Not bad, it looks like things are going pretty well……I've been watching the proceedings through my monsters, and everyone seems to be having a good time so far. In addition to all the chocolate stalls and Valentine-themed attractions, we'd also set up a wide variety of restaurants and other types of stores over the past few months.

  Even when things were less than peaceful, I made sure that Abyss continued to develop as a nation, and after everyone was freed from not-God's brainwashing, more creative ideas and innovation have started to become prevalent, and Abyss has been developing at a pretty rapid rate as a result.

  But, for the next few hours, I'm not gonna worry about any of that. No, I'm gonna set aside all my worries and concerns as a ruler and just enjoy some rare downtime with my girlfriend……

  "Hey, come on, Kuro, let's go check out the festival," Urged Persia excitedly, shaking my shoulder.

  I was currently in bed, rolling around on the sheets and burying my face in the pillow, feeling lazy. I don't really get tired anymore, but even my Healing Factor and whatnot can't do much about mental fatigue, and I'm pretty worn out in that regard.

  "Yeah, sure, just give me five more minutes, Cat Girl," I mumbled in reply, before rolling over and pulling her down, embracing her with a content sigh.

  "You said that half an hour ago, you know……fine, five more minutes and I'm dragging you out there, got it?" She sighed in response, as she snuggled my face into her chest.

  "Aw……fine, okay. Really wish I could stop time, so that I can enjoy this moment for as long as possible," I sighed wistfully, as my buried my face between her boobs and grabbed her butt with a light squeeze.

  "You seem awfully frisky for someone who's acting so tired," She remarked with a giggle, as I slipped my hands underneath her top, "And being able to stop time would be kind of a terrifying ability……even compared to what's possible with Divine Magic, a power like that would be one hell of an aberration."

  "Yeah, I suppose it would be kind of an anomaly to have a power like that in this world, wouldn't it? I'd certainly hate to go up against someone with an ability like that, that's for sure," I responded wryly, before softly kissing her as she wrapped her leg around my waist.

  "Hey, now, keep this up and I'll end up stuck in bed too," She whispered as she nibbled my earlobe.

  "That so? Well, then, I guess that I'll just have to keep this up," I responded, before kissing her neck as I slowly brushed my fingers down her side.

  "T-tempting as that is, you're gonna have to hold back," She smirked, as she suddenly pulled away and stood up, "It hasn't been five minutes yet, but we're leaving now……because otherwise, neither of us will be getting out of bed anytime soon."

  "Hey, that's not cool……," I muttered, feeling blueballed.

  "Aw, don't look at me at like that," She smiled sheepishly, before leaning down and whispering seductively in my ear, "I'll tell you what, show me a good time out there in the festival, and I'll show you a REALLY good time once we come back here."

  "……deal," I stated in response, as I got out of bed and stretched my arms up.

  "Go wash you face, otherwise you'll keep yawning the whole time……I'll put some food in the cat bowl before we leave," She replied, as she headed towards Pero, who was sleeping on a cushion on the floor.

  No longer a kitten, she was fully grown now, and had gotten a lot more lazy and a lot less playful than before……I suppose that's natural, kittens tend to be a lot more energetic than adult cats.

  "Yes, ma'am," I stifled a yawn, as I headed into the bathroom and splashed some cold water onto my face.

  Like I said, I'm not physically tired, but I still yawn sometimes, I think mostly on reflex. I guess it's kinda like how sometimes you inadvertently yawn when someone around you yawns, even if you aren't all that tired.

  We then headed out after getting ready, teleporting out of the castle and into the heart of the festival, where a pretty decent-sized crowd had built up. As a person, this place is way too crowded for my liking, but as the ruler of this nation, this is definitely a good thing.

  I'm seeing a lot of unfamiliar faces too, looks like we've managed to attract quite a number of visitors from the other nations. Those from the Liberty and Idyll were really gorging themselves on chocolate, looks of pure bliss on their faces. Suppose that's to be expected from people who've never had candy before in their lives.

  Good, if they associate us with the pleasure of eating chocolate, then those of them that are still skeptical or apprehensive of humans might soften their views a bit, at least a little. Hm, on that note, it might be fruitful to export chocolate and other sweets to the nations of other races.

  Maybe I can even get some of them to move here, further solidifying the relationship between us and them. Idyll is pretty abundant with fruit and vegetables, while Liberty is also surrounded by lush grasslands……minor trade with Liberty has already began, we've been trading seafood and gemstones to them in exchange for meats like deer, rabbit and other animals that live around that area. Yeah, and also……

  "Hey, you okay, Kuro? You kinda look like you're in a trance or something," Suddenly remarked Persia, snapping me out of it.

  Oh, crap……I forgot, I'm supposed to forgot about my responsibilities for today.

  "I'm fine, nothing to worry about……I was just a bit lost in thought, sorry. Come on, let's get some chocolate and then check out some of the attractions that've been set up. What do you say?" I suggested, as I held her hand.

  "Mhm, okay, that's sounds nice," She replied with a smile, before letting go of my hand and instead latching onto my arm, my elbow rubbing against her chest as she rested her head against my shoulder.

  Yeah, I'm gonna stop thinking of my duties for today, I'll instead focus on making sure that Persia has a good time today. And that aside, I could probably use a break, a few hours away from the constant work.

  Well, while it can be tiring work, I can't deny that I enjoy it, being a ruler. It's practically the opposite of being an assassin……as opposed to working in the shadows, my current position means that I'm always in the public eye.

  Even now, as we walked past a bunch of food stalls and stores, a lot of people, and monsters, greeted me, it was pleasing that they seem to have a positive opinion of me, but at the same time, it was kinda annoying to keep having to respond each time. I mean, it's not like I can just ignore them.

  "You sure are popular, aren't you? Almost makes me feel jealous," Teased Persia, as yet another person greeted me.

  "Yeah, yeah……maybe I should put on a disguise or something when I'm walking around like this. It's nice that there's no negative attention, but constant stares are tiring," I sighed in response, before spotting one of the attractions I'd approved to be set up, "Hey, wanna check that out?"

  It was a fairly large building that I'd had plans for converting into a bowling alley-like spot, along with stuff like pool tables, table tennis, maybe even an ice-skating rink, and stuff like that. But it was mostly incomplete since we were still busy hashing out the details of that project, so for this Valentine's Day festival, we decided to temporarily set this up……

  "Hm? 'Couple vs Couple'……sounds interesting, what is it?" She responded with a look of intrigue, as she read the sign board on the outside of the building.

  "A bunch of games and stuff, it'll pit couples against other couples and have them participate in a number of games, and whichever couple wins the most number of games will get a prize or something," I explained, as we headed inside.

  "Oh, Lord Kuro, Lady Persia, what a pleasure to see you both," Greeted the attendant, a Demon.

  Oh, yeah, since Persia's my girlfriend and all, not to mention pretty powerful in her own right, most of my subordinates had taken to calling her 'Lady Persia'.

  "I still feel weird about being called 'Lady'," Persia muttered with a wry smile.

  "You'll just have to get used to it," I grinned, before turning to the attendant as I noticed a bunch of couples lined up and waiting their turns, "Hey, not bad, you've got a pretty good crowd in, huh?"

  "Yes, my lord, this game seems to be quite popular. Oh, would you like to skip the line and-?" Began the Demon.

  "Absolutely not……I'm not the ruler of this nation right now, just think of me as a regular customer," I insisted, before adding as I spotted Rai and Key walk in, "Though if I can make one request, when it's our turn, mind pitting us against that couple?"

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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