The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 596: Even the world of sword and magic suffers credit cards

Chapter 596: Even the world of sword and magic suffers credit cards

"Nat!"

It was only a day, but a day where I was totally alone without even Jade by my side, so it was several times harder than usual. The moment I walked through the portal and saw Natha, I jumped into his embrace and hugged him tight.

He carried me again after a while, and I greatly enjoyed it. Ever since Shwa came, either Natha or I always carried our baby around, so he rarely carried me. And well...I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it while doing our ’mission’ would I?

"That’s faster than I thought," Natha said while running his lips through my jaw, prompting me to giggle from the ticklish sensation.

"It’s always the right decision to leave the negotiation process to the locals," I shrugged and then added in a whisper. "And by negotiation, I meant bribes."

He arched his brow, and one side of his lips raised slightly. "Elaborate."

And so I told him about how the meeting and the dinner went while she carried me up the stairs--naturally, I also slipped in the tea about the new addition to the Hero’s party, which seemed to be his next fancy. I told him that Zarfa told me how the Hero truly gave up when she came back from our wedding, announcing to the rest of the party that, yes, I was truly married to a Demon Lord.

Natha only hummed nonchalantly, but I could see the corner of his lips twitch. You ain’t fooling your husband, Sir.

Anyway, it was midday, so everyone was looking at us when Natha came up while carrying me in his arms. Usually, I would be flustered and hide my face in his neck, or just jump off to walk on myself, but...

I didn’t want to.

I giggled slightly and tightened my hold on his neck, which he seemed to like because he couldn’t even pretend not to smile. But then he continued walking to the street instead of the carriage, and I was getting confused.

Did he want to walk to the Castle or something?

But then, we entered the building right beside the merchant guild, which was--would you have guessed--a bank!

"Huh?"

"What I gave you was an allowance--your spending money," he said. "A sponsorship needs a business money."

Again, all I could do was say...huh?

He did not explain further until he talked to the director of the bank--who was understandably his subordinate--and the director came back with a...what? Medallion? He put the medallion, which was around four or five centimeters wide, on top of a magic device and asked me to place my palm on top of it while pouring in my mana for about ten seconds.

Afterward, the director operated the device once more, and some kind of seal seemed to be put on the medallion.

"We linked it to the main account in Dailamy without any limit, so Young Master can use as much as he wants."

...huh?

"We in the Demon Lord used cards, but the Human Realm used medallion for their bank," Natha explained. "Each medallion is connected to an account in the bank that issued said medallion, so you can use it as a payment method. It can also be used as a forward payment, and if the money in the account is not enough, the debt will be registered to the owner of the account."

"Oh, like a debit or credit card?"

"Yes," he put the medallion inside a beautiful and luxurious case with silk tassels adorned with jewels. A bit over the top, but still pretty nonetheless. "In a place where a large amount of money is used like the auctions, using a medallion is better, and you’ll receive better treatment by the vendors."

"Ah..."

Was the luxurious case meant to show that the account connected to the medallion was worth a lot of money?

I nodded and received the medallion carefully. "Uhh...what if I dropped it somewhere?" I asked while swallowing nervously, considering my clumsy disposition.

"The case is equipped with a returning spell," Natha chuckled. I see that he was already considering this aspect. "But if the medallion somehow runs away and you lose it, no need to worry. Your manaprint had been sealed there, so no one else could use it."

"Oh! That’s neat!"

The director cleared his throat. "Our cards can also do that..."

"Ah...right," I grinned sheepishly. "Is-isn’t it good that I never lose my card? That’s why I didn’t know!"

While the director was dumbfounded, Natha laughed and patted my head. "That’s right. The point is, you don’t have to worry. If it’s lost, just call Heraz, and he’ll switch it with a new one."

"Okay," I nodded and put the medallion in my storage ring. It was such a relief that I didn’t have to feel guilty even if I lost this seemingly valuable item.

"Just buy whatever you want in that auction," he stroked my cheek. "Don’t just choose something useful, just buy whatever. Use it to pay for the best room if you spend a night in a city."

"Mm..."

"Ah, if you want to do something illegal though..."

Uhh...was he talking about the bribe and stuff? Black market? Surveillance activity?

"Go to the bank and take some cash," Natha gave me more advice. "Never do illegal things with traceable money."

"...okay? How do I know...?"

"Ask that girl--"

"Ceci?"

"Yes--she’ll know what to do."

"Okay!"

With that, our financial stuff was over, and this time, he brought me to the carriage. He did not tell the carriage to go straight to the Castle, however, but asked the coachman to take a long way around the city.

I didn’t even need to ask. This was probably why he didn’t use teleportation. The moment we returned to the Castle, our attention would be on Shwa--even Natha’s. So, this little detour was his justification to spend more time with me, just the two of us. It was an indulgence that only people with kids could understand.

Giggling, I closed the curtain and climbed onto his lap, grabbing his face for a kiss. I would miss the sight of this city when I departed for my mission, but I would miss my husband more. So let this little time become ours. Just ours.

Ah...it felt like we were on honeymoon again.

* * *

"Papa!"

"My boy!"

Jade jumped into my arms the way I did to Natha earlier. The difference was we continued to twirl around the nursery while laughing as if we had been separated for a week. We ended our reunion dance near the bassinet, where Shwa was blinking in confusion until we attacked his cheeks with kisses, and the baby giggled in response.

"Papa...Jade will come with Papa this time, right?" the little boy tugged on my sleeve, looking at me worriedly.

"Yes, you will," I ruffled the green hair of the now grinning boy, but I added carefully. "We have to leave Shwa though...will you be okay?"

The smile vanished from Jade’s face like ice under the summer’s sun. "O...oh..." he turned to Shwa, and fiddled with the baby’s blanket, on the verge of crying.

As someone who cried hard the other day, I couldn’t blame him. But I started to wonder if he would end up staying here instead of coming with me. Well, perhaps I should only go with Ignis instead...

"When we go, Papa?"

I stroked his back and replied regretfully. "We’ll have to go tomorrow."

Immediately, Jade looked as if Natha had confiscated all of his candy and banned him from eating jelly. Yeah...I know, baby. It was hard for me too.

"Then..." Jade turned to me again while fidgeting. "Can we...can we do that again? Sleeping together with Papa and Natha?"

Oh, my sweet, strong baby. "Of course we can!"

I would do it even without him asking.

While Jade continued to play with Shwa inside the bassinet, I turned toward Natha and asked about the important item related to our reluctance to leave. "Will the tokens be ready for tomorrow?"

"I’m not sure," Natha shook his head. "It’s always hard to make things that connect different realms, but I have asked for an update. Hopefully, it will be done by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, but if it hasn’t, I’ll send it later through Heraz."

"Oh, he works hard," I chuckled for the spy who had become more and more like a courier nowadays. "You pay him well, right?"

Natha frowned in disappointment. "Who do you think I am?"

I giggled and hugged his side as compensation. "Just making sure, hubby. I’ll probably work him out a lot in this journey, after all."

"Mm," the silver eyes flashed at me. "Why don’t you call me that again? I might send more shapeshifters your way."

I giggled and whispered it in his ears--since we were still in the nursery and all. Well, I’d call him that even without any promises, but it made me less embarrassed about it if there was a ’justification’...you know?

And so, just like the night and night before, we slept together in the master bedroom--me, Shwa, Jade, and Natha. It was cute that this time, Jade opted to sleep beside Natha instead of me, probably because he would be away from the nightmare during the journey.

Honestly...I wanted to sleep beside Natha too, but we had to compromise. We did slip out a little bit when the two babies were deeply asleep to have some...farewell pajama party--without the pajamas--for just the two of us.

Psst--it was a secret, okay?

Still, the day came and we became a bit gloomy because I had no idea when I would be able to return. There was no news about the tokens, and I had given up on it when the wind blew rather harshly on the balcony during luncheon.

"Ah, I hope I’m not too late?"

It was Uncle Sol, looking even more sleep-deprived, with three small plaques in his hand.