The Demon King's Sweet Conquest (GL) - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Here’s the Microphone for You

“Alright, breakfast is over. The first order of business is definitely—opening the basement.” Floria pointed enthusiastically.

Barbatos produced the key at the same time to open the basement door. The smell was a bit pungent, but much better than imagined. After all, it had been aired out before they arrived.

“Your Majesty, this place was originally abandoned. It can be used to store items of low value that are not easily damaged in the future. It is not recommended for storing cargo.” Barbatos stepped aside, and Floria walked in easily.

The area was about ten square meters, and the height wasn’t very high. Floria could stand up straight, but Barbatos was about to hit her head on the ceiling. It was also a bit damp in the gloom; indeed, it couldn’t be used to store useful things.

Inspecting this place immediately after eating naturally served another purpose!

Floria dragged out the Dungeon System, switched it to construction mode, and clicked to confirm. After the resources were deducted, the basement emitted a brief rumble, and a dungeon room extended from the deeper levels.

At the same time, the system popped up a window: You have established Dungeon Room x1 in your temporary occupation zone. If the occupation status expires, the dungeon room will automatically disappear, and resources will not be refunded.

“Not bad. Once we make some money, we’ll buy this house. No problem, right?” The attempt was successful. As long as she purchased this room, it should stay in an occupied state for a long time. The cunning rabbit has three burrows; a true dungeon must be hidden deep in the depths!

Thinking of this, Floria imagined the hero 100 years from now circling the continent three times yet failing to find the true entrance, and she almost laughed out loud.

“No problem, Your Majesty. If you wish, you can buy it now.”

“I remember we have no money?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After staring at Barbatos for a few seconds, Floria looked serious: “No need. This King likes to go head-on—”

Her serious expression gradually distorted as a large cockroach poked its head out from a box in the corner and began to sway left and right.

“Your Majesty? Careful, if you jump too high, you’ll hit your head.” Barbatos held Floria, who had turned into a koala, firmly.

“Ah, Barbatos, th-that bug, that bug… I, I, I don’t want to see it!” The koala’s two feet couldn’t touch the ground at all. In her consciousness, thousands of cockroaches seemed to be doing soul-drifting maneuvers.

“Your Majesty, you can open your eyes; it has been eliminated.” Barbatos comforted her softly a minute later: “There were originally thousands of these little bugs in this room. Your subordinate specifically exterminated them once before you arrived; I didn’t expect them to regenerate.”

“……Barbatos, why did you rent this one?”

“Because you said to save coins and concentrate energy on purchasing supplies.”

Floria huffed several times, completely unable to say anything.

Barbatos blinked innocently: “In fact, a dungeon after special site-optimization will also have these insects as part of the process of hindering adventurers. Some devils are also in insect form; you will need to accept these sooner or later, Your Majesty.”

“Enough, don’t continue the topic of bugs! Let’s go out. Let’s look at the Chamber of Commerce. I remember you reported that a merchant must register with the Chamber of Commerce.” Floria slid down from Barbatos and regained her Demon King posture.

“Yes, in this human country, if you don’t join the Chamber of Commerce, you are just a wandering merchant. It is very inconvenient in many places.” After Barbatos said this, she handed the specified rulebook of the Chamber of Commerce to Floria.

The large amount of text on it could be simply summarized into the following points:

1. After joining the Chamber of Commerce, you must pay membership fees every quarter.

2. The Chamber of Commerce will give registered merchants a lot of benefits, but you must act according to the rules of the Chamber of Commerce, such as unified pricing for commodities during special periods, and priority supply for registered members.

3. The Chamber of Commerce updates the assessment of all participants every year. The four members with the largest total assets and influence will be the management layer of the Chamber of Commerce for the following year.

Floria skimmed over the other things; she wouldn’t need them for the time being.

“If you want to set the rules, you have to follow the rules first. This bit of restriction is something this King can still handle.” Floria was this confident before entering the Chamber of Commerce.

Two hours later, this confidence became tumbleweed, blowing away with the wind.

The Chamber of Commerce auditor politely set down the papers in their hand: “Sorry, you did not pass the audit.”

“Did not pass the audit?!” Floria widened her eyes: “There were no audit requirements in the handbook!”

The auditor crossed their fingers and smiled awkwardly: “Yes, theoretically, there are no additional requirements to join the Chamber of Commerce, but you do not have any history of commercial activities, and no noble is willing to vouch for you… The Chamber of Commerce still wants to ensure the quality of every member.”

“So according to what you mean, I have to go find a place to trade, make a fortune, and leave a record to prove that I am a capable merchant?”

“Yes, that’s right. In that case, the Chamber of Commerce will definitely welcome your membership.”

“But I need to join the Chamber of Commerce right now so that I can trade in the Free City and make a fortune?”

“Sorry, you do not yet have sufficient records to prove the qualifications of you and the caravan you have built.”

Your Majesty, do you need your subordinate to act?

Persuasion is okay, violence is prohibited.

Is spiritual magic considered violence?

Forget it. Let’s go first. If humans can do it, there is no reason this King cannot.

Floria’s expression changed three times in front of the counter, and finally, she said “oh”: “Fine, then I’ll come back in a while.” Under the smiling send-off of the auditor, she took Barbatos back onto the sun-drenched streets.

“Barbatos, what kind of trade is better in this situation?” She was just asking casually; she didn’t really expect to get a practical answer.

“Without joining the Chamber of Commerce, you have to sell goods to places where it is easier to get a good price.” Barbatos’s suggestion was not bad.

“Whew, if it’s a noble guarantee, I could use [Floria] to guarantee it.” Floria regained a bit of thinking ability after coming out: “But things are busy over there too… Then, let’s go to the harbor and take a look. Maybe taking the waterway can earn us the first pot of gold?”

The Free City had a harbor. By observing the logistics throughput there, one could easily understand what goods could be shipped to what places to make a profit.

Regardless of which route opens first, she couldn’t just wait in place and waste time.

“Your will is my command.”

Looking up at Barbatos’s respectful expression, Floria almost thought she had been dreaming last night.

She didn’t know if she had dreamt last night, but when they reached the pier, Floria felt that her dream hadn’t ended.

The pier was sealed off, and many soldiers were patrolling it.

“What is going on?” Floria quickly asked the people nearby who were also watching the excitement.

“I heard they are hunting for members of the Demon Lord’s Return Cult. No ship is allowed to leave until they are caught.” The people watching the excitement wished they had melon seeds in their hands; they didn’t treat this matter as anything serious at all.

A cult that no one had believed in for eight hundred years—could they really jump out and hurt people?

Floria spotted Alexia on the pier looking for something, but the other party had her back to her, and she couldn’t be seen even if she waved.

“Let’s go first, let’s look at the market.” Floria turned around and saw the golden-red-haired lady walking toward her on the road she had just walked, along with her group of knights.

Cynthia also recognized Lily with the orange hair and nodded in a friendly manner.

There was no need to greet or stop. After responding with a smile, Floria was just about to brush past this group of people.

Before she could exit, a true “powerhouse” collided with her. The person who bumped into them urgently stopped their steps; Barbatos gently lifted Floria, and the two just managed to dodge, avoiding stepping on anyone or falling.

The hood flipped back during the stumbling, revealing Christina’s somewhat pale face. A hint of shyness could be seen on the girl’s face. This little gaze was not for Floria, but was tightly following the golden-red figure not far away.

Lily opened her mouth; thinking that this orange-haired vest (alias) didn’t know her anyway, she obediently gave up the stage, letting the expert begin her performance.

She saw Christina lift her skirt and trot forward. Viola, who recognized her, was a little surprised, but she still stopped and reached out a hand to the girl.

Originally, she was just preparing to say hello, but she didn’t expect Christina to rush over and hug her waist tightly: “Ms. Viola…” The tone was full of panic, and her lifted black eyes were moist like a deer’s.

Her voice was so soft that only the few people closest could hear.

“Christina, why did you appear here?” Viola also lowered her voice, patting the girl’s back to comfort her. She didn’t have a deep impression of Christina, but she remembered that she was Joanna’s personal maid; in any case, she shouldn’t have appeared in the Free City.

“It’s Duke Francis. He found a… more suitable girl.” Christina was on the verge of tears, her eyelashes trembling: “I, I can’t go home either, you know…”

Viola didn’t know much about Christina’s family situation; she only vaguely remembered that she seemed to have been involved in trouble because of similar things before. She prepared to comfort her first, send Christina to a relative she could trust, and then slowly negotiate with her family—after all, there were too many things to deal with now.

“Ms. Viola, no, Lord Viola, can I go to the Ruby Islands with you!” Christina grabbed Viola’s hem tightly: “I beg you, I really have nowhere else to go. If I’m caught, I’ll definitely be sent off to some random fiancé!”

The girl’s voice was filled with despair. This despair of hers was so real. For a noble girl who had no talent in martial arts or magic and was not favored by her family, what kind of deep mist was her future shrouded in?

Viola could not refuse the desperate Christina. She was a sharp sword, she was sunlight, and she was always direct, so she grabbed Christina’s hand and made her stand up straight: “Alright, then you will come with me to the Ruby Islands.”

Floria, watching the fun not far away, was amazed—this works too? Could this person be the legendary female protagonist?

Your Majesty, it seems something dangerous is approaching.

Something dangerous?

Just as the voice fell, darkness covered Floria’s eyes.

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