The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 713: That moment when you want to smack your naughty husband, but you’re in a global summit

Chapter 713: That moment when you want to smack your naughty husband, but you’re in a global summit

Using the teleportation token, we arrived in the human realm in six minutes.

This time, Jade came as a boy. There was no need for him to stay in the bird form anyway. Since Zia also came with us, they could act as each other’s babysitters and had exciting catching up with the other girls.

Interestingly, when I arrived, Zarfa was also ready to leave. She simply introduced us to her father and second brother, before running away with Zia and Jade in both hands.

Damn, girl...I thought you would be on my side.

But, well...this was the meeting to talk about something affecting the whole realm, so indeed, her authority was not at that level yet. And honestly, it was also nice to see her family in this world. Just looking at her father’s and brother’s expressions, I knew they adored her. Heck--I had a feeling that she was actually a spoiled princess back home.

It was nice to know that she got everything she wanted in the past; a healthy body, a loving family, and a lot of money.

"I heard a lot about you from her, but..." her father, Asmof Goldbel, gave me a fatherly smile. "She never mentioned anything about a prince, Your Highness."

"What are you talking about, Father?" the second brother shook his head. "Shouldn’t it be Your Majesty?"

"Oh, forgive this old man," Asmof laughed.

"Oh, it’s fine," I shrugged. "Technically, I don’t have any throne."

Of course, there was also a matter of me not interested in becoming a ruler, but that wasn’t something to be said when I was acting as the children of nature’s representative.

"Not yet, you mean?" a woman’s voice chimed in. "It’s just a matter of time before you reclaim the place, isn’t it?"

No, no--it wasn’t the Goddess. The golden statue was now stationary in the inner sanctum since the Goddess returned to his divine abode. But until She got rid of the curse, that golden statue would become Her channel. Anyway, she was Fatia’s mother, the Regent--oh, well, I guessed she was basically the Queen already.

Unless, of course, Dailamy changed their law and forsook the lost royal family.

"Well, as long as you help me push the Empire," I shrugged.

This meeting, which would discuss the steps we shall take to fulfill the New Covenant, would be attended by the representatives of states from the human realm. While the Goddess appointed him Herself yesterday, I reckoned not everyone would accept it.

Especially those who had been deep in the rotten church’s business.

Those countries would probably not heed the emergency summons from the Grand Church, but that would be better for us. Denying the Goddess’s summon meant blasphemy, and the Grand Church could use it as a justification to catch them.

If they were smart, they should come with some proof that they had never colluded with the Pope--just like Fatia’s mother. They could even submit a plea stating that they were getting blackmailed or coerced to lighten the consequences. Of course, everything would be submitted to a trial, and the golden statue--ahem, the Goddess--would decide the punishment. But at least, by doing that, they showed a good intention to cooperate.

Oh, talking about punishment...

"After scrutinizing the evidence papers, we made a list of people in the Pope’s main circle--the one cooking the plan with him--and the Goddess put a curse on those people," Jin, who would also attend the meeting to support Bishop Avarash as the Goddess’s proxy, told us what happened while we were in the Demon Realm.

"A curse?"

"A curse of confession," Bishop Avarash replied. "As long as they live, they would have to recite every bad thing they had done--down to the smallest thing like talking behind someone’s back. Even now, they had been talking nonstop inside the prison."

"Well, as you said, we should let the people know what they had done. What better way to do it than let them recite it themselves?" Jin shrugged. "We’d send them around like a parade, as you suggested, and let the people hear their confession."

Oh-ho! That doesn’t sound so bad.

"Hmm..." Natha, however, looked unimpressed. "Doesn’t seem petty enough."

Pfft--what was he doing being petty himself? But, well...honestly, the Goddess seemed petty, so I guessed Natha’s assessment was not without basis.

"They also could not kill themselves, or be killed, as long as there are still people who haven’t heard their confession," Jin continued with a grimace. "No matter if they got sick, get hungry, get thirsty, they shall not stop talking until everyone heard them. Even the newborn."

"Hoo..."

Oh, looked at that? Natha seemed quite impressed as a fellow petty character.

"And once everyone heard them?" he asked.

"Well..." the Hero and the Bishop--oh, the new Pope--glanced at each other with uncomfortable expression. In the end, it was Bishop Avarash who answered. "I guess...it will depend on whether or not their body could withstand what they endure during the confession."

"Hmm..." Natha crossed his arms and looked up, as if imagining the scenario. "To make everyone hear them, they will have to travel to every corner of the realm. Every city, every town, every village. Who knows how many hidden settlements there are in this realm, since they have a hobby of exiling and cornering people."

Wow...you knew so well, didn’t you, Mister Outsider?

"How many of those, I wonder, will get angry?" Natha smiled deeply. "Some? Half? Most? All? Of those who are angry, how many will try to inflict harm to the sinners?"

"Oh, is that allowed?" I asked the two humans.

Jin grimaced and nodded. Oof--so that was why they looked uncomfortable earlier. Those people couldn’t die, but they could feel pain. So, no matter how many stones were thrown at them, how many stabs, how many lacerations, or even if people burned them, they wouldn’t die. They would have to endure the pain while screaming out their sins, over and over and over again. Not knowing where it would end.

"How long do you think they’ll need?" I asked curiously.

"Moving several people around is not easy, and even in one city, they would have to keep talking for a few days, making sure everyone hears them. Even if there’s one--just one--can’t hear them when they get to the last place, they’ll have to figure out where is the one who hasn’t heard them," Natha said. "How long do you think they’ll need, then?"

Uhh...how would I know? I didn’t even know how large was the human realm, or how many kingdoms were there. My geography and geopolitics lesson was on hold because of this whole thing, you know? Also, I wondered if that condition included the babies who were born after they left the region.

Hmm? Wait...

"Uhh...the condition was for everyone to hear...right?"

"That’s true," Jin nodded.

"Then...what about those who can’t hear?"

The Hero and the Bishop blinked, while Natha’s smile grew deeper. "That’s..."

"Exactly, Your Highness. How about those people?" Natha asked me instead.

"Hmm...maybe the Goddess meant ’know’ instead?" I tilted my head. "Someone who could communicate with people who are deaf so they understand the confession."

"Then, what about the children? The babies? The newborn? People with intellectual disabilities or psychotic disorders?" my demon smiled, so devilish and handsome at the same time. "How could they understand?"

"Oh..."

I blinked slowly at what this discovery entailed. As I looked at the Hero and the Bishop, their face told me that they too, only realized it now. Unless a miracle happened and everyone with hard hearing received a cure, making everyone hear them would be impossible.

Hell. Wouldn’t that mean no matter how long, the Pope and his cronies wouldn’t be able to get rid of the curse? Then, they would have to keep talking and talking and talking while enduring whatever the people might do to the...for eternity?

It was truly a punishment far worse than death.

"Ahh..." Natha covered his snarling lips with his hand. "I see now that your Goddess is quite a petty one."

Wow...they would be such good friends if it wasn’t for her haughtiness, huh?

"So scary..." I muttered while hugging myself, shuddering.

"What are you talking about, Your Highness?" Natha tilted his head. "From what I heard, it was you who prevented Lady Luxera from granting the old man an instant, probably painless death."

"...huh?"

"And wasn’t it you, who suggested these people to be paraded around until everyone knew the truth of what he had done?"

"Well...yes?"

The silver eyes curled; but while I could see a strange pride in his gaze, his mouth was still as mischievous as ever. "Ohh...what a scary person you are, Your Highness. Ah, I mean, Your Majesty."

He even made a display of bowing in respect, and I was soooo close to smacking him on the shoulder like I always did back home when he became annoying.

I took a deep breath and gave him my best smile. "You flatter me, Lord Natha. I am sure you are capable of designing a more terrifying punishment."

"Oh, my--I shall take that as a compliment," Natha smiled oh, so sweetly.

And we kept smiling like that until Stan came and asked us in confusion. "Is your marriage in turbulence, perchance?"