The Church also received the communiqué about the visit of the Western Empire's envoys to Dry City. But unlike Vico Travisani, they were not so concerned about Minos relating to such a state.
After all, Minos was already deeply connected to them. So if he did such a thing, it would be the same as courting death!
But still, the Church was watching the movements around the Black Plain Empire and initiating investigations regarding the motivation for the Quinn family's contact with Minos.
Minos was not big on the continental affairs of these high-level organizations. But since these organizations were protective of their territories, possible enemy movements on the Black Plain were enough to make the Church look at that area more concerned about taking action.
Since this organization had been humiliated by the Eastern Empire because of a loophole in its non-aggression agreement with House Travisani, the Church just wanted an excuse to attack.
So even though Minos was insignificant, these powers were giving him and the Black Plain more importance than they deserved.
Meanwhile, the Flowers Kingdom had been watching the whole situation in the Black Plain. The Queen closely followed Minos' information since she was interested in this young man's genes.
But she was also aware of the growing tensions around her state involving the major powers of the Central Continent!
...
Amidst the movements of different high-level powers around the Central Continent, Grant and his group finally arrived at the capital of the Western Empire!
Upon arriving there, those people did not take long to smile along with that old fellow, who almost began to shed tears upon seeing his homeland after so long.
But Grant would eventually calm down a bit to be able to say goodbye to the mercenary who had finally been released to enjoy his earnings from the Black Plain. At the same time, as he calmed down a bit, he took his superiors' advice.
"Grant, I know you are not to blame for the situation back then, but you should prepare yourself. They will try to punish you somehow for staying away so long without reporting." The level 82 blonde woman commented to this fellow as they walked towards the imperial palace.
The level 81 man nodded in agreement. "And I would tell you to be careful what you say to His Majesty. We have heard some of your stories and know they can be controversial..."
These people had traveled together for days, having talked a lot with Grant, listening to his stories about his accident, life in the Kingdom of the End, and time on the Black Plain. At the same time, these people had informed him of some up-to-date facts regarding their homeland.
Because of their many conversations, those two knew that Grant had some hard-to-believe stories that might be better kept to himself, at least on first contact.
If the emperor continued to consult with him, he could eventually talk more without significant problems. But already touching on these delicate topics right away was not something these two experts considered wise.
Grant heard this and did not think it bad that these two were trying to advise him. They might not understand that they were fools for not recognizing the near danger, but they were good people for caring about it.
"Hmm, don't worry. I will just answer His Majesty's questions. And if there is room, I will explain my opinion only." He said before finally seeing the imperial palace at the end of the street they were currently walking on.
Amber was already with her father in a meeting room in that place, each sitting as far away from the other as possible but without disturbing the people's mood.
The Emperor had made many mistakes with his daughter, while this woman had a lot of resentment toward this man. But the two knew how to be professional in situations like this.
Hence, they treated each other merely as co-workers, except for when the Crown Prince got involved in matters.
That young man was very influenced by his sister!
The Crown Prince was the same age as Minos, around 37, but was much weaker than this emperor, currently only at level 57. Also, he was much less intelligent, and after losing his mother when he was only 13, he became very dependent on his older sister.
In this situation, now the emperor's only male heir, who should become the next sovereign, was somewhat influenced by Amber, which naturally made things difficult for the emperor.
In any case, today, they were not there because of Crown Prince affairs but because of the imminent arrival of Grant Yates, with whom they wanted to talk.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Grant Yates has just entered the imperial palace." One of the eunuchs who worked for this family announced loudly, signaling to everyone in that business room for them to go to the imperial throne hall.
With that, it did not take long for Grant to come face to face with his sovereign and the woman who had somehow been responsible for all his misfortune.
He greeted everyone in that place and thanked those people for granting his request to give him this chance to speak.
After this, he would talk to those people for a few hours, briefly describing the situation that had happened in the North Sea, as well as some relevant facts that had happened in the many years that had passed.
That would not be the last time he would talk about this to the local forces. But the first of many occasions that he would deal with this problem.
Grant just did not know that from today on, his life would be just that, and he would have to get used to a reality that was not as good as he imagined!
But only in time would he know if his decision had been right.
...
Thus, two and a half months passed quickly...
In the meantime, Minos came out of his seclusion, finally having reached the last level of the 7th stage, level 69.
With this achievement, he was only a few steps away from reaching the 8th stage!
Soon, he would fulfill the promise to Gloria's mother and have his long-awaited chance to evolve his innate ability!
In the midst of this, he was meeting with the experts of the Black Plain Empire, reviewing the plans for the actions of their forces against Abe's terrorist group.
To Minos' surprise, upon emerging from his seclusion, he discovered that two of the Spiritual Saints of the Gray Clouds Sect had advanced.
One of them was someone who was previously at level 74, now at level 75. The other was a level 76 8th-stage cultivator who had reached level 77.
Other than those two, only Gloria among all the local Spiritual Saints had advanced, reaching level 72!
...
