The Rise of the Black Plain

Abe received information about every strange movement around his city. As such, Minos' earlier prank had reached his ears and scared the hell out of him.

After all, who would joke with Iron Hearts? No one in the Spiritual Church would do such nonsense!

And since these people kept their identities secret, he could not help suspecting that they were of such an order and were there out of suspicion against him!

So, as he stood facing these people, his heart began to beat faster, and he thought he had to try to probe the matter further by talking to these people.

"May I know who you people are? It is not common for members of the Spiritual Church to wear masks and ordinary clothes like you do." He stood up from his seat and said this while drawing the attention of several people in the surrounding area.

Upon hearing that, the three women of Minos were surprised, but none responded to Abe, even though this prince was addressing one of them. Instead, they all looked at their husband, who was currently staring at that person.

The two Patriarchs also looked in Minos' direction since they knew this young man was not ordinary.

They were not the same individuals who had discussed Minos' group earlier, but they knew about this person and had their curiosities.

Minos then surprised Abe by answering in place of his wives. "Your Highness, the Church clothing code doesn't apply to us, and there aren't any rules about wearing masks. So, we naturally behave in such a way."

Some of Abe's vassals looked strangely at Minos, not liking that this fellow was still making excuses instead of simply removing the mask from his face.

"Is there a special reason for that? I feel it is disrespectful against my family for outsiders not to identify themselves when coming to our event." Abe pressed, probing what the problem was.

"Of course there is..." Minos sincerely said. "We are searching for someone, but that person may be in disguise since he has the power, an extraordinary power..."

"A person?" Abe began to feel better, thinking that a chase was less bad than an investigation.

As Minos' eyes narrowed, he tried to test the prince. "The clues left by that person run through here nearby... I believe he is fleeing to the Black Plain."

"Recently, fanatical madmen think they can go into that place and act as they wish..."

Hearing about the Black Plain made Abe's heart beat harder, but as someone who was used to the plots of a royal family, he restrained himself from showing his fears.

Minos saw this but was not naive to think that such a person would hand him his own head on a platter. Instead, a high-level culprit would naturally exhibit unusual behavior that was difficult to unravel.

At the same time, some people in the surrounding area who were already finding the situation strange looked at the two Patriarchs with doubt in their eyes.

The King asked. "Who are those?"

One of them bitterly laughed and said. "I don't know. They have not given their name though they are passing through the kingdom."

"They didn't?" Some people in the area found this strange.

'How can mere Spiritual Emperors keep the secrecy of their information even from Spiritual Saints?'

One of Abe's subordinates then asked. "What's your name? Perhaps we can help you find this person."

"My name is Pyke," Minos said, remembering that there were people with that name in the Church at the time of Henricus Longus.

"Pyke?" The King exclaimed in surprise. "I've strangely encountered someone called that coming from the Church's headquarters..."

Minos laughed and said. "I come from a long line of Pykes, Your Majesty..."

With that, the people there realized that Minos would not give his real name and that this was probably a custom where he had come from.

But since they were just Spiritual Emperors, apart from the worried and guilty Abe, no one else there gave much thought to Minos' group.

They were curious, of course, but with so many experts in the area, high-level people in this state with the power to change their projects, they soon put the matter aside.

But Abe was still worried because Minos had mentioned the Black Plain.

As such, he could no longer maintain his previous good humor and was worried about potential dangers.

While he became much less talkative, Minos did not fail to notice such a thing, seeing from time to time how this prince seemed more natural before his group's arrival.

'Looks like this guy is afraid of something...'  He pondered, not only watching Abe so as not to attract attention.

His wives also paid attention to their surroundings, noting who was subordinate to whom so they would know who to act against after this occasion.

They sensed that Minos seemed to have many thoughts on his mind, but they did not try to talk about it with him to avoid attracting attention from the people in the surroundings.

That was a dangerous place, where the walls had ears and eyes too!

So they behaved according to the previous Church member's advice. They did not try to talk to people with the brooch with the royal symbol of the Vogel family, while they behaved so as not to attract more attention than they should.

...

An hour and a half later...

The royal breakfast was finally over, and everyone present was soon directed to the VIP area built on one side of the estate where the royal palace was.

Now it was time for the beginning of the public event to be opened by the royal family, something that would take place in front of the main square of this city, from where the parade of the royal guard and the state army would depart.

With this, Minos and his wives followed along with the other people with access to this area, passing by one side of a large garden while they were far behind in the group.

The more powerful ones were naturally further ahead, while Spiritual Emperors like them were far behind.

Because of this, they also got a little more privacy to talk to each other.

"Honey, what do you think of the previous situation? I noticed that you were very focused..." Ruth commented as she spoke next to one of her husband's ears.

He then said in a low voice. "My instincts are telling me that that woman was right. And I already have an idea where to start."

"Oh?" Gloria, who was on his other side, opened her mouth, curious to know if such a suspect was who she was thinking.

"Just to be sure, we're going to act against more than one person to throw off any kind of suspicion on us. But I think the culprit is the one you are thinking of."

So, while chatting, they soon arrived at where they would be staying at the beginning of that public celebration.