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

"More than that! By joining the United Nations, we can buy consumer goods and necessities from another continent, including natural minerals. Our country finally has more mineral resources..."

twitter.

People are less concerned and fearful about Ysgard joining an alliance and more concerned about the reality that joining the United Nations would bring more benefits.

She felt that the people didn't seem to mind the loss of sovereignty over Isgard? Sensing Miss Margarita's confusion, Yang Hao simply sighed and said:

"After all, people are the simplest and most focused on short-term gains... I realized this after thinking about it a lot: as long as they can have food, live a better life in the short term, and settle down, they don't care who sits above them."

"And what about before...?"

"I'm on guard against your invasion, while domestic separatist forces are rising up everywhere, and the resources I can control are limited—isn't that a mess?"

"...Ugh."

Margarita patted Yang Hao on the shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Unbeknownst to them, in the distance, a crudely made camera had already captured Margarita and Yang Hao's figures in its lens.

The moment Miss Margarita made the gesture of comfort, the mother black dragon behind the camera let out an indescribable, ecstatic scream:

"Margarita! You've got it! Yes, that's it!"

Tomorrow's headline is going to be this... well, you know—

"The President's Daughter Has This Kind of Relationship with the Regent of the United Nations?!" Yes! That's it...

I refuse to believe it! Once the gossip starts flowing, Margarita, will you still have trouble finding an opportunity? Hehehe... This is all thanks to you, Elena. Without you, how could I have gotten my hands on such a groundbreaking high-definition camera? Thank you so much!"

Miss Black Dragon couldn't wait to hug the synthetic doll next to her and give it a good kiss.

The synthetic doll simply took a step back and whispered:

"Refusal: I hate it when anyone other than Yang Hao does this to me. Important: Miss Nia, please don't forget your promise."

"I will, I will! Don't worry... But to prove my sincerity, I'll still... Here, take this."

"Question: What is this?"

"When the time comes, find an excuse to go out with Mr. Yang Hao for a stroll. When you get close to the most upscale luxury hotel on the commercial street, press this button. The hotel staff will prepare a deluxe double room for you—understand?"

Elena blinked, feeling the button in her hand burning hot like a hot coal.

But on second thought, it's not bad either.

Then, when the time comes, you can use the excuse of being caught in the wind and rain, getting soaked, or being tired from walking, and wanting to get him drunk by having a meal, and then... you can use that, right?

So no matter how filthy the Black Dragon's things are.

Miss Elena still chose to put it in her pocket.

They tacitly agreed to a dirty deal.

Meanwhile, in Wiss City, the elves who did not attend the public speech were using magic to confirm the follow-up matters with Lalumia and the others.

In short, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Theresa's handwritten congratulatory letter, along with her message of "hope for harmonious relations between nations," will be delivered directly to Finland and then personally handed over.

On the other hand, Lalumia also said after Theresa finished speaking that they might need to pay extra attention to the connection between Roman Magic Domain and Arlandis in the near future.

"Although we don't quite understand how demons strategize, if there are still demons in Allandis, and they realize that our goal is not war but 'blocking the gate,' perhaps the demons in Roman Demon Realm will do something strange."

"Lalumia, what do you mean?"

"They might come out early. It's a fight to the death—but I don't know what they'll do. Maybe they'll send a portion of the demons there ahead of time to prevent us from obtaining the key technology for the [Gate Closing], or maybe they'll fight us directly in Arlandis. It all depends on whether any demons survive in Arlandis, and whether Roman Demon Realm will take any action."

"...I understand. Then, Theresa, Lalumia, I'll leave things back home in your care."

The elf sighed helplessly. Indeed, Arlandis was not only crucial to the final fate of this world, but also to the key to whether demons could invade it.

We're taking action, and the demons will certainly do the same—and the elves don't believe anything in the deep sea can stop the demons from evolving.

To put it bluntly, the demons of the Roman Demon Realm may now be unable to communicate with their sea brethren due to the barrier of the deep sea, or the demons of Arlandis may have truly disappeared completely.

But once Arlandis rises again, the demons will surely be able to sense our thoughts—perhaps they won't be able to guess much, but they will definitely know that our painstaking efforts to raise a continent are related to the demonic calamity.

In this situation, the demons' actions could be categorized into three levels.

One—I don't pay attention.

Second, sending out a small number of troops for reconnaissance may ultimately be too late due to insufficient troops, leading to the failure of the demon invasion.

Thirdly, this is also what Fen and others are most worried about.

The clever demon realized Yang Hao's plan.

They used their last strength to summon a sufficient number of troops to fight a final battle against humanity in Arlandis.

...Among these choices, the probability of the first and third choices is relatively low.

But for some reason, Fen felt that something was wrong...

Or is it just my imagination?

The elf shook her head. Just then, Theresa said with a serious expression, "Actually, the Roman Magic Realm has indeed been facing some problems recently..."

"There is a demon... or rather, a demon, that seems to have the ability to freely enter and leave the demon realm."

Although our country was not attacked, the Protestant ghettos, which we used as a dumping ground, the mines in the east, the new home of the Khutto Khanate, and the colonies of Issugard were all attacked by the enemy.

Lalumia and I aren't entirely sure what this demon is thinking, but I've already sent people infiltrated into the Demon Realm to gather intelligence—they won't go too deep and will be back soon.

"...Aren't you worried they'll die there?" Finn blinked. "And by the way, what about the components?"

“Broken branches, nuns of Lalumia, hunters, and magical dolls.”

"And did Lalumia give them something too? Then I can rest assured."

There are demonic anomalies in Roman's Demon Realm, which worries Finn, but he knows it's not something he should be concerned with right now.

Since Theresa and Lalumia are able to handle these important matters well, I should also trust them.

She hung up the call and waited for two minutes before receiving the letter and some local specialties from her home.

Savoring the sweet aroma emanating from the four local specialties, the elf chuckled and scolded Bayer James for actually being able to make sugar himself, while carefully taking away the fruits of his labor from home.

......

After the United Nations and Ysugard confirmed their merger, Margarita unsurprisingly faced accusations from many political enemies.

Some political opponents said that the so-called demons were nonsense, and the cracks in the sky were just a natural phenomenon and nothing to be afraid of—on the contrary, Miss Margarita, who was taking radical actions, seemed particularly suspicious.

Margarita nodded in agreement, and that very night the political rival's party vanished without a trace.

Others say that we should indeed deal with natural disasters in the sky, but the question is, do we really need to have such a close relationship with the United Nations?

In response, Margarita simply released the previously established tariffs of the United Nations.

The crowd looked at each other, and finally fell into deep thought, staring at the glaring numbers before the tariffs were removed and the pleasantly zero afterward.

After a while, no one asked the question anymore.

With the United Nations eliminating tariffs, Issugard will be able to provide a better life for at least millions of people commercially. They will have more stable jobs due to the removal of tariff barriers between the two countries and will be able to secure their place in the broader trade landscape.

Only a fool would keep bringing this up! But even so, Margarita's political enemies still didn't let her off the hook.

But this time, their ideas were a little different...

"So...they used a photo to subtly imply that I've already slept with Yang Hao?"

In Miss Margarita's private office.

The president, laughing alone, kept slapping the table.

Miss Nia, sitting on the other sofa, shrugged and said:

"Not only that. They also thought you were pregnant. They wanted you to get pre-pregnancy testing done, otherwise they would assume you were... well, you know."

"Wouldn't I be even happier if I were really pregnant? Haha... I, I can't take it anymore... If they knew I was so eager for things to get to this point, they'd have such ridiculous expressions on their faces... Haha!"

Margarita couldn't help herself.

With one slap, the table shattered.

She continued to clutch her stomach, laughing almost incoherently—but frankly, she genuinely hadn't expected politicians to think this way...

While smear campaigns are a common tactic, can you please consider what the person involved is thinking before you start?

Margarita means...

What if your smear campaign works in their favor? Wouldn't that be the end of you?

"But that would be asking too much of them."

Nia muttered to herself, "If things continue like this, things should stabilize completely in less than two months, right?"

Exhausted from laughing, Margarita shook her head.

"Perhaps."

The political turmoil in Issugard continued until the end of February.

Throughout this time, Yang Hao was helping Miss Margarita with her work, using the increased power he gained to make Ysgard a better place, while also providing more strength for the upcoming battle against the demons.

Just then, good news finally arrived from the sea.

The expedition found the edge of Arlandis.

The bad news is...

There are strange things underwater.

Chapter Nine: [Demons and the Underwater Continent]

On February 28, when the expedition's five ironclad ships appeared on the vast sea, they could not find any landmarks to ensure their location. They could only search the vast sea like headless flies for the possible location of the edge of the sunken continent.

Kino said that there are mountains in the records of Allandis, so if they can find the mountains on the seabed, they can follow the mountain's slope down to the edge of Allandis and then bury the modified hatred flesh there.

But the on-site commander could only manage a wry smile:

"If we really have to search bit by bit, it might take us two or three years to find what we're looking for... Don't forget, even golems have very limited range of movement underwater, let alone our supplies..."

"Supplies can be transported over; the problem isn't with supplies, but with manpower."

"...That's true."

The key factor currently limiting the United Nations' exploration of the seas is [human resources].