I'm really a serious wizard.

Chapter 148: Nobody or Famous?

"My story is nothing special, kid. You can keep the money for yourself."

Ashton took a sip of his drink, tossed the purse back, and reminisced about his glorious past.

"The charges listed by the court are utter nonsense!"

He began by emphasizing this point, and then slowly said:

“Back then, I remember the courtroom wasn’t like that at all; at least there was basic fairness.”

"Yes, the most basic fairness!"

"But during a hunt for heretics, I discovered something was wrong."

"That heretic was a pitiful man. He took out a loan from the Financial Union Savings Bank in order to survive and support his family."

"In the end, I couldn't pay it back, so I had to sell the house at a low price. My organs and even a third of my soul were taken away to mortgage the debt."

"With no other options, he had no choice but to worship an evil god in order to survive. Damn, he actually managed to make a name for himself and became a high-ranking member of the Pain Cult."

At this point, Ashton took a big gulp of wine, seemingly annoyed that the number of cult members being arrested kept increasing, or perhaps that the high-ranking nobles didn't treat ordinary people like human beings.

"But this guy had a wife and daughter before he joined the cult."

"So not long after, he secretly sneaked into Glenhill, intending to take his wife and children with him."

"As a result, the court received intelligence and dispatched two teams to make the arrest."

Ashton glanced at Ron to make sure he was listening attentively, then continued:
"Yes, just like you think. I'll lead one squad, and Silas will lead the other."

"The plan at the time was to lie in wait near the cult members' target, so that the success rate could be guaranteed no matter what."

"Everything went smoothly, and the high-ranking heretic was successfully captured. Normally, the story should end here, but it doesn't."

"You didn't see it. The wife and daughter of that heretic leader are so beautiful. Some of them are trying to control the big boss and want to rape them directly."

"Damn it, by the time I returned after escorting the heretic leaders, it would be too late."

"The mother and daughter were tortured beyond recognition and had already died. Judging from the marks, it was definitely not done by one person. I was so angry that I beat up that bastard Silas and kicked his balls off."

"You should know that the mother and daughter were just ordinary, law-abiding citizens, not heretics or cult members!"

"Finally, I submitted a letter of denunciation to the higher authorities. To my delight, this letter even alarmed the head of the Holy See, His Holiness the Pope, the earthly representative of the Holy Light."

"The result, the result"

The outcome is clear: Ashton was removed from the list of names and accused of a multitude of crimes, and subjected to abuse and contempt from the uninformed public.

"I don't understand why it had to be the Pope. If it were any of the other high-ranking members of the Inquisition, I could attribute it to corruption, but the Pope, the Pope himself..."

In this age of ignorance, Pope Cyrus VII can be considered a role model for all those who believe in the Holy Light.

Now that the benchmark has been broken, faith naturally collapses as well.

However, this also made Ron feel a little strange.

While the Pope is a role model, he is also human, and some of his actions should not have caused Ashton, who has spent most of his life doing things for justice, to suffer such a blow.

The guy in front of me has fallen so low that he has no energy or spirit left.

If it weren't for his daughter to raise, this middle-aged man would probably have collapsed long ago.

Noticing Ron's puzzled look, Ashton seemed to understand what he was thinking, and sighed, saying:

"Sigh~ Do you think I'm a useless piece of trash who would just surrender like that? No, I'm not!"

"I was like a wild beast, trying to make a last-ditch effort."

“I hurled insults at Cyrus VII and exposed his bias and injustice to the entire Papacy.”

“They even prayed to the gods to punish him as he deserved.”

"Such an unjust person is utterly unfit to be the Pope!"

“Seleus VII did not stop me, or rather, he was laughing at me. When I began to question him, the holy light power in my body gradually weakened, and the blessings of the gods peeled away layer by layer.” “In the end, I even became an ordinary person.”

"Don't you understand? The problem isn't with certain people in the Vatican, it's with God!"

At this point, Ashton covered his head, unable to accept this fact.

The god he had believed in for half his life abandoned him and withdrew the blessings bestowed upon the devout believer.

Upon hearing this, Ron felt a chill run down his spine, and a sense of dread surged through his mind.

He finally understood why Ashton was so depraved and lacked the spirit and energy that someone practicing the Holy Light should have.

If the Holy Light God no longer upholds justice and light, is he still the Holy Light God?

When faith collapses and pillars break, everything is over.

Suddenly, Ron remembered a line from his past life, and he said seriously:

"Mr. Ashton, do you want to live a life of mediocrity, ending up an old, nameless nobody with a catheter in your bed?"

Or do you aspire to be a hero who becomes famous before the age of thirty, whose glory burns away to illuminate the path for others?

Ashton was stunned, not understanding for a moment what Ron meant.

He frowned and pondered for a long time, then shook his head with a wry smile, "I still have a daughter to raise. If I could choose, I would still choose to be an unknown person."

Upon hearing this, Ron smiled, a bright and cheerful smile without a trace of gloom.

"But I want to be famous all over the world."

He wanted to be famous.
He wants to be famous all over the world!?
The middle-aged man was stunned, then as if he understood something, he grinned and laughed heartily.

He laughed wildly, laughed unrestrainedly, and laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.

"Hahaha"

"As expected of those maverick mages from the Stardust Society!"

"Gandalf, you fucking dare to try to judge the gods!"

"To be famous throughout the world, to be famous throughout the world is wonderful!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

After laughing for an unknown amount of time, the middle-aged man wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and patted Ron's shoulder heavily.

"Speak up, what do you want to ask? Just because you want to be 'famous throughout the world,' I'll have to give you a hand!"

The blond boy nodded slightly upon hearing this and asked the question he had already prepared in his mind.

"Mr. Ashton, do you know Deacon Mambo?"

The arrival of the Inquisition members at Victor's Tavern that morning made Ron realize that things weren't so simple.

Because he always felt that the other party was deliberately trying to cause trouble.

"Mambo, he's only been a few years and he's already a butler?"

The middle-aged man fell into reminiscence and said in a deep voice, "This kid has a good father. He was a member of Silas's team back then."

"Oh, by the way, Silas is currently serving as the Grand Inquisitor of the Inquisition. If your enemy is him, things might not be so easy."

"That kid doesn't respond to soft or hard tactics, he only responds to tough methods. If you want to deal with him, you have to grab his balls."

Grand Inquisitor?

Upon hearing this, Ron was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "I remember that the one in charge of the Inquisition was a white-robed archbishop named Saint Lillian, wasn't he?"

Ashton shook his head. "The position of the white archbishops in the Papacy is extremely special. They are strong contenders for the next pope, but they cannot actually take charge of any department. They are only nominally in charge and have some special rights."

"If I were Cyrus VII, I would have done the same. Otherwise, wouldn't the twelve contenders for the position of Pope have fought tooth and nail?"

(End of this chapter)