It's not good to just wait for Dominic to make little moves behind the scenes. Seeing these Chief Priests of Theocracy standing awkwardly here also doesn't feel right. So, how about chatting with them a bit more! And try to gather more information?
But what should I chat about? Oh! I suddenly remembered something.
"There's still some time. I just thought of something, though it might be a bit presumptuous! Let's just consider it casual conversation. Do your Slane Theocracy and the Dwarf Kingdom have any interactions?" Ellie asked.
Indeed, asking the Slane Theocracy, which advocates human supremacy, about the Demi-human Dwarves, and whether they have interactions, seems a bit off on the surface.
However, Ellie remembered that the Empire and the Dwarf Kingdom used to trade. For a country like the Slane Theocracy, which gets involved in everything, they should have had some interactions.
As for why she was asking for information about the Dwarf Kingdom, it was because Ellie wanted to get involved there too. After all, Ainz-papa was currently causing trouble there with Shalltear and Aura!
Although it wasn't specifically described in the original work, it took quite a bit of time to find the Dwarf Kingdom. So, she still had a chance to catch up.
Even if she arrived late! She could still deliver a finishing blow or something. Moreover, Ellie had another, more important objective in going to the Dwarf Kingdom.
"This..." Raymond seemed a bit troubled and exchanged glances with the Old grandpa behind him. Then he saw the Old grandpa nod, as if silently approving something.
After all, among all the High Priests, the oldest and most respected should be Shui Shenguan Zhang Xineding. According to the original work, this guy was the Slane Theocracy's strategist.
Uncle Raymond was probably confirming with him whether to tell her about the Dwarf Kingdom, right? But Uncle Raymond, you just asked Old grandpa Xi Neiding for his opinion right in front of me, so Xi Neiding could only agree, couldn't he?
"Regarding the Dwarf Kingdom... I won't hide it from you, Princess Elizabeth, our country hasn't had any interactions with the Dwarf Kingdom for nearly a hundred years now," Raymond replied.
"So that means there were interactions a hundred years ago, right? Perfect! Can you tell me the location of the Dwarf Kingdom?" Ellie unhesitatingly expressed her desire to know the Dwarf Kingdom's location. Her intention was clear; asking for the location naturally meant she wanted to visit.
"This..." Raymond again turned back, looking conflicted, wanting to confirm with Xi Neiding.
"Old grandpa Xi Neiding! Can you tell me?" Ellie simply ignored Raymond and directly asked Xi Neiding. Raymond awkwardly stepped back, letting Xi Neiding stand in front.
"Regarding the exact location of the Dwarf Kingdom, we actually don't know... We can't help you, Princess Elizabeth." Xi Neiding directly stated he didn't know. Isn't that wrong of you? If you had interactions, how could you not know the location of their Dwarf home? That doesn't fit the Slane Theocracy's usual behavior.
"Hmm? You don't know? That shouldn't be. Rumor has it that the Slane Theocracy's intelligence system is unrivaled. Even you don't know?"
Ellie naturally didn't believe Xi Neiding's words, and then said meaningfully, which was actually to tell them clearly that she already knew the Slane Theocracy's true nature! Stop hiding.
"Princess Elizabeth, you might not know, but our country did have some interactions with the Dwarf Kingdom in the past. However, Princess Elizabeth should understand the special nature of our country's situation; naturally, we cannot openly have too close contact with the Demi-human. So... at that time, we contacted the Dwarf Kingdom through the Dragon Kingdom."
Xi Neiding's words were a bit unexpected for Ellie, but it made sense. This could explain why their Theocracy didn't know the Dwarf Kingdom's location. This explanation was quite consistent with the Slane Theocracy's style.
"The Dragon Kingdom?" Ellie questioned this.
"Yes, you should also know that to contain the Beastman tribes in the southwest, our country has always had private contact with the Dragon Kingdom. And the Dragon Kingdom seems to have a good relationship with the Dwarf Kingdom. So, a hundred years ago, our country used the Dragon Kingdom as an intermediary to purchase quite a lot of excellent equipment from the Dwarf Kingdom. However, this cooperation didn't last long, and it was interrupted. We are not very clear about the specific reason," Xi Neiding said.
Hmm? He frankly revealed their private dealings with the Dragon Kingdom. It doesn't seem like he's lying, so I'll believe you for now!
The reason for the interruption in contact was probably the incident where the Earth-Burrowing Beastmen started attacking the Dwarf Kingdom's Capital, right? But did that incident start a hundred years ago?
"So that's how it is. I'm truly sorry, Old grandpa, for asking you such a strange question." Ellie intended to end the topic here, because she had already seen Bell and Dominic jogging over with a large bundle on their backs.
"No, no! It is I who should apologize, for not being able to help Princess.
"No, no! It is I who should apologize, for not being able to help Princess." Xi Neiding responded very respectfully. An Old grandpa whose age might even exceed hers by a significant margin being so respectful to Ellie did seem a bit impolite. However, thinking back to how she had to gain their trust earlier! These guys had given her "all sorts" of trouble, so Ellie now felt completely unbothered by the perceived impoliteness.
"So! So... sorry! I made you wait." Bell ran over, panting, and before she could catch her breath, Ellie looked at Bell with a displeased expression.
"You're over time! No dessert for you today!" Ellie said.
"Ah... How can you do this! It's only a little... a tiny bit late." Bell replied, very disappointed after hearing this.
"Hmph! My Princess's orders are absolute. If it's fifteen minutes, it's fifteen minutes. There's no room for discussion! That's it! Hurry up, we're leaving!" Ellie said to Bell with a stern expression.
Bell could only turn back with a dejected look at the High Priests, then walked over. Ellie ordered Sticky Rice Cake to also "lift" Bell and place her on its back along with herself.
"Well then! Everyone... I've bothered you for so long! Hope to see you again! Let's go... Sticky Rice Cake!" Ellie greeted the High Priests who were looking up at her, then ordered Sticky Rice Cake to take off!
..."Now... does anyone still have questions about my previous proposal?" After Xi Neiding and the others watched the Great Demon's daughter leave, he turned back to the others with a stern face and asked.
..." None of the other Slane Theocracy's High Priests raised any questions. Even Dominic, who had been the most vocal earlier, was silent.
"What Lord Xi Neiding said is correct. At this stage, we can only coexist peacefully with the Magic Kingdom. It's too dangerous to be enemies with them now," the Grand Marshal in charge of military affairs said with lingering fear. Although he didn't understand magic well, the magic displayed before his eyes just now, even he, an outsider, knew it wasn't something an ordinary person could cast.
"Dominic, did you give that thing to Bell?" Xi Neiding continued to ask.
"I gave it to her, and I explained all the tasks clearly." Dominic answered quite honestly, completely without his previous demeanor. After all, he already understood very well what the consequences would be if they were to become enemies with the Magic Kingdom again, given that the Princess alone had such great power.
"Very good... All we have to do now is wait." Xi Neiding sighed deeply and said... "Pr... Pr... Princess Elizabeth! Why... why don't you just teleport back directly?" Sitting on Sticky Rice Cake's back with Ellie, Bell, in a rather unheroic manner, tightly hugged Ellie's waist, closed her eyes, and asked tremblingly.
"The Slane Theocracy is our enemy! The more trump cards we can keep, the better. If they know everything, what fun is there for me?" Ellie replied.
However, that wasn't actually the case! It was simply that using teleportation alone would make her seem too unremarkable. Calling out Sticky Rice Cake had more prestige! She felt.
"I... I see. As expected of Princess Elizabeth." Bell, who seemed to be afraid of heights, flattered her.
"Since we've flown this far! Sticky Rice Cake... fly west, we're going to the Dragon Kingdom!" Ellie immediately gave instructions to Sticky Rice Cake. Sticky Rice Cake let out a cry, indicating it understood, and changed direction, flying west.
Actually, from here, Ellie could have directly used High-Tier Teleportation Magic to teleport to the Capital of the Dragon Kingdom. But wouldn't doing so be too low-key?
It would be better to ride Sticky Rice Cake directly and make an aerial landing! Just like Aura and Mare made an aerial landing in the Empire Capital back then. It would also serve as a show of force to the Dragon Kingdom! This way, the Dragon Queen, who already seemed quite timid, probably wouldn't refuse her requests!
Although flying was indeed not as simple and quick as direct teleportation, fortunately, Sticky Rice Cake's flight speed was not slow. It shouldn't take too long to get there, right?
However... Ellie had overestimated. Even by flying... it took nearly several hours before Ellie saw the Royal City of the Dragon Kingdom. If only she had known, she would have teleported closer first and then flown the rest of the way... "Your Majesty Draudillon! This is bad! It seems there's a dragon flying towards the Royal City!" A guard stumbled into Draudillon's office, reporting in a panic.
"A dragon? Could it be...!" At first, Draudillon found it very strange, why would a dragon fly towards the Royal City? Then, remembering her missing great-grandfather, she instantly sprang from her chair. Aunt Conna's expression also turned very solemn upon hearing this report.
So the two of them immediately rushed out of the Royal City. Naturally, Draudillon also had someone contact the Prime Minister.
Although that fellow wasn't in the city right now, ever since Undead labor was introduced in the mining city, the Prime Minister had personally gone to supervise and was rarely seen in the Royal City. But he absolutely had to be informed about this matter!
When Draudillon and Conna ran to the outer wall of the Royal City, they indeed saw the white dragon's silhouette in the sky... It was then that Draudillon felt something was very wrong... Her great-grandfather was not a white dragon!
Could it be the Platinum Dragon Lord from the Evaluation Country? But that shouldn't be either. Although the Platinum Dragon Lord was known to be in the Evaluation Country, he was notoriously a shut-in, almost never leaving his home. How could he possibly come here?
"That Lord has arrived!" Aunt Conna said with a slight excitement, looking at the approaching dragon's silhouette.
"That Lord? Ah!!!" Draudillon then realized who Aunt Conna was referring to as "that Lord" and instantly became flustered.
Why did she come here again? Her country was already in such a state! Was she still not satisfied? Seeing Aunt Conna, whom she highly respected, in such an excited state, Draudillon felt very uneasy.
Sure enough, it was her. Draudillon also saw it: the "majestic" Princess standing on the back of the white giant dragon. To be honest... Draudillon's greatest fear right now was seeing her. She didn't know what kind of disaster she would bring to her again this time.
"Yo! Draudillon, long time no see!" As soon as the white giant dragon landed in the square, Princess Elizabeth, standing on the dragon's back, loudly greeted her and even called her by her full name. It was clear that she was doing this to show that she didn't consider Draudillon a Queen of a country.
"Long time no see, Princess Elizabeth." But even so, she had already arrived... Draudillon could only brace herself. At this moment, Draudillon desperately missed the Prime Minister, but he was absent again! Whenever she needed him, he was nowhere to be found!
"Sticky Rice Cake! Go play on your own." Princess Elizabeth, after greeting her, didn't respond to her but turned to her mount, the white dragon, and gave a command. So the white dragon spread its wings, let out a roar, and flew up again, directly flying away.
Although she really wanted to complain about Princess Elizabeth's taste in naming her mount, calling such a powerful dragon Sticky Rice Cake! Draudillon clearly understood how strong the dragon she rode was.
"How are you! How have you been lately? That Big Cat hasn't come to bother you again, has he?" After sending off the white dragon, Princess Elizabeth walked over to her, smiling and speaking in a very intimate manner.
"Thanks to you, there hasn't been any movement from the Beastman Kingdom." Draudillon replied honestly, a little awkwardly.
"That's good! If that Big Cat doesn't keep his word, just tell me anytime! I'll stand up for you!" Princess Elizabeth said happily.
"Hehe..." Besides forcing a smile, Draudillon didn't know what else to say. The Beastmen would never attack her Dragon Kingdom again. Now, with the terrifying Magic Kingdom backing the Dragon Kingdom, the Beast King would never cause trouble again. However, this Female Devil's visit this time couldn't possibly be for after-sales service, could it?
"Don't be nervous! I'm just passing by to check on things! And to chat with you." The Female Devil seemed to notice her tension and continued.
"Princess Elizabeth, please come inside. It's not convenient to chat here." Aunt Conna also seemed to notice her predicament and stepped in to help.
"Oh! Oh! Then lead the way." Princess Elizabeth showed no signs of politeness, urging Aunt Conna to lead the way.
Aunt Conna, looking slightly pleased, respectfully nodded to the Female Devil and walked ahead to lead the way. This made Draudillon even more displeased. Aunt Conna's attitude towards this Female Devil was very abnormal! She had to figure out what was going on! Draudillon thought to herself, very unhappy.
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