After that, Anderson explained a little more.
It turned out that someone from the Church of Knowledge—Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina, to be precise—had sailed over to meet him. During their conversation, she had hinted that she hoped to establish a mutually beneficial relationship, whether by sharing intelligence or exchanging supplies.
In other words, she had made a friendly overture, but remained cautious.
Fair enough. If she'd been overly enthusiastic from the start, I'd have suspected she wanted something else from me...
Luther thought to himself.
"The Church of Knowledge is mainly based in Lenburg and several other small countries, but from what I've heard, it has a presence on the Southern Continent too."
Anderson, a former member of the Church of Knowledge who had changed sides, explained, "From my experience, the people in the Church are decent enough. They're just prejudiced against anyone who lacks intelligence or refuses to use their brain."
That does sound about right...
Luther nodded in agreement.
Isengard Stanton in Backlund was a member of the Church of Knowledge. He had a good temperament, presided fairly over Beyonder Gatherings, and was willing to help people in trouble. Xio and Fors had received his help; otherwise, they would never have held out until Luther stepped in.
Come to think of it...
Luther asked with some interest.
To him, both churches seemed to have a scholarly air and a strong desire to learn.
"Well... there are actually quite a few differences."
Anderson thought for a moment before answering. "The Church of Steam puts more emphasis on technology and practical work, while the Church of Knowledge focuses on wisdom itself. The former are like engineers; the latter are more like historians and scholars of mysticism."
"Say we found an ancient ruin that was dangerous but full of rare items.