Chapter 63 - Hero of Hilderan

Word of the disturbance spread quietly.

Knights rushed in and whispered to their masters. The nobles paled and hurried out onto the terrace.

"My God."

"The detached palace..."

Black firelight surged skyward from one side of the royal castle. The demonic energy was so dense and ominous that anyone could sense it.

BOOM!

An explosion followed. The magical alarm, previously drowned out by the banquet, now sounded its urgent warning.

"Put out the fire!"

"Demons have infiltrated the palace!"

"Save the princess!"

Soldiers bustled about. The chief chamberlain entered the banquet hall.

"Tonight's banquet is concluded. An intruder has entered the royal palace, and His Majesty asks that everyone remain in the banquet hall for their safety until the situation is under control. This is a royal command."

The nobles hesitated. None of them was foolish enough to miss the hint of suspicion concealed beneath that professed concern for their safety.

"... Ahem. Very well."

"That demonic energy makes it quite clear this is the work of demons..."

The banquet hall, which should have been filled with merriment, was left with nothing but unease and awkward silence.

* * *

"Who?"

"Berge Deias. The Demon King of Erjest."

The princess's abductor had introduced themselves as the Dark Spirit Summoner. That alone was not enough to identify the Demon King responsible. But the black flames burning the detached palace...

"It is undoubtedly the Demon King of Hellfire."

They matched the information about the Demon King that the Heroes' Guild had recently circulated.

It would hardly be strange for a demon serving him to wield a portion of his power.

"Who did they take?"

"Her Highness Princess Elena..."

CRASH!

The king hurled his glass away. The clothes he had been changing into for the banquet were torn to shreds.

"Elena returned only a few days ago."

Yes, not months, not weeks. Mere days. The festival celebrating her safe return was still underway, and the banquet had only just begun.

"And yet that bastard thinks Hilderan is a joke."

He had not merely spoiled the occasion. He had set off a bomb.

"Clearly, the Heroes' Guild is not doing its job. The Demon King of Hellfire? Hellfire, not Deceit!"

When he dared deceive the king like this!

"I tried to endure it. I barely managed to restrain myself, telling myself it was not yet time. Berge Deias. That damned demon is testing my patience."

He had sought to make Hilderan wealthier and stronger than any other nation. Everything he had done until now had been in pursuit of that goal. And at this very moment, the national prestige he had worked to elevate had fallen into a cesspit.

"Put pressure on the Heroes' Guild."

Once a Demon King had abducted a royal and disappeared, pursuit was impossible. Their concealment could not be overcome. That was an immutable law known throughout this world.

Nor could he find the tower. Dafner Philiain's failure meant that, short of taking reckless measures, there was no way to do so—at least for now.

His fury boiled, but he was a king before he was a man. The kingdom came first. He would not immediately cling to a method that had already failed. He would simply find another.

"Lodge a formal protest with the Heroes' Guild and demand a solution. Tell them that if their incompetence continues, I will have no choice but to establish a hero department directly under the crown."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The knight bowed. The maids trembled at the chilling bloodlust.

* * *

Elena Hilderan, Hilderan's Thirteenth Princess.

Berge's connection to her dated back to shortly after his first descent. A useless princess whom the kingdom could hardly help neglecting.

Trusting a piece of information Ugar had given him before his regression, he had tried to abduct her. But he had chosen incorrectly and ended up kidnapping the princess whose number was thirteen with the three removed.

Fortunately, the outcome had been favorable, bringing him this far.

But he needed to do more to secure a better future. The Thirteenth Princess's abduction had been part of that process. He could not deny that Ernyan's request had played a major role, but he would never have abducted the Thirteenth Princess if he had found her useless when he encountered her in the Adamant Tower.

On the fourth floor, where Ernyan had been recognized as the floor's master, Berge laid the Thirteenth Princess on the earthen bed Ernyan had made.

"Just as I expected."

"Yes. It's mana overload."

Ultimately, Child of the World Tree was a spell that forcibly infused mana into the human body and strengthened it. The children born as a result had far too much mana, and each raced toward their own outcome.

Either they were born with bodies that adapted to mana, their bodies were damaged by their inability to accept the power and became unable to wield mana, or they simply died.

Ernyan belonged to the first category. The second comprised the twelve princes and sixteen princesses, excluding Ernyan, officially known as Hilderan's royalty. And the third comprised all the others, who had never been born and thus had never even been called royalty.

But Elena Hilderan belonged to none of those categories. She was neither a complete success nor a complete failure. Her body had weakened, unable to withstand the mana, yet it simultaneously drew in vast amounts of it. She was constantly filled with energy her body could not endure. An overload.

She should have died immediately. Only one stroke of extraordinary luck had kept her alive: she was a hero. Dimensional interference had barely held her body's collapse in check.

"If her body had been even a little stronger, the king of Hilderan would never have left her alone."

Her unusual constitution was what made the overload possible. Without any mana-training method, without even making an effort, she drew in more than dozens of times the mana an ordinary person could.

It was both a blessing and a curse, obtained at the price of the enormous risks posed by Child of the World Tree. She possessed mana anyone would envy, but lacked the body to withstand it. She could neither learn anything nor take an active role.

"It's a wonder she's alive."

"Meiar."

A tiny spirit poked its head up from Elena's shoulder. Resembling a small sparrow, it perched on Ernyan's finger.

"I assigned it to her."

The way to keep Elena alive was simple: use all her mana. Consume it as quickly as it replenished itself. But her frail body rejected even ordinary means of doing so. Her maximum output was barely enough for a single tiny, delicate spirit.

And that had become her lifeline, extending her life enough to keep her alive until now.

"What do you think, my lord? Will it work as you said?"

"It will."

But before that...

"Elena Hilderan. I assume Ernyan has explained the details to you."

"Yes."

"Then let me ask you. Can you turn against humans for my sake?"

"Will I really be able to learn magic?"

"I guarantee it on my honor as a Demon King."

"Then I can be loyal to you, my lord. I don't want to lie in bed anymore. I don't want to fall asleep worrying about when I'll die."

"Even though you're a hero?"

"I've never felt any particular pride in being a hero. I've always been an invalid confined to bed."

"Ernyan Hilderan."

"I'll take responsibility for teaching her."

Berge folded his arms.

Elena Hilderan was certainly useful. She was merely an invalid now, but with proper instruction, she could become a valuable asset. A princess, a hero, and someone with an unusual constitution that drew in mana.

'But I still can't trust her.'

Ernyan had shown him a great deal through her actions. Elena had not.

"Even if I implant a special substance in your head?"

"What restrictions would that impose?"

"It would prevent you from betraying me. That is all."

"I'll accept it. I would have died if things had stayed as they were anyway."

"You're exactly alike."

Berge snorted. It felt as though there were now another Ernyan.

"We are sisters."

"You're fine with something strange being put into your younger sister's head?"

"It's better than dying. In fact, her condition was already growing beyond what Meiar could handle."

Elena would have died if she had remained like this for a few more years. The reason she had survived until just before Berge's death was...

'Thanks to Ugar.'

"But can I really get better?"

"I can't say you'll recover immediately. But you can learn magic, and once you do, you should be able to strengthen your own body."

"That's enough for me. Then what should I do?"

"Nothing."

"...?"

"Simply wait on the second or third floor without doing anything. That alone will cure the overload."

Elena's problem was that her body drew in more mana than it could withstand. Her body was also too weak to deliberately expend it, leaving no real solution.

But what if she were in a Demon King's tower? What if the mana was so sparse that there was none to overload her?

Simply going about her daily life would reduce her mana and allow her to regain stability. In that state, she could gradually strengthen her body.

"Once enough mana has drained away for you to live normally, start learning magic."

"... If that's really all it takes..."

"Do not doubt a Demon King."

"... Yes."

Elena nodded, stumbling over her answer.

* * *

Flashes went off. Dozens of magical cameras captured Hillen's face.

This attention was good. He liked it.

After enjoying the reporters' gazes, Hillen composed his emotions. A single tear fell.

"I never imagined something like this would happen."

He began speaking slowly. The tearful quality of his voice added to the emotion.

"I was born in Hilderan. I grew up in Hilderan. I have always been proud to be a man of Hilderan."

And so...

"I wanted Hilderan to shine. Whenever Hilderan suffered humiliation, I stepped forward as though it were my own."

"I was the first to step forward to rescue Crown Princess Ernyan, and despite the mockery over my failure, I risked my life to bring Princess Elena Hilderan home."

But to think she would be abducted again so soon...

Hillen choked back his words, close to tears.

One reporter raised a hand.

"Are you saying the royal palace's defenses were inadequate?"

"That is not what I mean. This is entirely my fault. Had I paid a little more attention, this would never have happened."

"But..."

Hillen cut the reporter off. Blaming the kingdom was not what he wanted.

"If I could, I would slay the Demon King and rescue the princess this very moment. Unfortunately, in my incompetence, I could not find even a trace of the tower."

"You aren't incompetent! If a hero who has killed two Demon Kings is incompetent, there isn't a single decent hero anywhere!"

"That's right! Hero Hillen Cargill is the only one who works this hard for Hilderan!"

The commoners watching the press conference shouted. Holding back tears, Hillen bowed his head in thanks.

"Thank you. But that will not bring the abducted princesses home. Nor will it enable me to rescue them. However..."

He made his voice strong and solemn.

"Having received so much from Hilderan, I cannot possibly let this matter pass. I do not wish to."

"As a citizen of Hilderan..."

"I, Hillen Cargill, swear here today on behalf of all Hilderan's heroes."

Someday.

"One day, without fail..."

Hillen's voice settled into a calm tone, making him sound all the more trustworthy.

"I will rescue both princesses from the Demon King's clutches."

"I will restore Hilderan's fallen honor."

"That is my vow."

The instant he finished speaking, a fiery roar of cheers erupted.

WAAAAAAH!

"Long live Hillen Cargill!"

"Long live Hero Hillen!"

"Please, save the princesses!"

The air trembled. Hillen's body shook with a thrill as well. Hilderan's anger and shame transformed into frenzy and adoration.

Hillen Cargill brimmed with ecstasy.

* * *

『Your speech was quite moving. You will rescue the princesses someday?』

『Can you even do it?』

"I never said I would kill the Demon King. And no one can say how long it will take, can they?"

『Words you don't even mean. I wonder if you're truly a hero.』

"I could pay that sort of lip service a hundred times over. Thanks to it, I've become the greatest hero in Hilderan."

『The people of Hilderan would be delighted to hear that.』

"They're delighted even without hearing it. After all, I now have the support of all Hilderan."

『Congratulations. I look forward to seeing more of your achievements.』

"Thank you."

『Have you still not heard from the Heroes' Guild? A hero who killed two Demon Kings. I imagine the Guild is eager to bring you into its central organization.』

"There is something I forgot to mention because I was so busy rescuing Princess Elena. They have already contacted me."

『Have they? Then...』

"Yes. I will be joining headquarters, where I will have a little more authority with which to assist you, my lord."

『For your own sake, rather than to help me, surely. But you have my wholehearted support for your ambition.』

"Thank you."

The Demon King and the hero exchanged smiles through the communication orb.