Chapter 93 : Warning
Chapter 93: Warning
Hillan Cargill left for the northern snowfield together with Granada and the Red Hawk Assault Unit.
Time had passed, and it meant the Harmony of the Towers, scheduled for a month later, was now approaching.
But he wondered whether they could even open the Harmony of the Towers.
After spouting nonsense, Vivian Blunt had shut herself inside her tower, and Reina Sordein was currently at war alongside the White Eagle, so she could not leave her tower.
『I thought about it for a while. Whether it was right for the four of us to hold the Harmony of the Towers without Lady Reina, or whether postponing it would be the proper choice.』
“Didn’t you say that if there were circumstances, postponing was only natural?”
『I did, but the recent movements of humans are unsettling. What Lady Vivian did, and what Lady Reina is involved in...』
『I thought we needed to gather and discuss countermeasures.』
That was true.
“I heard the assault unit attacked Vivian’s tower?”
『Yes. Still, since the princess wasn’t kidnapped, they stopped at a reasonable level.』
It had been unfortunate for her that she failed to kidnap the princess, yet in some sense it had been fortunate.
‘No, that woman probably thinks it was nothing but misfortune.’
If she had succeeded, Vivian believed she would have escaped this wretched dimension unharmed.
Anyway, because of that, humans were currently buzzing like a stirred beehive.
“So, what’s the conclusion?”
『A gathering that began with five must remain five to the end. I don’t think holding the Harmony of the Towers without Lady Reina—who has consistently worked for it—is right.』
It meant they would postpone the Harmony of the Towers.
‘I was hoping they’d hold it anyway.’
Even though Berje had regressed, the current Arein had changed greatly from the past. The small breeze he stirred had grown into a gathering storm.
The past he knew and the present the Demon Kings knew surely differed.
‘As long as it’s not my tower.’
『So, here is what I wish to say. It isn’t the Harmony of the Towers, but I want to arrange a separate meeting with you, Lord Berje.』
“With me?”
『We agreed to cooperate, but we’ve never actually done anything together, have we?』
『There is something I wish to tell you regarding that.』
“Something you want to say?”
『It isn’t something I should say through a communication device.』
Beyond the communicator, Jason was smiling. As always.
Berje sifted through his memories, trying to recall what Jason might want to say.
Nothing particular came to mind.
Before regression, at this point in time, Jason had not done anything significant. Except for soon lending Reina Sordein a massive amount of demonic energy and using that debt to make her almost like his own subordinate.
‘Just because I didn’t know doesn’t mean he did nothing.’
Back then, he didn’t know. Berje had been arrogant, dogmatic, and self-centered.
He had no interest in what Jason was doing or how he planned to conquer Arein.
Not even—
Why Jason was called the False Demon King.
Nor what race he belonged to.
He simply hadn’t considered it important.
But now was different.
Jason was clearly doing something. And his method was not ordinary, nor orthodox.
If Berje continued his current path, Jason was the one he was most likely to clash with.
Uncovering Jason’s direction—his purpose—was essential.
“Fine.”
『Should I go? Or will you come, Lord Berje?』
“I’ll go.”
Like a general marching onto the battlefield—
Berje steeled himself.
---
The Tower of Falsehood he visited again remained as it had been.
Unmatched in splendor, overflowing with monsters and demons.
Succubi guided him to the top of the tower.
He sat at Jason’s round table and waited.
“It’s been a while.”
“It’s been a while, Lord Berje.”
“You have more monsters now?”
“Thanks to you, Lord Berje. Ah, would you like some tea?”
“Gladly.”
A succubus maid served tea, along with simple refreshments.
“So, what is it you want to say.”
“No need to rush this much, is there?”
He smiled, removed the steeped tea leaves, and lightly stirred with a teaspoon.
“The truth is, I didn’t think you would last very long, Lord Berje.”
At the sudden blunt remark, Berje asked calmly:
“Why?”
“I pay attention to news from the Demon Realm. I need a lot of demonic energy, after all, and I believe it necessary.”
“If it’s because of what I did in the Demon Realm, I’m not that surprised.”
“You kidnapped the Crown Princess of Hilderan as soon as you arrived, didn’t you? I’m still curious how you managed to overcome that crisis.”
“Good luck.”
“That’s what you said then too. Are you confident you still won’t be caught by humans?”
“That depends on what they do.”
Tok—
Jason snapped a hard cookie in half.
“Do you have an adjutant?”
“I don’t know what you’re implying. Is there a Demon King without an adjutant?”
“If you graduated the Demon King Military Academy as top of your class, your adjutant must also have graduated top of the Training School. What race is he?”
“A Dark Elf.”
“Dark Elves. Skilled in magic and keen minds—quite suitable for managing a tower. You have a fine adjutant.”
Berje set down his teacup. A strange sense of déjà vu—irritation—rose in him.
Jason was different today. This was only their second time meeting in person, yet they had spoken many times through communication.
“Why are you so curious about my adjutant.”
“Your adjutant is a high-rank demon, yes?”
“You know a demon who isn’t high-rank daring to call himself an adjutant?”
“And aside from your adjutant, you have no other high-rank demons.”
“Get to the point.”
“These past few days, I’ve been thinking about Lord Draxon’s death.”
“And?”
“The Draxon I knew doesn’t avoid lying, but he isn’t someone who spouts outright absurd lies.”
“You mean the high-rank demon who invaded his territory was telling the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Who was it?”
Hmm—Jason propped his chin on his hand. His sly gaze met Berje’s.
“It could have been Lord Ugar, or Lady Reina. And I am considering the possibility that it may even have been you, Lord Berje.”
“It wasn’t me. My adjutant can’t leave the tower. You wouldn’t claim you didn’t know that.”
“Normally, yes. But it doesn’t *have* to be a high-rank demon, does it?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“A Demon King.”
He laughed.
“Who knows? Perhaps a Demon King moved personally, and Lord Draxon—pressed by the urgency of the moment—mistook him for a high-rank demon.”
“······.”
At the sudden thrust, Berje exercised superhuman patience.
He forced himself to answer calmly.
“A Demon King invading another Demon King’s territory? That makes no sense.”
“Neither does a high-rank demon. And there was Louise Berfht.”
Jason wiped his lips with a napkin.
“She, the princess of Berfht, was there. And so was Prince Max Ormus.”
Berje drummed his fingers on the table.
“And?”
“Someone came to kidnap a prince or princess, failed because things grew complicated, and that butterfly effect led Lord Draxon to kill the prince.”
It’s quite a plausible inference, isn’t it?
The problem was—
“Lady Reina, Lord Ugar, and you, Lord Berje—every one of you is someone who personally kidnaps royalty.”
“So in the end, you suspect all three. We’re back to the start.”
“Correct. But in truth, it doesn’t really matter who the culprit was.”
“Why is that?”
“If it was true, then a Demon King kidnapping royalty is only natural. Even if someone was unfortunately caught up in the process, you can’t blame the Demon King who attempted the kidnapping, can you?”
Unless he intentionally meant harm to Lord Draxon.
That added remark carried an even colder edge.
“So I prefer to let such matters be covered.”
“What do you mean?”
“As I said, whoever acted was simply doing what had to be done. The one who misunderstood and caused the issue was Lord Draxon, not the others.”
No.
Invading another’s territory without permission was clearly crossing the line.
“And Archduke Arkaine would not want conflict between Demon Kings either.”
He shifted the topic.
“Are you putting to good use the 100,000 gold I gave you?”
Berje met his gaze. Those eyes, always curved in good nature, revealed nothing of what he was thinking.
That strange sense of displeasure pricked at Berje’s nerves.
“Very well.”
“If it’s not rude, may I ask how you’re using it?”
“It’s rude.”
“I see.”
With that, silence lingered for a while. In the quiet, only the sound of them drinking tea filled the space.
Berje was the one who broke the silence first.
“You keep circling around the subject. Why did you want to meet me? Don’t tell me it was to irritate me?”
“Of course not. Didn’t we promise cooperation? I wish to be of help—to both of us.”
“Help?”
“There will be a war.”
“A war?”
“Well, not a very large one. A massive mine will be discovered in the Pilerium Mountains, and the southern union and the empire will fight over their interests. Quite a bit of blood will be shed.”
“And you’re giving that to me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“As I said—cooperation. I will help you, and I hope you will help me. And for that to work, you must secure your position more firmly.”
A carrot and a stick, then.
The feeling of being trained made Berje grind his teeth.
“If you don’t want it…”
“No, I’ll take it.”
“A wise choice.”
The conversation afterward was like a melon missing its core—neither useful nor pleasant.
After a while, Berje rose. He opened a space and created a portal leading back to his tower.
“Farewell. I look forward to seeing you again.”
“Sure.”
“Ah.”
Jason clapped his hands.
“I had something else I wanted to ask but….”
He shrugged.
“I forgot.”
“You’re playing a petty joke.”
Berje growled and stepped fully into the spatial rift.
The space closed.
Crunch—
Jason bit into a cookie. The sweet chocolate flavor was decent.
Peh—
He spat it out. Sweet things were still not to his taste.
“What in the world are you using all those Demonic Points for…”
Summoning monsters leaves a record. Through Archduke Arkaine, Jason had confirmed that no monsters or demons had been summoned to Berje’s tower.
He must have a vast amount of demonic power stored up after kidnapping three princesses and defeating the hero’s march.
Jason leaned back in his chair.
“Since he doesn’t want to answer, I’ll let it go for now.”
“And my desire to visit your tower as well…”
Just what was inside that tower built in the Ergest Mountains?
His curiosity grew stronger.
---
“…Did he notice?”
He noticed.
It was conjecture, but although he didn’t point at Berje alone, lumping the other Demon Kings in as well—
Jason had come close to the truth.
He realized Berje had invaded Draxon’s territory.
Even so, he said he wanted to cover it.
And then he tossed out the carrot of war.
“He didn’t figure everything out.”
Perhaps, as he himself said, he simply thought, ‘He went to capture royalty and things went wrong.’
No—he was sure of it.
If Jason knew Berje had gone up the tower himself and helped kill Draxon, he wouldn’t speak so casually about covering it up.
He only spoke so nonchalantly because, even if Berje had invaded the territory, it hadn’t been intentional.
“So this is…”
A warning.
The back of his neck tingled coldly.
Berje had long known Jason was weaving a large scheme.
Berje’s movements must not have suited the arrangement on Jason’s chessboard. So he called him quietly and told him to behave, to just accept what he was given.
‘This damned bastard dares—!’
Berje ground his teeth.
Since regression, he had never imagined something like this happening.
But unlike the early days after regression, he no longer bared his fangs recklessly.
‘What he knows is fragmentary.’
He didn’t know that Berje had brought Hillan Cargill completely under his control, or that Granada and the elves were the same.
He didn’t know that the tower was guarded not by monsters but by mana cannons and princesses.
He didn’t know that Berje, empowered by the Phoenix, could move naturally around the continent unlike other demons.
He didn’t know.
‘Since he brought up money…’
He might have figured out the Golden Moon Merchant Company.
But he would never imagine Armani’s Orb was embedded in Hillan Cargill’s head.
He’d simply assume Berje was playing at being a shadowy mastermind.
Berje needed to grow his strength from that blind spot.
“Still…”
Tsk, he clicked his tongue.
“If he was going to give me a carrot, he should’ve given me something I didn’t already know.”
Unfortunately, this carrot was something Berje already knew.
Though it was earlier than before—an event originally several years in the future.
“Jason must have manipulated something.”
Or perhaps the whole war was something he intended from the beginning.
< 093. Warning > End