Chapter 4: Humans Cannot, At Least Should Not!

"Forget it, I’ll worry about it later!"

After careful thought for a moment, Herbert chose to stop thinking.

Avoidance may be shameful, but it really works.

So many things happened—awakened memories, pure vows, converting barbarians—there’s too little one can do, and obsessing over it is meaningless; one must take things step by step.

"Since it’s come to this, let’s eat first."

Herbert had missed lunch while sorting through his memories; instead of heading to the dining hall, he turned toward the kitchen.

This wasn’t the duke’s mansion—no servant had left food specially for him; the kitchen contained only smoked dried meat and black bread.

Disgusting, but filling enough.

Though this act broke protocol, given the Albert family’s long-standing generous donations to the monastery, no unwise monk would likely dwell on such a minor transgression.

"Come to think of it, if I’m tormented by keeping my vows, others must be too—how do they relieve the pressure when they can’t hold on?"

As Herbert brushed past some ascetic monks, he nodded to them, noting details about their appearance.

Tattered clothing, emaciated frames, silent as the grave… yet surprisingly few scars on their bodies.

"So only a tiny fraction of ascetics resort to self-harm to suppress desire—how do the rest cope?"

As Herbert pondered this, he entered the kitchen, about to pick up a long loaf of bread, when his pupils sharply contracted.

Just then, he’d inexplicably twitched his nose and, amid the kitchen’s complex odors, precisely detected a faint yet strangely familiar scent.

Heather fragrance!

?

Is this right?

This… this can’t be right.

"Hss!"

Herbert fell silent for a long time; after building up his courage mentally, he finally forced himself to slowly look toward the source of the smell.

In a bucket in the corner, he saw a dead fish, belly-up, floating on the water, mouth wide open.

?

"Hss… it’s a grass carp!"

Dinner was clear-simmered grass carp.

Herbert didn’t touch a single bite.

Not only did he not touch it—he didn’t even go to the dining hall.

He didn’t want to accidentally ingest the fish broth, but he couldn’t warn others, or someone who loved fish would surely notice.

No choice—I’ll suffer a little; let them enjoy this blessing.

Chewing on hard, dry bread in his room was already quite good enough.

As he savored the bread—tough enough to be a murder weapon—he thought of the tragedy in the kitchen corner and couldn’t help letting out a soft hum.

"Heh, that guy’s something else—letting the carp die with its eyes open is bad enough, but why leave its mouth gaping afterward? So rude."

This is sacrilegious.

Then again, how can you know the carp’s joy? Maybe they were mutually in love…

After indulging in wild thoughts for a while, Herbert pulled his scattered mind back and fell into quiet contemplation.

He wasn’t gossiping about the man’s identity, nor did he intend to snitch for favor from the monastery’s upper ranks—he wasn’t that bored.

He always understood others’ peculiar habits but respected and blessed them anyway.

After witnessing something so eye-opening, he suddenly realized: he’d unintentionally stumbled upon a manipulable bug… no, a feature.

Is monk-fish taboo interaction sacrilegious enough?

More than enough!

Such an absurd act—let alone for a monk who swore purity—even monks under other vows should suffer backlash.

A human cannot, at least should not.

Yet this utterly sacrilegious act had occurred right there, unnoticed in a quiet corner, with no one hearing the grass carp’s lament.

Until now, everything in the monastery remained normal; Herbert had heard no reports of any monk breaking vows and suffering consequences.

"Is the news being suppressed? Or… like how ‘the priest and the little boy had deep communication’ doesn’t count as breaking vows? As long as it’s not between man and woman, it’s fine?"

Grass carp ≠ vow-breaking?

Tsk.

Damn it, even in another world, this damn inequality is still chasing me!

"…Heh."

While utterly speechless, Herbert also felt a flicker of excitement.

Not because he had any special fondness for slender little boys in knee-high white socks—he truly didn’t dig that—but this discovery gave him an idea.

His professional habit of exploiting loopholes had kicked in.

Hey, I’ve got an idea!

If animals aren’t counted as objects of vow-breaking, does that mean… anything non-human is acceptable?

After all, this world has an enormous variety of races!

Elves, treants, centaurs, merfolk, dragons, succubi… these diverse races could send any outsider into ecstasy.

And his current position as jailer gave him just the opportunity to test his theory.

Yet even as he thrilled, Herbert hesitated inside.

The Holy Knight order had existed for centuries—he didn’t believe he was the first lucky soul to notice this feature.

Human reproductive capacity in this world was absurdly high, second only to some green goblins, with no reproductive isolation from most other races.

Though these other races were feared or even seen as enemies by humans, derisively called demons, due to complex reasons like intertribal wars and slave trade, human-other race hybrids were far from rare.

Half-elves, half-orcs, dragon-blooded, half-shapeshifters, half-demons… in coastal legends, even fish-headed humanoids… hmm?

Wait, why do I feel like I just stumbled upon a secret?

Though these half-breeds, shunned by both parent races, were outnumbered by true major races, their numbers were still sufficient to form their own clans—some powerful ones even founded nations.

Logically, interbreeding with other races shouldn’t be something I suddenly realized—it should’ve been discovered long ago.

Sure enough, when Herbert opened the massive, brick-thick scripture, he easily found a vast array of different vow-breaking methods—or rather, cases.

Hss!

Brave souls had long sacrificed themselves to demons, each more extravagant than the last, each dying more horribly.

Perhaps because breaking the law knowingly merited harsher punishment, these brothers’ fates were never pretty.

These tough guys either died from vow backlash, or if they survived, were hunted down by the Church’s Inquisition and executed—none escaped.

So brutal!

Now this has the flavor of criminal law!

Well then, this path is closed.

At this point, Herbert could only temporarily suppress his dangerous little insight—humans cannot, because the precepts forbid it.

Besides, stepping back, even the imprisoned girls of other races, though suppressed, could crush him with one hand; trying to seduce them carried the risk of being played to death.

Even as a gigolo, you risk your life—this world is utterly unreasonable.

Ah well, forget it!

"Let the head control the dick—focus on getting stronger. Don’t chase after shady tricks."

Herbert now only wished to gain sufficient power through Holy Knight cultivation as soon as possible, to resist vow-breaking punishment early and break free from his cage to enjoy his own free life.

"Freedom!"

Herbert stood up, stretched, and walked toward the door, ready to step outside and breathe the sweet air of freedom.

But just as Herbert was about to push the door open, his holy mark flared with searing pain, jolting him to a sudden stop right before the door.

"…"

In that moment, Herbert’s spine froze with icy dread.

On his first day at the monastery, he’d been warned repeatedly never to leave his quarters after midnight—and he’d never once entertained the idea of night wandering.

Yet just now, he’d nearly stepped out without a single thought, into what seemed like tranquil night.

What exactly…

Gulp.

Herbert swallowed hard and turned his head slowly toward the mechanical clock beside him.

He saw the gilded hands had just completed a full circle—

Midnight had passed.

Took a month to give birth (not really).

Thank you all for your patience during this time, thank you—

Anyway, I’m back! Please support me, lend me a hand!

During the new book period, please read faithfully—this matters even more than direct donations!

Love you all!

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(End of Chapter)