Chapter 25 : Demon Kings
Chapter 25: Demon Kings
“What happened to Hillan Cargill? Is he dead?”
The first words she uttered were, ‘Hello, Gordon. This is the first time we’re meeting in person, isn’t it?’
And then she went straight to the point.
He had expected that this question would inevitably come up once they came here.
For that reason, Berje had given Gordon a firm warning.
— We didn’t fight. Hillan Cargill is still wandering somewhere in the Ergest Mountains.
He had asked Berje why. Why bother hiding that he had captured such a brilliant hero? Wouldn’t it be better to boast about the achievement and raise his standing among the Demon Kings?
Berje had said that was a shortsighted view.
— He’ll become the dagger I planted. Even with a few failures, he’ll return as a hero with no defeats.
He understood what Berje was thinking. That was why Gordon had been horrified. But faced with Berje’s resolute gaze, he couldn’t argue back.
It was impossible by Gordon’s standards, but that had been the case for all of Berje’s actions so far.
And the outcome?
Complete success.
Because of that, Gordon had decided to believe in Berje. He had already resolved to do so.
“He isn’t dead. In fact, he didn’t even come to the tower.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Tok, tok—
Between the tapping heels, Gordon sensed Aina’s startled voice.
“Hillan Cargill is probably still wandering the Ergest Mountains even now.”
“How does that make any sense?”
By standard procedure, it shouldn’t. But right now, it did.
“I trust you’ve heard what Lord Berje did at the Demon King Military Academy commencement ceremony.”
“...He insulted the Standard, didn’t he?”
“It wasn’t just an insult. I heard it myself. He called it stupidity on par with carrying a hatchling’s corpse and walking into a dragon’s lair.”
“...No matter how exceptional a Demon King is, he must not dare insult the Standard.”
Gordon acknowledged the faint anger in her voice.
“That is exactly what I wished to say.”
“...I can see now why you had so many complaints. So he really built the tower somewhere else? Not on the highest peak?”
“More than that—he hid it so well you can barely see it.”
“Amazing. If he hid it somewhere in the harsh terrain of the Ergest Mountains on top of that, no wonder the hero can’t find the tower.”
She stopped walking.
“Don’t be too nervous just because it’s your first time. Unlike those grand Demon King meetings, our adjutants are just subordinates who came to vent about their bosses.”
“If that’s the case, I’m confident I’ll do very well.”
“From what I’ve heard, that does seem likely.”
She turned and straightened Gordon’s clothes.
“Still, they are Demon Kings you serve, and there are no perfect secrets—so don’t shout too much.”
“Of course.”
“I’m kind to everyone. Don’t misunderstand just because I act like this.”
“...Isn’t that self-consciousness a bit excessive?”
“My, for someone who talks like that, your heartbeat is rather loud.”
“Dark Elves naturally have large hearts.”
Keek—
The door opened. This was Gordon’s first attendance at the adjutants’ meeting.
* * *
“He didn’t even come to the tower?”
How was one supposed to take such an absurd statement?
Draxon Doldov snorted.
Reina Sordein blinked expressionlessly.
And Ugar Velbek chose to be furious.
It had already been nearly a month since the hero’s party began climbing the mountain.
Half of them had dropped out, and an equivalent number either became corpses or descended.
And yet Hillan Cargill hadn’t even reached the tower?
“You expect me to believe that?!”
“You don’t have to. I have no reason to beg a lump like you to believe it.”
“Who are you calling a lump?!”
If it weren’t the tower, if it weren’t for the rule forbidding conflicts between Demon Kings, he would have killed him instantly.
And in truth, if that were the case, he could have. Berje, receiving the most interference from the dimension here, was weaker than anyone else present.
“Wait a moment.”
The one who cut into that murderous intent was, again, Jason.
“Are you saying that Hillan Cargill is still wandering the Ergest Mountains even now?”
“That’s right.”
"Then their hero’s march hasn’t ended yet. And Lord Berje’s tower defense hasn’t ended either."
But then—
"Why did Lord Berje leave the tower?"
"Is that not allowed?"
"Of course it isn’t."
Jason pushed his glasses back up as he continued calmly.
"A Demon King does not have to remain at the tower at all times. When abducting a princess or a prince, when plotting something, or like this—when attending the Harmony of the Towers. You can leave the tower."
However—
"If a hero is targeting the tower, the Demon King must never leave it."
A tower was something completed only with its Demon King present. It was operated by the Demon King’s commands, lent power to the Demon King, and all its functions worked smoothly only when the Demon King was there.
"That means choosing to abandon the tower."
It was choosing to die. A Demon King without a tower could not survive. The tower replenished the demonic energy consumed as a medium, accumulated Demonic Points, and freed the Demon King from interference power.
Could a Demon King stripped of all that still be called a Demon King?
That was no longer a Demon King.
Just prey.
In fact, in Arein’s history, there had been Demon Kings who lost their towers and died as playthings of heroes.
"It was you who invited us to the Harmony of the Towers."
"We naturally assumed the battle had ended. It’s been weeks since Watton led the hero’s party down the mountain."
Berje didn’t answer. But that silence was answer enough.
"Did you really build the tower somewhere other than the summit?"
The one who cut in abruptly was Draxon.
"I know you’re a blockhead. I also know exactly what kind of stunt you pulled at the sacred commencement ceremony."
"And?"
"But until then, you were said to have been the most devoted follower of the Standard. So I thought it was just a whim, something you said only in words."
At least until the moment he abducted the princess, he had observed it to some degree.
"But you break the Standard openly now?"
"There is no passage in the Standard that says the tower must be built at the summit."
"There is a part that says it should stand proudly in a suitably dangerous yet easily found location. You broke both."
The summit of the Ergest Mountains was extremely dangerous. Deep within, creatures even Demon Kings couldn’t easily handle were coiled.
"So?"
"What?"
"The Standard isn’t a law that must be obeyed unconditionally. The Demon King’s Standard is nothing more than a compilation of the First Demon Emperor’s advice. Nowhere does it say it must be followed."
"Tradition spanning thousands of years is the authoritative command. It is tradition because it must be upheld, and the Standard is the Standard because it is natural to follow it."
"Well said!"
Ugar chimed in. Berje looked at them calmly, twisting the corner of his lips.
"And can you confidently claim you’ve upheld the Standard properly and righteously?"
"At least we didn’t break it like you."
"So it isn’t without problems."
It was impossible for the Standard—crafted for other dimensions—to be applied as-is to the unique dimension of Arein.
If it had been possible, they would no longer be Demon Kings, but merely ones who had been Demon Kings.
"Let’s stop here."
Once again, Jason Kokemundo intervened at the perfect moment. The intention to deliberately stay hands-off was not pleasant.
"Lord Berje is correct. I also do not find it desirable to break the Standard, but we do not have the authority to force Lord Berje to follow it."
"Hmph."
"And you still have not answered the question. Then, can we know where Hillan Cargill is?"
"I said he was wandering the mountains."
"I want to believe Lord Berje’s words, but frankly, I don’t think you’re foolish enough to leave the tower empty while a hero sharpens his blade for you."
"I said he was wandering the mountain, not that the tower is in danger."
"How many days?"
The cold voice cut in abruptly. It belonged to the frost demon who had been sitting bored at one side of the table the entire time.
"At least a week."
"The Harmony of the Towers ends in a day. I don’t think it’s a particularly bad choice. It’s efficient."
"And breaking the Standard?"
"I thought that conversation ended just now. Ugar. Are you repeating yourself because you’re stupid?"
Ugar flinched under the chilly gaze. Even between Demon King and Demon King, there existed a certain degree of hierarchy.
“...Khm.”
He turned his head away.
"Jason. How about you stop as well? If the tower is taken, that is a responsibility he must bear himself."
"Of course. I was merely concerned. I respect Lord Berje’s free will."
Jason shrugged.
A brief silence. Then what followed was everyday conversation.
"This time, my kin have decided to descend into Arein. They will become my retainers and aid me. It will take a good amount of Demonic Points, but it’s worth it."
"Not bad. But don’t reveal them too easily. Humans won’t overlook a Demon King growing too large."
"The 9th Princess of the Zespine Empire has gone missing. I’ve been wanting to ask—surely it isn’t the work of someone here?"
"I’ve no intention of provoking the Empire."
"Wasn’t there talk of a marriage contract between the 9th Princess and the king of Ormus?"
"The 2nd Princess of the Dwarven Kingdom, Berfht, has left the kingdom and begun wandering the continent. Is anyone here involved?"
"I heard Roger Friedrich has gone missing."
"That half-wit hero?"
"It seems he fled on his own because he didn’t want to forge the princess’s weapon."
"I can believe that. The 2nd Princess’s temperament is nearly more fitting for a demon race than a human."
Berje did not join the Demon Kings’ conversation. It was trivial talk for Demon Kings, but because the ones speaking were Demon Kings, the subjects were filled with news and rumors from across the continent. He sat quietly, listening, thinking about whether anything could be useful.
He remained cautious—some of this might be bait meant to deceive him.
At that moment, he felt a prickling gaze. Reina Sordein. His eyes met those of the Frost Demon King.
A brief exchange of gazes. She signaled with her eyes and rose from her seat.
Berje quietly followed after her.
Tak—
The doors of the grand hall closed, and the three Demon Kings, who had been loudly conversing, shut their mouths simultaneously.
"Aren’t you curious what they’re going to talk about?"
"It’s obvious."
Draxon snorted.
"She never said it outright, but she’s shown occasional dissatisfaction with the Standard. An outright blockhead and a subtle rebel. They’ll get along wonderfully."
"I don’t like either of them."
Draxon and Ugar ground their teeth.
Jason simply stared at the door they had disappeared through with an intrigued expression.
* * *
"What are you doing?"
Tok tok—
A light tapping on his shoulder made Roger turn around.
The princess, wearing her usual innocent expression, watched him with eyes full of curiosity.
"Repairing a broken mana orb."
"Not running away?"
"What do you mean?"
Roger froze mid-motion.
"Right now, there’s no one here."
There were no Demon Kings in the tower now, and no Gordon. No guards, no methods left to stop their escape.
‘No—there were.’
The elf named Granada. And the natural fortress that was the Ergest Mountains.
But was fear of that the only reason he wasn’t running?
Roger asked himself.
No.
"I’m not running because I can’t run."
More precisely—he couldn’t.
Because of the Demon King, Roger no longer had a warm place to return to. The workshop where he had always been consumed by passion was no longer his.
‘Princess Luize.’
Roger knew her well.
He had felt her anger turning toward him, and her obsession beginning.
By now, she was likely searching the entire city. And if she failed, she would scour the entire kingdom, no—the entire continent—to fulfill her desire.
If he were caught.
“Roger shivered as goosebumps rose on their own. He didn’t even want to imagine it.
Of course, it wasn’t only because of the bad possibilities. He had been utterly captivated by this strange building called the tower that was given to a Demon King.
He did feel a little sorry for the heroes who had fallen victim to his mana orb and would fall victim again in the future, but so what. In the end, the most important thing in life was oneself.
“Then why aren’t you running away, Your Highness?”
In Roger’s eyes, the stranger one was the princess. Unlike Roger, she was under no oppression whatsoever. Yet she willingly cooperated with the Demon King.
She had claimed to be the Demon King’s subordinate and trapped the hero who had come to rescue her.
"Because I don’t have the confidence to descend the Ergest Mountains alone."
He knew that wasn’t the real reason. Even so, Roger didn’t bother pushing. There was something unsettling about this princess.
"I see."
Instead of continuing the conversation, he focused back on the repairs.
Then she poked his cheek.
"…What are you doing?"
"A gift."
It wasn’t her finger. A warm sensation. A sweet smell. A cookie studded with bits of chocolate.
"I just baked it."
"In this empty tower?"
When Roger had first come to the tower, there had been nothing. At most, only the basic supplies filling the fifth floor.
The Demon King hadn’t ordered him to make anything either. He had only said to prioritise the mana orb.
"I carved out the ground, made a kiln, and put a fire spirit inside."
"Ah."
Well, for a spirit sorceress who handled all four attributes, that much would be easy.
Even putting that aside, one had to acknowledge her nerve—baking cookies so leisurely despite being a kidnapped princess.
And since he was already hungry, Roger bit into the cookie.
Crunch—
Just the right amount of crisp. Just the right amount of sweetness.
"How is it?"
"It’s delicious."
Even without the bright expectation filling her sparkling eyes, it truly was a delicious cookie.
"Uh…?"
He realized something was wrong around the fifth chew.
"…What did you put in this cookie?"
"I put a tiny bit of Aloge’s fragment into the dough."
The princess smiled.
"…Isn’t that an elixir?"
"Actually, I consumed a lot of elixirs back in the kingdom too. There’s so much still left in my body that it’s hard to fully digest any new ones. So I wanted to try using it like this."
Aloge. He knew that was what the princess had received from the Demon King in exchange for antagonising the hero.
But to think she would give that to him?
Even if it was only a portion, it had been an extraordinarily pure Spirit Blossom, raised within the natural fortress of the Ergest Mountains. The pure mana within it was greedily absorbed by the interference power residing in Roger, the hero, leaving not even the faintest trace.
It was a great fortune.
Especially for Roger, who was insignificant as a hero.
"It’s a gift so we can get along well from now on. Do you like it?"
"I like it so much it’s almost a problem, but… why with me specifically…?"
"Do I need a reason? You, Granada, and me. We’re all going to be looking at each other’s faces for a long time from now on."
If that was the reason, he felt like bowing in gratitude.
"Thank you."
"Do you think Granada will like it too?"
"He’ll go crazier for it than I did."
"I knew it."
With light, quick steps, she disappeared. Judging by the steps on the stairs leading down, she was headed toward Granada.
‘A bold princess.’
No matter how many elixirs one had, elixirs were always something one wanted more of. Giving them to someone else was not something just anyone could do.
Roger’s favor toward Ernan rose slightly.
‘But still…’
‘Doesn’t this feel like receiving a suspicious bribe?’
A chill crept down his spine for some reason.