While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly
Chapter 104: So Much Money, Not Even a Carriage Could Hold It All

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: So Much Money, Not Even a Carriage Could Hold It All

Ashu knew perfectly well what Danver meant.

He wasn’t asking a question—he was issuing a reminder. It was time for Ashu to ease up. The negotiation had been stretched to its very limit, and pushing any further would only risk collapsing the whole thing.

That’s what negotiations were all about: striving for maximum benefit. But once talks broke down, the blame fell on both sides.

It wouldn’t be just Manaro’s side that got held accountable—Danver would also face censure from the Holy Cultivator Guild’s central headquarters.

No matter how much Danver leaned toward the "Luminous Saint," he still had to consider his own future.

Ashu locked eyes with Danver. The two men stared at each other for over three seconds. And in that brief silence, Ashu understood—he, a mere Bishop of a minor branch, didn’t have the power to force two enormous forces into open conflict ahead of schedule.

Not unless he died carrying the name of the Luminous Saint.

"She said: Go with the flow," Ashu said, fabricating the words.

He could’ve claimed that the Divine Mother Goddess commanded war. But just like this negotiation, no matter how many moves he made, the final line—the one that couldn’t be crossed—was always left to be drawn by those with higher authority.

And so, he spoke as he did.

"Very well," Danver nodded heavily, then turned to Manaro. "We are fortunate to receive the Divine Mother Goddess’s mercy."

The weight on Manaro’s chest finally eased—but still, he clenched his molars. This payout was a total giveaway.

He was absolutely, undeniably certain that they hadn’t killed those people. But the compensation had already been promised.

If this had happened to any other Parishioner, he would’ve cursed them as a fool and a coward. But this particular agreement... had been signed by him, in person.

All his fury, no matter how deep, had to be swallowed in silence.

"Hmph." Manaro snorted coldly and threw the contract onto the table. "The coins and gemstones will be delivered within three months. From this point forward, nothing like this will ever happen again. Let me be clear: if it does happen, it will be the work of cultists, and don’t even think about pinning it on us."

"Heh, three months?" Ashu sneered. The Imperial Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony was just over two months away. No one knew how the power dynamic might shift afterward. Delaying payment for up to three months—it was clear they didn’t want to pay at all. "The Divine Mother Goddess has already delivered her oracle. This is her final mercy: You are to bring the payment immediately. We exchange—goods for people—on the spot."

"What the fuck did you just say?!" Manaro finally lost control. As a Cardinal of the Church of the God of Deceit, he slammed the table in front of him.

The wooden table, meant for diplomatic negotiation, shattered into splinters beneath his fist. If Danver hadn’t intervened, that punch might’ve already landed square on Ashu’s face.

"That much money couldn’t even fit in a carriage! How the hell are we supposed to deliver it immediately?" Manaro demanded.

Ashu calmly continued, "I already told you. This is the final concession. The Goddess has allowed you to use your filthy wealth to redeem five of her loyal Devotees. Whether or not a carriage can hold it—that’s your problem. All of us will wait right here. Once the payment arrives, we disperse."

Since the path of war had been blocked—he would take another road instead.

Ashu had always believed in the principle of when one door closes, another opens—if the front wheel won’t turn, the back wheel will.

Right now, nearly all of the Kingdom of Ankgarde’s high-end combat power in the frontier region had been drawn to this location. That meant the Cidi cult, operating in the borderlands of Ankgarde, could now go all out.

Under the leadership of Cardinal Deacon Antikythera, they could expand like a flood breaking through a dam, with unstoppable momentum.

And the Cidi cult’s expansion would, in turn, strengthen Ashu’s Cidi Evil Power.

This, too, was a form of resolution.

What people call the situation was, in Ashu’s eyes, nothing more than a matter of relative power. If he grew stronger, the enemy would grow weaker. That was his theory of relativity.

"To add something," Ashu said, "it’s already been two days since my beloved Parishioner was killed. I believe we all observe the Seven-Day Reincarnation cycle, which means—you have five days left to deliver the goods."

It wasn’t an excessive demand. They could do it—just a bit troublesome.

If it had been any other time, they never would’ve agreed. But times had changed. They had already gone this far just to keep the peace. A little more hassle didn’t matter.

"Fine! Then we’ll all just stay here and wait! No official business, no nothing!" Manaro growled through clenched teeth—aimed as much at Danver as anyone else.

As Cardinals of their respective cults, they both had mountains of daily affairs to deal with.

But this time, Danver remained silent.

Four days later, just as the night before the fifth day approached—

A convoy of carriages departed from the heart of the Kingdom of Ankgarde and made its way toward the border.

The carriages at the front and rear were filled with escorting soldiers. Only the ones in the middle held coins and Magic Stones.

Manaro, clearly unwilling, pulled back the tarp on one of the wagons, revealing stacks of gleaming gold coins.

"Let me make this clear," he said, "with the time you gave us, we couldn’t convert it into Atras coins. So we brought an equal value in gold. You verify it yourselves."

After four long days of staring each other down in this godforsaken wasteland, both sides were on edge.

Ashu wasn’t particularly skilled in verifying money or calculating exchange rates, so he didn’t intervene.

Instead, Bishop Geoffrey stepped forward of his own accord. "I’ll do it. That’ll be quicker."

He stepped up and immediately began casting a golden incantation.

Not long after, he spoke. "It checks out."

"And the Magic Stones?"

"Over here."

Geoffrey performed another round of verification, then turned to Danver and gave a slight nod. "Lord Danver, all is in order."

Before Danver could respond, Manaro cut in: "Great. Now that everything’s been handed over, we’re square. We can leave now, right? I’ve had it with this damned place."

"Hold on. Aren’t you forgetting something? You’re not leaving yet," Danver suddenly said.

Manaro paused.

He slapped a hand to his forehead, his face a picture of sheer frustration.

He had assumed that once these bastards got their way, they’d drop the pointless formalities.

But no—Danver, too, insisted on following the damn rules. Besides paying compensation, they still had to kneel and pray for the five dead Devotees.

"Fuck! ...Fine, let’s just get it the hell over with. Lead the way!"

Manaro casually selected five of his attendants and began walking toward the territory of the Atras Empire.

As a Cardinal of the prestigious Cult of the God of Deceit, he was actually being forced to kneel before a mere Bishop from a local branch of the Holy Cultivator Guild, and even bring along five of his own Parishioners to pray for the dead—for a full seven days.

What kind of fucking joke was this?!

Truly, a shameful stain in bold, permanent ink upon the annals of Ecclesiarchy history!

"Move out!"

Danver stood and raised his arm in command, his voice ringing with authority.

As the chief negotiator of this entire affair, and the Supreme Commander of these Paladin legions, his current mood could only be described as excellent—absolutely elated.

Not only had he secured honor and prestige, he’d also landed a completely unexpected fortune!

Of course, the seized wealth would be considered confiscated property, but it would still count toward his personal contribution record. It would go down in the history books of the Holy Cultivator Guild.

And yet, he was not the one who had made all this possible.

He had never expected the Cult of the God of Deceit to pay much in the first place. In fact, he had been far more concerned that their Devotees might try to stall or cheat him entirely.

"Ashu, Bishop," Danver said, wearing a warm smile that met only cold indifference. "This is all thanks to you. These Magic Stones—I present them to you as a personal reward, on behalf of the Parish."

Danver knew perfectly well who had made this whole outcome possible.

It was Ashu—Ashu who had played the role of the "bad cop" again and again, pressing the other side and securing both money, Magic Stones, and their public apology.

Danver also understood that he had blocked the Luminous Saint’s "offensive."

The Luminous Saint represented the Divine Mother Goddess. Even without an explicit oracle, her every action carried the will of the Goddess herself.

And yet, for the sake of maintaining stability, he had denied the Luminous Saint the opportunity to press further.

So now, he wanted to make amends.

Ashu looked at the pouch of Magic Stones Danver handed him. No reason to refuse—it would be stupid not to take it. He grabbed it at once and felt the contents.

Six stones in total.

"Stingy-ass reward."

"Heh... Bishop Ashu," Danver chuckled, "Magic Stones are incredibly rare gemstones—especially premium ones like these. Compared to ordinary Magic Stones, they can significantly increase the upper limit of your Magical Essence capacity."

Wait, what?

More than ordinary ones?

So the function of a Magic Stone... was to increase the upper limit of one’s Magical Essence?

It was only then that Ashu truly understood the value of these so-called "broken rocks."

If he gave them to Anna, Leia, and Ymir—and then let the system do its crit-enhanced magic—the results would be downright euphoric.

As twilight fell, Ashu fought hard to suppress the upward twitch of his lips. He said, "Very well. Let us hope the Divine Mother Goddess has been appeased. I won’t stay to keep you company—please make sure those people fulfill their duties exactly as agreed."

With that said—

Ashu wasted no time. He immediately cast a high-speed Flight Magic spell and shot off toward the town of Riven.

It was said that a healthy man needed to ejaculate at least once every three days.

Ashu had been stuck at the border for over four days. Even though he’d been milked dry on a daily basis before, the past four days of abstinence had left him unbearably pent-up.

The moment he returned to Riven Church, he couldn’t even wait—he used Water Magic to wash up quickly, grabbed Anna, and launched straight into battle.

As for things like whether the Parishioners’ restless souls could find peace...

Whether the sinners’ confessions were sincere...

Sorry. Not his department.

Panting heavily, he followed the stream with his hand, slipping into that warm, soft cavern—and at the same time, he took out two Magic Stones.

"Anna, try this."

"A Magic Stone?" Anna had also been holding back for days, and was just now lost in bliss. She barely managed to glance at it. "They even gave you one of these?"

"Why don’t you try using it?"

"No, better if you use it. I’m already in my second cultivation cycle—I’ve got more experience in every way. You, on the other hand, it’s your first time. Increasing your Magical Essence capacity would benefit you a lot more."

Anna’s cheeks were flushed pink, her tone thick with affection.

"I’ve got plenty, don’t worry. I’ll use them. But if you don’t show me how, how am I supposed to know how it works?"

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