Chapter 172: Chapter 41 White Tower Conference

The so-called tribute is actually just another term for taxation. Although that’s what it is, there are evidently differences from regular taxes… The system in the Demon King Territory was just like this.

How should I put it? Because everyone was a slave to the Demon King, there often wasn’t an issue of possession. Those directly under the Demon King’s command naturally didn’t need to pay tribute.

Since everything produced belonged to the Demon King Territory, there was no way to keep even a tiny part for oneself. The necessities for survival would be directly provided by the Demon King Territory.

*This kind of system was bound to have problems, no matter how one looked at it…*

*However, the little creatures wouldn’t slack off, and the leaders wouldn’t embezzle or deceive.*

“Well, the problem was instantly solved. It went from what should have been a very ‘primitive’ system to the ultimate system. This policy could even extend to humanity’s strongest period–”

“The era of the Galaxy Utopia (a dystopian utopia).

“Since the liches weren’t willing to offer part of their research funding as tribute, they would instead give all their research products to the Demon King Territory. This means fully joining the Demon King Territory.

“They wouldn’t even have to worry about selling their products to make money. The Demon King Territory would handle the sales for them, fetching a very good price, and all the money earned would be given back to the liches as research funding.

“After all, these liches were only interested in exploring the truth itself, not any specific product.

“The liches would gain a lot of research funding and a more time-efficient future, while the Demon King Territory would get a research team it didn’t need to pay or care for… It felt like a win-win situation.

*Both sides had a bright future.*

…

*Afterward, they might arrange to move them near the harpies, with the harpies as the midpoint, on the other side of that clay and limestone mine, far away from the large clearing where the harpies stay.*

This prevented explosions from disturbing the populace.

“You guys wait a bit longer, Yila senior~”

Mobillas said as he scratched his pale face, reminiscent of a lich like Vera’s, saying: “There’s quite a bit of special equipment the liches have that’s difficult to transport. Can you stay here for the night?”

Indeed, there were a lot of special equipment that looked rather large… Most of that equipment was modular alchemical equipment, but there were also plenty of devices and equipment related to magic, possibly needing a certain amount of time to be counted and prepared for transport.

Yila had seen it earlier. The most eye-catching was a device made up of countless spheres, synchronized with demon marks and mechanical transmission, resembling a nebula… That was likely a centrifuge.

*In this era, developing such a thing was really impressive.*

“Hmm, we have plenty of patience.”

Yila said this, asking Mobillas and conversing: “Judging by your name, you’re from the Empire, right? You didn’t return to the Empire and directly transformed into a lich?”

It was worth mentioning that only the Empire had a taboo against ‘transforming into a monster.’ In any other country, whether it was the Duchy, which said ‘money is all that mattered,’ or the theocratic country, which said ‘acknowledge that God doesn’t exist,’ everyone else didn’t mind.

“Yes, the Great Master of Necromancy said he wanted to try his improved new transformation ritual and asked us to volunteer. Once successful, we could directly learn necromancy from him.”

Mobillas said this and recounted what happened after Yila left the Pure White Tower, saying: “So, I and a few other students signed up together. We all became liches, studied for a while, and then went our separate ways.”

*It sounded like an ordinary learning experience, not as dramatic as Yila had imagined.*

“I came to the Demon King Territory, another Imperial classmate who became a lich followed another lich classmate to the Duchy. If the Demon King Territory didn’t work out, I planned to go there. Luckily, the war stopped this year.”

Mobillas sounded very relieved as he placed his magic wand completely to the side, seeming completely unguarded and unconcerned about Yila suddenly attacking.

But Yila indeed wouldn’t do anything, and besides… Mobillas had surely seen Yila’s strength firsthand back at the Pure White Tower, not to mention knowing how much more extraordinary Yila had become after becoming Governor.

*The impression was probably very deep, wasn’t it?*

“Yila senior, your appearance hasn’t changed at all…”

Regarding Mobillas’s words, Yila touched his own face… For liches, eternal looks weren’t something astonishing, but for Yila, a ‘human,’ it was entirely different.

Yila’s face and body showed no signs of growth. Since leaving the Pure White Tower at eighteen and becoming Governor at twenty-five, it seemed time left no trace on him.

*How should I put it… It was hard to imagine Yila was still a human.*

But, though Mobillas didn’t know, and most people didn’t know, even most who had become Governors didn’t know, Yila knew–

*A Governor was not human.*

Perhaps a Governor had human-like traits and human-like characteristics, but fundamentally different. Their race was ‘Governor.’

Without Mana, unable to have offspring with humans, not even with other Governors.

…

“Mobillas, right? After I left the Pure White Tower, did any major events happen?”

Yila asked, as the liches on the other side had already started packing up. By tomorrow morning, they could depart. He looked at Mobillas’s shining eyes, saying: “How’s the mentor’s health?”

Here ‘mentor’ naturally referred to Yila and Mobillas’s mutual teacher, the mentor of the War Mage school–Qiara Rudnev, whose health had always been poor.

“Mentor Qiara’s health? Still the same… not too hot, not too cold, always coughing.”

Mobillas, prompted by Yila’s words, fell into reminiscing. With ‘Dark Vision,’ his eyes gleamed in the dark, and his voice held a gentle smile uncharacteristic of a lich: “But I heard she’s still as harsh on new students.”

*Is that so? Seems like she’s in good spirits.*

“If you get a chance, why don’t you and Vera senior make a trip back to the Pure White Tower? You both missed the last tower meeting, right? The next fifty years is almost up.”

Mobillas asked, seemingly pointing in a certain direction, saying: “I’ve arranged the people in the Demon King Territory there. Satan Ye and the others should be over there. Senior, you should rest early too…”

“…”

Yila squinted, trying hard to discern in the dim starlight where Mobillas had pointed… Many times, people didn’t realize that when not displaying ‘wings,’ he was just an ordinary person without Dark Vision or even dim vision.

*But the fifty-year ‘tower meeting’ huh?*

…

*Next time, I’ll bring Vera back for a visit.*