While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly-Chapter 65: The Princess’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony

"So, finally reunited with your sexy mistress, hmm?"

A voice came from the gate of the manor.

Anna had already been standing there ever since she sensed the Cardinal’s sudden outburst, and had watched Vivita step in to save the day.

At those words, Ashu wasn’t particularly bothered—

He’d gotten used to it by now.

Vivita, on the other hand, immediately looked uneasy.

Even though her union with Ashu had been blessed by the Divine Mother Goddess,

she was, after all, the newcomer.

Ashu and Anna had been husband and wife long before she entered the picture.

"I—I’m sorry, Your Holiness the Saintess," Vivita hurried over to Anna and bowed with solemn apology.

Anna raised an eyebrow, faintly surprised.

In her understanding, the Twelve Demon-Hunting Nuns weren’t exactly known for deep emotional capacity.

Even if one of them slept with Ashu, it was likely just a matter of physical need.

But this Demon Huntress Nun was different.

Her feelings... were growing fuller, more human.

As if she had shattered the emotional suppression instilled by the Church since childhood—

as if she had undergone a second coming-of-age.

"You don’t need to apologize," Anna said. "If anything, I should be the one thanking you. You saved Ashu."

"It was my duty," Vivita replied.

Then, realizing she might have spoken too presumptuously, she added:

"Protecting the ’Luminous Saint’... is part of the Twelve Demon-Hunting Nuns’ responsibilities."

Upon hearing that, Anna couldn’t help but tease:

"So what you’re saying is... my husband’s still got eleven mistresses to collect?"

"Huh?!"

Vivita was completely flustered.

She hadn’t expected Anna to say that.

She had assumed the Saintess would insist on having Ashu all to herself—

after all, this was the exalted Saintess!

The Twelve Demon-Hunting Nuns might be powerful, yes,

but at the end of the day, they were nuns.

Servants. Instruments of the Church.

What she didn’t realize...

was that Anna had possessed a frightening level of clarity since childhood.

Back in their Gorn Village days, when countless girls had vied for Ashu’s affection,

Anna hadn’t tried to drive them away—

she had simply made sure she secured the position of the main wife first.

"Your Holiness the Saintess, that’s not what I meant," Vivita hurried to explain. "I... I only came back because of a scheduled assignment. A little girl at Goth Manor has been possessed by a demon, but the root cause is her family’s sins. I planned to return after they had atoned for some time, then deal with the demon. That just happened to be when I discovered Ashu."

"So what you’re saying is... it was just convenient timing? You didn’t come specifically to save Ashu?"

"No, no, no, that’s not it! I actually..."

Watching Vivita flustered under Anna’s teasing, Ashu finally stepped in and said,

"Alright, Anna, let’s take this conversation inside."

Given the spellcasting from earlier, plus the Cardinal’s sudden appearance,

a crowd would surely gather in front of the manor before long.

He was just a guest here—not the master of Kakase.

There was no reason for him to face the city’s masses.

The three of them returned to the manor.

Ashu took the opportunity to shift the subject,

"So that transfer order from HQ was real? There’s heresy here too?"

Could it be that this border city, Kakase, was just like Riven Town—

Outwardly ruled by the Holy Cultivator Guild’s branch, but secretly plagued by cultists?

Vivita gently shook her head and replied,

"No. What we’re dealing with here are demons."

Hearing that, Ashu glanced up toward the second floor.

Vivita understood his meaning and explained,

"It’s not just this household’s demon. Multiple demonic manifestations have occurred around Kakase. Headquarters suspects it’s part of an enemy’s scheme. I’ve killed quite a few, but I’ve never managed to clean them out completely. Every time I eliminate one group, another appears."

"Is it possible someone’s summoning them in secret?"

"We can’t trace it," Vivita answered without objection.

Ashu pondered for a moment. That meant Vivita would likely be on assignment here for quite some time.

Now that she had killed the Cardinal’s son, freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Kakarim was not going to let it go easily.

But with Vivita stationed here, he wouldn’t dare act again anytime soon.

With strength like hers, if Ashu were outside the Church’s protection,

he really would have no way to counter her.

Unless, of course, he could carry a giant Divine Mother Goddess statue with him at all times.

But knowing Ashu—he despised having someone constantly lurking in the shadows, threatening him.

If the opportunity arose, he would take out Cardinal Kakarim.

And that was clearly more difficult than killing Midaldas.

Back then, Ashu had been much weaker than he was now—

but Midaldas had been far weaker than Kakarim.

The gap in strength between them had been relatively small.

Now, even though Ashu had grown stronger,

Kakarim’s strength was in an entirely different league.

The disparity between the two of them was enormous—

even without Anna’s Twelfth Stage of Spiritual Perception analysis, Ashu could feel it through experience alone.

Just then—

Vivita suddenly remembered something.

She reached into her robe and pulled out a gold-embossed envelope.

She handed the invitation to Ashu and said,

"Oh, right. This is an invitation from Princess Isabella Atras. Her coming-of-age ceremony is in three months. She hopes the ’Luminous Saint’ will officiate her baptism. I had originally planned to deliver this after purging the demons in Kakase and then heading to Riven... but since we’ve met now, I might as well give it to you directly."

In front of Vivita, Ashu opened the invitation.

Inside, it was even simpler than a Holy Cultivator Guild memo—just one line.

"Come to my coming-of-age ceremony."

No date. No signature.

The handwriting was far from neat. To put it bluntly—it looked like a dog had scratched it out.

"A princess?" Ashu tucked the invitation away for now and added,

"Did the royal family never hire her a calligraphy tutor?"

"That princess was born a warrior," Vivita said. "You’d better not say that to her face, or she’ll definitely challenge you to a duel."

Ashu gave a small nod.

Three months wasn’t enough time for him to feel confident about killing Cardinal Kakarim.

But if he could form a bond with the princess, perhaps he could gain something interesting in return—

and more importantly, secure some real political backing.

Though the Atras Empire valued divine authority over royal power, that was only true at a peer-to-peer level.

If you compared the royal family alone to a single cardinal, naturally, the crown held more sway.

Still—

before that, he needed to improve his own power and cultivation level.

Before arriving in Kakase, Ashu’s cultivation had already been stuck at the peak of the Mage tier—

just one step short of breaking through the bottleneck and ascending to the proud rank of Archmage.

And Archmage wasn’t just a fancy title—

Magic cast by an Archmage, even simple spells like Water Ball or Fireball, would gain explosive additional power.

In short, it was a qualitative leap in magical potency.

"Your Holiness Ashu."

Old Goth descended the stairs with his granddaughter in his arms.

He had noticed Vivita, and naturally understood what had just occurred outside the manor.

He walked up and said,

"Your Holiness Ashu, as per our agreement, you may take half my fortune—or my life. You killed Kakayather alone and didn’t hinder the situation. I’m truly sorry for my earlier doubts."

"Forget about your life."

"Thank you for sparing me."

Old Goth bowed deeply. "I’ll begin dividing up half the estate as soon as possible. The transfer agreement will be delivered to your room later today."

With that said, he quickly excused himself.

In the presence of a Demon Huntress Nun, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Watching him retreat, Vivita’s gray eyes narrowed.

"This family’s ancestors made their first fortune by relying on demonic power. And now their descendants have tried to do it again. I never intended to redeem them... but demon hunting is my duty. Looks like you’ve already taken care of it for me."

Ashu made no attempt to refuse the financial compensation—

it was payment they had agreed upon, not bribery or greed.

Now that he was a branch Bishop, he no longer cared for money personally.

"I’ll use the funds to develop Paladin operations for the Riven branch."

With this sum, plus the confiscated dirty money left behind by Midaldas,

he’d likely be able to build a solid Paladin force.

Then he continued,

"You two, I think I’m close to a breakthrough. Let’s save the small talk for tonight."

In terms of innate talent, Anna’s cultivation speed should naturally surpass Ashu’s.

But the faster she cultivated, the faster Ashu’s cultivation progressed.

After Ashu became the "Luminous Saint," the gap widened even more dramatically.

Anna surveyed their surroundings before stating, "Let’s return to the chamber for the breakthrough. Kakase lacks areas with concentrated Magical Essence. The location makes no difference."

Vivita nodded in agreement, offering, "I can guide the energy flow for you."

...

The trio returned to the shared bedchamber.

Ashu immediately began regulating his breathing to enter proper cultivation state.

Meanwhile, Anna and Vivita found themselves locking gazes.

"Why stare at me? Weren’t you going to assist Ashu’s energy guidance?" Anna questioned from her position by the bed.

Vivita shifted uncomfortably, stammering, "Perhaps...you should take the lead, Your Holiness Saintess."

Under Anna’s presence, the silver-haired elf felt restrained. Unlike Leia’s innocent forest elf nature, her secret affair with Ashu had been deliberately concealed from Anna. Without the main wife’s explicit approval, she couldn’t fully lift her head with dignity.

Contrary to expectations, Anna simply remarked, "What’s wrong? Is your guidance method embarrassing? I’ll turn around then." She pivoted to face the wall, though still maintaining sidelong observation.

Left with no alternative, Vivita reluctantly approached. Her so-called guidance involved using her superior cultivation realm to forcibly gather ambient Magical Essence from the surroundings, then channeling these refined energies directly into Ashu.

However, her hidden motive stemmed from lingering memories of their forbidden encounter during their separation. This "guidance" pretext concealed her true desire to rekindle intimacy with Ashu - the real source of her discomfort. With Anna’s watchful presence, she resolved to maintain restraint...

Or so Vivita initially believed.

Yet when Ashu completed his breathing adjustments and sensed Vivita’s proximity, his hands naturally gravitated toward her ample bosom.