Chapter 145 - A Willing Sucker

"... You're swearing on the first Demon Emperor and the Guide?"

『Yes...! I've been wrongfully accused!』

Jason pushed up his monocle. Vivian was stupid, but not stupid or audacious enough to swear on the first Demon Emperor and the Guide while telling outrageous lies. No Demon King would swear falsely on them in the first place. Berge, who had treated the sacred Guide like garbage at his graduation ceremony, was the odd one out.

That meant Vivian was not the culprit.

'Another Demon King?'

Who could it be?

Simple-minded Ugar was demonic to the core. His towering pride would make him consider relying on dwarven technology a disgrace.

Haughty Reina rarely left the Empire. Unlike Ugar and Vivian, she had a keen mind and knew exactly what she could and could not afford to do.

That ruled out both of them.

'In that case.'

A straightforward process of elimination left just one possibility.

'Berge, was it you?'

The Berge he knew was capable. He had known what to do from the moment he descended and had somehow survived every crisis. Even when his actions seemed dangerous, he ultimately steered events to his own advantage.

Someone like that had no reason to provoke the Kingdom of Berft.

Under normal circumstances.

But what about now? Now that the Empire was grinding its teeth and clamoring for the Demon King of Hellfire's death?

'A cornered man will do anything.'

No, he did not even need to be cornered.

'Someone who will use any means to achieve his ends.'

Jason had felt a slight disgust when they first met. Along with that petty rebellious streak, he had recognized ambitions that reached far beyond what lay before them.

Berge Deias would do anything to win and survive. He did not hesitate to act outside the bounds of what demons normally did. That was why he had borrowed money from Jason and been involved in Drakson's death.

It was only Jason's conjecture, without evidence, but he was certain.

'That was why I thought you would be useful.'

It seemed kindred spirits could not work together after all.

'If Berge is the culprit, he must have one objective.'

Inciting the dwarves to launch a hero's journey. Making them compete with the Empire, which was desperate to kill him, and provoking clashes between the two—using one enemy against another.

'No, rather than that...'

A strategy to divert attention toward Vivian and divide his enemies' focus. The Empire would not simply stand by and let superior dwarven military supplies flow into other countries.

But...

'You're wrong, Berge.'

At least this time, the Empire's attention would not shift. That was fortunate. If Berge's intentions came to fruition, there was no telling how the situation might be overturned again.

'I'll have to pay closer attention to this affair.'

He could tolerate no further variables.

"I believe you. At least this time, it appears you weren't responsible, Vivian."

『I told you I wasn't!』

『So you're going to do something for me now, right?』

"What do you mean?"

『Now that you know it wasn't me, surely you can do something about it!』

"Hmm."

Her cry was urgent. Given the circumstances, of course she had every reason to be desperate. But that was Vivian's problem.

Jason calmly removed his monocle and brushed the dust off its lens.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe I can help you."

『... What?』

"As you suspect, I do have certain connections among humans. But that is precisely the point—they are humans."

Dwarves were another matter entirely.

『But still, with the neighboring kingdoms...』

"Whether you did it or not, unfortunately, all the current evidence points to you. Redirecting that suspicion would be nearly impossible."

"No, considering the suspicion and hostility I would face over this, even if it were possible, I have no desire to go out of my way."

To Jason, Demon Kings fell into three broad categories: useful, useless, or neither, but harmless.

Vivian might prove useful later, but she was not useful now. Nor was she worth the trouble of taking the dwarves' wrath upon himself on her behalf.

『What the fuck kind of nonsense is that?!』

『I didn't do it! You believed me too!』

"What does it matter what I believe? In Arain, what matters is what Arain's inhabitants believe."

In other words...

"As a great Demon King, and as a vanguard commander of the Demon Realm leading the conquest of dimensions, I pray that you defeat those taken in by incitement and fabrication and impress the Demon Realm's greatness upon them."

He meant that she should stop bothering him and simply die.

* * *

"So these are..."

Dwarven-made mana cannons.

Aman exclaimed in admiration at the glorious sight of fifty cannons. Each one represented an astronomical sum of money. He could not begin to imagine how much selling them all would bring.

"Did you say there were another hundred?"

"Yes. A dwarf made them, but they function just like human-made ones. They'll overheat badly when fired, making sustained fire difficult, and some may even explode. Still, they'll be better than most. Among human-made cannons, at least."

"That's more than enough. With these, I should be able to persuade all the officers who oppose our current undertaking."

It was a shame they could not market dwarven-made goods as such, but that did not diminish the cannons' value.

The problem lay elsewhere. No one would fail to find it suspicious if mana cannons suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Fortunately, the Golden Moon Trading Company owned several workshops of its own, where it produced military supplies. And the cannons had been degraded enough that they no longer looked dwarven-made.

"In the current situation, we'd be ruined if dwarven-made mana cannons turned up in our stock, so this is actually better. People would suspect us of having ties to the Demon King of Carnal Desire..."

"Carnal Desire? What are you talking about?"

"You hadn't heard? A princess of the dwarven kingdom and forty-nine royal workshop craftsmen were abducted recently. The Kingdom of Berft has named the Demon King of Carnal Desire as the culprit."

"... Carnal Desire?"

Berge, who had naturally expected the dwarves' wrath to fall on him, tilted his head.

"Why?"

"Because the abducted princess is Louise Berft, the Second Princess. As you know, she cut off the Demon King of Carnal Desire's..."

"Tail."

But that alone was far too tenuous a basis for such a conclusion.

"Yes, but the biggest reason is the craftsmen."

"How does that prove it was Carnal Desire?"

"Demon Kings generally don't enlist the strength of humans or other races, do they? In particular, none has ever specifically targeted dwarven craftsmen for abduction."

"That's true."

"So the dwarves initially thought humans were responsible, but reportedly changed their minds when demonic energy was found at the abduction site."

"What does that have to do with Carnal Desire?"

"You may not know this, but the Demon King of Carnal Desire is currently engaging in piracy in the pirate islands."

"... Piracy?"

This was the first Berge had heard of it. A bitch calling herself a Demon King was going around doing that?

The world really was going to hell.

"Yes. She has reportedly been spotted working alongside some pirates."

"Whatever else they are, they're humans. They'd work with a Demon King?"

"Pirates have never cared about such distinctions. Demon King or human, they'll work with anyone if there's profit in it."

"... And?"

"Their ships are extremely important to them. Naturally, since they're practically their lifelines. And alongside ships, their highest priority is mana cannons."

"Mana cannons?"

"Do you know how naval battles are fought? In the past, ships would come alongside each other and fight hand to hand, but these days..."

"They mount mana cannons and blast away from a distance."

"Yes. That's why mana cannons are so important to navies and pirates. Those bastards have tried to abduct dwarves more than a few times."

"So the only Demon King likely to abduct craftsmen is Carnal Desire, who's in league with pirates? And her bad blood with Louise Berft reinforces that conviction?"

"Yes, exactly."

Of course...

"Personally, I don't believe it was her."

"You really are quite capable."

"No, anyone who knows you would think the same, my lord."

"Hmm. In any case..."

Berge looked intrigued. From the perspective of someone involved, it was utter bullshit, but to anyone who knew nothing, it was a fairly plausible deduction.

'Not bad.'

Vivian would pay the entire price for what he had done. He had not intended it, but he felt no particular need to step forward and clear things up, either.

Moving the tower meant the dwarves' anger would not matter anyway, but having someone else take the blame for his wrongdoing was always the right outcome.

Did he feel sorry for Vivian? Of course not. Weren't Demon Kings individualists by nature?

"Have you obtained all the materials I mentioned?"

"Only some of them so far..."

Aman trailed off, but the supplies he had gathered in such a short time were by no means insignificant.

"I can't tell you to take your time, but there's no need to rush excessively. We can start building with what we have."

"Most of them simply require time. There's nothing particularly difficult to obtain, but..."

"But?"

"A few rare materials will take a little longer."

A golem was, by nature, the culmination of magical engineering. Even with the most fundamental issue—the core—resolved, that basic nature remained unchanged.

A golem's body required special materials more sensitive to mana than those used in ordinary weapons or armor. All of them were rare and expensive.

"How long?"

"I've already dispatched our people across the continent. Fortunately, Jetoson is exceptionally capable, so I believe we can shorten the time we originally anticipated."

"Jetoson?"

"The merchant from Akan you sent us, my lord."

"Ah, him."

The bastard who had dared to swindle a Demon King and a dwarven princess?

"Yes. He said he'd been a successful merchant in Akan, and he's proved quite capable."

"Successful in Akan?"

"Yes, that's what he told us himself. He said he was a major figure who dominated the magic market."

"... You believed that?"

"I had my doubts, but since you had sent him, I took his word for it. I don't know whether it was true, but he certainly has been extraordinarily good at his work. Especially when it comes to dealing with people and negotiating."

Of course he had. He was a smooth-talking con artist.

"And?"

"I don't know exactly what you're planning, my lord, but most of the materials you requested resemble those used for golems."

Naturally. The tower would replace the core, but the overall principle was still that of a golem. A colossal golem unlike anything ever built before.

"So we decided it would be faster to obtain them in Akan."

"That's certainly true."

Outside the Kingdom of Berft, Akan had the finest magical-engineering materials.

"No, wait. Who did you say you sent to Akan?"

"Jetoson."

"... Fuck."

As Berge recalled, that bastard was practically a pariah in Akan.

'Hmm.'

He had an alarming feeling that he could not afford to sit back and do nothing.

* * *

"Damn it. Me and my big mouth."

Why had he told a lie that would be exposed so quickly?

'No, come to think of it, the trading company is strange too. If someone boasts, shouldn't they check whether it's true before assigning him work?'

They said this was important. Why were they handling it so sloppily?

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

He was not alone. Including the ten merchants assigned to him by the company, the laborers pulling the carts, and the guards, the party numbered fifty in all.

Jetoson was in charge.

'I have to get them somehow...'

He could not lose all the trust he had built in one stroke. If everyone learned that everything he had said was empty boasting, he would truly be finished.

Conversely, if he overcame all these obstacles and succeeded, he could rise even higher. He could make even more money!

'There's a way.'

He simply had to make his boasts come true. All he needed to do was obtain everything the trading company wanted.

'My credibility may be rock-bottom in Akan's markets, but...'

He was no longer the owner of a shabby shop on the outskirts of the market. He was a merchant of the Golden Moon Trading Company, which was rapidly rising in the Kingdom of Iasin.

The man in charge of this trading expedition.

Jetoson unfolded the list. Its dozens of items were all costly and rare. Even in a magic market overflowing with magical materials, they were hardly common.

To obtain them more readily, he would ultimately have to negotiate with mage towers for their stockpiles, or with the trading companies that supplied them.

'Money isn't what matters when dealing with mage towers.'

Mage towers had money to spare. So did their suppliers.

What they wanted was materials—rarer, more precious materials worth researching.

'Does the Golden Moon Trading Company have anything they might want?'

No.

But a good merchant did not give up simply because he had nothing.

'A merchant ought to be able to sell magical lamps even in the far northern snowfields under the midnight sun.'

What mattered was the will to buy and sell, and the gift of gab.

'Isn't there something suitable?'

Something he could dress up and sell that would drive mages wild.

'Ideally, something harvested from a demon or demonic creature... A Demon King would be even better.'

No answer came to him immediately. For now, he resolved to scour the capital's auction markets and collect rare materials.

'Please, let there be just one.'

One clueless sucker who did not know the true value of what they were selling.

And then...

『My lord, I believe you need to return quickly.』

"Why?"

『Demon King Vivian has contacted us.』

"Vivian? Were we close enough for her to contact me personally?"

『Hmm, I'm not quite sure how to put this.』

"Tell me."

『... She's begging you to save her.』

『She's still sniffling in front of the communication orb, demanding that I bring you back immediately.』

"...?"

Somewhere on the continent, a willing sucker was walking right into his hands.