Chapter 7 : The Power of Money
Chapter 7: The Power of Money
“···Did you say he would sell the demonic energy?”
He was so shocked that he didn’t even notice the meat in his mouth fall to the floor.
“Yes.”
Casey picked up the fallen piece and threw it into the trash. He wiped the corner of my mouth with a napkin.
“Are you sure? That he contacted you?”
“That’s correct.”
“He really said he’d sell demonic energy?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“He mentioned human money.”
“For that little? Is he actually insane?”
Demonic energy quantified through human emotions and life force was different from the demonic energy of the Demon Realm.
Because it was directly linked to life force, it was purer, more refined.
It was the only key that could unlock the shackles binding Demon Kings, whose every aspect was suppressed by dimensional interference.
It could also serve as an escape route to shatter the long-blocked limits.
It was why all demons risked everything to enter the Demon King Military Academy and become a Demon King, and in all of history, no Demon King had ever sold the demonic energy they amassed to someone else.
And now the price was nothing more than “money,” a human-made currency usable only in Arein?
All emotions, all life, were finite.
No matter how fierce the anger.
No matter how searing the grief.
Even despair that made one wish for death.
Given time, everything eroded and thinned. Naturally, emotions directed at the Demon King were no exception. The demonic energy collected dwindled day by day.
That was why a Demon King had to consistently kidnap new princes or princesses or interfere in the human world to stir up trouble.
Arein, overflowing with heroes, had to be approached with particular caution, and it was far more difficult to harvest demonic energy there than in other dimensions.
Which was why this proposal was especially suspicious.
“Berje requested a long-term deal. He said he wanted to consistently exchange the quantified demonic energy of Hilderan’s fury.”
“Do you think the amount will be large?”
“Hilderan is one of the strongest nations in the South. Moreover, the people’s admiration for their Crown Princess is immense. If we were to receive that fury and grief long-term···.”
“It would be tremendous.”
As expected, The Demon King’s Standard was correct. Whether he insulted the Standard or whatever else he did, the result of kidnapping the best princess exactly according to the Standard was this.
“What in the world is he plotting?”
“Perhaps he’s simply lost his mind.”
If he slandered the Standard yet followed it more strictly than anyone else, and if a Demon King selling demonic energy wasn’t insane, then who would be?
“Could be.”
He rested his chin on his hand and thought. But soon, he came to a conclusion.
“Accept it unconditionally.”
No matter what dirty trick was behind it.
No matter how unsettling it felt.
“You’d be an idiot not to take it.”
It was an irresistibly sweet temptation.
* * *
“···Good heavens. Selling demonic energy for mere human money.”
Draxon and Casey weren’t the only ones who thought so.
The Dark Elf who had personally relayed the sales proposal on behalf of the Demon King also couldn’t understand it.
Why did demons risk their lives to cross dimensions with the Demon King?
Loyalty and trust toward the Demon King, the desire to earn merit—those were part of it, but the influence of demonic energy was even greater. To obtain demonic energy purer and of higher quality than that of the Demon Realm.
“As for money, didn’t the higher-ups give us some when we first descended?”
“I spent it all traveling to and from Hilderan. Dimensional transfer arrays are absurdly expensive.”
To begin with, the middle realm’s money wasn’t considered important, so they hadn’t given much. And it had been a journey across the full breadth of the continent.
“Of course, demonic energy is important. But that’s only something you can talk about while you’re still alive.”
“Hm.”
Gordon, having heard roughly how things were developing, agreed on that point.
“So you’re saying having human money gives us options?”
“Right.”
“Options that demonic energy alone can’t buy?”
“We’re going to purchase something.”
An elf.
And then—
“We’ll have to set up a substitute.”
* * *
Demon King and hero.
Demon King and kingdom.
The era of unconditional hostility where the two sides were accustomed to fighting was over, but it was only a transitional period; the fact that a Demon King was an invader had not changed.
Naturally, the dimensional races hated and despised demons.
Hence, no matter how much money Berje paid to hire humans, it was impossible they would follow his orders.
A crazy Demon King had descended—of course they would report him.
Meaning, what I wanted to say was:
“I need a front man.”
To become a proper mastermind in the shadows.
Someone who would throw the human world into chaos on his behalf while Berje roared at the world as a Demon King.
Someone who would never betray me and would follow with unwavering loyalty.
‘It’ll take longer than expected for the hero to arrive, so I’ll lay the groundwork in advance.’
Heroes were desperate for fame and thus never hid their movements.
Naturally, whenever a hero so much as stirred, the entire continent erupted in noise. It was as foolish as The Demon King’s Standard, but in Arein, such things worked.
Because the Standard was even more idiotic.
The journey across the entire continent would take a considerable amount of time.
It was ultimately a race against time. Would I find a front man first, hire humans, and obstruct the hero’s path, or would the hero arrive before that?
While I pondered, I had already arrived at my destination.
The kingdom of Horton, located near the Ergest Mountains. And the fortress city, Hortonwork.
A kingdom in the northern continent—vast in territory yet sparse in population due to barren land.
The defensive line guarding the kingdom’s far north.
“Halt! Who goes there!”
“A mercenary who accepted a request.”
I lifted the yeti pelt I had taken after capturing and skinning it on my way here. A moment later, the thick castle gates opened.
“You’ve got guts, wandering the mountains alone.”
“You caught a yeti by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Never seen your face.”
“You talk as if you know every mercenary in this fortress.”
Greed flashed briefly in the soldiers’ eyes, but there were no further inspections. Given Hortonwork’s nature, countless mercenaries came and went every day.
But that was as far as my knowledge of Hortonwork went.
In my previous life, I hadn’t particularly bothered to learn about humans.
The one thing I did know was—
‘There’s a slave market here.’
Arein was a dimension where slavery thrived.
Humans ruled most of the continent, waged endless wars against other races, and turned any captives directly into slaves.
As time passed and the wars between races ended, most of the slaves became other humans, but illicit trading of other races still occurred in secret.
“Hm, how was I supposed to do this again?”
A Demon King once said: the underworld’s ecosystem was similar to that of demons.
The strong ruled. Power decided everything, and if you had strength, nothing within it was unattainable.
And the slave market and the underworld were inseparable.
“If I beat them up a bit, someone will talk.”
While I was at it, I would also ask how Hilderan was responding.
I casually began walking.
* * *
“Buurrp···.”
The mercenary, Bark, let out a long belch. The carbonation from the beer he had just drunk bubbled up pleasantly.
“You filthy bastard, at least don’t do it in people’s faces!”
“It’s just instinct.”
“You do that instinct five times a minute?”
“That’s basically a rabbit, isn’t it?”
His companions snickered and laughed.
It was a good day. Monsters had attacked the fortress, and they had repelled them without much damage. His mercenary group had secured a yeti corpse and gained quite a lot of materials.
“By the way, shouldn’t we be leaving soon?”
“Leave this great place?”
They had settled in Hortonwork three years ago. They had come believing they could earn big money at the risk of their lives, prepared for death.
But surprise—this place was a gold mine. Monsters appeared daily, but the soldiers, long accustomed to dealing with them, handled everything perfectly, allowing them to harvest materials without real danger.
“No, I know, but you’ve heard the rumors. That a new Demon King built a tower in the Ergest Mountains···.”
“Oh, that nonsense?”
Bark smirked.
“You must not know much about Demon Kings. A Demon King wouldn’t build a tower in too dangerous a place. A hero A Demon King would settle somewhere soldiers could reach. And he supposedly kidnapped the Crown Princess of Hilderan—yet a Demon King in the Ergest Mountains would bother? Had they ever seen a Demon King travel across the entire continent to kidnap a princess?”
“Then what about the rumor?”
“It must’ve been spread wrong. The Demon King is probably near Hilderan or at most one or two kingdoms away. That’s normal.”
“But I heard the Hero Guild is in chaos? They say because it’s the Ergest Mountains, even with huge sums promised, no one will accept the request.”
“That’s just a show. What does the Crown Princess mean to the Kingdom of Hilderan? She’s an indispensable heir. Even if they have to pay with all four limbs, they’d issue the request, so the Guild is just being crafty to squeeze out more coin. You all know how obsessed with money heroes are, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
The mercenaries nodded one by one.
That was when—
“That’s a rather interesting story.”
A heavy voice burrowed into their ears. In the blink of an eye, one mercenary screamed and flew through the air.
“Guhk.”
He collapsed limp to the ground.
“······.”
Cognitive dissonance. Bark didn’t understand what had just happened. His reaction was slow, and that brief gap was enough to put all his comrades to sleep.
“One mouth is enough. The one who seems to know the most.”
A shadow brushed off its hands. From within the darkness, pitch-black, cold eyes gleamed, and strength drained from Bark’s legs.
His drunkenness vanished instantly.
His instincts, honed from years as a mercenary, screamed. He absolutely could not win.
“Don’t be afraid. As long as you answer what I ask, there won’t be any problems.”
A pale hand tapped his shoulder.
Bark nodded fiercely.
“I–If you spare me, anything···!”
“Shh.”
A pale finger covered his lips.
“My ears work fine.”
“Y-yes.”
“What you said about the Demon King earlier was interesting.”
Bark cursed inwardly at the comrade who brought up the Demon King. If he survived, he swore he’d smack him on the back of the head.
“Is it true the Demon King is in the Ergest Mountains?”
“That’s how the rumor spread. But not many believe it. A Demon King would never build a tower in a place that completely rejects human presence.”
I knew it.
A smile formed on the man’s lips.
“And the heroes not accepting the request?”
“They say they refuse any request mentioning the Ergest Mountains. They claim it’s too dangerous, but honestly, I think they’re just trying to squeeze more money.”
“But even though the Crown Princess was kidnapped?”
“No. There’s no trash in this world as greedy for money as heroes. I’m certain. Besides, aren’t there rumors the Hero Guild and Demon Kings have secret ties?”
“I see.”
Satisfied, the man’s expression relaxed, and Bark let out a sigh of relief.
“One more thing. I’ve walked the back alleys for hours. But nothing.”
There was no subject to the sentence.
“Isn’t there an underworld in this city?”
“N-no, there isn’t.”
Thankfully, he knew this part as well.
“Hortonwork always has a legion stationed here, so security is excellent. There are plenty of rough mercenaries too, so the underworld has no room to grow.”
“I see.”
A wasted effort.
The man clicked his tongue.
“In that case, you’ll have to guide me.”
“E-excuse me?”
“Where’s the slave market?”
“The slave market is near the east gate···.”
“Good. You know. Lead the way.”
“···E-excuse me?”
hic.
* * *
My guess had been correct.
‘As I thought, settling in the Ergest Mountains was the right choice.’
If no heroes were volunteering to come, I had more time than expected.
But since Hilderan was foaming at the mouth and racing forward, they would inevitably send a strong hero, so I couldn’t afford to get complacent.
“This way.”
The mercenary guided me to a massive mansion not far from the east gate. I sensed countless presences.
High walls enclosed the entire area, and inside lay a wide garden. Between the garden paths, numerous tents were set up.
And inside those tents were magically reinforced iron cages, and inside those cages sat slaves bound in chains.
“So this is the place.”
“Yes.”
Accompanied by the mercenary, I quickly inspected the garden. There were dozens of slaves, but none were what I wanted.
Because they were all human.
“···Do none of them suit you?”
Seeing my expression twist, the mercenary asked cautiously.
“Is this all?”
“···For now, yes.”
“That means there’s more.”
“Yes. But the special stock for premium clients isn’t shown to just anyone.”
“What if I insist on seeing it?”
“···That would be…”
Tak—
I tossed a pouch of coins to him. Bark caught it reflexively and checked the contents—then froze in shock.
“Th-this is…?”
“If you get me a slave I like, it will be yours.”
“R-really?”
It was an experiment.
I knew humans were obsessed with money. I had seen them fight and turn on each other because of it.
But I wanted to know the exact extent. Whether they could betray their own kind for money—for a Demon King, no less.
So I had hit him. Not as hard as a Demon King would, but enough to test whether he could still treat the thug who knocked out his comrades with courtesy for money’s sake.
“If you trust me with this, I’ll do my very best!”
Greed and a sense of duty flickered in his eyes.
A success.
‘At this level, this might as well be demonic energy to humans.’
After all, even demons betrayed each other to obtain the middle realm’s demonic energy.
* * *
“If you trust me with this, I’ll do my very best!”
‘How much even is this?’
The pouch wasn’t stuffed, but its contents gleamed gold. Not copper, not silver—gold. And not one coin, but two.
An amount equal to the profit from selling the materials of the yeti they hunted today. If he could earn that just for guiding someone, of course he had to do it.
Fortunately, Bark had connections. Connections he had built during the three years he spent living in Hortonwork.
“Ah, you really shouldn’t be here.”
“Please, just this once. It’s not like we’ve only known each other a day or two, right? And the buyer is willing to pay a high price—what’s the harm in letting good things flow smoothly?”
“Ugh, fine.”
Bark slipped the guide a silver coin, and the man opened a door leading underground.
Descending a dim staircase the torches couldn’t fully illuminate, they were greeted by a vast cavern. Scattered within it were several cages.
Only five.
But Bark was certain the gold pouch would soon be his. Because a smile had formed on the client’s lips.
‘What’s he looking at?’
He followed the man’s gaze.
There stood an elf with snow-white skin.