Subject of Suspicion
"...Twins?"
"Don't spout nonsense."
The hair color and the aura were different. But their overall appearance was similar.
"...Don't tell me—you're the Demon King?"
Something about the tone felt familiar, and only then did Granada catch on.
"You still don't recognize me even after seeing me?"
"I still don't recognize you."
In what way was this person supposed to be a Demon King? He looked more like a fellow elf. That was how pure his mana felt.
"You've been out of contact for a while. What in the world have you been doing?"
Berze sat silently on the edge of a chair. At his flickering eye gesture, Granada brought out tea.
"The aroma isn't very good."
"Mercenaries don't get to drink anything decent."
"Mercenaries, sure. But you're an elf."
"...Tch."
The hidden stash of high-grade tea came out. Its aroma was certainly better than before.
"And what is this building?"
"I bought it for shared mercenary use."
"Sell it."
"Huh?"
"You won't be coming back here for a while."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Lead the Red Hawk and join the Heroic March."
"Wasn't it canceled?"
"The objective merely changed."
"I heard Hillen Cargill can't serve as the commander."
"The Heroic March isn't something done by the commander alone."
"And Hillen Cargill agreed to that? That bastard's not the type to ever agree."
"I promised to tell him Draxon's weakness."
"..."
Granada's face twisted. It was the same expression Hillen Cargill had made beyond the crystal sphere when he screamed, 'Have you gone insane?'
"...Aren't you both Demon Kings?"
"Do humans fight because they're from different races?"
"Well, when you put it that way, I don't have a counter."
Berze savored the tea. The sweet yet bitter aftertaste wasn't bad.
"Do you know much about the heroes?"
"I know enough. There's a five-year interval between them all, but still."
"What about Rozel Charnt?"
"She was famous even five years ago."
"As far as I know, Rozel Charnt has never beheaded a Demon King. Yet her name is higher than Hillen Cargill's."
"Not all heroes gain fame by killing Demon Kings."
A hero's renown wasn't accumulated solely through the Heroic March. Since the March often ended in a final confrontation, there were too many heroes, while there were only five Demon Kings.
Thus, most built their fame by hunting monsters, becoming mercenaries on the battlefield, or forming elite assault units to conquer parts of the Tower.
"Especially the Crimson Blaze assault unit she leads is famous."
"An assault unit?"
"If the Heroic March exists to slay a Demon King, an assault unit is for more straightforward profit and renown."
Rather than killing a Demon King and toppling a Tower, they climbed partway up the Tower to obtain its resources and treasures.
"To avoid provoking the Demon King, they're formed as a small elite group and never climb to the top. If they meet the Demon King, they'd have no choice but to fight to the death."
"Ah, so that means…"
Those bastards were the ones who snuck in and plucked out all the delicious parts of the Tower and mocked him?
Berze ground his teeth.
How had he only now learned just how systematically the Demon Kings were being exploited?
No wonder I died.
A sigh left him on its own.
"...Are you all right?"
"I'm not all right, so keep going."
"Rozel Charnt began earning her fame after conquering the seventh floor of the Tower of Lust."
The Tower of Lust had eight floors. Which meant Rozel Charnt had climbed right beneath the Demon King's chin before descending.
"Most wouldn't dare, but her boldness is already legendary."
"That's fine."
"...Sorry?"
He seemed worried she might provoke the Demon King, but hell no—far from provoking them, they'd like it. The Demon Kings would assume she fled out of fear.
"You can trust me. That's personal experience."
"...Personal experience?"
"Forget it. Anyway… Rozel Charnt."
Before the regression, he had run into her once.
She had climbed up to the fifteenth floor of the Tower, then turned back at the fifteenth floor, and he—sitting on the throne—mocked her for giving up.
Not knowing that she had done so on purpose.
"Do you think she can kill Draxon?"
"I can't be sure. Heroes are strong, but Demon Kings aren't weak."
"What if Hillen Cargill joins?"
"At the very least, the vacancy will be filled. Better than now."
"Vacancy?"
"Rozel Charnt had Balaf Disroad with her, but he abruptly announced his withdrawal. He ignored all summons even though he's active in Ormus. We believe someone's influence is involved."
Typically, once a proper Heroic March begins, even if there's only one commander, they don't limit themselves to a single top-tier hero.
No matter how strong a hero is, a Demon King is not an opponent one can fell alone.
Up until now, that was how every Heroic March had gone, both in the Tower of Lust and during previous marches.
The elf heroes, Brutein Irgen and Ain Kalai—both were considered even more promising than Hillen at the time, competing for the very top ranks among heroes.
"Because of that, morale is said to have dropped quite a lot. But if Hillen Cargill joins, it should recover somewhat. I don't like it, but his fame is real."
"But Hillen came to my tower alone."
"He was slightly underprepared, but he was with Watton Collo. It's certainly not normal, but isn't that because the man is filled with greed?"
Since Berze was a Demon King who had descended not long ago, Granada explained, it was obvious Hillen had come alone to hog all the spoils for himself.
"And he paid the price."
Granada snickered. Ever since Hillen Cargill had used him as a shield, a gap had grown between the two that would never be mended.
"Get along with him. You're going to serve him again anyway."
Not that Berze particularly cared about their personal grudges.
"...Nngh."
"In any case, I trust you'll handle it well."
"Where are you going now?"
"I'm thinking of visiting the Golden Moon Merchant Guild. Hillen said things were going well, but nothing beats seeing it for myself."
"You've made the right choice! You must never trust that swindler!"
As Berze flung open the window and jumped out, Granada's shout faded behind him.
***
What must a Demon King do to conquer a continent?
By the book, one must first erect a Tower and kidnap a prince or princess.
The Tower then converts the negative emotions humans exude—fear, sorrow, anger, despair—into magic points.
Or, by killing heroes and living beings, their life force is converted into magic points.
Those accumulated points are then invested to reduce dimensional interference on demons and summon forces from the Demon Realm to raise an army.
And then begins the great war.
That is the standard scenario for demonic dimensional conquest.
But the path Berze walked was entirely different.
He did kidnap a princess and collect negative emotions, but instead of converting them into monsters or demon-kind… he converted them into money.
Money.
A worthless scrap of metal to demons, yet invaluable to humans.
Human life could be said to start and end with money.
Proof? No need to look far—Hillen Cargill. That famed hero was living evidence.
Berze firmly believed in money, and that belief manifested as aggressive investment.
Borrowing massive funds from the Demon King of Lies and pouring everything into merchant guilds—a grand, sweeping plan.
Viewed that way, the success of the Golden Moon Merchant Guild was absolutely crucial.
"Welcome."
In the kingdom of Iasin, a secret meeting took place in the room of Aman Catrash, the heir of the Golden Moon Merchant Guild.
"Call me 'Fail.'"
Berze casually offered his hastily chosen alias.
"Yes, Sir Fail."
"The guild seems fairly large."
"I say this not because it is my family, but although it's declining, its internal structure is still sound."
The guild's collapse had various causes, but the Golden Moon's downfall stemmed from a failed trade expedition eight years ago.
A colossal expedition upon which the guild's life depended—a catastrophic failure that ripped out the guild's financial backbone.
Even after years, they were still barely crawling along. Had it not been for Berze's money, they would have taken much longer to recover.
"Thank you."
"Thanks?"
"One of the reasons I drifted around was because I didn't want to take over a sinking guild."
Becoming guild master only meant inheriting debt. Why would anyone want that? It was natural, in a way, that he lost his way.
"I'm not fond of empty gratitude. Can you betray humans for my sake?"
"I am already the Demon King's servant. You saved my life and allowed my future to bloom—how could I not?"
"So it really is about the money."
"...Is that how this ended up sounding?"
Aman Catrash let out an awkward laugh.
"I can't deny that money played its part… but my loyalty to you won't change."
"It's not that it won't change. It can't change. If it does, you'll die."
"...Hic."
"Are you confident?"
"Confident… in what sense?"
"Confident you won't squander my money."
"The guild executives are capable. You've seen how we kept the guild from collapsing under that mountain of debt."
"So you're saying you're incompetent."
"..."
At that moment—
A buzzing vibration. Berze flicked a finger at his chest pocket in silence.
"...Y-yes. I'll step outside."
The room's owner awkwardly excused himself.
『Hold a moment; I need to speak with you. Are you busy?』
"Is it importhant?"
『It concerns Draxon.』
"Speak."
『Draxon contacted me. He suspects I sent demons into his territory.』
"...!"
Not something he could ignore.
『I'd rather say this in person than over communication. May I come to the tower?』
There was something Berze wanted to test anyway.
***
"You're late."
"I had some things to handle."
Returning from the Golden Moon Merchant Guild back to the Tower of Ergest took quite some time.
Passing through the gate into the Tower of Frost, he found Reina waiting for him on the first floor.
Berze spread his arms theatrically.
"Well? Do I look any different?"
"...Are you joking? You look the same. The interference seems a bit weaker, but barely noticeable."
Reina tilted her head.
Good.
Even a Demon King couldn't sense the Phoenix's power. Likely because he had gone out of his way to seal off the second heart entirely. It was inconvenient, and it restricted his magic further, but it was worth it.
"Y-you!"
"How dare you use foul tricks on the Demon King...!"
He felt the burning stares of demons who thought he was flirting with their liege.
"Are you trying to make me appear shameless? Show proper manners to our guest."
"..."
The demons shrank back and bowed their heads.
"Leave."
"My lady...!"
Once inside her office, Reina cut off the attendants who tried to follow, coldly dismissing them with an icy stare.
Through the crack of the closing door, the eyes of the elderly demon looked pitiful—almost on the verge of tears.
"Isn't that a bit harsh on your retainers?"
Granada would have had a seizure if he heard that.
"They deserve it. They have wronged me."
"Wronged you?"
"...You don't need to know that."
Tea?
She changed the subject quickly.
"Anything is fine."
"Candy?"
"Not really."
A short while later, she returned with tea prepared by her own hands. Reina removed the candy she'd been sucking on and dropped it into the cup.
Berze watched her plainly, and she avoided his eyes.
"...It's just my preference. Respect it."
"You like sweet things?"
"Do you also think I'm childish?"
"Not really."
Reina Sordein, childish? That was something Berze had never once thought in either his previous life or this one.
Though it is a bit unexpected.
Before the regression, they'd never had much interaction. They had crossed paths a few times, but every time she had appeared with a stiff expression—dignified, regal, and aloof.
Berze, back then, had also been unbearably proud. In truth, they had simply ignored one another.
"Demons can like sweet things too."
But seeing her try so hard to justify herself stirred an odd mood in him.
"Do you like alcohol?"
"I do not like bitter things."
"So you are childish."
"...!"
Her pupils widened to an impossible degree, filled with deep betrayal.
"We're losing focus. So what about Draxon?"
"There's supposedly a high-ranking demon who invaded his territory."
As the topic shifted, she regained composure quickly.
"And that high-ranking demon supposedly killed the prince."
A high-ranking demon, huh. She must have decided it was more believable than Princess Louise killing the prince herself.
"Do you believe that's true?"
"Of course it's nonsense."
"Nonsense?"
"It is an unwritten rule that Demon Kings do not invade one another's territories. Violating it is no different than violating the foundational principles."
And the fact that he suspected her at all was an insult in itself.
Reina bit down on her candy.
"It sounds like he's suspecting me."
Demon Kings treated the foundational principles as sacred. Those of the domain of Arein had adapted to the unique environment and compromised in some ways, but they still respected the core rules.
Except for one—Berze, the lone anomaly, the one whose regression side effects had made him infamous.
"At first, yes."
"But not anymore?"
"Everyone knows you have no high-ranking demons under your command. If one had to pick someone least likely to be the culprit, it would be you."
That a Demon King might leave their tower and step into another's territory—that idea had never crossed her mind.
Not just her—no demon wearing the mask of a Demon King could ever imagine such a thing.
"So it's a lie?"
"Of course. It's the behavior of a pathetic fool trying to shift blame onto someone else. It is disgraceful that such a creature ever became a Demon King."
"Do you truly believe that?"
Reina blinked at Berze's question.
"What do you mean?"
"If you really thought that, you wouldn't have called me."
"...You truly live up to your title of First Seat."
"I'll take that compliment."
"There may be odd ones like you, but most Demon Kings follow the foundational principles. The unwritten rules as well. I believe every Demon King in Arein should be so."
However—
She left a possibility open.
"If—and this is only if—Draxon's words are true, then I believe the culprit is Jayson."
"What evidence?"
"None."
Berze narrowed his eyes at her baseless confidence.
"But he is the only Demon King capable of something like that."
It revealed exactly how Jayson Cocmundo was viewed among the Demon Kings.
"A one-time offender finds the second time easy. This time it was Draxon's tower, but next time, it may be mine. I will not allow that."
A Demon King despises the violation of their territory—no, they loathe it.
Unauthorized demons or Demon Kings were far worse than heroes.
"If he dares to send demons into my territory, I will never overlook it. So I must prepare more thoroughly to prevent it."
"So?"
"I wish for you to stand with me."
"And why would you trust me?"
"I don't trust you. I trust your situation—one where you are absolutely incapable of being the culprit."
You are the only one who can never be the suspect.
There was no personal feeling in her eyes, no emotion—only logic.
Reina extended her hand.
A perfectly white, immaculate hand.
So basically…
She was volunteering to pin the blame on Jayson Cocmundo for him?
A smile crept onto Berze's lips.
He grasped her hand. There was no reason to refuse.
But their alliance never had the chance to truly begin—
『We have failed. The hero squad suffered near-total annihilation, and Rozel Charnt lost her left eye and barely escaped.』
『My lord, Demon King Draxon has requested an emergency council.』
Because calamity arrived first.
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