"Please, don't misunderstand! I mean... just stay and sleep together, just sleeping! After all... it's so late, that's why..."

Lily blushed, her hands awkwardly entwined together.

Green couldn't help but think, with that expression and those words, there's no way they won't be misunderstood.

But before Green could react, Aloof stepped forward abruptly and said in a firm tone,

"Then I'll stay too!"

"Eh!?"

And so, for some reason, Green found themselves in a big mess of sleeping arrangements with Aloof, Lily, and Fuka. Of course, they didn't all sleep in the same bed – they each had their own. But it was a bit disappointing, to say the least.

Through Fuka's attitude, Green also learned that in this world, engaging in such activities before marriage is highly frowned upon. It was surprising to Green that even in a world where polygamy is accepted, they took this matter so seriously.

The night passed without a word.

Green would like to make it clear that when they declared themselves a scumbag, it's not because they wanted to have endless intimate relations. Just like Mio said, being together is enough – there's no need to overthink things.

In comparison, Green preferred the relaxing feeling of lying in the yard and basking in the sun every day.

And it would be even better if someone was there with them.

If there was more than one person...

The next morning, Green, unlike normal people, didn't crave sleep, so they woke up much earlier than the others.

The weather seemed nice today. Green stood in the yard, feeling the morning sunlight and enjoying the refreshing cool breeze brushing against their face. It was truly delightful.

But suddenly, Green sensed a familiar presence.

Under ordinary circumstances, Green subconsciously sensed familiar people. So when Green felt that familiar presence, they immediately turned their gaze towards it.

And as expected, it was Eulia.

Eulia stood in front of the gate, looking as if they hadn't slept at all. They had searched for Green all night based on clues from passersby and finally found their way here.

"Brother-in-law, why are you here?"

"Oh... I have something I wanted to discuss with you. Is Aloof not with you?"

"She's here, inside."

..........

Green brewed tea and sat opposite Eulia.

"What's the matter?"

Eulia didn't waste any time and went straight to the point.

"The princess of the Caesar Empire has come of age. The emperor wants to find a suitable husband for her, so he has invited elite figures from various countries to hold a martial arts tournament to select a son-in-law. Our father also received an invitation, and after the Elder Council's vote, they decided that we should go and give it a try."

"Huh? What about our goal..."

"Winning."

Eulia didn't elaborate further, but the meaning was clear.

To be honest, Eulia wasn't interested in this. They were weak and had been sickly since childhood. Even though they had regained their health with Green's help, they had grown accustomed to being single.

But, ultimately, this was decided by the Elder Council's vote, and Eulia couldn't openly refuse.

However, it was different for Green.

"What do you think?"

"I don't want to go."

"I knew you would say that."

Eulia took a sip of tea, exhaled a warm breath, and wasn't surprised by Green's response.

"The Elder Council has been coveting the king's power for a long time, but the throne can only be inherited by the royal family. Currently, the only candidates for succession are you and me. So the Elder Council's purpose is simple – I guess they want to kill both of us during this opportunity and then target Aloof with the younger generation."

"Why keep the Elder Council then? Why not get rid of them?"

"The Head Elder of the Council is powerful, and they have their own army. It's not so easy to handle them, so we've been in this deadlock. But the key is we haven't found decisive evidence against them."

Eulia paused for a moment, then continued,

"I know you're very strong, and the Elder Council can't be unaware of that either. So I suspect they've brought in some kind of help this time, like people from underground assassination organizations.""......"

As Yulia explained, Green remained unaffected.

Assassins from the underground organization? Would they dare to come after him?

When Green went to the underground organization, though there weren't many people present, the news would definitely spread. No one would dare to lay a hand on Green knowing he was the target.

Seeing Green's lack of response, Yulia couldn't read his thoughts and decided to drink his tea and wake up. Since Green had saved him, Yulia felt much better mentally. In the past, he would wake up feeling confused and disoriented, but now he was much more alert.

After a moment of silence, Green suddenly remembered something and said,

"By the way, I think it's necessary for me to tell you something."

"Go ahead."

"I established a country yesterday."

"—Pfft!"

Yulia spit out his tea in surprise, but Green calmly used a barrier to block it.

Green had anticipated this reaction, so after saying this, he remained silent, giving Yulia some time to process it.

Yulia was dumbfounded. Though it sounded unbelievable, in this world, it was actually quite simple to establish a country if you had the means.

"So, you mean you're a king now?"

"Yes."

"What's the name of the country?"

"Green Kingdom."

"...... How many people?"

"Currently two, but there may be more in the future."

Yulia didn't know what to say. If Green had established a country and become king, then Aloof should naturally follow him once they got married. That would leave Yulia as the only possible heir to the throne.

While this was bad news for the Elder Council, it wasn't a great situation for Yulia either. He had no desire to be a king and was already tired of seeing his father busy all the time.

Initially, Yulia had thought that once Aloof found her place, he would have nothing holding him back and he could travel the world, maybe to the Western or Eastern continents.

But now that Green had become a king, Yulia was the only possible heir.

He suddenly felt a headache coming on.

"I never expected you to become a king after just one day. But in that case, the Elder Council's plan has failed once again, I suppose."

"Again?"

Green caught on to that word.

Yulia chuckled bitterly upon hearing Green's confused voice.

"Yes, it's not the first time. The first time was during the era of the previous Demon Lord Hero. Back then, the young Elder Council pursued my grandaunt every day, but in the end, she chose to go with the Hero and the throne went to my grandfather. My father told me all of this."

"Sounds quite miserable..."

That wasn't the point, so Green casually commented without paying much attention. However, Yulia became anxious.

If Green established a kingdom, then Yulia had to inherit the throne of Pharsyst. As a king, he would naturally need a good wife. Coincidentally, the Emperor of the Caesar Empire was preparing a martial arts tournament, and Yulia would surely be urged to participate.

But he had no interest in such a clearly unwinnable situation.

Just then, Yulia had a sudden thought.

"Green, have you received an invitation to the martial arts tournament?"

"No."

"Do you want to go?"

"Not really interested."

Green suddenly felt trouble brewing.

"Oh come on, I guess they don't know about your newly established country yet. How about this, I can give you my invitation, and you can go in my place?"

"Go in your place? How would that work?"

"Just use my invitation instead."

"......"

Seeing Yulia's pleading eyes, Green thought for a moment. Using up the invitation wouldn't take much time, so he decided to help him out.

"Alright, I can do that."

"Thank you. I'll explain the situation to my father afterwards. You can rest assured."...

After returning to the castle, Yuleia went to the conference room and explained everything to the Elder Council and the King. The expression on the face of the Grand Elder changed countless times after listening to Yuleia's words, and he finally left the conference room without saying anything.

Fred was also taken aback. Just two days had passed and Green had established his own country, becoming a nobleman of equal status to him. This surprised Fred, but also reassured him about Green.

As expected, as Yuleia anticipated, Fred urged Yuleia to try his luck in the Caesar Empire. Yuleia agreed at the surface, but secretly decided to flake out.

After Aloof and the others woke up, Green recounted what Yuleia had said, but it aroused suspicion in Aloof.

"Green, are you interested in the imperial princess?"

"Uh... how could that be? I have you guys, and that's enough."

"Really?"

"Of course, I swear by the lamp!"

Green pointed at the chandelier and solemnly declared. Aloof raised an eyebrow, then pouted in dissatisfaction.

"You're just brushing me off! Well, in that case, I'll go with you to supervise. Is that okay?"

"O-of course it's okay..."

Lilith, seeing Aloof's reaction, also became anxious.

"Then I want to go too!"

"Huh? If everyone goes, there will be too many... Mio, Aloof, Lilith, and me, that's already four of us. I'm just going there and coming back, there's no need for so many people to follow me!"

Green looked troubled, but it only made Aloof even more displeased.

"Aren't the three of us enough for you? Do you want to add another person? Oh, right, I remember there's also Yuzuriha, so it'll be five people with Yuzuriha! You shameless Green!"

"Cough... Is it shameless to fulfill the king's request? That's... that's exercising legitimate rights! And I'm just helping your older brother go through the motions, nothing will happen with the imperial princess!"

"I don't believe you!"

"That's why..."

At that moment, Green and Aloof began arguing, filling the room with a lively atmosphere.