“Four years ago… When the Demon King proposed this plan, didn’t anyone in the human world object?”
Eileen asked.
According to the game’s worldbuilding, the human and demon realms had been like fire and water. They had fought countless wars, both large and small. Every single war had been fought not for resources, but with the intent of completely wiping the other side off the face of the earth. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a deep-seated blood feud.
Back then, anyone who had any contact with demons would be burned alive. The conflict between the two realms had reached a point where reconciliation seemed impossible.
Yet in just a few short years, the human and demon realms had managed to coexist so harmoniously. It was hard to believe.
“The opposition was quite strong. Many people believed it was a trap set by the Demon King. But later, the Demon King opened the borders and personally visited human nations. That changed quite a few people’s opinions about the newly ascended Demon King. Through continuous contact, we arrived at the current situation…”
Mia paused for a moment before continuing, “However, even today, there are still many opposition voices. Our country is one of the few that maintains a genuinely friendly attitude toward the Demon Realm.”
“That makes sense. After all, it’s only been four years.”
Eileen understood.
Four years sounded like a long time, but the human and demon realms had been in conflict for over a thousand years. For the Navora Principality to achieve harmonious coexistence with the Demon Realm in just four years was practically a miracle.
“Then why can’t other countries be like the Navora Principality?”
Atia asked curiously.
“The reason is actually quite simple. Two words: interests.”
Eileen explained, “The Navora Principality shares a border with the Demon Realm. When trade between the two realms became possible, Navora was the most direct beneficiary. The profits were enormous and could influence the entire nation’s economy. It only made sense for them to maintain good relations with the Demon Realm.”
“I see…”
Atia nodded, half-understanding. She had previously spent all her energy just trying to survive and had never had the time to pay attention to international affairs. Understanding this was a bit difficult for her.
After hearing the explanation, Mia looked at Eileen with a slightly higher opinion.
No wonder Kate kept her around. She really did have some ability.
The three of them chatted as they walked and soon arrived at the entrance of Kate’s home.
Eileen took one look and silently muttered to herself.
“Kate calls this a ‘small villa’?”
What stretched before her eyes was an entire estate.
The villa’s grayish-white limestone walls were covered in climbing vines. In front of the courtyard was a rose garden in full bloom, with dewdrops still clinging to the petals. The yew hedges were neatly trimmed, forming a circle around the garden.
The most exaggerated feature was the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. The sound of water wasn’t loud, yet it nearly made Eileen’s ears ring.
“T-this is an estate, right? And it’s way more luxurious than the Leville family’s…”
Atia stared blankly at the scene before her.
The estate the Leville family had spent a fortune building near Crisel looked like a tiny shack compared to this one.
“The Leville family?”
A hint of disdain flashed through Mia’s eyes. “A minor noble who throws his weight around in some small town can’t possibly compare to Lady Kate.”
“Um… may I ask how much Kate paid when she bought this estate?”
Eileen asked politely.
The game also had a housing system where players could buy houses or estates and customize them however they liked.
Unfortunately, Eileen wasn’t much of a builder. In her eyes, aside from romancing every female character and fighting, she hadn’t paid much attention to that system.
But now that she might be living in this world long-term, buying a place of her own might not be a bad idea.
At the very least, she wouldn’t have to keep looking at a landlord’s face and risk getting kicked out whenever they were unhappy…
“Around one hundred thousand gold coins, I believe.”
Mia thought for a moment before answering. “This used to belong to another major noble. After it was discovered that he had been colluding with demons, the Duke had his entire family executed and confiscated the estate as state property.
At first, the Duke wanted to gift it directly to Lady Kate, but she refused no matter what. In the end, he could only sell it to her at a price below market value.
At the original price, this estate should have been worth around five hundred thousand gold coins.”
“Five hundred thousand?!”
Eileen was shocked. Atia was even more stunned, frantically counting on her fingers.
Five hundred thousand gold coins. Even in the game, that had been an enormous sum.
If she hadn’t discovered a money-farming bug right after arriving in the capital during her first playthrough, it would have taken her a very long time to save up that much.
“Miss Eileen, five hundred thousand… gold coins! That’s enough to buy more than thirty million loaves of bread! You could eat for ten lifetimes and still not finish it all!”
Atia grabbed Eileen’s sleeve, her emotions running high. She had never seen that much money in her life!
Eileen raised an eyebrow. This girl was surprisingly good at math. As expected of someone who came from a merchant caravan.
“There’s no need to be so shocked. Over the past few years, Lady Kate has resolved many high-rank magical beasts that threatened the very survival of our country. This is what she deserves.”
As Mia spoke, she led the two of them into the estate. The moment they reached the villa entrance, the doors opened.
What greeted them was an extremely luxurious hall, with rows of maids lined up on both sides and a white-haired old butler standing in the middle.
“Connor Estate welcomes Lady Kate’s honored guests.”
The old butler bowed respectfully. The maids on both sides also bent at the waist and said in unison, “Welcome, Miss Eileen, Miss Atia!”
This kind of display?
Eileen was genuinely startled by the formation.
There had to be at least twenty or thirty maids here. And then there was that old butler…
“Um… you wouldn’t happen to be named Sebastian, would you?”
The old butler raised his head and carefully looked at Eileen, but showed no sign of recognition.
“Miss Eileen, do you know me?”
“I know… a relative of yours, I suppose. You look a bit similar.”
Eileen made up an excuse to brush it off.
As expected, in this kind of swords-and-magic world, every butler seemed to be named something like that…
“I see. In any case, Miss Eileen, you may simply call me Trenton.”
“Mr. Trenton, please take Miss Eileen and Miss Atia to rest first. They’re a bit dizzy from the teleportation array. I’ll be returning to the knight order now.”
Mia reminded him.
“Understood, Miss Mia.”
Trenton nodded. Just as he was about to lead the two upstairs to rest, a gardener came running over in a hurry.
“Mr. Trenton, someone has come looking for Lady Kate…”
“Tell them Lady Kate is still at the Duke’s residence. They can come back to visit later.”
Trenton didn’t take it seriously. After all, people came looking for Kate every single day, and among them, that brat Wesley showed up the most often.
“But Mr. Trenton… the one looking for Lady Kate is Lady Cassandra Navora…”
Upon hearing the familiar name, Eileen’s hair nearly stood on end.
Wasn’t she supposed to return to the capital at the end of the month at the earliest?
This is bad, this is bad, this is bad…