After the previous affairs in the Assembly of Vogel, Minos and his family stayed for two days in that territory's capital before leaving for the Dry City.
During this time, they made several proposals for agreements with the noble families that had taken a favorable position towards them in the previous votes.
The Stuart family had not missed the opportunity to 'win over' the last undecided in this local situation. Minos promised things they could and even those they could not promise in the short term...
But that did not matter to them. As long as they eventually gained a better position than the current one, they could keep every promise they made.
So they had left the capital of Vogel to return to their affairs in the empire's core, which they had much to develop now that Abe was no longer a problem.
In the midst of all this, they received notifications from the royal houses of Albano and Rosser, both of these states deciding to be on their side.
Both royal houses sent congratulations regarding the end of the conflict with Abe and appreciation for the way he had dealt with Vogel.
A sovereign had to take care of his territory and ensure its integrity!
But Blackrock was not so pleased with the situation. Although it congratulated Minos on his victory against Abe, it made a point of expressing its concerns about Vogel.
Representatives from each of these territories were heading to the Black Plain Empire at the moment. Still, for now, nothing more would happen, and the situation was somewhat complicated.
But this was more worrying for the powers opposed to Minos in Vogel than for this emperor. That was because, after he and his family had left that city, the Assembly had returned to its normal functioning but retained all the results of previous votes.
In this situation and with part of their historical allies siding with House Stuart, the local powers were scrambling for alternatives while feeling the changing times.
...
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Empire...
The Spiritual Sage who had protected Abe had finally returned to his post, where he was facing one of his superiors.
He was reporting the final results of his failed mission, frustrated to the max, even considering that he would not be punished just for what had happened.
A few years thrown away because of one mistake or failure was no big deal for experts capable of living for thousands of years. So even in this situation, the organization behind this person had only made a mistake regarding the location of the investigation for a fraction of the time and would now focus on other alternatives.
"... And that's what happened, senior." He finished his report to the level 90 Spiritual Demigod in front of him, extremely crestfallen at having lost to a level 69 young man.
That peak expert finished recording the reports of this subordinate and said. "His Majesty already knows that your situation was not easy, Mick. The Church was on our tail the whole time, and the young Emperor Stuart managed to make his bet work out... It's not your fault."
"I appreciate the senior's words." Mick made a gesture of thanks, even though he did not feel that way.
"Anyway, now that you have spent some time in that region, His Majesty has passed on to you a new mission related to Minos Stuart."
"What?" Mick looked wide-eyed at that Spiritual Demigod in front of him, not expecting to receive a new mission right after he returned.
"You are the one who knows Emperor Stuart the most, and now His Majesty wishes to receive updates on this young prodigy." That level 90 man was straight to the point. "From now on, your job will be to stay in control of the group observing the Black Plain Empire."
"For now, avoid contacts. Just observe. But if that fellow leaves the Church territory, immediately try to contact him and invite him to visit the empire."
Gulp!
'You've got to be kidding!' Mick looked into that elder's eyes but could not say anything, extremely shocked by it.
"If he is contacted by the people of the Quinn family and begins a journey towards that state, notifies us. We will send a group to deal with him!"
With those words, the Spiritual Demigod disappeared from Mick's front, leaving this man with several questions on his mind, frozen in that place for several minutes.
'Sigh...'
'I didn't even get a break, and now I'll have to watch that slippery fellow.'
'What a life!'
...
In the blink of an eye, 20 months had passed since Abe Vogel's death!
In that period, nothing much of note happened other than the progress of the territories of the northern region of the Central Continent, in particular the area of the Black Plain Empire.
After Minos' actions at Vogel and victory against the terrorists, the emperor had done what he had promised his wives. He had quieted his actions and focused on solving problems in the central part of his state while focusing on his advancement to the 8th stage.
He had not yet reached level 70 but was very close to it, while Abby and Ruth had reached level 69, and Gloria had advanced to level 73 in the intervening months.
Meanwhile, the situation in Vogel remained problematic. But after so many months since Minos' passage there, the local nobles and the powers allied with the emperor and the noble families of Vogel realized that he would not act so vigorously after Abe's defeat.
Many feared he would start a conflict in the region, which might spur the Flaming Empire to attack and create the perfect situation for a bloody war.
But Minos had barely left Dry City in this period, and the progress of his state's key members had become a secret to those without access to the Spatial Kingdom and the empire's core. As such, everyone thought that Minos just wanted to keep Vogel in his territory without using aggressive attitudes, and although there were still tensions, the situation was better in each of these states involved.
As for the northern states, they had again benefited from the growth of the Black Plain, with the return of migrations and progress of business conditions.
At the same time, the local royal families had returned their plans to join the Black Plain Empire.
In these intervening months, the Cromwell and Brown areas had developed considerably with the migrations to that state and investments made by Minos.
As the Minos government had become 'accustomed' to administering those areas, those states were already considering time for the Black Plain to absorb them. With that, everyone wanted to volunteer to be next in line.
Through it all, Minos' territory had prospered along with its high-level members, and now, on the eve of his first attempt to advance to the 8th stage, the local moods could not be better.
There were still problems to be solved, but never before had this territory been in such a favorable position!
