Chapter: 37. She Can Do It
It has begun.
Xiya turned her head, exchanging a glance with Xue Fei. The convergence of their gazes signified that today’s debate had officially started.
However, when Miss Shaya was glanced at by Xiya, her adorable little frown seemed to be saying…
— What are you staring at?!
Just say it directly; stop messing around!
Wuu… Xue Fei, you have to understand that my head isn’t very good at this. If I don’t look at your face to stabilize my confidence, I’m afraid I’ll say something wrong later.
Having stared and stabilized her mindset, Xiya finally started speaking like a wise hero.
“Your Majesty, my opinion is quite simple. Since imprisoning the Demon Princess requires caution, it is certainly more appropriate to seek the side with the overall stronger power among the two kingdoms.”
“Ah…?!”
“Well said!!”
The one cheering was none other than Prime Minister Philex.
He never expected, never expected that the hero would be this foolish!
One must know, when it comes to strength, the kingdom has no hope.
He thought the hero would speak evasively, mentioning that the kingdom’s geographical location is closer to the Demon Territory, and retaining the Demon Princess in the kingdom would be better for threatening the demons, etc.
There were many other reasons that could be said.
But he never expected that the hero would specifically bring up an aspect that was most disadvantageous to her!
Philex was delighted inside, already calculating and preparing to return to his residence for a glass of red wine to celebrate his great achievement~
Hearing this, the king’s heart tightened even further; he felt suffocated.
“Hero…? Are you sure this is your viewpoint?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, it is only right that the stronger side is responsible for the most significant matters.”
“……”
King Celtic looked at the hero, whose expression remained calm, and for a moment he was unsure what to say next.
Until Livra, with a determined expression, tightened her skirt and leaned in to speak softly in his ear.
“Father King, please trust Lord Xialet… She brought Miss Shaya along today, which means she must have made preparations. Even if she doesn’t mention this, Lord Xialet just saved our kingdom in the war… So we should choose to trust her absolutely, shouldn’t we?”
“…You, child, one moment smart, the next lost in thought, you’re quite worrying…”
Is this what you’ve been fretting about?!
Whether yes or no isn’t important.
Even this silly girl can see it clearly; as a father, I shouldn’t waver any longer.
The king smiled gently, resolutely deciding to carry this discussion to its conclusion.
According to the established procedure, after the hero finishes speaking, it was the prime minister’s turn.
“Lord Philex, is your viewpoint still the same as before?”
“Your Majesty, I wholeheartedly agree with the hero’s statement; she is absolutely right!”
The prime minister finally revealed his annoying smile, speaking grandiose words while his eyes were already filled with visions of the gold and silver mountains granted by the pope.
“Strength determines everything; everything else is mere talk in the presence of strength. Your Majesty, although our kingdom has both the hero and the head of the Light family, both Tenth-Phase Experts, the three Tenth-Phase Experts from the Church State are not ordinary figures! Those three are all elderly men over sixty, while the hero, although a Tenth-Phase, is still just a child; Your Majesty must consider the bigger picture.”
After saying this, Philex felt it wasn’t enough to be secure, so he laid out all his prepared conditions in one breath.
“If there is any slip in the supervision of the Demon Princess, the demons’ retaliation will come immediately, and the consequences will be disastrous for both our kingdoms! Oh, right…! The pope also has guarantees! If the king agrees to hand over the Demon Princess to the Church State, the Church State is willing to provide military protection for the kingdom! Additionally, food, money, resources, and water—anything the kingdom needs can be directly requested from the Church State, and whatever the Church State can achieve, it will definitely assist!”
Oh?
Xue Fei didn’t expect that she was actually so valuable!
Miss Shaya shouldn’t be speaking here, but out of curiosity, Miss Shaya still wanted to ask!
“Uncle! Uncle! If the kingdom hands over the Demon Princess, how much can your Church State give us?!”
“Little girl, don’t speak carelessly! What do you mean by ‘our Church State’…! Ahahaha… Your Majesty, the pope has already hinted to me that, if it comes to money… One hundred thousand white gold coins shouldn’t be a problem. I believe this amount of money should be enough to help our kingdom revive its economy, right?”
My goodness!
Xue Fei felt like she was worth a fortune!
One hundred thousand white gold coins, what a concept!
One white gold coin is equivalent to one hundred gold coins!
Last time, didn’t I only scoop up one hundred gold coins from that noblewoman?
One hundred thousand white gold coins… I could absolutely buy all the strawberry donuts in the world… No, I could buy all the delicious food in the world!
However, just as Xue Fei was immersed in the sea of culinary delights…
She was suddenly jolted back to reality when Xiya stepped back and, from an unnoticed angle, gave her a sharp slap on the back of the head.
“Eh?!”
“Foolish Xue Fei… Don’t ask how much it costs… You wouldn’t trade a whole nation for me!”
Oh my…?
Xiya was anxious!
But, Xue Fei chose not to continue her nonsense.
Because this urgency from Xiya… inexplicably made Xue Fei feel quite warm inside.
How to describe it…?
— It was as if she had already tasted all the delicious food in the world.
Xue Fei concealed that astonishingly shallow smile very well, and when she looked up again, she still appeared casual!
“Hehe… don’t worry, Xiya~ There’s no rush. I just wanted to see where my wealth’s limit lies; now I know—after all, I wouldn’t trade myself for any amount, do you need to remind me?”
“Huh…” Only when Xiya heard her say this could she finally let out a sigh of relief, “Isn’t it just because you’re such a little money-grubber… It’s good that you understand.”
“Of course!”
While the two were whispering to each other, the prime minister was still continuously presenting the conditions that the pope could offer to the king.
The richness of these conditions was probably at a level that any kingdom would have to consider accepting.
However, the king wasn’t so old as to lose his head.
Whether these promises could be fulfilled was one thing.
Even if they were fulfilled, exposing oneself to the threat of the demons for the sake of money was definitely not a wise decision that a sensible person would make.
The Church State says they can protect the kingdom?
What a joke; the people of the kingdom have always guarded their land for thousands of years. When have they ever entrusted their backs to others?
Trusting the Church State would be tantamount to stepping into an abyss.
The king did not respond much to Philex’s incessant chatter; instead, he turned to the hero once again.
However…
He found the hero and little Miss Shaya were quite engrossed in conversation!
The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive, except for the surrounding air around the two of them, which was lively!
Enough already, you two!!
The king had to momentarily interrupt their banter, tapping the armrest of the throne, and asked one last time.
“Hero, based on what you just said… that strength comes first, do you also agree that we should hand the Demon Princess over to the Church State?”
“Eh?”
Xiya held down the still bouncing Miss Shaya and turned to respond.
“Your Majesty, I only said that decisions should be made based on strength; I never said we should hand the Demon Princess over to the Church State.”
“But in terms of top-level strength… we really are not as strong as the Church State.”
“That may not necessarily be the case. Moreover, I believe that discussing top-level strength has no significance in determining which side can detain the Demon Princess.”
Philex became more anxious the more he listened.
He felt that the hero was just being obstinate and making arguments out of desperation.
So the prime minister chose to immediately retort.
“Does the hero think she can defeat the three Tenth-Phase Experts of the Church State? I don’t mean to underestimate the hero’s strength, but I just want to say, there are always people beyond the heavens, and there are always people beyond others.”
When Xiya heard Philex’s argument, she couldn’t help but laugh disdainfully.
“Ha… Thank you, Prime Minister, for informing me; of course, I know there are people beyond others. I never said that I could reliably defeat the Church State’s Tenth-Phase Experts. However… since the elders of the Church State are so powerful, why aren’t they present when the Demon Princess is wreaking havoc on the battlefield?”
“This… this is a strategic consideration! Yes… it’s a matter between nations. Think about it, since the hero can capture the Six-Winged Demon by herself, and you don’t have the confidence to defeat the Church State’s Tenth-Phase, doesn’t that imply the three Tenth-Phases together can definitely suppress the Six-Winged Demon?! That’s beyond doubt!”
“Pfft…”
“What is so funny?”
“Nothing, nothing… I was just thinking, Prime Minister, you haven’t been to the battlefield, so what you said is really quite interesting.”
A cold glimmer flashed in Xiya’s eyes.
With a graceful beauty in her every movement, she also possessed the depth and endlessness of the battlefield’s bitter wind and snow.
“You say Tenth-Phase can certainly overcome Six-Winged, but that’s merely the ignorance of the fearless. The reason I was able to capture the Demon Princess back then was simply that she was not in a good state that day; perhaps she had just gone through several battles, and her magic had been nearly depleted. It was because I took advantage of her weakness and used all the kingdom’s secret treasures that I barely managed to defeat her. I think back on it now, and even I feel that it was luck.”
Upon reaching this conclusion, Xiya faced the throne with her hands raised, expressing this conclusion helplessly.
“If the Demon Princess was in her prime, I believe that even if all five Tenth-Phases of the Human Race were to attack together… they might not be her opponents.”
“This is simply outrageous!”
The more Philex listened, the more absurd he found it!
“Hero! Even if you want to expand your accomplishments, this is not how you say it! By your logic, is the Human Race utterly helpless in front of the Six-Winged? But the reality is, at this very moment! The Demon Princess is still being detained by you; she hasn’t been able to break free. If she were truly as strong as you say, wouldn’t it be impossible for you alone to suppress her until now?!”
“Ha…? Did I ever say it was solely my own strength that suppressed the Demon Princess? Why does the prime minister always impose his thoughts on others today?”
“But besides you…! Um… Could it be that there’s also the head of the Light family? No, by what you’ve said, even two Tenth-Phases would be useless.”
It wasn’t only Philex.
The king was equally perplexed.
He knew the terror of the Six-Winged, but this was the first time he had heard that the Six-Winged Demon was so powerful…
Even the hero seemed to fear her, saying defeating the Demon Princess was merely luck.
But if that were the case, how did she manage to detain the Demon Princess? Even with the kingdom’s secret treasures, that wouldn’t be possible!
The answer didn’t take long to reveal itself.
Xiya elegantly brushed her golden hair back behind her ears.
Then she gracefully turned around, circled behind little Miss Shaya, and placed her hands on her shoulders, pushing the cute little Miss Shaya in front of her.
“The Tenth-Phase can’t do it, but Miss Shaya can do it!”
