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All of Arein's Demon Lords create variables—within what the Canon allows—in order to survive.
Like how the Demon Lord of Bitter Cold, Reina Sordein, places ice-statue princes and princesses on the lower floors so that Heroes climb just far enough before turning back.
The Demon Lord of Adamantine, Ugar Velvek's method was to kidnap princes and princesses who posed as little trouble as possible.
It was his way of preventing a small flame from turning into a massive wildfire.
Of course, among Demon Lords, kidnapping a prince or princess with a higher succession rank was considered a virtue—but that wasn't something explicitly written in the Canon.
And anything not explicitly Canon was, to Ugar, never more important than his own survival.
"...What do you mean by that?"
But it was by no means a positive remark. It wasn't a very Demon-Lord-like thought, so Ugar denied it immediately.
"There's no need to be ashamed. The Canon may work well in other dimensions, but isn't this place different?"
"Do not insult the Canon."
"You're the one twisting the Canon and refusing to follow it strictly, but I'm the one you want to call trash?"
Berze raised a finger.
"Well, considering your situation, I'll generously overlook it this once. But you still haven't answered."
"You want me to entertain this absurd nonsense?"
"Absurd nonsense, you say."
From that phrase, Berze understood. Ugar's "nonsense" wasn't that he himself would never use such a loophole.
He was asking how Berze even knew about such people.
Naturally so. Berze was still a greenhorn Demon Lord who had descended less than a year ago.
"The 3rd Prince of Gaina, the Trapatra Union, the 7th Princess of the Duchy of Velos, the 4th Prince of Machiel. All of them are royal heirs who fit your ideal conditions. Low succession rank, less attention, or kingdoms too powerless to properly attempt a rescue."
"And I'm supposed to believe that? The proof?"
"Proof, hmm. Yes, proof is important. But is it really necessary?"
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"Didn't you already consider the possibility yourself? You're just being extra cautious because you're not fully certain, isn't that right?"
"...How do you know that?"
Because all three he mentioned had already been kidnapped by Ugar Velvek.
They caused minor issues afterward, but compared to kidnapping other royals, those were like a gentle breeze.
"Is how I know really more important than me adding conviction to your assumption?"
"And how do I know that conviction isn't a lie? More importantly, why should I assume you're even acting in good faith toward me?"
"And why wouldn't I be? Do you and I have some grudge?"
"We're not exactly on good terms, either."
"Relationships are things you build from now on."
"And that's coming out of the mouth of a Demon Lord?"
"I know a Demon Lord who was so terrified of humans he only picked on the weak ones, couldn't even live up to his size. If he could run his mouth that much, then why can't I?"
"You bastard. You really want to go right here, right now?"
"Sit. My neck hurts."
Ugar Velvek emitted killing intent, but in the end he sat down again. The cowardly man would never break rules to openly display anger unless he was truly cornered.
"Let's amend the contract."
"Contract?"
"The Netherworld contract, of course."
He snatched the contract from Ugar's grasp.
"...Fine. Before that, let me hear your terms."
Ugar replied in a voice slightly more docile.
A Demon Lord was still a Demon Lord, after all.
Before the regression, he had seemed like a complete idiot, but apparently he was more Demon-Lord-like than expected.
Well, considering he survived the Demon Lord Academy—where the finest demons of the Netherworld attempted to kill each other—he couldn't possibly have lacked ability.
Which only meant that the pre-regression Berze had been an arrogant, senseless bastard.
Or maybe Ugar Velvek really was an idiot and only occasionally acted competent.
"The 13th Princess of Hilderan. Hand her over."
Ugar's expression tightened.
"Stop joking and tell me a real condition."
"That is the real condition."
"You seriously want the 13th Princess?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds right now?"
When a Demon Lord kidnaps a prince or princess, they spread the rumor—or at least ensure there are witnesses.
That was something that had to be done, Canon or not. The whole point of kidnapping royalty was for the mageia gain. Witnesses spread the rumor so that humanity had a clear target for their rage.
Naturally, Ugar Velvek did exactly that. He didn't make a spectacle of kidnapping her in front of everyone, but he didn't slaughter every knight protecting the princess either.
The rumor spread, and the fact that the Demon Lord of Adamantine had kidnapped Hilderan's 13th Princess became accepted truth.
"I know. Don't worry—I'm not asking for her as a Demon Lord."
But what if the Heroes arrived at the tower to rescue the princess and she wasn't there?
Or worse—if it was revealed she was in another tower entirely?
Of course, it wasn't a world-shattering issue. Heroes would just get angry and curse the Demon Lord.
But Demon Lords were not the same.
Canon, rules—none of that mattered. It was personal pride. Every Demon Lord respected in the Netherworld had at least one point of pride they would never compromise.
If the situation were reversed, Berze would have hurled curses too.
"Then what?"
"Place Hilderan's 13th Princess not at the summit, but on a lower floor. So the Heroes don't have to climb all the way."
"Like Reina Sordein?"
"Like Reina Sordein."
"And that's it?"
"That's it. I'll handle the rest—you only need to do that."
"You—when exactly did you start colluding with the Hero Guild?"
"I never did."
"Don't spout nonsense. Do you take me for a fool?"
"Even if that were true, why would I ever tell you?"
"So it wasn't a lie that you were the top graduate."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"Amend the contract."
Berze added several clauses to the contract. At Ugar's signal, the attendants cleaned the shattered debris and brought a new table.
"The terms are as I said. And besides those three royals I mentioned, I'll tell you two more. And if kidnapping them stirs up more trouble than expected, I'll pay you one million mageia points."
"Not bad."
"Of course it wouldn't be bad. They're people you'll end up kidnapping anyway, so even if you fail, you get extra profit."
"Hmph, you're the one who said you wanted this in the first place."
"In return, you will place Hilderan's 13th Princess on the 3rd floor or lower."
"Why specifically 3rd floor or below?"
"If you want the monsters you bought with valuable points to die one after another, then feel free to place her higher. It's no loss of mine."
"...Fine. I'll do it."
They each signed the contract with their blood and infused it with mageia, marking the end of the pact. The contract turned to ashes and was absorbed into the bodies of Ugar Velvek and Berze.
"It was a productive meeting."
Berze stood up.
"When will you return?"
"Well, I can't say for sure, but I'll try to make sure it doesn't take more than a month at the latest."
"If it takes longer, I'll consider it a breach of contract."
"You idiot. That wasn't written anywhere in the contract."
Berze scoffed and opened a rift leading back to his tower.
"See you again someday."
If that's even possible.
"Cut the crap and get lost already."
He vanished.
"...There's no way someone who's only been around for a year has already colluded with the Guild."
But with an intermediary backing him? Perhaps it was possible.
"It really must be Jayson…"
Ugar scratched his shiny head.
"...This isn't the time. I need to reorganize the tower."
Before whatever killed Draxon extended its claws toward him.
Ugar hurriedly opened the tower's information window.
Perhaps because of the newly kidnapped prince and princess, the mageia rising in real time was quite satisfying.
***
Creak—
The tower's door opened.
Berze, having shed his mageia presence, and Ernan, in disguise, entered together.
"Will you be all right?"
"There won't be any issues."
"...Given what you've shown so far, I'll believe you, but please be careful."
"I will."
Leaving Gordon's concerns behind, the two departed the tower.
"Thank you for going along with my selfish plan."
"You do know it was selfish?"
"Yes."
Ernan summoned a Wind Spirit. The spirit's breeze lightened her body.
"To be honest, I never imagined I'd be able to leave the tower before being rescued by a Hero."
"If you're thinking of escaping, give up. The thing on your neck will prettily slice off any unnecessary heads."
Around Ernan's neck hung the same type of collar that once restrained Logar. A magical device for restricting prisoners.
"I won't run. I only begged for this because of Elena, but I still value my life."
"If people find out that both you and the 13th Princess are in my hands, how will Hilderan react?"
"It'll be the same as always. Father doesn't know what kind of person Elena is."
"You said she was completely neglected?"
"Yes. From my father's perspective, Elena is a failure."
"Even so, if what you say is true, there's still a chance. But why would he cut off all interest so completely?"
"Because he has me."
"I see."
Well, if you compare a magical cannon that could become powerful if repaired—though no one knows if it's fixable—to an already top-class, perfectly functional magical cannon… the answer is obvious.
"What's our first destination?"
"Pelsen in the Kingdom of Acan. The one I told you about earlier."
"And then?"
"Acan's Haitun. And the next one is also in Acan."
"They're clustered together?"
"Acan and Trapartarta are wealthy regions with flourishing commerce. Nobles prefer them when stashing secret slush funds."
Less tedious work for Berze—not bad.
From Hotenwalk, they teleported directly to Pelsen via a teleportation circle. They stopped in front of a large house in the inner-city residential district.
"This is the place?"
"Yes. Ten guards, five maids and servants who manage the estate. And there's a hidden vault underground."
The Wind Spirit that had scouted the mansion perched on Ernan's shoulder.
"Their level?"
"No one noticed the spirit."
"Pathetic."
"Well, Pelsen is a major city."
Acan's cities were especially known for excellent security—thanks to the magical equipment they operated. But those tools couldn't detect a Demon Lord's presence.
— A thief job shared between a Demon Lord and a princess? Now this is rare.
"Nairuniel, please…"
Berze wrapped an arm around Ernan's waist and melted into the darkness. Physical contact was necessary to completely suppress Ernan's presence as well.
"Where is it?"
"Left. From here, right, then right again. At the end of the corridor, there's a hidden passage behind the wall."
"How do you open it?"
"The armor stand placed in front is the key. Move the armor aside, press the floor right beneath it, and the mechanism activates."
Rumble—
A faint sound echoed. Fortunately, no one was nearby. A staircase descended into darkness.
"No traps."
"I figured."
After descending for a while, a massive vault revealed itself. It took up an entire wall and was heavily reinforced with enchantments.
"This is…"
"The medium is blood."
"Solid."
But not unbreakable.
"If you break it, an alarm will go off. And a message will be sent to the vault's owner."
"That's fine. We'll just run immediately."
"That's true."
Fwoom—
The flames of the Phoenix roared to life.
— I don't like that fire. It reminds me of those arrogant flame spirits.
────!
The shockwave from the shattered magic circle drowned out Nairuniel's grumbling.
From the molten remains of the vault door, an immense pile of gold gleamed.
Berze shoved everything into subspace and grabbed Ernan. The knights who arrived late were aghast.
"My gods! The vault's been robbed!"
"Contact the lord immediately!"
***
From Pelsen they hit two more sites, and three more in Haitun. The two of them accomplished an enormous haul.
"The slush funds were hidden secretly and in a foreign nation. They won't openly search for it. So unless you, my lord, confess personally, nothing will become a problem."
They wouldn't find anything even if they searched openly, Berze thought.
Originally, whenever demons caused trouble, mageia residue always remained. This made it easy for humans to identify that the culprit was demonic and respond appropriately.
The reason the Demon Lords' range of activity continued to shrink.
But Berze had escaped that limitation.
I'm really starting to wonder what sort of creature the Phoenix truly is.
Of course, it wasn't perfect. Compared to the raw might he had as a Demon Lord, it was still insignificant, and it felt awkward—like wearing clothes that didn't quite fit.
But that alone couldn't diminish the Phoenix's greatness, a being capable of altering a demon's very nature simply by being absorbed.
"Stop."
The problem occurred in the final city. Right as they exited the vault—just like before.
Swiish—
Five arrows sliced through the air and blocked the path of Berze and Ernan.
Someone dropped down from a rooftop.
"What exactly were you doing inside that house?"
"..."
"Why are you even curious about that?"
Berze did not answer. Ernan spoke in his stead.
"Why don't you take off that robe first? You don't look like the estate's caretaker."
"There's no reason I need to tell you."
"No, you do need to. I've been following you because you looked suspicious as hell. I was wondering why you were sneaking around the city under concealment."
You thieving bastards.
The Hero, Dafner Filiaine, snorted.
He had found the thieves by chance. While stopping by the city to procure magic arrows, he detected a high-level concealment spell. Strange—someone hiding themselves inside a city?
His instincts flared, and he was right. Unless someone had skeletons in their closet, there was no reason to skulk around inside city walls.
Was it because of Ernan?
Berze furrowed his brows.
Even Dafner Filiaine shouldn't have been able to notice them easily. The only likely cause was the baggage who wasn't accustomed to concealment.
"You don't fight."
"Are you sure? He's Dafner Filiaine… and we're outside."
"Spirit Sorcerers are rare. If you reveal your power, you'll be identified immediately."
"Yes."
"What are you whispering about over there!? Hand over what you stole. Do that, and I won't rough you up—I'll even hand you over to the city guard nice and clean."
"Nonsense."
"What?"
"A lumberjack doesn't return the trees he's chopped."
"A tree is still a tree. If you cut down one that shouldn't be touched, then you deserve punishment. That's how the world works."
"I'm not fond of things like how the world works… or the Canon."
The flames Berze had silently been gathering burst all at once. A massive pillar of fire engulfed the mansion garden.
"You think I wouldn't be ready for that!?"
Dafner swung his dagger. The flames split apart. He folded his body between them and fired an arrow.
Fwiish—
Ten aura arrows surged toward their target.
Did they hit? No.
The aura signature blurred.
Dafner sprinted. He stepped on a wall, vaulted onto a roof. In the distance, two rapidly shrinking specks came into view.
Dafner silently drew his bowstring. He steadied his breathing and released.
A sharp flash tore across the space.
Clang—
A hit. The thief staggered. But that was all.
The staggering silhouettes vanished completely. When Dafner arrived moments later, nothing remained.
"They dared run from me?"
He ground his teeth.
"…This mana. I'll remember it."
Intensely hot, impossibly pure mana.
"But that face looked familiar somehow…?"
Tilting his head, he crushed a drop of blood on the ground beneath his heel.
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