The Pathway Of Wisdom-Chapter 14: The City of Knowledge, Ilma. Part-1.

Alex woke up early the next morning, and his entire body was feeling quite sore from doing all those shenanigans yesterday.

’Oh, my back... ugh... I feel like a 30-year-old dude already at the age of 16... sigh...’

After getting ready, he walked out and found Ethan talking with Aru.

"Oh! Lord Saint! You are awake! I brought you breakfast!"

Aru had a smile on his face as he handed Alex a plate with two pieces of bread, a few fruit slices, and a glass of milk.

Alex didn’t have toothpaste or a toothbrush, so he just used water to wash his face and mouth and then ate the food.

"It’s quite sad that you will be leaving so soon Lord Saint... If you want, you can stay in the town as long as you want..."

Aru was quite sad when Ethan told him that they were about to leave today and wanted to ask Alex to stay for a while longer.

But Alex shook his head and denied his request.

"I have already completed the task that I came for in this village; I have already given the sermon and the guidance of my benevolent god to you all..."

"Now it’s up to you and your fellow people to work hard and grow... you all have already been enlightened, now I need to go other places that need my presence more..."

Alex cleverly made an excuse and deceived the poor guy without hesitation!

After eating, Alex watched the farmers working on the fields with smiles on their faces one last time before he got on his horse.

Several people came to see him off as Ethan led the horse by walking forward with the reins in his hand.

"Lord Saint! Please visit again!"

"Lord Saint! I will become a great knight one day!"

"Lord Saint! I will pray to the god of wisdom for your wellbeing!"

There were adults and even kids who cheered for Alex as he passed through the town.

Alex smiled and raised his hand and waved it in the air to acknowledge their words and say farewell at the same time.

The empty saddlebag of the horse was filled with fruits and other gifts by the time Alex and Ethan managed to walk out of the town.

"Make sure to be a good town head, Aru LeonBrave!"

After motivating Aru one last time, Alex and Ethan left for the journey ahead.

While walking on the dirt road, Ethan smiled as he spoke in a gentle tone.

"You really have an amazing presence your holiness! You won the trust and hearts of so many people in the town in just a single day!"

"I am impressed by your farsightedness!"

Alex smirked at Ethan’s words and replied in his usual arrogant tone,

"Heh, this is just the beginning; we still have a long way to go!"

’Yes, little Ethan, you are still too naïve! This is just one town! I need more supporters and people on my side if I want to make a stable foundation for myself in this world!’

’Aside from just normal people I need some talented people who can work as an intelligence-gathering agency for me...’

Alex put the things he needed to do in the future aside and relaxed a bit on the horseback before asking,

"Now that we have left the town, we can talk without other’s hearing our words..."

"Tell me everything about the city of Ilma that you know, Little Ethan..."

Hearing Alex’s words, Ethan almost tripped and fell on the ground.

"COUGH! COUGH! L-little Ethan!? Ahem! L-lord saint, ahem... cough..."

"I am actually a married man with a son around the same age as you, you know... calling a grown man with such a nickname is kind of... ahem..."

Alex was surprised by Ethan’s words and asked in a shocked tone,

"You are married, Ethan!? You even have a son my age!? You certainly don’t look that old though!"

"Damn! You are living the life many people can only dream off!... Well, you are a patient and calm person, and also you are super strong; you must be popular with ladies..."

Hearing Alex’s teasing voice, Ethan felt a bit embarrassed as he replied in a stuttering voice,

"Err... uh... I am married to a lovely woman. Well... I do think I am quite lucky, to tell you the truth. I rescued her when I was on a mission during my early days as a paladin..."

"The church allows even its priests and saints to get married, so I proposed to her right away!"

While dealing with the bizarre monstrosity, Ethan was steady and calm; he didn’t even flinch in front of that horrible creature.

But when talking about his wife and kids, his face became as red as a tomato, and he lost all his calmness as a powerful paladin.

Looking at him from this perspective, Alex could see that even if he was a superhuman capable of tanking boulders thrown at him, at heart he was still an ordinary man who cared a lot about his family.

’Man, this guy is a walking green flag... no, a green garden itself! I feel ashamed manipulating him to do my bidding...’

Alex shook his head and sighed.

"So, your son is also training to be a paladin?"

Hearing that question, the calmness returned to Ethan’s face immediately as he replied in a calm and rational tone,

"My son is currently in training, but I believe he’s very talented, several times more talented than me. He still has a long way to go but I believe he will be a fine paladin one day..."

"Last time I personally taught him the skill of cleaving giant boulders with a single strike, I am quite sure he can go much farther than me in the future..."

Ethan’s tone implied that he was proud of his son’s progress and ability but was also calm and rational enough to patiently guide him towards a better future.

"Oh, you are quite thoughtful... wait, did you say cleaving boulders in one strike!?"

"Your son must be quite strong if he can already cleave boulders with a single strike..."

’Warriors in this world are crazy strong!... I doubt if bullets will even work on them!’

’I am quite sure that Ethan can likely parry a sniper rifle’s bullet fired at him if he goes all out... I will need to observe more to confirm it though...’

At that moment Alex decided to use his mind cautiously in case he ended up involved in some trouble and would try to prevent the situation from escalating to a physical brawl.

With his weak body, he might not even be able to win against a girl at this rate!

"My son is just a trainee as of yet... ah! You asked me about the city of Ilma, and I started talking about other things!"

"My apologies! The City of Ilma is the sacred ground of knowledge and wisdom!"

"Nearly all inventions and discoveries in the world happened or still happen in this city!"

Ethan seemed quite proud talking about this topic.

"The city of Ilma has the biggest library in the world, located right in the heart of the Church of wisdom!"

"People from all across the world come here in search of knowledge and enlightenment!"