Chapter 474 [Illustration]
Charlotte’s assessment was that the new Dark Land, Edina, was overly dependent on the single existence of the Demon King.
This was qualitatively different from the idea that the Dark Land couldn’t exist without the Archdemon.
“So... what should be done?” Reinhart asked.
“... First of all, since the food issue inevitably has to be a long-term policy, we need to solve the institutional problems first. There are many minor crimes, but too many incidents that could have been stopped at simple assaults often escalate into murders,” Charlotte said.
“It won’t be easy to increase the number of guards any further. Honestly, even maintaining the current force is difficult,” Reinhart replied.
“This isn’t a problem with the guards,” Charlotte said as she shook her head.
“The punishments for criminals are overly uniform, and they are too simple. Criminals either face execution or are sent to the labor camps, and more often than not, they end up in labor camps rather than being executed. It seems you have a tendency to avoid handing down extreme punishments like execution, right?”
“Well... I thought it might be better to use them as labor rather than just killing them...”
Charlotte shook her head in reply. “Suppose someone gets into a fight with someone they have a grudge against. If a violent incident occurs and the other person is severely injured, the perpetrator is definitely sent to a labor camp. Whether they kill the other person or just beat them up, they still end up in a labor camp. Therefore, some people would just resort to killing because the consequence is the same either way.”
“... What?”
“Of course, this is an extreme example, and not everyone is like that. But there are certainly those who make such choices. That’s why you need to have detailed punishments for each different crime.”