Chapter 182 Peaceful Tomorrows Will Still Arrive

The noise in his mind fluctuated, as if a massive source of interference was sometimes near, sometimes far, from his brain. The antique shop in his vision maintained its stability overall, but occasionally, shadowy things would flash between the shelves, as if trying to show the reckless visitor the sinister truth from the sub-dimension.

Maurice sat cautiously in front of the counter, restraining his thoughts and emotions, using the brief rationality granted to him by the God of Wisdom, Rahm, to think, in a limited and strenuous way, about one question after another.

The conversation was still going on. Before the "Mr. Duncan" across from him was satisfied, he, this "conversation partner," had to keep him company.

But Duncan wasn't speaking at the moment—he was also lost in thought, contemplating matters related to the Black Sun and the history of pollution.

This deathly silence, yet filled with piercing noise, lasted for an unknown length of time before Maurice suddenly heard a low voice coming from across the counter: "One last question. If something really is polluting history, how should that problem be solved?"

"Someone... polluting history?" Maurice raised his head somewhat sluggishly, looking at Duncan in confusion. "Who are you talking about?"

"Regardless of who it is," Duncan said quietly, "Maybe it's the sub-dimension, maybe it's the Black Sun, maybe it's other heretical gods. In any case, if something is trying to pollute history, how should it be solved? How did the Flamekeepers deal with this kind of crisis?"

Maurice was taken aback, shaking his head hesitantly. "This... I'm sorry, I can't answer you. This is beyond my knowledge, and even among the Flamekeepers, I'm afraid only the most powerful saints or chosen ones know the secrets of how history works—most Flamekeepers are actually like the guardians of the Storm Church, usually just doing routine work like eliminating heretics and purifying pollution. After all, true historical pollution is almost impossible..."

"...I see, my questions are too deep. It's difficult to ask you to answer things like that," Duncan sighed softly. He realized that his curiosity was too strong and might have caused a lot of psychological pressure on the old man in front of him, so he simply ended the current topic. "Then let's stop here for today."

An unprecedented sense of relaxation suddenly surged into his mind, and Maurice breathed a sigh of relief.

His mind had been muddled since earlier, his thoughts intermittent, and many questions had floated into his mind, but he couldn't organize them. He couldn't have asked for more when Duncan was willing to end the conversation.

Duncan raised his head and glanced at the sky outside through the glass window not far away.

In terms of time, it was still a while before sunset, but the gloomy sky had already made it completely dark outside. The gas streetlights came on early, and their bright yellow light illuminated the streets outside. Against the gloomy background of dark clouds, the lower city of Pland seemed to have been cast into the night ahead of time.

"The weather is bad," Duncan retracted his gaze and looked at the old man across from him. "Want to stay? Nina should have finished cooking."

Maurice's heart suddenly pounded. He suddenly remembered a saying popular in the Academy of Truth, used to describe those seekers of knowledge who were the most fanatical and legendary—

Swam in the sub-dimension, bragged in front of evil gods, witnessed the battle of the gods firsthand, begged for soup from a minion's cooking.

If this antique shop, now occupied by "Mr. Duncan," was regarded as a sub-dimension, if Mr. Duncan's position was on par with that of a god, and if there really was a struggle between this shadow of the sub-dimension and the God of Wisdom, then he had already achieved three of the four miracles...

If he went upstairs to have a bowl of soup at this time, wouldn't he really be promoted to a legend on the spot!

Maurice was surprised that he still had the strength to think about these messy things at this time, and carefully organized his words: "Actually..."

"Actually, you want to leave, right?" Duncan nodded proactively before the old man could finish speaking. He still had some self-awareness at this time. "Although I want to say that the weather is bad and staying to drink a bowl of hot soup might be better for your health, it seems that the pressure you feel sitting in front of me right now is greater than the comfort brought by a bowl of hot soup?"

Maurice quickly got up and nodded in agreement. "Frankly speaking, every minute and every second is torture—of course, I don't mean to offend you, it's just..."

"No need to say more."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 182 Peaceful Tomorrows Will Still Arrive

, I understand everything," Duncan waved his hand, a look of helplessness on his face. "If there was an easier way to meet, I would still like to have a good chat with you about history and the gods. I'm very interested in knowledge—the kind of 'interested' without malice, but it doesn't seem to work this time."

Maurice stood by the counter and fell silent after hearing the words across from him. After a while, he met Duncan's gaze. "Seriously, I was in a trance several times just now, and almost forgot the 'truth' I saw. Your... curiosity and friendliness are so real, you talked to me like a friend. This is the first time I've seen someone as friendly as you..."

The old man stuttered a bit, seeming unable to find a complimentary word for a moment. Duncan smiled when he saw this: "If you can't find a good word, then don't bother. Just don't report me after you leave."

"No, no, no! I would never do that!" Maurice waved his hands repeatedly as soon as he heard this, as if afraid that Duncan would misunderstand something. "In any case, you really saved Heidi's life, and you have always had a friendly attitude. I have no reason to report you—moreover..."

The old man hesitated for a moment, then spread his hands with a wry smile. "Looking at you, I guess you're not afraid of being 'reported' at all, right..."

"It would be troublesome for me," Duncan said casually, "But probably not a big trouble."

Then he paused slightly, looked up at the second floor again, and looked at Maurice again: "If the weather improves tomorrow, Nina will go to school as usual."

"Nina..." Maurice blinked. He remembered the arc of blazing flame he had seen, and he also remembered what he had just discussed with Duncan, especially the part about the Black Sun. Combining that with Duncan's attitude just now, he had vaguely guessed something in his heart. "Nina, she... is she related to what those solar heretics worship..."

He didn't ask further, because Duncan gently shook his head.

"Nina is just Nina. You don't need to be curious about the secrets behind her," Duncan said softly. "Just treat her as usual, and nothing will happen."

"...I understand," Maurice lowered his head slightly. For some reason, after hearing Duncan's words, he felt even more relieved than before. Then he took two steps back slightly. "Then I should say goodbye and leave. Please say goodbye to Nina for me—my current state... is not suitable for 'seeing' her again."

Duncan hummed in response and walked around the counter to see the old man to the door.

There were almost no pedestrians on the street, only rows of streetlights illuminating the cloudy city. The cold wind shuttled and swirled between the buildings, and the moisture mixed in it became more and more intense.

Maurice tightened his coat and pressed down on the top hat he was wearing, but before walking to his car, he couldn't help but stop and look back at Duncan, who was still standing at the door of the shop.

What he saw was a middle-aged man with a peaceful smile. The street scene in the distance occasionally trembled, but it was no longer as terrifying as it had been at first.

"Mr. Duncan," Maurice said suddenly, "You actually like this place very much, don't you?"

"That's right, I quite like it here," Duncan smiled and waved to the old man. "So go home and rest assured. Pland will usher in a peaceful tomorrow—and every day after that."

Maurice took off his hat, waved it lightly at Duncan, and turned to walk to his car parked by the side of the road.

Duncan didn't retract his gaze until the car started and disappeared at the end of the street.

But he didn't go directly back into the house, but stood at the door and thought.

The first question he thought about was whether the old man would report him after returning...

The conclusion was that the possibility was extremely small—if he was just an ordinary cultist, or even a slightly more advanced solar priest, then the chances of Maurice, as a believer in a true god, reporting him would be 100%, but judging from today, his image in the other party's eyes was probably that of an ancient god, and the old man's chances of reporting him were almost zero.

The reason was very simple—reporting a few cultists would only require a couple of constables to wipe them out, and reporting an evil god priest would only require a few.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 182 Peaceful Tomorrows Will Still Arrive

guards to be able to behead him on the spot, but what if a sub-dimensional evil god was entrenched here? What level would you have to report this to?

Let alone the community church, even reporting it to the city-state's bishop would be useless...

It would be more reliable to mutter a few words to the God of Wisdom you believe in than reporting it to the church.

And even if he didn't consider these things, Duncan didn't really care if Maurice reported him to the church.

After all, even Vanna, the inquisitor who was at the peak of martial power in the Storm Church, was actually a bit weak in his eyes...

Compared to these minor issues, Duncan was now more concerned about Nina's condition.

A blazing arc of flame that was gushing and burning... this was the "truth" that Maurice saw in Nina with the Eye of Truth granted to him by the God of Wisdom.

"Fragments of the sun..." Duncan raised his head, looking at the dark sky outside, and murmured to himself as if talking to himself, "What the hell is the sun in this world..."