The Water Spirit, Nairuniel
Swaaaek—
Saaaak—
Sword-light sprayed through the air.
Sharp flashes of aura struck the walls, but the walls remained unscathed.
Ernan quietly watched the sight. She crunched on the cookie she had baked herself, her eyes following the sweat rolling down Kaede's face.
It had been several days since she began living with the imperial princess, and Kaede's training had already become a familiar part of daily life.
"Is that the swordsmanship of the Jespine Empire?"
"It is a secret art passed down only to the royal bloodline."
Learning it wasn't particularly a secret.
"Were you waiting for my training to end?"
"Yes. I have something I need to do, and it's hard to focus when you're dancing around with a sword next to me."
Kaede frowned.
Calling the imperial royal sword art a "sword dance"?
She disliked the crown princess's casual, flippant manner of speech. She also disliked her unreadable, mysterious eyes.
But she endured it. In the Demon King's Tower, they were the only two humans—and she was still a princess.
The fact that humans numbered equally with the demons here—even counting the Demon King—was absurd in its own way.
"What are you going to do?"
She wasn't curious, really. It was simply the natural flow of conversation.
"I'm going to form a contract with a spirit."
"Here?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
There were many.
The Demon King's Tower was sparse in mana, overflowing instead with foul Magi. In Kaede's view, it was the worst place imaginable to form a spirit contract.
But instead of arguing, she closed her mouth. Even though it wasn't a long time together, she instinctively understood that the end of this question would lead to a reply she wouldn't like.
"Mind if I watch?"
"For a spirit summoner, forging a contract is one of the most private ceremonies. Surely you know that."
"You watched my training, didn't you?"
"That's because you didn't refuse."
She had no good retort.
"As long as you don't interfere, I won't stop you."
"I am an honorable knight of the Empire. I would never do something so shameless."
"The Demon King attacked by surprise though?"
"…The Demon King is a separate case."
"For a separate case, your face is turning red?"
"...…"
Kaede shut her mouth. She already knew—once Ernan started, there was no winning by words.
Ernan slowly began drawing a magic circle.
Spirits loved pure mana. The Demon King's Tower had almost no mana, and what little it had was too polluted—normally the worst environment for summoning.
But spirits loved something even more than pure mana:
The blood of someone with exceptionally high spirit affinity.
And Ernan was said to possess the highest spirit affinity on the continent.
With that—and with the aid of Seniel Powder, a spirit-summoning catalyst—the environment no longer mattered. Especially since Berze had bought her the highest-grade powder.
Sssrarak—
Ernan quietly poured out all the Seniel Powder. The falling grains, instead of obeying gravity, rose into the air.
They circled her, dancing together with invisible spirits.
A blade of wind sliced her finger. Red droplets naturally mixed with the swirling powder.
Vwoooooom—
Mana surged around Ernan. Powder and blood began resonating as one.
"...Kh."
Kaede stepped back several paces.
"ÐЩđЙł Дщкыɛʧ···."
Unknown words flowed from Ernan's mouth.
And then—
Space split open.
Pure mana—unbelievable for the Demon King's Tower—flooded outward.
The breath of the Spirit Realm. Feeling such pure mana was a fortune in itself.
Kaede urgently circulated her Aura Convergence Method.
But she stepped back again.
A massive presence.
A woman. Impossibly beautiful, impossibly mysterious, impossibly elegant.
Ernan panted heavily from the immense drain of mana. But she forced herself to stay upright and extended her hand.
"In the name of Ernan Hilderan, I humbly ask."
"That I may form a contract of blood and soul with you—the great Guardian of Water."
Just maintaining the summoning and speaking strained her so much that nosebleed dripped down her chin.
But the blood only strengthened the summoning array.
Glass-like translucent eyes met Ernan's.
— I permit it.
— According to the ancient covenant, I, high-grade Water Spirit Nairuniel, shall acknowledge the human Ernan Hilderan as my companion of soul.
FLASH—
The translucent body dissolved into tens of thousands of droplets of water. They seeped into Ernan's entire body, engraving themselves onto her soul.
The space closed. The magic circle vanished. The mana disappeared without a trace.
"Haa… haa…!"
Soaked in sweat, Ernan collapsed from exhaustion. But her lips curled into an uncontrollable smile.
"Nairuniel."
Mana stirred. But compared to the ritual, it was barely anything.
Nairuniel reappeared.
— I'm finally out!
She exclaimed brightly, utterly different from her solemn appearance moments ago.
— You know, right? All the other spirits rejected you. Only I grabbed your hand.
"…Excuse me?"
— Of course! No one expected a human to summon a high-grade spirit inside the Demon King's Tower.
— Even if that weren't enough, spirits hate demons. And you—you've been way too cooperative with the Demon King for someone who got kidnapped.
— Your reputation among spirits… isn't very good.
"…I see."
Ernan whispered. She had suspected as much.
— They're idiots. That's actually a good thing.
"I don't understand."
She felt a chill—like opening Pandora's Box.
— Because it's a forbidden romance! The kidnapped princess, and the Demon King who kidnapped her—an impossible love! I love stories like this! Kyyaaaaaah!!
"…Could you please go back to the Spirit Realm?"
…Hmm.
Kaede couldn't help but see in this noble high-grade water spirit the same overexcited noblewomen she remembered from imperial social circles—cheering for other people's love affairs.
***
『A hero expedition is being prepared.』
A sudden transmission.
It was Hillen Cargill's first sentence.
『Because of my failed hero expedition, the Hero Guild has suffered a severe blow to its public image.
Its honor has fallen, and the argument that "the Hero Guild is unnecessary" has resurfaced.』
"Unnecessary?"
『Some claim that because heroes are crucial strategic assets, they should not be controlled by a private organization but directly managed by each nation.
The Jespine Empire is a prime example.』
So that kind of problem existed.
Past Berze had truly been ignorant. He tried to solve everything with stubbornness and brute force.
If he had known humans had such interesting political relationships, he would've plunged into the chaos long ago to stir up discord.
"Can't we split them apart?"
『Not immediately. The guildmaster, the elders, and the top-ranked heroes are tightly united for now.』
"So 'not immediately' means—the cracks exist."
He liked hearing that.
『...』
"Anyway, so they're planning to attack the Demon King?"
『They intend to restore the Hero Guild's lost honor by rescuing the prince or princess abducted by the Demon King.』
"So they want to attack me again?"
『No.』
『If I had found your tower, maybe. But the elders dislike meaningless casualties.
They will likely leave you alone and observe for a while.』
For Berze, that was the best possible outcome.
"Then their target is?"
『Either the Frost or the Beast.』
The Frost Demon King, Reina Sordein.
The Beast Demon King, Draxon Dolph.
"Why those two specifically?"
『Because they can cooperate.』
『As you know, some Demon Kings have connections with the Hero Guild.』
Berze actually didn't know.
But he had suspected something like that.
Before regression, he could never imagine a Demon King cooperating with humans or heroes.
But now? He understood.
A hero and a Demon King coexisting was only possible when both needed something.
『The Hero Guild has no intention of fighting any Demon King to the very end.
They want to maintain mutually beneficial relationships—just as they always have.』
『If Demon Kings disappear, the Hero Guild's very purpose would fade, wouldn't it?』
"So it's a rigged game of cards.
You think those Demon Kings will play along?"
『The Beast Demon King is a treacherous bastard. Promise him enough profit and he'll cooperate.
As for the Frost—she has no direct ties with the guild, but ironically she's trusted more than the greedy Beast because of her personality.』
Personality?
『Yes. And regarding her—I have a proposal. For the Frost Demon King…』
Hillen Cargill continued explaining.
"Hm. Sounds plausible."
『I can't say it's guaranteed, but for now it's the best approach.』
"You really are good at scheming."
『It's not scheming, it's—』
Suddenly, noise erupted on Hillen's side of the transmission. His expression darkened.
『Something's happening. I'll contact you later.』
"Do that."
The connection cut.
Rip—
Berze tore the report Gordon had given him earlier.
"W-what are you doing!? I spent days wringing my brain to write that!"
"I don't need it anymore."
"What!? You didn't even read it properly!"
"I read about half. But I thought of a better plan. Why cling to this?"
"…I want to hear it."
"We'll use Hillen Cargill's hero expedition."
"The hero expedition?"
"Hero expeditions often travel across the continent.
We slip the capital of AcanKingdom onto its route. Many merchants join hero expeditions—an opportunity to make a fortune."
"You want to force Jetoson to join?"
"With his greed? He'll join. Without fail.
And once he invests all his wealth into joining, we send monsters—pretending they're from Reina."
"...?"
"Hillen will loosen security on purpose, and we'll send just enough monsters to destroy only Jetoson's assets."
Berze grinned.
"With no money left… what do you think he'll remember most?"
Probably the "rich fool" who threw a huge salary at him the moment they met.
"But once he's in my hands, it's obvious who the real fool will be."
"That is truly… a Demon King–like plan."
Gordon was impressed. As expected of the top graduate of the Demon King Officer Academy—Berze's plan was better than his.
"It's perfect. That human will have no choice but to dance in your palm."
With heroes and a Demon King colluding, what chance did a mere merchant have?
His fate was sealed.
"Well? What are you doing? Go draft the details."
"Y-yes, understood."
At Berze's gesture, Gordon sulked away and vanished.
"…Hmm. First time since the reconciliation."
He cleared his throat and infused Magi into the communication crystal.
***
"…What is the meaning of this?"
Hillen looked out the window through the curtains.
The countless knights lined up outside were anything but friendly.
"..."
"Sir Kultan. I would appreciate it if you allowed me to continue calling you 'Sir.'"
"…My apologies. It is His Majesty's command to bring you back."
The commander of the Cheonhae Knight Order, Kultan, bowed his head.
"And if I refuse?"
"His Majesty has ordered us to take you by force if necessary."
Hah. Hillen laughed.
"What is my crime? Failing the Demon King subjugation? Failing to rescue the princess?
Surely you understand how ridiculous that is."
This was an era where humanity had grown accustomed to Demon Kings. Demon Kings were no longer absolute beings.
But that didn't mean heroes always defeated them.
Humans had simply become more accustomed to fighting them—more capable of restraining them.
But Demon Kings were never "easy prey."
Many Demon Kings had appeared and faded…
But even more heroes had died.
Before every success was a mountain of failures.
Even now, heroes continued to fail constantly.
Still, they risked their lives—for wealth and honor.
Not all were without a sense of duty toward their nations and the world.
But if this is how they were rewarded for risking their lives—
who would risk themselves for such a kingdom?
Officially, Hillen had fought desperately to the end, roaming the harsh region of Ergest searching for the tower.
"You know what the crown princess means to Hilderan."
"And I suppose I mean nothing to Hilderan?"
"…We do not intend to accuse you of wrongdoing.
Of course not. His Majesty only wishes you to go before him and recount what happened."
"Do you really believe that?"
"..."
Kultan fell silent.
"I'm not going."
"You must come."
"Threats won't work anymore. This isn't Hilderan. And the justification is on my side—"
"Yes."
When a kingdom's successor is kidnapped, a hero must accept the commission.
That was the agreement between the Hero Guild and the nations of the continent—Hillen had been bound by that rule.
But not now.
Hillen had done his best, yet failed.
And no kingdom could punish a hero who risked his life yet failed—
Unless it could be proven he failed intentionally.
Thinking about it… that's how I became the Demon King's dog, isn't it.
And now this.
Hillen found himself increasingly dissatisfied with his homeland of Hilderan.
"Then what."
There was no trace of friendliness left in Hillen's eyes.
"Are you truly planning to drag me away by force?"
Could they?
Kultan inwardly shook his head.
This was the hero who slew the Lust Demon King.
He may not have found the Demon King's Tower, but he had survived several weeks in the deadly region of Ergest.
The Cheonhae Knight Order was one of Hilderan's most elite, but Hillen Cargill's combat strength was, no matter how he measured it… beyond them.
"…I will contact the capital."
"If His Majesty wishes to see my face, tell him to submit a formal request to the Hero Guild.
Heroes are not supposed to belong to any particular nation—Hilderan knows that well, doesn't it?"
Of course, it was just pretense—but in this situation, it was useful.
"Yes."
In the end, Kultan had no choice but to bow his head.
***
"Did you sleep well, my Queen?"
"Did everyone have a restful night?"
Reina Sordein awoke to bright sunlight.
Her day proceeded routinely. Her frost demon maidservants helped her dress, then she enjoyed morning tea with her close attendants.
After breakfast, she held a constructive meeting on how to further strengthen her tower.
Then she toured every floor, inspecting facilities and encouraging demons and monsters alike.
It was during this that Draxon contacted her.
"So the hero expedition intends to target me, is that it?"
『Yes. That's what I'm saying. The Hero Guild's pride was wounded because of that hard-headed fool, Berze.』
『To cover their failure, they need an accomplishment of equal weight.』
"What do you want from me?"
『Nothing in particular. Just act as you always do. Exactly the same as usual—no more, no less.』
"You want me to play along with their little theater."
『As expected, talking to you is pleasant.』
"You need not tell me explicitly. I will carry on as I always do."
『That is enough.』
At that moment, another communication crystal lit up.
"Berze Deias?"
『What?』
"Nothing. End the call. I am busy."
『High and mighty today, are we. Well, fine. Consider it done.』
Draxon vanished.
Reina hurriedly infused Magi into the other crystal. Berze's face appeared.
"You contacted me first. What's the matter?"
『Reina Sordein. I heard a rumor that the Hero Guild's expedition is heading toward the Frost Tower. Did you know?』
"...!"
How?
She could understand Draxon knowing.
The fact that he secretly had ties with the Hero Guild was an open secret among Demon Kings.
Thus it wasn't strange for him to get information early.
But Berze Deias was different.
He hadn't even been incarnated for a full year.
He had only repelled a single hero expedition so far.
His descent had been so chaotic that he received no backing or benefits whatsoever.
He had started with nothing.
'He managed to luck out and stop a hero squad.
In Ergest it's not impossible…
But how is he hearing information almost at the same time as Draxon…?'
There was something.
Her instincts told her so.
"How did you learn that?"
『Curious?』
"Of course I am!"
『Not something to talk about over communication. I'd rather speak in person.』
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