Law of Space and Time

Seeing as he had finalized an agreement with Mackney, Lia naturally had to be clued in.

Furthermore, he felt like there was a need to tell Lia to begin worrying about his own personal safety. Of course, Erwin wasn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart. Instead, he was concerned that if the archbishop were to be assassinated at a time like this, that would be a very heavy blow to the City of Freedom.

Having said that, he knew that even though Lia always seemed like an unremarkable figure, he wasn't going to be killed off so easily. This was a man who had spent a significant portion of his life wandering throughout the Terarody Mountain Ranges, so there had to be something special about him, even though he wasn't a magician or a martial artist. If he were skilled in one of those disciplines, then there was no way that Erwin and Onean would've failed to detect it up to this point.

Upon arriving at the Holy Jade Cathedral, Erwin encountered Turan and Joe, but Lia was nowhere to be seen.

Turan's eyes instantly lit up at the sight of Erwin. He was on the verge of falling asleep from listening to Joe's sermon, and he was ecstatic that someone interesting had arrived to rescue him from this purgatory of boredom.

"Where've you been these past couple of days? I haven't seen you around."

Erwin faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he was debating whether he should tell Turan about his trip to Tellier. However, considering that there were other people present, he didn't want to disclose any sensitive information, so he made up a story about how he had gone to the nearby towns to recruit new soldiers.

Turan nodded in response and didn't dwell on the subject. Instead, he began to discuss that ceiling mural with Erwin.

"Just this painting alone tells me that you're far more skilled than those 'artists' of Finklan who're focused solely on swindling young noblewomen into their beds," Turan praised as he looked up at the mural. Even though he had already seen it countless times, he still couldn't help but be amazed.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult," Erwin chuckled with an amused expression.

"The injury you sustained on your right hand was quite severe, right?" Turan asked as he took a glance at the horrific scar on the back of Erwin's hand. "Your hand was shaking slightly even while writing last time. How did you manage to complete this mural? Don't tell me you used your left hand!"

"I'm not that skilled an artist. There's no way I would've been able to complete this mural with my left hand," Erwin replied with a faint smile.

"No wonder there are some parts where the brushstrokes are a little strange," Turan remarked.

Upon hearing what Turan had to say, a certain person sprang into Erwin's mind. He had once said to this person that he most likely wasn't going to be able to continue his hobby of oil painting in the future.

With that in mind, a hint of dejection appeared in Erwin's eyes, and it was also right at this moment that Lia arrived at the cathedral.

Erwin immediately gave Lia a subtle look, indicating to him that he had something to discuss with him.

After that, the two of them arrived in Lia's cramped little room.

...

"You're the archbishop now, why don't you consider changing rooms?" Once again, Erwin was wondering where to sit.

He had thought that Lia would respond with something profound such as "there's no difference between living in a large room and living in a small room. This has all been bestowed upon us by the almighty Universal Lord".

However, in reality, Lia merely smiled and replied, "Look at all these books in here, I can't be bothered to move them all into another room."

"Fine, then I'll just stand so I don't sit on any of your collections." Thinking back to the anguished look that had appeared on Lia's face when he had sat down onto his books, Erwin decided not to torment the old man this time.

However, on this occasion, Lia didn't display any intention of giving up his chair to Erwin.

At this point in their relationship, there was no need for such formalities.

"I've brought you a piece of good news," Erwin said as he cast his gaze toward Lia with a smile.

"What is it?"

"Mackney is willing to join our City of Freedom."

"You went to Tellier?" Lia asked as he looked at Erwin with furrowed brows.

"I did," Erwin replied with a nonchalant nod.

Lia's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. "Weren't you worried that he would..."

"Worried that he would kill me?" Erwin asked with an amused smile. "I don't think there's anyone on Mackney's side capable of such a feat. Besides, he's a businessman, and when it comes to businessmen, there's always room for negotiation."

Lia nodded in response and accepted this explanation. "So what did you offer him?"

This was a rather testing question for Erwin as he had offered Mackney shares in the Ubiquitous Firm, but that was something that he couldn't tell Lia.

"What could I have possibly offered him?" Erwin chuckled. "I simply did some persuasion."

"What do you mean by that?" Lia asked with an intrigued expression.

"He would've definitely been unwilling to join us, right?" Erwin asked as he took a glance at Lia. "Hence, I had to use some persuasion and get him to come around to the idea of joining us. I told him that our City of Freedom is very open and welcoming, and that he could join us in the form of a collaborative relationship."

Lia was completely taken aback upon hearing this, and after a brief moment of hesitation, he asked with a perplexed expression, "So you convinced him to join us without taking any soldiers with you?"

"Why do we have to take the aggressive option against them? You need to look at the bigger picture and not be so dogmatic," Erwin said. "On a fundamental, we are not enemies. Instead, we have a joint enemy, which is the nobility that owns all of the land. Think about it: Mackney possesses no land, he's just a merchant with a massive wealth of Loonies."

After some brief thought, Lia immediately understood what Erwin was saying. "But will Mackney really be willing to accept such an arrangement? I've interacted with those people in Tellier in the past, and judging from my past experience, Mackney is not that easy to work with."

"Like I said, he's a businessman. As long as we offer him sufficient benefits, there's no reason for him to be opposed to us," Erwin said.

"So you gave him the entire city of Tellier in return for joining us?"

"That's a rather unpleasant way to put it. The city of Tellier is technically only being managed by the Farody Family. Of course, the land taxes that are submitted will go to them as well."

"How is that any different from owning the city?" Lia asked with a furious expression.

"Have you forgotten that Tellier doesn't belong to us to begin with? Instead, it belongs to Duke Eru, not you or me," Erwin said as a displeased look appeared on his face. "Essentially, we've recruited the Farody Family by giving them something that isn't even ours. Why do you have such a problem with that?"

"It may seem like a convenient arrangement now, but it won't be so easy if we want to recover the city in the future," Lia said with furrowed brows.

"So you're suggesting that we declare war on them, is that right?"

"I never said that."

"Let me remind you that it won't be so easy to take down Newfando. If we declare all-out war on Mackney, then Duke Eru will be the only one who benefits from the aftermath. I'm sure you're aware of just how troublesome that daughter of his is to deal with."

"Yes, she's indeed very difficult to deal with, particularly for you," Lia replied in an expressionless manner, but there was a very suggestive tone to his voice.

It was clear that Lia was well aware of the rather intimate interactions that had taken place between Erwin and Theresa during the battle on the Canston Plain.

"When did you become so dirty-minded?" Erwin chuckled with an amused expression.

However, Lia was in no mood to be joking around, and he said, "Seeing as you've already completed negotiations with Mackney on behalf of the City of Freedom, then we'll just have to go ahead with this arrangement."

"Oh, I get it, you're mad at me for not notifying you in advance, right?"

Lia shook his head in response. "My only hope is that you have a clear understanding of what you're doing. Sometimes, if you're plotting too many things at once, you'll make things too complicated and shoot yourself in the foot."

Erwin's expression remained unchanged, but his heart jolted slightly upon hearing this, and he was wondering whether Lia had guessed that there had been some type of secret exchange of benefits that had taken place between him and Mackney.

With that in mind, Erwin decided to change the subject. "Oh, by the way, there's something else I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I almost died on the way back from Tellier," Erwin said as he cast his gaze toward Lia.

"An assassin fired an arrow at me, and if it hadn't been for someone sacrificing himself to protect me, I would already have a massive hole here," Erwin continued as he pointed at his own waist.

"Who did it?" Lia asked with tightly furrowed brows.

"I've considered all of the possible candidates, but in the end, none of them fit the bill."

"Why is that?" Lia asked in a perplexed manner.

"The assassin that was sent after me was extremely powerful. I don't think Duke Eru would have the resources and connections to hire someone like them."

Lia heaved a faint sigh in response. "These dukedoms in the north are very complicated places. Make sure you don't take your enemies too lightly."

"It was indeed a lesson that I almost had to learn the hard way," Erwin replied with a nod.

"Why did you only mention Duke Eru? Could it not have been the Farody Family that was behind this?"

"There's no reason for him to do this. If he wanted to kill me, then why did he go to all of the trouble to negotiate with me?"

"That's true," Lia replied with a nod.

"Hold on, you didn't come here because you're suspecting me, are you?" Lia asked with an amused expression.

Erwin immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this. "You'll only be plotting my death at some point in the future. I don't have to worry about you for now."

Erwin was being very direct and forthright with his word.

Lia's smile faded as he looked at Erwin with a calm expression and said, "We won't get to that point."

"Is that right?" Erwin mused as he pondered the meaning behind Lia's words.

"You don't have to waste your time and energy worrying about me," Lia said. "It's best for us to be more open and honest with each other."

"I'm not accusing you of anything, I just think that all people with religious beliefs are rather scary," Erwin said, and that was also a very forthright statement.

"The Universal Lord wouldn't have such concerns."

"That's why I'm not the Universal Lord."

"Are you still wary of the people of religion?"

"You could say that."

"Open your heart. Don't just treat the Universal Church as a sword that you're wielding."

Erwin pursed his lips slightly upon hearing this. "Aren't you twisting the narrative here? Isn't it the Universal Church that's using me as a sword?"

Lia shook his head and didn't debate this topic with Erwin any further.

"Alright, I'm not here today to discuss my feelings about religion with you," Erwin said. "Instead, I'm here to give you some words of caution."

"What is it?"

"I advise you to appear in public as little as possible. I don't want to see the religious leader of our City of Freedom being killed under mysterious circumstances."

"I didn't think you would ever worry about the safety of someone else," Lia jibed.

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm not looking out for you for your benefit. Our City of Freedom has only just been established. If you suddenly go missing, we'll be without a spiritual leader."

"You don't need to worry about that. The one they want to kill is you, they won't focus their efforts on me," Lia said in a confident voice. "Besides, as an elder of the Universal Church, I won't die so easily."

"Looks like my concerns were unnecessary then," Erwin said. "In any case, I've said what I came here to say, it's up to you whether you heed my advice or not."

Shortly thereafter, the conversation came to a conclusion, and Erwin departed from Lia's room.

Lia looked on with a complex expression at Erwin's departing figure, and even after Erwin's departure, he remained seated in silence for a long while.