Chapter 42 - The Object of Suspicion

"... A twin?"

"Don't talk nonsense."

His hair color and the energy he gave off were different, but his overall appearance was much the same.

"... My lord? Is that really you?"

Only then did Granada recognize him by his vaguely familiar manner of speaking.

"Can't you tell by looking?"

"No, I can't."

What about him looked like a Demon King? He could sooner have passed for a fellow elf. That was how pure his mana felt.

"You've been out of contact for some time. What on earth have you done?"

Berge settled onto a chair without a word. At a flick of his eyes, Granada brought him tea.

"The aroma isn't very good."

"How fine a tea do you expect mercenaries to drink?"

"That may be true of mercenaries. But you're an elf."

"... Tch."

The fine tea Granada had hidden away made an appearance. Its aroma was certainly better than the previous batch.

"What's this building, anyway?"

"I bought it for the company to use."

"Sell it."

"Pardon?"

"You won't be coming back for a while."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Take the Red Hawk and join the hero's journey."

"Wasn't it canceled?"

"Only the target has changed."

"I heard Hillen Cargill couldn't take command."

"A commander doesn't undertake a hero's journey alone."

"And Hillen Cargill agreed to that? He's not remotely the sort."

"I agreed to tell him Drakson's weaknesses."

"..."

Granada's expression changed. It resembled Hillen Cargill's face through the crystal ball when he'd shouted, "Are you insane?"

"... Aren't you both Demon Kings?"

"Do humans beat each other bloody because they're different species?"

"Put that way, I have nothing to say."

Berge savored the tea. Its sweet yet bitter aftertaste wasn't bad.

"Do you know much about heroes?"

"I believe I know a reasonable amount. Though all my information is five years out of date."

"What about Roselle Charnt?"

"She was famous even five years ago."

"As far as I know, Roselle Charnt has never beheaded a Demon King. Yet she's more renowned than Hillen Cargill."

"Not every hero earns fame by killing a Demon King."

Heroes did not build their reputations solely through hero's journeys. There were too many heroes and only five Demon Kings to frequently undertake journeys that ended in a decisive battle.

Most therefore made their names by hunting monsters, serving as mercenaries on battlefields, or forming small raiding parties to conquer part of a tower.

"The Crimson Hellfire raiding party she leads is particularly famous."

"A raiding party?"

"If a hero's journey serves the greater cause of destroying a Demon King, a raiding party pursues more immediate profit and fame."

Rather than killing the Demon King and destroying the tower, they climbed partway up to obtain its resources and treasures.

"They consist of a small, elite force to avoid provoking the Demon King as much as possible, and they never climb to the top. If they encounter the Demon King, they have no choice but to fight to the finish."

"Aha. So..."

Those fucking bastards were the ones who'd picked out all the juiciest bits of his tower and made a fool of him?

Berge ground his teeth.

They had such a systematic way of fleecing Demon Kings. Why was he only learning about it now?

'No wonder I died.'

A lament escaped him unbidden.

"... Are you all right?"

"I'm not, so keep going."

"Roselle Charnt first made her name by conquering the Tower of Lust up to its seventh floor."

The Tower of Lust had eight floors. In other words, she had climbed right under the Demon King's nose before coming back down.

"That isn't normally done, but Roselle Charnt's audacity is already well known."

"It's fine to do that."

"Pardon?"

He seemed worried about provoking the Demon King. Like hell. Far from being provoked, the Demon King would enjoy it, thinking they'd fled out of fear.

"I'm speaking from experience. You can trust me."

"Pardon? What experience?"

"... Never mind. Anyway, Roselle Charnt."

She was a hero he'd crossed paths with once before his regression.

She had climbed to the fifteenth floor of his tower, then given up there and descended. Seated on his throne, he'd sneered that she could manage only that much.

Never realizing she'd done it deliberately.

"Do you think she can take down Drakson?"

"I can't be certain. Heroes are strong, but Demon Kings aren't weak either."

"What if Hillen Cargill joins?"

"At least he'd fill the vacancy. Their chances would be better than they are now."

"Vacancy?"

"Balaf Dislord had joined alongside Roselle Charnt, but abruptly announced his withdrawal. Apparently, he ignored Ormus even as they threw a fit. We believe someone's influence was behind it."

When a proper hero's journey began, there was generally only one commander, but more than one top-ranking hero.

However powerful a hero might be, a Demon King was not an easy enough opponent to defeat alone.

That had been true of past hero's journeys, including the one to the Tower of Lust.

The elf hero Burtein Irzen and Ain Kalai had been among the very strongest heroes, and expectations for them had been higher than for Hillen at the time.

"Morale has fallen considerably because of that, but if Hillen Cargill joins, it should recover somewhat. I don't like it, but his fame is genuine."

"But Hillen came to my tower alone."

"He came with Watton Collo, though Watton falls a little short. Of course, it wasn't typical, but wasn't that simply because he was bursting with greed?"

Granada's explanation was that, since Berge had only recently descended, Hillen had clearly wanted to gobble up everything for himself.

"And he paid the price."

Granada snickered. Ever since Hillen Cargill had used him as a shield, an irreparable rift had formed between them.

"Get along with him. You'll have to assist him again anyway."

Naturally, Berge couldn't care less about their rift.

"... Ugh."

"Anyway, I'll trust you to handle it."

"Are you going somewhere else?"

"I'm thinking of visiting the Golden Moon Trading Company. Hillen told me things were going well, but that hardly compares to seeing for myself."

"An excellent decision! You must never trust that swindler!"

Berge opened the window and leaped out, Granada's shout drifting faintly after him.

* * *

What did a Demon King need to do to conquer a continent?

According to the Guide, the first steps were to build a tower and kidnap a prince or princess.

The tower converted the negative emotions humans released—fear, sorrow, anger, despair—into demonic energy points.

Alternatively, it converted the life force obtained by killing heroes and other living beings into demonic energy points.

The points obtained were then invested in reducing the dimensional interference imposed on demons and summoning troops from the Demon Realm to build an army.

Then came the great war.

That was the Demon Realm's scenario for conquering a dimension.

But the path Berge was walking was distinctly different.

Kidnapping princesses and gathering negative energy were the same. The major difference was that he was converting it into money rather than demonic creatures and demons.

Money.

Scraps of metal utterly useless to demons were infinitely precious to humans.

It was fair to say that human lives began and ended with money.

Proof? He needn't look far. Hillen Cargill, that renowned hero, was living proof.

Berge had faith in money, and his aggressive investments were an expression of that faith.

His grand plan was to borrow an enormous sum from the Demon King of Lies and pour every bit of it into a trading company.

In that sense, the Golden Moon Trading Company absolutely had to succeed.

"Welcome."

In the Kingdom of Iasin, a secret meeting took place in the room of Aman Katrash, who had become the Golden Moon Trading Company's heir.

"Call me Pale."

Berge gave him a hastily invented alias.

"Yes, Master Pale."

"The company looks quite large."

"I'm not saying this merely because it belongs to my family. Even if it was failing, the company has solid foundations."

Trading companies declined for many reasons, but in Golden Moon's case, the cause was a failed trading expedition eight years earlier.

The failure of that massive expedition, on which the company's survival had depended, had saddled it with enormous debt and torn out its foundations. Even years later, it was still struggling. Without Berge's money, that struggle would have continued even longer.

"Thank you."

"Thank me?"

"Part of the reason I lost my way was that I didn't want to take over a failing company."

What appeal was there in becoming its head if all he would do was repay debt? In a way, it was only natural that he'd gone astray.

"I don't like gratitude that consists of words alone. Can you betray humanity for me?"

"I'm already your loyal servant, my lord. You saved my life and gave me a bright future. What wouldn't I do for you?"

"So it's because of the money."

"... Is that what it comes down to?"

Aman let out an awkward laugh.

"Of course, I can't deny that money played a part, but my loyalty to you will never change, my lord."

"It can't change. You'll die if it does."

"... Hic."

"Are you confident?"

"Confident in...?"

"Confident you won't squander my money."

"The company's executives are capable. Surely you can tell from the fact that they kept it afloat under that mountain of debt?"

"So you're the incompetent one."

"..."

It happened then.

Something hummed against Berge's chest, and he silently flicked his fingers.

"... Y-yes. I'll clear everyone out."

The room's owner awkwardly departed.

『Do you have a moment? There is something I wish to discuss. Are you busy?』

"Is it important?"

『It concerns Drakson.』

"Go on."

『Drakson contacted me. He suspected that I had sent a demon into his territory.』

"...!"

That was certainly not a subject he could ignore.

"I'd rather discuss this in person than like this. May I come to your tower?"

As it happened, there was something he wanted to test as well.

* * *

"You're late."

"I had something to take care of."

It had taken quite some time to return from the Golden Moon Trading Company to his tower in Erjest.

When he stepped through the gate into the Tower of Bitter Cold, Reina had come down to the first floor herself to greet him.

Berge spread his arms theatrically and asked,

"Notice anything different?"

"... Are you joking? You're the same as before. The interference seems to have lessened a little, but only by a negligible amount."

Reina tilted her head.

'It worked.'

Even a Demon King hadn't noticed the Phoenix's power. It was probably thanks to the extra care he'd taken to seal his second heart completely. It was somewhat uncomfortable and restricted his demonic energy even further, but it was well worth it.

"Th-that...!"

"How dare he make such filthy advances toward our lord...!"

He felt the demons' piercing stares. They had mistaken his behavior for flirting.

"Do you intend to make me an ill-mannered lout? Show our guest some courtesy."

"..."

The demons lowered their heads, cowed.

"Leave."

"My lord...!"

Upon entering her office, she personally stopped the demons who tried to follow. With a cold gaze, she disregarded their pleading eyes.

Why did the old demon's eyes, visible through the gap in the door, look so pitiful? He seemed almost ready to cry.

"Aren't you treating your retainers a little harshly?"

Granada would have had a fit if he'd heard that.

"They deserve it. They have wronged me."

"Wronged you?"

"... That is none of your concern."

Would you like some tea?

She quickly changed the subject.

"Anything will do."

"Candy?"

"Not particularly."

A little later, she brought tea she'd made herself. Reina removed the candy from her mouth and dipped it into her tea.

When Berge stared openly, she averted her eyes.

"... It is my preference. Respect it."

"Do you like sweets?"

"Do you think I'm childish too?"

"Well..."

Reina Sordein, childish? It was a question he'd never considered, in either his past life or his current one.

'It is a little unexpected.'

They'd had little contact before his regression. On the rare occasions they'd met, she had worn a stiff expression and been the very image of a haughty ruler.

Berge had been quite arrogant himself back then, so it was fair to say they'd ignored each other.

"Surely a demon can enjoy sweets."

But watching her make excuses stirred a mischievous whim in him.

"Do you like alcohol?"

"I'm not especially fond of bitter things."

"You are rather childish."

"...!"

Her eyes widened beyond what seemed possible, filled with a profound sense of betrayal.

"We've gotten sidetracked. So, what did Drakson say?"

"... He said a high-ranking demon had infiltrated his territory."

With the change of subject, she quickly regained her composure.

"And he said that high-ranking demon killed the prince."

A high-ranking demon, was it? Apparently, he'd decided that was more plausible than Princess Louise killing the prince.

"Do you think it's true?"

"Of course it's nonsense."

"Nonsense?"

"That a Demon King must not trespass on another Demon King's territory is an unwritten law handed down alongside the Guide for generations. Breaking it is no different from breaking the Guide."

And the very fact that he harbored such suspicions about me is an insult.

Reina crunched her candy.

"That sounds like a reason to suspect me."

Demon Kings held the Guide sacred. Arain's Demon Kings had made their own compromises because of the dimension's unusual circumstances, but there were lines they would not cross.

All except Berge, who had flown off the handle as a side effect of his regression and been branded a lunatic.

"I did, at first."

"But not now?"

"Everyone knows you have no high-ranking demons. If I had to name the least likely culprit, it would be you."

She could not even imagine that a Demon King had personally left his tower and set foot in another Demon King's territory.

And it wasn't just Reina. For beings wearing the guise of demons, such a thing was inconceivable.

"So he's lying?"

"Yes. It is the typical behavior of a petty man trying to shift his own shame onto someone else. I can only lament that someone like him became a Demon King."

"Do you really think that?"

Reina blinked at Berge's question.

"What do you mean?"

"If you really thought that, I doubt you would have invited me here."

"... You truly are the top graduate."

"I'll gratefully accept the compliment."

"There are oddities like you, but most Demon Kings follow the Guide. The same goes for the unwritten laws. I believe all the Demon Kings of Arain do so."

But.

She left room for another possibility.

"If—and only if—Drakson is telling the truth, I believe Jason is the culprit."

"Evidence?"

"None."

Berge frowned at her baseless confidence.

"But Jason is the only Demon King who would do such a thing."

It was a moment that made perfectly clear the reputation Jason Cockmundo had among the Demon Kings.

"For someone who has done it once, a second time is easy. This time it was Drakson's tower, but next time it could be mine. I will never overlook that."

Demon Kings disliked having their territory invaded. No, they loathed it.

Demons and Demon Kings entering without permission were a different matter from heroes.

"If he sends demons to invade my territory as well, I will never overlook it. And I must take firmer precautions to ensure that never happens."

"So?"

"I would like you to stand with me."

"What makes you trust me?"

"I don't trust you. I trust your circumstances, with no one around you."

The circumstances that make it impossible for you to be the culprit.

There seemed to be not a trace of personal interest or emotion in her gaze.

Reina held out her hand.

An utterly white, immaculate hand.

'So...'

She was going to pin the blame on Jason Cockmundo all on her own?

A smile spread across Berge's lips.

He took her hand. There was no reason to refuse.

But they never began cooperating in earnest.

『We failed. The expedition suffered losses approaching total annihilation, and Roselle Charnt lost her left eye and barely escaped.』

『My lord, Demon King Drakson has requested an emergency meeting.』

For grim news had arrived.