Chapter 135 - The Useful Hillen Cargill

Now that Ernyan had been persuaded, it was time for the next step: how to return her to Hilderan in a convincing manner.

The best approach was, of course, to use Hillen Cargill, and Berge and Gordon settled on that course. But it was not without problems.

“For Hillen Cargill to rescue Ernyan Hilderan, he must ultimately come to the tower.”

And that meant either a hero’s journey or a raiding party.

But would anyone consider it reasonable to suddenly send only a small raiding party against a tower that had only just been discovered and had already claimed so many lives?

Some might believe it possible because it was Hillen Cargill, but not everyone would. Berge had invested an enormous amount of effort in him. He could not let Hillen fall under suspicion before he had even put him to proper use.

“But using anyone other than Hillen would make even less sense.”

“True.”

A Demon King suddenly releasing a princess for no reason was unprecedented. It would surprise the humans, but it would also give the other Demon Kings something to use against him.

“This is driving me mad.”

At times like this, building the tower in Erjest became a problem. If he had built it on an open plain where anyone could come and go, no one would question a princess being quietly spirited away.

‘No. Then I would have been killed long ago.’

It was a pointless hypothetical.

Just then, a communication orb began to flash.

“Speak of the orc.”

“Is it Hillen Cargill?”

“Yes.”

Berge channeled demonic energy into the orb.

“What is it?”

『My lord, I have a request.』

“A request?”

『Please hear me out without becoming angry.』

“What are you about to say that requires so much preamble?”

『... Well...』

“Nothing annoys me more than someone beating around the bush.”

『Please.』

On the other side of the orb, Hillen Cargill bowed his head deeply.

『... Please give me Ernyan Hilderan.』

* * *

The tower had been found. He had taken part in the journey and played a fairly pivotal role.

Hillen Cargill stood at the center of it all.

Although the Empire’s Third Prince and the Kingdom of Korzen’s Second Prince had been the nominal commanders, it was Hillen and Dafner who had actually led the search party’s advance. And with Dafner dead, all that fame poured onto Hillen alone.

But he had no chance to enjoy it. A summons arrived from Hilderan as though they had been waiting for this very moment.

“The king of Hilderan has summoned you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Hilderan must be quite impatient. Go, then.”

“I apologize.”

“What is there to apologize for? Surely you don’t intend to miss my hero’s journey?”

“Certainly not. My determination to conquer the Tower of Hellfire remains unchanged.”

“I shall take your word for it.”

After bidding Martin farewell, Hillen returned to Hilderan.

“Long live the hero Hillen Cargill!”

“Our great hero!”

A parade awaited him when he entered the royal capital. The people cheered, chanting his name.

That in itself was immensely gratifying. Being regarded with awe and respect was everything he had always wanted. But he could guess what would follow, and that kept him from enjoying it with an easy mind.

The parade stopped before the royal castle. Hillen dismounted, and knights approached him.

“His Majesty is waiting.”

“... Yes.”

He wished the king were not waiting. The red carpet lining the corridor seemed to be leading him into hell.

‘It’s obvious. Now that the tower’s location is known, he’ll tell me to rescue the princess.’

Then Hillen would have to go, come hell or high water—unless he intended to break with Hilderan entirely. This was no ordinary task: the kingdom’s greatest hero would be rescuing its Crown Princess. He had no grounds for refusal.

‘Grounds for refusal aren’t the issue!’

What would Berge say if Hillen told him he had become the leader of a hero’s journey meant to kill him?

‘There certainly are all sorts of ways to ask for death.’

Wouldn’t he say that and then burst Hillen’s head?

‘I have to stop this. Somehow, whatever it takes, I have to stop Hilderan’s hero’s journey from happening at all.’

With grim determination, Hillen Cargill entered the king’s office.

“I greet Your Majesty, the great king of Hilderan.”

“It has been some time. Have you been well?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t look particularly well.”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“Well, very good. I imagine you have some idea why I summoned you.”

“Yes. I have an idea.”

“That is a vague answer.”

“What exactly do you desire, Your Highness?”

“Must you ask something so obvious?”

“I am your sword and the sword of Hilderan. I shall be wielded according to your wishes, but must I not know your precise intent to carry it out without the slightest deviation?”

“The sword of Hilderan certainly danced well in the Empire’s hand.”

“Was that not what Your Majesty wanted as well?”

The king gave a low chuckle.

“You really are a sly bastard. Well, you’re more entertaining than some meek, spineless fool.”

“I am glad you are pleased.”

“I want my daughter, this nation’s Crown Princess, Ernyan Hilderan.”

“Do you have no wish to kill the Demon King and destroy his tower?”

“It would be a lie to say I have none.”

But he also wondered why he should bother.

“Hilderan’s pride has been gravely wounded. Naturally, it must be restored. We must kill the Demon King and destroy his tower to reclaim our shattered pride. But there is no need to spill my own blood doing so, is there?”

However little of his power a Demon King could wield in Arain, he was still a Demon King. And even if luck had favored him, the Demon King of Hellfire had repelled expeditions and search parties several times.

“You have the Empire in mind.”

“If the Empire is going to bleed in my place, why should I step forward and shed my own blood?”

“In that case...”

“However.”

The king cut Hillen off.

“That requires us to rescue the Crown Princess before those imperial bastards do.”

He needed to give the impression that Hilderan chose not to act, rather than being incapable of it.

“And I will not see this nation’s heir rescued by imperial hands.”

On a smaller scale, it was a matter of pride. On a larger one, it concerned the nation’s standing.

Therefore—

“You will rescue Ernyan Hilderan.”

This was a royal command.

“You have no right to refuse.”

“...”

Hillen could not readily answer. He could not answer at all.

“But Your Majesty, we have only just found the tower. Even so, the Demon King of Hellfire has claimed countless heroes, knights, and mages. No one knows what sort of den of evil that tower might be.”

He knew very well. On the first floor was a firepower-obsessed dwarf who was mad about mana cannons.

But he had to feign ignorance and exaggerate as much as possible. Only then might the king give up, or at least be delayed.

“It was not the Demon King who claimed them, but Erjest. They suffered heavy losses wandering about because they could not find the tower.”

“A demon killed Dafner Philiain. If a servant of the Demon King is that powerful, how strong must the Demon King himself be?”

“Rumors are already widespread that Dafner Philiain did not face that creature alone. They say he was pursued by hundreds of monsters and attacked jointly by two high-ranking demons called the Four Heavenly Kings. High-ranking demons are not weak. They could certainly achieve that with an ambush. But you now know about them, do you not?”

Knowing meant it was possible to prepare.

“But—”

“I believe their strength has been exaggerated. It is an established fact that the longer a Demon King remains here, the more of his great power he regains. Yet the Demon King of Hellfire has been here for barely over a year. Those two demons—perhaps four, since they are called the Four Heavenly Kings—I believe they constitute the Tower of Hellfire’s fighting strength.”

The entirety of it.

“In other words, there is little else besides them.”

Wrong. To begin with, the Four Heavenly Kings had not even all been assembled, and they were not demons. One was this nation’s heir, whom the king so desperately wanted rescued; another was an imperial princess; and another was Akan’s resident lunatic.

‘There’s a prerequisite to all this in the first place.’

Ernyan Hilderan had to willingly follow Hillen back.

Would she meekly come along just because he went to rescue her?

Bullshit. It was Ernyan Hilderan herself who had spectacularly betrayed Hillen when he went to save her and turned him into the Demon King’s lackey.

“But Your Majesty...”

“I do not mean to send only you and the Red Hawk raiding party. Hilderan’s elite will accompany you. Ascend the tower discreetly.”

“We may have to fight the Demon King.”

“That is why I am sending you. I have not commanded you to kill him at all costs.”

He was a great hero who had killed no fewer than two Demon Kings.

“Surely you can at least rescue a princess and flee from a Demon King who descended only a year ago.”

“...”

Hillen Cargill could not bring himself to say he could not. By ordinary reasoning, the king was right.

“... Yes.”

In the end, he had no choice but to nod.

* * *

『... That is what happened.』

“So you boasted that you would kill me and rescue Ernyan.”

『I did not go that far. And I know it sounds like an excuse, but I truly had no choice.』

The Demon King or the humans. He had to choose one. And at least when standing before the human in question, he had no choice but to choose humanity.

Ridiculous as it might sound, there was room to negotiate with the Demon King. Declaring himself the Demon King’s lackey before Hilderan’s king meant certain execution. But if he told the Demon King he would temporarily side with humanity, Berge would hear out his circumstances and understand.

There was room to persuade him.

“You think I’m a pushover, then.”

『You know that is not what I mean, don’t you?』

『This arrangement is not bad for you either, my lord. If I rescue Ernyan Hilderan, the Kingdom of Hilderan will withdraw and watch how events unfold.』

『One of the two major powers threatening you will be gone.』

“Enough of your nonsense, Hillen Cargill. Before you are a human hero, you are my servant.”

『My lord, please...!』

“None of this sounds remotely realistic in the first place. You intend to rescue Ernyan? This is Erjest.”

『I will not be alone! Hilderan’s king has promised support. I will have a sufficient force of elite troops with me.』

“Is that all?”

『It is hardly insignificant. Although the Empire and Akan are considered the best, Hilderan is not far behind. Its royal knights in particular do not fall far short even of the Empire’s five dragon orders.』

“So they do fall short.”

『I cannot deny that, of course... But if I request aid from the Heroes’ Guild using my authority as an Argan and add other forces, we will have sufficient strength.』

“Enough to withstand the firepower of hundreds of mana cannons?”

『Well...』

That was impossible.

The firepower of mana cannons—especially those made by a dwarven master craftsman—was beyond imagination. Although Hillen Cargill was confident he could avoid falling to those cannons, not everyone was like him.

By the time they passed through the tower’s first floor, at least half their fighting strength would be gone.

『... Forgive my presumption, but perhaps you could move all the first floor’s installations to the next floor...』

“You want it handed to you on a platter?”

Berge snorted in disbelief. Still, curious how far Hillen would go, he tipped his chin to signal him to continue.

『If you fill the first and second floors with a few monsters, I will wipe them out and rescue Ernyan Hilderan.』

『... Provided you leave Ernyan Hilderan on the first or second floor.』

“For someone who spoke so confidently to Hilderan’s king, you have quite a list of demands. You’re telling me to behave like Reina. Don’t you think that would look even stranger?”

『It is not only the Demon King of Bitter Cold. Recently, Watton Collo visited the Adamant Tower and rescued the Kingdom of Gaina’s Third Prince.』

『But apparently the prince was on the third floor, not at the top of the tower. They say he was imprisoned inside rock, much like in the Tower of Bitter Cold.』

Ugar had done that?

Berge had given him that advice once when rescuing Elena, and he was putting it to good use.

Then again, it would be stranger for that coward not to use such a method.

“And?”

『Since two Demon Kings already do it, there would be nothing unusual about you doing the same.』

『If I rescue Ernyan Hilderan that way, you will be freed of a major worry!』

“You mean your life will be saved.”

『Normally, that might be true, but this time I am acting purely out of loyalty to you...』

“Loyalty. I always have doubts about your loyalty. You could have consulted me first about this, too. Instead, you are informing me of your decision. A servant, informing his Demon King.”

『No! My loyalty to you has never changed, my lord! It was only because of the circumstances that I had no chance to ask your wishes first.』

『But I am certain this is the better path for you!』

“Then do it.”

『... Really?』

That easily?

Hillen’s eyes widened. He had put together the most convincing plan he could to persuade the Demon King, but had never imagined he would receive permission so readily.

“Unless you don’t want to.”

『No! I will absolutely do it!』

“Contact me again when your preparations are complete.”

『Yes!』

The connection ended. Berge and Gordon, who had been listening quietly, exchanged sly smiles.

“You were right, my lord. Hillen Cargill truly has many uses. I never imagined he would bring us an alternative.”

“The king of Hilderan himself issued the royal command. That resolves one major problem.”

There was no longer any basis for suspicion about why Hillen would go to such lengths to climb the tower.

“Hillen Cargill will never know that you had already devised a similar plan and persuaded Ernyan Hilderan.”

“It doesn’t matter whether he knows.”

What mattered was that the Kingdom of Hilderan had been dealt with.

* * *

“What? What do you mean?! Do you have any idea how much effort I put into designing the first floor?!”

The dwarf wailed.

“You want me to dismantle all of this and move it to the third floor? That’s absurd!”

“Your job is to make the absurd possible.”

“My lord!”

“Do you not understand?”

Berge growled.

“This is an order, not a request.”

“B-but...!”

Even in the face of Berge’s murderous aura, Logger did not readily back down. Just as Berge was about to lose his temper at this rare display of stubbornness, Logger spoke again.

“If we follow your plan, we won’t be able to wipe them out with the mana cannons!”

“... Right. You were a lunatic too.”

“We went to all that trouble to prepare over three hundred mana cannons, and now we won’t even get to use them! They’ll rust from neglect!”

“I suppose those things you fired not long ago were toys, not mana cannons?”

“We only fired two or three shots then! The true value of mana cannons only becomes apparent when you can freely fire dozens, hundreds of rounds!”

Firepower!

Overwhelming firepower that destroyed everything and reduced it all to scorched earth!

“That is the true value of mana cannons!”

Berge clicked his tongue at the dwarf’s unabashed declaration. He was irritated, yet somehow it felt awkward to express his anger.

‘He does consistently exceed my expectations...’

In the end, Berge decided to coax him rather than use force.

“While moving all the first floor’s installations to the third floor, I will let you dismantle and examine part of the tower.”

Logger’s eyes changed in an instant.

“I’ll tear out the entire first floor and plant it on the third! Thoroughly, perfectly, flawlessly, and with combat readiness!”

“That’s enough.”

“Yes, sir!”

Logger shut his mouth. But the gleam of greed in his eyes did not fade.