My business in Atlantis was quickly finished. After defeating King Namor and stealing his trident, the Royal guards brought him to safety. I then discussed some matters with their Council of Elders and the Queen. Of course, no one dared to ask about the golden trident anymore. They know what they'll end up in if they do.

This is the result of the discussion:

1. Lemuria will enter the Deep sea alliance with the Atlantis' recommendation. Atlantis and Lemuria will enter a peace treaty. If a side disrupts this treaty, know that that side will be deemed as a traitor and would be banished in the alliance.

2. Every year, Atlantis will send a tribute to Lemuria. The tribute will be a variation of metals, golds, or any kinds of resources.

3. If the safety of Lemuria is threatened, Atlantis should, without a second thought, offer assistance. If Atlantis failed to do so, they will offer reparations equal to the loss of Lemuria.

Basically, it can be summed up that the Atlantis now served as a subordinate kingdom of Lemuria.

Of course, Atlantis isn't the only one on the receiving side. Lemuria will, in return, share the knowledge of our current technology, which is more advanced than Atlantis. Sharing our knowledge will not only benefit them, but also us. If by chance, they managed to upgrade it higher, we will also benefit from it.

Secondly, we will offer our help if Atlantis is attacked, although this is optional. If the Atlantis is indeed attacked, I secretly instructed Mara to only send the undeads that I will be summoning later. I am reluctant to see my underlings die, you see.

Finally, we will give them a supply of food in exchange for the tribute every year. This can be said to be a win-win situation to both sides. Lemuria, at the moment, severely lacks resources, especially the minerals. On the contrary, I reckon that the newly created fish farms in the north and the east will gain us more food than necessary. We will only need to give those excess foods while taking their precious minerals in return.

With those conditions, the Queen and the Council of Elders finally agreed. They said that they'll be the ones to explain to their King so that's good news for me. I can go home much earlier than planned.

Although their side suffered a loss, they still benefited from it.

You see, if all I did was 'take, take, take', sooner or later, the alliance would gang up on me. The Atlantis would not take it while lying down if they're blatantly being robbed every year. That's why; I also gave them some small benefits that can pacify their loss. It's a coexistence that I'm looking for, not the destruction of either side.

After two more days of staying in Lemuria, I decided that it's finally time to leave.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

I only delegated some more tasks to the Ministers and told them to always listen to Mara as she will be in charge while I'm away.

"Uhm, I don't think I can really lead them like you do..." Mara said as she fidgeted around.

After thinking for a moment, I replied.

"You don't need to do it like how I do. You should just do it like how 'you' would do. Do it at your own pace. Got it?"

"Mm-hmm, okay. If you say so..." She reluctantly agreed.

Although it is more appropriate to leave it to someone who 'knows how to lead a country', I think it will be best if I leave it to someone who 'knows the country itself'. Mara would be the best choice in that regard. She can choose what's best for Lemuria without being biased towards the commoners or the nobles.

"Oh, and Mara. Have this. Make sure you train with it well so when I come back, you can at least be of use to me." I gave her the golden trident that I got from King Namor while saying so.

"Neptune's Trident?!!" Mara's eyes widened from the sight of it. Her hands trembled just from holding the trident. "B-but, but..."

"I don't need it. I'm a magic caster, not a fighter." I made it sound like that so she wouldn't refuse it. She then bowed and promised to protect it with her life, although I gave it to her to protect her life in the first place. Well, whatever.

However, Mara alone would not be enough. There would naturally be someone who would refuse to listen to her no matter what. And that someone might cause trouble for her and the country if left unchecked. That's why; I'll give her some assistants to help her make them 'listen'.

"Krakie." I called out to the Kraken who now lived inside the Royal Palace. It guarded the rather vast treasury hall, which is as wide as a football field. The Kraken showed obedience whenever I called it, so it wouldn't hurt anyone inside the Palace except the intruders. By the way, the poor Kraken was named by Lynn after she saw its appearance.

After Krakie showed up, I ordered it to listen to Mara while I'm away and to always guard the Empire against intruders. If anyone refused to listen to Mara, I ordered Krakie to use any method to make them listen.

After that, I called out another name. "Celes."

"I greet the Great Lord." The Soul eater, now named Celes, materialized in front of me. He was a black mist before, but after being named, he acquired a form.

Because of their nature, the summoned Soul eaters are free to choose any forms that they want after being named, and Celes chose a rather interesting form. He now looks like a butler of a rich family. Black butler suit, white gloves, and swept up hair. He can also breathe underwater because this form is only his material body. He's still originally a black mist.

"Mm-hmm. I'm gonna give you a mission, so complete it without fail."

"I await the Great Lord for instructions." Celes half-kneeled in front of me and bowed his head.

"From now on, protect Mara at all cost. Stay by her side and make sure she's safe at all times. Do this until I return."

"Understood!" Celes replied.

"Hm? What's with your red face?" I asked the fidgeting Mara on the side.

"Eh? Ahh! N-nothing? It's so hot in here. Hahahaha"

Hot? This is the deep sea though?

Disregarding the deranged Mara, I summoned the same amount of undeads that I used when I attacked King Merro. I stationed all of them inside the crevice that Krakie came out of so that they won't scare the citizens while still guarding the Empire.

Lastly, I casted a camouflage barrier and a protective barrier that covered the entirety of Lemuria. The camouflage barrier will help in hiding Lemuria in plain sight. While the protection barrier should be strong enough to withstand a tier 8 magic spell so they should be fine.

I made it so that Mara can open and close a hole in it with a ring that I imbued my mana on. Should the mana run out, I can easily refill it even with a thousand miles of distance with [Mana Transfer]. Though, it would take at least 10 years for it to run out. For emergency purposes, that ring also has another function: which is to call me whenever a need arises.

With that, all that needs to be done is done. They can only rely on themselves now for their own survival. Of course, I will come back from time to time. But they rather learn how to take care of their own if they want to serve under me. I don't want to baby them forever.

"Lynn, let's go." I beckoned to Lynn who was still playing with the Lemurian children.

"Yes~ See you guys later, okay? Be sure to eat well so when I come back, we can play longer!" She said her goodbyes to the children and ran to my side.

"Finn, I'm ready!" Lynn said whole donning a helmet she took somewhere.

"Idiot. Even if you wear a helmet, it won't protect the inside of your brains." I laughed at her as I activated the teleportation magic.

"Huh? Huh?! What do you mean--"

With that, our trip to the deep sea finally concluded.