After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

Although she knew it was just a conjecture by the Sirens due to the chaos, Nia was still surprised by Kino's mention of "a large number of surviving alien soldiers" and realized that what the Sirens said was not false.

After all, alien soldiers mutate the fastest in the Demon Realm.

If alien soldiers can survive the mutation and return home, doesn't that mean ordinary human soldiers can also survive the mutation and return home alive?!

If that's the case... doesn't that mean at least half of the soldiers have returned this time?!

"Hurry up and get people ready to receive the wounded! Good heavens... We've been preparing the shelters for 3,000 people all this time... and now more than half of them are coming back?!"

"Lady Nia, are you happy or angry...?"

"Of course I'm happy!"

Nia shrugged off the bewildered Kino and rushed to the logistics department, demanding that all staff prepare more tents. Her heart pounded with excitement as she stood at the gap in the Demon Realm, craning her neck in anticipation, like a mother waiting for her child to return, or a wife waiting for her husband to return.

Although she didn't actually have either of those identities, she looked forward to it all, hoping for the arrival of something wonderful.

Soon, the command camp became restless.

The logistics soldiers worked tirelessly to set up more tents in the designated area, while the elven mages of the United Kingdom, having received word of the situation, rushed over to prepare for any emergency response. They were all waiting for the Regent's entourage to appear in the Demon Realm.

They were all looking at the breach in the Demon Realm, and Nia was the one among them with the most excited and eager eyes.

Her anxious heart was even urging her to rush in, to rush into the Demon Realm and wait for it herself—but just before the moment when she was about to lose control of her emotions arrived, she finally saw a dark figure gradually becoming clearer in the mist at the gap in the Demon Realm.

Under the orange-yellow light from the steam generator, the dark figure gradually became brighter and transformed into a familiar shape to Nia.

Those are the appearances of soldiers from Isgard.

"Finally back..."

The first to emerge were the soldiers most severely mutated and weakest. Their faces were gradually being repaired with carapace-like structures, but even faster than the mutations were the hands of the elven mages waiting at the breach.

The mages used magic to heal the mutations on the wounded soldiers. But they soon realized that if they simply left the soldiers waiting at the gap, it would only trap the soldiers behind them in a dilemma.

They signaled to General Piss that they urgently needed soldiers from the camp to guide the wounded.

"Kino! Guide them toward the resettlement area with the military police, quick!"

Even faster than General Piss's order came Nia's trembling shouts. But no one condemned or scorned her agitation, after all, what appeared before them was the main force of Isgard, whose casualties were expected to be heavy!

Who can remain calm in front of these people who were supposed to go to hell? Who can act as if nothing happened in front of their comrades who were supposed to die but have now returned safely?

The soldiers in the camp embraced the returning soldiers excitedly, and then began an orderly operation under orders.

As Nia watched the soldiers heading to the resettlement area in an orderly fashion, she silently calculated the number of returning soldiers in her mind.

But she noticed that Yang Hao didn't seem to be in the group... She nervously went down to ask about the condition of a wounded soldier, only to receive this reply:

"His Majesty of the United Nations is covering our retreat! He said he'll wait until we're all out before going out himself..."

"...I understand. You should go and rest now."

Nia paused, wanting to laugh but unable to, her eyes seemingly welling up with tears, but in the end, they turned into a sigh in her heart:

He could have escaped danger on his own, but he volunteered to stay behind for soldiers who weren't from his own country...

It's hard to imagine how happy one would be to be his citizen. Although life might still be difficult, at least the people know that their emperor will never abandon them.

"...He really is a good monarch."

General Piss, who had somehow appeared behind Nia, sighed.

"If he had been born in Isgard, perhaps our Miss President wouldn't have had so much trouble figuring out her successor..."

"What exactly are you implying, Pisces?"

"It's nothing, I just think... he might get along well with the President. Of course, he also gets along well with you."

General Piss laughed heartily, pretending not to see the fleeting joy on the black dragon's face.

The withdrawal of the main force along the river is proceeding as planned.

By sunrise, when the crowd had thinned out, Nia had already calculated the result.

More than 13,000 people returned to the camp alive, which was undoubtedly a great victory—after all, the original plan was that at most less than 6,000 people would return alive.

As a result, His Majesty Yang Hao gave them a big surprise, bringing back more than twice the number they had hoped for.

It's easy to imagine that the two countries will have deeper exchanges because of this... But before that, what the black dragon is eagerly anticipating, even wagging its tail wildly, is still Yang Hao's whereabouts.

She finally spotted the man, protected by a large number of golems and warriors, at the end of the line. Unable to contain her excitement, she stepped forward and, to everyone's astonishment, gave Yang Hao a hug the moment he wearily stepped out of the gap in the demon realm.

"Thank you, thank you...! Really... thank you so much, Your Majesty Yang Hao..."

Nia, overwhelmed with emotion, hugged Yang Hao in front of everyone and became somewhat incoherent. She had a thousand words to say, but the only expression of gratitude that came out in the end was "thank you."

Faced with the black dragon's enthusiasm and excitement, Yang Hao subconsciously patted Nia's back to signal her to calm down. Then, under the inexplicably intense gaze of Lalumia, he broke free from Nia's embrace.

“This was promised. Moreover, it forms the basis for further cooperation between our two countries.” He stated, though he was trying to sound cheerful, he was actually exhausted and already thinking about going back to rest. “So Nia, you don’t need to be so agitated—that’s enough. You should settle your troops first. We can discuss the details later in Constantinople… I have to go back now. The situation in the north still needs my attention.”

“...Yes. I will explain the details of further cooperation to you when I get back in a couple of days.” Nia nodded, took a deep breath, and looked at Yang Hao with great seriousness: “But... there is something I must tell you now.”

"Yes?"

"...On my own behalf, I am willing to trust all your arrangements. If Your Majesty Yang Hao needs anything in the future...even if you are no longer the emperor of the United Nations, you can always tell me. I will fulfill all your needs. Everything."

"Haha, Nia, you're really joking. You wouldn't kidnap your country's president's daughter if I asked you to, would you?"

Yang Hao originally thought that Nia was just using an exaggerated analogy.

But when Nia gave him a serious look after his offhand joke, he realized the seriousness of the situation.

After quickly explaining that he was joking, Yang Hao realized that he had inadvertently gained a lot of pressure. He then sheepishly led Lalumia and the others away using teleportation magic.

And that was after Yang Hao left.

Nia looked at the spot where Yang Hao had stood and muttered to herself:

"Should we tie Margarita up...?"

"While I can't do that... on the other hand, it wouldn't hurt to encourage Margarita now, right? After all, Margarita isn't someone who minds an arranged marriage..."

"...But...sigh."

Heilong sighed as he turned to continue his work.

A possessive desire for Yang Hao had already arisen in her heart.

..............

After returning to Constantinople and dismissing the irrelevant people, Yang Hao dragged his tired body toward the conference room with Lalumia and Elena, muttering stupid things like, "Why did Nia suddenly become serious?"

In Yang Hao's understanding, although he and Nia had a good relationship, they were at most political allies and friends in private life. Considering that he had tricked her so many times, Nia should not have any romantic feelings for him, right?

Even considering her achievement in saving the main force of the colonial army, Nia couldn't possibly fall in love with him because of that, could she?

impossible?

You said political marriage is possible... but does that mean there's affection involved?

Or was it because their hometowns were separated by an ocean? Or even because their interactions were primarily professional, and feelings of love developed between them?

Is it because I lack experience in social circles, or is the Dragon Clan just this outrageous? I'm a married man, after all!

Ugh!

Yang Hao sighed. Just then, Elena, whose expression was strange, suddenly instilled in Yang Hao boundless fear:

"Confused... Perhaps I should talk to Theresa and Her Majesty Finn about Miss Nia?"

"no!"

"No!"

Yang Hao and Lalumia's simultaneous shouts caused the synthetic doll to crash instantly.

She understood Yang Hao's fear of his beloved wife at home.

but.

Lalumia, why are you settling for less?

The synthetic doll looked at Lalumia with a confused expression.

Lalumia, feeling awkward and receiving strange looks from the two, coughed twice to calm her suddenly agitated heart. Then, she patted Elena's head and asked Elena, Theresa, and the others to come to the conference room.

"That's because I had other plans..."

She then gave an explanation that made the two of them even more imaginative, and after pushing Yang Hao by the back into the room, she closed the door from the inside.

Elena vaguely heard the sound of the door locking—but in her daze, she chose to obey Lalumia's orders instead of taking the opportunity to figure out what Lalumia was thinking.

That is, after Elena turned and left in a daze.

In the conference room, Lalumia puffed out his cheeks and pushed Yang Hao down to sit in his seat.

She decided to explain to Yang Hao the importance of further exchanges between the two countries, and also to use this opportunity to have a serious talk with him about the evolution of demons...

But before that.

Looking at the dizzy Yang Hao, I could feel the exhaustion emanating from him.

Lalumia's heart softened involuntarily.

She could only sigh and hold Yang Hao in her arms, allowing him to find a moment of peace in the warmth and softness, and also to take this opportunity to calm her own heart.

"So, Yang Hao—are you currently troubled by Miss Nia's matter?"

Lalumia spoke directly and bluntly while gently stroking Yang Hao's hair, kneading his earlobe, and patting his back.

She was confident that her actions would put the tired child at ease. But faced with the warmth Lalumia offered him through her small gestures, Yang Hao forced himself to say that of course he was conflicted.

Despite his inner conflict, Yang Hao understood the importance of "business as business." Therefore, he was willing to listen to Lalumia's ideas, provided that Lalumia didn't continue to suffocate him.

"Sorry? Heh, perhaps the image my followers have of me is a bit off. I remember that if it were Theresa's original figure, only a tight hug would leave you breathless..."

"Lalumia, how did you know all this?! I'm really bothered by it!... But never mind. So, what do you think of Isgard and Nia?"

"Naturally, we need them to become our allies. Ideally, they should also follow our political lead—after all, I've lived for so long, and in a sense, I understand the slowness of human society... To fight the demons more efficiently, I think it's necessary to establish a unified transoceanic regime, you know?"

Lalumia explained her views on human politics, but more importantly, she explained her concerns and the escalating danger posed by the demons.

It is conceivable that with the successful establishment of the Roman Demon Realm and the high-value demon servant focused on evolving [Intelligence], the United Nations will face even more formidable enemies in the future.

While it's true that Roman Demons could serve as a buffer zone between the United Nations and the Primal Demons in a certain sense... Roman Demons, after evolving, are also a major threat to normal life in this world.

They cannot place all their bets on the possibility that the Roman demons need to be eliminated before the primal demons launch their attack. The best approach is to treat them as their greatest enemies and make strategic preparations based on that.