Chapter 83 - Everyone Has Their Reasons

"..."

"..."

After waking that morning and indulging in a long stretch, Berge opened his door to find an unexpected, uninvited guest.

He did not avert his gaze. Neither did Lavinia.

'What is this?'

Yesterday, he had met Cain and Lavinia and eaten dinner with them. After agreeing to stay in Hortonwork for a while to discuss various matters, he had gone to bed.

So why was this crazy bitch standing outside his bedroom?

"What do you want?"

"Waiting."

"For me to come out?"

"Yes. Going in, rude."

"Of course barging in without permission is rude."

"That's why."

"How long have you been here?"

"A while."

"How long is a while?"

Lavinia fidgeted and raised her fingers. One, then two.

"Two hours?"

She nodded again.

"Why?"

"Cher."

"Cher?"

"See."

"You want to show me?"

Cher must be the chimera Lavinia was said to cherish. Seeing it in person wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Let's go."

"Hand."

Lavinia held out her hand.

"No."

"Hand."

He stared at her silently, but she refused to back down. With a sigh, he took her hand—and promptly knocked it away again.

'This crazy bitch...'

She was channeling mana while holding his hand?

He barely suppressed the murderous urge rising within him.

"What are you doing?"

"Mana."

"Don't."

"Wrong?"

"Obviously."

"Sorry."

What was this, babysitting?

'She's quite different from how I remember her before the regression.'

Back then, Lavinia had been the craziest bitch he had ever seen. A damned bitch who swept through the tower with an army of hundreds of chimeras.

Most notably, a chimera made from a modified titan she had acquired somewhere had displayed the astonishing ability to beat even a balrog to death.

And the bitch who owned it had then pulled off the feat of dissecting the balrog on the spot and stuffing it into her storage dimension.

Hundreds of demonic creatures had been fighting alongside that balrog. If asked whether leaving all of them to a single chimera while she began the dissection was impressive or insane, Berge would have unequivocally chosen the latter.

"There. Cher."

"... That is..."

'The one I saw in the mountains.'

Things had been too urgent then for him to examine it properly, but now he could see that it was a titan.

'She already had it at this point.'

Yet its appearance and presence were markedly different from before the regression. It was a little gentler, and a great deal weaker.

'So she kept modifying it.'

Of course. A mere human could hardly create a perfect chimera on the first attempt.

"Cher."

Lavinia waved. The titan crouching in a corner of the garden brightened and rose to its feet. It lumbered over with heavy footfalls and thrust its head toward her like a dog. She stroked its head.

'... How should I put this?'

It was quite an unsightly spectacle.

A titan over five meters tall, disgracing itself like this before a mere human. As a fellow demon, he felt as though his pride had taken a serious blow.

'Could it be one of Ugar's servants?'

Probably not. If it were, Ugar would never stand by and allow this.

Just then, something struck Berge.

A great tongue licked him, slathering him with foul-smelling titan saliva.

"..."

"Cher. Likes you."

The brainless bitch beside him was blithely babbling about how Cher liked him too.

Something snapped in his head.

Berge moved on instinct. He seized the tongue—and hurled its owner away.

CRAAASH!

Cher screamed as it brought down one side of the annex.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Naturally, the alarm sounded and soldiers came running.

* * *

"Haha..."

Vivian gave a hollow laugh. Wading through splashing blood, she picked up a vampire's severed head.

It had lost its body without even a chance to scream, and its eyes had not fully closed.

How many demons and demonic creatures had died?

How many of the tower's furnishings had been destroyed?

How many demonic energy points would it take to repair all this?

She was worried. But what weighed on her most was the fear that the heroes might return at any moment.

'Does that mean she already had it at this point?'

"... My lady."

"It's all right. I'm all right."

Faced with her adjutant's concern, Vivian tried desperately to reassure herself.

"I am a great Demon King. I've already conquered another dimension. A hardship like this is nothing."

"Yes."

Was it really nothing?

More than a hundred heroes had invaded the tower at once. They had swept through the first, second, and third floors, and the fourth had survived only thanks to their whim.

For some reason, they had simply left.

She hated dying more than death itself, but that infuriated her even more.

It felt as though she, a Demon King, had been dismissed. As though she had begged mere humans for mercy.

GRIND!

"Jason Cockmundo...!"

Their last conversation came back to her.

"You said you were going to let it slide, but hadn't?"

And not long afterward, the heroes had come pouring in.

What did that mean? Anyone who wasn't an idiot would know.

"Jasooooon!"

Vivian abandoned all dignity. She flung the vampire's head aside, found her communication orb, and poured demonic energy into it.

A brief connection tone sounded, followed shortly by an answer.

『What is the matter, Lady Vivian?』

His tone was as courteous as ever. That grated on her nerves.

"Heroes invaded my tower."

『Oh dear. How unfortunate.』

"You don't sound very surprised."

『Well, you are speaking to me right now, after all.』

"Not because you already knew?"

『You seem to have developed a rather strange misunderstanding.』

"Or perhaps you were directly involved."

『Didn't I tell you? I did nothing. Absolutely nothing.』

"And yet the heroes showed up as though they'd been waiting? Who do you take for an idiot?!"

『Well, from where I stand, Lady Vivian, you do indeed appear to be an idiot.』

"What?"

She flared up, but Jason did not so much as blink.

『Haven't I already told you? Arain is different from that paltry dimension you claim to have conquered.』

『Yet you made trouble right from the outset by unleashing succubi on Dormund, and now you've even tried to abduct the dwarven princess. Shouldn't you be more surprised that the heroes took this long to come?』

"...!"

Only then did Vivian understand what Jason had meant by saying he would do nothing.

"You're not just manipulating humans and putting them up to things..."

『You should be grateful to Hillen Cargill. Even groveling in thanks for making you fail to abduct the princess would not be enough.』

That failure...

『Saved your life.』

"Shut up...!"

『Lady Vivian. I don't know what Grand Duke Alkain promised you to make you run wild without any regard for consequences, but I will tell you this one last time.』

『Please.』

On the other side of the communication orb, Jason adjusted his monocle.

『Make a wise choice.』

『I can understand searching for the culprit on the grand duke's orders.』

『However.』

『If you interfere in the continent's affairs and cause trouble one more time...』

『There will be no second chance.』

『Do not test my patience.』

"..."

Faced with his cold gaze and the anger burning within it, Vivian could say nothing.

Cold sweat soaked her back.

"... Just..."

When she finally managed to part her lips, they trembled.

"What are you planning?"

The answer was a long time coming. Several seconds passed that felt like hours to Vivian.

『Even if I explained it, Lady Vivian, would you be capable of understanding?』

Even at his mocking words, she could offer no reply.

The connection ended.

"... Fine. It has nothing to do with me."

She would escape this shitty place, no matter what.

She bit her lip.

* * *

While the Demon King of Hellfire was tussling with the Kingdom of Akan, and the Demon King of Carnal Desire was struggling against an alliance of heroes, Hillen returned to the Heroes' Guild.

Before setting out, he had sent people to spread the word that he had successfully concluded an agreement with the Kingdom of Berft and saved its princess from being abducted by a Demon King.

As a result, a tightly packed crowd greeted him when he arrived in the Guild's city.

"It's Hillen Cargill!"

"The great hero who saved the princess!"

"No other hero can compare to Hillen!"

Extravagant praise poured forth. Some of it came from planted cheerleaders, but none of it was untrue.

The cheers swelled all the louder, and Hillen savored them.

'Just as I thought.'

This felt good.

If you accomplished something, you had to make sure people knew it. No one would appreciate you if you foolishly kept your mouth shut.

He passed through the cheering crowd and entered the Guild.

"The chief elder is waiting for you."

Without any chance to linger or rest, he went straight to the tower's upper floors.

"Chief Elder, I have brought Argan Hillen."

"Wait a moment."

The chief elder finished examining his documents with his glasses on. Perhaps five minutes passed before he finally removed them and pushed the papers aside.

"It's been quite some time."

"Yes, sir."

"Would you like some tea?"

"Coffee, please."

"Bring some."

"Yes, sir."

The attendant left to fetch refreshments.

"You've pulled off quite a flashy stunt."

"A 'stunt,' sir? Or an 'achievement'?"

"If you insist on making the distinction, I suppose it is closer to an achievement."

The chief elder chuckled.

"I hear that crowd outside is your handiwork."

"My apologies. I was so delighted that I let slip a word or two over drinks. It seems the news spread."

"Then that must be what happened. I have no intention of scolding you, so there's no need for that."

"Yes, sir."

The attendant returned with refreshments.

"Help yourself."

"Thank you."

"I've received the report. You've done something truly remarkable."

The Kingdom of Berft was not particularly cooperative with the Heroes' Guild. With the insularity typical of dwarves, it offered only the bare minimum of cooperation and nothing more.

That was a headache for the Guild.

No matter how many heroes there were, each was precious. Good equipment was essential to making them stronger and keeping more of them alive, but the dwarves' insularity meant that supply was always short.

Thus, Hillen Cargill's agreement was no small success.

"Well done. Thanks to you, the Guild will be able to grow richer and stronger."

"I merely did what was expected of me."

"What was expected of you, eh? Yes, I suppose it is only to be expected of an Argan. Still, good work deserves recognition. Your service will be formally honored in three days. The Guild will also hold a banquet, so enjoy yourself."

"Thank you."

"Ah, I hear you saved the princess?"

"I was fortunate."

"I've heard the broad outline, but was it truly a coincidence? Nothing like this has ever happened before, so I find it hard to believe."

"It was a coincidence. How else could I have saved her?"

"I see. You have a point."

The chief elder laughed heartily.

"In any case, you have exceeded my expectations. Keep doing what you're doing. Then I believe I will be able to meet your expectations as well."

"Yes, sir. I will."

Hillen bowed his head at the blatant offer.

"I've kept you too long when you've only just arrived. Go and rest."

"Yes, sir. I'll see you again."

Hillen left.

"There's definitely something going on..."

But he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I'll have to keep him close and watch him for now."

Whatever the case, Hillen's great achievement would raise his standing, and the chief elder's support would accelerate that rise further.

He would make a useful means of keeping the empires and kingdoms seeking influence over the Guild in check.

The chief elder resumed reviewing the documents he had pushed aside.

* * *

"He's determined to put me to work however he can."

Still, that didn't matter. In the end, they were using each other. All Hillen had to do was take what he could even while being used.

Just as he had this time.

The corners of Hillen Cargill's mouth lifted.