Early the next morning, Cifera, having just woken up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes and slowly made her way toward the living room.
However, just as she reached the doorway, her steps suddenly came to a halt, her blue pupils shrinking to pinpoints!
It couldn't be helped, as with her sensitive ears, she could clearly hear that there were people inside the living room—a lot of people!
Cifera cautiously poked her head through the narrow crack in the door, revealing only a tiny portion of her face, and the moment she saw what was inside, her entire body froze instantly!
Right before her eyes, the spacious and usually quiet living room was now filled with men and women wearing luxurious robes adorned with intricate gold thread, silver trim, and gleaming jewels that sparkled beneath the morning light.
Most of them were nobles, accompanied by a few figures dressed in solemn priestly robes, but they all had one thing in common: every single one of them wore expressions of extreme humility, shameless sycophancy, and undisguised fear.
Every one of them stood with their bodies slightly bent forward, their postures rigid and cautious. Judging from their appearances, they clearly did not even dare to breathe too loudly, deliberately restraining their breathing like a flock of quails awaiting judgment.
As a result, the entire room was so quiet that even the faint rustling of robes seemed unusually loud.
At the center of all their gazes sat Lucian on the wide and comfortable sofa in the living room.
He wore nothing more than a simple set of homey clothes and leaned lazily against the soft cushions, looking completely relaxed as though the intimidating crowd before him did not exist. A steaming cup of tea rested in his hand as he leisurely brought it to his lips, sipping it at an unhurried pace.
Standing right before Lucian was a middle-aged man who appeared to hold the highest status among everyone present, yet his entire body was drenched in sweat. Beads of perspiration constantly rolled down his temples, but he did not dare wipe them away. Both of his hands carefully supported a tray piled high with glittering scrolls, as though he were presenting the most precious treasures in the world.
Were they land deeds?
Property contracts?
Or perhaps account books?
Seeing those glittering scrolls, Cifera's thoughts couldn't help but wander.
"M-My Lord, th-this is the list of Dolos's major industries and wealth... compiled with our utmost effort..." the sweating man said with a forced smile, his expression stiff and somewhat ugly as he respectfully raised the tray a little higher. "P-Please, have a look..."
Hearing that, everyone remained silent, their hearts hanging by a thread.
No one dared utter even half a word, terrified that the young man before them might kill them over the slightest hint of displeasure.
"Utmost effort, huh?" Lucian raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice. "How dare you disrespect the phrase 'utmost effort' in front of me?"
Even though his voice was not loud, it lashed across the hearts of every noble and priest present like a whip, causing countless faces to turn even paler than before!
*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!*
*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!*
Several of the more timid ones suddenly had their legs give out and collapsed to their knees on the spot, their faces deathly pale as cold sweat streamed down their foreheads!
"City Lord, please forgive us!"
Cifera, who witnessed this absurd scene with her own eyes through the narrow crack in the door, was completely dumbfounded. Her small mouth hung open, revealing her sharp little teeth, while her blue eyes widened to their limits as her mind reeled uncontrollably.
Her reaction was only natural.
What did she just hear?
City Lord?
Lucian?
Was he the new city lord?
Was the one who had slaughtered thousands of nobles and priests overnight, terrifying the survivors into submission like obedient grandchildren, really the same Lucian who had bathed her, cooked delicious meals for her every day, and flicked her forehead with the patience and gentleness of an older brother?
*BOOM!*
As soon as the realization surfaced in her mind, it struck Cifera like a bolt of thunder crashing directly onto her head, leaving her scorched inside and out.
Her entire body stiffened on the spot, her thoughts ground to a complete halt, and she even forgot how to breathe as she stared blankly at the cold and imposing man sitting in the living room.
"So you're the new city lord...?"
Cifera's unconscious mutter was barely louder than a whisper, but in the current deathly silent living room, it sounded exceptionally clear, echoing distinctly through the oppressive atmosphere.
As a result, every pair of eyes in the living room instantly shifted toward the small figure peeking through the doorway.
Lucian also turned his gaze, and when he saw Cifera's cracked, petrified expression, the corner of his lips couldn't help but curl into a faint, meaningful smile.
"Cifera, come here."
Lucian's calm voice broke the suffocating silence that filled the living room and also snapped Cifera out of her frozen state.
Hearing his words, she blankly looked at him before glancing at the nobles and priests who stood there trembling like frightened quails.
At this moment, her little head buzzed even more violently.
Honestly, she simply could not connect the gentle and approachable man before her with the cruel new city lord people spoke of—the man who had slaughtered more than two thousand high-ranking nobles and priests in a single night before hanging their corpses along the city walls for everyone to see.
No matter how hard she tried, those two images simply refused to overlap in her mind.
Cifera slowly walked over with somewhat stiff steps, and as she finally came to Lucian's side, she slowly raised a trembling finger and pointed it at him.
"Y-You... are you really the new city lord?"
"Umu, you could say that," Lucian replied with a faint smile, nodding. "You said you wanted to change Dolos, so I went and ran in the election that night. Kinda got lucky and ended up becoming the new city lord."
Right after saying that, he casually pointed toward the nobles and priests who were trembling so violently that they looked as though they might fall apart at any moment.
"As you can see, they're all on my side."
Upon hearing those words, every noble and priest present couldn't help but scream hysterically in their hearts.
Election?
What kind of election breaks into people's homes in the middle of the night, slaughters more than two thousand nobles and priests, and then hangs their corpses from the city walls?
Knowing that, how could they possibly dare not support him?
If they didn't, they would be the next ones hanging from the city walls!
Not a single noble or priest present could understand how someone could, simply because of a single casual sentence spoken by an eight-year-old girl, storm into the noble district alone, carry out an overwhelming massacre, and seize control of Dolos through absolute force.
In their eyes, Lucian was unquestionably a lunatic.
An absolute lunatic!
Who could possibly have imagined that the ruler of Dolos would change overnight simply because of the little girl standing before them?
After hearing Lucian's reason for taking control of Dolos, the nobles and priests cursed him wildly in their hearts, unleashing every insult they could think of.
Yet not the slightest trace of those thoughts appeared on their faces.
"Yes, yes!"
"City Lord is absolutely right!"
"We support you from the bottom of our hearts!"
Each of them forced out the most ingratiating smile of their entire lives, nodding frantically like pecking chickens, while their voices grew louder one after another as they desperately scrambled to speak first, terrified of being even half a second slower than everyone else.
Cifera looked at these people who had always looked down on commoners like her.
Seeing them now acting so ridiculously humble and terrified, she couldn't help but wonder where all of their former arrogance and superiority had gone.
But in the very next moment, Lucian's casual mention of the 'election' suddenly echoed in her mind once again.
In an instant, her little heart began pounding wildly as a realization, almost like a sudden enlightenment, quietly blossomed within her.
'Lucian became the city lord because of something I casually wished for two days ago?'
As that thought crossed her mind, a warm current mixed with overwhelming shock, deep gratitude, and a faint, indescribable flutter surged through Cifera's heart, gently filling every corner of it.
"Alright."
Lucian waved his hand impatiently, cutting off the nobles' and priests' meaningless declarations of loyalty before they could continue, then turned his gaze toward the still-dazed Cifera.
"Cifera, come here."
Lucian gestured to the nobleman holding the tray.
"On this tray is the list of the 'property' they just handed over. From now on, how Dolos is run... that's up to you."
Immediately after saying those words, Lucian leaned back comfortably against the sofa as though he had just delegated an insignificant chore, completely handing over the authority to the little cat he had picked up beside a trash heap not long ago.
"Me? Up to me?"
Cifera pointed at her own nose, her blue eyes opening wide as she stared at Lucian in disbelief, clearly caught off guard by his abrupt and seemingly casual decision.
"Yeah, to put it simply, you set the rules, and I approve them..."
Lucian replied with a lazy nod, his tone leaving no room for doubt, causing the nobles and priests to be unable to help but stand there completely dumbfounded.
Let a child set the rules?
And a demi-human at that?
At this point, they were one-hundred-percent certain that this man was truly a lunatic!
Cifera looked into Lucian's calm yet serious eyes, then slowly shifted her gaze toward the nobles and priests, whose faces were filled with unconcealed fear and bitterness.
At this very moment, for the first time in her life, her small chest swelled with something she had never experienced before.
Power.
It was a strange feeling, one she had never imagined she would possess.
In the next moment, Cifera took a deep breath, trying her best to recall the stories her grandmother had once told her—what those chivalrous rogues were supposed to do, and everything she herself had longed for during the countless years she had wandered the streets.
"Alright, first!"
Cifera exclaimed, raising a little finger.
"Take all their money and give it to the poor and starving people in the city!"
"Go buy food and clothes, especially for kids like me who don't have a home!"
"Make sure they've got enough to eat and warm clothes to wear!"
As soon as those words left her mouth, the vision of every noble and priest present nearly went dark.
It couldn't be helped.
If she started by confiscating all of their wealth, then everything was basically over for them!
"Second!"
Cifera raised a second finger.
"Make the commoner district just as nice as the noble district! It's gotta be clean with no nasty smells anywhere!"
"Also, there's gotta be clean water and proper lighting too! More importantly, the houses can't be falling apart anymore. They've gotta be sturdy and actually livable!"
"Oh, right, the streets have gotta be fixed too! No more trash piled up all over the place!"
Upon hearing her demands, the nobles and priests felt their hearts bleed as they instinctively calculated just how much money such massive renovations would cost.
"Third!"
Cifera raised her third finger, a sly and mischievous smile spreading across her small face.
"Abolish the anti-fraud decrees!"
"What?!"
One of the nobles could no longer hold himself back and cried out in alarm, his face filled with panic and disbelief.
It should be noted that in Dolos, the anti-fraud decrees were among the most important laws the nobles relied upon to accumulate wealth.
If those decrees were abolished, then how were they supposed to continue exploiting others and enriching themselves?
Lucian, who knew the original story, naturally understood all too well that the so-called anti-fraud decrees had never been laws meant to protect commoners but laws created solely to protect corrupt nobles.
Defrauding or stealing from commoners did not matter in the slightest because no one cared.
However, if someone dared to deceive or steal from a noble, those decrees would immediately come into effect. Once caught, the outcome was absolute: punishment, imprisonment, or even execution.
"Dolos is the city of thieves!" Cifera declared proudly, both hands planted firmly on her hips. "If people can't cheat—uh, I mean, can't use their talents, then how's that even supposed to work? My grandma always said that as long as you don't cheat good guys, it's totally fine to cheat bad guys!"
Right after saying that, she turned toward Lucian with an innocent grin stretched across her face.
"Right?"
Seeing Cifera's act, Lucian almost laughed out loud.
Clearly, this little cat had already come up with her own little plan.
"Umu, makes sense. A city of thieves must have its own vibe."
Lucian voiced his agreement while closing his eyes and nodding repeatedly, putting on the appearance of a wise sage who had just heard profound wisdom.
"Alright, then. From now on, Dolos won't be known as the city of thieves anymore. It'll be known as the city of rogues. Its name's gonna spread all across Amphoreus."
As he spoke, Lucian slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the ashen-faced nobles and priests.
"Do what she says, starting today. Who's in, and who objects?"
Lucian asked casually as his gaze slowly swept across the room.
As soon as that indifferent gaze fell upon them, every noble and priest who met his eyes felt as though a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over their heads, sending violent shivers through their entire bodies.
Object?
Recalling the more than two thousand examples still hanging from the city walls, the nobles and priests immediately trembled before hurriedly lowering their heads and shouting one after another without the slightest hesitation.
"We obey, City Lord!"
"We obey, M-Miss!"
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[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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