Outside, the skies were clear, giving off a pleasant vibe. Alex and Artemia looked at the city in awe, tall buildings with numerous man-made waterfalls. The duo moved; they visited famous spots such as an aquarium, the attraction park before ending in a restaurant.
The two ordered a salad and ate; after they finished, Lilith stared at Alex for a moment.
''What is it?"
Alex couldn't help but ask; it wasn't like he disliked being stared at, however when you stare too much, even for him, it becomes uncomfortable.
Finally, Lilith opened her mouth and said.
''Thank you for going along with my selfishness.''
Waving his hands, Alex responded, ''Don't worry, I have much fun. It's good to accompany a friend.''
''Friends? Huh! I'm happy that you think of me like that.'' Lilith responded with a smile; it was a beautiful smile, a genuine one coming from the heart.
Alex smiled back before his expression turned serious as he said.
''We have our fun; however, I believe that you asked me out for some reason. What is this reason?"
Lilith smiled; this time, because of how acute Alex is when it comes to some subjects, this made things easier.
''Well, you're not wrong. I have asked you out for a purpose in mind. I want you to tell about the demon continent; you might have a brief knowledge on the demon gained through books, but directly hearing it from the princess of the demon race should help you more.'' Lilith declared this declaration couldn't make Alex more happier; although they are still far from the demon's continent, it never hurts to learn more about your enemy; only by knowing more could you perfectly prepare as the saying goes, knowledge is power.
''I'm listening.'' Alex declared and made himself comfortable.
''Great,'' Lilith said before taking a deep breath.
''You know the demon's continent, also known as the Dark Continent. Unlike you humans or Elves and beastkin, we do not have kingdoms systems.''
'I thought so, from what I have read, there was no mention of the kingdom, only one empire ruling the whole continent.' Alex mumbled.
Lilith continued. ''Although we do not have kingdoms system, the continent is to be to be ruled only by the imperial family, so we come up with a solution. How is the easiest way of governing a large continent without losing your hegemony? The answer is simple, divide the continent into nine; the central part should naturally be ruled by the strongest, meaning the Royal family with royal bloodline, while the other eight parts should be under the supervision of your subordinates, Eight Dukes. They will have the authority of overseeing the territory in your stead; they will be like a king but with limited authority.
Lilith then suddenly stopped talking and looked at Alex before raising a question.
''Do you know the difference between a Duke ruling a large piece of land almost equal to a kingdom and an actual king ruling over a kingdom?"
To which Alex didn't bat an eyelid before answering.
''It is simple, a king of a kingdom affiliated to a super puissance might one day want to become independent while the Duke will never become independent as they didn't hold any decision, they are just overseers nothing more. The final decision is in the hands of the royal family.''
''Smart. It's like you have said. Although the eight dukes are powerful, they are no real kings, only figureheads. The demon's continent is divided into nine parts; these are ruled by the royal family located in the center of the dark Land, while eight of their subordinates oversee the remaining eight parts. You have seen one of eight dukes.''
''You are talking about that vampire, don't you?"
Alex inquired as he remembered the vampire's strength; the duke, Silver, faced and couldn't do anything about it; only the arrival of Kamishiro had made the vampire duchess retire.
Lilith nodded, Priscilla may not have recognized her, but she, on the contrary, did remember her.
''Yeah, the vampire duchess, head of the vampire race, the ruler of the west. As you know, a demon's race is composed of numerous races, such as a winged demon, succubus, vampire, undead.''
Lilith continued after letting Alex digest this information.
''Eight Dukes:
Duchess Priscilla: Vampire race, territory West.
Duchess Milla: Succubus queen or Arachne's Queen, she is the mix of Arachne and succubus.''
''What a dangerous combination.'' Alex couldn't help but comment when he remembered that Arachne he fought inside the forest on the second level of the Illusionary Battlefield.
Ignoring Alex's comment, Lilith continued.
''Duchess Milla rule the southern territory.
Duke Gregor: High-level undead, ruler of the land of death, shout west, an underground kingdom also known as fake underworld.
Duke Trafford: Winged race, this race could be considered a version of the beastmen but different, the golden demon winged eagle, northern territory.
Duke Goliath: Demonic ogre, his territory is adjacent to Duke Trafford territory; this race possessed the second strongest strength after the Lesser devil.
Duke Belphégor: Lesser devil, the lesser demonic dragon should be more accurate, this race is highly lustful, have pair of incurved horns, golden slit pupils, they possessed the strongest physical, often fight barehanded or transform into a dragon, extremely few in number. Share territory with the succubus queen.
Duke Baal: the greed race, possessor of enormous physical, never full, they greed know bound, extremely good at commerce because where the money lay, without a doubt there will be someone from the greed race, they are in charge of the commerce, their territory is no far from the central area, nobody likes to have the one responsible for your money to stay far from you.
And lastly, Duke Vidaal, leader of the Lycanthropes (a mix between a demonic wolf and vampire), the natural vampire enemy; however, under the tight supervision of the royal family, no more blood were shredded, these two races fought for a century, some said it was because of their discord the demon lost in the war.''
Alex chuckled, hearing the last part of Lilith's explanation, no matter what race, people will always find a scapegoat for their failure.
Shaking his head, Alex asked a question.
''Between the eight Dukes, we are entered from which territory?"
''Through Duke Millia's territory, it will be easier this way,'' Lilith explained, and Alex nodded, and the two continued to discuss at the same time.