Chapter 9 : Hero
Chapter 9: Hero
“Damn it, this dogshit...!”
He kept voicing his complaints without rest. But the elf’s hands stayed busy trimming the ingredients.
He washed them in water, chopped vegetables, and minced meat.
Then he suddenly stopped cutting.
“Haah....”
A sigh escaped him.
Cooking was cooking, but what felt even more miserable was having to make it over a campfire on the bare floor of the third level, with no proper facilities at all.
‘How did I end up like this....’
The Demon King had sworn on The Demon King’s Standard. So he had believed him. And the Demon King didn’t betray that trust.
At least, everything he had said had been true. He had simply left out the more important parts.
“Son of a bitch.”
Did he know who he was? Even in Elven lands, they couldn’t treat him like this.
What pissed him off even more was the thought that this was still better than the five years he had spent as a slave.
‘They say if you escape a goblin cave you end up in an ogre cave.’
Shaking his head hard, Granada focused again on the cooking.
He heated the iron pan and poured in oil. When the minced meat released its fat, he stir-fried it together with the vegetables and added spices.
A fragrant aroma drifted gently through the entire tower.
“Waaah.”
At that moment, someone came down the stairs leading from the upper floor.
“It smells delicious!”
‘A human?’
She was a pretty human who looked to be about twenty. He briefly wondered why a human was in the Demon King’s Tower, but the question soon faded.
‘She must be in the same situation as me.’
Most likely tricked by the Demon King and made into a slave of the tower.
“What are you cooking?”
She approached him.
“A simple meat stir-fry.”
“It smells so good.”
“Of course it does. Look who made it.”
Granada sniffed proudly and shrugged his shoulders.
“But I haven’t seen you before. How did you get here?”
“Similar to you.”
“Then you were kidnapped?”
“Kidnapped? Not a slave?”
Their eyes met.
‘...I’ve seen her somewhere.’
Pale white skin and platinum-blond hair, and the subtly shining violet eyes between them felt strangely familiar.
‘Where? Where did I see her?’
At that moment, something peeked out from behind the woman’s back. A being made of pure mana — a spirit.
Platinum-blond hair, violet eyes. And a spirit.
Several words clicked together like puzzle pieces.
“...The Crown Princess of Hilderan?”
“You know me?”
“...What the hell!”
“Be quiet.”
Just then, the Demon King came down. Granada shot to his feet and rushed toward him.
“Have you gone mad?”
“To me, it looks like you’re the one who’s mad.”
“You kidnapped the Crown Princess of Hilderan! What in the world were you thinking!”
“Ah, that story.”
“What do you mean, ‘that story’? Hilderan must be in chaos! How are we supposed to stop a hero if they show up with no preparation!”
“I’ll take care of it, so finish the cooking.”
“You’re acting way too calm....”
“That’s an order.”
“....”
With a miserable expression, Granada went back to stir-frying the meat.
Then he suddenly noticed something strange — something he had missed because he had been too caught up in one idea.
‘...But why is the Crown Princess coming down from the fourth floor instead of being in a prison cell?’
Why was she sitting there casually with a fork like it was nothing?
“Why?”
When their eyes met, the Crown Princess smiled brightly. No matter how he looked at it, she didn’t seem like someone who had been kidnapped.
He looked pleadingly toward the Demon King, filled with questions.
“It doesn’t matter. Escaping the tower is impossible anyway.”
“That doesn’t seem to be the issue here.”
“She behaved cooperatively, so I simply allowed her some freedom.”
“Allowing her freedom like this....”
The core of the problem wasn’t the Demon King — it was the Crown Princess.
No matter how accustomed people were to the Demon King, and no matter how often kidnapped nobles were released after payment or rescued by heroes, this was still the relationship between a Demon King and a princess.
The kidnapper and the kidnapped.
Her calm demeanor, as if she were in her own home, was not something just anyone could show.
Soon after, the food was finished, and even the Dark Elf Gordon joined in.
“It was really delicious.”
The Crown Princess rubbed her full belly as she scraped her plate clean. Seeing that bright innocence, Granada found himself wondering whether this place was truly the Demon King’s Tower, or perhaps the royal castle of Hilderan instead.
“Then let’s get to the main point.”
At the Demon King’s signal, Gordon led the Crown Princess back upstairs.
“As you heard, that girl is the Crown Princess of Hilderan. How do you think Hilderan will react?”
“Of course they’ll go mad.”
There was a rumor Granada had heard before he became a slave.
It was said that Hilderan’s First Princess possessed extraordinary talent, had succeeded in forming a contract with a spirit at a young age, and her brilliance had the entire kingdom wrapped around her finger.
With such a Crown Princess kidnapped, they would surely foam at the mouth and lose their minds.
“They’ve probably already submitted a request to the Hero Guild and are forming a large-scale hero party. The natural fortress known as Ergest might stop the riffraff, but Hilderan’s determination won’t end there.”
It was obvious.
“I trust you’re not telling me to kill myself by facing a hero alone.”
Granada spoke sharply.
“That was never my intention. A hero capable of entering the tower is already a finished game.”
“Then?”
“I’ll be sending you back to Hortonwork.”
Granada understood as the explanation continued.
“So you want me to stir up trouble in the human world in your stead.”
“To summarize.”
“Join a group, build influence, buy information to track the heroes’ movements, and if possible obstruct them so they fail or at least slow them down?”
“Exactly. But before that.”
The Demon King rose from his seat.
“I need to check your capabilities.”
* * *
The third floor.
On the empty level, where there was nothing and no one, Granada stood facing the Demon King.
There were two reasons Berje had specifically brought Granada to the tower.
One was to prove himself as the Demon King and gain Granada’s trust.
The second was to accurately assess his abilities.
Making him cook had simply been because he was too arrogant — that had not been the main purpose.
“Your body’s in better shape than I expected, considering how long you were a slave.”
“At the very least, it’s not a body meant for cooking.”
“The food was good, though. You have talent.”
“....”
Granada hurriedly changed the subject.
“But this is a fight I can’t win from the start, isn’t it?”
Even if it had been a surprise attack last time, he had already been taught a harsh lesson. There was an obvious disparity in their levels.
“I’ll use only one hand. How about that?”
“Not enough.”
“I’ll add a condition. If you win, I won’t force you to speak formally. And I’ll treat you as a subordinate, not a slave.”
“...Does that mean you won’t make me cook?”
“If you want.”
“I’ll do my best to blow your head o—off!”
The elf and the Demon King clashed.
A moment later.
“...I heard newly summoned Demon Kings are particularly affected by interference.”
“You think the demon race wouldn’t know what you know?”
Why did they create the Demon King Military Academy and send only carefully selected talents? To choose those who wouldn’t fall easily even in the worst circumstances — those who could at least maintain minimum combat ability despite the weakening caused by interference.
That was the vanguard of the Demon Realm, the Demon King.
“I’ve seen enough.”
The Demon King calmly lifted the collapsed Granada to his feet.
“Let’s go down.”
* * *
“It’s an honor to see you again!”
Bark brightened at the sight of the two familiar faces who had come looking for him.
He didn’t know their names, but they were the wealthy man who had spent money like water and the elf slave he had purchased.
‘But did his face always look like that?’
For some reason it felt fuzzy, but he chalked it up to having drunk too much.
“I want to buy your time.”
The wealthy man spoke abruptly.
“Your entire mercenary company. For about a year to start with.”
“Uh.... What exactly are you planning to have us do for one full year?”
“For now, you may live as you have been and take on monster-subjugation missions. I promise I won’t give your mercenary company any requests you cannot handle.”
Bark hesitated. Judging from the man’s spending habits, it was clear he would shower them with massive rewards, but nothing in the world was free. Even if he sounded that confident, who could be sure the work wouldn’t be dangerous?
“I don’t think I can decide on my own.”
Bark was the leader of the mercenary company, but the Red Hawks operated on a relatively horizontal structure.
“Discuss it. I’ll match the payment as much as possible.”
The twenty Red Hawk mercenaries entered a meeting.
“It’s too suspicious.”
“But the money’s real. If we turn down big money, we’re not mercenaries.”
“What kind of work will he make us do?”
“He said nothing unreasonable, right? We can specify in the contract that if it’s too much, we can refuse.”
“You trust that?”
At that moment, the wealthy man set down a heavy pouch on the table. Gold and silver coins poured out in a glittering cascade, and the mercenaries gaped.
They looked at one another and nodded.
“Fine.”
There was too much money to refuse.
“But we have conditions. If we judge a request to be unreasonable, we want it written in the contract that we can refuse. Of course, we’ll make the criteria as objective as possible to match our mercenary rank. And also....”
“Fine.”
Bark stated several conditions, and the wealthy man accepted all of them.
“In return, I also have a condition.”
“What is it...?”
“Accept the elf Granada as a member of your mercenary company.”
“...Excuse me?”
“It’s fine if it’s only nominal. Granada will give you orders in my stead.”
* * *
Among humans, there were ranks. And there were countless organizations.
The Mage Tower, the Hero Guild, the Mercenary Guild, Free Knights, the Artisan Union, the Black Moon, and more.
Some were tied to nations; some were not.
But they all shared one advantage: any organization people gathered toward inevitably gained power — enough that even someone who wasn’t a king could wield king-like authority.
He pictured placing one of his subordinates inside such an organization and allowing them to erode it from within.
One by one, they would fall into his hands, and eventually he would become the true mastermind controlling everything.
The first target he chose was the Mercenary Guild.
Their quality was lacking, but by sheer numbers, they rivalled proper organisations.
A group with an astounding level of acceptance that welcomed anyone without prejudice.
And despite that openness, a guild no kingdom could afford to ignore.
Above all, it was a place full of money-crazed people who lived for gold.
The fact that a familiar, conveniently suitable mercenary and mercenary company were available happened to be a good enough reason.
“...Very well.”
After long whispers among themselves, Bark nodded.
“We don’t normally take new mercenaries easily, but if we treat him as the client’s representative, it’s not impossible.”
He approached Granada.
“I look forward to working together.”
“Likewise.”
It felt a bit uncomfortable to bow his head to someone who had been a slave until recently, but money ruled all in the end.
“For you to join our mercenary company, you’ll have to take the mercenary test....”
Bark tilted his head.
“But where did you get hit?”
Why is your eye bruised like that?
Granada didn’t answer.
That day, Granada officially took the test at the Mercenary Guild, received a high-grade mercenary badge, and joined the Red Hawk Mercenary Company.
The fact that the strangely furious elf left a bruise on the eye of every mercenary who tested him was a minor incident.
And during the celebration for Granada’s joining, the mercenaries received their first request from Berje.
“Here is the first request. You must have heard that the Crown Princess of Hilderan was recently kidnapped. I want to know which heroes Hilderan has commissioned.”
“Why would you....”
“Because it makes money.”
“Ah.”
A hero’s movements attracted both attention and money. Those who financially supported heroes sometimes obtained the treasures of the tower if the hero succeeded in defeating the Demon King.
It was a reason the mercenaries, who believed Berje to be a wealthy patron, could readily accept.
“But we’re a small mercenary company. To do that, we’d need to request information from the Information Guild....”
Thud—
A pouch of coins dropped.
“Do it.”
“We’ll do it immediately!”
“And while you’re at it, look into the princesses of Hilderan as well.”
“Why would you....”
‘Because if things go poorly, I’ll return the First Princess and kidnap the 13th Princess instead.’
He had spoken boldly in front of the Crown Princess, but relying on a single move was never good. However, he couldn’t say it honestly.
And the thought of coming up with yet another plausible excuse to persuade humans irritated him.
“Do you want to hear the reason? Or do you want the money?”
“We will take the money!”
Greed colored the mercenaries’ eyes.
Berje was once again convinced: in this world, money was no different from faith to humans.
* * *
The knight, Cooltan, gave orders to the soldiers.
“Surround the hotel and don’t let even a rat escape.”
Dozens of soldiers surrounded the area, and Cooltan ascended with two others.
“He is upstairs.”
The hotel owner, who had received a cooperation order in advance, personally guided him.
“What’s his condition?”
“He is enjoying a drink.”
“He must have women on both sides again.”
“....”
Perhaps the hoteliers had cleared the corridor; it was empty as they reached the top floor of the hotel.
The door to the special suite — reserved only for VIPs — opened.
Thick alcohol fumes and humid heat brushed across their noses and cheeks.
Crunch—
Cooltan stepped on shards of a shattered bottle. The damp carpet squelched underfoot.
Without a word, he opened the window. Cold air dispersed the heat.
“...What the hell.”
“Oh my.”
The man, drunk in the warmth, opened his eyes with a lazy voice. The women beside him shuddered.
“It has been a while, Hero.”
“Sir Cooltan?”
“You two, step outside.”
The women stumbled out, struggling to steady their intoxicated bodies. Their merriment ruined, the hero scowled.
“What is this about?”
“A royal decree has been issued.”
“...It’s the Crown Princess, isn’t it?”
“The other heroes were frightened by the name Ergest. Only you can slay that arrogant Demon King and rescue Her Highness the Crown Princess.”
“The Ergest Mountains frighten me as well.”
“You must be joking. If not the hero who severed the neck of the Lust Demon King, then who dares climb Ergest and rescue Her Highness? You are not afraid — merely annoyed.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Hero, Her Highness the Crown Princess of Hilderan has been kidnapped. You know what she means to Hilderan.”
Cooltan met the hero’s eyes.
“This is not a request. It is an order.”
Heroes possessed great rights — and equally great obligations.
Kings overlooked many of their misdeeds and crimes, but when trouble arose, they would issue royal commands to force action.
A hero could refuse, but the backlash of becoming an enemy of a kingdom would fall squarely upon him.
“You may refuse if you wish. But you will no longer be able to operate in Hilderan. Surely you wouldn’t want the hero of Hilderan to become Hilderan’s greatest disgrace?”
Shff—
Cooltan extended the royal order.
“Take it.”
“Even so, doing this alone is impossible.”
“You will receive authority over all heroes currently in Hilderan. The Hilderan branch of the Hero Guild also promises full cooperation.”
They likely had no choice, either.
“The kingdom will spare no support, and your compensation will exceed anything you can imagine.”
“His Majesty must be bleeding from this.”
“That is how important Her Highness is to us. And if you are considering running away, abandon the thought. The hotel is surrounded, and if any soldier is injured during the execution of his duty, we will have all the justification we need.”
“Can you really go that far?”
“You will not leave the kingdom in one piece. And I am not the only one here. We are considering not only physical harm, but social death as well.”
“A perfect checkmate.”
The hero gave a bitter smile. Had he known this would happen, he would have left Hilderan earlier. Staying near the kingdom’s borders had been a mistake.
“I’ll take it.”
The hero snatched the order.
“O great Hero, please rescue the heart of Hilderan.”
The knight bowed.