The Bishop's room was almost identical to an ordinary nobleman's. A desk at the far end for the Bishop's, then a table and sofa for the guests in front of him.
"It's been a while since we've seen each other, Allen," Bishop Nicholas said.
Nicholas spoke to Allen as if he knew him intimately, but he didn't remember Nicholas's face. He had never really paid attention to him.
All he knew was that Nicholas had round glasses and was pale.
Now that he looked again, he paid more attention to his face. Bishop Nicholas' eyes radiated comfort, plus the wrinkles on his cheeks and under his eyes gave him a good old-fashioned grandfatherly vibe. It was very different from Master Rodion, whose wrinkles were on his forehead and above his eyes, evidence that he was angry more often than he smiled.
"Fufu, even though I said so, I'm sure you don't remember me. Our meeting back then was a bit awkward. My existence was a threat to your master, Isabelle. So even if you hate me, I don't mind either."
Again he met a person who was related to his past. At that time, Allen wanted to forget everything that happened in the past, but as if God did not allow it, the events in the past always attacked him back.
"I don't deserve to hate anyone," Allen said as he bowed his head down, not daring to look at the person before him.
As if he was betting, Ottar immediately laughed in front of Nicholas, "HAHAHA See? As I said, this Allen is so different that you can't even recognize him."
Ottar approached Vash and picked up the soup bowl he was holding.
"I'll eat this outside; this place is too stuffy to enjoy Allen's homemade soup that Birawa praised," Ottar said, getting out of there.
"Vash, come here," called Nicholas. "Here's the new letter; you can return and serve the finished meal to the orphanage children. You can show this letter if any foster priest wants to take away your rights."
"T-thank you very much! May God bless you and the Church of Fire!" said Vash as he accepted the letter. "Allen, let's go."
"Vash can go back first; I have something to talk to Allen about."
"W-well, excuse me."
Vash left, leaving Allen alone with Bishop Nicholas.
As soon as Vash left, Nicholas sat back and relaxed in his soft chair.
"Well... it's been a long day; my back hurts," Nicholas said as he stretched a little. "Allen, you're probably tired too; please sit on the chair, just put the soup on the table."
ραndαsΝοvεl.cοm Alen sat down as requested. Nicholas sat in front of Allen and ate his soup.
After one mouthful, Nicholas drank the soup water solemnly.
"Haah... This is delicious. You've really become a cook's apprentice, Allen. When I heard about you from Ottar, I doubted his words for the first time."
Nicholas put his soup on the table, then looked at Allen's face carefully.
"You really don't look like the same Allen I saw back then."
Nicholas took something out of his pocket and placed it on the table. It was an oddly shaped knife with a hole in the blade.
"This knife is my self-defense; the circle in the middle is for putting poison; one slash can make a normal human faint, then..." Nicholas opened his robe slightly and showed that chainmail was attached to his body underneath the robe. "It's also a little safety measure to keep me alive if you suddenly attack me. That's what I think of you, Allen.
Since you weren't found at the Wolverlope residence, I thought you knew that I was responsible for the attack on Wolverlope territory. But you don't seem to know anything about it."
"How so? What do you mean by you being responsible?"
"I was the church person who reported that Isabelle was hiding a Norttish."
Allen was struck hard by the harsh reality that unfolded before him. The figure standing right in front of him was none other than one of the very individuals he held a deep hatred towards. Ever since he managed to flee from the Wolverlope residence and found himself awakening in the unfamiliar Boldenville residence, Allen had harbored intentions of seeking vengeance for Isabelle. However, the identity of the person who deserved to bear the brunt of his anger remained unknown.
Yet at that moment, it became glaringly evident that this Bishop was the culprit accountable for the distressing incident.
But...
"Why, did you report it?" asked Allen, holding back emotions that shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Nicholas answered, "Do you know why Norttish is dangerous? Norttish can cause massive mana explosions, making the region toxic and uninhabitable for hundreds of years."
"So you reported Isabelle for hiding Illska because of that rule? The rule to kill Norttish? Because the kingdom told you to?"
"No, Allen. I did it for everyone else who lived in the territory.
I can't help but think that the Norttish existence could have taken away all the men, women, and children in that region."
'Even Isabelle wouldn't have wanted that to happen; she would have had a way for Illska not to be like that. The proof is that Illska didn't explode even after several years underground,' Allen thought. To him, the bishop was just looking for reasons to justify his actions, whether from the church or the kingdom. Bishop probably just wanted to maintain his position.
"But Allen," Bishop Nicholas continued, "Before you hate me, I feel compelled to express my remorse for my actions on that particular day. Looking back, I strongly believe the punishment inflicted on Isabelle was excessively severe. Moreover, I failed to consider the potential repercussions of provoking Isabelle's slaves, ultimately leading to a tragic incident that claimed numerous lives.
Undoubtedly, I bear responsibility for the loss of lives that occurred that day. It was my actions that ultimately resulted in their demise.
Had I refrained from reporting the Norttish, perhaps those unfortunate souls who perished that night would still be alive today, and probably the mana explosion that wreaked havoc would have never transpired.
The guilt and remorse for what I did that day will forever remain with me."
Allen... hated Nicholas for doing that to Isabelle, but Allen knew he had no other choice.
Allen knew that the Bishop also had his own reasons; he was also in a situation that made him have to do that. And now he regrets it, just like him.
Then that's when Allen realized,
The people he killed whether they were evil or not, whether they were bandits or criminals, didn't they all have their own reasons? Didn't everyone also have something they were fighting for? Even the soldiers who raided his mother's dungeon also had families and were fighting for their families.
In this world, everyone has a reason for doing things. And he easily killed those people without knowing their reasons.
"There's no way I can hate you..." Allen said. "I am a murderer, and I am a hated person; I have no right to hate others."
That is how Allen felt.
"Allen..." Nicholas touched the back of Allen's trembling hand and said, "There is no such thing as the right to hate; it just grows inside you and me. Our job as human beings is to try to eliminate those feelings.
Not only eliminate those feelings in yourself but also in others. If you know that other people hate you, you just have to try to make them not hate you anymore."
Nicholas words touched Allen's heart, "What then?" asked Allen with a hopeful face from the person in front of him, expecting an answer that could eliminate something that made his heart ache.
"You have to change; you just have to be reborn," Bishop replied. "You have to become a new person who won't repeat the mistakes you've made in the past. Help others until they forget you were a murderer. Until they remember you as someone who helped them, not as a murderer."
"C-changed? Can I change?!
After everything I've done to everyone?!
After I've killed so many people's families, can I still be forgiven?! Can those who have lost their families forget I am a murderer?!"
Nicholas smiled at him. "Everything you have done will never vanish, you must face your past bravely.
Allen, what do you have now? What can you do for others?"
"I-I'm just a poor man, living off the master."
"You have a strong body and the ability to cook. That's all enough, Allen."
"T-that's all enough?"
"Right, there's no need to push yourself. You do have to face your past, but you also have to be happy. I'm sure you like cooking; no one who doesn't like cooking can make soup this good. And I will definitely enjoy this soup more if the one who made it is also happy."
A little more encouragement…
That is what Bishop Nicholas thought. He could see that Allen was changing for the better.
"Allen, what do you want to do in this world?"
At that moment, Allen thought of everything that had happened to him so far. From inside the dungeon until he was sitting in that place.
He had many bad experiences, but he also had many good experiences. He met Lavinia, he met Isabelle, he met Master Rodion, he met Peter's family, and he also met Felicia.
He wanted to live in a world where he only had those good experiences over and over again. And he didn't want his bad experiences to happen to anyone else.
"I see," muttered Allen.
He understood the meaning of Bishop Nicholas' question. He asked it to make him understand what kind of world he wanted and what he had to do to grant it.
"Human hates monster, not fellow humans," that was his mother's last word, and now Allen was sure what his mother intended to tell him. Queen Orc definitely didn't know that humans also hate each other, but hatred just raises another hate and makes you unhappy, she must be wanted Allen to be happy in the human world, and to do that, Allen needed to erase the hatred in his heart.
Allen raised his head, looking at Bishop's gently smiling face in front of him. With bright red eyes full of determination, he replied
"I cannot answer it. However I love cooking and I will keep doing that. But I am still cannot sure I will become the cook. I am determined to further my understanding of humanity by learning and growing. In the meantime, my focus will be on assisting others and endeavouring to dissolve any hatred directed towards me."
Bishop closed his eyes and nodded "That's enough. Learn more about humans, use your strength for others, and I am sure others will forgive what you've done."
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