CHAPTER 321: ZEPHYRA’S TRAUMAS

"Hmm," I savor my ice cream as I look out the window of the hallway, but soon I see Shogo, that Pandora employee, if she’s in the castle, maybe Pandora is here too.

"Shogo, is Pandora here?" I ask her as she looks at me.

"Zephyra-sama, I’m alone," She speaks with a somewhat strange tone and pronunciation, but it doesn’t matter.

’So she’s not here,’ I see some papers in Shogo’s hand and I get curious.

"What are those papers?" I extend my hand for her to hand them to me, she hesitates for a few seconds before handing them over.

"They’re Pandora’s ideas...I need to deliver them to Elena..." Shogo seems unsure if she should give me these papers or not.

"I’ll deliver them to Elena," I say, placing the ice cream bowl on the window, I don’t want to eat anymore for now.

"O-Okay..." Shogo hesitates again.

"Shogo, do you want to play with Achlys?" I ask, and Shogo’s eyes light up as Achlys, in a cute little dress, emerges from my shadow.

"..." Achlys still doesn’t speak, but she’s attached to me, she likes to listen when I tell her things, and she also does some things for me, so she’s kind of a servant too.

Achlys’ tail looks at me, honestly I’ll never get used to that, I can’t even tell who’s in charge of the body, sometimes it seems like the pale girl in front of me is the one in control, but sometimes it seems like the tail is the one dictating all the actions, so it’s really complicated.

"Achlys, you can go play with Shogo for now," I say as I start walking with the papers in hand, I’m curious about the plans Pandora sent.

Shogo and Achlys start playing together, so I think I won’t need to call Achlys for a while.

I start reading them as I walk to the upper floors, going to Elena’s office, but I stop halfway.

"W-What the hell?" I get chills from the things I read, it’s literally a plan to create a farm using girls to mass-produce milk to deal with the hunger problem.

The paper is full of numbers, calculations, potentially good locations for construction, defense plans, methods, and even payment for the girls to feel more comfortable with the opportunity.

But what terrifies me is not the precision of the orders or the fact that she is planning to use girls in this way, Pandora is cruel and I know that well, so this is still pretty mild compared to things I know she could try to do.

What scares me is the way the numbers are laid out, it’s as if Pandora is treating demons and beastmen as numbers, not as living beings, but as available resources to be spent.

This is terrifying in every possible way, should a king really see his people as numbers and data? It’s amazing how Pandora can be emotional with those she loves, but so cold with the lives of others.

"H-Haha, she’s a monster, what did I expect..." I murmur, a little disturbed, it’s obvious that she’s like this, she’s always been like this, and it’s not something that can be overlooked.

It’s just a little terrifying to know that she has this utilitarian view of the world, as if everything is a chessboard where the pieces are moved or sacrificed based on how much return she gets from it.

"...It’s a price for happiness...but is it really right?" I wonder, looking at the papers, of course Pandora makes everyone happy, her kingdom is a beautiful and great place, and her efforts are what make it a reality.

But is it really right for her to just treat everyone like this? I know the demons don’t care about it, but it’s as if all of Pandora’s efforts to make their lives good are just to use them in the end.

"Is there a problem, Zephyra?" Tsukuyomi appears, asking while I take my eyes off the paper, looking at her.

"...Tsukuyomi, do you think Pandora cares about her people?" I don’t answer her question, I just ask the question that hasn’t left my mind after seeing those numbers on the papers.

"...I don’t know..." Tsukuyomi responds, looking out the window at the kingdom.

"But I think she likes her people in her own way," Tsukuyomi says, surprising me.

"And why do you think that?" Tsukuyomi has read the books about this world, she’s read the things Pandora has done and the way she’s acted for the most part.

"Hmm, it’s because Pandora minimizes losses as much as she pursues profits," Tsukuyomi says with a small smile.

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

"Pandora always aims to cause the least amount of deaths and destruction to her people while trying to profit in some way, but if the option of having more profit arises in exchange for losing more lives, she ends up not choosing it unless it’s really worth it."

"Basically, she only chooses to let her people die if it has a value several times above their lives, I’m not saying she’s a benevolent ruler, but she’s still a ruler who cares about the lives of her people."

"After all, if she didn’t care, why would she work so hard to always improve the problems? There are problems that are bad, but could be left aside."

"Many rulers do that, they only try to fix immediate problems and leave other problems aside, but Pandora always fixes the problems when possible and before they grow too big."

"..." I remain silent and look at the papers again, Tsukuyomi puts her hand in front of me as if to stop me, even without knowing what’s in the papers.

"Zephyra, the right question is not whether Pandora likes her people, the right question is whether Pandora’s people like her, a ruler doesn’t need to love her subjects, only do what’s best for them."

"That’s how monarchy works, a ruler doesn’t need to like or love her subjects, in the end, the duty of a ruler is to ensure stability for her people, and I believe Pandora does that with mastery," Tsukuyomi speaks with a small smile.

"..." I think about the maids, the people outside the castle, and the servants close to Pandora, they all have practically blind loyalty to Pandora, but many like and idolize her.

If you ask any demon, they all only praise the things Pandora has done, not false praises or praises for things she hasn’t done, but always real praises for things that have happened.

"Zephyra, I suggest you study about demons and eat less ice cream, the demons were in complete misery before Pandora’s arrival, according to my studies."

"Pandora worked a miracle in their lives, if you read about other Demon Kings, Pandora is like an ’angel’ to them, there was only one Demon King who did as much for his people as Pandora, and that Demon King is Pandora’s older sister."

"Do you know what that means? Pandora is literally the best ruler they’ve ever had, equaled only by her older sister who also did incredible things for her people."

"Regardless of what Pandora thinks or feels about her people, no one can deny that what she does is a wonder, so don’t question whether she likes them, understand?" Tsukuyomi speaks as I decide to question further.

"So you think Pandora has real affection for her people?"

"...Honestly?" She questions.

"Honestly," I confirm for her to speak honestly.

"I think Pandora doesn’t care about their lives, Pandora has made it clear that she only sees sentimental value in what is close to her, that is, Pandora only likes those who have approached her during her life, she probably doesn’t care about people she’s never seen."

"So I honestly think Pandora is a great ruler, but she’s a ruler who doesn’t love her people, she’s just a responsible ruler who fulfills her duties, that makes her a good ruler."

"Pandora is a ruler who knows how to use the people’s favoritism towards her to her advantage, she keeps them happy, takes care of them, does a lot for them, but only because it’s her duty and she’s a very responsible person."

"I don’t deny that she may have a minimum of affection for her people, but she doesn’t like them deeply," Tsukuyomi sighs.

"And I believe even the demons know this, but they don’t care, it’s natural for living beings to seek what makes them happy and comfortable, even if that something doesn’t love them, many prefer the stability in life rather than true love."

"Do you think the gods or goddesses that mortals worship love them? I bet most don’t even know who they are, that’s the reality, mortals need something to cling to in times of difficulty, and they need something to pour their feelings into."

"They need a symbol, whether that symbol is one of hope or fear, in the end they need someone above them to keep themselves stable," Tsukuyomi speaks as if it were something simple.

"Zephyra, are you addicted to ice cream out of fear? You said ice cream is something that only has happy memories, is that why you can’t stop eating ice cream? You’re clinging to good things out of fear of losing them, aren’t you?" Tsukuyomi speaks confidently.

"...A-Am I..." I hesitate.

"Zephyra, are you afraid that Pandora will change? Are you afraid that she will hurt you again as she did in the past, but do you really think she will do that? Or is it just paranoia?" When Tsukuyomi questions, I freeze.

"..." Tears form in my eyes as Tsukuyomi comes to hug me.

"I’ve watched the lives of mortals a lot, I’ve seen people like you who cling to happy things out of fear of losing everything, but I doubt Pandora will start treating you badly out of nowhere."

"You don’t need to cling to the happiness of the past, just wait for the happiness that will come in the future, the moon is not always full in the sky, but one day it will be, even if you have to wait for it."

"Happiness comes and goes, just enjoy it when it comes and wait, I believe Pandora would also be sad if she knew you were afraid of her and hiding it behind an addiction to ice cream."

"I’m not telling you to stop eating ice cream, just that you shouldn’t have this fear and try to hide it in food, you yourself said how Pandora now takes good care of you, she won’t change out of nowhere."

"You’re drawing conclusions that don’t exist, Pandora is really complex, but also ridiculously simple to understand, just look at what she does for you and you’ll understand," Tsukuyomi speaks, caressing my back and calming me with her honest and somewhat archaic tone.

"...Thank you," I speak with tears falling on her clothes, I needed to hear this from someone.

Hear that Pandora won’t just start hurting me again as she did in the past, hear someone say that she won’t stop being the current loving Pandora.

"You’re really a problematic girl, but I commend you for your strength not to crumble until now, you did well," She says as she caresses my head, keeping the hug for a while.

This conversation really helped in many ways, I’ll stay in the hug for a little longer and then take the papers to Elena.