100-Year Contract
Even if things had become somewhat more stable, Hotenwalk was still the foremost front line staring straight at the Forbidden Zone.Hardly a day passed without monsters surging in and battles breaking out.
Naturally, the slaves gathered in Hotenwalk were rough, efficient, and mostly individuals with exceptional combat ability.
Perhaps that was why.The elf was a bit muscular.No—very muscular.
"How may I help you?"
A merchant who had been scribbling on documents atop a desk on one side of the hall noticed them and approached.
He exchanged a few words with the guide, then rubbed his palms together with a smile.
"Haha, I hear you're looking for a fine slave. Excellent choice coming here. Would you like to take a look around first?"
"No need."
Berze strode forward and stopped before the iron cage holding the elf.Seeing him up close made Berze like him even more.
"Ah, an elf! So you're interested in elves!"
The merchant let out a greedy smile.
Elves were expensive.After the war against the other races had ended and non-human slaves were officially banned, their price had only risen further.
"Quite thorough, I see."
"Ah, elves are so powerful that most ordinary shackles get snapped apart. This much is the bare minimum."
"Good eyes."
Berze's gaze never left the elf.
The once-brilliant green hair had become clumped and filthy after long neglect.Even so, those deep green eyes—like an enraged beast—were to his liking.Even with limbs bound in chains, unable to move, the creature had not lost its will.The simmering rage toward humans only made it better.
The only flaw was the bit gag wedged in its mouth, preventing it from speaking.
"I want to talk to him."
"He's a rough one. If we remove the gag, it could cause… issues…"
"What if I don't mind?"
"Well… even so…"
"Even if the elf dies or something happens, I'll take full responsibility and purchase him regardless."
"Ah—if that's the case…"
"How much?"
"As you know, elves are a little pricey. Four gold—no, five gold coins."
Berze flicked out the gold coins with a light snap of his fingers.The merchant, delighted by the gleam of gold, hurried to unlock the cage.
"Then please enjoy your conversation!"
"You leave as well."
"I'll be waiting outside."
Bark and the merchant disappeared.Berze stepped into the cage and released his demonic energy.
"U-ugh…!"
The elf's pupils widened.Even if mana was restricted by the restraints, elves—sensitive above all other demi-races—could never fail to feel demonic energy.
Berze removed the gag.The elf's mouth hung open, unable to close.
"You won't be able to bite your tongue. You can't move either. So give up and listen quietly."
The creature had no choice.
"I just paid a fair price and bought you. That makes you my slave."
Blood filled the elf's eyes.Its trembling jaw looked ready to spit a torrent of insults.
But it couldn't.
"You've been turned into a slave and suffered countless humiliations at the hands of humans. Your rage must be tremendous."
"I'll give you a chance."
"Will you die here, in this cold cage, ending your life as a slave?"
"Or will you take my hand and have your revenge? I'll help you tear apart the bastards who made you like this and bring down humanity."
"What do you say?"
There was no answer.But anyone could see the wavering in those eyes.
"If you're not going to bite your tongue, I'll release the magic. Nod if you agree."
The elf nodded.As Berze withdrew his energy, the elf gasped for air.
"A demon… Why is a demon talking to me?"
"You just need to answer."
"A demon's bargains always come with a horrifying price."
"I'm different. You only need to work for me. Fifty years. Be my loyal subordinate for fifty years, and afterward, I'll give you your freedom. How does that sound?"
To an elf, fifty years wasn't even that long—hardly a bad offer.
"And I'm supposed to trust the words of a demon who lies as casually as breathing?"
"You don't seem very opposed to the offer itself."
"I've been enslaved by humans for five years. There were countless times I wanted to just die from the humiliation."
The hatred nurtured for years had grown and grown, reaching a point of no return.
"If I can rip apart and kill the ones who did this to me—then I'd sell my soul even to a devil."
The elf growled, poisonous killing intent radiating so sharply that it made one's skin crawl.
"But you can't trust me because I'm a demon?"
"Among elves there's a saying: better to befriend a dwarf than trust a demon."
"We have a saying too: among all the races of the middle world, humans are the least trustworthy—but elves are the most stubborn idiots."
Elves were known to despise demons more than any other race.It was partly true, but it wasn't because of some sacred duty to protect the world.
It was because the World Tree they worshiped supported the world itself—while demons sought to collapse that very world supported by the World Tree.
"As long as you serve under me, I won't lay a finger on the World Tree."
"I said I can't trust your words. Why would a demon ask help from an elf in the first place?"
He struck a sore spot.
"I swear upon the True Principle and the Great Demon King. I will not break the words I've spoken."
"...!"
The True Principle and the Demon King were life itself to all demons.Simple faith perhaps—but to the brutish demons, it was guarded like their own lives.
Even the creations of Arein knew how deeply demons revered the True Principle and the Demon King.
"In exchange, you will serve me faithfully. Swear it upon the World Tree."
This was the reason Berze wanted an elf—not a human—as his most crucial core component.
Humans lacked any dependable way to enforce loyalty.But elves had one.
Their mother-tree, the World Tree—its oath.
It wasn't mere devotion.It was a direct binding tied to mana itself.
Those who broke the oath would be stripped of the World Tree's blessing.
And to an elf, losing the blessing of the forest was a fate worse than death.
That was why he could trust this.
"Well?"
"…Truly, demon."
The elf muttered.
"You give an offer one cannot refuse."
Berze held out his hand.
The elf took it.
"Your name."
"I am Granada of the Maple Tribe. I will swear the oath before the Demon King who sent you. In his presence."
"In that case, you may do it now. Because I am that Demon King."
"...?"
The merchant cheerfully pocketed the gold coins.Beside him, the guide and Bark swallowed dryly.
Heh, what a massive sucker.
Since elf slaves were officially banned, their rarity made them even more expensive.Of course elves were costly.
But this one's problem wasn't price—he was defective.A wild beast.Even after five years, he had never lost his fighting spirit and still cursed humans.He even tried to bite his tongue to kill himself, so they had forced a gag on him.
If at least he had been a pretty woman, someone might have bought him for… other uses.But even that was impossible.He had zero value as merchandise.The only reason he wasn't thrown away was that the merchant didn't want to waste money.
Yet this fool paid five gold coins for him.The merchant never imagined the anger-priced number he spat out would actually be accepted.
"Bark, you said he was the one who brought you here?"
"That's right."
"Is he a successful merchant then? Or part of a large mercenary company?"
To the merchant, there were only two reasons someone would come all the way to Hotenwalk to buy an elf:
Either for some rich man's taste—or to use as combat manpower.
"I simply received a request. I cannot disclose the client's identity."
"Come on now, we've known each other too long to be so stiff, haven't we?"
"..."
"Tch, well, fine. In any case, I've finally gotten rid of that nuisance.But the truth is—he probably won't end up keeping that elf.The moment the gag comes off, the elf will bite his tongue."
"And you knew that, yet you still—?"
"He said he didn't care. And I already got the payment."
The merchant shrugged casually.He felt refreshed.The elf who troubled him was as good as dead, and he made money.
"If he ever needs more slaves later, tell him to contact me. I'll make sure he's well taken ca—"
Just then, the door opened.The sucker stepped out slowly.The merchant eagerly rubbed his hands together and approached.
"Ah, you're out! How did the conversa—…tion… go…?"
His eyes turned toward the man's back.
There.The elf—who should have bitten his tongue and collapsed cold on the floor—was following casually behind him.
"Eyes down, you pig-like bastard. Before I rip you to shreds right now."
Judging by the growl, its temperament hadn't softened in the slightest.
"Well then, glad that went well. I'll apply the slave mark now."
The merchant forced himself to speak as normally as possible, using near-superhuman mental control.
"No need."
"Eh? But without the slave mark…"
It would cause problems.
The slave mark wasn't just a symbol; it was a magic circle preventing the slave from harming their master.A spell that could inflict pain at a word.
"If problems arise, I'll handle them."
"…Understood."
"Let's go."
"Y-yes!"
Bark hurried after him.When they emerged above ground, all eyes turned toward them.
They were shocked that the elf had been sold to someone.
How did he tame that elf?
When the elf had previously caused havoc trying to escape, Bark had been hired along with other mercenaries to subdue him.He knew exactly what that elf was like.
A beast too fierce to tame—famous among slave traders.They said he would never be sold, and the only way he'd leave his cage was as a corpse.
"Your job ends here."
"Ah… yes."
Berze flicked his fingers lightly.A silver coin landed neatly on Bark's palm.
"I liked you more than expected. Consider it a tip."
"Thank you!"
"How long will you be staying in this city?"
"As long as no major incident occurs, I plan to stay."
"Good. I'll come find you again later."
"Yes! Please visit me or the Red Hawk Mercenary Company at the mercenary guild anytime!"
Bark sincerely hoped that such a generous client would return.
The first thing the Demon King did was buy him a meal.
The elf, who had been surviving on the bare minimum to stay alive, feasted for the first time in ages and patted his full stomach in satisfaction.
"The tower is really at the peak of Mount Ergest?"
"You're very suspicious."
"Be grateful my fist didn't fly the moment you introduced yourself as the Demon King."
In the elf's mind, there was no world in which the Demon King personally went to a slave market to buy a slave.
The only reason he was still following was because his companion had confidently proclaimed that he would prove it by showing the tower—and had sworn upon the True Principle.
"You'd better keep your promise. If you really are the Demon King, then I agreed to pledge not fifty years, but double that."
"An elf keeps their word. Unlike demons."
He's getting on my nerves.
He kept snapping back—his guts were too bold.Maybe Berze should knock him around a bit before starting.
The Demon King considered it briefly, but shook his head.Once they reached the tower, the elf's tail would be wagging thousands of times.Enduring until then was part of the fun.
Meanwhile, the elf found the demon before him… peculiar.
A demon trying to employ another race…?
Demons trusted no one but their own.Naturally so.They were invaders, and all races of Arein were the invaded.Enemies who could never coexist and thus had no foundation for trust.
"But this path doesn't lead toward the mountain…"
The Demon King who introduced himself as Berze—the one who would be his master for the next fifty years—was not heading toward Mount Ergest.
"The market. There's no food at the tower."
"...?"
…The market?
An unexplained chill crawled down his spine.Instinct.
He had called himself the Demon King.Even if that were a lie, he was undeniably a demon.
And in over a century of life as an elf, Granada had never once heard of a demon going grocery shopping.Demons rarely left their towers—why would they go to a human marketplace?
"…Are you really the Demon King?"
"You're far too suspicious."
"How can I not be?!"
Yet despite his doubtful glare, the Demon King bought over a dozen bundles of ingredients.
Only after shoving all of them into his subspace did he smile contentedly.
"Alright, let's go."
They slipped past the guards' eyes and silently leapt over the city wall.
"Mount Ergest is swarming with monsters. How exactly do you plan to climb it?"
He voiced a question he had held for a long time.
"Like a Demon King."
The answer was brief.The meaning soon became clear.
The monsters aren't attacking.
Even after spotting them, the monsters didn't charge.They avoided them.
What could this mean?
Don't tell me… the entire mountain is already his domain?
He swallowed dryly.
Perhaps he really was the Demon King.Or rather—more than that.
Mount Ergest was overflowing with monsters.If every one of them was under this being's command…
This is a catastrophe.
He might be the most powerful Demon King ever to descend upon Arein.
"We're here. This is my tower."
Even when they reached the hidden basin where the tower stood—even when he saw the tower was only five stories tall—the elf remained overwhelmed.The shock of the mountain being his domain had not faded.
But then—
The door to the first floor opened.
They passed the second floor.
And as they entered the third—
"…My god."
He was stunned for an entirely different reason.
He finally understood why the Demon King had come personally to the human slave market to buy him,why he had purchased ingredients…
"There's nothing here."
The famed Demon King's tower was truly empty.
"I enjoy simplicity. You know—beauty in emptiness."
"If it gets any simpler, the tower itself will disappear."
"But now I have a slave who will loyally serve me for a hundred years. Isn't that enough?"
The elf shuddered at the sly smile.The Demon King's identity had already been proven.Even if the tower was empty, the fact that it acknowledged its master was proof.
Now it was the elf's turn to fulfill his promise.
But—
"This is fraud! This is a complete scam!"
He couldn't accept it.
A Demon King's tower traditionally followed certain conventions.
On the first floor: weak monsters and traps.Higher up: stronger monsters.Then demons.At the top, the Demon King sits on a golden throne, receiving the hero with dignity.
And finally, the hero rescues a prince or princess locked in the tower.
Details varied by tower and Demon King, but the framework remained.
Granada had expected something like that.Even as a slave, he was once respected among elves.He imagined becoming an officer in the Demon King's army and taking revenge on humans.
Not a future where dreams and hopes were crushed in an empty void.
At that moment—
KWAANG!
A massive hand clamped around Granada's throat.
"Kh…!"
Crushing strength overwhelmed him.His face reddened as his breath was cut off.
He tried to raise his mana.
"That's as far as I'll tolerate."
But the sharp demonic energy dug into him, severing his mana.
The cold killing intent made the elf viscerally feel that the being before him truly was the Demon King.
"Honor your promise, elf."
"Th-this is fraud! I've never heard of a tower like this!"
"I never said it wasn't."
"I knew demons couldn't be trusted!"
"Regret always comes too late."
It was too late indeed.Granada had entered the Demon King's domain entirely.He could not escape alone.
His life—or a hundred years as a slave.The choice was obvious.And perhaps… he really might get his revenge.
The shock of the tower was strong, but the impression from the mountain ascent was even stronger.
"…I will serve you."
In the name of the great World Tree, he swore.The mana in his heart formed a binding.If he broke the oath, the blessing granted to him would shatter and vanish.
"Good."
The Demon King smiled with satisfaction.Then he tossed him one of the bags of ingredients purchased in the village.
"Now then, go cook something."
"…?"
The elf failed to process the situation for a moment.Then anger flushed through him.
"I am a noble elf! In Elven society, I—!"
"But right now, you're just an insolent slave."
"Don't tell me you bought me just to make me cook?!"
"Well, not just that."
The Demon King rested his chin on his hand.
"But right now, I'd like you to shut up and just do it."
He absolutely was not getting payback for all the snark during the climb.
It was simply that the tower had no living creature capable of cooking a proper meal.
Or so the Demon King believed.