Chapter 14

A sense of crisis flashed through his mind, and Elphis shuddered. He looked down at Winster who was being led by him.

The child looked at him quietly with sparkling eyes. Elphis could see his happiness and anticipation at a glance and smiled at Winster.

Hmm... the temperature difference is so big, I guess I felt cold just now.

In the sunset, Elphis held the child in front of him and rode his horse back to the chapel.

As he expected, Grandpa Kevin had no objection to his adopting a child and was even quite pleased.

The old man with a white beard touched the boy's head lovingly: "El, I have always worried that you would indulge in gold and silver, pursue a luxurious life, and forget your gratitude to the gods and the creed taught by the church. My El is still so kind and willing to save others from suffering. You have not let grandpa down."

Just as Elphis was about to praise his grandfather for his good teaching, he heard the old man continue, "It seems that even if grandpa passes away in the future, I can safely entrust the church to you."

“…”No, I’m afraid I’ll be tempted to turn it into a temple for the God of Wealth.

"Grandpa, don't say such unlucky words. You are in good health and blessed by the gods. You can live for a long time."

Elphis chatted with Grandpa Kevin about the future, and the old man asked about Winster's situation before letting the two of them into the house.

"Can you sleep with your brother for the next two days? I'll find someone to make a new bed for you, and then we can sleep separately."

Winster looked at the simple and tidy house, feeling both expectant and nervous. His little face rarely showed any expression, and he obediently agreed to whatever Elphis said.

There was still some light in the sky, and Elphis took the children to the kitchen to boil water for washing.

"Can you make a fire?"

Winster nodded, "Yes."

Elphis touched the top of his head and said, "That's amazing. Please help me to watch the fire. I will go and pack some clothes for you."

He had long thought about bringing the child back to live with him, so he had prepared a new quilt and pillow.

He took them out and put them on the bed, then took out his own clothes and shoes that were a little too small and let the child wear them first. He hoped that one day when the child was willing to go to the city with him, he would buy some new clothes that would fit him.

After washing up, Winster put on straw slippers and sat at the table with his brother.

There were five oil lamps lit in the room, making it very bright.

"It's still early, let's learn to recognize words, first learn how to write your own name..."

Winster's memory was unexpectedly good. Elphis successfully taught him a lot of words before going to bed, and he felt very accomplished.

After turning off the lights, Winster lay on the soft bed without any earthy smell, covered with a light and warm rabbit fur quilt, with the best brother in the world next to him.

It was the first time for him to be in such a comfortable and safe resting environment, but he had no desire to sleep at all - could this be a beautiful dream? He shook his head and the dream ended, but he was still in the cave.

Winster turned sideways and looked at his brother's silhouette in the dark. He suddenly remembered the warm touch of his brother holding his hand, and felt much more at ease.

The ups and downs of emotions are very exhausting, not to mention that it is already past Winster's usual bedtime. Once he relaxes, he is quickly overwhelmed by sleepiness.

The next day, Alphis took the child for a walk around the town, showed him the way, and introduced him to the townspeople. He was an orphan whose parents had both died and who was homeless. He was sleeping in Uncle Will's cart but was accidentally brought back to town by them.

The adults didn't care. They just sighed at Winster's good luck for meeting Alphis who was willing to adopt him. He was sure that he would learn a lot by following Al.

The children in the town didn't like this outsider very much, because Alphis seldom played with them on weekdays, and this boy could actually live with Brother Al!

In the afternoon, Elphis left Winster at Grandpa Kaven's house to study with the other children.

Willy has admired Alphis since he was saved by him when he had a fever three years ago.

After Brother Al asked them to learn to read and write well, little Willy became the most serious and most beautifully handwritten child in the town, and received many praises from Pastor Calvin. But today, the pastor grandfather actually praised the outsider as being as smart as Brother Al!

Some kids in the town didn't like outsiders stealing Al's attention, and Winster didn't like to smile or talk, and looked very cold, so the kids in the town didn't like him.

Most children have straightforward tempers. They showed their dislike for Winster on their faces, and retorted that the pastor was no match for brother Al. Then they listed all the good things about Alphis.

Winster did not feel the slightest bit disappointed about being targeted. Instead, he was very happy to hear others praising his brother. He even enjoyed this rare noisy atmosphere.

As usual, Pastor Kevin would recite a traveler's poem or travelogue every day, and then end the get out of class after teaching thirty words.

A group of kids hung out in groups after school, and no one took the initiative to talk to Winster.

Winster didn't mind at all. Although he was not very old, he had already begun to dislike children. He thought they were stupid and noisy.

Elphis would not always bring Winster with him. When he went out, he would usually discuss important matters with the adults, which would be boring for children. He believed that it would be better for Winster to play and receive education with his peers.

Elphis, the mayor, and Uncle Will discussed the business plan for the next two months, personnel allocation, and the purchase price of goods from the townspeople. When the sun sank to the west, everyone dispersed reluctantly - they had to finish other chores before it got completely dark.

Elphis plans to eat less in the pub in the future and cook at home, mainly to teach his children some life skills.

The young boy rolled up his sleeves while rolling out the dough and chatting with the kid who was lighting the fire nearby, "How was your day? Did you make any friends?"

Winster pursed his lips, looked at his brother guiltily, and asked in a low voice: "Can I not make friends?"

Elphis thought that the child was not yet accustomed to the crowd and had some social anxiety, so he didn't preach to him and thought that the important thing was to let him adapt to the new environment first.

"Just do whatever makes you happy. By the way, what did you learn from Grandpa today?"

Winster looked at his brother's tolerant and gentle smile and felt relieved. But when he heard the following questions, his mood sank again...

After the other children left, Pastor Kevin took Winster aside and began to tell the story of God saving the world again and again.

The people in the small town of Lisse have long heard of the kindness of the God of Light and the Holy See, but unfortunately their faith has become less and less devout in recent years, which makes Kevin very disappointed. Now that a little child has moved into the church, of course, missionary work must start from the child!

Pastor Kaven was speaking happily, but for some reason, Winster felt his patience run out when he heard those poems and hymns praising the God of Light. Was it because he was a member of the dark race and naturally disliked light?

Winster told his brother what he had learned in the afternoon. Elphis felt that the child was somewhat superstitious, and he could not be allowed to continue being brainwashed by his grandfather, otherwise he would be even more convinced that it would bring bad luck to him.

"Grandpa's stories about God saving the world and the history of the Church are all unfounded. Just treat them as entertainment and listen to them. Don't take them to heart."

The young boy rolled the dough into thin sheets, folded it and prepared to cut it into thin strips to make noodles. He continued, "But we still have to pretend that we worship the gods in front of grandpa and make the old man happy."

Winster could hear his brother's disrespect for the God of Light and the Church. He knew that his brother simply did not believe them, but he also felt a sense of pleasure that the other party was standing on the opposite side of God just like him.

"Then... Grandpa said that we will praise the gods in front of the statue later. Do we have to kneel down?"

When Winster came last night, he happened to see the old man kneeling devoutly in front of the statue, so he asked this question.

Thinking of this, the warm and bright firelight could not hide the sadness on the child's face.

If just listening to the story would make him feel uncomfortable psychologically, then kneeling down to express gratitude would make him feel physically nauseous. If it was really unavoidable, Winster even hesitated whether to go back to live in the cave.

Elphis saw the child's embarrassment, which was not difficult to understand. If it were him, he would be disgusted if someone asked him to kneel down and thank the person who made him displaced.

"Don't like the God of Light?"

Winster uttered an aggrieved "hmm".

The boy wiped his hands, walked to the kitchen door and confirmed that his grandfather was not coming this way. Then he sat down next to the child and handed him a gold coin. He smiled and said, "Then don't think of the statue as the God of Light. Think of it as the God of Wealth. Worship the God of Wealth with your brother."

"……?"

Winster opened his eyes wide and looked at the older boy in confusion - what was the God of Wealth?

"As long as we work hard and do business steadily, the God of Wealth will bless us to obtain gold coins smoothly and live better and better. This is a very pure god who only cares about money."

“Even if the God of Light really exists, with so many people believing in Him, He certainly can’t see us. It’s better for us to believe in the God of Wealth like my brother. We are the only ones in this world who think of Him, and He will definitely favor us. It just so happens that the God of Wealth is a kind old man with black hair, black eyes, and a long black beard. He won’t dislike you in any way.”

Winster looked at his brother's serious expression and fell silent... Does his brother believe in the existence of God, or not?

The child hesitated and asked: "Are there really such gods?" It sounded like his brother was making it up.

The young boy's eyelashes flickered. He was actually an atheist, but... well, he could still believe in the God of Wealth, and it was better to let his children worship the God of Wealth than the God of Light.

"Of course, brother, I've been worshipping for three years, and now I'm the richest kid in town." He's even richer than Uncle Will, but one should still be low-key.

"Brother has dreamed of the God of Wealth. I will make a clay statue of him and show you what he looks like."

Winster is not the type to believe everything others say, but...

"Are we the only two in the world who believe in this God of Wealth?"

Elphis nodded.

Winster took the gold coin his brother handed him, the symbol of the God of Wealth, and said, "Well, then I will think about the God of Wealth instead of the God of Light."

In this world full of believers of the God of Light, he and his brother are two pagans. This is a little secret between them - which makes Winster feel closer to his brother.

Besides, no matter whether this god really exists or not, since his brother likes Him, He must be good, at least better than the God of Light who makes him feel disgusted.

That night, in addition to reciting the usual hymns, Pastor Kavan also thanked God for taking care of Winster and for giving him the good fortune of having a new home.

Elphis curled the corner of his mouth. He had indeed "taken care" of her a lot, causing her to suffer a lot.

The two children pretended to obey but actually disobeyed. They seemed to be praising the God of Light, but with gold coins in their hands, they were thinking of the God of Wealth in their hearts.

Late at night, the entire town of Lisse fell into a deep sleep.

On the bed, the sleeping child suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were deep.

Samuel tilted his head to look at the kid who was sleeping unconsciously, and he almost laughed out of anger - in all the years he spent in that small village, he only woke up once, on the day he killed the father and son. He didn't expect that he would be woken up for two consecutive days by a seemingly innocent human kid!

God of Wealth? What a mess! How dare you trick me into worshipping a wild god I've never heard of...

The child squinted his eyes, and a thick darkness surrounded the bed.

Elphis shuddered, but he was busy during the day and always slept soundly at night. He just wrapped himself tightly in the quilt in a daze and did not notice anything unusual.

Samuel snorted coldly, but ultimately did not attack the little brat.

"I'll take care of you when you grow up."