In the study, Marvin gazed blankly at the flickering flame within the glass lamp.
He was pondering how to develop the Church of Truth.
According to his original plan, the Church could establish a firm foundation step by step, starting in New Ross City, then sending out a few missionaries to the surrounding cities to gradually grow stronger.
The process was slow, the benefit being that there was hardly any risk, and the Church wouldn't have to worry about funding, but...
Now, the situation had undergone a tremendous change. The arrival of the divine had directly shattered the old patterns. The Church was no longer a tool used by the Royal Family to control the thoughts of the commoners; instead, it had become a dominant force of power.
The stronger the Church one depended on, the more benefits, resources, land, and people one could acquire.
With continuous expansion, the Church's power would further increase. The strong would get stronger, and the weak... by then, there would simply be no place for the weak.
A weak Church wouldn't have any space to exist.
Luckily, the divine had only descended yesterday, and even if the Church's response was swift, in an era where news carried delays, it was impossible to react immediately.
This was particularly true for the larger churches, where the transmission of orders would take a considerable amount of time. For instance, the Church of the Three Fate, with its millions of followers scattered across the towns and villages of the Kingdom of Windsor, how long would it take for an instruction from the Pope in the King's Capital to reach all the chapels?
10 days, 15 days, or even longer...
This provided Marvin with a precious buffer, which was also the Church of Truth's greatest advantage.
He must seize the opportunity to develop and strengthen the Church at the fastest speed to prepare for the upcoming tremendous changes.
And to develop rapidly, the most convenient method was to gain the support of those in power. If Fourth Prince Arthur, the city lord, and the nobility were willing to support the Church of Truth, then the Church would surely occupy the entire New Ross City in the shortest time!
But how could he make the Church favored by the Fourth Prince and the nobles?
As Marvin was deeply contemplating, Little Black silently came to his side, rubbing its head against his feet and acting coquettishly, "Master... Master Miaow... Little Black wants to play with the yarn ball..."
Marvin calmly opened a drawer, took out a ball of yarn he had prepared earlier, casually threw it to the floor, and then continued thinking.
Little Black pounced excitedly on the yarn ball, rolling around on the floor and playing without a care.
Fat Orange, who had been lying on the windowsill watching the moonlight, heard the noise. He jumped down from the windowsill and elegantly walked to the table, then leaped onto it, his seemingly plump body moving with surprising agility.
"What are you thinking about?" Fat Orange asked.
Marvin glanced at him, "About the Church's sustainable development."
"Speak human."
A cat wants to listen to human talk?
Really...
After mentally grumbling, Marvin had to share his thoughts. It didn't matter to him whether Fat Orange understood or not; explaining was a good opportunity for him to straighten out his thoughts.
Unexpectedly...
After listening, Fat Orange unusually offered his opinion.
"I've heard you mention before that Fourth Prince Arthur is the King's illegitimate son. Unlike his three brothers, he lacks a powerful background, which is why the Archbishop and the nobility are unwilling to support him. With King Rod IV aging, the struggle for succession is surging like an undercurrent. At this critical moment, the powerless Fourth Prince was banished from the King's Capital and assigned to this remote land to be the city lord..."
While Marvin looked on in astonishment, Fat Orange calmly said, "So the Fourth Prince himself doesn't have a Church background, which fundamentally differs from the lords of other cities. Perhaps your decision to settle in New Ross City wasn't without this reason... From the beginning, you intended to use, or rather cooperate with, the Fourth Prince. But unfortunately, due to the many trivial matters of the Church, you haven't had the chance."
"...to be a cat really undermines your abilities," Marvin said, dumbfounded.
With such intelligence...
Truly a genius of a cat!
Staying in this small temple of mine really wrongs Fat Orange, the great Buddha.
"So what if it's a kitty?"
Fat Orange raised his head haughtily, "Can't a kitty have ambition?"
"Sure, of course it can."
Marvin smiled, "So what's your ambition?"
"To rule the world!"
"..."
A kitty that wants to rule the world?
What kind of monster had he raised...
Marvin couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me; I do things without needing anyone's guidance."
Fat Orange said calmly, "Seriously though, I discovered something very strange while I was out hunting for food today."
"What strange thing?"
"The taste of rat meat is off."
"You ate rat poison?!"
Marvin instantly sprang to his feet and moved to check on Fat Orange, "How many times have I told you not to eat the rats outside, we have food for you at home... if it comes to it, you could just steal meat from the butchers!"
"I'm fine, don't touch me." Fat Orange extended a plump paw to push Marvin's hand away, saying coldly, "Rats that have eaten rat poison emit a foul stench of death; how could I possibly eat them?"
"Besides, those butchers have already conspired with you. The moment I finish stealing, you're already there paying them, is that what you call stealing? Now whenever they see me, they can't stop grinning! Some even tell me to eat more! Are they insulting my intelligence or what?"
Relieved that Fat Orange hadn't ingested rat poison, Marvin's hanging heart settled. He leaned back, spread his hands, and said, "If you hadn't spoken today, who would have known your intelligence was so high... What's wrong with paying for food, it's only natural!"
"Alright, who's counting that with you." Fat Orange glanced at Little Black playing on the ground and said, "I'm not joking, the taste of the rat meat in the city has indeed changed. Although the texture is the same as usual, once you bite through the skin, a faint black vapor seeps out!"
Black vapor?
Marvin furrowed his brows, and before he could further inquire, he heard Fat Orange add, "Three cats in the city have been poisoned today. I came to warn you, this is not an ordinary matter, there must be something fishy going on!"
"You also ate rat meat, why weren't you poisoned?"
"It must be the Blessing Power given to me by Goddess Yuniya," Fat Orange said. "The black vapor dissipated quickly after entering my body. I have already informed the stray cats in the city not to eat any rats for the time being, just kill them and collect the bodies."
"Where are the bodies?"
"In the backyard."
"You piled up dead rats in our backyard?!"
"I'm warning you not to sneak any, the meat really is poisoned!"
"..."
After moving his lips a few times, Marvin found himself speechless for a moment.
Eventually, he stood up, picked up Little Black, who was greedily playing on the ground, and said:
"Let's go, let's check out the backyard."