After the departure of Minos' group from Vogel two weeks ago, he and his women finally managed to return to the capital of the Flaming Empire.
The four used a teleportation point between Vogel and Rosser, traveled to the territory of the Holy Sect, having passed through the Volcanic Region, and then used teleportation arrays twice more within the Empire.
Tens of thousands of medium-grade crystals were spent to make these three trips while they traveled with Maida and Kyla the rest of the time, taking the opportunity to see some new places.
But they did not do any business in this period since they would only have to do this in Payton and the Gray Clouds Sect due to their previous trip through that state. At the same time, they had not had to fight beasts or cultivators from the Empire in this period since they had traveled by safer and faster routes.
And with that, they had trained hard during this period, with Minos finally reaching level 62!
Not only had Minos advanced, but Maida had reached level 61 in the days that had passed.
And so, their group again reached Payton, this time through a teleportation port in the middle of this city, not through the skies, on the back of that level 61 beast.
...
After arriving in the capital of the Empire, Minos and his wives went directly to the temple of the Spiritual Church, where without delay, he came face to face with Margot.
"Thank you for the great gift, mother-in-law. You don't know how beneficial it was for us to return to Vogel!" He said as he looked thoughtfully at that woman.
Margot clenched her fists and made a serious expression at Minos, feeling like slapping this provocative young man.
But seeing how her daughter was looking at her, Margot tried to ignore Minos, feeling disappointed that her plans had failed.
Joseph, who was still around as it was only the beginning of the day, said. "We spoke to the Emperor a few days ago, and he invited you to his house."
Minos forgot about the matter involving his mother-in-law and took an interest in this. "Is that so? When will I be able to do that?"
"I think probably tomorrow. I will pass a message to his staff about your arrival, and when the time is right, we will take you to the imperial palace." He answered without reeling.
"OK, thanks for that." Minos grinned, already imagining what it would be like to negotiate with the emperor of this state. 'If I can solve the problems of the four kingdoms with the Empire, I will be able to live peacefully on the Black Plain for several years.'
'I'll just have to eventually deal with the Saints Killing Sect and that damned fugitive, Abe Vogel!'
'After that, I'll just have to keep an eye on the Blood Triangle Pirates, with no more enemies in these nearby states.' He imagined the bright future ahead of him.
But then Joseph asked him. "What do you intend to talk to the Emperor about?" This individual took his eyes off Minos and looked at Gloria. "And what exactly have you accomplished in Vogel?"
Gloria was the first to say, smiling in a satisfied manner. "We secured the sovereignty of that state for our Stuart family, hehe."
"Oh?" The two experts there opened their mouths in surprise, not expecting such a thing.
Only those whom Minos wanted to have the chance to participate in the negotiations with him. But all those people, including those from the Spiritual Church, were individuals who had a vested interest in keeping what happened in those days between them.
Since it was still too early for the joint actions of those organizations to take shape, people from the Spiritual Church in Vogel did not know what Minos had done in that state. So, naturally, these two experts in the Flaming Empire did not know anything yet.
"Minos temporarily gave a portion of the king's power to those families, and they accepted to crown him as king as soon as the Church ends its regency." She finished.
"A portion? Temporarily?" Joseph frowned his eyebrows.
Abby then said. "In time, we will get back what was given up for the time being..."
"Eventually, they will realize that we have given them too much power and will gladly give it back to us." Ruth completed her harem sister's speech.
The two elders looked at each other until they focused on Minos.
As long as there was an advantage for those organizations, they would naturally find it very normal and even obligatory for Minos to give up so much for the position of king. But once this imbalance was balanced, changes would be inevitable!
Since they were not just good people helping to rescue Vogel, nor even mercenaries selling their help for a price, the Stuart family would naturally take whatever it felt was its due!
And with that, Minos smiled at his wives, who knew his plans for domination well.
"Soon I will become the King of Vogel, but I will not have many advantages, despite my suffering with the weights of that state's troubles on my shoulders... Then, eventually, my vassals will recognize my efforts and return to me what I have lent them for the time being."
"But of course, I will do everything as promised to them, so there will be no problems." He said, just to ensure his contracts would not be broken.
For a Soul Contract, it did not matter if a person planned to use methods to break the validated one. In a contract, if one did not act against the promised points, there would be loopholes one could use without being punished!
Minos knew more about this than the people who signed agreements with him, but the other side knew a little about it. Not only that, they were ready to act according to their interests and eventually get King Stuart out of the temporary position he would have.
Since Minos already imagined that there were patriarchs in Vogel thinking of replacing him in the future, he had no problem making his plans for that state.
'In the future, the Black Plain will become a great empire...' He imagined this before finally answering his father-in-law. "As for what I want with the Emperor, that is to stop him from going to war."
"And how are you going to convince him?" Margot asked, putting aside the bold plans of these children for Vogel.
"You will figure it out..." Minos said as he turned his back to them, ready to start doing business in this city.
Abby, Ruth, and Gloria followed him to go shopping for the spiritual techniques they could obtain in this city, going ahead with their old plans.
Meanwhile, Margot and Joseph were standing in their house's kitchen, looking in the direction from which Minos' group had departed, not knowing what to say about their plans.
"What do you think he has in mind, Joseph? Even our daughter is plotting against independent states..." Margot said as she gestured with her hands. "If others find out about this, they'll think she's trying to influence other states! They'll think she's committing a crime!"
He was silent for a moment and then said. "No... Gloria is married to Minos, and he is not an internal member of the Church who has to follow our rules. So, she can't be guilty of being involved in her husband's life, who happens to be a conqueror."
"Not to mention that her position within the Church is relative to the northern region... If she can influence the situations of higher level states than hers with that alone, then the headquarters are more likely to send her a merit badge than punish her." He laughed.
"Sigh..."
"I hope so."
