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His father was practically the king of hell; everyone gave him discounts, though he didn't need them. His wallet didn't even feel the expenses he incurred—it felt good to have the money to do whatever he wanted.
Time flew by with all the commotion, and the harvest was quick and smooth. Ereya took the first fruits, discovering that their taste was much sweeter, and their vitamin and nutrient levels were much higher. They could even replenish demonic power, albeit slightly. If you were at 100% power and ate a fruit, your power would be at 100.001%—insignificant, but it could be developed to increase power more significantly. Soon, hundreds of carts filled with boxes of fruits and vegetables. The demonic horses looked wild and terrifying, but they were quite tame; I suppose demons have good training abilities. The horses were ready to depart. A quarter of the fruit would be processed to obtain seeds, while the rest would be sold throughout Lucifer's territory. These fruits would surely improve the health of the poorer demons.
The demons working there admired Daemon for his talent in commanding and giving orders to make everything run efficiently. They were very happy that Daemon was their master. Some had heard that his older brother, Rizevim, would kill demons whenever he didn't like something. At least Daemon wanted to improve his territory and their lives. He paid them generously for the work, and they knew there would be much more work here. Many decided to move closer. Soon, there was an exodus of many demons from distant towns who were called by their relatives to work on the master Daemon Nightmare Lucifer's mega farm. The news spread quickly, and everyone was amazed. The market exploded as many demon lords wanted those fruits and vegetables for their territories.
Meanwhile, Daemon lay on Lamia's lap. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't asleep; he was simply marveling at the feeling of Lamia's thick thighs. He decided to be bolder and moved his hand to press on a thigh. Lamia's reaction was immediate: her face turned completely red, and she brought her hand close to her mouth. "Master, wake up," Lamia said, hoping to escape the awkward situation. Daemon pondered whether to keep pretending to be asleep or to stop. He decided to go further, opened his eyes, and looked up at Lamia, who was blushing. Her chest was large for a 15-year-old. They made eye contact, and Daemon didn't remove his hand from her thigh. He saw Lamia's timid eyes, which wanted to escape his gaze. "What's the matter, Lamia? Why are you waking me up?" Daemon asked as he sat up, stopping his teasing. He realized he was putting too much pressure on Lamia, poor thing; she didn't know she was in the clutches of a mischievous demon. "Miss Tiare informed me that we'll soon reach the Great Demonic Range," Lamia replied.
The Demonic Range covered the entire edge of Lucifer's territory. It was gigantic—in comparison, the Andes Mountains seemed like mere hills. We were going to investigate the existence of magical minerals. This time, Daemon came prepared with an entire caravan of demons carrying all kinds of mining equipment. Soon, they were at the foot of the range. "Okay, Ereya, it's time for you to work your magic," Daemon said, smiling sweetly yet confidently while giving a thumbs-up. But Ereya was a wreck; her previous braid was ruined, with huge dark circles under her eyes like a panda or a raccoon, and her skin was pale. Daemon wasn't joking when he said she'd have to do triple shifts. He was a true demon who overworked his employees, especially Ereya. Seeing her in such a poor state, Daemon felt a flicker of guilt, but it didn't last long. She had volunteered, after all—how could he refuse? With maximum effort, Ereya cast her magic over a wide area of the mountain range, seeking the frequency of minerals. Luckily, she found several scattered throughout the section she searched. She marked them on the map, and soon the mining teams began their work. Fortunately, Ereya didn't have much to do until they brought the minerals, which gave her a much-needed break. She sat down, closed her eyes, and was asleep in seconds.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw that paths and entrances to the mines had already been created. She turned and saw a large camp behind her. She was still in the same place where she had fallen asleep; apparently, she had slept for two full weeks. The growling of her stomach made her realize how hungry she was. She got up, guided by the delicious smell of food, floating towards it. She soon arrived at a large table where Tiare, Lamia, and Daemon were sitting, eating different dishes that looked delicious.
"Good morning, Master Daemon," Ereya said with the purest smile she could manage. "May I sit and eat some of this food, dear Master Daemon?" she asked sweetly.
"I don't know. Everyone here has worked their share. You've been sleeping for two full weeks—you've missed six shifts. Hmm... but I don't want to be cruel and evil. How about we do it like a bank? You can borrow days off, but they'll accumulate interest until you make up the hours. The benefit is that there will be no punishment for missing work; however, if you miss a day, you'll need to make up two days. Since you missed two weeks, you'll need to make up four weeks," Daemon told her as if he was doing her a favor. Clearly, this wasn't labor exploitation or a slave-like arrangement. "And you may sit down to eat," Daemon added. This last part delighted Ereya immensely, and she wasted no time sitting down and devouring the food.
Daemon's workers began constructing the mines and extracting resources. Soon, they would set up large mining camps to house the workers going up to the mines. However, they still needed to secure a supply line to store the raw minerals. Daemon explained to Ereya her current job: she needed to refine the minerals, perform a process to achieve high mineral purity, and make ingots or bars, as well as investigate their properties. A foundry would be established where she would have to train scholars and researchers in the process of refining mineral purity.
Soon, Ereya began her research and requested the construction of a building with many windows. Inside were numerous tables, and she requested three stations. In the first, the mineral was to be ground; in the second, the ground remnants would be passed through small acidic pools to eliminate impurities. At the third station, the minerals were melted in a cauldron at a high temperature to remove the remaining impurities. Then, ingots or bars would be formed. Hundreds of demons worked at each station while Ereya taught the scholars how to operate everything.
According to reports, food production was going wonderfully. In a short time, they achieved great profits and solved the food problem for the demonic population—at least in Lucifer's territory. The quality of life for the demons improved enormously. The medicinal and mystical herbs grew beautifully, and soon, they would start producing potions.
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