Chapter 81 - If They Want to Meet Me

Snow poured down in a blizzard. Their feet sank deep with every step, making movement a struggle. The biting wind was like a blade that froze everything it touched.

Across that bitterly cold land, Gillian Aint left his footprints.

He let out a long breath, sending a cloud of white vapor into the air.

WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!

The sled dogs stopped. Beyond their furious barking stood a host of ice trolls eyeing their prey.

Gillian raised his axe. A smile played on his lips, and greed flickered in his eyes.

"Money! Be as careful as you can not to spoil their blood!"

"Yes, sir!"

The White Eagle Raiding Party roared and charged with weapons raised.

BOOM!

Monsters and humans collided. Ridiculously enough, the humans emerged victorious.

The trolls screamed. Blood and mangled chunks of flesh sprayed in every direction.

"Bwahahahaha!"

Gillian led the charge. Swinging his enormous axe like a windmill, he severed the trolls' necks. Red blood stained the pristine snow.

His scarlet aura, destroying everything in its path, mingled with the blood.

CLACK!

It took only an instant for fifteen ice trolls to turn into corpses—no, into money. He strapped his axe back onto his back.

"Load every last one onto the sleds. Don't spill a single drop of blood! If you do, I'll replace it with yours. Keep that in mind!"

"But our blood isn't worth any money!"

"It'll make the captain feel better, though."

"Bwahahaha!"

Corpses piled up on the sleds. That meant they had to walk, but no one complained.

They continued across the snowfields. The monsters that appeared from time to time only added to the sleds' weight.

"The Blue Rock tribe is in sight!"

"Finally, we're here!"

Gillian whistled. As they approached the settlement, they spotted people who had come out to greet them.

"Welcome."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Chieftain."

"We've prepared a feast. Come inside."

"Thank you."

A celebration began, with every member of the tribe taking part. They slaughtered snow sheep, the livestock of the snowfield tribes, and roasted the meat. Liquor made from sheep's milk was set before everyone.

"To everlasting harmony between the White Eagle Raiding Party and the Blue Rock tribe!"

"To harmony!"

The feast continued all night. The White Eagle Raiding Party and the tribespeople mingled in boisterous revelry.

Thoroughly tipsy, Gillian held out a liquor bottle to the chieftain.

"Chieftain, let me pour you a drink."

"Thank you."

CLINK!

After they had poured each other a drink, Gillian whispered, "You've made the right choice."

"... I'm still not sure whether I've chosen wisely."

"Of course you have. You know better than anyone, don't you? There's nothing to live on in these damned snowfields. The conditions are shit, and monsters pour out practically every day. But if we try to head south for better land, those damned bastards in the empire are hell-bent on stopping us."

"That's true, but..."

"We might die fighting or freeze to death, but shouldn't we at least keep ourselves from starving? You, your tribespeople, and the generations to come."

"Ahem. Yes, indeed."

But the chieftain hesitated.

"We're dealing with a Demon King."

"You know as well as I do. It might have been different long ago, when Demon Kings first descended, but today's Demon Kings are by no means invincible. Personally, I think even that was just fear of the unknown."

"But there's no denying her strength. Do you think we can control her?"

"We won't be controlling her. She'll sink into a mire of her own making."

He had made extensive preparations while planning this operation. Gillian could confidently claim that he knew more about the Tower of Bitter Cold and its Demon King than anyone else.

"First, the Demon King never leaves her tower."

There was an exception for abducting royalty, but not for fighting.

"Second, she never comes down from the top of the tower."

"I know that much myself. But if she learns of your plan, will she still adhere to her principles?"

"She will. Those aren't principles. They're the Guide."

Having fought many demons, he knew their fanatical obsession well. It was a faith they had to uphold without exception.

"But..."

"Of course she'll try something else. That's why I need help from several tribes, so we can prepare for any contingency. And because I want the tribes of my homeland to at least be spared starvation."

"... What can I say now that I've already agreed to participate? I can only trust you."

"Yes. I won't disappoint you. The Demon King of Bitter Cold will become the owner of a farm that supplies us with demonic creatures."

"Have another drink."

The drinking continued well into the night.

* * *

"He'll use the barbarian tribes of the snowfields..."

She had never met Gillian Aint in person. But from the top of her tower, she had watched him and the White Eagle Raiding Party invade.

Over two meters tall, with muscles harder than most metals and a savage red aura, he was the very embodiment of a northern barbarian.

If his party joined forces with the barbarians of the snowfields, even Reina could not take them lightly.

"My lady, Gillian Aint and the White Eagle Raiding Party are reportedly heading into the Blue Rock tribe's territory. They have also already made contact with several other tribes."

Her adjutant, Nina, entered carrying documents.

"Berge was right."

Reina Sordein had no interest in outside affairs, the state of the continent, or the competing interests of its nations.

Within her own domain, the snowfields, however, she wielded overwhelming influence.

Over many years, she had painstakingly taken the snowfields' monsters into her service and dispatched frost demons to manage them.

She could not claim the entire snowfield as her territory. But it was also true that none of it could fully escape her influence.

Thanks to that, the White Eagles' movements had caught her eye. They surely hadn't expected her to use monsters to keep watch.

"Nine tribes have joined them, including Blue Rock... How many warriors would that be if they all mobilized?"

"More than twelve hundred."

"A considerable number."

The northern tribes inhabiting the snowfields were all barbarians, not humans.

They were born with superior physiques and exceptional affinity for aura. Every one of them was a natural warrior. Their fighting strength could not be dismissed.

"If Gillian Aint and the White Eagles join them, they could become quite dangerous."

"That much will not defeat me."

"But he showed no intention of climbing to the top."

Yes, that was the problem.

If he would simply climb up to kill her, she could kill him instead.

"That does not mean we have no options."

If he intended to gather forces and test the waters, she need only crush those forces.

"Until now, I have shown mercy."

Following Jason's advice, she had refrained from needlessly provoking humans.

That was also why she had left the northern tribes alone. The barbarians guarded the northern reaches of the Jespine Empire and dealt with monsters crossing from the snowfields, so the empire watched them with some interest.

But if they crossed the line first...

"Surely I may make an example of them."

"Whom will you entrust with the task?"

"... Send word to Lord Armand."

Where would be best?

"This is the target. Strike the day after the White Eagles leave the tribe."

Reina tapped a spot on the map of the snowfields. It was the Blue Rock tribe, where the White Eagle Raiding Party was believed to be staying.

"Tell him to show them precisely what it costs to dare betray my mercy."

"As you command."

Reina exuded a faint killing intent. Nina bowed her head.

* * *

While the northern snowfields thirsted for blood, the tension on the snow-covered mountain was instead draining away.

"... When did you say they're coming?"

Berge let out a long, languid yawn.

『... They're still preparing.』

Granada's report did little to please him.

He had already installed cannons in locations ideal for triggering avalanches. He had also identified the ranges and lairs of certain monsters and finished preparations to lure them out.

Yet two weeks had passed, and those bastards still showed no inclination to move.

"Just how long are they planning to keep preparing?"

『They're extremely wary of you, my lord.』

"Why the hell?"

As far as the public knew, Berge had never directly demonstrated anything.

He had repelled Hillen Cargill's expedition, but the accepted story was that they had brought about their own downfall in the Erjest Mountains.

After all, they had announced that they had never managed to find the tower.

『... Well. I'm sorry, but...』

After a moment's hesitation, Granada confessed everything. In short, he was the reason their wariness had risen so sharply.

"Is that all? If you hadn't told them even that much, they'd have suspected you instead."

Deliberately leading them in circles was no longer possible, but that was better than having Granada fall under suspicion.

He had merely given them an appropriate minimum of information that would not harm Berge.

If they had still deduced something close to the truth, that simply meant they were that clever.

『Thank you.』

"So they're coming eventually. If they're going to be scared, it'd be better if they gave up on climbing altogether."

Although they were not climbing the mountain, all kinds of additional magical equipment were arriving in Hortonwork. He had heard that the chimeras called demon hounds were steadily increasing in number as well, so their ascent was only a matter of time.

『Yes, that's right.』

"It feels like sitting beside a bomb that could go off at any moment."

He disliked it. Especially the part where he had to passively wait for them and fret.

Then Granada cautiously broached another subject.

『Um, my lord. There's something else I need to tell you.』

"Go on."

『Didn't you defeat the Beast Demon King together with Roselle Charnt in Tarta?』

"I did."

『Hillen Cargill and I were there too. And Roselle Charnt was a hero sponsored by Akan.』

"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point."

『Yes. They asked me how you were doing. I told them you were well, but they asked me to convey that they'd like to meet you.』

"Me?"

Had they gone mad?

A prince and princess wanted to see a Demon King?

No, no. That made no sense.

"You mean me as Pale, not me as a Demon King?"

『Yes.』

"Why?"

『It seems they've seen the mana Roselle Charnt took from you. Apparently, in the process, they heard about you through Roselle Charnt and the Crimson Hellfire raiding party.』

"... That's how it all connects?"

『Yes. We also gained some unexpected information. I'm told Roselle Charnt has shut herself in her laboratory and spent days on end researching your mana.』

"I expected that to some extent."

The obsession and madness she had shown toward Berge had been anything but mild. Her inquisitiveness as a mage had sparked her curiosity about Phoenix mana, so naturally she would try all sorts of things.

The question was what she would gain from that research.

'If Roselle Charnt gets stronger, she'll become a headache.'

Before his regression, that bitch had survived to the very end, going around burning demons.

'I'll need to find out how her research is progressing. And the Kingdom of Akan...'

『My lord?』

Granada's voice brought Berge out of his thoughts.

"... What did you say?"

『I said Lavinia Akan is particularly interested.』

"Lavinia..."

Before his regression, she had been the reason Berge abducted a prince for the first time. He still could not forget her room.

'Getting involved with her will be trouble. Better to stay away.'

That was common sense. But Lavinia was the cornerstone of Akan's forces this time.

Without her—without the demon hounds she created—he honestly would not have needed to worry this much.

'Chimeras are a necessary evil that remained in order to counter us?'

He hadn't known that. He had thought madmen simply made them because they wanted to.

'I don't want to get involved with Lavinia Akan...'

But a Demon King sometimes had to do things even when he did not want to.

"Granada."

『Yes, my lord.』

"Tell them I'll come."

『... Pardon?』

"If they want to meet me, I should meet them."

He now had reason to learn a little about Lavinia Akan and the chimeras she created.