The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 158

Felix blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light. He felt like he had read the document wrong, even after looking at it many times.

He read the budget again and again. He still felt confused. He looked up, his face showing he couldn’t believe what he saw.

Felix: “…Are they really giving us *this much* money?”

Chris: “I know, right? I couldn’t believe it either! It was way more than we thought we’d get. I even checked with the boss to make sure it was correct. They said it was! And they even told me to ask for *more* if we need it for the Magic Tower!”

The document showed a budget of 2,000 gold *every month*. That was 24,000 gold each year! Felix’s eyes widened. This was a huge amount of money. It was like enough money to feed 8,000 people for a whole year, every month! He couldn’t believe it. It felt too good to be true.

People often said mages were like ‘money-eating monsters’. Unlike warriors who get stronger by training their bodies, mages needed expensive things to improve. They needed magic books and special stones called mana stones to become more powerful mages. Everyone knew it cost a lot of money to train even one mage to a decent level – at least 5,000 gold for just a mage who reached the third circle of magic. And it got much, much more expensive for higher level mages.

Magic Towers were usually neutral, but they needed a lot of money to run. So, they often became friendly with big countries. These countries would give them money, and the Magic Towers would help them when needed. At first, even rich families thought about having their own Magic Towers. But they quickly realized it was too expensive to keep them running every month, and they didn’t get enough back for their money just by being friends. So, most families stopped supporting Magic Towers. Having many Magic Towers became a sign of how strong a country was. The Cronos Empire, for example, was very powerful because it had seven Magic Towers.

Felix thought, ‘I was ready for less money.’ After leaving Franck, he didn’t expect much from Dimitri. Dimitri was rich, yes, but paying thousands of gold every month was a big ask. Felix had only hoped Dimitri would let Phoenix use fire magic. He thought that was already a great help. He was ready to manage even if the Magic Tower struggled for a while. Phoenix was small, so they only needed a few thousand gold. But big Magic Towers needed over ten thousand gold each month!

Then, Roman Dimitri offered 2,000 gold *every month*. Felix’s plan to sell magic items to make money suddenly seemed silly. ‘Roman Dimitri didn’t just accept us without thinking,’ Felix realized. ‘He must have decided he could afford this, and he thought carefully before bringing Phoenix to Dimitri. With 2,000 gold a month, we can run the Magic Tower properly!’

Felix didn’t know the real reason for this generosity. After Dimitri changed how the iron mine worked, Dimitri made a *lot* of money in Cairo. People said they were the richest people in Cairo now, richer than even big noble families. Also, Dimitri had made a deal with Marquis Valentino. Valentino was known to keep his promises, and he sent a huge amount of money to Dimitri every month, just like he said he would. So, 2,000 gold a month? It was actually a small amount for Dimitri. Dimitri was getting richer and richer very quickly, but he was keeping it quiet.

And then, Chris said, “Magic Tower Lord, you should come see this.” Dimitri’s help wasn’t just money.

They arrived at a big open space. Chris pointed and said, “Construction starts next week. Here are the plans. It’s designed for at least a thousand people, thinking about how the Phoenix Magic Tower will grow in the future. We’ve also made space for all the things a Magic Tower needs. We looked into everything carefully when we made these plans. But if you see anything missing, tell us now.”

Felix: “…This is too much. No, it’s *way* too much!”

Felix looked around at the huge piece of land. It stretched out in front of him. He imagined the Phoenix Magic Tower being built here. His heart swelled with emotion.

He remembered the Franck Kingdom. They had broken almost all their promises when they asked Phoenix to join them. They had promised to build a Magic Tower as good as any in the Empire, but then they argued about every little thing because building a Magic Tower cost so much money. Dimitri was giving them even more than a kingdom could offer, and he hadn’t even been asked!

Felix quickly looked through the blueprints Chris gave him. He could see how much work had gone into them.

Felix said, feeling a little dizzy, “Honestly, Our lord promised to support us, but I never thought he’d do *this* much. This is even bigger than what big noble families can usually do. Why are you doing so much for us?”

Chris replied, “From what I see, our lord is just kind. It’s not just you. Everyone who joins our lord gets treated like this. Look at me, I’ve become a much better swordsman because of him. Kevin’s whole family got out of the poor part of town and now lives in the castle. Everyone who works for our lord gets more than they deserve.”

The people who worked for Roman weren’t surprised by this. Just a short time ago, the Phoenix Magic Tower was separate from them, but now, they were part of the family.

Felix couldn’t say anything. Chris looked at him calmly and said, “You’ll get used to it. Our lord values people who are loyal to him more than anything else. From now on, we all live for him.”

Meanwhile, while Felix was being shown the Magic Tower site, Hans was having a very busy morning back at the castle.

Hans said quickly, “Even if I’m not here, Roman’s day must go exactly as planned. Every morning, he trains with his sword for about an hour after finishing his work. You need to have a towel ready for his sweat and water – not too hot, not too cold – just right. Then, take him to lunch. After lunch, you need to check his schedule and tell him what’s next. And then…”

Hans kept talking and talking. His new helper, Murphy, wrote everything down as fast as he could, his face looking more and more confused. Hans hadn’t really wanted a helper, but Roman was getting busier and busier, and Hans knew he couldn’t do it all by himself anymore.

So, Hans had chosen Murphy very carefully. Lots of people wanted to work for Roman Dimitri, and Murphy had been chosen out of thousands of people. He was very smart and had even studied at the famous Adelaine Academy. Murphy was a top student, but in the real world, he was still new and didn’t know everything yet.

Murphy thought to himself, ‘How can there be so much to do?!’ Hans’s whole day, from morning until night, was all about taking care of Roman Dimitri. Usually, Murphy would just watch Hans and learn, but today, Hans was going to be away.

It was Hans’s granddaughter’s birthday today – his son Harrison’s daughter.

Hans finished all the work Roman had given him. He was excited to visit his son. Roman told Hans he should leave right away, even earlier than planned. Roman actually wanted Hans to leave the day before. But Hans said no. Hans was stubborn. He said he couldn’t leave early. He had to finish his work properly, even if it took until morning. Hans packed a simple bag and set off.

‘I hope our lovely granddaughter likes the ball-jointed doll,’ Hans thought.

His heart fluttered with excitement.

Harrison lived in Adelian, not Dimitri. Hans remembered helping Harrison through school. After graduating, Harrison started his own business in Adelian.

Ten years passed quickly. Harrison became a successful owner of a company that sold food ingredients.

It wasn’t a very big company, but everyone in Adelian knew his name.

The only granddaughter of such a son. He imagined her smile when she opened the gift. She was a treasure he wouldn’t trade for the world.

Hans walked to the city gates with a light step. He planned to take the carriage he had booked. It would be a quick journey.

However.

“We have been waiting for you.”

“Mr. Hans, please get in the carriage.”

At the city gates, what he saw was very different.

Instead of the simple carriage he expected, a magnificent carriage stood there. It sparkled in the sunlight, covered in gold decorations.

And next to it, Dimitri’s soldiers were waiting.

At first, Hans thought it was for someone else. He looked around. No one else was there. He looked bewildered.

“Are you waiting for me?” Hans asked.

“Yes, Master Roman ordered it,” one of the soldiers replied.

It was clear now. This grand carriage was Roman’s gift for Hans, for finishing his work so well.

While Hans was getting ready to travel, his son, Harrison, was rushing around, busy with work.

“If I finish all the deliveries by morning, I can go to my daughter’s party at lunchtime,” he thought.

It was his daughter’s birthday, but for Harrison, being self-employed meant work never stopped, even on special days.

Harrison carefully checked the boxes of fresh vegetables and fruits, making sure everything was perfect. Then, with his employees, he quickly delivered them to customers.

One delivery was to his most important client.

When he arrived at the Adelian Count’s estate, he called for the manager in a cautious voice.

“I have brought the food ingredients.”

Adelian’s manager was Butler Jordeng.

Jordeng was a truly picky person.

He often pointed out even small mistakes in a grumbling tone. If Harrison ever brought food ingredients that were even a little bit bad, he had to be ready for complaints.

That’s why Harrison was always nervous when delivering to the Adelian Count’s family.

He knew if he got on Jordeng’s bad side, it would be hard to do business in Adelian. So, he always delivered the best food, even if it meant making less money.

However.

Today, Jordeng’s reaction was strange.

“I heard it’s your daughter’s birthday today?” Jordeng said. “You must be busy. Just leave the food here and hurry along.”

“What do you mean?” Harrison asked, confused.

“Goodness me, Harrison!” Jordeng said. “I know it’s your daughter’s birthday. You’ve been working since morning! Just leave the food here. I’ll handle it. Go enjoy the party!”

Harrison was bewildered.

Jordeng was never this nice.

He couldn’t believe it was just kindness. He thought maybe Jordeng had bad intentions.

‘Are they trying to find a new supplier?’ he wondered.

He was sure of it.

If he left the food ingredients there, Mr. Jordeng would pretend he didn’t know him and blame him later, even though he told him to leave them.

“No,” Harrison said. “I’ll unload it now.”

“Goodness me!” Jordeng exclaimed.

“This is my job,” Harrison said. “I can’t let Mr. Jordeng have trouble.”

Harrison didn’t listen to Jordeng anymore. He just wanted to unload the food himself. He called his employees and they quickly started moving the food ingredients.

Jordeng was flustered.

He realized he couldn’t stop Harrison. He quickly called the family’s servants.

“Everyone! Servants! Come here now!” Jordeng shouted. “Help Harrison with the food! Hurry, let’s finish quickly so Harrison can go to his daughter’s party! Help him now!”

It was really strange.

There was no bad intention in Jordeng’s words and actions.

It was pure goodwill, and thanks to the help of Adelian’s servants, Harrison was able to finish work early.

‘What on earth is going on?’ he thought.

Even while finishing his work, Harrison felt uneasy.

Jordeng was not the type of person to be so nice without a reason. No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

But what could he do?

The work was done.

Harrison hurried home.

His only daughter.

It was time to see his treasure.

This party was supposed to be a small party.

He planned to invite a few friends and family to celebrate his daughter’s birthday and open presents together.

Everything was going as planned, until this morning. But as soon as he arrived home, he was surprised by what he saw.

Plop!

He dropped his daughter’s gift.

He stopped, staring. In front of his house, it was like a dream. A huge party area had been set up outside. Tables were covered with more food than he had ever seen in one place – roasted meats, colorful fruits, cakes piled high. People he didn’t know were everywhere, rushing around with trays of food and drinks. And over to one side, musicians were tuning their instruments, ready to play beautiful music.

Harrison couldn’t help but gape.

“What on earth is going on?!” he whispered.

No matter how he thought about it, something was definitely, seriously wrong.