The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

The noble estates of Thunder City, with a marble fireplace burning softly, warmed the space of the reception room.

A guard stood with his head bowed, respectfully conveying Silver Pine Town priest's response to Princess Erin Campbell, seated at the walnut triangular table.

"...The renowned figure has accepted your summons. However, as he is currently tracking the evil dragon that has been stealing villagers' cows in the area around Shattered Rock Peak, he cannot return to Thunder County immediately for the meeting. The priest mentioned that he hopes to arrange the meeting at the start of next month. If you are willing to wait a bit longer, he will be deeply grateful."

"I didn't expect the rumors about the giant dragon to actually be true..." Theresa, standing nearby, looked grave and furrowed her brows, "But why would a dragon target this place?"

"This... I am unsure," the guard hesitated for a moment and answered honestly.

Theresa hadn't expected him to answer; it was merely her musing aloud.

Erin sighed softly and placed her teacup down.

"I hadn't imagined that such serious disasters could occur in places overlooked by our Royal Family..."

Seeing Erin immersed in guilt, Theresa couldn't help but speak up.

"Your Highness, only the venerable Lord Saint Sis can know everything happening in this world. Please, do not blame yourself. And, if I may speak frankly, the one who should worry about this is not you, but your brother Edward, His Majesty."

Erin shook her head and said,

"Since my father entrusted the Inheritance Sword to me, given his wisdom, I imagine it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. It signifies that he holds high expectations for me to bear part of the Campbell family's responsibilities. Moreover, undeniably, the failure to notice the suffering of our subjects is indeed a dereliction of duty by our Royal Family."

Theresa: "Princess..."

"Theresa, there's no need to comfort me; I'm no longer a child. What I need isn't comfort but the assistance of wise advisors."

As Theresa faltered in her words, Erin blinked her intelligent and luminous eyes, then turned to the guard. After pondering seriously for a moment, she continued,

"Please convey my message to Silver Pine Town's priest, saying that Princess Erin understands the work of Mr. Flame King and thanks him for taking the time out of his busy schedule to indulge the curiosity and whim of a young woman who admires him. I merely wish to invite him for afternoon tea, nothing significant. Let everything proceed as it should, and ensure that the evil dragon doesn't escape."

"I will patiently wait until the start of next month. Hopefully, by then, I will have the honor of hearing him recount this legendary tale in person."

This was essentially a dictated letter.

She admitted that she had injected a bit of strategy into her phrasing.

For instance, intentionally refraining from using her Royal identity to ease social distances. Or leveraging the vanity that mature men tend to harbor, more or less.

But for someone of her status, these were harmless minor moves. Even if that gentleman saw through them, she was confident he wouldn't mind.

In some sense, this could be considered an open and honest strategy.

At least, that's how she viewed it.

The guard meticulously noted down the Princess's instructions and replied respectfully,

"I will convey your orders accordingly."

"Alright, I'm counting on you."

Feeling a bit pleased with her scheme, Erin smiled and nodded. Suddenly, she remembered something, furrowed her brows, and asked,

"By the way, I almost forgot to ask — how many cows has the dragon taken?"

The guard answered candidly,

"According to the local sheriff, the dragon attacked a ranch, resulting in the loss of over a hundred cows. Not stopping there, the beast also burned down a granary, injured dozens, and looted the tax gold stored in the City Hall vault."

Theresa widened her eyes upon hearing this.

"That severe?!"

The guard said with a complicated expression,

"I don't know the specifics... but it was said to have occurred last month, and during the night at that."

He personally found it peculiar. After all, the dragon wasn't just raiding ranches; it was simultaneously burning granaries, robbing the City Hall vault, and injuring civilians. It didn't seem like random plundering—it felt more like deliberate stockpiling.

With his experience among the lower ranks, this behavior appeared highly questionable. It reminded him of how every time the Royal Family's Affairs Officers came to the military to check the accounts, there would be frequent drills, and problems would suddenly arise with military facilities and equipment storage.

But seeing how Princess Erin seemed wholly convinced by the Flame King's legend, he hesitated to voice dissent.

What's more, if it turned out to be the local baron orchestrating this to evade taxes, he would inadvertently offend the nobles if he spoke rashly.

Besides, outrageous things like this weren't entirely impossible, though there might be exaggerations along the way.

After all, every local person he questioned adamantly claimed they'd personally seen dragons—multiple ones, at that. Rumor had it that the Flame King defeated one dragon while riding another and chased away a whole group of dragons.

Erin furrowed her brows slightly, fell silent for a moment, then clenched her teeth and retrieved a golden pocket watch from her bosom, placing it on the table.

"Please take this pocket watch to a nearby market, sell it, and deliver the proceeds to Silver Pine Town."

The guard stared at her in shock, his mouth slightly open, momentarily unable to speak. Clearly, he hadn't expected her to do this.