"How to correctly use the noble tongue — mastering the different forms of address and honorifics for various subjects — is an incredibly tedious course!"
Anthony produced a badge from inside his coat — a holy emblem in the shape of an open tome, wreathed in a soft, hazy glow.
"Do you recognize it?" Anthony asked quietly.
"I do! It's the holy symbol of the great Knowledge God, Oghma!" Leilin nodded honestly.
Anthony's smile broadened. "Yes! The great Knowledge God, Oghma — he is the faith of all scholars, and the wellspring of all knowledge…"
He regarded Leilin with a meaningful look. "He is also the patron deity of your Faolan Family. Do you pray regularly?"
"I've seen my parents do it!" Leilin replied. After all, you couldn't very well expect a small child to do more.
"Good! Then follow my lead!"
Anthony's expression turned devout and solemn. "Great Knowledge God, you are the wellspring of all knowledge, the master of truth…"
Leilin mentally rolled his eyes but had no choice but to join in the prayer. "…Your radiance spreads across the entire world, driving out barbarism and ignorance, bringing us the light of civilization…"
His young, high-pitched voice echoed through the small parlor, and behind the door, Jonas and Sarah's faces broke into smiles.
"So this teacher isn't just giving me language lessons — he's giving me theology lessons too…"
Leilin felt somewhat depressed inside, but not a trace of impatience showed on his face. Instead, it was filled with earnestness and focus, which made Anthony nod approvingly to himself.
In truth, Leilin knew this was entirely unavoidable.
The influence of the gods upon this world was far too profound. If he wanted to maintain his disguise here, he had to remake himself into a believer.
A person without faith, in a world ruled by gods, was a monster with no room to survive.
Fortunately, the gods primarily exerted influence and left their marks on the souls of their devoted followers and fanatics. As for casual, nominal believers who had merely been touched by a sliver of divine radiance, they received far less attention.
What was even more perfect was that, unless one served as a god's cleric, outsiders could not discern the degree of one's faith at all.
All it took was praying at set intervals and occasionally making donations to the church — mere surface gestures. Leilin was confident he could perform those flawlessly.
The Knowledge God Oghma, as far as Leilin knew, was a deity worshipped by many nobles and scholars — or, one might say, by the educated classes in general.
These two groups happened to be people who either cared only about their own interests or placed greater emphasis on practical rules. Their so-called piety could hardly have been very deep, so Leilin wouldn't stand out among them. It was one of his best possible choices.
"If I didn't choose this one, then on the Faolan Family's territory, there was only one other deity — Ilmater, the God of Suffering!"
Leilin shuddered.
Ilmater was a deity brimming with the spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion. His teachings largely exhorted followers to endure and submit, making him a deity that rulers loved to introduce onto their lands.
Baron Jonas was no exception. Currently, only these two churches existed on his fiefdom, and a pattern had emerged: the upper classes worshipped the Knowledge God, while common farmers and sailors followed Ilmater.
The Baron would have liked to bring in the Church of Waukeen, Goddess of Wealth, as well, but so far he had had no success.
The island's trade was not yet prosperous enough, let alone the fact that it faced a joint boycott from the other two churches. Those Wealth clerics, who knew that making money mattered more than spreading the faith, naturally didn't think much of the opportunity.
"Excellent!"
Seeing a puff of white holy light float up from the emblem and wash over Leilin, every wrinkle on Anthony's face relaxed into a broad smile.
"The great Knowledge God has accepted your prayer. From now on, you may accompany your parents to the Temple of Knowledge and attend church ceremonies and make offerings…"
"It would be my honor!" Leilin replied solemnly, while feeling a small measure of relief inwardly. "As expected — this soul of mine is completely native to the world of the gods. It didn't arouse even a hint of suspicion. As long as I maintain this same level of devotion and don't draw attention to myself, there should be no problems…"
Of course, Leilin also knew that he had thoroughly cut himself off from the path of a cleric.
After all, the faith requirements for clerics were extremely stringent — not only did one need to fully understand and follow a deity's doctrines, but one's very soul had to belong to the deity itself.
If his soul were ever laid bare under the gods' gaze, Leilin had no confidence he could conceal what lay within.
"Still, with my mentality, I probably couldn't even qualify as the lowest rank of cleric…"
Leilin found his own thoughts somewhat absurd.
"Now, let's begin today's lesson. Incidentally, the compensation your father offered me is three gold coins per hourglass hour!"
Anthony began writing on the blackboard in an elaborate script — ornate and beautiful, yet exceedingly tedious.
"Three gold coins?" Leilin exclaimed softly. Even a child his age knew that in the world of the gods, the purchasing power of gold coins was tremendous.
"Knowledge is priceless…" Anthony nodded with satisfaction at Leilin's reaction, then launched into the morning's lessons.
This level of instruction was utterly trivial in Leilin's eyes. To mask his exceptional ability, he deliberately slowed his learning pace considerably.
Even so, the performance he displayed left Anthony greatly impressed. The tutor praised Leilin extravagantly to the Baron and his wife, even predicting that the boy would one day become a great scholar. This set Lady Sarah's eyes sparkling with delight, and the Baron himself scooped Leilin up and tossed him into the air, spinning him around numerous times.
After enjoying a lavish lunch served by the maids, Leilin followed the Baron to the small training yard behind the estate.
This area was normally used by the farmers to sun-dry grain, so it was quite open and spacious. On one side stood a wooden rack holding various weapons — hammers, short swords, longspears, and knightly lances.
A warrior clad in leather armor was already waiting in the center of the yard.
"Leilin, this is our family's guard captain. You may call him
From the man's bearing, Leilin could clearly sense the killing aura that only came from having waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, along with a formidable surge of power. The man had clearly mastered some form of supernatural ability — he was a professional.
"Uncle Jacob!" Leilin immediately called out sweetly.
"Your Uncle Jacob has been in charge of the patrol squad at the port. I've specifically brought him back to oversee your martial training. From now on, he will be your combat instructor. Understood?"
The Baron's voice turned serious.
"Teacher Jacob!" Leilin rolled his eyes internally but performed another respectful bow.
"Jacob, I'm entrusting Leilin to you!" Jonas patted Jacob on the shoulder.
"Rest assured, my lord. I will teach the young master everything I know!" Jacob straightened his chest.
After the Baron departed, only Leilin and Jacob remained in the small yard.
"Before we begin the warrior's training, I'd like to ask the young master — do you know what a 'professional' is?"
Jacob had a very rough-hewn face, and his long years of suppression work had imbued him with a murderous aura. Even when he tried his best to smile gently, the sight of him could make most children burst into tears.
"I think I've heard of it…" Leilin scratched his hair with his fingers.
"A professional is one who has mastered great power. Those of the fifth rank and above receive preferential treatment even in other nations!"
Seemingly to bolster his own persuasiveness, the muscles on Jacob's right arm swelled, covered in a shimmering, hazy glow.
"Watch closely! This is the ability only warriors of the fifth rank and above can possess — Combat Aura!"
With Jacob's explosive shout, his fist slammed down into the ground.
BOOM! Dust erupted into the air. The entire yard shook as though struck by a small earthquake. When the dust settled, a sunken crater had appeared beside Jacob.
"Whoa…" Leilin gaped on cue, looking thoroughly astonished — playing the part of an ordinary child. In truth, he was silently appraising Jacob's capabilities.
"That level of destructive power… is comparable to a Knight who has activated Life Energy. Of course, since the supernatural power restrictions in the world of the gods are even more stringent, his combat effectiveness should be rated even higher — probably on par with a first-rank
Leilin calculated silently, and the Chip displayed the data directly before his eyes.
[Jacob — Warrior Rank: Fifth or above (insufficient data) — Strength Estimate: ? — Agility Estimate: ? — Constitution Estimate: ? — Spirit Estimate: ? — Evaluation: Dangerous!]
"Sigh… with this body's weak strength, even the Chip's scanning ability is limited…"
Leilin sighed inwardly, but at least he now had a rough picture of Jacob's power.
"I'm only a warrior, so I can only demonstrate the power of a warrior to the young master…"
Jacob said with some regret, "
It was clear that Jacob was faithfully carrying out his duty — using his formidable power to entice the young master onto the path of strength.
"Then… Uncle Jacob, what rank of warrior are you? Can you tell Leilin?"
At this moment, Leilin naturally made full use of his advantage as a small child, probing for information.
"Me? I'm only a sixth-rank warrior!" Jacob laughed, seeming somewhat embarrassed.