Chapter 98 — The Faith of the Holy Light

As was only natural, along the way Gao Yang's attention was drawn more than once to Sandy at Viroday's side. There was no help for it: with a luminous being like a holographic projection standing right beside him, and with him the only one able to perceive her strangeness, anyone would have been unable to resist. Gao Yang stole a couple of glances, and at last Viroday noticed.

"Are you troubled by Sandy's silence?" Viroday tactfully broached the subject. "Please forgive her; she has always been this way."

"No—it is only that she resembles someone I once knew," Gao Yang said, spinning the same yarn he had already used once before Amber, and since he was counting on the dead being unable to testify, he was always brazen when fabricating such things. "Of course, she is certainly not the same person. I simply could not help looking a few more times. If I have given offense, I beg your pardon."

"Sandy will not mind," Viroday said with a faint smile, while the woman called Sandy merely nodded slightly, which seemed to count as her voicing an opinion. Then Viroday went on, "She has been my close friend for many years. Before me, she had already converted to the great God of Holy Light, and it was she who pointed me down this righteous path."

The tone of a zealot.

Gao Yang did not show his inner disapproval. After all, how a person chose to believe was their own affair, and this saint princess was quite amiable enough when the talk turned to matters other than faith.

And Viroday had not finished. "Her devotion commands respect. She is silent before you, but that is because she has already devoted the greater part of her words to our Lord. Speaking of which, I notice that although everything in your territory is full of vitality, it seems to lack the guidance of faith?"

Gao Yang mustered a smile. "I hold devout believers in high regard, but you see, counting the hundred you have brought, my territory holds only a little over nine hundred souls. Building houses and clearing land have already consumed much of our energy; matters such as erecting a church or supporting missionaries can only be put off for later."

"Faith does not become a burden to the people; rather, it becomes their direction and their strength," Viroday said with a smile. "At the very least, the God of Holy Light teaches us to be forbearing toward one another, and to guide and shelter all living beings with the power of the Holy Light. If you are willing, I can, in my own name, help you establish a church of the God of Holy Light here. I can assure you that apart from voluntary offerings, the church will never wring a single coin from this land; all its expenses will be provided by me personally. At the same time, the church's clergy will offer healing and counsel to your people free of charge."

Gao Yang kept his smile. "Is there such a good thing in this world?"

Viroday seemed to radiate a faint, holy glow, and even her smile appeared steeped in the Holy Light. "Have no doubt—this is my personal expression of goodwill and reverence toward a legendary hero such as yourself. Like my brother, I grew up listening to stories of you."

Yet the smile on Gao Yang's face did not change in the slightest. "The Cecil family thanks Her Highness for her kindness. I will consider the matter—but not now. Once the territory has settled, and my people have grown numerous enough to need the guidance of faith, I will most gladly welcome your help."

"That is well enough," Viroday said, and the faint radiance about her gradually receded, her smile turning easy and gentle. "Whenever you have need, the Lord will look kindly upon all. Know that though there are many gods, only the God of Holy Light embraces all things; at the end of the Holy Light lies the final redemption of the foolish multitudes."

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