Chapter 144 : The Demon King Was Far Too Wronged
Chapter 144: The Demon King Was Far Too Wronged
“...Who disappeared?”
The fact that Louise Berfht had disappeared became known immediately after she was abducted.
“At the annex palace where Her Highness was staying, a tremendous noise and vibration occurred. The knights guarding the annex palace checked the scene, but Her Highness was nowhere to be found, and only traces of a fierce battle remained.”
“Do you think that counts as an explanation! Find her at once! Immediately!”
The royal guards moved out. Not far from the battlefield, they discovered a hidden passage.
“A hidden passage? After Roger Friedrich disappeared, didn’t you find and block every single passage in the capital?”
“We blocked the majority of them, but it was impossible to make it perfect....”
“Are you joking with me right now!”
At the king’s fury, the dwarves trembled.
The knights hurriedly investigated the passage.
“There are traces of entry, but none of exit. It is certain that they have not yet escaped.”
“What if they simply left through another passage? Just because one existed, is there any law saying there couldn’t be two?”
“...That is.”
“Find them immediately! If you do not bring the princess and the bastard who abducted her before my eyes, I will leave what comes next to your imagination.”
“We receive your command!”
However, the problem did not end there. As the defending soldiers guarding the royal castle were mobilised en masse for the search, another incident broke out elsewhere.
“Your Majesty! A fire has broken out in the royal workshop!”
“...What? Does that make any sense!? How many engraved spells are placed upon the royal workshop!”
A workshop was a place that primarily dealt with fire, so fire prevention was especially strict. However, if all of the defensive equipment they had prepared had been destroyed by the Demon King’s hand, it was not impossible.
“Master craftsmen—what happened to the master craftsmen!”
“The thirty-two craftsmen who were outside are safe, but....”
“Report properly!”
“The whereabouts of forty-nine craftsmen are unknown.”
“...Are you saying they burned to death in the fire!”
“No! If living beings had burned to death, there would at least be remains. However, nowhere in the half-burnt workshop could we find any trace of the craftsmen.”
“Then that means....”
“It would be impossible for the craftsmen to have set the fire themselves and fled the workshop, so....”
The minister delivering the report swallowed his words. It was because the king’s eyes were twitching violently.
“They were abducted?”
“That is what we believe.”
“The princess as well?”
“...Yes.”
In a single instant, the jewel of the kingdom and the kingdom’s greatest craftsmen had gone missing—no, they had been abducted.
For a moment, the king’s vision went dark, but he forced himself to remain calm.
“Immediately seal off all entrances and exits of the capital and declare a state of emergency. And you will find the abductors without fail.”
All forces of the capital were mobilized. Nearly every unit, except for the royal knight order guarding the king and the royal palace.
After issuing the urgent orders, the king entered a meeting with his ministers.
“Who do you believe the culprit to be?”
“...We suspect humans.”
“That is correct. The fact that they abducted the craftsmen is proof. It is not the first or second time humans have coveted our technology and caused such an incident, is it?”
That was the most plausible explanation. The problem was which human nation it was, and...
“There is a traitor who sold out their own race. And that traitor is within this capital.”
“A traitor, you say?”
“The princess and the royal workshop are within the capital. Do you think humans could brazenly come and go here without my permission? Unless someone deliberately concealed them. Moreover, dozens of craftsmen vanished without a trace, yet not a single witness saw anything—does that make sense?”
“Ah...!”
The ministers let out exclamations. Indeed, that made no sense.
An awkward silence settled in. The king’s words were sound, and for that soundness to hold, one more condition was required. The traitor had to possess considerable power even within the capital.
They began to watch one another cautiously. At that moment, one minister raised an objection.
“However, Your Majesty, even Princess Her Highness was abducted. Do humans even have a reason to abduct Princess Her Highness?”
Especially those who knew how dearly the King of Berfht cherished the princess would understand that this meant crossing a river from which there was no return.
“They abducted dozens of craftsmen. That means they never intended to think about the consequences.”
“Would humans commit something that foolish? If we merely promised equipment to the surrounding nations, wouldn’t they be beaten to a pulp?”
“...That is certainly true.”
The king and his ministers sank deeper into thought.
“Could it perhaps be the Demon King’s doing?”
“The Demon King? Why would the Demon King abduct craftsmen?”
The Demon King strengthened the Tower through the mysterious power it possessed. There was no need to borrow the strength of the dwarves.
That was common sense. However—
“What if it is not the Tower, but something else?”
“Something else?”
“Recently, in the Seratin Archipelago....”
“Ah...!”
“And does she not already have a history of trying to abduct Her Highness and getting her tail cut off?”
“No matter how much that may be so, for the Demon King who was heavily wounded by the assault unit afterward to once again—.”
At that moment, news arrived that drove a nail into their speculation.
“Your Majesty! The hero, Belding, has discovered faint traces of demonic energy at Princess Her Highness’s annex palace!”
The Demon King had abducted the princess and the craftsmen.
* * *
Vivian Blunt.
Having conquered a single dimension and grown so arrogant her nose pierced the sky, she had been blocked by the massive wall of the dimension called Arein.
Repeated challenges had ended in failure, and she had even suffered the humiliation of being threatened by another Demon King.
Even so, the reason she had not exploded according to her temper was because everything that Demon King said had been painfully accurate.
‘A crazy dimension with over four thousand heroes! If I had known, I never would have come to a damned place like this!’
She lamented her own arrogance—having thought that it was simply because the Demon Kings were weak, and that a dimension she herself could conquer would be perfectly suited to her.
And also that Archduke Arkaine, who had deceived her with sweet words and shoved her into this wretched place.
‘That damned vampire bastard. I should have known when he was being overly kind.’
She should have torn out that sweet, silver tongue that had promised enormous rewards.
Of course, she could not actually have done that.
“Still, it all somehow worked out, didn’t it? I’m alive, and I’m steadily expanding my forces. Yes, that’s what matters. That’s what—.”
As she savored a refreshing Shine Muscat grape, her gaze drifted downward and stopped.
“...My tail.”
It was never easy to grow accustomed to something that should have been there being gone.
“My tail....”
Tears streamed down. The wound still throbbed with pain. Of course, one day it would grow back and return to its original state, but when would that be?
A hundred years? Or two hundred?
A succubus’s tail, another storage organ for demonic energy, was not like hair that simply grew back with the passage of time.
“That damned bastard, I will definitely have my revenge....”
She vowed to turn him into a slave and make him pant beneath her feet. One day, without fail.
“Ah.”
She opened her mouth, trying to vent her irritation.
“Here you are, hehe.”
A sweet piece of fruit slipped inside.
“Sweet.”
“It is the finest Shine Muscat from the southern region of Hessen. I personally procured it especially for you, Lady Vivian.”
‘Procured’ written, ‘pirated’ read. But neither the speaker nor the recipient minded.
“That Lady Vivian.”
“When did I ever say you could speak?”
“I, I’m sorry!”
The pirate on the footstool slammed his head into the floor.
“What is it? Speak.”
“Thank you for your mercy. Recently, the Altling faction has been acting suspiciously.”
“Altling, you say....”
“It is the foremost alliance of the Seratin Archipelago, to which eighty pirate crews belong.”
“Why those bastards?”
“...It has been that way from the start. They look down on us as mere demons—of course, I am not disparaging you, Lady Vivian. It is simply that those arrogant wretches—.”
“I know, so continue.”
“Yes. They are slandering us, calling us traitors who colluded with the demon race. Judging by how they are moving, a war might even break out.”
“A war, just because I am a demon?”
“They are all cowardly excuses. Isn’t it simply that our power is steadily growing, so they want to trample us in advance?”
“Hm.”
Vivian propped her chin on her hand and sank into thought.
After her string of failures, she had personally stepped in and fulfilled the succubus’s true role.
Once ensnared, allure was the stickiest trap from which one could never escape, whether they knew she was of the demon race or not—and it was her greatest weapon.
Fortunately, gaining access had been easy. The humans of Arein were already accustomed enough to secretly form pacts with the demon race, but the Seratin Archipelago, ruled by pirates, was especially so.
Those who could be called the very stronghold of evil—living off drug distribution and smuggling, as well as human trafficking and piracy—did not discriminate just because someone was a demon.
To them, what mattered most was, first, their own lives, and second, whether something benefited them or not.
Thanks to that, Vivian made contact with pirates and slowly expanded her influence. At times she seduced them alone; at other times she unleashed succubi, turning them into her pawns.
Like the one kneeling before her now, serving as her footstool; the one beside her fanning her; or the one who automatically fed her fruit whenever she opened her mouth.
All of them were pirates who had become slaves to her, a succubus, and influential figures with considerable sway in the Seratin Archipelago.
Heroes were no different. The heroes in the pirate archipelago were all scum who had disobeyed guild orders and deserted.
Heroes were supposed to be those who killed demons, but they were exceptions.
For instance, the footstool bastard reporting to her right now was both the leader of a pirate crew and a hero.
When a so-called hero babbled that he could even lick her soles, it had left her utterly dumbfounded.
“If war breaks out, can you win?”
Her thoughts returned to the main issue.
Her forces were still insignificant when viewed across the entirety of the Seratin Archipelago, and it was only natural that pressure would come.
“In terms of forces, we are at a disadvantage, but who do you think I am! I am the captain of the Black Eyepatch Pirate Crew!”
“I am here as well. Our Waterfall Beard Pirate Crew will sweep away those trash Altling bastards!”
“I will—!”
The three pirate captains enthralled by Vivian began competing to proclaim their loyalty.
But though they spoke grandly under her allure, the fact that they could not win did not change.
Just as a sigh was about to escape her, it happened.
Knock knock—
“Lady Vivian.”
Before she could even respond to tell them to enter, a succubus hurriedly opened the door and rushed in. Vivian frowned.
“I believe I told you not to come in until I called for you?”
“It is a message from Demon King Jason Kokemundo. He told me to have you respond at once—.”
“Why?”
“He said he would explain directly. However, he seemed quite angry.”
“Angry? Why?”
She was doing exactly as told, staying holed up quietly in the Seratin Archipelago.
“Everyone, get out.”
At her gesture, the pirates and succubi left. Vivian took the communication device and injected demonic energy into it.
“What is it this time?”
『What is it? Is that really something you can say with that mouth of yours right now?』
The very first words were harsh—he certainly sounded angry. And amusingly enough, that anger was clearly directed at Vivian.
“What? No, what did I even do?”
This time, she had something to say. She had done nothing.
『I clearly told you. Stay put, and especially do not touch the dwarves.』
『And yet, how long has it been for you to cause trouble again? Do you not possess even the slightest ability to think?』
“...What nonsense is that? Touching dwarves? Me?”
Vivian pondered for a moment. Was the one fanning her a dwarf? No. Then the footstool? That was not it either. Then the one feeding her Shine Muscat grapes? Of course not.
‘Then recently....’
Had there been any dwarves?
Of course, it was not as if there were no dwarves abducted to the pirate archipelago at all. But at the very least, Vivian herself had never laid a hand on a dwarf.
She could swear this by the name of the great First Demon Emperor.
“Something may have happened on the continent, and some kind of disaster may have occurred, but it certainly was not me.”
『Your excuses are unsightly beyond measure.』
『I cannot help but lament the one-dimensional mind that thinks merely denying it will make existing facts cease to exist.』
“No, what kind of—!”
『The dwarves’ second princess, Louise Berfht, was abducted.』
『And forty-nine master craftsmen from the royal workshop as well.』
“...What? Louise Berfht, you say....”
『The very princess you flailed about trying to abduct, only to have your tail disgracefully severed before fleeing.』
That crude axe came to mind. The pious muscles bursting through her clothes as well. That woman was closer to a barbarian than a princess.
“That bitch got abducted? Serves her right. But I’ll say this clearly—it wasn’t me.”
『Such excuses are only made when there is at least the slightest possibility. Lady Vivian.』
“What nonsense is this! I haven’t left the Seratin Archipelago even once since that day!”
『Then please say the same thing to the dwarves who will soon be pointing their cannons at you. I doubt they will believe you, though.』
“...What?”
『Do you know how I came to learn of this? The dwarves have released an official statement.』
『There are many nations that desire cooperation with the dwarves. Many covet their superior technology. If they were to offer enormous rewards in exchange for your subjugation, there would not be just one or two nations willing to step forward.』
“No, wait a moment. They declared war on me? Why? It wasn’t me!”
『Demonic energy was discovered at the location where the princess was abducted.』
『And the forty-nine dwarf craftsmen were abducted together.』
“So that automatically makes it me? There are five Demon Kings! Why me!”
『Because you already have a prior record of attempting to abduct a dwarf princess. And since your tail was severed, that desire for revenge must be sky-high.』
『Is that not so?』
“Well, that’s because....”
Of course it was. How precious a tail was to a succubus.
『And there is no Demon King who abducts dwarf craftsmen. There is no reason for Demon Kings who can utilize the authority of their Towers to do so.』
『Even if they did use them, it would not be efficient enough to justify maintaining hostile relations with the Dwarven Kingdom.』
“I’m a Demon King too, so why would I be any different—.”
『Except for you, who has been indulging in pirate games with the pirates of the Seratin Archipelago.』
『Surely you are not unaware that pirates are obsessed with abducting dwarf technicians to mount mana cannons on their ships. After all, you abducted them yourself, fully aware of it.』
“....”
『You did not hide the fact that you are a Demon King very well. That may not have mattered to pirates, but it does on the continent.』
『Through all of these deductions, the Dwarven Kingdom has identified you as the culprit.』
『A large-scale hero’s march toward your Tower will commence, and as before, I intend to do nothing.』
『If I were to offer one piece of advice, it would be to return the abducted princess and craftsmen even now—.』
“No!”
Vivian shouted.
Her pale face no longer held even a trace of the faint allure and dignity that had remained.
“No, it’s not me!”
Her vision blurred.
“Do I look like an idiot? Stupid enough to get burned like that and then provoke them again?”
『If we are being rational, you are indeed a fool. For example, you ignored my advice and attempted to abduct the dwarf princess. Thus, it is entirely plausible that you acted without thinking this time as well—.』
“No!”
Truly.
“I didn’t do anything this time. I didn’t do it....”
Her voice trembled.
“I swear it on the great First Demon Emperor and on The Demon King’s Standard....”
Tears like chicken droppings fell without end.