068. We're Screwed
“Watch out for Jason.”
The first words out of Reina Sordain's mouth after they arrived at the Frost Demon Tower.
It was probably just a coincidence, but since Vivian had said the exact same thing, Berge couldn't make sense of it.
What the hell is wrong with these guys? All of them acting like this?
“What do you mean?”
“I heard about the deal between you and Ugar. And that Rozel Charnt and Hillun Kargil were involved in the process. I don't think you have any direct connections to those Star heroes. Jason Cockmondo must have arranged it, right?”
Who the hell arranged what?
“But those two are the heroes who killed Drakson. They might have taken a guild request by chance and played hero, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious—or so this lady thinks.”
“Hold on. Jason killed Drakson? Isn't that a bit of a stretch?”
The claim was so absurd that Berge ended up defending Jason instead.
“Before Drakson died, he said a high demon had invaded his territory. He even dug through the tower records to prove his innocence, so I don't think it's just baseless speculation. Ugar agreed too.”
“……”
Berge wondered what the hell had been going on among the demon kings while he'd been off to Hildean.
And what kind of image Jason had among them.
Before his regression, he'd just thought of them as a pathetic quartet who hung out together. But maybe that wasn't the case.
“Didn't Jason help you too?”
In Alein, where demon kings were dropping like flies nonstop, Jason was the first to survive over a century.
After he descended, the survival rates of other demon kings improved. Berge figured they must have been helping each other out somehow.
“Of course, this lady is grateful for that. But gratitude doesn't give him the right to kill a fellow demon king.”
“There's no clear evidence Jason was involved in Drakson's death, is there?”
“No. That's why we're just suspicious for now.”
It was a pretty plausible response.
“I've got a question. If Jason helped you all, how exactly did he do it?”
“Come to think of it, you wouldn't know much about it.”
Reina popped a candy into her mouth. A faint cherry scent wafted out.
“You know how demon kings who descended to Alein kept dying within decades?”
“Of course.”
“Jason's the one who stopped that.”
No matter how dangerous Alein was, all demon kings were equal.
To them, the Demon King's Canon was invincible, and the Mahwang was a god.
Since it worked perfectly in every dimension except Alein, they never questioned it.
They just figured the dead demon kings were weaklings.
That was the demon race. Weakness was a disgrace.
But Alein devouring so many demon kings wasn't solely due to their nature.
The Mahwang was an object of faith, so he was always right. And the canon he decreed was always right too.
Thus, Alein was branded as a tough world where the demon kings who went there just weren't good enough.
That led even more demon kings to their deaths, and once the upper demons in power learned the truth, they started shoving in clueless newbies who knew nothing.
A delirious collab of Mahwang worship and deception by the higher-ups.
That was the true nature of the dimension called Alein.
The first to plug that leak was Jason. As a senior, he helped the demon kings who descended later.
“How?”
“Take this lady as an example. At first, he gave advice.”
He told her not to kidnap just any royalty.
“You heard him?”
“Of course I didn't want to listen. There was no reason to.”
“Sounds like you did hear him out, though.”
“When this lady descended, there were two other demon kings besides Jason and Drakson.”
“Not Ugar, then.”
“Jason made this lady a proposal. Just wait one year, he said.”
“And you waited?”
“I did. He swore on the first Mahwang and the canon that it wouldn't be a loss for me.”
“That serious?”
“So I figured, fine, might as well wait once even if it's a scam. A year isn't long for a demon.”
And a year later.
“The one called the Void Demon King followed the canon to the letter and got his head chopped off by the waves of heroes crashing in. That's when I realized: you can't conquer Alein by following the canon.”
“What about Drakson and Ugar?”
“I don't know how they got help. But probably similar to me.”
As the conversation progressed, one question arose.
“Then why didn't he do the same for me?”
“You moved too fast.”
“Too fast?”
“You kidnapped Hildean's crown princess right away, before anyone could say a word. Almost no demon king kidnaps royalty immediately after descending.”
Even demon kings needed prior investigation. They took their time confirming everything before snatching royalty.
But Berge had skipped all that.
“Hero business kicked off before we could react. After that, the timing was missed.”
“I see.”
“We've gone off track. That's not the point.”
“Then what is?”
“I agree Jason did us a huge favor. But that doesn't give him the right to betray us. We can't rule out the chance Drakson was lying. So first, we're finding the culprit.”
A faint chill hung in the air.
“Got a solid plan?”
“Vivian Blunt. I'll help her hunt the culprit so blatantly. Ugar agrees too.”
It wasn't anything special. Unlike Jason or Berge, neither Reina nor Ugar had much contact with humans.
Reina was holed up in the north, and while Ugar was more active, he relied on Jason's help rather than building his own forces.
They didn't have many options.
“How? Drakson's tower is rubble— we don't even know if it's true.”
“Berft Kingdom.”
“Berft Kingdom?”
“Precisely, Luize Berft.”
“Berft's second princess?”
“The reason for Drakson's hero play was a high demon killing Ormus's second prince. Drakson claimed it wasn't his subordinate. The truth's at the scene.”
“…And the only witness is Berft's second princess.”
“Exactly.”
“What do you plan to do with her?”
“What else can a 'Demon King' do to a 'Princess'?”
Kidnap her.
“We'll hand her to Vivian Blunt. Dwarves have tight lips, but Vivian's the succubus queen, unmatched in mind magic.”
“But that turns Berft Kingdom against us. You know what making a dwarf kingdom an enemy means.”
“Vivian Blunt takes all the blame.”
“Ho, well now.”
Berge forced a laugh.
“Good thinking.”
We're screwed.
Luize Berft.
The hot-tempered second princess of the dwarf kingdom could be the most reliable witness of all.
Because she'd seen the face of the demon Berge.
And since she'd personally smashed Ormus's second prince's skull, she'd insist it was a demon's doing even more.
“Gordon! Gordon!”
Back at the tower, Berge sought out Gordon, ignoring the puzzled stares of the three princesses as he reached the top.
“What is it, my lord?”
“Contact Hillun and Granada. Find out where Luize Berft is right now.”
“Pardon? What brought this on…?”
“We need to kidnap Luize Berft!”
“Please calm down and explain in detail.”
After hearing the full story, Gordon was aghast.
“My god! We absolutely cannot let that happen!”
“That's what I'm saying! But messing with a dwarf princess without a plan will cause huge problems.”
“Is that the issue right now? If it gets out that you were involved in killing Demon King Drakson, all the tower's blessings will be revoked.”
Kidnapping Luize Berft left a sliver of possibility. But if the tower cut them off, even that sliver vanished.
Between bad and worse, bad was the obvious choice.
“You're right.”
“I'll contact Granada immediately.”
“Do it.”
Gordon dashed into the office.
Berge swallowed a groan.
Between bad and worse, bad was right—but he didn't want either.
What do I do?
How to solve this without any fallout.
After agonizing, two solutions emerged.
Before Reina or Ugar kidnaps her, I snatch Luize Berft first. Nice and quiet, no one the wiser.
Or.
Make sure no one can kidnap Luize Berft at all.
But how?
No time…
No clear alternative came to mind. He brooded deeper.
Two days later, word came.
“Luize Berft is secluded in Berft Kingdom's capital.”
“Secluded?”
“Yes. Due to the Ormus second prince incident, she's under royal order, confined to the palace.”
“Damn it.”
The curse slipped out instinctively.
All dwarf cities were underground. Entrances were perfectly controlled, naturally restricting access.
He could sneak in disguised like last time—they didn't verify every visitor's identity thoroughly.
But a regular city border and the capital's were worlds apart.
And the palace was another level entirely.
Sneaking in? Doable.
Kidnapping the princess? Not impossible.
But.
“No way to do it without my identity getting exposed.”
Phoenix's power was too weak for that. Any mana leak, and he'd be busted.
A normal princess? No issue.
He let out a hollow laugh. What now?
Then Gordon asked.
“Isn't there a way to prevent Luize Berft from being kidnapped?”
“How? Reina doesn't need to hide she's a demon king.”
Reina planned to pin it all on Vivian, and Vivian had agreed.
No accountability meant no hesitation.
“What if we naturally send a demon king's natural enemy to the palace?”
“A hero, you mean?”
“Yes. A strong one—even most demon kings wouldn't take lightly.”
“Hillun Kargil?”
He considered it. If Hillun went to the dwarf palace and guarded the princess.
That could block them.
Hillun, growing after devouring two demon kings, plus heroes and Berft's elite guard—ironclad protection around the princess. Unbreakable.
Demons weakened outside towers. Even demon kings.
Even the pinnacle of stealth—show any power, and Hillun would detect it instantly.
“But the dwarf kingdom's insular. They won't just let Hillun in.”
“I heard from Hillun Kargil: Roger Friedri looks pathetic on the tower's first floor now, but he was a renowned craftsman in the dwarf kingdom.”
“Right.”
“Craftsmen have unique marks, I hear.”
“Marks?”
“They engrave them on weapons or gear they make. So everyone knows who crafted it—top craftsmen need marks to prove value.”
“Ah, yeah, I've heard that.”
Famous artisans leaving their brand. Nothing secret about it.
“Have Roger engrave his mark on some gear.”
“And pass it to Hillun Kargil?”
“Yes.”
“Then Hillun takes it to Berft Kingdom…”
Luize Berft would love it.
And the king who adored her enough to put a bounty on Roger would too.
Perfect pretext to enter Berft and meet Princess Luize.
“But not enough justification to guard her personally.”
“That's the problem…”
Gordon groaned. Berge closed his eyes, deep in thought.
“Then.”
He opened them.
“We'll blackmail them. Make it so Luize has no choice but to keep him close.”
“Blackmail how?”
“Some of Drakson's demons saw Luize Berft split Ormus's second prince's skull. And Hillun Kargil met them at the Beast Tower.”
“Ah, plausible if some aggrieved demons spilled a few words in the process.”
“Use that as leverage to demand he stays by her side?”
“Hillun Kargil's position now isn't something they can brush off lightly—they'll have to cooperate!”
The demon king and his adjutant cheered.
“Problem is, it'll earn Princess Luize's resentment inevitably.”
“Mere resentment is a bargain.”
“True enough. I'll contact Hillun Kargil right away!”
Gordon vanished.
Berge rose slowly from the throne.
“Then I…”
Time to hassle the dwarf.
< 068. We're Screwed > End