In the study, Maiev stared blankly at the flickering flame inside the glass lamp.
He was thinking about how to develop the Church of Truth.
According to his original plan, the church would grow steadily. First, establish a foundation in New Ross City, then send missionaries to surrounding cities, expanding step by step.
This process was slow, but it had the advantage of low risk and no financial pressure. But...
The situation had changed drastically. The descent of the Gods had shattered the old model. The church was no longer just a tool for the monarchy to control the thoughts of the commoners; it had become the dominant force of power.
Whoever relied on the stronger church would gain more benefits, resources, land, and people.
With continuous expansion, the church's strength would further increase. The strong would get stronger, and the weak... eventually, the weak would cease to exist.
Small churches would have no room to survive.
Fortunately, the Gods had only descended yesterday. No matter how fast the churches reacted, in this era of lagging information, they couldn't respond immediately.
Especially the massive churches. Sending an order from the Pope in the capital to every church in the kingdom would take time. Ten days, fifteen days, perhaps longer...
This gave Maiev a precious buffer zone. It was the Church of Truth's greatest advantage.
He had to seize this opportunity to grow the church rapidly to cope with the impending upheaval.
The quickest way to develop was to gain the support of those in power. If Arthur Windsor, the Fourth Prince and Lord of the City, along with the nobles, supported the Church of Truth, then the church could dominate New Ross City in no time!
But how to gain their favor?
While Maiev was deep in thought, Little Black quietly approached him, rubbing its head against his leg and purring. "Master... Master, meow... Little Black wants to play with the yarn ball..."
Maiev calmly opened a drawer, took out a prepared ball of yarn, tossed it on the floor, and continued thinking.
Little Black pounced on it excitedly, rolling on the floor with the yarn, playing without a care in the world.
Fat Orange, who had been lying on the windowsill watching the moon, heard the noise. He jumped down, walked to the desk with elegant steps, and leaped up. His fat body was surprisingly agile.
"What are you thinking about?" Fat Orange asked.
Maiev glanced at him. "Sustainable development of the church."
"Speak human."
You, a cat, want to hear human speech?
Really...
Complaining internally, Maiev explained his thoughts. It didn't matter if Fat Orange understood; it was a good way for Maiev to organize his own thoughts.
Unexpectedly...
After listening, Fat Orange expressed an opinion.
"I heard you say before that the Fourth Prince, Arthur, is the King's illegitimate son. Unlike his three brothers, he has no background or power, so the archbishops and nobles don't support him. King Rhodes IV is old, and the succession battle is brewing. At this critical juncture, the powerless Fourth Prince was exiled from the capital and appointed Lord of this border city..."
Under Maiev's astonished gaze, Fat Orange continued calmly, "So the Fourth Prince has no church backing him. This is fundamentally different from lords of other cities. I suspect this is a major reason why you chose to settle in New Ross City... From the beginning, you planned to use, or cooperate with, the Fourth Prince. Unfortunately, the church kept you too busy these years, and you never found an opportunity."
"... Being a cat is truly a waste of your talents." Maiev was dumbfounded.
With this IQ...
He was a genius among cats!
Keeping him in this small temple was truly doing Fat Orange a disservice.
"So what if I'm a cat?"
Fat Orange raised his head, disdainful. "Can't a cat have ambition?"
"Yes, of course."
Maiev smiled. "So, what is your ambition?"
"To unify the world!"
"..."
A cat that wants to rule the world?
What kind of monster had he raised...
Maiev couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me. I never need others to dictate my actions."
Fat Orange looked serious. "Speaking of serious matters, when I went out to forage today, I discovered something very strange."
"What strange thing?"
" The rats taste wrong."
"Did you eat rat poison?!"
Maiev instantly sat up straight, reaching out to check Fat Orange. "How many times have I told you not to eat wild rats? It's not like there's no food at home... Or go steal meat from the butchers!"
"I'm fine, don't touch me." Fat Orange slapped Maiev's hand away with a paw. "Rats that have eaten poison smell of death; I wouldn't eat them."
"And those butchers are in cahoots with you. I grab the meat, you pay later. Do you call that stealing? Now, whenever they see me, they grin like idiots! Some even tell me to eat more! Are they insulting my intelligence?"
Hearing he hadn't eaten poison, Maiev relaxed. He leaned back and spread his hands. "If you hadn't spoken today, who would know your IQ was so high... What's wrong with paying? Paying for food is righteous!"
"Fine, I'm not arguing about that."
Fat Orange glanced at Little Black playing on the floor. "I'm not joking. The taste of rat meat in the city has indeed changed. The texture is normal, but when you bite open the skin, a faint black mist comes out from inside!"
Black mist?
Maiev frowned. Before he could ask, Fat Orange added, "Three cats in the city were poisoned today. I'm warning you, this is not normal. There's something fishy going on!"
"You ate the meat too. Why aren't you poisoned?"
"It should be the Goddess Yunia's blessing at work," Fat Orange said. "The black mist dissipated quickly after entering my body. I've already notified the stray cats in the city not to eat rats for now, just kill them and pile the bodies up."
"Where are the bodies?"
"In the backyard."
"You piled dead rats in my backyard?!"
"I'm warning you, don't steal them. The meat is really poisonous!"
"..."
Maiev's lips twitched. He was speechless.
Finally, he stood up, picked up Little Black from the floor, and said:
"Let's go. To the backyard."