When Jack and Leofric entered Isoldea’s study room, there were two glasses of wine on a table.

“I’m bloody thirsty,,” Leofric smiled at Isoldea.

She in turn glared at him. “These glasses are for Lord Zodark and I. Good wine would be wasted on a barbarian such as yourself.”

Leofric scoffed at her. Clearly not agreeing being called a barbarian even though his primary class is [Barbarian].

“Enough you two,” Jack reprimanded them both as he sat down in one of the couches. “We have more pressing matters. Does anyone know where we are?”

They both shook their heads.

“We’re clearly not in our World,” said Isoldea.

“I’ve sent [Scouts] already,” Leofric stated. “They’ve yet to return. I’m hopeful they’ll return with a better [Map] than we have now.”

Jack turned to Isoldea. “And what is the status of the palace? Was there damage to its structure due to our unexpected transportation?”

“I believe not, my lord. The palace is mostly fine. Except we’re missing a well to get fresh water and the palace’s cesspit is also missing. Which is a major sanitary concern.”

“I see. Then have you started construction?”

“There are no stone or metal quarries nearby to acquire the resources. We’ll have to use our reserves.”

“Then use the reserves,” Jack gave her permission.

“Very well, my lord,” she nodded.

“Is there anything else I need to know about?” Jack asked.

They both shook their heads.

“Good. Isoldea, could you call a general meeting. I want to brief the staff of the recent events and assure them that we’re on top of things.”

Jack never worked as a manager or as a boss. But he knew from his job working in a burger joint that the manager usually informs the staff of new developments.

Isoldea and Leofric also agreed that this general meeting was needed.

“Excellent, my lord,” they both stated.

Maybe he was a natural fit for being a [Demon Lord].

…

Everyone in the palace heard of the announcement made by Lord Zodark. They gathered in the throne room.

The [Cooks], [Maids], [Guards], [Scribes], [Court Mages] and [Servents] were present.

Jack was surprised that a new class of [Concubines] were also invited to this meeting. He also noted another addition that wasn’t present in the game, [Blood Priestesses].

The palace’s [Servants] built a canopy with opaque silk curtains in the corner of the room so that the [Concubines] would be present for the meeting without coming into direct contact with the rest of the staff.

Jack coughed to get everyone’s attention, “Ahem!”

All eyes went to him.

And everyone paid attention to him immediately.

Jack’s throat tightened. Having people actually interested in what he was going to say was a new development.

“For those who haven’t noticed yet, the Demon Palace has been transported to a new world. This was unexpected and we’ve yet to figure out the cause of this event.”

A couple of nods.

“But as your Lord, so long as I have air in my lungs, I’ll make certain that we remain strong and secure.”

He continued.

“I assure each and everyone of you that any obstacle we’ll face shall be overcomed. Together, we’ll forge a path of strength, stability and prosperity. There's no challenge we cannot conquer and no goal we cannot achieve. We will get through this..”

The staff clapped loudly. “Hail, Lord Zodark. Glory to Our Liege!”

Jack’s heart was beating quickly.

[Acquired New Trait]!

[Charismatic Leader]!

A trait? He never knew there were such traits like [Charismatic Leader].

This new world came with new classes and new traits. There was much uncertainty ahead of them.

…
…

When nighttime arrived, Jack was sitting on a wooden bench in the palace garden. He gazed at the night sky. It was as beautiful as the one from Earth.

But because there was no light pollution from city lights, the night sky was vibrant with thousands of stars.

He sighed. Was there a way to go back home, he wondered.

He had a suspicion that his sudden transportation was due to that bracelet that got stuck on his arm.

Jack looked at his [Inventory] for that bracelet. It wasn’t there.

While his ultimate goal was to go back home and return to his former life, for now he accepted that this was his temporary home.

He knew he wasn’t Lord Zodark. He wasn’t a [Demon Lord]. He was just some kid who wanted to get on with his real life.

But he knew that everyone around him saw him as Lord Zodark, the great [Demon Lord].

So he had to play that part. And play that part well. He had to make sure to build a strong realm.

Jack didn’t know if the denizens of this new world were friendly to demons. Usually, a [Demon Lord] gets defeated by the [Heroes].

Was he therefore the ‘Bad Guy’ in this world?

If Jack and the demons were to be safe, they needed to be strong.

There’s a famous thought experiment in game theory known as the prisoner’s dilemma. It shows that even though it's in the best interest of both players to cooperate, the rational thing for each player is to backstab the other player.

At first it might make no sense to not cooperate. You’ll both be set free or receive a very short prison sentence by working together. Unfortunately, the cost of being betrayed is too great. It’s always best to backstab as you’ll always be better off.

Being the sucker who trusted the wrong guy will land you a very long prison sentence.

And this is the situation Jack felt he and the demons were in. He could assume that demons will be welcomed in this world by the people . But if it turns out he is wrong and he never built up his defences and weapon supplies, they’ll get wiped out.

As the Romans once said: If you want peace, prepare for war.

Jack stood up. He swore from this day on to do everything in his powers to make the demons strong enough to remain safe.

The next morning, Jack woke up to an update from the System.

[Map Update]!