<p>At this moment, Isa Nebet, the female protagonist of this game, was leading a group of refugees in Graywhite Territory, waiting for the lord to distribute relief food.</p>
<p>Due to deviating from the original game storyline, Isa did not become the Saintess but returned to the war-torn Northern Border, where she was using her skills to heal and save people at the Refugee Holy Cathedral.</p>
<p>As the frontlines in the Northern Border continued to collapse, a large number of farmlands were destroyed, leading to a massive rural population becoming refugees.</p>
<p>The Refugee Holy Cathedral in the Northern Border could no longer accommodate so many refugees, forcing them to become displaced and flee southward.</p>
<p>In such a context, Isa left the cathedral with this group of refugees, but as the number of refugees increased, Isa began to feel overwhelmed. The savings she had accumulated during her time in the Royal Capital were already running low, yet the number of refugees following her continued to grow.</p>
<p>“Old village chief, drink this bottle of Holy Water, and you’ll feel better soon. May the Goddess bless you.”</p>
<p>After saying this, Isa brought the vial to the lips of an elderly man.</p>
<p>“Sister, how can an old man like me drink such precious Holy Water? We should… we should leave it for the young,” the old man replied, his voice weak and wavering.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, old village chief, I still have plenty. The relief food from the Lars Family was delivered to the castle yesterday and will be distributed soon.”</p>
<p>After Isa’s persuasion, the old man finally drank some Holy Water, and the expression on his face improved significantly.</p>
<p>In reality, the potion Isa carried had long been exhausted during their journey; the liquid in the vial had a more accurate term in modern times—placebo, which was essentially just ordinary river water mixed with ash.</p>
<p>For Isa, her three years of learning in the Royal Capital felt like a dream. She once wondered what would have happened if she had accepted the Church’s invitation to become the Saintess’s maid back then; at least she wouldn’t be wandering with a group of refugees now, would she?</p>
<p>Even her once noticeable silver hair had turned dull gray on this journey of escape.</p>
<p>Yet Isa felt no regret. Even if given a chance to choose again, she believed she would still return to the Northern Border to save the refugees.</p>
<p>After ensuring the old man was taken care of, Isa returned to her group. They had already been in Graywhite Territory for several days, but the local lord, Count Yager, showed no intention of distributing relief food.</p>
<p>With the increasing number of refugees in the Northern Border, Duke Lars issued a decree for relief, ordering all vassals of the Lars Family in the Northern Border to distribute food to the incoming refugees, while the Lars Family would provide compensation in food or currency to those nobles distributing the relief.</p>
<p>The refugees had naturally heard this news, but unfortunately, none of the refugee groups had received so-called relief food so far.</p>
<p>Looking at the gradually dimming Holy Light in her hand, Isa fell into confusion.</p>
<p>The strength of a cleric’s Holy Light could not solely represent the firmness of their faith, as factors affecting the Holy Light included not just faith but also magical talent.</p>
<p>If a cleric’s Holy Light grew weaker or even dimmed, it only suggested one possibility—the cleric’s faith was wavering.</p>
<p>To reflect on why her faith was shaking, Isa had been studying the scriptures in her hands these past few days, but the more she studied, the more she found reality incompatible with the scriptures.</p>
<p>Clearly, the Goddess’s teachings stated that all people are children of God, and the status of God’s children is equal, so why is there a distinction between rich and poor?</p>
<p>Clearly, the Goddess’s teachings declare that sins are unforgivable and must be severely punished to atone for them; why can the wealthy buy indulgences to escape punishment?</p>
<p>Clearly, absolute punishment is the power of the Goddess and the Pope; why are there monks threatening ordinary believers with excommunication to force them to donate?</p>
<p>Clearly, the Goddess’s divine revelation calls for her people to unite, but under the interpretation of the high-ranking clergy, the divine revelation has turned into a teaching that if someone strikes your left cheek, you should offer your right cheek for them to strike as well.</p>
<p>Isa did not feel that the church’s annotated scripture was wrong, but when Isa truly returned to the Northern Border for field investigation, she discovered that the beautiful world described in the scriptures simply did not exist.</p>
<p>The Demon Clan would not cease their war just because you extended your cheek for them to hit; the church’s so-called unity was merely directed at those nobles.</p>
<p>The poorer the believers were, the more they needed to “donate”.</p>
<p>Isa felt that her faith was indeed wavering.</p>
<p>Especially when the refugees she followed began to starve to death, while no noble lord was willing to release food, and even the churches in various regions had their doors tightly shut.</p>
<p>If they did not take action soon, it was likely that these refugees they had brought from the Refugee Holy Cathedral would all starve to death in Graywhite Territory.</p>
<p>At this moment among the refugees, a man was sharpening a rusty iron shovel on a stone, preparing to defend against bandits.</p>
<p>Although the rusted iron plate of the shovel could not become sharper because of the man’s sharpening, he continued to grind it with red-rimmed eyes.</p>
<p>In the man’s arms was a shriveled corpse of a child that had begun to smell.</p>
<p>Just two days prior, Count Yager had opened the gates to let food in, but it was merely a small sack of grain in exchange for a woman, and she had to be a young and beautiful woman.</p>
<p>This was not relief food; as Count Yager had stated at the time: “First, let’s define what a refugee is. Those who can walk to Graywhite Territory are clearly capable of finding enough to eat, so they cannot be considered refugees. Therefore, I cannot provide you with relief food.”</p>
<p>The man’s wife had been chosen that day and taken into the castle, in exchange for a sack of grain for their child.</p>
<p>That sack of grain seemed to contain expired rice, and after eating it, the man’s child developed a high fever and, due to lack of medicine and prolonged malnutrition, died the next day.</p>
<p>Isa’s Holy Water could not save the child, and the increasingly dim Holy Light could not either.</p>
<p>No one blamed Isa; this silver-haired nun had sold everything she could during the journey, even her proof of identity as a nun, just to exchange for a bit more food so that everyone could survive until the distribution of relief food. Isa had long become the spiritual leader of the crowd.</p>
<p>However, every time Isa remembered the man crying out with the child’s corpse in his arms, saying, “The Goddess must have favored this child, taking him to the Divine Kingdom,” Isa’s heart felt as if something had gripped it.</p>
<p>In fact, it wasn’t just the man; many refugees gathered outside the castle waiting for relief food were gripping their farming tools tightly.</p>
<p>Some people had cut down wood and sharpened it into spears, and everyone unconsciously began to gather closer around Isa.</p>
<p>This was because two days prior, Count Yager had not only taken expired grain in exchange for women among the refugees but had also seen Isa unable to produce the church’s credentials and had attempted to forcibly drag her into the castle, only to be pushed back by Isa.</p>
<p>Unexpectedly, Count Yager was not angry but rather more excited, giving Isa two days to think about it; if Isa rejected him again in two days, Count Yager would send the guards to kill all those beggars blocking the castle entrance.</p>
<p>These two days, Isa did not sit idly by. Although the Holy Light grew dimmer, she still conducted sermons every day, but the content of the sermons reflected Isa’s own insights from the Refugee Holy Cathedral to Graywhite Territory.</p>
<p>This was a teaching derived from the scriptures that departed from traditional exegesis, focusing more on poverty, oppression, and injustice, striving for social justice and equality, emphasizing the coexistence of divine authority and human rights. What was the means to achieve all this?</p>
<p>It was violence.</p>
<p>Isa had realized that studying medicine could not save the Northern Border; only struggle could bring liberation.</p>
<p>Though these thoughts were still in the enlightenment stage, if Lind, far away in Graywhite Territory, were to hear them, he would probably exclaim in shock, “Liberation theology?”</p>
<p>Due to deviating from the original game storyline, Isa did not become the Saintess but returned to the war-torn Northern Border, where she was using her skills to heal and save people at the Refugee Holy Cathedral.</p>
<p>As the frontlines in the Northern Border continued to collapse, a large number of farmlands were destroyed, leading to a massive rural population becoming refugees.</p>
<p>The Refugee Holy Cathedral in the Northern Border could no longer accommodate so many refugees, forcing them to become displaced and flee southward.</p>
<p>In such a context, Isa left the cathedral with this group of refugees, but as the number of refugees increased, Isa began to feel overwhelmed. The savings she had accumulated during her time in the Royal Capital were already running low, yet the number of refugees following her continued to grow.</p>
<p>“Old village chief, drink this bottle of Holy Water, and you’ll feel better soon. May the Goddess bless you.”</p>
<p>After saying this, Isa brought the vial to the lips of an elderly man.</p>
<p>“Sister, how can an old man like me drink such precious Holy Water? We should… we should leave it for the young,” the old man replied, his voice weak and wavering.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, old village chief, I still have plenty. The relief food from the Lars Family was delivered to the castle yesterday and will be distributed soon.”</p>
<p>After Isa’s persuasion, the old man finally drank some Holy Water, and the expression on his face improved significantly.</p>
<p>In reality, the potion Isa carried had long been exhausted during their journey; the liquid in the vial had a more accurate term in modern times—placebo, which was essentially just ordinary river water mixed with ash.</p>
<p>For Isa, her three years of learning in the Royal Capital felt like a dream. She once wondered what would have happened if she had accepted the Church’s invitation to become the Saintess’s maid back then; at least she wouldn’t be wandering with a group of refugees now, would she?</p>
<p>Even her once noticeable silver hair had turned dull gray on this journey of escape.</p>
<p>Yet Isa felt no regret. Even if given a chance to choose again, she believed she would still return to the Northern Border to save the refugees.</p>
<p>After ensuring the old man was taken care of, Isa returned to her group. They had already been in Graywhite Territory for several days, but the local lord, Count Yager, showed no intention of distributing relief food.</p>
<p>With the increasing number of refugees in the Northern Border, Duke Lars issued a decree for relief, ordering all vassals of the Lars Family in the Northern Border to distribute food to the incoming refugees, while the Lars Family would provide compensation in food or currency to those nobles distributing the relief.</p>
<p>The refugees had naturally heard this news, but unfortunately, none of the refugee groups had received so-called relief food so far.</p>
<p>Looking at the gradually dimming Holy Light in her hand, Isa fell into confusion.</p>
<p>The strength of a cleric’s Holy Light could not solely represent the firmness of their faith, as factors affecting the Holy Light included not just faith but also magical talent.</p>
<p>If a cleric’s Holy Light grew weaker or even dimmed, it only suggested one possibility—the cleric’s faith was wavering.</p>
<p>To reflect on why her faith was shaking, Isa had been studying the scriptures in her hands these past few days, but the more she studied, the more she found reality incompatible with the scriptures.</p>
<p>Clearly, the Goddess’s teachings stated that all people are children of God, and the status of God’s children is equal, so why is there a distinction between rich and poor?</p>
<p>Clearly, the Goddess’s teachings declare that sins are unforgivable and must be severely punished to atone for them; why can the wealthy buy indulgences to escape punishment?</p>
<p>Clearly, absolute punishment is the power of the Goddess and the Pope; why are there monks threatening ordinary believers with excommunication to force them to donate?</p>
<p>Clearly, the Goddess’s divine revelation calls for her people to unite, but under the interpretation of the high-ranking clergy, the divine revelation has turned into a teaching that if someone strikes your left cheek, you should offer your right cheek for them to strike as well.</p>
<p>Isa did not feel that the church’s annotated scripture was wrong, but when Isa truly returned to the Northern Border for field investigation, she discovered that the beautiful world described in the scriptures simply did not exist.</p>
<p>The Demon Clan would not cease their war just because you extended your cheek for them to hit; the church’s so-called unity was merely directed at those nobles.</p>
<p>The poorer the believers were, the more they needed to “donate”.</p>
<p>Isa felt that her faith was indeed wavering.</p>
<p>Especially when the refugees she followed began to starve to death, while no noble lord was willing to release food, and even the churches in various regions had their doors tightly shut.</p>
<p>If they did not take action soon, it was likely that these refugees they had brought from the Refugee Holy Cathedral would all starve to death in Graywhite Territory.</p>
<p>At this moment among the refugees, a man was sharpening a rusty iron shovel on a stone, preparing to defend against bandits.</p>
<p>Although the rusted iron plate of the shovel could not become sharper because of the man’s sharpening, he continued to grind it with red-rimmed eyes.</p>
<p>In the man’s arms was a shriveled corpse of a child that had begun to smell.</p>
<p>Just two days prior, Count Yager had opened the gates to let food in, but it was merely a small sack of grain in exchange for a woman, and she had to be a young and beautiful woman.</p>
<p>This was not relief food; as Count Yager had stated at the time: “First, let’s define what a refugee is. Those who can walk to Graywhite Territory are clearly capable of finding enough to eat, so they cannot be considered refugees. Therefore, I cannot provide you with relief food.”</p>
<p>The man’s wife had been chosen that day and taken into the castle, in exchange for a sack of grain for their child.</p>
<p>That sack of grain seemed to contain expired rice, and after eating it, the man’s child developed a high fever and, due to lack of medicine and prolonged malnutrition, died the next day.</p>
<p>Isa’s Holy Water could not save the child, and the increasingly dim Holy Light could not either.</p>
<p>No one blamed Isa; this silver-haired nun had sold everything she could during the journey, even her proof of identity as a nun, just to exchange for a bit more food so that everyone could survive until the distribution of relief food. Isa had long become the spiritual leader of the crowd.</p>
<p>However, every time Isa remembered the man crying out with the child’s corpse in his arms, saying, “The Goddess must have favored this child, taking him to the Divine Kingdom,” Isa’s heart felt as if something had gripped it.</p>
<p>In fact, it wasn’t just the man; many refugees gathered outside the castle waiting for relief food were gripping their farming tools tightly.</p>
<p>Some people had cut down wood and sharpened it into spears, and everyone unconsciously began to gather closer around Isa.</p>
<p>This was because two days prior, Count Yager had not only taken expired grain in exchange for women among the refugees but had also seen Isa unable to produce the church’s credentials and had attempted to forcibly drag her into the castle, only to be pushed back by Isa.</p>
<p>Unexpectedly, Count Yager was not angry but rather more excited, giving Isa two days to think about it; if Isa rejected him again in two days, Count Yager would send the guards to kill all those beggars blocking the castle entrance.</p>
<p>These two days, Isa did not sit idly by. Although the Holy Light grew dimmer, she still conducted sermons every day, but the content of the sermons reflected Isa’s own insights from the Refugee Holy Cathedral to Graywhite Territory.</p>
<p>This was a teaching derived from the scriptures that departed from traditional exegesis, focusing more on poverty, oppression, and injustice, striving for social justice and equality, emphasizing the coexistence of divine authority and human rights. What was the means to achieve all this?</p>
<p>It was violence.</p>
<p>Isa had realized that studying medicine could not save the Northern Border; only struggle could bring liberation.</p>
<p>Though these thoughts were still in the enlightenment stage, if Lind, far away in Graywhite Territory, were to hear them, he would probably exclaim in shock, “Liberation theology?”</p>
