The Leaf Empire, now occupied by demons.
This brought immense shock and fear to the humans living within the Empire.
Even the mere fall of a nation was enough to shake the people’s morale to the core.
However, the fact that the conquerors were not even human but demons—who had been hostile to humans all along—was enough in itself to instill terror.
While massacres and plundering had not yet occurred, no one knew how long this calm would last.
Conquerors are always harsh, cruel, and unpredictably fickle.
It wouldn’t be strange if taxes suddenly doubled or tripled starting tomorrow, and in the worst case, the demons who were roaming the city could suddenly use their spears and swords to stab and kill people and their families.
In fact, because of this fear, there were talks about fleeing the city or village even now.
However, no matter how great the fear, abandoning all means of livelihood and choosing to flee was never an easy thing.
First of all, finding a new place to settle after the entire Empire had fallen was itself a problem.
Even if such a place existed, there was no real belief that the situation would be any better than here.
Life in a city or village with walls was safer than living in the outside world, where monsters roamed.
Thus, humans who could not even escape lived day by day with the burden of fear.
But then…
For better or worse, humans are animals of adaptation.
Even the heaviest fear would gradually become numb after a day or two.
In fact, about two months after the Empire’s fall at the hands of the demons, most people had resumed their usual work.
The once quiet city now heard voices again.
Fields that had been abandoned for a time now saw people returning to pull weeds and spread fertilizer.
In that short time, humans had begun to live their daily lives once more.
And then, around that time, a newly proclaimed ‘law’ was announced in front of them.
“What is this?”
“What is going on here…?”
“Hmm…”
A long passage written in the center of the village.
The faces of those who saw it showed various emotions.
Some expressed curiosity.
Others showed joy.
And some had deep concerns on their faces.
Even though they were the same humans, the reactions were as diverse as they could be.
The contents written were as follows.
From this time forward, all forms of discrimination among humans within the Empire shall be abolished.
All humans are equal under the demons.
They have the right to enjoy freedom under the demons.
Nobles, commoners, slaves, men, women, the rich, and the poor.
All forms of discrimination between classes and related harmful practices will be abolished.
Those who have been unfairly discriminated against will receive appropriate compensation.
“…?”
“No. What does this mean… Does this mean that nobles and we are all the same now?”
People expressed confused reactions.
However, some among them smiled with joy and spoke.
“This is truly wonderful. With this, we won’t be unjustly tormented by those nobles anymore.”
“Those who only rode on their bloodlines and acted high and mighty… It’s the demons who enacted this, but the law itself is truly excellent.”
“It even says in the holy scriptures, doesn’t it? All humans are equal before God. Now, the time has come for His words to truly be put into practice!”
“Hmm…”
“No, what is this…”
For those who had suffered persecution because of their social status, just the fact that those above them were being brought down was enough to make them feel good.
Of course, the faces of those who had been above them were, as expected, visibly crumpling in real time…
Still, none of them could openly express anger about it.
After all, there were demons armed with spears and swords standing beside the proclamation.
In the midst of this restless atmosphere, people’s gazes shifted to the following details…
The section about the ‘compensation’ for those who had been discriminated against.
The contents regarding compensation are as follows.
1. To eliminate the land ravaged by war, the tax rate will be raised by 10%, to a total of 30%. Additionally, taxes that were previously only levied on commoners will now be collected from the nobles as well. The basic tax rate will be set at 60% of the income, double the previous rate applied to commoners, considering the sacrifices they have made.
2. Facilities will be established and supported for the elderly who have nowhere to lean on and for orphans with no place to go. This project will be funded by taxes collected from the nobles and citizens.
3. Support funds will be given to help the poor rise again.
The proclamation also contains numerous other measures aimed at reducing discrimination against women, mixed-race individuals, and other marginalized groups.
The contents were morally not bad at all, and most people nodded in agreement as they read it…
However, at the same time, a question and concern began to grow in their hearts.
“But… is this really all possible?”
“I expected taxes to go up, but… I wonder if that will be enough.”
The measures themselves were certainly good.
The problem, however, was that implementing them would likely consume an enormous amount of money.
If implemented normally, this could not be better. But those with a more realistic perspective couldn’t help but question whether this could be feasible with the Empire’s now collapsed power.
Meanwhile…
While most people merely had doubts, there were a few who harbored real anger and dissatisfaction as they read this.
“Those filthy demons… How dare they mock us like this?”
“Are they telling us to pay taxes for these lowly things? I’d rather die than do that!”
“They want to take more taxes from the merchants? Do they think some people trade dirt for a living? I know farming is important, but isn’t this going too far?”
“Do they think we’ve been just sitting around doing nothing all this time? How hard it is to manage people, and now they’re taking from us like this. What motivation do we have to keep working?”
There was a general belief that nobles and wealthy merchants were exploitative, cruel figures who exploited the common people, but in reality, this was far from the truth.
The image of the wealthy merchant sitting on piles of gold coins, counting money, was one that many had of those called “tycoons,” while the typical image of a noble was one of sitting in high places, partying, and living a comfortable life.
However, in reality, the stress they faced was not less than that of commoners; it might even have been worse.
Merchants always had to risk their lives.
Farmers might only face raids while working in the fields, but merchants had to pass through paths teeming with demons, risking their lives just to deliver goods.
That’s why merchants spent large sums hiring adventurers or personally learned magic and swordsmanship.
Nobles also faced their own professional struggles.
To manage a city, they had to quickly identify what was lacking or problematic and address it on the spot.
If roads were damaged, they had to repair them.
If there was a famine, they had to distribute grain, and if there was an abundant harvest, they had to buy up surplus for the future.
On top of that, they had to manage relations with neighboring lords and even the imperial family.
While commoners only had to care for their own households, nobles had to look after dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of households.
When a commoner’s household collapsed, only their own house was ruined, but when a noble’s household fell, entire towns or cities could be lost under the weight of the responsibility.
Of course, there were some nobles who shirked their duties, but the truly incompetent and irresponsible ones were usually eliminated long ago.
Even so, the nobles endured the burdens of responsibility through their higher incomes, the sense of superiority granted by their status, and the power of their position.
However, this new proclamation completely trampled on all their efforts.
Moreover, those who were dissatisfied with the proclamation were not only the wealthy merchants or nobles.
Men who had devoted themselves to their families and households.
Adult men, as the core labor force, were naturally expected to do more work than others.
Moreover, in times of war, they had to pick up weapons and risk their lives on the battlefield, whether they wanted to or not.
As compensation, the men in the household had the largest share of inheritance and the final say in the household’s matters.
However, the proclamation contained a clause that would strictly restrict these rights in the name of “prohibiting discrimination.”
Of course, it was unlikely that the demons would intervene directly in the affairs of households.
But the fact that such content existed certainly left a feeling of discomfort.
Thus, the demon’s oppressive decree, made under the guise of promoting freedom and equality, began to be implemented amid the expectations and concerns of many.
And the result soon became clear to Mari, who had prepared and enacted it.