People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

“In this setting, it would be better if you addressed me by my title.” Ernst stepped forward and extended his hand. “Speaker of the Speaker’s Chambers and Prime Minister, Ernst Shivaish.”

"As for the miracle you mentioned, it is not my achievement, but belongs to our great god of Shelag, Citizen Number One, the great god Yeragand."

A god? Citizen Number One?

It took Kent a long time to connect these two seemingly contradictory words, and a smile of admiration appeared on his face:

"A very creative idea. You are a remarkable person."

He used honorifics not only because of Ernst's life-saving grace, but also because of his admiration for the amount of information Ernst conveyed in those two short sentences.

What an amazing idea it is to include God as a citizen of the country, and to allow God, who enjoys the country's faith, to legally serve the country.

What a bold and ingenious person could conceive of such a method, and what a gentle and humble deity could accept it?

Regardless, he was indeed becoming increasingly interested in what Sherag looked like now. This trip had not been in vain.

Of course, the most urgent matter is to discuss another matter with the Prime Minister!

He carefully placed Dai Feien, whom he was holding, on the sofa and said earnestly:

"Prime Minister Ernst, although this may be a bit sudden, I must tell you that I did not suffer an accident, but rather I was the victim of a premeditated assassination!"

"Someone intends to harm my wife, the illustrious Duke of Windermere, so they have sent assassins to infiltrate my ranks, hoping to kill me first. I need to return to the Duchy of Windermere immediately to warn her about this!"

Ernst frowned and took a step back:

"Yeragand cannot travel too far, and the Divine Stone can only be effective within Sherag."

This statement is partly true and partly false. While Yeragand can indeed teleport freely within Kjerag, it doesn't mean that it will lose all its power once it leaves Kjerag. It will only be subject to some minor limitations when fighting outside its home territory. The behemoth's strength remains unquestionable.

But Ernst could not allow Him to intervene in Victoria's struggle as a mercenary.

Does that mean he's just giving his mom a toy?

Fortunately, Kent had no intention of relying on Jeragand in the first place, and after a slight disappointment, he continued:

"No, Prime Minister Ernst, I want to make a deal with you."

“From the day I leave until the beginning of next year, I would like to ask for your permission to allow Defion to remain in Shelag as a member of Shelag and receive your protection.”

Political asylum?

Ernst immediately understood what Kent meant.

For a civil servant in modern China, this term may be somewhat unfamiliar, but for foreign countries, political asylum is almost a common occurrence.

If we're talking about the most famous political asylum seeker in the world before Ernst's time travel, it would undoubtedly be Edward Snowden, the whistleblower of the Prism scandal in the United States. He single-handedly turned the world upside down, making a fool of the world's superpower, the United States. He accomplished what even Russia couldn't achieve while it was alive: giving the US a major humiliation and then walking away unscathed.

Kent's application for political asylum for Defenne certainly doesn't mean he's going back to Victoria for the rest of his life. Based on what he just said, this father is probably just trying to ensure his daughter's safety.

Victoria's current situation is worse than she imagined.

Ernst clicked his tongue but didn't speak. Kent took this as a reminder to name his price and said decisively:

"Of course, during the time that Defiance is bothering you, all expenses related to her food, lodging, entertainment, education, and so on will be covered by the Duchy of Windermere."

He blinked, speaking very sincerely.

"Based on these considerations, and out of gratitude to you, I am willing to pay you ten million Victoria pounds as a fee."

Ernst's thighs suddenly buckled, and he almost fell to the ground if he hadn't been holding onto the chair.

To cover his embarrassment, he slowly propped himself up on the chair and sat down, asking incredulously:

"Ten million?"

Does your Defiance eat gold or drink silver? Does she live in diamonds or sleep on pure Originium? The Victoria pound is the most powerful currency in Terra. Ten million? You really dare to ask for that?

Seeing Ernst's question, Kent immediately understood what Ernst meant and continued:

“You’re right, ten million is indeed a bit tight. Daphne has suddenly come to an unfamiliar environment, and if she gets sick, it will be a considerable expense. I haven’t thought this through. How about this, I’ll add another ten million Victoria pounds as funding, and I hope you can take good care of Daphne.”

Twenty million was not a large sum in his eyes. After all, the Duchy of Windermere was a large duchy, with several mobile cities under its jurisdiction. The taxes it could collect each year were a considerable amount. Even if most of it was used for the maintenance of high-speed warships and the construction of the army, there was still a lot left over.

Defiance is Amphilis's only daughter and the undisputed heir to the Duchy of Windermere. No expense is too much to spend on her safety.

However, when he uttered those few words, Ernst's heart almost stopped beating slightly.

"Twenty million?"

He asked as if he wanted to confirm something repeatedly.

Twenty million Victoria pounds, which, according to the current exchange rate of the Terra, is equivalent to nearly one hundred million Colombian gold certificates!

Ernst sold a full six square kilometers of land, scheming and calculating, and only managed to get 600 million gold vouchers. He also had a long and drawn-out struggle with Ensiodis, only managing to extract 5 million Lungmen dollars from him. And just for Daifion, such a young girl, staying in Sherag for a few days, that's a hundred million?

If I planted Defiance all over that six-square-kilometer area of ​​Tukarim, would I become the richest person in Terra tomorrow?

The small stoves I bought are so numerous that this whole area can't hold them all!

Seeing Ernst's gaze shift to Daphne, Kent had a sudden realization and understood Ernst's meaning, a professional smile appearing on his face:

"Of course, to thank you for saving my life, I will also pay ten million gold pounds to your private account in my personal capacity. Please do not refuse, for for people like us, life is priceless."

He said it from the bottom of his heart.

Even if Ernst hadn't reminded him, he would have remembered to repay Ernst for his help. As long as he remained the Duke's husband and as long as the name Windermere still ruled over a duchy, he would have an inexhaustible supply of wealth and honor.

But if Daphne dies, and I die, and the Windermere family line ends, then we'll truly have nothing left.

Rather than handing over one's wealth to an unknown successor noble, it is only right to be generous to one's savior.

Moreover, even considering only the benefits, this bribe is necessary.

Although Jeragand protects Sherag, only Ernst, the Holy Son, can invoke Him. Giving Sherag money without paying Ernst means that Sherag takes on the task but doesn't receive a penny. How can anyone feel at ease doing the job?

In other words, ten million can buy the favor of a divine representative and the protection of the gods. Is there a more worthwhile deal than this?

Kent only hoped that Ernst wouldn't ask for anything beyond money, because that was beyond his control.

As long as it's money, I don't mind adding more.

“Thirty million…” Ernst was almost speechless. His thoughts were like the core of a heated furnace, burning wildly and excessively warm.

He even had a sudden, wicked thought that involuntarily popped into his head.

Look at this little kitten, so white and tender. How about we tie her up and rob her?

The moment the idea flashed through Ernst's mind, the classic scene from the TV series, "The walls of the room were covered with money, but I didn't dare spend a single penny," came to mind.

No, no, this is not a legitimate way to make money. We are a legitimate government; we can't do this.

Rubbing his head to shake off the wicked thought, Ernst looked at Kent and nodded as if afraid he might change his mind:

"it is good!"

"Thank you for your generosity, Prime Minister Ernst. Windermere will be your friend forever. May Jeragund bless you!" Kent recited the lines he had rehearsed countless times in his mind as if they were a machine tongue twister.

Hey, he should thank us!

Ernst extended his hand, shook hands with Kent, and smiled.

The smile was incredibly cheerful, and the way he looked at Kent was as if he could see the Originium miniature stove that he had ordered from Kalan Trading, which was supposed to arrive today and was already on its way.

Warmth, appreciation, and even a touch of attachment.

Even after letting go of Kent's hand, Ernst still felt a little reluctant.

Mr. Kent Windermere is an honest man, what do we usually call this kind of behavior?

right!

The subsidy is worth billions!

Chapter 51 He's also a cyborg!

Shelag, Tukarim. In front of the government office building (a simplified one-story building).

Ernst was enthusiastically introducing the leadership of the Sherag government to Kent Windermere and Daphne Windermere, who had just woken up.

He pointed to the Feathered Serpent beauty, who was wearing a white Columbia-style coat and had a gentle and virtuous smile on her face when she wasn't speaking, and said:

"This is my personal secretary, Holhaya."

"Hello, Ms. Holhaya."

Kent extended his hand and shook hands with Holhaya, casually saying:

"Colombian?"

Holhaya smiled slightly: "In Shelag, I am a Shelag person."

Kent was greatly impressed. He never expected that someone in this land could give such a high-EQ, nationally appropriate answer. He was amazed.

Defien looked up and sized up Holhaya, then whispered:

"I always feel like this auntie looks really pretty when she smiles!"

Being praised by a child is a pleasant thing, and Holhaia was no exception. She reached out and patted little Defien's head, revealing a genuine, wide smile to him without any reservations.

"Is that right?"

"Ugh!"

Daphne jolted and hid behind Kent.

Holhaia, quite disheartened, put away her smile and returned to Ernst's side, looking like a wilted eggplant.

Ernst asked, somewhat amused, "What's wrong? Are you injured?"

"My smile can even scare children," Holhaya sighed.

Ernst said frankly, "If you laugh too loudly, not many people can appreciate it."

Holhaya looked at him: "And what about you?"

Ernst paused, then nodded, not wanting to cause further harm: "I think it's fine. It's quite unique."

To everyone's surprise, Horhaia immediately took Ernst's arm, pulled him into her bosom, and leaned in with a standard smile:

"Then I'll laugh for you."

Seeing this, Lola blushed and coughed twice in dissatisfaction:

"Cough cough cough, there are still children here!"

Ernst then smugly removed his hand from Holhaya's tightly clenched chest and continued his introduction:

“This is my Minister of Engineering, Lola. She is in charge of the engineering and construction work in Shelag.”

Kent nodded, not holding back his praise: "Minister of Engineering, that's a remarkable position. Miss Lola is truly young and capable! I'm sure Miss Lola's efforts were indispensable in making this train opening ceremony possible for me!"

“Uh…” Lola’s smile froze on her face as she reached out to shake Kent’s hand. “Actually, I wasn’t involved in that project.”

"Ah!" Kent laughed awkwardly. "It's alright, it's alright. The older generation of engineers should indeed have a grand farewell performance, but that doesn't mean it's the future of young people like you!"

Lola's expression softened slightly, and she nodded a little shyly: "I will try my best."

Seeing this, Defiance nodded and shouted loudly to Kent beside her:

"Lola is amazing now; she must have built a whole bunch of food factories!"

Kent glanced at Lola, feeling a little embarrassed that his flattery had backfired. Now was the perfect opportunity to make amends, so he lowered his head, looked at his daughter, and asked cooperatively:

"Oh? Why do you say that, Daphne?"

"Because that's what my mother told me!"

"I'm so proud of myself," Defiance said.

“Every time she saw her father go out to discuss things with those female representatives and aristocratic aunts, her mother’s expression was exactly the same as her sister Lola’s! When I asked her why, she said that she owned a food seasoning factory and sold vinegar!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Kent and Lola's expressions froze on the spot, as if they had been frozen in place by plaster.

A moment later, they both stopped smiling and, as if nothing had happened, blushed and walked toward the next person.

As they walked, Kent instructed Defiance, "Next time you see your mom with that expression, just quietly tell me. Our family harmony depends on you!"

Lola quickly blushed and explained, "Young Master, no, that's not true, I didn't do anything like that..."

Holhaya immediately and "thoughtfully" replied:

"I understand, children speak without thinking. How could Miss Lola possibly have any improper thoughts about the boss?"