One afternoon, while Basf spent the entire day wondering who that enormous fat pig belonged to, Archbishop Viktor returned from a recent trip to the Holy City and once again came to find Frederick in the manor's study.
Frederick put away the opening pages of "Three Properties of Force, the Energy of Moving Objects, and Why We Stand on the Earth: A Conjecture," then went to sit with the Archbishop on the sofa. He asked Tarot to brew a pot of warm ginger tea.
Archbishop Viktor looked utterly exhausted. His eye sockets were sunken, and his eyeballs were bloodshot.
Wherever there were people, there were rivalries. The Church of Light was no exception. Different branches fought tooth and nail because of their differing regions and beliefs.
Frederick couldn't be bothered to dig into how the faction led by Victor had been pushed to the brink. He only knew that Victor was surrounded by enemies within the church.
It was simple for Victor to hold on to his position: he just had to rack up enough KPIs in a short time. But now, almost every secular power had abandoned him, and Wessen Territory was the only lifeline he could still grasp.
Use your authority before it expires. Victor could still forcefully control quite a few resources in the Archdiocese of Rhine, and Frederick had his eye on them.
Sometimes those involved couldn't see the wood for the trees, while outsiders could. Drawing on the history of religion back in his old home, and factoring in his own interests and the local situation, Frederick had come up with a few win-win solutions.
Archbishop Viktor had come to Frederick in earnest, hoping for his help. After downing the ginger tea in his cup, he said, "When I returned to the Holy City this