30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 191

“...I'm just saying, but Instructor, if you're thinking of touching the temple, give it up.” “...?” “Drop that ‘did you also learn mind-reading?’ look. I can predict this simply because I’ve become somewhat adept at reading your patterns of action.” “...Really?” “No matter how impressive that may sound, never even think about messing with the temple. Better to capture the main culprit than to complicate things by meddling with the temple.”

As if he had already decided that he would storm the temple, Roen’s expression was one of desperate patience.

“I, too, harbor strong ‘regret’ and ‘displeasure,’ ‘anger’ and ‘hatred,’ ‘contempt,’ ‘disgust,’ and ‘nausea’ towards the temple, but even so, it's not something you should attack.” “...Hey, um, it seems like you despise the temple more than I do?”

Before true madness, pretense doesn’t even have a chance to show itself, and Roen’s intense loathing seemed almost akin to his own feelings towards magicians.

To him, magicians were like horrific monsters that needed to be exterminated from the world, perhaps to that guy, the temple was something similar.

The only difference was...

“He’s better at suppressing his emotions and acting logically.”

Just like now.

“As you know, in the southern continent, the temple’s status is immense. Precisely, it’s the authority of the 'Light of Glory' that is considered great, but the temple’s priests are well known as the chosen delegates of the Light of Glory, and their authority is not to be taken lightly. Because of this, there are quite a few among the people who would believe and follow whatever the priests say.” “Isn’t that common knowledge? Who in the south doesn’t know that?”

Ihan shrugged his shoulders at the overly verbose explanation. It was too obvious...

“...And you’re saying you knew all this, yet you still planned to attack the temple?” “......” “Instructor, attacking the temple is a different scale of problem compared to hitting a magic tower. Until now, you’ve been fine attacking opposing organizations because you had a just cause, power, and some unknown ‘backing,’ right?” “That's right, isn’t it?” “It’s easier to speak when you admit it. I know it may be presumptuous of me to say this, but even if the king is your backer, you cannot attack the temple. An attack on the temple is literally making ‘the entire populace’ your enemy.” “......” “The faith and power that a [religion] possesses can be that dangerous.” “...Hmm.”

...Ihan was slightly startled by two things.

One was that this cold, rude guy was genuinely concerned about him and voiced his opinion, and the other was,

‘Did this bastard already try to do what I’m planning?’

He had no special ability to read thoughts just from looking at someone’s eyes, but there was such a thing as intuition.

Ihan cautiously guessed that this guy might have done a lot in the past or even in the ‘future,’ and that none of it had gone to waste.

A gaze that couldn’t help but pass through countless frustrations and despair.

‘...Surely, this guy must have fought a lot with the temple in the future?’

A sworn enemy? He tentatively guessed it must have been an even more horrific relationship of hatred.

...And he was already speaking from experience about how attacking the temple could lead to the worst situations.

“...Of course, Instructor, you could probably destroy the temple on your own, but you can’t crush the people’s faith and hatred. No matter how well you take care of the people, they will worship and long for a ‘god,’ and ultimately, they themselves will endlessly create second and third temples...” “......” “So, openly attacking the temple is not something you should do. It’s just a pointless act and will only make you a target of hatred.” “......” “Furthermore...”

...Whether it was advice, a warning, or just rambling continued.

Some might grow tired of the ongoing advice and even feel a bit stressed, but Ihan felt a different emotion as he listened to the rant.

Not annoyance, but pity.

‘He has a lot of grievances.’

It was the first time he realized that this guy was such a talkative person, but it seemed he had a lot to say. The young guy was already showing signs of developing hypertension. How much pent-up frustration must he have, indeed.

‘Feels worse than when I was in the military...’

Ihan cautiously guessed that the stress he might have faced in his previous life might be nothing compared to this guy’s.

‘...Poor guy.’

For the first time, Ihan thought this guy was truly pitiable and simply listened to his advice in silence.

“...Instructor, why are you looking at me like that?”

However, from the perspective of the one being looked at, it was a somewhat sour experience.

People often don’t realize how they appear to others, and the pitiable person (Roen) had no idea he looked like a drenched black dog.

*****

Ihan accepted his disciple's advice.

Although he often acted on impulse, Ihan was not foolish enough to leave everything to emotion alone.

Moreover, with such a commendable disciple offering advice, he felt compelled to listen.

Of course, if he really crossed the line, then he’d resort to 'kill you and then flee.'

'It might be time to seriously consider where to emigrate.'

Avoiding the temple was best, but one must consider the worst-case scenario.

He hesitated, honestly.

Half a year ago, he would have left without a second thought, but now...

'What is attachment, really?'

Over time, Ihan had accrued too many precious connections.