092. The Demon King and the Princess's Relationship
"How did you convince them?"
"Pardon?"
"I figured it'd take more time. That's why I was planning to lock the elves up in a dungeon."
No matter the precedent set by Granada, the elves' hostility toward demons was no small thing.
So he'd thought it'd be tough, that it'd require far more time.
Who would've guessed they'd pledge their loyalty on the spot.
"I just happened to know one of the elves from before. Made the talking easier."
It couldn't be just that simple. The elves themselves had said they wouldn't have done it without Granada.
This guy's got something up his sleeve...
Well, it didn't really matter.
As long as the World Tree endured, he couldn't betray Berge anyway. And he was still showing unwavering loyalty even now.
Berge led them up the Erjest Mountains. The elves, enduring the bitter cold, arrived at the tower and stared in shock.
"...A tower out here?"
"Mana cannons? Where are the monsters?"
"Dwarf hero?"
"Four princesses?"
The Flame Demon King, the Flame Demon Tower—everything was off.
Kidnapping four princesses but claiming only three.
Mana cannons everywhere instead of monsters and demons.
Heroes and princesses serving as the demon's subordinates.
Everything was a mystery, and at the peak was the advanced water spirit.
- Welcome to the Demon King's tower! Elves!
An advanced spirit welcoming elves to a Demon King's tower.
It was a horrific mongrel in itself.
...But it might not be so bad.
Relatively speaking, of course. The tower Sharlot and the other thirty-two elves had imagined was utterly standard.
Overflowing with monsters, demons barking orders, the Demon King treating them like slaves.
But this place was different. He didn't know why the heroes and princesses were helping the Demon King, but their faces were alive. No sense of coercion anywhere—in fact, they even seemed to be enjoying it.
Well, even for freedom's sake, Lord Granada wouldn't just throw us to any Demon King.
Their trust in Granada made this peculiar Demon King look a bit better.
"So, what are we supposed to do?"
The tower tour was over. The elves awaited the Demon King's orders amid the four-layer ecosystem of the tower.
"Any mages here?"
Sharlot quietly raised her hand.
Elves were innately attuned to mana. And that attunement usually skewed toward spirits over raw mana.
Naturally, most elves were spirit mages, leaving orthodox mages few and far between.
"What kind of magic do you use?"
"Attribute magic, mainly wind."
"Not bad. Step aside. The rest of you?"
"Some are pure spirit mages, others warriors with swords and bows. But everyone can summon spirits."
"Perfect."
The Demon King's lips curled up.
"Ten of you will join the tower crew. The rest will head back to the continent and live as continent crew. All for me, of course. I'll leave the choice entirely up to you. Oh, and you."
The Demon King's finger pointed at Sharlot.
"You're definitely the former."
"May I ask why?"
"There's a sickly girl wheezing away on the tower's third floor."
"You mean Princess Elena Hildean."
"She's your disciple starting today. Teach her magic."
"...?"
Sharlot struggled to grasp the meaning. But no hidden intent emerged no matter how she pondered.
She stammered as she asked again.
"So, you're saying that I, having become one of the Demon King's retainers, must teach magic to a princess kidnapped on the Demon King's orders?"
"Exactly."
Sharlot instinctively sought out Granada. Their eyes met.
This right?
Probably.
Granada averted his gaze.
"Now it finally feels a bit like a demon haunt."
Most weren't demons, but the empty tower was starting to buzz with life anyway.
That's what he thought.
Once the golems were complete and the elves fully settled. With balrogs stationed on the second floor and something filling the third somehow.
By then, maybe I can show the tower to the humans...
It might be okay.
There were ways to gather magic points beyond negative emotions like rage, sorrow, and despair.
No one could deny that blood, life, and direct death overwhelmed them in quality and quantity.
That's why all Demon Kings welcomed human wars. Especially if that death and life fed magic points to a tower-core like his—he, the tower, would grow strong fast.
Berge's tower, packed with traps heroes wouldn't expect, would become a demon cave endlessly devouring heroes and humans.
But was that enough?
No, it isn't.
The more deaths the tower caused, the larger and stronger the human hordes would swell.
Once things really kicked off, that wave wouldn't stop until Berge died or humanity perished.
And after repeating that cycle...
"That bastard will come."
The hero with the red sword.
The damnable one whose heart he'd pierced and mocked.
Could he kill that guy with this much?
Pathetically insufficient.
Mana cannons had limits, inevitably. They hunted weak masses better than anyone but couldn't beat a single strong foe.
Golems were the same.
And that guy had sliced balrogs like jokes.
To face him, he needed more—more overwhelming power than back then.
Yeah, keep the tower hidden until the very end.
That was right.
And likewise, even if the tower was found, to maximally hinder their hero antics, he needed power in human society.
And right on cue, Berge had new chess pieces.
Pawns now, but who knew if they'd become rooks, knights, bishops, or queens by the end.
The elves.
He summoned Granada via the crystal orb.
Moments later, Granada entered.
"You called?"
"Have the elves decided where they're going?"
"Yes. Selected twenty-two to return to the Golden Moon Merchant Guild."
"They won't all go back to the Golden Moon."
"Have something in mind?"
"No point using elves if we're limiting to one guild."
"Then?"
"Send half to Akan."
"...?"
"Akan treats mages well. Exceptional magical talent can elevate even a slave's status there."
The limits were unknown, but compared to other nations, it ran on merit.
"And elves..."
"Have superior mana affinity to humans by default."
"That, and aren't all elves skilled spirit mages? Spirit arts are magic too."
Human magic schools even included spirit arts.
It required more innate talent than standard magic, but magic was magic.
"Plus, you just built rapport with Akan's prince. That'll help the elves blend in easier."
They'd be startled by the sudden elves, but they wouldn't reject talent.
Especially with Hillun Kargil involved—they'd save face and leverage his connections, avoiding mistreatment.
Though some scrutiny was possible.
"...You're not planning to swallow Akan whole, are you?"
"Hardly."
No way a few elves could pull that off.
"Just need one solid noble with real authority in Akan."
And if they used that to network with foreign nobles, bolstering Hillun's power or synergizing with his own networks.
"Isn't just thinking about it fun?"
They'd become Berge's spies, hunting and hindering the red-sword hero.
"You're a terrifying Demon King, my lord."
"Thanks for the praise."
"May I offer one piece of advice?"
"Gladly."
"If that's the plan, Sharlot's perfect."
"Sharlot?"
"She can't handle spirits, but she's a mage with six engravings. Akan would welcome her more than anyone."
"That good?"
"Sharlot forgoes spirits for elemental magic. Her talent was tops even in the Maple Tribe."
"And such a girl was captured by humans, playing slave?"
"...Human society is a minefield to elves who've only known the Elven Forest."
"No need to explain."
Berge pondered.
Send the best to Akan—they always craved top mages.
The issue was...
"That elf has to teach Elena."
Which made her even more vital to the tower. To raise Elena Hildean into a great mage, she needed top-tier instruction.
"Can't be helped then."
Honestly, he wasn't sure if Elena was that talented. Time in the tower had let him nibble her mana, reducing it sharply.
But he knew Demon Kings didn't jest.
"Oh, you know about the northern tundra run?"
"Yes, heard. Another Demon King's tower."
"Ugh." Granada groaned in dissatisfaction.
"Reina's no pushover—be careful. Though you and the Red Hawk'll survive like cockroaches."
"...Spare me from the cockroach part."
"It's a compliment. Time to use those cockroach traits well."
"That bad?"
"Reina's sharpening her knives."
"So failure's possible?"
"Maybe."
"And you approved anyway?"
"Hillun wanted it."
"...Don't tell me."
Granada's face twisted grotesquely.
"You know it'll fail and sent him anyway? Want it to fail?"
"I told Hillun it wasn't wise. He insisted, so he bears the failure. That's it."
"Shrimp crushed in whale fights, huh."
"Damn." Granada cursed.
"Hillun's no whale."
Maybe a slightly oversized pufferfish.
"Contacted Prince Cain—thankfully, it went smoothly."
Granada departed.
Twenty-two elves went with him.
Berge escorted them personally to the Erjest outskirts. Granada would detour to Akan, drop the elves, then return to the Hero Guild.
And roll in snowfields battling Reina up north.
They left behind Sharlot and ten other elves.
Sharlot met Elena for the first time as her magic tutor.
"Pleased to meet you, Princess. I'm Sharlot of the Maple Tribe."
"Nice to meet you."
Ernan hadn't lied.
She'd said Elena had excellent magical talent—enough to surpass her own if not for the frail body. Sharlot realized it in mere hours.
"Why haven't you learned magic until now?! Hildean's eyes must be blind! Not teaching someone like you?!"
"My body's weak. Mana overload."
"Ah, sorry."
"It's fine."
Unlike humans, elves built no walls. They shared knowledge, honored teaching the gifted.
Sharlot was no different. Though teaching a human over an elf irked her, Elena's talent outshone anyone she'd seen—she was smitten.
She wanted to polish this raw gem herself. Craft it into a beautiful jewel to boast to the world. That her tribe had a hand in it.
"I'm a humble elf, but I'll teach you everything I know, Princess!"
As elves and princess delved into magic on the third floor, another princess met elves on the fourth.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the Dark Spirit Summoner in charge of the fourth floor."
"...Pardon? Dark?"
"And you'll guard the fourth floor with me."
"Here..."
The elves wore relatively bright expressions.
They'd imagined a hell of monsters and demons in a Demon King's tower—no monsters at all, just the Demon King and dark elves as demons.
Plus: dwarf hero on first, knight-princess hero on second, sickly princess on third, spirits filling the fourth.
Was this a Demon King's tower?
To those braced for the worst, serving a human princess—a spirit summoner of advanced spirits—was welcome news.
"We'll serve to our utmost."
"Not serving me specifically. We're all the Demon King's subordinates, working together to defend the tower."
"Yes."
"Um, one question?"
One elf raised a hand.
"Sure, anything."
"...Are you really a princess?"
"Yes. Ernan Hildean, crown princess of Hildean Kingdom."
"The kidnapped one?"
"Didn't walk in on my own."
"...Not my place as a Demon King servant, but why serve him?"
"Not really serving."
"...Then?"
"If I had to define it..."
Hmm. Ernan stroked her chin.
"A symbiotic contract?"
The Demon King kidnapped her out of need.
And she complied out of need.
Probably fit.