Chapter 58 : Where
Chapter 58: Where
All Demon Kings of Arein created variables within what The Demon King’s Standard permitted in order to survive.
Just as the Frost Demon King, Reina Sordein, placed princes and princesses turned into ice statues on the lower floors so that heroes would conveniently climb only partway before turning back.
The Gold-Steel Demon King, Ugar Velbek, chose to kidnap those princes and princesses who posed the least amount of trouble.
It was a way to prevent the flames from spreading into a massive fire, even if sparks shot up.
Of course, among Demon Kings, abducting princes or princesses closer to the top of the succession line was considered a virtue—but that part was never explicitly written in the Standard.
And to Ugar, who prioritised his own survival, such virtues—unwritten and unofficial—held no importance.
“···What is that supposed to mean?”
But it was by no means a positive implication. Since the remark made him seem unlike a Demon King, Ugar immediately rejected it.
“There is no need to be ashamed. The Standard works well in different dimensions, but isn’t this place different?”
“Do not insult the Standard.”
“You twist the Standard and don’t follow it as written, yet you intend to make me the trash here?”
Berje raised a finger.
“Well, considering your circumstances, I’ll generously overlook it this once. But you still haven’t answered.”
“Am I supposed to entertain such ridiculous nonsense?”
“Ridiculous nonsense, is it?”
From that phrase, Berje realized what Ugar meant. Ugar wasn’t denying that he used such shortcuts.
He was asking how Berje knew about those people.
Naturally so—Berje was a rookie Demon King who had barely been descended for a year.
“The 3rd Prince of Gaina, the Trafarta Union, the 7th Princess of the Principality of Bellos, the 4th Prince of Machiel. All of them are royals who fit your ideal conditions. Pushed out of succession, receiving little attention, or belonging to nations without the means to retrieve them even if kidnapped.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that? Proof?”
“Proof, hm. Yes, proof is important. But is it really necessary?”
“What nonsense.”
“Didn’t you already consider the possibility yourself? You’ve simply been more cautious because you weren’t sure.”
“···How did you—?”
Because all three he listed had already been abducted by Ugar.
They had caused minor trouble, but compared to kidnapping other royals, their incidents amounted to nothing more than a gentle breeze.
“Is how I learned it what matters? Or the fact that I can strengthen your assumptions?”
“And how am I supposed to know if that’s certainty or a lie? Isn’t the very premise that you hold goodwill toward me already questionable?”
“And why should I not hold goodwill? Have you and I ever been tied by misfortune?”
“It’s not as if we’re on good terms either.”
“Relationships are things you build from this point onward.”
“That’s something that comes out of a Demon King’s mouth?”
“There’s a Demon King I know who got scared of humans, picked only the weakest ones to fight, and couldn’t even live up to his size—yet you’re upset over a bit of lip service.”
“You bastard. Are you seriously asking to go at it with me?”
“Sit. My neck hurts.”
Ugar released killing intent, but in the end, he sat back down. Unless he was truly driven to the brink, the timid Ugar would never break protocol just to express anger.
“We’ll amend the contract.”
“Contract?”
“The contract of the Demon Realm.”
Berje snatched away the contract held in Ugar’s hand.
“···Before that, I’ll hear your terms first.”
Ugar replied in a somewhat calmer tone.
So he was still a Demon King.
Before regression, he had seemed like an idiot, but he was more Demon King–like than expected.
Well, anyone who managed to survive the Demon King Military Academy—where the most fearsome demons of the Demon Realm threw themselves at you—couldn’t possibly have been lacking in ability.
Which only meant that the Berje before regression had been unbelievably arrogant.
Or perhaps Ugar really was an idiot and only behaved competently on rare occasions.
“The 13th Princess of Hilderan. Hand her over.”
Ugar’s face twisted.
“Stop fooling around and state a proper condition.”
“That is the proper condition.”
“You really want the 13th Princess?”
“Yes.”
“Do you even understand how absurd that is?”
When a Demon King kidnapped a prince or princess, he spread rumors. Even without spreading them himself, he ensured there were witnesses.
That was an inviolable necessity beyond the Standard. The reason a Demon King kidnapped royals was to obtain Demonic Points. Witnesses spread the rumour and ensured humanity’s rage had a clear target.
Naturally, Ugar had done just that. He hadn’t made a grand spectacle by kidnapping her in front of everyone, but he hadn’t killed the knights guarding the princess either.
Rumours had spread, and it became common knowledge that the Gold-Steel Demon King had kidnapped the 13th Princess of Hilderan.
“I know. I’m not asking for her as a Demon King, so don’t worry.”
But what if the heroes climbed the tower to rescue the princess—only for her not to be there?
Or worse, what if it turned out she was in an entirely different tower?
Of course, it wouldn’t be catastrophic. Heroes would simply rage for a while before cursing out the Demon King and moving on. But Demon Kings were different.
Beyond rules and standards, it was a matter of personal pride. Any Demon King revered in the Demon Realm possessed at least one such uncompromising pride.
Had the situation been reversed, Berje would have spewed curses too.
“And then?”
“Place the 13th Princess of Hilderan not at the summit, but on the lower floors. So that there’s no need for them to climb all the way up.”
“Like Reina Sordein?”
“Like Reina Sordein.”
“And then?”
“There is no ‘then.’ I’ll handle the rest. You just do that one thing.”
“When did you collude with the Hero Guild?”
“I never did.”
“Don’t spout nonsense. Do you take me for a fool?”
“Even if that were true, why would I tell you?”
“So your top-rank status wasn’t a lie after all.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Revise the contract.”
Berje added several clauses to the contract. At Ugar’s glance, his attendants cleared away the broken debris and brought in a new table.
“The conditions are the same as before. In addition to the three royals I mentioned, I’ll tell you about two more. And if kidnapping them causes chaos beyond a certain level, I’ll pay you one million Demonic Points.”
“Not bad.”
“Of course it’s not bad. You were planning to kidnap them anyway, and even if you fail, you get extra profit.”
“Hmph, you’re the one who said you wanted this first.”
“In return, you will place the 13th Princess of Hilderan on the 3rd floor or below.”
“Why specifically below the 3rd floor?”
“If you want the monsters you spent points to purchase to be slaughtered, feel free to place her higher. It’s no loss to me.”
“···Fine.”
With signatures in their own blood and an infusion of demonic energy, the contract was completed. It turned to ash and was absorbed into the bodies of both Ugar and Berje.
“It was a productive meeting.”
Berje rose from his seat.
“When do you plan to come?”
“Well, I can’t be certain, but I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t take more than a month at the latest.”
“If it takes longer, I’ll consider the contract breached.”
“You idiot. That’s not even written in the contract.”
Berje snorted and opened a rift leading back to his own tower.
“We’ll meet again someday.”
If meeting was even possible.
“Cut the crap and get lost already.”
He vanished.
“···No way someone who’s only been around for a year could collude with the guild.”
But if someone acted as an intermediary… it wasn’t impossible.
“It must be Jason.”
Ugar scratched his shiny head.
“···This isn’t the time for that. I need to rearrange the tower.”
Before whatever killed Draxon extended its claws toward him as well.
Ugar hurriedly opened the tower’s information window.
Perhaps because he had just kidnapped new princes and princesses, his Demonic Points were rising in real time—quite satisfactorily.
* * *
Creak—
The tower door opened.
Berje, having shed his demonic energy together with Ernan in disguise.
“Will you be all right?”
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
“···Given what you’ve shown until now, I’ll trust you—but please be careful.”
“I will.”
Leaving Gordon’s concerns behind, the two departed from the tower.
“Thank you for going along with my unreasonable request.”
“So you do know it was unreasonable?”
“Yes.”
Ernan summoned a wind spirit. The breeze it created lightened her body.
“Honestly, I never imagined I could leave the tower before a hero rescued me.”
“If you’re thinking of escaping, best give up. That thing on your neck will neatly cut off that unnecessary head of yours.”
Around Ernan’s neck hung a necklace identical to the one that had once been on Roger’s. It was a magic tool meant to restrain captives.
“I won’t. I asked you for Ellena’s sake, but my own life is precious too.”
“If it becomes known that both you and the 13th Princess are in my custody, how will Hilderan react?”
“It’ll be the same. Father doesn’t know. He has no idea what kind of person Ellena is.”
“You said she was completely neglected?”
“Yes. From Father’s perspective, Ellena is a failure.”
“Even so, if what you say is true, there’s a possibility. But is there a reason to intentionally draw his attention away?”
“Because I’m here.”
“I see.”
Indeed—between a mana cannon that might perform well if repaired and a top-grade, fully functional mana cannon—there was no comparison.
“Where are we going first?”
“Pelsen of the Kingdom of Arkan. The place I mentioned before.”
“And then?”
“Arkan’s Haitun. And after that—still Arkan.”
“They’re clustered together?”
“Arkan and Trafarta are wealthy and commercially advanced. Nobles often prefer those regions when creating slush funds.”
Not bad—anything that reduced bothersome work was welcome.
From Hortonwork, they used the transport magic circle and arrived in Pelsen. They stopped in front of a large residence in an inner-city housing district.
“This is the place?”
“Yes. Ten guards, five maids and attendants managing the residence. And there’s a hidden vault underground.”
The wind spirit, returning from scouting the mansion, perched on Ernan’s shoulder.
“Their skill level?”
“No one noticed the spirit.”
“Pathetic.”
“Well, Pelsen is a major city.”
Arkan’s cities were famous for their excellent security. Their magically operated equipment contributed to that reputation—but that equipment could not detect a Demon King in hiding.
— A Demon King and a princess stealing together. This is quite the rare sight.
“Nairuniel, please…”
Berje wrapped an arm around Ernan’s waist and melted into the darkness. Physical contact was necessary to completely erase both their presences.
“Where?”
“Left. From here—right, then right again. At the end of the corridor there’s a hidden passage behind the wall.”
“How do you open it?”
“The armored decoration placed in front is the key. Move the armor and press the floor beneath it—the mechanism will activate.”
Kugugu—
A faint rumble sounded. Fortunately, no one was nearby. A stairway extended into the darkness.
“There are no traps.”
“I figured as much.”
After descending for quite a while, a massive vault revealed itself. It occupied an entire wall, a construct layered with multiple forms of magical reinforcement.
“This is…”
“The catalyst is blood.”
“Solid.”
But not something he couldn’t break.
“If you break it, an alarm will go off. A message will also be sent to the vault owner.”
“That doesn’t matter. We’ll run immediately.”
“That’s true.”
Fwoosh—
The Phoenix’s flames roared fiercely.
— I don’t like that flame. It reminds me of those rude fire spirits.
────!
The shockwave from the magic circle shattering swallowed Nairuniel’s grumbling.
From the melted remains of the vault door, a vast pile of gold revealed itself.
Berje shoved everything into his subspace and grabbed Ernan. Knights rushing in late stared in horror.
“Dear gods! The vault’s been robbed!”
“Contact His Excellency immediately!”
* * *
In Pelsen, two more locations—then three in Haitun—they achieved tremendous gains.
“The slush funds were secretly siphoned abroad, so they won’t publicly search for them. So unless you voluntarily confess, there shouldn’t be any issues.”
‘Not that they’d find anything even if they tried.’
Normally, whenever demons caused trouble, traces of demonic energy remained. Because of that, humans could easily recognize the culprit as a demon and respond accordingly.
This was one of the main reasons Demon Kings had increasingly limited areas of activity.
But Berje had escaped that limitation.
‘Phoenixes are truly fascinating creatures.’
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. Compared to his own strength as a Demon King, the current effects were insignificant, awkward—like wearing clothes that didn’t fit.
Yet that could not diminish the Phoenix’s greatness: its mere absorption altered the very nature of demonic energy.
“Stop.”
The problem arose in the final city—right as they were leaving another stripped vault.
Swaaaa—
Five arrows tore through the air, blocking Berje and Ernan’s path.
Someone leapt down from a rooftop.
“What exactly were you doing inside that house?”
“······.”
“And why is that your business?”
Berje remained silent. Ernan answered instead.
“Why don’t you take off those robes first? You don’t look like a servant of the household.”
“I have no reason to answer that.”
“Oh, you do need to answer. I’ve been following you for a while because you looked suspicious. I kept wondering why someone was using concealment magic inside the city.”
‘You thieving bastards.’
The hero, Daphne Phillian, snorted.
He had caught the thieves purely by chance. He had stopped by the city to obtain magic arrows, then sensed advanced concealment techniques. It was odd for someone to move through a city while deliberately hiding their presence.
“My intuition had flared—and of course, I’d been right. Unless you had something to hide, there was no reason to move through a city while concealing yourselves.
‘Because of Ernan?’
Berje frowned.
Even if the opponent was Daphne Phillian, this level of concealment shouldn’t have been discovered so easily. If there was a cause, it was the one burden who wasn’t accustomed to stealth.
“Don’t fight.”
“Will you be all right? It’s Daphne Phillian… and we’re outside.”
“Spirit Sorceresses are rare. If you reveal your power, you’ll be identified immediately.”
“Yes.”
“What are you whispering about over there! Hand over what you stole. Do that, and I won’t harm you—I’ll hand you over to the city security peacefully.”
“You’re speaking nonsense.”
“What?”
“A woodcutter doesn’t return a tree he’s already cut down.”
“A tree is a tree, but if you cut one that shouldn’t be cut, receiving punishment is the way of the world.”
“I’m not fond of things like ‘the way of the world’ or ‘the Standard.’”
The flames Berje had secretly gathered burst forth at once. A colossal pillar of fire swallowed the mansion’s garden.
“You think I wouldn’t know that?!”
Daphne slashed with his dagger. The flames split. He forced his body through the gap and fired an arrow.
Swaeeek—
Ten aura arrows tore toward their target.
Did they hit? No.
The presence blurred.
Daphne sprinted, stepped onto the wall, and leapt onto the roof. Far in the distance, shrinking silhouettes were visible.
He silently drew the bowstring. Calming his breath, steadying himself—he released.
A streak of light split the air.
Zzzeoong—
A hit. The target staggered. But that was all.
The staggering thieves vanished moments later. By the time he reached the spot, nothing remained.
“They dared… to flee in front of me.”
Daphne ground his teeth.
“···This mana. I’ll remember it.”
Intensely hot, frighteningly pure mana.
“But that face… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere…”
He tilted his head, puzzled, and crushed a single drop of blood on the ground beneath his heel.