Chapter 88: The Rules of God and Laws of Human
“OUCH! Darned cat, it’s you again!”
Recently, Rolande seems to have fallen out with his cat. Whenever his guard is down, his cat would immediately pounce towards him and conduct a chain combo with her claws and fangs. During this period of time, she would often wear slippers on her paws to conceal her presence and close in on him before assaulting him like a fierce wild beast. What made it worse is that there isn’t any killing intent whatsoever before she strikes and her movements are fast, accurate and vicious, causing Rolande to howl in agony multiple times.
If it occurred during normal occasions, it would definitely cause a great cat-human battle to immediately occur. However, now isn’t the appropriate time for such a farce to happen.
“Lord Rolande, if you are unable to keep your cat under control, then please play with it outside.”
On the podium, Krose stares furiously at me through her glasses. Frustrated, I could only grab Harloys by her neck, bestow upon her 4 to 5 full rounds before throwing her out of the window while she’s still weak from the dizziness.
“That’s too much. How can he treat animals with such cruelty? The cat will fall to its death.”
Casio, who is growing more and more fond of animals, exclaims in indignation but I simply shake my head in response.
“Good people don’t live long but disasters live for a thousand years. If she can die that easily, then she should have been dead several times centuries back then.”
As expected, Harloys’s curses and complaints come echoing through our telepathic connection.
“Darned unfilial disciple, to treat the great and noble Queen of Banshees like that. Just wait and see, I will leave scars on your pillow and…” After hesitating for a split moment, the damn cat finally releases the most vicious and immoral curse in her entire life.
“I will leave urine on your pillow and bedsheets. I will carry out my words. I am only a cat now, so don’t expect me to be unable to do it! I don’t care anymore. Since I said it, I will definitely accomplish it.”
“Then, I will wrap up that pillow and bedsheet then post it to our old acquaintances in Xiluo Empire. I will put a picture of your current form on top of the package and label the wet portion as the secretions of ‘The Omniscient One’. Do you think I should post it to your fervent followers so that they can worship it or should I post it to your enemies for them to hold a gallery and celebrate over it?”
“I’m wrong, I swear that I won’t do it. I’ll go practise transforming into a weapon now.” This is the part of Harloys that I like the most. After realising that she is unable to win, she would admit defeat right away, never pushing her way through forcefully. Perhaps, this is also the main reason why this disaster has been able to live for a few thousand years.
“Hmph, pitting against me, you are still far too tender.”
“Student Rolande, since you like to stand so much, I will allow you to stand as you please. Go and stand outside in the hallways.”
But the next moment, I knew that I still fell for her tricks. Right now, I am in the middle of a lesson. Although I am talking to my Magic Pet through our telepathic connection, from the perspective of outsiders, I seem like a madman standing in a daze.
It just happens that the temporary lecturer Krose is staring furiously at me at the moment. My sudden blank stare became an action that challenges her authority as a lecturer. Thus, I could only obediently stand outside helplessly.
Yes, I am currently in a lecture now. The contents of the lecture is about the teachings of the God of Law and Law itself. Naturally, the one taking on the role of the lecturer is Krose, who has the highest power rank of the Law jobs here.
After that intense fight, the final verdict was to have half of the first floor serve as a court of law (a small church of the God of Law) and after some consideration, a small space was left behind to be used to serve as a Church of Holy Light for Diana and me.
As for an animal hospital that a certain someone strongly persisted on… A booth outside the walls would suffice. Anyway, I will never admit that I am acquainted with him. Not only that, I even secretly reported his unlicensed business to the relevant authorities. It is a pity that the Town Security of this city couldn’t be compared to those of Liu Huang Mountain City, it would be quite a difficult task for them to deal with him.
Alright, back to the main topic at hand. Allowing Krose to explain the teachings of the God of Law is her own wish as well as the will of the audiences.
Needless to say, Reyne and Kelly are listening attentively to the lecture, given that they are still hesitating over whether they should make the faith of the God of Law as their national religion and need to learn more about it. Even Diana and Momo, the two Gray Elves, are strongly insisting on allowing them to hold classes. However, what was most shocking is that Casio was not only the one who was interested in the faith of the true God which is growing rapidly in the Underground World, even that one whose name I refuse to speak of is unexpectedly interested in the faith of the God of Law as well.
“I still want to return to Liu Huang Mountain City. I believe that this new rising faith will spread to the corners of the world and as a man who treads on the boundary of law, I have to first understand my adversary and the loopholes in it before challenging it.”
A certain Dracon seems to resemble more and more like a philosopher recently. His words made me wonder if a new ideology will be born as a result of such a ludicrous reason. However, we don’t have any reason to reject him from learning about the Law and besides, from the looks of the past two days, it seems that he is the one who is listening the most seriously to the lectures.
At the same time, the group of Royal Knights who accompanied Reyne to the Auland Empire were listening in to the lecture as well. A few of them were already considering whether they should job change to become a Justice Knight. Even though this is just the second day of the lecture, we already had 2 new audiences.
Svina di Nelson and Raymond lon Nelson. Due to a certain accident, the elder sister became the ‘love rival’ of the Emperor, causing her landlord to kick the two siblings out from their rented dwelling without any hesitation. After meeting with blockade in everything they set out to do, Svina soon realised that even though Auland may be big, there isn’t anywhere here that could shelter them.
In this world which is in the feudal era of the human society, the interests of knights and the lord they are serving are firmly connected. If one of them falls, both of them will suffer together whereas if one of them prospers, both of them will prosper together. Lest needs to be spoken about Guardian Knights. Actually, there are also Guardian Knights of the same sex as their master and they are often intimate friends who would give out their life for the other. But, the relationship between Svina and Reyne isn’t that easy to explain.
A knight who betrays the one they swore loyalty to are the type of knight that are despised the most. Helpless, she could only acknowledge that she was stuck on the same boat as Reyne and seek refuge with her. However, watching at how she would run away frightened whenever Reyne approaches her, those who are aware of the backstory would clutch their stomach in laughter.
As a top-notch preacher, Krose’s voice is extremely charming and her understanding of the teachings are quite firm. For normal imparting of knowledge, she is more than qualified. However, facing Kelly and the 700 years of experience behind her, who also has to fully understand this faith to judge if it is beneficial to her country, the Wild Elf who is one generation younger than the Wood Elf noble often find herself unable to handle the situation.
“Then, can you explain why singular Law would be split into two parts, 【Rules of God】 and 【Laws of Human】 and what is the difference between them? There are quite a few portions that overlap between both of them. Going by the common knowledge of jurisprudence, won’t overlaps or even contradictions in the law cause chaos in the enforcement and the weakening of its authority?”
“But… But that is what is taught in the teachings. That is set by Lord Wumianzhe. It can’t be wrong.”
Being forced to a corner, Krose can only repeat the theories written on the book. Normally, this level of imparting of knowledge which teaches of the results but not the causes that derives it is sufficient, but apparently, it is insufficient to convince that East Mist Court Mentor. No way around it, I shake my head and walk back into the hall that is being used for this lecture.
“Cough, if possible, allow me to explain. I am acquainted with Lord Wumianzhe and I happen to have heard him talk about it before.”
Looks of confusion could be seen on the faces of the crowd. I point one of my finger upwards and the silver glow of the Light of Law ripples above it, indicating my identity as one with a Law job.
It is impossible to train in two types of powers simultaneously. If someone were to convert all of their Power of Holy Light into the Power of Law like what Momo did, it would be equivalent to starting anew. Fortunately, there are a few overlaps between the two powers but even so, if one were to work on both of them together, it would be a waste of effort.
Thus, other than Krose who muttered ‘as expected of the God’s Oracle’ in approval of my identity as a Justice Knight, in the mind of the others, they were thinking that I was expending my effort on something fruitless.
Anyway, this itself proves that I am qualified to lecture on Law.
“Cough, firstly, I will talk about the difference between the 【Rules of God】 and 【Laws of Human】. The Rules of God is fixed by our God. It consists of only 13 severe crimes which are commonly accepted to be unpardonable sins and basically, it is unchangeable. The sins that can be judged by the Judgement Spell of the Law jobs consists only of those of the Rules of God. On the other hand, the Laws of Human are laws that would be continuously changed by the Church of Law and is tied together with the jurisdiction and the monarch. The Rules of God is applicable to the area of jurisdiction of the Order Gods whereas the Laws of Humans is only applicable with the approval of the monarch. This is the main difference between the two.”
The other Gods also have commandments like ‘punish evil’, ‘banning extravagance’ and ‘forbidding lies’ but it is often a difficult task to enforce punishment on people who are not their worshippers. My version of the 13 severe crimes are commonly accepted and thus, there is no need to fear for the ire of other Gods, nobles or royalty. At the same time, it gives those assuming Law jobs a list of sins that they must eliminate. (It doesn’t matter whether other people enforce it or not, but Justice Knights must enforce it)
“However, this doesn’t mean that the two of them will conflict with one another. On the other hand, the both of them are representative of the same thing. The Rules of God is the lower limit of the Laws of Human. Since they are sins that Rules of God forbids, then the Laws of Human mustn’t pardon the sinners. For example, the first of the 13 crimes ‘claiming the life of others wilfully to fulfill one’s private desires will result in a strict verdict by the God of Law. Even after death, they would suffer in the mountain of blades and sea of flames’. The Laws of Human also have the corresponding clause. The first clause of intentional murder states that ‘Intentional murder would result in the death penalty or imprisonment of minimum 10 years. However, if it is legitimate defence, in a war of justice or for any other reasons that are in conflict with the other clauses, the latter clause will be prioritised.”
Despite it being the same crime, but the God of Law brought about a tone of a religion advising against certain behaviours. As for the final portion which may seem excessive, further punishment after death, in actuality, it is preparation for the future. On the other hand, the Laws of Human are ice-cold clauses and sentences.
Reyne starts to get a little agitated. She seems to have seen the complex value behind it.
“That is to say, those of the Law jobs only have to enforce sins that go against the Rules of God. If so, what is the significance of setting the Laws of Human?”
“That is prepared for countries and lords that are prepared to allow the faith of the God of Law to become their national religion. This Laws of Human would obviously infringe on the profits of the nobles in the region, so aren’t you all afraid of them banding together to suppress the spreading or even push for the banning of your faith?” Kelly questions after deliberating for a moment. She has been living in the human society for quite a significant period of time, so she understood the corruption and hopelessness of those bunch of nobles. How could they accept the introduction of laws that would threaten their rule.
I smile. This is also one of the consideration that I expected them to have.
“Indeed, in many places, nobles only pay 1 gold coin for beating up ordinary civilians and some royals even confiscate the properties of merchants as they please. Are these vile laws that support only the governing body acceptable? Our Laws of Humans will infringe on their profits directly and so, being viewed with enmity and even being suppressed at the start is unavoidable. However, it is impossible for them to ban it. After all, our Wumianzhe is a true God. Banning the teachings of a true God is equivalent to revolting against all of the Order Gods. Why do you think Wumianzhe had to try so hard for his Ascension, it is all for this day.”
“However, it is meaningless if it just prevents them from banning the religion.”
“So, there is a need for someone to make a stand. If I am an ordinary civilian and merchant, on one hand is a set of vile laws that view me like an animal and a slave while the other at least allows me the basic rights of a human, so where would I choose to live and work hard in? Actually, there is no need to hesitate and Liu Huang Mountain City is an ideal example. A large influx of population and resources would naturally bring about prosperity and power. This is required for any territory. Thus, the faith of the God of Law is actually beneficial to the development of any territories and we just need someone to make a stand.”
“So, you looked for the Mist Country. Little Rolande, you would actually pull your own people into a pit you dug. Haven’t you considered the high possibility of turning hostile with the surrounding states after turning it into the national religion? Have you considered the possibility of being wiped out even before we rise up?”
Kelly frowned as she spoke. Her considerations were legitimate.
“Of course, I have considered it. However, do you think that the East Mist Country won’t attract hostility if it goes on like this? You are already surrounded by enemies on all fronts and since it isn’t far from destruction, at least this is quite a good straw of hope to clutch on to. Also, if the God of Law becomes the national religion, then using Liu Huang Mountain City as an example, the rapid development of the strength of the nation can be expected. A large increase in the amount of Justice Knights and Judgementors would also significantly improve the ability of the country to defend itself. At the same time, it should be able to gain the assistance of the land of origin of Law, Liu Huang Mountain City. No matter how you look at it, its benefits is greater than the detriments it brings.”
“What if we still refuse to accept it?”
“Nothing, just continue to wait. When those of the Law jobs fill the entire world, when the teachings of the God of Law become widespread in this world, the accumulated resentment and conflicts will finally explode one day. By then, what is awaiting the nobles will not be a peaceful retirement. The guillotine will be washed with fresh blood until it turns rusty and hanging corpses will fill the gallows.”
Kelly instinctively shivers, as though seeing the arrival of such a day. On the other hand, Reyne brings up her considerations.
“Going by the teachings, starting a war is a severe crime. If so, doesn’t this mean that we would be unable to unify the Mist Country? Isn’t this unfair for us?”
“No, although it is true that starting a war will cause those of the Law jobs to lose their Power of Law, helping allied countries who are being invaded and wars of justice such as to recover annexed land are still allowed.”
“Then, who would decide what is justice?”
Beifeng who had been solemnly jotting down notes brings up a query for the first time and he managed to shoot right on the bulls eye.
“One vote by the God of Law Wumianzhe, one vote by the monarch of the country and one vote by the majority of the population. If all three votes are in approval of the war, then the war can be considered just. Also, since Wumianzhe has turned in the incarnation of justice, then his judgement should be fair and acceptable by his worshipers.”
The questioner nods his head and sits back down. Then, new questions from the crowd starts popping up once again.
“I have a question…”
“Un, this is actually quite simple…”
Initially, I only intended to just casually filling in on a bit of details but somethings cannot be stopped once started. This lecture which is fated to be recorded in the annals of history continued for an entire day.
Krose, who was lecturing the class initially, became the recorder. What she tried her best to record down would be eventually passed onto the hands of every worshiper. I can foresee that not too long from now, the flower of Law will bloom beautifully.
In the end, the lecture turned into a debate and the debate turned back into a lecture. When the marathon imparting of teachings finally ended, Reyne and Kelly stare at each other before coming to a final conclusion.
“The East Mist Communal Country decides to acknowledge the faith of the God of Law as our national religion. But you, Roland, must be responsible to help us to the end.”
“Sigh, fine, I will treat it as returning what I owe you all.” Even though I was complaining, the smile on the face couldn’t escape the notice of anyone.
TL: Waste of effort -> (What I am trying to express is) Getting less than proportionate returns compared to the effort you put in. (Couldn’t find an appropriate phrase to explain the Chinese one)
Just curious, has anyone realised what Roland’s goal is?