Chapter 80 : Of course it would be so
Chapter 80-Unedited: Of course it would be so
“Did he say to contact him anytime if you wanted help?”
“Yes.”
The sudden message delivered from Jason heightened Berje’s wariness.
“So I can assume he knows what’s happening right in front of us now?”
“Yes. I believe so.”
“How would he know?”
“Wouldn’t he have connections with humans?”
Well, there was no need to reach high ranks. Since Lavinia Arkan had climbed Ergest alone and Arkan’s forces had pursued her, their identities had been exposed.
“Of course, Your Majesty must have your own thoughts, but you must not accept kindness as mere kindness.”
Gordon’s advice was only natural.
It was absurd to think Demon Kings who were rivals would help one another out of pure goodwill.
‘But if it’s Jason, it’s possible he meant the act of helping itself earnestly.’
Not that his intentions were pure.
“Send back a rough reply saying you understand for now.”
“Yes.”
“Any contact from Granada?”
“None yet. It seems he’s being cautious because a few heroes are included in Arkan’s group.”
Knock, knock—
At that moment, Ernan opened the door and peeked her head in.
“Your Majesty, Krutu has arrived.”
“I’ll go.”
Berje rose from his seat.
“Please be careful.”
“Sure.”
Giving a roughly dismissive answer, he went down to the first floor. Roger, who had brought all sorts of tools, and Krutu, who carried supplies, were waiting. Dozens of Peul Orcs stood alongside them.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
They sped off riding the frost wolves the Orcs had brought. Roger, sitting before Krutu, asked,
“So we just do it like last time?”
“Yes.”
Last time referred to when they had faced Hillan Cargill. They had set up cannons along the hero unit’s predicted path and triggered an avalanche.
Thanks to that, the heroes’ morale had plummeted, and it became comparatively easy to block them.
“How much progress have you made with the golem core?”
“Mana and Demonic energy are completely different. Their properties and very foundations differ, so the magical structure, the circuits—everything changes when trying to form a core.”
“Judging from how much you’re rambling already, I suppose it’s going poorly.”
“...A-about 1%?”
“Have you even been researching?”
Berje’s face crumpled.
He could understand that more time was being spent on making the mana cannon and assembling the first floor, but this was at a level that suggested nothing had been done at all.
“Weren’t you supposed to be well-versed in alchemy and enchant magic?”
“Magic using mana and magic using Demonic energy are entirely different. I’m studying a completely new academic field alone, all by myself.”
“So?”
“...No, it’s not exactly that, but I’d appreciate it if you acknowledged my hard work just a little....”
“If you raise it to 10% within two weeks, I’ll give you part of the tower’s attachments.”
“I, Roger Friedrich, will accomplish it staking both my reputation as the greatest artisan of Berfht and my life! Just leave it to me!”
As expected, this dwarf was easy to handle.
“Krutu. Are your tribe members doing well?”
“Yes. Some of the warriors who fought alongside us were frightened by the appearance of that chimera monster, but they overcame it thanks to Your Majesty’s dignity.”
“That’s fortunate.”
In truth, Orcs who lived for battle would not consider fear a major issue.
‘Come to think of it, I hadn’t paid them much mind.’
He had basically let them loose in the fields and told them to grow however they wished. That was about the extent of it.
Of course, he had supplied elixirs and even given them the heart from the captured Prison Drake.
“Are the tribe members satisfied?”
“Yes. Thanks to Your Majesty, the tribe is growing and our territory expands by the day. Our loyalty to you is higher than the heavens.”
“Any monsters difficult to handle?”
“None. Is there any insolent creature that could stand proudly before the power you granted us, Your Majesty?”
“Hm.”
Why did it feel like he was speaking to a fervent zealot of the Demon Emperor?
It wasn’t a bad thing, but it felt a little embarrassing. Before his regression, maybe, but now he knew how insignificant he truly was in Arein.
“Gaining Ergest is good. But do not go northeast.”
“Yes. I will obey.”
Krutu did not ask anything this time either.
“There’s something like cold, soggy soup over there. Nothing good comes from associating with it, so avoid it.”
“Yes.”
Berje added the remark, and Krutu bowed his head.
After quite a long ride, they arrived at their destination—one of the pathways for ascending the mountain.
The snow built up higher on the mountain could, with just a little disturbance, come crashing down and swallow Arkan’s group whole.
“Set up the mana cannon here.”
The Peul Orcs lowered the cannons they had carried.
“Your Majesty, I’ve been thinking.”
“What is it?”
“Instead of doing something crude like an avalanche, how about concentrating the mana cannons here and sweeping them away with sheer firepower?”
“I cannot let it be known that I use mana cannons. Are you planning to expose your existence to humans in detail?”
“Isn’t it enough as long as we keep the secret?”
“You’re not thinking they won’t recognize a mana cannon, are you?”
“Of course I’m not, but in the end, isn’t it fine as long as my secret isn’t discovered? And…”
“‘Corpses can’t talk’?”
“Exactly! If we detonate dozens of mana cannons at once, would they even be able to scream? And if any survive, the Orcs can finish them.”
“....”
Now he wasn’t sure who the Demon King was.
It was a good method, but unfortunately, it could not be used.
“Rejected.”
“Yes?”
“The prince and princess of Arkan are with them. Killing them is not the right move for now.”
Even if this was Ergest, they were not ones to die easily. Suspicion would naturally fall on Berje.
“Ah, I see....”
Roger let out a sigh of regret.
“But I promise you this. A day will come when the mana cannons you built for the tower will annihilate an entire hero unit.”
“...I will count the days until then!”
Roger’s expression brightened instantly.
* * *
‘...Ernan, the Arkan princess, and now this guy too.’
Why was no one normal?
‘Why is the Demon King the one worrying about things like this?’
He stopped thinking at that strange question.
“Hm.”
Granada swallowed a groan. The situation was unbearably burdensome.
“Does the food not suit your taste?”
“No. It tastes fine.”
It did taste fine. He just couldn’t tell whether it was going into his mouth or his nose.
It was because of the two pairs of red eyes that kept staring at him.
‘On one side the princess, on the other the prince. And over there the Commander of the Blue Meteor Mage Corps and the Captain of the White Wolf Knight Order.’
When was the last time so many royals and nobles had focused their attention on him?
He had received plenty of attention at Hilderan’s banquet, but this was a completely different matter.
“More.”
A large piece of meat, speared on a fork, was placed onto Granada’s plate. The small, pale hand that served it belonged to Lavinia.
“Yes, thank you.”
“It seems my sister truly likes you, Sir Granada.”
“...Ahem.”
“...Mm.”
The prince, observing from the side, laughed pleasantly, while the knight and mage stifled uncomfortable groans.
Chomp, chomp, chomp—
And behind them, the enormous Titan devoured meat with ravenous bites.
It was a throne of thorns if ever there was one.
He was sure they promised to ask him about Ergest, but…
“More.”
“That is too much.”
“Even more.”
Another piece of meat was added. Granada’s plate now held a mountain of meat.
Under the scorching gazes, he had no choice but to place a piece into his mouth. After chewing and swallowing it properly, he wiped the sauce from his lips with a napkin.
“I heard you had questions about Ergest.”
“Ah, yes. That was the purpose.”
Kain put down his knife.
“Before coming here, I looked into Hero Hillan’s hero march. And the most surprising part was the monsters attacking the hero unit every night.”
It wasn’t simply a matter of monsters being sent their way. Monsters had harassed them nightly. That brought to mind one terrible possibility—that the Demon King could command the monsters of Ergest.
“How was it? Did it truly seem as if the Demon King commanded the monsters of the mountain range? Was the entire mountain his domain?”
“You said you already heard about it, didn’t you?”
“But those heroes were not the ones who held out until the end like you, Sir Granada.”
Hmm.
Granada contemplated.
How could he answer in a way that would satisfy Kain without harming the Demon King?
A lie that was too obvious would only arouse suspicion.
“I cannot tell you anything with certainty.”
“That is only natural unless you’re close to the Demon King. I’m not asking for anything like that. I only want you to tell us what you experienced and felt, without embellishment.”
“We wandered through the mountains for over a month searching for the tower.”
“Yes.”
“And not a single night passed without a monster attack.”
“How many were there?”
“A lot. Easily in the hundreds.”
“Hundreds of monsters charging every night?”
“Yes.”
Most of those hundreds had been Peul Orcs driving the monsters, and only a small portion actually attacked the hero unit directly, but that wasn’t important.
The fact remained: hundreds of monsters came every night.
‘Wouldn’t this make them give up entirely?’
Would the Demon King be pleased?
“...My word, does that mean the monsters of the entire mountain range truly were his thralls?”
Kain swallowed a groan. The Commander of the Blue Meteor Mage Corps immediately refuted it.
“Impossible. Unless the tower had endured for centuries, a Demon King who descended only a year ago could never do that.”
“But there is a witness right here.”
“If such a thing were possible, the continent would have fallen to the Demon Kings long ago.”
“Ah.... Certainly.”
Kain nodded.
“Then what could it be?”
Instead of answering, the mage questioned Granada.
“Sir Granada, what were the main monsters forming that group?”
“Peul Orcs.”
“And is it true they only attacked at night?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it!”
“Do you suspect something?”
“As Your Highness knows, Orcs are communal creatures. Their chain of command is absolute—once ordered by their chieftain, they obey even at the cost of their lives.”
“So you mean that if someone could control just the chieftain, they could seize countless Orcs?”
“Exactly. And the fact that they attacked only at night is a major clue.”
“What kind?”
“While demons are the founders of mental magic, not all demons excel at it. Moreover, the Demon King of Dark Flame is known for an ability rooted in fire.”
“Yes.”“Which means he must be weak in the mental branch of magic. That is why he can only control the Orcs at night, when a demon’s power is relatively stronger.”
“Ah...! Then—”
The conclusion was that daytime would be comparatively easy.
Night attacks would remain difficult, but this was far more manageable than the earlier, hopeless assumption.
“It won’t be easy, but you only need caution at night. If properly prepared, exploring the mountain isn’t impossible. The hero march survived for an entire month.”
“And since most of the monsters were Peul Orcs, that makes sense.”
It wasn’t that Peul Orcs were weak. On the contrary, Orcs moving in perfect unison under a chieftain’s command were nightmares in their own right.
But everything was relative. Hundreds of Yetis, Prison Drakes, Twin-Head Trolls, or Werewolves would be far worse.
“It’s possible the Peul Orcs were simply herding other monsters. If hundreds were spent daily for a month, that would mean tens of thousands exist, which is impossible.”
“That is true.”
The two quickly approached the correct conclusion.
“Then we should formulate an appropriate strategy.”
“I believe we should contact the homeland and have magical equipment brought in.”
“Yes, let’s do that. Ah, Sir Granada, do you remember the path you took up the mountains? We would like you to guide us.”
“Well....”
According to Berje’s plan, he was supposed to say he had wandered so aimlessly that he remembered little.
“Of course you would. Elves are more familiar with nature than any race. I have never heard of an elf forgetting a path once traveled.”
“Oh? Truly?”
“A High Elf I know once told me, an elf forgetting a traveled path means only two things: they did it on purpose, or they injured their head.”
“...I remember everything.”
He couldn’t bring himself to lie. The mage’s statement was true.
“Then we can eliminate quite a large area.”
“Yes, according to that terrain—”
The prince and the mage began a heated discussion.
“....”
‘Did I say something wrong?’
Granada fell silent.
For some reason, he felt he no longer had the face to see Berje.