The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads - Chapter 95

“I’ve been sensing the administrative officials fidgeting outside the door for a while now. Lakius, you noticed it too, didn’t you?”

“…”

Lakius subtly averted his gaze.

Cesar’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t tell me you were planning to pretend not to notice until the end?”

“No, well…”

Lakius flinched.

Cesar admonished Lakius quite maturely.

“It’s not good to trouble your subordinates.”

Hmm, I think it’s very good advice.

The problem is that it doesn’t seem like something Third Dad should be saying.

“…”

Lakius stared at Third Dad with an incredulous expression.

It seems he feels the same way as I do.

Regardless, Cesar glanced at me.

“Let’s go, Miss Tati.”

“Ah, yes.”

I stood up.

Anyway, since the administrative officials are having trouble, it’s probably best to leave at this point.

As we opened the door…

“We greet the High Priest and the Princess of Orleans.”

“If your conversation is over, may we see the lord now?”

The administrative officials bowed to us and bombarded us with anxious questions…

“Go ahead.”

Cesar nodded generously.

“Thank you!”

The administrative officials’ faces lit up, and they all rushed into the drawing room.

“My Lord, there are documents that need your immediate approval…”

“And reports from the villages…”

Lakius, surrounded by the administrative officials, received the documents with a troubled face.

Watching this scene, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

‘This is somewhat… similar to how our three dads look, isn’t it?’

Just then, Cesar clicked his tongue while crossing his arms.

“Really, he shouldn’t start with the documents right in front of him. He should review them in order of importance…”

“…”

I glanced up at Cesar from the corner of my eye.

Cesar made an uncomfortable face.

“Miss Tati. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You know, Third Dad.”

I smiled mischievously.

“You came all this way because you were worried about Laki, didn’t you?”

“Miss Tati, there’s no need to pay attention to Lakius’s nonsense.”

Cesar replied curtly and turned away abruptly.

But I saw it.

The back of Cesar’s ears had turned bright red.

‘What, so he was worried after all!’

I was about to grin wickedly, but instead hurried my steps to catch up with Cesar.

“Wait a moment, let’s go together!”

***

After unpacking at the lord’s residence, we headed straight to the temple.

The official reason was, of course, to meet the newly dispatched Deputy High Priest, but.

There was actually another reason.

“It would be troublesome if word of our arrival leaked to the temple, you see.”

Cesar said, shrugging his shoulders.

“If you want to know if someone is doing their job well, you shouldn’t give them time to prepare for their superior’s visit.”

“…”

Wow, how devious…

I gaped in surprise.

Anyway, for that reason, we suddenly barged into the temple, and.

The poor ordinary priests were so startled they looked like they might faint…

“H-High Priest?”

“We greet the High Priest, the first son of Light.”

The ordinary priests hurriedly paid their respects.

Well, if you consider my past life, it’s similar to the CEO of the company I worked for suddenly coming down, right?

Of course, you can’t put a company and a temple on the same level…

No, come to think of it, isn’t the High Priest even higher?

A corporate CEO represents capital, but the High Priest is the center of faith that all imperial citizens believe in!

By the way.

‘Why does everyone look so tired?’

I looked back and forth between the two ordinary priests with a puzzled expression.

‘They look like they’ve been up for three days and nights straight.’

Moreover.

‘The temple… is very run-down.’

The long pews on both sides of the temple where believers sit.

The altar where the statue of the God of Light is enshrined.

Even the white cloth spread on the altar is very worn.

It’s a relief that at least the statue is in good condition.

‘Hmm.’

I furrowed my brow.

As far as I know, I heard that the temples dispatched to various parts of the empire receive their budget from the Grand Temple.

Of course, managing with just the allocated budget would be tight in many ways.

But to look this difficult?

“Welcome, Your Grace!”

Just then, a booming greeting resounded.

The Deputy High Priest, who had rushed over, bowed his head so low it looked like it might fall off.

He appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties.

He looked so well-fed and prosperous, his face was shiny with grease.

“Oh my, has the Princess of Orleans come as well? I’m truly delighted to meet you like this.”

The Deputy High Priest turned to me with a friendly smile.

“You must have had a difficult journey. Please, come this way.”

And so, the drawing room we arrived at was…

‘It’s, it’s really luxurious.’

My eyes widened like a surprised rabbit’s.

It seems far more lavish than even the lord’s drawing room, which is usually well-equipped for frequent visitors.

Of course, priests aren’t particularly restricted from living comfortably.

However.

‘Is it possible to furnish such a glittering drawing room with just the salary a priest receives from the order?’

Moreover, if there’s a budget for decorating the drawing room, wouldn’t it be better to repair the dilapidated main temple building first?

Meanwhile, Cesar looked around the drawing room with a strange expression, then put on a bright smile.

“So, how is the work going?”

I swallowed hard.

‘Somehow, Cesar seems to be in quite a bad mood…’

That’s because Cesar tended to become more gentle the more upset he was.

“Ah, it’s going well. Don’t worry at all!”

The Deputy High Priest replied, pounding his chest.

Cesar’s smile deepened a bit more.

“Is that so? Somehow the ordinary priests looked a bit tired.”

“This wretched… Ah, I apologize. It must be from their dedication to this backward territory. I’m also quite exhausted from taking care of the territory.”

You were about to say ‘wretched’ just now, weren’t you?!

Is it okay to openly disrespect it by calling it a backward territory?

Besides, for someone who claims to be exhausted, your face is dripping with grease!

“I see.”

Cesar nodded and stood up.

“Then, let’s begin the inspection.”

“…Inspection?”

“Yes. I’d like to check if there are enough medical supplies, food, and clothing in stock. To see if we can support people adequately.”

“…”

For a moment, the Deputy High Priest’s face became somewhat troubled.

But Cesar wasn’t finished speaking.

“Ah, and I should also inspect the condition of the sacred artifacts soon.”

Sacred artifacts.

Sacred artifacts were extremely precious items passed down from ancient times, imbued with divine power.

Basically, they were semi-permanent items, but they had the drawback of needing periodic recharging of divine power to maintain their sanctity.

Since only high-ranking priests above the Deputy High Priest level could recharge divine power, high-ranking priests were treated as very valuable talents even in the empire.

Well, that’s also the reason why this man before us was assigned to Carlo.

And the reason why sacred artifacts are needed is…

‘To prevent the approach of magical beasts.’

Magical beasts were ferocious animals influenced by magical energy.

Carlo was a place connected to the magical realm, so magical beasts were constantly appearing.

Therefore, sacred artifacts were placed in each village to prevent magical beasts from approaching.

‘Huh?’

I opened my eyes wide.

The blood had drained from the Deputy High Priest’s face.

However, that startled look disappeared in an instant.

‘…Did I see wrong?’

I became somewhat suspicious.

“Well, the sacred artifacts are distributed to each village, aren’t they? Surely you don’t intend to go see them personally?”

At the same time, the Deputy High Priest asked Cesar with a broad smile.

“Yes, that’s what I intend to do.”

At this, the Deputy High Priest’s face subtly stiffened.

“We’d have to go around the outskirts of Carlo, which would take a long time. Is it really necessary for such an esteemed person to check such trivial matters?”

“That’s what I came to check, so it’s fine. And trivial, you say?”

Cesar calmly asked back.

“Aren’t the sacred artifacts treasures of the order and items that protect the lives of Carlo’s citizens?”

“Ah, no. That’s not what I meant…”

“Also, it’s because the sacred artifacts are in Carlo that you, Deputy High Priest, are here.”

Cesar smiled habitually.

But his eyes weren’t smiling at all.