Chapter 146 - Do You Really Need Two?

After hearing what amounted to a death sentence from Jason Cockmundo, there was little Vivian could do.

Most of the demons and demonic creatures she had brought with her had already been killed by raiding parties. All she had left were the pirates and the demonic energy points generated by her growing notoriety. She doubted those would be enough to repel a hero's journey commissioned by the dwarves.

Vivian struggled to remain calm as she searched for a solution. Having accomplished next to nothing, she had few options.

Only two.

She could fight and die gloriously, as befitted a Demon King.

Or she could shamelessly cling to someone else and survive by any means necessary.

She chose the latter. She wanted to live.

Others might curse her for throwing away her pride as a Demon King, but she wanted to live, even if it meant enduring that humiliation.

"Help me."

She decided to reach out to every one of her few remaining options.

"I swear on the great first Demon Emperor and the Guide. I never abducted the dwarven princess or the craftsmen."

『So?』

But the answer was cold.

『What does that have to do with me, Vivian Blunt? The dwarves and humans have already identified you as the culprit. Don't you know what that means?』

If she didn't, she wouldn't be doing this. She wouldn't be begging this ignorant titan bastard she so thoroughly despised.

"If you help me, I'll give you anything I can."

『A weakling succubus is of no use to me.』

"Ugar Belbek!"

『You brought this on yourself. You should have done better from the start. Don't cling to me and drag me into the grave with you. Just accept your death quietly.』

"What about you!"

"Would you quietly accept death?"

『Of course not.』

『But this isn't my crisis, is it?』

The giant's mockery ground Vivian's pride into the dirt. Even so, she struggled to compose her expression.

She hadn't risked her life to graduate from the Demon King Military Academy for this. She hadn't become a succubus queen, one of the leaders of her people, conquered one dimension, and crossed into a second for this.

She hadn't come all this way to die so pointlessly.

She wanted to live.

Even rolling in a field of hellhound shit was better than being dead.

And so she offered a forbidden bargain that an ordinary Demon King would never make.

"... If you want, I could become your servant."

『... Do you understand what you're saying?』

"Do you think I'd say it without knowing?"

『Hahahaha! That haughty succubus queen must be desperate indeed.』

『To think you've fallen this far.』

"..."

His mockery was humiliating, but she endured it. It was all right, as long as she could live. If she died, she wouldn't even be able to feel this anger.

『Making a fellow Demon King my servant. It does sound tempting.』

But...

『I refuse.』

"... What?"

『You know, the dwarves' fury is directed entirely at you. At Vivian Blunt, the so-called Demon King of Carnal Desire.』

『If I take you in, it's obvious where that fury will turn. Why should I go out of my way to bear that risk? For a vulgar succubus who knows nothing but stripping and seducing?』

"You worthless lump of muscle...!"

『Being muscular is a compliment to a titan. Well, good luck.』

『Oh, since you're going to die anyway, how about giving me the demonic energy points you've saved up?』

Vivian cut the connection and slumped to the floor like a kite with its string severed.

With violently trembling hands, she forced herself to contact another Demon King.

But the next one was no different.

『Have you and I formed an alliance? Is there a bond between us strong enough to warrant helping each other? Or is there something to gain?』

『Why should I do something so foolish as help you and race toward death alongside you?』

"Then take me as your servant...!"

『Become my servant? You are utterly pathetic, Vivian Blunt.』

She trembled beneath that cold, contemptuous gaze.

『Even a vulgar succubus should possess a modicum of dignity and decorum if she is a Demon King.』

『You are a lowly creature unworthy even of being a Demon King. I would prefer that you never contact me privately again.』

That was how her plea eventually reached Berge.

* * *

'Good heavens.'

Just how far could this idiotic Demon King fall?

Victim of the butterfly effect Berge had set in motion though she was, the sight of a Demon King craving life enough to volunteer to become another Demon King's servant was absurd.

『You're all I have left now. If even you won't take me in, I, I...!』

On the other side of the communication orb, Vivian clutched her head and sobbed.

Watching her tears mix with snot and run into her mouth, he could scarcely believe she was that same haughty succubus queen.

Without realizing it, Berge blurted out his honest feelings.

"Disgraceful. Have you no pride as a Demon King?"

『Does pride put food on the table? Once I'm dead, I can't even hold on to that pride...!』

『... I want to live.』

『So please save me.』

"Do you even know my situation before you spout this nonsense?"

『I do.』

Vivian might be in danger, but Berge's situation was hardly any better. In some respects, he was in even greater danger.

『But I have no other option anyway. You've survived several times already, so at least you're better off than I am. And...』

"And?"

『This conversation has given me a little confidence. You have a way out.』

"What do you mean?"

『Some demons disparage succubi for our weak physical abilities, but our mental abilities are second to none.』

『In particular, no one is as skilled as we are at reading and understanding someone's emotions.』

"You're taking a long time to get to the point."

『You're relaxed. Far too relaxed for a Demon King in much the same situation as me. Do you think that can happen for no reason?』

"I was simply born this way."

『Then just save me that way.』

"This is maddening."

It was an outrageously unreasonable demand. Even so, Berge hadn't ended the call because he thought the arrangement might actually be worthwhile.

A servant.

To demons, a servant was more than a mere retainer. Their soul was bound to their lord, making them an absolute slave.

The bond of servitude between two demons was more tenacious, deeper, and stronger than a soul contract between a human and a demon.

Once someone became a servant, they could never betray their lord.

'Succubi may be weaker in combat than other races, but she's still a Demon King.'

Even feeble humans could fight demons once they surpassed their limits. Disgraceful as she looked now, Vivian Blunt could not be confined to the category of an ordinary succubus.

Moreover, her current servants would follow their liege and serve Berge as well. He could expand his forces, which had been sorely lacking until now.

Berge, whose only demons were Gordon and the Krutu he had awakened, would gain a contingent of demon servants of his own.

Of course, there were disadvantages too.

'The arrows aimed at Vivian will come my way.'

That was what had concerned Ugar as well.

But...

'Do I really need to worry?'

If this operation succeeded, the tower could leave its original location and hide even deeper. Their fury would have nowhere to go, echoing fruitlessly into the void.

The fiercer it grew, the more demonic energy points Berge would gain.

"... But what happens to your tower if you become my servant?"

A tower was linked to its Demon King. It was designed to be forcibly sent back and vanish when the Demon King died.

But what if that Demon King didn't die and simply became another Demon King's servant?

Could a Demon King who belonged to another still remain the master of a tower?

'If the tower stays as it is, Vivian will abandon it when she comes to me. What if the humans destroy its core then?'

Towers had cores too. At the summit stood the Demon King's throne, the tower's core and center.

Not one had ever been destroyed, so he wondered what would happen if it was.

『I-I don't know either! But if you want, I'll give you my tower too! Take everything!』

Sensing a faintly positive note in his voice, Vivian pleaded all the more desperately.

When a Demon King died and the tower vanished, the protection surrounding the Demon King's servants disappeared.

They had to face the storm of a foreign dimension known as dimensional interference unshielded. Its effects reduced even high-ranking demons to a level beneath low-ranking demons.

There was only one way to escape it.

Serve a new demon and gain new protection.

That was why Vivian didn't care about her original tower.

"... I'll visit your tower soon."

『Really? They say to pull out a Tuentak's horn in one go. If you've made up your mind, why not come right now?』

"I have plenty to do myself. It takes at least several months to organize and launch a hero's journey, so sit tight."

『And then you'll pretend you never promised?』

"I swear on the great first Demon Emperor and the Guide that I won't."

This time, he meant it. There was no reason to refuse what was falling into his lap of its own accord. It might be a little bothersome, but it would provide ample strength.

"Then I'll see you later."

Berge paused as he was about to end the call.

He remembered the problem he had been pondering before Vivian contacted him.

"Oh. Wait a moment."

『Why? What is it now?』

Berge's gaze shifted to the top of Vivian's head.

She shuddered at the inscrutable look in his eyes.

"Those horns."

『W-Why...?』

"Do you really need two?"

Surely she could offer up one as a token of submission?

* * *

"Unfortunately, I don't think we can do business."

"Our trading company has plenty of those too."

"I thought the Golden Moon Trading Company, making a name for itself in Iasin, would bring something impressive. How disappointing."

"Jetoson? Isn't he the bastard who swindled Berft's princess and ruined the reputation of Akan's merchants?"

For three days after arriving in Akan's royal capital, Jetoson had contacted trading companies that supplied the mage towers, only to be rejected every time.

His notoriety following his disgraceful departure from the magic market played a part, but the main reason was that he had nothing worth trading.

Akan's royal capital was where rare magical materials from across the continent gathered. To satisfy those merchants, he needed to offer something of comparable value, and the Golden Moon Trading Company currently had nothing of the sort.

'Damn it. What a bunch of stuck-up pricks. Do they think they're mages? They're merchant bastards just like me, and they want to put themselves above me?'

The way they appraised his wares as though they were mages themselves infuriated him.

Yet he couldn't protest, because he was plainly the one without any bargaining power.

'I need something decisive. Something so rare those arrogant bastards will have no choice but to come begging to me instead...'

Mages and mage towers wielded great power in Akan. He was making connections with trading companies for now, but ultimately, the mages made the decisions.

And rare magical materials were what drove mages wild.

Just then...

"Mr. Jetoson."

"What is it?"

"Headquarters sent something."

"Something?"

The merchant handed him a small box. Various magical engravings covered the exterior of the luxurious wooden case.

'Magical engravings?'

There were two reasons to put magical engravings on a storage case: either its contents were precious enough to require special care, or they were so dangerous they had to be isolated from the outside world.

"What's this?"

"I don't know either. But they asked me to give you this letter along with the case."

"A letter?"

Jetoson took the paper and slowly read through it.

"...!"

CLICK

Having devoured the letter in one sitting, he hurriedly opened the box.

He caught his breath as an unpleasant energy surged out. The merchant who had brought the case and letter sank to the floor in instinctive terror.

"W-What is that?"

"What else...?"

The lustrous black-and-crimson horn burned itself into his eyes. It was incomparably beautiful.

"A treasure that'll put us in charge of the bargaining."

"... What are you doing now?"

"Exercising my mouth. Got to loosen it up if I'm going to run it properly."

Having finished stretching his mouth, Jetoson rose.

"Have the carriage ready. We're going straight to a mage tower."

If this truly was what the letter said it was, there was no need to involve a trading company as a middleman.