Chapter 13 : Spy
Chapter 13: Spy
『Join Hero Hillan Cargill’s hero’s march as a mercenary.』
『Do your best to help him and build fame.』
“Was this really an order handed down by the Demon King?”
『It is the Demon ‘King’. Watch your manners.』
“No, Demon King or Lord Demon King or whatever, isn’t this weird? What kind of Demon King in the whole world tells someone to help a hero?”
『How could the likes of you possibly understand his profound intentions.』
“And you understand them well?”
『Shut up and quietly follow the order.』
At the low growl, Granada snorted.
“Well, what choice does a slave have. Fine. At this rate, I don’t know if I’ll end up cutting off the Demon King’s head. Because I might be too faithful to orders.”
『As expected, you white folk really need to die before you come to your senses.』
“You black folk are boring.”
The two elves collided with their gazes over the crystal sphere. A strange tension. Gordon was the first to turn his head.
『How could the Demon King take in such a good-for-nothing brat...tsk.』
He flicked out a short breath through his nose and cut the connection. Granada scratched the bridge of his nose.
“What the hell is he scheming?”
Join the hero’s march that was subjugating him?
Granada tried to gauge the gap between himself and the Demon King.
During the fight at the tower, his body had not been normal after the long years of slavery. His body had been sick, his skills rusty, no different from a cripple.
But what about now?
Not perfect yet, but in his current state, he could have killed five of those foes even if they attacked him all at once.
And yet—
“I can’t grasp it.”
He knew the Demon King must have only just descended, so he couldn’t understand how he could already be this strong. And that strangeness, too.
“Guess I don’t need to worry.”
Strong or weak, he had sworn to the World Tree; unless the Demon King died, he would serve him for a hundred years.
Not a short time even for an elf, but he had no regrets. Better to become the Demon King’s subordinate and kill humans than live miserably as their slave.
‘Especially that bastard.’
The hunter who had captured him and handed him to the slave trader.
Crunch—Granada bit his lip, then came to his senses and left the secret chamber. He smacked the backs of the mercenaries’ heads, including Bark, who had been guzzling alcohol.
“Argh! What was that for, Boss!”
“An order has come from my lord.”
“Is it finally time?”
“Yes. We will join the hero’s march.”
“Hillan Cargill?”
“The hero of Hilderan?”
“Aha, is that why he requested information about the hero from the Information Guild all this time? To join him?”
“Well, you could say that.”
It wasn’t, but it was a reasonable stretch. Perhaps that really was the Demon King’s intention.
“But if it’s Hillan Cargill’s hero’s march, won’t there be too many competitors?”
The reputation of being the hero who had already beheaded one Demon King was not something just anyone could acquire. With success guaranteed, more hyenas would come running to snatch up the scraps.
“That’s why we have to go quickly.”
To become the biggest of the hyenas.
The Red Hawk Mercenary Company headed south.
* * *
“...What is all this?”
Gordon, who had come down after delivering the mission to Granada on the Demon King’s order, stopped in the middle of the 4th floor’s scenery.
“You’re here?”
The princess greeted him with a bright smile.
“I decorated it with scenery the spirits would like. What do you think?”
“Scenery they would like...indeed.”
Yes, spirits certainly would like such sights.
“Is this a river?”
“I wanted to make it bigger, like a real river, but my abilities fell short, so a valley was the best I could manage.”
Water spirits were playing in the stream that wound across part of the 4th floor.
“And this tree....”
An earth spirit was sprawled out asleep on a tree branch.
In the bonfire, a fire spirit was frolicking, and the closed tower’s wind was stirred by a wind spirit.
‘They said she handled all four attributes. It was true.’
“I made a forest on this side, and a meadow on that side. Isn’t it refreshing?”
“It is refreshing.”
Refreshing, far too refreshing. The gentle breeze tickled Gordon’s hair.
It was an ecosystem in itself.
Creating a natural ecosystem inside the Demon King’s Tower?
Though small in scale, the princess was clearly no ordinary person.
“I wanted to decorate the entire 4th floor right away, but I can’t do that for now. Is it because the mana is thin?”
“For that, you’ve arranged it quite well.”
Of course. The Demon King’s Tower overflowed with demonic energy, so mana was faint.
Enduring that and still creating this much was worthy of praise—if she hadn’t been a kidnapped princess. And if this place hadn’t been the Demon King’s tower he served.
‘I want to smash all of this.’
If not for the Demon King’s command, he truly would have. The spirits would have been forcibly banished, and the princess thrown into the underground prison.
‘I must make absolutely sure the hero never reaches the 3rd floor or higher.’
Gordon was seized by a sense of mission. He could never allow other humans to witness this sight that tarnished the tower’s prestige.
‘Why is he treating a human princess this well?’
He understood that Arein was different from other dimensions. That some convenience had to be allowed. But this was far beyond “some”.
“Oh, by the way, did the Demon King say when he would go looking for the Spirit Blossom again?”
“That is for the Demon King to decide.”
“Oh, right. I’m sorry.”
The princess lowered her head. Because of that, Gordon did not see her expression.
* * *
It was tangled.
He could no longer deny it.
He was an excellent craftsman—yet he was also a hero.
Watching the dwarf’s backside as he walked ahead made killing intent boil up.
It wasn’t this one who killed him, nor the one who had climbed the tower to mock him, but he was still a hero.
A kind of person whose limbs should be torn off and neck crushed—and even that wouldn’t be enough.
He could always find another craftsman. Word of the kidnapping might have spread discreetly among the dwarves, but if he wanted, he could manage it.
But Berje endured.
Because the man was a hero.
Because he had once been used and killed by a hero.
‘Well then....’
There was no rule saying he couldn’t use a hero.
Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to work him like a dog, treat him like garbage, and repay the humiliation he himself had endured—double, no, a thousandfold?
Thinking so, he barely suppressed his anger.
When he opened his eyes, the dwarf’s backside came into view again. Irritation spiked instantly.
He had asked to be guided through a secret path, but being dragged to this dog-like place where he had to crawl without dignity—was it intentional or not?
He considered smashing that backside. He gave up, thinking the dwarf might die instantly.
“Are you sure we’re heading toward an exit?”
“Y-yes, we are.”
But the end was an even deeper underground. A small mine came into view.
Without a word, Berje struck the dwarf’s head. The dwarf screamed.
“There, if you go that way, you’ll reach an exit! It’s a small mine that was abandoned long ago, but I opened a new passage!”
One hit made his tone very polite. Not bad.
“I’ll trust you one more time. If it’s a lie again, it won’t be fun.”
“It wasn’t a lie to begin with....”
“....”
“I-I’m sorry! Then, may I ask just one question?”
Berje gave a slight nod.
“Why did you kidnap me, a hero?”
“You were the one who said you would get captured in the princess’s place.”
“No, but even then....”
Hero and Demon King were like water and oil—mutually incompatible. There had never been a case where a Demon King spared a hero or a hero spared a Demon King.
‘Well, there was one....’
But that had been different.
Not climbing to the top of the tower on purpose wasn’t the same thing as “sparing” the Demon King.
“Don’t just stand there blankly. Guide me.”
“Y-yes!”
Roger squeezed himself through a narrow gap.
“You expect me to go in there?”
“I carved out this passage in secret, so the entrance is narrow. It widens once you’re inside, so please endure just a bit....”
Craack—
Part of the entrance collapsed. The wall pressing on Roger vanished.
“As expected, the passage isn’t that narrow.”
“...I-if you disturb it like that, the whole tunnel could collapse.”
“Yet it didn’t collapse.”
“N-no, it didn’t, thankfully, but underground, you never know when—”
“I’m starting to wonder if you’re stalling on purpose to keep me trapped.”
“T-that’s absolutely not the case. L-let’s hurry!”
The passage was shaped like a rather steep staircase. Roger scrambled upward with his short legs.
‘What happens to me now?’
He was helping the Demon King escape only because of threats, but he could not predict what would happen afterward.
Escape was impossible. And would the Demon King have any reason to spare him instead of the princess?
“...What will you do to me?”
“Do you want to live?”
Roger flinched at the single sentence that pierced his core.
He was a hero. An odd one who didn’t go hunting or subjugating like the others, but still—
A proud hero who shouldn’t beg for his life before the Demon King—
“...I want to live.”
Roger’s voice trembled. If he had been someone who could throw away his life like a piece of straw, he would’ve walked the battlefield, not worked in a workshop. He had never even wanted to become a hero in the first place.
“Well.”
Something cold brushed his neck. Roger collapsed to the ground.
“Why should I, a Demon King, spare you, a hero?”
“I—I am very useful. Though my combat ability as a hero is worthless, I have excellent craftsmanship!”
“You’re just one of many dwarves.”
“No! It may sound like boasting, but in the Dwarven Kingdom, there is no one who doesn’t know the name Roger! When it comes to craftsmanship, I dare say I am unmatched among dwarves!”
“Fine. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that all of that is true.”
At the Demon King’s affirmation, Roger nodded fiercely.
“But you, a hero, would use that skill for me, a Demon King? Do you think that makes sense?”
“What about it doesn’t make sense!”
Roger desperately worked his brain.
“The hero Pallas bought back the princess kidnapped by the False Demon King with a mountain of gold.”
“The king of the Kingdom of Horton formed a pact with the False Demon King.”
“The Gold-Steel Demon King accepted a request from the Kingdom of Iasince and wiped out the monsters in the Ians Forest!”
“The Frost Demon King sent back twelve heroes who entered his tower without laying a finger on them!”
He fired off every rumor he knew—rumors whispered only among monarchs and heroes.
“It’s no secret that heroes and Demon Kings sometimes cooperate behind the scenes! There’s no reason I can’t work for you as well, Your Majesty!”
Poke—
What came in response to his desperate cry was laughter.
Roger could not see the Demon King behind him, but he could imagine his lips curving upward.
He didn’t know whether it was amused approval or mocking rejection. Cold sweat trickled down his back.
“I came to kidnap the princess, and now I’m getting a confession from a stumpy dwarf.”
“At the very least, I believe my usefulness is superior to most! If you wish me to become a spy, I will!”
“That’s for me to decide, not you.”
“O-of course, of course!”
Hmm.
The Demon King stroked his chin for a moment.
“Whether someone like you will be useful or not....”
A brief silence. Roger’s breathing turned ragged. His body trembled.
“Since you weep and beg to this extent, I may be willing to grant mercy. I am a generous Demon King.”
Roger turned and slammed his head against the floor.
“Thank you! Thank you so much! O great Demon King! Long live!”
“Stand.”
The Demon King lifted him up.
“Please....”
He patted Roger’s shoulder with a smile.
“Don’t forget that mindset you have today, short hero.”
If he did—
“Then the worst situation you imagine will come.”
“Of course! I will engrave today’s grace deep into my bones! Thank you, thank you so much!”
‘I—I survived. I survived...!’
Roger’s legs gave out and he sank down again. He sniffled and wiped his tears.
‘I—I’ll never get tangled with the princess again.’
The Demon King might use him as a spy, but he would avoid getting involved with her as much as possible.
And when he saw the chance, he would slip away from the Demon King’s grasp and vanish.
So that he would never again experience misfortune like today—or good fortune like the Demon King sparing a hero.
He vowed firmly. Very firmly.
Relief at being alive. A faint smile spread across Roger’s face.