Chapter 42 : The Object of Suspicion
Chapter 42: The Object of Suspicion
“...Twins?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Their hair colour and the aura they gave off were different. But their overall appearance was similar.
“...Could you be the Demon King?”
Noticing the familiar manner of speaking, Granada finally realised it.
“You still don’t recognise me even after seeing me?”
“I do not recognise you even after seeing you.”
How could anyone look at him and think he was the Demon King? He looked more like one of their own kind. That was how pure his mana felt.
“You’ve been out of touch for a while—what on earth did you do?”
Without a word, Berje sat on a chair. At his slight nod, Granada brought out tea.
“The aroma isn’t good.”
“What can mercenaries expect to drink? It’s not like we get anything refined.”
“Mercenaries, sure. But you’re an elf.”
“...Tch.”
He brought out the high-grade tea he had kept hidden away. It certainly smelled better than the previous one.
“And what is this building?”
“I bought it for shared use by the mercenary company.”
“Sell it.”
“...What?”
“You won’t be coming back for a while.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Lead the Red Hawk and join the hero’s march.”
“Wasn’t that cancelled?”
“The objective has merely changed.”
“I heard Hillan Cargill can’t take command.”
“A hero’s march isn’t run by the commander alone.”
“You think Hillan Cargill would agree to that? He’s absolutely not the type.”
“I said I’d tell him Draxon’s weakness.”
“......”
Granada’s expression changed. It resembled Hillan Cargill’s expression through the communication crystal when he had screamed, ‘Are you insane?’
“...Aren’t you both Demon Kings?”
“Do humans fight because they’re of different races?”
“Put like that, I have nothing to say.”
Berje savored the tea. The sweet yet faintly bitter aftertaste wasn’t bad.
“Do you know about the heroes?”
“I believe I know enough. There’s a five-year gap each time, but still.”
“What about Rozel Charnte?”
“She was already famous five years ago.”
“As far as I know, Rozel Charnte has never beheaded a Demon King. Yet her name is higher than Hillan Cargill’s.”
“Not all heroes build their fame by killing a Demon King.”
A hero’s reputation wasn’t accumulated solely through a hero’s march. Because hero’s marches often went to the end, there were too many heroes—and only five Demon Kings.
Thus, most gained fame by subjugating monsters, becoming mercenaries on the battlefield, or forming small assault teams to attack parts of the Tower.
“Especially the Red Flame Assault Team she leads is famous.”
“Assault team?”
“If a hero’s march is a grand cause to bring an end to a Demon King, an assault team is for more straightforward profit and fame.”
Instead of killing a Demon King and toppling the Tower, they climbed partway up, obtaining its resources and treasures.
“To avoid provoking the Demon King as much as possible, they are formed as small elite groups, and they absolutely never climb to the top. If they meet a Demon King, they’d have no choice but to fight to the end.”
“Ah, so that means...”
Those damn bastards were the ones who cherry-picked only the delicious parts of the Tower and toyed with him?
Berje ground his teeth.
They had been systematically squeezing the Demon King dry like this—how had he only realised it now?
‘No wonder I died.’
A sigh escaped him.
“...Are you all right?”
“I am not, so keep talking.”
“Rozel Charnte began gaining fame after conquering the 7th floor of the Lust Tower.”
The Lust Tower had eight floors. In other words, Rozel Charnte had climbed all the way up to just beneath the Demon King’s chin and then come back down.
“Normally they don’t do that, but Rozel Charnte’s boldness is already widely known.”
“That’s fine.”
“...Pardon?”
He seemed worried that such actions might provoke the Demon King—but hell, provoke? They’d be pleased, not angry. The Demon Kings would simply believe the heroes fled because they were terrified.
“You can trust me on that. It’s from personal experience.”
“...Pardon? Personal experience?”
“...Nothing. Anyway, Rozel Charnte.”
Before his regression, she had been one of the heroes he had once clashed with.
She had climbed to the 15th floor and then retreated—only making it that far—and he had mocked her from his throne for giving up.
Not knowing that she had done it on purpose.
“Do you think she could defeat Draxon?”
“I cannot say for certain. Heroes are strong, but Demon Kings are not weak.”
“What if Hillan Cargill joins them?”
“At the very least, it would fill an empty spot. It would be better than now.”
“Empty spot?”
“Balraf Dislode had joined Rozel Charnte, but suddenly announced he was withdrawing. Even though the King of Ormus was furious about it, he ignored him. We believe someone’s influence was involved.”
In a proper hero’s march, even if there was only one commander, they never limited the force to only one top-ranked hero.
Regardless of how strong a hero was, a Demon King was not an opponent one could defeat alone.
That had been true for every hero’s march so far, including the one for the Lust Tower.
The elf heroes, Brutein Irzen and Ain Kalai—back then, they had been held in even higher regard than Hillan, and were among the absolute top tier of heroes.
“That’s why morale has dropped significantly, but if Hillan Cargill joins, it will recover to some extent. I don’t like him, but his reputation is genuine.”
“But Hillan came to my Tower alone.”
“He was a little lacking, but he was with Watton Colo. Of course, it wasn’t normal, but that was because his belly was full of greed, wasn’t it?”
Granada explained that, since Berje had only recently descended as a Demon King, Hillan had clearly wanted to monopolise everything by himself.
“And he paid for it.”
Granada snickered. Ever since Hillan Cargill had used Granada as a shield, a rift beyond repair had formed between them.
“Get along with him. You’ll have to serve him again anyway.”
Of course, Berje couldn’t care less about their petty grudge.
“...Ugh.”
“Anyway, I trust you’ll handle things well.”
“Where are you going this time?”
“I’m planning to visit the Golden Moon Merchant Company. Hillan said things were going well, but seeing it myself is always better.”
“You’ve made the right decision! You must never trust that swindler!”
He opened the window and leapt out. Granada’s shout echoed faintly behind him.
---
What must a Demon King do to conquer the continent?
By the proper standard, the first step was to raise the Tower and kidnap a prince or princess.
The Tower would convert the negative emotions humans spewed—fear, sorrow, anger, despair—into Demonic Points.
Or it would convert the life force gained by killing heroes and living creatures into Demonic Points.
Using the accumulated points, one would reduce the dimensional interference inflicted on demons and summon troops from the Demon Realm to form an army.
Then came the grand war.
That was the Demon Realm’s dimension-conquest scenario.
But the path Berje walked was starkly different.
Kidnapping a princess and gathering negative energy was the same—but instead of turning it into monsters and demons, he was converting it into money.
Money.
Useless scraps of metal to demons, yet more precious than anything to humans.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say human life began with money and ended with money.
Proof? No need to look far. Hillan Cargill—his very name was living evidence.
Berje had absolute faith in money, and that faith manifested in aggressive investment.
A grand plan: borrowing a massive sum from the False Demon King and sinking all of it into a merchant company.
From that perspective, the Golden Moon Merchant Company absolutely had to succeed.
“Welcome.”
In the Kingdom of Iasince, within the room of Aman Katrash—the successor of the Golden Moon Merchant Company—a secret meeting took place.
“Call me Pale.”
Berje supplied a hastily-made alias.
“Yes, Sir Pale.”
“The merchant company looks quite large.”
“I say this not because it is my family’s, but though we are on the decline, the company still has solid foundations.”
Merchant companies declined for many reasons, but in the case of the Golden Moon Merchant Company, it was the failed trade expedition eight years ago.
A massive expedition that had placed the company’s life on the line had collapsed spectacularly, uprooting its financial foundation.
Even after all these years, they were still staggering—and had it not been for Berje’s money, they would have collapsed for much longer.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“One of the reasons I was wandering was because I didn’t want to take over a dying merchant company.”
If he became the head, he would only inherit the debt—who would want to take such a position? He had gone astray for exactly that reason.
It was only natural that he had gone astray.
“I don’t care for empty words of gratitude. Can you betray humans for his sake?”
“I am already His Majesty’s loyal servant. He saved my life and allowed my future to bloom—there is nothing I wouldn’t do.”
“So it is because of money.”
“...Does it sound that way?”
Aman let out an awkward laugh.
“Of course, I can’t deny the money helped, but my loyalty to His Majesty will not change.”
“It’s that you cannot change. If you do, you die.”
“...Hic.”
“Are you confident?”
“Confident about…?”
“Confident that you won’t squander his money.”
“The executives of the merchant company are capable. Just look at how they managed to keep the company alive despite being buried under debt.”
“So you’re saying ‘you’ are incompetent.”
“......”
At that moment—
Hum.
Berje flicked his fingers toward his chest, where the vibration resonated.
“...Y-Yes. I’ll step out.”
The room’s owner left awkwardly.
『Wait, I have something to discuss—are you busy?』
“Is it important?”
『It concerns Draxon.』
“Speak.”
『Draxon contacted me. He suspects me, asking if I sent demons into his territory.』
“......!”
This was something that could not be ignored.
『This isn’t a topic I want to talk about like this. I want to meet in person. Can you come to my Tower?』
Perfect—there was something he wanted to test anyway.
---
“You’re late.”
“I had some business.”
It took quite some time to return from the Golden Moon Merchant Company to the Tower of Ergest.
After passing through the gate and entering the Frost Tower, Reina had personally come down to the 1st floor to greet him.
Berje spread his arms dramatically.
“Do I look any different?”
“...Are you joking? You look the same. Your interference power seems a little lower, but barely a speck.”
Reina tilted her head.
‘Good.’
Even a Demon King couldn’t sense the Phoenix’s power. It must have been thanks to how carefully he had sealed off the second heart entirely. It was uncomfortable and further restricted his demonic energy, but it was well worth the trouble.
“Y-Your Majesty…!”
“How dare you attempt such filthy tricks toward His Majesty…!”
The demons’ prickling gazes showed they had misunderstood, thinking he was flirting.
“Are you trying to make me out to be rude? Show proper manners to our guest.”
“......”
The demons shrank back and lowered their heads.
“Leave.”
“Your Majesty…!”
Once they entered her office, Reina personally cut off the demons who tried to follow. She avoided their eyes with a cold glance.
Through the gap of the closing door, the old demon’s expression looked strangely pitiful—almost on the verge of tears.
“Aren’t you treating your retainers too harshly?”
It was the kind of statement that would have made Granada have a seizure.
“They deserve it. They committed a sin against me.”
“A sin?”
“...It is nothing you need to know.”
“Will you drink tea?”
She swiftly changed the subject.
“Anything is fine.”
“Candy?”
“Not particularly.”
A moment later, she personally brewed the tea. Reina removed the candy she had been holding in her mouth and dropped it into the cup.
Berje stared openly, watching the entire process, and she quickly averted her gaze.
“...It is simply my preference. Respect it.”
“You like sweet things?”
“Do you also think I’m childish?”
“Not sure.”
Reina Sordein, childish? It was a thought he had never once had—neither in his previous life nor this one.
“Though it is a bit unexpected.”
They’d had no real connection before his regression. On the rare occasions they met, she had been stiff-faced, the image of a proud, untouchable ruler.
Berje, likewise, had been quite arrogant back then, so ignoring each other had been mutual.
“Demons can like sweet things too.”
Yet, seeing her try to justify herself stirred a strange impulse in him.
“Do you like alcohol?”
“I do not care much for bitter things.”
“You are childish after all.”
“......!”
Her pupils dilated to their absolute limit—full of deep betrayal.
“We’ve drifted off-topic. So what about Draxon?”
“...He said a high-grade demon intruded into his territory.”
With the shift in topic, she quickly regained her composure.
“And he said that high-grade demon killed the prince.”
A high-grade demon, hm. Compared to Princess Louise killing the prince, that explanation must have sounded far more realistic.
“You think that’s true?”
“Of course it’s nonsense.”
“Nonsense?”
“It is an unspoken rule, handed down as long as the Standard itself, that no Demon King intrudes upon another Demon King’s territory. Breaking that is no different from violating the Standard.”
And the very fact that he suspected her was an insult.
Reina bit into her candy with a faint crunch.
“It feels like he’s doubting me.”
Demon Kings held the Standard sacred. The Demon Kings of Arein had made certain compromises because of Arein’s unique circumstances, but even they had lines that would never be crossed.
Except for one—Berje, who, because of regression side effects, had bolted off the rails and been branded a lunatic.
“At first, yes.”
“But not anymore?”
“Everyone knows you have no high-grade demons. If one were to pick the least likely culprit, it would be you.”
She could not even imagine that a Demon King would leave their Tower and set foot into another’s territory personally.
Not only Reina—so long as they wore the mask of demons, none of them could conceive of such a thing.
“So it was a lie?”
“Yes. A textbook coward shifting his own disgrace onto someone else. It is deplorable that such a creature even became a Demon King.”
“You truly think so?”
At Berje’s question, Reina blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“If you truly believed that, I doubt you would have called me here.”
“...You are indeed the First Seat, from the Academy.”
“I’ll take the compliment.”
“There are exceptions like you, but most Demon Kings uphold the Standard. The same goes for the unspoken rules. I believed all the Demon Kings of Arein were the same.”
But—
She left room for doubt.
“If—and only if—Draxon’s words are true, then I believe the culprit is Jason.”
“Your evidence?”
“None.”
The baseless confidence made Berje frown.
“But he is the only Demon King who would do something like that.”
In that moment, Berje clearly understood the reputation Jason Kokemundo had among the Demon Kings.
“Once someone has done it once, doing it twice becomes easier. This time it was Draxon’s Tower, but next time it could be mine. I will never overlook that.”
Demon Kings hated having their territory breached. No—they loathed it.
Unauthorised demons or Demon Kings were a far worse violation than heroes.
“If he were to send demons into my territory, I would never tolerate it. To prevent that, I must prepare more thoroughly.”
“So?”
“I want you to join hands with me.”
“And why would I?”
“I am not trusting you. I am trusting your situation—one in which you absolutely cannot be the culprit.”
Her gaze held neither selfish intent nor emotion.
Reina extended her hand.
A hand impossibly pale and clean.
“So that means…”
She was willingly framing Jason Kokemundo as the culprit?
A smile spread across Berje’s lips.
He took her hand. He had no reason to refuse.
But the two never truly began their cooperation.
『We failed. The hero party suffered near-total annihilation. Rozel Charnte lost her left eye and barely escaped.』
『Your Majesty, Demon King Draxon has requested an emergency meeting.』
Bad news arrived.