While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly
Chapter 102: Our Duty Is Unshirkable

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Our Duty Is Unshirkable

Based on Gugaga’s previous conversion rate from eating, now having devoured three branch Bishops, his strength only just reached the peak of Magister. Therefore, Ashu estimated that his potential was nearly exhausted.

It wasn’t hard for Ashu to predict that this guy’s limit lay somewhere between Grand Archmage levels.

Summoned from just one sheep, and then fed with three humans ranging from Archmage peak to Magister level, he was only one step away from promotion to Grand Archmage. The return was actually pretty good.

Ashu pointed Gugaga in a clear direction. He gestured toward the Kingdom of Ankgarde and said, "Head in that direction. There are Cidi Devotees there, and you are a soldier of the Cidi God’s Hell Legion. They will recognize you. You must follow their orders, and they will naturally support you."

Gugaga nodded.

"Go."

...

Ashu watched Gugaga’s figure disappear into the night, then fixed his gaze on the ground beneath him, beginning to ponder.

The deaths of these five branch Bishops would inevitably attract the attention of their superiors.

But they deserved to die—not only were they Kakarim’s remnants, they were also informants plotting to harm others.

So Ashu did not feel remorse for them; instead, he was considering his next move.

Five branch Bishops dying together had to have an explanation.

After much thought, Ashu came to just one conclusion.

That was to pin the blame on the Devotees of the God of Deceit.

This move would serve two purposes: not only would it clear him of suspicion, but it would also pit the God of Deceit cult against the Holy Cultivator Guild.

Conflict between the Holy Cultivator Guild and the God of Deceit cult was only a matter of time—after all, the Atras royal family had already reached a secret agreement with the Queen’s faction of the Kingdom of Ankgarde, plotting to kill the "Luminous Saint."

Once the "Luminous Saint" died, a war between these two cults would be inevitable.

At that time, with the theocracy busy at war, the monarchy would quickly rise. This was exactly what they wanted to see.

But Ashu refused to let things go their way.

He would not die so easily, nor would he allow the Holy Cultivator Guild to fall into a passive position.

"I need ironclad evidence. Luckily, most of my Cidi Parishioners were formerly members of the God of Deceit cult."

Everything was ready except the final piece. As long as Greenfur and the others left behind some proof implicating God of Deceit Devotees, Ashu could conclusively blame the cult for this incident.

As for the God of Deceit cult’s defense, Ashu had his own plans.

So.

Two days later, the deaths of the five branch Bishops caused an uproar within Kakase’s jurisdiction.

The newly appointed Cardinal had to come personally to investigate.

He brought his Paladin squad to Riven town and summoned the only two surviving branch Bishops—Ashu and Geoffrey.

The three met at the Riven branch Church to hold a discussion.

"Ashu Bishop, the Bishops from the other branches all accuse you of causing the deaths of those five branch Bishops. How do you respond to this?" the new Cardinal asked.

Hearing this,

Ashu was already confident. He replied, "Danver, my Cardinal, I have no interest in arguing over trivial matters. That would be a waste of the Divine Mother Goddess’s time. There is concrete evidence left at the scene proving that this was the work of the God of Deceit’s Devotees. Whether they were deceived by a ruse or stubbornly insist I was the one who killed them, either way, it’s extremely foolish."

The branch Bishop from the nearby town of Wood, Geoffrey, also spoke up: "After my own investigation, I too found traces of the God of Deceit’s Devotees. Lord Danver, the border of the Kingdom of Ankgarde has been very unstable recently. I have been keeping an eye on the situation. Over there, they have sent considerable forces to combat the Cidi cult, but with little success. I believe that even a modest investigation could gather evidence.

"Moreover, what’s strange is why the five branch Bishops from different towns would gather together late at night—especially in a deep mountain forest close to the border? That in itself is suspicious."

Hearing this, the new Cardinal Danver nodded.

He smiled slightly and said, "You understand, I have to follow procedure. Relax a bit."

Ashu and Geoffrey exchanged a glance. There wasn’t much pressure to begin with. Geoffrey was a neutral party, a fence-sitter if anything, and in this situation, he just needed to read the room.

Either way, no matter who got blamed, it didn’t concern him. He was neither ambitious nor corrupt.

Ashu, on the other hand, was one hundred percent at ease. Vivita had warned him this new Cardinal belonged to the "Luminous Saint" faction, and the evidence Ashu had prepared was solid.

"Ashu Bishop, Geoffrey Bishop, our process ends here. In fact, I have already conducted an initial inspection and extended an invitation to negotiate with the Kingdom of Ankgarde’s State Religion," Danver said.

"So, what was their response?"

"Just this afternoon. I have summoned you here because we will be going together. We must get an explanation."

"Our duty is unshirkable," Ashu and Geoffrey said in unison.

"Good."

That afternoon,

Both sides met at the border to conduct negotiations.

Though the God of Deceit’s Devotees were known for their cunning and deception, they dared not enter the Atras Empire recklessly. They feared being swallowed by the Holy Cultivator Guild’s wrath once inside.

For the first time, Ashu truly felt the confidence of the righteous—he was backed by the Paladin squad brought from Kakase.

Each Paladin was fully armored, their armor shining bright. The other side wore green robes, led by a Cardinal of the God of Deceit cult.

"See that one? He’s Manaro, the God of Deceit’s Cardinal," Geoffrey whispered to Ashu.

Ashu stared at the man. His eye sockets were sunken, his nose sharp and prominent, giving him a sinister look. Combined with his bald head, he looked every bit the cultist.

As Ashu looked at him, the man immediately met his gaze.

"I didn’t expect Cardinal Danver to bring even a ’Luminous Saint’ along. Since that’s the case, I believe the misunderstanding between us will surely be resolved fairly. After all, injustice is nothing less than blasphemy against your Divine Mother Goddess. A ’Luminous Saint,’ Your Excellency, surely cannot tolerate that," the bald Manaro said with a smile.

Perhaps he didn’t intend to show such a sneaky grin, but his face just looked like he was asking to be punched.

Danver wasted no words. He stepped forward, and the two attendants behind him immediately placed the negotiation chairs behind him.

He sat down, resting his hands on the negotiation table. "Manaro, save your charming ruse. We both know that those slick words won’t work today. Sit down."

Being appointed Cardinal by headquarters, Danver was no mere figurehead.

The moment he sat at the table, his presence turned commanding.

Manaro could only force a dry laugh and took a seat on the other side of the table. He stared into Danver’s eyes and emphasized again, "Our negotiation is fair, just, and in pursuit of the truth, right?"

"Of course."

"Good." Manaro laced his fingers and continued, "We have reviewed the evidence you provided. But we have also conducted strict and thorough inspections of our own Devotees. On that day, every God of Deceit Devotee was at their post—there was absolutely no one who entered the Atras Empire. Therefore, I accuse that this must be the work of cultists. They are trying to frame us. You must investigate this thoroughly. You cannot make accusations against us under the name of the Divine Mother Goddess."

"Cultists?" Ashu, standing to Danver’s left, spoke up. "Cultists are always convenient—especially when it comes to taking the blame."

He was speaking the truth, because that’s exactly what he did.

But to Manaro’s ears, this was a different story.

He looked at Ashu and replied, "’Luminous Saint’ Your Excellency, I understand that the deaths of the five branch Bishops in your parish are intolerable to you. You are desperate to find the truth, so you’ve been misled down the path of blaming cultists. Clearly, for someone to kill five branch Bishops before you found out, it would have to be me personally. But if I had taken action, do you think I would leave any traces?"

Hearing this,

Geoffrey Bishop cut in: "Please observe negotiation protocols, Bishop Manaro. What we need are evidence and solutions—not endless accusations and speculation. Anyone can talk nonsense."

After saying this, the three of them fixed their gaze on Manaro.

Ashu knew full well that since the Royal Family of Atras had formed a secret pact with the Queen’s Faction of the Kingdom of Ankgarde, the God of Deceit cult, as the State Religion, would certainly be involved as well.

Therefore,

They would absolutely not start a major conflict between the two large sects before their plan was completed.

In other words, they had to yield.

And what Ashu wanted to do was to provoke an early conflict between these two major sects. To achieve this, he only needed to do one thing: push them to the limit.

He could predict that the God of Deceit cult would soon choose to settle matters quietly. They wouldn’t dare actually go to war with the Holy Cultivator Guild.

To settle matters quietly, they would need to offer some kind of bargaining chip.

As a Cardinal, Danver might have some control over the stakes. But as a "Luminous Saint," he could act on behalf of the Divine Mother Goddess to demand further compensation from the God of Deceit cult.

People’s concessions always have limits.

Manaro might yield for a moment, but as long as Ashu relentlessly pursued and pushed for more, it would quickly lead to the collapse of these negotiations.

That was exactly what he wanted.

Sure enough, after a sharp verbal battle between the two chief negotiators, Manaro eventually gave in. Although he was one hundred percent certain his people were innocent, the hard evidence was right there in front of him.

"Fine, we can offer ten million Atras coins in compensation," Manaro said.

When he was chosen as the negotiator, his superiors had already ordered him that no matter what happened, they must not fall out with the Holy Cultivator Guild.