Each Person's Circumstances (2)
The Demon King of Beasts was dead.
News of it began to spread the moment the elite forces of the Acan Kingdom completely disappeared from the royal capital of Ormus.
"Hero Rozel Charnt, the Crimson Flame Assault Unit, and Hillen Cargill together with the Ormus Knight Order joined forces to defeat the Demon King."
That was the official announcement of the Ormus Kingdom. As agreed, they praised Rozel Charnt while concealing the presence of Acan's forces.
But no one accepted it at face value.
"The Ormus Knight Order?"
"Weren't their elites already wiped out?"
The Hero Expedition that had once failed and retreated suddenly succeeded overnight as easily as roasting bread in lightning. If you didn't find it strange, that was strange.
"Ormus doesn't have the strength to defeat a Demon King."
"And it's not like their army moved."
Someone intervened. And suspicions rose that this someone was the Acan Kingdom.
Naturally. Although Rozel Charnt's connection to Acan had never been publicly announced, anyone who knew anything knew that "secret."
[The Acan Kingdom has no involvement whatsoever with the fall of the Beast Tower.]
[The Ormus Kingdom did not receive help from any other nation. The greatest aid came from the fine artifacts supplied by the Verft Kingdom.]
But after firmly nailing down that stance, both kingdoms played dumb.
Questions remained, yet the public's curiosity drifted elsewhere.
"Why did Verft provide artifacts to Ormus?"
"Those dwarves are too proud for that. Giving all that to a beggar kingdom for humanitarian reasons? Say something that makes sense!"
"There are people who claim they saw Louise Verft in Ormus."
"I heard she practically turned an entire city upside down?"
Public attention shifted toward Verft. And the subject of those rumors kept her mouth tightly shut while kneeling.
The royal fortress.
It was the dwarves' royal fortress, built deep underground. Denying sunlight, it was illuminated instead by the soft glow of magical bulbs, which faintly washed over Louise's face.
Hoo.
At the sound of a heavy sigh, Louise flinched. She nervously raised her head.
"...I'm sorry."
"...I was going to let most of it slide."
A bitter voice.
"I know exactly what you think. I know the inferiority complex you carry. Even though I told you countless times that I never thought that way, you refused to listen."
"..."
"I tried to give you everything you wanted. I wanted you to grow up bright as the princess of this kingdom. But that was the wrong way."
If only he had been stricter.
The man clicked his tongue.
"Because of your impulsiveness, we offered an enormous ransom to Ormus. And the warriors of our kingdom shed meaningless blood."
It wasn't scolding. It was a calm, cold elevation of fact.
"Are you satisfied now?"
"...Father."
"You will apologize personally to the families of those men. Take from your own fortune and distribute it to them. They died because of you."
"Yes."
"And you will remain confined."
"...Yes."
There was so much she wanted to say.
That she still hadn't caught Logar Fridrie.
That none of this would have happened if that bastard from Ormus hadn't attacked her.
But she didn't make excuses. The king knew the truth, and making excuses wouldn't erase her wrongdoing.
It was true she had gone too far, blinded by Logar Fridrie. It had been plainly her own mistake.
"Leave."
"Yes."
Louise walked out with slumped shoulders.
The king's hand twitched as he watched her go.
"Don't. Stay where you are."
"...Doesn't it pain you? That frail child—how hard this must be for her. To go and say even one warm thing—"
"What happened is entirely Louise's fault. You must separate public from private, Your Majesty."
"You heartless thing. She is your sister."
"Before she is my sister, she is a criminal who inflicted heavy damage upon the kingdom. Is it not because Your Majesty dotes on her so much that Louise turned into such a reckless tyrant?"
"You dare call your sister a criminal and a tyrant! Wretch! And look at her slender arms and legs! She looks as though she could collapse any moment—how can you not treat her kindly?"
"Sigh."
The prince rubbed his forehead. Of course he too wanted to embrace Louise the moment he saw her.
How she even managed to swing an axe with those fragile limbs was a mystery.
But not this time.
"Your Majesty, dwarf warriors died meaningless deaths in foreign lands. If Louise were not a princess, she would be executed immediately."
"You would execute your own sister! You insolent brat! And you call yourself her brother!"
"That's not what I meant!"
Such a hopeless doting fool.
The prince ground his teeth.
"Regardless, do not go near Louise for the time being. Do not speak kindly to her either. We must use this chance to correct her behavior."
"Are you the king now?"
"If you wish me to be, I can manage it."
"Go find that bastard instead."
"Do you mean Logar Fridrie?"
"Isn't he the reason Louise ran out of the kingdom in the first place?"
The king growled. Fierce, overwhelming energy seeped out of him. He might be a hopeless doting father, but he was still the greatest warrior among the dwarves.
"I will catch that bastard and bring him before Louise."
"...Of course."
The prince agreed.
"I will go myself."
"You will?"
"I must ask him something. How he could abandon such a gentle, fragile child and run."
"My thoughts exactly!"
"If his reasoning is insufficient, I will hold him accountable for his crime."
"Good!"
Both the king and the prince cursed Logar Fridrie.
"Achoo. Ugh, cold. Did someone leave the door open?"
On the first floor of the Demon King's Tower—now under renovation—Logar put on a thick coat.
***
Hillen Cargill quietly closed his eyes and breathed.
Ever since the Beast Tower collapsed, countless rumors spread across the continent, but he personally remained a step removed from the center of it.
Most of the credit had gone to Rozel Charnt, and behind her, to the Acan Kingdom.
Of course, Louise of Verft had also played a part.
This is bad.
When demons or demonic beasts are killed, their demonic energy is converted into dimensional power and absorbed by the hero.
Even if it isn't pure training, this is one way heroes become stronger.
Thus heroes wish to kill more demonic beasts, more demons, and more Demon Kings.
But too much is as bad as too little. Hillen was realizing this with painful clarity.
Two different powers resided within his body.
One in the Mana Heart.
And the other in the Aura Hole.
The former he gained when he killed the Demon King of Lust.
The latter had taken root when he severed Draxon's head.
It was fortunate that he was a magic swordsman.
Just as each human has their own unique energy, Demon Kings were the same. Two fundamentally similar yet contradictory forces had settled in different places inside him, and together they were a bomb that could explode at any time.
The Demon King of Lust's magic is closer to mana. The Demon King of Beasts is aura.
A difference in nature.
If I can truly make both of these mine…
He might even rewrite the name of the greatest hero in history.
Maybe I could even escape the Demon Kings' curse entirely.
He had no immediate method of undoing the mental restraints, but perhaps he would find one after reaching a higher realm.
"Hoo."
Hillen stabilized both mana and aura, then opened his eyes. As if waiting, someone knocked.
"Come in."
He didn't panic—the visitor made no attempt to hide their presence.
Rozel Charnt walked in.
She frowned, displeased by something.
"Give it."
"What are you referring to?"
Rozel Charnt tossed a slip of paper.
—I have matters to attend to, so I'm leaving. I leave the promised compensation with Hillen Cargill.
"...Compensation? What is this?"
Suddenly he remembered the agreement between the two of them to include him in the hero expedition.
The mana.
A rare, pure mana resembling that of a spirit. Berze had extracted it and handed it to Rozel Charnt, and had promised to give her more after the expedition.
But I…
I never received anything?
Hillen realized the horrible truth.
That damn Demon King had dumped everything on him just to avoid giving Rozel her payment.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding—"
"Give it."
"...I haven't received anything."
"Don't test my patience."
Rozel smiled. Hillen got goosebumps.
"...Truly, I have received nothing."
"Then did I forge this letter myself? Did I kidnap Pale just to torment you?"
"That's not what I meant."
"There is only one thing you need to say to me: 'I will give it to you.' And only one thing you need to do: hand over the mana container."
...Gulp.
A terrible sense of dread rose inside Hillen.
"These past few days I've been too busy cleaning up the aftermath, so I didn't think about it. Yes, that's right. I briefly forgot. I only managed to come now because I barely found the time. I have to attend the guild meeting soon."
While preparing documents for the meeting, her maid had run in to report:
"Pale has vanished?"
It reminded her of the reward she had yet to receive.
The mana. The purest flame mana.
"But the room was empty."
No warmth, no belongings, no payment she was supposed to receive.
Only one note remained.
"You know something? That note is the only reason this mansion still stands."
She barely suppressed her rage.
She was furious that the recruit she intended for the Crimson Flame Assault Unit had disappeared—
but she decided to get her payment first before destroying anything.
"But you claim you don't know anything?"
That he received nothing?
"I hate those who lie to me. But I hate even more those who take what belongs to me."
Rumble—
Rozel did nothing. But the mana responding to her emotions caused every object in the mansion to shake.
"Please calm down. I'll try contacting Sir Pale—"
"Calm down? That's not done with words. Put what you owe me right in front of me, then your words will have meaning."
Hillen frantically pulled out a communication crystal, forcing mana into it.
Pick up, pick up, pick up—please pick up!
Five minutes passed.
"..."
"Die!"
That day, half of the mansion housing the Crimson Flame Assault Unit burned down.
And the Crimson Flame Assault Unit gained a new public enemy named Pale.
***
"...Draxon is dead?"
A man, resting late at night, let out a bewildered laugh.
Impossible.
"...How?"
He had prepared everything. Plenty wanted Demon Kings dead, but just as many wanted a "reasonable" Demon King alive.
He was one of the latter.
A Demon King was a necessary evil.
A tool that made ruling easier, someone to blame whenever problems arose.
"The Hero Guild didn't move."
"As they shouldn't."
Considering how much money they'd received.
"Ormus's official announcement claims they joined forces with the Crimson Flame Assault Unit to defeat the Demon King."
"Nonsense."
They had failed even when in full condition—
and now, after losing two thousand elites, they succeeded?
Even a stray dog wouldn't believe such bullshit.
"Who was it?"
"I believe it was the Acan Kingdom."
"Any evidence?"
"None. Which makes it even more likely."
Only Acan, the kingdom of magic—
or the Jespine Empire—could deploy a force capable of defeating a Demon King overnight and make them vanish without leaving a trace.
"And the motive?"
"Rozel Charnt is at the center."
"Acan, then."
The man clicked his tongue.
"The Hero Guild?"
"They've contacted us."
"Bring it."
The butler delivered a communication orb. When mana was infused, a face appeared.
『Your exalted—』
He cut the greeting short.
"Report the Hero Guild's situation."
『The elders and executives have been summoned.』
"And the atmosphere?"
『Most believe Acan is responsible.』
As expected, people thought similarly.
"These insolent fools…"
『The issue is that we cannot issue harsh punishment.』
『They fulfilled their duty as heroes by slaying a Demon King.』
The only charge the heroes who fought alongside Rozel Charnt could face was disobeying guild orders by acting independently.
And even that would likely be dismissed by their accomplishment.
"So?"
『...Sir?』
"There is no issue. They cannot be punished. And that's it?"
『...』
"That is the extent of your ability. Very well."
『…I will make it happen!』
"...."
『Disobeying the guild's orders is a grave crime. Because of Rozel Charnt, the guild's grand plan has collapsed, causing massive damage! And the sins she's committed are not just one or two!』
"I doubt the other elders see it that way."
『No. They will see it that way. I will make them see it that way!』
"Oh my, I thought this was trivial. But if you must go that far, then perhaps her crimes are that severe?"
『Yes, that is correct.』
"Do the best you can."
『Of course.』
"I wish you success."
『Yes!』
The communication cut off.
"Arrogant bastards. Pamper them a little and they start acting without limits."
"The Guildmaster is not a simple man."
"In the end, he's just the head of an organization. Contact the Lake. I need to know what they're thinking."
The smile on the man's face vanished.
***
It had been a long outing, but not a meaningless one.
Draxon was dead, and the tower had collapsed.
There was no longer any evidence that Berze had gone there.
I want to see Archduke Alkain's face.
What expression would he make upon hearing this news?
Ideally, it would be twisted in rage. Berze was not the type to accept being wronged.
Crunch—
He stepped onto the mid-slope of Mt. Ergest, where snow fell all year round.
I am still too weak.
He had felt it keenly during his fight with Draxon.
The him of the past and the him of now were different. Heroes could kill him at any time.
That realization stuck in his throat like a lodged bone.
In this life, he focused on becoming the hidden mastermind behind the human world. But what if a sudden hero popped up and cut his head off?
Everything he had built would become meaningless.
The most important thing is my personal strength.
He had been drawing too big a picture and was ignoring the core.
Since I must repay my debt for now, I need to return to collecting Elixirs of Ergest.
Or perhaps kidnapping another princess wasn't a terrible idea.
The wider the hatred and curses toward him spread, the more demonic energy points he could harvest.
I'll think about it once I enter the tower…
Berze's steps stopped. His head turned.
White snow. The distant cries of monsters echoing faintly. Nothing visible.
Nothing he could see.
Tap—
Berze suppressed his presence. At the same time, the other's presence vanished as well.
Well now…
The opponent was a master of stealth. Completely blended with nature, erasing their existence. Just like Berze did.
Evading my senses?
Even if this was just the mountain's lower area, the tower wasn't far.
Berze's hair turned red.
Then the waiting began. One hour, two hours. Two hours became half a day, and half a day became a full day.
Rustle—
A man stepped out of the snow.
Has he left?
No particular presence remained around. Not the instinctive repulsion one felt from demons either.
At least a high-ranking demon. Definitely.
Black hair, black eyes. And that overwhelming demonic energy—definitely not some mid-level demon.
Even from several kilometers away, they had locked eyes. That moment's chill still lingered.
At least I confirmed demons pass through this route.
Perhaps the request will be completed faster than expected.
He stretched and brushed the snow from his clothes.
At that moment, a repulsion he had never felt before surged to its peak.
"Hero."
"...When did you—?"
"If you ask 'when,' must I truly answer?"
Instead of a reply, black flames came flying. The man rolled desperately.
He pulled the string of an invisible bow. Arrows of mana formed midair, curving elegantly as they flew.
Five shots in succession. The demon faltered.
"Petty tricks."
The arrows bounced off. Flames surged between them, forcing the man to thrust a dagger.
A long streak of aura sliced through the flames. A smoke bomb detonated.
The specially treated thick smoke briefly obscured the Demon King's vision. And during that brief moment, the man vanished.
"...."
sensing the rapidly retreating presence, Berze didn't pursue.
He couldn't catch him.
That man was the swiftest among the heroes—nicknamed the Flying Squirrel.
Across both his past and current life, this was the first time he'd seen him directly. A hero with stealth rivaling a Demon King and speed surpassing one was rare indeed.
"Hero Daphner Philian."
Commonly called the intelligence-gatherer among heroes.
"Someone must be very curious about the location of my tower."
Well, it would be stranger if they didn't start probing by now.
Jespine? Or Hilderan?
Most likely one of the kingdoms whose princess had been kidnapped.
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