Duma explained earnestly:
"Demons are considered to be a race with very high racial talent, so many races are willing to accept them."
"I settled my people into different tribes in batches, and through misinformation, it became known that I was leading a mercenary group to have fun among the various tribes... While there was certainly an element of having fun involved, that wasn't my intention."
Ed seemed thoughtful upon hearing this; this demon actually sounded quite nice.
But many of the people he had painstakingly settled have now become part of the Corpse Tide...
Ed sighed inwardly and asked:
"And then what happened?"
"Later..."
Duma was lost in memories:
"After settling all my people, I began to wander the world... I traveled to kingdoms where the fight against the demons had led to fragmented governance, to empires embroiled in internal strife due to a usurpation, to the Holy City of the Tree Worship Church between the two, and even met two people at the Norse Port..."
At this point, Duma's expression suddenly became solemn. He straightened his back and said, word by word:
" Short-Eared Elf."
After saying the phrase, his tone returned to normal, completely unaware of the fleeting surprise on Ed's face.
"Then, just as I was planning to travel to the Elf Island overseas, the Demonic Tide suddenly broke out."
Finally, we've come to the events of the last hundred years.
Ed thought to himself, "This is ridiculous. "Duma continued, "..."
"As High Tier demon, I have a clear sense of the Demonic Tide. I realized that the starting point of the Demonic Tide invasion was the Elf Island overseas, so I ran in the opposite direction all the way to the Holy City, where I met a priest who had returned from the kingdom to report on his duties, and we became friends."
Ed nodded and continued listening. Given Duma's intelligence, she wouldn't have brought up an ordinary priest for no reason; there was probably a deeper meaning behind it.
Seraphina, on the other hand, looked completely absorbed in the story.
As a young dragon, she hadn't actually been to that many places; her activity range was basically the northern part of the kingdom before the Demonic Tide, so she was very interested in things outside the kingdom.
"I became friends with that priest and did some things for him. He knew what I wanted, and after he was promoted to bishop, he found me a leisurely job. All I had to do was read books and newspapers. I did that job until a little over a month ago..."
What happened more than a month ago?
Duma lowered his head, his tone carrying an indescribable feeling:
"I received his hint that a being resurrected, resembling Tree God, had appeared in the northern part of the Theocracy. He wanted me to go and see what was going on, so I infiltrated the Legion of the Stained Ones and came here."
Did you infiltrate the Stained Ones Legion?
You've become a legion commander!
"Oh, what is the priest's name?"
" Geliwusi Kluge, one of the three cardinals."
Now that things had come to this, Ed understood everything.
The cardinal Duolin was able to contact had already made his stance clear by sending Nuolun, the cardinal behind Antiya Lisi was prepared to kill him, and the third and most mysterious cardinal had sent the Devil of Fun to check on the situation.
Ed was unsure whether to call this kind of factional division a classic example or to say that triangles are stable.
In short, it seems that he has gained another force within the Tree Worship Church, which is a good thing for him.
Ed pondered for a moment, then suddenly chuckled:
"This cardinal seems to enjoy making insinuations?"
Duma thought about his human friend's personality and said:
"He wasn't like this when he was young, but he was probably corrupted by the previous cardinal."
"It's okay, if he likes to give hints, then let him give them."
Ed looked at Duma and said:
"You are about to assume the position of [ Soul Returner Legion Commander ] and guard the southern defenses of the Second Holy See, is there any doubt about that?"
Duma shook his head:
"No problem."
"I see you really enjoy role-playing. How about you try creating a new character for yourself?"
Duma nodded:
"Please enlighten me Tree God."
Ed's idea was simple: Duma was still in the role-playing stage, which, according to the perspective of the other world, was actually fan fiction (after all, the original owner was killed by him).
Ed now intends to let the other party enter the self-design phase. For this new character setting, Ed only plans to provide a name that is both distinctive and suggestive of Geliwusi:
"From today onwards, you are the [ Soul Returner Legion Commander ] -- Nige Ganhuo!"
Duma stared wide-eyed at Ed, then looked at Seraphina with a bewildered expression:
"Isn't she the Nige Ganhuo?"
Seraphina, who had been immersed in the story, snapped out of it and shouted angrily:
"You're the nigger, your whole family are niggers!"
How did she learn this way of swearing without any instruction?
Ed didn't think too much about it and gestured for the two of them—no, the dragon and the demon—to stop arguing.
"She is the Red Dragon Seraphina; you should have heard of her in the Holy City."
Duma nodded and then shook his head:
"I know she's one of the remaining dragons within the Tree Worship Church's territory, but... Seraphina reached a non-aggression pact with the Tree Worship Church decades ago. Attacking a member of the Tree Worship Church would incur the pact's punishment, but she..."
Duma didn't know how to describe Seraphina's behavior of playing with bubble tea; she could only remain speechless.
Upon hearing this, the Dragon Girl shrugged:
"I thought it was something else... You know the agreement says I can't harm members of the Tree Worship Church, but I really haven't harmed any members of the Tree Worship Church. This is the Second Holy See, the Tree Worship Church I endorse. As for those in the south, they're just rebels who seized the Holy City."
Duma was stunned for a moment, then simultaneously raised all four of his thumbs up:
"What a clever trick to reverse the Heavenly Stems, no...!"
He suddenly realized that he was now a member of the Second Holy See, so he quickly changed his tone:
"That makes perfect sense, that's exactly how it should be."
Ed smiled and nodded:
Do you have any further questions?
"There is none left."
Duma answered sincerely.
"Then sign it. Write your name after 'Party B' in the contract."
"Lord Tree God, would you like to write your real name?"
Ed frowned:
"Isn't that obvious?"
Duma took the charcoal pencil:
"Okay, but my real name... is a bit long."
How long can it be?
Ed looked at the contract, which was mostly blank, and thought to himself that even a medieval nobleman with several fiefdoms could write his full name in such a large blank area.
Duma remained silent, but began writing after "Party B".
The rustling sound of writing echoed in the room. Duma's hands kept moving, and distorted characters kept falling onto the paper, gradually dulling the charcoal pencil.
"Splash."
Ed's expression vanished.
Duma turned the page.