Chapter 5 - The Princess of Hilderan

“... Why Hilderan? Isn't it terribly far away?”

“That's what will keep them from bringing an army.”

“Then why the thirteenth princess rather than the first?”

“The thirteenth princess is the Kingdom of Hilderan's equivalent of a grun. I intend to kidnap her without bringing danger upon myself.”

“You mean she's utterly useless? Even though she's a princess?”

Gruns were demonic creatures of the Demon Realm, treated as trash because they had no abilities whatsoever.

“Some princesses are like that.”

“But that goes against the Guide.”

The second rule of The Demon King's Guide.

[A Demon King must abduct a prince or princess.]

There were no additional conditions attached. Yet, as with the first rule, demons had developed an unwritten rule of their own.

- Abduct a prominent prince or princess who stands closer to inheriting the throne.

The more important the person was to the kingdom, the deeper its anger would run. The demonic energy gained from that anger would also be purer.

For those who needed every step of the process to yield greater quantities of higher-quality demonic energy, it was the obvious choice.

“But you won't listen, will you?”

“Correct.”

'I heard he was a devoted believer in the Guide during his academy days.'

What on earth had possessed him to go mad at his graduation ceremony?

Still, Gordon did not view the situation too pessimistically.

'Considering what he said and did at graduation, he's surprisingly willing to accept parts of the Guide. If I gradually get him to follow it again, perhaps he'll return to his old self.'

This was, after all, a Demon King hailed as one of the greatest top graduates in history. If he became a proper Demon King again, conquering Arain would be no mere dream.

'I have to serve him well.'

Gordon laid out an ambitious plan.

'And in our current situation, His Majesty might be right.'

They lacked the demons and demonic creatures they ought to have had. If they provoked the wrong target, it would be them getting wiped out, not the kingdom.

And Gordon wanted to conquer Arain alongside Berge, not commit suicide.

“I will accompany you and assist you, Your Majesty.”

“No, I'll go alone. Someone needs to guard the tower, so you will manage it.”

“... Is there even anything to manage?”

“It is a Demon King's tower, after all. At the very least, it shouldn't be left empty.”

With that, Berge descended the mountain. Monsters prowling their territories on the snowy slopes backed down before the Demon King's demonic energy.

Weakened by the dimension's interference, he could have lost to quite a few of them in an actual fight. Yet they fled before the innate presence of a Demon King.

'My body's a wreck. If I faced heroes in this condition...'

That was precisely why he needed a princess of suitable importance from Hilderan.

The distance and the kingdom's competing interests with other nations would keep it from bringing an army. Since she was relatively unimportant, the king would offer the Heroes' Guild little money.

Those assorted nobodies wouldn't even dare fight their way through the monsters of the Erjest Mountains.

“Perfect.”

A truly perfect opening strategy.

Afterward, he could slowly build his strength by feeding on the Kingdom of Hilderan's anger (though it would be inferior in both quality and quantity to what the first princess would provoke).

'A princess isn't the only answer in the first place.'

Kidnapping a princess was simply the most efficient way to gather the greatest amount of negative emotion, not necessarily the right answer.

'And if necessary, I can return her for money.'

His experiences in his previous life gave him confidence that he knew Arain's humans and heroes better than anyone.

'However much of a grun she is, she's still a princess. They won't refuse to negotiate. With that money, I could conceal my identity, hire humans, and become the mastermind behind the scenes. That wouldn't be bad.'

A mastermind. In a sense, that was covered in the Guide, so the other Demon Kings might approve. Then they would make less effort to keep him in check.

There was just one condition.

“I mustn't be an idiot and reveal that I'm the mastermind.”

Once was enough for that sort of foolishness.

“To do that, first...”

He would have to make this first move count.

Berge quickened his pace.

* * *

The faint crescent moon disappeared behind the clouds. A bleak wind blew.

Soldiers atop the walls endured the cold, huddling near the braziers.

“It's fucking freezing.”

“A piping-hot tomato stew would be just the thing on a day like this.”

“With a baguette dunked right into it.”

“Ahh. Just thinking about it is heavenly.”

I crossed the wall. The soldiers' chatter faded into the distance.

The magic circles guarding against intruders were vicious, but nowhere near as nasty as those at the Demon King Military Academy.

Lit by magical lights, the palace grounds were not particularly dark. I could sense people here and there.

I found a relatively secluded spot and waited for someone to come along. A servant carrying assorted items was just right.

“Mmph, who...?”

The servant trembled after I physically subdued him.

“Where are the princesses?”

“I-I can't tell...!”

I gave his body a light caress. Foaming at the mouth, the servant spilled everything. I shoved his unconscious body into a corner.

I took no further measures, partly because I had no ability to erase memories, and partly to leave myself at least a semblance of an excuse.

An excuse that I had left evidence, in my own way, as the Guide prescribed.

'Wealthy, aren't they.'

Hilderan was a powerful kingdom that dominated the south, and it was considerably wealthy. The fact that all fifteen princesses lived in palaces of their own offered a glimpse of that wealth.

I sought out the thirteenth detached palace, where the thirteenth princess supposedly lived.

It stood in the most secluded part of the royal grounds, decorated with beautiful painted hyacinths. I opened a window.

“...”

“...”

My eyes met those of a woman sitting on the edge of a bed.

She was around twenty, with platinum hair and two amethysts gleaming in the reflected moonlight.

They said all of Hilderan's princesses were exceptionally beautiful. She certainly lived up to that reputation.

Rather than freeze on the spot, I squeezed myself through and closed the window.

The princess had said nothing throughout.

“... Are you a kidnapper? Or a Demon King?”

Her first words were utterly calm.

Her bold question piqued my interest. First, I blocked sound in the surrounding area before she could scream through that small mouth.

“Would my answer change anything?”

“It would change my response.”

“If I were an ordinary kidnapper?”

“I would resist with everything I have.”

“And if I were a Demon King?”

“Would you be able to handle me?”

An odd question. Such bold confidence, perhaps.

It was ridiculous. However familiar Demon Kings had become in this dimension, to be taken this lightly...

“Of course. I am a Demon King.”

“Then I'll let you take me without a fight.”

“You're strangely composed.”

“Demon Kings kidnapping princes and princesses is nothing new. I'd considered that a day like this might come for me, too.”

“Though I never imagined anyone would actually come looking for me,” she murmured.

'What's going on?'

Of course, Arain was a dimension utterly familiar with Demon Kings, and some Demon Kings and heroes even played rigged games with each other. Even allowing for all that, her reaction was far too unexpected.

At the very least, no princess in my previous life had ever been this self-assured before me.

No matter how familiar humans were with them, and no matter how many put on a polite front to survive, Demon Kings were still evil incarnate to humans, associated with nothing but negative images.

I even wondered whether I was being deceived.

“If you're planning to lull me into a false sense of security and stab me in the back, forget it. I'm desperate in my own way, and I have no intention of falling for cheap tricks like that.”

“I'm not planning anything of the sort. How could I have known you would come here today and laid a trap?”

A sound argument.

I extended my senses to examine her internally, but felt nothing unusual, fitting for the supposedly sickly thirteenth princess.

There was the remote possibility that she had completely fooled my senses, but I doubted it. However much the interference had weakened me, I was a Demon King. I was not so insignificant that a mere princess—not even a hero—could look down on me.

When I failed to say anything, she asked a question instead.

“How did you know I was here, though?”

“It was easy.”

“... Easy?”

“You really are a Demon King.” She nodded.

“What will happen to me as your captive?”

There were many possibilities.

The Demon King's Guide did not clearly specify how captives should be treated, and every Demon King had a different personality and disposition.

Some showed kidnapped princes and princesses a measure of courtesy. Others treated them worse than filthy rags, while still others simply killed them.

In fact, the Demon Realm recommended the second and third approaches. Seeing them reduced to such miserable states made their kingdoms angrier.

In Arain, however, the first approach was prevalent.

Perhaps knowing that was why this princess was so unruffled.

Or perhaps she had simply given up.

“I'll treat you as I would any other princess. Cooperate, and I'll cooperate. Otherwise, expect the opposite.”

“How frightening. I had better do as you say, Your Majesty.”

She rose from the bed, slowly approached, and held out both hands. Her snow-white wrists caught my eye.

“Shall we go, then?”

“Let's.”

I took her out of the royal grounds.

* * *

The kidnapping went more smoothly than expected.

I hurried out of the Kingdom of Hilderan before they could notice the abduction and cause trouble.

After that, it was over in a flash. Paying hefty fees to use the teleportation circles connecting the kingdoms, I traveled swiftly north.

“Congratulations on your safe return, Your Majesty.”

The Erjest Mountains. Gordon welcomed me when I returned to the tower a week later.

“You've brought the princess.”

“Set up something resembling a room in a corner of the fourth floor and have her stay there.”

“Not a prison?”

Gordon stopped short as he was about to take the princess underground.

“She came willingly, so I intend to meet her halfway as long as she cooperates.”

“Understood.”

“Wow, there's nothing here! I heard Demon Kings' towers were usually overflowing with demonic creatures.”

Upon reaching the fourth floor, the princess expressed her amazement with perfect nonchalance.

“It's the beauty of empty space.”

“But it's all empty space.”

“Stay here.”

“There's no bed.”

“The floor is your bed.”

“Still, I am a princess...”

“Anyone would think you'd come for a picnic.”

Leaving the grumbling princess on the fourth floor without further ceremony, I went up to my office.

* * *

“...”

The princess watched his retreating back.

A Demon King. How startled she had been when he suddenly opened her window and appeared.

Really, there was nothing particularly unusual about it.

Arain's Demon Kings always targeted princes and princesses. Sometimes they failed and sometimes they succeeded, but the need to remain mindful of the danger never changed.

Yet those were the old days. Demon Kings were no longer merely objects of terror, and humans had advanced enough to track their movements.

That was why she had been startled.

She had thought she knew every Demon King's face, yet his was unfamiliar.

The Heroes' Guild would never lose track of a Demon King's movements, yet there had been no word at all.

At first, she had thought he was lying. But his thick demonic energy proclaimed that he was a Demon King. The tower atop the snowy mountain really was a Demon King's tower.

She had heard the Demon King of Lust had died recently. It seemed a new Demon King had arrived.

“... I've really been kidnapped.”

She soon recognized her situation.

“Escaping...”

Would be impossible.

There appeared to be no one watching her, but the location was the problem. Descending the Erjest Mountains alone would be tantamount to suicide.

“Hmm.”

She was a hostage. Hoping for good treatment would be a luxury.

“It's hard.”

Even so, wasn't this going too far? She tapped the floor. It was bare earth, and not particularly pleasant.

“No pillow, either.”

“Or blanket.”

“Or maid.”

“Or pretty garden.”

“Or bathroom.”

Her delicate brows furrowed.

But...

“... It's not bad.”

At least her heart was at ease. The things that had weighed upon her had vanished as well.

She smiled happily.

She removed her ring and stirred her mana. Her friends poked their heads out.

Gently patting the earth that rose up, she began making a bed.

* * *

“Did your errand go well?”

“Mm.”

I nodded at the question that greeted me the moment I entered the office.

Everything had gone smoothly. The planning, the kidnapping, and the escape.

Alkain's threats made it look as though I had been forced into it, but this was how I had intended to begin all along.

After all, I needed to gather humans' negative emotions to accumulate demonic energy and reduce the interference.

At the same time, I couldn't earn so much hatred that I became a target for extermination. Hilderan's thirteenth princess was the perfect example of a suitable choice.

So I was satisfied.

The first step had gone exceptionally well.

* * *

KNOCK, KNOCK

An opulent palace.

Esil, the princess's guard knight, knocked on the door. There was no answer.

“Your Highness, I've brought your breakfast.”

Still no answer.

“Could she still be asleep?”

“This has never happened before.”

He tilted his head at the question from the chef who had brought the food.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

He knocked again and eased the door open. There was no particular sign of anyone inside.

'Is she still sleeping?'

He gently drew aside the curtains screening the bed.

He saw a pillow. He saw a blanket. That was all.

'...?'

Instinctively, he lifted the blanket. But there was nothing there.

He checked beneath the bed and searched the bathroom. He opened every drawer and peered out the window.

The princess was nowhere to be found.

“... Uh. So...”

Esil caught his breath. His mind grew hazy.

“Sir Esil!”

The servants hurried to catch him as he collapsed. Confirming that the princess was gone, they turned deathly pale.

“H-Her Highness the Crown Princess has vanished!”

News of the disappearance of the kingdom's heir spread throughout the palace in an instant.