"What about Count Onen?" Erwin asked. "What kind of person is he in your eyes?"

"He looks like he's a very shrewd man, but in reality, he's completely clueless and extremely cowardly."

"So you're saying I don't need to worry about him at all?"

"That's right."

"What about the Farody Family?"

"That's an extremely wealthy family. In fact, I would go as far as to say they rank among a handful of the richest families on the entire northern continent."

"Wouldn't they be very troublesome to deal with then?"

"The problem for them is that money isn't the answer to everything. They can buy the best and most expensive equipment, but experience on a battlefield can't be bought," Christine said as she turned to look at Erwin. "Surely you know this better than I do."

Erwin nodded in response. "That's true, but judging from what you've said, it seems to me like the Farody Family won't be so easy to overcome."

"All you have to do is wait for the Farody Family and Count Onen to begin fighting, then strike when the right opportunity presents itself."

"If only things were that simple," Erwin said with an amused smile. "Besides, I don't have the time to wait for the battle between them to begin organically."

"So what are you thinking about doing?" Christine asked.

"I have to add fuel to the fire. Otherwise, who knows how long it'll take before the battle between them breaks out?" Erwin mused.

"Brother Erwin, I'm not sure..." An uneasy look appeared on Christine's face as she cast her gaze toward Erwin, but she knew that when Erwin was determined to do something, no one would be able to stop him, just like when he had gone into battle against that giant ice dragon.

Erwin didn't notice the uneasy look on Christine's face, and he continued, "Do you think Duke Eru has the same idea as me? Perhaps he's also waiting to profit from the battle between the two factions. In that case, I'll have to be wary of both Duke Eru and Duchess Silon. There are more unpredictable factors than I would like, but there's no helping it I suppose."

A carefree smile suddenly appeared on Erwin's face as he choked, "So be it, being fearful of everything has never gotten anyone anywhere. If worse comes to worst, I can just leave this place, so what do I have to fear? By the way, there are a lot of religions here in the north. The Holy World Church, the New Light Church, the Universal Church, I'm going to need a glossary on all of these churches soon!"

Christine was rather amused to hear this, and she asked, "Why did you choose the Universal Church in the end?"

Elder Nachi of the Lodais Organization had given Christine an extensive account of Erwin's feats in the Boll Dukedom, and that naturally included a mention of the ceiling mural of the Holy Jade Cathedral.

"Why did I choose them? Beggars can't be choosers, it was them who chose me," Erwin replied with a wry smile. "I was so run-down that I could only busk for money as an artist on the streets of Belama. Thankfully, Elder Lia of the Universal Church recognized my talents. Otherwise, I would've had to resort to stealing."

"Elder Lia?" Christine was rather surprised to hear this name. "No wonder he recognized your talents."

"What do you mean by that? Do you know that old fart?" Erwin asked in a quiet voice. Even though there were no customers in the art supplies shop, he still had to be careful when talking about clergymen here. Of course, he was only joking around and didn't mean any actual disrespect toward Lia.

"Shh! Be careful of what you say about Elder Lia around these parts," Christine hurriedly cautioned.

"Oh? Why do I have to do that?"

"On the surface, he looks like nothing more than a retired pastor, but in reality, he's one of the five elders of the Universal Church, who are the most revered members of the organization," Christine said as she looked at Erwin with a serious expression. "The pope is like the main spokesperson for the church, but the ones who make the decisions behind the scenes are the five elders."

Erwin couldn't help but draw a sharp breath upon hearing this. With that in mind, it was no wonder that Lia seemed to command so much respect within the Universal Church. However, a thought then occurred to Erwin. On that day, when Lia had gone against everyone else's opinion and decided to keep the mural in the Holy Jade Cathedral, all of the pastors seemed to have been quite displeased. In that case, was it possible that those pastors weren't aware of Lia's identity?

It seemed that this was a hidden identity of Lia's that not everyone was privy to, even in the Universal Church, so how did Christine know about this?

"I bet that's a secret to the average person, right? At the very least, I feel like none of the pastors of the Universal Church are aware of this," Erwin said as he turned to Christine with a suspicious expression.

Only then did Christine realize that she had almost blown her own cover.

"I... think so."

"In that case, how do you know about this?"

"Well, you know me, I'm always traveling everywhere, so I naturally know more than the average person."

"I see," Erwin said as he took a meaningful glance at Christine, and he couldn't help but be curious about her identity. It was very strange to him that she knew so much about both the nobles and the churches of the north. In addition to that, her business acumen, observational skills, and many other qualities were also far more advanced than what was to be expected of a girl of her age, and all of that further aroused Erwin's suspicions.

When it came to nobles, it was always best not to pry too deep into their matters, and Erwin was trying to keep that in mind, but he still couldn't help but be curious about Christine's identity.

Looking at the peculiar expression on Erwin's face, a conflicted look appeared in Christine's eyes.

Erwin couldn't bear to push her any further upon seeing this, so he could only set the subject aside for now.

For some reason, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"What is it, Brother Erwin?" Christine was rather perplexed to see Erwin's amused smile.

"I just feel like women are very strange and enigmatic at times."

"What do you mean by that?" Christine asked as her brows furrowed slightly.

"It seems like they always have more secrets to uncover. I finally understand that saying now," Erwin replied with a wry smile.

"Which saying?"

"Secrets make women more womanly," Erwin replied, and in his mind, he was drawing an analogy to stripping a woman naked, which took away all of the fun and mystery, and the same applied to uncovering all of a woman's secrets.

Christine faltered slightly upon hearing this, then protested, "What a load of nonsense! Besides, I haven't even reached the age where I can be referred to as a woman yet."

However, the smile on her face clearly indicated that she was very much in agreement with this viewpoint.

However, Erwin didn't smile in response. On the topic of the secrets that Christine was keeping, he had suddenly thought of his own mother, whom he had never seen before. 

Perhaps she has her own reasons for keeping these secrets from me. Perhaps not everyone can understand her secrets, Erwin thought to himself. I wonder if my mother even wants me to come and find her. All Father told me is that she's here in the north. Where am I supposed to find her on this vast continent?

Christine was able to detect the subtle hint of melancholy on Erwin's face, and she asked, "What's wrong, Brother Erwin?"

Erwin heaved a faint sigh before putting on a slightly forced smile, then thought to himself, Who isn't keeping a secret or two?

"Don't worry about it. Let's get back on topic and talk about the 800,000 Loonies that you earned," Erwin said as a smile appeared on his face. "Thanks to you, I'm now one of the wealthiest people in the Boll Dukedom, right?"

"It sounds like you're not planning to split half of the profits that we made with Sister Gwen," Christine chuckled.

Erwin was very amused to hear this, and he replied, "I wouldn't do that. Am I that kind of person in your eyes?"

Christine looked back at Erwin with an ambiguous expression, intentionally making it unclear whether she believed what Erwin was saying.

In doing so, she was telling Erwin that she would understand even if he decided to keep the money all to himself, and that she wouldn't condemn him for such a decision. At the same time, she was also highlighting her own identity as a bystander in this matter. After all, she had been nothing more than a bystander as the transaction between Erwin and Gwen was being negotiated and finalized.

Of course Erwin was tempted to take all of the 800,000 Loonies for himself, but he couldn't do that, and it wasn't because he was worried about spoiling the image that Christine had of him. Instead, it was because he felt like there was a good chance that Gwen and Kaiba were going to need the 400,000 Loonies. He didn't know what the situation in the south was like, but he knew that as the newly crowned emperor of the Atlas Empire, there was no way that Lazaar would allow Gwen to rule over the province of Fooz unchecked.

He didn't know how long Gwen could last, but surely having more monetary support was always a good thing. When it came to the Lazaar Family, it was naturally impossible for Erwin to say that he didn't harbor any hatred toward them. However, Lana was also a part of the Lazaar Family, so he couldn't bring himself to resent the family with much passion.

"Don't worry, I won't revoke my promise to Gwen," Erwin said. "But in order to deliver the 400,000 Loonies to her, you'll have to take the dangerous journey over the Terarody Mountain Ranges again."

"It'll be fine. You said it yourself just now, didn't you? As long as we lighten the load on the airship, it's not that dangerous." It was clear that Christine didn't want Erwin to dwell on this subject any longer.

"Traveling the world to do business has always been my purpose and calling. If a person knows what they want to do, then they should dedicate everything they have to doing that thing. Isn't that the most fulfilling and purposeful way to live?" Christine asked as she cast her gaze toward Erwin.

Once again, Erwin was stunned by the clarity of Christine's insight in life. It had to be said that even though she had only been in this world for about 13 or 14 years, her insight into life was far more profound than that of the average person.

He had set out on this conversation with the purpose of trying to convince Christine of some things, but it seemed that he was the only one being persuaded here.

"Even after giving Gwen her share, I'll still have 400,000 Loonies at my disposal. It's only half of my current wealth, but it's still far more money than I ever had back in Sarus. Sometimes, I really want to open up that little head of yours to see how your brain is built. How did you think of such a brilliant plan to deposit the money with the Lodais Organization?" Erwin praised with a warm smile. "That plan of yours has truly provided me with a great deal of inspiration."

"What are you planning to do, Brother Erwin?" Christine asked with a curious expression.

"Think about it, if everyone can be like you, then there would be no need for merchants to carry so many crates of Loonies every time they go to finalize a large deal. A paper receipt is much more convenient and can be carried on one's person at all times, isn't that right?"

"But the Lodais Organization wouldn't be willing to provide this service to everyone," Christine countered.

"Why do we need to depend on the Lodais Organization to provide everyone with this service? We can do the same thing ourselves!" Erwin said as he glanced at Christine. "As long as we have sufficient funds, we can provide the exact same service."

Christine was very much intrigued by this idea from Erwin, and her brows furrowed tightly as she fell into deep thought.

"Think about it, what would it be like if everyone stopped using Loonies and began using paper receipts as Loonies instead? What would the entire world be like? Everything would be so much more efficient," Erwin said, and his imagination was beginning to run wild. "Maybe in the distant future, Loonies could be replaced by paper money worth different sums of Loonies."

"Paper money?" Christine was stunned to hear this, and she cast a dumbstruck gaze toward Erwin, enthralled by his imaginative conception of the future money market.

"That's right. Due to the limitations of gold and silver forging, the largest sum that a single coin can be worth is only five Loonies, but those limitations don't apply to paper money at all. We can set sums of 100 Loonies, 1,000 Loonies, any arbitrary number that we like. Wouldn't that make trading much more convenient in the future?"