Chapter 239 Harmonious Interlude

In the most prosperous commercial district of Magic City, the headquarters of Abyss Times is located in the center of an old ancient building. Although the furnishings here are not as official and magnificent as the headquarters of Magic City Daily, Abyss Times has a large number of loyal readers in Magic City due to its sharp news style and unique insider information, and its sales are no less than the previous one.

This is especially true of this issue of the newspaper.

With the latest sales data released, the entire editorial department was in an uproar! Not only did they set the highest sales record in the newspaper's history in the past 10 years, they also surpassed the "Magic City Daily" in the same period! In order to satisfy readers' thirst for news, the printing factory they cooperated with even printed two more copies on the same day! According to the complaints of the printing workers, in order to complete these unexpected orders, the magic ink used to print magic photos in the factory was almost used up!

This is simply a miracle! What is even more incredible is that all this happened because of a striking headline:

"The Demon King angrily denounced the bureaucrats for their cowardice and incompetence, and claimed that he wanted justice for the 80,000 soldiers who died in the battle!"

In the lower right corner of the headline page, a line of small words reads:

"Our newspaper reports: According to anonymous disclosures from parliamentary staff..."

This "anonymous informant" is none other than Karisman, an inconspicuous nightmare demon in the Parliament Building.

According to the editorial department of the Abyss Times, this nightmare was originally just an ordinary clerical assistant in the parliament, responsible for organizing documents and transporting reports, and his daily work was unremarkable.

His presence is so low that his colleagues occasionally forget his name.

However, it was this insignificant little person who made the sales of the latest issue of "Abyss Times" create an incredible miracle.

And according to the field survey of the sales department, the surge in sales data is mainly contributed by the marginal areas of the Magic City! People there usually don't spend money to buy newspapers, but now they generously donate to the Abyss Times. If we can gain the favor of these people, it will undoubtedly be a huge "incremental market" for the Abyss Times! Not only that!

It is said that for a whole day, the streets and alleys of the slums of the Demon City were discussing the "shocking" behavior of the Demon Lord. The veterans in the tavern toasted his name, and the young men also spread the legendary story of the "Demon Lord who spoke for the front line" by word of mouth, and even felt proud of having worked part-time in Black Wind Castle! As a reporter with an extremely keen sense of news and a succubus who is good at playing with people's hearts, Elsabel, who works in the editorial department of the Abyss Times, quickly noticed the public opinion circulating in the streets and alleys.

Although public opinion has never been important in the Magic City, or it is only important when the top leaders think it is of use, this does not prevent the Abyss Times from making money from information that people like to hear and see!

The atmosphere in the editor-in-chief's office of "Abyss Times" was particularly warm.

"So!" Elsabel put her hands on the table, her eyes sparkling. "Since the Demon King is so newsworthy, why don't we just interview him?!"

Sitting opposite her was Lulu, a translucent slime and senior editor of the Abyss Times.

As a slime, she has worked in the newspaper for ten years and is known for her calmness, rationality and sharp tongue.

At this moment, her slime body shook slightly and made a "gurgling" sound, as if trying to digest Elsabel's crazy suggestion.

After a few seconds, she raised her gel-coated "eyebrows" with an expression that said "Are you serious?"

"...You mean, you want to interview the Demon King of Thunder County?"

"That's right!" Elsabel nodded confidently. "We need first-hand information! Imagine the cover title of this issue - 'Shout out for the soldiers on the front line! Exclusive interview with the ruler of Thunder County!' I bet that sales will definitely set a new record!"

Lulu took a deep breath, put down the quill in his hand, and looked at Elsabel with a look of idiocy: "Girl, were you strangled by your own tail when you fell asleep last night? Who do you think you are? That's the Demon King, a truly powerful guy. He would make time for an interview with you?"

"I heard that he is human, and a man." Elsabel curled her lips and smiled, with the confidence of a succubus flashing in her eyes. "As long as the means are right, there will be no interview subject that cannot be arranged."

Lulu stared at her.

"Don't give me that. That kind of person is not a small character that you can make dizzy with just a glance."

"Then you just wait and see." Elsabel shrugged, "I can definitely handle it!"

Lulu looked at her jokingly, as if he had seen the joke.

"Okay, since you are so confident, let's take a gamble. If you can really interview the Demon King, I will have the newspaper open an exclusive column for you, and also provide you with a private office and a dedicated assistant."

Elsabel's eyes lit up: "Oh? Are you serious?"

"Of course." Lulu said slowly, "But if you fail——"

She paused, then raised her lips into a wicked smile: "You will lose your bonus and performance bonus for this year, and... you will also be responsible for the sanitation of the editorial office's public office area for a whole year."

Elsabel's smile froze instantly: "...Are you kidding?"

"I'm serious." Lulu spread out her sticky hands. "If you don't dare, just give up this stupid idea."

Elsabel hesitated for two seconds.

But soon, the fighting spirit in her eyes rekindled.

She was the ace reporter of the Abyss Times. If she couldn't even handle a mere human, what kind of reporter was she, what kind of succubus? "Deal."

She curled the corners of her mouth, licked her fangs gently, and stretched out her hand to shake hands with Lulu.

The slime's sticky hands and the succubus's slender hands held together, and this bet on dignity was officially established.

Lulu shook his transparent body leisurely, looking at Elsabel with a gloating look: "I'm waiting to see how you embarrass yourself. Maybe you can write an interview for yourself."

Elsabel shook her golden hair and made a face.

"Prepare an office for me. I want the newly renovated one. Also, my assistant should preferably be a handsome vampire, or a human, but don't assign me a slime that is neither human nor ghost... Of course, I don't mean to offend you."

Lulu shrugged and added slowly.

"No problem, it's up to you to decide your dream. But if I were you, I would go to the alchemy shop and order a magic broom first. At least it would make your life easier and save you the work of sweeping the floor."

If it really succeeds, it won't hurt to open a character column in the Abyss Times. As the Demon King of Thunder County and a rising political star in the Demon City, his status must be enough to make the new column famous.

If it fails, it's no loss. It's also great to save the office's hygiene expenses. Slime's workstation is always difficult to clean.

"..." Elsabel's cheek twitched, but only for a moment.

Soon she put on a confident smile, picked up her interview book, turned around and walked out of the office.

"Wish me good luck, Lulu."

"Good luck to you. Also, you can seriously consider my suggestion. It's for your own good." The slime editor behind her calmly flipped through the documents and replied casually. He didn't think she could succeed at all.

After all, he is the Demon King of Thunder County.

According to unreliable rumors, even the succubus among succubi, the young lady of the Padrich family, fell into his hands.

She had no doubt that this guy didn't stand a chance...

…

On the obsidian-paved streets, the amethyst dome casts a soft glow, the flow of people is bustling, and there are all kinds of shops. The air is filled with the scent of perfume, baked snacks, and various magical goods.

This street is one of the most prosperous commercial areas in Shanghai.

Luo Yan has lived in the Magic City for a few years, but this is his first time here.

As for the reason, it is naturally because of poverty.

Of course, he himself doesn't have very high material desires, so he doesn't think there is any problem.

In this technologically poor world, luxury would only make simple things complicated inexplicably. As for personal desires, magic itself was enough to keep him interested and playing with it for a long time. After becoming the Demon King, he would not feel bored when fighting with other demons and humans.

As for why the respected Demon King appeared on this street that was incompatible with his temperament at this moment...

Then you have to ask Miss Vivian who is humming a little tune and skipping beside you.

"So... Dear Miss Vivian, where are we going now?"

Looking around at the bustling street scenes, Luo Yan looked at the little girl beside him helplessly.

Vivian was holding a cup of Hell Sundae in her hand, licking the bright red strawberry jam in small sips. She was completely immersed in the colorful and delicious taste, with a look of happiness on her face.

"Of course I'm going to see Nanfu." She took the time to perfunctorily say, "Didn't I tell you that my brother admires you very much and wants to meet you... You will fulfill this little wish of his, right?"

Luo Yan glanced at her without comment.

"But we've been walking around the commercial street for an hour."

"Hmm?" Vivian tilted her head in confusion, with a barely perceptible cunningness on the corner of her mouth. "Is there any conflict between this and meeting Nanfu?"

Luo Yan sighed.

"So do you want to meet your brother, or do you just want someone to go shopping with you?"

"Of course... to see Nanfu." Vivian still had a righteous expression, but she didn't dare to look directly at Luo Yan. She dodged and looked at the window on the street. "But, since we are out, we can't meet him empty-handed, right? Buying some gifts... is also reasonable, right?"

It's quite reasonable indeed.

Luo Yan glanced at the dessert in her hand.

“…Okay.”

Let's just leave it at that.

Hearing the compromising voice, Vivian's face unconsciously curled up into a smile of success, with sparkling fangs hanging at the corners of her mouth, as if a great revenge had been taken.

Vivian had always been brooding over the fact that a certain vixen did not invite her to her birthday party and secretly asked her brother to dance, but now she had finally gotten her money back with interest.

So what if they were dancing? Even if they were close, it would only last a few minutes. In contrast, she was able to occupy Luo Yan for the entire afternoon. No matter how she thought about it, she won! Thinking this way, Vivian was in a good mood, and her desire to shop also increased.

She was seen strolling leisurely on the street, visiting almost all the famous clothing and accessories stores. She didn't buy any gifts from Nanfu, but she bought a lot of accessories for herself.

That’s not all.

This guy was still acting at the beginning, making up some lame excuses like "Nanfu likes to use girls' things" and "He's usually like this". But later on, he simply stopped acting and not only did he go into the fitting room himself, but also started chattering with questions after coming out.

"How about this one?", "Does this skirt suit me?", "Will white be too weird for me? Black is better... well, blue seems good too."

Luo Yan could still respond with a few words at first, but later he simply gave up struggling and leaned against the counter, watching her try on various skirts with great interest.

Finally, Luo Yan couldn't help but complain when he saw Miss Vivian, who was wearing a strapless dress and shyly pinching the hem of her skirt as she walked out of the fitting room.

"…Are you planning on letting your brother wear this?"

“Woo——”

Vivian's back froze, as if her soft spot had been hit, but she still hurriedly found an excuse and spoke stubbornly.

"You, what do you know? This is social etiquette... the tradition of the Principality of Kolin! If I dress too casually, my brother... will be unhappy..."

"I don't know whether your brother is happy or not."

Luo Yan glanced at the clothes that were almost piled up into a small mountain next to him and added calmly.

“But the shop owner must be very happy now.”

As expected, the witch clerk standing next to her smiled like a blooming mandala flower, diligently tidied Vivian's dress, and gave her some flattery and assistance from time to time.

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"Yes, sir, my hometown is the Principality of Kolin, and there is indeed such a tradition there. Miss, your temperament is a perfect match for this dress, just like a noble princess of the night."

"..." Vivian pursed her lips and was reserved, not saying anything in return, but her eyebrows flying up to the sky revealed her good mood vividly.

Luo Yan looked at the smiling shop assistant in silence and rolled his eyes silently.

I don't believe you! If your hometown is really the Principality of Colin, how could you not recognize this little ancestor in front of you? However, as an elegant demon king, he naturally didn't bother with a shop assistant, and he was too lazy to expose Vivian's little thoughts.

There have been a lot of troubles recently.

Just think of it as a way to relax.

"Hehehe..." Youyou couldn't hold back her laughter and she looked at Luo Yan with a gloating look on her face, as if saying "You have come to this day too".

It seems that this guy is really bored.

Luo Yan glanced at the air beside him and said in a low voice.

"Have you given instructions regarding the blueprints?"

Youyou coughed lightly and spoke with his chest puffed out.

"Don't worry, Lord Demon, don't you know your players well? Give them enough time, and they can even make a Gundam for you! Just wait and see the final result!"

It doesn't need to be as redundant as a Gundam, he just wants to equip the magic crystal cannon with tracks and an engine.

After learning about the progress of the project, Luo Yan calmed down and continued to while away this leisurely yet torturous time.

About half an hour later, Vivian finally chose a light blue dress with silver edges. She stood in front of the mirror, looking left and right, and smiled with satisfaction.

She turned her head to look at Luo Yan, gently lifted her purple hair, and asked casually.

"How, how is it?"

If she were to rate it herself, this would probably be the one she is most satisfied with.

Luo Yan took a look, stroked his chin and thought, then gave a serious and pertinent comment.

“It’s pretty nice.”

Come to think of it, this outfit is quite similar to the one Irene wore when she said goodbye to him.

Apart from their different hair color and IQ, the two men are similar in many other aspects.

Before, Luo Yan couldn’t tell where the similarities were, but now he suddenly understood.

They are like two mirrors, one reflects the Principality of Colin, and the other reflects the Principality of Campbell... They reflect the mental states of people in two different worlds.

Seeing the appreciation in Luo Yan's eyes, Vivian's lips curled up, and she felt a sweet joy in her heart.

But soon, she seemed to remember something and coughed in an attempt to cover up her mistake.

"This... this is also for..."

"For my brother." Looking at Vivian who had been stuttering for a long time, Luo Yan joked and finished for her.

Meeting those eyes that seemed to be smiling, a blush gradually crept up Vivian's cheeks.

The relaxed smile collapsed from her face. She nervously pinched the hem of her skirt, bit her lips, and her eyes were wandering. It took her a long time to force herself to force out a lie.

"right……"

As soon as she finished speaking, before Luo Yan could say anything, she couldn't help but shiver slightly.

It’s terrible!

She was so proud of herself that she forgot the excuse she had prepared at the beginning! Even if she was slow, she could understand the half-smile in his eyes.

Vivian's shoulders trembled slightly, and she lowered her head unconsciously, like a child who had made a mistake. She secretly loosened her index finger that was pinching the hem of her skirt, and started stirring it secretly behind her back again.

Her heart was filled with anxiety, fear, tension, and a hint of... anticipation? However, she didn't know that her lame lie had already been seen through, but Luo Yan didn't want to argue with her.

Looking at the slowly rising right hand, Vivian uttered "Ah" softly and closed her eyes nervously.

However, just when she was ready to be punished, the expected scolding did not come. Instead, a warm big hand fell on her head and rubbed it gently, just like stroking a passing cat.

"You...if you want someone to go shopping with you, why don't you just say no? You have to use your brother as a cover."

Luo Yan couldn't help it after all. He raised the corner of his mouth slightly and casually exposed the lie that made her so ashamed that she curled her toes.

Vivian was stunned for a moment, and raised her head in confusion, as if she had not expected that the punishment she was waiting for with trepidation would be so gentle.

Her thin lips slightly opened, but then quietly closed. Crystal clear mist instantly filled her eyes, and her tears sparkled like a drop of morning dew about to fall.

“R-Really?!”

She clenched her fists tightly, her face filled with joy and anticipation that were difficult to conceal.

"Can I...can I invite you...to join me?"

Her tone was cautious, as if she was afraid that this happiness would be shattered in the next second.

Looking at her humble and eager expression, Luo Yan's heart couldn't help but tremble slightly, and a trace of self-blame surged in his heart.

"certainly……"

However, just as he was about to nod in agreement, the letters pouring in like snowflakes from the transport room emerged in his mind.

Ever since he promised Vivian that she could write to him when she was bored, the little girl's letters could be piled up into a book.

Before he finished speaking, Luo Yan immediately added: "...the premise is that I happen to be in the Magic City and have nothing else to do."

"Um!"

Vivian nodded repeatedly, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and a happy smile bloomed on her face.

"Well... then I'll just tell you directly next time. I can wait until you're not busy, hehe... hehehe..."

Seeing her immersed in a beautiful fantasy, Luo Yan couldn't help but raise his guard and added cautiously: "...Let me confirm first, I just said shopping, buying things with you or something like that."

Whether she listened or not, he had to make it clear.

"Well! Let's go, let's go shopping! Oh oh oh! Let's go!" Vivian nodded her head happily, grabbed her brother's arm with a smile, and walked happily towards the door.

Seeing the clothes piled up like a mountain on the counter about to be thrown away, the clerk's eyes turned green and she hurriedly stepped forward to stop the two men.

"Madam, sir, do you still want these clothes?"

"Please pack it for me and send it to... the Demon Academy in Demon City, signed by Vivian." Luo Yan took out a bank card and casually scanned the magic stone in the clerk's hand to pay.

The financial system of Demon City is unexpectedly more developed than that of Thunder City, but this is also related to the severe inflation in Hell.

When Archduke Edward Campbell starts issuing banknotes, it will only take a few minutes to come up with card payment. The magic principle involved is not very complicated and cannot even be called an invention.

Vivian hugged his arms with a sweet look on her face, completely immersed in the atmosphere she imagined.

The two walked out of the store together.

However, at this moment, Luo Yan suddenly became aware that a pair of prying eyes had quietly fallen on him, and the eyes quickly fled away before they made contact with his.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he thought to himself, could it be someone from the Dragun family? That shouldn't be the case.

The two sides are still in the stage of friction with each other, and it is not yet time for the final rubbing into each other.

Luo Yan was about to ask Youyou to help him find out what was going on when a pretentious voice suddenly came from the side -

“Hahaha! Luo Yan, the Demon King of Thunder County, the Baron of Black Wind Castle!”

"I didn't expect you to be such a person!"

(End of this chapter)