"I heard about the Great Smog in Backlund while I was at sea as well. I never expected the death toll to reach six figures. May their souls find peace."
The Hanged Man, Alger, first expressed his surprise and respect for the dead, then changed the subject, his tone turning sharp.
"However, the upper echelons of the kingdom, and even the Orthodox Churches, probably profited greatly from this disaster.
"You said these reforms were proposed by the King himself? Heh, he was probably forced into it by the Three Great Churches. Military authority has always been a power the Augustuses held tightly in their hands. After centuries of effort, the Church of Storms had only managed to drive a few wedges into the navy. Yet this time, the King actually allowed members of the Three Great Churches to enter the military. The concession he made was greater than all the other things you mentioned combined.
"The King may appear to be yielding, but he actually used those concessions to plant seeds of suspicion among the Three Great Churches. By deliberately allowing the Church of Evernight into the populous East Borough, where faith had yet to be decided, he wanted to support one while suppressing two, making the Church of Evernight the target of the other two Churches and reducing the pressure on himself."
At this point, Alger paused for a moment, savoring the shocked looks of the others. It released the desire to speak that he had long suppressed within the Church and out at sea, and he felt a long-lost sense of exhilaration.
Only after a while did he lower his voice and continue:
"The factory owners and bankers used this opportunity to pry open seats in the Upper House. That was originally the privilege of traditional nobles, something