Chapter 109 : Imperial Intrigue
Chapter 109: Imperial Intrigue
『I am extremely busy. Thanks to you, Demon King.』
“If you are going to complain, at least fix your facial expression.”
『Ah, my apologies.』
The smile that had been drawn at the corner of Hillan Cargill’s mouth disappeared.
Berje snorted.
The hero called Hillan Cargill was exceedingly simple.
He wanted power, and he wanted authority. He wanted honor and fame.
He was a greedy man who did not care what means or methods he used to achieve those things.
He pretended to be good because pretending to be good was profitable.
He chose the path of submitting to the Demon King because submission was beneficial.
One of the things he valued most was personal connections.
Humans were social beings. They formed organic relationships with one another and moved within society, and on the vast board of a society that had been built over long years, what a single human could do was extremely limited.
That was why connections were important. Connections that possessed great power and could be of help.
And Cain Arkan, the Fifth Prince of the Kingdom of Arkan, clearly met those conditions and was an excellent connection.
At the same time, no matter how much of a hero Hillan Cargill was, it was not a position he could suddenly approach and ask to build ties with. The fact that Berje had opened that channel meant there was no way he would not be pleased.
“On top of that, you even planted elves inside Arkan’s magic tower, so you must be thrilled to death. Keep this in mind. They are not your subordinates. They are mine.”
『That goes without saying. And am I not also the Demon King’s servant? The most loyal one.』
“You are saying things you do not mean.”
『How could that be? From the day my life was saved by you, Demon King, I realized it. That you are truly a precious person to me.』
“A precious thing worth using, more like.”
Hillan did not particularly deny it. Berje did not consider that impudent either.
That was the relationship between the hero who was praised as the one destined to become the greatest, and the Demon King who was praised as having the qualities to become the greatest.
“So, are you heading back to the Guild headquarters now?”
『I believe so.』
“Above all else, the most important thing is to seize control of the inside of the Guild.”
『Of course.』
“When you get in, find out who the Guildmaster is.”
『The Guildmaster of the Hero Guild has been missing for quite some time.』
『The Council of Elders says there is no particular problem, but if he has not shown himself to this extent, there is certainly something wrong.』
“Exactly.”
Berje’s eyes sharpened.
“That is why you need to find out.”
『That is a difficult request.』
Even so.
『Even if it were not your order, Demon King, I was planning to find out without fail.』
Hillan smiled.
『Because it is my goal.』
After ending the communication with Hillan, Berje recalled his promise with Reina Sordein.
‘Ugar Velbek.’
On what basis had he made such a confident assertion to Reina?
Berje was certain.
‘Jason intervened.’
Ugar was a hedgehog. Compared to his size, he was timid, always raising his quills and acting cautiously.
There was no way he would make such a confident claim without any certainty, nor would someone who was crouched down, bristling while gathering princesses, suddenly collect information for no reason.
In the end, someone had instilled that certainty in him, and there was no one other than Jason Kokemundo.
‘When I think about it, it might not be that difficult.’
At first, he had been a little surprised and flustered, but when he thought it through carefully, it might not have been all that remarkable.
Because Jason had not actually killed Draxon, nor had he invaded his territory.
Regardless, finding out what it was remained important. For the sake of his promise to Reina, and for his own sake as well.
Knock knock-
“Come in. Hm?”
It was an unexpected guest.
“Demon King.”
“What brings you here?”
It was Kaede.
“If you are not busy, may I speak with you for a moment?”
“Sit.”
She fidgeted and sat down in front of him. Feeling too lazy to serve tea, he rummaged around nearby and spotted some candy he had received from Reina and carelessly shoved it to her.
“Eat.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“What is it?”
“...I apologize for saying this without having done anything in particular, but may I ask you for a favor?”
“A favor?”
“...I would like you to help my elder brother.”
“...?”
What did that mean?
“If you are talking about your brothers, I believe there are seven of them.”
“I am speaking of the Empire’s Third Prince, Martin Zespine.”
“Explain it so I can understand.”
“Not long ago, Lady Ernan conveyed some news to me.”
“Ernan?”
“Yes. It was the news that Gustav Zespine, the Eighth Prince, had died.”
Now that she mentioned it, he vaguely remembered hearing something like that. That must have been around the time he was preparing to kidnap Ellena.
He had not considered it particularly important.
Right before his death, after being severely burned by the Empire’s Crown Prince, he had no desire to get deeply entangled with the Empire.
Although he had ended up kidnapping Kaede Zespine, it had never been something he wanted to do, nor something he had planned.
That was as far as it went. That was how Berje viewed his relationship with the Zespine Empire.
“I heard he died after falling off his horse. A mid-grade aura knight.”
“An assassination.”
“That is what I believe as well.”
“Do the people of the Empire believe that?”
“If there is no evidence, belief is irrelevant.”
“Is that the current Emperor’s teaching?”
“Yes.”
In some ways, that was close to the demon race.
It was probably the First Prince, the future Crown Prince, who had done it.
The fact that he had slaughtered countless rivals and blood relatives to seize a throne soaked in blood had been quite famous at the time.
Of course, it was not impossible that it was the Second Prince. He had been pushed aside by the First Prince, but he too was a man who could become cruel enough if it served his goals.
“You may already know this, but the Empire is currently suffering from a power struggle over the succession to the throne.”
He knew. It was right around the time when the First Prince and Second Prince, along with the First Princess and the Third Prince, were tearing each other apart in a brutal struggle.
Among them, the one who fell first was probably the Third Prince.
The First Empress, from a ducal house that wielded power second only to the Emperor, and her children, the First Prince and the First Princess.
The Second Empress, from a marquis' house that had amassed enormous wealth within the Empire, and her son, the Second Prince.
Compared to them, the Third Empress, the mother of the Third Prince, was clearly far weaker in background.
Naturally, she was the first to be eliminated.
“So you are asking me to help the Third Prince now?”
“Yes.”
“Rejected.”
Berje had no desire to deliberately tie himself to the Empire. To overturn that decision, there would need to be a clear benefit.
If it were the First Prince, who was destined to become Crown Prince, or the Second Prince, who had the strength to fight the First Prince to the very end, it might have been different.
If he could create a point of contact through Kaede, intervene, twist the future, and exert influence, that would have been rather tempting.
But the Third Prince was no different from a sinking ship.
“To begin with, I am the Demon King. Interfering in the Empire’s succession to the throne is laughable, and it is not something I can even do.”
In another dimension, intervention would not have been impossible. He could simply brainwash an appropriate royal, kill off the other royals, and make that one the Emperor.
But in Arein, that was impossible. What was used for brainwashing was demonic energy, and there were heroes within the imperial palace.
“I am not asking for the Demon King’s help.”
“...Are you playing games with me?”
“Hillan Cargill. I heard that he is the Demon King’s right hand. At first, I did not believe it, but after seeing the elves follow you with absolute faith, I realized it was not a lie.”
“So you are telling me to have Hillan lend strength to the Third Prince?”
“Yes.”
This was absurd. It was not as if Hillan were omnipotent.
“A hero interfering in the Empire’s succession to the throne was impossible.”
The Empire was one of the nations that most strongly avoided interference from the Hero Guild. They had consistently kept the growing authority of a transnational guild in check.
And yet, some individual, named Argann from the Guild, suddenly interfered in a succession dispute?
This was not merely Hillan’s personal problem.
The Hero Guild had declared neutrality. No matter how many Demon Kings he had slain, he could not arbitrarily break a tradition that had continued for hundreds of years.
“I am not particularly hoping that my elder brother becomes Emperor.”
“Then?”
“His life. I only wish that my elder brother does not die.”
“So you are talking about simple acquaintance rather than support. Do you think having ties with Hillan will create a way for him to survive?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“But at the very least, I believe it will raise the possibility somewhat.”
“And you think that is your best option?”
“...Yes.”
He could roughly grasp what she was thinking.
“If I grant your request, what will you do for me?”
“I am the Demon King’s knight.”
“Only for five years.”
“The one who promised those five years was you, Demon King.”
“That was the price for your freedom. The price for roaming the tower instead of rotting in a prison. Moreover, I even attached Gordon to you and am having him teach you swordsmanship.”
“...What do you want?”
“Money.”
Berje spread his fingers.
“I bought Hillan for one hundred thousand gold. At the very least, wouldn’t an Imperial Prince be worth that much?”
“...I do not have that kind of money.”
“Then the conversation is over.”
In truth, even if she paid, he had no desire to intervene with the Empire.
“Demon King.”
“First the Eighth Prince, then the nobles who followed him, and eventually even the Third Prince. Since you, who at least had the support of the knights, have disappeared, his foundation must be even weaker now, no?”
“How do you know that so well?”
“Who knows?”
Because it had happened in the future.
After eliminating the Third Prince first, they only then turned their blades toward one another.
At that time, he remembered that Kaede Zespine had also died. She had gone to subjugate a Demon King and was wiped out.
“Come to think of it, the Demon King they went to subjugate back then was....”
It had been Jason Kokemundo.
Kaede failed, and the hero party was annihilated. The Empire was enraged, but that was as far as it went.
‘At first, they shouted about killing Jason, but in the end, nothing happened.’
To be precise, the Empire had not taken action.
At the time, he had brushed it off as nothing significant, but now that he looked back, there were one or two things that seemed suspicious.
‘No matter how intense the succession dispute was, a Princess died. She was not kidnapped by a Demon King—she was killed—yet they did not seek revenge.’
They did not even pretend to. That was directly tied to the Empire’s prestige.
It was something that could not have happened without some kind of agreement.
‘Could it be that the string Jason had been holding was the Empire?’
The sudden question felt like a bone catching in his throat.
‘If Jason had ties to the Empire, then....’
His thoughts chased after one another, swelling until they reached a single conclusion.
‘Could he have been involved in my death...?’
Perhaps it was a leap. But when he recalled Vivian’s case, it was not entirely impossible.
“No. No.”
Berje realized belatedly how that incident had been buried.
Because a far greater incident had swept everything away like a tidal wave.
The Zespine Empire. The death of the Second Prince.
The conflict, which had intensified after the disappearance of the Third Prince, truly entered full swing—so much so that an immediate civil war would not have been strange.
And in that situation, the Second Prince died in an absurd manner.
‘At the time, the cause was probably....’
Cardiac arrest.
That, too, was likely something the First Prince had intervened in.
It was a matter separate from Jason.
However, once a suspicion took hold, it did not easily fade.
‘It might have nothing to do with me, but the fact that Jason has ties to the Empire itself is not completely absurd.’
Jason had connections with humans. That much was certain.
Perhaps he could use this opportunity—using the Third Prince—to dig into that.
To find out whether it was truly the Empire, or not.
And if he lent strength to the Third Prince and pushed the civil war into full swing—
Would it not be possible to weaken the Empire?
‘It is dangerous.’
One misstep could lead to ruin. But without taking risks, nothing could be done.
“My mind has changed.”
“Pardon?”
“I will grant your request.”
Berje smiled coldly.
* * *
Vivian Blunt.
She, whom humans called lust itself, had sought to escape her isolated life.
Her attempt to kidnap Louise Berfht ended in failure, and when heroes visited her tower, it was left in shambles.
The fact that her tower remained intact, despite her being unable to reduce any interference power, was not because she was exceptional, nor because she possessed some hidden trump card.
It was pathetic mercy. Mercy received from mere humans that saved her life.
“How dare you to me...!”
The direct cause had been the heroes and humans who came to the tower. But if one dug deeper, it was never a problem belonging solely to humans.
Jason Kokemundo.
He had warned Vivian several times.
Stay still.
Do not cause trouble.
But Vivian did not listen, and this was the result. Could this truly be a coincidence?
No.
There had been a hint in Jason’s words.
‘That bastard has some kind of string tied to the humans.’
It was certainly not just a matter of planting a few Black Mages or Black Knights.
He had made a deal or reached a compromise with humans who were of sound mind.
She wanted to shout whether he had no pride as a Demon King, but...
‘It makes sense. This place really is a shithole.’
There were over four thousand heroes.
In every city of any decent size, there were inevitably one or two heroes present. As a Demon King, she could more or less hide herself, but every subordinate she sent out was either captured and killed or driven back.
Even though she was a Demon King, as a succubus she could not be said to be particularly strong compared to other demons. It was the nature of her race, and naturally her specialty lay in manipulating humans and throwing the world into chaos.
Yet that had been blocked. From the very beginning.
A succubus who could not seduce humans was only half complete. No—she was not even half. She was nothing but chaff.
‘What should I do?’
She no longer thought about finding the one who had killed Draxon. For now, surviving was what mattered.
She had to live somehow and plan for the future.
Ironically, she found her answer in Jason—the very one who had driven her into this corner.
‘Jason compromised with humans.’
No matter what form it took, the fact that there was a point of contact could not be denied.
Which meant—
‘Do the humans here sometimes see Demon Kings as objects of negotiation?’
If she had heard such nonsense in the Demon Realm, she would have snorted in ridicule. But not anymore. In Arein, where over a thousand years the Demon Kings had been defeated and humans had grown accustomed to it, where the hierarchy had been reversed, it was possible.
‘Humans. It has to be humans.’
A compromise with humans.
But how?
‘How else.’
In the end, there was only one method a succubus Demon King could take.
She rose from her throne.
“Heina.”
“Yes, Demon King.”
“I will be going out for a while, so manage the tower properly.”
“Are you planning to kidnap royalty?”
“No. Not kidnapping.”
She descended the stairs. Her adjutant, Heina, quickly followed behind.
“Then?”
“Seduction.”
She had never imagined that even after becoming a Demon King, she would still be seducing mere humans.
“I need to bring the power holders of this archipelago into my arms.”
If it was impossible for an ordinary succubus, then she would step in personally.
A Demon King who had retired from the front lines spread her wings of temptation once more.