Ernesto has mostly been working in trade. He and Himeka are getting a business up bringing spices from the forests around Greentruth all the way to Godsblood, which both makes Ernesto a hot commodity businessman, and a little bit suspicious. He's also been doing a general schmoozing and mingling among the people, trying to keep other Aions from causing a ruckus in Godsblood (hi Hayame), and trying to make sure he's familiar enough with the city and its businesses to be able to direct just about any new Aion who wanders in.

It's all to say Ernesto probably doesn't have a ton of pull in local politics, but he has done a decent job establishing himself among the local populace. We'd probably have to ask the mods for details, but in theory Ernesto could direct and guide Ryu in what he's trying to do in order to help him establish his connections. He also used to be a mayor's aide (PRE AT), so he could probably offer some useful advice or suggestions if Ryu needed someone to bounce ideas off of.