Growth Plan
“What…, what did you say?”
Emperor Claude von Bismarck of the Bismarck Empire let out a hollow laugh, utterly dumbfounded. The minister who had delivered the letter bowed his head, trembling violently.
Bang! Emperor Claude slammed the armrest of his throne, his voice thick with fury.
“Demons are demanding money from us!? How dare mere demons…!?”
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty. They sent a letter proposing an exchange of a certain amount of gold and silver for hostages….”
Claude ground his teeth. He had never imagined such a situation could arise in the Demon Realm, a place he had dismissed as nothing more than a playground for adventurers. Though seething with anger, he forced himself to think calmly as a ruler.
‘Has something changed?’
If they had possessed this kind of power from the beginning, an incident like this would have happened long ago. The sudden shift clearly meant something was changing in the Demon Realm as well. It could no longer be treated as a mere playground for adventurers.
After pondering for some time, Claude’s eyes widened as a realization struck him.
‘If the Demon Kings, who previously showed no interest in the human world, have suddenly developed ambitions…?’
No human knew the exact structure and circumstances of the Demon Realm. Even the emperor of the mighty Bismarck Empire was no exception, and so he arrived at a slight misunderstanding. It was true that the Demon Kings had little interest in the human world, but unlike what humans believed, there was not just one Demon King. Humans were unaware that each floor had its own Demon King rather than a single ruler governing multiple layers.
And there was no way Claude could know that this incident was the independent action of Seere von Devata’s forces on the 72nd floor, the closest to the human realm among the many Demon Kings.
“…How much are they demanding?”
“Fifty kilograms of gold, two hundred kilograms of silver, and approximately two tons of iron ore, Your Majesty.”
What they demanded was indeed a large sum, but considering the value of human lives, it was surprisingly little. Claude spoke in a surprised tone.
“Only a few were captured?”
“The empire citizens they said they would return number only twenty.”
Something felt off. Twenty was far too few. He knew there were already over fifty missing person reports filed with the imperial security forces alone.
Claude subtly asked the minister.
“…Is that all that survived?”
“It seems reasonable to assume so.”
“How many missing persons have been identified?”
“At least fifty, Your Majesty. Considering those not yet accounted for, at least sixty to seventy…”
“Damn it!”
Bang! Claude slammed the throne again, rubbing his throbbing forehead before shouting at the ministers gathered in the audience chamber.
“Why are you all silent! Come up with some countermeasures, anything!!”
“…My apologies, Your Majesty.”
“This humble servant’s meager mind cannot conceive of a plan to overcome this situation…”
“And yet you receive the nation’s salary! If you can’t think of anything, squeeze it out of your heads…!”
Seeing the enraged Claude, one minister stepped forward. The silver-haired man with a dignified air bowed respectfully.
“Your Majesty.”
“…Yes, Marquis Ebert. So you were here.”
It was Marquis Levin Ebert, head of the Ebert family, who had long served as the emperor’s advisors, faithfully fulfilling their role as strategists.
“What should we do? They’ve made such insolent demands. Should we punish them after all?”
“That would result in the captured empire citizens losing their lives.”
“Then what do you suggest!”
“Accept their demands.”
“…What?”
Claude frowned deeply. But Marquis Ebert spoke calmly.
“You must have heard that the reason so many empire citizens were captured this time was due to the arbitrary decisions of the adventurer guilds.”
“…That’s right.”
“Among the adventurers who participated in the process, there were many excellent ones of AA rank or higher. They possess skills comparable to formally appointed knights, yet none managed to escape and were all captured.”
At Marquis Ebert’s report, Claude’s expression hardened in shock. Knights were vassals who received fiefdoms from the state in exchange for providing their strength and troops to the ruler. Unlike the hereditary titles of nobles, one could only be appointed as a knight after proving their martial prowess. Thus, the power of knights could be considered the highest level among humanity.
The fact that AA-rank adventurers, on par with such knights, were helpless meant that the Demon Realm possessed forces far surpassing ordinary knights.
“In a situation where we cannot accurately gauge the Demon Realm’s current military strength, mobilizing troops carries too many uncertainties, Your Majesty. Please consider this carefully.”
“However, that would mean our empire has submitted to the Demon Realm.”
“It is far better than the words ‘The emperor abandoned his people to die,’ Your Majesty.”
“……”
“Fortunately, their demands are not excessive, Your Majesty. If you think of it as the price to save twenty citizens and prevent criticism directed at Your Majesty…”
It was a cheap price indeed. Claude judged that Marquis Ebert’s words were not wrong. However, separate from rational judgment, his pride was wounded at the thought of complying with mere demons’ demands. Claude clenched his fists so tightly they trembled.
“Someday…, I will repay this.”
“I will devote myself to monitoring the Demon Realm’s movements and assessing their forces.”
“Send a letter. Tell them we accept the deal.”
“…I shall obey your command.”
#
In Nahen’s office, Kain wore an unusually reluctant expression today. It was because the report in his hands was somewhat shocking.
“…Letters have arrived from the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the Northern Alliance, all agreeing to negotiate.”
“Is that so? That’s fortunate.”
“It all… went exactly as you predicted, sir.”
At Kain’s reluctant tone, Nahen chuckled lightly. Then, waving his hand slightly, he said,
“It was just a guess anyone could make. There was always the possibility they wouldn’t respond.”
“Other nations seem to have not decided yet.”
“It’s fine for now. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Nahen said to Kain,
“Select the people to send and take them to the portal to the human realm tomorrow morning. I’ve already instructed in the letter to dispatch envoys there.”
“Understood.”
“Ah, and add this message.”
“Pardon?”
There was something he needed to convey when meeting the human realm’s envoys. It was to send a slight warning to the nations that had not yet responded to Nahen’s negotiations.
“Tell them if they don’t give a quick answer, we’ll deal with it.”
“Yes, understood.”
Kain bowed and left the office.
Nahen looked at the resources and funds to be received from the three most powerful nations in the human realm.
‘The immediate need for money is resolved.’
The reason Nahen had suddenly negotiated with human nations to release the humans was because he needed money right away. Although he had acquired a lot of funds from conquering the 70th floor, Nahen had no intention of touching that just yet.
‘That might need to be used elsewhere.’
So he wanted to secure separate funds to have the blacksmiths craft weapons. He had ordered Kain to gather the blacksmiths, so they would all assemble soon. Then he would extract the money needed for weapon research and production from the human nations.
He had also requested iron ore so that the blacksmiths wouldn’t need to purchase it separately.
“We need to save money.”
The scale of the project to conquer the 69th floor was unknown. He intended to save whenever possible in preparation for that time.
Nahen smiled faintly. Everything had gone according to his plans so far, leaving him satisfied.
The negotiations with the human nations had gone well. Now it was time to take the next step.
“You probably didn’t expect this, Dantalion.”
He would never dream of what was growing right under his feet.
#
“Well done, Seere.”
“Hehe.”
Today, Seere was also receiving lessons from Nahen in the front yard. Nahen had taught her one of the ancient magics, and Seere had used it well by harnessing external mana.
Watching Seere beam with a bright smile after receiving praise, Nahen noticed a subtle change in her.
‘Her red hair has really increased.’
Though slight, he could clearly see a few more strands of red hair than before. Today, as Seere utilized external mana, it had been stored in her hair due to the characteristics of the Devata clan.
“Kain.”
“Yes.”
“What’s the limit of the Devata clan’s mana storage ability?”
“That is… I’m sorry. I don’t know exactly either. Even the previous lord only dyed half her hair red. I don’t know if that was the limit or not.”
“No, there’s no need to apologize.”
If even Kain didn’t know, there was probably no way to find out unless they conducted experiments immediately. Though curious, Nahen thought there was no need to find out and moved on.
“Since you listened well to the lesson, shall we go eat pudding?”
“Pudding!”
Seere’s eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly.
“Yes!”
At her adorable appearance, Nahen unconsciously reached out and patted Seere’s head. Seere accepted the touch pleasantly, but suddenly Nahen made a strange expression.
“Hmm?”
“Seere, wait a moment.”
Nahen lifted Seere up with both hands. Seere tilted her head, puzzled by Nahen’s action.
Holding Seere, Nahen flipped her hair this way and that before discovering something.
“…Horns?”
“Huh?”
There were horns. Though still small, two black horns were growing on Seere’s head. They were so tiny that they had been hidden by her hair, going unnoticed.
Nahen turned to Kain with a flustered expression.
“Kain! Come here!”
“Yes?”
Seeing Nahen’s urgent expression, Kain approached with a slightly serious look, wondering if something had happened to Seere.
“Look, horns are growing? Isn’t this something wrong?”
“…Pardon?”
To his surprise, Nahen was anxious about something completely normal. Kain looked at Nahen with a somewhat incredulous expression before speaking reluctantly.
“There are times when I wonder what kind of person Nahen-sama really is.”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t it natural for a Demon King to grow horns? Where is there a Demon King without horns?”
“Huh???”
“Her Majesty Seere is almost eight years old now, so it’s about time for her horns to grow.”
Nahen blinked at Kain, then quietly looked at the black horns growing between Seere’s white hair. When he tried to touch them, wondering if they might be something strange rather than normal horns, Kain stopped him.
“Horns are sensitive. Please don’t do that.”
“Ah…, right?”
Nahen was a bit confused. He had never heard of the setting in Evil Queen Maker that Demon Kings always grow horns. Of course, there were Demon Kings with horns in the illustrations, but Seere’s illustration didn’t show horns.
‘Another hidden setting?’
Why does this game have so many hidden settings?
Then Nahen recalled something and said,
“Sitri didn’t have any, though?”
“She probably does. They’re likely just too small to see. The length of horns varies by Demon King.”
“Ah…”
“Nahen-sama, did you live away from the secular world somewhere? It’s strange how you sometimes show incredibly ingenious strategies but don’t know such common-sense things.”
“…Hmm.”
Well, as an Archdemon, he probably did live away from the secular world. Nahen spoke apologetically to Kain, who must have been surprised by his earlier urgency.
“I thought Seere was sick or something.”
“I’m not sick!”
Seere raised her white fist energetically, declaring her health. Nahen chuckled and patted her.
“Yeah, I’m glad you’re not sick.”
“Hehe.”
Watching Seere smile brightly, Nahen thought to himself.
‘Grow up healthy. That way, you can properly take your revenge, and I can see the ending too.’