Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 474 [Illustration]

Charlotte’s assessment was that the new Dark Land, Edina, was overly dependent on the single existence of the Demon King.

This was qualitatively different from the idea that the Dark Land couldn’t exist without the Archdemon.

“So... what should be done?” Reinhart asked.

“... First of all, since the food issue inevitably has to be a long-term policy, we need to solve the institutional problems first. There are many minor crimes, but too many incidents that could have been stopped at simple assaults often escalate into murders,” Charlotte said.

“It won’t be easy to increase the number of guards any further. Honestly, even maintaining the current force is difficult,” Reinhart replied.

“This isn’t a problem with the guards,” Charlotte said as she shook her head.

“The punishments for criminals are overly uniform, and they are too simple. Criminals either face execution or are sent to the labor camps, and more often than not, they end up in labor camps rather than being executed. It seems you have a tendency to avoid handing down extreme punishments like execution, right?”

“Well... I thought it might be better to use them as labor rather than just killing them...”

Charlotte shook her head in reply. “Suppose someone gets into a fight with someone they have a grudge against. If a violent incident occurs and the other person is severely injured, the perpetrator is definitely sent to a labor camp. Whether they kill the other person or just beat them up, they still end up in a labor camp. Therefore, some people would just resort to killing because the consequence is the same either way.”

“... What?”

“Of course, this is an extreme example, and not everyone is like that. But there are certainly those who make such choices. That’s why you need to have detailed punishments for each different crime.”

Charlotte laid out the problems that arise when crimes deserving of death were not punished severely.

“Reinhart, extreme punishments don’t exist to punish criminals, but to warn the general public of the consequences of serious crimes. Essentially, executions and other extreme punishments are there to extinguish serious criminals and display them to society.”

As a leader, Reinhart had believed it was more efficient to use criminals as labor rather than executing them, and had been avoiding extreme punishments because he thought they were inefficient.

However, Charlotte was suggesting that such actions might have inadvertently caused something that could have been just a violent altercation to escalate into murder.

If the punishment was the same regardless of the nature of the crime, some might choose to commit serious crimes.

“Edina doesn’t have a proper legal system right now, so a system of punishments needs to be established first. Edina’s situation is entirely different from that of other nations. Because there are many outsiders living in it, tensions will only increase, not decrease.

“Therefore, it’s better for punishments to be harsher than necessary. Right now, that is what is needed to maintain the system. The empire cannot use extreme punishments in the capital to reduce crime because of the extreme shortage of resources, but Edina isn’t facing that same shortage. So controlling crime through harsh punishments is still possible.”

“That makes sense...”

“It’s also true that the number of guards is absolutely insufficient. But given the current situation, it would be difficult to increase the size of the security force.”

However, Charlotte seemed to have an answer for that as well.

“Have the refugees form their own militia,” she said, easily reaching a conclusion.

“... Militia? This is the capital of Edina, and you’re suggesting forming vigilante groups because we can’t manage the situation? Am I hearing you right?”

“This isn’t the time to be picky about that.”

“Hmm...”

Reinhart rolled his eyes. He couldn’t agree with Charlotte’s suggestion.

“But a militia is essentially a volunteer organization,” he countered. “Who would want to do such work for free? If they don’t want to work for free, you’d have to pay them. But if you do that, you’re essentially organizing a security force out of civilians and then providing them with financial support. How is that different from integrating them into the guards? Is there really a need to have two different groups manage the capital’s security and policing system? I don’t see the point.”

Charlotte shook her head. “Don’t give them money,” she responded. “Give them a bit of authority.”

“Authority?”

“Yeah, in other words, power.”

Charlotte looked at Reinhart with a calm expression.

“There are plenty of people who would be eager for even a tiny bit of power. Money? You don’t need to give any to them. There are people who pursue power for the sake of power itself.”

“Oh...”

“Give them the authority to elect a leader and recruit members. Also, give them the authority to arrest or interrogate people. They’ll voluntarily patrol the streets at night, believing that they’re important, without getting paid a cent. These militia members will patrol the streets at night for free. Isn’t that good enough?”

Charlotte understood humans’ vain desire for power, and knew that people could be motivated by power alone, without the need for money or food.

Reinhart felt a chill at the policy that seemed, in some ways, more sinister than what a Demon King might do.

“Well, I understand what you’re saying, but if you give this militia some autonomy over the refugee areas... Inevitably, they’ll end up doing something foolish, won’t they? Autonomy means they’re relatively free from control, so they’ll inevitably become corrupt, right?” Reinhart asked.

“Yes, they’ll inevitably become corrupt, have their own vested interests, and commit crimes themselves without being punished. They’ll want to fill their pockets in other ways since they can’t earn money from their activities. They would be busy but would not be able to earn money from that work, and so this would inevitably happen.”

“Right, that’s exactly what will happen.”

“But why worry about that?” Charlotte said, then drew her thumb sharply across her neck. “Kill them and then elect new ones. That’s all.”

“Oh...”

“If this militia becomes corrupt, it won’t be our responsibility since they’re not a government-affiliated organization, right? When they grow corrupt, the state would publicly execute the corrupt vigilante leader. That makes it look just and good, doesn’t it?

“In reality, it is the government who created an environment that would inevitably lead to this corruption, because these militiamen would not be able to make a living off their militia activities. But what do the general public know about that? The more corrupt the leader, the more heinous the group’s actions, the more support the government will gain when they’re hanged.”

Charlotte said it all with a nonchalant expression, without a hint of a smile or anything sinister.

Use people as appropriate, and then discard them. Create and exploit a group that was bound to become corrupt, and not even pay them a cent. Charlotte knew how to do things the Demon King couldn’t.

Thus far, Reinhart’s belief was that since corruption is bad, he wanted to eliminate the possibility of corruption.

But Charlotte was different.

She was willing to create a powerful group that was bound to become corrupt and use it to her benefit. When that corruption exceeded the critical point, she would just replace it, using this process of replacement to benefit the state.

The responsibility for this eventual corruption would be shifted away from the state that created this power and onto the individual who indulged in that corruption instead. Her thought process when it came to such things was fundamentally different.

“A state can do good things, and it’s not wrong to engage in charity or aid for the poor. But Reinhart, there’s something very important you don’t know.”

“And what’s that?”

“The purpose of a state is not to carry out justice or goodwill, but to maintain the state itself. If the state vanishes, there will be no justice, no aid for the poor, and no charity. If there’s an absolute good that a state must uphold, it’s the maintenance of the state itself. That’s all.”

A government did not have to be good or just.

A government existed to maintain itself.

Without that basic condition, no subsequent projects or policies could exist.

Reinhart hadn’t considered things from that perspective at all.

Even if there was injustice or wrongdoing, the state had to continue to exist, and policies and projects had to be implemented in pursuit of that goal.

There was no such concept in the Edina Archipelago, and Reinhart hadn’t considered it.

The nation was growing, but the system of governance was weak. Charlotte’s judgment was that this system had to be shored up.

Since it would be difficult to overhaul everything given how much the population had grown, temporary measures were necessary.

Reinhart couldn’t deny that Charlotte’s approach was better for maintaining the state than his own.

He nodded with a blank expression. “I can finally feel that you’re actually royalty...”

Charlotte looked at him, then lowered her eyes. “Even if you’re disappointed, it can’t be helped... If this is the only way I can help you... I have to do it well somehow.”

“...”

“So, it’s right for me, as the regent, to handle these matters. You can remain the kind and gentle ruler who cares for the people. The more the people fear my regency, the more solid the support for you will become.”

Charlotte had decided to take on all the infamy of this ruthless policy of governance she was about to implement.

The more people hated the regent, the more they despised the regency, the more solid the support for the Demon King would become.

Just as she intended to use these militia groups, Charlotte planned to use herself to strengthen the foundation of Reinhart’s rule.

***

Whether Charlotte had prepared herself for her role was uncertain.

Just as I had become king without being prepared, Charlotte wasn’t sitting on the throne after completing her full preparations to become a ruler.

I had constructed this nation in a haphazard manner with no preparation, and thus it was bound to be a house of cards.

While it could stand on its own for the moment, I didn’t know how long that would last.

Therefore, I had brought Charlotte in to solidify the foundation.

I tried to build it in as plausible a manner as I could, but to Charlotte, Edina was a structure that was unsound.

I did not know whether Charlotte could address all the issues. But Charlotte could think in ways I couldn’t. Like implementing security measures that took advantage of people’s desire for power, or the perspective that punishment existed for the good of society, and not to punish the criminal.

Sometimes, one had to know how to use people, only to discard them later. It was cruel, but I couldn’t deny its necessity.

Charlotte’s approach to problems was on a different level from mine.

Charlotte could do what I couldn’t.

I couldn’t assume that everything would improve just because Charlotte took charge of the Edina Archipelago, but it would certainly be better than me remaining on the throne.

I had long reached my limits in handling the administrative tasks around Edina.

She was someone who could take my place. Someone who would undoubtedly do better than me. And, in some ways, she seemed more fearsome than me—the one most fitting to be the Demon King.

“Let me introduce her.”

In the audience chamber where my vassals were gathered, I watched from my seat on the throne as Charlotte, who was wearing a black dress, walked over and stood beside me. She looked down at the people who were gathered there.

“From today, Charlotte de Gradias will be the regent of Edina.”

At my words, the vassals, already tense about this mysterious figure, gasped.

Charlotte de Gradias... Given her name, it was obvious where Charlotte was from.

“Remember that she is both my representative and my equal.”

I stood up, and Charlotte sat on the throne in my place, quietly looking down at the vassals.

“I’ll keep it brief,” she said.

Charlotte, who had gone from the imperial princess to the queen of the Dark Land, didn’t offer any pleasantries or greetings. She merely looked down at those gathered in the audience chamber.

“Everything”—Her voice wasn’t particularly strong or confident—“will be very different from now on.”

Despite that, everyone seemed to be overwhelmed by the charisma emanating from Charlotte herself.

***

Charlotte addressed the most urgent matters first: the system of justice that would detail the consequences of different crimes and the organization of the militia groups.

The system she intended to implement was one that made the refugees responsible for the security of their own residential areas.

.

.

The next day, I saw a scaffold being erected in the central square of Rajak.

It was a place where those who had committed crimes would be flogged according to the severity of their crime, and those who committed even more heinous crimes would be beheaded or hanged.

The residents of Edina would see the public display of death and be instilled with a fear of crime.

I couldn’t refute Charlotte’s opinion that such public executions or punishments were necessary, given the unique circumstances of the Edina Archipelago.

I wasn’t unaware of the need, but perhaps I had avoided making such decisions, using the excuse of efficiency.

In the end, was I unable to rid myself of the trivial notion that such things were barbaric and wrong from a modern perspective?

In any case, Charlotte would essentially handle everything I had been doing in the Edina Archipelago moving forward, and I would step down from the throne for a while and do what I needed to do.

***

Charlotte began her regency, while the pace at which the warp gates were being destroyed was slowing.

Although many warp gates had been destroyed over the past two years, it was not possible to destroy them all in the near future. There was still time until the final battle, and I had things to do to prepare for future events.

Having brought Charlotte to the Edina Archipelago, I could finally shed the role that never quite suited me.

Though there were still matters to be attended to outside, I gathered my people.

“I will be absent for quite some time,” I said to them.

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.

“Absent? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how long it will take, but if things don’t go well, I’ll come back. So don’t worry too much.”

Charlotte, who was part Archdemon, also had dominion over the demons, and she could lead the government more wisely than I could. Therefore, there was no longer any practical reason for me to remain in Edina. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Therefore, I was planning to do what I had only thought about but hadn’t been able to carry out until this moment.

“Are you going off to do something dangerous again?” Olivia asked, and I shook my head.

“If you put it that way, it’s more about preparing for something dangerous, but... nothing is certain yet, so it’s hard to say. Still, I’ll be taking plenty of Teleport scrolls, so don’t worry too much.”

“But you’re going alone...? No matter where you’re going, that seems dangerous...” Harriet said.

Everyone knew that I would handle things on my own, that I wouldn’t be foolishly killed by a horde of monsters wandering the continent. But it seemed they couldn’t help but worry.

“I’d like to take someone with me, but given where I’m going, I can’t do that.”

I didn’t particularly want to insist on going alone. However, the place I needed to go was a place I wasn’t sure I could find even by myself.

Olivia, Harriet, Charlotte, and Airi... None of them stopped me, but they all looked worried.

“It won’t take too long.”

I had to become much stronger before the Gate Incident was resolved.

That was why I had brought Charlotte in and installed her as regent—so I could do what I needed to make myself stronger.

To survive the dragon that would emerge from the last gate and possibly a fight with Ellen, I had to become stronger.

“Can’t you at least tell us where you’re going?” Airi asked, looking concerned.

“... No, I’m sorry. I can’t tell you.”

I wasn’t even sure I could find the place I wanted to go to. And even if I found it, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get what I wanted.

I couldn’t tell them because if they knew where I was going, they would surely try to stop me.

Ellen’s hometown, Rijaiera... That was where I intended to go.