Chapter 62 Blasphemy
"Professor Brody." Little Batman no longer looked as arrogant as before. His face was a little pale and his whole body was as tense as a frozen fish.
His eyes wandered slightly, his hands were hidden under the table, and he couldn't see more details - Solini Optical Shop and Baita University were diagonally across the entire Baita Town, and he could never find the time to get glasses. The damn assassin leader - Little Batman was nervous, and the other party was not the kind of person who was nervous about speaking in public.
Why?
"According to your theory, faith influences people's behavior..." Little Batman swallowed his saliva. "Then may I know which god you believe in?"
Seeing the man studying him thoughtfully with those scary gray eyes, he couldn't help but add, "It's just an academic discussion."
"According to the Efficacy Convention, theologians who sign soul contracts must ensure fairness and impartiality. They must not discuss the gods themselves in public settings other than academic research, so as to avoid blasphemy." The black-haired professor paused coldly. "But this is a university classroom, so I'm willing to tell you that it's Analene, the goddess of love."
——He came with bad intentions. Little Batman knew something, or the person behind the scenes asked him to do something. For example, the chosen one would never publicly declare that he believed in another god. The god of love was not a broad-minded god.
Some people's eyes suddenly became subtle - the followers of Analene, the goddess of love, called themselves "Paradise Visitors". They were a group of bohemian people who indulged in sensual enjoyment and pursued bliss, and often did some incredible and absurd things.
One of the most famous visitors to Paradise in history was Tarasa, the king of the now-extinct Tinned Kingdom. Legend has it that the king was fanatical about enjoying delicious food. In a feast that could have flooded the entire royal capital, he ordered the slaughter of tens of thousands of livestock, until the drawbridge of the royal city was dismantled and thrown into the furnace as firewood. The blood of the livestock, spilled wine, and blazing fires completely dyed the Tinned River blood red - in the end, Tarasa starved himself to death.
As for the young man in front of him, who was cold, serious, and had nothing to do with desire, he did not look like a believer in the god of love.
Little Bateman continued to ask: "So what is the desire you are pursuing?"
This was already impolite - even though the other party was not a sorcerer, he was still a pagan.
"Truth," the professor answered almost without hesitation. "Everything I desire is for the truth."
There seems to be nothing wrong with it. Although it is quite weird and absurd, no one stipulates that "paradise visitors" can only be sex addicts and bulimia patients.
"But I've heard your mother repeatedly claim you're a devout Radiant Knight." Little Bartman's breathing quickened. "Does this mean you've abandoned the light and embraced lust?"
The crowd was shocked. Although most people wouldn't delve into how many gods an ordinary person believed in, abandoning one's faith was a very serious accusation for a Glowing Knight. In some conservative parishes, one could even be lynched by local believers.
Nova raised his eyelids, and the creepy smoky gray eyes made little Bartman a little puzzled. He still remembered the last time the other person had given him this expression, which had made him nervous for several days. After thinking it over, he went to discuss it with that person - and in the end, he was scolded mercilessly.
"I can't expect you to have any brains." That day, Jolini Batman said coldly with contempt, while he stood in the shadows, lowered his head, and clenched his fists in secret.
"'Hear.'" The culprit repeated the word elegantly.
Little Bateman couldn't help but hold on to the table and raised his voice: "You don't mean to say that this is nonsense from your cousin who grew up with you?"
"No, Percy is right, my mother did claim so." The other party did not argue and admitted it calmly.
After all, Zephyr, the god of light and glory, had the largest number of followers and the easiest access to political power—most importantly, it was also the faith chosen by the despicable and greedy title thief. Mrs. Brody was incredibly concerned about this. If she hadn't realized that her son's aging made it impossible for her to control him, this desperate mother would have wanted to lock her demonic child away in the Church of Light.
"Am I to understand this: You have admitted with your own mouth that you have betrayed our God?"
Everything seemed so smooth, that little Bartman couldn't help but feel nervous. The overt and covert conflicts between the Church and the Society had intensified in recent years, a development welcomed by the nobility and the royal family. He was ordered to suppress this rising star of the Oakenselle Society with all his might, ideally bringing the Inquisition to the Church of Radiance.
"Don't mess it up again. Don't make me feel that the little trust I once had in you is still a joke." Giorini stared at him coldly: "This is related to the position of the Batman family. If your identity is not suitable..."
The professor's voice brought little Bateman back from his memories: "What does it mean to abandon your faith?"
He asked earnestly, like he was genuinely curious about it.
Little Batman replied subconsciously: "You abandoned your faith in one god and chose to believe in another. Isn't this a betrayal?"
"Then I have never abandoned my faith from the beginning to the end," the other party responded with frank contempt. "I emphasize again that everything I desire is out of the pursuit of truth, just as your faith in the God of Light and Glory is out of a desire for the power of light and glory."
"What exactly is faith?" Ignoring Batman's hesitation, he launched into his lecture. "Faith is a person's overall understanding and theoretical construction of the existence of the world and the laws governing its operation. It guides how people perceive the world, understand politics and economics, and approach various social issues. It is consciousness, a worldview shaped by people, and a guiding methodology, providing a basic framework and guiding principles for understanding and transforming the world."
"Believers of the same god will behave in a group-like manner, influenced by similar and shared values."
He signaled the teaching assistant to light the smokeless lamp in the projector and project several charts and graphs onto the screen in front of the stage.
"Thanks to the assistance of Mr. Rabelais, Mr. Endor, and over ten other scholars, one of my doctoral dissertations is to construct a distribution map of the followers of four major gods over the past fifty years. The samples used are mainly pure believers from all walks of life who only believe in one god, as well as credible records from 135 official documents."
Everyone opened their eyes wide. Those complex, detailed, rigorous and precise data charts shocked almost everyone present.
"In the regional chapter, we can see that the Glowing Knights are more active near the Royal City; the ship passengers are mainly concentrated in seaport cities with convenient sea transportation; the Paradise Visitors are mostly found in wealthy areas with dense human traffic and a focus on trade and commerce; as for the Dead, they are more special. In areas that have experienced disasters such as war, plague, and famine, there will be an explosive surge of faith in the Night God within five to ten years."
"What does this mean?" The classroom was completely silent. Even little Batman stood there stupidly. But the professor didn't immediately seize the opportunity to refute and continue his lecture. He just stood there, calmly waiting for the next thinker to appear.
Soon, a person timidly raised his hand. He was a student from Baita University.
"Please, Mr. Rabbi."
Rabbi Madel stood up, his voice trembling. "Does this mean that faith guides the behavior of believers... but is also a matter of their own choice?"
The gentleman at the podium nodded slightly. "Thank you for providing one of the core arguments of today's class. Mr. Rabbi, you will receive one extra point on your final grade."
The classroom suddenly became lively. Many Baita University students raised their hands, and some clever students stood up and answered while raising their hands.
"One of my relatives went to the Kasa Strait to make a living for work. After experiencing several storms at sea, he decided to convert to the God of the Ocean. This is the impact of life experience on faith."
"There are actually a lot of cases like this now. Why didn't I think of this before? It's obviously human nature. Most parishes don't shy away from it anymore. Only those old-fashioned conservatives still talk about it every day."
Of course there were objections, but unfortunately most of them could only repeat “This is blasphemy!” and “This is disrespectful to the gods!” and were quickly drowned out by the heated discussions.
Little Batman stood there awkwardly, his face pale. He didn't know if he had succeeded. The other party seemed to have admitted to abandoning their faith, but the explanations and thoughts, as well as the excitement of the students around him, made him somewhat confused. He couldn't calmly call them blasphemous "heretics."
What frightened him the most was that he found himself completely unable to refute the other party's sophistry, and could not find any flaws other than "disrespect for the gods". The more he thought about it, the more he felt that... what the man said seemed to be right.
"...This is nonsense." He heard Kelgar Marton from the St. Bartolomeo School of Magicians mutter indignantly. But Little Bartman clearly saw that guy unconsciously write the word "unity of opposites" in his notebook.
...Devil! This guy must be a devil who seduces people! No wonder he became a believer in the god of love!
"Do you have any other questions, Mr. Batman?" When the discussion subsided, the devil looked into his eyes calmly.
Little Batman shook his head instinctively. It was so stupid, he felt like a stupid goose.
"Then please take a seat." The professor nodded slightly. Little Batman noticed that his eyes were a very, very clear, bright, and sharp gray, as if they saw through all the groans and suffering in the world. At this moment, those eyes were slightly narrowed like a cat, a new ominous sign.
"Please give my regards to your brother." The devil said calmly and meaningfully.
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