried to escape from Donggang. My mother was captured and turned into a slave. I was lucky enough to be blessed by a priest when I was escaping and barely survived."

The priest's tone was calm, and he did not show the bitterness and pain of past wounds. However, it was this calmness that made it difficult to imagine how harsh the hardships he had experienced were.

Anser said ashamedly like a teenager who knew he had made a mistake: "I didn't mean to untie your scar, priest. I'm sorry."

"It's nothing, young man. That's all in the past." The priest smiled. "After being rescued by that priest, I might not have taken this path today, but he found the doctrine in my escape luggage. I was going to exchange it for money, after all, it looked very valuable, but the priest thought it was God's will... No, it was indeed God's will."

"Under God's will, the priest taught me how to obtain God's gifts and how to become a transcendent. I lived up to his expectations and became a third-order transcendent within fifteen years. Even though I am still at the third order today and have no hope of further advancement, it is enough for me."

"I used this power to achieve revenge, and found my mother a few years later, making up for the pain in my heart and calming the anger in my heart... So young man, why do you think I believe in God and why I joined the church?"

After this short story, the priest finally gave his own answer: "Because God saved me and saved my life which should have been dark, why should I not believe in it and respect it?"

Xin, who was standing next to Ansel, looked both proud and sad. She was very happy... one could even say that she was very satisfied with the priest's story. It seemed that it was an honor for her that someone was saved by God's grace.

But Anser's words froze Xin's joy.

"So, you believe in it for the sake of gaining power, right?"

"…This is the third time you've left me speechless, young man."

The priest sighed helplessly: "Young man, why do you think so? You got the order wrong. I never believed in God for the sake of gaining power. It was God who saved me—"

"Let's put it another way. Priest, you believe in God in order to be saved, right?"

"I said, God saved me first, then I—"

In the middle of his words, the priest paused again.

Because he sensed another meaning in Anser's words -

"But if God doesn't save you." The curious boy tilted his head slightly, "Will the priests still believe in it?"

Salvation comes first, then faith comes.

That is, without salvation, there is no faith.

In other words... isn't it still for the sake of salvation, believing that one can be saved by believing in God, and adopting a God of faith?

After a long time, the priest slowly said, "This kind of question is really not something a young person would ask."

"Can the priest answer me?"

Xin felt very uncomfortable. She felt that something cold and dangerous was surrounding her. She didn't want to listen to the rest of the conversation, but she didn't want to leave Anser. She didn't want to miss the opportunity to get to know Anser better and perform her duties better.

After a brief silence, the priest responded softly: "It's actually not a big deal. If you are to follow what you said, young man, then I do believe in God for power."

Xin frowned, but Anser held her hand to stop her from speaking, and said, "Wouldn't the priest think that such a belief is... unreal?"

“Not real…”

The priest suddenly laughed: "So what kind of faith do you think can be regarded as true faith, young man?"

"Without any superfluous things, and without any other existence, it should be an absolute pure reverence and devotion to God. That's it."

Ansel's speculation was denied by the priest.

"This is not faith, young man, this is a lie."

At this moment, if Ansel had not forcibly held down Xin, the priest in the other compartment would have been hung up and questioned by Xin.

This third-level priest could never have imagined that there was a divine being right across from him, who in the blink of an eye had firmly controlled a fifth-level being that was almost out of control.

"The prerequisite for a firm belief is to know yourself clearly. Asking God for something is not shameful. It is better to say...only when you ask God for something can you have faith."

The priest said calmly, "Even believers who really don't ask God for anything actually get emotional feedback from their faith in God. In other words, faith itself makes them feel at ease. This is true for most believers."

"After all... who would believe in an existence that has no effect on them? Isn't that meaningless?"

Blasphemy...

Xin, who was firmly controlled by Ansher, had a cold look in her eyes. She wanted to judge this unqualified priest right now.

To slander faith is itself a blasphemy against God!

To look upon and revere the glory of God is to praise its greatness and nobility. How can it be for the sake of seeking rewards or satisfying oneself? How can it be for the sake of...

As he thought about it, Xin's heart fell into endless confusion.

Xin still felt confused about the issue of faith raised by Ming Furo and revealed by Ansel. In her heart, she still didn't believe that her belief in God... was just for herself.

Ansel answered by saying, "God doesn't care, so the only one who cares is you." Although Xin couldn't refute it, he still felt a little unconvinced.

But now, Ansher actually asked the clergy in the church to express in another way the words that she would never accept.

[No one will believe in an existence that is completely useless to them]

In other words, in the eyes of this priest, the original starting point of any belief has never been the worship of God's power or the reverence for God's greatness, but...interests.

It is because believing in God is good for oneself that we believe in God and have faith.

Is this true? How can this be true! How can one believe in God for pure benefit! Believing in God is to praise its greatness and to admire its glory. How can it be to get something from God? How can it be for such a utilitarian reason? How can it be...

Not just me, but everyone? The truth about everyone?

"But even so, my faith in God is by no means false, young man. I firmly believe that the doctrine and the priest's protection are God's gift and arrangement, so there is nothing wrong with admitting this."

The priest smiled and said, "I gained strength and salvation because of my faith in God, and I also believed in God in order to gain strength and salvation. There is really no difference in essence. From now on, I will continue to believe in God devoutly."

"Because it has protected me, and because I hope it can continue to protect me and more people."

Faith is for the sake of obtaining.

In essence, it is for self-satisfaction.

Whether it is material things or inner peace, it is all to satisfy the desires in one's heart.

Ansel left the church, but he went to many other churches and asked the same question in various ways.

Why believe in God?

Some people could not give an answer, some refused to answer, and some, like the middle-aged priest, gave their answers seriously and gently and generously.

No matter which response it is, it’s actually pretty much the same.

Those who cannot give an answer will ask in another way. The most typical one is: [Will believing in God make you happy?]

When Xin saw the affirmation and reassurance on these people's faces, she knew what these people had gained from their faith in God.

Even the old priests from the Theocracy gave a very simple answer - God gave them a peaceful life and allowed them to live in a country full of order.

Whether they were believers of the Empire or priests of the Theocracy, no matter where they came from, they all gained something from that faith that allowed them to continue to uphold it.

The devout middle-aged priest made such an evaluation of his own faith, and even said that "the prerequisite for firm faith is to know oneself clearly."

Does every priest with strong enough faith recognize this reality?

But why... why do I always feel it's so unreal?

Do I...really believe in God just to get something?

Under Ansel's instigation, Xin suddenly realized the source of his confusion and doubts.

Before, Anser said that she believed in God just to satisfy herself, because God didn't need her faith at all.

The key point of this argument is that "God doesn't care". God doesn't care, but she does, which is undoubtedly selfish and a betrayal of duty.

And now, the conversation with this priest directly cut open the faith itself, allowing Xin to look directly at the source, which made Xin dare not look directly at it, and even felt a little... scared.

Because she found that what the priest said was right. Believers and priests can always get something from this belief - whether it is strength or comfort. They all get something from this belief that can support this belief, and only then will they defend this belief more firmly.

But...what about her?

She didn't think about what she would get from her faith, and...it seemed that she really didn't get anything.

Is it consolation? Will believing in God comfort her? No, Xin has never felt any pain or anxiety. She is high above and judges everything in the world. As long as she can fulfill her duties, she never cares about who will experience what or what kind of life they will have. How can she need so-called consolation?

Strength? Ke Xin had never thought of gaining strength through faith. She had never asked for strength and had never considered becoming stronger.

So...it's duty?

Is it because of her belief in God that God gave her such a responsibility?

How could God give her such an important responsibility just because of her faith? God... never cares about faith.

Fulfilling her duties makes Xin feel honored and realizes that she is doing something great and right. Yes, Mr. Devil also said that she is doing the right thing and God also cares about this duty - in the process of fulfilling her duties, such a clear and significant meaning runs through it all the time.

But what about believing in God?

If she had never gained anything from this belief, she had never expected to gain anything from this belief.

Even God himself doesn't care whether she has faith or not.

So what is the meaning of her faith?

Then why...why did she believe in God?

Chapter 5: Betrayal (K)

What Xin doubted was not his faith, but himself. Throughout the training process, Anser had always had a very clear understanding of this.

She was not doubting the correctness of worshipping God or the correctness of her faith, but she was doubting herself.

However, at this point, Anther currently has no plans to continue, suspecting that it is an incurable plague, and once it takes root in the heart, there is no possibility of eradication, especially for an extremely devout believer like Sin.

If he gave the Saint too much stimulation and caused her mind to completely collapse, it would be more trouble than gain. After all, he had not yet fully grasped the power and movements of this woman. Once Xin went berserk, the threat and damage she might bring would be countless times greater than that of Ivora now.

This suspicion that gradually caused her to collapse was just right. There was no need to continue for the time being, and then...

"So this is why you called me here?"

The sound of the rising and falling tide echoed along the coast. Ming Fuluo, who was sitting on a bench with her legs crossed, tilted her head and said, "Because she couldn't stand your stimulation and is hiding away to doubt her life and lick her wounds. So you need me to accompany you?"