The young dragon tries to conquer the world

　"You could say they're connected to all of us."

　"Including me?"

　"Judging from their attire, those people are officials under the city lord in charge of logistics, military affairs, and diplomacy. I have long heard that the lord of the Guranat territory is an enlightened, wise, and sentimental nobleman who can manage his territory well even in times of war and will not punish people for speaking disrespectfully. Now that they have gathered together, I hope that what happens next will not disturb my research on magic."

　After speaking, Frilian parted ways with the little girl, and her reaction was within Shutark's expectations. Afterwards, as Frilian arranged, Philon went to buy food and daily necessities, Shutark went to book a hotel, and the little girl, Lanmei, and Melalu were naturally free to do as they pleased.

　The flames illuminated a small room.

　"It came at just the right time."

　After surveying the others seated around the round table, Count Granat, who was in charge of the Granat territory, solemnly addressed the assembled officials, saying, "All of you here are in charge of various affairs. Some of you have been in conflict due to overlapping responsibilities. Therefore, we have deliberately arranged for you not to sit together. This is a necessary preparation to ensure the smooth running of the meeting."

　However, several officials sitting in the chairs still looked unhappy, and each official had a servant standing close behind him.

　"The demons actually want to negotiate with us. Do you know what they are? They are demons, demons that feed on humans. They even say they are tired of war. How ridiculous."

　"But the situation in the territory of Guranat is not good. When we fight against the Guillotine Aura, our dead soldiers will become Aura's strength. If we cannot break Aura's obedience magic, defeating Aura is just empty talk."

　"Isn't it said that those with strong enough willpower can resist Aura's obedience magic? Aren't we soldiers just such warriors!"

　"To correct you, it is possible to temporarily break free from the magic's physical control, but Aura won't just stand there like an idiot and let you chop her up. As soon as you break free from Aura's control, she will cut off your head immediately. Otherwise, why would it be called the Guillotine Aura?"

　Then someone muttered in the darkness, "He's not thinking straight." Upon hearing this, the young man's body was immediately filled with murderous intent. He was the youngest soldier and naturally trusted his soldiers completely. He had also sworn to kill Aura. Of course, he was also a friend of the warrior who had temporarily escaped Aura's control.

　Count Granat slammed his hand on the wooden table, and the murderous aura emanating from the young man slowly dissipated. After the hall returned to silence, Count Granat took a deep breath and continued, "The question is, what exactly does the Guillotine Aura want? Tiredness of war, peace talks, envoys—these are merely disguises they use to conceal their true intentions. The real purpose of the demons is the key to the problem."

　"Anyway, they definitely don't have good intentions." Many people nodded in agreement.

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　P.S.: Oh, I've read all the comments in the thread. Don't worry, there's a lot more to come!

　Volume 1: 409 - The Demon Clan's Treacherous Intentions

　Count Guranat waited patiently, with the patience typical of nobles, until everyone quieted down before speaking again: "The envoys sent by Aura of the Guillotine are her executioners, Luguna, Line, and Dorat. In a normal confrontation, each side would only send one general as an envoy, but Aura sent three executioners. It seems they definitely intend to do something during the peace talks. If that's all, then it's not a problem for us at all."

　On this point, most of the governors shared the same opinion. Count Granat continued, "Although Aura's obedience magic is indeed very strong, the envoys sent for peace talks are from within our Granat territory. At least in terms of combat strength, we have the advantage. We can at least kill them directly within Granat territory. But we cannot take peace talks with the demons lightly. Such an act is almost tantamount to betraying humanity—no, it is betraying humanity."

　"Me too."

　"Me too."

　"Then we'll allow the demons who are negotiating to enter the territory of Guranat, but we'll take the initiative and use the lives of the executioners under Aura's command to demand that Aura stop its aggression. We'll also demand compensation from them in order to study obedience magic and find its weaknesses. Is that alright?"

　Several voices of agreement came almost immediately from the other side of the round table, and the peace talks with the demons were thus finalized.

　The armies of the northern kingdoms have been dispatched, vowing to wipe out the remaining Demon King's army and restore a peaceful environment for humanity. Due to the war, the inns in the Granat territory are mostly idle. Naturally, booking an inn is very simple and takes almost no time. The rooms are also simple: Frilian and Philon share a room, the young girl and Lan share a room, and Shutark has to sleep in a room by himself.

　As for the Melalus, they naturally slept in the room of the young girl and Lanmei. They would stay in the territory of Guranat for five or six days to properly relieve the fatigue from the journey. Even for someone as strong as Shutark, riding in a carriage for several days in a row was a kind of torture.

　The next day, Frilian, wanting to study magic, went out early. Shutalc and Philon arrived at the little girl's door and called them to have breakfast together. When Melalus opened the door, Shutalc was stunned. If Philon hadn't been radiating cold air beside him, Shutalc would have really wondered if he was still asleep. Faced with the huge difference, Shutalc could only stand there, unable to do anything. What shocked him was the room in front of him.

　Although the young girl was traveling with Frilian and the others, Frilian didn't care about certain travel-related issues, and neither did the young girl. Moreover, Lanmei and Melalu would take care of these things for the young girl. On the other hand, these people could sleep well in the wild, let alone in an inn. However, the main reason that shocked Shutalc was that he had stayed in a plain room last night with nothing but a bed and a table. Of course, this was much better than those adventurers who had to take a blanket to sleep in the stables or pigsties.

　But the moment he opened the door, Shutark was so astonished by the sight before him that he almost forgot to breathe.

　The room features a classic and elegant wardrobe, a huge vanity, a double bed with a canopy, and even a special tea table with a teapot for black tea and a plate for biscuits. These ceramic vessels look even more beautiful in the soft sunlight. The window frames and interior decorations all use a gorgeous color scheme that you won't get tired of looking at. From this point of view, it seems that this room was originally intended for female guests.

　Just as Shutark was in a daze, the Melalus, dressed in chef's uniforms, appeared from around the corner of the corridor carrying dishes, with plates-like containers full of food on their heads, and quickly ran past Shutark.

　If Melalu stood up straight, she would reach almost to Shutark's thigh. Her whole body was covered in extremely soft fur, and her big, round eyes and taut whiskers were probably her cutest features.

　Shutark thought the little girl would be startled by his appearance, but she didn't waver at all. Her eyes were fixed on the dishes Melalu brought in. If it weren't for Lanmei holding her back, she probably would have already pounced on the table and started eating. Lanmei, who was biting her hair flower, picked up the little girl's black hair and braided it into a pair of cute side pigtails. Then she patted the little girl on the back.

　After receiving Lanmei's order, the little girl knew that her hair was done. She couldn't wait and ran to the dining table in a few moments. The aroma of meat and fish stimulated her appetite. She casually put the food in front of her into her mouth. The busy Melalus told Frilian and Philen that they had also made breakfast for them and invited them to sit at the table. Moreover, they could even see the bright sunshine outside through the window.

　"Meow, meow, meow." The food is all ready.

　Say

　After that, Melalus and the others placed trays containing individual portions of food on their heads and presented them to Frilian. Breakfast consisted of rice balls, soup, and a main course made with meat, which looked very delicious. Shutalk rubbed his rumbling stomach, and as soon as Melalus brought the food up, Shutalk immediately grabbed a knife and fork, and after saying "Let's eat!", he prepared to dig in.

　After leaving the hotel, the group planned to go to the magic shop first. On the way, Philen reminded Frilian to remember to eat lunch. Just as they were about to part ways, Frilian suddenly smelled the aura of demons. Almost without thinking, it was a completely subconscious reaction. Frilian immediately took out her staff and pointed it at the three demons who appeared on the street. A ball of light immediately emerged from the tip of the staff. It was a normal attack spell, which was also the killing spell that demons were most familiar with.

　The one who reacted to the noise the fastest was Philon, "Lady Frilian, what are you doing? We're on the street right now."

　"It's a demon."

　The three demons who appeared on the street also noticed the flash from Frilian's side, but they didn't recognize Frilian, so they all looked puzzled. However, as soon as Frilian finished speaking, the guards discovered that Frilian was preparing magic. Several knights carrying crossbows rushed in aggressively and pointed their guns at Frilian and the other two.

　"Don't move!"

　Apart from Frilian, both Philen and Shutark were unarmed. "What should we do?" Shutark wondered, glancing casually to the side and meeting Philen's gaze. Philen slowly straightened up, took two steps back, and raised her hands above her head. Seeing this, Shutark reluctantly did the same.

　"It seems that the best course of action is to simply raise your hands."

　The knights were carrying modified versions of the Flame Crossbow, quite different from the ones Shutark had seen in the book. These Flame Crossbows were made primarily of fine steel and magical silk threads, and only frontline troops were equipped with such high-level crossbows. Ordinary armor and shields could not withstand the projectiles they fired. Of course, if they were enchanted, a single shot would be absolutely no problem.

　Not to mention that Frilian and the others didn't even have time to cast defensive magic; in front of these crossbows, they were practically naked.

　"These guys are definitely not proper guards!" Guards would never point their weapons at humans so directly, and the evidence that they are not threatening is those fingers tightly gripping the triggers. That's probably what they're trying to say: if you don't behave, I'll shoot.

　"Be honest!"

　"What do you want to do?" After calming down, Shutark asked.

　"We are the Dark Knights, and this city is under our protection. These are envoys from the Demon Clan, honored guests of Count Granat. You must be an adventurer. Attacking envoys without cause and humiliating Count Granat, you will be prosecuted for first-degree treason! Await your trial!"

　"First-degree treason!" Shutark's eyes widened instantly. Regardless of whether there was a trial or not, it was undoubtedly a death sentence!

　"What does this mean?! What exactly did we do?!"

　"I said don't move!" The raised gun barrel made Shutark forcefully pull back his foot that was about to step out.

　The demon leader scanned the three women, unable to recall who they were. However, Frilian's gaze was unusual. As the leader of the executioners under Aura, Luguna squatted down with interest, looking at Frilian who was pinned to the ground. He chuckled and said, "Your eyes are cold and indifferent, calm yet full of killing intent. Even the residents of this town who hate us are still afraid when they see me, though they still look at me with the eyes of someone looking at another person."

　At this point, Luguna stood up from the ground. "But you're different. The way you look at me is like you're looking at a wild beast. Oh, and there's this little one too. She looks at me like she's looking at a plate of meat. She's looking at me with the eyes of a wild beast."

　Frilian slightly raised her head, looking at the blond demon in front of her, and suddenly realized who the little guy he was talking about was. "Oh, I know, but isn't that exactly how it is? You demons are just a bunch of beasts who can only imitate human voices but can't communicate."

　Now that the matter was resolved, Count Granat left with the three demons, instructing his guards to take them to the mansion's dungeon before departing.

　"Okay, just keep your hands up and slowly follow us!"

　Where exactly are you taking us?

　"Just shut up and come with us!"

　Shutark clicked his tongue. If he hadn't thought that Frilian had a next plan, he would have already knelt down and begged for mercy. But since things had come to this, Shutark started walking forward. Frilian and Philen followed closely behind him, and the three of them were surrounded by the Dark Knights.

　"Speaking of which, after that demon mentioned a little guy, Frillie also said she knew about it. Could it be Little Light?"

　Shutark quickly glanced around, but couldn't find the little girl anywhere on the street. But that made sense; today was supposed to be a free day, and given the little girl's personality, she would have already run off somewhere with Lanmei and Melalus to have a feast. But Shutark still believed that Frilian had a next step in her plan.

　The moment the iron-filled cell door closed, Shutalc still believed that Frilian had a way to escape, but seeing Frilian sitting calmly on the wooden board next to him, Shutalc's heart grew colder. Philen, on the other hand, quickly accepted being captured and gently sat down next to Frilian.

　"Hey, aren't you guys nervous? That's first-degree treason, a capital offense! We might be dead today."

　"Shutark, according to the laws here, it would take at least three or four years to sentence someone to death and carry it out. Moreover, we would need to defend them before the execution. In fact, the remnants of the Demon King's army have not been completely wiped out yet, so executions are rarely carried out. After all, losing one person means losing one unit of fighting power."

　"Oh, so that means I can go abroad in just three or four years? That's great... What a joke, three or four years is way too long."

　"It's been a long time, but it's true, I wish I had a magic book with me, this is really boring."

　"Hey!"

　“Stare~” Unlike Shutark, Philon chose to stare intently at Frilian. This attack method was specifically designed to target Frilian, who could rarely withstand Philon’s attacks. Sure enough, less than a minute later, Frilian spoke up: “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t stay here voluntarily either. What’s going on with that demon?”

　Shutark shook her head. They had only recently arrived in the territory of Guranat and were unfamiliar with the place. Just as Philen was about to ask the jailer, a hoarse voice came from the cell next door, sounding like someone had suffered a serious injury.

　"Adventurers with a shared destiny, do you know Aura the Guillotine?"

　Because of the wall separating them, the person's already somewhat hoarse voice became even more indistinct. Frilian and Philen could only barely make out what they heard, but it wasn't clear at all. This wasn't a problem for Frilian at all. "One of the Seven Sages of the Demon King's Seven Great Demons, nicknamed Aura the Guillotine. But shouldn't she have disappeared after losing most of her subordinates in the battle with the Hero Simmel? Could something have happened?"

　"I didn't expect you to know so much, but you don't live in the Guranat Territory like we do all year round. You should know that Aura regained its strength as early as twenty-eight years ago. For those twenty-eight years, the Guranat Territory had been fighting against Aura's army, but Aura suddenly sent someone to say that she was tired of the war, tired of the so-called mutual killing, and then she made a request for peace talks to Count Guranat."

　"So that's why we let the envoy in. What a terrible move. Talking to the demons is pointless. It seems this city will be breached by the demons sooner or later. Then we can escape in the chaos. Philon, Shutark."

　"But the demons came to negotiate, and they can speak too. If we can resolve this through communication, wouldn't that be the best outcome?"

　“Demons and humans aren’t just creatures who can’t understand each other’s language. Demons are man-eating monsters, and that will never change. Hughtark, have you ever thought about why demons speak the same language as humans?” Frilian paused for a moment, then continued, “Because language is just a means of deception for them.”

　"Haha, I didn't expect you to know so much about the demon race. If we weren't in this situation, I would really like to have a good drink with you."

　A hearty voice came from the side, "Sorry, I don't drink."

　"Ha ha ha ha..."

　P.S.: I didn't update over the weekend because I picked up my mom from the hospital. We were supposed to do it today, but she couldn't wait and insisted on leaving the hospital herself. I'm so sorry, I'll just post a super long 8K today!

　Then, regarding my mom's "love-obsessed" behavior, my grandma gave me some advice, basically saying to keep the money under my own control first. That's when I found out my mom had lent out over 100,000 yuan to that guy; I don't know if I can get it back.

　There are even more outrageous cases. I just found out myself. The guy comes from a perfectly good family, and my mom is still hopelessly in love with him. As a woman myself, I really can't understand it. My grandma is still trying to persuade her, since the guy works at the same place as my mom. My grandma is still advising her to stop contacting him for the sake of her reputation. My mom is changing her mind so quickly. Sigh, there's no saving her. I'm so tired.

　Volume 1: 410 - A Leisurely Young Girl and Urgent Friction

　The young girl and Arashi were completely unaware of what had happened to Frillie, but in that situation, it was definitely a good thing that the young girl wasn't there, for everyone.

　As for the peace talks with the demons, as Count Granat predicted, it ended...

　As expected, the demand made by the Toutai Aura side was to jointly govern this region with Count Guranat. Count Guranat naturally would not agree to this demand, and even if his governors agreed to it, he would not agree to it.

　Ten years ago, during the thirteenth campaign against Aura the Guillotine, his son briefly escaped Aura's control thanks to his strong willpower, but only for a moment before being killed. Even if Aura the Guillotine were to offer peace talks now, he would never be able to let go of this hatred.

　However, Count Guranat eventually agreed to the peace talks. This was not only because of the clichéd but "touching" story that Luguna made up on the spot, but also because after Luguna left the room, the story was completely crushed by Linne's question about what a father was.

　Judging from Count Granat's attitude, Luguna could conclude that although this human still hated the demons, he was essentially a person of great loyalty and righteousness. As long as the right means were used, he could be won over under the guise of peace talks, and then find an opportunity to obtain the spellbook of the defensive magic barrier. In this way, Aura's army could raze the city to the ground, or at least that was his plan at the moment.

　However, it turned out that Luguna had been too naive. Count Granat hoped they could stay here so he could think things over. Luguna knew about this diplomatic tactic, but compared to the demons, humans were much more complex. Similarly, the demons' thoughts were much simpler. Once they entered the city, almost no one could stop them. Now, it seemed that the elven mage also needed them to deal with him.

　"Crunch~" A crisp crunching sound rang out on the street. The little girl, with an OVO-like expression, held a candied apple made by Melalu and the others in her mouth. She gently bit off a large piece with her teeth and tossed it into the air. With a flick of her tongue, she crushed the irregular apple pieces. The sweet and sour apple juice slid down her tongue into her esophagus. The little girl quickly chewed twice and swallowed the apple pieces in her mouth. Then she grabbed the apple that had just landed in front of her and took a second bite. In this way, the candied apple made by Melalu quickly disappeared into the little girl's stomach.

　Compared to the childlike innocence of young girls, Lanmei is much more mature; she wouldn't eat an apple like a little girl.

　The largest restaurant next to the inn is run by a Minotaur named Eleanor, also known as a minotaur. Among all monsters, the Minotaur are known for their peace-loving nature and friendliness towards humans. Living in the wild, the Minotaur lack means of self-defense, so most of them choose to leave their settlements and live in human cities, such as the Granat Territory. With their inherent advantages, such as their broad-mindedness and gentle nature, the Minotaur can quickly integrate into the city. In fact, many male humans secretly pursue female Minotaurs.

　The young girl stared intently at Eleanor. She thought the upright creature in front of her must be edible, but from her first impression, it was no different from the ones she had seen before, except that some of its organs were special. The young girl was so conflicted about whether to take a bite and taste it that her tail twisted up. This was mainly because the taste that the Hilichurls had given her was too profound.

　Lanmei quickly noticed the little girl's strange behavior. "What are you looking at, Xiaoguang?"

　"I'm eating it, but I don't know if it's good."

　Following the direction the little girl was pointing, Lanmei also noticed the restaurant's owner, Eleanor. Like the little girl, Lanmei, who lived above the clouds, mostly fed on fish and small flying dragons. Humans were basically not on their menu. This principle naturally also applied to creatures like the Minotaur. "Eat? I think this belongs to the category of things that can't be eaten."

　Eleanor, the restaurant owner, was still troubled by the drop in customers caused by the demon messenger's affair when she suddenly saw two incredibly cute girls standing in front of her restaurant. The younger girl pointed at her shop, and then the older girl rubbed the little girl's forehead and was about to lead her away. Eleanor's first thought was that the two girls were out of money for food, the younger sister was starving and wanted to eat here, but the older sister was too embarrassed to come in and order.

　As Minotaur, they dislike seeing people go hungry. Worried that the two girls might be shy and embarrassed, Eleanor invited them in to order food and promised to feed them for free.

　"Thank you for your kindness, we will pay as usual."

　Hearing Lanmei's explanation, Eleanor noticed the clothes and jewelry worn by the little girl and Lanmei. In her limited understanding, these pieces of jewelry were definitely not cheap, and a girl who could afford such jewelry should not be short of food. However, Eleanor couldn't figure out what the two of them had been talking about at that time. But that didn't matter. Her restaurant was, after all, the most famous restaurant in the entire Guranat territory, so inviting them to a meal was still an option.

　The signature pan-fried pork chops were ready quickly. Eleanor brought out two servings of food in iron dishes from the kitchen and placed them in front of the young girl and Lanmei. Accompanied by the sizzling sound of the boiling sauce on the hot plate, the local tomato sauce kept emitting an enticing sweet aroma. The young girl couldn't wait to pick up a knife and fork and start cutting the pork chops. Her adorable appearance made Eleanor feel a surge of maternal love.

　"

　"Liuguna, what are you looking at? The little kids over there?" The pink-haired demon holding the cake was the first to notice his companion's unusual behavior.

　"Hmm, Linne is truly clever." The golden-haired demon did not hold back in praising Linne, but although his tone was relaxed, his expression remained as cold as ever, which seemed somewhat strange.

　"Demons?" The dark green-haired demon quickly dismissed his own opinion. "But there's no magical energy fluctuation on them, so they're not demons. It seems to be some unfamiliar race. Let's just kill them. Count Granat has no intention of cooperating; he's just stalling for time."

　“You’ve overstepped your bounds, Dorat. We are Lord Aura’s trusted confidants. Lord Aura’s orders to us are to find the grimoire of the defensive magic barrier and close it. We only need to complete Lord Aura’s task. If you fail to complete Lord Aura’s task due to carelessness, the consequences are clear.”

　"Tsk!" Although Dorat was quite dissatisfied with what Luguna said, it also knew that if a fight broke out in the city at this time, it would be almost impossible for them to find the magic book of barrier magic.

　"Speaking of those, I'm also concerned about that elven mage. She's the only one in this city who understands the true nature of us demons. Man-eating predators, beasts that cannot be communicated with—that description is truly apt. As for that child, I've heard a rumor about the demon race: some demons give birth to offspring without any magic power. In other words, those demons will have the same appearance as us, but without any magic power."

　"Like those two strange guys?"

　"Well, as for why I would still identify them as demons even without magic, it's because the way they looked at us was the same way we looked at humans—the way they looked at food. Although she hid very quickly, I still managed to spot her in that instant."

　"Ah, I see~" Hearing what Luguna said, Line lowered her head and continued to eat the cake on her lap, while Dorat glanced at them disdainfully and then looked away.

　"Ah, I feel so happy just seeing Xiaoguang eating. But it's a bit late today, and the store's specialties are all sold out. Otherwise, I would really like you to try them."

　Upon hearing this, the young girl put down the meat roll sprinkled with sesame seeds and asked curiously, "A local specialty?"

　Eleanor nodded, looking at the little girl's blank expression. Overwhelmed by maternal love, Eleanor leaned forward slightly and reached out to touch the little girl's smooth black hair. However, in the little girl's mind, someone she had only known for a day was clearly not someone she could touch on the head. Feeding her a lot of food didn't work either, and besides, Lan Mei would pay in the end. This caused Eleanor's hand to awkwardly stop in mid-air. Fortunately, Eleanor quickly returned to her nonchalant state.

　Fortunately, Lanmei noticed Eleanor's expression and immediately explained, "Xiaoguang cherishes her hair, so she doesn't like others touching it."

　Eleanor nodded and said, "That's right, after all, hair is a girl's second life. In that case, I'll save a special local specialty for you tomorrow, so just come early."

　"Yeah, I got it."