There were no free lunches in this world, and every benefit came with its share of problems.
The woman who asked Minos that question and her companions knew that. So, none of them would believe that these people would give them a chance to reach the 9th stage without the costs being sky-high.
Hence, they all paid attention to Minos when he started talking about it. "Well, initially, not much. Your job will be more bureaucratic, sending information, relaying, or representing our thoughts locally. And, of course, recruiting more people who are reliable and interested in our proposals."
"Oh? That doesn't sound so complicated..." Louise said in a low voice.
"Yes. For now, for the next few years, our goal is to create a network, intelligence, and structure that will be useful further down the line. Thus, there won't be many risks, missions, or major efforts on your part in the short term..."
"And then what?" One of the men in Louise's group asked.
"Well, then, naturally, we will have more functions for the network we are beginning to build." He vaguely said. "But our actions will not be against the rules of the Church, or even against the good of that organization. Nor will we try to influence those we shouldn't so be unconcerned about that."
"Anyway, your main job eventually will be to support my wife in some actions within the Church." He pointed at Gloria as those people looked at her.
"Like a faction?" Another man commented as he realized the similarities of what Minos wanted with factions.
"I prefer to call it a group united by a common goal..." Minos said in a humorous tone.
"What goal?"
"To grow within the Church, of course."
Louise then asked. "And how is this group different from a faction?"
Gloria finally said something for the first time in this meeting. "Factions have that goal, and they function similarly to what my husband has talked about. But Church factions are complicated, involved with outside organizations, past grudges, etc."
"We are neither for nor against any faction. We want to work with everyone who has the goal to grow and add. And we have no intention of opposing anyone. If someone is better than us, we will not act against that person or faction unless they act against us first."
The people there were surprised to hear this since they thought that as people coming from the Flaming Empire, Minos' group would have some kind of prejudice and act with preferences.
But from what Gloria was saying, they were after a type of faction that would be more on the fence, not getting involved with either side of the internal power conflict in the Church.
And, thinking about it, they did not think it terrible that Minos wanted to create this 'group united by a common goal.'
Abby then added. "Also, our group will be tranquil and act mainly from the shadows. So, it's possible that our existence won't even be noticed even when you have to start acting more vigorously."
The people there looked at each other as Ruth suggested something. "In fact, I think we'd better put a limit on the number of people in our group. I think 30 or 40 members in each major Church post will be the most interesting..."
"More than that, we might draw too much attention."
"Hmmm." Louise nodded in agreement. "Besides, there's no need for everyone from one post to be in the same group."
"As long as some of us succeed and ascend locally, others will have to obey our orders, as the guards stopped by you earlier." She said, looking at Minos' mask.
"Yes, with few involved, it will be better. It would be problematic to invest in an extensive group..." He commented, setting things that way.
With that, it did not take long for them to talk over a few more points, agreeing on the formation of this group.
After a brief analysis of the risks and potential returns, those six individuals judged that they would make a good profit from this move, so they did not hesitate to show their interest in going ahead.
In the end, Minos and his wives would still be staying a few more days in this city, so they would make this deal official with them little by little during this period.
As for the beginning of their relations with Minos' investments and the initial actions of these local members of the Spiritual Church, this would only happen after one year.
Minos stipulated that it would take that long to communicate with the Black Plain and its subordinates in that place to start acting for such an arrangement to work.
There was a time required to transport resources from one side of the continent to the other!
But this was not a problem for those who had already lived much longer than Minos and did not think a year was a big deal.
Hence, they departed from that meeting place inside the main temple of the Church in this state, going on to their business-related or not to this agreement.
As for Minos and his wives, they returned to their area to train and cultivate, something they had been forced to do outside the Spatial Kingdom in the previous days.
They could teleport to the Spatial Kingdom from wherever they wanted, but doing so near a place with several Spiritual Saints could become a problem.
To avoid unnecessary dangers, they had been training in a cultivation area of this temple, which, by the way, was not bad at all.
It was not a place that came close to the quality of the Spatial Kingdom, but compared to the northern region, it was hundreds of times better than that area!
That was a domain with areas of high spiritual concentration, after all!
Therefore, Spiritual Emperors like them felt no difficulty training in the area and continued to do so without any problems as they waited for the local celebrations to arrive.
...
A few more days passed, and finally, the time had come to celebrate Vogel's Independence Day!
Because of the arrival of this great day for Vogel, the capital dawned in a different mood than usual, with many people taking to the streets early in the day, not to work but to celebrate.
At the same time, parts of the city had been decorated for the festive occasions of the day, among them the parade of the royal guard and army, an attraction particularly beloved by ordinary citizens.
But as the day began with the aroma of breakfast in various corners of this great city, Minos and his three wives were finishing dressing for the event they were to attend later.
They had been given the opportunity to attend the event's opening from inside the Vogel family's royal palace, where the state's most powerful people would be.
Since their group had to accompany the Church team participating in such an event, they had to report early to the meeting place. Because of this, they soon finished getting ready and left for their appointment.
"Honey, will we be able to find our targets today?" Ruth asked as she walked beside Abby and him.
Minos continued holding one of his pregnant wife's hands and commented. "Surely..."
"If they are to blame for something, we will certainly have contact with people related to the culprits!"
So, they soon disappeared amid the crowds going in this great city's streets, proceeding with other members of the Church to the royal palace.
