The shop was quiet for a moment as it filled only with the sound of Lilith and Varania enthusiastically eating a dish. Even though they didn't need it for survival, they clearly enjoyed it.
Lilith took the last bite from her plate and let out a satisfied sigh. Her good mood was completely restored. Her gaze drifted from me over to the no-shoes area where Orla was still sitting.
She tilted her head. "Thou knowest, Darya…" she began, turning her sparkling eyes back to me. "Tell me. How didst thou find a human kingdom? Was it dreadfully boring?"
"Dreadfully boring?" I asked…
"Ay, thou knowest, thou hast these kinds of stuff in here. So, as thou didst visit the human realm, methought thou wouldst find the kingdom kind of more boring than thy place. (Yeah, you know, you have this kinds of stuff in here. So, as you visited the human's realm, I thought you would find the kingdom kind of more boring than your place.)."
I chuckled at her assumption. "Actually, it was quite the opposite. I found it kind of antiquated and charming in its own way."
"Hoo…" Her eyes lit up…" Muranu, thou sayest?" She leaned forward with her chin resting on her hand. "And what didst thou think of this human's little lord? Is he as pious and dull as his subjects?"
I paused and tried to answer… "Pious and dull, huh? Well, I don't know about that in our first meeting, right?"
"What dost thou mean?"
"Do you know any kind of creature in just the first meeting?"
"Fair point," she replied, leaning back in her chair.
"However, is he young enough to become the lord of the realm?" I asked her…
"Humans are short-living creatures…" She leaned forward. "I have seen a king in just 4 years old. I have seen a king in his 80s. Age is but a number when it comes to ruling in a human's mind."
"Yes, but do time and experience come hand in hand for him to become a wise and just ruler?" I enquired, intrigued by her perspective on leadership as the demon lord. "For example, you…You have lived for thousands of years… You have seen a lot of changes in this world… Surely, you would know what is a good thing for your kin and what is a bad thing for your kin."
"Indeed, thou hast a great point… That's Darya, my favourite human… Thou art always fascinating with thy view…" She continued, "However, thou art applying thy logic to short-lived creatures. 'Twill become a flaw."
"A flaw? How so?"
"Wisdom, as thou calledst it," she explained, "cometh not just from the time or length of years but from the nature of the being. I am ancient, yes. Yet I am also…me, Lilith. If a demon tries to challenge me and win the seat…" Spontaneously, Varania startled, yet Lilith continued, "That demon shall not only have to face my years of experience but also my essence as a being. This demon will start to realise who I am and what I am as the demon lord. This demon will understand that I, Lilith the demon lord… am Lilith, so who shall be the next demon lord? They could not replicate what I did to my kin."
She leaned forward again, her eyes twinkling. "A mortal king could live one hundred years and learn only how to be a better and more efficient tyrant. A child-king, who ruled for but four years, might be guided by wiser counsel and bring prosperity." She looked at Orla. "For example, the commander thou hast brought… Her wisdom may be but a mask of her fear… Fear of death, fear of their goddess, fear of each other, and haply fear of me. It maketh her drive and try to think about how to get rid of her fear or e'en question her own fear."
Her eyes went back into mine. "Mortals are fickle, Darya. This Muranu… thou mayest judge him not by his age, but by the fears that drive him."
I chuckled and said, "Then maybe driving him is you…"
She smiled, or maybe smirked. "Thou art right, my existence is the one who drives all humans' lord…"
I asked her again, "So you don't think experience matters?"
"Oh, it matters," she chuckled. "It mattereth greatly. Yet my experience is not their experience. Thou canst not compare the wisdom of the mountain to the wisdom of an insect that lives but a day."
A mountain and an insect. he wasn't wrong, yet I felt her analogy was incomplete, as leadership wasn't just experience…
"You're right, you can't compare them," I said, "But what if an 'insect', as you call him, built a mountain of his own? A different kind of mountain, one that even you might find fascinating."
Her eyes lit up as it seemed her curiosity was instantly piqued. She leaned forward, with her chin resting on her hand. "Hooo?" she purred. "Amuse me, Darya. Tell me of thy insect's mountain."
"In the other world's ancient history," I began, "there was a man. He was the king of a small, rough kingdom, hardly a power at all. Yet he was at war with the greatest empire of his time. An empire ruled by a king who thought as you do. A king who believed in power, fear, and crushing all in his path as the only way to rule…"
I continued, "Let's call the king of the small kingdom, Cyrus…He didn't just fight this empire. He conquered it. And then he conquered another, and another. He built the largest and most powerful empire that had ever been seen up to that point. He was an 'insect' who devoured mountains."
"But here…" I said, leaning in, "is the fascinating part. When he rode into the capital of his greatest enemy, he wasn't met with terror. The people cheered for his arrival. He even ruled through the kid who had ruled through fear."
"A cleverer form of tyranny, perhaps?" Lilith suggested, still smirking.
"Your words are actually what his enemies thought," I replied. "Yet he didn't burn their temples or their buildings; he went to them and repaired them, honouring their deity. He didn't execute the old leaders; he gave them positions in his own court. He found entire nations of people who had been captured and enslaved by the old empire, and he… let them go. He gave them money from his own treasury to travel home and rebuild their own cities."
"He gave away his spoils?" Varania interjected, looking scandalised. "Was he a fool?"
"Was he?" I asked, my gaze fixed on Lilith. "His empire was the most stable and diverse in the world at that moment. It lasted for over two hundred years…"
"So," I finished, "his life was just a blink of an eye to you. Yet was his leadership the wisdom of an 'insect'? Or was it just a different kind of mountain?"
A slow smile returned to Lilith's face. "Darya…" she said, her voice soft. "Thou art truly, truly my favourite human. A fascinating view, indeed," she continued, "Yet, thy tale is from the other world… Not from this world… Is there any human who hath that kind of view in this world?"
"Well, I don't know… Perhaps yes or perhaps not…"
"And again, Darya…" Suddenly, her eyes lashed out at me with a smirk. "Thy tale is in a world where humans live with each other. Where short-lived creatures live, and I heard and thought, there are no long-lived creatures…. What would befall if this Cyrus lived in a world where thou didst encounter long-lived creatures?"
I paused and asked her, "What do you want to tell me about?"
Lilith's smirk widened. "I am telling thee that thy tale is a lovely one, Darya. Truly," she said as her voice softened. "But 'tis a tale for a world of insects."
She leaned forward. "What would thy Cyrus do, I wonder, if he rode into my capital? Dost thou think he would offer to repair my palace? Or grant me gold from his treasury?"
She let out a soft chuckle. "I would find his 'respect'… quint." Her eyes locked with mine. "My point is that his way only worketh when all the creatures are mayflies. When the long-lived creatures enter, the rules change. Thou hast seen and met the long-lived creatures: Elf, Dragon, Demon, and Dryad. They have shared their wisdom and knowledge with thee. Cyrus would not understand their ways."
I held her gaze, somehow a small smile playing on my own lips. "You're right. Of course, you are. He couldn't treat you like some human king. He would be a fool to try, and Cryus was no fool."
I leaned forward, mirroring her. "But, you're still missing the heart of the story. His wisdom wasn't 'being nice'. It was understanding self-interest."
"He didn't repair those temples out of the goddess of his heart. He did because he understood that a happy populace is a stable populace. He didn't free the slaves because he was a generous individual; he did it to create loyal allies. He didn't just conquer the mountain, Lilith… he learnt their geology. And he found their fault lines."
I leaned back. "So no, this Cyrus wouldn't ride into your capital and offer you gold. However, he would spend years, perhaps his entire life, just watching…"
"He would watch the elves and learn their pride. He would watch the dragons and learn their arrogance. And he would watch you…" My smile widened. "He would try to learn what a being who has everything could possibly want. He would learn your rules…"
"His 'mountain' wasn't just an empire. It was the principle of adaptation. And that… that kind of wisdom works in any world. Even yours." I paused, then added softly, "Maybe it's the only wisdom that truly matters for a short-lived creature. How to not get stepped on by the giants… or how to make the giants see you as more than just an insect."
The shop was quiet for a moment. Lilith's smirk was gone with a sharp analytical stare. She tilted her head and finally showed a smile that spread across her face.
"Hooo…Darya," she said with her soft voice. "'Learn their geology'… 'find their fault lines'." She tapped on the counter. "Thou art not just my favourite human. Maybe thou art a dangerous one…Or maybe thou art the real Cyrus in this world…"