"You're very similar to Maple Moon Free Dominion's consul, Sofia. I think … you'll like that place. If you're willing, I can write a letter of recommendation. I think … the entire Maple Moon Free Dominion will welcome you. "
Keretz said with a sincere gaze.
However, after hearing his words, Frank pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head.
"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Kerec. Although I often hear stories about the Maple Moon Territory from the traveling poets, and I admire Lady Sophia, who established the Free Territory, I don't want to join."
"Why?"
Keretz revealed a surprised expression.
Frank thought for a moment and said,
"To join Maple Moon Free Dominion, you have to join the Church of Life. Many of my companions and I are devout Eternal believers.
"Although the Church of Life has decayed, the church is the church, and the gods are gods. In my opinion … the church's mistakes can't be attributed to the gods.
"I admire the Church of Life and respect Her Holiness the Goddess of Life, but … I'm really sorry."
Frank said with an apologetic expression.
Keretz looked at him deeply and shook his head gently.
"Mr. Frank, faith isn't your true reason. You know my identity, then … you should also know that I can see the Light of Faith in everyone."
With that said, Keretz sighed softly and looked straight into Frank's eyes.
"Mr. Frank, how long has it been since you went to the Church of Life?"
Hearing this, Frank trembled slightly and couldn't help but lower his head.
After a moment, he let out a long sigh and smiled bitterly.
"Your Holiness Keretz, I'm really sorry … I don't want to join any faction for the time being."
"I understand."
Keretz nodded slightly.
With that said, he smiled again.
"If one day, you change your mind, or … you want to join the Church of Life, we'll welcome you at any time."
Frank was silent for a moment and nodded.
"Thank you."
"However, what do you plan to do next? The empire's nobles have already removed you from the list. After the war is over, what do you plan to do with the mercenary group you formed? "
Keretz asked again.
His profound gaze fell upon the young knight, and he said:
"I can feel that you didn't create this mercenary group just to make a living. You lead your team to punish the good and eliminate the evil. You are disciplined and brave in battle. This is not what an ordinary mercenary group should be like."
"What … do you want to do?"
Hearing Keretz's words, Frank fell into silence again.
A moment later, he opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by the elven demigod.
"You don't have to tell me your reasons. I think … you should have your own considerations and difficulties."
"These days, I have been observing you. You are a true chivalrous knight. I believe in your choice."
"However, I would like to remind you that the Eternal Church isn't the only one that has fallen. If you truly place your hopes on the Gods, you might be disappointed."
"Of course, I'm not referring to the great Goddess of Life …"
"Mr. Frank, the door of the Church of Life will always be open to you. If one day you really make a decision, we would be happy to be your loyal ally again."
…
Frank didn't communicate with Keretz for too long.
After declining the invitation to join the Church of Life, he quickly left.
As soon as he stepped out, he met his personal guard, Roland.
"Lord Frank!"
Roland happily bowed to him.
Frank raised his eyebrows:
"Roland, why are you here?"
"Hehe, I just won a round of cards and wanted to come and pick you up. I didn't expect you to finish so quickly."
Roland scratched his head and said.
Then, he showed the kettle in his hand and said excitedly:
"Look! What did I win? "
Frank's heart skipped a beat.
He looked at the elf-style kettle and sniffed it. He was a little surprised.
"Elven flower tea?"
"Haha! That's right! It's the legendary Elven flower tea! I heard that in the imperial capital, only those rich nobles can drink it! "
Roland said excitedly.
Then, he suddenly noticed a dark cloud between Frank's eyebrows and realized that he had said something wrong. He quickly covered his mouth:
"Ah … … I'm sorry … … Lord Frank, I shouldn't have mentioned nobles … …"
Frank was stripped of his noble status.
Although he always said that he had abandoned his noble status, but abandonment was abandonment. Stripping was another matter.
For the nobles of the empire, this was a disgrace that would ruin their reputation.
Usually, he never dared to talk about nobles in front of them, afraid that it would hurt them. But today, because he was too excited, he forgot about it.
However, Frank shook his head and said helplessly:
"No, Roland, I've said many times, I don't care about a mere noble status."
"Then … … why do you look unhappy?"
Roland asked curiously.
Frank was startled.
"I … … look unhappy?"
He touched his cheek.
"Of course, you look like you've lost your soul."
Roland nodded.
Frank was stunned.
After a moment, he smiled bitterly:
"Maybe … … I'm a little lost myself … …"
"Lost? Lord Frank, didn't you say that you've already thought about how you're going to proceed in the future? Didn't you say that you intend to lead everyone to punish evil and promote good, and save the world from disaster? "
Roland asked doubtfully.
Frank sighed:
"Roland, just now, His Holiness Keretz invited me to join Maple Moon Free Territory."
"Uh … … Ah?!"
Roland's eyes widened.
The next moment, he gradually became excited:
"Re … … Really?!"
"But I politely declined."
Frank said the second half of his sentence.
"Um … … Ah?!"
Roland's excitement froze on his face.
"You … … Why did you politely decline? That's Maple Moon Free Territory! Along the way, didn't you always say that you wanted to go there?! "
"And … … Even if we join Maple Moon Free Territory, we can still be active on the continent as mercenaries! There's no conflict! "
"Not to mention, if we can really become a member of Maple Moon Free Territory, everyone can have a home … …"
Roland said with some regret.
Looking at his joyous and sorrowful expression, Frank was slightly startled:
"But didn't you say that your family has always been devout Eternal Believers?"
"Eternal Believers my ass! Lord Frank, if I can join Maple Moon Free Territory, I'm willing to change my faith immediately! You've seen how depraved the Eternal Church has been along the way! "
Roland said hatefully.
Frank fell silent.
"But … … Although Maple Moon Free Territory is good, Lord Frank is the one we follow. No matter what decision you make, we'll support you."
As if seeing Frank's hesitation, Roland hurriedly spoke again.
After saying that, he hesitated and asked curiously:
"But … … I'm still very curious, why did you politely decline His Holiness Keretz's invitation?"
Hearing the guard's words, Frank sighed:
"Roland, how much change do you think … … How much change do you think a knight who punishes evil and promotes good can bring to this rotten era?"
After saying that, without waiting for Roland to answer, he shook his head and sighed:
"It's not enough … … It's far from enough … … Along the way, I've seen too much. The Empire is rotten from the roots. The nobles are depraved, the church is incompetent, and coupled with the impact of magic power recovery, this country is beyond cure … …"
As Frank spoke, he looked at Roland with an imposing aura.
"Roland, this is the first time I've spoken to you from the bottom of my heart. I came to the southern border region and founded a mercenary group not just to be a chivalrous knight.
"I want to overthrow this rotten country … …"
"Overthrow … the Empire?!"
Roland's eyes instantly widened.
"That's right. You were right before. I admire Maple Moon Free Territory very much, and I also admire everything the Life Church has done.
"Over the past few months, I've been observing, thinking, and comparing. I gradually realized that perhaps Maple Moon Free Territory's model is the future."
Frank said in a deep voice.
Roland looked at him in shock. As a knight of noble birth, the concept of hierarchy was deeply embedded in his mind. He had never thought of something as shocking as overthrowing the Empire.
"But … … But … … If that's really the case … … Shouldn't it be better to join Maple Moon Free Territory?"
Roland stammered.
Frank understood what he meant.
Since he wanted to overthrow the Empire, joining Maple Moon Free Territory and gaining more support would make everything much smoother.
However, Frank declined the elf's invitation.
Regarding this, he did not directly explain. Instead, he asked:
Instead, he asked, "Roland, what do you think of the situation on the continent?"
"Well … … Sir Frank, I'm just a knight. Although I used to be a noble, you know that I hated those classes since I was young. I don't know much about politics."
Roland said embarrassedly.
Frank laughed and shook his head gently. His expression gradually became serious.
"Roland, if I join Maple Moon Free Territory and try to overthrow the Empire, I'm afraid it might cause a strong reaction from the Eternal Church. It might even lead to a war between the gods … …"
As soon as he said this, Roland's eyes widened again.
"What … … What did you say?!"
Frank sighed deeply.
"This involves secrets from a thousand years ago … … Roland, do you know about the founding war of the Empire?"
"Well … … I've heard some legends. Our family's history is relatively short, so there aren't many records about it."
Roland said.
Frank nodded.
"The Empire was founded on the basis of the destruction of the Elf Kingdom. The essence of the founding war of the Empire was actually a struggle between the gods.
"And the gods who fought were none other than the Eternal Overlord and the World Tree."
"The World Tree? Then … … Isn't that … … "
Roland's eyes widened again.
"Yes, it was the Goddess of Life, Her Holiness Eve."
Frank sighed deeply.
As he spoke, he sighed and said,
"Her Holiness the Goddess of Life and the Eternal Overlord have conflicts.
"I want to change the current situation of the Empire and overthrow the current rule. If I only do it as a believer of the Eternal Church, it will just be a civil war in the human world.
"But if I join Maple Moon Free Territory as a believer of the Goddess of Life, it will be a war of faith … …
"Roland, if that's the case, the intensity of the war will be completely different.
"I hope to save, not destroy. The consequences of a struggle between the True Gods will definitely be devastating … … Especially since Her Holiness the Goddess of Life and the Eternal Overlord are the strongest among the gods."
Hearing Frank's words, Roland opened his mouth and was speechless for a moment.
After a moment, he couldn't help but say,
"But I think … … you seem to like the Church of Life more and are more devoted to the teachings of the Church of Life. I once saw you reading the 'Holy Bible of Life' under the lamp at night with great interest. Perhaps you didn't realize it yourself, but unlike the Eternal Overlord, every time you mention Her Holiness the Goddess of Life, you address her respectfully.
"If that's the case, why can't we establish a country with the Church of Life as its belief? Just like Maple Moon Free Territory.
"The Eternal Church is so decadent. Even if you re-establish a country, can you really change everything?
"Not to mention, will the Eternal Church, which is based on the nobles, really allow you to overthrow the Empire?"
Roland's words were powerful and forceful, causing Frank to fall silent.
After a moment, he sighed.
"That's exactly what I wanted to say. The foundation of the Empire is not only the nobles, but also the Eternal Church.
"If you want to overthrow the Empire, you have to obtain the support of the Eternal Church …
"This is politics, and politics can't take personal feelings into consideration.
"Roland, although I don't like the Eternal Church, and although the Eternal Church is decadent, there are still some Saints of Life who still maintain their original beliefs.
"I only know one such person. He's a true Saint and is respected by the world. Even the Pope is very respectful to him.
"He lives in seclusion in a village near the southern mountains. After the demons are eliminated, I plan to visit him and obtain his support.
"Roland, I'm also very willing to establish a country that believes in the Church of Life, but sometimes, ideals and reality are different.
"Although the Eternal Church is disappointing, it's not completely hopeless … …"
After speaking his mind, Frank felt a lot better.
However, Roland frowned and shook his head gently.
"But Lord Frank, are you really sure that the Saints of the Eternal Church will support your actions?
"Not to mention, even if you decide to choose the Eternal Church, which you don't like, because you're worried about the Life Church and the Eternal Church going to war, can you really be sure that a war between the two churches won't break out?
"No, the Life Church advocates peace. They won't start a war with others for no reason."
Frank shook his head.
"Then what if the Eternal Church starts a war first?"
Roland asked again.
Frank was startled.
He laughed bitterly and said,
"If that's the case … … I'm afraid the Eternal Church is truly hopeless … …"
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