Chapter 140 : The Flow Surrounding the Tower (2)
Chapter 140: The Flow Surrounding the Tower (2)
The preparations to welcome Hero Hillan Cargill and Hilderan were finished.
But that was not the end—it was the beginning. What truly required their full effort was attaching legs to the tower, and the preparations for that task.
“...What do you mean by that, Demon King?”
The dwarf hero, Roger Friedrich, blinked his eyes. In a trembling voice, he denied reality.
“I must have misheard, right?”
“You heard correctly.”
“Ah.”
Roger collapsed to the ground. Sadly, since only the Demon King and he were present, there was no one to help him up.
“No!”
“No?”
“You’re saying you’ll sell the mana cannons—my children? How could you do such a thing?”
“If the tower collapses, there won’t be any mana cannons or anything else.”
“Fine. I’ll concede a hundred times over and say I can understand selling them. Using that money to buy materials to build the tower’s legs—that part I can accept. But!”
No matter how much he conceded!
“You’re telling me to lower the performance of my masterpieces with my own hands! That’s killing me twice over!”
“Listen carefully.”
“No matter what you say, that much is impossible. If you must, just sell them as they are!”
“Very well. I will respect your opinion.”
Berje was about to browbeat him, but then changed course. That method would not draw out Roger’s motivation.
“Really?”
“Then you will bear the responsibility that comes with it.”
“Responsibility?”
“Let’s say you sell the mana cannons as they are.”
“Yes.”
“People will clearly realize they were made by dwarves. Your craftsmanship is excellent.”
“Well, of course. It’s on a completely different level from anything mere humans could make.”
Ahem—the dwarf puffed out his chest smugly.
“Naturally, other dwarves will recognize it too.”
“Of course. My skill is impressive enough to astonish even fellow dwarves.”
“And naturally, it will reach the ears of the Second Princess of the Berfht Kingdom.”
“...Pardon?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Dwarves designate mana cannons as strategic weapons and prohibit their export. You know that, right?”
“O-of course.”
“But if mana cannons made by dwarves are being distributed on a large scale through human merchant companies, how do you think they’ll react?”
Naturally, they would launch an investigation.
And if they kept digging and digging, eventually the arrow of suspicion would likely—
“—point toward you, who defied the princess’s order, deserted, and have yet to show yourself. Roger Friedrich.”
...Gulp.
Roger swallowed hard.
The image formed on its own. Louise Berfht charging forward with a roar, a gigantic axe in her hands.
And that axe smashing his skull.
“Of course, since you’re in the Demon King’s tower, she can’t do anything to you for now. But someday, when you go outside....”
“Your words are a hundred times correct, Demon King!”
“No, I’m respecting your opinion. If preserving the pride of a dwarf craftsman is worth enduring all that, then so be it.”
“N-no! Your words are right, Demon King! It’s far too early for humans to wield dwarf-made mana cannons! Lowering their performance and making them just human-level is the proper course!”
“You don’t need to say that because of me. I’ve already made my decision.”
“Demon King, please!”
Roger grabbed Berje’s pant leg. Tears, snot, and drool poured out in abundance, making Berje frown.
“Listen carefully, Roger Friedrich.”
“Y-yes, yes!”
“I am the Demon King.”
And you are my subordinate.
Therefore—
“When I tell you to do something, you simply do it. Understood?”
“Of course!”
“Go. Lower the performance of the mana cannons. There’s no need to do all of them—start with just a hundred.”
“Loyalty!”
Roger bowed deeply and left.
“That’s one more thing finished, at least.”
One by one, he was overcoming the small mountains required for the massive project of making the tower move.
* * *
“This is an honor. The hero who discovered the Tower of Dark Flame asking to see me privately and all.”
The maids served tea.
“You were the one who said you wouldn’t move rashly, brother.”
“Yes, if I’d known it would be found this easily, I would have made the first move myself. Don’t you think?”
“It wasn’t particularly easy. We did find it in a relatively short time, but there were many hardships and sacrifices.”
“Well, Daphne Phillian did die. Oh right, let me ask you one thing.”
“Are you asking me?”
“Just as you have something you want to ask me, I have something I’m curious about as well.”
“What is it?”
“The Four Heavenly Kings. Those demon race with that childish name.”
“....”
The Four Heavenly Kings Martin Zespine had encountered numbered two. The Spirit Sorceress of Darkness, and the Dark Knight. And absurdly enough, the Dark Knight was his dearly beloved younger sister, Kaede Zespine.
At first he hadn’t realized it out of confusion, but judging by Kaede’s case, there was a strong possibility that the so-called Four Heavenly Kings were princesses kidnapped by the Demon King.
‘The Spirit Sorceress of Darkness is probably....’
The Crown Princess of Hilderan, Ernan Hilderan.
Rumors of her spirit arts were not limited to the Kingdom of Hilderan alone—they were widespread across the entire continent.
Setting aside the question of how the Demon King had made demonic energy detectable in humans like her and Kaede, he could not speak honestly about it. That would mean selling out even his own sister.
“Haven’t you already heard?”
“It’s different hearing it directly from you.”
“I only encountered the Spirit Sorceress of Darkness.”
“I see. What I’m curious about is the Spirit Sorceress of Darkness as well. This is the first time I’ve heard of something called the Four Heavenly Kings. It’s probably the Demon King of Dark Flame’s bad taste. I assume they’re high-ranking demons. Am I right?”
“...I believe that is likely.”
“What was the Spirit Sorceress of Darkness like?”
“What aspect are you asking about?”
“Everything.”
“She was strong. With a mere gesture, a tide of snow rose and engulfed the entire search party. After that, I couldn’t see her clearly due to avalanches and defensive barriers, but she hurled masses of flame and shattered the barrier.”
“So she handles both water and fire spirits.”
“After that, monsters attacked the search party. The Spirit Sorceress of Darkness’s involvement ended there.”
“If she cast magic once and disappeared, it might be that there are side effects when demons handle spirits. Good. Then why did you come here?”
“You already knew?”
“You dropped the subject. But if I did know?”
Floyan did not ask ‘what.’ The question Martin would have after leaving an audience with the Emperor was obvious.
“What did His Majesty say?”
“He said that because this Demon King is unprecedented, he must be subjugated and eliminated before problems arise.”
“That sounds plausible.”
Only on the surface.
“Leaving the true enemy who toyed with the Empire alone, and instead killing the foolish Demon King who’s out in the open.”
“Is that brother’s influence?”
“Yes. Brother’s influence.”
“Why?”
“The justification is exactly what you heard from His Majesty.”
“Then what’s the real reason?”
“I don’t know.”
Floyan shrugged.
“Brother, Marlene, and the Duke of Osrian strongly insisted.”
The Osrian Ducal House and the nobles who supported the First Prince and First Princess followed after them. That was the prevailing trend.
“You don’t even have a guess?”
“I do have suspicions, but you’re the same, aren’t you? It’s not as though there are absolutely no people secretly joining hands with the Demon King. There’s just no clear evidence.”
Collusion between power and the Demon King. In truth, anyone who needed to know already knew.
It was only natural.
The Demon Kings of the past had been objects of fear, but that was literally the past. In the present, humans clearly stood above the Demon King, and if he was useful, they thought he could be exploited.
Wasn’t exploiting even enemies a human trait?
A species that would do anything for money, power, and honor. That was humanity.
“But the one that suffered the greatest damage from this incident was the Osrian Ducal House.”
“Who knows. Perhaps their relationship is deep enough to take that into account.”
“Or perhaps it’s His Majesty’s will, and brother is merely dancing like a puppet.”
Their gazes collided.
In truth, that was possible.
The succession to the imperial throne, on the surface, seemed like a conflict solely among the imperial family and the nobles who followed them, with the Emperor not intervening at all. But the Emperor was also human.
Among ten fingers, some hurt more when bitten, and among one’s children, there were always those one favored more.
Even if the Emperor did not show it outwardly, that was how it appeared to them.
Perhaps it was because one was the eldest, or because one resembled him the most.
But if many members of the imperial family felt it subtly, it was not mere feeling or delusion.
That background was why two princes with different mothers, and who were rivals, could grow quietly close.
Banding together to defeat a common enemy was, in a way, an instinct.
“What will you do, brother?”
“What else is there to do? His Majesty’s will is firm, so we must devote all our strength to killing the Demon King of Dark Flame.”
“And I....”
“Good. Honestly, I don’t have confidence I could beat brother alone. Our fight can wait until after that.”
The two princes clasped hands.
‘This isn’t what I came here for....’
The Third Prince’s worries deepened.
* * *
A sword was swung.
Golden aura surged.
It cut through empty space, split the air, and even erased the sweat droplets flowing through it.
The graceful flow left long trajectories, becoming a single dance that colored the world.
“Hah, hah....”
Kaede breathed heavily.
Mana was sparse in the Demon King’s tower, and naturally the amount of aura she could recover was limited.
She tired quickly, and her aura was rapidly consumed. It was the worst condition—but in some sense, it was good. The more she overcame those conditions, the more she could feel herself growing stronger.
‘What should I do?’
But today, she could not focus purely on training. Stray thoughts refused to disappear the entire time she swung her sword.
Soon, the Empire would come.
The Empire would come to kill the Demon King.
If she faced them, what should she do?
This was on a completely different level from before, when she had persuaded her elder brother. They would certainly intend to kill the Demon King, and she would inevitably be exposed.
The only hope was the Demon King’s talk of relocating the tower, but whether that was truly possible was questionable.
There was nothing in her common sense about the Demon King’s tower sprouting legs and walking around.
“Here.”
A pure white hand offered her a handkerchief. It was Ernan.
“Wipe it off.”
“Thank you.”
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“....”
“Don’t worry. What you’re worried about won’t happen.”
“Do you really think so?”
“The Demon King does what he says he’ll do. He’s always been that way. If he decided to move the tower, it means he truly intends to move it. There won’t be any collision with the Empire.”
“But I’ve never heard of such a case.”
“And had you ever imagined you’d become one of the Four Heavenly Kings?”
“....”
Of course not.
“There’s no other Demon King’s tower where a hero dwarf fills the first floor with mana cannons, a princess of Arkan fills the second floor with chimeras, and princesses of Hilderan guard the fourth floor together with elves.”
“...That is true, but still.”
“That’s why we believe. Besides, there’s nothing Kaede can really do anyway.”
“...That is also true, but still.”
Somehow, she felt deeply uneasy.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
“I just wanted to check in. You know I’m leaving, right?”
“Ah. Back to Hilderan....”
“Yes. It’s a shame. We didn’t even get that close.”
“You find it a shame?”
Kaede couldn’t understand her. Unlike herself, Ernan wasn’t bound by something strange like Armani’s Orb, nor had she entered into a contract with a Black Mage—yet she found it regrettable to leave the tower.
Did she dislike returning to her kingdom and resuming her original life?
“Oh, Kaede, would you like some of this?”
Kaede’s face brightened when she saw the small piece Ernan took out.
“Where did you get this?”
“I bought it when I went out with the Demon King last time. Since I’m returning to the kingdom now, I’m sharing it.”
“Thank you.”
The brown lump quickly disappeared into Kaede’s mouth. A smile naturally formed at the sweet taste.
“You seem to like chocolate.”
“After training, just one of these makes me feel like all my fatigue melts away.”
Kaede looked happier than she had every been since coming to the tower. Whether she simply liked chocolate, or whether it was because she hadn’t eaten it in a long time, was unclear.
It was an unexpected side of the noble imperial princess and knight who always wore a stiff expression.
“This is precious.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. Want some more?”
“There’s more?”
“Here.”
Ernan tossed her a few more chocolates. While Kaede busily munched away, she went up to the fifth floor and knocked on the door of the office.
“Demon King.”
Creak—the door opened. The Demon King asked curtly.
“What is it?”
“I wanted to give you one last piece of advice before I leave.”
“Advice?”
“Kaede has a somewhat rigid side, you know. And so do you, Demon King. That’s why things between the two of you are still so stiff. Even though you’re the Demon King and one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“...So?”
Thud—
Ernan took out a thick sack from her subspace bag and placed it on the desk.
“...What is this?”
“Chocolate.”
“...?”
“Like oiling a rusty machine, it’s about coating the relationship between you and Kaede with chocolate.”
“....”
It took Berje quite some time to understand what she meant.
Of course, that didn’t mean he accepted it.