Chapter 58: Kind-hearted Lie

Hall of Starfire.

The Pope’s grandson just knelt before a slave?

This absurd scene briefly flashed surprise across Xia Mingyu’s face.

After all, in this world where gods truly exist, akin to a medieval realm, the Church’s authority was unimaginable.

According to what he knew, the Sun Church was also the faith with the most followers across the entire Western Continent; unlike other churches that spread only within a single great kingdom, the Sun Church had widespread believers in both the Rhine Kingdom and the Sosia Kingdom.

Of course, the number of believers within the former was far greater than the latter.

Thus, Tamerlan’s action was no different from a Brahmin of the White Elephant Nation kneeling before an untouchable on the Blue Planet.

This man is truly a Holy Knight.

The giant, gazing at Tamerlan bowing deeply before him, also showed a flicker of emotion on his scarred face.

“I forgive you.”

He rose from the bronze seat and, stumbling, knelt on one knee toward Tamerlan.

After this interruption, the three returned to their seats.

“Your Highness, could you tell me where this place is? Can we return to our original location?”

Tamerlan looked around the palace; this magnificent hall seemed boundless, stretching infinitely into the distance with no visible end.

“I still need to perform my patrol duties tomorrow—if I can’t return, it might cause a small disturbance.”

Tamerlan rubbed the back of his head, a hint of embarrassment appearing on his handsome face.

If he vanished, his grandfather would turn the entire Corona City upside down searching for him.

“I can stay here,” the giant said at last.

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

“This place can be regarded as a mental space generated by my blessing—or a dream. You are not truly here in physical form; only your consciousness has come here.”

“Once your bodies in the outside world awaken, or I awaken, you will leave this place.”

Upon hearing this, Tamerlan exhaled deeply in relief, while the giant remained silent, head bowed.

“Can I come back?” he asked, raising his head calmly.

“Of course. Whenever you feel drowsy, silently think ‘Starfire’ and you will arrive here,” Xia Mingyu smiled slightly.

Snap!

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

Most of the books were from the Black Wolf Castle library, with a few he had known well from his past life, such as The Merchant of Venice, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, The Spartacus Uprising, and The Great Hero Hercules.

Sigh, if I’d known I’d be reincarnated, I should’ve memorized the books on how to make gunpowder and firearms.

“If you’re bored here, you can read books,” Xia Mingyu said.

Before he finished speaking, Tamerlan eagerly walked toward the bookshelves, while the giant stood frozen in place.

“Thirteen, don’t you like reading?” Xia Mingyu asked, puzzled.

“I know very, very few characters—I can’t read books,” Thirteen hesitated.

In this world, because everyone has a blessing above their head, productivity is low but literacy is not; nearly every village keeps a shared literacy book for all villagers.

Yet even so, literacy remains a luxury for slaves.

After all, once you learn to read, you begin to think—and once you think, how can you still accept being a slave?

Thus, most slaves are forced to stop learning after being taught only the most basic characters needed to understand commands.

“Then I’ll teach you to read. I myself was only recently taught, so I still remember it well.”

Xia Mingyu smiled, opened his palm, and a flash of light appeared—his hand now held the same tattered literacy book that Anliya had once held.

Even the same worn-out condition.

“...Thank you,” the giant whispered after a long silence.

How could a noble prince have just learned to read?

He wasn’t illiterate—he wasn’t a fool—he knew this was a kind lie.

Thus, in the Hall of Starfire, Xia Mingyu and the giant sat at the table as he taught him to read, occasionally conjuring objects corresponding to characters and words to deepen his understanding.

Meanwhile, Tamerlan buried himself in the books on the shelves, showing no interest in the Black Wolf Castle library’s collection—instead, he devoured the literary works from the Blue Planet with rapture.

After an unknown length of time, the grand hall gradually became transparent, and the torches atop the twelve obsidian prisms flickered dimly.

“Looks like I’m waking up. See you next time,” Xia Mingyu shrugged helplessly.

“Noble and merciful Prince, thank you for your generous hospitality. I loved these books—eagerly await our next meeting. May you not find me a disturbance to your hall’s peace.”

Tamerlan reluctantly set down The Merchant of Venice, then stepped before Xia Mingyu and bowed respectfully.

“...Me too,” the giant finally managed after a long pause.

The next instant, the Hall of Starfire vanished completely, and the three consciousnesses returned to their physical bodies.

Corona City.

Built atop Mount Taiyang, it belongs to no nation—it is the Holy City of the Sun Church, nominally the land of the gods.

It is also universally recognized as the place on Earth closest to the Sun’s radiance.

In the city’s central district, within a vast, luxurious estate:

Tamerlan slowly awoke on a soft bed; beautiful maids waiting beside him respectfully changed his nightclothes.

Moments later, dressed, he sat before a polished mirror as two maids carefully styled his hair.

The mirror revealed the blessing on his head—an ice-blue "Noble."

For someone without land or title, possessing a Noble blessing of Crescent Rank was nearly impossible.

But for Tamerlan Rhine, it was common.

As the Pope’s grandson, even King Rhine VIII himself had come to bless him during his infantile Honor Ceremony at birth.

Thus, from birth, he received the Starlight Rank Noble blessing.

This was a blessing countless nobles across the world dreamed of—only a handful of great lords ever obtained it—and he had it from birth.

Later, due to certain circumstances, his fame rose, and upon reaching adulthood, the current Pope personally elevated his blessing to Crescent Rank during the Holy Knight Investiture Ceremony.

“Hall of Starfire... was it a dream?” the golden-haired youth murmured.

He quickly dismissed the thought, for the book he’d read in the hall—The Merchant of Venice—remained vividly clear in his memory.

He was certain he could never have created such a brilliant literary work, even in a dream.

“Did the Jews borrow from the real-life Klae people?” Tamerlan pondered, then suddenly smiled.

“Regardless, meeting this righteous Prince Mingyu was truly wonderful—I look forward to our next meeting!”

The young man, filled with longing, drew his sword and stepped out onto the Holy Knight’s routine patrol.

Meanwhile, in a dark, damp dungeon, the giant lying on rough straw slowly opened his eyes.

(End of Chapter)