Quadruple split.

Chapter 2532 Godfather

"The governor of the Free City."

In the meeting room where no one was around anymore, the Patriarch of the Black Curtain Church, Father Lorenzo, who was always submissive and would hide in a corner at the slightest sign of trouble, looked into the girl's eyes with a gentle and peaceful look, and mentioned another name that was not even as well-known as 'Lorenzo': "Soren Francis Puzo Corleone."

"Soren... his last name is Corleone..."

Futaba narrowed his eyes and pondered for a long time before slowly looking up, looking at the plain-looking old man in front of him in astonishment: "Former Chief Judge of the Knowledge Sect's Inquisition? You're not dead?!"

"Haha, I didn't expect that a young man of your age..."

Soran raised his lips slightly and changed his words, "Or rather, I am flattered that you, a player who has been playing [Realm of Innocence] for less than a year, have actually heard of this name."

[This person was mentioned in the book Diana lent me when we were in Academy City... No way, even a great astrologer can't see so far into the future!]

Futaba was going crazy in her heart because of a certain great astrologer's creepy "foresight", but she smiled calmly, as if she was an old man of the same age as Soran and said leisurely: "Basic operation is not stupid."

Soran: “6.”

"hehe."

Futaba chuckled and couldn't help saying, "Your understanding of us players seems to be almost better than that of a certain shrewd regent."

"I don't deserve it."

Soran also laughed and waved his hand, saying, "Although I did pay attention to 'Outsider' earlier, the most important reference materials and entry points were sent to me by His Highness Xiu Blaysian and Her Highness Saint Graham after the Academy City Exchange Conference. I owe them two big favors."

Futaba blinked, and instead of rushing to get to the point, she started chatting: "Oh? Can you tell me more?"

"The Free Capital borders the Dukedom of Fernan. Although there have been many frictions in history, our relationship with the Violet Empire has always been good. After His Highness Xiu took charge of the Bresne Family, the contacts between the two sides have reached the highest record in the past hundred years."

Soran did not keep the secret, but said very cheerfully: "Unlike the general version of the information that His Highness Xiu distributed to all major forces for free during the [Academy City Exchange Conference], the [Friendship Revised Edition] that I received later was a friendly signal, and after confirming the content inside, I immediately accepted his favor."

Shuangye frowned slightly and asked bluntly, "So, that guy knew your true identity but didn't tell me?"

Soran shook his head and answered concisely: "That's not the case."

"I see."

Futaba quickly revealed an expression of realization, and speculated with a very confident tone: "Although this favor is for the 'Free City', the recipient of the so-called 'Record of Peeping at Players: Friendship Revised Edition' should be the governor I remember, Rovik, who is not very capable but good at playing both sides?"

Soran readily gave an affirmative answer: "Yes."

"Tsk."

Futaba smacked her lips and sighed, "I'm willing to say that useless thing is probably just a puppet. It turns out that its purpose of existence is to cover up for you, the 'real archon'."

"I just told a friend from another world not long ago that Rovik has never been a puppet who has no control over himself."

Soran suppressed his smile and said seriously, "In my opinion, he is more like a warrior, a hero, or a noble martyr."

"Of course, I completely agree with you."

Futaba agreed in a brisk but not heartfelt tone, and then continued the previous topic, asking with interest: "So, besides the Regent of Violet, what kind of help did the Saint of Fortune give you? Did she also go to see Mr. Rovik?"

Soran shook his head slightly and said seriously: "It was me who contacted Her Highness Feialli."

Futaba's eyes lit up and she asked curiously, "She is your illegitimate daughter?"

"The Fortune Sect is one of my 'sponsors'. Although our relationship is not harmonious, Her Highness Fei Yali does not mind my sensitive identity and even took the risk of using her own personal channels to cooperate with me."

Soran didn't pay attention to Futaba's joke. He just gave a brief explanation and then sighed from the bottom of his heart: "To be honest, her appetite is much bigger than His Majesty Rivigaz. What's more commendable is that she is also meticulous and stingy enough. I can only say that she is worthy of being the favored one of the goddess of wealth."

Futaba, who had learned about Fialli's character from various channels, nodded in agreement and continued to ask, "So what did Fialli give you?"

"[Green Apple Chamber of Commerce], she only gave me this name."

Soran showed a 'young and promising' expression, leaned back in his chair and said: "After that, I did some research in this direction, and soon successfully contacted the Chamber of Commerce composed of new players. In a short period of time, we established a relatively conservative but deep cooperative relationship, and the results were gratifying."

Futaba nodded exaggeratedly, and suddenly said: "I see, then congratulations, after all, even in the professional gamer circle, Green Apple is an absolute monster, there are many people who don't like them, but there are even more people who want to have a good relationship with them.

"Who says it isn't?"

Soran smiled and said in a brisk tone: "Fortunately, there are many people who want to have a good relationship with the Free City."

Futaba blinked, leaned forward slightly, and stared at the plain-looking old man in front of him: "In this case, can I understand that the attitude of you, the shadow archon, is completely equivalent to the attitude of the entire Free City? Tsk tsk, the uncrowned king of the land of chaos, this title sounds quite intimidating."

"Haha, who said otherwise."

Soran pinched the thread on the patch on his cuff and said casually, "It's a pity that although I can indeed be said to be the uncrowned king of the Free City, Ms. Futaba, you should understand that here... there are too many uncrowned kings. The problem is that these so-called kings are always 'uncrowned', so no one person's attitude can be equal to the attitude of the entire Free City."

Futaba understood the other party's obvious implication without much thought, and followed the rhythm and asked: "For example, who are the 'uncrowned kings'?"

Soran did not answer the question directly, but said meaningfully: "For you [Joker], any force that you cannot afford to offend can be said to be the uncrowned king. When you find that there are no people around you that you cannot afford to offend, and there is only the simplest yet most complex exchange of interests, you will become the king."

Futaba nodded slightly and asked, "Then how can we be 'crowned'?"

"Hahahaha-"

Soran laughed loudly, but he did not have the aura of those great men who had taken off their disguises, such as the emperor who revealed his identity during a secret visit. In fact, Soran was like an old country man who saw a pig hit a tree at the entrance of the village. His laugh was simple and unpretentious, and a little bit annoying.

But Futaba did not beat anyone up. She just waited politely for the old man in front of her to finish laughing.

This is not reverence, but courtesy, the courtesy of an ambitious challenger to the rule maker.

"Tsk tsk, girl, you really know how to ask questions."

After a long while, Soran, who had finished laughing, smacked his lips and sighed, grinning, "It's a pity that I can't answer you, because since this chaotic land was officially named the [Free City], a set of underlying logic has no logic, and the basic rules have no rules. After that, who can truly control this dangerous city has become an eternal mystery, and I, obviously, am not qualified to solve it."

The girl crossed her legs and chuckled, "You're very close, Your Excellency Archon."

"No, no, no, on the contrary. Because I am 'Your Excellency the Archon', I am the one who is farthest away from solving this mystery. But on the other hand, because this position is still important, I am safe."

Soran shrugged and said with some regret: "Unfortunately, like many of my old friends, my identity is not public, so the position of 'Archon' must have a spokesperson. What is different from the past is that because of my existence, these spokespersons have to bear the risks of becoming an Archon, but they cannot get the benefits of becoming an Archon."

Futaba nodded thoughtfully: "So that's why you are so protective of the archon here?"

"That's it."

The old man gave an affirmative answer, and then made it clear that this topic could come to an end: "So Ms. Futaba, do you have any questions? I always have plenty of time, so we don't need to chat too quickly."

Futaba ignored the other party's hint and asked, "Can you tell me what the real 'Consul' does? It would be even better if we could talk about why this position, which was originally just a compromise between major forces, has become so important."

"That's really inconvenient, but...it doesn't matter."

Soran looked embarrassed at first, but then he changed the subject and faced the challenge: "Ms. Futaba, you have actually told me the specific job of my position as an archon."

Futaba thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "You mean... the product of a compromise between the major forces?"

"That's right. Actually, I, the so-called 'Shadow Archon', am no different from the traditional Archons. It's just that everyone thinks I am more suitable for this job than anyone else, and the traditional Archons... evolve too quickly."

Soran leaned back in his chair, folded his arms like a rat, and said leisurely, "In this damn place, everyone is only thinking about themselves. Because of this, no matter whether it is a trivial matter or a big plan or grand plan that breeds evil intentions in those people's stomachs, they are all inherently in a state of opposition. And finding countless corresponding balance points among the countless oppositions is my job."

Futaba raised the corner of her mouth slightly: "It sounds very confusing."

"No, this is actually a relatively leisurely and comfortable job."

Soran shook his head and said, "As the saying goes, a bystander sees more clearly. No matter how hard those extremely smart parties rack their brains, they may not be able to come up with ideas as easily as an outsider like me who has no support. Of course, my experience and knowledge also played a decisive role in this."

"That makes sense. Even if you have been the Chief Inquisitor for most of your life, you are still the Chief Inquisitor of the Knowledge Sect. There must be no problem with your knowledge reserves."

Futaba said this in a subtle tone, similar to that of a teacher interviewing parents at a high-end kindergarten, and continued to ask questions without any hesitation: "So, are you an undercover agent sent to the Free City by the Knowledge Sect or the Holy Church Union?"

Soran laughed and asked, "What do you think?"

Futaba shook her head without hesitation and said without hesitation: "I don't think so. After all, this damn place has zero compatibility with any religion. The church built in the Free City basically only serves as a 'tourist attraction'."

"Haha, it's a bit extreme, but realistic enough."

Soran nodded with a wry smile, and then asked, "By the way, Ms. Futaba, you should know what the Black Curtain is, right?"

Futaba glanced at the twisted cross emblem on the chest of Soran's old robe and answered casually, "I know, it's the gathering place of those charlatans who have fallen out with their own sect but have not been killed yet."

"That's right."

Soran nodded in affirmation with great satisfaction, and then said slowly, "I am the charlatan who had a falling out with his own sect but was not killed."

Futaba didn't look very surprised, she just asked curiously, "Why did you fall out?"

"Because 'learning to question' is a compulsory course for every believer in the God of Knowledge, and if you go far enough on this path, then in the end..."

For the first time, Soran showed a somewhat melancholy expression. He fiddled with his nails unconsciously and said lightly, "You will question God."

Futaba leaned forward with shining eyes and asked with great interest: "So you questioned God? What did you question about God? Existence? Essence? Behavior? Or..."

"Divinity."

Soren gently interrupted Futaba and said calmly, "I am beginning to question the divinity of God, Ms. Futaba."

"Uh, what then?"

“Then I became His favored one.”

"Wow, this is the first time I've heard of such an old person favored by God."

“Your perspective on the issue is unique.”

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Excellency Archon. So, what next?"

"Then, I had to leave. After all, even if the gods could tolerate or even encourage my 'questioning', the sect could not. So even though Your Majesty repeatedly tried to persuade me to stay, I still left."

"Leaving the free city to become an uncrowned king who is so powerful that he can blow up the sky?"

"In fact, I just wanted to open a small church and spend the rest of my life quietly."

"The results of it?"

"Somehow, more and more people started calling me Godfather."

Chapter 2523: End