Chapter 403: The Dripping Night (12)

Chapter 403: The Dripping Night (12)

Many people came to see you. Gamigin, Vassago, Zepar.

Do you think Id be able to remember each and every one of those names? How foolish. Write the names down on a piece of parchment.

The Minister of State Affairs and the Minister of Government Affairs are resting in the next room.

I opened my eyes.

A breeze entered through the crack of the window. It briefly lingered on my cheek before flowing away, making me unconsciously touch my cheek. When I examined my palm, there was no trace of blood.

And Paimons corpse?Cheêck out latest novels at novelhall.com

It is being strictly guarded with an eternal preservation spell. The funeral procedures are still under discussion. However, it seems they have agreed to finalize them after Demon Lord Sitri returns from her expedition.

I see.

There were also those who suggested that the decision should be made after you woke up, Father.

Most Demon Lords dont have families or close friends.

Normally, when a Demon Lord passes away, the person closest to them would be appointed as the chief mourner. In this case, Sitri and I were most likely prime candidates for this position since we were Paimons lovers. However, Sitri had gone on an expedition to avenge Paimon and I was out cold. The Demon Lords mustve been rather troubled.

Daisy.

Yes, Father?

Sing for me.

Daisy blinked in surprise.

Daisy was famous for her beautiful singing voice. During our pilgrimage in Frankia, she was praised by the mercenaries for having the voice of an angel. There were even times when shed sing quietly on her own in my Demon Lord Castle. Perhaps it was one of her few hobbies alongside reading.

Ive never asked her to sing for me before. This was probably why she was surprised.

Let me cry.

After a short moment, Daisys small mouth opened.

I closed my eyes again as I listened to her sing.

* * *

Many people went in and out of my room incessantly.

I guess it shouldnt be a surprise, but the first people to visit were Laura and Lapis.

Laura burst into tears the moment she saw me and latched herself to my bed. She mostly shouted childish insults like Youre an idiot! and Stupid! incoherently. I smiled bitterly as I stroked Lauras hair.

.

Lapis, however, was a lot harder to handle compared to Laura. All she did was stare right at me. It was like a type of silent protest. She was basically asking why I didnt tell her beforehand and why I executed all of this on my own. I felt bad for Lapis, but this was a matter that I wanted to take on my own.

Almost every Demon Lord came to visit me. Thanks to this, I had to stay in bed for several days even though I wasnt in much pain.

As a side note, the most amusing visitor was Vassago.

Tsk.

As soon as Vassago entered my room and saw my face, he turned around and left. It really was in an instant. So the only thing Vassago did was click his tongue and leave. I have no idea why he even visited me.

Brother Beleth informed me of some shocking news from the demon world.

Every demon residing in Utpala Hell, regardless of their race or class, is being slaughtered.

Sitri is committing slaughter?

Sitri of all people was slaughtering civilians.

The territories that belonged to the traitors have already surrendered. How could they possibly retaliate when their leaders are already dead?

Are you saying that she is killing them even though they have surrendered?

Indeed. I couldnt stop her.

Brother Beleth shrugged his shoulders.

Brother Beleth was not particularly inclined towards pacifism. On the contrary, he belonged to the faction that preferred massacre. The fact that even he had to intervene indicated how indiscriminate and ruthless the actions were.

She was using the darndest method. First, shed have a trench dug out in a straight line. Then, shed line up the demons in front of the trench and make them wait.

Was it a live burial?

Burials are burials, but this had a twist.

Brother Beleth chuckled.

The people in the back row would be given weapons and ordered to stab the person in front of them.

Pardon me?

So after the first line of demons fell into the pit as corpses, the row behind them would be next in line. The weapons are passed back to the people behind them and the same order is given. Theyre ordered to stab the people in front of them.

In other words, civilians were being forced to stab other civilians.

Countless people cried saying that they couldnt do it, but Sitri would personally tear out the limbs of those people. So they were basically given a choice to obediently die or die by having their limbs torn out. Sheesh.

1 abstained.

With this, slavery will be abolished.

For the first time in recorded history, slavery was now gone. Although much time and effort will be required before it truly disappears completely, it was fine. I was confident in my ability to do so.

It wasnt only going to be in the Habsburg Empire and the demon world. Slavery will be abolished across the entire continent. As I have already sworn to carry this out, there isnt a single group out there that could get in the way of my vow.

I simply have to erase those who resist.

The number of lives that had perished directly or indirectly by my hands had now reached four hundred thousand.

Even if that number were to increase to four million, it would not shake me.

Next, for the loyal retainers who stepped forward to eliminate the traitors. The issue of allocating the territories of the traitors to the Serpent Archduke and the six other archdukes. Cast your votes.

6 votes in favor.

1 abstained.

With this, I announce that the number of individuals entitled to the title of archduke is now permanently restricted to seven.

I now have a firm allegiance with all of the archdukes who ruled the demon world, meaning that I am able to heavily influence both the demon world and the Empire.

Now, the final agenda.

Regarding the proposal to appoint the Elector of Mainz, Sitri, as the acting Grand Duke of Luxembourg, which has become vacant. Cast your votes.

6 votes in favor.

1 abstained.

With this, the Elector of Mainz, Sitri, shall be appointed as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the High Chamberlain of the Empire. Henceforth, Sitri shall have the right to 2 votes in all future votes.

The High Chamberlain position that Paimon had was transferred to Sitri. Not only did this give the Mountain Faction a special exception, but it also prevented the authority of the Mountain Faction from going to someone other than Sitri.

I looked to Sitri.

Sitri nodded as she got up from her seat.

She approached a chair that was vacant and sat down. It was Paimons chair. Sitris previous chair was quickly carried away by the servants.

With this, tonights Walpurgis Night has been adjourned. Thank you for your time, comrades.

.

.

After the meeting was over, I found myself sitting in the palaces back garden.

I had slept without any purpose for the past few days, so I figured I could skip a night of sleep. In the backyard of the palace, there was an artificial pond in the shape of a rectangle. I placed a chair in front of the pond and sat down in order to quietly drink my alcohol.

Seven empty glass bottles rolled around under my feet. The body of a Demon Lord was convenient. No matter how much I drank, it wasnt easy for me to get drunk. Lapis suggested that I should stop drinking, but Id receive divine punishment if I didnt enjoy my authority with this body.

Clack.

Someone placed a chair down next to me. It was Barbatos.

Barbatos sat down and silently held out her cup to me. I responded in kind as I silently poured her a glass of wine.

.

.

We spent hours drinking, looking at the moonlight reflected on the water. Not a single word was exchanged. What more could we have to say to each other at this point?

Among the Demon Lords I have a friendly relationship with, Barbatos was the only one who hadnt come to visit me. Naturally, Barbatos was well aware that she had no right to enter my bedroom to visit me while I was bedridden.

About three hours passed in this not-so-grand drinking session.

It was then that Barbatos opened her mouth for the first time.

Dantalian, do you still like me?

An utterly awkward question.

I removed my glass from my lips.

I do love you.

Slowly, I drank my entire glass of wine. I could feel the scarlet liquid trickle down my insides. My cup soon became empty.

As much as I love myself.

***

Authors Afterword

Chapter <The Dripping Night> END.

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Man, I want to get back into the groove to translate more, but work is also stockpiling. A game were translating is about to get a global release soon, so theyre suddenly giving us a bunch of last-minute work, which is annoying. They couldve easily given all this to us weeks ago.

In any case, this arc ended pretty heavily. Seemed like a lot of people were upset about how this arc basically transpired and its understandable. I had a feeling things would probably turn out this way with all the problems that have been arising around Dant. I recall someone complaining that Dant didnt have to struggle or face any resistance in anything he did, but I feel like thats been proven wrong a long time ago. The biggest instance was probably the lashing scene. Thats why Im not too devastated by the loss. It was a compromise of sorts that I expected due to all the grievances from other characters. You genuinely cant please everyone.

Welp, at any rate, Ill see you guys in the next chapter.