The following evening, a commemorative ball was held at the imperial palace to celebrate the victory.
When humans interpreted this war, they focused on Laura de Farnese. A war launched by the Emperor's deputy general to reclaim her honor — that was the prevailing perspective.
The demons, however, took an entirely different stance. Surprisingly, what caught their attention was the Helvetica Confederation.
Until now, the Demon Lord's army had been mired in one failure after another. Two hundred years ago, when the Demon Lord's army was judged to lack both the will and the ability to conquer the continent, the nonhuman races — elves, dwarves, and the like — boldly abandoned them. They declared permanent neutrality, vowing they would no longer participate in the Crescent Alliance Army……
The Helvetica Confederation was the nation those nonhuman races had gathered to form. In other words, from the perspective of the other demons, the Helvetica Confederation was nothing more than a pack of cowardly, contemptible traitors.
And yet the Helvetica Confederation had once again sworn obedience to the Demon Lord's army. To prove their loyalty, they had fought in this war "on behalf of the Demon Lord's army."
Now the Helvetica Confederation had proven its loyalty. The demons, once fractured and divided, were gathering under a single banner once more. ——This was how the demons viewed this war.
And what did this interpretation signify?
Last spring. Bael, the Demon Lord ranked first, was assassinated.
Last autumn. Agares, the Demon Lord ranked second, was executed.
This spring. Three Demon Lords and eleven Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm were purged.
This autumn. The newly formed Demon Lord's army received the submission of the Helvetica Confederation.
In the span of merely two years, momentous events had erupted in rapid succession. Some great current was undoubtedly sweeping through everything. It was the current of the era — a play meticulously planned and set in motion, an arrow that could never be dodged or evaded so long as one did not flee or hide.
The newly formed Demon Lord's army was unambiguously uniting as one.
Most demons had no idea who was pulling the strings behind the scenes. They simply cheered for Barbatos, the eternal and undying commander of the army, for the noble and beautiful Paimon, for the fair Marbas…….
But a tiny handful of demons knew the truth.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm counted themselves among that handful.
"Y-Your Highness, I humbly apologize. This one failed to properly attend to Your Highness's words."
"It is fine. I understand you well enough."
"Then, if it would please Your Highness to allow this humble servant to hear your words once more..."
The Grand Duke who ruled the Ubralal Inferno in the Demon Realm carefully swallowed his saliva.
Before the Grand Duke sat Demon Lord Dantalion. Dantalion sipped his wine and regarded the Grand Duke with a leisurely gaze.
"I told you to abolish slavery in your territory within the shortest time possible."
"Y-Your Highness..."
The Grand Duke of Ubralal wiped the sweat streaming from his forehead without pause. Already a heavyset man who perspired easily, the Grand Duke had never in his life broken into a sweat like this before.
"If this servant has in any way been disloyal to Your Highness, please, tell me at once. I will correct it immediately... This servant is always ready to serve Your Highness."
"The one thing I ask of you is this: abolish the slave system."
Abolish the slave system? What on earth was this about? He could not fathom the intent whatsoever. The Grand Duke believed that Demon Lord Dantalion was scheming to purge him. But Dantalion's expression was deadly serious.
"I am not playing games with you right now. I wish to weaken the power that has become too concentrated on one side in the Demon Realm. A Grand Duke like you owns vast territory and commands thousands of slaves. Meanwhile, there are countless demon folk who own nothing but their own bodies."
"..."
"Let me be blunt, Grand Duke. I will tolerate no power structure other than the Demon Lord. Under the Demon Lord's feet, all people are equal."
The sheer bluntness of the statement left the Grand Duke at a loss for words.
Dantalion had openly declared, "I want to weaken your power." This was the same as announcing he was going to thrash someone and then actually doing it. What rational counterargument could one possibly make against such a person?
"The slave system is a tradition that has been respected since the days of our ancestors' ancestors. I was deeply impressed when Your Highness abolished the rank system. However, just because something is a relic of the past does not necessarily make it bad."
"A relic of the past."
Dantalion chuckled softly.
"I shall tell you myself what among the old ways is good and what is bad. The fifteen Demon Realm Grand Dukes who did not resist the new Demon Lord's army and submitted obediently — those are good relics. But the eleven Grand Dukes who stood against the Demon Lord's army, plotted rebellion, and dared to scheme assassination — those are bad relics."
"..."
"Good and evil are not for you to decide, Grand Duke of Ubralal."
Dantalion inclined his upper body slightly toward the Grand Duke. At the impossibly close distance now between them, he spoke.
"We Demon Lords decide what is good and what is evil. And thankfully, the standard for this good and evil is exceedingly clear. Obedience is good, and resistance is evil. You would do well to choose your side carefully."
"Th-there will be a rebellion…!"
The Grand Duke of Ubralal gritted his teeth.
"Your Grace, you are not the only one who owns slaves in the Demon Realm! Countless nobles have been stockpiling them. If you unilaterally inform them that they must abandon wealth accumulated over hundreds of years overnight, they will not be able to hold back — they will explode!"
Dantalion let a sinister smile spread across his face.
"Then let them."
"…Excuse me?"
"You are surprisingly naive. Did you truly expect the slave system to be quietly abolished without a single rebellion? Do I truly look like a fool who would anticipate such a miracle? Grand Duke of Ubralal. Of course there will be rebellion. Not just once — dozens of times, perhaps over the span of a hundred years."
"B-but… why?"
Dantalion shook his head.
"Did I not just tell you? You would do well to choose your side carefully."
"…!"
"We will not ask for your understanding. Nor will we make requests. We shall simply issue orders. Of course, you are not slaves, so you are free to resist of your own will. In that case, though, you will have to walk to your graves with freedom in your hearts."
Silence fell.
From a distance, the lively laughter of the ball could be heard. This room was located some way from the main ballroom — a chamber designed for private conversations. The Grand Duke had steeled himself with the resolve that 'no matter what he heard from Demon Lord Dantalion, he would not be frightened' when he was summoned here — but it had truly been a resolve of absolutely no use whatsoever……
The Grand Duke forced his lips open with difficulty.
"Your Grace. Not all demonkin submit unconditionally to the Demon Lords. Some Grand Dukes will resist by any means necessary."
"Any means, you say? What exactly do you mean by that — are you suggesting they would employ assassins with Slave Brands etched into their hearts?"
Dantalion let out a derisive snort.
"By all means, mobilize them to your heart's content. How many of these assassins could there be? Two hundred? Two thousand? Oh my, an army of assassins who won't submit to even a Demon Lord's deterrent power! I'm so terrified I might just wet myself."
"……."
"Once before, Grand Duke Alchalta hired assassins to ambush me. Are you aware of this?"
Grand Duke Ubalda gave a cautious nod.
It was a well-known tale among the Grand Dukes. Alchalta had foolishly attempted to assassinate Dantalion, and the price was death at the hands of the Death Knights……
The palace where Grand Duke Alchalta had resided was utterly destroyed. Two hundred nobles were all beheaded and impaled on stakes. Demon Lord Dantalion had carved a single phrase into each severed head with a knife.
Know thyself.
"Know yourself, Grand Duke. We have an army of a hundred thousand. But you do not. I can crush you whenever I please. But you cannot do the same to me."
"If you were to abolish slavery……."
The Grand Duke asked in a trembling voice.
"What compensation would be given to us?"
"Your lives."
Dantalion smiled faintly.
"And as a token of my appreciation for your loyal devotion, policies will never again be enforced in such a coercive manner."
"Th-that is all? Even after we obediently forfeit thousands upon thousands of slaves, the only thing we gain is our safety?"
"Grand Duke."
Dantalion gazed steadily into Grand Duke Ubalda's eyes. A chill ran down the Grand Duke's spine. For an instant, it felt as though the temperature in the room had plummeted by dozens of degrees.
"Life, my dear Grand Duke, is an exceedingly—truly exceedingly—precious thing."
"……."
"Those in power tend to forget just how heavy a life can be. And I find it rather difficult to respect those who have forgotten the weight of life."
That night.
The fifteen Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm, who had attended the ball to celebrate the victory, all received the same notification from Dantalion.
By the time the audience was over, dawn had arrived. Dantalion sat in his chair, quietly resting. Then the door opened, and Paimon entered. Without turning his gaze, Dantalion murmured.
"I've informed the Grand Dukes. They'll react within half a moon at most."
"……Dantalion."
"Barbatos and Marbas agreed as well. We'll hold Walpurgis Night in a week and put it forward as an official agenda item."
Dantalion fiddled with his wine glass with his right hand. The glass was empty.
"Barbatos is clamoring to just hurry up and wipe out humanity, while you, Paimon, are in a frenzy to spread republicanism as quickly as possible. I crushed the Kingdom of Sardinia to placate Barbatos. Now, I'm back, and to placate you, I'm threatening the Grand Dukes the moment I return…… Honestly, isn't this too much?"
Dantalion gave a faint, weary smile. Paimon felt a heart-rending pain at the sight.
"Dantalion, the girl simply……"
"Oh, no. I was just grumbling a little. I was worried you two would rush things because of how similar your personalities are, after all, not being former lovers or anything."
Dantalion turned his head to look at Paimon. His face lacked some vitality, but a mischievous smile played on his lips.
"In any case, among my lovers, the only one who doesn't expect anything from me is Sitri. Barbatos is always demanding I kill humans, you're always demanding I save them, and Gamigin is... hm. Well, it seems his temper won't settle unless I have my limbs dismembered and stored in his personal warehouse."
"Hehe."
Paimon giggled.
She was relieved. The same Dantalion as always was right before her eyes. The one who grumbled and sneered, but still shrugged his shoulders with an 'oh well' attitude. Paimon loved this man exactly as he was.
"They're all greedy, aren't they? And isn't Dantalion, who wants to keep such greedy people all to himself, the greediest of all?"
"Oh my, so it's all my fault in the end. I really don't know what sins I committed in a past life to deserve this. Please, in my next life, let me only date lovers like Sitri."
Paimon undid her sash. Her ball dress silently fell to the floor. Paimon approached Dantalion and draped it around his shoulders.
"Are you planning to have multiple lovers in your next life too?"
"As you said, I am a greedy person."
Dantalion pressed his lips to Paimon's.
For a while, the sound of two people's heavy breathing filled the room.