An eerie shudder, a terrifying warning. Kallen had long grown used to leaving out "Praise Order," but this time, he had a feeling that if he "slacked off" here, he would surely be noticed.
Noticed by whom?
Kallen did not know.
Perhaps this Office Divine Temple, used by generations of High Priests, held even stranger secrets. Perhaps, somewhere unseen, a pair of eyes really was constantly scrutinizing the absolute loyalty to God of everyone who came here.
The prayer of praise ended, and everyone sat down again.
The unexpected issue had been discussed-or rather, the High Priest had personally made all the arrangements-but the meeting did not end. It seemed they had moved straight into their regular periodic meeting. For the remaining time, the heads of the various branches began reporting on their work, occasionally discussing how to handle certain matters. It reminded Kallen somewhat of an imperial court session.
The High Priest controlled the entire rhythm of the meeting.
The High Priest sat in his seat without any documents at all, yet he could accurately cite every issue and every figure off the top of his head. The branch heads occasionally stumbled or paused to think during their reports, but the High Priest never did.
This was a High Priest with an extremely forceful personality and a very strong desire for control. He would not become hysterical, but if you worked under him and faced him directly, you very easily might.
So none of the heads present were ordinary people, either.
From the beginning until now, apart from standing with everyone to praise the God of Order, Kallen had felt little involvement. Most of the time, he was still looking at the backs of the heads of the leaders in front of him.
The back of the Foreign Affairs