The Demon King Overrun by Heroes

Chapter 84-Unedited: Sortie

“···Cher, cry.”

“So?”

“Be in pain.”

“It should have hurt more. A shame I only hit him once.”

The incident of the collapsed annex had been settled as the princess’s chimera having caused an accident after failing to control its strength.

But that didn’t mean Berje’s anger had subsided.

For some lowly demon—no, a dog modified by humans—to offend the Demon King’s temper was a grave sin deserving to be torn apart on the spot.

Had this not been the lord’s castle of Hortonwork, and had the princess of Arkan not been right in front of him, Titan would already have become Ti/tan and been rolling around the snowy mountains.

“What is that bastard doing?”

“Reflecting.”

“Unbelievable.”

Seeing a giant crouched down, staring at a wall as he wallowed in misery was a rare sight even in his previous life.

Had Ugar seen him in that state, he would have ripped his head off on the spot, saying it was a disgrace to their race.

“Tell him that if he does it one more time, I’ll rip out his tongue.”

“Because he liked it.”

“He did it because he liked it?”

What did he want him to do about it.

“But why do you keep coming to find me?”

“Like.”

“Me?”

“Mana.”

Lavinia closed her mouth after saying that. Watching her shifting pupils made it easy to guess what she was thinking.

She wanted to ask for mana, but since promises had already been made, she couldn’t do it right now.

Even so, she subtly stepped one pace closer. He flicked her away with a slap.

“Why.”

“If you manipulate mana by my side, I will not stay still.”

“I know. Just.”

“There is no such thing as ‘just’.”

His patience was nearing its limits.

He irritably downed the remaining tea in one shot. Scraping his chair back, he rose from his seat.

“Where?”

“What business is it of yours.”

“Chimera.”

If he made it.

“Give?”

“I’ll give it. I promised.”

“Mm.”

Lavinia smiled brightly and vanished together with Titan, who was still facing the wall in misery.

“Annoying.”

If not for being the princess, he would have simply ignored her.

‘Anyway, what are these people really scheming?’

It had already been four days since he arrived. During that time, Lavinia had visited daily, but Cain and the other leaders of Arkan hadn’t sought him once.

Their behavior was completely different from their initial hospitality.

“Have they noticed something?”

Well, if they believed someone just because he strutted around as royalty, they’d be fools, not royalty.

‘This really was my mistake.’

He had come down far too readily without considering even the simplest possibilities.

Smiling in front while digging into Berje behind the scenes—no doubt that’s what they were doing. Still, he didn’t care.

‘If it comes to it, I can just run.’

It would be nice if the identity of “Pale” thrived in the human world, but there was no reason for him to cling to it.

There was Granada, Hillan Cargill—his proxies.

Granada and Hillan were tied to him, but he only had to tell them to feign ignorance and say they didn’t know him.

A relationship had formed by chance, but they could simply say they had no idea he’d been impersonating royalty.

‘They’d suspect me a bit, but···.’

Well, what could they do.

Hillan Cargill was now a great hero who had slain two Demon Kings and the Argann of the guild. Something of this level wouldn’t tarnish him in the slightest.

That was how much he had grown.

Then another week passed.

“Now, shall we form a proper contract?”

Even though it was certain they had finished their investigation, Cain casually presented a contract.

The long wait of another entire week finally ended.

During that time, Berje roamed the annex and the castle as an honored guest, trying to figure out what the Arkans were preparing.

‘So it’s primarily chimeras and artifacts, I suppose.’

A chimera called a “magic hound” meant to track demonic energy, and artifacts prepared for the monsters that would swarm in at night. It truly was fitting to call them a magitech kingdom—the endless supplies entering the castle every day were all magical artifacts.

‘They aren’t really planning to reach the tower, are they?’

With preparations like this, day or night no longer mattered. The moment monsters charged, it would be a miracle if they weren’t annihilated.

‘What about doing nothing at all?’

No, that would be a bad move. If Granada hadn’t been assigned to them, perhaps, but since he was serving as their guide, Berje had no choice but to at least pretend to guide them if he didn’t want to appear suspicious—and in doing so, the distance they had to travel would be drastically cut.

‘If I’d known, I shouldn’t have assigned Granada to them.’

Of course, that didn’t mean they would definitely find the tower.

If that were so, Ergest would never have remained a forbidden zone.

Besides, that damned place housed monsters even the current Berje couldn’t handle.

The problem was simply that the odds had skyrocketed—and Berje did not want that “what if.”

It was around then that Cain sent a servant to invite him to lunch.

“Welcome, Sir Pale.”

Berje had expected all the other leaders to be present in the dining hall, but only Kyle was there.

A maid brought in the food. It was a tenderloin steak.

“Please eat.”

“All right.”

Berje cut into the steak with his knife. Beneath the crisp outer sear, the inner flesh appeared red and glossy. It was cooked medium rare. The meat was high-quality, tender, and released a pleasant amount of juice.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“The pepper aroma is strong.”

“Ah, do you dislike pepper?”

“I’m saying I like it.”

“That’s a relief.”

Cain smiled. After that, conversation ceased. For a long time, the only sound in the dining hall was each of them cutting and eating steak.

Tak—

Cain set down his knife and fork. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and savored a sip of red wine.

“There has been word from the homeland.”

“Word?”

“You agreed to make a deal, did you not.”

“I’ve been waiting. Quite late, isn’t it.”

“It is not a light matter, so there were things that required review.”

Cain pressed the bell placed before him. A servant waiting outside entered and handed documents to Berje.

“Please read it.”

The contents didn’t differ much from what they had discussed verbally.

Berje would supply mana to Arkan.

Arkan would pay Berje with money and artifacts.

Detailed numbers were written in the contract.

“Two hundred gold per storage vessel and one grade-2 artifact—aren’t you overextending yourselves?”

“We are indeed overextending. We put some thought into it.”

“It shows.”

Two hundred gold was not a small amount. And an artifact on top of that. What Berje had to provide—these storage vessels—didn’t contain a core but volatile mana that would eventually be consumed, which made the offer even more so.

‘I expected maybe around fifty gold···.’

Even fifty gold was quite a lot. But he felt that the mana of a Phoenix, a mythical beast, was worth that much.

It wasn’t Berje who felt regret here, so it seemed they were the ones more desperate than he thought.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re simply after mana.”

“We truly are after only mana. We merely wish, as a bonus, to earn Sir Pale’s favor and form a connection.”

There is no way.

Berje did not accept it at face value.

‘It could be that they are spending more money because they are considering his relationship with Hillan or Granada.’

Whatever the case, Berje was not someone who would refuse something offered to him.

“Do you like it?”

“I do.”

But there was also something that he didn’t understand.

Surely they had conducted a background investigation on Berje, yet there was no mention of it.

Cain said nothing until the meal ended.

“Then I will fill one storage vessel within a week.”

“Yes. I will have a knight deliver the vessel to your quarters. Once you provide the mana, we will give you the promised payment.”

“All right.”

Berje left. A servant cleared away the empty plates. A knight stepped inside.

“Is it truly necessary to maintain relations to this extent? That man is not royalty.”

They had gone through the genealogies of every kingdom and royal family. Though they could not claim to have perfect knowledge of every royal line, they had identified all those worth knowing.

And nowhere was there any royal named Pale—nor anyone who could be assumed to be him.

Some insisted Pale should be arrested immediately for impersonating royalty.

It was sound logic, but Cain chose the opposite.

“There is a reason. If he were merely a being with pure mana, we would take a different approach. But his ties with Hillan Cargill run deep.”

Rozel Charnte had explained how she formed a connection with Pale and obtained mana from him.

“In the final battle to subjugate the Demon King, he insisted on persuading Rozel to push Hillan Cargill forward. If their relationship were shallow, he would never have done that.”

Hillan was a rising sun. In his late twenties, he had already slain two Demon Kings and become a central power within the Hero Guild.

What he had achieved so far was already incredible, and the greater value lay in his future potential.

“And we cannot completely rule out the possibility that he is royalty.”

There were many kingdoms and even more royals. As Pale himself had said, there were royals who, due to circumstances, had to conceal their identities.

If Pale was one of them, finding out within a short time would be impossible. It was unlikely, but Cain refused to ignore even a small possibility.

“Continue investigating, and above all, it is important to learn how Hillan Cargill and Pale first met.”

“Yes, I will keep looking into it.”

“Even if nothing suspicious turns up, we will likely maintain relations as long as nothing serious arises. His mana is useful regardless of Hillan Cargill.”

Pure mana would be immeasurably helpful to the research of the Mage Towers.

“And more importantly···.”

Regardless of the reason, my sister likes him that much.

“No, nothing.”

Cain swallowed his last words.

It was unnecessary to burden a knight with such trivialities.

A week passed.

Berje filled a storage vessel to the brim and handed it to the prince. As promised, the prince gave him the money and artifacts.

And that first transaction became the last—for the time being.

“I told them they could contact me through you.”

“Yes.”

“Travel safely.”

“Yes.”

“Do your best, but if there’s anything that might arouse suspicion, just don’t do it. You still have ninety-nine more years to work and die.”

“It feels like a few more months have been added?”

“Such trivial matters are always rounded up.”

“I understand. Then will you return to the tower now?”

“I’ve already finished preparations to receive you all. A word of advice—beware of monsters and snow.”

“···Damn it. The same trick as back then?”

“Ah, just in case—if you manage to find the tower and enter the first floor, you know what to do, right?”

“I will never open it.”

“Keep the prince and princess far away as well. It’ll be real trouble if they die.”

“I don’t know if I can manage that, but I’ll try.”

“Quite the long tongue for an elf.”

“···I will accomplish it somehow.”

Berje smiled with satisfaction.

“The Red Hawk brats aren’t even a concern. They’ll survive like the rats they are.”

“It is depressing that I cannot deny it.”

“Indeed.”

After saying his farewells to Lavinia and Cain and giving Granada his final instructions, Berje left Hortonwork without looking back.

Not long after the transaction between Berje and the Kingdom of Arkan, Arkan finally stretched its limbs.

“We march!”

The Blue Meteor Mage Corps, the White Wolf Knight Order, and additional reinforcements completing two hundred elite soldiers—

Four hundred troops in total, combined with the Red Hawk Assault Unit, set out to explore Hortonwork.

In the snowfields, the snow never melted all year round.

Summer was cold, winter brutal.

A blizzard raged. The pure white snow was stained with red blood.

The steam rising from the hot blood showed that their deaths had not been long ago.

“It is done. There are no survivors.”

The frost demon, Armand, released a puff of pale breath. Beyond the crystal sphere, his lord replied.

『Well done.』

“I have simply done what must be done.”

『Return without leaving any trace that it was your doing.』

“Yes.”

Even without leaving evidence, they would guess. But suspicion and proof were different things.

The White Eagles and Gillian would notice this was a warning from the Demon King.

But to the bureaucrats of the Empire, slow to move, it would look like nothing more than a barbarian tribe wiped out by monsters.

That difference mattered.

『Do not return to the tower. Continue monitoring the White Eagles.』

“I receive your command.”

The demons and monsters withdrew from the now-empty tribe.

Only shattered debris and corpses remained to show that someone had lived there moments before.

“Nina.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Ending the communication, Reina leaned back in her chair.

“What do you think will happen?”

“First, they will be furious.”

“And then?”

“They may attempt something against the Empire and the Hero Guild. But it is highly likely the Empire will not listen.”

“Why?”

“Based on the documents received last time from Demon King Jason, the Empire wants the northern barbarians to decrease in number.”

Reina Sordein had ruled for decades. As the monsters of the snowfields came under her shadow one by one, unnecessary conflicts had greatly diminished.

That created a kind of stability—and led to the explosive population growth of the northern tribes.

Naturally, the Empire did not like that. The snowfields were nominally imperial territory, and the barbarians were technically imperial citizens—but everyone knew that was nothing but a wrapper.

“Then they will simply watch.”

“Yes. Unless their numbers fall too drastically.”

“That vague ‘too much’ is the key.”

Reina smiled in satisfaction.

She disliked being forced to take the Empire into account, but she was a Demon King capable of facing reality.

For now, this was the best option.

Bzzzz—

At that moment, one of the communication orbs in her office vibrated violently.

“Ugar?”

Reina infused mana into it.

『Reina Sordein. I am certain.』

At the abrupt declaration, she asked:

“What are you talking about?”

『I saw it. What Jason Kokemundo has done for us—done for the conquest of Arein.』

“Explain yourself clearly.”

『I cannot speak it! But I am certain! Jason Kokemundo is not the one who killed Draxon!』

『Believe me!』

Click—

The connection was cut unilaterally.

“···Is he trying to play games with me?”

“He sounded quite serious, though···.”

The Demon King and her adjutant remained speechless for a long time.