"So, yeah, we’re progressing right on schedule, the cities will be fully built and functional within the next two months or so," Remarked Argent, as he passed out copies of a progress report.

"Great, that’s encouraging to hear...gotta say though, everything’s been going so smoothly lately that I’m actually kinda nervous," I replied with a wry smile.

"Yes, I know what you mean, it almost feels as though things have been working out too well for us. We shouldn’t let our guards down, we must stay alert to any possibility," Nodded Satan in agreement.

Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I suppose you can’t be too cautious. Today’s the 15th of November, 2020, it’s been about four months or so since Obsidian agreed to form an alliance with Arcadia.

Over the next couple of months after that, Landis kept his word and worked on getting the other nations of the Dark Continent to approach Arcadia to negotiate peace and alliances.

Turns out he’s pretty damn good at diplomacy and politics, and we successfully formed alliances and trade deals with the nations of Onyx and Agate not long after our alliance with Obsidian was settled.

To my surprise, a couple of weeks after that, the new rulers of Zircon agreed to form an alliance with us too...I guess after seeing how just three of us absolutely decimated their capital, the survivors among those in power had the common sense to realize that making an enemy of us wouldn’t be the best idea.

So, yeah...Arcadia is officially allied with all the other nations in the Dark Continent. Of course, we can’t just take it for granted that none of them will ever show any hostility towards us, especially since fear was undoubtedly a significant factor in their decisions.

While all that was happening, I had sent out a number of scouts to keep an eye on any movements from the Light Continent by surveying the Dead Zone...and based on their reports, it seems likely that the Light Continent has spies in the other nations of the Dark Continent.

Not long after we finalized our alliances, there’s been no sign of any Light Continent troops in the Dead Zone, they’ve completely withdrawn their forces from the place.

With the alliances secured and the Light Continent not presenting any imminent threat, we put our focus on building the cities we’d discussed before, by combining the towns and villages across the nation.

We had also decided on which of us will be in charge of each city. Every single one of the new cities were vastly bigger than what used to be Hematite’s capital, Ferric City, which was where we were right now, so we’re thinking of expanding this city to make things more proportionate.

Despite my best efforts to avoid the responsibility, I was voted to be in charge of the former capital city, much to my dismay.

As for the new cities, of which there are a total of seven, Satan will be in charge of one of them, while the other Demons, Lucifer, Pavorphobus and Aratron, will also each been taking charge of a city.

Of the remaining three cities, Izzy, along with Argent, will be in charge of one, and the last two cities were to be ruled by groups consisting of the Demi-Human Elders and the strongest of the humans, and we were also keeping spots open for the former Hematite citizens to be involved and have a say in the ruling of each of the cities.

I’d have liked for Frielektra to be involved too, but she’s busy with trying to find the other Dragon Kings, so for now, she’s out of the running, much to her delight.

And with the cities so close to completion, there’s an important matter that needs to be addressed. All those who were going to be involved were present at this meeting, and it’s time we tackle this subject...

"So...it’s about time we get to naming these cities, wouldn’t you all agree? I thought the best way to do this would be to have each of those who are going to be in charge of the cities name their respective cities. Any objections to that?" I inquired, looking around the table.

"I have no objections, that sounds fair," Nodded Satan in response.

"Since it’s your idea, you should go first," Chimed in Lucifer.

"Sure, that’s fine. What used to be Ferric City will now be known as...Isekai City," I declared with a smile.

Like I said, I’ll be in charge of this city, and I’ll have Prysm, Lumena, Rhyle, a few Demi-Humans and a couple of former Hematite citizens to support me.

"Huh? I don’t believe I’m familiar with that word...what does ’isekai’ mean?" Satan asked me curiously.

"Eh, don’t worry about it, it’s kind of a reference that only I would get. Why don’t you go next?" I suggested, passing the baton to him.

"Very well, then...I shall name my city after the fallen kingdom we Demons once called our home. It shall be known as Bedlam City," He decided after a brief pause.

His support staff includes a number of Demi-Humans and a handful of former Hematite citizens, they probably won’t be particularly thrilled about working under a Demon, but I’m sure he won’t have any trouble keeping them in check.

The other Demons’ respective support staff were of a similar composition too, each of them are so powerful that I figured it would be unnecessary to add any other heavy hitters to their groups.

"I shall go next, then...my city will be called Lu City. Since I go by Lucy for short, it works well as a great pun," Stated Lucifer, looking pretty proud of herself.

"Uh, if you say so, I guess. Alright, guess we might as well keep up this pattern and hear from the other Demons," I remarked, as I turned to Aratron and Pavorphobus.

"I am not the most imaginative, so I shall just abbreviate my name and call it Tron City," Responded Aratron after a brief pause.

"Is naming these cities really that important? I can’t really think of anything...hm, I like sleeping, so I suppose I’ll name mine Sleep City," Shrugged Pavorphobus indifferently. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Ooh, my turn now! Since Argent and I are gonna be in charge of it, we should call it Lovers City, since we’re lovers!" Grinned Izzy, linking her arm with Argent’s, a nervous look appearing on his face as most of the Demons gave him dirty looks.

I feel like we started off strong and it’s slowly getting worse and worse with every city...

"Sure, if that’s what you want to go with it, I have no objections. That just leaves two more...Tania, how about we hear from you next?" I suggested as I glanced at her.

Her support staff includes half the remaining Demi-Human Elders; the Light Elf Elder Oberr, the Kanine Elder Alsa, the Centaur Elder Friese and the Lizardman Elder Conda. And also Gior and Phyurio, with a couple of former Hematite citizens included as well.

"I’d like to go with Haven City, after the place we found refuge in for so long," She decided without hesitation, a smile on her face.

"Sounds good...and finally, it’s your turn, Ilex. Got anything in mind?" I asked him.

He’s in charge of the final city, along with the support of Mysst, much to her chagrin, as well as Rosary, plus the remaining Demi-Human Elders; Arofri the Dark Elf Elder, Ulfar the Dwarf Elder, Sinia the Felinian Elder and Howll the Werewolf Elder.

"U-uh, well...l-let me think. Um, how about Mist City? I-it works two ways, it’s close to the sea so it gets pretty misty in that region, and it’s also named after Mysst," He mused after thinking it over.

"Huh? Uh, I don’t know about that, it’s a bit much," Responded Mysst apprehensively.

"Most people would probably be pretty happy if their partner named a whole city after them, you know, so let’s go with that," I remarked with a wry smile.

"...do we really have to?"

"I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d hate it so much...," Replied Ilex quietly, a despondent look on his face.

"Th-that’s not fair, damn it...I don’t hate it, okay? It’s fine, let’s go with it, I’m on board," She sighed reluctantly, awkwardly patting his back to try and comfort him.

Alright, then with that, it’s settled. It shouldn’t be much longer before Arcadia is fully up and running, and since that’s the case...

"I think we can finally decide on a date for the tournament we discussed before, I’d have liked to have had it on new year’s to really drive in the fact that it’s a special event and all, but we haven’t even built an adequate stadium for it yet, so how about a month after the cities are complete? With most of the heavy lifting out of the way, we can afford to spare labor towards building the stadium now, so I say we put it into motion. Any objections?" I inquired, looking around at the others.

"I agree, it’s about time we begin preparing and setting it up," Nodded Satan in agreement.

"No objections here."

"Sounds good to me, it should be fun."

Great, looks like they’re all on board. Seriously, though...I can’t help but feel nervous over how well everything’s going lately...

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