I was accidentally injured by God and I just want to be an ordinary person

After a series of exclamations, Ella turned her back to Iris and sat on her lap.

At the same time, Iris's aura returned to normal. She reached out and touched Ella's head as if she was treating a puppy she had raised for a long time.

"See, that's it. It makes people feel like they have to agree. Even though Aira-chan is just starting to learn and can't switch as smoothly as I do, you can still handle it with just the appearance. But when you speak, you have to keep the other person away from you."

“Ah… I… I understand…”

Although it was very comfortable to sit on Iris's legs, the feeling of restlessness completely overshadowed the comfort. Coupled with the lemon scent that flowed into her nose and irritated her lungs, Ella twisted her body uncomfortably and immediately jumped off Iris's legs.

Shrugging, Iris stood up.

"Ella-chan, try again."

"Uh, yeah."

In order to adjust her mentality, Ella took deep breaths continuously, then sat down on the sofa that still smelled of Iris. After relaxing her body a little, she coughed lightly twice.

[Be natural...don't be nervous...and treat everyone else as weak and powerless...]

With a lazy posture, Ella tilted her upper body slightly and rested her chin on her raised hand.

[They are all non-threatening people, they are all non-threatening people, they definitely don't have any bad intentions...]

Imagining the nobles kneeling in front of her with their heads bowed low, Ella began to recall the villain bosses she had seen in movies and what expressions they would have if they were in her shoes.

Overlapping the villain character with her own image, Ella raised one corner of her mouth slightly, narrowed her eyes, and then slowly stretched out her free hand forward.

"——Do you have anything to say?"

Chapter 7: Wise Leaders (Part 1)

*At 11:07 AM on August 2, 6187, the Western Demon Clan's old king, Mistetin

After solving the problem of clothes, Ella and Lotte came to the door of the audience hall under the guidance of the knight.

She kept adjusting her mindset through breathing, but Ella was still feeling uneasy, especially with knights following her in front and behind. Given the demons' personalities, any of her actions would be remembered by them, so if she left a negative impression at this moment, it might spread throughout the city in a few days.

Thinking of this, Ella couldn't help but reach out and touch her chest.

Seeing this scene, Lotte waved to the knights around her.

"Go down."

Perhaps due to Camisia's order, the knights did not hesitate and immediately turned around and walked to the corridors on both sides to stand guard.

"Don't worry, Ms. Ella. Everything will be fine."

"...But I'm still uneasy. The upper class nobles are just across the door..."

Glancing at the knights in the distance, Ella whispered so they wouldn't hear.

"Miss Ella, if you display the aura that Her Highness Iris taught you just now, those nobles will surely bow down at your feet."

"Will that make you think I'm being too arrogant and leave a bad impression?"

Ella pulled the hem of her skirt again. She felt a little embarrassed because of the lack of fabric.

"It's okay. A ruler with strong opinions and authority is more reassuring than a king who agrees to everything he says, isn't he? Lady Ella needs a sense of reliability right now. If you can leave an unquestionable impression on the nobles, it will be harder for them to rebel in the future."

That being said, Lotte didn't actually think the nobles would give Ella any trouble. Rather, she thought it was very likely that no matter what Ella said, the nobles would unanimously answer "yes." She had said that just now simply to put Ella at ease.

On this basis, Luti continued to add.

"And Miss Ella always unconsciously displays a peaceful side, which helps win over the nobles. The elven proverb of carrot and stick is quite applicable here."

“Hmm…”

Seeing that Ella was still pursing her lips and not quite relaxed, Lotte could only encourage her with a smile.

"Standing in front of the door will make people around you feel strange. Miss Ella, please go in first."

“Eh? Wait—”

clack.

Before Ella could finish her words, Lotte reached out and turned the doorknob. With the crisp sound of the lock snapping into place, the thick wooden door with exquisite carvings was pushed open.

This is a spacious room with an area of ​​nearly 50 square meters and good lighting. The solemn dark red walls and the light yellow lights hanging from the ceiling give people an extremely comfortable feeling. Compared with the audience hall, it is more like a noble's reception room. Of course, there is no fireplace or other decorations here. The only furniture in the whole house is the single sofa and desk placed by the window.

The original coffee table and sofa must have been removed by Camisia, Ella couldn't help but think so. However, this was actually a good thing for Ella. If she sat on the sofa with many nobles, once she couldn't control the topic, things would easily develop into a situation where she was marginalized and the nobles chatted with each other.

[But this kind of setting... feels like going to my boss's office.]

Unable to help but sigh inwardly, Ella adjusted her mindset a little and walked into the room.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the nobles waiting inside the house turned their heads almost at the same time. Ella almost stopped, but was quietly pushed by Lotte from behind, allowing her to continue walking forward.

Fortunately, there were only six people in the room. Aside from Camisia and another woman, the other four men all looked to be over 40 years old, and the oldest one even had gray hair.

With Camisia's arrangement, they are now standing in a neat row.

"The Demon King has arrived."

There was almost no need for Camisia to give any orders. The six people representing the top power in the Western Demon Tribe knelt on one knee and saluted Ella.

"No need—get up."

Ella almost spoke in her usual tone, but she immediately changed her words. While looking at the people who bowed their heads deeply, she slowly walked towards the only seat in the room.

"""yes."""

Judging from the sounds, the six people had already stood up, but Ella certainly couldn't turn her head at this moment. In the environment where it was so quiet that even the sound of a silver needle falling to the ground could be heard, Ella sat on the soft sofa and glanced at the people standing in front of the table.

According to the document Camisia handed to Luty, the status of the group decreased from right to left. Camisia naturally stood on the far right, and the Marquis of Adelan, whom Ella remembered well - the oldest person in the group, whose territory had a population and financial resources far exceeding those of the other nobles - was ranked third. As for the second person, it was a woman in her twenties whom Ella had never seen before.

"Princess, this is the noble I have selected who meets the requirements."

Those who meet the requirements are those who have made great contributions to the demon clan and have a prominent status.

Recalling the movements Iris had taught her, Ella slowly lifted one leg and then looked at the notepad in her mind—it contained the lines written by Lotte. Due to time constraints, she didn't have time to read them carefully and simply moved them from the paper to the schedule in her mind.

"Excuse me, Camisia."

"Please don't say that, Princess. It is my honor to serve you."

Although common sense dictated that everyone should introduce themselves one by one at this time, perhaps because Camisia had given the order in advance, no one started. Of course, Ella was happy to do so, as responding to each one was a bit troublesome, as she hadn't quite memorized their names and identities.

In order to relieve the tension in her heart, Ella reached out and picked up a document neatly stacked on the table and opened it casually.

"Do you have anything you want to say? If not, you can leave—hmm?"

Before the line was finished, Ella felt something was wrong. This line was really too much. The other party had been waiting for a long time, but she asked them to go back after saying less than five sentences. It felt too disrespectful to them. Not only that, considering that the other party was a noble with great power and status, doing so might make him angry and leave.

"Princess, are you feeling unwell? I can arrange—"

"No, there's nothing to do. Let's continue."

"Yes."

Ella glanced at the expressions of the others—on the surface, there was no change, but their eyes showed that they were enduring something.

He must be suppressing his anger! ?

Ella couldn't help but have this thought, but just as she was thinking about how to change her words, Camisia interrupted Ella's thoughts.

"Well, let's get started. Remember what I said earlier—let's save personal feelings for later. Time is short, and Princess-sama has other matters to attend to. Just report the most urgent matters."

""Lord Demon King."

As soon as Camisia finished speaking, the gray-haired Adelan and the other middle-aged man ranked fifth spoke at the same time.

After hesitating for a moment, the middle-aged man bowed slightly to Adrien and returned to his original position.

——Ella judged that he had a deep awareness of the gap in their status. In other words, Adran's status in the Western Demon Territory had reached a point where his colleagues were intimidated.

"Greetings, Demon Lord."

"Look up. Also, I'm not a demon king yet. Please call me Princess, just like Camisia did."

"But... right now, no one else can take this position except you. The title of Demon King is more fitting for you..."

Although his hair was gray and his face was covered with countless wrinkles, Adran's purple eyes were still bright.

"If the people knew I dared to address you with such a demeaning title as 'Princess-sama', I would be cursed when I walked down the street."

"In that case... whatever you like."

"Thank you, Demon King."

[Another rigid person, but it doesn't look like you want to make things difficult for me?]

"Well, for the sake of Demon Lord's time, please allow me to get straight to the point. Some time ago, Lord Camisia gave me a decree signed by you personally to try out. While my advisors and I understand the reasons for things like tax reduction and canal construction, there are some...forgive my ignorance, I simply cannot fathom the reasons."

【Is he here as expected?】

Ella couldn't help but scream in her heart, "Oh no!" The thing she was most worried about actually happened.

Of course, Ella couldn't show her surprise at this moment. In order to hide her panic, she could only try her best to make herself look colder and less communicative.

"Oh? You don't understand?"

Adlan lowered his head even further.

"Yes... I failed to understand your intention, Demon Lord, and caused you to waste your time on this. This is truly my fault."

It sounded like he was being sarcastic. Ella couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable and followed up on Adlan's words with questions.

"Which one?"

"It's the question you raised a year ago about farming methods."

"Farming methods? Oh, you mean multiple cropping and crop rotation?"

If this is the case, Ella still has some confidence, because the person who proposed this plan is none other than Ella herself.

When Ella left the Demon Tribe for the first time, she gave the cultivation techniques commonly used on Earth to Camisia because the farming methods within the Demon Tribe were too backward. At that time, Camisia and Dean were asked to find a region each for pilot projects. Now it seems that Camisia has probably taken it as a formal document and started to implement it.

After hesitating for a moment, Adelan glanced around at everyone and spoke slowly.

"Yes, regarding the issue of multiple cropping, I've already discussed the feasibility of changing crops from one crop per year to two or three crops per year. However, some aspects of the system are difficult to explain. For example, why would the land be left idle during the second winter of the two-year triple cropping system? Wouldn't it be more productive if other crops were grown during that time?"

"Eh?"

Having never expected such a question to be asked, Ella couldn't help but let out a small exclamation.

"Why should it be left idle during the winter? How could I possibly know? The book doesn't explain it... No, since it's written that way, there must be a reason. If I change it without permission, it might cause a lot of problems. I'll just come up with a random answer here that makes sense to Adraan."

After thinking for a moment, Ella gave a serious-sounding answer.

“This is to maintain the fertility of the soil.”

"Soil fertility? Please explain in detail, Demon Lord."

“This…”

It was obvious that Adlan didn't know what soil fertility meant, so he said that. Ella felt a headache and tapped the document in her hand.

"Well...actually, the ley lines contain invisible magical energy. No, to be more precise, it's an element called mana. Crops absorb mana as they grow to aid their growth. The three-crop system of two years depletes the land's mana at a faster rate. Once the mana is depleted, crops won't be able to grow well. The idleness during the winter gives the ley lines time to replenish mana."

Unable to help but applaud herself inwardly for this explanation, Ella quietly raised her eyes and observed the changes in Adlan's expression.

Adelan looked as if he had suddenly understood something.

"Oh! So that's the reason. Now we know why the unused straw isn't used as firewood, but instead is returned to the fields. The Demon King must have thought of returning the remaining mana from the crops to the ley lines, right?"

"Yeah, that's it."

Without looking at Adlan's shocked expression filled with admiration, Ella turned her gaze to the documents guiltily.

"As expected of the Demon Lord's blood relative, I've never heard anyone mention this unknown element of mana before. I guess it's something only the Demon Lord can sense. Having seen the proposal you signed earlier, we all admire your formidable strategy. Not only does it address the existing aristocratic system, but it even takes care of the farmers' crops. You will surely catch up to the previous Demon Lord—no, even the previous Demon Lord left no record of mana. I believe you will surpass him and become the undisputed Supreme Demon Lord!"

Adlan took a step forward excitedly, looking like he wanted to kneel down before Ella, but before that, Camisia reached out and stopped Adlan.

"Adlan, if you're done, please leave. The others have important matters to discuss."

"Yes……"

"Also, while I understand your admiration for the princess, you must not be disrespectful in front of her."

"I, I understand."

Although he said so, Adlan couldn't help but keep exclaiming in surprise. His old appearance and trembling body even gave Ella the feeling that Adlan was about to collapse due to excessive emotion.

After Adlan stepped down, the middle-aged man ranked fifth who had wanted to speak stood out of the queue. Perhaps he was shocked by the wisdom that Ella had shown before, and his face was full of panic. He didn't even dare to look up at Ella.