Chapter 306
Chapter 306
Chapter 306
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 306 – Lan Qi Draws a Clear Line Between Public and Private
Rock box Mountain was one of the major transportation hub city-states in the northern region of the Protos Empire.
Surrounded by rolling mountain ranges, small winding rivers flowed through the city. In springtime, these rivers would bring endless vitality to the land.
Its architecture bore the deep influence of the mountain landscape, built mainly with stone and wood, blending seamlessly into the surrounding natural scenery.
But this year, the climate was strange and abnormally cold.
Even in the empire’s southern cities, which were usually warm year-round, snow had fallen at the start of winter.
Now it was already early March, yet there was still no sign of the cold wave receding. From time to time, heavy snow would fall, covering the city’s buildings in white, blending them into the snowy mountains and winter scenery around them.
The magic rail station of Rock box Mountain was located on the far western edge of the city-state. Known as the “Rock Convergence,” it was one of the busiest transit stations in the entire north. The station itself was a masterpiece of architecture—combining modern technology with traditional stone-working, built both sturdy and resistant to the biting winds.
On the tracks, the screech of brakes and the grinding of wheels against rails grew louder.
A magic-powered train from the south sped into the station platform.
Inside one of the cars, by the window seat in the front row—
“Looks like this is already the restricted zone.”
Lan Qi closed the book in his hand with one hand, putting it away, and muttered to himself while watching the slowing scenery outside the window.
According to their itinerary, the two of them were supposed to get off here, pass through the checkpoint, and then transfer to the next train.
For all passengers arriving at this station, once their passes had been checked, there were only two choices ahead:
Continue north, toward the northern battlefront.
Or turn west, into the northwestern provinces that bordered the kingdom of Aetherthalan.
“Honestly, even I’ve never been here before.”
Sid yawned, covering her mouth as she spoke.
Back when the three bishops chose where to preach:
The Overlord Bishop (Sid) chose the relatively stable southern shores, where conservatives were more numerous.
The Oblivion Bishop chose the chaotic area north-west of the imperial capital, near the front lines.
The Mourning Bishop chose the wealthier, but politically complex, eastern side of the capital.
It was almost a three-way split, with Helrom, the imperial capital, at the center.
From where Lan Qi and Sid were heading northward, there would be no more silver-armored Ba'tian branch clerics. Instead, they would encounter mostly Annihilation clerics in dark gray, and Mourning clerics in deep blue. Further north, once they reached the restricted zone, only Annihilation clerics remained.
“Why didn’t you choose the East?”
Lan Qi asked curiously.
Though this wasn’t the kind of topic to be casually discussed in public, the truth was no one else could understand what they were talking about, so it didn’t matter.
“Because the nobles in the East hold too much power, and they’re full of strong individuals. Their relationships and factions are firmly entrenched. If I went there, I’d either have to curry favor with those great nobles or make endless compromises with them.”
Sid crossed her arms as she spoke.
In the upcoming election, which was barely a month away, a large portion of the key votes were in the hands of noble lords in the upper chamber and officials in the lower chamber.
So yes, choosing the East would mean a big advantage in raw vote counts.
But Sid clearly wasn’t the type to negotiate politely with the empire’s power brokers. If one of them ever dared step out of line with her, she might accidentally kill them.
Even families guarded by 8th-rank protectors—if she wanted to kill them, she could. No one could stop her.
But if she did that, her chances of becoming the Resurrection Church’s leader in the Protos Empire would be basically ruined.
So she’d rather pick the North than the East.
“I see.”
Lan Qi nodded. That made sense.
With himself as her guide, the Ba'tian Bishop could easily win massive support from southern nobles and officials without doing much of anything.
The real issue was figuring out how the Annihilation branch in the North and the Mourning branch in the East were developing.
The East was easier—they had Ba'tian spies reporting back constantly.
But in the North, information was heavily sealed off. Even when Ba'tian clerics were sent in, reports came back with long delays.
So Sigrid, as the Ba'tian Bishop, had come herself to take a look.
More importantly, if the two of them could stir up trouble, they might seriously damage the reputation of the Annihilation branch in the north.
“By the way, what about those eastern nobles? What’s their real stance on the war?”
Lan Qi wasn’t sure whether the things he’d heard about the East were reliable. Some things weren’t easy to verify.
Sigrid, having chosen the South, should know more about the differences between the empire’s three regions.
Lan Qi had heard some nobles needed war to secure their positions, since their families’ power was built on military strength. Others wanted to sabotage each other until no one could stand tall. Still others had already invested in military industries and were just waiting for war to break out.
“All of that’s true. But once war actually breaks out, most of the eastern nobles are dead weight. For them, their own interests always come first. So in essence, yes—they’re anti-war.”
“…”
“I don’t want to deal with that lot, so I chose the South, where the conservatives are at least firm in their convictions.”
Sigrid clearly despised the eastern power brokers, neither respecting their authority nor coveting their wealth.
But then she paused, glanced at Lan Qi with a spark of interest, and said—
“That said, before long, the eastern nobles will probably start hearing the name ‘Rocky McCarthy.’”
“Why’s that?”
“Because many nobles want to send their children to the Protos Royal Academy of Magic—the best school in the empire. And when they learn that Rocky McCarthy is the current headmaster, they’ll have to show him at least a little courtesy.”
“I’ve always kept public and private matters separate. Don’t expect me to use my position to give you special favors.”
Lan Qi reminded her.
He didn’t want his sacred profession to be misused. Public was public. Private was private.
The Royal Academy of Magic was his personal domain. It mustn’t be exploited for the Ba'tian branch’s business.
“Tch. Favorability down.”
Sid clicked her tongue.
“Hey—you said Sigrid the character was separate from you yourself. So why would Sigrid’s favorability go down?”
Lan Qi asked in surprise.
“Because Sigrid is a very willful girl.”
“…”
Lan Qi bit back his words.
He really wanted to ask about the Ba'tian Bishop’s real age, but he was afraid that if he did, Sid would just quit the team.