"I wish Ella-chan were lying here right now."
"ha?"
An exclamation unconsciously escaped her lips, and then Ella understood Iris's intention, and spoke word by word with gritted teeth.
"I-lis, you're still joking at this moment!"
"No, I'm telling the truth, okay? It'll be too late if we don't do it now. Hurry up and put your head on my lap. If you can't handle it, you can sit on me."
Unlike her previous jokes that were just enough, Iris still waved to Ella with a serious expression, urging Ella to lie on her legs quickly.
For Ella, this was certainly a very tempting proposal. If she said she didn't like it, she would definitely be lying, but knee pillowing was something that required a lot of occasion and atmosphere. Not to mention that this was the residence of the God-Human Clan among the Demon Clan. First of all, her relationship with Iris was not as easy as that between her and Lotte. She could easily accept Lotte's knee pillow, but she absolutely couldn't accept Iris's. It felt like a taboo that once she crossed the line, there was no turning back.
"Iris, what are you doing?!"
Urged on, Ella stiffened her body and asked.
But there was an anxious look in Iris's eyes.
"Tsk, since Ella-chan doesn't want to, then I can only use force against my will."
"Eh?"
Thinking that Iris would pick her up and put her on her lap, Ella subconsciously grabbed the back of the chair, but the reality was completely different from her imagination. Ella's vision was instantly obscured by white and silver, and then she felt a soft touch on her leg. When she came to her senses, Iris was already sitting on her lap.
As if struck by lightning, Ella was stunned and it took her several seconds to come back to her senses.
“Eh? Ehhhh?! Iris, w-what are you doing!?”
Because Iris was sitting sideways on her lap, their faces were so close that they would touch each other if they were a little closer. Ella could even smell the fragrance of Iris's fresh bath - with a slightly pungent lemon scent. Although she would normally wonder why Iris took a bath at this time, Ella now had no time to spare.
"Don't just stand there, Ella-chan, take your hands and put them around my waist. Okay, just hold still and let me take care of it later."
Iris forcefully pried open Ella's hands that were holding the chair, put her hands on her waist, and then, with her backhand, held Ella's head in her arms.
“Hmm!”
Just as Ella was about to struggle out, an old man appeared in the backyard.
"Your Highness, I will bring you back to God no matter what—Your Highness, what are you doing? And who is that person?!"
The voice was filled with anger.
Chapter 45: A Hymn to the Last Stop
Iris frowned and continued holding Ella as she looked at the old man who was walking towards her quickly.
"Crown, I don't need you to interfere in my affairs."
"Your Highness! Although the Council has denied me the right to interfere, you must not forget your status as a member of the royal family. As a princess of the Kami-human race loyal to the gods, everything you do represents our Kami-human race. If this disgraceful behavior were to become known to outsiders, how would you resolve it?"
Even though Ella couldn't see the old man's expression, she knew from his tone that he was very excited. If Iris hadn't been on him, he would have pulled her away long ago.
He is definitely a very conservative and stubborn type.
Ella thought so in her heart.
Elise relaxed her grip a little and hummed softly.
"By outsiders? So what if outsiders knew? It's customary to find a partner when inheriting the throne. There's never been a saying that everything must be appointed by the Council, right?"
The old man in the gorgeous platinum robe froze. Just as Iris said, the prerequisite for the parliament to exercise the right to find a partner for the royal family is that the royal family has no partner when they inherit the throne. If the royal family already has a favorite candidate before inheriting the throne, the parliament has no right to interfere. Clown, as an elder of the Holy King Council, is very clear about this.
But even so, he could not allow this incident, which might cause the God-Human Race to lose face, to continue.
Klauen snorted heavily and glanced contemptuously at Ella, whose back was only half exposed.
"Your Highness, are you saying that this person is your ideal candidate?"
"Any comments?"
Iris curled up the corners of her mouth slightly, looking quite nonchalant. If Ella saw Iris's expression at this moment, she would definitely not continue to argue with Iris like Clown did, but would immediately run away or change the subject - because this kind of sly smile usually means that something bad is about to happen.
A sneer appeared on Crown's wrinkled face.
"Your Highness, even if you have the right to choose your own partner, it should be someone of equal status. Not just any passerby is qualified to become the future leader of the God-man Clan. Don't you know that?"
"Are you saying that the person I chose is not qualified?"
"Of course I trust the princess's judgment, but there are always risks. Whether one is qualified or not will be determined by the Holy King Council. If the other party's abilities are too ordinary—"
Clown glanced at Ella again, with only her back exposed. No matter how you look at it, she was too thin and could not withstand any attack at all. Although the fact that she had long hair was worth noting - being able to have long hair meant that the other person had some status. Ordinary people usually cut their hair short to facilitate work - but status alone was not enough. If one lacked sufficient strength to protect the royal bloodline, he would not be qualified to become a member of the God-Man Clan.
There wasn't a single strand of silver hair among the golden hair, which already proved that the other person was not from the divine race.
Thinking of this, Crown couldn't help but feel that he had a sure win, and continued to add.
"If I lack the strength to protect Your Highness, I'm afraid it will become a stain on the history of our God-man race. Furthermore, Your Highness should choose a mate from within your own tribe. There are at least thousands of talented young men gathered on the Floating Island right now, all of them elites who admire Your Highness's talent and wisdom. For example, Elder Belku's eldest son, at only 21 years old, has already reached level 43. This is a genius never before seen in the history of our God-man race. Surely he must be much stronger than the one before you, right?"
"Hoho? Clown, do you really think so?"
Even though Elder Belku's eldest son had been moved out, Iris still looked nonchalant. Clown couldn't help but feel alert. He didn't think Iris was the kind of person who liked to put on airs. On the contrary, Clown always regarded Iris as a venomous snake that could bite him back at any time. Her current confidence probably meant that she was certain about some aspects.
However, Clown had no idea why Iris was so confident. There was absolutely no one on the continent who could surpass Autox Belku. Clown was certain that if there was a second such genius on the continent, with the intelligence network of the God-Human Clan, it would have been discussed by the Parliament long ago. Clown could not find such a person in his memory.
In order to avoid possible accidents, Crown chose to be conservative and revealed his last trump card.
"Princess, if you can't convince me today, I will take you back to the Floating Island, even if I have to use force. Although you've been using the excuse of studying at the Sacred Academy to delay finding a partner, you're now nearing graduation. You're already seventeen years old and still unengaged. This must be a source of worry for your mother, Lady Ellislan, isn't it?"
"Tough tactics? Elder Crown, I can't pretend I didn't hear that."
"This is for the future of the God-man race. If you wish to punish me, Your Highness, please return to the Floating Island before dealing with me."
With his chest puffed out, Crown spoke righteously.
However, this posed no threat to Iris at all. She had already gotten the words she wanted out of Clown's mouth. All she had to do next was let the people who needed to appear on stage come on stage and then the curtain would be drawn.
Iris asked, releasing her hands from Ella's head and placing them on her shoulders.
"Crown, you said before that Elder Belku's eldest son, Autox Belku, is better than the one I chose, right?"
"Princess-sama—how is it possible!?"
Before he could finish his words, Clown saw Ella emerging from Iris's arms. Although only her back was visible, it was confirmed that she was a woman. It was impossible for a man to dress like that.
"Your Highness, do you intend to choose a woman as your partner? This is absurd!"
"Rather than being ridiculous, I think it would be more appropriate for you to apologize immediately. Since you can use force to take me away for the future of the God-man tribe, then you can also bow your head and apologize for the future of the God-man tribe - Ella-chan."
As Iris stood up, Ella, who had heard the entire conversation, also stood up. Things had developed to this point, and even Ella understood what Iris was doing - Iris had told her before the coronation ceremony that she needed to pretend to be very close to Iris in front of the envoys of the Gods and Humans to prevent them from taking Iris back to the territory. She had agreed to this agreement at that time, and now it was naturally time to fulfill it.
If she guessed correctly, Iris probably wanted her to show her identity as the Demon King at this time and take Iris away. Ella confirmed this to herself. Iris was an indispensable friend to her, and she could not ignore the fact that she was forced to be a partner.
Ella turned to Crown—a magic caster who, though old, was full of spirit.
"I am Elerea Nott Mistydin, Lord Crown. May I ask who Elder Belku's eldest son is—"
The breath in his body stagnated, and Klauen's black eyes were filled with disbelief, but he soon realized the seriousness of the matter. In the Demon Clan, a country with extremely concentrated power, disrespecting the Demon King would not be possible for ordinary people to survive in the territory for long, even if the Demon King himself did not take action. Not to mention that the words he just said were not just disrespectful, but completely contemptuous.
The devil is not even as good as the eldest son of an elder. Even an outsider would probably sneer when hearing this. If he were not an envoy, he would probably have been beheaded.
Clown suddenly felt like a huge rock was lifted off his back. The identity of an envoy could bring benefits, but naturally it also had disadvantages. His speech represented the opinions of the Gods and Humans. When he spoke words that looked down on the Demon King in front of him, it was tantamount to the Gods and Humans' Council also looking down on the Demon King. Clown couldn't help but sweat dripping down his forehead.
"N-I didn't expect it to be the Demon King. My previous disrespect was due to my own momentary confusion. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Crown, this doesn't seem very sincere, does it?"
Iris, who was standing behind Ella, said gloatingly that she had been trying to hold back her laughter long before Clown said, "The elder's eldest son is better than Ella." The reason she deliberately delayed it until just now was to see if Clown would say something more outrageous - even if he didn't know that the person in his arms was Ella.
His Adam's apple rolled, and Crown subconsciously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, bending down deeply while asking Iris for help.
"Princess, why didn't you inform me of the Demon King's arrival?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you? Ah, sorry, I forgot. I greeted the guards this morning and told them that Ella-chan was my invited guest, so there was no need to trouble Lord Crown. I had taken a bath beforehand for this tea party, so I didn't have time to remind you. But since it's Ella-chan, I think if Lord Crown kneels down and apologizes, he should be able to forgive you."
Was put together.
Clown smacked his lips inwardly. At this point, Iris's position was very clear. The reason for this was probably that Iris wanted to prevent him from using tough measures, so she asked the Demon King for help.
The situation is so tricky that it cannot be more tricky. Normally, no king would be willing to interfere in the affairs of other countries at this time because there are unpredictable risks behind it. But the demons are different. Every demon is absolutely loyal to the Demon King. The will of the Demon King is the will of all demons, so the Demon King does not need to care about the voices of opposition. In other words, if Clown does not handle it well, it may develop into a war.
What's more, the Demon King himself is not as simple as his cute appearance. The great reforms in the demon clan have fully demonstrated that Elelaya possesses great wisdom and decisive courage.
As for the strength of both sides, not to mention the hidden parts of each side, as far as Clown knows, the demons have formed an alliance with the black dragon clan, and the most crucial thing is the unknown combat power of Entalosphiel.
Before coming here, the Council had investigated Entalosfell. They didn't believe Entalosfell could use tenth-order magic, but for safety reasons, they deemed her capable of easily casting eighth-order magic, equal in power to the magic chanters led by Queen Ellislan of the Divine Tribe.
According to Entarosphiel's movement trajectory - appearing in Dragon Island Helkar, the city of Semurabi of the Hikalite Church, the Holy City of the Enstanit Church and the northern part of the Bruzea Empire in sequence, both the location and time are the same as the movement trajectory of the Demon Lord Elelaya, which cannot help but make people suspicious.
Therefore, the council temporarily determined that the Demon King and Entalosphiel had some kind of connection, and instructed Clown to "win the Demon King's favor, and if possible, take the opportunity to establish friendly relations." In addition, there was another secret operation, but it was unrelated to this matter. The current situation was completely contrary to the instructions.
"What's wrong, Lord Crown?"
Without giving Clown time to think, Iris waved her hand slightly to fan the air - but in Clown's eyes it was like shooing away flies.
"Ella-chan's patience is limited, isn't it?"
"this……"
At this point, if nothing is done to change the situation, it will become an irreversible accident. Clown took a deep breath and slowly bent his knees - but just as Clown was about to kneel down, Ella slowly spoke.
"No need. I've already received your sincerity, but Iris is my beloved—the one I've set my sights on, so I can't allow you to use force to take her from my territory. From now on, she will live in the royal city. You can only take her if Iris is willing to go back with you. Is that okay? Of course, if there are any issues, we can discuss it separately."
How cunning.
Clown cursed in his heart, how could he possibly say there was a problem here? That would be equivalent to denying the Demon King's opinion. Perhaps the Demon King had deduced the purpose of his trip to establish diplomatic relations, so he said that.
Although the Holy King Council holds an extremely high status among the God-Human Clan, Clown is only one of the many elders in the council and has no right to forcibly take the princess away. Moreover, the Demon King has also expressed that "everything must be based on Liz's willingness." Even if he were to condemn it morally, he would have no basis to do so.
Crown could only hold back the bitterness rising in his throat and answered with his head down.
"No problem, Your Majesty the Demon King."
"Is that so? That's good. I'll take Iris away first. Oh, by the way, regarding Iris's partner, it's just a suggestion. I think Iris should make the decision herself."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will pass this on to the Council and the Queen."
Seeing Clown clasping his hands together and bowing his head deeply, Ella nodded slightly and left the courtyard with Iris.
Not long after, the two of them and their guards arrived at the bustling aristocratic street.
With a complicated look in her eyes, Iris spoke to Ella.
"Ella-chan, is it okay to say that? While it certainly achieved the goal of preventing Clown from taking me back, being too forceful could backfire and might even cause the council to have a negative opinion of Ella-chan."
"Eh? Isn't that what Iris meant? And besides the first sentence, I was just suggesting it from a personal perspective."
"If Ella hadn't explained it, who would have known? I originally wanted Clown to kneel down and apologize, but Ella took the initiative. Why haven't I seen Ella be so proactive before? Clown must have seen Ella as a cunning person now."
It was very rare for Iris to sigh in distress. She originally just wanted to use Ella's identity to drive Clown away, but she never expected that Ella would take the initiative to speak up. If this continued, the previous discussion with Camisia would probably be brought forward much earlier.
However, even if what happened today did not happen, the Gods and Demons would always compete in the future. I, the princess of the Gods, was just a fuse. Maybe because of me, the scale of the fight would be much smaller. For example, as long as Ella persuaded her mother - whether with wisdom or force - she would have won half the battle. Whether the outcome was that she left the Gods and turned the Gods into a complete parliamentary system, or she was elected to the throne and the parliament disintegrated, she could achieve the goal of avoiding the fight.
And she could also earn Ella—from Camisia's perspective, it was Ella who earned her, but it made no difference, and either way was fine for her.
Maybe what Ella did was right after all?
Elise frowned strangely.
"Ah... Um, Iris? Did I make any big mistakes just now?"
"Eh? No, it was a lucky coincidence. But before that, I want to ask, if Ella-chan faces my mother, Ellislan, what are her chances of winning? I remember Ella-chan said back on Dragon Island that she's actually very powerful."
"This... is it when I use my full strength?"
Ella scratched her cheek embarrassedly. She had originally wanted to tell Iris about her strength, but Iris didn't let her say it at that time, so she kept it a secret from her.
Ella's words made Iris pat Ella's head in annoyance.
"Of course. He's someone who can cast seventh-tier magic on his own and eighth-tier magic with chained incantations. Are you trying to let Ella down by not using your full strength?"
Iris slapped her head, causing Ella to hold her head with both hands and then speak hesitantly.
"In that case, 100%?"
"ha?"
"Ahahaha...I didn't mean to lie."
Even I, in my swordsman form, could handle eighth-tier magic. During the battle, it was very likely that the opponent was still chanting the spell when I used [Teleportation] combined with my knife to interrupt the chanting.
An expression of "as expected" appeared on her face, and Iris sighed helplessly.
"As expected, it's just as I thought. However, this way, the balance of victory has been reversed."
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