136. Self-Inflicted Trouble
“Move them?”
Ravinia Akan, the princess controlling the monsters on the second floor, tilted her head.
“Why?”
“Humans are coming.”
“Heroes?”
“Yeah.”
“Akan too?”
“No, not Akan. Hildean.”
“Then me?”
“Obviously, I have no intention of sending you.”
“Good.”
Ravinia Akan let out a sigh of relief.
“You like the tower?”
“Yeah. Monsters.”
“Well, even for the Akan Kingdom, it's rare to have access to such a diverse and plentiful array of monsters.”
“Yeah.”
There were even some high-level monsters from the snowfields that humans rarely encountered, making it a treasure trove for Ravinia.
“You haven't even started on the chimera creation yet, have you?”
“Yeah, golems.”
Even with a golem sorcerer and dwarf craftsmen, they had to rebuild everything from the ground up since it required magic points instead of mana.
Progress was only possible thanks to Ravinia’s familiarity with magic points, but it would still take a lot of time.
“Pick out some of the weaker monsters and scatter them moderately across the first and second floors. Not too many—just enough to put on a show.”
“For show?”
“Exactly.”
“Yeah.”
Ravinia Akan nodded obediently and vanished.
That settles one thing for now.
Preparations to welcome Hildean were falling into place. All that remained was deciding how to position Ernan Hildean on the lower floors.
Fortunately, she provided an easy solution herself.
“Please make a small prison cell and place it in a corner of the first or second floor. I'll stay inside.”
“It would be good if the iron bars had some appropriate magic engravings.”
“That way, it'll look more convincing, right?”
“And after that?”
“I'll be unconscious, of course. With Lord Nairuniel's help, I can enter a comatose state.”
She explained that by lowering her body temperature, she could induce a hibernation-like condition.
“That chatty spirit is more useful than I thought.”
—At times like this, you say 'versatile.'
Nairuniel popped out and glared at him.
“If I look as pale and wretched as possible, the heroes won't dare proceed to the next floor, right? Since they've come to rescue me, my life comes first.”
“Just stall them a bit, and Hillun will handle the rest.”
He was an expert at that sort of thing.
“Got it.”
“When you return, do you have nobles who support you?”
“Are you... really going to make me queen?”
“I don't lie.”
“Hmm, actually, there are a lot.”
Too many, in fact—that was the problem.
It stemmed from Ernan being such a solid crown princess. She overwhelmingly outshone the other royals, who were dismissed as substitutes.
“Of course, most of them support me out of their own greed rather than pure loyalty.”
“Where would you find a human without that?”
“True enough.”
Ernan nodded.
“That said, it's not like there are zero problems.”
“The owner of that Turn vault from before?”
“Yes. Duke Heinz.”
The House of Heinz, which had branched off from the Hildean royal family, could be called Hildean's foremost noble house.
Not just because of its size, influence, or the number of followers.
Duke Heinz was the son of the previous king—and the current king's brother.
A royal passed over in the line of succession. Yet he had aided the first prince—who was now king and his own brother—in eliminating rivals and securing the throne.
The king's trust in him remained substantial even now.
“Duke Heinz constantly signals that he has no interest in the throne to reassure Father.”
“But from what you're saying, that doesn't seem true.”
“No, it's not. His heart is pitch black.”
Ernan possessed an exceptional talent for reading people's thoughts and emotions—almost a supernatural ability beyond words. She had sensed Duke Heinz's insidious nature.
“So if anyone's an obstacle, it's definitely him?”
“Probably.”
“Then the first order of business is to oust him.”
“When you went to rescue Elena, you know I looked into various things?”
“I know. You were the one who informed Kaede that the empire's eighth prince was dead. Anything else?”
“That's when I realized. A very small obstacle had appeared.”
In truth, Ernan Hildean's path to the throne should have been effortless.
The king had already laid the board, and the nobles were dancing upon it.
It would be stranger if she didn't become queen. Given time, she would naturally ascend to the position.
“An obstacle?”
“Yes. Because I was kidnapped.”
But a tiny crack had formed.
Ten years change mountains and rivers. Even one year brings change—especially when humans are involved.
“I hear kidnappings aren't that big a deal in Alein.”
They weren't nothing, but people were so accustomed to them that as long as the victim was safely rescued, it was brushed aside.
“But you've held out so well this past year, Demon King. And above all...”
“The tower was well hidden?”
“Yes.”
They hadn't found the tower. There was no hope of finding it. That planted seeds of doubt in Ernan Hildean's return.
“So it was Heinz after all?”
“Not directly. Oberst Hildean. The second prince. Excluding me, he's Father's finest achievement. My brother, for now.”
“Duke Heinz and Oberst Hildean have joined forces?”
“Yes.”
“You figured that out in such a short time?”
“I got lucky. I had spirits scattered around the palace, and they caught the two in a secret meeting.”
“You deployed spirits in the palace without getting caught?”
“I know all the detection magic circles' locations.”
“They wouldn't have held their meeting out in the open without precautions.”
“They didn't. A spirit saw them enter a private chamber and activate a barrier blocking external sight and magic. I was curious, so I sent Lord Nairuniel in directly. It couldn't block a high spirit's power.”
“...”
Deploying spirits openly in the palace without detection.
Should he believe this or not?
Berge pondered briefly, then decided to trust her. There was no reason for her to lie about something like this.
But if it's true, she's far beyond a mere advanced spirit summoner...
This insane growth rate—what was it?
“Then when you return...”
“They'll be shocked, right? I'm kinda curious about their faces.”
“Is that all?”
The king and most nobles favored Ernan Hildean as successor.
But Hildean wasn't the king's alone, and the nobles would gradually turn to Duke Heinz and the second prince's maneuvering.
The longer it dragged on, the greater the anxiety—and the more who sided against her.
But.
“Of course?”
Ernan was confident.
“That seat was mine from the start.”
Utterly self-assured.
“I was weary of Father's pressure and the nobles' expectations, desperate to escape—but I couldn't until you kidnapped me, Demon King. I had the power, but lacked the trigger and courage.”
In other words.
“So I've endured it silently for over a decade. As Father's puppet, bearing what no other royal could withstand.”
Shouldering their expectations too.
Learning spirit arts.
Studying kingship, military strategy, diplomacy, and politics.
Mingling in high society to build connections.
She had walked the path to queenship.
Thus, Ernan believed herself qualified.
“And I...”
Her eyes curved into crescent moons.
“...hate having what's mine taken away. I'm greedy like that.”
Even if she'd briefly turned away and fled from it.
It still had an owner.
* * *
Reina Sordain.
The Demon King called Blizzard by humans gazed out at the snowy plains beyond the tower.
The vast white expanse was as ever.
She rolled a bright red candy in her mouth. But even its sweet scent and taste did nothing to ease her worries.
“Berge Dayas.”
She recalled the name of the Demon King whose hand she had first clasped since descending to Alein.
She liked Berge and had allied with him for a smoother conquest of Alein, even gifting hundreds of monsters as a gesture of goodwill.
But before that goodwill could be repaid, Berge faced a dire threat.
In Hamstline Gorge, his attempt to use the black mages had exposed him, and the enraged empire uncovered the tower's hidden location.
He had achieved the feat of repelling Star Hero Daphne Philian in the process, but that was the end of it.
With royals threatened and the tower revealed, the empire would inevitably launch a hero expedition.
There were plenty of heroes directly or indirectly tied to the empire, enough force to kill Berge several times over.
It's been just over a year since Berge descended.
He had come with nothing but his adjutant due to his stunt at graduation.
In that short time, how many familiars and demons had he summoned? How much dimensional interference had he dispelled?
The hundreds of monsters she had given as alliance tokens would fall pitifully to the heroes' blades.
This fact tormented Reina.
Should she abandon Berge?
Or help him?
“Helping him is unwise.”
Her adjutant, Nina, who shared her thoughts, opposed it.
“An alliance requires mutual benefit. But Demon King Berge harms you at best—he offers no help at all.”
“He simply hasn't shown his light yet. Who can claim he never will?”
“That's why there's no 'yet' left.”
Nina stated firmly.
“The empire is strong. Demon King Berge cannot endure.”
“That's why I will help him.”
“Remember, the snowfields are officially empire territory. You're up against the empire itself.”
If it came out that Reina Sordain had aided Berge Dayas...
“The empire will march legions to the tower.”
This was entirely different from a hero expedition.
The empire could mobilize tens of thousands strong.
Not all, of course, due to border defenses—but denying the overwhelming wave was impossible.
“Most of the snowfields are now my domain. The majority of monsters have become my kin.”
Nearly ten thousand in number.
The army she had quietly nurtured over eighty-plus years.
Time bought by reading Alein's situation and discarding Demon King pride.
“...Even so, it won't be enough.”
Her voice trailed off at the end.
Against any ordinary kingdom, she could have crushed them instead. But the empire was the continent's greatest, strongest power.
“If we had another century, maybe. But right now, it's impossible.”
The empire was that formidable. She wondered if even five Demon Kings combined could manage it now.
Unlike other dimensions.
Sending black mages or kin to incite civil war and erode forces was a Demon King's basic, most effective strategy.
But Alein's thousands of heroes blocked that, widening the power gap.
“Then as long as no evidence ties it to me.”
“The only way you can help is by dispatching demons. Monsters just pad numbers—they're not much use.”
“True.”
“And your kin are all frost demons, aren't they?”
“...Yes.”
“Anyone would know it's you.”
“Couldn't they think they're Berge's kin?”
“What's the nickname humans gave Demon King Berge?”
“...Flame Calamity.”
Advanced frost demons in the Tower of Flame Calamity? Suspicion was inevitable.
Even if Berge summoned them himself, humans were biased.
In the end, Reina had no choice but to give up. Regrettably, she could only hope Berge endured on his own power.
“And I have something to report.”
“What?”
“Demon King Jason has been waiting since earlier.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Why mention it now?”
“I did earlier, but you seemed too deep in thought to hear.”
“...I see.”
Reina cleared her throat awkwardly and rose.
“Let's go.”
* * *
“So why are you asking that?”
Reina's expression hardened.
Cold frost settled around her in her anger.
『Please don't take it the wrong way. I'm only asking out of concern, to offer advice.』
“I asked why you're inquiring about the relationship between Berge and me.”
『Because I'm worried you might help him, Reina.』
“Whether I help Berge or not—what business is it of yours?”
『As I said, concern. Demon King Berge has done well so far, but he touched the empire's reverse scale.』
『Just over a year since descending, and even if he's gathered more magic points than most Demon Kings, blocking a determined empire won't be easy.』
『Even if you help him.』
“I don't care for your roundabout speech.”
『If you help him out of sentiment, you'll be in danger too.』
『The opponent is the empire. You know their power better than anyone.』
“Jason Cockmondo. You're fretting over me. It's been since about ten years after I descended to Alein, hasn't it?”
『You've handled things well on your own since then.』
“For that past gratitude, I'll answer. As you say, I know the empire well. So I won't help Berge.”
『That's a relief.』
“You seem to wish for Berge's death.”
『A misunderstanding. The crisis he's in now is self-inflicted. I advised him as I did you and Ugar in the past, but this is the result.』
“So it sounds like you're annoyed.”
『I still wish for his safety. It's hard to find someone whose mindset matches mine so well. But I don't want others harmed by his mistakes.』
『Between Demon King Berge, known to you for just over a year, and Reina and Ugar, decades old—who's the priority? Isn't it obvious?』
Reina smiled.
His words were slick, but she knew they weren't purely innocent.
She didn't call him out, and the rest of the conversation was unremarkable.
The connection severed. On the other side, in the Tower of Falsehood, Jason Cockmondo stared at the blank communication orb.
“...So their relationship isn't there yet.”
Not to that extent.
The corners of Jason's mouth lifted.
Given Reina's nature—once she trusted someone, she trusted them fully—if their bond had deepened rapidly, she would have helped no matter what.
“Demon King Berge. Please don't resent me too much.”
This was all trouble you'd brought on yourself.