Sortie
"...Cher, cry."
"So?"
"Hurt."
"You should've hurt more. A single punch was far too merciful."
The collapse of the annex was concluded as an accident caused by the princess's chimera losing control of its strength.
But that did not mean Berze's anger had subsided.
For a mere demon—no, a dog that had been modified by humans—to provoke the Demon King's temper was a grave sin worthy of being torn apart on the spot.
If this place weren't the lord's manor of Hotenwalk, and if the princess of Acan weren't standing right in front of him, Titan would've been ti/ta/n by now, rolling down a snowy mountain.
"What is that thing doing?"
"Reflecting."
"Unbelievable."
A giant tribe member crouched in a corner, staring at a wall in misery—something even in his previous life he had never witnessed.
If Ugar saw that wretched sight, he would've called it a disgrace to their entire race and ripped his head off immediately.
"Tell him if he does that one more time, I'll rip out his tongue."
"He liked it."
"He liked it?"
So what.
"But why do you keep coming to see me?"
"Like."
"Me?"
"Mana."
Lavinia closed her mouth after saying that. Her wavering pupils made it easy to guess what she was thinking.
She wanted to ask for mana, but she couldn't—not yet, since she had already made a promise.
Even so, she subtly stepped closer. He smacked her hand away and pushed her back.
"Why."
"If you operate mana near me, I won't stay still."
"I know. Just."
"There's no such thing as 'just.'"
His patience was running thin.
Irritably, he downed the rest of his tea in one gulp. He dragged his chair back and stood.
"Where?"
"What's it to you."
"Chimera."
If you make it.
"Give?"
"I'll give it. I promised."
"Mm."
Lavinia smiled brightly. She vanished together with Titan, who was still staring at the wall in misery.
"Annoying."
If not for the princess, he would've simply ignored her.
'But what the hell are they scheming?'
He had already been here four days. During that time, Lavinia came to see him every day, but Kain and the other Acan leaders never sought him out.
A stark contrast to their initial hospitality.
"Did they notice?"
If royalty were so easily convinced just because someone acted arrogant, they'd be fools, not royalty.
'This one's my mistake.'
He had foolishly come down here without even considering such a simple possibility.
They were surely smiling at him up front while investigating Berze behind his back. But he didn't care.
'If anything happens, I can just run.'
As long as the identity of Pale continued to work well in the human world, great. But Berze wasn't tied to it.
Granada and Hillen Cargill were his proxies.
Even if those two were entangled, he could simply tell them to pretend they didn't know him.
It was an accidental connection, after all. If they claimed they never imagined he'd go around impersonating royalty, that would be enough.
'They'll suspect a bit, but…'
Well, so what.
Hillen Cargill was now the great hero who slew two Demon Kings—Argan of the Guild. Something like this couldn't tarnish him in the slightest.
That's how much he'd grown.
Another week passed.
"Well then, shall we conclude a proper contract?"
Despite clearly having finished their investigation, Kain casually presented a contract.
***
A week of waiting finally ended.
During that time, Berze wandered the annex and castle under the guise of being a guest, trying to figure out what Acan's people were preparing.
'For now, it seems to be chimeras and artifacts.'
A mana-hound chimera designed to track demonic energy, and artifacts meant to defend against night-raiding monsters. As expected of a Magical Kingdom—massive shipments arrived daily, all magical artifacts.
'They're not actually planning to go all the way to the Tower… right?'
With preparations like this, the issue wasn't day or night. The moment monsters swarmed, surviving without being annihilated would already be a miracle.
'What if I do nothing at all?'
No, that would be a mistake. If he hadn't assigned Granada as their guide, it might have worked—but now that Granada was with them, to avoid suspicion he'd have to at least pretend to lead them properly. But doing so drastically shortened the distance they needed to travel.
'If I'd known, I shouldn't have given them Granada.'
Of course, that didn't guarantee they would find the Tower.
If it were that easy, Ergest would never have remained forbidden.
Not to mention, that damned place housed monsters even the current Berze couldn't handle.
The problem was that their chances were rising significantly, and Berze didn't want that possibility.
Kain sent a servant inviting him to lunch around then.
"Welcome, Lord Pale."
Berze had expected other leaders to be present, but only Kain sat in the dining hall.
A maid served the meal—tenderloin steak.
"Please, enjoy."
"Sure."
Berze cut the steak. Beneath the crisp seared surface lay a rosy interior. Medium-rare. Good quality meat, tender and juicy.
"Does it suit your taste?"
"The pepper aroma is strong."
"Oh, do you dislike pepper?"
"I said I like it."
"I'm glad."
Kain smiled. Their conversation ended there. For a long while, the only sound in the dining hall was the quiet cutting and chewing of steak.
Clack—
Kain set down his knife and fork, dabbed his lips with a napkin, and savored a sip of red wine.
"We received a message from the homeland."
"A message?"
"You agreed to make a deal, did you not?"
"I've been waiting. You're quite late."
"As it's not a light matter, there were many things to review."
Kain pressed a bell. A servant entered and handed Berze a document.
"Please read it."
The contents were largely the same as what they'd discussed orally.
Berze would supply mana to Acan.
Acan would pay him with money and artifacts.
The document listed specific numbers.
"Isn't 200 gold and a Grade-2 artifact per storage unit too much?"
"It is excessive. We've put considerable effort into this."
"So it seems."
Two hundred gold was no small sum. And on top of that, an artifact. Considering that the mana-storage he would provide wasn't a core but volatile mana that would eventually be consumed, the price was even more surprising.
'I expected maybe 50 gold…'
Even 50 was enormous. But mana from a phoenix-type spirit beast was worth that much.
And it wasn't Berze who would be disappointed anyway. Apparently Acan was even more eager than he expected.
"They're not after just the mana, are they?"
"They truly are. They simply wish to earn Lord Pale's favor as a bonus—to form a connection."
As if.
Berze didn't take that at face value.
'Maybe they're paying extra because of Hillen or Granada.'
Either way, it wasn't something Berze would refuse when they insisted on giving more.
"Are you satisfied?"
"I am."
But there was one thing he didn't understand:
Surely they finished the background check on him—yet no one mentioned it.
Kain said nothing about it until the end of the meal.
"Then I'll fill one storage unit within a week."
"Yes. A knight will deliver the storage unit to your quarters. Once you provide the mana, we'll give the promised compensation."
"Fine."
Berze left. Servants cleared the empty plates. A knight entered.
"Is it really necessary to maintain this relationship? That man is not royalty."
They had scoured all kingdoms and royal lineages. They couldn't claim perfect knowledge of every royal bloodline, but they had found all worth knowing.
They had scoured the genealogies of every kingdom and every royal bloodline. They could not claim they had perfectly identified every single royal, but they had at least confirmed all the noteworthy ones.
And nowhere—absolutely nowhere—did a royal named Pale, or anyone who could possibly be him, exist.
Some insisted they should immediately arrest Pale and charge him with the crime of impersonating royalty.
It was a reasonable argument, yet Kain chose the exact opposite.
"There is something. If he were merely someone with pure mana, we could have used other measures. But he has deep ties with Hillen Cargill."
Rozel Charnte explained how he had formed a connection with Pale and how he had received mana from him.
"In the final battle to subjugate the Demon King, he went out of his way to persuade me to push Hillen Cargill onto the battlefield. If their relationship were shallow, he would never have done that."
Hillen was a rising sun. Barely in his late twenties, he had slain two Demon Kings and become a key power within the Hero Guild.
What he had already accomplished was astounding—but the fact that his future promised even more was the truly important part.
"And we cannot completely rule out the possibility that he is a royal."
There were many kingdoms and even more royals. As Pale himself said, there were royals who—due to circumstances—were forced to conceal their identities.
If Pale were one of them, it would be impossible to identify him in a short time. It was an unlikely possibility, yes—but Kain did not ignore even that small chance.
"Continue investigating. Above all, it's crucial we learn how Hillen Cargill and Pale first met."
"Yes, I'll continue searching."
"Even if nothing suspicious turns up, as long as there's no major issue, we will maintain relations. Even setting Hillen Cargill aside, his mana is undeniably useful."
Pure mana would be invaluable for the Magic Tower's research.
"And more importantly…"
Whatever the reason, our princess likes him so much.
"…No. Forget it."
Kain swallowed his last remark.
There was no need to say such a frivolous thing in front of a knight.
***
A week passed.
Berze filled an entire storage unit with mana and handed it to the prince. The prince gave him the promised gold and artifact.
And that first transaction became the last—for now.
"I told them they can reach me through you."
"Yes."
"Travel safely."
"Yes."
"Do your best, but if there's even a chance you'll be suspected, drop it. You still have ninety-nine more years of work before you die."
"…I feel like a few extra months just got added onto that."
"Small numbers get rounded up. It's common sense."
"I understand. Then, will you return to the Tower now?"
"The preparations to receive you all are already done. A word of advice: watch out for monsters and the snow."
"…Damn it. Same trick as last time?"
"Oh, and just in case—if they actually find the Tower and step onto the first floor, you know what to do, right?"
"I absolutely will not open it."
"Make sure the prince and princess stay far away as well. If they die, things get very troublesome."
"I can't promise it, but I'll try my best."
"Elf, your tongue grows long."
"…I will get it done somehow."
Berze smiled in satisfaction.
"The Red Hawks… those bastards always survive anyway. Like rats."
"The sad thing is, I can't deny that."
"Of course."
After saying his farewells to Lavinia and Kain, and giving final instructions to Granada, Berze left Hotenwalk without looking back.
Not long after the deal between Berze and the Acan Kingdom was concluded, Acan finally stretched its limbs.
"Prepare for sortie!"
The Blue Meteor Mage Corps, the White Wolf Knights, and an additional 200 elite soldiers gathered.
A total force of 400, combined with the Red Hawk Assault Unit, began the expedition toward Hotenwalk.
***
The snowfields never melt—not in any season.
Summer is cold, and winter is brutal.
A blizzard howled. Pure white snow was drenched in crimson blood.
The steam rising from the warm blood showed that the deaths were recent.
"It's done. No survivors."
Armand, the Frost Demon, exhaled a plume of icy breath. Beyond the crystal sphere, his lord replied.
『Well done.』
"I simply did what I should."
『Leave the area. Make sure no trace remains that it was you.』
"Yes."
Even without leaving traces, they would suspect. But suspicion and evidence were two different things.
The White Eagle and Gillian would recognize this as a warning from the Demon King.
But to the heavy-handed fools of the Empire, it would look like nothing more than a barbarian tribe wiped out by monsters.
That difference mattered.
『Do not return to the Tower. Keep watch over the White Eagle.』
"As you command."
The demons and monsters departed from the now lifeless tribe.
Only broken ruins and corpses remained to show that people had lived here moments ago.
***
"Nina."
"Yes, my lord."
Ending the communication, Reina leaned back in her chair.
"What do you think will happen?"
"First, they will be enraged."
"And then?"
"They may attempt a scheme involving the Empire or the Hero Guild. But the Empire likely won't listen."
"And why is that?"
"Based on the data we received from Demon King Jayson, the Empire actually wants the northern barbarians' numbers to decrease."
It had been decades since Reina Sordein established her rule. As the snowfield's monsters gradually came under her shadow, unnecessary clashes had decreased to a minimum.
This led to a semblance of peace—and an explosive population boom among the northern tribes.
Naturally, the Empire was displeased. Though the snowfields were nominally Imperial territory and the barbarians Imperial subjects, everyone knew that was just a wrapper.
"In other words, they'll stand by."
"Yes. Though if the population drops too much, they'll intervene again."
"And striking that balance is the key."
Reina smiled with satisfaction.
She disliked having to consider the whims of a human Empire, but she was a Demon King who could face reality.
For now, this was the best course.
Bzzzzm—
At that moment, one of the communication orbs on the side of her office vibrated violently.
"Ugar?"
Reina infused it with mana.
『Reina Sordein. I am certain.』
The sudden statement made her ask:
"What are you talking about?"
『I saw it. The deeds Jayson Corkmundo performed for us—for the conquest of Arein.』
"Explain it so I can understand."
『I cannot speak of it! But I am sure of one thing! Jayson Corkmundo is not the one who killed Draxon!』
『Believe me!』
Click—
The connection was abruptly cut.
"…Is he playing games with me?"
"He sounded sincere, though…"
The Demon King and her aide fell silent for a long time.
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