Chapter 359 I'm The Only Fool
Shala laughed and said, "That\'s right. Hmm… Narita, you\'re not a noble, you\'re a priest right?"
Hearing that, Narita looked in the other direction, then looked at Shala again and nodded: "Um… my position is no different from that of a priest."
"Hm… I often hear that the priests often preach inside the Sanctuary, where there are all kinds of people including children, so how did you make them sit still?"
Narita shook her head: "I have never preached, and besides… the preachers can\'t force children to sit still and using magic to do that would be against the will of God."
"That\'s why the Sanctuary made the decision to ban children from entering. To be more precise, we only allow those who are able to use magic to listen to the sermon."
Shala pouted hearing that: "Ah! So the Sanctuary only serves nobles, right?"
Narita nodded, "That\'s right. Ordinary people have very poor thinking ability, they don\'t understand what the will of god is, they only think about how to fill their stomachs."
"The kids are also troublesome, as they don\'t know how to sit still and appreciate what they teach themselves."
"That\'s why, the best way is to serve the nobles, that\'s enough. After all, commoners and children don\'t understand even if they listen to a lot of preaching, and it\'s useless to preach to them."
Shala heard that and smiled: "It seems that your thoughts have not changed."
Narita was silent for a moment, then continued, "No, I\'m just talking about my thoughts in the past. Now, after seeing those naughty kids sitting still for a long time, and seriously listening to your lecture, I feel very curious."
"How did you get those kids to sit still like that? And… what is Hikaru thinking anyway?"
"Okay, it would be better if we just walked." Shala laughed.
…
On the way, Narita told Shala about how he and Hikaru went to visit the wood and stone factory this morning. Of course, Narita also told her about the story between the nobleman and the beggar.
"Shala, do you know what the correct answer is?"
"Hahaha..." Shala suddenly burst out laughing, which made Narita feel confused.
"What\'s so funny?"
"Hahahaha…sorry, I just felt that your thoughts were too simple, so I couldn\'t help but laugh." Shala laughed to the point that tears came out of her eyes.
Even though she apologized to Narita, she still couldn\'t help but feel amused.
"Narita, you seem to have very little contact with commoners, right?"
Narita thought for a moment, then nodded: "That\'s right. I have almost no contact with them. It seems that after coming to this territory, I have spent more time interacting with civilians than I have interacted with all the civilians in the past combined."
"However, I still don\'t quite understand what Hikaru\'s intentions are. At first, I felt that he was like a weak person, so he would quickly be trampled on the ground by nobles."
"But then I realized that it was me who would be trampled on the ground. I was like a child who didn\'t understand anything. I realized that I need to learn more from Hikaru, from you, and from everyone."
Shala smiled when she heard that, she patted Narita on the back and said: "Hahaha… so you realize that you are not a complete person yourself, right?"
Narita shook his head and sighed, he didn\'t answer, as his sigh was already answered.
"So… you know what Hikaru is thinking right now?"
Shala nodded: "Of course I know, isn\'t it very simple?"
"Heh?!" Narita was startled, he stared at Shala, and he felt that she resembled Hikaru a bit.
"Do you… really know Hikaru\'s thoughts? Did he tell you about his plan?"
"No!" Shala forced a smile, then she explained: "Narita, it\'s because you don\'t put yourself in the lives and thoughts of commoners that you find it difficult to understand them."
"Hm… to be precise, master wants to promote the development of society."
"Promote social development? Are you kidding me?" Narita felt a little uncomfortable. If what Hikaru was doing was promoting the development of society, so was what he was doing inhibiting the development of society?
This made Narita feel a little angry.
Shala was not afraid, she laughed and said: "Don\'t be angry, you should listen to me."
"Hope your answer satisfies me."
"Hahaha… even if you\'re not satisfied, you won\'t kill me."
"Why are you so confident?"
"Alright!" Shala didn\'t want to tease him anymore, she explained: "If I use the example of a commoner, it will be difficult for you to understand, so I will use your own example."
Hearing that, Narita nodded: "Um… it\'s okay!"
Shala began to say, "Hm… Narita, you are also a person who can use magic. So… Do you have friends? You also have to go to the academy for nobles, right?"
Narita nodded, "That\'s right. When I was 5 years old, my ability to use magic reached level 10. At that time, my parents took me to the Sanctuary to let the priest teach me more about magic."
"When I was 10 years old, I officially entered the royal academy. In just 20 years, I completed my entire education there."
"WoW!" Shala was a little surprised: "It seems... you are a genius."
"Of course!" Narita said arrogantly.
"So… while you\'re studying, was there anyone better than you?"
"Of course there was, however, I was just a little distracted at the time. After that, I easily overtake them."
"So… did you feel good about winning against them?"
"Hm… yes… sometimes it\'s fun, sometimes it\'s just a little bit fun."
"Hahaha… that\'s exactly what Hikaru is trying to tell you."
Narita: "..."
"In the end, what do you want to say? I can\'t understand what you\'re saying."
Shala turned her head to look at Narita, she stood in front of him: "Narita, when you are overtaken by others, you will try harder to overcome those people, right?"
"That\'s right."
Shala laughed and said: "It is because of your efforts, it is thanks to that hard work that you achieved great achievements, that surpassed those above you. That\'s why you feel happy."
"The more effort you put in, the happier you will be when you succeed, didn\'t you notice that?"
Hearing that, Narita suddenly remembered what happened when he was in the academy.
Just like Shala said, when he tried to study and overcome those who were above him, he felt extremely happy.
He would probably never find that feeling of joy again after he graduated. At that time, he seemed to have no equal, worthy of his full power.
Narita shook his head, as he tried to clear the memory from his mind and asked, "What does this have to do with Hikaru\'s thoughts?"
"Oh my God! I suggested it like this, but you still don\'t understand?" Shala was very surprised, she opened her eyes wide and looked at Narita.
Narita felt both confused and angry.
"Oi! You\'re looking at me like an idiot, aren\'t you?"
"Hahaha… no! I just feel like you have no talent other than learning and using magic."
Narita: "..."
"Alright!" Shala cleared her throat, then explained, "You feel happy because after your efforts, you finally got what you wanted."
"Once you get what you want, you will cherish it very much, and not let it go."
"Back to Hikaru\'s story, he was trying to tell you that the beggar didn\'t appreciate what the nobleman gave him."
"Why? It\'s because he obtained the nobleman\'s gold easily without even trying to do anything."
"Moreover that nobleman gave the beggar a gold coin every day without asking him to do anything, so it made the beggar think that the nobleman\'s duty is to give him gold coins.."
"When you get something so easily, you don\'t appreciate it. At first, the beggar may have felt happy when he received the first gold coin."
"But after that, he didn\'t feel happy anymore, instead he felt that it was normal and he took it as the nobleman\'s duty."
"What Hikaru is doing is the same. Just because he gives people access to water and other resources, that doesn\'t mean that the residents of this place are free to use it."
"They have to pay for the resources they use. Currently, the residents of this place have stable jobs, and they have a source of income, so they can pay for meals."
"That\'s why, Hikaru aimed at everyone\'s envy, like the same way you don\'t want others to surpass you."
Narita now fully understood what Shala was saying, he rubbed his chin and continued: "You mean… if I were an ordinary resident of this place, and I see my neighbors using clean water then We will also want to use clean water."
"However, to use clean water, we need Tipoints, so we need to work harder to have enough Tipoints to pay for clean water."
"That\'s right." Shala nodded, she smiled and said: "Humans or any race carry envy and greed within themselves."
"What Hikaru does is simply stimulate those desires gently, and allow the inhabitants to use those desires for the right purposes."
"When they achieve the goals they want after a long time of trying, they feel extremely happy."
"Hikaru doesn\'t let them use those resources for free, however, he won\'t overestimate the value of those resources either."
"Everyone can use it, as long as they work hard, and are not lazy."
"Just like that, the beggars in the story Hikaru told you about will disappear. Even nobles who don\'t know how to help others will disappear."
"Society will develop if each individual strives to grow."
Hearing Shala\'s words, Narita could only sigh: "Shala, you are right. Looks like I\'m the only fool in this place."