Subjective Initiative

Vivian watched with a faint, satisfied smile as her head maid and the young succubus stood silently in thought.

They were thinking—not just mindless tools running on preset logic or routines.

That alone was enough to ease her mind.

At the very least, she had room and methods to improve her subordinates, rather than being stuck with a party of allies who only had fixed stats and nothing more.

As long as she guided and educated them patiently… there was hope for the future.

Besides, within the Evernight Territory, she held absolute rule and complete authority. Her power was second to none.

Compared to a start-from-zero scenario, this was already far from the worst possible opening.

“Still not getting it?”

Vivian glanced toward her loyal head maid as she poured herself a cup of hot tea, taking a sip to refresh her mind before moving on to the next task.

“Mmm… probably not,”

Aria and Luna exchanged a glance, then replied with a bit of embarrassment.

“In that case, let me give you a comparison,”

Vivian thought for a moment, then raised a single finger.

“What do you think merchants exist for? Is it to facilitate trade, or…”

“It’s—it’s for profit!”

Prompted by Vivian’s hint, both Aria and Luna seemed to realize something, but the little succubus Luna was the first to speak up with the correct answer.

“Exactly. For profit.”

Vivian snapped her fingers in approval and gave a small nod.

“People don’t get up early for nothing. Merchants wake at dawn and work late into the night, traveling between cities, territories, settlements, towns—even the filthiest goblin tribes—just to chase after what?”

“Of course—regional scarcity and the profit that comes from information gaps.”

“In other words—interest.”

“Merchants work themselves to the bone, maintaining commercial activity across all regions. They exploit information asymmetry and commodity scarcity to generate profit. After paying the necessary taxes, whatever remains becomes their net income.”

“The right to profit is welded to the idea of personal initiative. If a merchant isn’t allowed to earn, why would they bother engaging in something so complex and draining?”

As Vivian explained further, the confusion on Aria and Luna’s faces gradually faded.

“It’s the same with serfs and slaves.”

“If everything they produce is taken away in the end, how much motivation do you think they’ll have left?”

“As long as they meet the minimum quota and receive just enough supplies to survive, why bother doing more?”

Vivian continued calmly.

“After all, any extra effort just benefits someone else, not themselves. So why should they try harder? If a job could be done in half a day, isn’t it easier to stretch it out over the whole day instead?”

“That… does make sense.”

“Mhm.”

Aria and Luna exchanged another glance. Following Vivian’s logic step by step, they finally grasped the point.

“Human initiative is inseparable from self-interest.”

“If people see no hope for the future, why would they throw themselves into production with enthusiasm?”

“And besides, even I have limited energy.”

“I can’t personally handle and resolve every issue. In truth, not everyone is foolish—many problems can be solved more efficiently if people just think for themselves rather than waiting for me to act.”

“Which is why we have to give them hope.”

“And more importantly, give them a reason to act for themselves.”

“Now, do you understand?”

Vivian looked at the two with a slight smile, hoping they could glean something meaningful from her explanation.

“Um… Demon Lord…”

Aria timidly raised her hand.

“What does ‘initiative’ mean?”

“Yeah! What is initiative, anyway? I’ve never heard that word before!”

……

Vivian was momentarily speechless.

“You can think of it as a person’s willingness to respond actively and make choices in reaction to external or internal stimuli… wait, that’s too complicated.”

“Just take it to mean the motivation to solve problems on your own, okay?”

“Oh! Got it!”

“So that’s what it means. As expected of the Demon Lord—so wise and knowledgeable.”

……

Vivian sighed inwardly but didn’t press further.

After all, this world was what it was.

But deep down, she understood all too well—reforming society and institutions wasn’t as simple as just wanting change.

Every system had its logic and was born of its time.

Whether a change was warranted always came down to a deeper factor—productivity.

Was the society truly at the point where transformation was necessary?

From her recent observations, Vivian was convinced that, at least within the parts of the world she could see, the s*ave and serf systems were no longer compatible with the current level of productivity.

Masses of people were being thrown into repetitive, low-efficiency labor.

They used sheer numbers to produce basic goods at the lowest possible efficiency just to sustain the military and the ruling class.

And those people?

They had no upward mobility.

No access to education or knowledge, no chances, no opportunities.

They were born into the land their ancestors tilled—and would die on it the same way, never having left.

Yes, the Demon Clan technically assigned tasks based on individual racial traits and specialties, pairing work with reasonable groupings.

Their productivity was remarkably high.

But even so, the resources produced were heavily exploited, and resource waste was serious.

Upper society—whether in the former Faro Fortress or Vivian’s previous castle—enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle.

But outside the cities?

The common folk lived little better than savages.

Society was practically distorted.

So now, Vivian’s goals weren’t just about motivating the masses.

She had to cut out the middle layers entirely.

That said, she couldn’t explain her vision or long-term plans to others—not even to Aria and Luna, the two subordinates she trusted the most.

What Vivian could do… was break her grand vision into steps.

Split it into stages.

Piece by piece.

And then quietly, steadily build it all up.

What she did today?

That was just the beginning—the absolute foundation.

It didn’t even qualify as a proper step toward rebuilding Evernight City.

So from now on, Vivian had to get strict.

Because if they couldn’t even handle the fundamentals… what future could they hope to talk about?

And as it turned out—Vivian’s measures worked.

The very next morning, the early shift’s work progress skyrocketed.