Strange rumors had been swirling through the nearby cities.
Word had it that over a hundred adventurers had fled in the dead of night. Sure enough, the number of vagrants in the city had dropped dramatically.
Citizens passed the rumors along in hushed whispers.
"Did you hear? Apparently the adventurers made a killing at the Demon Lord's Castle this time."
"They fled en masse because they were afraid of paying taxes on their earnings. The locals confirmed it."
"Is it true that the Demon Lord's Castle is overflowing with gold and treasure?"
The adventurers had failed to subdue the Demon Lord, Dantalion.
Instead, they had slaughtered monsters and reaped enormous profits. The money was so absurdly good that the adventurers, terrified of taxes, had simply relocated to another city altogether……
"They say the adventurers fought each other over the spoils."
"More people died from infighting than from the Demon Lord's Castle itself!"
"Tch. Adventurers — what else would you expect?"
Rumor piled upon rumor, growing wilder by the day.
After a few days, a legendary tale had been crafted: a hundred and fifty adventurers had brawled over mountains of gold coins, only to wipe each other out in a single night. The citizens scoffed at the adventurers' stupidity.
This was a rumor I had deliberately spread.
Out of one hundred and fifty-five adventurers, only two survived — Jeremy and me.
The rest had no chance to escape and were buried in the dungeon. The goblins held a grand festival that day. They tore into human flesh and chanted "Long live the Demon Lord!" between mouthfuls.
Those who had rushed in seeking bounties were not limited to the initial one hundred and fifty. Some adventurers arrived days late, after the massacre had already taken place. But they were few in number.
They lacked the courage to challenge the Demon Lord, so they killed a few goblins at the dungeon entrance and turned back. I leaked the rumors to them.
You were one step too late. The jackpot slipped through your fingers. A small number of travelers were consumed by that thought, their footsteps heavy with fury as they departed. They gathered in shabby taverns, seething with rage, venting their frustrations: "If only we'd gotten there a little sooner!"
Could they really be any luckier?
Well, this band of adventurers was a secondary issue, anyway.
What mattered was establishing judicial authority in my domain. I summoned every village head and landowner. About twenty village notables — these were the ones who governed the territory directly, the house heads who would soon become my closest retainers.
"I have crushed the band of adventurers you wished dealt with, just as you asked."
I spoke while looking each elder in the eye.
Whenever humans met my gaze, they hurriedly bowed their heads. A lord who annihilated one hundred and fifty adventurers in half a day. In other words, the notables understood full well that he could wring their lives like flies at any time.
"I will hide nothing from you. If ruler and subjects begin hiding things from one another, what starts as a tiny crack will gradually widen until the whole territory is swallowed into that void. Heads of the village."
I paused for a moment. The notables cautiously raised their heads.
"I will not pretend with sweet words that I repelled those adventurers purely out of my own goodwill and benevolence. As long as you remain loyal to me, I acknowledge you in return. I am being honest when I say I killed one hundred and fifty-five adventurers because there is something I want from you."
What I wanted right now was a single thing: the transfer of judicial authority.
If a problem arose in a village, the residents must never settle it among themselves in secret. They would go to another village and stand trial. In doing so, courts would be laid bare for the outside world to see clearly.
If a problem arose, the trial would be made public so that anyone could judge what was wrong and what was unjust. That way, the residents themselves would gain room to improve things.
It would become clear exactly who bore responsibility for guilty verdicts and acquittals. Thus, wrongful rulings would draw censure, and sound judgments would earn praise.
In effect, a panopticon territory would emerge — where everyone watched everyone.
"Heads of the village. Will you accept this trial system?"
"Of course, Your Lordship. Let it be as you command."
The twenty elders rose from their seats and bowed politely.
The spot we were in now sat atop a hill that jutted up in the middle of my domain. I had the dwarven architects build an amphitheater here. True to their reputation as celebrated builders of the Demon Realm, they finished a splendid amphitheater in just three days.
The center sunk low, and the audience seats rose higher with each ascending tier.
I stood in the center, speaking from down below. The notables, meanwhile, sat in seats higher than my own. They made a fuss about this arrangement being "far too disrespectful." Well, they only sat because I insisted.
There was a reason I had this space built.
"From now on, you are only permitted to hold court in this place. Anyone participating in a trial must ascend to the spot where they stand now. Furthermore, anyone wishing to observe a trial may sit in the spectator seats."
My intention was to make the courts public.
The more the villagers' trivial matters unfolded under the bright sun, the better I could understand their situations. It allowed me to control them with greater precision.
Who might be watching while a trial was held could not be known. My informants could be mixed in among them. The notables, while participating in a trial, would likely worry, 'What if something I say incorrectly leaks into the Demon Lord's ears?'
It was precisely that 'what if' that would grant me unseen power.
I had no need to monitor the notables individually. True surveillance and control of people did not come from the same person. Suspicion and doubt planted within a person—those were the real watchers.
One of the notables asked with extreme deference.
"Forgive my presumption, but are you referring to all trials, Your Highness?"
"Yes. All trials. You all have your livelihoods, so trials will only be conducted twice a month."
To plant suspicion in people's minds, trials could not be held in secret chambers.
Everything must be transparent. Everything must be explicit. As if suffering from exhibitionism, everything had to occur out in the open square.
To this, I added one more trick.
I spoke with a gentle smile.
"Notables of the village. The same applies to you yourselves. Should an event of sufficient gravity arise that requires you to serve as a judge, you too will establish a court right here."
"Even Your Highness...?"
"Precisely. Once one becomes a judge, that person must be nothing more than a single, impartial judge. It does not matter if they are the Demon Lord or a slave. Remember this. They must be nothing more than a single, impartial judge!"
I spoke with finality.
"In this circular amphitheater, all people will witness your judgments. Even if the watching eyes are few, word will inevitably spread from village to village. From now on, consider yourselves presiding over trials under the gaze of every human in the village, and under the watchful eyes of the goddesses."
Therefore, I said.
"You shall bear pride. Every judgment you deliver shall serve as an example and a testament to justice. What constitutes the right answer, what constitutes the wise solution — proclaim it in a loud voice before all people and all gods."
The method was none other than giving people "pride."
This was not mere work. Something of immense value was at stake. Justice and law, morality, ethics — the most important things in the world rested upon your shoulders. And you, who carry that mission, are likewise "the most important people in the world."
"The lord of this domain is indeed I, the Demon Lord. But who is the lord of justice? Was it ever decreed who shall be the lord of ethics in this world?"
"......"
The retainers held their breath and gazed at me. They too had realized that something different from what other lords spoke was flowing from my lips.
"Of course, the gods preside over justice and govern ethics. However, the gods do not take up the role of judges on the mortal plane. Therefore, each and every one of you must become the lord of justice and the lord of ethics yourselves."
The point at which a person grows dissatisfied with society is precisely when they feel their day-to-day life is worthless. What's the point of going to school? Aren't the things I struggle with right now ultimately nothing more than trivial tasks?
But if one believes that a great mission is tied to one's work — if one truly feels that they are personally enforcing the law and carrying out justice — then a person can transform without question. They will never doubt their work.
"I say it once more: bear pride, mortals!"
I want a domain built by worker ants who never doubt.
"Reb yourselves into agents and guardians of the law. Become the servants of the gods and pass judgment from the lowest station."
Never, ever question the rule of Demon Lord Dantalion.
Was the trial wrong? That was not Dantalion's fault. The judges were wrong. The human residents of the domain were wrong. Why couldn't they have judged more wisely? It was our own foolishness that erred...
Demon Lord Dantalion shall be preserved forever as an inviolable domain.
"From this day forward, I shall name this hill the Palatinus, meaning the Palace of Law and Justice. Whether an eternal and undying kingdom can be born on mortal soil where the gods have not manifested — that depends entirely on your hands."
"Long live His Excellency the Demon Lord!"
Someone, unable to contain their excitement, let out a cry.
"Long live the great Dantalion!"
"Long live Palatine Dantalion!"
The voices spread instantly, and twenty notables began roaring their cheers. The amphitheater grew muggy with heat. Their eyes were blazing.
Today, despite being the lord, I deliberately stood at the lowest point of the theater. The supreme authority was setting an example. The notables would have no qualms about standing here themselves — no, the very fact that they stood in the same place as the Demon Lord would fill them with pride.
I organized Jeremy and the rest of my assassins into a security squad. Should any adventurer cause trouble in the village, this squad would settle the matter in an instant. No run-of-the-mill adventurer could hope to stand against Jeremy's assassin squad.
In addition, I decided to build fortifications on Palatine Hill. If a large army descended upon us, the assassins alone wouldn't be enough to hold them off. In that case, the villagers would evacuate from the settlement and gather on Palatine Hill.
'The villages remain separate from one another, yet in matters of judgment and military administration, they become one.'
Judgment and military administration — once those two levers were in my grasp, the game was over.
What more could I possibly need?
Receiving the fervent adoration of the village notables, I flashed a warm, kindly smile. Afterward, at the courthouse on Palatine Hill, I personally carved an inscription with a carving knife.
*'May you be the proudest of servants.'*
Of course, it was black humor. What I was really saying was: you are servants, but take pride in it. Pride as servants.
Whether anyone in the domain would ever pick up on that meaning was uncertain — but then again, perhaps waiting for just such a person was one of life's small pleasures?
A Demon Lord's life spans millennia. Long, and ever so long. As a Demon Lord, I would wait, leisurely and in no rush at all…