Chapter 52 : Had Something Like That Happened
Chapter 52: Had Something Like That Happened?
After returning to the Tower for the first time in several months, he found that the first floor had changed.
“A maze?”
For a maze, it was a bit too simple. There were no noticeable traps.
‘They hid them inside the walls.’
Mana cannons, concealed from sight, extended all along the corridor.
He walked straight along the path. Though twisty, there were no forks. When he reached about halfway, a dwarf installing mana cannons greeted him.
“Demon King! You’re here!”
But the dwarf wasn’t alone.
“You’re here?”
A princess—her face smeared messily with dirt yet her beauty unblemished—poked her head up from inside a pit.
“...What are you doing?”
“Sir Roger said he needed help, so I’m helping him for a bit.”
“Ah, building the walls and digging the ground was going too slowly with my strength alone, so I asked for assistance. If this is a problem...”
“No, I don’t care.”
The strange part was that the princess was cooperating properly at all; if she was willing to help, he had no reason to stop her.
‘How was it in my previous life?’
There had been no significant connection. He had no idea about her personal life or what kind of personality she had.
He turned to Roger.
“So, how exactly are you planning to construct the first floor?”
“Well, following the wall lines…”
The explanation was long, but in the end, it amounted to covering the place wall-to-wall in mana cannons.
He had told them to create something unexpected for the heroes, and this was the design they brought. Well, unexpected firepower wasn’t bad either.
If a hero died without even managing a proper response, then everything was okay.
“Insufficient.”
But Berje decided to take it a step further. No matter how much they covered the place in mana cannons, he believed it was impossible to kill a hero like Ralph with just that.
“What do you mean…?”
“To prepare for those who survive the bombardment in the plaza, set up several golems. You said you were knowledgeable in alchemy and enchantment magic, correct?”
“Ah, yes, I can do it. But it requires quite a lot of materials.”
“That doesn’t matter. What do you need?”
“As for ores, the type doesn’t matter much, but the better the quality and value, the stronger the golems will be.”
“I’ll find you some good ones.”
“Thank you!”
Leaving Roger bowing deeply behind him, he ascended to the next floor.
“Sir Roger, you knew how to make golems, too?”
“My personal strength was far too weak for a hero, and it became a trauma. That’s why I also studied golem crafting.”
Their conversation faded faintly into the distance.
He passed the still-empty second and third floors, thinking he needed to fill them with something. The fourth floor, whose owner had vanished, held no real interest either.
As he passed by the imperial princess who was swinging her sword diligently, he tossed a brief remark.
“A big problem has occurred, Demon King.”
Thus, when he reached the fifth floor, Gordon called out to him urgently.
“Krutu sent word, but it seems someone is searching for the Tower. According to Krutu, the Peul Orcs can’t handle the opponent…”
“I already met him.”
“…What?”
“Daphne Phillian. A hero.”
“...Surely not the hero’s march.”
“He’s alone, so that won’t be it. But it could be considered preliminary work for a hero’s march.”
His determination to never repeat the same failure was unmistakable.
“Shouldn’t we find him and kill him?”
“And how would we do that?”
“…What?”
“He’s the fastest among the heroes, and his stealth arts are also widely acknowledged. In stealth alone, he rivals the Demon Kings.”
“That can’t be…”
Stealth was the very first thing Demon Kings learned at the Demon King Military Academy and continued to hone rigorously until graduation.
And he said the hero rivalled such Demon Kings.
“…Then there’s no way?”
“I said we can’t catch him, not that there’s no way.”
There was no need to catch him. If the opponent desired something, they only needed to show him what they wanted him to see.
“…What do you mean?”
“The dwarf brought an artifact. All we have to do is distort his sense of direction.”
“Ah.”
Gordon let out a small exclamation.
* * *
“Your skill has improved.”
At that casually tossed remark—spoken as if in approval before he disappeared—the sword of Kaede, who had been earnestly immersed in training, came to a halt.
‘…My skill improved?’
Well, of course it had.
Ever since she had been kidnapped by the Demon King, she had trained as if her life depended on it, desperately trying to find a chance to escape.
She had even experienced a breakthrough after witnessing up close the scene of a contract with a high-grade spirit.
But hearing such words from the Demon King was a completely different matter.
Kaede was an imperial princess, and her opponent was the Demon King.
She was a hero, and he was the Demon King.
And that Demon King had praised her.
He had far too casually expressed pride in her improvement.
‘How does that make any sense?’
It did make sense—if she added one assumption.
From Berje’s perspective, it had simply been a thoughtless remark, spoken out of habit after growing used to the eccentric princess, Ernan.
But Kaede, receiving it, thought differently.
‘Surely… he isn’t planning the same for me?’
To make her his subordinate?
If he was intentionally setting her free and treating her kindly for that purpose?
A hero and princess becoming the Demon King’s subordinate—perhaps it was an excessive leap of imagination.
But there was evidence too strong to ignore.
‘Ernan Hilderan.’
She was already a loyal servant of the Demon King. She decorated the fourth floor on her own and was helping the dwarf on the first floor set up vicious traps designed to kill heroes.
‘And Roger Friedrich.’
He was even a hero. Yet he was sincerely serving the Demon King.
‘No.’
Kaede was an imperial princess of the Empire. She was also a proud knight of the Empire and a hero.
Her betrayal would not be personal—it would be a disgrace upon the Empire. For someone who took immense pride in being a knight, such disgrace was utterly intolerable.
‘I must escape.’
She had to escape, no matter what.
Her resolve hardened.
* * *
—Go to the Golden Moon Merchant Company and find Aman. Just tell them you’re in charge of the elf business.
Granada and the Red Hawk Mercenary Company were excluded from the second hero’s march.
Instead, under Berje’s orders, they departed for the Golden Moon Merchant Company.
“So, we’re buying elves?”
“Yes. You have to visit every slave market on the continent.”
“That sounds like it’ll take over a year…”
“The lord has decided to employ you for another year. The pay will be the same as before.”
“Uh… if you could just raise it a little… I mean, we climbed Ergest and went all the way to the Demon King’s Tower, and it’s not like we only did one or two dangerous things.”
“You mean when you ran away before even fighting properly?”
“I—I’ve always been satisfied with the payment!”
“M-Me too!”
On the way, they renewed their contract, and the enormous sum they received again made them smile happily.
When they arrived at the Golden Moon Merchant Company, Granada met the representative assigned to them.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Zetoson, newly appointed to work with you.”
“Granada.”
“Oh, so you’re the famous Sir Granada and the Red Hawk mercenaries. I’ve heard the stories. Elves buying enslaved elves to set them free—ah, how admirable.”
“…Ah, yes.”
Zetoson spoke eagerly.
“To be honest, I’ve also felt terrible seeing elves being enslaved. It’s been so long since the continental law banned such barbaric acts, yet it still continues. Please trust me. I’ll take full responsibility and do my utmost to save as many elves as possible!”
“…Uh. Thank you.”
Zetoson didn’t give the best first impression, but after listening to his earnest explanations, Granada couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of trust.
“I’ve compiled a list of the major markets where elves are likely to be traded. Don’t worry—when they hear your name, Sir Granada, they’ll hand over the elves without issue.”
The first place he guided them to was the slave market of Pelum, a large city in the Kingdom of Iasince.
The elves’ homeland, Elven.
The dwarves’ kingdom, Berfht.
And the human kingdoms.
Long ago, those who constantly clashed signed an agreement, officially abolishing the enslavement of each other’s races.
On the surface, the treaty formed by all human kings and the leaders of the other races seemed to be upheld. But human greed was endless, and a shadow lurked behind every bright façade.
The Kingdom of Iasince was no different.
In nearly every major city, a slave market existed. And deep underground, accessible only to VIPs, there was an auction house where rare goods and non-human slaves were bought and sold.
“Stop.”
Wearing masks that covered half their faces, they entered the slave market. After performing a series of secret gestures and spoken codes, they slipped into a hidden passage leading down into the underground.
Zetoson, who had overseen all of it, casually held out a small identification token.
“I’ve verified your credentials. I’ll guide you inside.”
Following the guide, they headed toward the stairs leading underground.
Granada whispered quietly.
“What is that?”
“These underground auction houses aren’t places ordinary people can enter. You need wealth or power—high nobility, a guildmaster, or the owner of a successful merchant company. This is an identification token issued by the Golden Moon Merchant Company.”
“I see.”
“Sir Granada, you must not be familiar with these dark places, correct?”
“…Well, yes.”
Granada had wandered through slave markets for five years. In some ways, he was even more familiar with these black markets.
“Just trust me. I, Zetoson, was raised as a merchant since childhood and grew up to be one.”
“Impressive.”
But contrary to his words, Zetoson failed to show any remarkable skill.
Only two elves appeared at the auction, and the auction proceeded without issue.
Zetoson, who had proudly thumped his chest and told them to trust him because he could buy them cheaply, ended up winning the elves at a price triple the starting bid.
“That damn pig! His eyes went bloodshot the moment he saw female elves!”
Zetoson sneered at the man who had raised the price. Seeing Granada’s stiff expression, he let out an awkward laugh.
“…Haha, I think you might be misunderstanding. This isn’t all I can do. Actually, my specialty is not purchasing, but selling.”
“……”
“Auctioning isn’t true commerce. True merchant work is meeting face-to-face, speaking directly, and finding a mutual point of agreement regarding the price.”
“……”
“Not all merchants are the same. Everyone has a field of expertise. In my case, persuading people in person—”
“Zetoson.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go collect the elves.”
“…Yes.”
Granada simply disliked seeing elves treated as toys by humans.
* * *
『This puts me in quite a difficult position.』
His words said one thing, but his voice was not troubled at all.
『I had to scrape together funds in a hurry, which already caused me plenty of problems. Yet now you’re telling me you can’t even send the Demonic Points on time…』
At Jason’s words, Berje had no choice but to reveal part of the situation.
“A problem has arisen.”
『A problem?』
“Daphne Phillian.”
『So he is searching for your Tower.』
An amused laugh echoed through.
『Avoiding his gaze won’t be easy. What do you intend to do? The Tower’s concealed location is quite important for you, is it not?』
“Do I really have to explain even that?”
『As someone who is owed a debt, I believe it is my natural right.』
“I repaid half.”
『Which means half remains.』
“I’ll summon a monster and kill it.”
『…It sounds as if there’s more to it, but very well.』
『And there is something else I must inform you of.』
“What is it?”
『Tomorrow, I intend to hold a meeting between the Demon Kings at my Tower.』
“Suddenly? Isn’t there still time left before the Harmony of the Towers?”
『Ah, I forgot—you’re not yet up to date on outside news.』
『A problem has arisen.』
He continued speaking.
『Draxon Doldov is dead.』
Yes, I know. I’m the one who killed him.
Berje responded calmly.
“…My word. Such a thing happened?”
『Yes. And regarding that, there is more. A new Demon King has descended.』
“…What?”
Already?
This time, even Berje couldn’t help but be surprised.