Chapter 808: Chapter 417: Of Course, It’s for a Soak in the Bath

"You’ve already made up your mind? No more changes? You really don’t want to think it over a bit more?"

"Mm, yes, this is fine as it is."

"I see..."

The Sun Pope looked at Herbert’s resolute expression, shook his head with a sigh, and said, "Herbert, you... I honestly never thought you’d make such a simple request."

At this moment the old Pope’s attitude toward Herbert was downright cordial.

If before he’d treated Herbert like an elder looking after a junior, now it was the tone one uses with a friend.

This wasn’t some fawning over Herbert’s new Saint status, not a case of being cold first and respectful later.

As a former Saint himself, and as the current highest leader of the Sun Church, from any angle you looked at it, the Sun Pope’s position was above Herbert’s.

He had absolutely no need to bow and scrape to Herbert or deliberately curry favor.

Not to mention, his attitude toward Herbert earlier had already been pretty good.

The fact that his attitude was still shifting now came down to one reason only—the Sun God.

In the old Pope’s eyes, Herbert was without a doubt someone the Sun God valued extremely highly.

Will descending, Divine Vessel, newly appointed Saint... all of it proved just how much the Sun God favored and doted on Herbert.

On this point, no matter how strenuously Herbert denied it, no matter how many times he stated that he actually wasn’t a believer of the Sun God and wasn’t being favored by the Sun God, the Sun Pope didn’t believe him.

And it wasn’t just him—none of the Sun Faithful would believe it either!

You’re not a believer?

You’re not favored?

Ha, what a joke!

They would only take Herbert’s denial at this moment as the new Saint being modest.

In the eyes of all the Sun Saints and even the vast majority of people, Herbert was already a member of the Sun Church, and a very crucial one at that.

The brand of the Sun Church had long since been burned deeply into him.

On this, Herbert could only feel helpless. After explaining himself a few times, he simply gave up resisting.

Sigh!

Being a good person is really hard!

It’s not that I don’t want to tell the truth, it’s that in this world, even if you tell the truth, no one wants to believe you.

Trying to be a good person is seriously tough!

Of course, how much of Herbert’s lament was sincere and how much was just for show was something only he knew.

Although the Sun God’s move of not discussing anything with him beforehand had completely blindsided Herbert and caught him off guard...

In reality, Herbert didn’t truly reject becoming a Saint—even if it was only in appearance.

The identity of a Sun Church Saint was an excellent layer of protection.

It could force many lurking entities to calm down and think twice about whether they could bear the consequences before making a move on Herbert.

Can I really afford the Sun God’s wrath?

Am I really prepared to stare down the Sun God’s anger?

They didn’t even need to arrive at an answer; the mere process of thinking about it was enough to greatly enhance Herbert’s safety.

Of course, everything has two sides. While the Saint identity gave Herbert help, it also came with corresponding obligations.

But compared to the benefits of the former, the price of the latter really wasn’t worth mentioning.

You have to learn to be content, not get too greedy.

After all, Herbert knew better than anyone that his title of Saint was just outsiders’ conjecture; he wasn’t actually a truly Sun-favored "Divine Favorer."

Take right now, for example: when the Sun Pope asked Herbert what kind of reward he wanted, Herbert didn’t seize the chance to make a sky‑high demand, but stuck to the payment they had agreed on before.

He understood that the Sun Pope bringing up the matter of reward himself meant the terms were negotiable and that he could ask for more.

Especially since, in their cooperation, Herbert had actually taken on a huge amount of risk—he’d practically died once.

If the Sun God hadn’t intervened in time, Herbert would have basically lost half his life, and Nina‑sha might even have been exposed.

After paying that kind of price, Herbert was absolutely entitled to submit a "price increase" request.

Needs more money!

Yet Herbert chose not to change anything and didn’t提出 any new demands.

On the one hand, you have to know when to quit while you’re ahead.

There was no need to leave the other party with the impression that he was greedy over something this minor.

On the other hand...

Herbert felt that the reward was already more than enough.

"Being allowed to let my companions enter the Holy Sanctuary for Baptism—that alone is already something I’m extremely grateful for."

Herbert bowed his head to the Sun Pope with a sincerely earnest look. "Your Holiness, thank you for your understanding and trust in us."

"I know this will make you shoulder a certain amount of pressure."

On this point, the old Pope could only be rather helpless. He shook his head and sighed. "Sigh, I’ve already said, this isn’t my doing."

If earlier the Sun Pope might still have had to bear some pressure, then after Herbert became a Saint, his status alone was enough to justify this slightly rule‑bending, willful decision.

But Herbert just refused to see it that way.

The Sun Pope denied that it was his achievement, but Herbert insisted on attributing the credit to the old man.

Sun Pope: It wasn’t me!

Herbert: No, it was you!

Herbert’s mindset here was simple—"I don’t care what you think, I care what I think! If I say you’re the big contributor, then you’re the big contributor. You must accept my thanks, no objections!"

The two of them had already been tug‑of‑war‑ing over this for quite a while, and the Sun Pope finally gave up in resignation, deciding not to get tangled up in this issue any longer.