《After Being Sold Out By The Empire, I Decide To Assist The Demon King》 Chapter 1 In the capital of the Empire, the Alkaras residence. This was the estate the Empress had personally rewarded the Chief Consul, Ira Alkaras. This place should have been where the Empire¡¯s meritorious officials lived, but it was now surrounded by the Empire¡¯s soldiers. The atmosphere was solemn. A storm was coming and was swaying in the wind like the thorn flowers planted on both sides of the street. ¡°Mr. Kampot, please inform the Chief Consul that the leave has ended early.¡± The Empire¡¯s general, who looked to have a high status, reported to a middle-aged man who was standing in front of the Alkaras family estate. ¡°¡­¡± However, the man called Kampot only stood in front of the mansion and said neither servile nor overbearing, ¡°Lord Ira is not here. He left the mansion three days ago.¡± The general made a request with the same etiquette. ¡°Please make way, Mr. Kampot Alkaras. The battle at the front line is tense and needs the support of the Chief Consul. This is the order of the Empress.¡± Regarding the words of the general leading the soldiers, Campot naturally did not believe them¡ª Battle at the front line? There was almost a truce at the front line! ¡°Lord Ira is not here,¡± he only said. The general could not do anything to this gatekeeper who did not listen. Although he was doing something on orders, before the order officially arrived, they were not qualified to barge into the Chief Consul¡¯s house. The atmosphere became oppressive¡­ Even the children in the capital could sense that the atmosphere had changed recently. Therefore, this gatekeeper¡¯s attitude undoubtedly belonged to the category of pretending to be stupid. As the general frowned, the soldiers behind him dispersed. A person with circles of patterns on his neck passed through the soldiers and handed the general a piece of parchment. ¡°Minister Nathan, this is the search warrant.¡± ¡°Thank you, Consul.¡± In response to this man in his twenties with a black incantation-like pattern on his neck, the general glanced at the mud on the parchment¡­ There seemed to be something wrong with the pattern. ¡°Consul, is this search warrant really personally given by the Empress¡­?¡± ¡°¡­¡± However, he only received a silent gaze. ¡°I understand.¡± As the general spoke, he took a deep breath and announced loudly, ¡°This is a search warrant! Her Majesty personally drafted a decree to investigate the Alkaras family thoroughly! Arrest the sinner, Ira Alkaras!¡± He initially thought that the gatekeeper in front of him would firmly stop him, but to the general¡¯s surprise, the other party actually took the initiative to move aside. He said very unwillingly, ¡°Yes¡­¡± At this point, this old gatekeeper, Campot, had already become teary-eyed, but he still said firmly, ¡°Lord Ira definitely didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± However, in fact, even the three-year-old children of the Empire knew this. ¡°¡­¡± After a moment of silence, the general waved his hand and commanded the soldiers behind him, ¡°Search! Investigate the Alkaras family thoroughly. On the orders of the Empress, protect the rest of the Alkaras family.¡± ¡°Yes!!!¡± ¡°Yes!!!¡± ¡°Yes!!!¡± In a unanimous response, the Empire also welcomed the largest rebellion. The former Chief Consul, Ira Alkaras, was given the highest-level arrest warrant by the Empire. The first Consul who had fought for the Empire for half a lifetime had almost single-handedly changed the situation of the Empire and Demon Battlefield from a disadvantage to a draw and vaguely an advantage¡ª Ira Alkaras. ¡­ He was announced as a traitor by the Empire! Chapter 2 A man flew quickly in the sky. The dragon-like wings on his back flapped quickly, bringing with them a huge wind pressure. This person who looked to be 18 or 19 years old was flying towards the further border of the Empire covered in blood. ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± The panting man maintained an extremely fast speed as he flew forward. His neck was covered in ring-like decorations. Almost all the dense black incantations had turned transparent. Only faint dark traces could be seen. This was clearly not a good sign. This was because this was a sign of the Rune Bond drying up, and now, he had pursuers behind him. ¡°Third Wing Pillar¡ªDimensional Monster¡ªWing Spread!¡± Almost at the same time that the man slowed down because of the insufficient number of incantations, such a female voice sounded from the distant sky¡­ The man only had the chance to turn around, but he did not have the strength to dodge the fragments flying from the transparent wings on the other party¡¯s back. After slashing his body, the broken wing fragments that were like countless pieces of glass turned into a transparent chain that connected space itself to the man¡¯s body and tied him to the sky. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± ¡°Ha¡­ Ha¡­¡± The two of them panted at the same time to recover their strength. Be it the man or the woman floating opposite the man at this moment, there were circles of densely arranged runes on their necks. This meant that the two of them had the same profession: a profession created by Ira that was exclusive to the Empire¡ª [Consul] However, at this moment, the man¡¯s runes had almost turned transparent, but the runes on half of the woman¡¯s neck were black¡­ ¡°Phew¡­ let go of me, Hedlyn.¡± The man who had recovered his strength said, but the woman who tied him up opposite him looked very nervous. She was seriously preparing for battle, just like how she was at a disadvantage now. ¡°That¡¯s impossible, Lord Ira¡­¡± As a Consul, she had no choice but to take the tied-up Ira seriously. ¡°This is the Empress¡¯s decree. Lord Ira, you should return to the Empire¡­¡± Hedlyn said this as the decree she received was to bring Ira back. ¡°Think about it. How can her handwriting be so ugly?!¡± As Ira Alkaras said this, his face was filled with emotion as he said, ¡°If she writes such ugly words, her father will climb up from the grave to beat her up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Regarding this, Hedlyn was silent for a long time, but she still advised, ¡°Teacher, even if you go back, no one can do anything to you¡­ Just go back and explain clearly.¡± This was once his student, but compared to him, she had to obey the Empress¡¯s decree¡­ This was rare in the Empire. In fact, Ira had never told anyone that he was not a native of this world, but a transmigrator from the Blue Planet. In this world where there were [magic], [mana], [magic crystal], and [demonic creature], Ira had become a glorious mage at first, and then for some reason, he had become a very impressive Great Mage. Then, for some very impressive reasons, he became the first [Consul] in the world, or rather¡­ At that time, his position was the Consul in charge of teaching the current Empress, so this profession was called the [Consul]. After that, many things happened, including turning around the war situation with the demons and popularizing the [Consul] profession. Apart from changing people¡¯s livelihoods and introducing technology revolutionary to this world, Ira also used the wisdom of his previous life to do a lot of things. It was very normal for some of Ira¡¯s thoughts to anger the nobles, because he, who came from a beautiful era, definitely had some thoughts that conflicted with those nobles. However, he was also one of the greatest nobles of his Ira faction. He had thought that he had also reached some kind of tacit understanding with Grand Duke Caligula of the noble faction¡­ It turned out that he did not. ¡°It probably can¡¯t be Caligula¡­ Although that guy is my enemy, he won¡¯t do anything to anger me. Then it can only be the stupid other nobles under him.¡± Ira, who was bound by the chains in the void, complained helplessly. He really did not understand this¡­ It was not beneficial for both sides to fall out. ¡°If only Yosef was still alive. Isabella is still too young¡­¡± Ira sighed. ¡°Lord Ira, even if you¡¯re the Empress¡¯s teacher, it¡¯s not good to say this¡­¡± As she spoke, she sensed something and said, ¡°You said that there¡¯s a price for us Consuls to pay when using the power of demonic creatures. It will cause our emotions to be even more unstable and cause us to mutate, so we have to remain calm.¡± The meaning of this was obvious. She hoped that Ira would calm down. ¡°Do you know how long I work in a day?¡± Ira asked. Hedlyn knew that it was about 20 hours. However, Ira did not give her a chance to answer and immediately said, ¡°If I obediently return to the Empire, it¡¯ll be very difficult for the non-radical factions of Her Highness, the nobles, and myself¡­¡± Hedlyn could not understand this. She did not know what compromise and exchange of benefits were¡­ Therefore, she could not understand the complicated relationship between the Ira faction and the noble faction. ¡°Look, there are so many students chasing me. Most of them are pretending to have exhausted their energy, so they can¡¯t chase after me. Only you, the silliest one, chased me here, right?¡± Ira sighed helplessly. ¡­ In any case, he would not die no matter what¡­ Thinking of this, Hedlyn was only silent. After a long time, she said, ¡°However, this is not a reason for Lord Ira to escape. No matter what, it¡¯s wrong to rebel.¡± ¡°Whether you believe it or not, it¡¯s the opposite¡­¡± Ira lowered his head and said softly. At this moment, Hedlyn had already begun to sense that something was wrong. Hedlyn felt a strange smell in Ira¡¯s words¡ªan inexplicable sulfuric smell. ¡°The Empire betrayed me.¡± Ira, who spoke calmly, looked up. A pair of vertical pupils that were similar to the dragon¡¯s looked into Hedlyn¡¯s eyes. At some point, the runes on his neck had lost their black and transparent color. They turned extremely blood-red. ¡°First Wing Pillar¡ªScarlet Dragon¡ªWing Shattering!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The moment the calm voice sounded, the demonic creature¡¯s mana (magic power), which resided in the Consul¡¯s spine, played its role. It consumed a portion of the world incantation connected to the Rune Bond on his neck and communicated with the World Tree, obtaining a large amount of magic power through stealing. If the order was [Wing Spread], this magic power would gently spread the Consul¡¯s wings. However, if the order was [Wing Shattering], this magic power would be used to activate the ultimate killing move until the wings were completely shattered and could not be used anymore. ¡°Lord Ira! Your body can¡¯t¡­¡± Hedlyn shouted, but before she could finish, the entire border garrison of the Empire saw the extreme red that covered the entire sky the next moment. It was as if hundreds of suns had appeared in the sky above the Empire¡¯s border at the same time. Chapter 3 ¡°Cough¡­ cough cough¡­¡± When he woke up again, Ira coughed almost immediately. A burning sensation that existed in his soul came from his heart and throat, and the location on his back where he had activated the [First Wing Pillar] was the same. This was the price of ignoring the consumption of the Rune Bond and forcefully using the power that belonged to the Consul. It was just like how the casters would fall unconscious if they overused the magic power in their bodies¡­ ¡°Cough¡­ cough, cough, cough¡­¡± Coughing continuously, Ira looked around at his surroundings. What he saw was a dark cell. The steel bars and the door above formed the barrier between the cell and the aisle. On the other side of the aisle were naturally other cells. In Ira¡¯s memory, he had completely detonated his last ¡°wing¡±. That power should be enough to block his pursuers, and he threw himself into the rapid river with his last strength. If nothing went wrong, he should be able to drift all the way to the Elf Kingdom. However, the surrounding prison meant that he did not seem to have escaped¡­ Could it be that he had really been imprisoned? ¡°Isabella! Don¡¯t tell me you want to turn on your teacher?!¡± Ira shouted with a headache. He acutely smelled the change in the Empire and prepared to escape, but¡­ did he fail? Next, there might really be a civil war. Although he would win, that also proved that the situation was heading toward a bad outcome¡­ He did not want to be draped in a yellow robe. [Minister Ira ~ I¡¯ll leave my daughter to you in the future! Turn her into your spouse!] He vaguely remembered the previous Emperor who had raised his thumb and revealed his teeth with a smile. He had said such strange things to Ira. What a memorable Emperor¡­ ¡°Could it be that Yosef had long expected this day? I hope I won¡¯t become Her Highness¡¯s¡­¡± While Ira was making such a helpless guess, his gaze focused on the shackle on his hand¡­ With just a glance, his gaze changed, and the calm and nostalgic emotions instantly disappeared. This was because this was the shackle of the [Forbidden Magic Stone]. As the name suggested, the Forbidden Magic Stone was a special material that could deprive the caster and other magic professions of the ability to use mana. It was the nemesis of magic professions. However, although the activation of the Consul¡¯s ability required the use of mana and was very easy to be misunderstood as being affected by the Forbidden Magic Stone, because of the mana¡¯s [source], it was actually not restricted. If it was the Empire, they would definitely know this. Thinking about something, Ira reached out and touched his neck. Just as he had expected¡­ the feedback from the world runes clearly told him that it had recovered to 3/5. The world runes on the Consul¡¯s Rune Bond would recover by 1/5 every day. In other words¡­ Ira was unconscious for three days. ¡­ While Ira was still thinking about what faction this might be a prison cell, as if he had heard something, he looked in a certain direction in the aisle outside the prison fence. Clang! Clang! From that side, the sound of armor colliding with armor sounded. It sounded like a heavily armored knight walking over. There were two of them¡­ were they here to find him? After confirming this, Ira was prepared to fight. He whispered the [Triggered Effect] ability, which was the same chant as before, ¡°First¡­¡± However, Ira¡¯s words stopped. It was not that others had done anything, but¡­ he had already exhausted all his wings in the process of being chased. If it was [Wing Spread], the wings would only slowly wear out. However, if it was [Wing Shattering], the stored wings would directly shatter. What he obtained in exchange for the extreme power was a completely disproportionate utilization and expenditure of energy¡ªif the utilization rate was too low, the expenditure would be too high. Clang! Clang! ¡°¡­¡± Under Ira¡¯s serious gaze, the two armors arrived in front of her cell. What was lamentable was that these two armors did not have helmets or the organs they should have under them. In their place were small balls of blue flames floating where the head should have been. The faint blue light illuminated the originally dark cell, but this did not ease the gloominess that originally existed here. Instead, it became even stranger. ¡°Dullahan (Headless Horseman)¡­¡± As he spoke, Ira also realized his current location at this moment¡­ In fact, he could more or less guess that he was undoubtedly in the territory of the demonic creatures. After going down the river, had he been captured by demons? However, it was unknown which city he was in now. Since there was such a high-level demonic creature, he was either at the front line of the battlefield or approaching the hinterland of Demon King City¡­ He hoped it was the former. Clang! Clang! Under the collision of the armor and Ira¡¯s gaze, the two Headless Horsemen who had stopped outside the cell had no intention of communicating with him. Instead, they made way at the same time, as if waiting for someone to arrive. Ira had naturally killed the Headless Horseman (Dullahan) in the past. Moreover, the Headless Horseman¡¯s mana was very suitable to be used as material for the second and fourth wing pillars¡­ Of course, the current Ira was definitely not the Headless Horseman¡¯s match. As Ira pondered, the sound of running came from the other end of the aisle. The running person was chasing after the sound of high heels. ¡°Demon King! Please don¡¯t take the risk!¡± It was a very anxious female voice that could be associated with a mature working woman. As she chased, she advised, ¡°We haven¡¯t confirmed if the other party has lost his combat ability! Demon King?!¡± Demon King? Ira was stunned. At this moment, he also realized where such a spacious prison that gave people extreme psychological pressure would appear. Coupled with the name of ¡°Demon King¡±, his current location was undoubtedly¡­ [Demon King City¡ªDemiplane Prison] Because it was not established in the main material plane, the difficulty of escaping was extremely high. To Ira, this was not good news. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Demon King¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Facing Ira through the iron fence was a loli who looked to be about ten years old¡­ She had dark red scaled wings that were like blood on her back and a pair of red horns on her head. Behind her was a female demon in high heels and black stockings with a trademark tail and horns. Just from her appearance, he could already tell her race¡ªSuccubus. Without a doubt, the so-called ¡°Demon King¡± was the black-haired girl in front of Ira. This was the worst situation because¡­ Ira had always used the [First Wing Pillar] as his trump card. The mana¡¯s source was the former Demon King, the Scarlet Dragon, whom Ira had once killed, and the young Demon King in front of him was probably that guy¡¯s¡­ daughter? Ira felt a little guilty as¡­ he thought about how to kill the Demon King in front of him and snatch her mana to fill his empty [Wing] reserves. Chapter 4 At this moment, it was time to briefly describe what a [Consul] was. In short, this was a profession used to harvest the lives of demonic creatures on a large scale. There were many professions in this world, and most of them needed to consume mana to fight. This meant that it was difficult for a person to change the situation of war. This was because people would be tired, and the mana¡¯s recovery would also consume their energy. This was the reason why the Empire retreated in defeat in the face of the attack of the demonic creatures. Although both sides no longer remembered which side attacked first, before Ira appeared, the Empire was definitely on the brink of destruction. The arrival of Ira and the [Consul] changed everything¡­ The Consul almost did not have any combat ability. He did not cultivate combat techniques or learn magic. Instead, through the loading of the [Rune Bond], he obtained the ability to snatch the demonic creature¡¯s ability and mana. After consuming the world runes on the [Rune Bond] that recovered over time, he could use the [Wings] on the demonic creature that had been placed on his Wing Pillar (spine) to unleash highly intensive attacks. He would wear out his [Wings] in place of the consumption of his body. When his [Wings] were about to be ruined, he would immediately slot in the next demonic creature and continue to fight. Or when the number of demonic creatures was dense, he would continuously use the [Wing Shattering] mode to quickly consume the stored [Wings], causing the greatest damage and quickly replenishing the demonic creatures because he continuously eliminated them. On the battlefield, it was a profession that could unreasonably harvest demons like a meat grinder. However, such a profession was not invincible. From another perspective, the weakness was extremely obvious¡­ A Consul without the reserves of [Wings] did not have any combat strength that exceeded the ordinary human. Therefore, the first lesson Ira taught his subordinates was to never detonate the last wing. In the end, all the Consuls learned it very well, except¡­ himself. ¡°¡­¡± Ira examined the Scarlet Dragon Demon King in front of her with her gaze. At this moment, the other party was also sizing him up from top to bottom. Perhaps what he needed to say was¡­ this was a very cute demon loli. This was a description of her appearance¡­ However, the demonic creature itself was not something that needed to be called cute, but it was more worthy of being described as dangerous. Ira felt the Demon King¡¯s scrutiny in front of him. In the silence, he returned it. He did not know what the other party saw, but he could tell that¡­ she was not as powerful and confident as her father. If her father was a huge red demon dragon and an extreme dragon of blood and heat, the little Demon King in front of him was more like a red cub baring its teeth, like a weak lizard biting the dried meat fiercely. She had other intentions, but she was bluffing. It was very interesting. ¡°Celina.¡± The little Dragon Demon King spoke. A young and calm voice was transmitted from her mouth. She ordered the succubus called Celina beside her, ¡°Prepare some food for our guest.¡± ¡°Demon King? But¡­¡± Celina said in surprise. She looked at Ira and stared at the Demon King. In the end, she decided to listen to her orders and meekly lowered her head to leave¡­ However, the anxious waving of her love-shaped tail behind her proved that she was not calm. ¡°¡­¡± Only two silent Headless Horsemen, the little Demon King, and Ira were left. They fell into an inexplicable silence. The two of them stared at each other, but neither of them spoke first. ¡°Ira Alkaras?¡± However, in the end, the little Demon King was the first to speak. Her red dragon eyes stared at Ira and she asked in a calm voice, ¡°Why did you betray the Empire?¡± This news seemed to have spread throughout the entire continent within three days of Ira being unconscious. Ira realized this and heard the complicated emotions hidden in the Demon King¡¯s voice in front of him. Unfortunately, Ira was not someone who could see through other people¡¯s thoughts, so he could not recognize her emotions as percentages. However¡­ The Demon King in front of him was at least 20% afraid, right? ¡°Put your wings through the fence and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± As Ira spoke, he looked at the little Demon King who immediately retreated nervously. Without any anticipation, he said simply, ¡°Because of the nobles¡­ a portion of them are quite radical, but I didn¡¯t lose out. They are the ones who suffered a loss.¡± After all, Ira¡¯s faction was still in the Empire¡­ It was an important part of the Empire and could not be removed. He hoped that Isabella could still control them¡­ The little Demon King did not look like she had thought that Ira would answer seriously. She looked stunned, but when she thought about it, she understood that there was actually nothing he could not say. As a prisoner, there was no reason not to cooperate. ¡°It¡¯s very difficult for me to imagine why the Empire would abandon a hero and even punish you¡­ Ira Alkaras, your reputation is extremely resounding even among the demons.¡± It seemed that the little Demon King wanted to get closer. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good reputation¡­¡± ¡°However, it¡¯s precisely because you¡¯re the embodiment of fear in the eyes of the enemy that your contribution to the Empire can be seen. The Empire that treated you like this is indeed a very bad place, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira fell into a short silence. Because the little Demon King¡¯s intentions could be seen at a glance, he did not mind what the other party said, but he still asked, ¡°Young Demon King, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is Satan Leaf.¡± The Scarlet Dragon Demon King in front of him pressed her poor chest and the rose pattern on the chest of the lace dress. She said seriously, ¡°My race is the Scarlet Demon Dragon.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira could tell what her race was, but her name was a little ridiculous. ¡°Satan¡­ Leaf¡­?¡± Looking at Satan Leaf who was trying her best to show sincerity in front of him, for some reason, Ira thought of the Empire¡¯s Empress, Isabella. She had the same expression when she asked Ira to teach her how to rule the country. Unknowingly, he recalled what Yosef had said¡­ [The so-called loli is like my daughter. If she shows the same expression, she must have a favor to ask of you! As long as you help a little, she¡¯ll be grateful! What expression it is? Hmm, let me show you¡­ Hahaha, there¡¯s no need to show that expression!] ¡®Yosef! You¡¯re really an impressive Emperor!¡¯ ¡°Mr. Ira!¡± As she spoke, Satan Leaf subconsciously pursed her lips. The red wings on her back flapped gently, and the black hair scattered on her wings fluttered in the wind. She seemed to have made a decision in her mind. Or rather, she was making a huge gamble¡­ ¡­ ¡°If possible, please¡­ In any case, I¡¯m only a useless Demon King.¡± Ira looked at the scarlet wings that stretched into the fence. He looked up¡­ and met the determined eyes of the loli called Satan Leaf. Chapter 5 The wings that stretched into the fence were much smaller than her father¡¯s wings. The quality of the mana contained in them seemed to be much worse, but after all, it was still the [Scarlet Dragon]. If he absorbed it and stored it on the [First Wing Pillar (Core)] or [Third Wing Pillar (Remote Attack)], Ira would have the capital to kill his way out of the demiplane prison and all the way from the hinterland of Demon King City to other countries. It would take some time for Ira to figure out what the Loli Demon King called Satan Leaf was thinking. However, before that, he had already placed his hand on the other party¡¯s wings without hesitation. How should he put it? Ira was definitely not the male lead of a light novel. Even if he wanted to give himself a definition, he was definitely the male lead of a [Western Fantasy] novel. Therefore, he did not like to do meaningless things indecisively. He naturally had to bite off the meat that was sent to his mouth¡­ at least take a bite~ ¡°Relax, don¡¯t resist.¡± With Ira¡¯s instructions, Satan Leaf really did not have any consciousness to resist. She allowed her scarlet mana to instantly flow and disappear from her wings, from Ira¡¯s right arm to his back. ¡°Hmph¡­ Haha¡­ Hahaha¡­¡± Ira, who could not help but laugh, took back her hand. As he smiled, he looked at Satan Leaf¡¯s expression and said, ¡°Eh? It¡¯s over. It doesn¡¯t hurt?¡± However, almost as soon as he finished speaking, Ira realized something¡­ ¡°Ah, interesting. You¡¯re not stupid or naive.¡± As Ira spoke, he felt the strength in his body and stood in the prison in peace. He said, ¡°You know that I won¡¯t tangle with the demonic creatures anymore¡­ Because I no longer belong to the Empire.¡± Previously, every word Satan Leaf said to Ira was to test his thoughts and see what attitude he had towards the Empire and if he hated the demonic creatures. This decision was a gamble by Satan Leaf. She was betting¡­ that Ira, who had been abandoned by the Empire, would find some trouble for the Empire after regaining his strength. This would give the demonic creatures more breathing room. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why do you have such an expression?¡± Ira asked casually. After ensuring his safety, he now had some thoughts of chatting. He said, ¡°As expected, you don¡¯t know anything about the [Consul]¡­ It¡¯s really difficult for you to last so long.¡± ¡°The so-called Consul can obtain enough mana to fight in the eyes of the World Tree after seizing the core of the demonic creature. Although we usually kill the demonic creature, it doesn¡¯t mean we have to kill it.¡± Regarding Ira, who was saying this, Satan Leaf was not interested in continuing to hear him talk about things related to the Consul¡­ It made this child seem stupid. There was clearly a Chief Consul kindly revealing information now. All along, because of Ira¡¯s perfect strategic arrangements, the demonic creatures had never successfully captured any Consuls, not even once¡­ Ah, no, Ira might be the first. ¡°What are your plans after this?¡± Regarding Satan Leaf, who was saying this, Ira narrowed her eyes slightly and said, ¡°Just as you think, I¡¯ll find some trouble for the nobles of the Empire¡­¡± In other words, Ira was very angry now. It was the kind of anger that did not care about the scheme of the demonic creatures and humans and would not think about whether Satan Leaf wanted to use him to weaken the human faction. ¡°I might go to the elves. If you¡¯re worried about losing your people, tell the demons on the route not to stop me¡­ First Wing Pillar¡ªScarlet Dragon¡ªWing Spread!¡± As he spoke, the [Rune Bond] on his neck instantly activated mana on his back. Scarlet heat was instantly released from his arm, melting the shackles formed by the Forbidden Magic Stone. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Because it was mana borrowed from the World Tree in the name of Satan Leaf, when Satan Leaf was still alive, the World Tree would directly ask her to return this portion of magic power. The feeling of her magic power being extracted was definitely not good. ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone else anymore. Do what you¡¯re best at along the way¡­¡± Regarding the sad-looking Satan Leaf who said this, Ira could roughly guess what it meant¡ªperhaps most of them had defected. ¡°Your subordinates¡­ no, your old subordinates during your father¡¯s time did not continue to be loyal to you after you took over your father¡¯s position. You were betrayed, just like how the Empire betrayed me.¡± Ira said this indifferently because Satan Leaf nodded silently and confirmed that his guess was correct. He gently cracked his neck and said, ¡°You might not believe me, but I actually don¡¯t like killing demonic creatures¡­¡± Although Ira had killed too many demonic creatures in his life, this still did not stop him from saying such words. After all, ¡°like¡± was different from ¡°duty¡±. The Demon King called Satan Leaf in front of him was really too strange¡­ Most of her subordinates had clearly chosen to be rebellious, but she still chose to make that kind of gamble just now. She might not be familiar with the Consul, but she must understand that she was very likely to die. Even so, should he let the demons last for a while? Even if he stood on the side of humans¡­ no, on the side of the Empire, Ira had to admire Satan Leaf¡¯s thoughts. Of course, this was Ira¡¯s imagination, because in fact, Satan Leaf¡¯s true thoughts might be similar to [In any case, no one will listen to me!], [In any case, the demons will probably die! I want to disgust the Empire at least!], and so on. ¡°Leave. Kill if you want to along the way.¡± As she spoke, Satan Leaf waved her hand and opened the door of the prison, although she knew that it was meaningless. After all, the current Ira had the strength to easily break through this interdimensional space. ¡°Although you might regret it if I tell you now¡­¡± Ira walked out of the iron grille door of the prison and stood in front of Satan Leaf. He stretched out his hand to her and said, ¡°For some reason, the Empire is not prepared to continue deeper into your territory¡­ The war after that will become relatively passive and even stop.¡± Facing Ira¡¯s hand, Satan Leaf gently closed her eyes. It was unknown what she wanted to do¡­ Pat. Satan Leaf, whose eyelashes were trembling, opened her eyes in shock and watched as Ira touched her head seriously, messing up her black soft hair¡­ Although it was very warm, Satan Leaf still did not understand the reason. ¡°You¡¯re very interesting and cute¡­ Children are indeed cuter when they¡¯re young. They¡¯ll have their own thoughts when they grow up. I really don¡¯t know what to do about that¡­¡± Ira sighed. Chapter 6 The demiplane prison was a special prison in Demon King City. Due to its special nature in the cracks of the main plane, it was difficult for people without the authority to open the demiplane to enter and leave freely. The Demon King lineage happened to be the group of people with the most authority. After extracting Satan Leaf¡¯s mana, Ira also had the ability to rely on the power of the scarlet dragon and the Rune Bond to break through the interdimensional space¡­ No one could trap a Consul with enough wings. However, since Satan Leaf had opened the door of the prison, he naturally did not have to spend any effort to break through¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Ira walked leisurely toward the end of the corridor as if she was in her courtyard. At the end of the glowing prison aisle was the [gate] of the demiplane prison. However, if they did not open the door, that was only a passageway that connected to the next aisle. ¡°Are you following too?¡± As he asked, Ira looked at Satan Leaf, who was following behind and looking at him with her red dragon eyes. Before leaving, he asked, ¡°Do you want to supervise my departure from the Demon King City?¡± ¡°No, there just isn¡¯t any point staying in prison.¡± Satan Leaf looked at Ira strangely as she said this. She had come to the prison to see him. Now that she had let Ira out, what reason did she have to stay in prison? ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true¡­¡± Towards Ira who replied like this, the little Demon King called Satan Leaf did not say much. She only followed him and prepared to leave the demiplane prison. Then, she suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the reason behind your conviction by the Empire?¡± Such a question was meaningless¡­ at least to Satan Leaf. No matter what answer Ira gave, it was only ordinary gossip to her and not valuable information. In other words¡­ such a question was only to satisfy her curiosity. Before Satan Leaf was a Demon King, she was an ordinary loli. Ira was gratified to finally see a normal loli. Compared to the other Loli Empress he was familiar with, Satan Leaf was too normal¡­ It was not like a child who was an Empress before an ordinary loli. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to start from a long time ago¡­¡± As Ira said this, he told her the background of the matter, ¡°That was the first day I was on leave. I suggested an idea to Isabella. I told her¡­¡± As Ira recalled, Satan Leaf also raised her question and asked, ¡°Wait, did you say leave? But you¡¯re not¡­ I¡¯ve heard stories about you. They usually describe you as ¡®untiring¡¯. Do you also need to take leave?¡± What a strange description¡­ Ira, who was thinking helplessly, stopped his explanation. He was curious about something else and asked, ¡°What exactly am I like in the mouth of the demonic creature?¡± However, just as he said it, he did not want to know the answer. ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t want to know¡­¡± ¡°At that time, I told Isabella that in order to prepare the food to fight the Duchy and the demons, we need the nobles to donate food. If they donate more, there¡¯s a possibility of being promoted. Even if they don¡¯t want to donate food, they can use land to replace it.¡± Hearing Ira¡¯s story, Satan¡¯s Leaf widened her eyes. She said, ¡°So, the Empire is about to fight the Duchy of Hazard? That¡¯s why you said that the Empire will stop fighting us?¡± In response, Ira nodded gently. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Oh, alright. Then what happened after that? Why did Empress Isabella capture you after that?¡± Be it Satan Leaf having such a question, Ira actually did not understand it too well. He said, ¡°Isabella asked me to take a vacation first, so I did not mind too much and decided to discuss this problem after the vacation ended.¡± ¡°Then, during my vacation, I sensed that the atmosphere of the Empire¡¯s capital was changing¡­ You should have obtained the corresponding information for what happened next.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira could very clearly know that the nobles were adding fuel to the fire, but if Isabella was firm, she did not have to care about the opinions of any nobles. In other words, Isabella actually wanted to use this accident to set Ira free¡­ She knew very well that the Empire needed Ira, but Ira did not need to be obsessed with the Empire. Although it was indeed not a bad outcome for him¡­ ¡°This will let the nobles buy titles and use their land as collateral¡­¡± Even Satan Leaf, who did not know much about nobles, heard something. She realized the reason for Ira¡¯s suggestion and said, ¡°You¡¯re helping her, right?¡± That was not wrong. Listening to Ira¡¯s description, Satan Leaf did not understand why Isabella rejected the land that belonged to her, but Ira herself understood¡­ Isabella did not refuse. She was probably just tired of his nagging. In other words, it was only to the extent of slapping his butt to express her dissatisfaction, but what the noble did was to put a knife into Isabella¡¯s hand¡­ However, there was no need to explain this to the Demon King in front of him. ¡°The Empire will become what I dreamed of¡­ It will have equality, tranquility, and an eternal dictatorship.¡± As he spoke, Ira was the first to walk into the light at the end of the passageway. He turned to look at the little Demon King and said, ¡°If there¡¯s a chance, we¡¯ll meet again¡­ I believe that time won¡¯t be too far away.¡± Saying this, Ira left a back view that was thrown into the light. What was worth mentioning was¡­ Ira was very handsome and his figure was very well-proportioned, so his back view was very beautiful. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Satan Leaf thought of something and stopped him, but it was already too late. She widened her eyes and hurriedly rushed out of the light behind him¡­ She arrived at the Demon King City on the main plane. What entered Satan Leaf¡¯s eyes was Ira, who was held in the middle by several blades, weapons, and limbs¡­ The subordinates of Satan Leaf, who did not understand the situation at all, treated Ira, who had rushed out of the demiplane prison, as an enemy. ¡­Although they were almost enemies to begin with. ¡°Ah, you came at the right time¡­ It seems that the moment we meet again is now.¡± Ira turned around and smiled. He was indeed right previously. The time they met again was indeed not too far away¡­ There were less than ten seconds between them. ¡°Ira Alkaras?!¡± ¡°Why did you¡­ oh, come out?¡± ¡°Consul! Gulp~¡± ¡°¡­¡± It seemed that everyone in the hall of the Demon King City was quite enthusiastic about Ira, but he felt that he could not endure this enthusiasm. However, very interestingly¡­ even with such a level of resentment, no one attacked him first. ¡°Mr. Ira! Please calm down¡­¡± Even Satan Leaf hoped that it was Ira who was calmer, not everyone in the Demon King City¡­ ¡­ What kind of image did he have in the Demon King¡¯s Territory? Could it really have reached the level of stopping the nightly cries of demon babies? Chapter 7 ¡°I won¡¯t be angry¡­ I¡¯m even wondering what my image is in your hearts.¡± Ira pressed his hand helplessly to the blade against his neck. ¡°I hope you know how many demonic creatures you¡¯ve killed¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± For some reason, Ira felt that this voice sounded very familiar. His gaze looked in the direction of the complaint from between the Dark Knight and the huge Insectoid, then he saw a pale woman wearing a sorcerer¡¯s hat. ¡°Vera¡­¡± Ira shouted her name like this. He frowned, not knowing what to say. ¡°Miss Vera, do you know Mr. Ira?¡± As she spoke, Satan Leaf walked out from behind Ira and waved his hand, indicating that the demon leaders should put away their weapons. ¡°She¡¯s a traitor to the Empire,¡± Ira said. However, Vera responded, ¡°We worked together for ten years.¡± ¡°Lich¡­ You said that you¡¯re from the Empire, but you¡¯ve never mentioned that you have a high status in the Empire.¡± The person who said this was the huge Insectoid wearing an exoskeleton that was like armor. His small black eyes that reflected light stared at his colleague called Vera who had joined for decades in doubt. ¡°It¡¯s not a high position¡­¡± Vera said simply. ¡°She¡¯s the Palace Grand Mage, Isabella¡¯s magic teacher. She only chose to become a lich later.¡± Meanwhile, Ira exposed her. ¡°¡­¡± Although it seemed calm, unknowingly, the atmosphere had already become extremely serious. Although the various leaders put down the blades in their hands, there was still a sharp knife in their hearts. It was not that they did not want to let go of their hostility, but they did not dare to. ¡°So, the Demon King let you out? To take revenge on the Empire?¡± There was cold sweat on Vera¡¯s forehead. Although she did not understand the [Consul] very well, there was no doubt that Satan Leaf¡¯s mana was flowing in Ira¡¯s body now. This was not a good sign. Either Ira snatched it or Satan Leaf gave it to him¡­ The former was more likely. ¡°Or have you decided to join us? The Demon King is very cute, right? I remember that you¡¯re a lolicon?¡± Towards Vera¡¯s nonsense, Ira immediately shook her head decisively and said, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? I didn¡¯t betray the Empire like you, but I was betrayed by the Empire¡­ I¡¯m going to the Silver Moon Tree Court later.¡± This was the best choice Ira could think of at the moment. Although the elves of the Silver Moon Tree Court did not have a good relationship with the Empire, their personal relationship with Ira was not bad. It was clearly not a problem to seek help. ¡°I betrayed the Empire? Ira, you really dare to say it¡­ Didn¡¯t I plan to hide the fact that I¡¯ve become a lich and continue working in the Empire?¡± As Vera, who looked young and beautiful, spoke, she sighed, ¡°I was also betrayed by the Empire. Why can¡¯t the Empire tolerate liches? It¡¯s just like how the Empire can¡¯t tolerate you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± These words made Ira fall silent. The Empire could not tolerate residents transforming into demonic creatures. This was the foundation of the country. Vera was undoubtedly twisting logic, but at this moment, he could not think of a retort¡­ nor could he find a meaning to refute. ¡°I¡¯m leaving¡­ No matter what, thank you for your help, Demon King.¡± After such a short thank-you, Ira recited softly in the hall of this Demon King City, ¡°First Wing Pillar¡ªScarlet Dragon¡ªWing Spread.¡± Accompanied by a calm chant, scarlet wings appeared behind Ira. Under the vigilant gazes of all the demonic creatures in the hall, he looked at the starry sky outside the window. This was a very beautiful scene. Mana turned into bones that turned into wings from his spine in colorful lights. Then, it quickly filled and took shape. Illusory wings scattered with specks of red dust along with a light fan. On the battlefield, what accompanied that chant was often killing and death, so no one had the mood to admire it¡­ It would only bring fear and deeply bury it in the hearts of every demon who had seen slaughter. ¡°Wait, Mr. Ira, you¡¯ve been unconscious for three days. Don¡¯t you feel hungry? The banquet the Demon King ordered earlier¡­¡± The succubus called Celina stopped Ira from taking off, but it was not because he heard there was a banquet. It was just that he was indeed a little hungry now. He did not care¡­ probably. ¡­ He was so hungry and wanted to eat. Embarrassed, Ira stopped taking off. The scarlet wings retracted behind him and returned to his body. He turned to look at the confused demonic creatures and said, ¡°Thank you¡­ I owe you a favor.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Vera: Right, I remember Ira was a glutton. The meal soon ended. The banquet in the Demon King City¡­ was a banquet that did not have any demonic aura. Logically speaking, the various demon leaders would go to their respective areas to eat and do some work. Therefore, usually, only the Demon King¡¯s bloodline, the butler, and the maids would deal with matters related to the banquet. Rather than calling it a banquet, it was more like a family gathering¡­ It was even more similar today that the various leaders had stayed. Otherwise, if only Ira and Satan Leaf ate, it would be more like a candlelight dinner than a gathering. ¡°The salad is not fresh enough, and the snake fruit tastes sour. What do you think?¡± Ira commented on the salad, and the Insectoid he asked could only nod and admit this. Ira was right. ¡°Your main food is mushrooms. This is too strange. No matter what race it is, they have to ensure a good carbohydrate and water intake.¡± Regarding Ira¡¯s words, Vera nodded in agreement¡­ ¡°The steak is too chewy, and the side dishes are too bland. Even with the teeth of the scarlet dragon, it¡¯s impossible to swallow!¡± Ira frowned and complained. He could not understand why the chef could be so indifferent to the food the Demon King ate. He stood up under everyone¡¯s gazes and asked, ¡°Can anyone bring me to the kitchen?¡± Although it was a question, his tone was unquestionable, as if he was the master of this Demon King City. ¡°Yes¡­ Lord Ira, please come this way.¡± The corners of Celina¡¯s mouth twitched as she stood at the side. She respectfully left with Ira and went towards the room on the other side of the hall, leaving Satan Leaf and the other leaders looking at each other. ¡°Lich¡­ Um, has Ira Alkaras always had that personality?¡± A girl with small bat-like wings on her back asked Vera. For some reason, everyone felt that it was different from the image of Ira as the enemy in everyone¡¯s impression. ¡°Yes, he¡¯ll indeed be serious in strange aspects¡­ I hope Mr. Rhyme can fend for himself.¡± As she spoke, Vera narrowed her eyes slightly and raised her thoughts, ¡°I¡¯ve always heard a rumor¡­ Ira is not a loyal noble as the people of the Empire imagine, but a paranoid dreamer.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Facing the question of a golem who spoke intermittently, Vera revealed a sly smile and looked at Satan Leaf. ¡°Demon King, the future of the demons depends on you~¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Satan Leaf tilted her head in confusion and revealed an innocent expression. Chapter 8 ¡°Mr. Ira, about the food in Demon King City¡­¡± As Celina, who was leading the way, said this, her tail swung behind her as she said, ¡°Mr. Rhyme is in charge. He and his slimes are also the only chefs in the Demon King City. If the food is not to your liking, please forgive him.¡± It sounded like Celina did not want Ira to have any conflict with the chef called Rhyme. ¡°It¡¯s no longer a problem of my liking. Your chef¡­ doesn¡¯t seem to have the ability to choose ingredients at all.¡± As he spoke, Ira made up his mind to have a good chat with the chef of Demon King City and discuss the problem of food. However, this name¡­ Could Rhyme be a slime? Slime? Let a slime without a sense of taste be a chef?! With this in mind, Ira followed Celina around corridor after corridor. On the way, they encountered some maids who all looked at him and Celina curiously. After taking a few turns and walking down a flight of steps, the two of them arrived at their destination. In the kitchen was a group of small green slimes washing the pot and stove. The one commanding the small slime to work was a green gel-like humanoid creature. Because it had no facial features or physical characteristics, he could not tell the gender. The human-shaped slime with the chef hat noticed Celina and Ira who had arrived. He turned to look at the two of them. After nodding slightly, he greeted them in a blurry voice that could not be heard clearly, ¡°Good evening, Miss Celina¡­ and this person.¡± It seemed that he did not know Ira¡­ ¡°I want to talk to you about your banquet today.¡± Ira, who was more serious about food, said. No matter what, he did not feel that this banquet was passable. He said, ¡°Firstly, there¡¯s the salad. Thread grass and snake fruit are a classic combination, but¡­¡± Before Ira could finish, the slime man called Rhyme knew what Ira wanted to say before he picked out the problem. He said, ¡°But the grass is not fresh enough, and the snake fruit is too sour¡­ I¡¯m very sorry. I¡¯ll do better next time.¡± Looking at Rhyme, who admitted his mistake very decisively, Ira was stunned. He said, ¡°That¡¯s indeed the case. It¡¯s good that you can understand. This is very important because the grass itself¡­¡± Then, before Ira could finish, Rhyme interrupted him again and said simply, ¡°Because the sweetness of the grass itself is only obvious when it¡¯s fresh. If the snake fruit is overly sour, the entire salad will only taste like the snake fruit.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Didn¡¯t he understand very well? ¡°Apart from that¡­¡± Ira opened his mouth and was about to point out other mistakes¡­ ¡°Apart from that, I didn¡¯t choose the blue mushrooms of good quality. I also chose the mountain sheep with relatively poor meat for the steak, not the usual rock antelope. The steak doesn¡¯t go well with blueberry jam.¡± Rhyme rambled on. Although he knew that Ira was here to pick on him, he did not show any displeasure. He kept talking under the gaze of the puzzled Ira, almost chattering. ¡°The meat of the goose is also low quality and isn¡¯t seasoned with sage. In addition, the fruits were not seasoned. Instead, we¡¯re eating raw fruits like commoners, and¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Listening to Rhyme, who continuously pointed out his own problems, Ira stopped him in a dilemma and said, ¡°Wait, enough, enough¡­ There¡¯s no need to continue.¡± It looked like Ira was a little embarrassed. ¡°Pfft ~ Hahaha¡­ Cough, cough, cough, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Celina, who could not help but laugh because of Ira¡¯s posture, accompanied her gorgeous smile. Her heart skipped a beat, then she calmed down under Ira and Rhyme¡¯s helpless gazes. ¡°Since you know, then¡­¡± Regarding Ira¡¯s question, Rhyme still chose to answer before she could completely ask. He said, ¡°The conditions don¡¯t allow it. In other words, there¡¯s no opportunity in Demon King City to guarantee quality food¡­ To a chef, this is a humiliation.¡± Rhyme¡¯s tone was filled with helplessness. The little slimes in the kitchen seemed to sense this frustration and no longer jumped around. Instead, they hid behind the cabinet and pot and revealed half their heads to peep at Ira communicating with Rhyme. ¡°In most cities, we no longer trade or accept offerings according to tradition. With just the resources of a city, we¡¯re not qualified to be too picky about the ingredients.¡± As he spoke, Rhyme displayed the shelf behind him. He introduced, ¡°This is the place to store spices. There are 21 spices and seasonings. Now, there are only 17 types left in Demon King City. If you enter the cellar through the door over there¡­¡± After pointing at a wooden door behind him, Rhyme thought for a moment and thought of how he should describe it. He said, ¡°There are very few ingredients and empty shelves. They¡¯re as eye-catching as the World Tree standing in the mangrove forest.¡± It was a very beautiful adjective, but this proved that the current situation of Demon King City was not beautiful, although it did not have much to do with Ira. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t be in such a hurry to question you.¡± In this way, Ira apologized sincerely to Rhyme. He looked at this chef who knew the problem with the food very well and said in admiration, ¡°You¡¯re already very great to be able to do this.¡± However, as a true chef, there was no need for this level of praise. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be sorry. You seem to be someone who loves cooking. I can feel the heat in our souls resonating.¡± ¡°No, actually, I don¡¯t like cooking very much¡­ I¡¯m only better at eating, and if there are enough ingredients and conditions, your cooking will probably be very delicious.¡± ¡°Thank you. If possible¡­ I hope you can taste my true culinary skills after I can show them properly!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to that day too.¡± In response, Ira nodded seriously and retracted his respectful gaze from Rhyme. He was the first to turn around and walk out of the kitchen¡­ Celina, who was sighing at the sudden unfolding, followed behind Ira in confusion. ¡°Mr. Ira¡­ why¡­ did you and Mr. Rhyme become best friends at once?¡± Ira did not answer Celina¡¯s question. Instead, he walked up the stairs here and walked to an open platform. He turned to look at Celina and replied, ¡°Because only delicious food needs to be treated carefully in the world¡­¡± ¡°Thank you for your hospitality. If you need my help in the future, ask as soon as possible.¡± As he spoke, Ira turned his back to Celina. The cold wind blew his clothes. He looked at the stars in the sky¡­ The direction of the Silver Moon Tree Court was in the west. If he flew along the river there, he could go to the Elf Kingdom. After that, he would live in the Silver Moon Tree Court. However, just as Ira thought this and was about to take off¡­ ¡°Minister Ira, the favor you mentioned¡­ can I use it now?¡± Vera¡¯s voice sounded from behind. ¡°¡­¡± Every time he wanted to say goodbye, he would encounter accidents?! Ira had a feeling that the promise he had made earlier would be the most regretful promise he had made in his life¡­ If he had known, he would have added some prerequisites! Chapter 9 Favors were very difficult to return. Ira knew this very well. Generally speaking, he would keep promises like ¡°I owe you a favor¡±, although the help of the demonic creatures was indeed worth a favor. They should be enemies as he was the one who killed the Demon King¡¯s father¡­ Therefore, Ira did not care much about Vera using that favor now. ¡°Can you represent Demon King City?¡± Ira, who was asking this, looked at Vera suspiciously. He undoubtedly meant to ask if the others in Demon King City knew that Vera had used his favor. ¡°Ah? Isn¡¯t it a favor for each of us?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Are you dreaming?¡¯ Looking at Ira, who clearly expressed this, Vera, who was only joking, chuckled. She did not immediately say what she hoped Ira to do. Instead, she skirted around the topic. ¡°What do you think of the Demon King?¡± ¡°With my brain.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking seriously.¡± ¡°I¡¯m answering seriously too.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Looking at the speechless Vera, Ira stood on this platform with his arms crossed and began to answer seriously, ¡°She¡¯s very weak¡­ Among all the rulers I know, she¡¯s the weakest.¡± ¡°Satan Leaf doesn¡¯t hate me. Even if I kill the previous Demon King, even if I treat her race as a stepping stone and become a publicly recognized expert, even if the Empire mentions the [Scarlet Dragon], they can¡¯t think of her and the previous Demon King but only me.¡± Looking at Ira who commented like this, Vera had to admit that he was right. She added, ¡°Moreover, she doesn¡¯t have her own opinions, and her thoughts can easily be shaken by the persuasion of her trusted aides. Her strength can be trained, but her personality is difficult to correct.¡± ¡ªAren¡¯t you someone under the Demon King? Is it fine to complain about your superior like this? ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I was the same as you in the past. We had similar thoughts, so we nurtured Isabella and her father, the qualified and rational Emperor.¡± As Vera spoke, she sighed and shook her head. ¡°Is it really good to follow the Emperor¡¯s etiquette and do what the Emperor should do? It¡¯s far from when we first met her?¡± Because of Vera¡¯s words, Ira also recalled the time when he first became the trusted aide of the previous Emperor, Yosef¡­ At that time, Isabella was still a child who would muster her courage and ask for guidance on how to become a qualified ruler. Perhaps Ira¡¯s rationality and Vera¡¯s rationality had purged the emotions that should have been passed down to Yosef. ¡°You¡¯re saying that our education philosophy is problematic?¡± Ira, who had never thought of this, asked in return. He pondered for a moment and said, ¡°However, my¡­ or rather, our education of Isabella is very reasonable and correct. If¡­¡± Vera nodded and added, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t left.¡± That was indeed the case¡­ How should he put it? The most suitable Emperor of the Empire was a dictator. Yosef had already proven this, but Isabella could not be dictatorial¡­ Her talent in the path of a professional was slightly average. Strength was the key in this world, so Ira could not repeat the history of his previous world. Therefore, Ira was very worried that after he left, Isabella would not be able to suppress¡­ her people. He was not talking about the nobles. ¡°I¡¯ve never asked you before. Why did you become a lich?¡± Ira asked Vera, who looked to be in her 25s or 26s, who looked young but did not have any childish aura. He asked, ¡°Did you have a terminal illness that can¡¯t be treated?¡± Because spellcasters would more or less overdraft their bodies to extract mana, the prevalence of illness was very high. Many spellcasters with incurable illnesses would want to become lichs. The lich¡¯s body was ¡°dead¡± to begin with, so it did not matter what illness it was. At most, they could directly remove or change the body parts. ¡°How old are you?¡± Ira, who did not understand why Vera asked this, frowned. He was not afraid of others asking his age and replied very normally, ¡°I¡¯m in my sixties. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more than 200 years old¡­ When I was 200 years old, I discovered demon patterns on my face.¡± Demon patterns? Many curses of the demons would indeed show patterns on their faces. Moreover, many half-demons with demonic blood would also have demon patterns on their bodies after a certain age. Because she could not accept it, she might as well completely turn into a demonic creature. ¡°You¡¯re a half-demon?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The two of them who did not get the topic looked at each other. In the end, it was Vera who sorted out Ira¡¯s thoughts first. She chuckled and retracted it, ¡°Oh my, no¡­ The [demon patterns] I mentioned are also called [wrinkles] by some people.¡± ¡°Are you crazy? People with normal brains will call it wrinkles directly.¡± Ira cursed sharply. He was about to leave impatiently and said, ¡°To put it bluntly, don¡¯t you like youth and beautiful bodies? If you don¡¯t have anything serious, I¡¯ll go to the elves.¡± Regarding his words, Vera, who had been gossiping, was finally prepared to talk about serious matters. She stopped Ira and said, ¡°Wait, wait, wait~ I mean, should we be like those nobles?¡± Looking at the puzzled Ira, Vera coughed lightly and explained, ¡°Many nobles will have many children, but the title and territory will usually only be passed down to one, right? If one of them is not satisfactory to the nobles, they will nurture the next.¡± ¡°Until the successor they truly acknowledge is nurtured¡­ right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Looking at Vera who was talking, Ira raised his eyebrows. He felt that he had guessed what she meant. He asked, ¡°This [favor] of yours is too much¡­ How long do I need to properly nurture Satan Leaf?¡± Ira shook his head helplessly. He had never heard of favors being used like this. He rejected, ¡°It¡¯s too strange to use favors like this. You might as well say [Please help the Demon King¡¯s faction rule the world].¡± Vera: ¡°Can I?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Ira shook his head. He had no reason to help on this point. ¡°However, you killed the Demon King¡¯s father. You have to be responsible for continuing the bloodline of the scarlet dragon!¡± ¡°Get lost! Your excuse doesn¡¯t sound like you want me to teach her!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I mean! There¡¯s no second scarlet dragon in the world, and no one will know how a scarlet dragon should fight. You¡¯re the only one who can teach her! The Demon King will become a more humane king than Isabella!¡± ¡°What does it have to do with me?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Ira?¡± At the firm voice behind them, Ira and Vera turned at the same time to look at Satan Leaf hugging her body in the cold wind of the terrace, at the little Demon King whose wings were trembling because of the traces of cold. ¡°Can you be my teacher?¡± As she spoke, Satan Leaf looked at Ira pleadingly. The red tail behind her swept the ground, looking very nervous about what Ira would answer. However, he was neither a good subject nor a qualified teacher¡­ Chapter 10 ¡°Mr. Ira, if you¡¯re not used to this room, you can call me directly. There are no extra personal maids in Demon King City. If you¡¯re willing, I can transfer them from the Demon King.¡± Celina could not help but smile as she said this. Although she led Ira to this room in the Demon King City in a respectful manner, for some reason, she really wanted to laugh. Although he said ¡°no¡±, ¡°no way¡±, and ¡°laughable¡±, Miss Vera still easily made Mr. Ira stay¡­ She felt an inexplicable excitement. As a succubus, Celina was very interested in snatching talents from the Empire. ¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s laughable. If there¡¯s really a maid who takes care of me meticulously, I¡¯ll be very unaccustomed.¡± After answering, Ira sat on the slightly tough bed. He did not have high requirements for the room, and the environment of the room he was arranged to stay in was definitely not bad¡­ It would be better than the battlefield no matter what. However, although he did not like those personal maids who felt extreme in his opinion, convenient and useful home maids were still very good¡­ When he needed to take anything, he only needed to call out. ¡°I specially arranged a room beside the kitchen and Mr. Rhyme for you. If you want to find something to fill your stomach, you can always instruct him to do it.¡± ¡ªYou¡¯re really considerate to make such a reasonable arrangement?! Ira, who was complaining in his mind, shook his head decisively. He said helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s true that I like exquisite and delicious food, but this doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m a foodie who always thinks of food. Thank you for your kindness, but I actually don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°Hahaha ~ I¡¯m sorry, this is my negligence¡­¡± As she spoke, Celina nodded lightly. She, who had more or less figured out Ira¡¯s personality, chuckled and said, ¡°Mr. Ira, it¡¯s almost midnight. Please seize the time to rest. If you need anything, please tell the maids directly.¡± After saying that, Celina turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Sighing softly, Ira sat on the bed in the room alone. He took off his coat that had been damaged by his previous escape and placed it on the bedside table¡­ although there was a coat rack in the room. In the end, he still agreed to Satan Leaf¡¯s request and stayed in the Demon King City to be her teacher for a period of time. Because this had happened once, he did not feel too burdened now. However, this way, he had to consider how to teach students. It was always the most tiring to do teaching plans. Should he prioritize increasing Satan Leaf¡¯s strength? Or should he prioritize strengthening her thoughts and political thinking? No¡­ he should put the latter aside for now, or he might produce another Isabella. However, the situation of the two of them was different, so the education method needed was naturally different. Although it was not impossible to teach without distinction, Ira wanted to try other paths this time¡­ To be honest, Ira did not carry out important research and modifications in the Empire. In his previous life¡¯s memories, he had not suggested many classic agricultural techniques that transmigrators used. After all, in the war, he needed to prioritize strengthening the combat strength of the Empire. Therefore, he still prioritized promoting the noble descendants who could quickly become combat strengths and advised Isabella to enact the law of exchanging battle merits for titles. This was also one of the reasons why the Empire had an increasing advantage on the battlefield. He had originally planned to use a very cost-effective trap like [Food and Land to Buy Nobility Title] to trap the nobles after the war completely calmed down and collectivize the land to activate the farming frenzy. They might not have that chance now. Ira had taught Isabella the mind of an Emperor, taught her checks and balances, taught her the inevitable connection and path of restraint between her clan, kingdom, ruler, commoners, and businessmen¡­ She had learned the same thing¡­ If he had known earlier, he would have racked his brains to make her capable of fighting. Ira, who was sighing, could not help but recall what Yosef had said¡ª [Eh, you¡¯re saying that we have to suppress the powerful ministers who have contributed greatly? Even if he¡¯s sincere to the king and respects him everywhere, all his rights should belong to the Eternal Emperor? Although I¡¯m very touched, are you courting trouble for yourself¡­ Aren¡¯t you the most powerful minister in the Empire now?] ¡°¡­¡± Ira did not only say this to the previous Emperor, but he even usually taught Isabella this. However, the greatest problem was¡­ the pretentious ¡°suppression¡± also depended on the timing. This time, fuel had been added to the fire, right? While he was so vexed, there seemed to be footsteps outside the door¡­ Knock! Knock! Knock! With a knock on the door, Satan Leaf¡¯s voice sounded from outside. She asked in a childish voice, ¡°Mr. Ira, I¡¯m really sorry to disappoint you at the banquet¡­ I brought snacks. Is it convenient for you now?¡± ¡ªDemon King? Why did you come personally? ¡°Please come in.¡± With Ira¡¯s voice, Satan Leaf¡¯s small body arched open the wooden door. She was holding two bowls of sweet-smelling snacks in her hand and said, ¡°I heard that people in the Empire like sweets. I asked Mr. Rhyme to make two desserts.¡± ¡°¡­¡± However, Ira did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked out the empty door as if searching for something. Satan Leaf placed two bowls of dessert on the table and asked in confusion, ¡°Mr. Ira, what are you looking at?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Celina?¡± Ira asked. ¡°Eh?¡± Satan Leaf made a puzzled sound, clearly not knowing why Ira asked this. ¡°¡­¡± The Demon King in front of him did not have any self-awareness as a ¡°king¡± at all. She had never thought of what it meant for her to bring snacks to him at night¡­ Moreover, she did not even bring a maid. What if he harmed her?! There was also a problem with the way she addressed him. It was the same for the other leaders. They would all call him Lord or Mr. This term should not appear in the Demon King¡¯s mouth. It was wrong. Thinking of this, Ira originally planned to directly point out the mistake like when he taught Isabella in the Empire, but he hesitated¡­ Were intimacy and respect good or bad? If he had known earlier, he might as well have directly coerced Isabella and controlled the nobles¡­ In any case, she would be very happy. ¡°Mr. Ira, what are you thinking?¡± When Ira heard Satan Leaf¡¯s confusion, he hesitated for a moment but did not say anything. He only shook his head apologetically and chuckled as he took this matter. He said, ¡°I just think it might not be good for the two of us to secretly eat supper and not let Celina know.¡± ¡°Oh, then should I call her? However, it doesn¡¯t feel good to instruct Mr. Rhyme to make another portion again.¡± It seemed that Satan Leaf was really considering whether to call Celina. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± With that, Ira sat opposite her. He picked up a fork and stabbed it into the candied plums in the bowl. After stirring the honey water in the bowl, he handed it to the little Demon King sitting in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± As if he had to say it to someone else, Ira muttered and repeated it once. Chapter 11 When he opened his eyes, Ira saw that it was a ceiling made of stone bricks. After being stunned for a moment, he realized that he was now in the Demon King City¡­ and he would stay there for a period of time to be the Demon King¡¯s teacher. However, before that, he needed to go to the morning court meeting. It seemed that in every world, as long as it was related to the [King], there would always be things like morning court assembly. Perhaps this was the inevitability of history¡­ No matter which country or era it was, it was similar. The king always wanted officials to manage the country, and officials always needed more subordinate officials. Officials had their own duties and needed a time and place to gather and communicate, and communication often needed the king to make a decision. Therefore, there would be things like the morning court assembly. Creak¡­ As the room door opened, Ira looked up at Celina, who opened the door without knocking. The moment she met Ira¡¯s eyes, she greeted, ¡°Good morning, Mr. Ira. How did you sleep last night?¡± ¡°Not bad. Thank you for your concern.¡± In response, Ira put on the coat beside him. As he sorted out his clothes, he instructed her, ¡°After the meeting, please let Vera fix my coat.¡± ¡°To Miss Vera? She doesn¡¯t look like she knows how to sew.¡± Regarding Celina¡¯s doubts, Ira, who had organized his decent clothes, replied simply, ¡°Vera knows the [Textile Activation Spell]. It¡¯s not difficult to repair clothes to their original state.¡± Then why not change? Celina hid such doubts in her mind. She took the initiative to lead the way and listened to Ira say, ¡°Satan Leaf came to me alone with dessert last night. Pay attention to this.¡± Ira¡¯s original intention was to ask Celina to pay attention to the problem of royal etiquette, but she clearly misunderstood. She smiled and replied, ¡°Do you mean figure control? The scarlet dragon race doesn¡¯t have to care about figure control.¡± It was clearly not referring to this! Did anyone in the Demon King City really care about things like [Demon King¡¯s Prestige]? With such doubts, Ira was led to the hall yesterday by Celina. Below the hall was the spatial gap connected to the [Demiplane Prison]. Such a design was actually quite dangerous. Ira seemed to be the latest among all the subjects. He stood calmly in the far corner of the room and watched as Celina walked to the empty Demon King¡¯s throne and waited for the arrival of Satan Leaf. The number of leaders who came to the Demon King City was fewer than he had imagined¡­ A tall beetle-like Insectoid, a high-level vampire girl, a lich who had come from the Empire, a mutated slime chef, a succubus maid, a black-flame Headless Horseman, a construct, a royal Black Knight, a ghost girl with glasses, and five small fairies. That was all. Compared to the overwhelming officials of the Empire, it indeed looked much more down and out, but this might have something to do with most cities beginning to disobey the orders of the Demon King. Moreover, he did not know if it was an illusion, but he felt that everyone¡¯s attitude was very relaxed¡­ There were even chairs to sit on. Just as Ira was thinking this, Satan Leaf walked down the stairs from the back with the help of two maids. She looked sleepy and said, ¡°Yawn¡­¡± Yawn?! At this moment, Ira also deeply understood that the Empire was different from the Demon King City¡­ If it was him, he would think more highly of the serious and strict Empire, but he had to admit that he liked the atmosphere on the Demon King¡¯s side more. ¡°Eh? Mr. Ira doesn¡¯t have a seat?¡± Regarding Satan Leaf who asked this, Vera, who was sitting at the side with her legs crossed, smiled and said, ¡°Ah, that guy must not be used to it. Just let him stand.¡± ¡ªWhy are you so carefree in Demon King City? ¡°Oh, oh, is that so?¡± As she spoke, Satan Leaf found a little state. She sat up a little straight and did not continue to lean on the chair like soft mud. She said, ¡°Everyone, do you have anything to report?¡± ¡ªShouldn¡¯t Celina be the one to say this? Why did you say it yourself? To Ira¡¯s shock, the tall Insectoid was the first to start talking about the content he wanted to report¡­ It was really a direct report without any prelude. ¡°On the battlefield fighting the Empire, the Empire¡¯s attack has slightly eased. The main forces seem to be retreating from the main battlefield.¡± As he spoke, the Insectoid glanced at Ira, who was listening, and continued, ¡°Mr. Ira¡¯s information is accurate. Our thousand-year war with the Empire seems to be ending here.¡± ¡°In fact, it¡¯s not the end, but a temporary stop.¡± Vera interrupted. Under everyone¡¯s gazes, she said, ¡°The price we paid is also extremely heavy. The area we control has shrunk by 20% compared to before the war.¡± ¡°¡­¡± At this point, all the leaders looked at Ira because the defeat of the Demon King Army was caused by this man called Ira. ¡°Most of the traitorous races evacuated the battlefield almost immediately. A number of the races contacted us again and said that their previous offerings were delayed and will arrive in the next few days. This means that they¡¯ll submit again.¡± As the vampire girl spoke, she held stood under an umbrella and asked for Satan Leaf¡¯s opinion. She said, ¡°What do you think we should do with those rebellious fence-sitters?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Satan Leaf, who was deep in thought, looked at all the leaders present and waited for their opinion. ¡°Kill them. Kill those who resist. The rest will be slaves,¡± said the Insectoid. ¡°Then there¡¯s no way out. The other traitors will treat us as enemies¡­¡± The ghost glasses girl raised a different opinion. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The Insectoid replied and looked up, waiting for Satan Leaf to make a decision. ¡°¡­¡± The others had no intention of speaking. At this moment, Ira also felt what Vera meant by Satan Leaf not having an opinion. She was still hesitant until now and did not know what judgment she should make. Vera winked at Ira for some reason. ¡°¡­¡± In fact, Ira indeed wanted to say something, because¡­ no matter how he looked at it, the only solution was to pretend that those races had never rebelled and express his understanding of their ¡°submission¡±. However, Ira should not speak now. His status was not suitable for that. If Satan Leaf wanted to know his opinion and suggestions, she should wait for the meeting to end and ask him in a place like the imperial study. If it was a normal emperor, he would directly brush aside this topic. ¡°Mr. Ira, can you help me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°!!!¡± Ira had forgotten that Satan Leaf was not a normal emperor, and the wording was actually ¡°Help me?¡± Even if it was the worst, she should say something like ¡°Minister Ira, what do you think?¡±?! However¡­ why?! This felt a little new and different. Chapter 12 ¡°How about pretending that nothing happened? Just act as if those children never rebelled.¡± As Ira spoke, he calmly continued under everyone¡¯s gazes, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what the demonic creatures think, but this is the only way to be legitimate. Of course¡­ Demon King, your own thoughts are the most important.¡± Regarding Ira¡¯s words, Vera nodded in agreement¡­ However, she did not express any opinion. What was she thinking? Was she hiding her strength? ¡°Let¡¯s do as Mr. Ira says¡­¡± With the approval of Satan Leaf, the vampire girl nodded. She replied, ¡°I understand. Then according to the Demon King, I¡¯ll pretend that nothing happened and respond to them.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After waiting for a period of time and seeing that no one was reporting anything, the ghost girl raised her glasses and reported, ¡°I have unfortunate news. The gold coins in the Demon King¡¯s Territory are already unable to last until the arrival of the traveling merchants.¡± This was indeed very bad news. ¡°So¡­¡± Rhyme could not help but ask. ¡°In other words¡­¡± Celina frowned. ¡°Could it be¡­¡± Vera expected something bad to happen. The ghost girl, who looked to be in charge of the wealth of the Demon King City, pushed his eyes and said calmly, ¡°Therefore, be it the cost of ingredients or the castle, the expenses of the spell experiment have to be reduced again.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s salary, including mine, needs to be cut. Military expenditure also needs to be cut.¡± As the ghost girl spoke, she looked at the Insectoid, Black Knight, Headless Horseman, and construct and said, ¡°Fortunately, because of the withdrawal of the Empire, the number of troops should indeed be correspondingly reduced.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Fortunately, until the end of this quarter, our expenditure will be much more generous. After the war ends, the trade route with the dwarves, orcs, and elves can be restarted, and we won¡¯t have to endure the high prices of war merchants.¡± As the ghost girl spoke, she looked at the five fairies and said, ¡°Fortunately, we planted the blue mushrooms and other plants ourselves. The other animals are also farming them, but the non-essential food has already been exhausted.¡± Hearing this, Rhyme seemed to be very depressed¡­ Although his head was a green gel without facial features, everyone could sense his frustration. ¡°About that¡­ recently¡­¡± The little fairy made a cute sound as if she wanted to say something. ¡°Our harvest¡­¡± Another little fairy added. ¡°It¡¯s very ordinary.¡± The little fairies took turns speaking. The voices and characteristics of the different voices quickly formed an entire sentence. It looked like they were also reporting their worries. The situation in Demon King City was worse than Ira had imagined. If the Empire fought for a few more years, the demons might be destroyed. Should he do something about this? Thinking of this, Ira felt that this matter had nothing to do with him, so he did not have to pay special attention. His only duty was to nurture Satan Leaf into a qualified king¡­ No, his way of teaching was very problematic. Therefore, the only thing he had to do was nurture Satan Leaf into a king who could fight. Apart from that, the survival of the demons and the living standard of the Demon King City had nothing to do with him. There was no need for him to interfere at all¡­ He had no reason to improve production and there was no need to do that. ¡°¡­¡± It seemed that no one had anything to report. With Satan Leaf¡¯s nod, the leaders returned to their territories and residences¡­ They were also in an area of the Demon King¡¯s Territory, but it was outside the castle. However, Rhyme, Celina, the ghost lady, Vera, and a few others who did not have a strict ¡°team¡±¡­ Or rather, the team had taught a few people who were fighting generals and leaders to live in the Demon King City. Ira stood and watched quietly as Satan Leaf leaned against the Demon King¡¯s throne and sighed. ¡°Ghost ~ No! Can my research funds be more generous ~ Boohoo ~¡± Vera pretended to cry and complain to the ghost girl, but the other party shook her head decisively and rejected her, ¡°If you give me the corresponding funds, I can make an exception and buy the materials for you.¡± ¡°How can I be that rich¡­¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t disturb me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ah, my research¡­ is going to be forced to stop!¡± Hearing Vera lamenting like this, Ira reminded her, ¡°Vera, you¡¯ve lost your composure too much in front of the Demon King¡­ However, the Demon King City might not care about this.¡± ¡°She indeed doesn¡¯t care about this.¡± Vera glanced at the conflicted Satan Leaf. She turned her gaze to Ira and asked, ¡°Ira, do you have money? How much do you think I¡¯m worth a night?¡± These words were a little rash¡­ However, Vera was indeed like this. When he really took it seriously, Vera would turn around and pretend that nothing had happened and retreat. ¡°You should keep it for yourself¡­ However, I do need your help with something.¡± As he spoke, Ira reached out and unbuttoned his coat. As he took it off, she said, ¡°I hope you can use spells to repair my clothes. Hmm¡­ what¡¯s with your attitude?¡± At this moment, Vera, who was asked by Ira, was already hiding behind Celina. She carefully stuck her head out and said, ¡°Oh, mending clothes. I thought you took it seriously ~¡± These words were even more rash. Even if he took it seriously, it was impossible for her to take off her clothes here. ¡°Please. You know that these are my precious clothes.¡± As he spoke, Ira placed the clothes in his hand in Vera¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I can help you see your experiments that are not rigorous and purely rely on luck later.¡± Vera, who had thought that she had been ordered around for nothing, perked up when she heard this. She remembered that Ira, who had come to watch her experiment in the past, had said things like ¡°control variables¡± and ¡°subject comparison¡±. She asked expectantly, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Ira sneered. He looked in the direction of Satan Leaf and said, ¡°Satan Leaf, in the meeting, there are many things you¡¯re doing that are problematic. Please listen to what I¡¯m about to say.¡± ¡°Eh? Eh¡­ ah, yes!!¡± Looking at Satan Leaf who had become serious in her panic, Ira nodded and prepared to gradually talk about the problem. He said, ¡°When you can¡¯t make up your mind, don¡¯t look like you don¡¯t know what to do. The handling of government affairs is not that urgent¡­¡± However, before Ira could finish the first question, she was interrupted by Vera. She sighed, ¡°Hey, Ira, don¡¯t teach her anymore. Isn¡¯t the Demon King cute like this?¡± In terms of cuteness, it was indeed quite cute. If Ira continued to teach her, she would quickly become less cute, but was it really good to say it like this? ¡°Miss Vera, you don¡¯t have to say that¡­ If Mr. Ira is willing to teach me, I¡¯m willing to learn no matter how difficult it is.¡± Looking at Satan Leaf who was talking seriously, Ira and Vera looked at each other, then laughed in unison¡­ It seemed that the little Demon King did not understand the situation until now, but as expected, forget it. The key to the problem was not about difficulty at all¡­ Chapter 13 Early in the morning was very suitable for training. At this time, it was as if mana would be more obedient¡­ Of course, this was an illusion, probably because a person¡¯s mind was clearer. When Satan Leaf was led to the training ground by Celina, Ira had already arrived. He and Vera chatted casually as he fiddled with the training equipment. It seemed to be talking about their previous work. Satan Leaf knew that Ira was a very good teacher. It could be said that he was the teacher of the Empress of the Empire, Isabella¡­ He was the teacher of a country. She was very grateful that he was willing to teach her. ¡°From a conventional point of view, the equipment here can¡¯t be used anymore. That ghost girl from before is probably the property manager of the castle, right? I hope that when I have more funds, I can ask her to buy some.¡± As Ira spoke, she placed the already tattered training equipment in the corner. As for Vera, she watched him move the equipment and complained, ¡°Can these wooden stakes really train the Demon King? After all, she¡¯s a scarlet dragon. Wouldn¡¯t a spitfire burn it all away?¡± ¡°If possible, I hope you can call that [Dragon Breath]. Don¡¯t say it as if it¡¯s a magic trick.¡± In response, Ira turned to look in Vera¡¯s direction and saw Celina and Satan Leaf walking over from the passageway behind. He nodded gently and greeted, ¡°You¡¯re here. Exercise your body first and start training.¡± Looking at the nodding Satan Leaf and the puzzled Celina, Ira immediately shook his head and added, ¡°Not including you. I¡¯m telling Satan Leaf¡­ unless you want to be a sparring partner? Do you want to try?¡± Practice with the Demon King? Celina thought and shook her head in response, ¡°No, there¡¯s no need.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira looked out of this training ground. He looked at the sea that reflected the sunlight. There was a fleet that belonged to the Demon King parked there¡­ However, there were only ships, but there was no army on them. From this, it could be seen that the Naga and the other sea demons were also part of the rebellious races. This way, the military ship was meaningless. It was better to completely transform it into a fishing boat and improve the food of the residents of the Demon King¡¯s Territory. At that time, they could eat fried fish steak or something. From this angle, he could not see the Orc Kingdom that bordered the Demon King¡¯s Territory. After all, the planet was round and could not see so far through the sea. However, he could see the towering tree of the Silver Moon Tree Court that bordered the Orc Kingdom in the distance. He did not know if the slave capture team of the Empire was still wreaking havoc in the territory of the Orc Kingdom or if they had captured lone elves again¡­ It was precisely because of this that the Empire made enemies everywhere. Although it was no longer recorded in the history books, Yosef had also told Ira that the reason for the Empire¡¯s war with the Demon King seemed to be related to the slave capture team¡­ However, it could not be forbidden. If he wanted to stop this situation, the only way was to ban the slave-hunting of foreign races. However, because of the existence of the nobles, it was impossible. Only by punishing the nobles and reducing their influence could he take the next step. Unfortunately, Ira had just prepared to start such a matter when he was tricked by the Empress. ¡°Mr. Ira¡­ No, Teacher Ira?¡± Just as Ira was thinking, Satan Leaf, who was prepared, asked. ¡°There¡¯s no need to. Just call me Mr¡­ At best, you can call me by my name, and you don¡¯t have to add my surname.¡± Ira sized up Satan Leaf. Although he said that she had to train, she did not change out of her lace dress. Would the layers of lace really not affect the battle? Or was it magic equipment? ¡°Got it, Mr. Ira¡­ Do you need me to take off my magic equipment?¡± As expected¡­ Magic equipment was a combat outfit. It was the same as Vera¡¯s mage robe and hat. Because its control was very good and was almost equivalent to the derivation of limbs, as long as it was not a particularly strange design, it would not affect the convenience of battle. It was also because of this that magic equipment that could increase combat strength would be relatively gorgeous¡­ For example, the coat Ira was wearing now. ¡°Change it¡­ Otherwise, with the enhancement of the magic equipment, I can¡¯t see your true prowess.¡± Almost the next moment, Satan Leaf took off her dress on the set. Wearing only a pure white petticoat, she handed the clothes to Celina. Her actions were very fast, so fast that Ira did not have the chance to get away. ¡°The loli is very cute, right? Hehehe.¡± Ira sighed helplessly at Vera¡¯s teasing. He shook his head and said, ¡°According to royal etiquette, it has nothing to do with gender. You and I should leave¡­ Forget it, it doesn¡¯t matter. This is not bad.¡± As he spoke, Ira became serious. Just like how he had taught Isabella, he touched his chest and bowed to Satan Leaf, formally greeting, ¡°Good morning, Isa¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira, who had spoken halfway, clearly felt the atmosphere freeze. Vera: ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Good morning, Your Highness Satan Leaf.¡± After Ira changed his words, Satan¡¯s Leaf also nodded and replied, ¡°Good morning, Mr. Ira¡­ Can you tell me what kind of person Empress Isabella is?¡± ¡°She¡¯s an overly qualified ruler.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a naughty student ~¡± Ira and Vera gave different but identical evaluations at the same time¡­ ¡°Please don¡¯t mind others. Let¡¯s start class.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± In the training ground in the castle, Satan Leaf began to cultivate, or rather, show her level¡­ Unlike Vera, who liked to teach according to her aptitude. ¡°Beginn the test of your mana¡¯s explosive power¡­ Transmit the maximum magic power into your body in a second.¡± Ira, who was holding Satan Leaf, felt the mana surging into his body. He nodded without evaluating it and said, ¡°Next is your control. Divide the quantity of mana just now into 20 portions and input them at a uniform speed in 20 seconds.¡± ¡°Next is the utilization factor¡­¡± ¡°The most basic physical fitness test. Unfortunately, there¡¯s no large enough venue. Forget it, punch me with all your might¡­ Hmm, alright, I understand. Then, next¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± Amidst the panting of Satan Leaf, Ira continued to record something with paper and pen. Curious, Vera leaned over to look, then saw only a table formed by horizontal and vertical lines and a dense pile of numbers and symbols. Yes, no one else could understand it! ¡°So, how¡¯s the Demon King¡¯s standard?¡± Celina asked with concern¡­ She did not look like a maid but like her mother or sister. ¡°It¡¯s very bad. She won¡¯t be able to pass any exams with such data.¡± Vera could not understand the data, but she could sense mana flowing. Celina: ¡°Eh?¡± Satan Leaf: ¡°Eh?¡± ¡­ Bang! ¡°It hurts! Uhhh ~¡± Ira, who had struck Vera¡¯s head with her hand, pinched the back of her neck and said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed very bad, but as a Demon King, the key is not combat strength, but the minimum self-preservation ability.¡± Celina said, ¡°So?¡± Therefore, as long as she worked very, very hard, even if she did not say ¡°I¡¯m willing to do anything¡±, she could barely pass¡­ barely. Chapter 14 Mana¡¯s existence was actually related to the quality of one¡¯s body. This was also the reason why very few civilians in the Empire could cross ranks. Civilians could not even eat their fill, and it was very difficult to cultivate mana. The body did not allow one to store a large amount of mana, so one could not become a professional. Even Ira could not be said to have climbed up from a commoner. It could even be said that he had been chosen by the previous emperor since he was a small noble and could almost be considered to have reached the heavens in a single step. If it was a noble or even a royal, because the physical conditions were enough, there was no need to spend time working. Even if his talent was bad and he was usually lazy, he had the adaptability to become a professional. This was also the reason why the children of nobles were also nobles. However, Satan Leaf¡¯s situation was relatively bad. Although she had the food and other conditions and did not seem to slack off in mana¡¯s cultivation, her basic physical fitness was a little poor. She had probably never specially trained for this¡­ ¡°Run, run!¡± Ira, who was supervising Satan Leaf, shouted. As he watched Satan Leaf run in a circle of about 400 meters, he asked Celina, who was watching from the side, ¡°Scarlet Demon King¡­ I mean Satan Leaf¡¯s father. How did he train her?¡± ¡°The former Demon King has basically never trained the Demon King. Occasionally, he would return from the battlefield and only play with the Demon King. She has never had formal training.¡± In response to Celina¡¯s answer, Ira nodded. He roughly understood why Satan Leaf did not undergo systematic training. He asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t anyone teach her?¡± ¡°How can we teach the Demon King? This¡­ this is considered overstepping our roles, right?¡± Weren¡¯t they very casual in Demon King City? Weren¡¯t they pragmatists who didn¡¯t care about the dignity of the king?! Why were they so obedient in this aspect?! Ira, who was complaining in his mind, watched as Satan Leaf panted and stopped. He reversed the hourglass on the table and recorded the time. ¡°You have very qualified perseverance. Next, you can rest for five minutes¡­ Stand and rest. Walk slowly. Don¡¯t sit down immediately.¡± ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± After running the designated laps, Satan Leaf was about to sit in a chair at the side. When she heard Ira¡¯s words, she frowned and stood up, beginning to pace and rest on the field. ¡°Mr. Ira, why¡­¡± Before Celina could ask, Ira immediately asked her, ¡°Satan Leaf seems to have practiced military techniques herself. What weapon is she good at? Is it like her father?¡± Celina nodded at Ira¡¯s words and replied, ¡°It¡¯s the same.¡± That was the [Scarlet Demon Scythe]. ¡°That¡¯s a pity. I don¡¯t know how to¡­ She has to rely on herself in this aspect.¡± Ira, who spoke so simply, shook his head. He knew nothing about such a strange weapon. It was also because of this that he would never place the scarlet dragon¡¯s mana on the fourth wing pillar (close combat). Be it the first wing pillar (core), the second wing pillar (movement), or the third wing pillar (long-range), he could naturally switch to the scarlet dragon¡¯s mana. As for the fourth wing pillar (close combat), he never considered it. ¡°But no one knows how to use it anymore.¡± As Vera spoke, she pulled Celina to the side. Under her puzzled gaze, Vera stole a glance at Ira, who was marking the time. ¡°Miss Celina, Ira doesn¡¯t like others commenting on his training.¡± ¡°Is that so? However, I still don¡¯t understand why she has to keep moving when she rests¡­¡± Celina had been thinking about this since just now. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about this. I didn¡¯t understand at first, but Emperor Yosef of the Empire quite approved of it¡­ Later on, it also proved that Ira¡¯s training was indeed very correct.¡± As Vera spoke, she carefully glanced in Ira¡¯s direction and confirmed that he could not hear her at this distance. Then, she said, ¡°If you have too many opinions, he¡¯ll beat you up. He¡¯ll aim at your butt and beat you up¡­ Even a succubus won¡¯t be able to take it.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Hearing Vera say that, Celina made a puzzled sound. Her face gradually turned red as she said, ¡°What does it have to do with me being a succubus?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s related. Let me tell you¡­¡± Before Vera could lower her voice and make up a story, Ira¡¯s deliberately dragged-out voice sounded from the other side, ¡°Vera¡­ I remember that when I beat you up, I deliberately avoided the key parts of your body, right? Also, I beat you up because of your nonsense.¡± ¡°Cough¡­¡± Vera, who had been caught, let out a strange cry. Under Celina¡¯s teasing expression, she dejectedly returned to Ira¡¯s line of sight and said awkwardly, ¡°You can hear this? You don¡¯t mind, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira did not answer. She only glanced at her, then looked at Satan Leaf who was working hard to condense a fireball. She said, ¡°Next, you¡¯ll be Satan Leaf¡¯s sandbag, right?¡± In other words, he wanted Vera to become the target of Satan Leaf¡¯s continuous attacks. ¡°Ah, this, this is not good¡­¡± Vera clearly wanted to retreat. ¡°I¡¯m not discussing it with you. This is a notification.¡± As he spoke, Ira looked at Satan Leaf who walked over and showed him the qualified fireball. He nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s been four hours since the training began. Shall we play a game next?¡± ¡°Game?¡± Satan Leaf, who had maintained the stability of the fireball in her hand, asked with an amused expression. She looked at Ira, who was grabbing the neck of Vera, who wanted to escape, and waited for him to finish. ¡°In the next five minutes, you need to stand at the furthest distance and not move. You have to continuously condense such a fireball to attack Vera, who is limited to moving in an area¡­ Vera can use a short-range teleportation spell to dodge, but she can¡¯t use it again without an interval of five seconds.¡± As Ira spoke, he looked at Vera, who was continuously struggling, and smiled. ¡°If you can hit her once, then today¡¯s training will end¡­ If Vera was not hit at all, I¡¯ll give you half of my salary next month.¡± Under such words, Vera stopped struggling¡­ ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course, Celina and Satan are listening¡­¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Vera instantly perked up and walked to the area Ira pointed at. ¡°Then, it¡¯s the area surrounded by the wall behind me and the mop over there, right? It¡¯s very generous~ I¡¯m sorry, Demon King, I have to win!¡± ¡°I¡­ won¡¯t lose either.¡± Satan Leaf became serious. A fireball condensed in her hand¡­ Although she knew that this intense training was for her own good, it was really tiring. In order to end today¡¯s training and rest, she would not hold back! ¡°Then, three, two, one¡­¡± Ira chuckled¡­ ¡°Begin.¡± Chapter 15 ¡°Oh¡­ I lost¡­ I lost¡­¡± Vera, who was covered in dust, pretended to cry and looked very depressed¡­ Because she did not expect that Satan Leaf would become more and more skilled in condensing flames, her face was struck. However, because she was a lich, it was only a simple disfigurement. She quickly repaired her body. ¡°The improvement is very obvious. The talent of a demonic creature is really enviable.¡± As he spoke, Ira nodded in satisfaction. He looked at Satan Leaf, who had a small proud expression on her face, and wanted to say something like ¡°Don¡¯t put on a victorious expression. As a Demon King, you should appear calm.¡± However, he stopped himself¡­ Compliments should be more suitable for Satan Leaf than harsh teaching. ¡°You did very well¡­¡± As he spoke, Ira touched Satan Leaf¡¯s head like a father. He said to Celina, ¡°Satan Leaf¡¯s training is held back by the limit of her body. I hope you can help her relieve the physical fatigue later.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Physical¡­ fatigue?¡± Celina did not understand. ¡°Find a maid to massage her. If there¡¯s a hot spring, let her soak in it and massage her muscles.¡± As Ira spoke, he sorted out the information in his hand. After waiting for a while without an answer, he looked up at the hesitant Celina and said, ¡°Could it be that the other maids, including you, don¡¯t know how to do it?¡± ¡°Yes, the former Demon King also¡­ doesn¡¯t like the service of a maid.¡± Looking at Celina who said so shamefully, Ira nodded and said, ¡°I can guess because when he fought me, he always said that he cherished my existence and invited me to Demon King City to fight.¡± However, this was troublesome. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you, Vera¡­ Get your [Arcane Servant] to guide some maids in the Demon King City.¡± Ira ordered Vera like this, and Vera, who was still throwing a tantrum, looked up and said, ¡°You should know how to do it too, right? Can¡¯t you help press it? Or you can demonstrate to Miss Celina.¡± As she spoke, Vera directly stretched out her demonic claws to Satan Leaf beside her and clicked her tongue in wonder. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to touch it? Look at this lotus fruit-like arm and this white silk calf¡­ Tsk tsk tsk ~¡± ¡°Oh ~ Eh, Eh, Eh?¡± Amidst Satan Leaf¡¯s wrong shout, Celina slapped Vera¡¯s hand away and stopped her with a smile. She said, ¡°Miss Vera, please don¡¯t do anything to trouble the Demon King.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. So, are you tempted, Ira?¡± As if tempting a child with candy, Vera said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this more tempting than Isabella¡¯s leg? Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t secretly touched her leg before?¡± ¡°I really haven¡¯t¡­ I¡¯ve always acted respectfully as a normal subject. I won¡¯t do such a thing.¡± Ira said helplessly. He patted Vera¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°The people in the Demon King City are carefree. I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯re disrespectful to the Demon King, but to be honest, such an atmosphere is not bad¡­ I¡¯ll leave the massage to you.¡± Looking at Ira turn around and leave the training ground, Vera, who had her arms crossed, sighed, ¡°As expected of Minister Ira. You¡¯re really the number one official in the world.¡± Amidst Vera¡¯s sigh, Celina nodded. She said, ¡°Is it really possible for Ira to officially join Demon King City as you said before?¡± ¡°Ha ~¡± Regarding this, Vera chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m still quite confident because Ira is not good at dealing with others¡¯ requests. He¡¯s the kind of person who lets you push your luck.¡± ¡°If you want to describe it¡­¡± As Vera spoke, she thought of a description and said in a dirty tone, ¡°He¡¯s that kind of person. If you kneel and ask, he¡¯ll agree to let you into his room. If you kneel and ask, he¡¯ll agree to let you sleep on the bed. If you kneel and ask, he¡¯ll agree to let you hug him to sleep again¡­ Then¡­¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­ that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Hahaha ~¡± The evil-looking Vera and the understanding Celina laughed. The confused Satan Leaf could only stand beside Celina and tilt his head in confusion¡­ It was still too early for her to talk about this. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°Blue mushroom¡­ It seems that it¡¯s not unreasonable to be the staple food of the Demon King¡¯s Territory.¡± As he spoke, Ira inserted a knife and fork into the blue mushroom cap and analyzed, ¡°There¡¯s quite a lot of starch. Planting it is simple and in line with the diet habits of the Insectoid and fairies. I wonder how much is produced?¡± ¡°I can obtain a batch in about 20 days¡­¡± Celina, who was serving Satan Leaf and eating lunch, replied. She added, ¡°We need to ask the little fairies in charge of planting the blue mushrooms about the exact yield. Do you want me to help you ask?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Shaking his head, Ira watched the maid serve the next dish and place it in front of him and Satan Leaf. He said, ¡°It seems to be barely enough for the residents of the Demon King City to eat¡­¡± ¡°Satan Leaf, do you have any plans for the afternoon?¡± Regarding Ira who asked this, Satan Leaf looked up at Celina while eating. The succubus, who was being watched by the Demon King, replied, ¡°Is there anything important about the routine patrol of the Demon King¡¯s Territory and surroundings? Do you need to cancel it?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just asking.¡± Ira replied. He was a little embarrassed¡­ This was because he could not keep bringing up the topic in such a meal. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t he be acting like the Demon King? However, as the master of the gathering, why had Satan Leaf not spoken? What was she thinking now? ¡°Mr. Ira, the massage you mentioned previously has already been demonstrated by Miss Vera¡¯s arcane servant¡­ Can I ask what¡¯s the meaning of such a massage?¡± In fact, Celina kept talking to Ira¡­ This made Ira feel that he was a powerful minister. He endured the discomfort of being the leader and explained, ¡°After high-intensity exercise, your body will ache the next day. Massage can relieve it.¡± This explanation was enough. Otherwise, everyone would definitely not understand if Ira said something like [reduce tissue tension, relieve pain, promote blood circulation, and help break down the lactic acid in the body]. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Amidst the silent meal with their thoughts, Satan Leaf looked up and said, ¡°Can you accompany me on the patrol in the afternoon, Mr. Ira? I have many questions to ask.¡± ¡°This is not appropriate, Demon King.¡± Ira almost immediately said this. He shook his head and said, ¡°With my current identity, I¡¯m not qualified to be your mentor. Regarding the trouble I encountered during the patrol, I can only help you strengthen your combat strength and¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Halfway through, Ira looked at Satan Leaf, who was looking at him with a pitiful pleading gaze, and changed her words helplessly, ¡°However, if you want me to follow¡­ I can obey.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡­ The corners of Celina¡¯s mouth twitched¡­ Clearly, although the Demon King did not understand everything she and Vera had said, she had listened to the part where Ira was not good at dealing with others¡¯ requests. Chapter 16 Generally speaking, the king did not patrol the territory, be it the Empire or the Duchy. However, the Demon King seemed to be different¡­ It seemed that the structure of the Demon Race was like a kingdom. He could tell this from her previous words. Previously, it had mentioned that the [rebels stopped offering tributes], so the so-called Demon King was actually a feudal lord in a sense. The Demon King would only be responsible for the Demon King¡¯s Territory, and the other lords were responsible for their territory¡­ The Demon King was a recognized king. It was more similar to the Alliance Master and not the Emperor, so patrolling the territory was the most important thing. Rebellion against the Demon King? This is a relatively bad situation¡­ No, I don¡¯t have to care about this. Ira analyzed like this. He did not need to care about the good and bad things in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. As long as he nurtured the Demon King into a king who could fight, he could leave after returning this favor. With a casual thought, Ira left the castle with Celina and Satan Leaf under the protection of the Headless Horsemen. Generally speaking, the nobles patrolled the territory on horses or in carriages. The nobles usually raised their beloved horses, but this did not seem to be popular in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. Perhaps it was because they did not raise horses¡­ After all, the Headless Horseman, who was a knight, brought his own horse. They did not need to raise them or farm them. From this point of view, it was very reasonable for the Empire to lose every battle before the Consul appeared. The location of the head was also replaced by flames. The pitch-black horse armor reflected the light of the Netherworld. This pressure was indeed not something ordinary warhorses of the Empire could match. Ira, who was sitting on the handsome warhorse of a certain Headless Horseman, thought to himself. He looked at the owner of the headless warhorse walking beside him¡­ He felt a little sorry for the fact that he had occupied his warhorse. ¡°According to the arrangement, we¡¯ll head to the blue mushroom field and other planting fields from here to check the situation of the poor harvest that the demons said. We¡¯ll patrol all the way to the sea and return to the Demon King City.¡± Celina, who was also riding a warhorse, told Ira about the arrangements. She looked at the surrounding residents of the Demon King¡¯s Territory who were bowing to the patrol team and said, ¡°It¡¯s normal for the residents to be curious about Mr. Ira. I hope you can understand.¡± Ira naturally understood this. He looked at the surrounding fairies, insects, crustaceans, goblins, kobolds, inferior demons, and so on, as well as the vampires who were hiding in the shadows and bowing¡­ He felt a little strange. ¡°This place of the Demon King¡¯s Territory seems to have a different system from the Empire.¡± As he spoke, Ira looked at the lively demonic creatures around him and said, ¡°In the Empire, the residents are divided into slaves and ordinary residents. The former is the property of the emperor and nobles, and the latter is the citizens of the Empire. The Demon King¡¯s Territory seems to be different.¡± Ira, who had seen the noble¡¯s territory, knew very well that if the commoners needed to be described as pale, the slaves in a territory really did not have any human rights. The orders of the nobles were everything to the slaves, and all their earnings belonged to the nobles. Even if they ate the gains from their own hard work, it could be considered a reward from the nobles. If the noble took a fancy to the daughter of a slave, that slave had to obediently hand over his daughter and send her to the noble¡¯s castle¡­ Those slaves were still alive, but they were long dead inside. Although the conditions in the Demon King¡¯s Territory did not look good, the gazes of the residents¡­ were even brighter than the ordinary residents under many noble territories in the Empire. ¡°Yes, Mr. Ira.¡± Satan Leaf, who was riding with Celina, nodded in agreement with Ira. She said, ¡°Everything in the Demon King¡¯s Territory is my personal property¡­ As expected, in terms of ¡®demon rights¡¯, it can¡¯t compare to the Empire?¡± Listening to the unwilling Satan Leaf in his words, Ira did not know what to say. In other words, were they all slaves? However, their attitudes toward life were completely different. The demons on both sides of the street did not tremble in the face of the Demon King¡¯s arrival, nor were they extremely afraid. They did not even kneel. They only bowed. Although their faces were a little haggard, they did not have any envy or fear of the Demon King¡¯s power. Ira only saw respect. ¡°How much will they hand over to the Demon King City? Or how much will they hand over every quarter?¡± To Ira, who could not help but ask, Celina explained in a strange manner, ¡°But the harvest can¡¯t be good every time¡­ Therefore, they naturally hand over the excess only.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Looking at Ira, whose eyes were flickering and silent, Celina did not know what he was thinking. She continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the fairies leading them will rely on their experience to keep them until the next food they harvest. The rest will be handed over.¡± ¡°¡­¡± What Celina meant was that she thought that Ira was worried about the diet of the demonic creatures in the Demon King¡¯s Territory¡­ However, Ira only remained silent. It was an incomprehensible silence. ¡°It seems that the sanitary conditions in the Demon King¡¯s Territory are similar to the border area of the Empire¡­¡± Ira said softly. He deliberately avoided the topic of slaves and residents. Looking at the feces that could be seen everywhere on the road made of soil¡­ the demonic creatures did not even seem to have the habit of digging latrines. After leaving the castle of Demon King City, after stepping out of the bridge of the moat, Ira, who had stepped onto the dirt road, could smell an unpleasant smell¡­ Such conditions would usually appear in the territory of the Empire¡¯s nobles. They would not exist in the Empire¡¯s capital. ¡°There were originally special demonic creatures to clean, but now, there are seriously not enough people.¡± Regarding Celina who said this, Ira nodded again to show that he understood. He looked at Satan Leaf sitting in front of Celina¡­ Poor little Demon King, she had yet to find a topic to join in the conversation. ¡°How about building toilets¡­ There¡¯s no need for that toilet in the Demon King City. You only need to dig pits to make latrines.¡± As he spoke, Ira looked at Satan Leaf. He asked the little Demon King who did not know that Ira was suggesting it to her and was a god, ¡°Satan Leaf, what do you think? How about digging a few latrines in the Demon King¡¯s Territory?¡± ¡°Eh? Eh¡­¡± When Satan Leaf heard Ira¡¯s words, she thought about Ira¡¯s suggestion, but she did not understand the meaning of doing this¡­ However, the surrounding smell was indeed not very pleasant. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do as you say, Mr. Ira.¡± Satan Leaf replied. ¡°¡­¡± Looking at the silent Ira, Satan Leaf tilted her head and asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Then, who¡¯s in charge of this? You should personally find someone who can be in charge of this and instruct them, or arrange for me or Celina to make arrangements with your decree.¡± Ira taught like this. ¡°Is that so? Then, Mr. Ira, help me¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira was silent. He, who could not remember how many times he had been silent today, kept feeling that he was manipulating the Demon King. He kept feeling as if he was an evil minister holding control in the background. He did not want to become such a person, but¡­ he could not help but admire Satan Leaf who could hand everything to her subordinates without worry, although she might not be ¡°trusting¡± but ¡°naive¡±. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll follow your orders.¡± Chapter 17 Naiveness might not be a bad thing¡­ If her subjects were not disloyal, or if the person she trusted the most under her had enough ability, the naive Demon King who would trust others wholeheartedly would be the best king in the world. Ira thought that he would definitely not be disloyal, so after obtaining such trust from her, he was a little different from when he was in the Empire. Ira, who said that he was only responsible for making the Demon King stronger, was now unknowingly participating in the effort to make the Demon King¡¯s Territory even more advanced¡­ In a sense, he was a proud guy. He remembered that Yosef had once said, ¡°If you think my daughter did very well, just say it. Don¡¯t be shy and say things like ¡®Very good, but you can do better next time¡¯ ~ Hahaha!! As a man, you¡¯re too candid and I can¡¯t rest assured handing the Empire to you!¡± It was as if he was Yosef¡¯s son or he wanted to seize the Empire¡­ What an impressive emperor! ¡­ The territory of the demonic creatures was in the southeast of the continent. It was originally very large, but now, the land had been snatched back by the Empire¡­ The Demon King¡¯s Territory was on the right, and above it was the sea. Around the Demon King City was the Demon King¡¯s Territory. There were many demonic creatures with not harsh living conditions living inside¡­ Demonic creatures like harpies naturally lived in the mountains outside the Demon King¡¯s Territory. However, it could not actually be considered to be living outside the Demon King¡¯s Territory. To be precise¡­ it extended from the Demon King City and swept down the farmland at the edge of the Demon King¡¯s Territory before extending out to the territories of other rebellious or untreated demonic leaders. The area until the periphery of the other party¡¯s territory was considered the territory of the Demon King¡¯s Territory. However, usually speaking, it was only calculated in the area of the outermost farmland. The further places were only meaningless wastelands and forests with all kinds of wild beasts or uncivilized demonic creatures. Wild beasts were fine. After all, the residents of the Demon King¡¯s Territory were demonic creatures and not commoners like the Empire. However, uncivilized demonic beasts were fundamentally different from awakened demonic creatures. The former was delicious, and the latter was the predator. Those demonic beasts did not care if they were the citizens of the Demon King or not. They did not think that they were the citizens of the Demon King at all. Instead, they were no different from wild beasts who only knew how to attack and kill. The fairies were the managers of all the residents. There were also blacksmiths, masons, carpenters, tailors, and other professions in the territory that used labor and the Demon King City to exchange for food and necessities¡­ Of course, they were also the property of the Demon King. Therefore, the food and clothes in the Demon King¡¯s Territory had to be reported to the Demon King City by the fairies. The ghost girl would count the situation reported by the various generals and fairies and trade resources when the traveling merchants arrived. ¡­ ¡°Demon King ~¡± ¡°Welcome¡­¡± ¡°The farm¡­¡± ¡°The recent season¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s very bad.¡± The leaders of the little fairies said the words they wanted to say one after another in such a way. Their cooperation was very good as if they were talking normally. Outside the Demon King¡¯s Territory were fields. Most of the crops were unique to this world, such as blue mushrooms, but a small number of crops existed in his previous life. The situation indeed looked very bad. Most of the crops looked to be swaying around, and they did not grow evenly, as if they were about to wither at any time. ¡°What¡¯s the exact problem?¡± Satan Leaf asked. Only at this moment did she slightly look like a lord¡­ Yes, like a lord, because generally speaking, kings would not be reduced to personally asking about the crops. ¡°It might be because¡­¡± ¡°No more¡­¡± ¡°Fertilizers¡­¡± ¡°Last time the merchants came¡­¡± ¡°Last last time¡­¡± ¡°Many, many times¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re not for sale¡­¡± ¡°Fertilizer¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The words of the little fairies revealed the truth¡­ ¡°It seems that¡¯s the reason.¡± Celina felt that she had found the truth of the matter. She explained to Ira and Satan Leaf, ¡°In fact, before there¡¯s anything like fertilizer, we¡¯ll go to another plot of land to farm after we harvest the crops.¡± ¡°Although I don¡¯t know why, if fertilizer is sprinkled during the planting process, it can ensure an increase in crop production without needing to change the area planted regularly. A few years ago, the merchants said that fertilizer is no longer sold.¡± ¡°However, it seems that the effect of the fertilizer has continued until now. In the end, it can¡¯t last anymore.¡± Under Celina¡¯s explanation and under Ira¡¯s dead gaze, Satan Leaf, who also knew about this, said, ¡°Next time, change the planting area¡­ What¡¯s fertilizer?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Uh, fertilizer is a¡­ specialty of the Empire.¡± As Ira spoke, the names [nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium] flashed in his mind, but after careful consideration, he did not explain to them¡­ because they definitely did not understand. ¡°Yes, I know that.¡± Satan Leaf nodded. She blinked and said, ¡°We¡¯ve asked Miss Vera. She said that magic is involved in the manufacture of fertilizer and might be related to alchemy¡­ Mr. Ira, do you know the situation?¡± Although they said this, Satan Leaf and Celina were not looking forward to it, because in their impression, Ira was a powerful Consul and should not be involved in alchemy. ¡°About that¡­¡± Ira pondered and wondered if he should say it. In the end, he made up his mind and said, ¡°Actually, I modified the fertilizer. I was also the one who advised Isabella to ban foreign trade.¡± ¡°I naturally know the process and raw materials of the fertilizer. Although mana is indeed involved, the process and materials I designed are actually not as complicated as you think¡­ We should be able to do it.¡± Surrounded by the scattered Headless Horseman, Ira, Celina, and Satan Leaf stood around the field. As he spoke¡­ he looked at the goblins and fairies pulling weeds in the field. ¡°That¡¯s great! Mr. Ira!¡± ¡°¡­¡± However, other than the fact that Satan Leaf looked very happy, Celina did not show it. She knew very well that such a thing should not be said. This was a secret of the Empire and one of the methods to drag down the demons. If Ira told the Demon King and her, it would really be true treason. ¡­ ¡°What can we pay in exchange for the method of refining fertilizer? The title of the Demon King?¡± Celina asked very soberly, but she did not think that the title was valuable¡­ It could be said that if Ira accepted the title, or even only accepted it without paying anything, it would still be a loss to him. The meaning of these words was undoubtedly to beat around the bush and ask if Ira wanted to officially join the Demon King City. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± When Ira said this¡­ it was both an answer to the topic of fertilizer and a response to Celina¡¯s roundabout question. Chapter 18 ¡°Mr. Ira, is the manufacturing of fertilizer something you can¡¯t tell us?¡± Satan Leaf asked as she looked up at Ira. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Ira and Celina replied at the same time. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Satan Leaf pondered. Her small head knew the meaning of fertilizer to the Demon King¡¯s Territory. She looked at Ira and said, ¡°Do you want anything? Can I exchange it with anything?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira did not answer. ¡°Gold coins? Even in the Silver Moon Tree Court, gold coins are useful, right?¡± Towards Celina¡¯s words, Ira could not help but smile. He said, ¡°However, you don¡¯t have many gold coins left¡­ Perhaps there are only silver coins left in the Demon King City.¡± No, this was still too exaggerated¡­ Even if they were so poor, they still had gold coins. It was more like they did not have crystal coins. The monetary system of this world was very clich¨¦. It was only the conversion of copper coins, silver coins, gold coins, and ordinary equivalent items called [Mana Crystal (Crystal Coin)], but it was not the logic that often appeared in novels. The conversion of gold coins and silver coins was 1:12, which meant that a gold coin could be exchanged for 12 silver coins. The conversion of silver coins to copper coins was 1:16, which meant that a silver coin could be exchanged for 16 copper coins. This logic was quite simple. 192 copper coins for a gold coin, but because the prints and specifications of the coins were different from country to country, the value of the gold coins was different. Only the value of silver and copper coins was the same. In addition, 1:12 was the conversion method of the Empire¡¯s Thorny gold coins. The ratio of the more solid Flower Crown Court (Silver Moon Tree Court) gold coins was 1:15. As for the church¡¯s platinum coins, the ratio was 1:9 silver coins¡­ ¡°Haha, even in this situation, there are still gold coins¡­¡± Celina chuckled. ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s true¡­¡± Ira replied with a smile. It was very obvious that Celina was prepared to take the initiative to brush off this topic, and it was what Ira was thinking¡­ It was not that he was unwilling to explain, but he could not accept the fact that it already existed, even if he knew that was the truth. Satan Leaf did not understand the meaning of their conversation. She seriously thought about how to exchange for the formula, then asked seriously, ¡°Mr. Ira¡­ I heard that you like lolis?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira: ¡°???¡± Celina: ¡°???¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say this casually. I actually don¡¯t like it.¡± Ira rubbed his nose in frustration. He looked at Satan Leaf, who probably did not understand what a loli meant at all, and said, ¡°You heard it from Vera, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± As expected, after Ira subconsciously mentioned this term to Yosef, he knew how to use it. Then, Vera knew that the people of the Empire almost understood it. After Isabella understood the meaning, she also looked at Ira strangely for a long time. Now, because of Vera, Celina, and many other demonic creatures, they might understand. ¡°Do you know what loli means?¡± As Ira spoke, he looked at the Lolita-style dress on Satan Leaf and suddenly realized that be it the fundamental principle or the word ¡°loli¡± that had been deconstructed, Satan Leaf fit the description quite well. ¡°Yes, a little girl who¡¯s as soft as a radish and can be called loli¡­ such as me.¡± Although this explanation was strange, there did not seem to be a problem. ¡ªYou seem to understand it well?! Do you also have the self-awareness that you¡¯re a loli?! The corners of Ira¡¯s mouth twitched, and for a moment, he did not know how to complain¡­ ¡°Demon King¡­¡± Celina said awkwardly. She seemed to understand that this term was not understood that way, but it was obvious that Ira was not someone who liked lolis. Relatively speaking, perhaps the Empire¡¯s nobles liked it better. ¡°How about I order the entire territory to choose lolis for you?¡± After saying this, he looked at Ira expectantly and waited for his answer. Ira could not help but laugh, ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t¡­ Hahahahaha, this is too ridiculous ~¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Although Satan Leaf did not understand very well, she knew that she had misunderstood. She lowered her head and looked at the ground in embarrassment, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Ira.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Sigh, forget it¡­¡± As Ira spoke, he reached out and touched Satan Leaf¡¯s head, as if making a decision. He said, ¡°Let the demonic creatures collect the withered grass, sawdust, and wood dust that needs to be burned. Then, after the feces pit is built, collect the feces inside.¡± These words were very strange. They were clearly talking about fertilizer previously, but now, the topic immediately jumped to ash and feces. Satan Leaf did not understand, but Celina immediately thought of a possibility. Her eyes immediately widened, and her beautiful love pupils flickered with anticipation as she said, ¡°Lord Ira, could it be?¡± She was too materialistic. Previously, he was still called ¡°Mr¡±, but now, he was called ¡°Lord¡±. ¡°You probably don¡¯t understand what fermentation is and what compost is. Using flour fermentation to describe it will definitely disgust you. Therefore, I¡¯ll directly say the process.¡± Ira said calmly. He looked at the five little fairies with shining eyes who were listening at the side and said, ¡°Store the collected demonic creatures and livestock feces in a place far from households.¡± Here, Ira emphasized far. This was something they had to pay attention to. At that time, the Empire had long had the concept of fertilizer, but the template was relatively rough. Only the farmers communicated with each other, so it was fine. However, he was really afraid that after collecting them, they would directly compost them on the ground. ¡°Stir the ashes of the plants I mentioned earlier into the feces pile and add straws, weeds, and other things to turn them over. I guarantee that under the conditions of proper ventilation, the feces pile will gradually become dry and turn into granules like the fertilizer you bought.¡± ¡°As for what you mentioned, Vera, who came out of the ivory tower, misunderstood. The use of mana is only to cooperate with the high temperature when composting to kill the germs, kill the parasite eggs, and weeds seeds, and ensure ventilation.¡± ¡°At the same time, it can mislead the other countries who want to study it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Ira.¡± Satan Leaf said gratefully. She, whose head only reached Ira¡¯s chest, took the initiative to lean forward and hug him¡­ She felt that Ira liked to pat her head very much. In order to express her gratitude, she decided to lean over and let him touch it. Ira did not know what Satan Leaf was thinking. He replied simply, ¡°You should indeed thank me, but a Demon King can¡¯t let down all your guard like this. Instead, you should maintain¡­ No, forget it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Ira.¡± Perhaps Satan Leaf did not know the hidden meaning of this compromise at this moment, but Celina did¡­ From now on, Ira was no longer the Consul of the Empire, but the teacher of Satan Leaf. He was only the Demon King¡¯s teacher. Chapter 19 Fairies were very interesting demonic creatures. They looked like palm-sized elves with insect-like wings, but they were indeed genuine demonic creatures and not subhumans like the orcs. Their ability to work together as a team was so powerful that it made people wonder if the fairies were telepathic. They would listen to instructions and not lie. They were serious and did not have any selfishness. If necessary, they could be extremely selfless and have very good patience and enthusiasm for taking care of crops and animals. It was indeed a rare good workforce. However, their hatred for humans was engraved in the blood of the little fairies. Even human children with no ill intentions would always be pranked by the little fairies. Clearly, it was the nobles¡¯ fault again. If humans did ten things that disgusted the other races, eleven or even twelve of them were related to the nobles, and they were really not wrong¡­ Although there were indeed good nobles and even most ordinary nobles, there were definitely many nobles with problems in their heads. This portion of nobles could discredit the impression of humans in the entire world. However, the fairies¡¯ attitude towards Ira was quite good. ¡°Lord Ira¡­¡± ¡°The feces pool is¡­¡± ¡°Preparing to build¡­¡± ¡°Street feces¡­¡± ¡°Is also gathered¡­¡± ¡°It stinks¡­¡± ¡°How long will it take?¡± Regarding the questions about the fairies, Ira, who was flipping through a book in his room, looked up and said, ¡°I saw it earlier. Next, add plant ash, straw, and dead leaves and stir them every day until they become dry and smelly soil.¡± The efficiency of the demonic creatures in the Demon King¡¯s Territory was very good. Only a night had passed since the order yesterday, but the feces on the street had already been gathered a little further away from the farmland and piled into a smelly mountain. Perhaps this was the value of those subjects who were called ¡°slaves¡± in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. There was almost no need for anyone to whip and urge them, nor was there anyone to do anything sneaky. The matter had already been completed. Those so-called ¡°slaves¡± might be happier and more comfortable than many citizens of the Empire. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Ira!¡± ¡°Thank you very much!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Time to work!¡± Facing the fairies who were talking at once with no obvious gap between their sentences, Ira chuckled and pushed the things on the table forward. He said, ¡°Wait, eat some snacks before going to work, okay?¡± What was pushed over by Ira were five small milky-white square snacks. There were exactly five fairies here, and one per person was just enough. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it¡­¡± ¡°Smells good¡­¡± ¡°But we¡­¡± ¡°Still need to work¡­¡± Although they were about to drool, they were still prepared to go. Ira picked up a small spoon and inserted it into the bouncy snack. She said, ¡°This is pudding, the first sweet version of pudding in the world.¡± ¡°Help to evaluate the taste? This can¡¯t be considered slacking.¡± Ira said this. When he had gone to the kitchen last night to find something to eat¡­ Yes, he had gone to the kitchen anyway. It seemed that it made sense for Celina to arrange his room here. Last night, Ira had found agar, a seaweed extract used to make wine in this world. Agar was the key to the birth of modern pudding in his previous world. This world had pudding. It was a food similar to blood sausage. In other words, it was sausage processed from blood, meat, fat, oats, and bread. It was salty and sounded strange, but it tasted quite good. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll¡­¡± ¡°Try it¡­¡± As they spoke, the little fairies flew to the table in excitement. They picked up the small spoon that they used like a shovel and dug out the milky pudding to taste. ¡°Wow¡­¡± ¡°So sweet¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious¡­¡± ¡°So bouncy¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Looking at these fairies who had begun to discuss at once and not start to speak like multiple words as a whole, Ira chuckled and shook his head, continuing to read the sheepskin book in his hand. This book was about the history of the scarlet dragons. It roughly explained how the ancestors of the scarlet dragons maintained themselves under the corruption of the demons and how they were completely corrupted by the rejection of the dragons. Ira could not guarantee the authenticity, but he could indeed find all traces of the past. ¡°¡­¡± After eating the little pudding, the elves did not chatter. Instead, they looked at Ira, who was quietly reading in the sunlight shining from the window¡­ For some reason, they felt that the human in front of them was very beautiful. He was handsome, spoke gently, was kind, and did things very gently. ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re done eating? Then please help me give these puddings to the various leaders, including Celina, the Demon King, and the people I saw previously¡­ Hmm, just give them to everyone at the meeting yesterday.¡± Ira displayed the pudding in small boxes at the side. He watched as the five fairies carried all the pudding up in one go and instructed, ¡°Send the excess to the maids, footmen, and fairies in the Demon King City and say that it¡¯s a reward from the Demon King.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± ¡°Alright, alright!¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Ira.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Goodbye.¡± The little fairies looked petite, but their strength was comparable to an ordinary citizen of the Empire, so it was easy for each little fairy to carry dozens of puddings. It was normal to give the little pudding developed to future colleagues, and his subordinates did not need to know who Ira was, so Ira did not need to build a good relationship with them. However, Satan Leaf needed the respect of the servants. In that case, the servants would talk less about it. This was very necessary for a Demon King. Swoosh¡­ The wind blew in through the window and flipped the heavy parchment that Ira had half-flipped. The wind flipped half, and Ira flipped the rest. Such clear weather was relatively rare in winter, although the physical fitness and heat tolerance of the people of this world did not especially care about the weather. However, Ira, who was reading, felt that he had forgotten something. ¡­ Right, if it was the little fairies, they would probably say something to the servants like ¡°Lord Ira made the pudding and let us give the excess to you. He asked us to say that it was bestowed to you by the Demon King.¡± The fairies would definitely mention Ira, because¡­ ¡°Do little fairies know how to lie?¡± Ira, who was muttering to himself, fell into a long thought. Chapter 20 - Incubus Tikap Chapter 20 Incubus Tikap It was really too convenient to work on the Demon King¡¯s side. This was Ira¡¯s thought. He could imagine that if a noble in the Empire was prepared to implement some policy, he would first have to face the subjects who did not listen to orders and acted on their own, and serfs who could not read or understand orders at all. Then, there would be some subordinates who would trip him up from time to time, as well as some nobles who would continuously brag that the policy was in place and the effect was good. In the end, the nobles would collectively ostracize this ambitious noble. Then, this policy would never be brought up again. It would either be completely forgotten or given up without any chance to correct it. If not for the fact that Ira had Yosef¡¯s endorsement of everything she did along the way and obtained Isabella¡¯s unconditional support after his death, he would definitely have been obstructed everywhere in the Empire. Although in the end, Isabella rebelled. ¡­ On the other hand, it was simple to do anything on the Demon King¡¯s side. There were obedient demons who felt a sense of belonging to the Demon King¡¯s Territory, smart and capable fairies who could not lie, and few intelligent colleagues. The brain was really a very impressive advantage because many nobles did not have brains. This was not a joke, but the experience of Ira working in the Empire for many years. *Dong! Dong! Dong!* ¡°Lord Ira.¡± Celina knocked lightly on the door. Her voice came from outside. At some point, she, who had already called Ira ¡®Lord¡¯, said, ¡°If possible, we can settle the payment related to fertilizer.¡± Yes, Ira had previously told them about the process and formula of the fertilizer¡­ Although it was very simple logic, many times, such simple logic was needed to make things smooth. Therefore, the information about Ira was valuable and should be rewarded. Even if¡­ although he did not say it explicitly now, Ira had almost joined the Demon King Camp. However, even if he said it explicitly, he still needed a reward. One was called remuneration, and the other was called reward. If the emperor thought highly of you, he would personally reward you in the court. If he did not want your status to be raised too high or did not want you to become the target of public criticism, he would privately send servants to reward you. However, Satan Leaf might not have the mood to learn the intricacy of rewards. Therefore, Ira would not think about such a problem or care. He only hoped that Celina did not really take Vera¡¯s nonsense seriously and brought two loli maids over. ¡°Please come in. The door is not locked.¡± As he spoke, Ira placed the unfinished book on the table and looked at the loli incubus following behind Celina who pushed the door open. It looked quite cute and very respectful. || ¡­ Ira was right, but he was only half right. She had indeed brought him loli, but it was one and not two. Moreover, she had brought her own kind, not a maid. ¡°Hello, Lord Ira.¡± That little loli greeted. Under Ira¡¯s questioning gaze, Celina introduced him and said, ¡°He¡¯s not a reward, but a servant arranged for you¡­ He¡¯s the best at fighting the succubi. He once beat three goblins among to death when he was young.¡± ¡°Cough¡­¡± Hearing this, Ira could not hold it in anymore. To be honest, his impression of the succubus was a demon who relied on illusions and whips to kill and a spy who used improper methods to bewitch the nobles to steal information. Now, the sudden change was a little difficult for him to accept. However, such an incubus was clearly an anomaly among succubi. ¡°Thank you for your concern, but I don¡¯t need it.¡± Ira, who had rejected him like this, shook her head. He still did not think that he needed a maid to serve him. Apart from children¡­ no modern person would be used to others helping him change clothes. Regarding this, this loli incubus looked a little disappointed. Celina nodded to show that she understood, but she still smiled and explained, ¡°He won¡¯t affect your life, but he can run errands for you. For example, last night, I didn¡¯t have to ask Lady Ira if you wanted to boil hot water and bathe.¡± That made sense. Last night, Ira had planned to sleep with his clothes on, but Celina had come to tell her that a shower was not bad. ¡°If there¡¯s an exclusive servant, you don¡¯t have to personally inform Miss Vera even if your clothes are torn. If you want to send something, you don¡¯t have to personally find the little fairies¡­ By the way, the pudding is delicious.¡± That seemed to make sense, but¡­ As Ira thought, he shook his head gently and looked apologetically at the loli incubus and Celina. He said, ¡°I¡¯m not used to having a maid following me.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m a servant.¡± As the loli incubus interrupted¡­ || ¡­ Ira: ¡°???¡± ¡°Yes, his name is Tikap. You can call him Little Ti. He¡¯s a rare incubus.¡± Saying this, Celina agreed with the loli incubus. She said, ¡°Lord Ira doesn¡¯t have to worry about feeling uncomfortable. He¡¯ll stay in the training ground to cultivate as usual. Just instruct him if there¡¯s anything.¡± Ira looked at the cute and petite ¡°loli¡± in front of him and swept his gaze across his beautiful face. He looked at the other party¡¯s heart-shaped succubus tail. No matter how he looked at it, he could not tell that the other party was male. ¡°Therefore, I need to go to the training ground to find¡­ him?¡± Ira, who was rubbing his eyebrows, asked. Before he transmigrated, the word ¡°trap¡± had not become popular on the Internet, so there were some small problems in his current worldview. ¡°There¡¯s no need. That¡¯s no different from not having a maid¡­ or a servant.¡± -Celina?! You¡¯re wrong, right? You must have said something wrong just now¡­ You¡¯re also surprised by the appearance and gender of this fellow race member called Tikap, right? ¡°Little Ti has grasped the [Subdimensional Travel Technique].¡± || || ¡­ As soon as these words were spoken, Ira looked at this little incubus in surprise. Although he was not a spellcaster, he knew the difficulty of moving in the subdimensional world. He asked, ¡°A trip to the Shadow World?¡± The Shadow World was a relatively common subplane. Many assassin-type professionals would choose to escape into the Shadow World to avoid damage or hide. The people of the Main Plane could not use physical methods to hurt the creatures who escaped into the Shadow World, but magic methods could. ¡°Void World Travel.¡± Celina, who knew Little Ti¡¯s situation very well, ask him to activate his ability and his body disappeared from this room in a blur. This was more impressive. The Void World was also one of the more common sub-planes. Its characteristic was the chaotic and disorderly splicing of spatial coordinates. The principle of the teleportation technique was to use mana to analyze the two coordinates in the perspective of the main plane and switch the locations that overlapped in the Void World. In other words, as long as the person who grasped the Void World Travel had enough magic power support, he could instantly travel from one side of the world to the other. However, generally speaking, spellcasters did not have this technology or enough mana. ¡°It¡¯s not a spell he learned? Instead, it¡¯s natural talent? To be honest, it¡¯s a waste of talent to be a servant¡­¡± Ira sighed. With such an ability, if he did not become famous as an unknown assassin god (assassins could not become famous as it was too dangerous), should he waste away here as a little male servant? Chapter 21 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Little Ti?¡± Three seconds after Ira asked so softly, a cute figure appeared in Ira¡¯s room from blurry to clear. He knelt in front of him, who was reading a book, on one knee. From the direction of the training ground, he captured the call of Ira, who he paid special attention to, through the Void World. Then, he shuttled in front of him. This process only took three seconds. As expected, it was really a waste of talent to be a servant. Tikap waited for Ira¡¯s instructions, but after waiting for a long time without saying anything, the incubus looked up and discovered that he was only continuously sizing him up¡­ He could not help but blush. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just wondering if the mana of an incubus with such a natural Void World travel talent would be different from usual.¡± Realizing that Tikap¡¯s face had turned red, Ira hurriedly said. He walked behind him and looked at the cute male incubus whose body was a little stiff. He said, ¡°Please don¡¯t resist.¡± As he spoke, Ira immediately sensed that his words could easily be misunderstood. Before the other party could think of anything else, he explained, ¡°Next, I want to touch the special area of your body and extract a portion of mana.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Ira reached out and grabbed Tikap¡¯s tail¡­ ¡°Ah ~¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ignoring the other party¡¯s strange cry, after Ira obtained a portion of the mana, he immediately let go. He ignored Tikap¡¯s red face again and did not think about how the other party had felt just now. Ira felt the mana circulating in the wing pillar and did not seem to discover anything different. No matter which wing pillar it stopped on, it was no different from an ordinary incubus. ¡°Little Ti?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Celina now?¡± Hearing Ira¡¯s words, the cherry red on Tikap¡¯s face that had yet to subside was stunned. He directly teleported and disappeared on the spot. About six seconds later, he reappeared and said, ¡°In the kitchen, discussing the problem of ingredients with Mr. Rhyme.¡± ¡°Thank you. You can continue with your work.¡± As Ira spoke, he walked out of the room. He was beginning to feel that the servant was useful, but it might be only limited to Little Ti¡­ [Void World Travel] was really a very convenient ability. ¡°Ha ~ Hu ~¡± Tikap calmed the throbbing in his heart like this. He took a deep breath and reached out to rub the place on his tail where Ira had grabbed him. His body gradually faded and disappeared from this room. To be honest, the feeling of mana being extracted¡­ was especially strange to the incubus. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The kitchen door was not closed. As soon as she reached it, Ira heard Mr. Rhyme¡¯s voice. He said in a helpless tone, ¡°The little slime reported that the food reserves in the territory are seriously insufficient.¡± ¡°The ingredients in the Demon King City can barely support it, but the residents of the Demon King¡¯s Territory no longer have any excess ingredients to eat. Eggs, cow milk, goat milk, and meat have almost been exhausted!¡± From what Rhyme meant, it seemed that he was not only the chef in the castle. The slimes under him were also involved in the cooking of the food in the entire territory¡­ and not simply leaving a portion of the ingredients for the residents. However, there was a very important point in his words. Although the approximate amount would not be too much, did the demon residents usually have the chance to eat meat?! What kind of terrifying place was this?! Ira was a little shocked. If it was the Empire, the poor slaves would usually cry and be grateful for the gift if they could eat the white bread rewarded by the nobles. In the end, all the demons of the Demon King¡¯s Territory could eat meat. ¡°Not only that, there are only carrots left among the vegetables, and only carrots and cloud vegetables are left in the share of the castle. The meat and egg milk also have to be rationed. The residents of the Demon King¡¯s Territory can only eat blue mushrooms and carrots every day after that. We have to wait at least six days for the caravan to arrive.¡± It sounded like Rhyme was a little crazy as if the situation in the Demon King¡¯s Territory was in a state where he had only enough main food (blue mushrooms), plenty of carrots, and other things. It had to be said that they really cared about the situation of the residents of the territory¡­ Thinking of this, Ira narrowed his eyes. He could not help but have a good impression of this place in the Demon King¡¯s Territory¡­ Such concern, even if it was out of the thought of ¡°protecting his assets¡±, made people feel comfortable. Merchants were coming six days later? If a country¡¯s food source needed to be maintained by caravans, the structure of this country was extremely unstable¡­ No, that did not seem to be the case. Was there enough food, but what was insufficient was the diversity of food? In the world of Ira¡¯s past, in order to ensure food diversity, it was not uncommon for countries to be both food exporters and food importers¡­ However, in this world, at the very least, the Empire did not need food imports. The dwarves had to continuously import food because many crops on their side could not be grown. Moreover, if those races and the territories under the control of the Demon King did not enter this unrecoverable state, they should pay the harvest to the Demon King¡¯s Territory. If there was no war, they would also have a stable trade route with the elves, dwarves, and orcs, so they did not have to wait for the caravan to arrive¡­ Generally speaking, it was possible that the caravan did not bring enough trade food. However, the demons of the Demon King¡¯s Territory could just eat blue mushrooms. If it was humans, it was very easy to rebel from a high-quality life to a low-quality one. However, with the inexplicable loyalty of the demons, unless the boss of their race rebelled, they would obediently wait for death even if they had nothing to eat. This was the concept of race. As for the bosses of the various races in the Demon King¡¯s Territory, who were the few he had seen in the morning court, no matter how he thought about it, no one would rebel, so he did not have to worry about this at all. At the very least, Ira felt that they could definitely let the subjects endure for the time being. ¡°It¡¯s indeed a very bad situation.¡± As Celina spoke, she also took this situation seriously and said, ¡°I¡¯ll report it to the Demon King. It seems that the formation of the hunting team needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. I¡¯ll explain this to everyone at the morning court meeting tomorrow.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± In response, Rhyme seemed to think of something. He continued, ¡°When can Mr. Ira¡¯s fertilizer be used? What¡¯s the approximate harvest for the next quarter?¡± Unfortunately, Celina was not very clear about this question. As she walked out of the kitchen, she replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but next quarter¡­ the harvest will definitely be much better than now.¡± Hearing Celina¡¯s words, Rhyme looked relieved. He said, ¡°Thank Mr. Ira for me¡­ No, I¡¯ll thank Mr. Ira personally later.¡± ¡°The entire Demon King¡¯s Territory should thank¡­ Lord Ira?¡± Walking out of the kitchen, Celina saw Ira waiting outside. She was first stunned by surprise, then regained her maid etiquette. As she bowed, she asked him, ¡°Good afternoon, Lord Ira. Are you here to see Mr. Rhyme?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m here to find you.¡± Ira went straight to the point. ¡°Let me touch your tail.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Eh?!¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. Please give me some of your mana.¡± Amidst Celina¡¯s shy surprise, he corrected her calmly¡­ However, it was actually a little strange to say this. Chapter 22 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Words like ¡°please give me your mana¡± actually had a derivative meaning other than literal. Moreover, it was first popular in the Empire and then spread throughout the continent. Generally speaking, it was thought that the birth of children came from the bloodline of their parents and the corresponding souls (mana) mixed together. This was also the reason why the children of nobles would only marry the descendants of other nobles they liked. Therefore, this meaning of [give me your mana] was similar to [give me your DNA]. However, it was also the kind of statement that was not too easy to misunderstand¡­ He could deliberately explain in a lewd direction, but usually speaking, the person communicating would not think like that. ¡°Is it related to the Consul?¡± Regarding Celina who asked this, Ira nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m more curious if mana from someone with a special talent like Tikap is any different from an ordinary succubus or incubus.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ can I treat this as a reward related to [fertilizer]?¡± After hesitating for a moment, Celina asked. This was very excessive. Although they had not completely discussed what reward they should give to Ira, there was no doubt that the reward should not be offset like this. ¡°Sure.¡± However, Ira said this. Celina, who did not expect him to answer so decisively, looked up in confusion. Then her tail was in Ira¡¯s hand. As soon as his warm palm touched her tail, Celina¡¯s body suddenly trembled. ¡°Eh!!¡± Ira had ignored Tikap¡¯s strange cry previously, and now, he also ignored Celina¡¯s soft cry and her panting when extracting magic power. He had extracted about the same amount of mana, although he immediately let go. ¡°Ha¡­ Ha¡­¡± ¡°Lord Ira¡­ if it¡¯s a sudden attack¡­ it¡¯s too much¡­¡± Ira glanced at Celina, who was blaming him with a red face, and said very simply, ¡°I don¡¯t need any reward. If you want to repay me, just think of this moment when the future Demon King¡¯s Territory decides to betray me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± These words seemed to let Celina accept his good intentions without worry, but also seemed to be out of Ira¡¯s true thoughts. For a moment, Celina recovered from the strange feeling of mana being squeezed out. It seemed that Ira had really had a problem with his mentality because of the Empire¡¯s attitude. His words undoubtedly meant that he hoped that everyone in the Demon King¡¯s Territory would remember his actions¡­ and not give him a substantial reward. It was definitely not overboard to treat him sincerely, so it could even be said to be a little humble. ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡± After saying this, Celina guaranteed. She lowered her head respectfully to Ira and said, ¡°If you want to leave the Demon King¡¯s Territory one day, we definitely won¡¯t stop you.¡± This was the greatest promise a maid supervisor could make, although it was obvious that Celina actually had much more authority than ordinary maids. As Celina spoke, a voice that the two of them were familiar with sounded from the other side, ¡°That¡¯s right. After all, it¡¯s impossible to stop him if we let the demonic creatures stand in front of a Consul, right?¡± As she spoke, Vera walked over from the other end of the aisle. As she fiddled with her large mage hat, she said, ¡°If there¡¯s such a scene, Ira can only slaughter the army.¡± This was not wrong. It could even be said that¡­ if Ira wanted to leave now, no one could stop him. Vera seemed to have been eavesdropping on Ira and Celina¡¯s conversation from a long time ago. She looked curiously at Celina, whose face had yet to subside, and said, ¡°So that¡¯s how it feels to have your mana drawn by the Consul? Then won¡¯t it be a disaster on the battlefield?¡± As she spoke, Vera thought about the demonic creatures who had their lives and mana harvested on the battlefield¡­ Their deaths might not be more painful than the deaths of ordinary professionals. After all, they would die while enjoying themselves. Vera, who was letting her imagination run wild, felt that as a curious mage, she should try it herself. She placed her pale and slightly gray arm in front of Ira and said, ¡°Please accept my mana.¡± Without a doubt, she hoped that Ira would draw her mana. However, it was fascinating that she deliberately used words that could be deliberately misinterpreted in the Empire. In other words, she could use a similar meaning. It was very difficult to believe that she had done it unintentionally. Although Ira knew that Vera had misunderstood something, he was not sure that she had thought so much. He placed his hand on her arm in confusion and said, ¡°Then, please don¡¯t resist.¡± Pulling out the magic power that belonged to the lich from Vera¡¯s body, he felt mana circulating on his wing pillar and said, ¡°But perhaps only the succubus has a special reaction to mana extraction.¡± Ira had deliberately told Vera after he had already begun to draw¡­ In any case, it was free. It could even be said to be mana that had automatically come to his door. There was no need for him not to collect it. No matter how he thought about it, if he could still bring the same pleasure as the succubus being extracted from mana when he pierced through the demonic creature on the battlefield, the dignity of the Consul seemed to have disappeared. Speaking of which, it did not feel that impressive anymore. ¡°¡­¡± As a lich, Vera¡¯s mana was of very good quality, just like the half-dragon lich he had dealt with in the past during the war. Ira clearly remembered that he had very comfortably used the lich¡¯s mana in the third wing pillar (long-range attack). ¡°Hmm¡­ This feeling¡­¡± Realizing that she would not have the same expression as Celina because of this, Vera felt that it was a pity. She tried her best to find a suitable name from the familiar words, but in the end, she could only say, ¡°It¡¯s quite novel and magical.¡± ¡°What¡¯s even more magical is how you Consuls differentiate between my mana when I was a lich and my mana when I was human. From my point of view, they¡¯re actually fundamentally similar.¡± Curious, Vera looked at the grayish-white mana condensed in Ira¡¯s hand. Amidst the abnormality of her magic power being continuously used, Vera said, ¡°Why can¡¯t the [Consul] use the human¡¯s mana and only the demonic creature¡¯s?¡± Amidst Vera¡¯s curious doubts, Ira narrowed his eyes slightly, but in the end, he decided to explain¡­ Ira said, ¡°Why do you think not?¡± Vera: ¡°Eh?¡± ¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t treat humans as bullets. This is a bottom line on the Consul, not a restriction. It shouldn¡¯t be done, not impossible. I suggested this and designed it.¡± As Ira spoke, he looked at Vera and patted her shoulder, thinking, ¡°The truth is, I can erase a part of the world incantation in the Rune Bond around my neck and become an unfettered Consul.¡± At that time, Ira would really become a terrifying professional¡­ the Consul of the demonic creatures. ¡°Demon¡­ Consul?¡± Vera muttered to herself. Chapter 23 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios It was time for the morning court meeting again. Previously, there was no chair for Ira to sit in for the morning court meeting, but now it was prepared for him¡­ Vera patted the empty seat beside him and gestured for him to sit beside her. Although he did not know if she wanted to do anything, Ira was not in the habit of sitting with his colleagues. He pulled the recliner with one hand and moved to the corner of the hall to sit in the corner. From this position, he could clearly see everyone present. The strange action made all the demon leaders look at him, but Ira did not have any intention of answering. He only nodded at everyone. ¡°Yawn ~¡± Satan Leaf, who was yawning as usual, sat on the throne that belonged to the Demon King. She looked at everyone sitting below and immediately saw Ira sitting in the corner. She tilted her head in confusion. Satan Leaf was about to ask something when she was interrupted by an explanation that Vera knew very well. She said, ¡°Please don¡¯t mind. Ira likes to sit there. This is the prerogative of the Consul.¡± With the privilege of a Consul, could all the Consuls sit in the corners and watch the morning court assembly? There was only one room and four corners. How many people could sit? Thinking of this, Vera immediately explained, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m talking about Ira¡¯s position as the Consul, not the supernatural profession we know as [Consul]. In the first place, the origin of the name is Ira¡¯s position in the Empire.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an official in charge of political affairs. He has the right to be only governed by the ruler and not be responsible for anyone. If you want to capture an official, you can first arrest him and ask the emperor for instructions. Such a privilege is naturally given by Emperor Yosef.¡± With Vera¡¯s explanation, all the demonic creatures unfamiliar with the Empire were stunned, because they did not expect Ira¡¯s status in the Empire to reach that level. This level of privilege was something that would happen to any Empire. No¡­ or rather, anyone other than Ira would have such a right. However, Ira¡¯s subsequent actions and achievements proved that he was worthy of such privilege. From a certain perspective, this could be considered Yosef¡¯s accurate judgment. ¡°However, the Consul shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with sitting in the corner, right?¡± Towards Satan Leaf who asked this, Vera chuckled and continued to talk about Ira. She said, ¡°In the Empire, if there¡¯s a traitor or someone who wants to betray the Empire in the meeting, he can immediately discover it sitting there.¡± In her evaluation of Ira, everyone present, be it the golem-like construct or the Insectoid, looked less comfortable. It could even be said that their bodies had become stiff. Of course, this was not their disloyal performance. Regardless of whether they were traitors or not, they would only have two expressions at a time like this. One would be uncomfortable and would not want to be recognized as a traitor, while the other would be calm and confident. Therefore, no matter which person it was, it could not be seen from here. Half of Vera¡¯s understanding came from rumors, and the other half came from her own unfounded guesses. ¡°Don¡¯t believe her. She¡¯s just making it up.¡± Regarding Ira, who said this, Vera blinked her puzzled eyes and retorted, ¡°Eh? It¡¯s not made up. When I was still in the Empire, I heard it from the people on the street who called themselves Great Mage ~¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Palace Mage yourself! Don¡¯t you know if the person you met on the street is a mage or a liar?!¡± Amidst Ira¡¯s complaints, the routine segment of ¡°Tell You About The Ira You Don¡¯t Know¡± finally ended. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s actually been so long¡­¡± Satan Leaf, who already felt a little hungry, realized that it was no longer early morning, but late morning. She asked routinely, ¡°Then, do you have anything to report?¡± This problem had already been discussed yesterday. ¡°There are only carrots left in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. Our castle still has carrots and cloud vegetables left. The meat, eggs, and milk in the castle have scheduled uses. The residents of the Demon King¡¯s Territory no longer have the luxury to eat meat.¡± In the face of Rhyme¡¯s words, Satan Leaf was silent. She looked at the ghost girl and asked her, ¡°When will the nearest caravan arrive?¡± The ghost girl who was asked by Satan seemed to be confused. She looked at the vampire girl¡­ ¡°Five days later.¡± As the vampire girl spoke, just like how the ghost girl was in charge of the wealth in the territory, she seemed to be shouldering the responsibility of trade and diplomacy. She said, ¡°However, the territories that submit again will gradually turn in the resources. At that time, it might not seem urgent.¡± In other words, did they need to last for another five days? ¡°Lord Demon King, I suggest that we form a new hunting team and hunt wild beasts to replenish the meat reserves of the territory. We can also clean up the surrounding creatures and help expand the farm and ranch.¡± As Celina spoke, she looked at the Royal Black Knight and the Black Flame Headless Horseman and said, ¡°From today onwards, the candidates for the hunt can be chosen. We can hunt and distribute food tomorrow.¡± Regarding this, the two armor knights did not seem to have any objections. They only nodded to show that they agreed with this opinion. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll leave the hunting team to Celina. Is there anything else?¡± Satan Leaf decided on this matter just like that, but Ira felt that it was a little childish¡­ Logically speaking, it was most reasonable to specify a person to make the list of candidates and hand it to Satan Leaf to decide. However, as long as Satan Leaf trusted everyone, as long as everyone could live up to this trust, it was extremely correct to quickly agree to a solution. ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°Lord Ira¡­¡± ¡°The fertilizer¡­¡± ¡°Is no longer¡­¡± ¡°Smelly anymore¡­¡± As the five fairies spoke, the other leaders who did not know much about fertilizer looked in Ira¡¯s direction in confusion¡­ Fertilizer had not been sold by the caravan for a long time, right? ¡°Mr. Ira, can I tell everyone about the fertilizer?¡± Satan Leaf asked Ira. However, from her identity, there was no need for her to ask. Thinking of this, Ira did not say anything and only nodded. Then, he looked at Satan Leaf, who was happily telling everyone what had happened that day, and did not know what expression to make. However, it was indeed a smile caught between laughter and tears. Chapter 24 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°It looks very similar to the fertilizer we bought.¡± As she spoke, Vera stood outside with Ira, Satan Leaf, and Celina, watching the goblins use soil fertilizer¡­ which was diluted with water and sprinkled in the soil. If they had fertilized the plants before planting them, they could directly mix fertilizer into the soil to ensure fertility. However, it was different now. Fertilization in the process of growing was called top dressing fertilization. It was best to use water to mix it first, or it might cause the crop to die. As for the exact ratio and fertilization method, Ira did not know. To put it bluntly, he had actually never really gone to the farmland of the Empire to take a look. Apart from the battlefield¡­ he had spent all his energy dealing with those dogsh*t nobles in the court. However, the demons, be they the fairies or the goblins, had used fertilizer before, so they knew how to use the produced fertilizer now. This was their wisdom. ¡°Of course it¡¯s similar. The Empire¡¯s initial understanding of fertilizer is to splash ordinary feces onto the ground. I modified it to this state many years ago.¡± As Ira spoke, he looked at the three people who were watching the fairies and goblins work under the warm winter sun. He said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to see during the fertilization process. I¡­¡± Ira was about to say something when he saw a working goblin staggering and falling to the ground. He rushed forward and held the goblin who was about to fall before anyone could react. After helping this goblin regain his balance, Ira looked at his thin face even among the goblins and analyzed, ¡°Is he malnourished and overworked?¡± ¡°Greetings¡­ Lord Ira.¡± The goblin clearly looked very uncomfortable. He said in fear and took two steps back. ¡°Although I know that you¡¯re¡­ no, I¡¯m very sorry now, but¡­¡± This goblin stammered. He was not afraid of Ira because of the difference in status. After all, he only had a respectful attitude towards Satan Leaf and the others. Without a doubt, the other party had seen Ira on the battlefield. This phenomenon was very common in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. Almost everyone who had been to the battlefield seemed to have a disease called [Iraphobia], so they still shivered when they saw Ira¡¯s face. ¡°Lord Ira¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s stirring¡­¡± ¡°The fertilizer¡­¡± ¡°One of them¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already¡­¡± ¡°Asked him to rest¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± What the fairies meant was that this goblin was one of the demonic creatures they had arranged to participate in stirring the fertilizer. Originally, he did not have to participate in this fertilization, but now, he was voluntarily working. No one urged, forced, or whipped him, but he was working. Was this stupid? Or was their king really worthy? At least¡­ in their eyes, it was the latter. Ira looked at Satan Leaf and Celina, who revealed concerned expressions. He could not help but chuckle and look at the calm and bored Vera¡­ That¡¯s right! Such an attitude towards civilians was the normal citizen of the Empire! ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Ira could not help but sigh. Then, in the midst of Vera¡¯s question, he shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m thinking about something else now.¡± ¡°Hmm? What?¡± Satan Leaf asked. She blinked and the wings on her back fanned, waiting for Ira to speak. She looked too obedient and did not look like a Demon King at all. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about the fisheries.¡± As Ira said this, he raised an example and said, ¡°In my impression, in ordinary coastal cities, seafood will become the food source of a city, but the Demon King¡¯s Territory doesn¡¯t seem to be like this.¡± Regarding this, Vera nodded. She had been born on the coast of the Empire. In her childhood memory, she had regularly eaten fish, kelp, and so on. However, because of her good economic conditions, she had eaten a lot of meat. ¡°Fishing? In the past, it had always been done by the naga, the murloc, and the snake-haired demoness. Then, they consecrated the fish to the Demon King¡¯s Territory. The port of the Demon King¡¯s Territory is the war and trade port. We¡¯ve never caught fish ourselves.¡± As Satan Leaf spoke, she thought for a moment and her eyes lit up. At the same time, she said, ¡°Right, we can fish for meat first, right? In any case, trade hasn¡¯t restarted yet, and the war is almost over. Can we?¡± For some reason, as the Demon King, Satan Leaf even asked for Celina and Ira¡¯s opinions. Who was the Demon King and who was the subject? Regarding this, Vera simply spread out her hands and said, ¡°Actually, this is what Ira means¡­ He just respects your authority as a Demon King and asks you for instructions.¡± Vera poked Ira¡¯s waist helplessly. Under his puzzled gaze, she continued, ¡°Moreover, in order to maintain your authority, Ira definitely won¡¯t choose to say it in the morning court. Instead, he¡¯ll secretly tell you like this.¡± What did she mean by saying it secretly¡­ It should be called giving suggestions, right? Regarding the speechless Ira, Vera sighed with emotion and said, ¡°Sigh, so you and Isabella are really weird. You clearly trust each other, but you can¡¯t trust each other deeply.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira was silent for a moment. He knew that he might not be able to completely explain it to Vera, so he only said simply, ¡°Some things in the court can¡¯t be done with mutual trust.¡± ¡°I trust Isabella with all my heart, but I also know that she can¡¯t completely trust me because she needs to be responsible for the Empire. Isabella trusts me to trust her, but she knows that she can¡¯t make me stronger. In other words, my faction is a faction she can use at any time.¡± Ira talked about this very complicated subject. He did not expect Vera to understand this at all¡­ However, to put it simply, as a subject, he needed to do what a subject should do. ¡°What? What a mess. Since Isabella knows that you¡¯re loyal to her and the Empire, is there a need to suppress you? Your logic is not right at all¡­¡± As Vera spoke, she completely did not understand what ¡°responsible for the Empire¡± meant. She waved her hand in annoyance and said, ¡°In any case, there¡¯s no need to consider so many things in the Demon King¡¯s Territory, right?¡± ¡°The Demon King is also stupid and easy to control,¡± Vera said. Satan Leaf: ¡°Eh?¡± To Vera¡¯s words, after listening to Satan Leaf¡¯s puzzled voice, Ira looked at it, then at the loyal Celina who pretended not to hear it, then back at Vera. ¡°Indeed, perhaps I should gradually try to be straightforward and honest. After all, Satan Leaf is silly and cute.¡± Ira seemed to agree with Vera. Satan Leaf: (Why doesn¡¯t anyone speak up for me? Why don¡¯t you say something good about me, Celina? Do I really look silly and cute? Forget it, I¡¯ll just say something.) ¡°Meow, meow, meow?!¡± Chapter 25 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Swoosh¡­ Swoosh¡­ Crossing the salt pool formed by stone bricks, what appeared in front of Ira was an azure sea and a golden beach. This was an overly beautiful scenery. The sound of the coast slapping against the sand was really pleasant. The weather today was also very good. There was a precious sun in the winter¡­ However, the coldest time had long passed. After that, it would be spring soon, and the weather would gradually become warmer. At that time, there would be more gains by the sea. As Ira thought this, he stepped on the soft sand and looked at the crabs and seabirds on the beach and the small bumps and passageways buried in the sand. For some reason, he actually thought of the claim digging video from his previous life. Should he try clam digging? The races living by the sea would rush to the bottom of the sand by the sea to find the shellfish and the creatures on the reef when the tide fell. They could usually harvest and salvage very abundant meat and food. Thinking of this, Ira felt that temporarily using shellfish to replenish the meat reserves in the Demon King¡¯s Territory was a good choice. Moreover, strictly speaking, it was not a technical job. They only needed to dig a hole and discover the bulge of a shell hidden on the beach. However, before that, Ira needed to confirm if the number of shellfish on the beach was worth his suggestion and let the demonic creatures dig clams at a specific time. Moreover, there was no way to confirm the density and edible level of food. If nine out of ten types of shells and sea urchins were poisonous, it would be a disaster. [Fourth Wing Pillar] As Ira sang this, the mana belonging to a certain succubus stored on his spine instantly came alive. Accompanied by the incantation on Ira¡¯s neck that was like a neck ring, a very small part was consumed, and wings that were like tattered gray cloth appeared behind him. [Succubus] He used the world incantation as a link and the demonic creature¡¯s mana as a symbol to communicate with the World Tree. [Wing Spread] With language as the trigger, it pierced through the universe and controlled the authority of the world. ¡­ [Fourth Wing Pillar¡ªSuccubus¡ªWing Spread] After such a chant, an illusory pair of succubus wings appeared beside Ira¡¯s waist. The magical mana of light purple and pink coexisted quickly condensed from the world itself and formed a long whip like a rose vine. This was the [Fourth Wing Pillar (Close Combat)]. The moment the wings spread out, the [equipment] that matched the demonic creature¡¯s mana would also appear. The succubus¡¯ weapon was undoubtedly¡­ a whip. ¡°Go!¡± Accompanied by Ira¡¯s berating, he used mana, who he did not know if it came from Celine or Little Ti. He waved his long whip and displayed the mechanism of the ability he already understood. The pink and purple mana scattered forward like a shock wave. This mana did not seem to have any destructive power. Although it skipped a large area of sand, it did not burn the ground and gravel into sparkling transparent glass as if it was using the power of the [Scarlet Dragon] to attack. Just like how scarlet dragons had the combat style of scarlet dragons, succubi naturally had the combat style of succubi. Rustle¡­ Rustle¡­ After Ira sprinkled it with an unknown meaning, about ten seconds later, with the trembling of the gravel, white and yellow noses poked out of the sand. They were dense. From time to time, sand would stretch out and retract. This was the extent of causing trypophobia patients to die on the spot. Ira, who was slowly walking over, gently reached out and grabbed. He pulled out sand from a long seafood that was like a razor clam and casually grabbed two different-looking shellfish. ¡°It seems that the claim digging was very successful. If there¡¯s such production in this season, perhaps the clam-digging activity can be a stable source of protein in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. I¡¯m just not sure if it¡¯s poisonous.¡± As Ira analyzed, he reached out and poked the flesh of a conch shell. Looking at the retracted flesh, he felt something and looked behind him¡­ where Vera was slowly walking over. Or rather, she floated over. Vera probably did not want sand in her shoes and was unwilling to walk on the beach, so she cast a levitation spell on herself. Although there was no problem, was her abuse of magic a little too much? ¡°You came at the right time. Help me see if the seafood is poisonous.¡± Regarding Ira¡¯s request, Vera was stunned. She, who had only come to chat with her, pointed at herself in confusion and asked, ¡°Do you want me to test the poison? Although a lich is an outstanding material that won¡¯t die, it¡¯s also because of this that a lich can¡¯t test if food is poisonous.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean to let you test the poison. Weren¡¯t you born in a port city? Just use your common sense to understand.¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m not a commoner. I¡¯m a noble¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± That made sense. After all, Vera was a noble, so she would not be sure which seafood was edible and which was not. She was only responsible for eating. Perhaps her understanding of the toxicity of seafood was not as deep as Ira¡¯s. ¡°However, it¡¯s actually not a problem for demonic creatures ~ Even if it¡¯s poisonous, they won¡¯t die so easily like humans. At most, I¡¯ll heal them and use the other demons to test the poison.¡± As Vera spoke, she helped grab the clam and shell that were actively exposed to the air. She looked at the tattered succubus wings behind Ira and said, ¡°No matter how many times I look, the Consul is very ridiculous.¡± With such a sigh, Vera¡¯s gaze swept across Ira¡¯s neck and said, ¡°When are you preparing to remove the portion of the world incantation you said yesterday?¡± Is that so? Did Vera come to talk about this? Is she acting on orders? Realizing something, Ira glanced at Vera and denied her guess¡­ No, it was definitely not people like Celina and Satan Leaf who asked Vera to ask. Vera¡¯s words and actions came from her own will¡­ It seemed that she had really liked this place where demonic creatures lived after she defected. ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about it.¡± Ira replied calmly and threw the seafood in his hand into the cloth bag made of magic power in Vera¡¯s hand. He said, ¡°The Consul can¡¯t use humans as bullets. I suggested this to Isabella. It¡¯s our important agreement.¡± This was because the Consul was a profession that used the power of demonic creatures to fight demonic creatures. When the Consul could extract the human mana to kill humans, the purpose of the Consul would change. The massacre of compatriots would make emotions fluctuate strongly, and it was easier to cause the Consul to mutate. ¡°However, according to my understanding of Isabella, if you have already left the Empire and they are at war with the Duchy now¡­¡± As Vera spoke, she stretched out a finger. Amidst Ira¡¯s terrible expression as he thought of something, she finished the rest. ¡°She¡¯ll definitely ignore the agreement before you, right?¡± This was Vera¡¯s assumption, but according to Ira¡¯s understanding¡­ Alright, the two of them knew Isabella very well. ¡°¡­¡± Chapter 26 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°However, Mr. Ira¡­ the Rip Shell is poisonous. The mana in the little clam is not good for demonic creatures. The Purple Sea Thorn Ball is also poisonous in the winter, although it¡¯s a delicacy in spring and summer.¡± As the green and translucent Rhyme spoke, he picked out a few kinds of seafood that were not suitable for consumption¡­ Yes, Ira had neglected them before. Although Vera was from a noble family who did not do any chores, Mr. Rhyme was a professional chef after all. He knew very well what seafood was poisonous and what could not be eaten. ¡°The rest is enough. Leave the part of the castle behind and distribute the rest to the Demon King¡¯s Territory. It¡¯s enough for everyone to last until the next trade team arrives. I¡¯m really grateful to you.¡± Rhyme sighed with emotion and threw the seafood he had chosen through a door in the kitchen. Because there was a clear splash, it might have been thrown into the pool connected to the kitchen. Speaking of which, what was behind those wooden doors? As Ira thought about this, he looked curiously at the wooden doors in the kitchen. He inexplicably felt that there was an endless grassland behind him if he opened one of them. ¡°However, Ira, how did you dig out so many shellfish in the morning?¡± Rhyme asked. Clearly, the demonic creatures in the Demon King¡¯s Territory also liked to use sea crops to replenish the meat vacancies. However, because they did not expect to go clam digging, coupled with the fishing talent of the sea demons, everyone still ate fish normally. As long as it was an intelligent creature, they would understand this principle. If the food crisis continued for a period of time, Celina, Satan Leaf, and the others would also think of modifying the war port, trade ship, and other ships to a model that was also suitable for fishing. It was just that they were not as skilled as the sea demons, and they would not do something as troublesome as clam digging, because they could not think of using the power of the succubus. Speaking of which, could such a large-scale capture using Mana to sprinkle really be considered the category of ¡°clam digging¡±? There was no need to sprinkle salt at the entrance of the razor-clam cave or dig quickly. In that case, he would soon have enough seafood. However, after a period of time, he needed to mention to everyone not to capture too young products. ¡°This is also what I want to say. As long as I use the ability of the succubus, I can easily make the shellfish take the initiative to appear under the sand. Perhaps in terms of alleviating the urgent situation, I can send a few succubus maids to cooperate with the other demonic creatures.¡± As Ira spoke, under Rhyme¡¯s enlightened expression, he continued, ¡°However, I might have forgotten something¡­ Our spice reserves are insufficient, so we might not be able to deal with the smell.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Ira, you live inland?¡± Inland? What was wrong? The Empire had always lived in inland cities¡­ Puzzled, Ira nodded lightly at Rhyme¡¯s question. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In fact, the smell of fresh shellfish won¡¯t be very strong. It is usually caused by the transportation process, or it¡¯s caused by poor storage. Moreover, there are actually still some spices we can use.¡± As Rhyme spoke, it was obvious that he was in a good mood. He gently pushed Ira out of the kitchen and said, ¡°The Demon King likes to eat roasted food. I¡¯ll make a barbecue and send it to you tonight. Please look forward to it ~¡± ¡°¡­¡± For some reason, Ira felt that there was something wrong with Rhyme¡¯s words. What did he mean by ¡°send it to you¡±? It was not like he was eating with Satan Leaf at night. ¡°Mr. Ira.¡± Satan Leaf¡¯s voice sounded from behind. Ira was stunned and turned to look at Satan Leaf, who was following Celina. She looked like she had something to do here too¡­ Was she here to find something to eat? ¡°It just so happens that you¡¯re here. I have something to tell you.¡± ¡®It seems that she¡¯s looking for me.¡¯ Realizing this, Ira nodded and gestured for Satan Leaf to continue. He seemed to notice that the tail behind Satan Leaf stretched straight out, and the tip swayed slightly from side to side. Demonic creatures were very similar to many animals. Demonic creatures would show their emotions physically, but Ira was not familiar with small animals and would not raise cats and dogs in the previous world, so she was not sure what Satan Leaf was thinking. Perhaps it was curiosity or something else? ¡°Can we have dinner tonight? I have something to ask.¡± As Satan said this, it made Rhyme¡¯s bragging become reality. This time, it was really [I¡¯ll roast it and send it to you], but there was no need for Ira to reject it. ¡°Of course. Or rather¡­ if you want to ask anything, you can do it anytime.¡± As Ira spoke, he unknowingly did not add any prerequisites or preliminaries like ¡°as long as it was knowledge about combat and mana¡±. ¡°There¡¯s no need. We can talk at night.¡± What was worth mentioning was that Satan Leaf was really cute. She always seemed to be strong and serious¡­ However, Ira knew that she had once given up on herself and wanted to use her own life to cause the Empire the last bit of trouble. However, at this moment, she seemed to have completely recovered. The self-regulation ability of the demonic creatures was still much better than any human who could easily get stuck in a dilemma¡­ Ira, who attributed Satan Leaf¡¯s state to her own self-regulation ability, did not realize that the greatest change in the Demon King¡¯s Territory was his arrival. He looked at Celina and said, ¡°It seems that I used your mana previously.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Wu ~¡± The dark red on her face had yet to subside. She subconsciously touched her face and said helplessly, ¡°That¡¯s indeed the case. At that time, I was still educating the maids who made mistakes when you suddenly extracted my mana¡­ Hmm¡­¡± Hmm, in that case¡­ Ira nodded. He thought of how Celina had originally been kindly telling the maids about the mistake they had made when her magic power was suddenly extracted by him. While enduring the strange feeling, her face turned red, and she resisted the urge to make a strange sound. It felt a little lewd. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, perhaps I should explain it to you in advance or change to another demonic creature¡¯s mana.¡± Although he did not know how it felt for the succubus to be squeezed out of mana, he knew with a little imagination that if she really did anything strange in public because of this, it would definitely be very awkward. ¡°No, if my mana can help Lord Ira, there¡¯s no harm in continuing to use it.¡± Although Celina said this, the tangled and trembling tail behind her indicated that she was not calm¡­ Therefore, demons were really magical creatures. ¡ªSo, do you want me to continue using it or not? Succubi were really hard to understand¡­ Chapter 27 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The seafood of this world was actually similar to the seafood on Earth. The thing called the Purple Sea Thorn Ball was actually a little similar to the sea urchin, but the thorns were all soft, a little like the Rambutan. ¡°To transfer a portion of the succubus maids to¡­ Hmm, clam digging? Is that what they said?¡± Satan Leaf repeated Ira¡¯s suggestion as she ate shrimp that looked like jumping fish. The fragrance of the barbecue made her narrow her eyes. She said, ¡°Actually, Mr. Ira, you can just tell Celina.¡± Satan Leaf swung her tail happily as if her trust in Ira had reached its peak in a short period of time. She said, ¡°You can transfer the demonic creatures too. Just tell the fairies. You don¡¯t have to ask me every time¡­¡± However, this was not because of Ira¡¯s specialness¡­ or rather, it was not only because of that. What was special was Satan Leaf, a Demon King who did not have much cognitive ability for power and responsibility. ¡°No!¡± Ira, who was eating seafood skewers, said so seriously. As for the other demonic creature leaders present¡­ Yes, because Mr. Rhyme had told everyone that he wanted to eat barbecue, everyone came and did not let the situation become a scene of two people and a maid. ¡°Mm, mm, there¡¯s nothing wrong with it~ Ahhh, it¡¯s really delicious.¡± As Vera interrupted, she held a handful of skewers in each hand and displayed all her colleagues to Ira. ¡°Everyone does this, but no one feels that anyone will harm the Demon King.¡± Yes, it was the opposite of the Empire and even different from the entire world¡­ This might be a true fantasy country. ¡°There¡¯s no need to mind. Sir, we know your kindness.¡± That was what the construct leader who was eating the skewers, the golem, said¡­ Well, rather than saying that he was eating the skewers, it was more accurate to say that he had stuffed the roasted shellfish meat into his head and broken it down into mana absorption. In another sense, it could be considered ¡°eating¡±. ¡°That¡¯s true, there¡¯s no need to report the patrol of the Headless Horsemen. However, even so, no one will think that the Headless Horsemen will harm the Demon King.¡± As the Black Flame Headless Horseman spoke, this was the first time Ira had heard her speak and knew that this Headless Horseman was a woman. In that case¡­ the other party would either tie her chest or be so miserable when she was alive that her breastplate did not need a special design. The other party used the black flame of the head to burn a piece of shellfish meat. This¡­ could be considered eating, right? ¡°I brought a junior and didn¡¯t report it to the Demon King¡­ This is the Demon King¡¯s Territory. There¡¯s no need to be restrained like the Empire.¡± The huge beetle Insectoid with upright legs said this. The loli spider girl he had brought to eat barbecue with him looked up curiously, not knowing why her uncle and colleagues had mentioned her. ¡°¡­¡± Indeed, eating barbecue together¡­ was really like a gathering between family members. It was even like a gathering between the closest family members who did not need to be polite the most. Understanding this, Ira did not know what to say. He scooped a bowl of soup made of clam-like shells and subconsciously scooped a spoonful of soup into Satan Leaf¡¯s mouth. ¡°Ah ~¡± Demon King¡­ Ira calmly watched as Satan Leaf drank the clam soup in satisfaction. He still did not know what to say. This had happened in the past¡­ Sometimes, Isabella would ask him, ¡°Can you not teach me? Can¡¯t you just do it?!¡± He would only tell Isabella the answer to the new round of questions. This was because Isabella was the ruler, and Ira could not and was unwilling to overstep his role. ¡°There are enough shellfish resources around the Demon King¡¯s Territory. We didn¡¯t collect them on a large scale previously, so you can take action without worry. Is any fairy willing to lead this matter? Just call some low-level demons.¡± Ira asked, and the five fairies with oily faces looked at each other. One of the fairies volunteered to fly over and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Because she did not have the help of other fairies, she spoke very briefly. Ira looked at the little fairy standing on the table. He gently picked up a tissue and wiped her mouth for her. He said, ¡°Then, Celina, persuade two to three succubi who can use large-scale charm and their charm ability can penetrate a certain thickness of sand to help her.¡± Celina: ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The corners of Celina¡¯s mouth twitched. Because Ira¡¯s tone meant a relatively serious ¡°command¡±, she subconsciously replied in the same way as she had replied to the previous Demon King. She said something to ease the awkward atmosphere, ¡°I mean leave it to me!¡± This was much more normal. It was also because of this that Ira did not like to give orders. ¡°Then it¡¯s decided. I have to remind the goblins to be careful of the rising tide and the demonic beasts that appear by the sea. If they¡¯re too small, they can just throw them back into the sea.¡± As Ira spoke, he wiped the oil off the little demon¡¯s mouth. ¡°I promise to complete the mission!¡± The little fairy who said this happily flew back to the other fairies, and then there was an envious chatter caused by Ira helping wipe her mouth. ¡°Why do you throw the small ones back? No, I¡¯m only curious and have no intention of questioning.¡± The ghost girl asked. She pushed her eyes with the base of her palm that was not stained with oil and looked at Ira curiously¡­ Her thoughts seemed to be similar to ¡°no matter how small a mosquito¡¯s leg is, it¡¯s still meat¡±. ¡°This can ensure that the marine life near the beach won¡¯t decrease too quickly. Although it¡¯s unavoidable, it¡¯s the same principle as releasing pregnant fish when fishing.¡± Ira said this, then he looked at everyone¡¯s expressions and realized that this world did not let go of any fish when fishing. Poor fish¡­ It was really sad. ¡°Mr. Ira, I have something to ask now since everyone happens to be here.¡± Satan Leaf said this. She would not forget her goal of inviting Ira to dinner¡­ If she had known that Mr. Rhyme would invite everyone, she would not have called Ira herself. ¡°If I want to recover my lost territory, will you help me, Mr. Ira?¡± Recovering the lost territory meant, without a doubt, teaching those rebellious demons a lesson, before taking back the original territory ruled by the Demon King from the Empire. If Ira wanted to help, it meant that he would be hostile to the Empire. ¡°¡­¡± The atmosphere froze. Everyone waited for Ira¡¯s answer or his anger. However, the only person who did not show any worry was Vera. She seemed to have seen through everything. ¡°Sure, if you can guarantee the military discipline of the demonic creatures¡­¡± As Ira spoke, he played it down and said very simply, ¡°As long as you can ensure that after unification, the civilians of the Empire have the same status as the demonic creatures, I can contribute to the destruction of the Empire.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°???¡± ¡°!!!¡± Chapter 28 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios What kind of person was Ira? Most people of the Empire, even Ira, would not know this, but his former colleagues or the emperor he was loyal to might understand a little. Vera could barely understand and confirm that [Ira is definitely not loyal to the Empire]. You could say that he looked forward to the Empire becoming a powerful and equal country in the future, or you could say that he was loyal to his friendship with the previous Emperor Yosef. It could even be said that he was loyal to Isabella because he liked lolis, but he could not be said to be loyal to the Empire, because Vera had heard Ira mention more than once that if the Empire walked on a bad path one day, he would personally bury it. Because he usually said it after arguing with the nobles, there was a possibility that he was actually angry. However, this could at least mean that Ira actually did not have much respect for the Empire, even for humans. In that case, he might really have the chance to¡­ complete that, if he could complete the final step. Perhaps he could¡­ definitely¡­ definitely¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The Philosopher¡¯s Stone.¡± Vera, who had woken up from her half-asleep thoughts, opened her eyes on the bed and muttered to herself. Her dark mage robe scattered loosely, only wrapping a small part of her body. The black robe contrasted with the flawless lich body. If such a scene was described as a work of art, there was no doubt that it was called [White and Black]. ¡°¡­¡± What time was it now? Thinking of this, Vera tidied her mage robe slightly and crawled into the blanket¡­ Although winter was almost over, the weather today seemed to be especially cold. As a magic profession, because mana was not used to strengthen the body, compared to a physical profession, she was more afraid of cold, heat, and pain¡­ However, that was only it. Liches did not need to cherish their bodies. ¡°Yawn ~¡± The yawning Vera stretched out her fair hand from under the blanket. The blue ring on her finger flickered. She lazily chanted, ¡°Servant born from a knot, the mist leads to life.¡± With a soft chant, dark blue mana flowed out of the ring. Like dancing fireflies, it gradually began to outline its shape in the air, as if it was a human. The chant was not over. With the trigger of her words, she woke up the original scripture with more than ten thousand words in his mind and communicated with the barrier of the world. She outlined the model of the spell and used his magic power as a catalyst to exchange for the magic power flowing in the mana network formed by the World Tree to fill it. ¡°Fantasy, fall, silence, mold, elevation, immortality, mind, mind, mind, mind, mind, mind. A demonic creature who betrayed the mother of life and denied the branch of the soul and was born for me!¡± Accompanied by the last byte, the spell was released¡ª[Arcane Servant]. As the outline of the magic framework was filled, three human figures like Mr. Rhyme appeared in Vera¡¯s room¡­ Although these were formed by mana and not mucus like Mr. Rhyme, their faces could not be seen. These Arcane Servants moved according to Vera¡¯s wishes. Without needing a verbal order, they consciously moved. They helped her up and tidied her clothes, wash up, and move. As for Vera, she did not need to do anything. She only needed to limp like mud under the service of the Arcane Servants. This was a mage¡­ or rather, this was a palace mage who could use magic power wantonly. ¡°Vera, you still like to abuse magic.¡± Ira¡¯s voice sounded from behind. Vera, who was walking with the servant, did not look like a noble lady. Instead, she looked like a thief who had stolen something and was escorted to trial by the villagers (the servant). This lazy and weak appearance was as if her legs were weak from fear. ¡°What abuse? I¡¯m also using magic normally, okay?¡± Vera, who was casually answering, woke up a little. She waved her hand to gesture for the servants to put her down. Then, she pointed at the ring and dismissed them. She said, ¡°Since it¡¯s easy, I definitely have to relax ~¡± ¡°Hmph¡­¡± Ira chuckled. The fairy sitting on his shoulder watched Vera and Ira talk curiously and felt that the two of them were especially close¡­ Indeed, because the fairies were not there that day, they did not know that Vera and Ira were old friends. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat breakfast? I remember you saying before that if people don¡¯t eat breakfast, it will cause¡­ something?¡± As Vera said this, she could no longer remember what Ira had said at that time. She said, ¡°Something will happen to the stomach, but I¡¯m a lich now. Don¡¯t worry.¡± In response, Ira asked, ¡°How do you know I didn¡¯t eat breakfast?¡± Vera: ¡°Eh? Have you eaten?¡± Ira said, ¡°Actually, no.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Vera was speechless. She looked at the fairy on Ira¡¯s shoulder and seemed to have thought of something. She asked, ¡°The fairy reported something so you¡¯re going to find the Demon King now? It¡¯s very urgent?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± Ira nodded. He said on behalf of the little fairy who was about to open her mouth, ¡°This little fairy said that she encountered a wild little fairy who fled this morning. It seems that the wild little fairy lives in the forest near the Demon King¡¯s Territory.¡± ¡°It seems that Satan Leaf hasn¡¯t woken up, so the fairies told me first. The wild fairies¡¯ original race was occupied and enslaved by the huge bee swarm, so it¡¯s undoubtedly a good thing to ask the Demon King¡¯s Territory for help.¡± Indeed, there was no need for Ira to explain. Vera could understand this. Although there was a suspicion of gloating, it was indeed a good thing. The huge bees enslaved wild fairies, so there were fairies who came to ask for help. When the Demon King¡¯s Territory dealt with the huge bees, it would be the Demon King¡¯s Territory¡¯s turn to enslave the fairies. After all, the Demon King¡¯s Territory lacked hard work now. Although it sounded like they had just left the wolf¡¯s den and entered the tiger¡¯s den, everyone had to admit that¡­ being a slave (demon) under the Demon King was happier than being a commoner in many places. By the way, in fact, logically speaking, other than the various leaders who were qualified to participate in the morning dynasty in the Demon King Castle, all the residents of the other Demon King Territory were the personal assets of the Demon King. Therefore, everyone was a slave. ¡°Hurry, hurry, hurry!¡± ¡°Save our companions!¡± She treated Ira as a mount. The palm-sized elf sat on Ira¡¯s shoulder and commanded. She looked very happy and really liked this different human. Ira seemed to be different from all humans. Chapter 29 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°I want to see Satan Leaf.¡± As Ira reported, the two rows of Black Knights guarding the Demon King¡¯s bedroom in front of her made way for Ira and Vera almost the second after she finished speaking. Why? Why was this happening?! ¡°You¡­ no, forget it.¡± Ira wanted to say something, but then he gave up the thought. He brought Vera and the little fairy on his shoulder through the door of the Demon King¡¯s bedroom. Knock! Knock! Knock! Ira knocked lightly on the door. The beautiful door filled with patterns in front of him looked very impressive, but be it him or Vera, they were not surprised. In fact¡­ this door was quite simple for a king. After all, the Empress Chamber of the Empire was a true palace, not a room like the one that Satan Leaf was sleeping in. No matter how luxurious this room was, it was only a room. To put it simply, this place could even be called a ¡°bedroom¡±. ¡°¡­¡± After waiting for a while, Ira did not receive a response. However, logically speaking, as the personal maid of Satan Leaf, Celina should stay with her. Moreover, there was a team of maids taking care of her. ¡°Shall we break in?¡± Vera suggested but Ira and the fairy rolled their eyes. ¡°What¡¯s with your gazes? I was just joking¡­¡± As Vera complained, the door of the bedroom was pushed open. The well-dressed and neat Celina nodded at them and said, ¡°Good morning, Lord Ira, Miss Vera, and this little fairy.¡± ¡°Good morning.¡± Ira replied to Celina with etiquette. Although he had been in a hurry along the way and had not even eaten breakfast, he still greeted her politely, ¡°It¡¯s another sunny day. The wind today is still¡­¡± The black-haired Vera quickly got to the point. She pointed at the fairy and interrupted Ira¡¯s small talk. ¡°The fairy said that a wild fairy has come to ask for help. The huge bee has occupied the nest of the wild fairy near the Demon King¡¯s Territory and wants our help.¡± Vera quickly explained the matter in a few words. She did not say it very clearly. After all, the little fairy did not understand much, at the very least, it let Celina know what had happened, but¡­ ¡°I see. Looks like it¡¯s a good opportunity to replenish the labor force of the Demon King¡¯s Territory¡­¡± Celina analyzed, then looked at Vera and Ira. She said in confusion, ¡°So, are you prepared to bring the Demon King to see the battle? Do you need me to wake her up?¡± It seemed that the barbecue meeting yesterday had lasted for a long time. For a child, she might have indeed slept a little late. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m here to ask Satan Leaf.¡± As Ira spoke, he looked at the helpless expressions of Celina and Vera. He was also very helpless. He said, ¡°I know you think you don¡¯t need to ask for instructions, but I can¡¯t understand. If I don¡¯t ask her, how can I mobilize the army to eliminate the giant bee?¡± Yes, Ira did not understand. He really did not understand the thoughts of the others. Without the order, did he really have a way to command the Black Knight, the Headless Horseman, and the Insectoid to kill the enemy? ¡°It¡¯s actually very simple. You only need to go to the areas of the various leaders and find everyone you¡¯re familiar with to explain the matter.¡± As Celina spoke, she chuckled and shook her head, saying, ¡°If something is beneficial to the Demon King¡¯s Territory, no one will reject your request, right? Lady Ira can try¡­ Then, do we still need to wake the Demon King up?¡± ¡°I¡­ but¡­¡± Ira, who was a little speechless, did not know what to say. He could only try his best to remain calm and adapt to the clearly abnormal colleague relationship. He did not need to report anything and only needed to do whatever he wanted. In the past few days in the Demon King¡¯s Territory, the things Ira encountered the most were statements like [Oh, go do it], and [Alright, there¡¯s no need to ask me]. It seemed that¡­ Satan Leaf really did not need to know what was happening in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. Satan Leaf could accept the fact that if something had happened, she would ask for everyone¡¯s opinion in the morning court assembly and choose a more suitable solution. She could also accept the fact that a problem had already been solved before informing her. She did not care at all that her subordinates were doing things according to their thoughts! Although it could be said that she did not look like a king at all, did not have the etiquette, demeanor, and common sense needed to govern the country normally, and did not have any sense of responsibility, she was super cute! How could such a king exist in the world? ¡°Seriously, what¡¯s Satan Leaf thinking¡­¡± Although he was questioning in his heart, a smile appeared on Ira¡¯s face that even he did not know why he was smiling. He smiled happily and said, ¡°Hahahahaha, in short¡­ Celina, wake up Satan Leaf. She indeed needs to see or participate in actual combat.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Celina narrowed her eyes and looked at Ira as if she had realized something. She could not help but smile and say, ¡°I understand, Lady Ira. I¡¯ll wake the Demon King up now.¡± Watching Celina turn around and walk into the room, Ira let out a long sigh. ¡°Phew¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ira, what were you thinking?¡± As Vera asked, she frowned and said, ¡°When you were talking, the surrounding mana shook. They¡¯re actually cheering¡­ What happened?¡± In response, Ira looked at her gently, then smiled as she replied, ¡°I understand some things, what I need to do and what I can¡¯t do. I understand how I¡¯m different from myself in the Empire now.¡± Under the Black Knight¡¯s sidelong glance, Vera looked at Ira like them. She asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°I can do anything I want.¡± As Ira said this, he completely understood¡­ There was no need to ask the king for instructions, no need to worry about the face of the royal family, no need to consider the balance of power, and no need to hide his strength to maintain the stability of the royal court. ¡°Everything is allowed. I¡¯m allowed to become the true me and do everything I want. I don¡¯t have to suppress or care¡­ because Satan Leaf won¡¯t care.¡± As Ira spoke, he said that he would be criticized in the Empire, but he knew that no one would care. The joy on his face could not be faked. He said, ¡°Although this trust can¡¯t compare to Isabella, it¡¯s purer.¡± ¡°Trust that won¡¯t be affected by anything else.¡± As he spoke, Ira knew that Vera already understood. Under her proud expression, he said, ¡°I can do what I want, so I will do anything!¡± ¡°Next! I want to fulfill the dream I¡¯ve fought for my entire life! However, it¡¯s not in the Empire, but in this Demon King¡¯s Territory! Let me build a country that I can live in satisfaction!¡± Chapter 30 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The huge bee was a large bee-like demonic creature that was almost half the height of a person¡­ This was the belief of humans. Humans were used to calling all demonic creatures demonic creatures. However, if it was in the Demon King¡¯s Territory, demonic creatures with a certain level of intelligence were called demonic creatures and those without intelligence were called demonic beasts. Although there was no taboo in the way they were addressed, and they would not flare up even if it was wrong, they still had to be properly classified. Ira and the Black Flame Headless Horseman rode the same horse because Ira still did not know how to ride. After receiving the still sleepy Satan Leaf, the few of them went to the residence of the Insectoid leader and the Headless Horseman to gather them. How should he put it? Hmm¡­ there was almost no troublesome process. Ira explained the situation to the two leaders and left it to them to decide how many troops they wanted to bring. Even if they did not know that it was the decree of Satan Leaf at that time, it was the same. It was a very free and casual mobilization of troops, but this arrangement was indeed very fast. If Ira was plotting, they would become sinners who buried the Demon King Army. However, Ira was not, so it became synonymous with [Fast] and [Decisive]. Such a simple sentence, ¡°Bring your people to help me¡±, could mobilize a portion of the army. It felt really unbelievable and magical, and it made people doubt their safety. However, it was also because of this that before the Empire had a Consul, it was beaten back by the demons. What was worth mentioning was that almost every demonic creature had combat strength, but the main combat strength that now formed the Demon King Army was three races: the Headless Horseman (cavalry unit), the Black Knight (infantry unit), and the Insectoids (both land and air). However, be it the Black Knight or the Headless Horseman, they were not good at fighting in the forest. Therefore, they called the Headless Horseman this time only to transport the Insectoid. After arriving, the Headless Horseman would surround the target area and let the Insectoids attack. In the Insectoid Clan, as could be seen in the morning court meeting, the Insectoids with beetle-like heads who were covered in insect shells were very standard combat strength. They were Insectoid warriors who were close-range professionals. Among them, beetles were the most common, followed by the spider, centipede, and scorpion. Although they were Insectoids, Ira knew that they were actually not insects and should be arthropods, but it did not matter. After all, the insect race should be called the [Crust Demon Race] or something. Ira vaguely remembered that when he was on the battlefield, other than the precious wings of the [Scarlet Dragon] that were used sparingly, the power of the Insectoids was definitely used a lot. The fourth wing pillar of the Insectoids was very useful. It was a long rod that could change shape at will. If there was a chance, it was best for Ira to get some mana from the Insectoids. Then, he could ask the Insectoid Chief to try. However¡­ As Ira thought, he looked at the Black Flame Headless Horseman sitting in front of him and galloping. He suddenly thought¡­ The second wing pillar of the Headless Horseman was very useful. It could summon an automatic smart warhorse that was similar to a headless warhorse. Just as Ira was thinking this, a mature voice sounded from the armor in front of him and chatted with him, ¡°Mr. Ira, the flesh and bones of the giant bee should be useless to you or the Insectoids, right?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ira replied. ¡°We don¡¯t need it either.¡± The Insectoid leader sitting behind the other Headless Horseman replied. ¡°Same for us.¡± The fairy sitting on Ira¡¯s shoulder said. ¡°Then, they can be used to produce a new Headless Horseman. In the future, I¡¯ll ask everyone in the morning if they need it, but Little Black definitely needs a body. To the undead, continuous battle and killing are the main way to grow.¡± When the Black Flame Headless Horseman said this, it was within Ira¡¯s expectations. This was because the Headless Horseman and the Black Knight were both undead creatures. The Headless Horseman was transformed from the warrior¡¯s soul, and the Black Knight was transformed from the warrior¡¯s undying body. They could perfectly use it. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll say the usual situation.¡± After expressing his yearning for battle, this Headless Horseman immediately added, ¡°If a Consul like you appears on the battlefield, it¡¯s better not to have the main theme of that battle.¡± Indeed, although there were many races on the demonic creatures¡¯ side who could fight, facing a ridiculous existence called the Consul, the speed of replenishment might not be able to catch up to the speed of killing. Precision, efficiency, elegance, and coldness. These characteristics were the personality characteristics of the [Consul]. The greatest difference between the [Consul] and other professions was its specialization. The goal of a mage was to explore magic and truth. Fighting was only a secondary ability. Warriors focused on fighting, and killing was only an effect. Therefore, no matter how strong they were, it was very difficult to change the situation of war. To the war that was so long that it surpassed the human lifespan, the effect of the tactic called ¡°Operation: Beheading the Leader¡± was infinitely reduced. However, only the [Consul] was enough to change the situation of the war. This was because its [Mass Production] and [Targeting] were born to efficiently kill demonic creatures. On the battlefield against demonic creatures, they were naturally successful. As Ira thought this¡­ ¡°Mr. Ira, what you said this morning.¡± Satan Leaf, who was holding the horse, asked¡­ If it was in the Empire¡¯s era, someone would already have begun to question Ira¡¯s rebellious words. If it was the Empire, he might be captured and interrogated. He also had to worry about being dealt with by the Emperor at all times. However, if it was here, Ira could guarantee that he would definitely not be questioned at all. Satan Leaf definitely wanted to ask something else, but it was not regarding his etiquette. ¡°Yes?¡± Ira made a puzzled sound, allowing Satan Leaf to continue asking¡­ Yes, this Demon King would even only ask half a question to give Ira a way out because she did not know if she should continue asking. ¡°What do you mean by a country that can let its citizens live in satisfaction?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Towards Satan Leaf and Celina who were looking at him curiously, to the black-flame Headless Horseman who turned around curiously, to the leader of the Insectoids¡­ Wait, please control the horse properly? Don¡¯t look around when driving! Ira, who was complaining in his mind, organized his words slightly and said, ¡°It has to be so powerful that no one dares to start a war against it. It has to be so peaceful that no one will start a war against any country. Everyone can eat their fill. No one will do their best to survive anymore, and no one will use their right to oppress. Even if they don¡¯t need to lie and curry favor, they can live happily¡­ There are many, many more, but that¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Such a condition seemed to be familiar. ¡°The Demon King¡¯s Territory is about to achieve those¡­¡± Satan Leaf said in confusion. ¡°¡­¡± Yes, other than strength and survival. Chapter 31 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! There was almost a huge beehive the size of a castle hanging on a large tree that did not match its size. The tree was not small and could be said to be normal in size, but it was still not the size that should accommodate the huge beehive. Big Tree: What did I do to deserve this? [Tiger-Spotted Giant Bee] This was a detestable demonic beast. It was the size of a calf, and its poison erupted violently and quickly. It lived in dense groups. These characteristics were one of the reasons why they became dangerous demonic beasts. There was no reason to build a huge nest and attack passing beasts and intelligent creatures. ¡°Boohoo¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m so hungry¡­¡± ¡°Someone save us¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll¡­¡± The little fairies watched by the huge bees complained in the huge beehive as they quickly worked¡­ They chattered and begged for mercy, but the huge bees naturally did not understand. Or rather, although demonic beasts were much smarter than ordinary beasts, they were still beasts after all. It was already smart to be able to resist eating the little fairies and let them help work. ¡°Boohoo¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m so tired¡­¡± ¡°Bee¡­¡± ¡°Bad¡­¡± In the beehive, other than the buzzing of the densely packed worker bees that were continuously working, there were also the complaints of countless fairies¡­ Although fairies were born to like to work, this did not mean that they liked to be forced to be slaves. Not only that, the tiger-striped bee was an omnivorous bee. It not only knew how to collect sap and pollen to brew honey, but it also knew how to capture other weaker demonic beasts as rations. Moreover, to them, there was no difference between demonic beasts and intelligent creatures. ¡°Boohoo¡­¡± ¡°Sister¡­¡± ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°She was eaten¡­¡± One by one, the fairies cried. Under their gazes, a slightly older fairy was silent as she was dragged away by the huge bees with tears in her eyes. What waited for her was to be eaten as food. Her limbs would be torn, her body would be separated, and her internal organs and flesh would be sorted and put away to survive this winter. However, the eaten little fairies would not be able to see this winter. This was the law of the jungle. Ira hated this kind of law of the jungle the most. He understood that this was the rule of nature, but he did not agree with the rule of non-interference¡­ He had to interfere and choose a stronger path. ¡°Anyone¡­¡± ¡°Save us¡­¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± ¡°Boohoo¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Although they begged and cried, no fairy had any hope. Their home had been occupied and they had been captured by inexplicable demonic creatures. They¡­ no longer had any hope. Some of the fairies who had escaped earlier were captured back, and some were killed. After this¡­ nothing happened for an entire day, as if everything was the same. In the future, other than slavery, they could not see anything. Anyone could help. Just save the fairies. Please save everyone. ¡­ The so-called ¡°long-cherished wish¡± would be fulfilled at a certain moment. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! It was as if something was flying closer, like a huge beast or an army approaching. The entire beehive could sense an obvious vibration. The bees clearly began to be anxious. Did something happen? Before all the fairies knew what was happening, countless huge bees seemed to have received some news and swarmed out of the tunnel of the beehive, as if they did not have the strength to care about the fairies. ¡°???¡± Although the puzzled fairies did not know what was happening, they acutely felt that this seemed to be a good opportunity to escape¡­ Even if the outcome was that they might be captured and eaten. This was because if they did not escape, they would not have any chance again. ¡°No matter who it is¡­¡± ¡°In short¡­¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± ¡°It might be because¡­¡± ¡°Help has arrived¡­¡± ¡°Is it the Demon King?¡± ¡°Maybe¡­¡± The fairies who were talking at once tried their best to avoid the gazes of the huge bees and ran out, but there was actually no need anymore because¡­ what the huge bees welcomed was a true disaster. ¡°Headless Horseman, Team One! Start to circle around and surround the enemy on a large scale. Exterminate the scattered troops and occupy the empty space I cleared! Team Two! Prepare your soul flames!¡± The unfamiliar man¡¯s voice reached the fairies¡¯ ears. The moment they walked out of the beehive, the fairies felt extremely hot. What greeted their eyes was the forest covered by ignited flames. The overwhelming Headless Horsemen and Insectoids were fighting the giant bee. The most eye-catching person was an unfamiliar man who might be the new cadre of the Demon King¡¯s Territory. Behind him was a large pair of scarlet wings that spread out wantonly like a demon. He was also the one who had waved his arm to command just now. ¡°Insectoid Team One, advance! Advance towards the main nest! Teams Two and Three, prepare to cut in from the side. Teams Four, prepare to shoot!¡± As the man spoke, he looked in the direction of the [Insectoid Team]. As he commanded the Demon King Army to advance in an orderly manner, he continued to command, ¡°Prepare the Soul Fire Needle!¡± Under his command, the Insectoids with sharp exoskeleton spikes growing on their bodies and the Headless Horsemen who had accumulated blue soul flames were prepared. Coincidentally, a portion of the huge bees was also prepared to swoop down from the sky. Or rather¡­ had this man already expected this moment? ¡°Fire!¡± With the man¡¯s order, dense flying spikes and cold flames flew into the sky, instantly disintegrating the sky advantage of the huge bee. Standing beside him, the small female scarlet dragon with similar wings looked at everything with flickering eyes. He looked at this great killing under precise calculation. ¡°Push!¡± Ira ordered. ¡°Push!¡± The swarm disintegrated like a tide. ¡°Push!¡± The wild and blue-black torrent continuously swept through the enemy. ¡°Push!¡± The Demon King Army circled around the stunned fairies and continued to fight overwhelmingly. ¡°Push!¡± The male¡­ human? Scarlet Dragon? The fairies did not know, but they saw this man arrive beside them as the army advanced. ¡°The Insectoids can start to fight freely! Prepare to break into the beehive! Capture the Queen Bee! Protect the remaining fairies who have not evacuated! The Headless Horsemen will begin to seal off and not let any huge bees escape!¡± As he spoke, the man who had ended the last command of this battle squatted down and looked at the wild fairies who were trembling because of blood and death. He said gently, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯re already safe.¡± ¡°From now on¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m yours¡­¡± ¡°My new boss¡­¡± The little fairy sitting on the man¡¯s shoulder said. This man followed the little fairies¡¯ words and continued to ask. He stretched out his hand to the wild fairies and said, ¡°From now on, you¡¯re subjects of the Demon King¡¯s Territory. You won¡¯t be harmed in the future.¡± Looking at the man saying this, the wild little fairy in the lead hesitated for a moment. For some reason¡­ she placed her hand on a finger of the man in front of her. Chapter 32 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Thank you¡­¡± ¡°We¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re joining¡­¡± ¡°The Demon King¡¯s Territory¡­¡± These wild fairies who announced this would be led by the leaders of the fairies of the Demon King¡¯s Territory to familiarize themselves with the nearby terrain and work¡­ Although they also needed to work in the Demon King¡¯s Territory, the work here was relatively comfortable. Although there was no reward, he had obtained a safe and comfortable environment and residence. He even had a reasonable work and rest time and exquisite delicacies to eat. This could be considered going from hell to heaven, right? According to these wild fairies, these wild bees were originally residents at the southern end of the forest, but for some reason, they chose to move north¡­ in the direction of the Demon King City. ¡°Did something happen over there?¡± Ira muttered to himself. ¡°Maybe nothing.¡± As the black-flame Headless Horseman spoke, a pleasant female voice sounded from the location of her head, ¡°The huge bee has the habit of migrating. Perhaps the number of flowers in its original residence has decreased.¡± In that case, perhaps that was indeed the case. Ira, who did not know much about the giant bee, nodded in agreement. ¡°Mr. Ira¡­¡± Just as Ira was thinking about something, the Black Flame Headless Horseman spoke. He rode his horse back to the Demon King¡¯s Territory and said, ¡°In our battle this time, the losses of the Headless Horsemen are zero.¡± Celina, who was beside her, and Satan Leaf, who was sitting behind her, looked over when they heard this. ¡°The losses of our Insectoid people are also zero.¡± As the leader of the Insectoids spoke, a pair of black eyes like lychee cores looked at Ira, and his voice carried some respect. ¡°The carapace of the Insectoid people can resist the stinger of the huge bee to a large extent, and the armor of the Headless Horseman makes the huge bees unable to do anything. It¡¯s very normal not to be injured.¡± Ira said indifferently. He was in charge of this battle. The Insectoid leader and the Black Flame Headless Horseman had no objections. In fact, they were happy to listen to Ira¡¯s orders. However, actually, it was the most normal thing to suffer battle damage. After all, the sharp wings of the huge bee were not meant to be seen. They were enough to cut off the body of the Insectoid. Even if the armor of the Headless Horseman was hard, the soul on its head was very fragile. Even if everyone was not a new recruit, compared to this battle result called ¡°annihilation¡±, ¡°zero deaths¡± was already a very beautiful result. This battle result was even ¡°zero casualties¡±, and no one was even injured. They gradually advanced and slowly nibbled away¡­ This battle method was like a sharp blade. Every time they cut open the enemy¡¯s body, they would only take away a piece of flesh every time, but they did not give the enemy any chance to breathe or escape. Was this the Chief Consul? ¡°La~ La~ La~¡± Satan Leaf looked at the group of fairies sitting on the headless horse not far away chatting. She seemed to have heard a happy humming sound? The direction seemed to be¡­ It was actually Ira singing? Satan Leaf, who did not expect Ira to sing at all, widened her eyes slightly. In her and the stereotypical impression of the other demon leaders, Ira should speak seriously, sigh calmly, nod helplessly, kill coldly, and so on. However, he was definitely not a person who would nod and sing softly and look very happy. Therefore, everyone looked very surprised. ¡°Mr. Ira, you seem to be in a good mood?¡± Regarding Celina¡¯s confusion, Ira was first stunned, then she stopped snorting and continued to smile, ¡°Yes, this is the most comfortable and enjoyable battle I¡¯ve fought.¡± This ¡°war¡± had indeed vented the unhappiness in Ira¡¯s heart. ¡°You approve of me handing the army to me to command, and your individual strength is very trustworthy. You don¡¯t need to patiently explain to your colleagues why you used certain tactics in the subsequent battle, nor do you need to report to the Empire before and after the battle.¡± As Ira spoke, he looked to be in a really good mood. Before he could finish what he wanted to say, he continued to ramble, ¡°I can use my strength without worry. I don¡¯t have to deliberately give the credit to my colleagues to prevent them from being dissatisfied in the future.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to patiently stop the burning, killing, and humiliation of the other soldiers to prevent the Empire¡¯s honor from being damaged. You don¡¯t have to worry about your contributions being too great and causing yourself to fall into an irrefutable state¡­¡± Ira, who kept talking, shocked all the surrounding demon leaders who did not understand the twists and turns¡­ They had never thought that a Chief Consul like Ira, who looked to be infinitely glorious on the battlefield, actually needed to consider so many things. Moreover, he was actually so happy because he had happily fought. He really did not know if he should say that Ira was cuter than he had imagined, or that the framework of the previous empires had indeed made Ira too irritable. During this period of interaction, everyone already knew that Ira was a very law-abiding person and always insisted on some rules that the people of the Demon King¡¯s Territory did not understand. In the end¡­ did the Empire actually go too far? ¡°In short¡­¡± As Ira spoke, she made a conclusion that belonged to him and said, ¡°I¡¯ve discovered now that it seems that the Demon King¡¯s Territory is more suitable for me, so I¡¯ve decided to do it freely. Is that fine?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the solemn silence, including the quiet fairies, everyone had an inexplicable feeling. Now, the moment Ira said this might become a key moment in the history books. They would all be witnesses to history. ¡°Lord Ira, are you finally going to make up your mind?¡± Celina asked. ¡°Yes, next, I won¡¯t ask or ask for instructions¡­ I¡¯ll participate in the operation of the warship called the [Demon King¡¯s Territory]. I¡¯ll quickly advance in a direction you probably can¡¯t understand.¡± As Ira said this, he actually did not know if he could change his habit of asking for instructions. He said half-seriously and half-jokingly, ¡°If one day you think that I or the Demon King¡¯s Territory have lost control, don¡¯t feel regret~¡± This was because everyone had promised Ira a huge authority now. Although he had the confidence that he would not lose himself because he did not obtain benefits but the freedom to really do whatever he wanted, no one could say for sure what would happen in the future. No one could make up their minds after hearing Ira¡¯s words. At this moment, the others looked at Satan Leaf. They usually did not ask the Demon King for instructions, but now, they hoped to see his response. ¡°Mr. Ira, don¡¯t worry, just do it! I won¡¯t regret it!¡± As Satan Leaf said this, the smiling Ira seemed to overlap with another figure with scarlet wings stretched out behind him in her eyes¡­ He was clearly the person who had killed her father, but now he looked more like a qualified father. Satan Leaf, who had illusions, gently closed her eyes. Her tail swung happily, slapping the back of the headless warhorse with a crisp sound. She chuckled and promised, ¡°The Demon King¡¯s Territory has long lost a lot. If there¡¯s anything else to lose, it can only be¡­¡± ¡°To throw away the shackles.¡± Chapter 33 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°That¡¯s the Demon King¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Miss Celina, the most powerful maid in the castle¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Mr. Rainbow Shell. He¡¯s the leader of the Insectoids¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± The five fairies introduced the leaders of the Demon King¡¯s Territory to a little fairy in the morning court meeting in a low voice. It seemed that this was the representative of the wild fairies and needed to familiarize themselves with the matters of the Demon King¡¯s Territory as soon as possible. ¡°What about that human?¡± This wild fairy asked, and the human she was talking about was naturally Ira. After all, there was only one human in the entire morning court meeting¡­ Lich, human, and vampire. The fairy could tell them apart. ¡°He¡¯s Lord Ira¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s very powerful¡­¡± ¡°Good person¡­¡± ¡°He can make pudding¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Although he did not know why the fairies called him a powerful good person who knew how to make pudding, Ira did not care too much about this. Instead, he listened to the reports of the other leaders. ¡°Yesterday, Ira gathered us to eliminate the huge beehive. The huge bees occupied the residence of the non-Demon King¡¯s Territory fairies and have been completely eliminated. We¡¯ve also made good use of the Queen Bee. Does anyone need the materials of the huge bees?¡± The black-flame Headless Horseman reported this content. Although many people knew about this, Satan Leaf was also there at that time. The corpses of the huge bees that had been dragged back by the Headless Horsemen¡¯s warhorse were already piled up there, and the materials had all been plundered. However, now, they still had to mention this and tell the other colleagues who might not know¡­ Although the red tape was not popular in the Demon King¡¯s Territory, this was still a necessary step of acknowledgment. They had to at least report at the morning court meeting. ¡°We all saw it.¡± The Black Knight let out a calm voice. He nodded at Ira seriously and said, ¡°Thank you for saving the little fairies. I¡¯ve always thought that any little demonic creature should be treated gently.¡± The Royal Black Knight who spoke seemed to be a warm man with a gentle voice. He said to the Black Flame Headless Horseman, ¡°I need some. You can use the remaining flesh and blood and the Black Knight can take the rest, but you can use them first.¡± Celina noted his needs in her notebook and replied, ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°I need one¡­ No, two ~¡± As Vera spoke, she, who had not participated in the war, raised her hand and suggested, ¡°I need to use it for research. If possible, I hope you can distribute to me a portion of the body tissue of the Queen Bee.¡± Celina said, ¡°Sure.¡± After she finished speaking, Mr. Rhyme immediately continued, but there was no need for his words, ¡°I want the honey and royal jelly, if you don¡¯t need them, send them all to the kitchen¡­¡± Celina said, ¡°It¡¯s all cooking materials to begin with.¡± ¡°Reserve a portion as trade material?¡± The ghost girl asked after pushing her eyes. She calculated and said, ¡°Because I don¡¯t know the exact value, leaving about ten for trade might be a good choice.¡± Celina said, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± After the ghost girl finished speaking, be it the vampire girls or the constructs, they did not have any need for the huge bee¡­ From this, it could be seen that Celina was indeed not only an ordinary maid. Strictly speaking, since she was involved in the integration and distribution of resources, perhaps her position was more similar to the head maid. ¡°Then, Demon King?¡± Satan Leaf, who was asked by Celina, nodded. Then, this matter was decided very quickly¡­ If it was the Empire, such a topic would have to be discussed for at least three morning court sessions. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The strategy of using the charm ability of the succubi on the beach to attract the shellfish to take the initiative to appear was very successful. Now, the shellfish have already begun to replenish themselves in the Demon King¡¯s Territory and can be distributed to the demonic creatures¡­ Although I still don¡¯t understand why it¡¯s called clam digging.¡± Mr. Rhyme explained, and everyone knew about this when they were queuing for the barbecue. This matter should have been reported by Celina or the little demon, but Celina was taking notes now and the little fairy was leading the newbies. Therefore, it was Mr. Rhyme reporting. ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Satan Leaf nodded. ¡°About diplomatic problems.¡± The vampire girl said. She was clearly in charge of diplomatic relations between countries. At this moment, she felt helpless because she had to call the negotiation with the rebellious demonic creature ¡°diplomacy¡±. She said, ¡°The consecration team has already set off. They¡¯ll arrive one after another this quarter.¡± ¡°At the end of this quarter, we¡¯ll be able to see how many traitors there are. Demon King, what do you think?¡± Satan Leaf, who was asked by the vampire girl, frowned. She was trying her best to think of how to deal with those traitorous races. She said, ¡°At the end of the quarter, starting from the small territories that betrayed the surroundings, I¡¯ll give an ultimatum.¡± As she spoke, Satan Leaf hesitated and organized her words, ¡°Tell them that if they continue to wander outside the jurisdiction, we¡¯ll treat them as traitors. How about that?¡± Satan Leaf, who was asking everyone¡¯s opinion, looked in Ira¡¯s direction. ¡°¡­¡± ¡ªHey, don¡¯t look at me. Do you trust me so much? Why is the vampire looking at me too? However, be it Ira, who did not know the situation in the Demon King¡¯s Territory, or the others, they did not seem to have any objections. Therefore, the vampire girl nodded and confirmed the decree of Satan Leaf. After that, it seemed that no one had anything to say¡­ At this moment, Celina seemed to have already sorted out the matters she had to deal with and participated in the morning court meeting again. She said, ¡°If Lord Ira and Mr. Rainbow Shell don¡¯t need the spoils of war of the giant bee, they should be rewarded.¡± Yes, that was indeed the case. The two people who had performed very well in the previous battle against the huge bee needed to be rewarded. What needed to be noted was that the reward was not given to the Insectoids who had participated in the battle, but only to the leader of the Insectoids called Rainbow Shell. Because the lower-level demons were all Satan Leaf¡¯s assets, no matter how outstanding their battle merits were, they had only completed their duty¡­ Such a system had its benefits and costs. ¡°¡­¡± However, Satan Leaf¡¯s pleading gaze was clearly saying, ¡°Eh? Reward? Is there anything else we can reward?¡± In fact, that was indeed the case. ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± The Insectoid leader called Rainbow Shell said. ¡°Me too.¡± Ira also expressed¡­ In fact, the Rainbow Shell was the first to say that there was no need for a reward. In the Empire, it was equivalent to forcing Ira, but this was the Demon King¡¯s Territory, and he did not need any rewards. The Demon King¡¯s Territory was already poor enough. ¡°Mr. Rainbow Shell¡¯s salary will be doubled next month.¡± After saying this, under the nod of approval from Rainbow Shell and Satan Leaf, Celina looked at Ira and suggested with a light smile, ¡°We will establish an independent title and position¡ªthe [Demon King¡¯s Consul]¡ªfor Lord Ira. He can freely participate in political affairs of the Demon King¡¯s Territory.¡± ¡°¡­¡± No one had any objections, because everyone knew that this was not a simple reward, and it could not even be said to have many elements. Ira, who understood this, smiled helplessly, but he still nodded seriously¡ª ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 34 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Ding! ¡°Wu ~¡± The scarlet sickle in Satan Leaf¡¯s hand was sent flying by the slender rapier in Ira¡¯s hand that was like a bee stinger¡­ The long-handled weapon held in both hands was sent flying by the seemingly light rapier. This was a very unimaginable scene. This was the power of the [Fourth Wing Pillar¡ªGiant Bee¡ªWing Spread]. At this moment, transparent wings that were like cicada wings stretched out from the spine behind Ira¡¯s back near his waist, proving that the mana¡¯s source was a huge bee that Ira had killed in the previous battle. ¡°I lost.¡± As Satan Leaf spoke, she reached out and recalled the scarlet demon scythe, silently thinking about her shortcomings in battle. She summarized¡­ As expected, she was still not familiar with the use of the scythe. ¡°If you think it¡¯s very difficult to use, you don¡¯t have to use it. You don¡¯t have to copy your father for everything.¡± As Ira said this, he shook his head helplessly and said, ¡°In fact, your father¡¯s scythe doesn¡¯t seem to have any technique. I still think that he only uses it because this scythe is a high-level [Staff].¡± Recalling that Ira had once fought the Demon King of the scarlet dragon on the battlefield, she seemed to have realized something and said, ¡°He uses a scythe. The most common thing he uses is to smash or release a light cannon¡­ which is the beam attack gathered by mana.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Satan Leaf, who did not seem to be familiar with her father¡¯s combat method, said this. She hesitated and looked at the sickle in her hand, instilling mana into it without any guidance. Mana filled the scythe¡­ Although mana¡¯s quality and control were not qualified, because of the strength of the scarlet dragon race, after these few days of training and witnessing the battle that day, her mana capacity had already advanced by leaps and bounds. At the very least, it could withstand the expenditure of Satan Leaf and Ira at the same time. Therefore, this was also the confidence she had when continuously injecting mana into the sickle. ¡°¡­¡± She continuously injected, following the guidance of the sickle¡­ Wait! Realizing that something was wrong, Satan Leaf widened his eyes. Ira¡¯s reminder was late. His voice sounded from the other side, ¡°Very good, but it¡¯s best to stop injecting mana and punch out quickly¡­ Your control is not enough¡­¡± Before Ira could finish speaking, Satan Leaf already felt that the scythe in her hand had lost control. She simply cut off her connection to the scythe and shouted, ¡°Mr. Ira! Hurry up and dodge!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the scarlet demon scythe she had inherited from her father instantly released a crescent-like slash. Under Celina¡¯s shocked gaze, it flew in Ira¡¯s direction. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s why¡­¡± Ira looked at the crescent-shaped sickle and helplessly strengthened the thin needle in his hand with the mana he had deceived from the World Tree and continued, ¡°You have to pay attention to your limit¡­¡± As he spoke, the bright red crescent mana that spun with a huge wind pressure collided with the thin needle that Ira suddenly waved, emitting a crisp and sharp sound, ¡°Ding!!¡± Bang! Accompanied by a soft explosion, the scarlet mana was instantly disintegrated by Ira¡¯s strike. It scattered in the air in an instant and turned into dense red dust. Under the guilty gaze of Satan Leaf, Ira gently shook the bee sting in his hand and bathed in the scarlet mana. She said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for this expression. Actually, I¡¯ve long expected such a thing to happen. You still have a lot to learn.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ yes, Mr. Ira!¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Vera, who was fiddling with the huge bee¡¯s corpse, seemed to have felt a subtle explosion. She, who was immersed in research, gently raised her head. Realizing that it was the teacher-student segment between Satan Leaf and Ira, she quickly ignored the explosion. ¡°As expected, the reason why demonic beasts are demonic beasts is not only their intelligence but also their souls?¡± Vera muttered to herself, but she could not understand. Did the wisdom of the mind determine the quality of the soul, or did the destined soul determine the upper limit of the mind? ¡°Be it a worker bee, a soldier bee, or a Queen Bee, their souls can¡¯t be used to refine the Philosopher¡¯s Stone.¡± Vera supported her chin with her hand. Because she was a little tired, the thing on her chest was placed on the table by her. She gently tapped the table with her other hand and seemed to be thinking about something. What was placed on the table was a muddy stone, and what Vera wanted was a colorful stone-like thing, even if such a soul could only be refined into a little residue. ¡°Sigh, I still don¡¯t understand.¡± Vera said helplessly. She casually played with the turbid stone and decided to give this magic stone to the leader of the constructs in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. She sighed, ¡°It¡¯s indeed very difficult to understand alchemy. If only Gurera was here.¡± The Gurera that Vera mentioned was the Empire¡¯s palace alchemist. It was worth mentioning that¡­ the Empire¡¯s alchemists were all crazy admirers of Ira. This was because they would always pursue the manuscript that Ira had drawn out of boredom beyond imagination. There was no lack of fanatics who would shout, ¡°Hehehe! My Lord Ira! How impressive! Hehehe!¡± That fanaticism would make people wonder what Ira¡¯s image was in their eyes¡­ Their actions had become material for many bards who lived in taverns to describe the fanatics of the Church. This was because the entire alchemy lineage was considered a member of the Ira faction. Now that Ira had defected, she did not know if they would be suppressed by the Empire¡­ From her understanding of Isabella, Vera felt that at the very least, they would not be suppressed. However, it was difficult to say for the other nobles¡­ After all, those guys were nobles! ¡°I remember that Gurera originally seemed to hate Ira¡­¡± As if thinking of something, Vera looked at the fake Philosopher¡¯s Stone (trash) in her hand¡­ It seemed that some theory of Ira¡¯s had instantly made Gurera a fanatical fan. What was the theory? Vera frowned, thinking. She should have an impression. If all else failed, she could ask Ira¡­ although he might not remember what had happened ten years ago. ¡°Hmm¡­ right!¡± It seemed to be¡­ ¡­ ¡°Hmm? The difference between alchemy and magic? Hmm, for magic, the mana consumed is used to create a magical effect like hot flames or cold ice. It appears out of thin air.¡± ¡°However, the mana consumed in alchemy is only a medium, because¡­¡± ¡°Because the essence of alchemy is not making things up, but equivalent exchange?¡± Vera thought of what Ira had once said. She seemed to understand something and threw herself into a new round of experiments with bright eyes. Chapter 35 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios On the relatively flat official road, a grand carriage team that looked like a caravan pulled countless carriages of goods forward. Every time they arrived, they would stop trading with the local people. These people were [Merchants]. It was fine to call them [Vendors] too. It was a profession that many territories and countries needed¡­ Yes, these merchants were a warrior-type combat profession. Carrying out legitimate and recognized trade actions would gradually increase their physical fitness. The merchants also grasped the ability to continuously strengthen the quality of the horses and fold the space in the carriage through Mana. It was precisely because of this that the trade team formed by merchants had an unimaginable abundance and variety of goods. Almost every merchant who continuously earned money from trade had wealth comparable to some small nobles. When they were still in the Empire, Ira had given them a very vivid name¡ªthe walking snack shop. Although many people did not know what the snack shop meant, they could understand it from the words, just like the word ¡°loli¡± that spread throughout the world from him. In war, these businessmen were [War Merchants]. They would sell goods at an expensive price¡­ However, a country at war needed these resources very much, so the existence of war merchants was tacitly agreed upon by the world. After the war ended, these trade teams would begin to earn money all over the world. It was estimated that they would reach the Demon King¡¯s Territory by today afternoon¡­ Before that, they had already arrived at the other territories in the Demon King¡¯s controlled area. ¡°It¡¯s really unexpected that the Demon Kingdom has actually begun to fall apart.¡± As the race with the most number of [Merchant] professions, this trade team undoubtedly had the most humans and had the lead. ¡°Indeed.¡± A woman driving a carriage beside the male human merchant who had just spoken replied. She seemed to be very emotional and said, ¡°Did the Demon King¡¯s Territory lose its prestige because of the long-term defeat in the war with the Empire?¡± ¡°It¡¯s also possible that the Demon Kingdom is simply afraid of being beaten.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible.¡± Everyone discussed the news they had heard in the previous demonic territory. By the way¡­ although the more formal term for the area controlled by the Demon King was the [Demon King Control Area] or the [Demon Control Area], it would also be very casually called the [Demonic Creature Country] internationally. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t want the Empire to win. Ever since the Empire stopped selling fertilizer, our trade will always lose a lot of income. Moreover, the Empire has provoked too many bad impressions of humans and will affect our careers.¡± Regarding this human merchant, a relatively rare elf merchant revealed a disdainful expression and said, ¡°In terms of causing bad influence to humans, you¡¯re not bad either¡­ Everyone knows that human merchants like to take advantage and lower the price the most.¡± They could not refute this because that was indeed the case, but they could use other methods to argue with this elf merchant. When they could not reason with him, they could choose to attack him personally. ¡°It¡¯s about time for you elf merchants. When you passed by the Silver Moon Tree Court, didn¡¯t your conscience hurt when you deceived your compatriots? Or rather, do the elves of the Silver Moon Tree Court really think that you half-elves are clansmen? Or a group of bastards?¡± Towards a human merchant with a vicious mouth, this elf (half-elf) merchant¡¯s face instantly turned red from anger. The redness even spread to his ears. He angrily opened his mouth and prepared to curse, ¡°You?!¡± ¡°Alright, alright.¡± An orc catwoman with cat ears tried to smooth things over. She did not want to be sandwiched between the half-elves and humans and hear them curse at each other. She said, ¡°The profits of the blue mushrooms this year seem to be especially small ~¡± Indeed, in the other territories of the Demon Kingdom, the number of blue mushrooms bought in recent years had gradually decreased compared to before, and blue mushrooms were very popular specialties of the Demon Kingdom. ¡°The fertilizer is no longer sold, so the production has decreased¡­¡± The human merchant did not have the intention to argue with the elf merchant anymore. As he spoke, he added, ¡°However, after that, it¡¯s the Demon King¡¯s Territory. There will definitely be good profits from the blue mushrooms. At that time, it¡¯ll depend on your own ability ~¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± He seemed to have calmed down a little, but there was still a little anger in the depths of his eyes as he replied, ¡°Do you know? The Duchy recently passed a law.¡± Such random words attracted the curiosity of the other travelers¡­ ¡°Tell me?¡± Amidst the curiosity of the orc merchant, the half-elf merchant seemed to be very satisfied with the advancedness of his information. He said, ¡°Recognize the citizenship of the other races and allow the elves, orcs, and dwarves to obtain the title of Duke.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Truly.¡± If that were the case, the impact would be very great. The Duchy of Hazard was a country that did not approve of the meaningless slaughter of demonic creatures and could allow outsiders to enter the city to carry out activities. It was a relatively more open human country. Now, they seemed to be even more open-minded. ¡°The Duchy of Hazard doesn¡¯t seem to have the confidence to defeat the Empire¡­¡± A merchant evaluated, but he immediately smiled and said, ¡°On second thought, that¡¯s true. After all, the Empire has the existence of the [Consul] and that terrifying Chief Consul.¡± As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked over¡­ This guy was too ill-informed. ¡°However, Ira Alkaras has already defected from the Empire. Moreover¡­ the Consul can¡¯t obtain mana from humans.¡± In the face of a merchant¡¯s reminder, the merchant who mentioned that terrifying Chief Consul was immediately embarrassed. He knocked his head in embarrassment and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I know, but my mouth was agape for a moment.¡± This kind of thing did happen often. ¡°Where do you think Ira Alkaras escaped to?¡± As the first traveling merchant opened the curtain of the gossip topic, everyone began to guess¡ª ¡°The Duchy, right? No¡­ impossible. Otherwise, the Duchy would not have passed the bill related to demons.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. After all, that former Chief Consul hates demons and has to listen to their screams every day to sleep.¡± ¡°I think it might be our Silver Moon Tree Court. Her Highness Cassiopeia and Mr. Alkaras are old friends.¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s still in the Empire.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Although everyone was making irresponsible guesses, it was really impossible to say that he was still in the Empire, so everyone looked at the merchant. However, the other party looked confident and said information that no one knew, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s a saying in the Empire that the breakup between Her Highness Isabella and Chief Consul Alkaras is a scam.¡± ¡°Actually, we only set up a trap to numb the Duchy and the Demonic Creature Country. We can also expose the other anti-royal factions in the country. At the moment of reckoning, we can let the royal authority reach a new peak.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°That makes sense. After all, it¡¯s very difficult to imagine that Alkaras will betray us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Perhaps the entire world has been deceived.¡± ¡°That makes sense. Because with the relationship between Ira Alkaras and Her Highness Isabella, it¡¯s difficult to imagine them turning against each other.¡± ¡­ Everyone seemed to have begun to discuss¡­ walking further and further away from the truth. Chapter 36 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The outside of the Demon King¡¯s Territory was very lively today. It seemed that since early in the morning, Celina, Satan Leaf, and the ghost girl had arrived in the south of the Demon King¡¯s Territory. One could also see the mighty carriage from the castle. It was the caravan, the traveling merchants who had been waiting in the Demon King¡¯s Territory for a period of time. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ira, don¡¯t you have anything you want to buy?¡± Vera walked to Ira¡¯s side and carefully looked at the distant caravan on the platform of this castle with him. She looked sneaky and said, ¡°Why do you look sneaky too?¡± ¡°Too?¡± Ira expressed this doubt. He retracted his head and used the city wall on the open-air platform here to block his body. He said, ¡°I have to hide the fact that I¡¯m in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± As the former Chief Consul of the Empire and now a wanted criminal of the Empire, if they knew that he was in the Demon King¡¯s Territory now, the Empire had reason to ask them to hand over Ira. That was a very bad situation, so Ira could not tell these merchants who liked information and goods about him in the Demon King¡¯s Territory. Since he had chosen the Demon King¡¯s Territory, Ira naturally had the knowledge that he needed to temporarily lie low. He looked at Vera, who seemed to be avoiding the gazes of the merchants, and did not know why she had also done strange actions. ¡°I¡¯m also a wanted criminal, okay?¡± Vera said helplessly. She quietly looked up at the caravan over there, then shrank back. She looked at the helpless Ira and said, ¡°It¡¯s not good for me to be discovered, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± In a little silence, Ira stared at Vera¡¯s face close at hand. As he watched her complain, he looked into her emerald green eyes and retreated slightly. ¡°There¡¯s a very good way for you to hide. You don¡¯t have to be so close to me.¡± Vera, who did not sense anything wrong, turned around and gently raised it. After taking a look, she retracted it and said, ¡°Because I want to see the situation of trade. Everyone is actually observing that side¡­¡± Vera was definitely right because she had been in the Demon King¡¯s Territory for a long time. If this was her experience, it was probably quite accurate. After all, she had definitely experienced the arrival of the trade team many times. Was it like this every time? Thinking of this, Ira could not stand the smell of Vera¡¯s perfume and stayed further away¡­ Actually, it smelled quite good, but he was just not used to it. In his heart, Vera was still only a fool who liked to play and needed to be taught well. Now, he suddenly realized that the other party might have sprayed perfume, causing him to be a little unaccustomed¡­ even if Vera was twice his age. ¡°Yes, Ira, what are you doing?¡± Because of Ira¡¯s actions, Vera, who had finally discovered something, smiled. She thought of something and leaned closer to Ira with a naughty smile. She said proudly, ¡°How is it? My corpse fragrance smells good, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wasn¡¯t it perfume? ¡°Corpse¡­ corpse fragrance?¡± Looking at Ira, who was frowning and asking, Vera nodded and introduced, ¡°After becoming a lich, although my body won¡¯t emit the stench of corpses, my mana is always filled with an uncomfortable lifeless feeling.¡± That was true. As long as it was an undead creature (inanimate object), Mana was always like a leech, giving people a cold and nasty feeling, but this did not affect the battle. ¡°Therefore, I used the huge bee yesterday to research a way to make my mana emit the aura of the living. The price is that my body will emit this quite pleasant smell.¡± As Vera spoke, she did not know why Ira was gently raising his eyebrows, nor did she know the value of her invention. She only placed her hands on her hips proudly and said, ¡°I named it [Corpse Fragrance]!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira did not know whether to laugh or say something first. He shook his head helplessly and smiled, ¡°Can¡¯t you change your name? However, your creativity is very good. If you sell the finished product, it¡¯ll definitely become popular in the Empire. However, you have to change the name.¡± Otherwise, this name was too strange. ¡°Do I smell good then?¡± Vera¡¯s question sounded like it was from a real little girl. Ira glanced at her, then nodded honestly and said, ¡°It smells good. Give some to Celina and the others later.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you even without you saying it. I¡¯ve already packaged this thing into the most beautiful perfume. Everyone will definitely like it¡­ Hmm, do you want the [Corpse Fragrance Potion]?¡± Regarding Vera¡¯s kindness, Ira shook her head gently and said, ¡°What I mean is actually to let that ghost girl give a portion of your¡­ perfume to those travelers as a gift.¡± In the end, Ira did not say a term like [Corpse Fragrance Potion]¡­ because it was really too strange. ¡°Why should I give it to them? Shouldn¡¯t I be selling it?¡± In response to Vera¡¯s question, Ira looked at her and confirmed that she really did not understand, so he began to explain, ¡°There¡¯s an exchange of benefits behind all human interactions. However, some are material benefits, and some are mental benefits.¡± ¡°In addition, if they really use your perfume, they¡¯ll understand that this thing has a completely different competitive track from other relative perfumes. It can be used to grab a share of the market. Therefore, they¡¯ll want to buy your perfume in the next trade.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira shook his head helplessly. He looked at Vera, whose eyes seemed to have turned into mosquito coils. He shook his head to shake a figure out of his mind and said, ¡°Alright, your current expression is very similar to Isabella¡¯s, but she¡¯ll always work harder to absorb knowledge than you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing such words, Vera was stunned. She looked at Ira, who spoke calmly, and said, ¡°You look like you¡¯ve gotten over it¡­ No, Ira, you¡¯ve never been angry at Isabella¡¯s betrayal?!¡± Looking at the shocked Vera, Ira, who did not expect her to mention this, was stunned. Then, he calmly nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s true, because I know that Isabella definitely doesn¡¯t want to kill me. It¡¯s just that the situation has been pushed to a bad place by some external force.¡± In these words, Vera looked a little breathless¡­ It was unknown if she was angry or something, but perhaps she was angry that Ira was still absolving Isabella at a time like this. ¡°She only wants to suppress the Ira faction a little as I taught her as usual. Although I know she can force me to stay¡­ she might want to prove herself or something?¡± Ira¡¯s words made Vera grab her own heart tightly and look really suffocated. He said simply, ¡°No matter what her will is, I realize that it¡¯s not suitable for the Empire. If the Empire can become more prosperous after I leave¡­¡± Vera was speechless. ¡°I¡¯ll be gratified by Isabella¡¯s growth¡­ She¡¯s already sacrificed too much for my dream, although it might be a little twisted from my expectations, right? As teachers, you and I have to be responsible for this.¡± Looking at Ira, who was smiling and talking like this, Vera stared at him. She swallowed. Unable to say anything, she realized something the entire world did not realize. She stated, ¡°I see¡­ You, Yosef, and Isabella are all crazy.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the dream you painted for them?!¡± Facing the puzzled Vera¡¯s loud question, Ira could not be very specific. ¡°Yosef, Isabella, and everything they did with me were to fulfill my dream. If you ask, I can only tell you¡­¡± Ira sighed as if seeing something very far away. ¡°That¡¯s a very, very beautiful country.¡± Chapter 37 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°I propose that the warrant on Ira Alkaras be lifted.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Under the suggestion of the new Chief Consul, Mariella Alkaras, the civil and military officials who were originally whispering instantly fell silent¡­ This new chief promoted by the Empress was too daring. Be it the nobles or the Ira, they all looked at Isabella, who was sitting high on the throne. Isabella, who was wearing a complicated and gorgeous outfit that belonged to the king, sat there, her face filled with neither sorrow nor joy. She did not seem to have any evaluation. She was just like when Ira was still around. Isabella was not like what many malicious nobles imagined. After leaving Ira, she did not cry like a child. This disappointed many people¡­ simply because she still maintained her calm. ¡°Why are the ministers silent?¡± Isabella¡¯s calm voice was transmitted. She glanced at everyone standing respectfully and continued, ¡°Do you agree or object? You have to give me an explanation.¡± Her voice was calm and indifferent. Compared to her unreasonable father, under Ira¡¯s education, Isabella had become a child that could not be described with any adjective other than ¡°King¡±. ¡°Your Majesty! Even if Baron Lyman framed him and has already been executed for his crimes, Ira has still betrayed us!¡± An old official said so agitatedly, his words filled with animosity toward Ira, ¡°Ira Alkaras has long rebelled! Please investigate, Your Majesty!¡± Immediately, another official stood up and began to refute this old man. She almost pointed at this old man¡¯s nose and cursed, ¡°Old man! Shut up! You don¡¯t have to interfere with Her Majesty¡¯s opinion!¡± This bespectacled girl looked to be gritting her teeth, and her eyes were filled with admiration for the Ira she spoke of. ¡°Your Majesty! I think¡­¡± ¡°Your Majesty, if¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± They suddenly began to curse at each other in an orderly manner¡­ These officials were really a headache. Isabella listened very calmly as her subjects began to make their stand one by one¡­ However, now, the Ira faction finally did not have the final say in the Empire. ¡°Your Majesty! Ira Alkaras is only a rebel! He¡¯s only a lowly person who deceived the previous emperor to ascend to a high position. He¡¯s a lowly commoner born from mud! The Empire doesn¡¯t have to show mercy to a useless person!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The atmosphere froze in an instant. Anyone¡­ be it the noble faction or the Ira faction, looked at the person who had spoken just now as if he was dead. This was a young noble. Isabella was someone who was very easy to get along with and understand¡­ probably. In other words¡­ she would get angry if some people said good things about Ira, or if they said bad things about him. She would be angry if they kept mentioning Ira or deliberately not mention him. She would be angry if they said that she was a qualified king, or if they said she was not a qualified king. She would be angry if they said good things about her father, or if they said bad things about her father¡­ Therefore, this sentence had ticked many boxes. It even turned her approval of Ira during her reign into Ira¡¯s deception toward the Empire. In other words¡­ Although the other party did not mean that, he was actually referring to the fact that Isabella was as blind as her father, Yosef. Moreover, Isabella actually knew him. She knew that¡­ the noble in front of her was inextricably related to Baron Lyman, who had privately drafted the [arrest warrant] in the previous incident. It was also because of this that an ordinary game of balance with Ira had turned into such an irreversible situation¡­ [Suppression] and [Detention], [Summoning] and [Capture] did not sound very different, but Ira was actually happy to see her do the former and would even personally teach her what to do. After all, they were all the same kind of lunatics. However, with an invisible push, with the darkness inside the Empire, and with the spies around her, everything had changed, although¡­ she had to admit that the Empire had become better than when Ira was around. ¡°Guards, listen up. Drag him down and lock him in the dungeon.¡± Isabella¡¯s calm words instantly destroyed the young noble¡¯s confidence. His eyes widened and he immediately cried inexplicably and in confusion¡­ It seemed that he was only an ordinary fool. He was one of the countless brainless nobles. Isabella, who shared Ira¡¯s opinion and was filled with disgust for the ignorant, swept her gaze across the palace left behind by the stupid noble. She looked at the silent civil and military officials without changing her expression. ¡°I propose that the warrant on Ira Alkaras be lifted.¡± As Isabella spoke, her words triggered a heated discussion among all the officials. However, she did not give the others a chance to raise objections. Instead, she announced, ¡°The morning court meeting ends here¡­ Minister Mariella, come to the imperial study.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the maid beside her served her and left the hall. ¡­ Mariella¡­ was the new Chief Consul and the pillar of the Ira faction. However, the noble faction did not boycott her as much as they boycotted Ira, because she was not as overwhelmingly strong as Ira. The court meeting became much easier. A balanced faction and strength was the key to the stability of the Empire. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°Your Highness Isabella, I didn¡¯t disappoint you.¡± Mariella said respectfully. She, who had proposed to cancel the arrest warrant in the morning court according to Isabella¡¯s decree, nodded at the empress who was reading in front of her¡­ After taking off the complicated clothes, Isabella looked like a girl who matched the age of 16. She was not a cold ruler. ¡°Please sit. If I remember correctly, you came down from the demonic battlefield, right?¡± Isabella, who was asking the consul in front of her, looked a little lazy. She smiled and said, ¡°Is Ira doing well?¡± ¡°???¡± Looking at Mariella¡¯s expression, Isabella knew that she actually did not know anything. She sighed softly and said, ¡°Is that so? However, this is not something to worry about, because Ira is more suitable to be a ruler than me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The best answer was silence. ¡°Your Majesty, do you regret issuing that decree?¡± However, Mariella dared to ask. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°From a rational point of view, I don¡¯t regret it. Even if that was a misinterpreted decree, even if it led to Minster Ira¡¯s departure, I still think that the Empire will be even stronger without Minister Ira.¡± Isabella replied. Mariella asked, ¡°What about the irrational point of view?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Chapter 38 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Your Highness Isabella, next is the first lesson I want to teach you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the initiative to apologize in the court¡­ You don¡¯t need to know the crime. I¡¯m also making up nonsense, but you have to punish me, cut my salary, or reduce my official position.¡± ¡°Why? Well¡­ because this is a check and balance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a powerful minister. Many ministers and nobles rely on me, and a portion of them will join¡­ Let¡¯s call it the [Old Noble Faction], okay? I¡¯ll call my side the [Ira Faction].¡± ¡°I¡¯m too powerful, so you have to suppress me. It¡¯s the same the other way around.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll gladly accept your punishment in the court. This way, everyone will realize that I¡¯m always on your side. Only then can the authority of the royal family continue to increase.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand? It¡¯s fine. What are your doubts? I¡¯ll slowly explain them to you.¡± ¡°You mean that you trust me not to betray the Empire, so you don¡¯t have to suppress me? I know and trust you and me, but this won¡¯t do¡­ Because this is the royal family and the rules of the king and ministers.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°Oh¡­¡± Amidst a soft moan, Isabella woke up from a dream that had happened a long time ago. She looked at Mariella, who was sitting in front of her, and then at her guards who were guarding her as she fell asleep in the study. ¡°How long did I sleep?¡± Although she asked, Isabella felt that it would not be long¡­ As the ruler, her heart was always suppressed. She did not know what it was, but there was something suppressed. She had almost not slept well after Ira left. However, she would definitely not admit this. ¡°Your Majesty, an hour.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Isabella gently touched the mark caused by her face leaning on her arm. She nodded at the guards on both sides and said, ¡°All of you can leave.¡± Without raising any doubts, these guards left the imperial study in unison, leaving only Isabella and Mariella in the room. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If you have anything to ask, just ask?¡± In Isabella¡¯s words, Mariella, who actually did not have much sense of superiority, pretended to nod respectfully and said, ¡°Are the rumors in the Empire true?¡± The rumor that Mariella mentioned was naturally the rumor that Isabella and Ira were colluding to act. ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± Isabella, who was speaking simply, shook her head. She looked at Mariella and said, ¡°If not for that, the more extreme Ira faction would probably have defected from the Empire at the same time, so this is enough.¡± In other words, had Isabella ordered such a rumor to spread? ¡°Of course, if such a rumor can become the truth, I¡¯d rather it be the truth.¡± Isabella, who spoke in the same way as Ira, knew no third person could understand them, so she could only shake her head towards Marielle who was in confusion. ¡°Leave. Let the guards in and call Minister Caligula over. I need to discuss the matter of capturing slaves with him¡­¡± In response to Isabella¡¯s words, Mariella nodded and subconsciously asked, ¡°Does Her Majesty want to discuss terminating the slave catchers? Duke Caligula won¡¯t agree.¡± Duke Caligula was almost equivalent to one of the leaders of the noble faction. He was also the endorser of the Empire¡¯s slave trade and the old b*stard that Ira wanted to kill the most but in fact¡­ Apart from being greedy, lecherous, and fond of female slaves who advocated the participation of nobles, he was loyal to the Empire and the emperor. He never took concubines and was devoted to his wife¡­ Every time, Ira would sigh because of the strange logic in the Empire. However, no one knew what he was sighing about. Those who really wanted to rebel had already been found and killed by the Ira and noble factions. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°They should want to stop capturing foreign races¡­ right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Under Isabella¡¯s calm gaze, Mariella understood everything. She instantly became emotional, but she still could not make any judgment. She said, ¡°Ira will be angry. He¡¯ll be very, very angry.¡± In fact, the two of them knew this. ¡°Everyone is like this. They talk about Ira all the time, as if, if I leave him, I¡¯ll be useless¡­ If he¡¯s angry, let him be angry. If he wants to kill me, come and kill me!¡± Isabella clearly looked very unhappy, but she quickly forced herself to return to a calm state and said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ll prove that I¡¯m no longer a child.¡± Perhaps all of Isabella¡¯s impatience was only because of this. ¡°If one day, Ira wants to bring his army into the capital of the Empire, how can I not be stepped on by him?¡± Isabella said this because the other party was Mariella, so she said this with relief. For the first time, she said her thoughts and said, ¡°I¡¯ve waited too long with Father¡­ but Ira abides too closely to the rules.¡± ¡ªEither you step on me and let me kiss his fingers, allowing you, who has seized the Empire, to confidently advance towards a dream filled with beauty! Or you obediently submit completely and don¡¯t always put on an attitude of ¡®I know I¡¯m right, so I have to convince you¡¯! Be it the former or the latter, it was fine, but! However!!! That lowly attitude filled with arrogance was really unbearable. ¡°Of course, if he can¡¯t defeat me ~¡± As Isabella spoke, she gently stretched out her white feet and smiled, ¡°Then, I want to step on him and tell him that I¡¯ve already grown up.¡± Her milky white feet swayed like an alluring ice cream. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll give him a hug and tell him¡­¡± Isabella imagined the moment she had already won. She smiled lightly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell him¡ªwelcome back to the Empire. I¡¯ve already removed all the hidden threats in the Empire!¡± Then¡­ ¡°Ira will acknowledge me and praise me for the first time. He will call me by my name and not Her Highness Isabella. He will not say, ¡®As the Empress, you can¡¯t be anxious. Maintain the indifference of your expression. You can do better.¡¯ Instead, he will say¡­¡± ¡°Well done, Isabella.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the imperial study where Mariella left, only a lonely Empress, a rebellious and arrogant student, a child who yearned to be recognized by a specific person, and a girl who was sensitive and yearned to be guided¡­ However, there were not four people. These four people were the same person. Chapter 39 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Establishing continuous trade was very necessary. To a country, it was naturally not bad to produce and sell everything on its own. This way, they would not be controlled by others. However, if they wanted to gradually start the construction of a self-sufficient country from zero to one, it would be a waste of time and resources. That was not a good choice. They would produce an excess of resources and use this portion to trade for the other necessities needed by the country. This was what many countries chose to do. This was the case when demonic creatures ruled their territories, as well as the Silver Moon Tree Court, the dwarves, and the orcs. Apart from the Empire, there were no exceptions¡­ This naturally did not mean that the Empire already had all kinds of resources and plants, but that there was no need for trade in the Empire. This was because civilians did not need food variety to increase their happiness. As long as they could eat until they were full (and not starving), it was enough. The Empire had never expected these materials that could be consumed at will to become weapons for the civil servants to improve the environment¡­ even though these commoners were an indispensable part of the Empire. ¡°Little Ti?¡± Accompanied by Ira¡¯s call, the incubus servant who appeared in a kneeling posture appeared on this open-air platform. She¡­ no, he quietly waited for Ira¡¯s instructions. ¡°Ask Celina and that ghost lady and let them buy some [Poison Eating Tree], which is a crop called the Ancient Priest Tree. Tell them that it¡¯s a tuber crop that¡¯s convenient to plant.¡± As Ira said this, Tikap immediately nodded and disappeared. ¡°Poison Eating Tree? What¡¯s that? The Ancient Priest Tree?¡± Under Vera¡¯s question, Ira stuck his head out and looked at Tikap, who seemed to be repeating his words. He explained, ¡°I think I¡¯ve already explained it clearly. It¡¯s a tuber crop, like taro.¡± ¡°I can tell. I¡¯m asking about something else¡­¡± Facing Vera¡¯s confusion, Ira understood what she really wanted to ask. He said, ¡°That came from the Silver Moon Tree Court. Later on, it was commonly planted in the orc territory. It¡¯s a food crop that looks like a tree.¡± ¡°Although it might not be as delicious as wheat and is very troublesome to eat, requiring a lot of processing, because it¡¯s convenient to plant, I think we can plant the ancient priest tree as a substitute for wheat and become one of the foods of the Demon King¡¯s Territory.¡± ¡°We only need to cut down the branches of the tree slightly and eat them after a complicated process. We can insert the untreated branches into the ground. If we¡¯re lucky, with enough rain, new crops can grow. The rainfall here is quite suitable.¡± These words were very clear. Ira felt that the crop called the [Ancient Priest Tree] was very suitable to be planted as a staple food or supplementary food to the blue mushroom. ¡°Uh, why didn¡¯t I hear you mention this crop when I was in the Empire? The people of the Empire don¡¯t eat this at all. If it¡¯s very convenient to plant, why didn¡¯t you promote it in the Empire?¡± Vera looked at Ira suspiciously. According to his description, this crop was very suitable for poor people to eat. Ira should also be someone who cared about the poor. ¡°¡­¡± Regarding this, Ira did not know where to start. He organized his words and said, ¡°In fact, this crop is very popular in the Duchy. The Empire already has black bread as rations, and the nobles don¡¯t need the commoners to obtain more food.¡± ¡°Moreover, if I propose the existence of such a thing and want to bring it into the Empire, I¡¯ll first face opposition and conflict from the nobles, because this is suggested by me, Chief Consul Ira.¡± Ira, who was sighing, shook his head helplessly. He looked at Vera, who was nodding in agreement, and added, ¡°Moreover, this crop is poisonous. It has to be detoxified before it can be eaten.¡± ¡°I can foresee it. There will definitely be nobles who claim that the civilians under his rule have been poisoned because of the crop I introduced and criticize me for it. Then, I will fall into an endless wave of attacks.¡± Ira had spent decades making this not-so-small beast of the Empire grow claws and bone spikes that were enough to tear apart other beasts, but the rotten sores on this beast still existed. Be it the huge beasts themselves or the sharp claws, they could not deal with the sores¡­ After Ira left the Empire, he completely understood this. If he wanted to change the Empire, he had to first jump out. Only other huge beasts could cut out the rotten wound of the Empire along with the flesh and blood that had to be abandoned. ¡°It¡¯s really not easy for you.¡± Amidst Vera¡¯s sigh, Tikap¡¯s voice appeared in front of Ira again. He reported, ¡°Lord Ira, the Demon King asked how many you want to buy, although I think she might not understand what the Ancient Priest Tree is.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m grateful for her trust.¡± Ira shook his head at a loss whether to laugh or cry, then he immediately became serious. He replied, ¡°Just buy seven to eight silver coins worth of them. If there¡¯s a problem with the funds, you can buy fewer. You might be scammed, but you don¡¯t have to care too much.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Everyone really trusts you¡­ I don¡¯t have any extra funds to buy my experimental materials.¡± Vera said sourly. She looked at the disappearing Tikap and said something she did not believe, ¡°My research is clearly also for the Demon King¡¯s Territory¡­¡± Amidst this, Ira glanced at the former Imperial Palace Mage who had chosen to become a lich for a few wrinkles. He complained, ¡°You said that it¡¯s to explore the truth of magic, so I might believe you more.¡± ¡°Alright, actually, I¡¯m trying to refine a super aphrodisiac and try to turn you around. Then, I¡¯ll make a pile of little liches with you.¡± Looking at Vera, who was talking nonsense, the corners of Ira¡¯s mouth twitched as he complained, ¡°I don¡¯t think the lich still has the ability to have children, nor do I think that as the Consul, I will have descendants.¡± Hearing this, Vera was clearly stunned. She widened her eyes in shock and said, ¡°Ah? The Consul can¡¯t have children? No way?!¡± Ira only quietly leaned against the wall. After a long time, he said, ¡°There¡¯s always a price to pay for a powerful and not difficult power. This is not a secret in the Empire¡­ Perhaps it¡¯s because of this that the Consul is the right-hand man of the royal family who will definitely not be suspicious.¡± Ira himself knew very well that Isabella and Yosef did not trust him just for this reason. ¡°You¡¯re really a group of¡­ lunatics.¡± Ira only smiled at Vera¡¯s sharp comment. ¡°I hope you can call them heroes.¡± ¡°Wait, what about you?¡± ¡°I have my own selfish desires. I only fight for the country I want. Be it the Empire or the Demon King¡¯s Territory, they¡¯re both just replacements of that world, that ancient country¡­¡± Facing Vera, who had sensed the flaw in his words, Ira said this. He looked in the direction that seemed to be very, very far away. ¡°In other words, substitutes.¡± Chapter 40 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Two good things happened today. Firstly, the perfect end of the trade with the caravan. The funds instantly became much more abundant. If the expenditure in the next quarter was normal, they could also return to normal procurement and salary distribution. The other thing was the cancellation of the bounty. As the Chief Consul who had defected, Ira¡¯s arrest warrant had been canceled by the Empire. It was rumored that this was the work of Empress Isabella, and this seemed to confirm the rumors circulating. It seemed that now, the Empire and the other countries were publicly acknowledged that Ira¡¯s betrayal had colluded with the Empress¡ªIra Alkaras had become the sharp knife of Her Majesty, who lived outside the Empire. ¡°Ira¡­ did you really betray her? Or does Isabella want you back? However, she doesn¡¯t look like a child who will give in.¡± It was very normal for Vera to have such a question because no matter how one looked at it, as the leader of the Ira faction and the Chief Consul, it was very dangerous for the Empire to wait for an opportunity to take revenge outside. In response to Vera¡¯s question, Ira leaned unhurriedly outside the bedroom of Satan Leaf and replied, ¡°Look, what Isabella needs is for everyone to have such thoughts, so the situation of the two factions in the Empire won¡¯t be easily broken.¡± ¡°If I return, Isabella can conveniently use this secret pawn of mine. In the future, she won¡¯t have to consider the trade-offs on the surface anymore and can start to use me impudently to make the Empire start to go berserk.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not prepared to return and am already serving in the Silver Moon Tree Court or even the Duchy, canceling my arrest warrant can make them wary of me and make me not be able to stand in a high position where I can do something so quickly and comfortably.¡± ¡°In short, this is beneficial and harmless to her.¡± As Ira spoke, he glanced at the quietly guarding Black Knights around him. Even if he was leaning outside the Demon King¡¯s house now and talking frankly, no one felt that he was rude. ¡°Fortunately, you came to the Demon King¡¯s Territory,¡± Vera said. ¡°Fortunately, I came to the Demon King¡¯s Territory.¡± Ira nodded in agreement. ¡°After all, the Demon King¡¯s Territory has lolis like the Empire. Otherwise, you might have to run back and lick Isabella¡¯s feet. You can lick Satan Leaf now, but speaking of which¡­ Satan Leaf¡¯s figure is really enviable, unlike my fat legs.¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Although Ira scolded him, out of instinct, he glanced at Vera¡¯s leg¡­ How should he put it? Well, this was just the right plumpness. The edge of the black stocking made a gentle indentation on her thigh. Vera¡¯s figure was the kind of slightly plump that men liked the most in his previous world. Ira looked away indifferently. Then, as he continued to wait for Satan Leaf to wake up, he commented, ¡°Actually, your legs are also very beautiful. Slender is not necessarily beautiful.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Without waiting for a response, Ira felt a little strange. He turned around and saw Vera hiding behind a Black Knight and carefully looking over. The corners of his mouth twitched as he cursed, ¡°You! Don¡¯t you have anything else to do today?¡± ¡°Ah, this¡­ I don¡¯t have the funds to buy materials anymore ~¡± Vera, who had walked over, looked embarrassed. She rubbed her hands like a fly and said, ¡°You said that you¡¯re teaching the Demon King today. I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll be the same test as before.¡± The previous test undoubtedly referred to the time when he let Vera dodge the fireball thrown by Satan Leaf for the first time. If Vera was not hit, Ira would give her his salary. It seemed that Vera was really short of money. Just as Ira was thinking this, the door of the bedroom slowly opened. Celina, who was neatly dressed, lowered her head to Ira very apologetically and said, ¡°The Demon King is very tired today. Can you change it to class tomorrow?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ira immediately frowned. He wanted to say something like ¡°As the Demon King, she must¡­¡±, but he quickly relaxed his eyebrows. There was no need to teach his student like a harsh teacher anymore. Perhaps it was his strictness that made Isabella like this. He should praise and understand her better. In his impression, he did not seem to have shown any true tolerance to Isabella, nor did he really praise her¡­ Perhaps he should not have imposed such standards on others. ¡°I understand. Then let Satan Leaf rest well¡­ Actually, she¡¯s already working very hard.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°Wu ~¡± Satan Leaf woke up lazily from the bed. In her white lace pajamas, she was less fanciful than when she usually wore a red lace dress (magic outfit), but the style was very innocent and cute. ¡°Demon King, are you awake? There¡¯s class today.¡± Celina¡¯s words sounded from the side of the bed, but Satan Leaf, who had watched the trade between them, was especially lazy today¡­ She closed her eyes and covered her head with the blanket. ¡°¡­¡± Classes were really tiring~ ¡°Celina¡­¡± Satan Leaf¡¯s voice sounded from under the blanket. The red tail that hung out of the blanket swayed listlessly. She let out a soft beast-like voice, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to class today.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll convey it to Lord Ira now. He¡¯ll understand.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The Demon King is very tired today. Can you change it to class tomorrow?¡± Celina¡¯s words sounded outside the bedroom door. Accompanied by her words, Satan Leaf¡¯s gently wagging tail immediately froze. She almost immediately sensed a fact¡ªIra had long been waiting outside the door for her to attend class. Her sleepiness was almost instantly dispelled by guilt, accompanied by a sense of blame towards herself¡­ Satan Leaf wondered if she was qualified to be treated so seriously by Ira and if she deserved to be his student¡­ She, who could not answer at all, immediately lifted the blanket and sat up. Under the gazes of the other succubus maids and ghost maids, Satan Leaf took off her clothes and began to quickly change into the magic equipment she usually wore. ¡°I understand. Then let Satan Leaf rest well¡­ Actually, she¡¯s already working very hard.¡± Ira¡¯s voice sounded outside. ¡ªNo¡­ stop joking. Compared to your hard work, Mr. Ira, I¡¯m not doing anything at all. I can¡¯t do anything at all! Therefore, stop joking. I¡¯m not working hard enough at all! ¡°Wait! I want to go to class! Mr. Ira!¡± As Satan Leaf shouted, she staggered out of the room. She quickly tidied her clothes and shouted, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have been so lazy. Please don¡¯t be disappointed in me!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Haha, I won¡¯t.¡± Ira chuckled and reached out to straighten Satan Leaf¡¯s collar. He looked gratified like the others and patted her head. ¡°You¡¯ve already done very well.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Isabella rarely dreamed, but if she had one, there was often a scene where Ira said to her, ¡°I¡¯m proud of you¡±¡­ because not once had it happened in reality.