Chapter 299: If You Don’t Believe In God, You Can Believe In Me

“Young Watson, I am so sorry for what just occurred. If I had known you were related to the border count, I would have apologized on behalf of St. Antilles Cathedral.”

Arthas crossed his chest, bowed to Watson, and laid his hand on his chest.

It had been half a day when the statue in St. Antilles Cathedral collapsed. Arthas’ attitude toward Watson had shifted dramatically in less than half a day. When he discovered Watson’s connection to the border count, he also learned that Watson was a genius. He was a genius who would go to the Royal Knight Academy. Additionally, he had assisted the church in repairing the broken statue.

To be more precise, it was not just a simple repair.

At that moment, Watson and the others were in a prayer room in the cathedral that was mainly used to entertain distinguished guests. Seven statues stood behind Watson. The main one was the God of Light, Baldur, who had previously projected himself to them, and three gods stood on his left and right, respectively. There were males and females, and each possessed a unique aura.

That was not the main point—the stone sculptures had all turned into golden statues. They had a gold-tier aura. They were all gold-tier items.

It was not just those sculptures. All the statues in the cathedral had turned into gold-tier items; they were all created by Watson with the Wish for the World ring.

There were at least a hundred statues in the cathedral, and all of them had turned into gold-tier items. It was equivalent to having more than a hundred gold-tier items out of thin air. With such a gift, it was difficult for Arthas to be disrespectful to Watson.

Perhaps Watson’s actions had extinguished the gods’ anger. It was not only St. Antilles Cathedral, but all the damaged statues in the other churches had also been automatically repaired.

“Waldo, why don’t you come here and apologize to Young Master Watson? It’s all your fault, you idiot. You’re a clergyman, but you can’t get rid of the greed in your heart. You even blackmailed your subordinates. A person like you isn’t worthy of a cardinalship. From now on, you’ll revert to an ordinary priest. After you apologize, you can go to the confessional and reflect on yourself.”

“I’m sorry, Young Master Watson. I was wrong.”

Waldo, who had acted very arrogantly half a day ago, knelt in front of Watson with a bruised and swollen face. He looked regretful as he took a contract and tore it. “This is the contract for Leon’s debt from yesterday. I’ve torn it apart; we’re not even, Leon.”

Waldo looked pained as he tore the contract. If it were up to him, he would not have done that. However, Arthas had cast the silver-tier Beaten curse on him a few hours ago, and it had been too painful. It had only been a short while, but he felt as if more than ten men had beaten him up. If that continued, he would not be able to withstand it.

“Young Master Watson, I don’t know if you are satisfied with that. If you are not still satisfied, I will continue to punish Waldo severely,” Arthas asked cautiously.

Watson expressed sympathy for Waldo; he shook his head as he looked at him. “That is not something for me to decide. You should ask Leon that! Are you satisfied, Leon?” Watson directed the last sentence to Leon, who was standing next to him.

“I am satisfied. After all, I took the initiative to borrow the money. Let Bishop Waldo go, please,” Leon said weakly.

“Leon, thank you for speaking up for me. You are a good person! I am sorry for being so harsh on you. When I come out of the confessional, I will treat you to a drink.” Waldo forced a smile at Leon. It seemed like he had made up his mind to turn over a new leaf. No one knew if he would say the same thing when the curse was lifted.

“Leon, there is something that I might need to trouble you. The St. Antilles Cathedral has always had seven cardinals since its foundation. These seven cardinals will be the jury to judge the church’s affairs. Now that I’ve removed Waldo from his position, I have decided to give the position to you. What do you think?”

Arthas might have asked for Leon’s opinion, but his eyes kept glancing at Watson. “Of course, letting a bronze-tier priest become a bishop is slightly against the church’s rules. My actions might make others feel dissatisfied. If Young Master Watson could transform our statues into gold-tier ones, then perhaps those voices of opposition will be a little quieter.”

The pity in Watson’s eyes had all but vanished. He was speechless. He mocked the man in his mind. It seemed like the leader and his subordinates were the same. Waldo had been greedy for wealth, and the pope was not much different.

“I’m sorry, Your Holiness. Thank you for wanting to promote me, but forget it. I don’t intend to become a cardinal! It’s not only that; I also intend to withdraw from this church.”

After a few seconds of silence, Leon dropped a bombshell on them.

“Leon, what are you talking about? Are you confused?”

Leon looked determined as he faced Arthas’s disbelieving query. “Your Holiness, I am very clear-headed. That is the choice I made after much deliberation. Thank you for your training over the years!”

With a deep bow, Leon looked at Watson. “Young Master Watson, let’s go.”

….

On their way to the Golden Quill Pavilion, Watson asked, “Leon, why did you make such a sudden decision? Is it because you felt like you owed me and didn’t want to see me subjected to Arthas’ blackmail?”

Leon pushed his monocle upward and smiled bitterly. “It’s not only that, Young Master Watson. I made that decision on my own.

I didn’t expect you to be so powerful that you could crush the platinum-tier weapon in the swordmistress’ hand and even kill a god’s projection. I think you are a platinum-tier elite, but I’ve always thought that you’re only a gold-tier professional! You made a potion to raise our level to gold-tier, so how could you only be on the same level as us?”

Watson did not say anything, which indicated his tacit agreement.

“I became a priest because it was a noble role and because it was pretty easy to cultivate! However, I now realize that these priests are no different than ordinary people. Furthermore, there are drawbacks to this profession. Once you have a problem with your faith, you won’t be able to exert your power. Borrowed power is ultimately not as substantial as the one gained in cultivation.”

Leon walked toward Watson and knelt on one knee. “Young Master Watson, I have decided to abandon my previous faith and give up the priest profession! I hope that you will not mind my weak strength and become my master. Teach me magic or swordsmanship, and in return, I am willing to give up everything for you.”

There was something he had kept to himself. It was better to believe in Watson than the gods. Even the gods could not make him into a gold-tier elite, but Watson had done it with only a bottle of potion. If that were the case, why would he still believe in the gods?

What was that?

Watson was at a loss for words when he saw Leon’s serious expression. He did not expect Leon to abandon his clergy profession to become his disciple. He was still learning from his master.

After he thought about it for a moment, Watson said, “It’s fine if you become my disciple, and I don’t want you to give up the clergy profession.”

The light in Leon’s eyes dimmed, and his expression became exceedingly disappointed after receiving a negative response. “I don’t want you to abandon your priestly role, but you can shift the object of your faith from the seven gods to me.”

Leon was astonished for a few seconds, and then he abruptly raised his head. His face was blank.

“Huh?”