They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 30 Witch Trial
Lia didn't know what made him laugh.

He hadn't read the so-called "Origin of Enderus," but what surprised him was that there were people here who actually promoted the theory of evolution.

Judging from the way those churches promote themselves, it's almost as if they're about to slap supernatural powers right in front of the public and shout, "Look at you bunch of bumpkins, praise the supernatural!"

It takes immense courage to continue promoting biological sciences under such pressure.

"To receive such praise from you, that's really impressive."

After saying that casually, Ria continued reading. Whenever she came across something she didn't understand, she would ask James for help. James answered her patiently, perfectly playing the role of a "mentor".

I don't know how much time passed, but then there was a knock on the bookstore door.

James went to open the door, and there stood a child holding a newspaper, wearing a newsboy cap, and with a large patch on his clothes.

"Oh, it's Billy. Have you found a new job yet?"

"Found it. Someone said I could help them clean chimneys. Apart from being a bit dirty and hot, the job is pretty good."

Thanks to this job, I had new money to buy food; otherwise, I might have had to secretly try my luck at a nearby factory without my parents' knowledge.

As Billy was talking, he suddenly remembered that he still had important things to do. He quickly picked up a stack of newspapers in his hand, pulled out a few sheets from the thin hemp rope and handed them to James. After taking the Schwarz from James, he hurriedly left.

“In Winstown these days, even young children have to think about work.”

James shook his head as he watched Billy's retreating figure, then closed the door, grabbed his subscribed newspaper, and plopped down in a chair to read it.

However, he soon noticed that Ria was staring at him.

"What's wrong? You want to read the newspaper too?"

“I know that kid. He’s a regular at the bakery, but he only buys half a loaf of bread each time.”

“That’s what poverty is like. Do you think he doesn’t want to buy more? Look at him, even such a young child has to deliver newspapers, clean chimneys, and even wants to do odd jobs in factories…”

If I remember correctly, only children can do chimney cleaning work because they are small enough to squeeze into narrow passageways, and most importantly, it's cheap.

One Schwarz is enough to clean the chimneys spotless, though the mortality rate is quite high.

James turned to the next page of the newspaper, folded it in half, and said casually, "When it comes to money, the rich think it's vulgar because they don't care. They pursue spiritual wealth, but the people here are different."

Without money, they can't survive; for money, they'll do anything.

Lia fell silent, and the only sound in the bookstore was the rustling of pages.

A few minutes later, James suddenly burst into laughter.

"Kelcha, guess what I saw in the newspaper?"

"what?"

"A witch! A witch! The Church of the Sun is going to execute a witch in public!"
Although the name "witch" makes me uncomfortable, and it wasn't those people who were executed, it's still worth seeing such a grand event. Do you want to go? He invited Ria to come and join the fun, but then noticed that Ria's expression suddenly turned unusually bad.

The statement that "women are considered witches once they are discovered to possess knowledge" suddenly echoed in his mind at that moment.

He thought of Angela, and without caring about the books, he left the bookstore and rushed to his residence, praying that Angela was alright.

However, reality was destined to disappoint him. His luck had never been good. After searching the entire house and knocking on every door without hearing any sound or seeing Mrs. Ster or Angena, Ria suddenly forced himself to calm down.

He left his residence and asked the people on the street where the church was trying witches. When they saw that the person asking was Ria, they pointed directly to the smoke rising in the distance.

Ria looked in that direction and, sure enough, saw a wisp of gray smoke slowly rising into the sky, dividing it in two.

His heart jumped. A dozen minutes later, when he arrived there, the place was already surrounded by a crowd of "righteous" people.

The platform was piled high with firewood. A woman wrapped tightly in black cloth stood on the firewood, her body bound by a cross, making her unable to move. The firewood around her had been lit, but for some reason, it had not spread to the center.

Judging from her figure, the woman was not Angena, but Ria did not breathe a sigh of relief, because not far away, he saw Angena standing in the crowd, staring blankly in that direction, with Mrs. Ster standing behind her, wiping away her tears with her hand.

Lia squeezed through the crowd with difficulty: "What are you doing here!?"

“Brother Ria…” Angela looked at him with tears in her eyes. This was the first time she had called Ria by his name.

"I don't understand why, why is this happening? Why are they judging her? What did she do wrong!"

The girl tried to suppress her voice, biting her sleeve until it was wet.

“Miss Amy is my friend. She is very knowledgeable, and everyone who has spoken with her is impressed by her refinement. Everyone speaks highly of her, but even such a person, they want to…”

"Stop talking." Mrs. Ster hugged Angena tightly. After hearing about this, Angena rushed out without thinking, and Mrs. Ster could only follow her to prevent her from getting into trouble.

On the high platform, the priest held up a book and proclaimed the witch's sins, saying that she spread evil and must be purified by the sun. Then, he removed the black cloth from Amysa's body, and at that moment, flames rose up all around and moved toward the center.

The people at the bottom shouted for the witch to be killed, and the priest at the top shouted for the witch to be killed. In this environment, the "witch" suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter, and the thick smoke from the rising fire engulfed her face.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha—"

"That's right, that's right! I am the witch, and now this witch is going to curse you! I curse you to be trapped in poverty for the rest of your lives, never to rise again!!"
They will never, ever be able to turn things around!!!

As Lia watched that scene, she suddenly felt a strong urge to escape, and that strange dizziness returned.

He held his forehead, and many people around him supported him to prevent him from fainting and falling to the ground. In his dazed state, he quickly waved his hand and said that he was fine.

When Ria came to her senses and looked back at the platform, the woman's face in the smoke suddenly turned into Angela's. Mrs. Ster lay motionless on the ground, and no one approached.

"what happened!?"

Ria took a step back in disbelief: "Am I hallucinating again?"

(End of this chapter)