Rod had already expected it.
A full two weeks had passed since the day of the peace conference. It was about time for Sirzechs to make good on his promise.
After opening the system map, Rod quickly teleported to the Underworld territory controlled by Katerea's faction.
Ordinary devils were not permitted near the place where Katerea lived and handled official affairs, but Rod was unaffected by such restrictions. He had no intention of knocking either, and simply pushed the door open and walked in.
Inside, Katerea was seated behind an extravagant redwood desk. She was not surprised by Rod barging in at all. In fact, she didn't even raise an eyelid.
"So, you came."
Katerea didn't even lift her head, clearly having expected exactly this.
She understood Rod's style very well. Orders, demands, and formalities meant nothing to him. He acted entirely according to his own will.
Of course, if Rod ever actually stood outside and knocked politely, she would probably start wondering whether the man outside was really him.
"So I should leave?"
Rod shot back.
The way you say that, wasn't it you who used the token to call me here?
"Enough with the nonsense, Rod. I have something very important to tell you."
Ignoring his complaint, Katerea spoke in a solemn tone.
But Rod didn't even give her the chance to continue.
"Sirzechs must've agreed to your request to found a nation, right? I'm guessing the envoy they sent only left not long ago."
"How did you know?"
Katerea looked genuinely shocked.
"Isn't it obvious? Your Old Maou faction has basically been in a state of benign neglect this whole time. They'd be thanking the gods as long as you don't cause trouble. And now, at the exact moment the Three Factions have formed an alliance, you ask to establish an independent nation? They're probably happier than you are."
At the moment, the Underworld effectively only had three powers.
One was the devils. One was the fallen angels. And the third was Katerea.
If the current Maou government could secure peace without spending a single soldier, there was no way they would refuse.
"Tch. I wanted to surprise you."
Katerea pouted.
Sometimes having someone too smart around really did ruin all the fun.
Still, she didn't dwell on it. She was in especially high spirits today, her mind full of thoughts of founding her own kingdom and ruling it.
When good things happened, the mind naturally felt refreshed. Katerea was in such a good mood that when she looked at Rod, she unconsciously licked her lips.
Today, Rod seemed especially sweet to her.
But when she sat on his lap as usual, she quickly realized he seemed a little distracted.
That immediately soured her mood.
To think he dared lose focus while handling serious business?
The reason Rod was distracted, however, was because the previous quest, helping Katerea become sovereign, still hadn't been marked as complete.
Logically, the moment the current government acknowledged Katerea's status, the quest should have cleared. But there had still been no notification, which likely meant there was still some unresolved complication.
With that thought in mind, Rod looked at Katerea and asked, "Hold on. The current government may have agreed, but have you considered who might still hate seeing you live so comfortably?"
Hearing that, Katerea paused and thought for a few seconds before answering, "If I had to name someone, probably Shalba Beelzebub. But he already fled his old territory, and my army is preparing to take over that land."
"Oh, so you think Shalba might try to stop you from founding your nation?"
If Rod hadn't brought it up, Katerea honestly might not have thought of it.
After all, in the last incident, she had stabbed Creuserey in the back. It wouldn't be strange at all if Shalba paid her back in kind this time.
And based on what she knew of him, that Beelzebub descendant was small-minded enough that he really might try to trip her up on the very day she declared her nation.
But Katerea quickly smiled and lightly traced a finger across Rod's chest.
"If you're saying that, then does that mean you already know how to solve the problem for me?"
"As a reward, you can ask me to do anything you want~"
As she said that, she deliberately tugged her deep V-neck even lower, her chest nearly pressing into Rod's face.
[Katerea has issued you a new quest.]
[Quest: Help Katerea]
[Objective: Find Shalba's whereabouts, stop him from sabotaging Katerea's nation-founding plan, and kill him.]
[Reward: Katerea faction reputation +30, random reward x1]
The moment he received the new quest, Rod instantly felt better, and his eyes immediately went into auto-lock mode again. Katerea let out a soft laugh.
Hah. Men.
Didn't she have him wrapped around her finger?
An hour later.
Rod pulled up his pants. Beside him, Katerea lay there like a puddle of mud.
Her expression was faintly vacant.
Why did she always have to humiliate herself like this every single time?
Then she watched as Rod put all his equipment back on and prepared to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course, we should remove the remaining problem."
Katerea looked stunned.
"There's no need to rush that much. We only just finished. Can't you at least rest for a while first?"
"No need. I'm an athlete. This is just basic stuff."
Rod's tone was calm, as if he were stating the most ordinary fact in the world.
Katerea: "..."
She had no idea what "athlete" meant, but even dragons weren't this ridiculous, were they?
Katerea hesitated, then said, "I still think this is a bad idea. Shalba is stronger than Creuserey. Once he consumes Infinite Power, he won't be any worse than the White Dragon Emperor you defeated that day. And that's not even counting any backup plans he may have prepared."
"Trust me."
Rod said it simply, his expression perfectly calm.
When she heard that, Katerea froze for a moment, then the way she looked at him softened unexpectedly.
"Mm. I trust you."
After pulling up his pants and leaving the bedroom, Rod opened the quest map.
Once a quest refreshed, the quest target would automatically appear on the map, marked with the most prominent indicator possible.
Without that, there would've been no way for Rod to find a Shalba who was intentionally hiding.
And judging from the position shown on the map, Shalba's location...
"He's in the human world?"
Rod's expression turned surprised when he saw the marked spot.
He had assumed the man would be hiding in some corner of the Underworld, waiting for a chance to act. He hadn't expected him to run all the way to the human world instead.
And just as Rod teleported back to Kuoh, his phone suddenly rang.
The caller ID showed the name of the Illiterate Saint.
"Jeanne?"
Ever since they parted at Khaos Brigade headquarters last time, the two of them hadn't had any further contact, so he had no idea what she was thinking now.
After all, before leaving with Katerea, he had specially said a whole string of lines to her that he'd stolen from various films and TV dramas.
"What is it?"
"Shalba, the descendant of Old Beelzebub, is making a deal with people from the Hero Faction. He intends to move against Katerea Leviathan, who betrayed him, and also against Lucifer's younger sister."
"?"
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