Lance was reminded of sothing quite interesting when he heard this.
In the ga, Reynard began with a fixed negative trait called "Kleptomania," which ant there was a chance he would pocket the loot during the course of dungeon adventures.
It was tolerable if he stole a thousand or so, but if he took sothing vital, it could send a player’s blood pressure skyrocketing.
This behavior greatly contradicted his identity as a Church Crusader, so he was often teased by players as the "Radiant Pilferer" Reynard.
Because of this title, Lance had initially worried that Reynard might take his loot. This was why he took most of the responsibility for clearing the battlefield himself—apart from the reasons for Sacrifices—just to prevent this.
But in reality, he discovered that Reynard had little interest in money or material desires.
Every ti they completed a mission, Lance would give them a bonus. Dismas spent his money on gambling and won, Balistan liked to go to the tavern after work, but Reynard was not interested in those things. Instead, he gave his money to help orphans and struggling families.
Lance had been puzzled as to why Reynard developed kleptomania, yet never stole from him. Now, Lance finally understood the reason.
It was because he gave Reynard genuine gold and silver, and later on, he enacted new policies where the territory would allocate money to provide reasonable support for those orphans and widows.
Reynard, unclear about what the Lord was thinking, appeared sowhat disheartened as he voiced his doubts.
"If there really is a God, why would He allow the world to beco what it is now? Has the Holy Light abandoned ?"
"To understand this, you must know the origin of the concept of God."
Sure enough, Reynard was curious about the origin of God. Lance imdiately adopted the air of a Scholar and began to explain slowly.
"Fear stems from the unknown. In the age of human ignorance, there were too many things beyond human comprehension, such as natural disasters, human calamities, life, and death. During these tis, humans were fragile and helpless, so psychologically, we needed support.
For example, when night ca, humans could only cower in their lairs, constantly vigilant against nightti predators because safety at night was not guaranteed. Therefore, they defined night as ’evil.’ Conversely, daylight brought light to replace the darkness, ensuring human safety, and so they defined light as ’good.’
But the people of that era lacked understanding. They didn’t comprehend the principles behind the transition of day and night, so they imagined a suprely powerful being controlling everything. This imagined being was what they called ’god.’
This kind of god is a law of nature that will not change based on human will. Whether you worship it or not does not affect nature itself. Just as if I do not believe in the Holy Light, the sun will still rise from the east; you believe in the Holy Light, but the sun will still set in the west."
Reynard was lost in thought after hearing this. Seeing this, Lance posed another question.
"What is your definition of God?"
"All-powerful."
"If God is all-powerful, then why is there a need to worship Him?" Lance asked with a smile, appearing rather frivolous. "It’s always humans who need Gold Coins. The so-called god is just an excuse they use, a reason to drive you to plunder."
"Please stop, My Lord!"
Lance was just getting to the interesting part when Reynard suddenly interrupted him, looking around cautiously to ensure no one was paying attention before whispering, "If the Church hears of this, you would be labeled a heretic and put on trial."
"Do you think I’m a heretic?" Lance asked, smiling at him.
He didn’t seem at all afraid of the Church, which was even more terrifying than the Empire.
This courage stemd from his newfound strength; if he really provoked the Church, he could just run away and leave the big trouble of the old ancestor to them.
After all, with his abilities, he could make a na for himself anywhere, no longer limited to a single path as he was in the beginning.
However, his words stumped Reynard.
If one went by the Church’s logic, My Lord would be a heretic spreading heterodox teachings; even the thods he had previously revealed could be called sorcery. But I have witnessed My Lord’s journey. He went alone to the Cursed Land to fulfill a promise made a millennium ago. In just ten-odd days, My Lord quelled internal strife, defeated external foes, and breathed new life into this once lifeless town. He is more radiant than those who preach the Holy Light, dispelling the darkness and bringing hope of salvation.
"No."
Reynard responded with a serious face and a firm tone.
"Don’t be so stern; we’re just chatting," Lance said with a smile and a nod. He was now sure that in Reynard’s eyes, he was more important than the Church. Only then did he reveal his sharp claws.
"To understand this, we need to talk about the origin of the concept of religion."
Once Lance had gauged Reynard’s attitude, he didn’t show much reaction, speaking as casually as if chatting with a friend over barbecue.
"Because of humanity’s limited understanding, it’s customary to attribute all unknowns to a god. Thus, god beca an omniscient and omnipotent being, possessing the right to explain everything unknown. This also granted god powerful authority.
But as I said earlier, god was initially a natural law, not influenced by human will. Therefore, this authority was vacant.
god didn’t care, but this divine power was infinitely tempting to humans. Consequently, so people usurped this divine power. They wrote scriptures, monopolizing the interpretation of god, turning common folk into servants of god. anwhile, they transford themselves into god’s spokespersons—the ’gods’ who, in fact, enjoyed divine power.
And religion is an organization created by such people who usurped divine power.
The highest echelon, the Bishops and Priests, control the interpretation of religion and enjoy the highest privileges through their compilation of the scriptures.
The second layer consists of Priests, Nuns, and Knights. They are responsible for collecting religious taxes to ensure the institution’s operation. They also monopolize cultural education through religious schools to brainwash believers and use violent ans to protect the upper class and strike down enemies. These individuals enjoy certain privileges.
The third layer is the average believers, who have no privileges and must support the first two layers through offerings and taxes, oblivious to being exploited.
The fourth layer comprises non-believers or those who follow other faiths. They are directly excluded from this system and labeled as heretics. As for their fate... well, it’s rarely a good one."
Lance was peeling back the Church’s shaful cover-up layer by layer, revealing its twisted core.
But Reynard was puzzled and asked with a frown, "If the Church is really so corrupt, why would they still promote all sorts of truth, goodness, and beauty?"
During his wanderings, Reynard had t many wise individuals, but no one had ever told him this.
He felt that My Lord could answer the questions that had troubled him for so long and was eager for more explanation.
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