Chapter 134 - The First

When he thought about it, the problem was remarkably simple. If they had come to retrieve a princess, he only had to return her. If they wanted to rescue Hilderan's Crown Princess, he only had to set her free.

"If you return to your kingdom, Hilderan will no longer have any reason to fixate on me."

Of course, with the Thirteenth Princess still here and their humiliation unresolved, that fixation would not disappear entirely. But he could deal a major blow to their momentum. To them, the Thirteenth Princess was a useless invalid. Once they had rescued the Crown Princess, they would watch the Empire's hero's journey and respond afterward rather than escalate matters further themselves.

In other words, he could at least guarantee that he avoided the worst possible outcome: facing two nations at once. With luck, he might even take Hilderan out of the equation altogether.

"... You're sending me back to the kingdom?"

"Yes. Of course, I cannot simply release you, so we will use Hillen to arrange a rescue..."

Berge frowned. Something felt wrong. His eyes met Ernyan's. The smile that always lit her eyes was gone, as was the smile on her lips. This was just like...

'When we first met...'

She looked like the Ernyan Hilderan he had first encountered, gazing at the moonlight in the Thirteenth Princess's detached palace. She had begun smiling the moment she spotted Berge, but that underlying expression had never quite disappeared.

'What is this?'

What was the problem?

"Aren't you happy to return to your kingdom?"

He could not understand it. However enthusiastically she had helped him while calling herself one of the Four Heavenly Kings, she was still human. She was a princess of that kingdom. Unless she intended to die in the tower, she would have to return someday.

"I helped you and became one of your Four Heavenly Kings. You asked me to, my lord."

"I did."

He had not told her to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings. But he had indeed asked her to confuse Hillen Cargill for his sake. Thanks to her, he had captured Hillen Cargill with relative ease.

"I persuaded Lady Kaede, and I told you about the nobles' secret vaults."

"You did."

"Although I couldn't stop the tower's location from getting out, Sir Dafner..."

"You helped kill him. I asked you to ensure his death, and you carried that out perfectly. I am grateful."

She had given him countless smaller kinds of help as well. At first, he had never imagined receiving so much assistance from a kidnapped princess. Now she was an indispensable member of the tower.

"And you still want me to go back?"

"Yes."

But none of that was a reason not to send her back to Hilderan. Regardless of his gratitude toward her, Berge's first priorities were always the tower and himself. If he did not send Ernyan back, he would die. If he did, a path to survival might open. In that case, he had no choice but to choose the latter.

"This is for your sake as well."

Besides, this was the right approach for Ernyan herself. Returning to the kingdom under the guise of a rescue and reclaiming her place was better than staying in the tower and going down with it.

"... I heard people say it was for my sake countless times in the kingdom. Not once was it ever truly just for me."

"You made me promises, my lord. Promises to grant my requests."

"I did, but..."

"I'll use them now. If one isn't enough, then every last one I've saved up."

She spoke distinctly, emphasizing every syllable.

"I. Will not go back."

* * *

... What was this? Why had it turned out this way?

The meeting was over. Ernyan had fled the fifth floor for the fourth, and Berge had dismissed everyone. The idea had come to him on the spur of the moment, but it was a suitable solution. He had therefore expected Ernyan to agree readily.

However cooperative she had been, however sincerely she had embraced being one of the Four Heavenly Kings, she was human. Surely she would be happier in a human kingdom than in a Demon King's tower.

"Simply ignoring her wishes and sending her away... No, that wouldn't work."

"Obviously."

Ernyan Hilderan was more closely involved with this tower than any other human. What if she grew resentful and revealed everything about it? Berge's future would go beyond merely looking black to becoming pitch-dark. The most frightening enemy was always a former ally. He had to find some way to persuade her to return to the kingdom voluntarily.

"You grew far too close to a human princess, just as I feared."

"I cannot deny that. But without her help, we would never have made it this far. Even you had more or less accepted her as part of the tower, hadn't you?"

"That is true."

Despite trying to act differently from before his regression, so many things had gone awry that he had found himself in danger time and again. Without Ernyan, his situation would at least have been worse than it was now. No, he might already be dead.

"Even so, why in the world would a human princess refuse to return to her own kingdom?"

Gordon could not make any sense of it.

"Then does helping a Demon King and calling herself one of his Four Heavenly Kings make sense to you?"

"... You have a point."

"Think of a good solution. Isn't an adjutant there to advise and assist his Demon King?"

"Even so, this is so far beyond common sense..."

To Gordon, Princess Ernyan Hilderan was someone he could spend a lifetime with and still never understand.

"... Then let us set Hilderan aside for now. What about Jespine? Even if the Third Prince delays them, they will come eventually. Is there a way to stop them?"

Hilderan was not the only nation targeting the tower.

"There is."

"There is?"

"They are divided already."

The First Prince, the Second Prince, the First Princess, and the Third Prince. The Third Prince had said that he would use the Empire's hero's journey as an extension of the struggle for the throne. It proved that the Empire arrogantly underestimated Berge, but that was actually to his advantage.

"It is a nation of lunatics whose siblings fire mana cannons at one another and routinely resort to assassination. In this affair, too, they are more likely to bare their teeth at each other than at you, my lord."

"You mean we must divide them and make them fight each other."

"Yes. With the Third Prince allied with Your Highness, we have even more possibilities. Of course, humans cannot always be trusted."

"Understood."

The Third Prince was, after all, an imperial prince. He would put the Empire first.

"Contact the Golden Moon Trading Company and tell them to send us information about the Empire and its imperial family. Every last detail, however trivial. We must use everything we can to drive them further apart."

"Yes."

"And as for the Third Prince, I will personally..."

KNOCK, KNOCK

Someone knocked on the door. When Berge called for them to enter, Elena peeked her head inside.

"... My lord. Could I speak with you for a moment?"

"What is it?"

"It's about my sister."

"Then I will take my leave."

At a glance from Berge, Gordon returned to his office. Ernyan sat down in a chair.

"Tell me. Why is Ernyan so opposed to returning to the kingdom?"

Of course, she had shown signs of it before. But he had not expected such an outright refusal. Elena still could not control the mana in her own body and needed to remain in the tower simply to stay alive. That was not the case for Ernyan.

"You know the spell called Child of the World Tree, don't you?"

"I do."

"That's where it began."

Elena continued her explanation.

* * *

The king of Hilderan was chasing past glory: the Hilderan that had once been an empire and ruled over the continent. A single powerful individual could turn the tide of a battle. That was why the king was obsessed with having a stronger sovereign. Even if it could not be him, he wanted one of his children to dominate everyone and lead the kingdom's revival.

To that end, he had the spell Child of the World Tree engraved on his wives and children. Countless mothers and children died. Yet amid all those corpses, his efforts bore fruit. That fruit was Ernyan Hilderan.

The king's obsession—and the nobles' obsession, which stemmed from his—was inevitable. It would have been better if they had merely cherished her. Instead, Hilderan devoted all its efforts to making that extraordinarily gifted fruit even sweeter.

From birth to the present day, Ernyan had never once known any freedom of her own. Behind her ability to summon an intermediate spirit at a young age and the brilliant future predicted for her lay that relentless overwork.

"And that treatment wasn't limited to my sister."

More than a few royals had been born through the Child of the World Tree spell. Far more had died, but some had nevertheless been born. Some were made even frailer by its side effects, while others gained the power the spell was meant to grant. Yes, there were other royals born with powers of their own. Most were simply overshadowed by Ernyan's overwhelming talent. They, too, endured a process similar to hers.

"But my sister's talent was so overwhelming. Naturally, Father's favoritism was blatant, too."

"They felt..."

"Envy and jealousy toward her."

"Yes."

It was a predictable story. They went through the same process and endured the same grueling treatment, yet one of them advanced by leaps and bounds. She received more praise and affection, and the others were compared against her. Naturally, there was no way they could look kindly upon one another.

Amid that envy and jealousy, Ernyan Hilderan gradually became isolated. The foolish king paid no attention to any of it. If he had treated his children as children in the first place, he would never have attempted something as insane as Child of the World Tree.

"And you were the only one who approached her?"

"Yes, that's right."

Was that why she had been in the Thirteenth Princess's detached palace?

In short, Ernyan Hilderan was a princess who faced enormous expectations and obsession from the king and nobles above her, envy and jealousy from her younger siblings and their associates below her, and relentless physical and mental strain day after day.

"I don't understand."

"Which part?"

"If weaklings are jealous of her, why not simply kill them all?"

"... Uh. Among us humans..."

"I know. It was a joke."

"... Pardon?"

Elena blinked her wide eyes.

"Then ultimately, this is a simple problem."

"Simple?"

"Yes." Berge nodded.

"If the king and nobles pressure her and obsess over her, she only has to rise to a position where they cannot."

"If her younger siblings envy her, she only has to become someone so far beyond them that envy itself is impossible."

Unable to understand him, Elena tilted her head.

"... Is there such a position?"

"Not many. There is only one in each country."

"... You can't mean..."

"Yes. Precisely what you're thinking."

To ensure that no one dared behave insolently toward Ernyan Hilderan.

"Wouldn't making her queen solve everything?"

"Uh..."

'The Dark Spirit Summoner, one of the Four Heavenly Kings serving my lord the Demon King, has come to inherit the throne.'

Why was it that Elena Hilderan suddenly pictured her eldest sister visiting Father in her mask? Surely that would not actually happen.

* * *

Ernyan sat crouched atop the mountain she had made. Watching the artificial river trickle past, she tossed a small stone into it.

- Didn't you say you would go back someday?

"I did."

- Then why are you acting like this? Is it the Demon King after all...?

"Don't you ever get tired of that?"

- What is it, then? You're human, after all. You can't live in a Demon King's tower forever.

- You're the Crown Princess. You have to return to your kingdom.

"I know. I'm not saying I'll never go back."

Yes, she would return someday. She had told Nairuniel that before, and there had not been a shred of falsehood in it.

"I also know I'm partly to blame for what happened."

If she had acted sooner, she could have stopped the tower's location from leaking. No, if she had known what had happened, she could have done something about the group from the Kingdom of Korzen.

- So what is it?

"What is what?"

- You must have one. A condition you think would allow you to return.

"... A king."

- You're already one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

- That's not what you meant?

"Being one of the Four Heavenly Kings is wonderful, of course. But I mean a spirit."

- ... A spirit king?

- Your goal was to summon a king?

Ernyan nodded silently.

"It's every spirit summoner's dream."

- But it's a level that perhaps one person in a thousand years reaches.

- Well, I don't think it's impossible for you. You're twenty-four, aren't you?

"Yes."

At twenty-four—no, she had formed the contract last year, so at twenty-three—she had already become capable of summoning Nairuniel, a high-ranking spirit. That was literally unprecedented. It had never happened before, and it would never happen again. A child born with tremendous talent after surviving the ordeal of Child of the World Tree had encountered the barrier of a mana-starved Demon King's tower, broken through it, and achieved extraordinary growth.

If anyone in the dimension of Arain were to contract with a spirit king, it would unquestionably be Ernyan Hilderan. Nairuniel could guarantee it.

- So what were you planning to do once you summoned a spirit king?

"Destroy the kingdom."

- ... Huh?

"I'm joking. Once I reach that level, I won't have to be bound to the kingdom anymore, will I?"

Ernyan smiled sweetly.

- But if that's the case, you don't specifically need to stay in the Demon King's tower, do you?

- Of course, not getting to watch you being all lovey-dovey with the Demon King would be a little—no, quite a lot—disappointing...

"Wipe your drool."

- O-okay. Anyway, there's no need to tie yourself to the tower. Before, you couldn't escape the royal palace, but now...

"Yes. That was how it used to be."

- So it's different now?

"Now... It's just a little..."

Perhaps it made no sense, but she had grown attached to the tower. She had come to like the dwarf hero who shouted about mana cannons and supreme firepower; the strange elf who occasionally visited; the princess of the magic kingdom who made chimeras; her younger sister, gradually regaining her health and vitality; and the dark elf who looked so stern but had an unwavering sense of duty.

And the Demon King, who was frightening and seemed perfect, yet occasionally showed cracks—and who had extended a hand to her when her life was bleak.

Was it because she had discovered a joy in relationships that she had never once known in the kingdom or its royal castle? She did not want to leave the tower like this. That was all. Whatever den of evil others might consider it, this tower had become a meaningful place to her.

She would have to oppose heroes? Other humans? What did it matter? Humans fought each other anyway. Ultimately, the king wanted her to rebuild the Hilderan Empire. A future stained with the blood of her own kind had been foretold for her from the start. If those were her options, playing one of the Four Heavenly Kings in a Demon King's tower and pretending to be mad was a hundred times better.

"Especially my lord..."

"Me?"

"... When did you get here?"

Ernyan hastily shut her mouth. At some point, Berge had calmly taken a seat beside her.

"When you enter the Demon King Military Academy, stealth is the first thing you learn, and the skill you master most thoroughly."

"To kidnap me?"

"Since you are royalty, that is not technically wrong."

Berge sat beside her as though nothing were amiss.

"You are human."

"But I'm one of the Four Heavenly Kings."

"And you are not my servant."

"Do you need more proof?"

"There can never be enough proof."

"Do you want me to return to Hilderan that badly?"

She met Berge's eyes, her expression quite resolute.

"If you don't go, the tower will fall. I do not yet have the power to stop them."

"... You have me."

"Perhaps if there were several hundred of you. Otherwise, that is out of the question."

"There's no guarantee Hilderan will withdraw just because I go back. You've crushed their pride, my lord."

"Preventing that is your role."

"You're removing me from the Four Heavenly Kings and banishing me from the tower, yet you're giving me another job?"

"Who said I was removing you?"

"..."

"You are already part of the tower. That will not change, wherever you go. The same goes for the Four Heavenly Kings. Once a Heavenly King, always a Heavenly King."

"Really?"

"Did you think I would exclude you? You created the group in the first place."

"You don't like things like that. I thought you'd abolish it as soon as I was gone."

"..."

He could not bring himself to deny it. He had once intended to do exactly that. But not anymore.

"The Demon King I know isn't the sort to say something that cheesy. If you do, there's a good reason. You heard our entire conversation, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Even the part about the spirit king?"

"I won't deny it."

"Did that influence you?"

"You could say it influenced me a great deal."

"You're so honest."

Though that was just like him. Ernyan gave a little laugh.

Berge calmly took out a necklace.

"What is that?"

"A communication necklace."

It was one of the necklaces he had asked Logger to make for elves who would leave the tower on missions.

"If things become difficult after you return, you may come back. I will welcome you anytime."

"Isn't that a very strange thing for a Demon King to say to a princess?"

"I have never met a stranger human than you. A nation ruled by such a human should be interesting, too."

"What do you mean?"

"I have heard the general story. There is a simple way to solve all of it. Become queen, so no one can order you around."

"And can you make me queen?"

There was a very brief silence. In that interval, Ernyan understood everything Berge intended to say.

"Hillen Cargill is my servant."

As one of the two heroes leading the search party alongside Dafner, his fame had risen even higher. He was Hilderan's national hero. His reputation was an enormous power in its own right.

"That will be even more true once he rescues you. If you and Hillen Cargill join forces, no one will dare mistreat you."

"But that's as far as it goes. I'll have to manage the rest myself, won't I?"

"As always, I appreciate how quickly you understand."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"You need not actually become queen. If you simply acquire enough power that the king cannot touch you..."

How would that differ from being the monarch? Especially when she was already the Crown Princess, destined to become the next ruler.

"It would be interesting if you achieved that and then returned to the tower."

"And you'd be even happier if I brought a spirit king with me?"

"Probably."

Ernyan gave a small laugh. Her gloomy mood lifted a little. She had been throwing a tantrum, but she knew it too: if she did not leave, this happy place would disappear.

"Please make the next princess you kidnap a big, physically gifted one."

"Why?"

"The only role left is the Giant of Hell, isn't it?"

"No. I asked why you assume I will kidnap another princess."

"Won't you?"

"... I will, but still."

A princess was preferable to a prince, after all.

"What about your sister?"

"Elena is a mage."

"There is no need for it to be an actual giant."

"Hmm, that's true." Ernyan nodded.

"Still, we should stay faithful to the basics for now. We can change things later if we can't find anyone, but we shouldn't give up already."

"... I will try."

"Then all right. I'll grant your request too, my lord."

She rose and brushed the dirt from her backside.

"I'll go. Because if I don't, this tower I've grown so fond of might disappear."

"A wise decision."

"But in return..."

Smiling with her eyes, Ernyan took a bold step toward him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm the first."

"What?"

Her eyes sparkled in the light of the mana lamps embedded in the ceiling. With excited breath, she whispered softly.

"The first one you reached out to."

"The first one who took your hand."

The first princess. And so...

"If you forget me, I won't let you get away with it."

"Promises are meant to be kept. Do you understand?"

Her eyes, filled with desire, gazed steadily at Berge. Before he realized it, he was nodding.