The Demon King's Sweet Conquest (GL) - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: My Mind is Blown

While Barbatos went out to gather intelligence, Floria squatted in the Demon King’s room, using two plates and three pieces of fruit to demonstrate her plan.

“Look closely. The red fruit is me, the pink fruit is Xin Lian, and the yellow fruit is Barbatos.” Floria patiently explained the plan to her precious employee.

After Xin Lian nodded earnestly, Floria continued: “One plate represents the [Nobility Route], and the other represents the [Merchant Route].”

First, she placed the red and yellow fruits onto the Nobility plate: “Since we defeated the bandits, we can disguise ourselves as the noble Miss Floria, using that as a springboard to make contact with human high society.”

Next, she swapped the pink fruit for the red fruit, moving the red fruit to the Merchant plate: “Xin Lian, you can perform perfect transformations and dream-leaps, and I can return to the Demon King’s room unconditionally via teleportation—plus I have my daily fixed-point teleport. Therefore, you and I can play each other’s parts to maintain both the Merchant and Nobility routes simultaneously.”

“Then, what about Lord Barbatos?” Xin Lian was a little confused.

“Her position will shift depending on the situation. We’ll fix it once a fourth elite joins us.” Floria lifted the plates: “Time is tight; this King wants it all!”

“How do we handle the Merchant route? Your Highness’s dungeon is here, and the virtual village can be used to open a shop, can’t it?”

“No, the dungeon isn’t ready for normal business yet; it can’t provide any ‘added attraction’ for the village.” Floria didn’t want to wait idly for a thousand years.

“If not at the dungeon, where will Your Highness go to be a merchant?” Xin Lian’s eyes began to spin in circles.

“I’ll go to where commerce is most active and build relationships with adventurers.” To put it simply, she would start as a traveling merchant. Since adventurers were unwilling to visit an obscure wilderness, she would go out to them. The dungeon didn’t have legs, but did the Demon King not have legs?

In RPG games, the traveling merchant with a massive pack and the shopkeeper lady providing various services were indispensable characters.

Strengthening my power through trade, using gold to develop the dungeon, spreading advertisements for the dungeon among adventurers, selling more equipment and materials… then, after defeating them, recycling their items! The adventurers who return home will have no choice but to restock again… Just thinking about such a genius idea makes me want to laugh out loud~

“Highness, this subordinate has returned with intelligence.”

Barbatos’s voice shattered the bubble of inspiration. Floria and Xin Lian fell from their unstoppable stream of consciousness back into reality.

This wasn’t a dazzling human society; it was a meager Demon King’s palace.

“Lord Barbatos, what specific intelligence do you have?” Floria cleared her throat and sat back on the throne.

“Yes. The identity you’ve selected currently has only one immediate relative: a younger sister named Katerina. Her situation is quite bleak. Originally occupying one city and two towns, her actual controlled territory has dwindled to only Morin Town.” Barbatos presented a map and a small booklet to Floria.

The map covered the nearby towns, some villages, and famous natural resources. The booklet contained information regarding Katerina. After all, if she was to be [Katerina’s sister, the noble Floria], she couldn’t be ignorant of her sister and her mother’s former subordinates.

“You’ve done well. No time to lose; we head to Morin Town immediately.” It was perfect; Floria couldn’t have thought of so much herself. Professional matters required professional people.

“Yes.”

Before leaving, Floria turned to instruct Xin Lian: “Watch the house well. Do not expose the dungeon entrance.” Though, even if a hero did show up, this empty dungeon would surely be mistaken for a village’s underground storage cellar.

“Highness~ I’ll have a meal ready for your return~” Xin Lian watched them fly toward the outside world, rolling up her sleeves and preparing to give the dungeon a major spring cleaning!

I’m going to make Highness praise me too!

Even disguised as a mercenary and a noble lady, Barbatos and Floria wouldn’t actually use horses or walk to get to Morin Town.

Under the cover of night, the devil spread her wings. The silver moon would light the path for travelers and equally favor natural-born hunters.

“Highness, may I ask you a question?” Barbatos’s voice sounded from above.

“Speak freely. This King does not like hesitation.” Leaning comfortably in her arms without having to flap her own wings, Floria squinted her eyes.

“You didn’t state Xin Lian’s value directly before. Is it because you don’t actually think highly of her?”

“No, quite the opposite. This King has only one standard for measuring value: my own will. If I feel she is valuable, then she is worth a thousand cities.”

“I see.”

Barbatos maintained a respectful silence until her toes touched the ground.

The forest would not block the master of darkness, and the thorns made way for the devil.

Walking unhindered to the city gate, Barbatos, transformed into a mercenary, lit a torch, while Floria lowered her hood.

“Please open the gate. I follow the Lady’s orders to escort Miss Floria home.” Barbatos’s voice had strong penetration. The people on the lookout tower noticed the firelight outside the town and grew agitated.

Morin Town was originally just a small town. After numerous disputes, Katerina’s followers were left with only this stronghold, forced to set up a defensive line according to military requirements.

Floria stood quietly on the grass outside the gate. This would be her first step in contacting this world.

Once the commotion on the tower settled, the heavy wooden gate opened a crack—no matter what, Morin Town’s finances couldn’t afford a stone wall.

Floria lifted her head with a hint of pride, letting them see her clearly by the torchlight. This King owns an entire dungeon!

“Miss Floria! It really is you!” an old knight with a weathered face cried out in surprise. Floria gave a refined nod.

The old knight decisively led his subordinates in a salute: “Please, hurry and see Miss Katerina…”

“What happened to my sister?” Floria heard the bitterness in his voice. She didn’t stay still but walked quickly toward them.

“Miss Katerina is ill.” The old knight spoke vaguely; one could tell it wasn’t a simple illness.

Passing through the town streets at maximum speed, ignoring the prying and testing eyes around her, Floria pushed open the bedroom door like a real sister and looked at the bed.

The girl on the bed was very thin, looking only eight or nine years old. Her cheeks were flushed with an abnormal red as if coated in wax. Her brow was furrowed, likely trapped in an uncomfortable nightmare.

Katerina was such a small child. Neither war nor territorial management should have anything to do with her, yet she was still dragged into these entanglements. This was a realistic world, and realistic conflicts had no room for the weak.

“This doesn’t look like a normal illness. What do the physicians say?” Floria sensed a peculiar magic and spoke firmly.

“The physicians… all say they have never seen it. They suspect a cold that has worsened.” The old knight and the attendants bowed their heads deeply. This room, filled with new furniture, felt somewhat dilapidated; even the maid seemed lifeless.

“It is a curse, Highness. Within the surging magic, there is also the breath of another devil.” Barbatos’s prompt in her heart confirmed this point.

The manual Floria had flipped through explained that higher-ranking demons could absorb the magic of lower-ranking demons through contact. So, absorbing this magic might break the curse, right?

“Barbatos, if I absorb this magic, it won’t affect her, will it? Will any person or demon sense it?” Time was too tight; Floria knew the question was awkward but had to ask. She couldn’t sit by and watch an innocent life vanish before her eyes.

“Rest assured, Highness. The method of attachment for this magic is very crude.”

Hearing the affirmative answer, Floria felt at ease. She pulled Katerina’s small hand from under the covers and gripped it tightly in her right hand.

No reaction…

While Floria was puzzled, her left hand was suddenly touched by a cool palm, and then their fingers interlaced.

“Highness, forgive my rudeness.”

Following the invisible thread, the remaining sparks of magic entered the Demon King’s body without resistance. As if a prayer had concluded, Floria withdrew her hand like she’d been shocked and looked at Katerina.

The girl on the bed’s eyebrows trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Sister…” A weak and surprised voice softly touched the bottom of Floria’s heart.

“Sister is back. You rest well first.” Her hand brushed the girl’s forehead. The temperature raised by the magic quickly began to drop as the magic dissipated.

It wasn’t quite visible from her complexion yet, but this child would recover soon.

At the same time, Viola and her party were passing the official road near Morin Town, but they unexpectedly encountered another group.

Sir Henry, who was personally leading soldiers to occupy the “masterless” Morin Town, certainly hadn’t checked his horoscope before leaving.

The two parties collided in the clearing before the town gate. The darkness gave Viola’s side a bit of alertness and bolstered the courage of Henry’s group.

If it were broad daylight and he could clearly see the gold-red female knight opposite him, Henry wouldn’t have dared to do what he was about to do for a hundred thousand gold coins.

“Charge! Charge for me!” he shouted to the knights around him. They were almost at Morin Town; who else could they be encountering but more local resistance?

It wasn’t just one side that heard this command. The cavalry under Viola felt almost “impressed” by the unknown enemy: Were Francis’s subordinates so loyal that they dared to charge Lady Viola directly with horses? Could they be heavy knights from a neighboring country? They didn’t see any special weapons, though.

The normal charge lasted only a few seconds—lasting only until the first flash of crimson appeared in Viola’s golden eyes.

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