After leaving the Office Divine Hall and returning to the carriage, the Whip-Wielder kept his eyes closed the entire time, as if resting.
Karen felt a wave of sentiment at this sight. Dealing with such a High Priest was indeed exhausting in both mind and spirit.
Fortunately, among Karen's direct superiors over time, very few had ever been difficult to get along with—though, well, it seemed just as few ever lasted long by his side.
At this moment, Miguel deliberately spoke up, "Regional Chief Karen, once we pass through the Holy See gates, you may step down. There will be carriages there with direct routes to the Church Affairs Building for a transfer."
Miguel took the initiative to suggest Karen leave in order to dispel any lingering suspicion, ensuring his own arrangements and matchmaking would not appear overly calculated.
Besides... it truly was time for Karen to take his leave. It wasn't as though he could keep following the Whip-Wielder all the way back to his office for afternoon tea.
Just as Karen was about to nod in agreement, the Whip-Wielder opened his eyes.
Both Karen and Miguel immediately braced themselves to listen, but having opened them, the Whip-Wielder simply shut them again. It was as though a thought had briefly crossed his mind, prompting a reflexive moment of reflection, before he returned to his resting state.
Miguel drew out a blanket and draped it over Foden's knees. It was woven from the fur of a fire-element monster beast, naturally endowed with exceptional warming properties.
Karen found this intriguing. The Whip-Wielder's office was set in an environment surrounded by glaciers; a frost dragon accompanied him constantly; he favored cold treats like shaved ice. And yet... he was actually sensitive to the cold?
Karen quickly averted his gaze. The fine details of a person's daily life could easily reveal sensitive intelligence—for instance, that something was likely wrong with the Whip-Wielder's health—but as a subordinate, he could not pry any further.
Back in the council chamber, even the Minister of Foreign Affairs had sensed Karen staring at the back of his head. If he dared pry into the physical vulnerabilities of the Whip-Wielder right before his eyes, did he really take the head of the Church of Order's intelligence apparatus for an amateur?
Karen looked out the carriage window. On the way in, he had lacked the peace of mind to enjoy the scenery, but now on the return journey, he could take a proper look.
Yet as he looked, Karen's mind suddenly replayed that brief moment when the Whip-Wielder had opened his eyes. Trying to put himself in the man's shoes, Karen felt his heart abruptly sink.
The carriage came to a stop after passing through the main gates of the Holy See. Miguel climbed down first, assisted Little Kanna out, and finally prepared to politely see Regional Chief Karen off.
Karen did not get down. Instead, he pulled the carriage door shut, shutting Miguel outside.
"Lord Whip-Wielder."
Foden slowly opened his eyes.
"During the meeting earlier, the High Priest drew me into a circular platform surrounded by water."
Foden turned his gaze toward Karen.
Karen continued, "The High Priest was reading a book at the time, titled *The Sinkhole*, and the author happened to be Wienese. The High Priest chatted with me about the book's themes and structure, asked me several questions, and had me offer my thoughts—primarily regarding the relationship between humanity and divinity. In the end..."
Foden closed his eyes.
Karen smoothly stopped and shifted his tone:
"Lord Whip-Wielder, your subordinate takes his leave."
Foden gave a slight nod.
Karen opened the door and stepped down. He offered an apologetic smile to Miguel waiting outside, who merely shook his head gently to signal that it was fine.
Having parted ways, Miguel returned inside, and the carriage resumed its course.
Miguel noticed that the Whip-Wielder had his eyes open and his head tilted, gazing outside through the window.
Without needing to turn and follow his gaze, Miguel knew the Whip-Wielder was watching Karen out on the street.
A look of reminiscence showed in Foden's eyes.
In a carriage all those years ago, just before stepping down, he had said to Norton:
"Boss, they reached out to me in secret. They can push me into the seat of Whip-Wielder, but the condition is that I turn against you. I refused, so chances are I'll be dispatched to an expansion space for a while. Boss, don't miss me too much, hahaha!"
That year, as the carriage pulled away, he remained behind, holding Little Augie by the hand.
Little Augie asked, "Is the expansion space fun?"
He replied, "Fun enough to get killed playing around."
"Then do you regret it?"
"No. I'm terrified in hindsight."
...
"Was it fun inside the Office Divine Hall?" Little Kanna asked.
"It was fun," Karen replied. "There were lots of exquisite murals."
"Too bad the Radio Goblin didn't come."
A child raised by Purr naturally inherited all the nicknames Purr assigned.
"Mm, he probably would have loved that place."
"I'm so tired today."
"Sleepy?"
"I took my pill in the carriage just now, and that freeloader secretary gave me red wine to wash it down. It tasted awful."
"It must have been very expensive. What a pity."
"Not a pity at all." Little Kanna pulled a wine bottle out from under her clothes.
Karen: "..."
Her clothes had originally been altered from Karen's, so they were on the looser side, making it easy to conceal things underneath.
"How did you dare?"
To lift something right out of the Whip-Wielder's carriage—her nerve was truly astounding.
"What's there to be scared of? The freeloader secretary treated me to it."
"Heh."
Karen lifted Little Kanna onto his back. She looped her left arm around Karen's neck, clutching the bottle in her right hand.
"I don't like drinking it, but I know you guys do. You like drinking expensive things and eating expensive things."
"Mm."
"Karen, did I do something wrong?"
"Next time, just ask openly instead of taking it on your own. I'll keep it a secret for you this time and won't tell your Sister Purr."
"Should we return it, then?"
"No need."
His little bone dragon had swiped a bottle of wine from the Whip-Wielder. Even if the Whip-Wielder found out, he would most likely find it amusing rather than get genuinely angry.
"Do you know, Karen? I had a dream the night before last."
"Come, let me hear what our Little Kanna dreamed about."
"In the dream, I stole an apple for you from a very dangerous place. A crystal-like apple."
"Then it must have been delicious, right?"
"I don't know. All I know is that while holding it and searching for you, my bones started aging and cracking. As I flew, bones kept falling off and scattering all over the ground."
Karen paused.
This was no ordinary little girl's dream; it was likely an inherited memory.
In truth, strictly speaking, Little Kanna was considered a "Child of God" of the Church of the Crypt.
*Searching for me?*
*Was she looking for me... or the previous God of Order?*
*The Rebel Dragon God once went to a very dangerous place to retrieve an apple for the God of Order—an apple capable of decaying the flesh of a draconic deity, who possessed the sturdiest physique in the world?*
Yet considering the relationship between the Rebel Dragon God and the God of Order, it was hardly surprising that the Dragon God would do such a thing.
The will represented by the Rebel Dragon God and the will of Order were actually very close. One could even say that against the backdrop of that era ruled by the gods, they aligned.
Karen asked tentatively, "What else was in that dream?"
"Nothing else. It just hurt terribly and felt awful, but I couldn't bear to throw the apple away. I was in a rush to find you, but I didn't know where you'd gone. In the end, I woke up without ever seeing you."
"Oh, I see."
"Mm, that was it..."
As Little Kanna spoke, she drifted off to sleep against Karen's back. Even in her slumber, she gripped the bottle of wine tightly; Karen did not have to worry in the slightest that it might drop.
After several transfers, Karen concluded his business trip and stepped out of the Yorktown Region teleportation array hall.
Here, dawn was only just breaking, and the temperature was quite low. A gust of cold wind blew past, leaving Karen feeling momentarily dazed. He had almost forgotten that the original purpose of his trip to the Dinge Region had been to "receive criticism and correction."
The new teleportation array hall was nearing completion, and the laying of permanent formations was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Located within a bounded domain in the suburbs, its area was ten times that of the existing hall, and once completed, its throughput capacity would exceed the current one by more than a hundredfold.
In truth, because the Church Affairs Building had previously been destroyed, the current teleportation array hall had been rebuilt in the basement of this new site, making the space somewhat cramped. Nevertheless, apart from occasional queuing, it was perfectly capable of handling the region's teleportation workload.
Therefore, unless full-scale war erupted across the church circle—with the Church of Order taking on all other churches at once, turning the Yorktown Region into a war zone or logistics hub—the massive throughput of the new hall would simply go unused in daily operations.
The reason it existed was that the group of instructors and students from the University of Order responsible for the construction had dumped every single one of their latest research findings into the project. They cared only about "realizing their own academic value," with no regard whatsoever for practical operational efficiency.
This was a microcosm of why Karen's new department was experiencing a financial crisis. If you asked them to improve the flavor of bean paste, their very first step would be to travel to neighboring countries like Wien and Rueland to survey the temperature, humidity, and soil of each region. Then they would run experiments to see what happened when the paste jar was placed thousands of meters underground, elevated into the sky, or sealed in a specialized spatial barrier...
Only in the Yorktown Region, and only with a regional chief like Karen, would someone grit their teeth and play the fool to indulge them.
Yet once the new teleportation array hall was completed, the current one would be decommissioned, meaning the new department would entirely supplant the teleportation functions and operations previously belonging to the Regional Administrative Office.
The priests working here now would also report to the new entity, thus having their official appointments "laundered."
Other departments were being supplanted in a similar fashion. With Bern's tacit approval, driven by the vested interests of multiple factions, and riding the tailwinds of the Holy See's reforms, Karen was undertaking a sweeping purge of the functions, institutions, authority, and personnel of the entire Yorktown Region, branding it all with his own mark.
This was the reason he was willing to play the great fool. As long as he weathered this difficult period, the Yorktown Region would fall completely into the hands of the "divine servant" hailing from the Inmeles family.
Bern's adjutant appeared before Karen. Karen understood his intent and, carrying the sleeping Kanna on his back, followed him.
In the past, he and Bern would schedule separate times to compare notes and talk things through. Now, Bern seemed accustomed to meeting briefly whenever Karen passed through the Church Affairs Building upon returning from business trips.
This time, however, the adjutant did not lead him up to the Head Bishop's top-floor office. Instead, they stopped on a middle floor, where the adjutant pushed open a door revealing a spatial barrier within.
Stepping inside, Karen saw a pool of water, inside of which Bern was leaning back naked.
There were numerous lesions across his body, from which pus seeped from time to time. Two healers stood beside him, tending to his wounds.
Seeing Karen enter, Bern smiled. "Well? Scared yet?"
Karen shook his head indifferently. "I've been to that contaminated cavern. This display of yours doesn't even qualify for the stage."
"True, it doesn't qualify for the stage, but it can still claim my life."
Karen walked to the edge of the pool and asked, "When did you sustain this?"
"During an arrest mission. I snapped the target's neck with my own hands. But who would have thought he was a ruthless piece of work? Knowing there was no hope of escape, he had swallowed a bellyful of venom sacs beforehand."
"From the sound of it, it's severe?"
"Originally, it wasn't. Though it couldn't be rooted out, it could be suppressed through conditioning without affecting my work, or even my life. But once my bodily functions began deteriorating with age... a minor issue that was once manageable became rather uncontainable."
"When did you realize it couldn't be suppressed?"
"When my..."
Bern waved his hand, dismissing the two healers.
"When my son came home to see me last time."
"The time he declared war?"
"Mm."
"Heh." Karen gently set Little Kanna down onto a nearby sofa, then turned back to the pool. "You truly are growing old, learning to console yourself with such warm phrasing."
"There's no helping it. Once a person reaches a certain stage in life, they have no choice but to yield to its laws. Two years ago, I never would have believed I'd fall into such clichés. Who knew it would end up this way?
"Do you know? I find myself missing my son more and more, and missing my father more and more as well."
"These don't sound like words you should be saying to me."
"I've yielded even my authority to you. Showing a little vulnerability in front of you is hardly a big deal."
"So that's the reason?"
"I can't deny that's part of it. I'm old, and I can see my end approaching. My obsession with certain things isn't as fierce as it once was. But the main reason is still that I think very highly of you, and I approve of you. Karen, we are the same kind of people—both of us hold faith in our hearts, yet won't hesitate to use any means to achieve our ends. You simply carry it out with slightly more decency than I do."
"I know a physician. I'll have him take a look at you when the time comes."
"Let's skip the pointless pleasantries. Do you think I haven't consulted the top healers within the church? I've even sought out those from other faiths. Unless you can invite a deity down here, my condition is beyond saving.
"Just as one dies after growing old and withered, this is not an issue of pollution. It's a matter of life running its course."
"How much longer do you have?"
"Why do you ask?"
"A funeral must be planned in advance. A Head Bishop dying in office will draw countless mourners, so arrangements and logistics have to be prepared ahead of time."
"I won't be dying anytime soon, rest assured. I should be able to scrape by for another two years, roughly."
"Oh."
"Why do you sound somewhat disappointed? What, you resent me for living too long? If someone else were sitting in this seat right now, you wouldn't have such an easy time eroding the region's power."
"What I mean is, two years is still quite a long time. Did you really need to arrange a meeting here just for this? I'm targeted for assassination every other day, not even certain if I'll see tomorrow's sun.
"You have two whole years left. What's the point of playing on my emotions so far in advance?"
"The problem is, I don't decide when you teleport back. It's not like I deliberately summoned you here to say all this. Since you saw it, didn't I owe you an explanation?
"All right, tell me about your trip to the Dinge Region..."
Once Karen finished his account, Bern smiled wryly. "Are you sure you went there to receive criticism?"
"I only remembered that myself on the way back."
"You handled it very well, responding with great propriety. The only flaw was that it felt a bit deliberate. When summoned for a private audience with the High Priest, answering too well might lead him to suspect someone coached you in advance."
Karen nodded. In his own post-meeting reflection, he had considered that as well.
"Still, there was no avoiding it," Bern said, standing up and beginning to dress. "Playing dumb on purpose might have yielded an even worse outcome. Besides, even if the High Priest suspects someone coached you, it's no big deal. It won't affect where you stand right now. Our High Priest certainly possesses that much magnanimity."
"I wasn't worried about that."
"When you reported to your Whip-Wielder, you didn't repeat your answers to him, did you?"
"He didn't listen to the whole thing, just heard me out briefly, and I deliberately kept it vague."
"Hahaha." Bern nodded. "Good thing you caught on quickly. Otherwise, had you blurted out everything, your Whip-Wielder might have chewed you up alive for saddling him with the High Priest's unwarranted suspicion."
"Their relationship is very close."
"No matter how close the relationship, once people reach those heights, suspicion and wariness are inevitable."
"I understand."
"Still, you were quite candid with me today. I can tell you didn't embellish or omit much. Mm, you really did me a courtesy."
"That's out of respect for a man on his deathbed."
"Fine, let's talk about serious business. You issued bonds, didn't you?"
"Mm."
"You must have raised quite a sum?"
"Quite a bit. In particular, the various black market syndicates and financial organizations I cracked down on recently sent intermediaries to pay tribute. The amount was fairly substantial."
"No matter how substantial, it can't match the appetite of those gold-devouring beasts in your new department. Every time I look at their financial reports and project schedules, I can't help feeling they aren't here to build a department—they're here to erect wonders of the world."
"There's no other choice. I have to hold out for now, holding on for as long as I can. Originally, I thought of taking a page from the Wien Empire's past practice of issuing letters of marque to pirates, letting the militia regiment earn some extra income out in the desert. But now the situation has shifted, and the pirates I sent out are actually turning into regular troops.
"Oh, right. During the meeting, the High Priest assigned mobilization tasks. The various documents and directives should be handed down shortly. Our church is about to deploy troops and pour resources into the desert on a massive scale."
"Mm, there's no rush on that. I have a method here that could help you weather your financial crisis. Do you care to take a look?"
"Stop speaking in riddles. As long as it brings in coupons, you can sell me off for all I care."
"Though the Church of Pamires is only a mid-tier church, it has been passed down since the last era. Its foundation still holds considerable depth."
Karen instantly grasped Bern's implication. "Under what pretext?"
"As an affiliate church of our Church of Order, if the Yorktown Region issues an official letter requesting their assistance and support in forming and maintaining the militia regiment, I doubt they will refuse."
Rather than rushing to agree, Karen gave a slight shake of his head. "How could I be so shameless?"
Bern answered, seemingly joking, "It belongs to my family anyway. Take whatever you like."
"Too expensive."
In this world, the cheapest price to pay was often monetary interest.
Karen refrained from tapping contacts in other branches of the Church of Order precisely because borrowing from them would mean paying a price far steeper than mere interest, to say nothing of foreign churches. Moreover, the matter involved far too many sensitivities.
Karen had received external assistance before, but whether from Dark Moon Island or the Church of the Moon God, those meager resources paled in comparison to his current financial demands. To satisfy his present needs, he would need to bleed a mid-tier church dry, bringing it to the brink of bankruptcy.
"Their demands aren't high."
"Are you acting as a lobbyist?"
"Something like that. Each takes what they need."
"This doesn't sound like the Bern I know."
"It doesn't disrupt or undermine Order."
"What are their demands?"
"That will require my son leading a delegation tomorrow to discuss it with you in person. By the way, my son is currently an Executive Officer of the Church of Pamires. Within their church, that's the final stepping stone before becoming the Hierarch."
"Tomorrow? Why wasn't I aware of this?"
"It's a commercial discussion of modest rank. He's joining the delegation on short notice, so it's normal that you weren't informed."
"I'm not inclined to engage. I'd rather look for other avenues."
"Favors must always be repaid."
"Whose favor?"
"Mine," Bern said with a smile. "Karen, you owe me, and you still owe me now."
"Heh." Karen nodded. "Must you really push it to this point?"
"You know that my father is the Hierarch of the Church of Pamires. He has been in a dormant state, and the latest news is that he will pass before I do."
"That is sorrowful news."
"My son needs help. As an affiliate church of ours, the only outside support the Church of Pamires is permitted to lean on must come from the Church of Order. He wants to invest in you—or rather, invest in you on behalf of the Church of Pamires."
This was identical to secular political campaigns: openly soliciting campaign funds, with the implicit understanding that once elected, one would return the favor to their donors.
Given Karen's age, rank, potential, and current momentum, he was already qualified to be such a contender. Even if he wasn't aiming for the seat of High Priest, the probability of him occupying a high-ranking position within the Church of Order in the future was exceptionally high.
"Once my father passes away, an internal power struggle and reshuffling will sweep through the Church of Pamires. My son's succession to Hierarch is by no means secure. As for me, it's inconvenient to step forward; if his parentage were exposed, his situation would only become worse and far more troublesome. But you, Karen—with your current standing in the church, you can easily stabilize the situation for him, keeping his rivals from acting out of line out of respect for your backing."
"Bern." Karen pointed toward the pool. "And you still claim you didn't do this on purpose? You stripped off your clothes and jumped into this pool right when you knew I was teleporting back, didn't you?"
"That's not important."
"Have you truly grown old and frail, awakening some fatherly love on your deathbed?"
"Do you want to hear the truth?"
"Go ahead."
"For generations, my family has plotted against the Church of Pamires on behalf of Order. Now, we are very, very close to success."
"The Church of Pamires is already an affiliate of Order."
"No, that is not enough. Not enough to fulfill my family's lifelong ambition, not enough to fulfill my obsession. Most importantly, I know that unlike my father and myself, my son's loyalty to Order... is not entirely steadfast. In his bones, he leans toward the God of Pamires.
"He wants to invest in you, first, to borrow your current standing within the church to solidify his own position and successfully assume the seat of Hierarch; second, he hopes that through his relationship with you, you can look out for him in the future and grant his Church of Pamires greater independence.
"Mark my words, when he meets with you tomorrow, he will surely present those demands and ask for your promise."
"So? Am I supposed to agree?"
"Agree to it. First, bleed the Church of Pamires dry of its reserves—you're facing financial difficulties anyway. Then later, leverage your ties with him to suppress him, master him, and control him, until you crush the Church of Pamires into dust and swallow it down with water.
"Make the Church of Pamires like the Desert Church will soon be: carve out a small reserve for them within Order's missionary domain, but in reality, absorb their church entirely into a single system or department under our banner."
Suddenly, Karen felt that Bern had returned to normal, becoming familiar once more. That seemingly tender "warmth of fatherly love" from earlier had indeed been a mere illusion, utterly nonexistent.
Yes, this was Bern's true nature, unchanged as ever.
Bern stepped two paces closer, staring at Karen with solemn intensity.
"Karen, promise me: help me destroy this son of mine who holds no loyalty to Order, and help Order... swallow the Church of Pamires whole!"
Chapter 767