A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 291 Practitioners and Theorists
On the pioneer ship heading to the mysterious islands of the East, I met the love of my life. She was a tall, beautiful girl. Her eyes possessed an incomparably pure quality, and her breasts were small, round, like luminous jewels on a shrine. My manhood seemed to be telling me that I had met my own Hatsune Miku.

This passage comes from the Fourth Hero's Diary, which has never been made public by the Eastern Kingdom's royal family.

Duke Cavendish is widely recognized as the most beautiful woman among the nobles of the Southern Continent, and none of the members of her maternal Amamiya family are unattractive. The subtle yet classically handsome faces of the Eastern nobles, if traced back to their origins, likely come from the Empress of Amamiya Tetsuya, the ancestor of the Eastern Kingdom.

She was one of the few beauties in human history who could be compared to the Elf Queen Tiresia.

He is also a follower of the Kagyu religion.

Amamiya Nene remained silent for a long time.

Amamiya Tetsuya is her ancestor, and her understanding of her life experiences surpasses that of other heroes.

Before the Fourth War against Demons began, Amamiya Tetsuya met his wife on a ship. However, they didn't marry until 899, after the founding of the Eastern Islands Republic. At that time, the Fourth Hero was nearly a hundred years old. Although the couple maintained their youthful appearance through their extraordinary abilities and the secret techniques of the White Sect, it was quite strange that they had been in love for over fifty years before getting married.

Undoubtedly, Amamiya Tetsuya deeply loved his wife. Although he still retained the philandering nature of a hero and had many illegitimate children, he only formally married and gave a title to the Empress. This custom has been passed down to this day, and the heirs of the Amamiya family have always adhered to the monogamous system, making them a rather rare noble family that does not take pride in having many children.

After the founding of the Eastern Kingdom, two major events occurred.

First, Tetsuno Amamiya received baptism from the White Church Grand Judge on Polignano Island and issued an edict to establish the Holy Spirit and Order Church as the state religion.

Secondly, he got married and married his wife of several decades.

The two events are sequential: first, he was baptized, then he got married.

There is a priority between career and family, which is not unusual, but Amamiya Nene, who knows about the existence of the destined person, finds it somewhat unsettling.

If the seven major orthodox religions are classified by religious scale, the Church of Light is undoubtedly the largest. Following closely behind are the ancient Eternal Church and the Church of Returning Trees, which has the support of the empire.

The White Cult and the Full Moon Cult are in the third tier. Being in the third tier does not mean they are weak, but rather that their followers are more limited in distribution. The former is mostly supported by the wealthy and powerful, while the latter is more niche, with its followers mostly being arcane mages and their descendants.

The fourth tier consists of the Death and Birth Cult and the Deep Sea Cult. These two are completely non-prosely-oriented and have even fewer followers than the Full Moon Cult. If it weren't for the "Saviour Covenant" recording them, no one would compare them with the other five cults.

However, this religious landscape wasn't always like this. A thousand years ago, the White Cult was similarly obscure, with few followers, much like the Death and Birth Cult and the Deep Sea Cult. People only associated the White Cult with doctors. It wasn't until the Fourth Hero Era, when the White Cult became the state religion of the Eastern Kingdom, that it experienced explosive expansion, relying on the influence of the heroes to attract followers among the world's elite.
Looking at Amamiya Nene's silent face, Barbas asked with a smile, "Do you think that the matchmakers are a trap woven by the gods?"

Amamiya Nene sighed softly.

"What you told me shook my faith, which wasn't very strong to begin with."

The little witch's tone was quite cold; if Quinn were here, she would know that this was a reaction she would have when she utterly loathed something.

"To describe it as 'weaving' would be to greatly underestimate the divine."

"Heroes aren't fools. Once they reach their level, they can, to some extent, see through the web of fate. This isn't even malicious; it's like a magnet. The gods simply chose believers who would naturally attract heroes and be attracted to heroes, and then slightly disrupted fate, giving it a push."

“I know what you’re thinking. But as someone who’s been through it all, I don’t recommend that you publicly share your views on the history of the White Church, even if your mother is a cardinal.”

Professor Barbas warned, "This is just one perspective from the history department on the relationship between heroes and cults, and there is no empirical evidence to support it."

"I was just thinking," Amamiya Nene's slightly bewildered face was reflected in the black tea, "If... I mean if... if there were such a day, if there were such an opportunity, would I become a matchmaker, a tool used by the gods to manipulate heroes?"

If so, what do you plan to do?

“Then I’ll have to abstain from the religion.” She spoke her true feelings in a joking tone. “After all, it’s too much to let even one’s inner emotions be manipulated.”

Barbas looked at her with a strange sense of nostalgia, as if her words had stirred up some memories.

“You can rest assured about that,” Barbas said with a smile. “At least you definitely aren’t.”

"Why?" Amamiya Nene clearly didn't believe it.

Gods are beings that humans cannot comprehend.

The more you study and try to understand the divine, the more profoundly you will grasp this point and fear its immense power.

“If the gods could directly control the fate of heroes, there would be no need for so much trouble. The blood of heroes flows in your veins, child.” Barbas said softly, a hint of envy in her aged eyes. “Your destiny does not belong to this world. They cannot interfere with you. You are free.”

"Is that so?"

Amamiya Nene recalled her amazing resistance to abyssal contamination.

His expression relaxed for a moment, then quickly became complicated again, and finally returned to normal.

“Only the White Cult has successfully recruited heroes through matchmakers. They only managed to recruit the Fourth Hero. There are rumors that the White Cult tried to do the same to the Third Hero, which caused the Empire's resentment, but there is no evidence,” Barbas said. “As far as I know, no other orthodox cults have ever used this method.”

"The other orthodox religions? Grandma Barbas, you mean..."

Amamiya Nene looked at the photos of female college students in the album, a look of realization flashing in her eyes.

"Is Tatiana the matchmaker used by the Pleasure Cult to recruit the Sixth Hero?"

Barbas nodded with a smile.

"Yes."

"Before other religions could find him, the sixth hero, who had only recently arrived in this world, was discovered by the goddess of lust in the abyss."

"But the methods used by the Pleasure Cult were too radical, and the candidates for marriage were not entirely suitable. In the end, they failed and were killed by the hero."

Recalling the methods used by Lustful Destiny, Amamiya Nene couldn't quite imagine what the Sixth Hero had gone through.

“The Sixth Hero was perhaps the strongest of all the heroes in history. The Sixth War against the Demon King ended in less than a year with the fall of the Demon King. Dean Hermes was a participant. Although he did not witness the process, he knew that the Sixth Hero almost single-handedly killed the Demon King.” Barbas shook her head: “The Goddess of Lust has messed with the wrong person.”

Amamiya Nene stared at the photo for a long time.

"As far as you know, this method of matchmaking is only used by the White Sect within the True God Cult?"

Barbas nodded slightly.

“The Sun God wouldn’t do that. The other gods either have no interest in heroes or wouldn’t use such methods. Theoretically, the Dragon Lord could do it too, but the Dragon Lord, who transcends time, must have a better way.”

"Take the Child of Prophecy, for example. Perhaps it was planned before the hero even arrived."

"Grandma Barbas, I have one last question." Amamiya Nene paused, then said casually, "It's just an academic discussion."

“I’ve always welcomed academic discussions.” Barbas elegantly picked up her teacup, even the most glamorous courtesan of Aiswell paled in comparison to this old lady. “Especially a beautiful child like you, hehe. Someone once said that chatting with beautiful things can prolong life.” “If only the White Cult in the True God Church has used the method of matchmakers, and only the Pleasure Cult in the Abyss of Original Sin has used a similar method,” Amamiya Nene’s beautiful eyes were fixed on the bread in her hand, “then what is the relationship between the White Cult and the Pleasure Cult?”

Is there some kind of connection?

"Oh my!" Old Mrs. Barbas covered her mouth in surprise, as if she was too shocked to speak. "This is... well, very Grindelwald's academic discussion."

"I was just mentioning it casually," Amamiya Nene said with an awkward smile.

“The Cult of Pleasure is destroyed; that's for sure.” Barbas flipped through the photo album; the next page showed pictures of hellish city ruins. “During the ceremony of the Chosen Ones of Pleasure, all members and core members of the Cult of Pleasure were present; it was a ceremony to welcome ‘God’.”

"As you can see, the Empire dropped nearly 50,000 tons of bombs on the city, including 5000 concentrated mana bombs, which were prepared for the Cult of Pleasure. Afterwards, the Empire's superhuman agency, the Grube, conducted a massive search. Even if there were any Pleasure cults after that, they would be new Abyss superhumans, not the previous members."

"In the two hundred years following 1200, there were very few incidents related to people with extraordinary lust, but I'm not entirely sure either. You can ask the school administration for details."

"As for the Goddess of Lust, that's just a title. No one has ever seen her, and the Pleasure Cult doesn't have a doctrine that can be called a 'religion.' They only use religion as a pretext to indulge in debauchery. Whether the original sin gods in the abyss are 'gods' is still unknown, after all, we know too little about the abyss."

Old Mrs. Barbas carefully considered her words.

"As for Ningning's idea, I think it's unlikely."

“Your mother is a cardinal of the White Church, so you should know that the White Church's goddess has appeared to you more times than the gods of several other religions combined—”

Amamiya Nene nodded.

Actually, my mom doesn't really respect goddesses; there's even a picture of the sun god in our house.
“According to the records of the saints of the White Sect, She is an extremely benevolent goddess, possessing both the kindness of a mother and the impartiality of an arbitrator,” said Nene Amamiya.

“This doesn’t align with the original sin of the chaotic abyss,” Barbas cautioned. “The differences in the methods used by the two religions to choose their partners are also something I think is just a coincidence.”

She paused, "But the gods also walked on the earth during the Age of Gods. Whether the Abyss existed in that era, and whether the Abyss Goddess and the Holy Spirit Goddess were connected, is probably impossible to know."

Amamiya Nene nodded slightly, putting aside some of her concerns.

No matter what, her mother taught the little leader for nothing.

We shouldn't be suspicious just because the policeman's lustful prayer sounds similar to the White Religion's prayer.

"What's wrong?" the old lady suddenly chuckled teasingly. "Is it because your family is pressuring you to get married that you have such a strong opinion against the White Sect? Believing in a goddess who encourages marriage and childbirth must be exhausting, huh?"

"No, not at all." Relieved, Amamiya Nene finally had a bit of an appetite. She took small bites of bread and mumbled, "My mom would love for me to stay single forever so I can be her personal nanny."

"How's the new teaching assistant?" Barbas asked abruptly.

"W-what do you mean?" Amamiya Nene immediately denied, "There's nothing between him and me."

“I’m talking about academics, what are you panicking about?” Barbas’s smile made Amamiya Nene even more uncomfortable. “The deans are thinking of promoting him to a full-fledged teacher after this semester. His arcane level must be up to par, and he only needs to have either theoretical or practical ability. He’s your teaching assistant, so you should take good care of him.”

Amamiya Nene was having a hard time keeping up.

“Theoretical arcane mages know the principles but can’t use arcane magic. Practical arcane mages can use arcane magic but don’t know the principles. I’m a practical mages, but he’s better than me because he combines theory and practice.”

"You mean he knows the principles and can also transform them into arcane magic? That's great, that's exactly the kind of young talent we at Grindelwald need."

"No, I can't use any arcane magic, and I don't know why."

The old lady laughed heartily for a long time.

Wangcai lay curled up on the ground, while an old man and a young boy chatted by the flickering candlelight, their conversation ranging from clothing to fashion trends, as if they were like-minded peers.

The only thing they didn't talk about was arcane magic, unlike Grindelwald's teacher.

"Ningning, what type of man do you like?"

The little witch gazed at the night sky through the glass of the flowerbed and said casually, "I can't really say. How would I know if I haven't met my ideal type?"

"What about its appearance?"

"Of course, it has to be a handsome guy. He can't be anything less than handsome, and an average-looking guy is definitely not an option."

"Be more specific, what makes you look handsome?"

She thought for a while.

"Hmm, like beautiful hands? The kind with well-defined knuckles, long and slender, with harmonious length and width, like when playing the piano or holding a knife, the veins will bulge out—super sexy, right? Hehe."

I was embarrassed to laugh because I was exposing my sexual fetish in front of the elderly.

“Hmm.” Barbas nodded in deep agreement. “It would be best if it also had some muscle definition, a bit rough on the palm. If it’s too delicate, it will look like a child’s, like they can’t hold onto things.”

"Yes, yes!"

The little witch looked at her curiously: "Grandma Barbas, what about you?"

Barbas's husband died a long time ago.

She had no children and lived alone.

But this situation is not uncommon in Grindelwald; many professors are still single even when they are old and gray. Loneliness is the curse of knowledge.

"me."

I like gentle people.

"That's a very vague answer." Amamiya Nene thought of the figure pushing the car along the highway, and asked with a slightly unfocused look in her eyes, "Then what do you think is gentleness?"

Barbas did not answer.

The old lady was looking at the painting hanging behind her desk, as if she too was seeking an answer, or perhaps the answer was right there.

Her eyes held a longing that was deeper than the night.

(End of this chapter)