A birthday banquet.
It was an occasion where all relevant parties gathered, making it the perfect stage for “villains” to stir up trouble.
A certain interstellar Warmaster had once ascended to the top of the internet’s “New Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars” through the sheer audacity of “paying his respects” at such an event.
Liya did not plan to do anything quite so earth-shattering as to turn the entire political landscape of the Thousand Rivers Domain upside down.
However, since she had already “resurrected” in a grand fashion, she naturally had to make the most of the benefits that came with it.
To her, a Demon King was better than no Demon King.
Similarly, a powerful Demon King was better than a solitary one.
Only by re-establishing the deterrent power associated with the title “Demon King” could she, under the banner of the Hero, use various pretexts to coerce the local nobility into providing money, food, and technology.
This was essential to survive the most difficult accumulation phase of the Industrial Revolution.
And Duchess Gera’s eightieth birthday was the perfect stage to showcase the Demon King’s terrifying might.
“Sending… a Demon King’s army?”
After hearing Liya’s plan, Joone was stunned.
He looked at her suspiciously.
“The Nagas could certainly pose as one, but the key is, why are you sending this? Or is there some deeper meaning behind this ‘gift’?”
“Oh, stop it—”
Liya’s soft, bouncy little hands intentionally kneaded near Joone’s ears and temples like a cat.
“It’s just to give them a little scare. That way, Lily can ask for more money, more food, and save more refugees!”
Joone’s ears unwittingly turned a deep shade of red.
Liya’s actions made him feel both comfortable and embarrassed; his heart was almost completely melted by this cute and intimate gesture.
“Fine, I’ll listen to you. We’ll play the Demon King duo one more time and ‘congratulate’ Duchess Gera on her birthday.”
His mind felt warm, and he could hardly think clearly, so Joone agreed without a second thought.
***
The next morning at dawn, rows of porridge sheds were once again set up by the river.
This was Liya’s arrangement, benefiting from her previous drills and preparations in Hope Town.
An administrative team that had been tempered at the “town” level could still barely support large-scale relief missions after expanding their numbers—at the very least, they wouldn’t let things fall into chaos.
Unfortunately, this administrative team still lacked the kind of talent Liya needed to handle things independently.
Jonathan was too old, his energy was limited, and his talent was insufficient.
His son was a talent, possessed a flexible mind, and had plenty of energy; if he were educated, he might become a useful asset.
Whether in administration or development, the operation of any organization relied on a vast “talent reserve.”
This was why, back when Liya held the throne of the Demon King, she invested heavily every year to force those unruly demons to receive a compulsory education.
After all, how could she win against the Empire leading a bunch of illiterates!
‘Once I handle this, I need to find a chance to hint for Joone to take a trip to the Seventh Demon Realm. He can bring back my Movable Type Printing Presses and textbooks,’ Liya thought to herself.
However… perhaps the Seventh Demon Realm would be a bit dangerous for Joone? She didn’t know if the “Paradise” rules of the Mother of Pleasure would apply to him.
The Seventh Demon Realm was a strange place—so strange that even Liya didn’t dare stay for too long.
Deep within the Abyss of Desire, all intelligent life was eroded by eternal, unceasing flames of lust, forever craving yet forever unable to find satisfaction.
And within that abyss, there existed beings who were submissive and took the initiative to serve every desire of a male—the succubi.
But once one’s essence was exhausted in the Abyss of Desire and they were drained dry by a succubus, they would be twisted by the realm’s rules, transforming into a new succubus…
It could be said that succubi had two ways of “reproduction”: one was female-to-female breeding between succubi, and the other was the transformation of invaders.
Women shouldn’t think they could find a loophole, either.
There were special races in the abyss specifically for females, such as the Dwarf Elves, who Liya recalled looked like goblins, and various strange beastmen, soft-bodied creatures, giant insects, and so on.
Most of these races were of low intelligence, and their only daily pursuit was to find a nearby female to play a few rounds of card games—Three-Card Brag, Fight the Lord, Texas Hold’em—they had games for any number of players and were not picky at all.
It could be said that before Liya stepped foot there, the Seventh Demon Realm was a damn den of vice!
The Hero’s stats were definitely high enough to crush them.
But Liya couldn’t guarantee the Hero’s willpower.
At the very least, in her eyes, the Hero often blushed in front of her, looking exactly like a pure-hearted, embarrassed young man who was incredibly easy to tease.
‘Forget it… When the time comes, I should personally accompany the Hero on that trip.’
After hesitating for a long while, Liya finally made up her mind.
Having settled the important upcoming arrangements, Liya temporarily handed the task of managing Pupu Town to Jonathan.
Although the old village head’s abilities were mediocre, his diligent and hardworking nature made him suitable enough to fill in temporarily.
Afterward, Liya pulled the troublesome succubus, Amelie, out of the “solitary confinement” cell made of Rock Pupus.
Joone had been having a headache over how to deal with this succubus.
As for Liya, she had already thought of a final destination for Amelie.
However, Liya was currently waiting for the right moment to act.
She didn’t want to bring something like a “mana battery chamber” into the light, and she especially didn’t want Joone to find out.
That would greatly increase Joone’s suspicion toward the Pupus.
Pupus, of course, were much cuter when they appeared harmless to humans and animals alike.
Liya needed to arrange a reasonable exit for Amelie, allowing the succubus to disappear from Joone’s heart without a trace of doubt.
This “birthday visit” was a good opportunity—a succubus dying in the chaos with no remains left behind was perfectly normal!
Seeing the light of day again, Amelie trembled and begged piteously, “I was wrong… Lord Hero… I was really wrong. I’ll never say those weird things to Lily again… Can you forgive me…?”
“Weird things?”
Joone asked curiously as he put on his Protector Army armor.
“What weird things did she say before?”
“Reporting, friend!”
Liya summoned a large group of Pupus and lightly hopped onto the “Pupu Soldiers” stacked waist-high.
She giggled and tattled, “Amelie tried to convince Lily to embezzle the disaster relief gold coins! She even said she’d teach Lily how to make her friend behave submissively!”
Amelie’s body jerked violently.
She looked up in terror toward Joone and, as expected, met the Hero’s cold, sharp brown eyes burning with rage.
“I hate it most when people try to corrupt Lily. If there’s a next time, I’ll cut off your wings and make braised wings to feed the dogs!”
Joone barked, using the most vicious threat he could think of to intimidate Amelie.
He was truly disappointed in Amelie.
He had thought she was a pitiful creature oppressed by Demon King Lya, but she actually dared to incite Lily to do such bad things!
Fortunately, Lily was kind and pure at heart and hadn’t been influenced by this wicked succubus…
While these thoughts swirled, Lily had already completed her transformation, once again disguising herself as Demon King Lya.
Gazing at this “arch-nemesis” disguised by the Pupu, Joone suddenly had a strange and subtle thought.
‘Would Lily… use the Pupus to simulate Demon King Lya’s physical male characteristics?’
He couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the “Demon King” who was currently getting dressed.
For a fleeting moment, he seemed to glimpse a flat area, and his heart immediately felt a sense of relief.
‘As expected. Lily has only seen her own body and has never seen a man’s. How could she possibly manifest a… ahem.’
‘I’m afraid in Lily’s eyes, whether it’s a male demon or a female demon, what’s between their legs is the same as her!’ Joone thought, feeling a bit embarrassed.
At the same time, Liya also keenly noticed the Hero’s gaze.
Seeing him turn his head away with a face full of red, she secretly let out a sigh of relief.
She had already considered details like physical characteristics.
Since the last time, she hadn’t performed a one-hundred-percent simulation.
Instead, she had deliberately simulated one area “incorrectly”—changing it from male to female, and even intentionally making the chest slightly more prominent.
This was done to reduce the Hero’s suspicion that “Lily is Demon King Lya.”
People often took pride in the truths they deduced themselves and believed in them firmly.
The most convincing evidence was not what was told to them, but what they discovered on their own.
However, Liya hadn’t expected the Hero to be so thick-headed that he only remembered to confirm such an important matter during their second time doing this…
Aside from the pride of successfully deceiving the Hero, a bit of shame and bitterness also rose in Liya’s heart.
The once-majestic “Demon King” had not only become her arch-rival’s Pupu, but she also had to play a “gender-swapped version” of herself to hustle for money… What a humiliating punishment play this was!
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