The Habsburg Imperial Palace. It had now essentially become the Demon Lords' exclusive meeting hall.
At the highest seat sat His Majesty the Emperor. Our beloved Emperor Rudolf sat with grave and solemn bearing. At the first seats on either side, Barbatos and Marbas sat side by side. The remaining seats continued in order of rank within the Empire.
For reference, I stood right beside the Emperor on his left, in my capacity as Minister of Justice.
My role was to preside over the meeting on the Emperor's behalf. There were some Demon Lords who particularly disliked how conspicuous I made myself, but there was nothing to be done about it. Power, after all, was always revealed by the position one held at events like these. What could they do when I held the most power of all?
"Freeing slaves is preposterous!"
Demon Lord Amy cried out in a heated frenzy.
It was an obvious truth, but at a meeting, the louder the clamor, the more insignificant the speaker. As for Amy, she was a Demon Lord who had once operated alongside me when we broke through the Black Mountains, but while I rose to become the Empire's power broker, that one had spent her years doing absolutely nothing of value.
"The slave system is the most important institution there is! The most critical and most vast domains in this world simply cannot do without slaves."
"Why is that?"
I posed the question on behalf of the other Demon Lords.
When our eyes met, Amy flinched. I wasn't sure of the exact reason, but Amy feared me. She probably thought I would purge her someday. Paranoia, tsk tsk.
"...Because the most desperate desire of humankind is always the most base. I apologize for bringing up such filthy matters in this hallowed gathering, comrades. But think about it. Except for noble Demon Lords like ourselves who are inherently sublime, humans defecate every single day. And 'someone' has to clean up after them!"
Amy looked around the room and delivered her impassioned speech.
"Our civilized society is perpetually overflowing with excrement. Slaves are the indispensable labor force employed for this indispensable task! An attack on the slave system is nothing less than a denial of civilization itself."
"Heh. If you want someone to clean up your own shit, do it yourself. What kind of nonsense is this?"
Gamigin laughed.
"There are only two kinds of people who ask someone else to wipe their backside: the tragically disabled, or the absurdly lazy rich. I'm not sure who this 'civilization' of yours is actually supposed to serve~."
"..."
Amy shut her mouth. Being so far down in rank, she certainly didn't have the nerve to talk back to Gamigin. And that was exactly why, no matter how much time passed, she remained a junior. Amy was part of the Plains Faction, and Barbatos backed the entire Plains Faction from behind. What on earth was she afraid of?
"Oh, come on. Stop playing with our juniors. Let's have an honest discussion."
Barbatos interjected with a bored expression. See? Even when she didn't particularly like someone, Barbatos thoroughly looked after her own faction's subordinates.
"Let's free the slaves who were unjustly enslaved. That's fine, I agree. But what about cases where someone was enslaved through a duel, or lost a war and fell into slavery? There should be exceptions for those cases. If we free everyone, what's the point? We're not exactly philanthropists."
"All rational beings are equal."
Now that Barbatos had spoken, Paimon stepped forward. The two locked eyes and stared at each other.
"Every person is born with the same rights. That means everyone has the right to use any means necessary to protect their own life. But slaves..."
"God damn it. The only wish I have for the rest of my life is for the day to come when there's no ink-stained stench pouring out of your mouth."
Barbatos growled.
"Human lives are precious, so they shouldn't be subject to others' whims? What is this, some kind of temple for moral lessons? The ones who killed hundreds of thousands of those 'precious' lives on the battlefield were you and me."
"War and slavery are..."
"The same thing."
Barbatos let out a light scoff.
"Why do we slaughter enemy soldiers on the battlefield? There's only one reason: because if we don't kill them, those damn enemies will kill us. That's all there is to it. Do you understand what that means? Humans will readily take other people's lives for the benefit of 'us.'"
Barbatos rose from her seat. She surveyed the room slowly, raising her voice.
"War doesn't only happen on the blood-soaked battlefield! Life itself is war, and every single day is a battle. We will willingly take the lives of others wherever and whenever it serves our common interest. If slaves serve our interests, then naturally, we accept the slave system."
"A most impressive philosophy, Barbatos."
Vassago spoke quietly. His voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Unfortunately, I have never once been interested in philosophy, Barbatos. The problem is that the Demon Grand Dukes are accumulating tremendous wealth through the use of slaves. Those fellows have thousands of slaves working for them, posing as though they were Demon Lords themselves. I support abolishing the slave system as a tactical measure to pressure the Demon Grand Dukes."
"The Neutral Faction concurs with this as well."
Marbas took the floor next.
"The authority of Demon Lords must be absolute. To us Demon Lords, the Demonkin have essentially always been slaves. Currently in the Demon Realm, there is a deeply anomalous situation where slaves command other slaves. Why should we, as 'masters of the Demonkin,' recognize any entity besides Demon Lords?"
The Demon Lords murmured among themselves. A majority nodded in agreement.
When Paimon argued for abolition on the basis of rights, most had scoffed. But when Vassago and Marbas approached it from a practical standpoint, the atmosphere gradually shifted toward persuasion. Paimon bit her lip in frustration.
I sighed internally. I understood Paimon's feelings, but this was simply the natural course of things.
"Fine. I'll say you're right."
Barbatos grinned.
"Let's say we abolish slavery among the Demonkin for the sake of our interests. Sure. But what about the human race? Should we not be allowed to use humans as slaves too?"
The Demon Lords murmured. "The human race is different," "There aren't many human slaves in the Demon Realm anyway, so leaving them as an exception would be fine" — for the most part, they agreed with Barbatos. The Demon Lords were generally hostile to the human race, so this too was natural.
"There's no need to grant freedom to inferior humans."
"The Neutral Faction concurs. We should approach this from a different angle."
Marbas stepped back and expressed his reservation. He probably wanted to consider the diplomatic situation on the continent.
"..."
Amid all this, only Paimon was gripping her knee tightly.
Barbatos began to pace. She walked back and forth around Paimon, taunting her.
"Comrades' opinions are my opinions. The human race remains an exception. But it seems there's one traitor hiding among us. There's a woman who insists on using pretentious terms like 'rational beings' instead of simply saying 'Demonkin.'"
"..."
"Hey, Paimon. Let me ask you: do you believe slavery should be abolished for the human race as well?"
All eyes in the room turned to Paimon.
Paimon fixed Barbatos with an infinitely cold gaze.
"Yes. I believe humans should be free as well."
"Traitor!"
Eligos, a Demon Lord of the Plains Faction, stood up and pointed his finger. That was the trigger — the Plains Faction Demon Lords all rose to their feet at once.
"A harlot who betrayed the ideals of the Crescent Alliance Army!"
"The rumors were true — you spread your legs for humans!"
The Mountain Faction Demon Lords also surged to their feet. The imperial palace erupted into a roar of outrage in an instant.
"You son of a bitch — how dare you talk about Lady Paimon like that!? I'll test whether your tongue can still wag after I've cut off your head!"
"You Plains Faction have the nerve to mock us when you're the ones spreading your legs for that pathetic joke of an Emperor!? The one who gets fucked by the Emperor every night is Barbatos!"
"You lot have no sense of how precious your lives are, opening your mouths like that."
Sigh.
I sighed. Why was it always like this every time we held a meeting? I gave Marbas a weary look, and he was sighing just as heavily. Our eyes met.
*'Lord Marbas. Please stop those rabid dogs.'*
*'Am I their nanny that I have to waste my time restraining them every time?'*
*'Who else but you can control these idiots?'*
*'Do it yourself. Honestly, I spend more time dealing with your lovers' antics than anything else.'*
...Something along those lines passed between us tacitly.
I sighed again. While I had been away from the Empire, Marbas had practically managed state affairs. It felt strange to say I owed him, but either way, I had effectively handed him the reins. Here, I had to step forward...
I opened my mouth.
"Everyone, please be quiet."
My single words silenced Sitri first.
Then Vassago, Gamigin, Paimon, and finally Barbatos closed their mouths. Elder Zepar and Elder Beleth took their seats.
The high-ranking Demon Lords and the fierce warrior-type Demon Lords fell silent in unison. The remaining minor Demon Lords gradually quieted as well. When the noise abruptly died down, a few of the Demon Lords looked around in confusion. They quickly grasped the atmosphere and awkwardly sat down.
In thirty seconds, the palace was quiet.
"As you are all aware, for some time now the Demon Grand Dukes have been cooperating with the Great Demon Lord Bael, deliberately ensuring the Crescent Alliance Army's failure. Even before we split into the Plains Faction, the Mountain Faction, and the Neutral Faction, the Grand Dukes had been deceiving us."
I made eye contact with each of the Demon Lords, one by one.
"The Grand Dukes are our enemies."
The Demon Lords, regardless of faction, all shared an intense pride.
"I wish to ensure that beings like the Grand Dukes never arise again. There is only one sure method: to fundamentally block any Demonkin besides ourselves — the Demon Lords — from acquiring power and wealth."
To persuade them all, I needed to appeal not to conviction or self-interest, but to their pride.
"Let us show those Grand Dukes who overstepped their bounds what we are truly capable of."
"..."
"Of course, there will still be fools who fail to understand their place. Even if we order the liberation of all slaves, they will refuse. Some will certainly whine about at least being allowed to keep human slaves. If we make an exception for Goblins, the Grand Dukes will immediately scrape together Goblins from every direction, and if we make an exception for humans, they will scrape together humans."
I smiled gently.
"There must be no exceptions for our enemies."
Complete submission.
Punishment without mercy.
"Only we, the Demon Lords, have the right to rule this world."
Immediately after, a vote on the complete abolition of the slave system was held.
At Walpurgis Night, every agenda item was decided by vote. However, not everyone had voting rights. Only the seven chosen as Electors participated. That is to say, I, as a Court Count, could not take part in the vote.
And policies only passed with a unanimous decision.
I collected votes from the seven Elector Demon Lords on the Emperor's behalf. There were no secret ballots or anonymous votes. Each cast their vote openly, with their name stated.
"I will now announce the voting results. ...Marbas, in favor of abolition."
"Mm."
Marbas nodded. He gave me a meaningful look.
"Gamigin, in favor. Sitri, in favor."
The Demon Lords murmured quietly. Word spread that this would pass unanimously once again. Items brought to Walpurgis Night had generally reached a preliminary consensus before the meeting was publicly held. I had assumed this time would be the same.
That was when my expression hardened.
"...Vassago, against abolition."
The murmuring in the room grew louder.
This was the first time Vassago had cast a vote against. I furrowed my brow and continued reading the results.
"Zepar, against. Paimon, in favor."
I looked at Barbatos last.
Barbatos was raising the corners of her lips.
"...Barbatos, against abolition."
The imperial palace descended into even greater turmoil.
On a matter I had expressed support for, Barbatos and Elder Zepar had cast opposing votes. The three of us had always been in agreement. Vassago too, for that matter.
"...With four votes in favor and three against, I announce that the motion for complete abolition of the slave system has been rejected."
For the first time.
An agenda item had concluded with a divide in our ranks.