Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1027 1009. True Faith

Faced with Lan En's surprise and disbelief, Chapelle seemed very natural and calm.

If a person truly believes in something, he has nothing to hide about it.

"Eternal Fire."

Chapelle said calmly.

"Since you have come to Novigrad, you must know about the Eternal Flame, Your Highness the Duke. It is an eternal flame, a symbol of perseverance, and a clear path that leads us through the boundless darkness."

"The Eternal Fire, Your Highness, is the hope for all of us. Because the one thing that all of us - you, me, any other race - have is hope. I believe that."

He was not as impassioned and emotional as the ordinary Eternal Fire preachers, as if saying the words 'Eternal Fire' in a loud voice would be blasphemous and disrespectful.

But this calm tone contains the natural piety and faith.

Lan En was still blinking in doubt and surprise.

"There is no need and we can't kill them all, Your Highness the Duke. You must know this better than me."

Lan En shrugged, he was being polite just now.

"As long as there are people who want to join the temple guard, there must be people who want to climb up, or who want to make a lot of money through their status. And if they want to climb up, or break my control over the years to increase their efforts to make profits, then You must bring me down."

"You have really become the last person who should have faith in the eternal fire."

"Humans have reached reconciliation with dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and elves, but they still classify us as monsters."

He saw these things clearly as soon as he knew Chapelle's identity.

Chapelle, the villain known to everyone in Novigrad.

"But you should already know that some people within the temple guards have doubts about your identity."

This is so dramatic, even more dramatic than the drama being rehearsed on the stage.

Chapelle thanked Lan En, and Lan En accepted it calmly.

Lan En made a gesture of cutting his palm downwards like a knife towards Chapelle.

He planned conspiracies, used violence, blackmailed businesses and guilds, and abused torture. For such a person, almost no one would think that he was a true believer. Faith was just a ladder for him to climb up.

Although his belief should be in some positive aspects of the Eternal Fire doctrine rather than the whole, it was still enough to make Lan En feel absurd.

Chapelle shook his head.

But when the real Chapelle died, a shapeshifter, a creature that in the doctrine of eternal fire deserved to be exterminated by humans and should be burned on the stake as soon as it appeared, took his place and truly believed in the eternal fire.

"Faith always arises from the heart, appears suddenly, and leads to inexplicable enlightenment."

"For people who want to take me down, I'm full of holes. There's no checking."

"Do you need my help? As long as you arrange for those people to go out of the city for official business, then give me the route."

"Having said that, I appreciate you leaving a way out for my livelihood in Novigrad."

"There's nothing wrong or wrong." Chapelle said calmly, as if those malicious intentions of finding his weakness, pulling him off his horse, tearing him to pieces and eating him didn't exist.

Lan put his fingers under the hood and scratched his cheek, forcing himself to accept the absurdity of reality.

Speaking of this, Chapelle seemed a little depressed.

"Humans have even racially merged with some of these races."

"Are we inferior to them in any way? Or are snow-white plumpness, wide-open thighs, and chests that stretch shirts until they can't be buttoned, are the tickets to survive in the human world?"

"But no matter what, we have to live. In the past, we survived in the wilderness, but now, we want to enjoy the convenience of the city and live in the city."

Lan En was silent for a moment, then asked.

“Even if it’s weaving wicker baskets, begging, and stealing in the city?”

"Yes, even if I have to do these things. Or do business, run errands for people, I can do everything that humans can do. Who knows, maybe I can get married or something?"

"If you go and live alone on the edge of a headland for a while," Schapelle said, "and eat only tree roots every day, get soaked in the water, and freeze half to death, you will understand."

"Sir, we also have pursuits in life. Even if we may encounter death on the way to pursuit."

"understand."

Lan En sighed and nodded. Very few people can live peacefully these days, let alone live happily.

"As promised, if you feel in danger, get out in time."

"I will, I will," Chapelle looked at the city with blurred eyes.

"But I still want to work harder. There are nineteen temples of eternal fire in this city. The closest one to us is only a stone's throw away from us. The temple guards guarding the eternal fire shouldn't always be doing dirty things. Is that okay?" People with true faith always think about working harder and persisting a little longer.

Lan En did not agree with most of the teachings of Eternal Fire, but he knew that people like Chapelle could not be persuaded.
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The actors' rehearsals gradually stopped, and the mess and clutter on the stage were cleaned up by the behind-the-scenes staff and props were placed.

The rows of bench seats under the stage gradually began to fill up.

The audience is growing as the show's start time approaches.

The sea parrot team's publicity effect was very good. They performed for free on piers, streets, and markets, and distributed leaflets about the show.

And the Skellige sailors that Geralt invited on the dock also walked in like bandits.

The men born on these high-latitude islands are said to be sailors, but everyone knows that a normal Skellige man must have been a pirate at the beginning of his career.

Most of them wore jackets and tights made of seal, walrus or bear skin, with long swords or axes hanging around their waists. There must be Skellige-style tattoos on their open chests, and sometimes they would hang a sheathed dagger around their necks like a necklace.

Letting this group of people maintain law and order can be said to be a perfect use of the rumors that the mainlanders are afraid of the Skellige Islanders.

It is a deterrent without taking action.

Children wiping their noses everywhere were led by their parents to sit and move around as if they had needles stuck in their buttocks.

The ticket prices for Irena Theater Troupe's performances are not high-end, and they are at a level where even street vendors can come in and relax for a while.

Soon, the entire dirt floor of the slaughterhouse was filled with people, and those who had no seats simply stood beside the walls of the slaughterhouse.

The vendors of the troupe stepped on the mud, hung a wooden box on their chest, and walked among the audience holding the box in their hands.

As he walked, he was hawking: baked apples, sandwiches, that kind of thing.

In the theater troupe, his hawking voice was still in tune.

What needs to be talked about has been finished, and Chapelle and Lan no longer spoke any more. They just seemed to be immersed in the atmosphere and looked at the stage with the curtain drawn.

Lan En had never seen what a medieval drama was like, so he was still a little interested.

An announcer wearing a bright top and leggings was the first to take the stage.

"Lovely ladies! Dear gentlemen! The supreme holy city, noble citizens of Novigrad! Welcome you all."

His voice was ups and downs, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he attracted the attention of the already noisy audience.

While he was talking, he also made body movements that were like chanting and praising in oil paintings, which looked very exaggerated.

But this happens to be the aesthetic standard of this era.

Therefore, the audience in the audience were obviously excited and looking forward to it.

"We're going to have a great comedy here!"

"Yes! This is a brand-new masterpiece created by the famous poet, Master Dandelion, and the female bard Priscilla! Master Dandelion promised the gods that he will serve as an eyewitness and narrater and bring wonderful stories to the Novigrad audience!”

"And this story is definitely familiar to everyone during this time, because countless scholars are studying it and countless bards are narrating it - the evil southern empire was finally blocked by the heroic northern coalition forces after destroying Cintra. In the Soden area!”

The announcer on the stage seemed to be telling a story to a child, with exaggerated expressions and movements, but it was just right for this era.

The audience in the audience includes not only humans, but also dwarves, dwarfs, etc. Vivaldi Bank also participated in the promotion at Dudu's request.

Even issued invoices to bank employees.

This is how the bank supports its important customers.

So now there are several stocky dwarves occupying several benches. Their short and thick legs and feet are hanging in the air and cannot reach the ground. They are swinging back and forth in excitement and anticipation.

"The title of the play is: "Smashing the Sun"! We are going to tell the thrilling journey of a key figure and the soul of that great war!"

"The cast is: Katharina plays the helpless civilian! Leo Rebbe plays the black dog of Nilfgaard! And the protagonist plays the hero who received the title of Duke in the war."

The announcer deliberately lengthened his tone, arousing anticipation from the audience.

"Novigrad's veteran actor, Ebrard Reza!"

It seemed that the actor was quite famous in Novigrad. Lan En heard the cheers of many women from around his seat.

"We also have a female lead, played by the stunning and experienced Lady Irena as the Archmage! Lady Tishaia de Verres!"

Now it was the men who were making indecent whistles.

As the sky grew dark, the troupe pulled a lot of strings back and forth in the open space of the slaughterhouse. They hung lanterns for lighting and also hung a lot of colorful flags and strips.

The actors appear on stage one by one, allowing the audience to identify their roles first.

Although the others elicited cheers and applause when they appeared on the stage, only the male protagonist
(End of this chapter)