It's Not a Bad Thing
An executive of the Hero Guild, Farni, knocked on the door.
"Come in."
He opened the door. The Great Elder, his face full of wrinkles but his gaze still sharp, pushed the documents aside.
"You called for me?"
"You will assist Hillen Cargill."
"So Hillen Cargill is finally coming to headquarters?"
"Yes. He slew the Demon King, so it's only proper to summon him."
"He is a hero who ignored the Guild's orders and acted on his own. Do you intend to grant credit to someone like that?"
"That's not important. Whether we like it or not, Hillen Cargill has already killed two Demon Kings and absorbed their power. Sooner or later—late or early—he will become the greatest hero."
"But…"
"If there is no proper reward for someone who hunted two Demon Kings, who would ever attempt to slay a Demon King as a hero?"
"That is true, but there's a huge difference between the Guild summoning him and us responding to his request."
"It may look a bit poor in form, but it's still better than letting the world think the Guild was pushed around by the Acan Kingdom."
To bury Acan and raise the Hero Guild as the true authority, they needed to align their words. Unlike Rozel Charnt, who had received what he wanted and accepted things smoothly, Hillen Cargill demanded compensation while promising cooperation with the Hero Guild.
Ugh.
Farni swallowed a groan.
"And we're not summoning him only because he has the qualifications. We were going to make use of him sooner or later anyway."
"What are you planning?"
"There were those who insisted we strictly punish Rozel Charnt and Hillen Cargill to the very end and make everything public."
"Elder Karlo and those who follow him."
"There were also those who foamed at the mouth opposing that idea."
"Elder Mathias and his faction."
"Behind them lie Jespine and Acan."
The reason the Empire wanted to escalate the matter and make it public was simple.
"They want to damage the Guild's reputation. Acan only opposed because Rozel Charnt was involved with them—if it were any other kingdom, it would've been the same."
"The Guild won't be shaken by something so trivial."
"I agree. The Guild has lasted for centuries and its foundation is solid. Something like this won't even leave a small scratch. But they know that too."
Whether a scratch formed or not wasn't the point. They would strike whenever they saw an opening.
Even the sturdiest tree falls if an axe keeps striking it. They were building up justification, piece by piece, to eventually pull back the authority that had fallen into the hands of the Guild and return it to their nations.
"It will get worse from here on. Even the smallest incident will make them shout that the Guild is incompetent. Honestly, they've been quite patient so far, don't you think?"
Those greedy emperors and kings had tolerated a supranational organization towering above them for centuries.
"Greed. When the Demon Kings' power was overwhelming, they entrusted everything to us. Now that humanity is dominant again, they want to place it under their control."
"We're no different. No one wants to lose power."
Anyway.
"We've strayed from the point. Hillen Cargill will make for an excellent chess piece."
"You intend to keep the factions following the two Elders and the two nations in check."
"Exactly. Even though Hilderan is a strong nation that rivals both, its influence within the Hero Guild is still painfully lacking."
Hilderan's priority, generation after generation, had been its return to the Empire.
They hadn't dismissed the idea of using the Hero Guild for that direction, but it had never been their main path.
Compared to Acan and Jespine, who were expanding their influence inside the Guild openly, the difference was incomparable.
"And Hillen Cargill cut ties with all his sponsors right before beginning his journey as the Hero of Ergest. Even though he returned to Hilderan afterward, he won't be able to fully rebuild the relationships he had before."
"That makes him even more suitable. But he is a hero who killed two Demon Kings. If we're not careful, he could become an even greater problem."
"That's why you will control him closely."
"Understood."
"It will be difficult, but until the Guildmaster returns, make sure they keep each other in check."
"I'll do my best."
"There's no 'try.' You must do it well."
The Great Elder rose from his seat.
"He's here."
Knock, knock—
A servant knocked on the door.
"Great Elder, Hero Hillen Cargill has arrived."
***
'I can repay everything.'
After climbing the Tower of Geumgang and rescuing Elena Hilderan, he checked his points.
[3,124,512pt]
The magic points that had accumulated while he was away far exceeded his expectations.
Even after subtracting the 2.5 million he owed Jayson Kokmund, he still had around six hundred thousand remaining.
Why?
There was no need to question it.
'Elena Hilderan.'
Because he had kidnapped her.
Because he had ruined the celebration where everyone rejoiced at her safe return.
Because he had kidnapped her younger sibling right after Ernan Hilderan.
Everything overlapped and piled up into a single chain of events. The trigger device that had been slowly burning was drenched in fuel.
'On top of that…'
Hillen Cargill's speech.
His speech gave the people of Hilderan a clear direction for their anger. And anger, when expressed under safe conditions, was nothing more than sweet magic energy for the Demon Kings.
The rapidly rising points at that very moment were proof of it.
A smile formed on his lips on its own.
Knock, knock—
"Come in."
Ernan entered. He bowed his head.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving Elena."
"There's nothing there for you to thank me for. As a Demon King, I kidnapped the princess, and we simply made a deal."
"You may think so, but I don't. She was the only one in the royal castle who was a refuge for my mother and me."
"In words only?"
"Well… I'd like to think I paid some price."
"All value is relative. If your sister and a bit of money balance out, you can just leave."
Not just a bit—to Berze, money was a hundred times, a thousand times more valuable.
But there was no need to say that. In the past few days, he had seen just how much Ernan cherished his younger sister.
"…You really are like a Demon King."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"What do you want?"
"Kaede Jespine."
"The imperial princess?"
"Convince her."
"For what purpose?"
"So she can become my sword."
"Don't tell me you also need a Dark Knight—"
"That childish, gaudy play you and your sister like ends here."
"…You like humans quite a bit."
"Me?"
"Hero Hillen, Granada—well, he's an elf, but still. Me, and the Red Hawk mercenaries as well."
"I see your case as a bit different."
"…Anyway."
Hmm.
Come to think of it, there were indeed a lot of humans. Not surprising, since his goal was to infiltrate human society through them.
'If a princess becomes my subordinate, it will catch the heroes searching the tower completely off guard.'
Even so, he wasn't expecting much. Ernan was an outlier, and cases like Ernan Hilderan or Elena Hilderan were extremely rare.
This was only one of countless attempts he would toss out.
If it worked, good. If not, so be it.
"…Fine. I'll try. Will that be enough for you?"
"Yes."
"I'll take responsibility and turn her into a Dark Knight."
"That's all good, but I'd prefer you remove the 'Dark Knight' part."
"Huh? Why?"
"I don't think Kaede would like it."
"…Isn't it cool?"
"No, it is not."
"But 'dark spirit summoner' should be fine, right?"
"If I had been there that day, I would've cracked open the skulls of the ones who wrote that play to see what they were thinking."
"…I'll just try."
"Good."
She vanished.
Berze closed his eyes again.
"I suppose the days of being short on points are over."
Now it was time to fill the empty spaces.
'Complacency. Surprise.'
That was Berze Deias' goal—not simply placing strong demons and monsters, but creating situations that would force humans into confusion.
The magic cannon on the first floor had been that way, and he intended to design the second floor similarly.
'Breaking what heroes believe to be standard.'
That was the best method.
And the most well-known "standard" of the tower was—
"Weak monsters on the first floor, then gradually stronger ones as you ascend."
Berze smiled.
"It seems I should wait until I reach five million."
If a balrog burst out from the second floor, the heroes would be thrilled to death.
***
Kaede Jespine.
The ninth imperial princess of the Jespine Empire opened her eyes inside a cold prison cell.
How many days has it been?
It was dark every day, so she had no sense of the date. Only the feeling that time was stretching, longer and longer.
When will the heroes…
She knew very well that there was little hope.
She withered away—worn down by the silence devoid of people, by the suffocating darkness, by the poor meals.
She grew more exhausted each day.
Only now did she realize how grateful she should have been for the Demon King's "consideration."
Still…
She felt no regret.
Before she was a princess, she was a hero and a knight. Becoming the Demon King's dog and disgracing both the Empire and her own honor—she'd rather become a dignified prisoner.
"Are you awake?"
"…How long have you been here?"
She swallowed as purple eyes shimmered in the darkness.
"For a while."
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"No reason. That's beef stew, by the way. It's pretty good. The meat is nice."
Right beside Kaede, a bowl of meat stew was releasing warm steam.
"…You look happy."
"Me?"
"You're smiling brightly."
"I've always worn a smile."
True, she had. But it felt subtly different. She couldn't pinpoint it, but her intuition said so.
"I kidnapped my sibling."
"…You mean not only Ernan, but another member of the royal family as well?"
Truly a wicked Demon King…!
Kaede bit her lip.
"I asked him to."
"…What?"
"The Demon King of Geumgang kidnapped my sibling. I was worried, so I asked our Demon King. I told him to bring her directly instead."
"Ah…"
That part she understood.
Demon Kings were not trustworthy, but compared to the rumors about the other towers, Berze's treatment was undeniably better.
"But does it make sense for a Demon King to steal someone that another Demon King kidnapped?"
"He said no. That's why I used a little trick."
"A trick…?"
"I can't tell you that part. But thanks to it, I was able to bring my sister with my own hands. I'm probably happy because of that."
"…Should I congratulate you?"
The word directly bothered her. Surely she misheard.
"I'm bringing this up because—no one's coming."
"…No one?"
"No hero is stepping forward to rescue you."
"..."
"I haven't heard any rumors, and when I asked Granada, he said the Jespine Empire doesn't seem to be reacting much either. Probably because the tower's location isn't known yet—they're waiting."
But do you know something?
Ernan stepped one pace closer.
"Hero Daphner Philian came, but she couldn't find the tower and left."
"…What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Nothing."
Ernan swallowed her words. That brief silence felt like an hour to Kaede.
"It's just… unfortunate. It might take years. Or decades. And staying trapped in a cell like this for all that time isn't good. You might even end up getting rescued when you're an old grandmother."
Wasn't that the very reason you refused marriage?
"I didn't want to grow old next to a decrepit king, living like a doll without doing anything."
"…No."
She was right.
"Please don't say such horrible things."
"I'm sorry if it upset you. I only asked just in case."
"Whose side are you even on?"
"Neither the Demon King's, nor humanity's. I'm on my own side. Right now, I just feel sorry for you."
"That is sophistry. You aided the Demon King and opposed heroes."
"You can think of it that way."
"Are you denying it?"
"I'm saying you're right."
But that only happened because our interests aligned.
"Just like how cooperating a little with the Demon King and living in a cell is still better than the life you would've had otherwise."
"…That is sophistry as well."
"Well, maybe."
Ernan shrugged.
"But I do have one thing I'm curious about."
"Speak."
"A knight becomes complete by serving their liege. But Kaede—do you have a liege?"
"…Do not insult me. I am loyal to His Imperial Majesty and the Empire."
"It seems His Majesty needs Kaede the princess, not Kaede the knight. Isn't this disobedience to an order?"
"..."
"Oh, I'm not a knight, so I don't know these things."
She tilted her head innocently.
"Is there any liege who leaves a disobedient knight alone?"
I wouldn't, personally.
"…What is it you're trying to say?"
"Who knows."
Ernan blinked her eyes with pure innocence.
"Just wondering if Kaede has already lost her liege."
"Wondering if a knight who has lost her liege can still be called a knight."
"Wondering if you've already been stripped of your knighthood, since no one is even trying to rescue you."
"That's all."
Kaede clenched her fists. She tasted metal—dry lips torn enough to draw blood.
"…I cannot tolerate any more."
"Did I go too far again? Sorry."
"…Why are you doing this to me?"
"When I lived in the kingdom, I heard many rumors. Some about the Empire too."
Ernan shifted the topic.
"That the imperial family is engaged in a fierce succession struggle behind the scenes. Whose side are you on? The First Prince? The First Princess? Or perhaps your dear older brother, the Third Prince? But his faction seemed terribly weak."
"Stop there."
"But who knows? Maybe the Demon King could help."
"That is impossible."
"Don't be so absolute. You know, Hero Hillen Cargill is a subordinate of the Demon King. If a hero who cut down two Demon Kings supports someone, what do you think would happen?"
"A hero cannot be a Demon King's subordinate…"
"You saw Logar, didn't you? Does he look like an ordinary dwarf to you?"
"..."
"Think carefully. Growing old and being rescued someday… versus accepting the Demon King's hand and receiving help."
Which is the better choice?
"Honestly, Demon Kings aren't completely wicked. As you know, quite a few humans secretly cooperate with them."
So it's not a bad thing.
"I want you to become a Dark Knight."
Whispering her final words, Ernan disappeared.
"..."
Kaede could not move. Not even after the food left behind had gone cold.
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