It turned out that Lynn's approach was correct.
After learning the truth about crossing over and confirming that this place was indeed Earth, Roselle, though initially dejected and grieving, did not collapse entirely. On the contrary, there was a hint of relief on his face, as if he had long suspected this but now finally had confirmation.
In this situation, Lynn seized the moment and revealed to Roselle that he could potentially rescue Roselle's family in the future.
"Are you serious?" Roselle's expression was unprecedentedly serious, tinged with disbelief and a bit of joy.
Clearly, Roselle cared deeply for his family and friends from the previous era.
"I'm standing in front of you, isn't that the best proof?" Lynn didn't explain much and simply smiled.
Roselle froze for a moment and quickly realized.
Indeed, if Lynn truly existed in multiple timelines as he claimed, then rescuing Roselle's family from the previous era wouldn't be too difficult for him.
Roselle didn't expect Lynn to be able to prevent the destruction of the previous era, but just like he himself had managed to survive by sleeping through time and appearing in this era, if the right method were found, he had no doubt his family could also reappear in this time.
"What do I need to give in return?" After realizing this, Roselle took a deep breath and looked at Lynn.
As an adult, Roselle didn't believe in free lunches, especially from someone like Lynn, who didn't appear to be the type to offer charity.
"You don't need to give much. Or rather, working for me is what you'll need to do," Lynn shook his head and said, "I treat my employees well, you should believe that."
Roselle bit his lip instinctively at these words, understanding the implicit meaning behind Lynn's statement — he would save Roselle's family because Roselle worked for him, but if Roselle was no longer his employee, there would be no family-saving.
Given Lynn's unique abilities, there was no loophole to exploit in this deal. Roselle could betray him after his family was rescued, but Lynn, who could traverse time and space, could undo that rescue just as easily.
"You really are a black-hearted capitalist..." Roselle muttered in near complaint, sighing deeply as if lamenting his fate, but then smiled. "Just to confirm, if I find someone to take over my duties, I won't need to work 24/7, right?"
"Of course!" Lynn nodded, adding, "But you should be prepared. I'm counting on you to push the tech tree forward! If you can find enough talent to replace you, I wouldn't mind giving you a vacation."
"Same old job..." Roselle couldn't help but complain, but didn't really reject the idea. After all, pushing technological progress was how he rose to power in the first place; continuing the same work didn't seem so bad.
'Thinking about it, working for him isn't too bad after all. At least he is powerful enough to protect the church, and being its Bishop wouldn't tarnish my reputation…' Roselle considered the benefits and soon found himself warming up to the idea of working for Lynn.
Of course, the biggest factor was that Roselle couldn't resist the temptation of saving his family, making it impossible for him to refuse Lynn's offer.
'And besides…' Roselle glanced at Artisan beside him and suddenly felt more at peace.
Even his former boss was now working for Lynn. What right did he have to complain?
While Lynn was handling Roselle, he finally turned his attention to Artisan, who had been quietly sitting on the side.
The moment Lynn looked at him, Artisan handed over a document, saying, "This is a list of the high-ranking members of the church and a catalog of resources."
Obviously, Artisan hadn't just been sitting idly by; he had been diligently compiling information. He was acting quite obediently.
"Oh?" Lynn took the document, raised an eyebrow, and couldn't help but laugh at Artisan's submissive behavior. "Thank you for your hard work, Artisan."
"It was no trouble at all, just doing my job," Artisan quickly replied, his attitude as fawning as could be.
It wasn't entirely his fault for being so subservient. Artisan had just received all the memory fragments about Lynn's recent activities, including witnessing him defeat the Eternal Blazing Sun, hearing stories from Mr. Door, and learning about Lynn's overwhelming power.
Artisan, never one to hold onto pride, had no issue being submissive. He was already convinced that Lynn was not someone to be trifled with.
After all, back in the Fourth Epoch, he had learned this lesson the hard way.
You simply can't beat him!
So, though Artisan felt some lingering attachment to his Sequence 0 position, he knew that working for Lynn was his best option to stay safe.
Plus, compared to facing the Outer Gods in the apocalypse, clinging to such a powerful figure who could fight back seemed like the best course of action.
As Lynn quickly scanned the documents Artisan had handed him, he gained a clearer understanding of the current state of the Church of Steam and Machinery.
Although the church had grown significantly under Roselle's leadership, it still lacked some of the deeper foundations necessary to match the power of the other major churches, particularly in terms of Sealed Artifacts.
However, Lynn didn't see this as a significant issue. After reviewing the document, he looked back at Artisan and said.
"Sometime soon, I'll likely advance to Illuminator and perhaps even take full control of the Paragon's uniqueness. When that happens, you'll probably lose yours."
(End of Chapter)
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