Speaking of it, Linde's willingness to spend both money and effort had genuinely startled many people at first.
If the Undead had not already tested him from every angle and concluded that he was fundamentally the selfish sort who believed that if he could not live well, then everyone else ought to die too, they might truly have believed he loved his brother that much.
Of course, Linde did have a little brotherly affection for Dieter.
But that would only make him offer Dieter sufficient convenience and lend money or goods readily enough. It would not go so far as to make him Dieter's biggest sponsor.
Fortunately, although Dieter was often willingly "blind" because Linde was his younger brother, he remained very clear-headed when it came to crucial matters.
One reason Linde did this was to find himself a suitable companion and neighbor... After this ocean war, ordinary people in inland nations would inevitably pale at the mention of the sea.
Even if those at the top knew Umberlee and Triton were not the same, common folk at the bottom could not tell the difference.
If Linde's territory alone worshipped Umberlee, then even if nothing happened now under the Undead's protection, he would eventually be harmed by all sorts of rumors... One claim that Linde's territory would be the battlefield of the next war between land and sea would be enough to prevent it from developing at all.
No matter how much money the Undead gave him, if he could not spend it or turn it into his own strength, it would be nothing but a pile of metal materials... If Linde had truly been willing to settle down quietly in some corner, many things would never have happened.
But if the renowned Ster Family of the entire kingdom also