Chapter 23: A Smile Caught Between Laughter and Tears

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

It was time for the morning court meeting again.

Previously, there was no chair for Ira to sit in for the morning court meeting, but now it was prepared for him… Vera patted the empty seat beside him and gestured for him to sit beside her.

Although he did not know if she wanted to do anything, Ira was not in the habit of sitting with his colleagues. He pulled the recliner with one hand and moved to the corner of the hall to sit in the corner.

From this position, he could clearly see everyone present.

The strange action made all the demon leaders look at him, but Ira did not have any intention of answering. He only nodded at everyone.

“Yawn ~”

Satan Leaf, who was yawning as usual, sat on the throne that belonged to the Demon King. She looked at everyone sitting below and immediately saw Ira sitting in the corner. She tilted her head in confusion.

Satan Leaf was about to ask something when she was interrupted by an explanation that Vera knew very well. She said, “Please don’t mind. Ira likes to sit there. This is the prerogative of the Consul.”

With the privilege of a Consul, could all the Consuls sit in the corners and watch the morning court assembly? There was only one room and four corners. How many people could sit?

Thinking of this, Vera immediately explained, “Ah, I’m talking about Ira’s position as the Consul, not the supernatural profession we know as [Consul]. In the first place, the origin of the name is Ira’s position in the Empire.”

“It’s an official in charge of political affairs. He has the right to be only governed by the ruler and not be responsible for anyone. If you want to capture an official, you can first arrest him and ask the emperor for instructions. Such a privilege is naturally given by Emperor Yosef.”

With Vera’s explanation, all the demonic creatures unfamiliar with the Empire were stunned, because they did not expect Ira’s status in the Empire to reach that level.

This level of privilege was something that would happen to any Empire. No… or rather, anyone other than Ira would have such a right.

However, Ira’s subsequent actions and achievements proved that he was worthy of such privilege. From a certain perspective, this could be considered Yosef’s accurate judgment.

“However, the Consul shouldn’t have anything to do with sitting in the corner, right?”

Towards Satan Leaf who asked this, Vera chuckled and continued to talk about Ira. She said, “In the Empire, if there’s a traitor or someone who wants to betray the Empire in the meeting, he can immediately discover it sitting there.”

In her evaluation of Ira, everyone present, be it the golem-like construct or the Insectoid, looked less comfortable.

It could even be said that their bodies had become stiff.

Of course, this was not their disloyal performance. Regardless of whether they were traitors or not, they would only have two expressions at a time like this. One would be uncomfortable and would not want to be recognized as a traitor, while the other would be calm and confident.

Therefore, no matter which person it was, it could not be seen from here. Half of Vera’s understanding came from rumors, and the other half came from her own unfounded guesses.

“Don’t believe her. She’s just making it up.”

Regarding Ira, who said this, Vera blinked her puzzled eyes and retorted, “Eh? It’s not made up. When I was still in the Empire, I heard it from the people on the street who called themselves Great Mage ~”

“You’re a Palace Mage yourself! Don’t you know if the person you met on the street is a mage or a liar?!”

Amidst Ira’s complaints, the routine segment of “Tell You About The Ira You Don’t Know” finally ended.

“Hmm, it’s actually been so long…”

Satan Leaf, who already felt a little hungry, realized that it was no longer early morning, but late morning. She asked routinely, “Then, do you have anything to report?”

This problem had already been discussed yesterday.

“There are only carrots left in the Demon King’s Territory. Our castle still has carrots and cloud vegetables left. The meat, eggs, and milk in the castle have scheduled uses. The residents of the Demon King’s Territory no longer have the luxury to eat meat.”

In the face of Rhyme’s words, Satan Leaf was silent. She looked at the ghost girl and asked her, “When will the nearest caravan arrive?”

The ghost girl who was asked by Satan seemed to be confused. She looked at the vampire girl…

“Five days later.”

As the vampire girl spoke, just like how the ghost girl was in charge of the wealth in the territory, she seemed to be shouldering the responsibility of trade and diplomacy. She said, “However, the territories that submit again will gradually turn in the resources. At that time, it might not seem urgent.”

In other words, did they need to last for another five days?

“Lord Demon King, I suggest that we form a new hunting team and hunt wild beasts to replenish the meat reserves of the territory. We can also clean up the surrounding creatures and help expand the farm and ranch.”

As Celina spoke, she looked at the Royal Black Knight and the Black Flame Headless Horseman and said, “From today onwards, the candidates for the hunt can be chosen. We can hunt and distribute food tomorrow.”

Regarding this, the two armor knights did not seem to have any objections. They only nodded to show that they agreed with this opinion.

“Yes, I’ll leave the hunting team to Celina. Is there anything else?”

Satan Leaf decided on this matter just like that, but Ira felt that it was a little childish… Logically speaking, it was most reasonable to specify a person to make the list of candidates and hand it to Satan Leaf to decide.

However, as long as Satan Leaf trusted everyone, as long as everyone could live up to this trust, it was extremely correct to quickly agree to a solution.

“Yes…”

“Lord Ira…”

“The fertilizer…”

“Is no longer…”

“Smelly anymore…”

As the five fairies spoke, the other leaders who did not know much about fertilizer looked in Ira’s direction in confusion… Fertilizer had not been sold by the caravan for a long time, right?

“Mr. Ira, can I tell everyone about the fertilizer?” Satan Leaf asked Ira.

However, from her identity, there was no need for her to ask.

Thinking of this, Ira did not say anything and only nodded. Then, he looked at Satan Leaf, who was happily telling everyone what had happened that day, and did not know what expression to make.

However, it was indeed a smile caught between laughter and tears.