The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 714: Why only use our money if we can use others’ too?

"Oh, Stan--you’re still here!" freeweɓnovel.cøm

I looked at the golem in surprise. I did return first yesterday--or rather, he was the one sending us back--but I didn’t know he’d stay during the meetings. Honestly, it was nice knowing he would be there. With the Goddess back in Her divine abode, a Sacred Guardian’s presence would keep some unruly representatives at bay, don’t you think?

And I’d rather have him than the Goddess there.

"I thought an enforcer would be needed to uphold the fulfillment of the New Covenant," the golem said while looking at me. "Keeping the harmony between three realms is in my testament."

I couldn’t see it, but I felt like he was smiling at me. Maybe because the glow of his eyes was softening slightly? At any rate, good job, me!

And indeed, his presence had a big impact.

While everyone immediately received the content of the New Covenant in their mind, accepting it was another matter--especially for those who had been acting like there was no Goddess all along. Suddenly, they received the news that the Pope was being punished by the Goddess, along with a summon to the Grand Church for the next day.

Most of the representatives were confused, and about half of them came with aggravated expressions. Certainly, they did not expect that there would be demons in the Luxeana, or that a druid and a demon would be there as representatives too.

Normally, the representative numbers from each realm should be equal. But while Natha was a King candidate and I had an official endorsement from the elves and the drows that Aunt Amarein sent me, the humans were yet to have a unified voice. In that case, they should have come up with a decision and formally chosen an official representative first before Natha and I joined the meeting.

But knowing them, it might take a long time before they reach a decision. Stan might be an enforcer of harmony, but he had no say in the internal matter of a single realm. That was why Natha and I had to be there.

The presence of another realm’s representatives would give them the needed pressure to not prolong the matter, and with us there, Stan had a justification to also be there.

Surprisingly, however, the number of the representatives who had been eagerly waiting for this chance to fix the rotten system--like Fatia’s Mother--was rather high. Might be because the rotten ones--like Lenaar--refused to come and busy finding a way out instead, but it made things easier during the meetings. With Zarfa’s father helping, we had a separate talk about the economic power of the Human Realm, and it made things go even smoother.

Indeed; economy was the make and break of civilization.

From the conference on the human side, Bishop Avarash had been appointed as the new Pope, and Jin received an official position as a Holy Knight--that was per the Goddess’s demand, so no one could say no, really. He would be tasked with leading a force to clean up the Pope’s syndicate, so to speak.

Kind of like a heresy inquisition, but with the Goddess’s endorsement.

Pope Avarash, along with Zarfa’s father as the leader of the merchant association, and the prime minister of one of the oldest kingdoms in the human realm called Rios, were appointed as the human representatives in the three realms summit.

And finally, the real stuff could begin.

All in all, our priority was in the establishment of a committee to make sure the New Covenant was followed by everyone. The members should have equal power between the three realms, and a headquarters would be established somewhere.

Now came the question: where?

Since the committee would act as an enforcer, neutrality was an important concept to be upheld. There was no problem in trusting Stan, or Logos, the golem made by the Primordial One. However, the location of the committee was sparking a debate.

It took two days of arguing before Natha finally came up with an ’idea’. "Let’s just create a neutral city."

I almost widened my eyes at him when he said that, but I was kind of exhausted at that time, so I stared at him in a daze instead.

Huh? That sounded familiar.

"A neutral city?" the prime minister of Rios, a middle-aged woman called Tysan, tilted her head with a frown.

"Yes," Natha leaned back on his chair, looking all relaxed. He was even older than the Pope, so everyone kind of treated him like an elder, funnily so. "Let’s designate a place as a neutral city, where people from the three realms can live and interact. The committee shall have a headquarters there, with enforcer agents and a surveillance center. It shall be a model of harmony for everyone."

Wait...

"Hoo..." Pope Avarash nodded, stroking his chin in interest.

"But again, the problem is the location, isn’t it?" Madam Tysan asked.

"There is an ideal place, also located on the border and very strategic for both trade and tourism," Natha said.

This time, Zarfa’s father arched his brow and leaned forward in intrigue.

"It would need His Highness’s permission, however," Natha turned toward me with a smile across his lips.

My exhausted mind whirred at that point, and finally snapped out of my daze. Did he...

"Are you talking about Isaleh Principality?" Madam Tysan widened her eyes, but Natha cleared his throat harshly, prompting her to correct herself. "Ahem, forgive me. I mean to say the Druid Kingdom’s Capital."

"Ah..."

"Indeed," Natha nodded in confirmation.

The humans looked at me then, and I kicked my husband’s shin under the table. Damn--if you wanted to pull something like this, shouldn’t you tell me in advance?!

Immediately, I put on a contemplative face to show that I was thinking hard about it. Well, I actually was thinking hard about it. To be exact, I was thinking about Natha’s intention.

I mean, I was already going to make a neutral city anyway, so why suddenly bring it up as if it were some new idea?

"By the rule of the New Convention, the Principality had to be dismantled and the territory is to be returned to the druids," Natha said. "But you humans will be reluctant to do it, won’t you? At least the one occupying it."

Pope Avarash and Madam Tysen made a wry smile, knowing well that the Empire and the Principality had rejected the summon since day one.

"It is Prince Valen’s right to have that territory returned to him, and he could use violence if they denied that right," Natha continued. "But perhaps, if the place were to be used as a neutral city, they would be less reluctant. Of course, the Prince and the authorities had to leave, but..."

Again, he looked at me with those twinkling silver eyes. I wondered if the others could see my inner thought that was fawning over him and his voice.

"Perhaps His Highness could give the citizens some grace to stay there," the demon smiled. "Of course, only if they are willing to live with demons and the children of nature."

"Oh! That is a good idea," the prime minister said.

"Definitely cheaper than building a whole new city," Zarfa’s father followed. "Still need a lot of money regardless."

"At least, between three realms, it shouldn’t be too hard," Natha shrugged.

I looked at him, who only smiled innocently at my gaze. Was that...his goal? To lighten the economic burden and solve the guilt I might have regarding the innocent citizens?

"How about it, Your Highness?" Pope Avarash asked me. "Of course, you have every right to reject the proposal."

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "It’s not an easy decision," I said. And I lied. The decision was all mine. But they didn’t have to know that. "I shall discuss it with the Council of Chiefs and the elders first."

"Yes, that makes sense," Madam Tysan nodded.

"That being said, I personally have no objection to this plan, as long as you promised me the committee would do a good job."

"That goes without saying," Natha said. "It’s your territory in the first place, Your Highness. You let it be used as a ’gift’, but that doesn’t mean it should be considered ownerless."

Perhaps because they thought I was the one being disadvantaged, the humans agreed that the owner of the territory should still be me. The Goldbel suggested that a contract was made regarding that. In simple terms, I would own the land and the building, which the committee leased from me. Of course, the Principality and the Empire needed to pay compensation--both to me and the citizens who had purchased the land over there.

Well, that was to be decided later. "For now, let’s send them the eviction notice, shall we?" Natha said, turning toward the golem observing in silence. "Of course, with a detailed penalty list."

That night, when I whined about him not warning me about it, Natha just laughed annoyingly.

"Did you do it so we don’t have to spend too much money?"

"Don’t jest, sweetheart. I can fund a city just with my annual revenue," Natha rolled his head. Annoyingly cocky and annoyingly hot.

"Then?"

His expression became less cocky then. "Hmm..." he looked to the side and muttered. "I might want to avoid a situation where you have to be there so often to rule the place..."

My brow arched. "You think I want to rule the place?"

"You said you don’t care about the human business, but you spend two months running around over there," he grumbled in response.

I pressed my lips to stifle my laugh and pulled on his coat. "You can just follow me when that happens?" I tilted my head. "Stop being the Lord and be my consort, mm?"

He looked at me again then, blinking. "But...what about living in the Lair and going around the world?"

This time, it was me who looked at him in a daze. Oh...he remembered that?

"So...you’re okay with not being the Lord?"

"Of course," he shrugged. "Well, I need to find someone good enough to replace me as a representative, but...as long as we get Shwa’s custody, I don’t care about being a Lord anymore."

Oh, my husband. My demon. My love. I pulled him into a kiss and only let him go hours later.

Okay, maybe he wasn’t so annoying.