The Church of Steam and Machinery's Aim

Back at the Villa in the West Borough, Kronos did nothing else but wash up and rest.

Since the raw materials for making the Scroll had all been moved to the Saint George District, Kronos didn't have much to do even without taking a break.

The next morning, Kronos got up very early and took a carriage back to the Saint George District.

Kronos has been staying home a lot lately, so it's been a while since he's visited the Church. Today is a good day to go.

Saint Hilleran Cathedral

As soon as Kronos entered the Church, someone came to greet him.

The man was incredibly fast; before Kronos could even react, he was already in front of him.

"Kronos, it's been a long time since you've come."

Kronos looked closely and realized it was Ikanser Bernard, the deacon of the Backlund Diocese of the Church of Steam and Machinery and the Captain of the Machinery Hivemind of the Backlund Diocese.

"Captain Ikanser, it's true that I haven't been here for a while. I've been too busy. I just had some time today, so I came over as soon as possible," Kronos replied politely to Ikanser.

He actually felt quite uncomfortable facing Ikanser, even though Ikonser held a high position in the Church of Steam and Machinery. However, Kronos preferred to face someone of slightly lower status.

This guy is really unusual; he's a gay man who likes to wear red underwear. Even though Kronos is a worldly person who has been through a lot in modern society, he's still a little intimidated.

Kronos was actually quite good-looking, and he was genuinely afraid of being targeted.

"You've come at the perfect time; I just happened to need to talk to you." Ikanser gave Kronos a hug.

This hug left Kronos completely stiff and extremely uncomfortable.

"Captain Ikanser, what's wrong?" Kronos looked at Ikanser nervously, afraid of hearing something unpleasant from his mouth.

At this point, Ikanser's "secret" had not yet been exposed, so he didn't know why Kronos in front of him was stiff and sweating profusely.

Those close to him might have noticed some of his little secrets, but they were completely exposed later, all because of Mr. Fool. If it weren't for asking him about his affairs, Captain Ikanser wouldn't have experienced a social death.

But since the secret hasn't been exposed yet, he didn't think in that direction.

"Archbishop Horamick originally intended to arrange for a bishop to come and talk to you, but I said that we two were more familiar with each other, so I took the initiative to do this task."

After hearing Ikanser's elaborate explanation, Kronos felt somewhat relieved. It was clear that the matter to be discussed had nothing to do with his private life, which was good.

Ikanser continued, "We recently received Message about your Research Base. To be honest, we're very interested because its features are so perfectly suited to our church."

"So Archbishop Horamick specifically convened a meeting to discuss this matter. We're friends, and I'm not one to beat around the bush, so I'll be frank: our church also wants to get involved in this."

Kronos figured it out; it was because of the Research Center. Indeed, the existence of the Research Center was of great benefit to the Church of Steam and Machinery, which explained why the church had specifically sent someone to talk to him.

The path to becoming Paragon Pathway Beyonder has always been closely intertwined with the development of science and technology. Therefore, Kronos knew that no one could stop the Church of Steam and Machinery from interfering in this Scientific Research Base Project, not even the Royal Family, otherwise it would be tantamount to opposing the Church of Steam and Machinery.

Kronos fell silent. This matter was getting a bit tricky. When he first proposed the idea of Scientific Research Base, he really hadn't considered the matter of the Church of Steam and Machinery at all; he hadn't even Consciousness.

At this moment, Kronos began to miss his father. If he had mentioned this to Marquis Argel beforehand, the Marquis Argel would surely have Consciousness the influence of the Church of Steam and Machinery.

The Argel Family has been guarded against for over a thousand years, primarily because of their ambiguous relationship with the Church of Steam and Machinery. They haven't completely sided with the Church, yet they maintain a good relationship with it.

After keeping a low profile for so many years, it's unexpected that they've just resurfaced and are now "connected" with the Church of Steam and Machinery again.

Although Kronos had no intention of helping the Church of Steam and Machinery, if the Church of Steam and Machinery got involved, things would become complicated.

Seeing that Kronos remained silent, Ikanser continued, "Actually, no matter what, our church is determined to get involved. Even if you don't open this door, we'll go to the Higher Education Committee, the Prime Minister, or even His Majesty the King. We're determined to succeed. You don't need to go to such lengths."

Kronos looked at Ikanser with a wry smile and said, "Captain Ikanser, you make it sound so easy, but I don't believe you're unaware of how many issues are involved."

Ikanser was indeed one of the people in the church who took action, but that doesn't mean he wasn't using his brain, especially since someone had already raised this issue at the meeting.

Ikanser was a seasoned shrew; he spoke to Kronos so directly about this matter so that Kronos would agree without having time to think it over. That way, the Church of Steam and Machinery wouldn't have to pay any price or Sinner afterward, and the Argel Family could just take the blame.

Even after all these years, the Argel Family has refused to fully align themselves with the Church of Steam and Machinery, largely because of this. It wasn't just that one of their Ancestor was murdered; before their retirement, the Argel Family had taken the blame for many things that had happened to the Church of Steam and Machinery.

Each time the Argel Family was wrongly blamed, the Royal Family family became more wary of them, while the Church of Steam and Machinery reaped even more benefits.

The Church of Steam and Machinery intended to force the Argel Family to completely align themselves with the Church through this method. The Royal Family was aware of the Church of Steam and Machinery's plan, but there was nothing they could do. It was an open conspiracy, and even if they knew, the Royal Family still had to be wary.

In the end, the result was unexpected; the Argel Family managed to weather the storm.

The Argel Family dared not break ties with the Church of Steam and Machinery, otherwise, without the protection of the God of Steam and Machinery, the advancement of family members would become a problem.

However, the Argel Family still did not want to completely side with the Church of Steam and Machinery, because such methods were truly repulsive to the family.

Ultimately, the Argel Family chose to retire from public life.

Even the king who was in power at the time was surprised. He hadn't expected the Argel Family to be so resolute, refusing to side with the Church of Steam and Machinery.

For people at that level, the fact that the Argel Family was protected by the God of Steam and Machinery was no secret. Under such circumstances, it is truly admirable that the Argel Family was able to persevere.

Therefore, it was His Majesty the King who decided to spare the Argel Family, allowing the subsequent Royal Family Argel Family to maintain a degree of Goodwill towards them.

These things were only learned by Kronos Kronos Speech-Ban Period ended and the family fully opened up its history to Kronos.

Kronos never expected that this tactic would Jianghu and hit him squarely on the head.

I initially thought that everyone in the Machinery Hivemind would be all hands-on and not very bright, but I didn't expect that the Captain of the Machinery Hivemind would immediately use a big trick on Kronos. Fortunately, Kronos realized it in time.

Ikanser hadn't considered what would happen if Kronos realized what was happening, so the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

Just as Ikanser was racking his brains to come up with a Plan B, Kronos spoke up, "Captain Ikanser, our Argel Family has always maintained an extremely harmonious relationship with the Church of Steam and Machinery, and we two are good friends."

"So give me the real picture: how much influence does the church want to have over this Project, and what are its bottom lines? I need to go back and try to negotiate. You know, I don't have much say when it comes to the Royal Family and government agencies."

That was obviously nonsense. Kronos was just giving Ikanser a way out so he could quickly end their conversation and escape this situation.

By this time, Kronos was already quite regretful. He shouldn't have come to the Church at this time, or rather, he shouldn't have left the West Borough and returned. He should have stayed far away from Saint George District.

If Marquis Argel is not in Backlund and he cannot be found, then the Church of Steam and Machinery will be unable to use any of its methods against the Argel Family.

But since it has happened, there's no going back. So we need to leave here quickly and then contact Marquis Argel as soon as possible to come up with a solution.

After hearing what Kronos said, Ikanser pondered it for a moment. What Kronos said made some sense. Since the first approach had failed, it was practically impossible to force Kronos to make a direct statement now.

It would be better to just give Kronos a standard and let him try to achieve it.

The idea of Kronos completely refusing had never crossed Ikanser's mind, because a small family that didn't even have Demigod had no right to refuse the demands of the Church of Steam and Machinery; that was the confidence that came with strength.

"Brother Kronos, actually, Archbishop Horamick's point is that such a Project, which is beneficial to technological development, is most appropriately placed in the hands of the Church of Steam and Machinery, because we can best promote the development of this program. The Steam Age is the best example."

Upon hearing Ikanser's words, Kronos almost couldn't control the twitching of his lips.

What does the Steam Age have to do with the Church of Steam and Machinery? Wasn't that the work of Emperor Roselle? How dare these people trying to piggyback on this story jump out and speak?