Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Sponsored World Was Real
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After the meeting, the Demon King collaborated with Eirene to draft the edict.
In the process of writing it, the thing the Demon King drank the most was warm, boiled milk.
Even though luxuries had been removed from the Imperial Family's provisions, forcing them to drink the same milk as the common folk, it seemed to suit the Demon King's tastes just fine.
A few days later.
An imperial edict was proclaimed, allowing demons free passage in a designated area near the dungeon.
The implementation date was three days after the proclamation.
Public opinion wasn't bad at all. For starters, most of the citizens of the capital who had met the Demon King in person welcomed the measure.
Not only the pro-Igugwoden Church retainers, but even those who weren't saw ceding a bit of territory as more beneficial to them than starting a war.
After all, if they antagonized the Demon King like in the old days, hundreds—maybe thousands—of soldiers would die in battle against the demons once more. With the populace just starting to recover from plagues and high taxes, such massive casualties would be devastating.
If they were scheming to check the Empress and the Empire, they might think differently—but the current Empress had the strong support of the entire religious order and much of the populace.
They could at least claim the justification of overthrowing a tyrant to establish a new order, but how many retainers had the guts to oust an Empress whose actions and reputation were increasingly those of a sage ruler?
But.
The problem lay not with the capital's citizens, but those near the dungeon entrance.
"In the end, do we have to endure the Demonic Energy?"
"They promised no harm as long as that's the case. It seems like a life-or-death matter for them. And Her Majesty is providing us with all sorts of support."
"I know that. I'm absolutely not thinking anything irreverent like defying Her Majesty's will... It's just, somehow..."
Those who had to deal directly with demons.
Just a short while ago, they had been enemies with the demons, and now this sudden edict forced them to live as neighbors—they couldn't simply welcome it.
Demonic Energy. According to the explanatory note jointly written by the Empress and the Demon King, it only caused mild discomfort and had no harmful effects on human bodies.
The demons exhaled it with every breath, and without sunlight, they died—a matter of life and death. So, we should understand and bear a little inconvenience for that.
But honestly, it was reality that mixed feelings arose.
This was what the Demon King had worried about.
The decisive reason she insisted, "If we just give unilaterally, humans might tire of it someday. That's why we must respond with something in return as much as possible."
Even so, the reason the border villagers' opinion didn't sour or grow chaotic despite the unilateral decision—and stayed positive—was—
"It's fine. It's Lord Igugwoden's will."
"You haven't forgotten how the priests came recently and helped rebuild the village for free? Without that, we would've starved to death by now."
"There must be a reason in Lord Igugwoden's Plain Facts."
—Their fervent support for the Sole God Igugwoden and the religious order, including Saintess Erin.
Because the people had felt God's love with their whole bodies.
Under the slogan 'A Dish of Facts even for non-believers!', the countless relief efforts done without expectation of reward were bearing fruit.
In this situation, the implementation date finally arrived—
And humans and demons truly stepped onto the path of coexistence that no one in the continent's history had ever walked.
* * *
"......"
Having finished reading the comic, I scratched the back of my head, feeling unnecessarily embarrassed.
[ Igugwoden: Hey ]
[ Igugwoden: I didn't sponsor thinking I had to shower them with love or anything ]
[ Igugwoden: I just... did it because it was fun ]
I'd thought I'd gotten used to the author sucking up to me in the comic by now.
But having her portray me so openly as an incredibly benevolent god... it made me happy, but the embarrassment was even greater.
I wasn't as excellently good a person as the characters in the comic claimed, honestly.
In the first place, I'd decided to help Erin because she was cute—
And I'd kept sponsoring for the dopamine hits from the mouse clicks.
But on this point, the author was extremely firm.
[ Give Me Money: That's not true ]
[ Give Me Money: Divine Power is the power to do anything ]
[ Give Me Money: It can illuminate the world, but it can also destroy it ]
[ Igugwoden: lol no, I'm just sponsoring for fun... ]
[ Give Me Money: Even so, it's also true that our world is improving thanks to your sponsorship ]
[ Give Me Money: The corrupt religious order, obsessed only with politics, was completely overturned and reconciled with the Empire ]
[ Give Me Money: Many people are smiling happily thanks to you, Lord Igugwoden ]
[ Give Me Money: So, it's no exaggeration to say you've showered them with love ]
Is that... so?
Having her suck up to me so blatantly is kinda embarrassing.
Well... since it's a comic, I can just enjoy the praise without overthinking it, right?
[ Igugwoden: lol yeah, be grateful you met a good god ]
[ Give Me Money: Of course. We are always thankful, Lord Igugwoden ]
After saying that, feeling embarrassed, I paused the chat to clear my mind and scrolled up.
The panel my eyes landed on was a large one of Eirene, apron on, rattle in hand, about to give a lap pillow.
'Hah...'
Lately—
Whenever I got bored, I'd re-read old chapters of this comic.
The biggest reason was Erin. Her artwork was getting unbelievably beautiful with each passing day.
Erin was a stunning beauty in the story too. Sure, all the comic characters were pretty girls—but she was one of the two I felt extra effort had gone into.
Was that why?
Rewatching scenes with Erin before new uploads became my hobby before I knew it.
I just said one of two.
The other was Eirene.
Not only did she steal every scene she appeared in, but visually, she pitched a fastball right into my strike zone.
And among the characters, she was the one most connected to the real-world 'me'.
Even now, I couldn't fathom the author's madness in creating and inserting a self-insert character just because I donated.
Making me fill out a Q&A sheet was like that too. Probably to avoid messing up the self-insert's personality or speech.
It was embarrassing to say it myself, but not only the looks—she depicted actions and speech that I might realistically take, making immersion way better.
Anyway—
For that Eirene to suddenly do mommy play??
The recipient was Demon King-chan, but some panels were from the Demon King's POV, so the immersion was insane.
Right, Demon King-chan.
I'd asked for an appearance favorable to persuasion, but I didn't expect her to make a little girl.
I figured she'd take human form—maybe the typical succubus big-sis Demon King type.
Honestly, such a young girl wasn't quite my taste—
But regardless, a cute kid doing cute things was always nice to watch.
The way she toddled around with her pitter-patter steps was adorable, and her tiny wings made you want to pet and protect her.
Even so, making her a kid made me feel a bit sorry—
But since the villagers found her cute and she seemed healed by it... maybe it's for the best.
[ Igugwoden: Eirene went all out this chapter... great job, so fun ]
[ Igugwoden: This is what comics are lololol Mommy Empress why so delicious fr ]
[ Igugwoden: God is very very satisfied with this chapter yy ]
[ Give Me Money: It's only natural for Lady Eirene to deeply follow God's will ]
[ Give Me Money: Glad you're pleased ]
[ Igugwoden: And those boobs why so huge, Empress pouch insane lolololol ]
[ Igugwoden: We get naked apron too right???? I'm already excited, looking forward ]
[ Give Me Money: Indeed ]
[ Give Me Money: I'll strive to make it observable ]
Huh?
Her response is kinda plain.
Normally, she'd say something like 'I'm so glad the plump Imperial pouch pleases Lord Igugwoden' or 'Lady Eirene loves Lord Igugwoden so much, she'll soon respond with more than a naked apron without needing prompting'—being brazen despite drawing it herself.
'Is she the embarrassed one this time?'
Well, not a big deal, so whatever.
What I really wanted to ask was something else.
[ Igugwoden: But Demonic Energy keeps coming up here ]
[ Igugwoden: Does it really harm humans that much? ]
[ Give Me Money: It's not harm, per se... Just like Demon King-chan explained, it just causes fundamental discomfort ]
[ Give Me Money: Just feeling queasy or in a bad mood from the influence ]
[ Igugwoden: Then what about the Demon King not emitting Demonic Energy? ]
[ Give Me Money: Simple. 'Divine Power.' With Divine Power, the Demon King's Demonic Energy was altered so humans don't feel discomfort from it. ]
[ Give Me Money: Moreover, the Demon King not minding being treated like a child is an element added by the world's response to aid 'communication.' ]
[ Give Me Money: After all, with such a persuasive appearance, antagonizing humans would go against God's will ]
Got it.
Humans instinctively wary of demons not just because they don't communicate and look monstrous, but because they emit Demonic Energy that repulses humans.
Seeing the Demon King voice those concerns, maybe that's the root cause.
From the demons' side, it's essential for survival, so humans should accept it magnanimously—but...
'There are definitely people suffering losses in their own domain for the greater good.'
Capital folks could say it's easy since the Demon King turned out cute and they live somewhat distanced from the dungeon entrance—
But for those coexisting right at the entrance, it couldn't be easy to accept.
The comic portrayed that well.
No matter how much yielding aligns with duty and virtue—yielding itself should never be taken for granted, in my view.
Yielding is a noble act, after all. Enduring loss of money, time, emotional toll for others.
I wanted to acknowledge that 'nobility of ordinary people.'
Like those who devote their youth to a cause even if no one notices—ultimately, the world turns on such people.
Failing to recognize their efforts always leads to problems.
Of course.
The villagers were just extras.
Even capital folks are extras—spending money for nameless one-liners in a comic panel?
It might sound silly—
'But the author said the world is getting better thanks to me.'
She said the extras understand too.
So.
No matter if they're extras, I can't just overlook it.
In the real world, yielding might go unrecognized—
—But at least, in the world where I'm God, I won't let that happen.
A god should care for those out of sight too!
And even if not for that—
'If Demonic Energy scenes keep causing mutual discomfort, I'll be the one eating sweet potatoes?'
The Demon King-chan, who came pitter-pattering as a human, might end up lost and sad.
To preempt that and enjoy pure 'fun,' I needed to act now.
[ Igugwoden: So ]
[ Igugwoden: Just fixing the Demonic Energy solves it, right? ]
[ Give Me Money: Yes, but ]
[ Give Me Money: Tampering with Demonic Energy shakes the foundations, so it'd require a huge amount of Divine Power ]
[ Igugwoden: Not totally overhauling it... that'd be hard for demons to adapt to ]
[ Igugwoden: Just remove the discomfort ]
[ Igugwoden: Everything else same, just eliminate human discomfort—how much? ]
[ Give Me Money: For that adjustment, about 73,000 won worth of Divine Power ]
'What? That's a steal?'
I realized I thought that and naturally snorted.
73,000 won. Cheaper than expected, but spending money feels numb now?
Started with 1,000-won punches.
Still, compared to daily comics, it's cheap—
I placed my hand on the numpad without worry.
"Lord Igugwoden's Plain Facts must have their reasons."
You're right, nameless farmer.
There's reason for everything, and God won't overlook you either.
[ Igugwoden ( Sponsorship / 80,000 won / Just the right amount since it's pocket change ) ]
[ Igugwoden: Demonic Energy normalization... gotta do it, right? ]
God will handle it all.