What You Need to Make Use of a Dwarf
A hero's march wasn't just about going to the Demon King's Tower, fighting, and ending it there.
They fought the monsters and demons the Demon King sent.
They crushed the Demon King's schemes.
They fought monsters along the way that harmed people.
They killed bandits to maintain public order.
All of these deeds became the heroes' fame.
And money. Byproducts of monsters and demons, monster materials, the loot taken from bandits—
Not a single thing from one to ten lacked value, and it was only natural for mercenaries hungry for fame and money to join in. The merchants were the same.
But in the end, all of that was just the leftovers.
The real prize was the Demon King's Tower. Demon Kings who didn't understand the value of money piled countless valuables in the Tower's storerooms. It was a motherlode anyone would dream of visiting at least once.
That was why Arein's hero's march was a business.
The stronger the hero leading it, the higher the chance of success, and investors and scavengers swarmed in.
The name Hillen Cargill—famed as the hero who slew the Demon King of Lust—was as good as a symbol.
Countless merchants offered sponsorship.
Even more mercenaries came with weapons in hand.
"Welcome."
"I'm Granada, commander of the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps."
"Welcome. Thank you all for coming to defeat the Demon King and uphold justice."
Granada and the Red Hawks blended into the crowd, and they met Hillen for the first time as he personally greeted the newcomers.
Granada's first impression of Hillen was: a good man.
He never wiped the smile from his face and politely welcomed everyone.
The gathered mercenaries surpassed a hundred. Even the Red Hawks were impressed by the massive crowd.
"We're not even a quarter of the way through the march, and if it's already like this, I can't imagine what it'll look like later."
"Just as you said, Commander—coming early instead of waiting was the right choice!"
"If you know that, stop yapping and follow properly."
A hero's attendant guided them to a tent, and the mercenaries began unpacking their belongings.
At that moment, the crystal ball in Granada's coat vibrated. A call from the Tower.
"Step outside for a bit."
"Huh? We were about to sleep."
"Out."
The mercenaries who were undressing grumbled as they stepped out.
"Damn it. They say a rolling stone pushes out a resting one—he thinks he's our master or something."
"Aren't you pissed, Commander?"
"Just endure a year. A fortune will roll in. Obviously, I shouldn't be angry either."
"Yeah… nothing treats anger like money."
"And who knows? Maybe we'll make some good money on this hero's march too?"
Granada, who had expected to quietly maintain his disguise as a mercenary, had challenged Bark to a duel the moment he became a high-rank mercenary.
—I have no intention of being beneath someone weaker than me.—It's only a year, but during that time, treat me as the commander. If not, fight me.
Of course, they resisted, and a fight broke out.
And they lost. Whether one-on-one or all twenty charging at once—they were crushed.
Some mercenaries regretted taking the job, but the pay was too large to refuse.
One year. Just endure one year. Then we'll be rich.Damn it, but since he's strong, our survival chances probably went up, right?
And so they had come this far.
But Bark wasn't only thinking about Granada.
The true client who bought Granada—that one is even stronger.
He had money and power. Imagining what would happen if they dared to cheat such a man was terrifying.
Once this job succeeds, I'll cut ties immediately.
He had a feeling he should never stay entangled—an ominous intuition.
Meanwhile, left alone, Granada connected the communication. Gordon's face appeared.
"...Really?"
『Yes. It is the Demon King's order: assist the hero's march with everything you have. Do your job.』
"Truly assist them with everything I have? Nothing else?"
『Nothing else. You're annoying, so stop asking.』
The call abruptly ended. Granada's eyebrows twisted.
"That crazy bastard..."
Then the crystal ball rang again.
"What now? Didn't you say—"
『Your tone is insolent.』
"Hrk—! I-I'm sorry!"
Granada hurriedly covered his mouth. He had assumed it was Gordon again, but the Demon King himself was staring back.
『I hear you've joined the hero's march.』
"Yes. But… is it truly permissible to help the hero?"
He didn't like the idea, but Granada was still a subordinate of the Demon King.
He had sworn upon the World Tree; helping to behead his master felt wrong no matter how he thought about it.
"Honestly, I thought you'd tell me to pretend to help, then stab them in the back."
But that wasn't the case.
『Do you know why the hero's march turned into this?』
Berze spoke again after a moment of silence. It was unrelated to Granada's question.
"Wasn't it always like this?"
The hero's march had been this way long before Granada was born.
『Nothing in this world was "always like that." It's all because of foolish Demon Kings.』
"...Hmm."
The words aren't you one of them? rose to his throat.
『You've heard that Demon Kings follow certain rules, yes?』
"I've heard rumors."
『They're true. And those rules brought this mess about.』
They refused to leave their towers unless someone kidnapped them, insisting on following the "proper path." At most, they sent monsters of appropriate difficulty to help heroes grow.
They played the role of the shadowy villain, causing trouble everywhere and scattering treasure.
They stably supplied byproducts.
『They became convinced.」
There has never been a bigger pushover.
『The best way to break this system is to kill every one of them the moment the march begins.』
But Berze lacked the power or forces to do that now. So he thought in the opposite direction.
If he couldn't break it, then at least he wouldn't nurture it.
There was another intention mixed in.
『The hero's march is the crystallization of human greed. People gather to satisfy their desires.』
Some chase fame. Some chase money. Others chase something more.
But what if all of that vanished? What if it shrank?
Especially when more people than ever were flocking to the name Hillen Cargill with greater expectations?
『I will not send monsters.』
『I will not send demons.』
『I will use no other method.』
No battles meant no fame earned.
No corpses meant no materials to harvest.
No incidents meant waning attention.
With profits shrinking, how would the scavengers—those who had been eyeing the spoils—behave?
Hillen might keep things together as a focal point. But even small dissatisfaction or petty disputes would still be a gain.
Through that, Berze would glimpse new possibilities and consider new directions.
He was also certain the number of heroes and mercenaries would decrease, even if only slightly.
『You will report to me regularly how the hero's march deteriorates.』
"...Yes, my lord."
As Granada bowed, a chill crept down his spine.
Dear gods… a Demon King who understands human nature too well.
Money. He had struck the very root of the hero's march.
And this method—
From Granada's perspective—one who had watched human greed as a slave—this was far more effective than sending demons or monsters to interfere.
—I will permit everything. Create the best trap you can.
The condition was only one.
— Do not use mana stones. No trace of mana may remain.
It was a single condition, but an overwhelmingly powerful one.
"...Hmm."
Dwarves were good with their hands. That skill branched into metallurgy, smelting, and crafting.
As their steadily advancing technology merged with mana, it naturally extended into magitek.
Modern dwarf craftsmanship couldn't be discussed without magitek.
"Is it difficult?"
"—Hrk!"
Logar flinched at the sudden voice.
"Did I surprise you? I'm sorry."
The princess beamed a bright smile.
"...My heart almost jumped out. Please be careful next time."
"I will."
No matter how many times I see it, I can't get used to this…
Even if she was technically a prisoner, she wandered around freely like this. If the Demon King had allowed it, it wasn't his place to object.
"I'm glad you're here. There's nothing to pass the time with in this tower."
"That's true."
"You got captured, but since you're a Hero, I feel safer. So how are you planning to construct the first floor?"
"I'm still planning."
If he could just use mana stones, everything would be easy.
Layer traps from the entrance and line up dozens of magic cannons aimed at the gate—no matter how impressive a hero might be, they wouldn't escape unscathed.
But mana as a power source was forbidden.
Replace cannons with gunpowder, ballistae with classical mechanisms, traps with…
There were plenty of alternatives to mana.But the question was whether those alternatives could achieve the destructive power and effects the Demon King desired.
"That's true. With crude gunpowder, I doubt you can do anything to Hero Hillen…"
"Hillen Cargill? The hero who killed the Demon King of Lust?"
"Yes."
"That hero is coming here? Are you certain?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
The hero's march had already begun, but Ernan was cut off from the outside inside the tower.
And neither Berze nor Gordon told her anything about the outside.
But it was a simple inference.
"Father adores me. The kingdom is probably in chaos right now, and they'll try anything to rescue me."
"They'll commission the hero with the highest chance of success, and the strongest hero in Hilderan is Hero Hillen."
"And Hero Hillen won't be able to refuse. I'm the crown princess."
Ernan spoke with certainty.
Logar was horrified.
The crown princess…?
This was the first time he'd heard it.
If that was the case, Hillen Cargill would certainly come. And the Demon King wanted Logar to create traps capable of stopping such a monster.
Without magitek.
Logar collapsed backward.
"Are you okay?"
"I am not."
He wanted to cry.
"I think I misheard you."
Berze flicked his ear. Logar clenched his teeth at the faint disdain hidden behind his boredom.
"I heard there's a high chance Hillen Cargill is coming."
"Not a high chance—he is coming. The hero's march has already begun."
"..."
The conditions were already terrible—now there was a time limit.
"Hillen Cargill is one of the greatest heroes, the one who slew the Demon King of Lust. Creating traps that can stop him is not easy."
Not simply difficult—almost impossible.
"So you lied to me. You claimed to be the greatest artisan in the Dwarven Kingdom. Said you'd be useful, yet you're useless. And I see no reason to keep a useless 'Hero' around."
Fwssh—
Berze summoned a black flame. Gordon's face went pale.
"Mana! If you allow me to use mana, it's possible! I'm not saying it's impossible—I'm asking you to let me use mana!"
"I told you not to use mana."
There was no room for compromise.
"Heroes are more sensitive to mana and magic than anyone else. They are loved by the dimension itself. Do you think a hero wouldn't notice a magitek device powered by mana stones?"
"He might… possibly not notice…"
Logar offered a timid, shrinking protest.
"The great hero Hillen, you say?"
"..."
Especially inside the Demon King's Tower. In a world overflowing with magic, mana was too alien.
Could the hero fail to notice the difference?
Fail to sense something strange?
No. Even if not Hillen—any hero would think something was off.
Berze wanted to eliminate that strangeness.A perfect ambush required perfect carelessness.
"But… but it's Hillen. Killing the one who cut off a Demon King's head with outdated, mana-less equipment is impossible."
"Making the impossible possible is your job. And I never said you had to kill him."
"...But—"
"Humans often say this, don't they? A master does not choose his tools. You claimed to be a very capable artisan—take responsibility for your words."
"That's nonsense humans say! We dwarves are more picky about our tools than anyone!"
"Do I need to tear open that loud mouth to quiet you?"
"Hrk—n-no!"
Logar clamped both hands over his mouth. But soon he opened it again.
"There is a way. I'll use mana—but in a way that prevents the problem you fear."
"Oh?"
As the Demon King's expression shifted with interest, Logar's words poured out faster.
"There is a magitek device that hides all traces of mana. If we bring it—"
"You're certain it can deceive him? Here, of all places?"
"The mana concentration in the tower's outer territory is low, but not nonexistent. I can lower it even further. At least until he opens the tower's door, we can fool him!"
"That isn't bad. Where is this device?"
"Uh… in my workshop."
"..."
"P-please spare me! I swear I'm not plotting to escape! Ack—! I can't breathe!"
Logar dangled in midair, kicking his short legs desperately.