Chapter 194: Shea’s Reward
After the crowd left, only Shea and Chen Rui remained in the council hall.
“Congratulations, the newly elected sheriff.” The anger that Shea deliberately showed when she was facing Joseph had long disappeared. She said with emotion, “Your plan is truly admirable. Joseph really pushes you toward the sheriff’s position.”
Actually, without the “agreement” between “Aguile” and Joseph in advance, Joseph wouldn’t make up his mind to push Chen Rui to the top. However, Chen Rui definitely wouldn’t say that, so he just laughed, “Without the cooperation between Princess Royal and the Saiful Family, we definitely wouldn’t achieve such an effect. Next, Princess Royal can send someone to take control and rectify the garrison. I just have to be a display.”
“Kaguron will be responsible for the imperial guards.” Shea said with a touch of brilliance in her eyes, “Since you’re serving as the sheriff, then I’ll leave the garrison to you?”
“I can’t do that!” Chen Rui shook his head quickly. Giving behind the scenes is still fine, but I really can’t lead troops. Besides, my identity as “Chen Rui” is a powerless human, so I can’t reveal my strength because of this.
“Don’t underestimate your ability. Also, you can ask Athena to help you.” Shea glanced at him, and she suddenly added, “Here is another piece of advice. The bloodline talent of the Wales Family is very special. If you truly want the best for Athena, don’t cross the last line until she’s 20.”
Chen Rui looked surprised as the affair between him and Athena weren’t disclosed, even the little loli could only guess a little. Yet, Shea probably also guessed it. When Athena took the initiative to accompany Chen Rui to Mountain Xilang, Shea should have already noticed some clues.
Chen Rui could notice the faint loneliness in Shea’s voice. Shea didn’t give him the time to explain or consider and continued casually, “Since this is the case, I think the promise before you went to the mine should be fulfilled, which is Kia.”
It was basically bringing up the old topic again. Chen Rui frowned, “Can I refuse this reward?”
A few months ago, after Kia learned of this incident, her initial rapport with Chen Rui suddenly became strange. In the past, Kia liked to follow Alice to picnic. Yet, a few days ago, when Alice asked Kia to come along, Kia actually refused. She was obviously avoiding Chen Rui.
To be honest, when he first came to the Demon Realm, Chen Rui did have some lustful thoughts for this seductive succubus. However, now, he didn’t have that feeling at all, let alone forcing her to do something she didn’t want to.
“This isn’t a reward actually but a task.” Shea shook her head and said, “I rescued Kia by chance, then she became my maid, but… the ‘incident’ is likely to be intentional. Don’t underestimate this succubus, her intelligence and strength are far beyond your imagination.”
After Kia became Shea’s maid, she had always been doing her job and won the trust of Shea. However, by chance, Old Gauss found that she had a powerful amount of spirit. If she was a magician, her strength would still be above Old Gauss himself, so he immediately reported to Shea.
No matter how they interrogate, Kia said that it was because she awakened her mutated talent recently. Also, she voluntarily put on an anti-magic ring to show her innocence which was a powerful item that could confine magic power.
Although there was nothing to pick on her reason and attitude, Shea was already suspicious, so she didn’t let Kia stay with her. Instead, she gave it to Alice. Actually, Old Gauss also secretly tried to perform the master-servant contract, but it was invalid for Kia. It was likely that she already had her a master or servant, so her origin was by no means simple.
“Your task is to find out her origin. If possible, completely subdue her, so that the enemy’s pawn that is placed beside us can be used by us. In addition to having excellent magic talents, Kia also has the mutated talent of devour physique to allows her to devour the essence of the subject and turn it into hers. This mutated talent is very rare and extremely powerful. Even a Demon Overlord cannot completely exempt from it. The magic ring can only limit her magic power, but cannot restrain this talent. However, there is a secret treasure that can suppress this devouring force – which is the ‘Dark Will’ I gave you!” Shea’s eyes fell onto Chen Rui’s finger, but the ring wasn’t there, then her brows frowned slightly.
Chen Rui noticed Shea’s dissatisfaction. With a thought, the storage played its role. When he opened his fist, the Lucifer Royal Family’s secret treasure was on his palm, “I think you need this secret treasure more than I do. Since I’m back from Mountain Xilang, I want to return it to you.”
“This is a gift I gave you. I didn’t plan to take it back.” Shea glanced at the ring and shook her head lightly, “This secret treasure ring was made by Sakya. Lucifer’s concubine, Shanny. Belphegor using her strongest <Eye of Evil>’s power together with Lucifer Royal Family’s blood. Other than <Teleportation> and spirit resistance, it had a special function when it comes to the affair between men and women, which was enough to suppress Kia’s devour physique.”
Chen Rui didn’t expect that the “Dark Will” would have such a miraculous effect. Suddenly, he thought of the “Infatuation Ring” from Roman in his storage. Its correct name should be Purple Flame Heart. It seemed to be involved with some ancient treasures. Unfortunately, this mystery hadn’t been solved yet.
He heard Shea’s tone turned cold, “You just have to wear the ring and you can occupy Kia without being affected by her devouring power. The succubus is naturally attractive to men, but their desire for men is also higher than that of ordinary women. In a situation where conditions are mature, it might be a good way to take possession of her body and mind completely. Our current plan has been carried out to a more critical stage, so no mistakes are allowed. If it is determined that she cannot be subdued, then she has to be completely eliminated to avoid troubles in the future!”
The coldness that can easily manipulate other’s life and death seemed to be reminding Chen Rui that it was an indifferent female lord in front of him.
Chen Rui frowned and said, “Do I have to complete this task? Can’t you leave it to someone else?”
“The Dark Will was secretly escorted to me by Athena 3 years ago. Almost no one knows that it’s in my hands. Besides, other than you, I don’t plan to give it to another person… This task can only be done by you.” Shea paused and looked appreciative, “Speaking of which, since Kia is just a task, I don’t know what reward I should give to you.”
“Reward? There is no need for that right? I don’t have much contribution anyway.” Chen Rui rubbed his nose. “Besides, I’m already a sheriff. In the future, if I was found to be abusing my powers and taking bribes, I hope Princess Royal can turn a blind eye.”
“Based solely on contribution, no one is comparable to you in the Dark Moon…” Shea shook her head, “Now, the secret food base has been successfully established. Under the influence of the dust, the effect on soil improvement is huge and the crop yield is pleasing. I have managed to solve the Dark Moon’s food crisis for thousands of years, and you definitely deserve a huge credit. The revenue from the Princess Retail Store that you planned exceeded my imagination. It had become one of the most important sources of money. Besides, your follow-up plans will also bring more revenues. Not only that, the minerals you bring back this time, along with those brought back by Aguile last time, are enough to craft equipment to arm several troops. You not only rescued Tim, making the Saiful Family even more loyal, but you also killed the bandits’ leader with a scheme. You planned the entire Mountain Xilang raid and finally cleared the hidden dangers at the west that lasted for several years. This time, your plan also helps us regained the power of the sheriff… “
“Really?” Chen Rui rubbed his nose even harder. It does sound like a lot of contributions, but most of them are for my own objectives, and many of them were just taking advantage of the situation…
After Shea said so much in one breath, she sighed, “These credits are too great that I can’t think of how to reward you…”
Can’t think of any reward? However, Shea was right. The sheriff was already the highest position below the lord. Besides, half of the wealth from the Princess Retail Store in the palace’s storage belonged to Chen Rui anyway, so there was really nothing to reward him.
Chen Rui muttered secretly and laughed, “We humans have a phrase that ‘if the one’s contributions are too great, it will intimidate the master’. Generally, when it comes to this point, even if one truly gives up his or her power, one still hardly ends well.”
There were countless examples in history, Han Xin [1], Yue Fei [2], Li Mu [3], Nian Gengyao [4]… Although their failures contained multiple comprehensive factors, the key point was undoubtedly their huge contributions that intimidated their own masters.
Shea looked dignified and stood up, “I, Shea Lucifer swears by my royal bloodline…”
“Wait!” Chen Rui smiled bitterly, “It’s just a joke. Princess Royal doesn’t have to be so serious.”
“If that was just a test, I believe you already know my answer.” Shea frowned, “The people from the capital will probably arrive in the next few days. We must be careful when dealing with them then. In any case, the Beelzebub Royal Family must be killed when it’s still budding. Especially the guy wearing the “God-Eating Mask” that night, he must be crushed!”
Shea’s undisguised strong killing intentions in her tone made Chen Rui secretly chill. The secret in the hidden room should be the biggest source of the murderous intention. It seems that the identity of the “Beelzebub Royal Family” should continue to be concealed.
Based on the “law” of offsetting hatred with affinity, I’ll accumulate more contributions now. Therefore, when I tell her the truth, her grievance should be reduced.
Shea looked at his flickering eyes, then her voice suddenly became a little muffled, “You truly think that one day I will hurt you because of…?”
“Value determines the meaning of existence.” Chen Rui scratched his head, “This is what Princess Royal said. It is like the time I went to Mountain Xilang previously.”
When Shea heard Mountain Xilang, it seemed to have touched something and the ice in her eyes gradually melted. “No, your value isn’t…”
She didn’t go on with that sentence, but Chen Rui clearly felt the rare softness radiating from her purple eyes. Thinking of the call in front of the Wind Chime of Memory in the hidden room, his heart was softened. He showed a determined smile, “Princess Royal, since that is the case. Well, I think I’ve gotten the best reward.”
Shea’s eyes trembled slightly. She stared at his smiling face, then she suddenly said calmly, “I have to say that you are really good at impressing women, Mr. Sheriff. Unfortunately, I’m not Athena, so put away your little tricks.”
What and what? It is so rare to have this feeling of an understanding friend… such an untactful woman…
Chen Rui’s expression was stagnant. He secretly criticized Princess Royal’s bizarre reasoning ability. Any explanation would only make things worse, so he left with sorrow, but he didn’t notice the rare sadness in Shea’s purple eyes.