Chapter 57: A Well-Intentioned Lie

Hall of the Sparks.

The Pope's grandson... actually knelt on one knee before a slave?

This absurd scene caused Xia Mingyu to stand up in shock.

After all, in this medieval-style different world where gods truly exist, the authority of the church can be easily imagined.

And as far as he knew, the Church of the Sun was the religion with the most believers throughout the Western Continent. Unlike other faiths that only spread within a single major country, the Church of the Sun had a vast number of believers in both the Kingdom of Rhein and the Kingdom of Sothia.

Of course, the number of believers in the former country far exceeded that of the latter.

Therefore, Tamerlane's action was no different from a Brahmin in Blue Star's White Elephant Country kneeling before an untouchable.

This fellow truly was a genuine Paladin.

Meanwhile, the giant looked at the deeply bowing Tamerlane before him, a trace of emotion flickering across his scarred face.

"I... forgive... you."

He rose from the copper seat, knelt on one knee before Tamerlane as well, and said haltingly.

......

After this interlude, the three of them returned to their seats.

"Your Highness, may I ask where this place is? Can we still return to where we came from?"

Tamerlane looked around the surrounding palace. This magnificent hall seemed to have no boundaries, extending infinitely into the distance with no end in sight.

"I still need to carry out my routine patrol tasks tomorrow. If I can't go back, it might cause a bit of a commotion."

Tamerlane touched the back of his head, a trace of embarrassment appearing on his handsome face.

If he went missing... his grandfather would probably turn the entire City of the Corona upside down looking for him.

"I... can stay here." The giant spoke up at this moment as well.

After a moment of silence, Xia Mingyu reviewed the information in his mind and slowly said:

"This place can probably be considered a mental space, or a dream, generated by my divine blessing. You are not in your true bodies at this moment; only your consciousness has come here."

"As soon as your bodies in the outside world wake up, or as soon as I wake up, you will leave from here."

Hearing this, Tamerlane let out a long sigh of relief, while the giant lowered his head and remained silent.

"Can I... come again?" He raised his head and asked calmly.

"Of course you can. Whenever weariness takes hold of you, simply recite the phrase 'a single spark' in your mind to come here," Xia Mingyu replied with a slight smile.

Snap!

He snapped his fingers, and rows of bookshelves slowly rose from the ground not far from the long table.

Most of the books on them were collection texts he had read in the library of the Black Wolf Keep, but there was also a very small portion of literary works he was deeply familiar with from his previous life, such as *The Merchant of Venice*, *Jane Eyre*, *Pride and Prejudice*, *The Spartacus Uprising*, *The Great Hero Hercules*, and so on...

Ah, had he known he would time-travel, the books he should have memorized most firmly were those on how to manufacture gunpowder and firearms.

"If you find it boring here, you can read some books," Xia Mingyu said.

Before his voice even faded, Tamerlane walked toward the bookshelves full of anticipation, while the giant stood dazedly in place.

"十三, do you not like reading books?" Xia Mingyu asked in confusion.

"I... recognize very, very few words, so I can't read books," Thirteen hesitated and said.

In this world, because everyone possessed a divine blessing upon their heads, literacy rates were not low despite the low productivity. Almost every village kept a single copy of a literacy primer shared by the entire village.

Even so, for a slave, knowing how to read was still quite a luxury.

After all, once one understood words, one would gradually develop thoughts. Once one had thoughts, how could one remain content being a slave?

Therefore, the vast majority of slaves were taught only the most basic words for daily life so they could understand commands, after which they were ordered to stop learning.

"Then I will teach you how to read. Coincidentally, I was also taught how to read not long ago, so I'm still quite familiar with it."

Xia Mingyu smiled. He opened his palm, and after a flash of light, the literacy book Anliya had held in her hands previously reappeared in his grip.

It was even identically tattered.

"....Thank you." After a long silence, the giant finally spoke in a low voice.

How could a noble prince have only just learned how to read?

He merely knew few words, but he wasn't a fool; naturally, he could distinguish that this was a well-intentioned lie.

And so, in the subsequent time within the Hall of the Sparks, Xia Mingyu and the giant sat at the table while Xia Mingyu taught him how to read, occasionally conjuring various words and the objects they represented to deepen his impression.

Meanwhile, Tamerlane buried himself in the books on the shelves, seemingly disdaining the collection from the Black Wolf Keep's library and instead being utterly captivated and intoxicated by the various literary works from Blue Star.

.....

I know not how much time passed, but the magnificent hall gradually grew transparent, and the torches on the twelve obsidian prismatic pillars also began to flicker uncertainly.

"It looks like I'm about to wake up. Until next time." Xia Mingyu shrugged helplessly.

"Noble and benevolent Highness, thank you for your lavish hospitality. I am very fond of the books here, and I look forward to meeting you again. I pray you will not find my disturbance of your hall's peace tiresome."

Tamerlane reluctantly put down *The Merchant of Venice* in his hand, stepped before Xia Mingyu, and bowed respectfully.

"....Me too." It took a long time for the giant to squeeze out these words.

The next moment, the Hall of the Sparks completely dissipated, and the consciousness of the three returned to their physical bodies in the outside world.

....

The City of the Corona.

It was built atop the Mountain of the Sun. This place belonged to no country; it was the holy city of the Church of the Sun, nominally belonging to the territory of the gods.

At the same time, it was recognized throughout the world as the place closest to the radiance of the sun.

Within the central district of the city, inside an expansive and luxurious estate.

Tamerlane slowly awoke from his soft, luxurious bed, and beautiful maidservants who had long been waiting by the bedside respectfully helped him change out of his nightclothes.

Moments later, dressed and groomed, he sat before a polished mirror as two maidservants meticulously tended to his hair.

The mirror reflected the identity blessing above his head—the ice-blue "Nobility."

For someone without territory or peerage, possessing a Noble blessing of the Crescent moon rank was an almost entirely impossible feat.

Yet for Tamerlane Rhein, it was quite common.

As the grandson of the Pope, during his infant honor ceremony at birth, even King Rhein VIII of the Kingdom of Rhein had personally come to bestow blessings upon him.

Consequently, the moment he was born, he had acquired a Noble blessing of the Morning Star rank.

This was a blessing countless nobles across the world dreamed of and which only a tiny fraction of great lords could ever attain, yet he possessed it from birth.

Later on, due to certain reasons, his fame skyrocketed, and upon reaching adulthood, his blessing was successfully promoted to the New Moon rank during a Paladin knighting ceremony personally officiated by the reigning Pope.

"The Hall of the Sparks.... Was it a dream?" the blond youth murmured.

Soon, he dismissed the thought, because the book *The Merchant of Venice* that he had read on the hall's bookshelf remained vividly recalled in his mind at this very moment.

He was certain he could never have created such a brilliant literary work in his entire life, not even in a dream.

"The Jews.... Did they draw inspiration from the real-life Klyians?" Tamerlane pondered for a moment, a smile suddenly blooming on his face.

"Regardless, it is truly wonderful to have met Your Highness Mingyu, who harbors such righteousness. I eagerly look forward to our next meeting!"

Filled with anticipation, the youth grasped his sword, stepped out of the door, and embarked upon the routine patrol of a Paladin.

.....

Meanwhile, within a dark and damp dungeon, the giant lying on the crude straw also slowly opened his eyes.