As for where the knowledge from his True Self came from, we have to thank Bethel's reckless actions. Although Lynn himself didn't read that knowledge, knowledge is still knowledge. Since it passed through Mr Bubbles' hands, he could naturally use it, even in a physical sense.
Of course, the only downside to this method is that it causes significant harm to the individual. While removing Corruption, it also damages the corrupted part of the person's spirit. Although it doesn't completely destroy it, there are indeed some side effects.
So Lynn would only use this method to remove shallow Corruption. The resulting side effects would just require the individual to rest for a while. If conditions allowed, adding a few healing skills would ensure that the impact wouldn't be too severe.
But for deep Corruption, like the state Roselle was in after ascending to the moon, the result of using this method would only lead to one outcome — Roselle's spirit would explode along with the Corruption. Even if some remained, he would become an idiot.
"You... you're not trying to kill me, are you?" Roselle, after groaning for a while, finally recovered, got up from the ground, and weakly looked at Lynn.
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to do this." Lynn spoke honestly, then, in a rare show of conscience, cast several healing skills on Roselle. As Roselle's pale face regained color, Lynn explained, "You should trust my integrity. Even if you don't trust me, believe that I wouldn't waste a good 24/7 employee like you. Although it's my first time using this method, I can at least guarantee your safety."
Lynn wasn't lying. Though he wasn't sure at first if the method to remove corruption would work on the Mother Goddess of Depravity's corruption, he had controlled his power enough to ensure that even if it couldn't cleanse Roselle, it wouldn't cause irreversible damage.
After all, if Roselle died, who would work for him in the future?
Lynn had no desire to run the entire Church by himself. That would make him a complete wage slave!
Not to mention, he was still counting on Roselle to push the world's technological development. Even if the Outer Gods were lurking, there would come a time when they would be eliminated. And, even for being beneath the earth, people might find a way to put it to eternal rest. Technology still had to advance.
It was just a matter of time.
Upon hearing Lynn's brutally honest words, Roselle's mouth twitched. He couldn't help but ask, "So, my future self sold me out, huh?"
"Yeah!" Lynn nodded, looking at Roselle. "Future you promised that if I could save you, you'd work for me."
"24/7 shift?" Roselle's voice trembled. Whether from anger, shock, or both, it was unclear.
"Of course! What else? Angels don't need sleep, and they won't die from overwork," Lynn replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His expression seemed to say, "Do you have a problem with that?"
Roselle: …
Roselle had a big problem. He even had the urge to smash his future self's head in with a rock.
After holding back for a long time, he finally tried to grit out a sentence, but came out blank.
What kind of black-hearted boss is this?!
No, even the most exploitative capitalists aren't this cruel!
"Hahaha..." Lynn laughed and patted Roselle on the shoulder. "Just kidding! I wouldn't really make you work 24/7. I'm a proper boss."
Roselle breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could fully relax, Lynn continued, "As long as you help me manage the Church of Steam and Machinery, you can take as much vacation time as you want."
Roselle's mouth twitched again. At that moment, countless curses welled up inside him, but all he could say was, "So, you're saying that if I can find someone reliable to work for me, I can hand off my duties?"
Clearly, Roselle's mind was sharp, as always.
"As long as the person you choose is reliable, I have no objections." Lynn nodded indifferently, making it clear that he didn't care who got the work done, as long as it was done well.
After all, finding someone to cover your shifts was a skill in itself.
Roselle finally exhaled in relief. His eyes darted around, clearly coming up with some mischievous ideas.
However, a new concern soon came to mind. He gave Lynn a peculiar look and asked, "So, when you said you were going to ambush the God of Steam and Machinery, you weren't joking?"
"Why would you think I was joking?" Lynn looked at him, genuinely puzzled.
'Because everything about that statement sounded like a joke!' Roselle couldn't help but mentally gripe, then asked, "Do you have a grudge against him?"
"Not exactly." Lynn shook his head, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But since I want to become the Demon of Knowledge, and I need a church under my control, I don't want to build one from scratch. So, I'll just take over an existing one."
Roselle didn't know what to say, silently pitying the God of Steam and Machinery. 'What kind of bad luck does he have? Trouble just fell on him from the sky!'
Still, after some thought, Roselle couldn't help but ask, "What are you going to do with the God of Steam and Machinery?"
Though his relationship with God had strained after the Bonova incident, Roselle had been under Artisan care for many years. He couldn't be entirely indifferent to his fate.
"Are you worried I'll kill him?" Lynn, noticing Roselle's concern, laughed and replied.
Roselle froze for a second, then quickly shook his head. "Don't start rumors. I don't have any care for him."
Seeing Roselle's eagerness to distance himself from Artisan, Lynn raised an eyebrow, briefly sympathizing with Artisan in his heart.
'Look at this guy being a tsundere.'
Smiling at Roselle, Lynn continued, "Don't worry. Artisan, like you, is my employee. Even though he's not officially working for me yet, I'm a kind boss. I won't do anything to him."
"So, you two might end up being colleagues."
(End of Chapter)
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