"Aren't you essentially agreeing with the idea then?" Fandevin exclaimed. "If he can assemble a church army in the northwestern parish, should we all start assembling armies as well?"

"Weren't you just saying that you didn't dare to take such a risk with so many lives at stake? Why are you suddenly asking about something like that now?" Mutizen chuckled as he threw a jibe at Fandevin.

Fandevin was rendered speechless upon hearing this, and he was trembling from rage.

"I approve of Lia assembling a church army in the northwestern parish because I've heard some things about Boll Dukedom recently," Boten explained to Fandevin and Kandra, then turned to Lia as he asked, "A battle is about to break out between the nobles and the wealthy merchants, isn't that right?"

Lia nodded in response. "The situation there is extremely chaotic."

Even if those two parties wanted to coexist in peace, there was no way that Erwin would allow them to do so.

"But..." Kandra still wanted to argue, but Boten raised a hand to cut him off.

"My idea is actually very simple. I think that this is still not the right time to set a full-blown revolution into motion," Boten said. " We can get Lia to lead the way and act as a scout for us. If everything goes smoothly on his end, it's not too late for us to join in on the plan as well."

Only then did everyone come to realize that Boten was actually fundamentally accepting of the notion of such a revolution.

"And what if things don't go smoothly on his end?" Fandevin asked.

"In that case, we declare to the world that someone betrayed our Universal Church, posing as a crusader for our Universal Church to engage in an unjust cause," Boten sighed. "If that happens, then we'll have to quell the fury of the public with your head, Lia."

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, and even the bishop who was recording the conversation was so startled to hear this that he almost dropped his goose feather quill.

Going by Boten's plan, if Lia were to succeed, then everyone would emulate his success. However, if Lia were to fail, then he would be tossed out to the wolves and torn apart by the general public to assuage their wrath. It seemed that the other four elders didn't stand to lose anything from this regardless of the outcome.

In that case, Fandevin and Kandra felt no need to continue to oppose the idea, and their expressions eased considerably.

"Don't blame me," Boten said as he cast his gaze toward Lia. "At the end of the day, it's up to you to decide whether you assemble a church army or not. After all, nothing has been started yet, so it's still not too late to go back on your decision."

"I understand," Lia replied with a nod, and his expression was completely genuine and devoid of any resentment toward Boten. "Even if I am to be condemned by the entire Universal Church, I will have brought it all upon myself, so I would have no complaints."

Mutizen heaved a faint sigh, then made his way over to Lia before patting him on the shoulder.

Boten also stood up before resting his hand onto Lia's other shoulder, then whispered into his ear, "That's all the help I can give you."

Lia gave him a grateful look in response.

In reality, he wasn't expecting anyone to support him during this meeting.

Now that I think about it, it looks like what I said had some effect after all. Like I said earlier, all of the elders possess ambitions, and the vision is also quite an alluring one.

Despite the vehemence of their opposition, Fandevin and Kandra had no personal vendetta against Lia. They had been responding solely to the idea that Lia had proposed. They also wanted to join the other two elders in offering Lia their well-wishes, but at the same time, they were rather reluctant to do so, having just argued so intensely against him.

However, in the end, the two of them still approached Lia before telling him to take care.

As for how likely Lia was to succeed in this endeavor, the other four elders all held their own opinions on the matter. Mutizen was very confident in Lia, Boten was of the opinion that either outcome was roughly equally as possible, while Fandevin and Kandra felt that the chances of success were rather slim.

....

After the meeting's conclusion, the bishop who had been acting as the scribe during the meeting finally made up his mind.

He hurriedly rushed over to Lia, panting slightly as he requested, "Elder Lia, please take me with you. I'm willing to follow you."

He knew that given Lia's status in the Universal Church, it wasn't a difficult task for him to transfer a bishop to the southeastern parish.

Lia was initially rather surprised to hear this, following which a hint of appreciation appeared in his eyes as he looked at the young bishop. "Are you sure you want to place your eggs in my basket, Menpo? You'll be gambling with your future."

"This is not a gamble, it is my duty. As a clergyman of the Universal Church, I feel like it is my duty to contribute toward and sacrifice for that nation of universal freedom and equality that you've envisioned. This is a responsibility that I cannot shirk," Menpo replied with a serious expression.

Lia was rooted to the spot upon hearing this, and he finally understood why he had made this trip to Finklan.

What had been keeping him up at night and captivating his heart these past few days?

At its core, it was his sense of duty and passion as a clergyman of the Universal Church that was urging him to do these things.

Even setting all of his ambitions aside, he was a clergyman of the Universal, and his heart was telling him that this was something that absolutely had to be done.

Menpo mistook Lia's silence for hesitation, and he urged, "If everyone is equal, then us bishops and pastors are no different from our church's followers. Everyone's lives and futures are equal, and no one can be considered to be more important or of a higher status than anyone. Hence, you shouldn't even be hesitating to bring me with you."

Lia couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this, laughing at the fact that this young bishop had a clearer view of the Universal Church's doctrine than he did. After that, he nodded as he said, "You're right. In that case, I'll take you with me."

Following the Five Summits Meeting, Lia was assigned the title of the archbishop of the southwestern parish, which was already the loftiest official title in the church below the pope.

This assignment had multiple purposes, the first of which was to make things more convenient for Lia in the future, and the second of which was to present Lia with an official title, establishing him as one of the most important figures in the Universal Church for all to see. If his plan were to fail, he would be tossed to the wolves, and through sacrificing an archbishop, the public backlash from the plan's failure would be contained.

Having already served as an elder of the Universal Church for many years, Lia was naturally well aware of the implications of this assignment, and a wry smile appeared on his face as he looked at the wax seal of the Universal Church on the bottom right corner of the document.

...

The next day, prior to returning to Zans, Lia still had something to attend to, which was that he had to visit an old friend.

This also gave Menpo half a day for him to pack his belongings. There were a lot of belongings that Menpo had to take with him, and even Joe had been sent to help him.

Thus, Lia made his way to the southern part of Finklan on his own.

On this occasion, he wasn't wearing the robe of the Universal Church. Instead, he had changed into a set of casual clothes, giving him the appearance of a relatively wealthy merchant from a small place.

The main reason for this was that the southern part of the city was home to many followers of the New Light Church. If he were to walk into the area wearing his Universal Church robe, he would've most likely been kicked out before too long.

The southern section of the city was filled with the likes of artists, musicians, traveling poets... In short, the artistic atmosphere was downright suffocating, and places like these were never short of clergymen and followers of the New Light Church.

Essentially, in virtually any place with a prominent artistic influence, people of the New Light Church would be sure to be present, and that was why art on this continent was doomed to be unable to make any progress.

If the followers of the New Light Church were merely trend followers, then things perhaps wouldn't have been so bad. However, the problem was that there were many high and mighty noblewomen who always liked to flaunt their status as nobles to give instructions and unsolicited advice to the young people who had a genuine passion for the arts. They made it seem like they were experts in what they were talking about, but in reality, they were spouting absolute nonsense. All of them were complete novices, yet they were acting as if they were master artists.

In reality, they had no interest in the arts, they were only here to ogle at the young men.

If the artist were a handsome young lad, then of course there would be some words of praise directed his way by the noblewomen, regardless of what the quality of his art was like.

As for those who were more mediocre in appearance, then insults were the only thing that they could expect.

There was a reason why the noblewomen around these parts were so "interested" in art, and that was because most of the young men who were pursuing the arts had no discipline or devotion to their craft. Oftentimes, all it took was a seductive look from a noblewoman, and these young men would be more than happy to pack up for the day.

It was no wonder that all of the hotels in the area were thriving.

Lia made his way along Mark Street, which was a street with a strong artistic atmosphere that ran alongside the Fulnen River, and he saw countless examples of the aforementioned phenomenon of noblewomen hooking up with young artists. For a man of his age, he had seen everything, so he naturally wasn't surprised by this.

He turned onto Dunling Street at a lively crossroads, and the street was lined on either side with small apartment buildings. Among them, there was a row of apartment buildings that were constantly in the shade all year round, receiving no sun exposure, so it was very likely that the rent in those buildings was quite cheap. 

Lia calmly arrived at the entrance to one of the apartment buildings, and looking at the dilapidated corridor ahead of him, a thought suddenly occurred to him: Perhaps this is what it looks like behind the more glamorous side of art.

He made his way up the stairs to the second floor, then drew to a halt in front of an apartment before pushing the door open and making his way directly into it without even bothering to knock.

Just as he had anticipated, the door wasn't locked at all.

The natural lighting in the room was terrible, and Lia was immediately greeted by the nauseating stench of alcohol. The odor was a combination of the scents of brandy, whiskey, and Tellier red wine, but it wasn't the fragrant aroma from freshly opened bottles of alcoholic beverages. Instead, it was the smell of remnant traces of alcohol that had been left at the bottom of the bottle for so long that they had begun to grow mold. The foul stench was particularly intense in the summer, and if it weren't for the fact that Lia was already mentally prepared for this, he would've most likely already been throwing up at the doorway.

It was incredible to think about just how high the alcohol concentration had to be in this tiny room.

An elderly man was in the process of furiously scribbling something down onto a page, and upon hearing the sound of footsteps at the doorway, he said, "The script still isn't finished yet. Come back in the afternoon."

"Did you stay up the entire night?" Lia asked as he waved a hand repeated in front of his own nose to try and dispel the foul stench that was assaulting his nostrils, and at the same time, he was praying that the wind blowing in from the open door would blow away the nauseating odor as quickly as possible.

The elderly man abruptly raised his head upon hearing Lia's voice. In doing so, the precariously perched pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose slid down all the way to the tip of his nose. In order to still be able to see through his glasses, he had to raise his head even further, presenting a rather comical sight that made it look as if he were looking at Lia through his nostrils.

"Why do you suddenly have the spare time to pay me a visit?"

The elderly man scratched at his own disheveled hair, and it was as if he were grooming an old mop that had been sitting under the sun for too long.

"I want to take you away from here," Lia said with a smile.

The elderly man was just about to resume his work, but the pen in his hand faltered slightly as he heard what Lia had just said. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, then turned to Lia with a serious expression before taking a sip of some form of alcoholic beverage from the cup sitting on the table. "What happened?"

"I'm going to assemble a church army, so I wanted to take you with me," Lia said to the elderly man in a calm voice.

The elderly man was so shocked to hear this that the cup in his hand slipped out of his grasp before falling onto the floor. Thankfully, the cup was made from wood, so it didn't cause much of a commotion.

"That's insane!" the elderly man exclaimed after a moment of stunned silence.

"I wouldn't be taking you with me if I were doing something sane, would I?" Lia chuckled.

"I heard that the Boll Dukedom has recently been going through some internal turmoil, but I didn't think that you would try to take advantage of it," the elderly man said as he cast his gaze toward Lia through narrowed eyes, then rose to his feet and made his way to the sofa before taking a seat. He then patted the back of the sofa, indicating for Lia to take a seat as well.

Lia cast a glance toward the row of neatly organized empty bottles positioned at the foot of the sofa, and he waved a hand to turn down the elderly man's offer. Most importantly, the fabric cover of the sofa still had alcohol stains that were yet to dry, and Lia could only imagine how strong the stench of alcohol would be if he were to sit there.

"What can I help you with?" the elderly man asked as he picked up the pipe on the tea table before igniting it.

As a result, the stench of the molding alcohol was intertwined with the odor of low-quality tobacco, and Lia felt as if he were about to pass out.

His brows furrowed slightly as the sharp and acrid smell of the burning tobacco wafted up his nostrils, and he asked, "Would you be willing to come out to retirement to help me if I asked you to establish a brand new set of laws for me?"

"What are you going to do?" the elderly man asked as he turned to Lia with a stunned expression, and he had even set his pipe back down onto the tea table.

"It's a long story. If you're willing to hear it, I can tell you about it on the way back to Zans." Lia was unable to bear the awful stench wafting out of the apartment any longer, and he took a couple of steps back toward the entrance. "I met an incredible young man, and he struck me with a great deal of inspiration."

"Is that right?"

"The other elders refer to him as a madman," Lia said as an amused look appeared on his face.

"You definitely have my interest now," the elderly man replied. "I've always tended to take a liking to those that they don't have high opinions of."

He then took a glance at Lia before continuing, "Hold on, could it be that you came all the way to Finklan just because of this young man? Could it be that he was the cause behind all of this?"

A faint smile appeared on Lia's face as he nodded in response.

"In that case, it looks like it really would be worth making a trip with you," the elderly man said after a moment of contemplation.

"It'll definitely be much more interesting than writing those terrible poems of yours," Lia jibed as he looked at the chaotic scripts scattered all over the table.

"Well, I have to feed myself somehow. Am I supposed to expect them to support me?" the elderly man grumbled.

"If you really did ask the church for help, I'm sure no one would dare to turn you down."

"What? And sacrifice all my dignity in the process?" the elderly man said with a cold smile.

Lia heaved a faint sigh upon hearing this, then bent down before picking up a few of the poems scattered on the floor by the doorway. After reading the poems, he shook his head as he remarked, "Why have your poems become more and more rotten? They're giving off the same stench as the one in your room."

"I'm just a shameless artist trying to fill my belly," the elderly man replied in a self-deprecating voice.

Lia couldn't but chuckle upon hearing this, then began to recite something that he had heard.

The world laughs at me for my naivety

I can't see through the complexities of the world around me

Everything is so fleeting and passes by so quickly

I'm yet to grow old, but I'm already reminiscing about my past

With a shrug of my shoulders, no sinister plots can touch me

But when I awaken from my dream, there are often tears in my eyes

My family and loved ones can only reunite with me in dreams

I travel alone through the world, lonely yet free 

With no one to recognize me, carefree is the life I lead 

Worries can be swept away with a brush of my sleeve 

The so-called gods are far away in the heavens 

Lia recited the poem that Onean had made up on the spot back in the Holy Jade Cathedral. He was unable to recite the poem with the same emotions and mental state that had been reflected during Onean's rendition, but he was able to instill the poem with a sense of jadedness and uncertainty toward the future.

The elderly man's interest was immediately piqued upon hearing the poem, and after carefully pondering the poem that Lia had just recited, he turned to Lia with a surprised expression as he asked, "I thought you said this was a young man, why does this sound like a poem from a woman?"

Lia smiled as he explained, "This was an impromptu poem from that young man's wife."

The elderly man faltered momentarily upon hearing this. "I didn't think such a woman existed in this world."