Chapter 10 : A Useful Princess
Chapter 10: A Useful Princess
Berje personally confirmed that Granada had become a member of the Red Hawk Mercenary Company.
Although bound by contract, he felt satisfied that a subordinate he could trust had infiltrated the humans.
‘Now it begins.’
Granada and the Red Hawk Mercenary Company would grow steadily under his support.
The mercenary company’s growth would be the same as Granada’s growth, and the elf who grew that way would become a dagger for the future.
A poison-laced blade set to stab into the backs of humans and heroes.
‘One thing is resolved.’
When Berje descended into Arein, the major direction he had planned for dimensional conquest consisted of three things.
Becoming the mastermind.
Growing stronger himself.
Strengthening the tower and its territory.
The tower and territory required purely Demonic Energy Points, so that was impossible for now. But releasing the dimensional interference did not necessarily require Demonic Energy Points.
‘Elixirs.’
Herbs or spirit pills where the mana of the dimension was densely concentrated. Their nature differed from magic, but the tower converted mana into magic.
Although their purity was inferior compared to emotions or Demonic Energy Points, having them was still better than having nothing.
‘I’ll have to put in some legwork.’
The farther he moved from the tower that slightly suppressed the interference, the heavier the burden Berje had to bear.
The range of the newly erected tower was extremely narrow, so searching for elixirs in the vast snowy mountains was by no means easy.
Even so, he had to do it, because he couldn’t leave everything to Granada.
‘Granada is ultimately just a support. If I am weak, none of it matters.’
No matter how much he blocked, the hero would eventually knock on the tower’s door. Someone had to face them.
And Berje wished with certainty that this someone would be himself.
With his own hands.
With his own strength.
He wanted to crush those bugs’ necks directly. He wanted to roar that he had returned to those bastards who mocked him and killed him.
It was then.
“....”
His footsteps, headed toward the city’s north gate, came to an abrupt stop.
A damp, sinister gaze pricked sharply at the back of his neck.
Someone was following him. Watching him.
Who?
Who dared to follow *him*?
Berje started walking again. Slowly, but quickly enough, he stepped into a deserted alley.
‘Did he notice?’
The shadow tailing Berje hesitated. The alley swallowed in darkness felt like the jaws of a dragon.
Instinct warned him.
‘I’m definitely exposed. I should withdraw now and wait for another chance....’
“The sound of you scheming is far too loud.”
“...!”
A chilling killing intent crawled down his spine.
The shadow grit his teeth.
Slaaash—
Bestial claws tore through the air. At the same time, muscles burst through shredded clothes across his body.
The instant he realized his attack had failed, he propelled himself away. The shock shattered part of the rooftop beneath him.
“A beastkin, huh.”
As the demon rapidly retreated, Berje snapped his fingers.
Fwoosh—
Black flames shot forward in a straight line.
“Gugh...!”
The beastkin twisted his muscles, forcing his body to contort midair. But the flames bent like a living creature and engulfed him.
As the fire blazed, the beastkin released all his magic at once. It would leave traces, but he had no luxury to worry about that now.
Magic swept away the remnants of the flame.
But—
“I’ll praise you for shaking off the flames. Quite clever for a beast.”
That brief moment was enough for Berje to claim the space ahead.
Kwaaaang!
A massive hand clamped around the beastkin’s throat.
Crashing through the roof, smashing through five floors, they collided with the ground. The beastkin writhed in pain.
‘H-How? Even if he’s the Demon King, the dimensional interference should have weakened him...!’
By contrast, the beastkin had descended into Arein long ago and had regained a fair portion of his original strength. But what was this overwhelming difference?
“W-Why are you doing this?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask who you are. Honestly, isn’t it too obvious?”
“I was just passing by!”
“Sure, and I was simply in a bad mood. You dared glare at the Demon King and tried to flee, ruining my temper. Isn’t that enough reason to punish you?”
“That's unreasonable!”
Crack—
The pressure on his neck intensified. Bloodshot veins bulged in the beastkin’s eyes.
“So what? An unreasonable act backed by strength is no longer unreasonable.”
“If… if you do this, Demon King Draxon will....”
“If you wanted to hide it, you should’ve hidden it to the end. Have your brains truly turned to beast flesh?”
Not that it mattered anyway.
“I’ll spare your life for now.”
It disgusted him, but openly antagonizing Draxon at this moment wasn’t wise.
The force choking his neck loosened. The instant the beastkin exhaled in relief, both his arms snapped.
“Keuaaaagh!”
“But I can’t let you walk away without paying any price. Go tell Draxon this. That I am not his debtor who borrowed money from him, so I have no reason to receive his attention.”
Berje tossed the limp beastkin somewhere out of easy public sight.
He crossed the city wall and headed toward the mountains.
‘More direct than I expected.’
It was probably just simple surveillance, but it left a foul taste. And he became certain—at the very least, Draxon would interfere with whatever he tried to do.
‘I must reduce the dimensional interference as quickly as possible.’
Battles between Demon Kings were forbidden, but loopholes always existed. He could not trust that Draxon wouldn’t make use of them.
In such circumstances, the only thing he could rely on was personal strength.
His eyes grew cold.
* * *
The Ergest Mountains were vast and immense.
No other mountains on the continent matched their height and severity, so thinking beings—including humans—didn’t even dare to set foot there.
Naturally, monsters began occupying the empty lands, and the mana of an environment that rejected contact grew increasingly pure.
Plants that sprouted naturally absorbed nature’s mana and became Spirit Blossoms.
Animals that ate those Spirit Blossoms became spirit beasts.
A certain human mage once described the Ergest Mountains like this:
『A treasury of elixirs』
But—guarded by grueling terrain and countless monsters.
If he didn’t plan to use Demonic Energy Points immediately, it was the easiest available method to reduce interference.
The problem was that it was still incredibly difficult to find anything.
“The farther we get from the tower, the stronger the interference becomes. And the worse the mountain weather gets, the weaker the tower’s influence becomes. It’s dangerous.”
Gordon’s objection was reasonable.
In a place like the Ergest Mountains, blizzards weren’t mere natural disasters—they were storms made of mana.
Just as fire wouldn’t burn on a rainy day, mana in chaos would diminish the tower’s role.
And being a Demon King didn’t mean monsters would never attack you. Unless he made them submit completely, they would merely feel intimidated and avoid him. If he looked even slightly weak, they would sink their fangs into his neck without hesitation.
“Most of all, there’s no guarantee we’ll find anything. The mountains are enormous.”
“That is a problem, yes, but we’ll find something eventually if we search. It’s still far better than doing nothing.”
“Well, that’s true, but....”
At that moment—
Knock, knock—
The door opened slightly. A tiny face peeked through the narrow crack.
“Um.... Are you busy?”
“What is it?”
“Well, um....”
In that instant, a spirit rose above her face, revealing itself.
“....”
Berje and Gordon both let out exclamations at the same time.
The answer had been closer than expected.
A spirit—more sensitive to mana than anyone.
* * *
“I’m very excited.”
The princess wore a smile that didn’t quite match the situation.
“A little—not a little, actually a lot?—I was bored.”
Even if it was with another’s help, the fact that she had finally cast off the burden she had longed to escape made her happy.
Being kidnapped and yet not harmed was a stroke of fortune.
But after spending weeks doing nothing in a place where there was nothing, her joy turned to boredom, and her gratitude turned to curiosity.
As a princess, she had heard rumors as well.
‘The Beast Demon King throws kidnapped princesses into animal cages.’
Or things like—
‘The Frost Demon King turns all kidnapped princes into ice statues.’
Or even—
‘The Demon King of Lies treats kidnapped princes and princesses with the finest hospitality.’
If not those, then at least this:
To Demon Kings, princes and princesses were bait to lure heroes, and important hostages for negotiation.
Whether by good means or foul, they always tried to create situations favorable to themselves, yet the Demon King before her had never laid a single finger on her. No—he didn’t even come to see her.
Naturally, curiosity rose, but she soon suppressed it.
‘Even so… he *is* a Demon King....’
If he left her alone, she thought she should simply be grateful.
But for someone who had spent every day crushed under excessive duties and expectations, the sudden infinite free time became a torment.
She wanted to do *something*, anything—but she was, undeniably, a hostage.
‘I think it might be okay if I decorate this place a bit.’
What caught her eye was the empty fourth floor. She wanted to turn the hollow space into a playground for spirits.
She boldly knocked on the door. It was madness, yet she could no longer endure the endless boredom.
Her heart pounded as if it would burst—but the result was something she had never imagined.
“Fasten your collar tightly.”
She bundled herself in the thick fur coat he handed her. He had gone down to a nearby town recently and bought it.
“Please keep your promise.”
“Allowing you to decorate the fourth floor however you want? As long as you find the elixirs, as much as you like.”
When he first heard her request, Berje thought she had gone insane.
‘Even if I’ve given her freedom, she wants to decorate the Demon King’s tower?’
A mere human?
But instead of scolding her, he accepted. He had no room to grow the tower itself for the time being anyway.
And since he had something he wanted from her as well, it was better to fulfill each other’s wishes through a trade.
The tower doors opened. For Ernan, it was the first time in weeks she had seen the outside. The cold air and drifting snow pricked her skin, but it felt refreshing.
The water spirit let out a cheer. The fire spirit shrank its size and hid between her clothes.
“I might be the first person to stroll around the upper parts of the Ergest Mountains.”
“Not interested. Listen well, princess. What you have to do is....”
“Ernan.”
“...?”
“Call me Ernan. We’ll be seeing each other for a while, so isn’t that better?”
Berje’s face twisted.
Had she lost her mind from being given too much freedom?
“You keep forgetting your position.... If you want, I can always move you to a prison cell.”
“....”
She didn’t answer. Her complexion grew pale under the faint killing intent.
Berje withdrew the killing intent and strode out of the tower.
“What you have to do is simple. Use the spirits to find a place where mana is densely concentrated.”
For Spirit Blossoms to form, a special area rich in mana was required. It was relatively easier to search for a large region than for the specific small plants themselves.
“Okay.”
Ernan sent off a water spirit and a wind spirit.
“I found it.”
“...?”
* * *
Meanwhile, while Berje and Ernan were searching for Spirit Blossoms—
A message arrived from Granada.
『News from the Information Guild.』
『Hero Hillan Cargill and 32 other heroes have departed from the Hilderan capital and begun marching north.』
『They are expected to proceed with a typical hero’s journey, and their strength is predicted to increase continuously.』
Gordon bit his lip.
“I was hoping we had more time....”
At last, the hero had begun to move.