What differentiated the archbishop from the priests was they possessed crozier and the miter.
The author employed the idea from a certain church.
He didn't follow the design, though.
The top of the croziers was shaped into a square but at a cross-like angle, with the design engraved on the center was a dragon with plants as its horn.
The right horn as a plant was vigorous while the other withered.
It symbolizes that the dragon, as the representation of the Earth, holds the life and death of an individual.
It was similar to the idea in the church back on earth, "We came from dust, we return to dust."
The miter that the Archbishop wore on his head was also a dragon.
After all, the God of Earth was born in the dragon race and believed that he created life and earth for the living race to live.
Their belief didn't contradict other Church of Gods, no matter what.
Although, they have their own version of how their Gods created the world and the living being.
It was only that the Archbishop and Pope, which only the God of Son currently possessed, encouraged the believers to respect other religions.
"Believers of the God of Earth, who had chosen to receive the blessings of the almighty, I welcome you all."
The Archbishop's voice was soothing but loud enough for everyone to hear.
They exploded in praise and applause.
With a single wave of his hand, everyone shut any of their noises.
"I, one of the Archbishops out of three, appear to oversee the blessings. I managed the Church in the Kingdom of His Highness."
He suddenly looked at us – above – gaining the bizarre gazes of the citizens as he head bowed.
It was sincere and natural.
From what I know, the Archbishop didn't hold any ego aside from that they must maintain their position through their solemn countenance and dignity.
Hence, they were kind and treated everyone as equals.
However, they were still human, even though they were above average.
As a result, I wouldn't be surprised that he held a bit of contempt for me, who was not blessed by any other Gods.
There was only one reason.
'He suspects that I am a curse.'
A curse, or what they called it, a being in the dark side.
He was not entirely wrong, for I was basically the son of the God of Shadow.
Regulus waved his hand, and from the citizen's perspective, there was a blaze sparked to where the Archbishop gazed earlier.
Then, we made our appearance.
It was flashy and cool, especially Regulu's robes, and mine and Sophie's clothes fluttered against the breeze.
Regulus removed the fire that restricted the wind from disturbing us but still, made us float with a bit of his mana.
Before I could even enjoy our grandiose appearance though, the citizen's widened eyes and mouth grabbed my attention.
'Aren't they exaggerating too much?'
And instead of head bow to pay their respect, they genuflected – bending one knee on the ground as they bowed.
'He is not your God, you know.'
But I was not surprised at how much they respect Regulus.
After all, despite that his Ancestors contributed the most to the Kingdom – building it from scratch and making it one of the prominent and archaic kingdoms – Regulus focused on gaining his achievement by defending the Empire from the dark forces.
That was more than sufficient to garner the respect, even outside of his Kingdom.
"Greetings! His Highness!!!"
They shouted in unison.
It wasn't in sync, as some were late, and some were early, but they delivered it with a clear intention to greet Regulus.
It wasn't surprising that they could greet simultaneously, for Regulus only seldom appeared outside the Kingdom.
Even so, citizens were docile, as the crime rate was manageable by Lutz, his butler.
It was to assure Regulus so he could place his full attention on defending against the dark forces.
Although the Empire enjoyed peace for 999 years, the terror was still in the subconscious mind of the human race.
"Greetings, everyone." Regulus nodded.
"Don't mind me."
They were silent and didn't know what to do.
Thus, Regulus spoke in a domineering manner, "Rise."
The citizens suddenly rose, unintentionally.
Regulus appeared to possess the ability to control their mind.
But that wasn't actually the case.
I gazed at the Archbishop as he managed to maintain his position.
However, I bet he was sweating right now.
After all, what just Regulus did was something only Warlock could do.
"Continue, and don't mind us."
Regulus gazed at the Archbishop and continued, "Archbishop, come with me for a moment. There's something I want to request."
"If it is for you, Your Highness."
The Archbishop tapped his crozier, and the ground suddenly turned into blocks of tentacles, enveloping him.
When they finally settled, they vanished into dust and returned to the ground.
The empty space on the white ground magically filled with white tiles until it integrated.
Just like that, as if the Archbishop did not appear in the first place, awestruck the citizens.
I heard Regulus mumbling towards me, "That crozier is the same level as my Apollo's Hammer. Because of that, he could be a pseudo-Archmage. This is why artifacts are important."
I nodded, "Indeed. If it wasn't for this necklace, I would have died long ago."
I could feel his gaze directed towards the necklace.
He was probably checking how long it would last.
"Before I leave, I'll deliver the materials to your Uncle Yin. He will make a new one."
I nodded.
"Thanks."
"We shall go, too."
Flame raged atop his finger and swung it vertically.
It left a human-sized vertical flame and suddenly stretched like a curtain.
Inside it was another space leading to another place.
There, the Archbishop was sitting on an exquisite couch in a reserved and composed manner, pouring his porcelain tea cup in a noble motion.
There was a knee-height table in front of him, filled with carvings of a single, long, mahogany color dragon, with plant-like thorns aiding the aesthetics of the design.
There was another couch on the opposite side of the table and a sofa on the right – in the Archbishop's point of view – filled with plush cushions of similar design.
The air, even the outside, filled with the faint scent of incense, and the quietness brought by the solemnity of the place reminded the visitor to be as well behaved as possible.
The nobleness of the place was pretty similar to the castle, but the difference was the design.
After all, the castle was designed from the symbol of Emberheart, and in this place was by the God of Earth.
The Archbishop sipped tea, smiled at us, and nodded.
Regulus took a step forward and entered the place.
However, something was bugging me.
'Do mages really like to be so flashy?'