Chapter 238: Compassion. What A Useless Emotion.
Chapter 238: Compassion. What A Useless Emotion.
The continent of Volcanica is very different from both Aradite and Mogull. Aradite used to be the demon continent until the humans came around to invade them. Mogul was the continent of the devil's and all the devil's living in Rivalle stayed over at Mogul. Meanwhile, Volcanica was the continent where the dragons and dragon slayers used to live, and it was also the continent with the most humans.
The humans that lived in Volcanica were separated into the dragon slayers and the non dragon slayers that were regular humans! Ever since the demon lord came to Volcanica and defeated all the dragons and their dragon slayers, the humans staying on Volcanica were all just regular humans.
Volcanica was a much larger continent than Aradite or Mogul. Volcanica was more than twice the size of Aradite and it was impossible to move from one side of Volcanica to the other side of Volcanica unless you travel for more than a year! That is why the dragons were able to live there so easily! The place was large enough to house all the dragons and the vegetation and wildlife were also diverse and very nutritious for the dragons. This means that most dragons were able to pick out a territory to love in without affecting the other dragons and they will be able to live in peace!
Floid listened silently as Dragonnel said all of this to him. They were currently standing inside Priscilla's former office and Floid was busy looking through some papers while Alucard and Dragonnel were standing behind him. Ever since the invasion ended two days ago, Floid has been looking through the documents that Priscilla left behind so that he could know how to handle the assets of the kingdom.
Floid couldn't tell if Priscilla was a good queen or if she was a horrible queen as he looked through the documents. Floid could tell that the kingdom of Uta had a lot of money. The gold and food in the stores were numerous and it would last for another decade even if they don't add anything more to it. But for some reason, the amount of food that was being filtered into the kingdom was far less than the kingdom needed to survive. It was like Priscilla was trying her best to make the people here dependent on her. She was giving them just enough for them to not complain but she wasn't giving them enough for them to become independent.
Floid frowned in irritation as he thought about this. He knew how important it is to keep your citizens in check. But what is the point of being a ruler if your kingdom is suffering? A ruler is only as good as their kingdom and it is only your kingdom's prosperity that shows how well you are performing.
That is why Floid filtered so much money into his own kingdom. All the territories around Aradite were now Floid's kingdom and Floid could proudly say that the demons were doing much better now that he was ruling over them. Even Trad that still had a lot of humans in them were doing far better than before. The humans were able to perform their trade and Floid was collecting just enough taxes from them for them to think that it was fair. This way, they wouldn't try to rebel and Floid wouldn't have to kill them.
Although, now that he already had Uta, Floid doesn't think he would need Trad anymore. The only reason why Floid agreed to spare Trad was because he wanted to keep filtering money out of Uta and into the demon kingdom to carry out their construction projects. But now that Uta is his kingdom as well, does he still need Trad? Floid decided that he would see how Trad performs over the next few years and he would decide if he is going to keep Trad or not. Floid already has a lot to deal with and he is not interested in splitting his time between the humans and the demons. Floid would rather just destroy the humans completely and focus on the demons alone.
"So where exactly are the Duruvian mountains then?"
Flodi asked this question after Dragonnel finished explaining just how massive the continent of Volcanica was. Floid was not really interested in knowing how big the continent was. He was only interested in knowing if they can get to those mountains or not. The system told Floid that the dragon Asgorath would be located somewhere close to the Duruvian mountains and Foid needed to get there as soon as possible.
But Floid was surprised that there were more humans on Volcanica. When Floid heard that the former demon lord destroyed most of the dragons, he thought that the humans were also destroyed in that battle.
How in the world did the humans manage to survive in a battle between the demon lord and the dragons? Floid was sure that the human would have been killed as collateral damage. But it seems that these pests known as humans are simply unkillable.
Floid would always be surprised by the ability of humans to survive no matter what. Floid hated the human mentality and he also hated how humans faked their way through life. But Floid respected their tenacity. Even back on earth, humans have gone through a lot and they have somehow managed to survive through many wars! Although most of those wars were also caused by human stupidity, Floid was just impressed that humans managed to survive through them!
Dragonnel answered Floid that the Duruvian mountains were located along the western border of Volcanica. Dragonnel has never been there before and he doesn't think any of the other members of the household have been there either, so it will be impossible for them to use a portal to get there.
Floid glanced to the side and gave Dragonnel a blank look.
"And? Are you trying to say that you can't get there?"
Dragonnel immediately shook his head! Of course, he could get there!
"I can get there in my dragon form if I fly for a few days from my last portal point. There is a village at the base of my former territory and it will be the perfect place to stay while we are searching for the mountains. I will leave to go and find the mountains and then I will open a portal for you to join me, master,"
Floid tapped the tip of his pencil on the table twice as he thought about this plan. It might be the best course of action right now. Floid knew it would be very inefficient for all of them to go out and start searching for the mountains at the same time. Dragonnel knows that continent best and he is also the best suited for fast travel. Dragonnel can easily go and find the mountains and he will just open a portal and come back for the rest of them.
Floid nodded his head once and he finally signed a document that he had also been thinking about for a while. The document was a plan that Floid set up for how they would be handling the finances of the kingdom in the future and he was glad to finally be through with this nonsense. Who would've thought that ruling a demon kingdom included so much desk work? Fuck.
"Very well, Dragonnel. I'll permit you to search for the mountains. I'll be sending Pyra along with you so you can both report back to me once you find it. Alucad, you will be coming with me to the town, so make all the preparations."
Floid said this without even looking back and both Alucard and Dragonnel bowed in acceptance but Floid still didn't miss the sight exhaling of air that came from Dragonnel once Dragonnel heard that Pyra would be going with him. Floid already know that this was going to be a difficult mission for Dragonnel to accomplish. Not only will Dragonnel be in his former home, but there is a high possibility that Dragonnel will be meeting with his sister once again. Floid was not a fool to think that Dragonnel hated Givalich.
Floid knew that Dragonnel would never betray him, but Floid also knew that Dragonnel would find it hard to fight against Givalich. Floid even noticed it when they last had their battle against Givalich and Elias. Dragonnel went after Elias instead of going after Givalich and it almost seemed like Dragonnel was hesitant to fight against Givalich. Such weakness irritated Floid but Floid could understand a little bit more now that he also has his sister with him. Floid wouldn't want to kill Quinn unless it was absolutely necessary. Dragonnel must feel the same way about Givalich.
If it was the Floid of two years ago, Floid would have thrown Dragonnel out of his household immediately after he saw the hesitation that Dragonnel showed in fighting Givalich. Floid hated weakness of any kind and he saw this as a big weakness. But Floid was no longer as narrow-minded as before. Floid could easily admit that he had a bit more... compassion now whenever he is dealing with his demon subjects.
Just thinking about his newfound compassion was strange to Floid. He couldn't call it a weakness because he knew he would still kill Dragonnel if Dragonnel ever does anything that would affect his plan negatively but he couldn't call it a strength either because there was no use for it. It was just a senseless emotion.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
There was a knock on the door and Alucard went to open the door calmly. Alucard saw that it was Pyra on the other side and he asked the demon lord if he should let her in. Floid waved at him absentmindedly to allow Pyra to enter and Pyra bowed as she entered the room and spoke to Floid in the stoic voice as always.
"My Lord, Travy has arrived as you requested. Should I send him in?"
Floid tapped his pencil on his paper again. Floid called Travy thirty minutes ago to come and see him and Floid was glad that Travy was here so quickly. Floid has been in this office for more the three hours and he was already tired of sitting here. Priscilla's chair was made from too much foam and Floid found it too uncomfortable to sit in it for long. He hummed and asked Pyra a question.
"Is there a dining hall in the castle?"
Pyra was a little surprised by the sudden question but she didn't even allow it to show on her face. She could already tell where the demon lord was going and she nodded.
"Yes, there is, my lord. Shall we set the table for our meal?"
Floid nodded once before he dropped his pencil and stood up. Floid was wearing the white shirt and trousers that has become a staple attire for him and Dragonnel reached to the side and pulled Floid's black jacket off the coat rack before hanging it over Floid's shoulder.
"Send Travy to the hall and have him wait for me there. I need to finish up some more work before I meet with him. Tell Rosavellt to handle the preparations and I want you to collect the report that I asked him to bring and hold on to them,"
Once Floid said this, he turned to leave through the back door of the room with Alucard and Dragonnel and Pyra bowed as she left to do as her master commanded.
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