A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 290 The Matchmaker

Grindelwald's night is not like the dazzling starry sky and galaxy outside.

There are only a few stars here, owls hoot in the branches, and the Wizard's Tower floats around the castle like stars surrounding the moon. If you look at the reflection in the mirror lake, the brightly lit Grindelwald is the only moon in this mysterious night sky.

On the outermost corridor of the third floor of Grindelwald Castle, there is an office with its lights still on.

Holding the sleeping Wangcai, Amamiya Nene came from the forbidden archives to this office.

[History Department - Professor Barbas Yann Zelda]

The sign reads as follows.

Barbas is perhaps the only Professor Grindelwald who always stays in his college office.

The other professors each have their own towers, where they conduct private research in their workshops and generally do not come out except to teach classes or attend required school duties.

She reached out and knocked on the door, and soon heard footsteps.

There was no soundproof arcane barrier inside the door; it was just an ordinary office.

The wooden door opened, revealing Professor Barbas's elegant, white-haired face. She held a watering can, wearing an apron, like a gardener.

"Who is it? Ningning!"

Her questioning voice turned joyful, and without asking Amamiya Nene's purpose, she immediately opened the door.

"Come in quickly, have you eaten yet? I still have some hand-torn bread here, I bought it this morning while taking a walk outside the school. Although it's a roadside stall, the owner is from Ximai, and the bread smells amazing!"

She said it in a gentle tone.

Like a warm-hearted old person meeting their beloved grandchild, Amamiya Nene was immediately offered steaming hot black tea and bread as soon as she sat down. This wasn't her first time in Professor Barbas's office; before Quinn joined the company, she often came here to enjoy tea. Professor Barbas's black tea had a unique and fragrant floral aroma that she had never tasted anywhere else.

The office wasn't large, with two rows of small bookshelves filled with prose poems and novels—the kind of novels you'd find everywhere in a city bookstore. The shelves held all sorts of stories, but there were no arcane books.

The only unique feature of this office was its corner terrace, an outdoor sunroom filled with greenery and flowers. They were all ordinary but well-cared-for plants, showing that gardening was Professor Barbara's hobby. The terrace door was still open, letting in a gentle evening breeze.

It's hard to imagine that such an ordinary, life-loving old lady is the professor who teaches the most difficult course in the college.

Amamiya Nene spoke to the old lady who was squatting on the ground, happily stroking Wangcai:

“Grandma Barbas, I was looking for some information in the archives, but I couldn’t find it. Lord Merlin Hat sent me to ask you, saying you might know.”

"Oh?" Professor Barbas, hearing that there was something important to discuss, slowly stood up. She walked to her desk, picked up her glasses, and put them on, instantly transforming from a gardener into a refined scholar. "I can't guarantee I can be of any help, but please tell me what you need."

Hearing the old lady's kind voice, Amamiya Nene's heart, which had been in turmoil for the past two days due to various events, miraculously calmed down.

Do you know anything about the Pleasure Cult and the original sin of lust?

"The Cult of Pleasure." The old lady paused slightly, then smiled and nodded, saying, "I haven't heard that name in years."

Barbas went around behind the desk, pulled open the largest drawer at the bottom, and started rummaging through it.

Following her gaze, Amamiya Nene saw a huge oil painting hanging behind the desk.

However, this oil painting is nothing magical; it doesn't move. It's just an ordinary oil painting, but one with superb technique. The frame depicts a cat and a young man.

A black cat with a tie and blue eyes lay lazily on the table, a can of food under its paws, with a rather haughty expression.

The young man, with black hair, turned his back and lay on the table, staring at the cat like a cat lover, his butt sticking up high—Amamiya Nene wasn't sure if he was young, but someone who could make such a childish gesture probably wasn't that old.

The oil paintings hanging in the office are part of the Nibelungen tradition and usually have a connection to that office. For example, Amamiya Nene's office has a painting of Nocha Danmas, a sage of the Divination Department. She doesn't know if this painting is related to the History Department or Spatial Magic, or if he is just Professor Barbas's grandson.
The old lady straightened up, revealing a thick photo album in her arms. She sat down next to Amamiya Nene, opened the album in front of them, and began to turn the pages.

"Let me see, I found it, it looks like this one."

Barbas pointed to a cut-out photograph.

The photo appears to be a group photo, a group photo of university students. The woman is wearing an Imperial graduation gown and smiling subtly in the crowd. The photo doesn't seem to be from very recent times, so the colors and clarity are still acceptable. Her appearance isn't particularly stunning, but it could be described as sweet, and she probably wouldn't have lacked suitors at school.

"This is?"

"This is the chosen one of pleasure who caused the Pleasure Turmoil in the 1200th year of the Divine Calendar, the Lustful Destiny Sequence Three Transcendent—Tajiana."

Barbas looked at the surprised Amamiya Nene and slowly said:

"She was just an ordinary person when this photo was taken. A newly enrolled college student. This photo comes from the administration office and was found by the commissioner who investigated the Pleasure Riots back then, and was kept as a record for the history department."

Amamiya Nene lowered her head, trying to see clearly how the girl in the photo resembled the policeman who had turned into a terrifying creature.

But no. She was just an ordinary girl.

“She’s a good girl. Before becoming a chosen one, she and her younger brother depended on each other for survival. They never stole or robbed, and through hard work, she got into the university in Felix. She should have become a geography teacher or a civil servant in the Empire.” Barbas picked up the teapot and poured tea into her cup.

"Tatiana was just one step away from completing the Chosen One ritual and freeing the Goddess of Lust from the abyss, but she was destroyed by the Sixth Hero who arrived in time. Afterwards, the city was razed to the ground by the Empire's gunboats, and not even her body could be found."

"The sixth hero?" Amamiya Nene's eyes lit up.

“Heh, as for the Sixth Hero, I, the old woman, don’t know much more than you. He’s only been in this world for a short time,” Barbas paused. “But what is certain is that this Chosen One of Pleasure is related to the Sixth Hero.”

"Is this the investigator's conclusion?"

“This is the conclusion of all religions,” Barbas replied.

Could you please explain in more detail?

"Ah, this goes back to the origins of the heroes and the cult."

Barbas stroked the old photograph.

Next to the photograph are scenes of imperial cities from the same period.

The Baroque spire of the Vatican Chapel burned with sacred flames amidst the misty drizzle of the northern continent.

Only the sun knows when the hero will come into this world, where he will appear, and who he is. But the sun god is too noble; He is the creator of everything. He will not bestow divine decrees upon a mere hero walking on the earth; He will only wait.

Amamiya Nene recalled that in history, no hero had ever belonged to the Holy See.

Whether it's Link who created the Adventurers' Guild, Merlin who ushered in the Arcane Age, the Third Hero who was closely associated with the prosperity of the Empire, Emperor Amemiya Tetsuya of the Eastern Kingdom, the Fifth Hero who was as elusive as a bard, or the Sixth Hero who streaked across the sky like a shooting star.
“Not only are there no believers in the sun. The heroes are all atheists—pure atheists.” Barbas said, looking at Amamiya Nene’s beautiful face. “Including your ancestor, Amamiya Tetsuya, who accepted the baptism of the Holy Goddess and supported the White Sect as the state religion.”

Amamiya Nene seemed to be thinking of something and fell silent.

The Amamiya family—also known as the royal family of the Eastern Kingdom—has a mysterious legend that is not passed down to outsiders.

It is said that the fourth hero, Amamiya Tetsuya, does not worship the White Goddess, but rather a green-haired, twin-tailed art goddess who holds a large green onion and is named "Future".

The legend was so absurd that it lost its credibility after several generations, but it was still passed down as a joke from our ancestors.

However, the entertainment industry that swept the world from the East began with the generation of Tetsuya Amamiya. The policies he was most involved in concerned with idols, manga, and the pornography industry.
"Aren't heroes the humans closest to gods? Why are they all atheists?" Amamiya Nene asked.

This is the conclusion of the college's research.

As the strongest among humans, the hero, who possesses the power to slay demon kings, is considered by Grindelwald to be the most godlike superhuman.

Numerous pieces of evidence suggest that heroes at their peak possessed power surpassing that of Sequence One.

"Heh," Barbas said casually, as if recalling something from the past, "I don't know if we're close to God, but we're definitely far from humanity."

"Other religions do not know where the hero will appear. And the atheistic hero will not approach the religion on his own initiative. Although as the hero grows, he leaves more and more traces in the world, which allows the religion to find clues about him, such as the Dragon Lord's prophecy, even if the religion can find him, it cannot obtain the hero's help."

Amamiya Nene nodded.

The Covenant of the Savior stipulates that the True God Cult must help the hero kill the Demon King. The Holy See will be responsible for coordinating all of this, and the hero's attitude towards the Cult will not affect his mission.

From this perspective, the hero indeed has no need to give the cult a friendly look.

"Therefore, cults that want the help of heroes and rely on the influence of heroes to expand their power must find a way to win them over."

"And the experiences of the first hero, Link, provided inspiration for the cult."

Amamiya Nene opened her eyes slightly, then quickly understood everything.

As one of humanity's first heroes, the bard is an enduring protagonist in many stories. The Legend of the Brave depicts the most legends, and Link's deeds are not limited by geographical boundaries, making him a household name for all mankind.

In the end, the hero and his party of heroes slay the Demon King and save humanity. After the war, Link marries four members of his party: the Priestess of Light, Elisa; the Elf Queen, Leticia; the Blazing Sword Saint, Heather; and the Silver Dragon, Selena.
Among them, the Priestess of Light, Elisa, is the High Priestess of the Church of Light, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe her as the Saintess of the Sun. She is the only person in the Church who can interpret the will of the Sun God during the Coronation Festival.

As a key figure in the Papacy, she continued to participate in Papacy affairs even after marriage. Although Link devoted most of his later life to the Adventurers' Guild, he spared no effort in supporting his wife. It is no exaggeration to say that Link deserves a large part of the credit for making solar energy the most universal and widespread belief among humans, even among heretics.

Even today, in the southern continent where Link has settled, believers in the sun still make up more than 50 percent of the total population.

"A hero may not have faith, but a hero has love."

Barbas said calmly, "The one chosen by the cult to bind the hero and unite with him is called the Married One."

(End of this chapter)