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The distance from the Keep to the village was much closer compared to the stretch from the forest to the Keep. Thanks to the harsh adaptation period he had just gone through, Conra had somewhat adjusted to the situation and could now afford to look around with a clear mind.

Sophia, who had planned to tease the cheeky little brat properly, couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

The village was still running as Sophia had initially instructed. Well, it had only been a day since she left, so that was to be expected.

Sophia returned to her original position and began tending to the village’s patients. She prepared oral rehydration solutions, collected excrement, mixed it with lime, and heat-treated it. She also cleaned the surroundings with alcohol-soaked cotton made from distilled liquor brought from the Keep.

Whenever an urgent patient appeared, she continued the process of saving them with chakra massage infused with Light Power, meridian massage, or even CPR.

As the sun set, Conra suddenly asked Sophia, “Master, why do you go to such lengths for these people?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Sophia looked at Conra with a puzzled expression, caught off guard by the unexpected question.

“Well, you’re a renowned Paladin Knight of the Church Order, right? My parents told me that. They said that the Knight Templars and Nun Knights of the Paladin Order are treated as equals to bishops.”

“Well, of course. We’re valuable martial power on the front lines against demons. It’s only natural we receive such treatment.”

Conra’s expression grew more complicated at Sophia’s response.

To Conra, Sophia was truly an extraordinary person. Strong, beautiful, and flawless. It wasn’t just about her external appearance. Her spirit, body, and mind were in perfect harmony, exuding the dignity and grace of a master.

Moreover, Sophia always carried an air of composure and confidence, no matter the situation. This demeanor, which seemed somewhat out of place with her youthful and delicate appearance, struck Conra as the true essence of a strong person. He even thought to himself that he wanted to emulate her someday.

That’s why Conra had a lot on his mind regarding what Sophia was doing now. Such an extraordinary person was devotedly caring for ordinary rural folk—people who didn’t seem particularly wise or virtuous, just simple, uneducated villagers.

Sophia was willingly lending her hand to people who might not contribute much to the world in their lifetime. She poured out her hard-earned Light Power without hesitation and guided them with her innate wisdom and passionate pursuit of knowledge.

So Conra asked. He wanted to know what motivated Sophia, what thoughts drove her to dedicate herself to something that, to him, seemed devoid of meaning.

Hearing the question, Sophia made a slightly troubled expression, then sighed and said, “Honestly, I don’t really have any expectations.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it. Living beings are inherently fragile. They are part of nature’s cycle, and ultimately, no individual can exist alone or sustain their species. To live is to be infinitely indebted and to rely on others endlessly.”

She paused for a moment, then continued, “Humans are especially prominent in this regard. So, expecting people to give back what they’ve received or to attain immortal virtue through education or inspiration is futile. Even I am far from such ideals, so how can I expect it from others?”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Conra wanted to deny Sophia’s words. Sophia had deliberately given Conra and his parents time in the forest. After returning to the plague-stricken village, she cared for the patients with a passion and devotion reminiscent of a saint. How could such a person not be virtuous? The boy thought it was absurd.

“Judging by your expression, I can guess what you’re thinking. But I help people not because I’m virtuous or noble. It’s simply because I’m stronger and have more than they do.”

“So you’re saying you help them because you’re stronger?”

“Exactly. Their lives are so strenuous that just preserving their own bodies is a struggle. I can’t expect them to help others. But I have enough strength and wisdom to take care of myself and still have some to spare. I also have enough emotional leeway to satisfy my self-love and still share with others. So, sharing a little of what I have left doesn’t cost me anything.”

Sophia’s words were blunt and shocking to the boy. It wasn’t about being virtuous and thus helping others; it was about being so strong that helping others didn’t burden her at all. This was a logic Conra had never heard before.

“Do you understand? Only the truly strong can sincerely help others. Only those who don’t see the burden of doing good as a burden, who can use their strength and resources on others and still be satisfied with themselves, who can expend emotions and share their hearts without running dry—only they can perform virtuous deeds without expecting anything in return.”

“Only the truly strong can achieve virtue…”

“Honestly, you can’t consistently perform virtuous or good deeds if you expect valuable results. The world isn’t that easy. But if you do see some positive change, that’s when you receive an unexpected gift.”

‘Remember, if you don’t expect anything, you won’t be betrayed,’ Sophia coolly declared. Contrary to Conra’s initial expectations, Sophia was a deep believer in the inherent evil of human nature!

As Conra stood dumbfounded by this shocking twist, Sophia said, “Well, we’ve rested enough. Let’s head back in. And after all the patients have fallen asleep, you should get some rest too. We still have a few more days of hard work ahead.”

Leaving the boy, whose mind was in turmoil from the new perspective, Sophia nonchalantly went about her business.

She believed that children should be raised tough in such matters. A child’s perspective and values grow by being constantly broken and questioned. Only on such a foundation can truly strong and healthy beliefs emerge. That’s what Sophia thought.

The night deepened, and another day dawned.

Sophia woke Conra, who was struggling in his sleep.

“Come on, get up, Conra! You’re not planning to slack off on your training while tending to patients, are you?”

Under Sophia’s urging, Conra had to pull himself together and tidy up his sleeping area, even in his groggy state.

Oddly enough, his physical condition and stamina were quite good. Despite being drained from caring for the villagers the previous night, Conra woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. It wasn’t just due to his young age and quick recovery; there was something more to it.

In fact, while Conra slept, Sophia had used her Light Power to perform chakra massage, energy manipulation massage, and muscle massage on him.

After mastering the Reverse Muscle Technique and Reverse Brain Method, Sophia’s massage skills had improved dramatically. With her Light Power, she could even soothe the ethereal muscles of her subjects.

From her perspective, the Reverse Muscle Technique and Reverse Brain Method, though different in approach, resembled Earth’s primordial cultivation methods. Chakra and energy manipulation ultimately led to nurturing the primordial spirit, and few could match her expertise in matters of the soul.

Thanks to Sophia’s massage, Conra was in excellent condition when he woke up. The composition of his spell forms flowed smoothly, and when he practiced martial arts and spear techniques after stretching, his core muscles exhibited elasticity, resilience, and endurance like rubber bands, springs, and steel cables.

Every muscle fiber, now fully relaxed, worked in organic harmony. Even the ethereal muscles refined through the Reverse Brain Method were in sync.

However, even for Conra, following Sophia’s morning training routine was excessively grueling. Although she had tailored a special routine for him, it was optimized to push him to his absolute limits.

“Ugh, aaaah!”

“Good, well done! Now, one more rep!”

“Ugh, aaaaah!”

It was a routine Sophia had meticulously designed after thoroughly checking Conra’s muscle and bone arrangement and condition the previous night. Every routine was set just within Conra’s capabilities, but that also meant she didn’t care about the pain he had to endure to complete it. Any demerits from overtraining would be managed by Sophia!

“Had enough rest? Then let’s increase the maximum weight you can lift just once.”

“Huh? Wha—ugh!”

Sophia’s backpack, for some reason, contained barbells and dumbbells, which she could freely store and retrieve. So Conra didn’t have to worry about the weights; he just had to focus on lifting.

From an extremely anatomical and scientific perspective, Sophia meticulously and rationally worked every muscle in Conra’s body. Both his physical and ethereal muscles suffered under her planned routine.

After his body was thoroughly wrecked, Conra managed it with the stretches Sophia taught him, then received treatment for any areas where his endurance had reached its limit or was damaged. Only then did his day begin. Sophia restored Conra’s muscles and bones to the minimum necessary level and left the rest to natural recovery, making the boy’s schedule incredibly tough.

Naturally, after such a hard day, as the sun set, the boy couldn’t help but ask again, “If only the truly strong can help others, and if you don’t expect any results from what you do, then what motivates those who aren’t strong to strive for others?”

Sophia, feeling a bit awkward, scratched her cheek with her index finger. She had anticipated this reaction. People can only truly dedicate themselves to labor or effort when there’s a clear promise of results.

When socialism was first conceived on Earth, there were already Jewish collective farms and later Catholic monastic systems based on religious communism.

In these Catholic monasteries, private property was shared, and resources were supplied to those in need. People willingly gave up their possessions, and those who received shared resources would, after achieving their goals, become suppliers themselves, passing on resources to others in need.

But was this purely due to human goodness?

The reason this worked was because they believed that, even if they suffered a loss, they would eventually be rewarded. Even if not in this life, they believed they would be rewarded in the afterlife, which allowed them to give up their possessions and still smile.

Overly optimistic about human potential, liberals advocated the invisible hand theory, while communists argued for materialistic communist dictatorship, but history has shown the outcomes.

The invisible hand led to the tragedy of the commons and free-rider problems, while communism ultimately dissolved with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Conra’s question was rooted in this logic.

For those without the spirit of a superhuman, selfless good deeds are a difficult task. Sure, one might perform them once or twice on a whim. But maintaining that consistently? It’s bound to falter eventually.

The boy doubted whether he could truly follow Sophia’s path and emulate her actions. Well, of course. After a day of hard work, the next morning would bring muscle training to the limit, followed by another day just like the previous one. It’s only natural for an 11-year-old boy to be plagued by such worries.

Sophia felt a bit guilty for having inadvertently spoken her true thoughts the previous day. Saying outright, “I don’t expect anything, I’m just ridiculously strong, so I help out and lend a hand,” would naturally make the listener feel a sense of deprivation.

She had pushed him hard because he showed promise, but she had forgotten that the boy was only 11 years old.

‘Ugh. I guess the one who started this has to take responsibility…’

After a moment of deliberation, Sophia finally replied, “Efffffort! Can’t it somehow work?”

“…Huh?”

“Listen. Effort doesn’t always guarantee results, but those who achieve results have all put in effort. You’ve heard that before, right?”

Sophia was genuinely serious about convincing Conra. She had found a promising talent, and if her mistake ruined it, it would be a lifelong regret. She even invoked the rarely used blessings of ‘The Persuader (Rhetoric)’, ‘The Teacher (Education)’, and ‘The Agitator (Oratory)’ to speak to Conra.

“Who is born strong from the start? Everyone starts weak. They’re born weak and through effort, they hone themselves to become strong.”

‘Of course, I finished all that effort in my past life, and in this life, I was strong from the moment I regained my past memories,’ she thought, but kept that to herself.

“Really?”

“Of course! Keep striving. You have plenty of talent. You know you’re exceptional, don’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have dared to challenge me so boldly just two days after we met.”

“Hey, Master! Why bring that up now!”

“Hahaha, it was such a memorable event. I’ll remember it for a long time and bring it up whenever I need a good laugh.”

Seeing Conra’s flustered reaction, Sophia burst out laughing.

‘In my past life, I never formally took on a disciple. Raising a disciple is more work than I thought.’

Despite this, seeing her young disciple worry and then bounce back made Sophia smile unconsciously. If she had known, she would have taken on a disciple in her past life. It was a lifelong regret that she couldn’t find a young talent who understood and agreed with Lee Beom-seok’s path.

If she had had a disciple, perhaps Lee Beom-seok wouldn’t have had to extend his lifespan or perform reincarnation spells. Thinking this, Sophia firmly resolved to teach her disciple step by step, even if she couldn’t prevent all mistakes.

 

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