Henwell understands one thing very clearly: first impressions matter a lot.

  If you make a bad impression, it takes a huge amount of time and effort to turn things around.

  But if you start off on the right foot, and smoothly pass that first hurdle, it becomes much easier to win further favor.

  Before coming here, Henwell already learned quite a bit from Pernas.

  Among that was information about the main Holy Spirit Church leader on this continent—the Archbishop Ashiburn standing before him now.

  Though Pernas didn’t say much outright, Henwell’s subtle questioning revealed some details about this man.

  From these clues, Henwell deduces some key personality traits of Archbishop Ashiburn, which proves critical.

  Ashiburn has been stationed on the Forgotten Continent for thirty years.

  Every thirty years, the Holy Spirit Church rotates its Archbishops.

  By rights, Ashiburn should be returning home now.

  His repcement should be Archbishop Atwood, but then the whole Newwood incident happened.

  The seriously injured Archbishop Atwood was sent back to the Holy Spirit Church headquarters on the Abundant Continent.

  That put the rotation on hold.

  Anyone with half a brain can guess how sour Archbishop Ashiburn must feel right now.

  And if you said something unpleasant to this old man, you won’t get anything good in return.

  Henwell also figures out that Ashiburn is quite vain and craves reverence.

  During talks with Leom from the Veil Organization, Henwell picked up more context.

  The Groias Empire and Holy Spirit Church station senior officials in the Western Federation.

  Though not outright exiled, these aren’t core figures.

  Ashiburn ended up here because he lost the competition for the main Archbishop spot.

  Settling for this extraordinary backwater post was his consotion prize.

  Clearly, he has no strong backing inside the church and must keep a low profile.

  Finally securing an Archbishop title, only to be stuck in this barren nd, leaves him deeply dissatisfied.

  He looks down on the various kingdoms here but also secretly enjoys the respect—and even fear—he commands from their leaders.

  Also, the elevation ceremony for the Kingdom of Vorry should have been his to officiate.

  But somehow, the suddenly arrived Archbishop Atwood stole that honor.

  Publicly showing off like that, in front of all the kingdom elites, was exactly what Ashiburn wanted.

  To make matters worse, the successor was injured and sent back to the Abundant Continent.

  Ashiburn even suspects malicious scheming within the church to keep him stuck in this godforsaken pce.

  In Henwell’s eyes, Atwood is actually way better than this guy.

  If Ashiburn had gone to the Vorry, he probably wouldn’t have survived the Newwood incident.

  Remember, Ashiburn has been on the Forgotten Continent for thirty years, with access to countless extraordinary resources.

  He has unimaginable logistical support and the special blessings of the deity.

  Even so, it was only two years ago that he barely broke through to the Radiant Burst rank, the Glory Knight tier.

  His path follows divine magic, a priest’s career progression, and reaching this level means he’s a powerful Divine Mage.

  That breakthrough came only after much hard work; he exchanged his merits for the third Divine Grace Blessing.

  Archbishop Atwood, on the other hand, reached Radiant Burst with just one Divine Grace Blessing.

  That shows his talent is far superior.

  People like Ashiburn naturally harbor resentment toward prodigies.

  Especially since Henwell was personally recommended by Archbishop Atwood as a promising talent.

  If Henwell slips up, he risks drawing Ashiburn’s hostility.

  Fortunately, Henwell’s humble attitude has made Ashiburn feel quite respected.

  Next up is deciding where Orak will train.

  The city has several academies, but for knights, only two top options exist.

  One is the Imperial Knight Order, built by the Groias Empire.

  The other is the Guardian Knight Order, affiliated with Guardian City.

  Those recommended for advanced training can at best enter one of these two orders.

  But Ashiburn is pleased with the two young men’s humility and grants special permission for Orak to join the Holy Spirit Church Knight Order.

  This order only accepts Battle Knights promoted to Grand Knight, and they must be Holy Spirit Church knights.

  Ashiburn figures that since it’s unlikely he’ll return to the Abundant Continent anytime soon, it’s better to cultivate loyal followers here.

  If the chance arises, he can bring these trusted men back with him.

  Then, he won’t be alone and can build a solid inner circle.

  Both Orak and Henwell are people he wants to win over.

  Henwell hesitates and expins that he needs to return home to get married, so it might be several years before he can come back.

  This clearly displeases Ashiburn, but he says nothing.

  He knows Henwell has no heirs, so keeping him here indefinitely wouldn’t be appropriate.

  Henwell keenly senses the shift in Ashiburn’s mood but remains unruffled, he already has a pn to win this man over.

  After chatting a bit longer, Henwell suddenly says, “Archbishop, I have something important to report to you.”

  Ashiburn nods. “Go ahead.”

  Henwell shakes his head. “Sir, this matter is serious. I need to speak with you alone.”

  Ashiburn frowns but looks at Henwell’s determined face.

  After a brief silence, he signals the church knights to escort Orak out.

  Once they’re gone, Ashiburn casually lifts his teacup. “Alright, spill it. What’s so important that you have to be so secretive?”

  Henwell replies gravely, “Archbishop, on our journey here, we faced several assassination attempts.”

  Ashiburn grows impatient. “Is that all? I’m already aware. Someone will be sent to reprimand the nations involved.”

  Henwell pulls two metal badges from his pocket and pces them on the table, sliding them toward Ashiburn.

  “Archbishop, I don’t mean that. Among those attackers, some were highly unusual.”

  Ashiburn, who had been nonchant, now studies the badges with growing recognition.

  They’re small, palm-sized ptes made of dark gray metal.

  The front is intricately embossed, a pair of curtains being slowly drawn aside by two hands.

  Henwell continues seriously, “This organization is called the Veil. They want to capture me and use me as an undercover agent to infiltrate the church.”

  Ashiburn suddenly stands up sharply, recalling exactly what this means.

  This group ranks among the top three most wanted by the Holy Spirit Church and is the Western Federation’s main target.

  He shouts, “What’s going on? Expin everything!”