Gun of Ashes

”What a tremendous blasphemy it was. At that time, I resolutely refused, even making preparations to be killed. I left the army and returned to my long-lost home, intending to tell my parents that I hadn’t betrayed the gifts from God. But when I arrived, all I saw were two corpses.”

Liya gently patted Hu ao, comforting him as people around them gathered to show their care. In that moment, they seemed like a family.

Years passed, and Hu ao’s good deeds were finally rewarded, but Corey never received such a reward.

”I’m not quite sure how they died, but they might have starved. After all, the Radiant War had just ended, and nobody had enough to eat. Their bodies were as thin as dry sticks, while that gilded statue of God stood silently in front of them, watching.

The gilded statue was quite valuable; it could have been exchanged for several meals. Yet they never thought along those lines from beginning to end.”

Corey retracted his gaze, turning to look at Lawrence’s androgynous face, void of expression.

”This is the gift from God, Dean. At that moment, I suddenly awakened to the fact that there is no God in this world, only a bunch of self-deceiving people.

I felt angry about my faith. I felt like a fool. I foolishly attributed my own hard-earned achievements to God’s grace, and I found my parents’ deaths laughable—still hoping for those illusory things until the very end.”

”So you became the Director of the Iron Law Bureau, and now you manipulate faith.”

Lawrence looked at Corey, whose face rarely showed a third emotion—anger.

”No, this is different. The God of the Evangelical Church never responds to people, but Orthodoxy is different. I am different. The ’God’ of Orthodoxy is real, and we will respond to the calls of the Believers.”

Corey watched the crowd below.

”How many people like this do you think there are in Gaulunaro?”

Without waiting for Lawrence’s response, he continued.

”I have read the population survey report. Poor people like this make up the vast majority of Gaulunaro, but you can’t see them. People living in the city can’t see them. People like this can only survive in those remote and backward places, and even if they come to the city, they can only live in the damp darkness.”

His voice grew passionate, like a speech.

”I used to be one of these people, Lawrence. So I understand that just a little kindness, just a little kindness can win these people over. Unlike those picky upper-class individuals, they are the more easily absorbed group.”

”So what? They never have any value.”

Lawrence asked coldly; to him, these people didn’t even have the value of being used.

”That’s why I say, you don’t understand people like me at all.”

Corey laughed, a troubled laugh, as no one has ever truly understood people like this from beginning to end.

”They have been tortured by reality for who knows how long, so long that they’ve become numb and can’t feel the pain anymore. But when you offer them the ’poison’ of happiness, do you think they will refuse?”

Corey asked, and in his eyes, the mysterious Lawrence also seemed laughable.

”Yes, even if they know there is a price, so what? The cruelest thing is not enduring the darkness, but being forever imprisoned in darkness after seeing the light.

We are the light in their eyes. If God does not exist, we become their God. If the world does not grant them kindness, we give them kindness.”

”So?”

Lawrence still didn’t understand Corey’s words.

”So? These gatherings are happening everywhere in Gaulunaro. We have invested a lot of money to help these poor people. In contrast to the lofty Evangelical Church, we are the ones who can truly save them. Even if not for faith, for the regular meals, they need us—they need this light.

But what if this light disappears?”

Corey explained his next plan to Lawrence.

”On the day when Pope Miguel ascends the throne, we will incite a conflict between the Evangelical Church and Orthodoxy. Fanatical Believers of the Evangelical Church will assault the venue, and there might even be a bloody incident. But none of that matters. Orthodoxy will gradually cancel the supply of sacraments over time, and all of this will be attributed to the Evangelical Church’s oppression.

We will slowly turn them into angry crowds. Do not think these people have no influence—know that they occupy the majority of this nation; they are the true silent majority.”

”The death of the Mad King.”

Lawrence said coldly.

”That’s right, the death of the Mad King. The Iron Law Bureau is very good at this kind of thing. We will control public opinion and gradually turn the Evangelical Church into the Mad King, until they are completely abandoned and killed by the fury of the masses.”

Corey refilled his glass with wine and continued speaking.

”Do you really think Gaulunaro’s palace is that easily breached by an angry mob?

In reality, it was not the crowd that killed the Mad King, but other noble ministers. This madman wanted to overthrow everything about the Evangelical Church, which touched on their interests. The soldiers opened the gates, the guards ignored his pleas, and the ministers mocked his grave.

But this time it’s different; this is a perfect opportunity.”

Corey didn’t continue but instead spoke to Lawrence about other matters.