Chapter 59 - An Ordinary Demon King

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

He was not, in fact, fine. Berge roughly wiped away the blood flowing from his shoulder. Who would have thought he would run into Dafner Philiain here?

Dafner's final arrow had pierced his flames with alarming ease. It had pressed through his skin and burrowed into his flesh. The aura exploding inside him had nearly made him expose his demonic energy. Even thinking back on it made him shudder.

"That is not fine. You need treatment."

The dripping blood had already become a stream. As his robe turned red, Ernyan hurriedly summoned Nairuniel.

"There's no need."

"But..."

- He's right. There's no need.

Nairuniel brought her face close to the wound. Berge frowned in displeasure.

"What are you doing?"

- I'm genuinely curious. What on earth did you eat?

Berge's wound was regenerating slowly but surely.

- You didn't swallow a high-ranking spirit or a spirit king, did you?

"Do you think that would be possible?"

- No, I suppose not.

- A spirit would never contract with a Demon King in the first place, and eating one is impossible.

- But your energy is closer to a spirit's...

- Could it be a mythical beast?

Ignoring Nairuniel as she pondered the matter on her own, he examined his body. Flesh regenerating in real time belonged to a realm of wonders beyond even most Demon Kings. But it was not all good.

'The efficiency is atrocious.'

Was it because the wound was fairly large, or because the residual aura was impeding its healing? His regenerating flesh was consuming tremendous amounts of mana. He grumbled at the sheer inefficiency, then accepted it.

'I should be grateful I can use mana in a demon's body at all.'

Once the wound had healed sufficiently, he deliberately cut off the mana supply.

"You're not fully healed yet."

"If I keep going, I'll have to return to the tower."

He discarded the torn garment and put on another robe from his storage dimension. Ernyan followed him.

"Are we going to the Adamant Tower now?"

"There's somewhere we need to stop first."

"Where...?"

"Every Demon King has certain things that must not be meddled with."

"Humans are the same. Lines that mustn't be crossed."

"Then you'll understand easily. No Demon King hands a royal they've kidnapped over to another Demon King."

"So it's pride?"

"It's a matter of honor."

"I suppose it would be absurd to go rescue someone kidnapped by the Adamant Demon King only to find they weren't there. So are you taking the conventional approach?"

"Conventional?"

"Putting together an expedition or a raiding party to attack the tower. You must have reached some sort of agreement with the Adamant Demon King, so this isn't an expedition to finish him off, is it?"

"... That conventional approach."

His trauma briefly resurfaced.

"Correct. We'll form a raiding party and attack the tower officially. Your involvement and mine will be erased from the proceedings, and the princess will be rescued by the raiding party."

"The hero Hillen will lead it, and the members will be the Red Hawk Mercenary Company?"

"You catch on quickly."

"But then Elena will return to the kingdom's embrace."

A rescued princess returning safely to her kingdom was the ideal outcome everyone hoped for. But it was not what Ernyan wanted.

"The moment she returns to the kingdom will be the moment the Thirteenth Princess is kidnapped for the second time."

Since she would have properly returned to the royal capital, Hillen and the Red Hawk would bear no responsibility. At the same time, relief at her return would leave everyone at their most complacent. It was the perfect moment to act.

"May I do it?"

"...?"

"If you kidnap her, my lord, Elena will be frightened. She's quite fragile."

"I now understand why you hate the kingdom so much, but every time you do this, I wonder whether it's all a trick."

"I have never once lied to you, my lord."

"If I'd known you were the First Princess when we met, I wouldn't have brought you with me."

"I never said I was Elena."

"You never said you weren't, either."

"Well, you didn't ask."

"What a remarkable discovery. Apparently I didn't ask."

Ernyan avoided Berge's gaze.

They arrived in the city of Piller. Originally, Piller had hardly qualified as a city. Located halfway up a mountain, it was difficult to reach and surrounded by rocks. What had transformed this simple village of slash-and-burn farmers into a large city was the Adamant Demon King's arrival in the mountain range.

As heroes, knights, and mercenaries trickled in, more merchants came to fleece them. With its growing population, the village became an officially recognized city of the kingdom and continued to expand.

"Heroes here, heroes there. A den of those hero bastards."

The heroes failed to recognize Berge, disguised by the Phoenix's power. But Berge could feel the dimensional interference dwelling within them.

"It's a city for heroes, after all."

"Using Demon Kings for something as petty as making money. There really is something fundamentally wrong with this dimension."

It was not just Piller. Every city near a tower was the same. In Ormus, in particular, it was practically a national industry. It was lamentable that Demon Kings who had come to conquer the dimension were instead being exploited by humans.

"... I won't say anything. I'm human, but I need your help right now, my lord."

Her snow-white fingers stroked the collar around her neck.

"And I have this on right now, too. An offended Demon King might blow my head apart."

"Are you mocking me?"

"I'm sorry. I suppose I'm overexcited about being outside for the first time in so long."

"You get mercy only once."

"I'll be careful."

Berge found their prearranged meeting place. The inn, called the Stars' Rest, was fairly luxurious and crowded.

"Welcome."

"There should be a reservation under Granada."

"Ah, they're already waiting for you. Let me show you the way."

They followed the clerk to the annex, where Granada and the Red Hawk Mercenary Company were waiting.

"You've arrived?"

"Yes."

Berge looked over the mercenaries standing behind Granada. They were familiar faces, including Bark, the first to become entangled with him.

"Not a single member has changed."

"As you know, we're rather good at surviving. Excessively so."

"Being good at surviving is a positive trait in a mercenary. Provided you don't abandon your assignment and run."

The mercenaries flinched. Having delivered his mild, indirect warning, Berge snorted. Ernyan pulled her robe back slightly and approached Granada.

"Granada. It's been a while."

"A while? Who are you?"

Granada paused. Her face was unquestionably different, but her distinctive mana, scent, and air were unchanged.

"You're probably thinking of the right person."

"... Have you lost your mind?"

He glanced at the Red Hawk mercenaries and whispered quietly.

"How could you bring the princess outside? What if she runs away?"

"That won't happen."

"How can you be sure? Well?"

"Isn't it obvious if you recall when you came to the tower with Hillen Cargill?"

"... Oh?"

"And the collar around her neck is a shackle. Surely you don't think I came out without taking any precautions?"

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

"You've started nagging more, too. Is that something all elves have in common?"

"Please don't compare me to that black bastard."

Leaving the mercenaries behind, Granada led them farther inside the annex. The door shut with a click, and he personally served three cups of tea. He formed a thin soundproof barrier with mana.

"Where's Hillen Cargill?"

"He contacted me yesterday evening to say he'd arrive by morning, but I've had no response since."

"He's late."

"He should be here soon. But do you really intend to conquer the tower with this group? My lord, you... May I mention this?"

Granada glanced warily at Ernyan.

"It doesn't matter."

"I know you helped conquer the Beast's Tower, my lord, but isn't conquering a tower ourselves an entirely different matter?"

"You conquered the Beast's Tower, my lord?"

"I did."

"But you're both Demon Kings?"

"You're both humans, too. Yet you helped capture Hillen Cargill."

"I suppose demons have complicated interests as well. Sorry. Please continue."

Ernyan dismissed it as nothing important.

'Am I the abnormal one?'

Never before had a Demon King helped kill another Demon King. It had happened for the first time, yet her reaction was less than if she'd heard a rumor that some bard sang well. Had Granada not sworn to the World Tree, he would have spread the news all over town immediately.

"But back then, the tower had already suffered heavy damage from the first hero's journey. And the second had plenty of heroes as well."

"And now?"

"Need I spell it out? Twenty members of the Red Hawk Mercenary Company, you, me, the princess, and Hillen Cargill. That's everyone."

"That's enough. I've already reached an agreement with Ugar."

"That's reassuring, but..."

"We won't go above the third floor. The princess will be somewhere within those floors, and we need only rescue her and leave."

"Do you mean she'll be an ice statue, like in the Tower of Bitter Cold?"

"That's for Ugar to handle. Unless he's an idiot, he'll keep her alive and reasonably well. There's no need to worry."

"If it's only three floors..."

Even three floors of a Demon King's tower were not to be taken lightly, but with a Demon King, a high-ranking spirit summoner, and Hillen Cargill, Granada thought they might manage somehow.

"Three floors..."

Ernyan nodded, steeling herself for battle.

"May I ask one thing?"

"Go ahead."

"I know this isn't something I should say in front of Lady Ernyan, but why on earth are you trying to rescue Hilderan's Thirteenth Princess?"

Even going so far as to climb another Demon King's tower.

"Because Ugar's pride won't let him simply hand her over."

"That isn't what I meant, is it?"

"Because she's useful."

"From what I've heard, the Thirteenth Princess was born so frail that she's incapable of doing anything."

"So he says."

Berge looked at Ernyan.

"No."

She shook her head.

"It's true that Elena is frail. It's true that she's an invalid, and most of the rumors are true. But that doesn't mean she can't do anything."

"Are you saying the rumors are wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong with the rumors. But there's one thing that's less widely known."

"What's that?"

KNOCK, KNOCK

Just then, someone knocked from outside. Before anyone could respond, the door burst open. It was Hillen Cargill. And...

"Finally found you."

A woman with long red hair grinned, baring her teeth.

"... What is this?"

"Roselle Charnt."

"That wasn't what I was asking."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't shake her off."

Berge pressed a hand to his forehead. So this was why he was late.

"Calling me 'this' right to my face?"

"What brings you here?"

"What do you think? I'm a creditor here to collect."

"Collect?"

"I've never met anyone so shameless. If you promised me two, you should give me two. Why are you cheating me out of one?"

"So I did."

"So you did?"

"I forgot."

"Forgot? Can I forget you're human and throw just one of these at your head?"

A searing flame, conjured before anyone even noticed, heated the air.

"I'll give you the mana. It's hardly difficult."

"Exactly. The fact that it isn't difficult makes me even angrier."

"But not right now."

"You're asking for a fight, aren't you?"

"If you followed Hillen, you must have heard why he came here."

"Something about forming a raiding party to try tackling the tower's lower floors? Isn't this party a little too weak, though? All I saw on the way in was a single mercenary company."

"Which is why I can't do it right now."

"Fine. I understand."

Roselle nodded.

"Then I'll come along."

"There's no need."

"I need to. How do I know you won't run away again? And if you suddenly drop dead, that'll be even more of a problem."

"I won't die in some tower like that."

"I've seen plenty of people brimming with confidence. And more of them are gone now than are still around for me to see."

"Don't compare me to those insects."

"Come to think of it, this is funny. Shouldn't you be honored instead? I, Roselle Charnt, am offering to join this pathetic raiding party."

'That certainly is...'

Not a bad thing.

He felt an urge to snap the neck of this woman who dared pressure a Demon King so forcefully, but he could not.

Even if everyone present attacked her together, they could not capture Roselle Charnt. They might inflict serious injuries, but they could not prevent her escape completely. After that, everything he had built would come crashing down. Thus Berge concealed his fangs and gave her joining them serious consideration.

'Actually, there's no harm in getting rid of this leech and taking my time.'

He could pay her now, rest for a few days, and then attack the tower. But was that really necessary?

His goal had never been something as trivial as giving Hillen Cargill raiding experience. He needed only the legitimate pretext that a hero had rescued a princess—that Hillen had rescued the Thirteenth Princess. Whatever the process, it did not matter as long as the result was good.

'Even if Roselle Charnt goes on a rampage, it isn't my tower anyway.'

Ugar would have to bear all the damage himself. And Berge was a perfectly ordinary Demon King who hated seeing other Demon Kings prosper.

"Very well."

"Now you're talking sense."

"Oh, by the way."

She smiled.

"When I heard we were attacking the Adamant Tower, I brought the entire Crimson Hellfire raiding party. They're all coming along."

"That's not a bad thing."

"You're suddenly being so agreeable that it's suspicious."

"Let's call it respect for the great Roselle Charnt."

"I like the sound of that!"

The Demon King and the hero clasped hands and smiled.