"I understand," Samuel unconsciously rubbed the side of the Travel Guide, "but this is to monitor you, you know. Will you really teach him the real stuff?"
Inside the church, candlelight flickered, illuminating Ethen's gentle smile with a serene, saint-like tranquility. He shook his head lightly and said, "Two hours ago, you should have heard my theory."
"A true 'Heaven' should not be a vague fantasy, nor a narrow garden enjoyed by a select few. It should be like sunlight, air, and rain, blending into the soil of reality, becoming the vitality that nourishes all things. It exists deep within every heart that yearns for beauty and peace, and is also reflected in the way we treat the world."
"My thoughts are the same, they are not some treasure that needs to be hoarded. I will not force anyone to learn this philosophy, but if someone is genuinely interested, I will not selfishly guard it, nor will I deliberately deceive them with false or incomplete knowledge."
His tone held only frankness: "Teaching itself is part of 'Continuity'. If he can truly learn something from me, I would only feel genuine joy for him."
"Hold on, hold on, don't suddenly start chanting," Samuel waved his hand, "It's only our first day meeting, what's with this 'final scene' vibe you're putting out?"
Anyway, Samuel understood.
"Though, I do think he might become some incredible big shot in the future."
"Who knows, maybe this country will be his someday."
"Why do you think that?" Ethen asked, though his expression remained placid.
"Think about it," Samuel's smile widened at the corner of his mouth, "Though holding a relatively high status, he was ostracized from childhood, then meets a Golden Finger old master, and from there climbs back to the peak of life. Isn't that the obvious opening for a wish-fulfillment protagonist?"
"Is that so." Ethen nodded noncommittally, "I'm honored you think so highly of me. However, that is probably quite difficult."
"Haha." Samuel didn't pursue the matter further, only letting out a light chuckle of ambiguous meaning as he looked at the little prince not far away.
He activated his visual perception. The world in his eyes once again became transparent. The warm, dim candlelight inside the church instantly darkened and distorted, as if viewed through frosted glass. The grand colonnades, the stained glass... everything became semi-transparent and blurred. That prince also became, in his eyes, a human figure pieced together from different lines and colors.
"So, is he also a Law Seeker?" Samuel asked while observing.
"Yes." Ethen did not hide it, though Samuel had already arrived at the answer himself before Ethen could reply.
He was indeed a Law Seeker.
In Samuel's eyes after activating his visual perception, normal people appeared as distorted, vaguely humanoid objects. Law Seekers, however, would look more complex, richer, and their outlines would more closely resemble a human.
As for the prince before him, he was essentially a glowing human figure filled with numerous lines, showing no distortion whatsoever. One could even faintly discern facial features.
This was the first time Samuel had seen someone who could maintain a complete human form without the slightest distortion under his visual perception.
This was probably a "Law Contemplator," Samuel guessed in his heart.
Because he has a sufficiently clear and definite understanding of himself, his essence has become fixed...
Without deactivating his visual perception, Samuel glanced at Ethen.
Ethen was still Ethen. There were no chaotic lines nor a mixture of various colors. Aside from a faint glow, nothing had changed. He still wore that simple white clerical robe, had long green hair, a crown of vines and flowers, and a gentle, serene countenance.
This was a perspective that could see "essence."
And Ethen's essence was Ethen. Ethen's essence was himself.
Therefore, apart from seeing a tiny bit of emotional color representing "calm" and "gentleness," Samuel couldn't see anything else.
"So, what is this White Horse Prince's name?" Samuel asked Ethen.
"His name is Allenay Odius," Ethen replied. "Actually, if you're truly interested in him, you could ask him directly. I believe that child would not refuse you."
"Hmm... alright." Samuel deactivated his visual perception and opened the Scripture Ethen had just handed him. "But wait a moment, let me check the church he believes in, find some common topics. Let's skip it this time. If we meet again, then we'll see."
Ethen watched Samuel flip through the Scripture with a smile.
He noticed Samuel was now only holding one book. The Travel Guide he had been holding earlier was gone.
…………
Meanwhile, at Samuel's home.
Samuel sat on the bed, leaning back against the wall. He reached forward, and the Travel Guide immediately appeared in his hand.
He opened it directly from the back, flipping to the Archive section in the latter half.
Skipping the last page, his own file which hadn't changed at all, Samuel flipped one page forward and found Ethen's file.
As he expected, the Travel Guide had indeed updated.
【Madman File: 001.】
【Name: Ethen Avalon.】
【Appearance: Outwardly appears as a green-haired clergyman around 25 years old, wearing a crown-shaped wreath woven from vines and flowers on his head.】
【Law Tendency: Nature.】
【Law: Continuity】
【Law Marks: Gardener, Forest Ranger, Messenger, Judge, Gravedigger, Archivist】
【Law Rhymes: Druid, Requiem Master, Soul Shepherd, Angel of Redemption, Sapling, Eden】
【Grade: Law Inscriber】
【Description: Superficially gentle, and genuinely a good person from the heart. However, he does not seem to consider humans more noble than plants and animals. Possesses the ability to devour others' souls; suspected of harboring a genuine ecosystem within his body. Low external Pollution level; belongs to the rare type of madman who consults others' opinions (questionable). Suspected of possessing mental interference abilities. This person seems to possess strong altruistic tendencies. After devouring a soul, he actively assumes all the sins committed by the devoured soul and repays them through some unknown method. Specific repayment method unknown.】
It had updated Ethen's own Law and Grade, and also fleshed out his Law Marks and Law Rhymes.
"He's got quite a few more skill slots than me," Samuel thought, looking at the completed file, trying to mentally connect each term with Ethen's observed behaviors.
"Gardener and Forest Ranger had no real display, aside from him planting a few things, there was no related content at all."
"Messenger, none at all. Judge... ah, there's a hint of that! He did mention concepts like 'sin' and talked about taking responsibility."
"Gravedigger and Archivist... hmm, collecting heads? That's a pretty hardcore collection."
Does burying others inside your own body count as being a gravedigger?
Samuel pondered this question.
Samuel didn't know, but Samuel felt it probably did.
"Druid also had no display. Requiem Master and Soul Shepherd are probably manifestations of his soul-collecting ability."
"Angel of Redemption... well, he was indeed a kind of angel of redemption back then."
"Sapling, and... Eden..."
He recalled the scene he had witnessed earlier, where Ethen swallowed a human head.
Although Ethen had his back to him at the time, Samuel could still glimpse from the side the string of connected human heads inside Ethen's opened body.
Combined with the human faces that grew on Samuel's body when he suffered backlash from imitating Ethen, and factoring in Requiem Master and Soul Shepherd, Samuel formed a guess.
"So, does he really have an 'Eden' inside his body?" Samuel's fingers tapped lightly on the page. "Swallowing souls?"
"Then what is this Sapling? Looking at the naming, it doesn't seem prestigious enough to be grouped with the others." Upon seeing this relatively plain Law Rhyme name, Samuel was momentarily taken aback.
Then, his gaze shifted upward to the description of Ethen.
【However, he does not seem to consider humans more noble than plants and animals. Possesses the ability to devour others' souls; suspected of harboring a genuine ecosystem within his body.】
What if his "Eden" didn't contain only human souls?
Although he didn't know Ethen's criteria for collecting souls, what if he wasn't just collecting human souls, but the souls of all living things?
Could it be that...