Time flew by.
For Regulus, life returned to its former state—a wonderful, leisurely life where he only needed to spend each day dating, relaxing, and harmoniously 'communicating' with his wives behind closed doors.
During this peaceful period, Sphinx had also used her various lethal and political means to officially take absolute charge of the Demi-Human alliance.
Thus, under Sphinx's leadership representing the demi-humans, and the Old King's leadership representing the Kingdom of Lugnica, the two factions officially began their first historic peace summit.
Regulus did not participate in these negotiations.
It was entirely foreseeable that the political process would not be smooth, and might even be incredibly boring. No, it should be said it would definitely be mind-numbingly boring. Compared to watching old nobles and demi-human elders bicker back and forth over border lines and reparations, it was much more practical to spend his time enjoying the comforts of his mansion with his wives.
As for whether Sphinx would suffer a disadvantage at the negotiating table without him there to back her up? There was absolutely no need to worry about that.
Sphinx had inherited a portion of Echidna's memories and wisdom. Although it was only a small fraction, for someone cloned from the Witch of Greed—who represented the absolute pinnacle of intelligence in this world—even a small portion was more than enough for Sphinx to deal with that old fox of a King. She knew exactly how to secure the greatest possible benefits for her faction.
Besides, Regulus felt he had already done enough. He had gone out of his way to preserve the demi-human race instead of slaughtering them all, and so far, he hadn't even received a single tangible benefit out of this whole political mess, okay?
After the primary negotiations finally concluded, Sphinx directly sought out Regulus at his estate.
"How were the results?" Regulus asked, pouring her a cup of tea.
"Very good. Much better than expected," Sphinx replied in her usual flat tone.
"I thought so too."
The Old King was genuinely a good monarch, and he cared deeply for his people, regardless of their race. His only real flaw was his weak political maneuvering against the Sage Council. If that aspect could be compensated for, he would definitely be worthy of being called an enlightened, legendary ruler.
Of course, mortals always have flaws. A truly perfect person, or a flawless King, only exists in fantasy novels.
"However, one specific thing also exceeded my expectations," Sphinx added, taking the teacup.
"What is it?"
"It regards you, the one who facilitated this negotiation... His Majesty the King officially hopes that you can serve as the designated 'bridge' to ease the ongoing conflict between both parties."
"Huh?!"
Regulus blinked, completely failing to understand this logic.
What did it mean to be a 'bridge' to ease the conflict? He had literally massacred their vanguard, killed Libre Fermi, one of the three Great Commanders of the demi-human race, and permanently crippled Valga Cromwell!
'Ease it?' Regulus thought wryly. 'It would be a miracle if they didn't hate me to the bone.'
However, thinking about it from a different angle, perhaps this 'easing' could simply be understood as a looming 'threat' of annihilation if they broke the treaty.
But Sphinx quickly offered the proper political explanation.
"The blood feud between the demi-human race and the Kingdom has been long-standing. Even with the King's benevolent leadership, it is impossible to magically eliminate the accumulated, generational grievances between the two sides overnight. Therefore, all that can be done now is to strictly avoid the occurrence of new conflicts."
Sphinx paused slightly to take a sip of her tea.
"For example, the fuse that ignited this civil war was the unprovoked annihilation of a demi-human merchant caravan. In the future, it will be difficult to completely prevent such racist incidents from happening again. Precisely for this reason, to prevent tragedy from repeating and escalating into another war, there needs to be an overwhelmingly powerful entity who can make direct, impartial judgments after similar incidents occur."
Sphinx looked up, her dark eyes locking onto his. "However, in this entire country, there are not many who can truly set aside the grievances between demi-humans and humans, especially after this recent period of bloody turmoil. It can be said that you are the only one who can enforce it."
"I see," Regulus nodded in understanding.
This meant the Crown intended for him to treat everyone equally with an iron fist—no longer automatically favoring the human side, nor deliberately making things difficult for the demi-humans.
To be honest, given the fragile current situation, the Old King's approach was truly decisive. Appointing an untouchable demigod as the supreme judge was a foolproof deterrent.
"Since the King wants me to bear this heavy responsibility, then massive benefits should have already been promised to me, right?" Regulus smiled greedily.
"This..." Sphinx hesitated.
"What's wrong?" Regulus was very surprised.
Normally, Sphinx would not show any hesitation, nor would her cheeks flush unless she was being actively teased in bed. She was acting very unusually at this moment.
'Could this be someone else in disguise?' Regulus wondered suspiciously. 'Like Capella, the Sin Archbishop of Lust?'
But that logic didn't track either. The number of wives in the mansion was exactly right, with no sudden changes in his shared perception. Unless Sphinx was stealthily swapped during her return to the demi-human encampment, the Sin Archbishop of Lust would certainly have had no opportunity to infiltrate.
And there was another glaring problem with that theory: Sphinx's individual magical strength was terrifying. Even with a successful sneak attack, Capella would find it very difficult to succeed. With the undead puppet of Libre Fermi also guarding her at all times, it would be virtually impossible for the Bishop of Lust to quietly ambush Sphinx.
"Actually, it's..." Sphinx averted her gaze, a faint pink dusting her pale cheeks.
"What?"
"Actually, regarding your benefits... the King formally promised to personally preside over a Royal Marriage between me and you, so that we may become official husband and wife."
"Preside over your marriage to me...?!"
"Yes."
"..."
Regulus didn't know what to say anymore.
Nominally, he did receive a benefit: he gained a beautiful, politically powerful demi-human wife who possessed both terrifying strength and unique beauty.
But! Did he really need the King to 'grant' him this?!
The Old King, that cunning old fox, wanted to play a brilliant political trick of getting something for absolutely nothing! By making Sphinx his official wife, the King permanently tied Regulus to the demi-human faction as their protector, guaranteeing the peace treaty without spending a single copper coin from the royal treasury!
Moreover, even if Regulus wanted to refuse this 'generous' condition to spite the King, he couldn't, could he? If he refused a royal marriage to Sphinx, wouldn't it publicly imply that he despised the demi-human race?
If that were the case, it would greatly damage his reputation, and he would face significant, annoying obstacles when looking for beautiful non-human girls among the demi-human tribes in the future. How could his greed let anything jeopardize the exotic demi-human girls he so yearned to collect?
Besides, looking at Sphinx's current, rare display of emotion... It was clear that this formal recognition was very important to her. If he refused, she would surely be upset.
"That old geezer... he really plays a good game of calculation," Regulus finally sighed, unable to help but utter some slightly impolite words against the Crown.
Hidden flawlessly in the shadows of the parlor, Zero, the Ninja Girl, felt a bit embarrassed hearing the King insulted so casually.
However, she had absolutely no intention of reporting this disrespect. Firstly, it wasn't worth the risk. Secondly, she had to admit the Old King had calculated Regulus perfectly this time.
But the last, most oppressive reason she remained silent was the most uncomfortable truth of her espionage career...
After spending some time living in this mansion, Zero had finally understood the terrifying composition of Regulus's harem. Absolutely none of these women were easy to deal with.
Especially the one named Beatrice, who looked like a cute little loli but was actually a Great Spirit over four hundred years old—that was practically cheating!
And this Great Spirit had casually set up absolute, layered surveillance magic throughout the entire mansion, and even around the perimeter walls. Facing Yin surveillance magic that couldn't be touched, seen, or even sensed by normal means, Zero felt that her assignment here was a complete, humiliating joke.
Because all she could safely do was quietly observe. Treasonous tasks like secretly transmitting information to the King were entirely under Beatrice's watchful, amused eye.
'No wonder,' Zero thought, shivering slightly as she recalled the incident on the roof. 'No wonder Beatrice told me there was no need to be "sneaky" when doing things. They've known I was a spy from the very first second I walked through the door...'
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