Chapter 68 : We’re Doomed
Chapter 68-Unedited: We’re Doomed
“Be careful of Jason.”
After arriving at the Tower of Frost, the first words Reina Sordein spoke.
It was surely a coincidence, but Berje had heard the exact same thing from Vivian, and he couldn’t understand it.
‘What’s wrong with all of them?’
“What do you mean?”
“I heard about the deal between you and Ugar. Including the fact that Rozel Charnte and Hillan Cargill were involved in the process. I believed there was no way you could have a direct connection to the heroes who bore the reputation of Star. Jason Kokemundo must have arranged it, no?”
Who arranged what for whom?
“But the two of them killed Draxon. They might have happened to accept the guild’s request and done the hero’s march, but there’s no harm in being cautious, in this one’s opinion.”
“Wait, Jason killed Draxon? Isn’t that too far-fetched?”
So absurd that Berje ended up defending Jason instead.
“Before he died, Draxon said a high-ranking demon had invaded his territory. He even dug through the Tower’s records to prove his innocence, so I don’t think it was a baseless assumption. Ugar agreed with this.”
“······.”
He suddenly became curious what conversations the Demon Kings had while he was away in Hilderan.
And what kind of image Jason had among them.
Before his regression, he had simply thought the four of them were pathetic Demon Kings who happened to get along. But perhaps that wasn’t the case.
“Did Jason not help you as well?”
Jason had been the first Demon King to survive more than a hundred years in Arein, where Demon Kings had constantly been dying.
After he descended upon Arein, the survival rate of other Demon Kings had risen as well. Berje believed they must have exchanged some kind of help.
“Of course, for that part, this one is grateful. But just because one offered help does not give a Demon King the right to kill another.”
“There’s no clear evidence Jason was involved in Draxon’s death, is there?”
“There is not. Hence, this one is merely suspicious.”
A fairly reasonable answer.
“There’s something I’m curious about. If Jason helped you all, then what exactly did he do to help?”
“Come to think of it, you wouldn’t know very well.”
Reina placed a candy in her mouth. A faint cherry scent drifted out.
“Do you know that the Demon Kings who descended upon Arein originally couldn’t last even a few decades and kept dying?”
“Of course.”
“Jason is the one who stopped that.”
No matter how dangerous a dimension Arein was, a Demon King was still a Demon King.
For them, The Demon King’s Standard was absolute, and the Demon Emperor was a god.
Since the Standard worked well in every dimension except Arein, they never questioned it.
They simply assumed the dead Demon Kings had been weak.
That was the demon race—weakness was a shameful thing.
But the reason Arein devoured so many Demon Kings wasn’t solely because of their dispositions.
Because the Demon Emperor was a being of faith, he must always be right. And the Standard he designated must also always be right.
Thus, Arein became known simply as a difficult dimension, and the Demon Kings who went there were believed to have been inadequate.
That misconception drove more Demon Kings to their deaths, and once the higher demons—those who held power—learned the truth, they pushed ignorant newcomers into it.
A maddening collaboration born of devotion to the Demon Emperor and deception by those above.
That was the truth of the dimension called Arein.
And the first to put a stop to it was Jason. As a senior, he helped the Demon Kings who descended after him.
“How?”
“In this one’s case, he advised me at first.”
He told her not to kidnap just any royal.
“Did you listen?”
“Of course I tried not to. There was no reason I should.”
“That sounds like you did listen.”
“When this one descended, besides Jason and Draxon, there were two other Demon Kings.”
“So Ugar wasn’t one of them.”
“Jason made me a proposal. He asked me to wait exactly one year.”
“Did you wait?”
“I did. He even swore upon the First Demon Emperor and the Standard that it would never be a loss for me.”
“He went that far?”
“So I decided to take the chance and wait. A year isn’t that long for demons.”
And one year later—
“The one called the Demon King of the Void acted according to the Standard and couldn’t withstand the waves of encroaching heroes, and his head was cut off. That’s when I realized. In this Arein, you must not follow the Standard.”
“Then Draxon and Ugar as well?”
“None of us knows exactly how they were helped. But it must have been similar to what happened with this one.”
As the conversation reached that point, one question arose.
“Then why didn’t he do that with me?”
“Your actions were too fast.”
“Too fast?”
“Before he could say anything, you immediately kidnapped the Crown Princess of Hilderan. It’s extremely rare for a Demon King to abduct royalty the moment they descend.”
Even for a Demon King, preliminary research was essential. One would slowly take time, confirm many things, and then abduct a royal.
But Berje had skipped that process entirely.
“The hero’s march erupted before anyone could intervene. After that, he must have missed the timing.”
“Is that so.”
“This one digressed. That isn’t the important part.”
“Then what is?”
“This one agrees that Jason provided great help to me and the other Demon Kings. But that does not give him the authority to betray us. There is still the possibility that Draxon lied. Therefore, we intend to find the culprit first.”
A faint chill brushed past.
“Do you have a clear method?”
“Vivian Blunt. I will help her, as she has been openly searching for the culprit. Ugar agreed as well.”
It wasn’t a particularly special countermeasure. Unlike Jason or Berje, Reina and Ugar had little direct contact with humans.
Reina was completely holed up in the far north, and although Ugar acted more actively, rather than keeping subordinates of his own, he had relied on Jason’s help.
So there weren’t many options available to them.
“How exactly are you planning to help? With Draxon’s tower collapsed, you don’t even know whether the claim is true or not.”
“The Berfht Kingdom.”
“The Berfht Kingdom?”
“To be precise, Louise Berfht.”
“The 2nd Princess of Berfht?”
“The reason Draxon’s hero’s march happened was because a high-ranking demon killed the 2nd Prince of Ormus. And Draxon said that high-ranking demon was not his subordinate. In the end, the answer must lie at the scene.”
“···And the only eyewitness is the 2nd Princess of Berfht, I suppose.”
“Exactly.”
“What do you intend to do with her?”
“There is only one thing a ‘Demon King’ would do to a ‘princess.’”
Kidnapping.
“She will be handed over to Vivian Blunt. Dwarves are tight-lipped, but Vivian Blunt is a succubus more skilled in mental magic than anyone.”
“But doing that will turn the Berfht Kingdom into an enemy. You do understand what it means to make the Dwarven Kingdom your enemy.”
“All the responsibility will fall on Vivian Blunt.”
“Oh? Well, that is…”
Berje forced a smile.
“A good idea.”
We’re doomed.
---
Louise Berfht.
The fiery-tempered 2nd Princess of the Dwarven Kingdom could become a more decisive witness than anyone.
Because she had seen the face of the demon, Berje.
Because she had personally smashed the skull of Ormus’s 2nd Prince and would therefore insist that it was the demon’s doing, even more stubbornly.
“Gordon! Gordon!”
Returning to the tower, Berje called for Gordon. Ignoring the puzzled stares of the three princesses, he reached the top floor.
“What happened, my lord?”
“Contact Hillan and Granada and find out immediately where Louise Berfht is.”
“Yes? Why so suddenly…?”
“We must kidnap Louise Berfht!”
“Please calm down and explain everything clearly.”
And after hearing the entire story, Gordon was horrified.
“Good heavens! We cannot allow that to happen!”
“That’s what I’ve been saying! But if we touch a Dwarven princess without any countermeasures, the problem will become catastrophic.”
“Is that really the issue right now? If people find out that you were involved in the death of Demon King Draxon, all the authorities granted to this tower will be cut off.”
If they kidnapped Louise Berfht, there would at least be a sliver of possibility left. But if the tower were cut off, even that faint possibility would disappear.
Between the lesser evil and the worst, the lesser evil was obvious.
“You’re right.”
“I’ll contact Granada at once.”
“Good.”
Gordon ran into the office.
Berje let out a suppressed groan.
Between the worst and the lesser evil, choosing the lesser evil was correct—but he wanted neither.
‘What should I do?’
How could he fix the problem with no consequences at all?
After much thought, two solutions emerged.
‘Before Reina or Ugar kidnap Louise Berfht, I kidnap her first. Without anyone noticing.’
If not that—
‘Then I have to make sure no one can kidnap Louise Berfht.’
But how?
‘I don’t have time…’
No clear alternative came to mind. His worries deepened.
---
Two days later, word arrived.
“Louise Berfht is currently in seclusion in the royal capital of the Berfht Kingdom.”
“Seclusion?”
“Yes. Because of the incident involving the death of the 2nd Prince of Ormus, she received the king’s command and has been shutting herself inside the royal castle.”
“Damn it.”
The curse burst out instinctively.
All dwarven cities were built underground. Their entrances were perfectly controlled, and naturally, all entries and exits were tightly regulated.
It was possible to sneak in again by hiding his identity. They didn’t perfectly check every single entrant’s identity.
But the defenses of a normal city and the defenses of a royal capital were worlds apart.
And the royal capital and the royal castle were even farther apart.
Sneaking in—possible.
Kidnapping the princess—not impossible.
But—
“There’s no way to kidnap her without revealing my identity.”
The awkward power of the Phoenix was nowhere near enough. If he revealed his demonic energy, he would be exposed instantly.
If it were just kidnapping an ordinary princess, he wouldn’t even consider it a problem.
He let out a hollow laugh. What was he supposed to do?
At that moment, Gordon asked:
“Isn’t there also a way to prevent Louise Berfht from being kidnapped?”
“By what means? Reina has no need to hide the fact that she’s a Demon King.”
Reina Sordein had said she would shift all responsibility onto Vivian, and Vivian had agreed.
Since she bore no responsibility, she had nothing holding her back.
“What if we naturally send the natural enemy of Demon Kings to the royal castle?”
“You mean a hero?”
“Yes. A hero strong enough that even an ordinary Demon King wouldn’t want to encounter.”
“Hillan Cargill?”
He considered it. If Hillan Cargill went to the Dwarven royal castle—if he protected the princess—
‘It could work.’
Hillan Cargill, who was currently advancing by devouring two Demon Kings, along with the heroes and the elite forces of Berfht Castle—if all of them guarded the princess, then even Reina or Ugar would not succeed easily.
Demons weakened once they left the tower. Demon Kings were no exception.
Even if they were the best in stealth, with Hillan Cargill present, the moment they revealed even a hint of demonic energy, he would catch it instantly.
“But the Dwarven Kingdom is closed off. They won’t just accept Hillan Cargill because he shows up.”
“I heard this from Hillan Cargill. Roger Friedrich may look lacking now on the first floor of the tower, but in the Dwarven Kingdom he was once a renowned master craftsman.”
“That’s right.”
“I was told that master craftsmen each have their own unique mark.”
“A mark?”
“They engrave it on the weapons or equipment they create. To show who crafted it, and the more exceptional the craftsman, the more essential the mark is for the item’s value.”
“Ah, I’ve heard that.”
A successful craftsman leaving their own mark—it wasn’t exactly a secret. Like a brand, so to speak.
“We have Roger craft an item engraved with his mark.”
“And give it to Hillan Cargill?”
“Yes.”
“And if Hillan Cargill brings that to the Berfht Kingdom…”
Louise Berfht would likely be overjoyed.
The king, who cherished her dearly and had issued a wanted notice for Roger as well.
It would grant Hillan more than enough grounds to enter the Berfht Kingdom and meet the princess.
“But it’s not enough justification to stay by the princess’s side.”
“That is the problem, but…”
Gordon swallowed a groan. Berje closed his eyes and sank into thought.
“In that case.”
He opened his eyes.
“Let him threaten her. So that Louise has no choice but to keep him nearby.”
“A threat?”
“Some of Draxon’s followers witnessed Louise Berfht smashing the skull of the 2nd Prince of Ormus. And Hillan Cargill climbed the Beast’s Tower and met them.”
“Ah, it does sound plausible that some wronged demons might have said a few things during the encounter.”
“If he uses that as leverage to force her to keep him close?”
“With Hillan Cargill’s current standing, they can’t possibly handle him recklessly—they would have no choice but to cooperate!”
The Demon King and his adjutant cheered.
“The problem is that the princess will inevitably harbor resentment because of it.”
“If it’s just resentment, that’s a cheap price.”
“That is true as well. I’ll contact Hillan Cargill immediately!”
Gordon vanished.
Berje slowly rose from his throne.
“Then I…”
It was time to pester a certain dwarf.