From the 'disappointment' and Al's performance, I realized that due to the lack of personnel here, like assistants, apprentices, guards, and other non-secular personnel, these jobs are allotted to the acolytes and priests, therefore doubling the amount of work they had to do.

There was also a lack of coordination as each acolyte would be assigned one patient to treat, and the efficiency of each of them was unequal. Some were more efficient and capable than others, and those who could not keep up would thus make it more burdensome for those who were more efficient. The problem was not the acolytes or priests themselves, but rather there was a lack of understanding the specialization of each them. Some were more efficient with [Mend], others with [Stabilize], and there were those who having difficulty invoking the former or the latter. Some were more capable of treating minor injuries, while others were skilled to a degree that they shouldn't be treating minor injuries. The general assignment of tasks would lead to the suffering of efficiency.

When I brought up these issues to Astor, he immediately understood where I'm going with this.

"I see. As you said, I am also aware of the lack of personnel in this church. Unfortunately, the current state of Floren City and our budget would make it almost impossible for us to hire anyone to do the tasks of maintaining the church's facilities."

"If the problem, sir, is that we don't have the budget, then we can pay them through other means."

"This is Floren City. This city revolves around gold and silver. We have a lot of acolytes here as well that are not actually planning to become full-time members of the church but are only accumulating experiences."

"Yes, sir. I am aware of that. But we have things that we can offer other than money. Food and shelter. The residential area is not being fully utilized as there are more empty rooms than there are vacant ones. The food we eat is already rationed to an extent but we are not at a point we are deprived or starved. In fact, if necessary, I can see that we can cut what we eat daily to at least twenty percent to thirty percent just to accommodate new people."

"That's an attractive plan, Alkef, and I commend you for personally coming up with it on your own, but this city is not short of jobs. Those able-bodied enough could get a job anywhere. Food and shelter may be an attractive offer but it doesn't hold up to actually getting wages that can be freely used. We've already tried to implement a similar plan, and we've even added the bonus of teaching them some basic but useful [Support-type] arcanes, but only a few accepted this offer. We were originally only sixteen here, excluding you, and only four were added from that plan."

"Then have you tried those who are not able-bodied, sir?"

"What...", Astor seems surprised by my suggestion.

"I remember back in Sevis City. The church there is indeed prosperous and the people there were lively, but despite how wonderful of a city that was, there was something I couldn't ignore. In the corners and alleys of that city were those who had no roof to cover their heads, and were starving as their skin clung to their bones. They hide from public sight and under the aid of darkness, scavenge through the leftovers of the fortunate."

Astor stayed silent. I'm sure he has witnessed those people himself. Those who wished to work but could not due to the state of their bodies. Those who want to be healed but had no money. Those who would do anything to survive. Those who want to live. Having no one else to rely on but themselves in their most desperate situation, they do not seek aid due to distrust and fear of possibly losing more than what they have left. Despite their horrible fates, however, their continued existence proves their unwavering will. They continue to cling to life and have not sought to end it. This state of life of an individual is always ripe for the taking; not to reap but to claim.

As I grew older as Samuel, I always pondered on what defines humanity. I've meditated on this and have come up with a simple answer. In my opinion and from my own experience, there are three things, rather Ls, that define humanity. They are Love, Loyalty, and Liberty. Love is something that humanity gives or receives, loyalty is something that humanity earns or recognizes, and liberty is something that humanity is supposed to have or must achieve. Lack of any of these three, then one can't really claim themselves as human. And only by having control over these three can you truly say that you have control over someone. I did not become a "successful" serial killer by just relying on my wits, and neither was it achieved by mere chance.

It all starts by acquiring the three fundamental factors of humanity, well, in this case, arkind, and using the church's status to lessen the distrust these vulnerable people have. The first step to this is by taking advantage of the desperate and vulnerable. By acting as their savior, one will receive their love, earn their loyalty, and with those two, their liberty. When one has all these, they will accept everything; both the good and the bad.

The one thing I realized in my experience as Samuel Tuckerman is that people will turn a blind eye to the evil of others if these people consider such persons as necessary to them. A nation may wholeheartedly celebrate a massacre if those that died were considered the enemy. People will celebrate the hanging of a single person, just because they see him as a monster.

As I see that Astor had stayed silent and have been contemplating on this for so long. I'm not sure if he thought of this suggestion to a greater extent, but I had to give him one more push just to make sure.

"Sir, as I've been given the burden of carrying the title of future Saint at my age, and have been partially made known of the problem within the Church of Hure, I've been thinking about how I could solve them now if I was capable enough. I realized that I could not do this on my own. I volunteered to be assigned in Floren City as I wanted to prove that the plans of the church for me are not wasted. We are supposed to serve Hure, the Goddess of Health and Prosperity; if that is true, then why do we allow people who are in dire need of aid to suffer?"

After I said those words, I could now see the eyes of Astor. There were no longer any traces of doubt. If I could define what emotion or feeling his face was saying, it would be fear and reverence. Astor stood up for a bit and went to a cabinet at the side, he opened it and took one a bottle that seemed to contain liquor.

"May I?", Astor asks me as if he's asking for permission.

I nodded.

Then he took a small glass and went back to his seat. He poured a bit in the glass and swirled the contents for a while until he drank all of it in one gulp.

"This suggestion of yours... it's good. But it will not be viewed kindly. Those perceptive enough would also see this as us taking advantage of others. But since you suggested it and you've also stated your reason for suggesting it, then I'll consider it. I'll even shoulder the criticism that would befall this branch. You've heard of Saint Exconde Macuo?"

"Yes sir. He sacrificed a lot for the people."

"Indeed. But in this case, those who will attack and criticize are not the allies of a tyrant emperor, but the people themselves. You do know why those people are hiding from the public, right? Why despite their situation, no one takes pity on them?"

"Because they are criminals."

"Correct. This city is not so cruel as to let the innocent suffer. There are various organizations here, including the Church of Hure, that help those that are in need. There are arcanes that can even restore the limbs of people and erase even the deepest scars, but do you know why those people that live in the shadows and crevices of the city are in that state? If you are suggesting this, I'm sure that you know the answer."

"Because to help them would mean to endanger the public."

"Yes. These nations' authorities have marked them and disabled them for their crimes. Did you know that executions sanctioned by the government have not been done in this continent for already a hundred years now?"

That, actually, I did not know. I can't remember Al or the 'disappointment' ever reading anything about that. So there's no such thing as a death sentence here? Since I legitimately did not know, I shook my head.

"It hasn't been brought up for a while now and only the older generations would know of this fact. It's not shared too much as only those who are really interested in the politics of the nations of this continent would know."

"May I ask why, sir?"

Astor then poured another in his glass and drank it.

"Almost a century ago, a scholar of the Levistia Republic named Hacri Tackula had a unique [Blessing]. He could indirectly converse with beings of the celestial realms in his dreams, and beings of the abyssal realms in his nightmares. He had no control of what would transpire in his sleep, but fortunately, not a single being he had encountered could do anything to him in his dreams, therefore he could freely converse without fear of harm befalling him. He learned secrets of the universe that he would not share, except for one."

"What secret was it, sir?"

"That the realms above and below ours, are governed by a force called [Carma], and this [Carma] controls the very existence of all beings. He said that killing or harming or causing such to anything that has life will negatively affect one's [Carma], and the act of helping the life of another that has life positively affects [Carma]."

[Carma]? Like Karma?

"Even the killing of plants and monsters, sir?"

"That's right. Upon the first mention of this, some doubted it and called him a lunatic. But when The Holy Truth organization used their sacred arcane tool, [Truthseeker], the arcane tool indicated that Scholar Tackula did not lie. This brought a dilemma to the nations in this continent."

"As this is the first time I am hearing it, sir, I'm guessing this isn't public knowledge?"

Astor nodded.

"I'm sure you would have known about this later on once you become a priest, but seeing as you are planning to do something that has a connection with this secret law of the world, I thought it would be best to tell you sooner. This secret could essentially shake the lives of everyone if it was made known to the public. Communities and societies would never be the same if they were informed of this truth. Although some have tried to spread it, no one truly believes because it sounds ridiculous to them."

Even I would originally say it's ridiculous if this isn't my first time hearing it but my reincarnation and all the unnatural events that I've witnessed such as arcana and arcanes would lead me to believe it. But I guess since I'm not originally from this world, the common sense of this world may not apply to me; arcana may be natural to them while [Carma] will sound farfetched because of how new and unproven it is.

"That would definitely affect the lives of arkind."

"This secret has only been kept by the nations within this continent, but I'm sure there are other nations and countries outside that are aware of this and are probably keeping it a secret to themselves as well. Now, to relate this with the criminals, the more benevolent leaders of these nations suggested laws, one of them being the abolition of killing or execution of criminals, and instead to punish criminals by disabling and marking them for the safety of everyone. Although they were not certain if indirectly causing the death of a criminal by execution would also affect their [Carma], they still applied these laws just in case."

"Then what about those imprisoned?"

"They only imprison those who have done crimes that are worth imprisoning. Heinous crimes and the like originally lead a criminal to be sentenced to death. It was rationalized that to keep a criminal imprisoned would still use resources of the nation, and to imprison those worthy of death would be a waste of resources. So they are made sure that they are no longer capable of causing harm, and are marked for people to be vigilant of them."

So these laws weren't really made to protect the people from unknowingly affecting their own [Carma] negatively, but rather it's to protect the [Carma] of those in power whose laws would allow harming or killing. This world is so simple. There is no concept of intent like in my previous world, but rather action is what affects [Carma] here. This is probably why I got reincarnated in this world. Then I realized another thing back then in my first trip to Sevis City and back to the village, there were no animals in sight.

"Sir, does this explain why there were no animals or monsters seen in the vicinity of Sevis City?"

"That's more likely caused by the Church of Hure. As most of the people that reside in Sevis City are followers of Goddess Hure, it's the church's way of protecting the [Carma] of the Goddess' followers."

"Since you told me all of this, wouldn't it mean that my helping of marked and disabled criminals would be an act that positively affects [Carma]?"

"Definitely, but the people don't know that, and it can also be said that your suggestion would definitely endanger the citizens of Floren City."

"And even if that's the case, sir, you're still willing to support my suggestion?"

"Yes. I see in you a saint unlike any other. You have revealed to me that you intend to help everyone, not just to give assistance to reducing the burdens of this branch, but also to help the individuals that this city abandoned. Your kindness is given to everyone without discrimination. I'm sure you could lead the Church of Hure to a future unlike any other."

"You speak too highly of me, sir."

"No, this is not mere praise I'm telling you, but rather its an evaluation. I'm not as kind or approachable as you may think when I first introduced myself to you. I first wanted to approach you in a stricter manner, but when I saw you, I suddenly felt that I should not approach you as a superior, but rather as an equal. It was a sudden strange emotion. It might've been Goddess Hure's guidance."

I don't really know how to respond to this, but this 'sudden' feeling he just mentioned worries me. That didn't seem like a natural reaction to seeing someone for the first time. Sure, he may have known that I was the possible future Saint of the church, but to 'suddenly' change his intent is something that people don't do so easily. After thinking about it for a bit, I was reminded of the description of [The True Pacifist]. Maybe this was one of its benefits.

"Sir, as I don't want for any problems to occur, may I directly take part so that I can make sure my suggestion is done properly?"

"If you are confident enough, then certainly. I intended to assign the priests to do this and make it appear that I was the one who planned it to shoulder the blame, but are you prepared for the consequences that would happen if people see you actively helping those criminals?"

"Yes, sir."

Astor then sighed heavily, but he smiled even though he seemed troubled by my decision.

"I'll still try to carry most of the blame for you. But please, don't overdo it or endanger yourself. You are our future Saint. I'm sure Goddess Hure is watching over you and shall guide you to success."

"Thank you, sir. Praise Goddess Hure."

Astor nodded and he then released the [Barrier] in his chamber. I slowly went outside as the pain had slowly subsided after I sitting down for a while. Upon leaving the room, I saw Marcs sleeping on the chair. I nudged his shoulder a bit to wake him up. and then he immediately sat up and stood awake as if it was a natural reflex to him. He looked around and noticed that the sun had already set.

"Your talk with the Head Priest took a while."

"I just made a suggestion that may be beneficial to us all."

"Oh really? I hope this suggestion of yours will be implemented then."

"I hope that would be the case as well."

We then started walking back to the residential area. If [The True Pacifist] truly does affect people's impression of me, then I can use this to my advantage. Actually, now that I think about it, why do I need to even represent the Church of Hure in this plan when I can just represent myself? I bet there are thousands of marked and disabled criminals in all the nearby nations if I can go by what Astor told me about the laws that were implemented.

The government and laws are meant to control the actions of people, but faith and belief is something that transcends physical restraints. For these criminals that are abandoned by the government and ignored by the churches but still cling to life, this would mean they still have hope. I can be that hope. If I give them unconditional kindness, I will eventually earn their affection. If I give them ambition, then they will give me their loyalty. I'll become a symbol of their new life. These people could become my foundation.

The foundation for a new religion.

If Al and the 'disappointment' want to help people so badly and if [The True Pacifist] makes it so that I can't do what I want, then I'll play along my own way.

What's a religion without a few radicals mixed in it?