"Mr. Yila, if you're not accustomed to sleeping in this room, you can just call for me. There's no extra personal maid available in the Demon King City. If you wish, I can transfer one from the Demon King himself."
Hilena said this with a barely concealed smile, even though she was respectfully leading Yila to this room in the Demon King City. But for some reason, she just wanted to laugh.
Even though she kept saying "Don't," "It's irrelevant," "Ridiculous," Miss Vera still easily kept Mr. Yila... It gave off an inexplicable feeling of excitement.
As a succubus, Hilena was very interested in such things as snatching talent away from the empire.
"No need, it's quite funny to say, but if there really were a maid to care for me in every detail, I'd actually be quite uncomfortable."
Yila, who answered while sitting on the somewhat firm bed, didn't have high demands for the room, and the current room arranged for him was definitely not bad... In any case, it was better than being on the battlefield.
However, while he didn't like what he saw as excessively attentive personal maids, a convenient and efficient housemaid was still very nice... If he needed something, he could just call out.
"I specifically arranged a room for you adjacent to the kitchen and Mr. Lime's, so if you ever want something to eat, you can always instruct him to cook."
Your arrangements are so thoughtful, really considerate, aren't they?!
Internally grumbling, Yila shook his head resolutely and said helplessly, "I do like exquisite and delicious food, but that doesn't mean I'm constantly thinking about eating. Thanks for your offer, but it's not necessary."
"Hahaha~ Sorry, that's my oversight..."
Said Hilena, nodding gently. Now that she mostly understood Yila's personality, she chuckled and said, "Mr. Yila, it's almost midnight, please take your time to rest. If you need anything, just ask the little fairies."
After saying that, Hilena turned around, walked out of the room, and closed the door.
"..."
"Sigh..."
Yila sighed lightly as he sat alone on the bed. He removed his coat, which was badly torn from the previous escape, and placed it on the bedside table, even though there was a coat rack in the room.
In the end, he still agreed to Satan Ye's request to stay at the Demon King City for a while as her teacher.
Since this had happened once before, he didn't have much psychological burden now, but now he had to consider how to educate the student. Preparing lesson plans was always the most tiring.
Should he prioritize improving Satan Ye's combat capabilities? Or should he focus on strengthening her thoughts and political thinking first? No... The latter should be postponed, otherwise, he might end up teaching another Isabella, but their countries are different, so the education methods must naturally differ.
Although he didn't reject the idea of teaching without differentiation, Yila wanted to try a different approach this time...
To be honest, Yila hadn't conducted any significant research or reforms on the empire's side. He hadn't proposed classic transmigrator techniques like the curved plow and rotational cultivation technique from his previous life's memories.
After all, during times of war, he needed to prioritize enhancing the empire's combat capabilities, so he first promoted noble offspring who could quickly become combat power, advising Isabella to enact laws that exchanged military merit for titles.
This was also one of the reasons the empire gained increasing advantages on the battlefield.
He originally planned to use the seemingly lucrative trap of "land for titles," after the war ended, to consolidate land and switch to a farming administration mode.
Now, he might not have that opportunity anymore.
Yila taught Isabella the Emperor's Heart Skill, taught her to balance, and taught her the inevitable connections and checks between clans, kingdoms, kings, civilians, and merchants... She learned half-baked...
If he had known, he would have racked his brain to make her more combative first.
Feeling somewhat regretful, Yila couldn't help but think of what Yose had said—
"You mean, even for a powerful minister overshadowing the king, it's necessary to suppress him a little? Even if he's loyal and respectful to the king, all the power should be in the hands of the eternal emperor? It's touching, but Lord Yila, aren't you tired of living... Aren't you the empire's greatest powerful minister now?"
"..."
Yila said this not only to the former king but also taught Isabella this way in regular times. But the biggest issue was... this pretense of "suppression," shouldn't it be timed? Now it's all fueled by others, isn't it?
While he was worrying about this, it seemed as though there were footsteps outside the door...
"Knock, knock~"
As the door was knocked on, Satan Ye's voice came from outside, asking in a childish voice, "Mr. Yila, I'm sorry if the banquet disappointed you... I brought some snacks, are you available now?"
Demon King? Why did you come personally?
"Come in."
With Yila's voice, Satan Ye's small figure nudged the wooden door open. She held two bowls of dessert emitting a sweet aroma, saying, "I heard the empire likes sweets, so I had Mr. Lime make two servings of desserts."
"..."
But Yila didn't immediately respond; instead, he looked towards the empty doorway, as if he was searching for something. Satan Ye placed the two desserts on the table and asked curiously, "Mr. Yila, what are you looking at?"
"Where's Hilena?"
Yila asked this.
"Eh?"
Satan Ye made a confused sound, clearly unsure why Yila was asking this.
"..."
The Demon King sitting before him had no awareness at all of being a "king," nor did she consider what it meant to visit me at night with desserts... let alone bringing no maid.
What if I had ill intentions towards her?!
The titles are also problematic, referring to me and other leaders as Mr., Miss; this respect shouldn't come from a king's mouth, it's inappropriate.
Thinking of this, Yila was initially planning to correct Satan Ye's mistakes directly, just like when teaching Isabella in the empire, but he hesitated...
Is this intimacy and respect good or bad? If he had known earlier, he should have directly used Isabella to command the Noble Faction... after all, she herself would have been delighted.
"Mr. Yila, what are you thinking?"
Hearing Satan Ye's question, Yila hesitated for a moment but decided not to say anything, just offered an apologetic smile, took the dessert from her hands, and said, "I just felt that us secretly having a midnight snack without letting Hilena know might not be nice."
"Hmm, should I invite her? But having Mr. Lime cook again doesn't seem right either."
It seemed that Satan Ye was genuinely considering involving Hilena.
"No, this is fine."
Saying this, Yila sat opposite her, picked up a fork, and pierced it into the preserved fruit in the bowl, stirring it a bit in the honeyed water in the bowl, and brought it to the tiny Demon King's mouth.
"This is fine."
As if to say it to himself as well, Yila muttered these words again.