Dungeon Defense (WN)

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Suspicious rumors had started to spread in the city nearby.

There were rumors about how more than a hundred adventurers had run away in the middle of the night. The number of vagrants in the city had actually decreased greatly as well.

The city folk whispered to one another as they exchanged rumors.

“Did you hear? The adventurers made a killing in the Demon Lord castle.”

“They all ran away together because they were afraid of paying taxes to the city. The villagers in the area were the ones who testified.”

“I heard the Demon Lord castle over there is overflowing with gold and treasure.”

The adventurers failed at subjugating Demon Lord Dantalian. 

However, they made a huge profit killing the monsters there. They made so much money, that the adventurers ran away to another city because they didn’t want to pay the taxes for their earnings…….

“There were more people who died due to internal disputes than people who actually died at the Demon Lord castle!”

“Sheesh. That’s adventurers for you.”

Rumors piled on top of rumors.

After a few days, a legendary tale was created about how 150 adventurers killed each other over a mountain of gold and got completely wiped out. The city folk laughed at the adventurers’ foolishness.

This was the rumor that I had spread deliberately. 

Out of the 155 adventurers, only 2 people survived. Me and Jeremi.

The rest of the adventurers were unable to escape and had their bones buried inside the dungeon. The goblins held a grand festival that day. The goblins praised His Highness the Demon Lord while feasting on human flesh.

There were more people outside the initial 150 that came aiming for the reward. There were adventurers who arrived a few days after the slaughter. They were, however, few in numbers.

They weren’t confident in their ability to subjugate the Demon Lord, so they went around catching goblins at the entrance of the dungeon. I spread the rumor through them.

You were a step late. You missed a haul of a lifetime. These adventurers were filled with these thoughts as they returned home with frustrated steps. They vented their anger at pubs saying things like, “If only we had gone sooner!”.

They were truly lucky people.

Well, the adventurer parties were a secondary problem anyway.

What was important was establishing a proper judicial system within my territory. I gathered all of the village chiefs and landowners. There were about 20 community leaders. Not only were they directly managing the area, but they were also the head of their households who were going to become my close advisors from now on.

“As you all desired, I got rid of that atrocious group of adventurers.”

I spoke while looking at each and every person’s face.

The humans quickly lowered their heads whenever our gazes met. I was a lord that had annihilated 150 adventurers in only half a day. In other words, these community leaders knew very well that their lives were comparable to that of flies.

“I am not hiding anything from you all. If something is hidden between a lord and his vassals, then that small gap will gradually widen before eventually swallowing the entire territory whole. Patriarchs of the villages.”

I paused for a moment before continuing. The community leaders carefully raised their heads.

“I will not say that I had dealt with the adventurers purely out of my own goodwill and mercy. I will acknowledge all of you as long as you remain loyal to me. Thus, I will honestly reveal that I had annihilated 155 adventurers because there is something that I am hoping from you all.”

The only thing I wanted was for them to hand their judicial power over to me. 

I didn’t want them to deal with matters in secret if a problem were to arise in their villages, but for them to instead receive their trials at another village. This way, the court of law would become crystal clear on the outside.

If an issue arises, then the trial will be held publicly so that everyone could judge what the problem was and whether it was irrational or not. This would therefore give the villagers an opportunity to improve themselves.

It will become clear who will become responsible for innocent and guilty verdicts. Thus reducing complaints about wrong verdicts and allowing the trials to be praised highly.

As a result, this will become a Panopticon where everyone keeps an eye on each other.

“Leading members of the villages, will you accept this trial system?”

“Of course, Your Highness. As you command.”

All 20 of the people present stood up and bowed courteously.

We were currently on a hill at the exact center of my territory. I had ordered the dwarf builders to create an amphitheater here. As expected of a renowned building group from the demon world, they completed a decent-looking amphitheater in only 4 days.

The center was low while the spectator seats went up on the sides like stairs. 

I was standing in the center while talking. On the other hand, the community leaders were seated at spectator seats that were placed higher than my head. They complained that this sort of seating was “excessively disrespectful”. Well, they had no other choice but to sit after I pressed them to.

There was a reason why I went out of my way to create a place like this.

“From this point forth, you will only be able to hold your courts of law here. The parties directly involved in the trial will stand where I currently am. Furthermore, anyone who wishes to watch the trial can sit up there in the spectator seats.”

It was to make the trials public.

The more important and trivial matters of villagers are held in an open court under the bright sun, the more I will be able to understand their situation. I will be able to manage them more meticulously. 

There would be no way of knowing who was watching the trials. There was a chance I could’ve planted an informant. The community leaders will probably start to worry that I might get notified if they were to make the wrong decision.

It was that very ‘might’ that was going to provide me with an unseeable form of authority.

There was no need for me to monitor the leaders at all times. The humans weren’t going to be watching over each other either. It was the suspicion and doubt planted in every person that was the true watcher.

One of the community leaders asked a question incredibly courteously.

“I must respectfully ask, does Your Highness mean every trial?”

“Indeed. Every trial. You all also have your livelihoods to handle, so a trial will only be held twice a month.”

In order to put doubt into people’s minds, the trials cannot be held in secret.

Everything must be transparent. Everything must be clear. Everything must be held in an open plaza for everyone to see.

I decided to add another method here.

I smiled gently as I spoke.

“Community leaders, this will also include me. If an incident occurs that is substantial enough to involve me as the judge, then I will also use this place as my court.”

“Even Your Highness……?”

“Indeed. If one becomes a judge, then one must be impartial at all costs. It does not matter if they are a Demon Lord or a slave. Bear this in mind. A judge must be impartial!”

I repeated sternly.

“People will watch your decisions here in this amphitheater. Even if many are not watching, news of your trial will travel from village to village through word of mouth. Think of this as carrying out your trials under the watchful eyes of every villager and every goddess.”

Therefore, I continued.

“Have pride. Every decision you make must set an example and be recorded in the logs of justice. Reveal to the people what the right decisions are and what wise solutions look like.”

My method was to give people ‘pride’.

This wasn’t simply a task. It contained an immense amount of worth as well. Justice, laws, morals, and ethics, the most important things in the world were being placed on their shoulders. As the individuals carrying out this duty, they are ‘the most important people in the world’.

“As the Demon Lord, I am the ruler of this land; however, who is the ruler of justice? Was it ever determined who rules ethics?”

“…….”

The community leaders held their breaths as they stared at me. They knew that I was saying something different from what was commonly said by other lords.

“Of course, the Gods are the ones who manage justice and rule over ethics. However, the Gods will not act as judges for us in the court of law. Thus, each and every one of you has no other choice but to become the rulers of justice and ethics.”

Humans become dissatisfied with society when they feel as if each passing day has no value. What do you achieve by attending school? Is all the hard work that I am doing right now nothing more than trivial tasks in the end?

However, if they believe they have an important calling, if they feel as if they have to be the ones to actually carry out the law and maintain justice, then anyone would become blind to the power. They would no longer doubt their duties.

“I will say it once more. Have pride, mortals!”

I desire a land that consists of workers ants who do not doubt their tasks.

“Be reborn as agents of the law. Become the servants of the Gods and bring judgment onto the lowest of places.”

Do not doubt Demon Lord Dantalian’s reign.

Was a trial done wrong? That isn’t Dantalian’s fault. That’s the fault of the judges. The fault of another human. Why couldn’t they make a wiser decision? It’s their own fault for being shortsighted…….

Demon Lord Dantalian will maintain his sanctity.

“From this day forth, this hill will be named Palatinus, the Palace of Justice. Whether an imperishable kingdom will be established or not on this land where the Gods cannot manifest lies solely on your shoulders.”

“Glory to His Highness!”

Someone shouted as he could no longer hold back his excitement.

“Glory to the Great Dantalian!”

“Glory to Palatino Dantalian!”

The others soon got infected by the chanting as all 20 leaders began to cheer in unison. The amphitheater became heated with their passionate chants. Their eyes were blazing.

Today, despite being the lord, I was standing at the lowest part of the theater. The highest person of authority had set an example. The community leaders should be able to also stand here without any hesitation now. No, they will probably feel pride just by being able to stand in the same position as a Demon Lord.

I put Jeremi and her assassins in charge of the public order. If an adventurer causes trouble in a village, then they should be able to handle it in an instant. Only fairly skilled adventurers would be able to stand a match against Jeremi’s assassins.

Furthermore, we decided to build a wall around Palatino. If a large army were to attack, then it would be impossible to stop them with only assassins. In those cases, we’ll evacuate the people from the villages and gather them at Palatino.

‘Although they are separated by their villages, they become united when it comes to the court of law and martial rule.’

The court of law and martial law, these were the only two things I needed.

What else would I require?

I displayed a pleasant smile as I was showered by cheers from the village leaders. Afterward, I personally carved some words into the court in Palatino with a sculpting knife.

「You all shall be the proudest servants.」

Of course, this was a sick joke. What I was actually telling them was to have pride even though they were servants. Pride as servants.

It was doubtful whether someone who understands this will ever appear in this land or not, but, well, waiting for the appearance of someone who understands might also be one of the joys of life.

Demon Lords can live for thousands of years. It is as long as long can be. Let’s wait patiently as a Demon Lord…….

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Of course this segment ends with politics. I almost forgot the reason behind this whole adventurer invasion. This was a pretty fun segment. The segment after this is actually starting off pretty interestingly as well. Immediately involves the characters that I think you guys care about the most. You guys can look forward to that, heh.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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