The Value of Every Individual

Grue froze, clearly not expecting the Demon Lord to suddenly ask such a question.

He lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his clothes, struggling internally for a moment before answering in a voice tinged with uncertainty.

“I… I think it should be ability.”

“That’s right.”

Vivian’s hand gently rested on Grue’s somewhat thin shoulder, patting it meaningfully.

“Remember this well—no matter how others mock or belittle you, you must clearly know in your heart where your value lies.”

“You have mathematical talent beyond ordinary people, something no pure-blood noble can compare to, and in my view, this is what matters most.”

Upon hearing Vivian’s words, Grue’s eyes grew moist.

An irrepressible mix of bitterness and warmth surged through the boy’s heart—this was the first time in his long, bleak upbringing that someone had so directly and affirmatively acknowledged his worth, rather than endlessly condemning his “impure” bloodline.

This was the first time he had been so affirmed.

“Lord Demon.”

He sniffled sharply, a newfound courage prompting him to lift his head and look directly at Vivian.

“I… I have a dream.”

“Oh? Tell me about it.”

Vivian tilted her head slightly, curiosity flashing in her eyes, a gentle smile curling her lips.

“I want…”

Grue took a deep breath.

“I want to help you calculate this world clearly.”

Vivian was taken aback, this somewhat beyond her expectations.

“You want to calculate the world clearly?”

“Yes.”

Light began to burn fervently in Grue’s eyes.

“You said mathematics is the language for describing the world’s laws, so I thought—if we could use numbers to calculate everything in this world clearly—how many people there are, how many resources, how to allocate them most reasonably, how to develop most efficiently—wouldn’t that make the Evernight Territory stronger?”

“I want to become the sharpest ‘abacus’ in your hands, helping you build Evernight Territory into the most powerful place in the world! Even among our kin, many share the same ambitions and ideas!”

Vivian gazed at the mixed-blood boy before her, a feeling beyond words welling up in her heart.

Calculate the world clearly… wasn’t this what she had always wanted to do?

Using modern management thinking, data, and logic to transform this chaotic and backward demon society, and ultimately this world filled with hatred and ignorance.

Though Grue didn’t know concepts like “big data,” “statistics,” or “operations research,” he instinctively sensed the power of numbers and the value of rational planning.

This child… his future achievements might far exceed her imagination.

“Good.”

Vivian restrained her smile, her expression becoming utterly solemn.

“From today on, you are my personal disciple—I will teach you everything I know about mathematics, and you will use this knowledge to help me build a better Evernight Territory.”

“Yes, Lord Demon! I will not let you down!”

Grue nodded vigorously, his eyes full of determination.

In the days that followed, Grue became Vivian’s “closed-door disciple.”

Every evening, he would come to Vivian’s office in the academy for private lessons, and the content Vivian taught him far exceeded ordinary students’ courses—from advanced arithmetic to elementary algebra, from geometry to basic calculus ideas, even including some foundational statistics concepts.

Grue was like a sponge, absorbing this knowledge voraciously.

Though with the Demon Lord’s physical constitution, her past-life memories were now crystal clear, Vivian’s mind only contained the basic knowledge she had read. For further technological leaps, she lacked the related concepts.

To achieve technological breakthroughs required deeper, more professional research and development, so what she aimed to do was “plant seeds,” spreading her knowledge and ideas, letting the young people who accepted them branch out!

Moreover, Grue’s performance far exceeded Vivian’s expectations—not only in learning, but he would actively think about applying this knowledge practically—

And this was exactly what Vivian wanted.

For example, he proposed establishing a “population census system,”

Recording each resident’s age, occupation, and skills in detail to allocate work more reasonably.

Again, he designed a “material flow ledger,”

Clearly tracking the source and destination of every batch of grain and every magic crystal to prevent corruption and waste.

Though these ideas were still rough, they already showed Vivian the prototype of “modern management.”

Only Luna had some small grievances about it.

“Lord Demon, you’ve been spending too much time on Grue lately.”

Two days later, the little succubus finally couldn’t hold back and grumbled, even her heart-tipped tail drooping listlessly, her tone laced with obvious jealousy.

“We old-timers are almost forgotten by you.”

Seeing the pouting little succubus before her, clearly dissatisfied, Vivian couldn’t help but smile bitterly and poked her tender cheek.

“Jealous?”

“N-No!”

Luna’s face flushed, but her tail swung rapidly, betraying her guilt.

“I just think Grue… well, he’s smart, but he’s just a kid. Why does he get so much of Lord Demon’s attention?”

“Because he has talent and is willing to learn.”

Vivian said seriously.

“Luna, you must understand—cultivating talent isn’t favoritism; it’s rational resource allocation. Grue’s mathematical gift is once-in-a-century. If I don’t nurture him properly, that would be the real waste.”

“But…”

“Besides.”

Vivian changed tack.

“You don’t need to undervalue yourself. Your teaching talent is equally outstanding. Among the first batch of students, in these two weeks since opening, the class you handle has the fastest progress and highest student satisfaction. This shows you have the potential to be an excellent teacher.”

“R-Really?”

Hearing Vivian’s praise, Luna’s eyes lit up.

“Of course.”

Vivian nodded.

“So stop being jealous and focus on your own tasks—Evernight Territory needs computing geniuses like Grue, but also excellent teachers like you who can ignite others’ passion for learning.”

“Everyone has their irreplaceable position and value. Do you understand?”

“Hehe, I get it, Lord Demon. I’ll keep completing my tasks~”

Luna cheered up and bounced away, while Vivian watched her retreating figure, a smile curling her lips.

These subordinates who followed her, though each unique, were all quite adorable.

Shaking her head, Vivian continued her work—unconsciously, another day slipped by, and outside, the night was deep and quiet.

Vivian had just finished reviewing the last document and stretched her stiff muscles to rest when she once again sensed that familiar fluctuation—from deep within the mine.

And this time, the mine’s fluctuation was much stronger than before.

It felt as if something was calling to her.

“It’s come again…”

Vivian frowned, looking toward the mine.

She had been busy with academy affairs lately and had temporarily set aside investigating the mine’s anomalies.

But now, it seemed something was changing there, and accelerating—strangely, the magic she had set hadn’t triggered any alarms, and Blackstone Town had been stably producing Evernight crystals these past days, with nothing unusual.

“Perhaps I should check tomorrow, but there’s a project tomorrow… I’ll go after handling it.”

She murmured to herself, then sighed lightly and returned to her tent to rest.

Above the night, moonlight flowed like water.

And deep within that distant mine, a pair of eyes slowly opened in the darkness.

Those eyes were as profound as Evernight crystals.