Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

Leslaufer didn't hear the rest of the old saying because it was abruptly interrupted by Zhengling's shriek from the telepathic link.

"That's the gist of it anyway." The bard shrugged without changing his expression.

“I understand,” Leslaufer nodded. “It’s not difficult. If I don’t feel that desire, then I don’t need the power. The two are bound together.”

“In any case, it’s better to be careful,” the devil seemed still somewhat uneasy. “I know you are very wary of the devil, but I must say that my mistress and I are now convinced that Your Excellency Raslaufer is in a very unstable state. Until we have thoroughly figured out the problem with you, we will exercise restraint and minimize unnecessary losses.”

"By the way, the lady of the house has already lodged a protest with Grand Duke Mephistopheles about this."

The devil's existence vanished from the material world once more as the echo faded, leaving only the little devil groaning and whimpering in the hands of Raslaufer.

“These horned creatures…” Leslaufer muttered, then picked up Barbasabalon by one of its wings and lifted it up. “I said, do you know what they’re planning? Tell me now, or I’ll tell Zhengling I don’t need you anymore.”

Barbasabalon was startled and quickly pleaded in a high-pitched voice, "No! No! My dear master, I don't want to start over as a lesser demon! I'll tell you everything I know!"

"Then tell me quickly!"

The little devil pitifully trembled its remaining wing, then wagged its tail: "Oh, what can I say, Master? All I know is that Barbasabalon knows nothing."

"But, but!" Seeing that Leslaufer was about to tear off its wings, the little devil dared not keep her in suspense any longer and quickly spoke up, "But as you know, I used to be subordinate to the Destroyer, Grand Duchess Zariel, and served as a messenger between the various levels of Hell. I also spent some time with that old hag Nightingale, who was covered in pus. So I've heard some rumors that might be of some use to you, Master."

"As most people know, Grand Duchess Zariel was once a high and mighty, hypocritical angel like other so-called 'good' and 'just' angels. But when she was entrusted to stand idly by during the Blood War, she learned what true justice was and resolutely accepted the invitation of the great Lord of the Nine Hells, voluntarily transforming into a great devil to become the commander of the Blood War and lead the endless war against the Abyss."

"She is a commander, warrior, and inventor of exceptional talent, but even so, fighting those abyssal maggots is no easy task. Therefore, while other grand dukes focus on their own work, they also provide assistance as much as possible. And as—we all say that in private—Grand Duke Mephisto, the most powerful grand duke under the Lord of the Nine Hells, is naturally one of the people who has contributed the most to this cause. Long ago, he spearheaded several research projects aimed at combating the abyss—ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!"

Leslaufer grabbed one of Barbasabalon's wings and brought its repulsive little head close to his eyes: "Zhengling already mentioned this! Are you making fun of me?!"

"Calm down, Master!" the little devil pleaded hastily. "I just wanted to make you happy, but I'm not ready to offer up my wings yet!"

“That’s what I wanted to say. Once, when I was delivering a letter to Kania, I overheard two archmages exchanging their souls for Grand Duke Mephistopheles’ generous experimental environment,” the little devil said, clearing his throat before vividly imitating the conversation between the two voices. “Hey! Your method of heart transplantation is completely useless. This quarter, the Grand Duke cut our research group’s funding by a full thirty percent, and it’s all your fault!”

"Enough! You're the fourth idiot to come and chatter in front of me today. Do you think you're all smarter than me? Then tell me, what did the Grand Duke say in the group meeting? 'I've had enough of your seven times of utter incompetence!' And the previous six times were my doing too, weren't they?!"

"So, did I do it? My proposals are rejected every time! And what do you all do? You're all a bunch of scoundrels! How can we do any good research with you guys around?"

"Ha, you're the most hypocritical and cunning of all! We're all trying our best to try out our own solutions, but you're the only one who peeks out and then retreats completely into your shell—you're the oldest turtle! This time, I'm going to support your solution no matter what!"

"I'd like to see how you manage to get a demon to willingly try to strip away his chaotic nature and force himself not to slip back into his original form!"

Chapter 541 The Essence of Raslaufer?

Barbasabalon scrambled and disappeared into thin air, leaving only Raslaw and Daisy still standing there.

The bard remained silent, simply watching the lost-in-thought Leslaufer. She knew he must have connected the dots, but since he was unwilling to speak, she wouldn't pry—this veteran, who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, wasn't some unfortunate extra in a horror movie. If it was truly a crucial clue, he would surely reveal it himself at the right moment.

“When I transformed into a dark elf and infiltrated the City of Cholera to save you,” Raslaufer began, just as Daisy had predicted, “the former matriarch of the Mara family, Brar, made me prove my identity, and Rose used that to take me to her divine realm.”

He recounted the key points of his brief experience: "I was caught in His web during my descent, but I felt I should be able to continue falling... as if the lower realms were a more welcoming place. And Rose's attitude towards me afterwards was also strange, indescribably strange, somewhat like..."

“The devil,” Zheng Ling’s voice suddenly rang out again, “if your description is correct, then what you just said about Rose’s intervention is very likely true.”

“She has a greater need, and you will play a role in that, and the way you will play that role is…”

Daisy opened her mouth, and the words slipped out: "Cannot become a demon—or rather, cannot 'turn back' to a demon!"

"Damn it, Zhengling! You all knew Old Lei was this guy all along?!"

“I can’t be completely sure!” Zheng Ling’s figure emerged from the darkness, glaring at Daisy. “I’ve had enough of your unfounded suspicions about me! What more do you want from me! To directly assert that Leslaufer is a demon in human skin?! Even the mistress wouldn’t dare to draw that conclusion! She could only say that ‘he has a very strong abyssal aura, but if you haven’t had close contact with him once, he is completely mortal’!”

“But,” she beckoned, and the little devil that had just escaped Leslaufer’s clutches obediently slipped out again, “if what it heard is true, this matter may have already achieved some progress.”

"But isn't this too much of a coincidence?" the bard questioned. "It just mentioned seven failures, so how come it only succeeded this time?"

“Grand Duke Mephistopheles is very strict in judging success and failure,” Zheng Ling glanced at Daisy. “Unlike Grand Duke Zariel, whose theory is ‘if it works, it’s fine,’ Grand Duke Mephistopheles’ theory is ‘it works or it doesn’t.’ He’s a researcher.”

"In the research he initiated, there were basically some progress, but none of them could be considered successful, including the heart transplant. He swapped the hearts of the succubi under the little princess's command with the succubi he hired or lured, as part of a ritual to try to transform the succubi. I heard there were successful cases, although the succubus after the heart transplant eventually killed the succubus. However, this was ultimately abandoned due to the high failure rate."

"So, the eighth experiment... might also be the one that failed?"

“In most cases, if we put everything together,” Zheng Ling nodded, “if the Grand Duke or his archmage had been watching you, the mistress would have been able to find out in advance.”

“So…you might be that… demon who has shed his chaotic nature?” Daisy looked at Leslaufer. “But it seems you’ve been completely consumed by the backlash.”

"Chaos has completely taken over your body. Perhaps fragments of you still exist within it, which is why you have memories of a certain laboratory and a longing for the abyss below the Deep Pit Magic Network—after all, Rose only occupies the sixty-sixth floor, while the abyss has more than six hundred known floors."

“But there must be order within complete chaos, otherwise the so-called chaos cannot be called ‘complete’,” Zheng Ling said. “That’s why you exist now, Leslaufer. This is also why you know nothing about everything from your earlier times, because by the time you truly had reason and memory, it was long after you were thrown into this material plane and started growing again from an infant’s body.”

"You've lost almost everything, except for your thirst for battle, your yearning for and fascination with bloodshed and slaughter, and the talent that sustains it all."

Raslaw listened quietly as Zhengling and Daisy filled in the gaps in their speculations. Perhaps he had possessed extraordinary knowledge long ago, to the point that he could even try to remove his own nature, but now he could only sense in his heart that their statements were very likely close to the truth.

Something still doesn't feel right; there are still some things that don't make sense, and he doesn't know the specific reason. But as of now, this is perhaps the most reliable deduction.

“Very good, very good,” after a moment of silence, Raslaufer nodded slowly and let out a long sigh of relief. “Then I’ll just take that as my opinion.”

“So…” the bard looked cautiously at Leslaufer, “what are you going to do? You’re not going to say, ‘The thirty-year period has come to an end, and we respectfully invite the Abyss Lord to return to his position,’ are you?”

“Then you’ll be busy,” Zheng Ling sneered. “Regardless of whether you were a demon lord before or not, even if you were, after leaving for so many years, the only vacancy left on your original level is probably that of a maggot. You might as well come to the Nine Hells. At least there’s me and the mistress above you. Even if not, you’ll still be well taken care of at Grand Duke Zariel’s place. She loves collecting the souls of powerful warriors from the material plane.”

"A bloody battle...heh," Leslaufer licked his dry lips. "Don't worry, I'll definitely go. After all, how can I not go and see such a great place?"

"But right now, I have no intention of selling my soul. Perhaps in a few decades, when my body is completely destroyed, or before that, it won't be too late for me to respond to your call."

"Perhaps your nature is related to demons, but you are still a mortal." The devil shook his head indifferently, turned around and disappeared.

"You must sell your items when the price is highest, Master," Barbasabalon kindly reminded him, while its venomous tail had already stealthily extended to Leslaufer's neck. "Should I give you a good whack right now? I guarantee you won't even notice! With your strength and record, becoming a Demon of the Deep Hell is just around the corner!"

“I told you I’m not interested right now.” Leslaufer, expressionless, grabbed the little devil by the tail and slammed it repeatedly against the nearby rock wall. “If I find out you actually dare to do this, you can wait for me in Hell!”

"I'm sorry, Master, I'm so sorry! I'll never do it again—ow!"

Chapter 542 Fully Automated Renovation

The Forest of Riha has finally returned to the bustling atmosphere it had just left behind.

The mercenaries crowded together in front of their respective leaders and captains, waiting to receive their pay for the trip. The envy and comparison among them were much the same as what Raslaw had experienced, so there's no need to elaborate.

This time, however, Dobul and his group didn't need to squeeze in with the mercenaries.

“The millet in this underground city is really good for you,” Daisy rolled up her sleeves and showed Anne and Mary her arms. “Look, I reckon in a few months I’ll have fair skin.”

“If you turned off your Daylight Spell, the effect would probably be even better,” Bella said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “And the creatures underground could have a change of pace.”

Angrina and Mary can both participate in this topic, but she's the only one who can't. It's too difficult to expect a druid who spends most of their time outdoors to have good skin.

However, even Angelita and Marie were reluctant to get involved in this matter: their skin was already much lighter than Daisy's, and now they were about to rebel against the natural order. Anyone in their position would probably be unhappy.

But what can you do when she's a bard? She's a bard, after all. She doesn't participate in swordplay, and even her Sea Song Blade has now been given to Mary.

“If it weren’t for the absolute necessity of your magic, I would have tied you up and sent you to the front lines,” Mary said, but she put away her rapier. She really liked the sword, and now that it was in her hands, it was impossible to get her to return it easily. “Speaking of which, we’ve suffered quite a loss on this trip. Lord Raslaufer’s armor and sword need to be repaired and replaced, and I don’t even know where my sword is.”

“Only Daisy!” Angelita lunged forward, pretending to snatch the poet’s lyre. “Look, she’s the only one who’s added another instrument to her collection!”

Miss Daisy was no match for Angelita and could only watch helplessly as the violin made a series of noises in Angelita's hands: "Adding instruments is a bard's job, you can call on me—Annie, if you're going to play, then play it properly! I don't believe that's all you're good at!"

"Besides, even if you give me a truckload of musical instruments, I can only use one at a time! I can't possibly form an entire orchestra by myself..."

“Actually, I think you could give it a try.” Ever since Daisy called him away and he came back, Leslaufer had been carrying a burlap sack, which was bulging with something inside. No one knew what was inside, and no one intended to ask.

"If you were to join other people, I think the audience would only listen to your performance, and everything else would just be noise."

“You can’t say that,” Daisy quickly waved her hand, but her chest puffed out honestly, “There are always higher heavens and devils beyond men, aren’t there…”

At least Zhengling's level is still above hers.

Although the process was a bit bumpy, it was clear that everyone was quite satisfied—it would have been even better if the losses Mary had mentioned earlier could have been eliminated.

“It’s not just Uncle Raslaufer’s armor that needs repairing,” Angelita handed the harp back to Daisy and tugged at her leather armor. “Mine has several holes in it too. Those dark elf weapons are incredibly sharp, and most of them are poisonous.”

"How about... we go to Haidong to find Uncle Feng Daer?"

"Haven't you had enough fun outside yet?" Bella slapped her forehead. "Haidong is a long way off! Besides, do you know how to find Von Dahl? I could go with you, but Leslaufer has to work—right?"

“Haidong has been rather dull lately,” Leslaufer agreed, understanding Bella’s implication. “You can find people to hire anywhere. Besides, if you make a trip just for your armor, Vondar will probably be so angry he’ll blow his beard out of his mouth.”

“How could that be?” Angelita winked mischievously, but didn’t insist. “Only he can fix the things he makes. Uncle Vondar is probably overjoyed!”

“He probably has some matters to attend to in his clan. He mentioned it when we parted,” Mary interjected. “Let’s not bother him. Perhaps we could ask Count Doule. Now that the Doules are united, she might have quite a few skilled craftsmen under her command.”

Armor is fine, but swift swords and two-handed greatswords aren't exactly standard equipment; it's better to craft them separately.

The suggestion was reasonable and was quickly approved by several people. After staying in the Forest of Riha for two more days, Raslaufer's team headed north with Dieter and other mercenaries on their return journey, and soon returned to the Zebrech region.

Although it has been from winter solstice to spring and then to early summer, this little-known place seems to have never changed. It is the same every day, every year, and every ten years. There are few new things. The villagers work day after day to make a living and contribute a not-so-heavy tax to the current lord, Shikoti.

Perhaps this is life, but... perhaps it's not so boring.

"Finally!" As the "magnificent" building reappeared in her sight, Daisy stopped, stretched languidly, and almost bent over backwards. "I can't wait to lie down in my bed!"

"How about another small glass of pear wine?" The feeling of coming home always makes people feel good, and Angelita couldn't help but feel happy too. "I learned it from Aunt Skadi. It's about the right time, well, actually it should be a little over a day. I hope I haven't messed it up."

In the past, Raslaufer wasn't particularly enthusiastic about "going home." After Skuld left, his main purpose in returning was simply to save money. But now, with his companions talking about it, Dopler couldn't help but feel a sense of "home" here, even more so than when Skuld was around.

However, as they approached the village, the expressions on their faces became somewhat strange. They looked at each other and then at the house that was both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar.

It looks newer than when I left...?

"When you left, did anyone ask the neighbors to repaint the house?" Leslaufer asked first. "Did you leave them any money? This is no small job, and paint isn't cheap."

“No, I just asked Aunt Emily and the others to look after the garden and the animals,” Angelita said, somewhat bewildered. “Could it be Mary?”

Her freckled face swayed, then she looked at Daisy and Bella: Why would she do something again after Angelita had already done it once?

But looking at the poet and druid's clear yet bewildered eyes, it was clear that they hadn't done it either—or more likely, they hadn't even thought about the unoccupied house needing care.

But the brand-new paint was indeed shining brightly in the sunlight, so who did it?

Chapter 543 The Stolen Pear Wine

Fortunately, the neighbors knew quite a bit about this issue.

“It’s two mercenaries, a druid, and a short, stocky guy, sir,” the villager next door gave the answer, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. “They’re probably dwarves from the East Sea, with big beards and very stiff speech.”

"About a month ago, they came looking for us. The dwarf was carrying a large bundle and leading a small pony. They said they were looking for you, but we told the dwarf that you had gone on a long journey and were not there."

Mercenaries? Druids? The group exchanged glances; this was quite an unusual combination—not counting themselves.

"At first, they didn't go into the courtyard, but stayed at the tavern over there. But not long after, the dwarf started complaining while drinking that your house was too old, and so tall and big, it was an eyesore in the village. But you know how we are, how could we tolerate him slandering your house like that? A few young men immediately started arguing with him—if you don't like it, just do it yourself, right?"

The villager, hands on his hips, glanced at Reslaufer and, seeing no sign of displeasure, continued, "That shorty is really stubborn. He got provoked a couple of times and refused to do it. The next day, he went to town, bought tools and materials, and started painting your house, wanting us to help too. You know, at first we weren't planning to get involved, but he paid us..."

Now I understand everything.

"So, you just painted the outside of my house?" Leslaufer couldn't decide what expression to make. He looked up at his yard and two-story house, feeling both amused and exasperated. "Alright... fine, thanks for your hard work. Call everyone to the tavern tonight, I'll treat you to a meal. I can't let you do all this for nothing."

"Where are they? Are they still staying at the tavern?"

“I’m not too sure about that,” the neighbor shrugged. “I haven’t been there the last few days, but I saw that horse was still tied up outside, so I guess it hasn’t left. That horse is just like its owner, short and stocky…”

Hearing that this man was about to steer the conversation toward the back of the village, Raslaw waved his hand and pushed open the courtyard gate, no longer wanting to waste any more time with him.

Upon hearing that someone had entered, the fearless chickens and ducks immediately emerged from the depths of the lush garden, surrounding the group and begging for food. A large goose glanced at the group with a scrutinizing look, and after confirming that they were not strangers, it waddled back away, its toes pointing outwards, and jumped into Black Claw's nest, much to the astonishment of the Deinonychus, who was preparing to return home with its owner.

These days, food is being delivered to your door?

“Aunt Emily really knows how to raise chickens and ducks,” Angelita exclaimed in amazement, looking at the animals that had all gotten much fatter. “I’ve been raising them for so long and they haven’t gotten any better.”

“Everyone has their own expertise,” Daisy said, equally admiring of the little guys, though she also swallowed hard as she admired them. “Old Lei is treating us to dinner tonight, how about we pick a few to cook—oh, oh dear!”

Mary and Bella withdrew their hands at the same time, ignoring Daisy's protest: "They're not meant to be eaten. I advise you to give them a break."

"How about a couple of chicken, duck, or goose eggs? Sigh." Daisy sighed repeatedly, but her gaze followed the others as they turned to Angrita. The girl carefully pulled out several bottles from the shaded area; they were pear wine she had brewed before leaving.

But when they were taken out, the group was stunned.

"Huh?" Angelita shook the bottle incredulously, but it was empty. "Where's my wine?"

Forget about wine, there wasn't even a single pear!

"I told you so! Hurry up and bring those winged creatures into the pot!" Daisy exclaimed. "They must have smelled it and stolen your wine!"

"Chickens, ducks, and geese aren't that smart."

Just as everyone was getting into a ruckus due to Daisy's antics, a deep voice suddenly came from the doorway. Turning around, they saw a dwarf standing in front of two mercenaries and a man who looked like a druid, his eyes calmly watching them from the narrow space between his horned helmet and a large brown beard.

The person who came was not von Dahl, but his appearance... with that big beard, it was hard to tell whether he looked like him or not.

"Why are you here?" Bella looked at the druid with some surprise. The ornament on the druid's chest was not the symbol of Adas, but an oak leaf—he was a follower of Sylvanas, the father of oak trees, and also a member of the Resist the War.

Bella recognized him; he was also a staunch vegetarian, and the two had much in common on this subject.

“Sir,” the druid smiled at Bella and looked at the dwarf in front of him, “he sent people to the borderlands of resistance, and so I volunteered to come with him to find you, but unfortunately you are not here.”