He narrowed his eyes, wondering what he should do about this. The most important right now … “What did you tell her?”

“That I didn’t know but that I at least hadn’t heard anything of the like.”

Ye Yang nodded. “Good. If Na Ling or anyone else asks in the future …” He wondered if he should let the assistants convey the same message again but then, people like Na Ling would only wait until the very end. It might be better to make his intentions a little more obvious. “Tell them that I will only cast my vote on the last day as we wrap up the competition.”

Yes, if he didn’t do this, things would only drag out. It was better to let them know for sure that they had no reason to wait and should just obediently cast their own votes first. As for how they decided to vote and whether that was because of them trying to guess his mind … well, he really couldn’t influence that any longer.

The assistant inclined her head. “I will. Should I inform the others to do the same?”

Ye Yang gave a hum. “Yes and tell the guards as well.” Since there were people who would like to try and influence the situation, he should be even more thorough in spreading this information. As soon as everyone who was interested was aware of the answer to their apparently most pressing question, the topic should die down soon. Of course, new ones would come up but he could only deal with them one by one. This was merely the first step.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The assistant inclined her head again and when he waved at her, she walked over to the next assistant, starting to spread his comment.

Ye Yang felt satisfied and decided to focus his attention elsewhere. He had already seen all of the paintings before so even though he hadn’t actually chosen the one he wanted to vote for in the end, he did have a few favorites. Thus, he wasn’t in a hurry to look at the paintings again and figure out which one to cast his coin for. Instead, he focused on the other visitors who were currently in the building.

There were quite a lot. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the competition had just opened so curiosity was at its highest or maybe the people living close by were genuinely interested in the proceedings and final result. Demons who lived further away were slightly more unlikely to come but it wasn’t like he could judge who lived where just based on their appearances.

Anyway, watching them from the corner of his eye while he pretended to look at the paintings one by one, he found that most of them actually did appreciate the art that had been hung up. Sure, some couldn’t help their wandering eyes and would check who else was there every now and then but this wasn’t surprising. No, it was already good that they at least seemed to have come for both purposes instead of just wanting to mingle.

He smiled to himself and finally turned his back on the first floor and walked up to the second.

The topic of the painting could be chosen by the artists themselves so they were varied. There were portraits, landscapes, scenes set in the city, depictions of ordinary life in the demon realm, life-like paintings of beasts one could find in certain regions, flower arrangements, and many more. Before the opening ceremony, he had sorted through all of them and put them in categories, hanging similar ones together for the time being. As a result, the first floor only held paintings that could be classified as having to do with nature while the second floor showcased daily life and the city.

Well, this was only the case for the time being though. To ensure that everything would stay fair, the paintings would be re-hung every now and then, moving the ones currently at the top of the building to the first floor and switching the layout of the others around as well. Otherwise, who could say for sure if everyone would indeed look through the whole building?

For now, this didn’t seem to be a problem. The second floor looked roughly the same in terms of the number of visitors as the first. If there was a decrease, he couldn’t see it here. It could only be that this would become obvious on the even higher levels but he wanted to observe here first.

Once again, Ye Yang started to make his round through the floor, pretending to look at the paintings while he actually observed the other demons around him. There was no problem with the guards or assistants and he didn’t notice any of the visitors trying to make trouble either. They simply looked at the paintings and also checked who else was around them every now and then. It really was the same as below.

This time though, Ye Yang stayed a little longer. He couldn’t tell much on the first floor but when it came to the second, he still wanted to observe where everyone would go when they had finished making their rounds through this level. Would they go up and continue seeing all the paintings? Or would they go back down and leave?

He couldn’t force anyone to look at every single last painting. Of course, he hoped that they would so that the painting that truly appealed to most demons could be chosen in the end. But he could only rely on luck and a few strategies to help with achieving that. As for the rest, it was up to everyone else.

Watching now, it seemed like most people did go up to the third floor after walking around the second for a while. But he indeed spotted a few that went down again as well. Since he hadn’t been there long, it was tough to say whether they might have come from above and just taken another look around here on the way out though.

Well, it sure seemed like he should continue to observe. Both today and also in the future. After all, this wouldn’t stay the only event and he had already started to plan the follow-up. He needed to learn from the lessons of this one so he could ensure that each of them would go more smoothly than the last. That way, soon enough, the demon realm could enter a new period of prosperity, something they had been sorely lacking in the last few thousand years.