A Powerful Martial Artist Reincarnates as a Nun Knight - Chapter 15

The distance from the keep to the village was significantly shorter compared to the stretch from the forest to the keep. Conra too, perhaps due to the grueling period of adaptation from earlier, was able to somewhat adjust and regain enough composure to glance around his surroundings.
As a result, Sophia, who had intended to thoroughly tease the delirious young boy, was left feeling unsatisfied.

The village was still operating as Sophia had initially instructed. Well, it had only been a day since her departure, so it was only natural.
Sophia returned to her original spot and resumed caring for the village’s patients – preparing oral rehydration solutions, collecting and lime-treating excretions, and of course, cleaning the vicinity with alcohol swabs distilled from the spirits brought from the keep.

Whenever an urgent case arose, she would revive them through luminous power-infused chakra and meridian massages, or even CPR.

As dusk fell, Conra suddenly asked Sophia:
“Master, why do you go to such lengths for these people?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Sophia turned to Conra with a puzzled look.

“You see? You’re a renowned Paladin knight of the Order, as my parents told me. They also said Paladin monks and nuns are treated on par with bishops.”
“Well yes, because we are precious combatants on the frontlines against demons, so naturally we receive such treatment.”
Conra’s expression grew more complex at Sophia’s response.

In Conra’s eyes, Sophia was truly extraordinary – strong, beautiful, and flawless. Not just in outward aspects, but the aura and dignity of a perfected being whose mind, energy, and physique were in perfect harmony radiated from her completely.

Moreover, in any situation, Sophia always carried an easygoing nonchalance and self-assured amusement uncharacteristic of her youthful, pristine appearance – traits that struck the young Conra as the bearing of a true master, aspiring him to emulate her in the future.

This was why Conra had many thoughts about Sophia’s current actions. Those she was so dedicatedly tending to were merely ordinary rural folk, showing no particular wisdom or virtue, just common uneducated villagers unlikely to contribute anything of value to the world in their lifetimes.

Yet to them, Sophia readily lent her aid, lavishly expending the luminous power and hard-earned wisdom and knowledge that must have required tremendous cultivation of virtue and passionate inquiry. Sophia selflessly guided these people.

So Conra asked – what motivated Sophia’s dedication to what seemed to him a meaningless endeavor? What were her thoughts behind it?

Hearing his question, Sophia briefly looked troubled before sighing and replying:
“Frankly, I don’t really have any expectations.”
“Huh?”
“Think about it. Living beings are inherently frail by nature. Belonging to the natural cycle, ultimately a single individual cannot exist or sustain its species alone. For a living being to survive means it must infinitely incur debts and rely on others.”

She carefully chose her next words, then continued:
“Humans are particularly prominent examples of this. So I don’t expect them to repay the charity they receive from others, nor to attain immortal virtue through education or enlightenment. I myself am far removed from such things, so how could I expect it of others?”
“Huh?”

For a moment, Conra wanted to refute Sophia’s words. She had deliberately allowed him and his parents time together in the forest. After returning to the plague-stricken village, she tended to the patients with saintly passion and dedication. How could someone like her lack virtue? The young boy found it utterly absurd.

“From your expression, I can guess what you’re thinking, but my reasons for helping people aren’t because I possess any particular virtue or benevolence. It’s simply because I am stronger and have more than them.”
“You mean you help them solely because you are stronger?”
“Precisely. Their lives are already so arduous just preserving themselves that expecting them to aid others would be unreasonable. But as it happens, I have strength, wisdom, and inner fulfillment exceeding my own needs. So it costs me nothing to share my surplus.”

To the young boy, Sophia’s words were shockingly blatant. Not out of virtue did she act charitably, but because as a powerful person, it was no burden – this was a claim Conra had never heard before.

“Do you understand? Only the truly strong can genuinely act virtuously towards others, unburdened by any cost of expending their strength, wealth and emotions on others, entirely satisfied within themselves. Those without such expectations for rewards can practice true virtue and benevolence.”
“Only the truly strong can be virtuous…”
“Honestly, one cannot steadfastly maintain virtuous or benevolent acts while harboring any hopes for worthwhile results. The world is not so accommodating an opponent. Yet occasionally witnessing some positive change amidst that is like receiving an unexpected gift.”

‘Remember, if you don’t expect anything, you cannot be betrayed,’ Sophia stated so coolly. Contrary to Conra’s initial expectations, she was a firm believer in the doctrine of evil!

Dumbfounded by this startling revelation, as Conra gaped speechlessly, Sophia said:
“Alright, you’ve rested enough, let’s head back inside. And once the patients have settled for the night, you should also get some shut-eye. We still have a few more days of hardship ahead.”

Leaving the young boy’s mind in turmoil from her radically new perspective, Sophia nonchalantly continued on.
She was of the view that children needed to be forged strongly in such areas. A child’s perspectives and values could only grow through constantly being shattered and questioned. Truly powerful and sound beliefs could only arise from such foundations – this was Sophia’s thinking.

Night deepened and dawn broke once more.
Sophia roused the sleeping, tossing Conra:
“Come now, wake up Conra! You’re not skipping your training just to tend to patients, are you?”

Despite his grogginess, Conra somehow managed to rouse himself and tidy his bedding at Sophia’s prompting.
Yet for some reason, his physical condition and energy levels were quite good. Though he had expended tremendous stamina tending to the villagers the previous night, he had mysteriously become fully refreshed upon waking, displaying a recovery power that could not be simply explained by his young age.

In truth, while Conra slept, Sophia had used her luminous power to provide chakra, internal energy, and muscle-bone massages, restoring him.
After mastering reverse muscle and reverse brain cultivation, Sophia’s massage skills had advanced tremendously, allowing her to use luminous power to even relax the recipient’s astral musculature when applied.

From Sophia’s perspective, reverse muscle and reverse brain cultivation were lineages akin to the original spirit cultivation methods of Earth, just with differing methodologies. Since the ultimate realm involved enshrining and nurturing the original spirit, she was among the world’s foremost experts on the soul body.

In any case, thanks to Sophia’s massage, Conra awoke in an excellent state. Memorizing spell bodies proceeded smoothly, far exceeding his usual capability, and when experimentally practicing martial arts and spear techniques after stretching, his core meridians displayed rubber-like flexibility, spring-like resilience, and iron-like endurance, each muscle fiber harmoniously coordinating, even extending to his astral musculature cultivated through reverse brain cultivation.

However, following Sophia’s intense morning routine was still far too strenuous for Conra. Though she had tailored a specialized regimen just for him, in simple terms, it was optimized to push Conra to his absolute limits.

“Kuh, aaarggh!”
“Good, well done! Now lift it one more time from there!”
“Kuh, uaaaarggh!”

This was the routine Sophia had personally designed after thoroughly examining Conra’s musculoskeletal condition and placement through massaging him overnight. Every exercise was set to the utmost level Conra could accomplish, but that also meant disregarding any suffering he endured in the process. Any demerits from the excessive training would ultimately be managed by Sophia!

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

Sophia’s backpack contained barbells and dumbbells that could be freely stored and retrieved, so Conra did not need to worry about weight and could simply focus on lifting.

From an extremely anatomical and scientific perspective, Sophia very meticulously and rationally trained Conra’s muscles throughout his body. Both his physical and astral musculature could not escape the torment of Sophia’s planned routine.

After utterly demolishing his body, Conra would manage it through the stretching techniques Sophia taught, then receive treatment from her for any depleted stamina or damaged areas before the day could begin. Since Sophia only restored Conra to the bare minimum required level before leaving the rest to natural recovery, the young boy’s next day would be an extremely arduous schedule.

Naturally, as dusk fell after completing that grueling daily regimen, the young boy could not help but ask again:
“If only the truly strong can help others, and they have no expectations for the results of their actions, then what could possibly motivate those who are not strong to strive for the sake of others?”

Seeing the boy’s eyes full of doubt, Sophia scratched her cheek in dismay. She had expected such a reaction. People could only truly dedicate themselves to labor and effort when clearly promised results.

When the socialist system was first conceived on Earth, even earlier were the Jewish collective farms and the religious communist systems centered around Catholic monasteries already in existence.

In those Catholic monasteries, systems of shared property and distribution of resources to those in need functioned normally. People willingly surrendered their possessions, and those who received shared resources would, after achieving their goals, again become providers so their possessions could be passed to others in need.

But was this truly solely due to human benevolence?
The reason it was possible was because they believed that despite any temporary losses, commensurate rewards would surely follow. Even if not rewarded in this life, they at least believed they would definitely be rewarded in the afterlife, allowing them to relinquish possessions with a smile.

Overly optimistic about human potential, the liberals advocated the invisible hand theory while the communists pushed for materialistic communist dictatorship – but history had revealed their outcomes.
The invisible hand led to the tragedy of the commons and the free-rider problem, while communism ultimately scattered into the dustbins of history with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Conra’s doubt stemmed from the same principle and context.
For those lacking a superhuman mentality, selfless benevolence was an arduous task. Perhaps it could be practiced once or twice on a whim, but to maintain it at every moment? One would inevitably falter midway.

The young boy doubted whether he could truly follow in Sophia’s footsteps beside her. Well, of course – toiling the previous day, then pushed to his limits in muscle training the next morning, only for the same grueling day to repeat. It was only natural for a mere 11-year-old boy to become ensnared in such vexation.

Sophia slightly regretted her candid admission the previous day. Outright stating ‘I have no expectations, I’m just benevolently giving aid in my abundant surplus as the supreme being’ was bound to instill a sense of deprivation in the listener.
She had momentarily forgotten that, despite his considerable talents that she had polished a bit, the boy was still only 11 years old.

‘Ugh. I suppose I should take responsibility for the mess I’ve made…’

After a moment’s contemplation, Sophia finally answered:
“With eeeeeffort! Can’t you somehow? Manage it?”
“…Huh?”
“No, listen carefully. Haven’t you heard the saying that while effort does not necessarily guarantee results, those who have attained results are all people who have put in effort?”

Sophia sincerely tried to persuade Conra, having discovered a promising gemstone worth refining – she would deeply regret ruining that potential through her own mistake. For perhaps the first time, she even activated the legacy blessings of “The Persuader (Rhetoric)”, “The Educator (Tutelage)”, and “The Rouser (Oration)” as she spoke to Conra:

“Who is born strong from the very start? Everyone is born weak initially. Born weak, then becoming strong through continuous self-cultivation and effort.”

‘Of course, I had already completed that effort in my previous life, so in this life, I was strong from the moment I regained those past memories,’ was something Sophia kept to herself, never uttering it aloud.

“Really?”
“Of course! Just put in the effort. You have more than enough talent too. You’re aware of your exceptional talents, aren’t you? Otherwise, you couldn’t have so brazenly challenged me like that two days ago when we first met.”
“Master! Did you really have to bring that up now?!”
“Fuhahaha, it was just too memorable an incident. I’ll vividly remember it to recount over drinks for a long time.”

Seeing Conra’s flustered reversion to his usual brashness, Sophia laughed heartily.

‘I never had the chance to formally train a disciple in my previous life. Disciples require considerably more effort than I expected.’

Even as she thought this, watching her young disciple agonize and re-emerge filled Sophia with an inadvertent sense of satisfaction. If she had known, she would have taken a disciple in her previous life too – not having a talented youth who could understand and support Lee Bum-seok’s path was a deep regret.

Perhaps if he had a disciple, Lee Bum-seok would not have resorted to forcibly extending his lifespan or reincarnation rituals? Thinking this, Sophia firmly resolved that although setbacks were unavoidable, she would steadily and diligently guide her disciple.