Dungeon Defense (WN)

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The Habsburg Imperial Palace. It had now become a place for Demon Lords to exclusively hold meetings.

His Excellency the Emperor was given the seat of honor. Our dear Emperor Rudolf was seated seriously and quietly. In the first seats directly to his left and right were Barbatos and Marbas. From there, people were seated according to their rank in the Empire.

Referentially, I was standing directly to the left of the Emperor as the Attorney General.

My role was to conduct the meeting in the Emperor’s stead. Though there are some Demon Lords who are displeased by this since it makes me stick out, it can’t be helped. Authority becomes apparent on occasions like this depending on where you stand. What am I supposed to do when I have the most authority?

“Abolishing the slave system is ridiculous!”

Demon Lord Amii got worked up as they shouted.

It should be obvious, but the louder someone is during a meeting, the more likely they’re just some small-fry attention seeker. Amii was the Demon Lord who was active with me back when we were making our way through the Black Mountains. While I was busy becoming an authority figure in the Empire, he was busy spending his time in vain.

“Is the slave system not the most important system we have in place!? The biggest and most essential domain requires slaves.”

“Why is that?”

I asked in the stead of the other Demon Lords.

Amii flinched as soon as our eyes met. I’m not sure why, but Amii seemed to fear me. He probably thinks I’m going to purge him one day. Tsk tsk, his paranoia is going to get the better of him.

“……It’s because people’s most desperate desires are always the lowest. I apologize for bringing up such a vulgar topic in this sacred place, fellow comrades. However, please consider this: Excluding noble demons like ourselves, everyone must relieve themselves every day. And ‘someone’ has to clean up that waste!”

Amii looked around the room as he spoke passionately.

“In our civilized society, waste is always abundant. Slavery is essential labor for this crucial, indispensable work! An attack on slavery is nothing less than a denial of civilization itself.”

“Heh. What are you talking about? You should clean up after your own mess.”

Gamigin laughed.

“There are only two types of people who ask others to wipe their ass. An unfortunate handicapped person or an insanely rich and lazy person. I’m not sure whose civilization you’re talking about there~.”

“…….”

Amii shut his mouth. As someone of a much lower rank, he probably didn’t have the guts to speak back to Gamigin. This is why you’ll always remain as a small-fry no matter how much time passes. Amii is a part of the Plains Faction and all members of the Plains Faction are backed by Barbatos. What was there to be afraid of?

“Alright, stop bullying one of my kids. Let’s be honest here.”

Barbatos stepped in with an annoyed tone. See? Even if she doesn’t particularly like you, Barbatos will still cover for her members.

“Let’s free the fellows who were unjustly enslaved. This is good enough, isn’t it? But shouldn’t we make an exception for those who become slaves because they lost a duel or were defeated in war? What are you trying to do by freeing all of them? We aren’t a bunch of philanthropists.”

“All rational beings are equal.”

Following Barbatos, it was Paimon’s turn to speak up. The two glared at each other.

“All people are born with the same rights. This means that everyone should be free to protect their own lives by any means necessary. But slaves…….”

“Fucking damn it. My lifelong wish is for the day your mouth stops reeking of ink.”

Barbatos snarled.

“People’s lives are precious? So they shouldn’t be controlled by others? This isn’t some kind of morale lecture hall, is it? You, along with the rest of us here, have taken hundreds of thousands of those lives you claim to be precious on the battlefield.”

“War and slavery are two different…….”

“They’re the same.”

Barbatos let out a snort.

“Why do we kill the enemy on the battlefield? There’s only one reason. It’s because they’ll kill us if we don’t kill them first. That’s all there is to it. Do you get it? I’m saying that anyone can take the lives of others for the sake of ‘our’ benefit.”

Barbatos stood up and slowly looked around the room as she raised her voice.

“Bloody battlefields aren’t the only place where war takes place! Life itself is war, along with each and every passing day. No matter the time and place, we will willingly take the lives of others for the sake of the common good. So naturally, we’ll accept slavery if it benefits us.”

“What an impressive philosophy, Barbatos.”

Vassago retorted quietly. His tone was drenched in sarcasm.

“But unfortunately, I have never taken an interest in philosophy before. Barbatos, the issue is that the archdukes in the demon world are accumulating incredible wealth thanks to slavery. They’re ordering around thousands of slaves and acting as if they’ve become Demon Lords or something. I agree with abolishing slavery as a means to apply pressure on the archdukes.”

“The Neutral Faction also agrees.”

Marbas followed up.

“The authority of Demon Lords must be absolute. For us Demon Lords, demonkind has always been no different from slaves. Currently, in the demon world, an incredibly bizarre scenario is unfolding where slaves have slaves. Why must they acknowledge individuals who are not Demon Lords, the ‘Masters of Demons’, as their masters?”

The other Demon Lords started murmuring. A majority of the Demon Lords were nodding in agreement.

When Paimon argued for the abolition of slavery based on people’s rights, most of the people present just scoffed; however, when Vassago and Marbas began to discuss the practicalities, the atmosphere gradually shifted to agreement. Paimon bit her lips as if she were frustrated.

I let out an inward sigh. Although I understood how Paimon felt, this was an obvious conclusion.

“Fine. Let’s say you guys are right.”

Barbatos grinned.

“Let’s say that we abolish slavery between demons for the common good. Fine. What about humans, then? Are you saying that we can’t enslave humans either?”

The Demon Lords stirred again. “The humans are a separate matter”, “There aren’t a lot of human slaves in the demon world anyway, so shouldn’t it be fine to make them an exception?”, etc., a majority of them agreed with Barbatos. Most Demon Lords are hostile toward humans, so this was also an obvious reaction.

“There’s no reason for us to go out of our way to give those lowly humans freedom as well.”

“The Neutral Faction is of the same opinion. I believe this must be approached from a different angle.”

Marbas receded a step and made his reservation about the matter clear. He most likely believes that the diplomatic state of the continent has to be observed first.

“…….”

During all this, Paimon was clenching her knees tightly.

Barbatos started to pace around Paimon with a smirk.

“Naturally, I am of the same opinion as my fellow kin. The human race is the exception. However, it almost feels like there’s a spy hiding among us. A certain girl went out of her way to say something like ‘rational beings’ instead of specifically saying demons.”

“…….”

“Oi, Paimon. Let me ask you a question. Do you think slavery should abolished for the humans as well?”

Everyone’s gazes focused on Paimon.

Paimon glared at Barbatos with an absolutely frigid gaze.

“Yes. This lady believes that humans should also be free.”

“Traitor!”

Among the Plains Faction Demon Lords, Eligos stood up and pointed his finger at Paimon. Once this happened, the rest of the Plains Faction Demon Lords also stood up.

“She’s a whore who has forgotten the ideals of the Crescent Alliance!”

“So the rumors about her going around spreading her legs to the humans were true!”

At this point, the Mountain Faction Demon Lords stood up in retaliation. The imperial palace was instantly filled with angry shouting.

“This fucking dog, what did you say to Big Sis Paimon just now!? Let’s find out if you can still wave that tongue around after you’ve been decapitated!”

“What nonsense are you blabbering when your Plains Faction has spread its legs to that retarded Emperor over there! Isn’t Barbatos the one getting fucked by the Emperor every night?”

“These bastards must not care about their lives with how they are flapping their lips.”

Haa.

I let out a sigh. How is it that our meetings always end up like this whenever they’re held? I turned to give Marbas a wearisome gaze and saw that he was also letting out a tired sigh. We exchanged glances.

‘Sir Marbas, please stop those dogs in heat.’

‘I am not their nanny. Why must I waste my time trying to stop them every time this happens?’

‘If not you, who else could possibly control these idiots?’

‘You do it. To be honest, I am already at my wit’s end because of your lovers.’

……This was roughly the conversation that was implicitly exchanged between us.

I let out another sigh. Marbas was the one who managed the state of affairs while I was absent from the Empire. It’d be silly to say that this indebted me to him, but it doesn’t change the fact that my responsibilities were forced onto him. I have no choice but to step forward here…….

I opened my mouth.

“Please quiet down, everyone.”

Sitri was the first one to close her mouth.

Soon after, Vassago, Gamigin, Paimon, and Barbatos also went quiet. This was followed by Brother Zepar and Brother Beleth sitting back down.

The high-ranking Demon Lords and the excessively hotheaded Demon Lords had all gone silent at practically the same time. Once they did, the remaining lesser Demon Lords slowly followed suit. Several Demon Lords looked around in confusion once they realized the room had suddenly gotten quieter. They soon caught on to the situation and awkwardly took their seats.

It took only 30 seconds for the palace to become quiet.

“I trust you are all cognizant of the fact that the demon world’s archdukes had conspired with Great Demon Lord Baal to deliberately engineer the failure of our Crescent Alliance. Their deception began long before we became divided into the Plains Faction, Mountain Faction, and Neutral Faction.”

I met the gazes of each and every Demon Lord.

“The archdukes are our enemy.”

Regardless of their factions, Demon Lords are all extremely prideful.

“I am hoping that an existence similar to the archdukes never appears again. There is only one sure way of doing so. We must fundamentally close off the power and wealth of other demons except for us Demon Lords.”

In order to persuade every one of them, I can’t rely on beliefs or profits, I have to use their pride.

“Let us show the archdukes their place for trying to go against us.”

“…….”

“Of course, there are still dogs who do not know their place. It is highly unlikely that they will comply, even if we were to command them to liberate their slaves. I am certain that some will even plead to make exceptions for humans. If we were to declare goblins as exceptions, the archdukes would promptly seek to acquire as many goblins as possible, and the same would hold true if we were to grant humans an exception.”

I grinned.

“We must not allow our enemies to have even a single exception.”

Thorough obedience.

Desperate retribution.

“Only we Demon Lords have the right to rule the world.”

Immediately after, a vote was held for the abolishment of slavery.

All matters are settled with votes during Walpurgis Nights. However, not everyone has the right to vote. Only the seven individuals appointed as electors can vote. Therefore, as the Count Palatine, I can’t participate in the vote.

Moreover, a unanimous agreement is required for a policy to get passed.

I acted in the Emperor’s stead as I received the votes from the seven Demon Lords appointed as electors. This wasn’t an anonymous vote. Each voter’s name was revealed with their votes.

“I will announce the result of the vote. ……Marbas, one vote for abolishment.”

“Mm.”

Marbas nodded. There was a deep meaning behind Marbas’ gaze.

“Gamigin, one vote for abolishment. Sitri, one vote for abolishment.”

The Demon Lords quietly stirred. They were talking about how this was going to end up as a unanimous decision again. The subject matters brought up during Walpurgis Nights were usually discussed before the official meetings, so they believed it would be the same this time.

It was in this atmosphere that my expression went stiff.

“……Vassago, one vote against abolishment.”

The sound of murmuring grew much louder.

This was the first time Vassago had ever voted against something. I furrowed my brows as I continued to read the results.

“Zepar, one vote against abolishment. Paimon, one vote for abolishment.”

I turned to look at Barbatos last.

The ends of Barbatos’ lips were raised.

“……Barbatos, one vote against abolishment.”

The palace became even nosier.

Barbatos and Brother Zepar had voted against the matter that I was in favor of. The three of us always had the same opinion. The same went for Vassago.

“……4 votes for and 3 votes against. With this, the total abolishment of slavery has been rejected.”

For the first time ever.

A subject matter came to an end with a divided opinion.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Yeah, I just decided to rest over the weekend so this chapter came out late. I’m not sick anymore, but I do have a runny nose still. We’re drawing near chapter 400 now, which means that we’re almost a hundred chapters from reaching the end of the WN. As someone who managed to avoid all the spoilers, I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes.

In any case, nothing much else to say so I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.