< 137. Grand and Towering Hope >
“Long live the great hero, Hillon Kargil!”
Hillon Kargil had returned to the Hero Guild headquarters after a long absence.
He paused briefly at the crowd and warm welcome stretching from the castle gates all the way to the guild building.
“Great Argan, we greet you, Sir Hillon.”
“What is this?”
“A welcome ceremony.”
Parni Dernium, Hillon Kargil’s adjutant and an Argan himself, replied with innocent cheer.
“You’ve accomplished the monumental feat of locating the Flame Demon King that no one else could find. You’ve raised our value and restored the guild’s tarnished honor, so it’s only natural that everyone welcomes you.”
“...I see.”
The corner of Hillon Kargil’s mouth curved upward in a wistful smile. It was only natural, of course.
He’d simply been too overwhelmed by recent events to think of something so obvious.
“But it doesn’t seem to be just guild members here.”
“What Lord Argan has achieved isn’t limited to heroes alone. Isn’t it only natural for the ten thousand citizens of Carnia to welcome you as well?”
“Let’s go.”
Though slightly surprised, Hillon Kargil fundamentally valued honor and relished admiring gazes.
He had no intention of refusing the feast prepared in his honor.
He slowly waved as he urged his horse forward, basking in the endless cheers like a volcanic eruption of catharsis until he reached the guild’s main gate.
The guards at the gate opened it for him.
Receiving awe and envy from the heroes inside, he arrived at the grand conference hall.
Ten Argans lined both sides along the long red carpet, while the five elders—who effectively decided the guild’s direction—sat at the head table.
“Welcome, Argan Hillon Kargil.”
And at the very end.
Rewards for his achievements awaited.
Hillon Kargil let out a shout of joy.
* * *
After the commendations and rewards concluded, Hillon had a private audience with the Grand Elder in his office.
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
“It’s only natural. You’re the hero who found a Demon King’s tower hidden in uncharted lands.”
The Grand Elder nodded calmly, then clicked his tongue.
“You must have noticed something was off, haven’t you?”
“It felt a bit excessive.”
“It was very excessive.”
Of course, discovering the Demon King’s tower—an edifice buried in the unknown—was an achievement worthy of praise.
But that was all it was: finding the tower.
Not breaching its floors, slaying demons or a Demon King—just locating a tower that had eluded everyone.
True, Demon King towers usually revealed themselves easily, making this an exception that heightened the anxiety, but it wasn’t enough to warrant nearly every citizen of the capital rushing out to cheer him.
The Hero Guild couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.
Besides, this search had been led by the empire, with the guild merely in a supporting role.
Yet they’re going this far... which means...
There had to be a reason.
“Is it because of Daphne Philian?”
“Exactly.”
Behind the bright side of finding the Demon King’s tower loomed a dark shadow—one cast by Daphne Philian himself, and a very thick one at that.
A Star hero, no less.
He had died in what was merely a minor step of locating the tower.
“Your success is undoubtedly a great achievement, but Daphne Philian’s death is a devastating blunder for the guild.”
Daphne Philian had been the most free-spirited and active among the ten Stars.
Officially and unofficially, he belonged to no specific nation and represented the guild itself.
Ironically, his connections to nearly every country made him the guild’s most reliable asset.
And that hero was dead.
That grief and despair would soon lead to the guild’s decline. The elders needed to shake off that decline.
“That’s where you come in.”
Another Star who had slain two Demon Kings and located the Flame Demon Tower alongside Daphne Philian.
“From a human perspective, this is a victory.”
But not from the guild’s.
A Star like Daphne Philian outweighed locating the tower of some Demon King who’d descended just over a year ago.
Anyone with a shred of awareness would question whether calling the mere discovery of a tower a victory was valid when a giant like Daphne Philian had fallen.
Thus, the guild had deemed this a defeat.
“And a defeat can be buried under an even greater victory.”
That was why they had amplified Hillon’s achievements.
How incredible a hero Hillon was, how astonishing his feats.
Exaggerating and inflating them to create the current situation.
“But Daphne Philian was a Star. This level of effort won’t...”
“Wrong.”
The Grand Elder shook his head.
“If a defeat can’t be covered, it’s because the victory isn’t big enough—too small and insignificant compared to the loss. But with greater victories and more of them, the defeat fades in an instant. It has to.”
Humans were the sort who wanted to forget sad and despairing things, eventually even romanticizing them.
“...A victory greater and more magnificent than finding the tower.”
“Crushing that tower flat. What else?”
For the guild’s honor and prestige.
“We’ve agreed to kill the Flame Demon King.”
Hillon Kargil’s heart sank.
“Of course, the guild won’t take the forefront. There are already two nations gnashing their teeth at the Flame Demon King in our stead.”
Hildean and Jespain.
“I heard you visited Hildean.”
Now, tell me.
“As the guild’s Argan in charge of Hildean, as a hero from Hildean, and as a hero who’s met privately with Hildean’s king.”
“What did Hildean’s king say?”
We’re fully prepared to cooperate.
* * *
Solving one problem only for another to erupt.
It felt like walking through pitch blackness.
The world was so dark nothing was visible.
Below lay a bottomless abyss, and the only thing supporting his body was a thin, taut rope.
To shake off Hildean, Berge had decided to release Ernan Hildean.
But it was merely a stopgap.
The empire remained a far greater foe, and Hildean was only on hold for now—their rage hadn’t been fully quelled.
But Hildean will work itself out somehow.
Irresponsible words, but not that irresponsible.
Considering Ernan Hildean’s background, position, and power, just imagining the storm she’d stir upon returning to Hildean was delightful.
If she set her mind to it, no one could lightly refuse blocking a kingdom-wide hero expedition.
There’s a high chance of power struggles breaking out too.
Ernan was trustworthy. He didn’t know when he—a Demon King—had come to trust a human princess like this, but this much he was certain of.
He could trust Ernan Hildean.
The problems are the empire and the guild.
Contact had come from Hillon Kargil. The guild had decided to fully back Hildean and the empire.
The butterfly effect from killing Daphne Philian. Damn it.
He regretted it, but he couldn’t have spared Daphne Philian.
Now it was undeniable that the tower’s location was exposed and everything meaningless, but back then, it had been his only hope.
Damn, what a headache.
Berge clutched his head. No nonexistent answers would emerge from that.
He pulled out a communication orb and infused it with magic points. Moments later, Krutoo responded.
『Yes, my lord Demon King.』
“Bring the frost wolves and come to the tower. I need some fresh air.”
『Right away.』
Berge stepped out of his office.
As soon as he entered the third floor, the sounds of heavy thuds and clangs filled the air.
“Whoa, no! If it breaks, are you idiots gonna fix it? I said don’t throw it!”
“You crazy yeti bastard! That one thing’s worth more than your entire body!”
“Aaaah, my mana cannon!”
Mana cannons were heavy, delicate equipment. With over three hundred of them, Roger couldn’t move them alone and had enlisted the monsters’ help.
But most monsters lacked higher intelligence, and some mana cannons were being handled far more roughly than intended. Naturally, Roger was screaming.
“My lord Demon King!”
Roger, who had caught a mana cannon tossed by a yeti onto the floor, spotted Berge and nearly burst into tears.
“Please, rein in these damn monsters! They’re treating precious equipment like trash!”
“For that, ask Ravinia.”
Ravinia was currently managing the monsters.
“You think I haven’t?”
“Then did Ravinia refuse your request?”
“No, not that, but...”
“My lord Demon King.”
Ravinia came scurrying over just then, having finished issuing orders to the monsters.
“Didn’t you tell the monsters to handle the equipment carefully?”
“I did.”
“How?”
“Careful. Gently.”
“And yet?”
“Some. Don’t get it.”
She made an X with her fingers. A few low-intelligence monsters were running wild.
“Then pull those ones off the job.”
“Even then?”
“It’ll work. I told you to throw every monster at it to finish as fast as possible, but we need some flexibility.”
“32.”
“Thirty-two of them. Exclude them.”
“Yeah.”
Ravinia vanished back into the monsters to issue new orders. Roger bowed repeatedly.
“Thank you.”
“That settles it, right?”
“Oh, one more thing.”
“What?”
“Well, I can move the mana cannons and other gear myself, but the workshop... I can’t touch that...”
“I’ll handle that.”
The Hell Workshop was essentially a tower appendage created with magic points. No need to move it like a mana cannon—just a small expenditure of magic points would suffice.
“Thank you. And Mana’s Phantom...? I made it, but it’s fully bound to the tower, so I’m not sure if I should touch it. Ah, of course, if you order me to, I’ll stake my life to dismantle, analyze—”
Roger’s eyes gradually filled with madness.
Mana’s Phantom?
One term struck his mind.
Right, that existed.
It could hide the tower for a time in exchange for magic points—imperfect, but it had fooled Daphne Philian once.
Though he hadn’t used it this time since he wasn’t in the tower, its value hadn’t diminished.
Mana’s Phantom.
But what Berge mulled wasn’t its performance.
Roger had made it, but it was bound to the tower.
It had consumed vast magic points but inherited some of the tower’s authority, affecting the entire structure.
Maybe.
A hypothesis flashed through his mind.
Really, maybe.
Something no Demon King had ever done before.
Or would in the future.
“Roger.”
“...So, it’s not that I’m dying to tear into the tower, but we can’t just leave Mana’s Phantom on the first floor as-is, right? So as its creator, I should handle it myself, uncover its principles and...”
“Roger!”
“...Yes, sir!”
Roger’s fervor cooled. Berge gripped his shoulder firmly.
“...D-did I say something wrong?”
“The opposite. You just gave me a great idea!”
“S-see? That’s me! But what...”
“We’re building legs. Starting now.”
“...Pardon? Legs? Is there a river around here?”
“Legs don’t just mean those kinds of legs.”
“Huh? Not those legs?”
No way...
Sensing unease, Roger hesitated. But Berge’s grip on his shoulder tightened.
His blazing eyes devoured the lingering madness in Roger’s.
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. The ones you have, the ones I have.”
Berge spread his arms wide.
“Very grand and towering ones.”
So massive it could move something enormous.
“I-I can’t understand what you mean, my lord...”
“We’re...”
Berge declared solemnly.
“Going to make this tower move!”
“...!”
Insane.
Roger barely swallowed the curse rising in his throat.
< 137. Grand and Towering Hope > End