Darkstone Code-Chapter 863 - 861: Lynch the Ferryman

The old priest let go of everything and came to the Federation, yearning to start a new life.

Nagariel is no longer the Nagariel of their time. Staying would only make things worse, and they might eventually be uprooted like a nail—it’s better to leave early.

At least he didn’t come empty-handed; he brought several tons of gold, which is more than enough for him to live very well here.

After chatting a bit with Drag, he walked up to Lynch. Lynch extended his hand, and they shook hands, but it was clear their relationship was not as close as Drag’s with the old priest.

At least they would embrace each other, whereas Lynch’s interaction was just a simple handshake.

"How do you plan to arrange for me?" the old priest asked directly, glancing around, "I still haven’t seen my child."

Lynch casually explained, "I informed him, but he’s proselytizing today, so he’ll be here a bit later. In the meantime, I’ll take you around."

The old priest seemed relieved; Rica is his child, or so he thinks.

Claiming to be his children in the temple are about a dozen priests. The religious legacy in Nagariel is quite unique.

They go to various cities, towns, and villages to select Saintesses who will serve all the priests and High Priest in the temple.

A few years later, when they reach twenty, these Saintesses are sent home—if they’re not pregnant.

If one of them gets pregnant, the child born becomes a candidate for the next generation of priests, and these Saintesses receive compensation through these children, but most eventually leave the temple, often when the children grow up.

Because of this unique legacy, no one knows if the child born from a pregnant Saintess is really theirs, so in strict terms, they’re not referred to as father and son but by their religious positions.

However, beyond this identity layer, many still make assumptions based on the appearance and growth of the next generation of priests.

For instance, the High Priest’s youngest son Rica, whom he believes looks very much like himself when he was young, so he’s convinced that’s his real child.

He only brought Rica to the Federation; the others stayed, continuing their promising work as priests.

As people grow old, all life-long beliefs and faiths fade, desires and emotions resurface, and naturally, there’s a hope for children to be by one’s side.

Hearing Rica is proselytizing, the old priest is evidently gratified; at least he’s not doing nothing here.

Preaching and having something to do is good; people always need a form of support, something he’s more aware of than anyone else.

The results of proselytizing or work, conversely, aren’t so significant.

While speaking, Lynch invited the old priest into the car; he planned to take him around the city and then settle him down.

People like the old priest could be useful at times, given his unique status, and the moment he boarded the ship from Nagariel, Security Committee members had been following him.

He’s unlikely to live elsewhere; his sensitive identity destines him to reside in Bupen, living under the Federation’s watch.

The old priest had already mentally prepared for the Federation’s prosperity, but it was evidently not enough. Until one truly experiences life here, they won’t fully understand why some abandon everything, even family, to live in the Federation.

"I’ve deposited your gold into the bank..." Lynch started while in the car, discussing the gold ingots the old priest had brought.

The religion in Nagariel venerates gold, so from the royalty down to common folk who can’t afford a meal, they’d rather sell their children to trade for money and acquire goldware to offer to the gods.

The purpose isn’t entirely pure; only then will the gods bless them with a favorable reincarnation. Ultimately, it’s for themselves.

Thus, priests across regions control an astonishing amount of gold artifacts. Asir, one of Lynch’s managers, has a factory for extracting gold from chemical reagents at home.

They’d buy the lowest-grade goldware coated with gold powder and paint on the surfaces from the temple.

Extract gold and sell it to others; their business never pauses due to insufficient supply!

Lynch once saw the old priest’s collection, piled like a small mountain of diverse gold utensils.

Haphazardly hammered and stacked together, it left an unforgettable impression.

Currently, the international price for gold has exceeded two million per ton. The old priest has assets of over fifteen million.

This sum would be considered very wealthy in any country.

Upon hearing Lynch mention the gold, the old priest’s attention returned to the car, looking at Lynch and waiting for him to continue.

"Federation people also love gold, but they don’t use it as currency. I converted your gold into cash at the current gold price and deposited it into a bank account."

"Do you want me to explain what a bank account is?"

The old priest smiled and shook his head, "I understand, don’t treat me like someone who knows nothing, I understand these things!"

Lynch took out a voucher from his pocket and handed it over, "This is the account voucher. You can use it to modify your account details at any Golden Exchange Bank."

"You must also rely on this to process cash checks and transfer checks at the bank. In the Federation, checks are very important."

The old priest found this somewhat novel; he had some questions but did not voice them.

His identity had made him play the role of an all-knowing Deputy over the years; he was the embodiment of God in the Human World. While everyone else could be confused and have things they didn’t understand, he alone could not.

These things are difficult to change in a short period; he needs to adapt.

After making rounds, everyone ate a meal in the dining room. It was apparent that the old priest was somewhat uncomfortable with using fork and knife and dining at the table, while Mr. Drag had fully adapted.

He seemed more like a person from the Federation than the actual people of the Federation—because he was wealthy. In the Federation, having money means everything you do is right, and he was precisely such a person.

Occasionally, he would share some local anecdotes with the old priest and talk about trifles of life. Overall, he was helping Lynch soothe the old priest’s emotions.

After the meal, Lynch sent the old priest back to meet his son. Before the old priest got out of the car, Lynch held his hand.

"Don’t tell your son how much money you have, at least not immediately. Do you understand what I mean?"

The old priest hesitated for a moment, his gaze suddenly becoming sharp but soon seemed to cloud over again.

He nodded, "I’m not stupid..." After a brief silence, he added, "Thank you for reminding me."

Lynch released his hand, "You cooperate well with me. I regard you as my friend; the way you treat a friend is different from an enemy. You’ll understand my words."

"If you need anything, call me..."

After bidding farewell, Lynch left the villa area in his car. The old priest standing by looked slightly perplexed; he touched the bracelet on his wrist, a gift from his "father" when he was in his twenties.

Just as he pushed open the door, he heard Rica’s voice, "Welcome, Father!"

He was dressed in... a very peculiar outfit, with tight cuffs and neckline, slightly lighter than pure black with a touch of green, making him appear very stern and quite mature.

The old priest’s face lit up with a smile as he embraced him, and immediately after, he saw more people in the room.

"Let me introduce you, these are all my good friends, and they are also God’s children. They’ve been eagerly awaiting to meet you."

The room had over a dozen young people, both men and women, with something familiar in their eyes—a kind of fanaticism.

This kind of fanaticism was also present in the eyes of the believers in Nagariel, and even in the old priest’s eyes for a long time.

Some believed it represented their devotion, but in reality, it isn’t, at least not entirely.

What they devotedly believed in was the deities in the dreamscape and their own sense of inadequacy; the old priest understood this better than anyone—they were addicted!

In nature, many mystical things bear hallucinogenic properties.

The incense used in Nagariel’s local religion contains these components, and the core reason for each generation’s High Priest is precisely because of the incense.

Their specially made incense allows people to see the deity, hear the deity’s voice, and feel the deity’s greatness.

But ultimately, every High Priest knows that their fanaticism expressed as a desire to see the deity’s figure again is actually a yearning to be immersed in the incense, and play with the little beings within it.

After a simple greeting, Rica took the old priest upstairs.

Later, after the people downstairs had left, Rica found the old priest watching TV.

His adaptability to the new life was far better than Lynch had anticipated; at the very least, he knew how to turn on the TV and find what he wanted to watch.

Is this simple?

No, in the Federation, at least thirty-seven percent of people cannot correctly use the remote control; it’s not a simple task!

"It’s great to see you, has everything over there been wrapped up?" Rica asked casually while sitting on a chair, as if making idle conversation.

After lowering the volume, the old priest nodded, "Everything is done."

Rica nodded, momentarily at a loss for how to proceed but eventually asked, "Did you come empty-handed?"

After saying this, he found the expression too blunt, and quickly added, "I mean, did you bring anything else with you?"