Dungeon Defense (WN)

I lit the end of my pipe.

My morning started off with having a disgusting amount of sex with Gamigin.

She was currently sleeping peacefully on the bed next to me. She latched on to me like a child the entire time we had sex. It was like she was trying to fill the absence of emotional communion with physical pleasure.

The glow of the setting sun was already flowing in from the window.

“…….”

Demon Lords are all highly self-conscious bipolar individuals. They have mental disorders.

The reason is simple. It’s because they can fully feel the emotions of others.

It’s unclear whether the emotion they’re currently feeling belongs to them or someone else. The border between them is hazy. The protective shield that naturally forms around ordinary people does not exist for Demon Lords.

From an extreme perspective, Demon Lords are uncertain even when they fall in love. The feeling of love I have for this person might actually belong to them and them alone. I am simply mistaking the affection they feel towards me as my own affection towards them…….

However, Demon Lords approach this from another angle and ask, “What is me?” That’s right. From the very beginning, a Demon Lord’s very being is not set in stone. They have no choice but to find it on their own.

Or make one.

They desperately build something that they can call their own.

Barbatos is morbidly obsessed with the goal of conquering the continent, Paimon seriously pursues the ideal world where all races are equal, and Marbas fully believes that mediating the factions is his calling.

They secure their identities like this.

It doesn’t matter if the humans get wiped out during this process. It doesn’t matter if their fellow kind all die out. It doesn’t matter if hundreds of thousands of people are sacrificed as long as they can maintain their identities.

You could say that their sense of balance was a complete mess. Mental patients. They were no different from megalomaniacs.

They were all way too abnormal.

However, it was because of this abnormality that they were beautiful.

“Dantalian…….”

Gamigin said my name in her sleep. Once I softly brushed her hair, she turned over as if she enjoyed the touch.

A fanatical obsession over objects where you declare something as yours. This obsession applied to not only objects but one’s lover as well. This is how I understood Gamigin’s love.

Some people might call this an obsession and not love, but does it matter?

Gamigin is an enjoyable partner to have sex with and she also has an endless number of uses. Whether the bond holding us together was love or obsession didn’t matter.

I whispered quietly in her ear.

“I love you, Gamigin.”

I might have been seeing things, but it almost looked like Gamigin twitched a little. I smiled as I stroked her hair for a while.

The setting sun lit the window.

* * *

Rumors about how a huge incident had happened inside the palace spread like wildfire.

It was an obvious result since we didn’t make the maids who were present swear to secrecy. Women have an innate skill for spreading rumors and maids are especially gifted in this field.

The very next day, the news reached all of the Demon Lords who were in the imperial city.

The rumor they heard was as follows: Gamigin went to the palace to complain about something to Count Palatine Dantalian but was blocked by Paimon. In the end, she cast a spell at the Count Palatine in a fit of anger…….

“The inevitable has arrived.”

That is how the Demon Lords perceived this rumor.

Anyone could tell that the independent Demon Lords were currently being mistreated in the Empire. You could even say that we were anti-independence.

Demons have been assigned as government officials in all parts of the Empire, but only individuals that had no connection with the independent Demon Lords had been chosen. From palace guards to the Minister of Justice, they all consisted of only Plains Faction, Mountain Faction, and Neutral Faction followers.

The political hue of this was so obvious that it was dumbfounding.

It was so apparent, that even faction members would voice their concerns about requiring a less partisan person, or, at the very least, the judiciary should consist of individuals with no political connections.

Dantalian openly refuted these concerns.

As if he had prepared for this beforehand, he published a booklet called <About Neutrality>. This booklet of about twenty pages was distributed to the Demon Lords.

– There are two types of neutrality in politics. Passive neutrality and active neutrality. Passive neutrality is the act of placing an individual with no factional connections in an important position. By doing so, you create an obvious gap within politics.

– However, this forces us to rely entirely on the integrity and honesty of a single person. This would put the giant system known as a nation within the control of an individual’s virtue. In this situation, how would one react if they incur losses due to this neutrality? They would only be able to suggest and emphasize their virtues.

– Ultimately, passive neutrality degrades the large dimensional matter of a system to a personal problem, an internal ethical problem.

– In contrast to this, I personally support active neutrality.

– Active neutrality is the act of distributing all key positions to every faction. For example, if a nation has three factions, then the key positions will be split 1:1:1. This has the significance of letting systematic problems be resolved as a system.

– If there is an upset in neutrality, then more positions can be given to weak factions while positions are taken from factions that are strong. Personal virtue does not matter here. Political balance is key here…….

– I do not believe that a demon would be able to go against Demon Lords and maintain neutrality until the very end. “Absolute neutrality” is nothing more than a fantasy for us.

– The best way to run the Empire will be to expose the power ratio between factions as clearly, blatantly, and candidly as possible…….

The booklet instantly started a heated debate.

Some Demon Lords praised it for displaying a realistic perspective while others criticized it for being an incitement piece drenched in the logic of factions. Demons were split into two sides as they argued over this.

The situation reached its peak when the Neutral Faction took a side.

“This booklet concisely and accurately depicts the path that the Empire must take.”

Demon Lord Marbas was the first one to formally support Dantalian.

“Active neutrality was the neutrality which our Neutral Faction has been trying to accomplish for the past millennium. Not only am I greatly sentimental about Count Palatine Dantalian’s perspective, but I also offer him my entire support.”

The weight of the Neutral Faction leader’s words was on a different level compared to that of others.

Some pointed out that a secret exchange must have happened between the two parties since Dantalian had helped Marbas in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but this remained as nothing more than a theory since there was no proof. The public sentiment leaned toward Dantalian’s side.

The Demon Lords with no affiliations were infuriated.

“Does this not mean you will be excluding us from politics!”

Like dominoes, the Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction followed suit and voiced their support after Marbas. This was a fixed match from the beginning. The independent Demon Lords couldn’t hold back their rage as it continued to grow. They criticized Dantalian viciously.

“Dantalian is Barbatos’ dog and a puppet of the factions!”

“The neutrality they speak of is simply the monopolization of power.”

Regardless, Dantalian didn’t show the independent Demon Lords any consideration to the bitter end.

The following is something that happened during the 2 months after the peerage coronation ceremony.

The independent Demon Lords continued to get angrier. Thus, no one thought it was weird or was surprised when they heard that Gamigin caused a commotion. Gamigin was being treated as the representative of the independent Demon Lords, after all.

Late at night.

The independent Demon Lords gathered at Gamigin’s estate. They were holding a meeting to discuss Dantalian’s atrocious acts, this being the fifth time the meeting was held.

“His intentions are clear. Is he not saying that he will control the Empire while giving us land the size of wheat grains?!”

“We should have suspected him the moment he didn’t receive any peerage during the ceremony. It was obvious he was up to something since the moment he was given that weird title of attorney general. That damned fox…….”

Six Demon Lords ranted noisily for hours while drinking wine.

It was obvious to even them that their positions were terrible. How did they end up like this when they once ruled over demonkind? Their desire to be blissfully ignorant of politics ended up isolating them.

Ex-rank 6 Demon Lord Valefor let out a sigh.

“Hahh. For how long must we continue to endure like this?”

“……But we have no other way.”

“Our opponent is the Rank 71. Is anyone here weaker than him?”

The Demon Lords struggle.

Valefor furrowed his brows as he spoke.

“In the end, Dantalian is nothing more than the figurehead of the factions. His individual power is pitiful and pathetic. If their side intends to keep disregarding us, then we must also show him his place.”

“……Valefor, but would it be that easy to assassinate him?”

The other Demon Lords remarked.

They had already discussed assassinating Dantalian dozens of times now. However, the Demon Lords would always conclude that it would be too difficult. Not only was Dantalian being protected by death knights, but he has recently been only staying in the palace.

Valefor knew this, so even if he was the one to bring it up, he remained silent. All he could do was look unpleased.

It was then that Gamigin opened her mouth.

“It might be possible.”

“Miss Gamigin? Is that true?”

“Mhm. The possibility isn’t that high, but there is still a chance.”

Gamigin smiled brightly as she sipped her wine.

“Dantalian’s only weakness is women. He’s famous for being a debauchee. To be honest, this is the reason why Dantalian was lenient toward me during the battle with Agares.

“…….”

She was saying that her life was spared by offering her body. An awkward mood fell over the other Demon Lords.

“Because of that, I had to go around acting like Dantalian’s lover for a while.”

“Then, are you saying that we should send a honey trap to assassinate him? The chances still look considerably low…….”

“That’s why I said there’s a way.”

Gamigin licked the wine drop that was on her lips.

“I was able to injure Dantalian in the palace, after all. I have to go apologize for that. However, it’s obvious that Dantalian will make a personal request instead of accepting my apology~.”

Gamigin tapped on her body, which prompted the other Demon Lords to nod.

“But Dantalian is a pervert. He doesn’t do it normally.”

“By not doing it normally, you mean……?”

“He does it like a pervert. He sometimes changes the situation to feel like a rape. Well, I probably don’t have to give you any more details than this, right?”

The Demon Lords coughed. The demon world is rather liberal when it comes to sexual activities, but even the Demon Lords felt reluctant to talk about rape when other Demon Lords are present.

“I see. But, Miss Gamigin, how are you saying that we should use this.”

“Jeez. Despite my appearance, I am a duke of the Empire.”

Gamigin waved her finger.

“What would happen if a mere Count Palatine were to personally threaten a duke and rape her? If this incident can be recorded on a memorial artifact, then would that not end Dantalian’s political career?”

“……!”

The independent Demon Lords stood up from their seats.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I’m quickly posting this before I go to bed, so this note will be rushed. I feel like you can really expect where this is going to go considering what happened in the previous chapter. Or maybe there’ll be another twist? Who knows.

In any case, I’m going to bed and I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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