Chapter 6 : 3 Missing from 13
Chapter 6: 3 Missing from 13
“The Kingdom of Hilderan has been turned upside down.”
“He’s a bastard with an overinflated gut.”
Crunch—
Draxon tore into a slab of red meat, blood dripping from it.
“I told him to kidnap a princess, and he kidnapped Hilderan’s princess. And not just any—he took the Crown Princess. What do you think that means?”
“It proves he is arrogant and foolish.”
His adjutant, Casey, concluded firmly.
“Your basis?”
“First, he dared to insult The Demon King’s Standard at the Demon King Military Academy’s graduation ceremony. Second, he bared his fangs at you, my lord. Third, intoxicated by his own confidence, he didn’t even bother to properly look into Arein. He was so full of confidence he failed to see what was around him.”
“I thought he wouldn’t follow the Standard. But he followed it faithfully by kidnapping the Crown Princess. How am I supposed to interpret that?”
No one had expected him to kidnap a princess. And even if he did, no one imagined he would target the Crown Princess, who held the highest right of succession, strictly according to the Standard.
“A normal Demon King might do that. But he’s the one who treated the Standard like trash. Do you really think it makes sense that he’s following it more faithfully than anyone?”
“But he violated other parts of it. His tower is in the treacherous Ergest Mountains, where humans can’t easily tread, and instead of choosing a nearby kingdom, he chose one far away.”
“He’s unpredictable.”
Crack—
Draxon irritably chewed on an exposed bone.
“But I believe he wants to follow the Standard above all else.”
“Reason?”
“Because he has nothing except his adjutant. So he’s following the Standard in whatever way best fits his circumstances.”
Even fresh arrivals who had just descended might at least have a chance to challenge him—yet Berje didn’t.
“Fits his circumstances?”
“He has no forces, so he built his tower in the Ergest Mountains to minimize conflict. But he wanted to follow the Standard, so he kidnapped the Crown Princess.”
“He’s the bastard who insulted the Standard at the graduation ceremony. Don’t forget that. But everything he’s done since descending into Arein… your explanation fits best.”
“Pretending to hate the Standard while loving it more than anyone—that doesn’t make sense, right?”
“Is he a lunatic?”
The Demon King and his adjutant fell silent. After a moment, the Demon King spoke again.
“Let’s contact him first. He’s done well so far, so we should at least offer some praise, shouldn’t we?”
And while we’re at it, probe him a little.
* * *
I sensed something was off because the amount of demonic energy being converted into points through the tower was far too large.
[13219pt]
……?
I rubbed my eyes. The numbers still didn’t change.
Why?
It was far too much to have gathered in just a few days after kidnapping a princess so insignificant and neglected that even the king didn’t care about her.
“My lord. A communication from Demon King Draxon.”
“Again?”
That was when Draxon contacted me.
『I contacted you to congratulate you. We parted on poor terms, but as your senior, I should at least acknowledge your achievement.』
『You claimed to hate the Standard, yet you followed it faithfully. Even if “being different on the outside and inside” is one of the demon race’s virtues, you’ve surpassed mere excellence. I was fooled completely, wasn’t I?』
“What nonsense is this?”
『Do you insist on pretending to the end? If you wish, I won’t pry further.』
“Has eating raw meat rotted your brain? I’m asking what you’re talking about.”
『Is there any reason to hide it that much? Well, fine. If you want, I’ll say it myself.』
『I don’t like you as a person, but I was impressed by your accomplishments. You said it was already part of your plan, but I never imagined you would actually bring back the Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Hilderan.』
…The Crown Princess?
『Whether it was planned or simply whimsy, I wish you good fortune. One way or another, if a Demon King succeeds, it’s good for all of us.』
The crystal orb lost its glow.
“…….”
And I was left speechless.
What had I just heard?
The Crown Princess? Not the 13th Princess?
A thick sense of foreboding brushed through my mind. The back of my neck tingled.
By the time I came to my senses, I was already running toward the 4th floor.
‘That can’t be.’
She was the princess I had taken from the 13th Princess’s palace.
Fitting her reputation as an insignificant bastard child the king didn’t care about, there had been no one around her palace.
She wasn’t even a knight or a mage.
‘The Crown Princess is a spirit mage.’
The southern half of the continent, including Hilderan, hadn’t been part of the region I operated in, but the Crown Princess of Hilderan was quite well known.
A genius spirit mage who, at a young age, had contracted with no less than four elemental spirits thanks to her extraordinary talent.
Hilderan Kingdom had been obsessed with her to a mad degree, so not a single Demon King dared to lay a hand on her.
So it couldn’t be.
If she were the Crown Princess, her body would have been filled with enormous mana.
If she were the Crown Princess, she would have been surrounded by escort knights.
If she were the Crown Princess, she would never have been in the 13th Princess’s chamber.
Clinging to that self-justification, the moment my foot stepped onto the 4th floor—
I found something that should not have been there.
There was a “wall.”
A wall of packed earth blocking off a corner of the empty ground that was supposed to have nothing. And a “spirit” was patting that earthen wall.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“You’re here?”
At a perfectly timed moment, a door of earth opened. A princess with a somewhat disheveled appearance, yet beauty that hadn’t dimmed, walked out as if nothing were odd.
I shoved past her and stepped inside.
An earthen bed, earthen furniture, earthen chairs. These were things the powerless 13th Princess could never have created.
The unmistakable traces of spirits were impossible not to recognize.
Even more absurd—
‘…Her mana is overflowing.’
Things I hadn’t felt at all when I kidnapped her and brought her to the 4th floor now prickled along my skin.
“…What are you?”
“I don’t understand the definition of that question.”
“The 13th Princess.”
I glared at her.
“…You are not.”
“Of course I’m not Ellena.”
At that brief exchange, my last hope crumbled. She widened her eyes.
“Don’t tell me you mistook me for Ellena…?”
“Name.”
“Ernan Hilderan.”
The 1st Princess. The same Crown Princess who, in my previous life, had earned fame as an exceptional spirit mage.
“Why on earth are you here?”
“Because you kidnapped me.”
That was the wrong question.
“Wasn’t that the 13th Princess’s palace?”
“It was.”
“Then why were you there?”
“Does that matter?”
It mattered. It mattered a lot.
“That’s why I asked, remember? Whether you could handle kidnapping me.”
She certainly had. Why hadn’t I questioned what made her so confident? Why hadn’t I asked whether she truly was the 13th Princess?
“I thought it was strange, and so it really was just a mistake, huh? Well, even Demon Kings, no matter how mad, never touch the heirs of other countries.”
She let out a self-mocking laugh.
“So? Will you send me back even now?”
Her effortlessly natural choice of words scraped across my nerves.
“Nonsense.”
She obviously assumed I would return her.
She assumed that I, who had once toppled numerous kingdoms and accomplished what no Demon King had ever achieved, was now frightened.
“I did intend to kidnap the 13th Princess, but having you instead doesn’t change anything.”
A mere human? And she dared.
‘I am not frightened.’
I was merely retreating for the moment. Holding my breath for a ten-step advance.
She said nothing. But the strange look in her eyes irritated me.
“I will not send you back.”
So I gave her a definite answer.
‘Hilderan and Ergest are opposites.’
The northern continent and the southern continent. Logistically, it was practically impossible to bring an army across.
‘And the Ergest Mountains themselves are a natural fortress.’
A treasure trove of monsters untouched by human hands.
Even as a Demon King, there were beings here I couldn’t immediately challenge due to interference, and the blizzards never ceased roaring.
How many heroes could climb such a place?
And besides, this place was hidden within a basin. Even if they climbed, they wouldn’t find it.
So.
“I’m a Demon King and you’re a princess. If you want to return home in one piece, you’d best stop provoking me.”
“…All right.”
The princess, Ernan, accepted quietly.
“But how did you deceive me? I couldn’t sense a trace of mana from you.”
“…That’s…”
After a moment of hesitation, Ernan fidgeted and slipped on a ring.
In that instant, the spirits vanished. The drifting mana disappeared without a trace.
“…An artifact.”
Even if I was in my weakened state, to think she had dared to fool my eyes.
“It’s a treasure passed down through the royal family. I heard it used to be an artifact a hero once used.”
“A hero’s artifact, huh…”
Even weakened, anything capable of deceiving a Demon King’s eyes was no ordinary trinket.
Greed stirred within me.
At that moment—
[The emotions that had lost their way have found their target.]
[Multiple instances of anger directed at Demon King Berje Deias have been detected.]
They had identified me.
The full-scale collection of demonic energy had begun.
* * *
Inside the splendid palace, the atmosphere of the grand hall—filled with dozens of nobles—froze over.
“What the…”
The king swallowed down his fury.
“What were the so-called royal guards doing?”
He did not shout, but the anger simmering beneath his words made the air go cold.
“…We apologize. While the princess slipped away from the knights and headed toward the Hyacinth Palace—”
“So.”
The king slammed his fist onto the throne. Crushed fragments scattered across the hall.
“How could the royal guards fail to notice the Crown Princess disappearing from the palace?”
“Please execute us!”
“Please execute us!”
The knights bowed flat against the floor.
“If you truly desire death, I can personally cut off your heads.”
“……”
“Your Majesty, first we must find out who kidnapped the princess.”
“Who else could it be? A Demon King, obviously.”
Even if Ernan had acted impulsively, it was still the royal palace. The only beings capable of slipping through the royal guards and the royal knight order without a sound and abducting a princess were Demon Kings.
Demon Kings were unmatched specialists when it came to kidnapping.
That was why… the reason the royal guard—whose necks ought to have been snapped immediately—were still alive was exactly that.
“But the Demon Kings have no reason to break the unspoken rule and abduct Princess Ernan…”
“That is what I find strange. Unless those bastards suddenly went insane, they wouldn’t dare.”
“Not long ago, didn’t the Demon King of Lust touch the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Akan and get his head lopped off by hundreds of heroes? With that example fresh, would they really… ah.”
The minister who had been speaking let out a gasp. The king and the nobles also realized it as they mulled over his words.
“...A new one has descended.”
“If an existing Demon King had acted, the Hero Guild would have noticed some sign. Yes, that must be it.”
“Parasites… they never stop appearing.”
The king ground his teeth.
“I’ll issue a request to the Hero Guild immediately.”
“I can’t even imagine how much those money-grubbing worms will demand.”
“Shouldn’t saving the princess come first?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Ernan was his hope.
Her overwhelming talent and imperial bearing were enough to contain all the kingdom’s long-held aspirations.
Now that the vessel had been stolen, everything inside it was about to spill. She must be retrieved—no matter the cost. And an example must be made, so no one would ever dare covet her again.
“No matter the expense, track his movements and find the location of his tower. Then request the Hero Guild to bring back his head and rescue the princess.”
“We obey!”
Couriers from the Kingdom of Hilderan sped off in all directions.
* * *
“We have discovered traces of the new Demon King and an individual presumed to be the princess!”
“Their route leads north! They used teleportation circles across several kingdoms!”
“T-their presumed destination was… the Ergest Mountains. There have been no witnesses beyond that point.”
At first, the Kingdom of Hilderan and the Hero Guild viewed the situation rather lightly.
They felt unforgivable rage at the abduction of the Crown Princess, but once they grasped the actual circumstances, it became laughable.
The foolishness of a newly summoned rookie Demon King.
He acted without even researching what kind of place Arein was. Obviously, they believed it would be easy to handle him.
“‘A newly summoned Demon King is pathetically weak. Just deploy the heroes and cut off his head.’”
But once it was determined that his destination—the presumed location of his tower—was the Ergest Mountains, difficulties arose.
“Why?”
“No, why would someone that far away come all the way to Hilderan?”
“His actions differ from those of other Demon Kings.”
A Demon King’s tower was neither placed right next to kingdoms nor in excessively dangerous locations.
They also rarely tangled with kingdoms that were too far away.
No one knew why, but that was the usual pattern. And the people of Arein were used to that norm.
At such a time, the new Demon King broke that norm.
Normally, they would have brushed it off as a Demon King’s whim. The problem was that both the Kingdom of Hilderan and the Hero Guild that accepted the request had to rescue the princess.
“The Ergest Mountains?”
“You expect us to enter that insane place?”
The heroes refused the request.
The Ergest Mountains claimed nine out of ten lives with their year-round blizzards and the monsters of the snowy peaks.
Even heroes blessed by the world had their limits.
“We want to slay a Demon King, not commit suicide!”
Naturally, the rescue of the princess was stalled.
“I shall go myself. I will lead the army and crush the snowy mountains.”
“Your Majesty!”
“That is impossible!”
“Other nations will not sit idle!”
“Then you are telling me to abandon the princess?!”
“There is an appropriate hero.”
“Who?”
The king brightened.
“Do you recall the heroes who took part in subjugating the Demon King of Lust recently?”
“About two hundred went, and not even half survived, wasn’t it? And of the ones who confronted the Demon King directly, there were only three survivors.”
“Among them is an outstanding hero who made great contributions to cutting off the Demon King’s head. One Your Majesty knows well…”
“Hillan! Hillan Cargill, famed as the Hero of Hilderan!”
“Yes, correct! If it is him, he can surely climb the mountains and bring back the Demon King’s head!”
“But do you think he’ll accept? He has yet to appear…”
“He is obsessed with fame, so if we send knights to corner him publicly before the citizens, then…”
“Oh?”
The king and the ministers nodded with interest.
* * *
“…Damn it.”
[45228pt]
The converted demonic energy was rising sharply. An incredible result, yet not something I could celebrate purely.
It meant Hilderan’s anger was immense.
And their response would be equally certain.
The only thing I could rely on was the natural fortress that was Ergest.
The problem was the strong heroes for whom even that wouldn’t matter.
“If they’re capable of climbing the mountain and finding the tower, then with my current level, I don’t stand a chance.”
Should I convert all the gained demonic energy directly into my own power?
‘No, that wouldn’t be good.’
The demonic energy created from negative emotions worked with the tower’s system and could do many things.
It could reduce the dimensional interference imposed on Demon Kings and the demon race, be absorbed individually to raise raw power, purchase monsters, set up magic circles and traps throughout the tower, expand the tower’s territory through Demonic Realms—many options.
But none of them were reliable right now.
The demonic energy was rising sharply, but it was still far from enough to deal with an entire kingdom that had decided to act.
‘I need a different move.’
For example—blocking their progress entirely…
‘Yes.’
Like lightning striking, something occurred to me.
‘Since I’ve resolved to become the mastermind anyway…’
I might not be able to act directly, but perhaps I could use others to hinder the heroes.
‘Humans prioritise personal greed above all. And the peak of that greed is money.’
Humans betray their own nation, betray their own organisation, betray brothers and sisters, even betray their parents.
If I could use them to mire a hero’s path in mud—
“Gordon!”
“Yes, my lord.”
Gordon, who had been waiting outside, entered.
“Contact Draxon immediately.”
“What shall I convey?”
“Ask him whether he’s interested in buying Hilderan’s demonic energy with human money.”
Among Demon Kings, none actually used the function, but the towers could transfer demonic energy between each other.