Chapter 211 - Setting Out Once More

"Waaaaaah...!"

Having unilaterally cut off her communication with Grand Duke Alkain, Vivian burst into bitter tears.

"If he'd been just a little, just a little sooner...!"

She could have escaped this godforsaken place!

"So you're saying you regret becoming my servant? Even though you brought it upon yourself?"

"How can you even say that right now? Strictly speaking, I took the blame for what you did! I was falsely accused!"

"Let such trifles go."

"Trifles? You cut off my tail and my horn! Trifles? And then you planted that greedy, crazy bitch right beside me! Wouldn't it be stranger if I didn't regret it?"

"But you no longer have what Grand Duke Alkain wants."

The piece on the board known as a tower.

"... You took it! Take responsibility...!"

Vivian, who had been shouting at the top of her lungs, clapped a hand over her own mouth. Then she quickly checked her surroundings.

"What are you doing?"

"... There's no one here, right?"

"Reina is here."

"No, besides Reina. Someone like..."

"Like whom?"

An elf, a spirit, or another princess. Especially someone like Elena Hilderan.

Fortunately, none of them were there.

"I meant as your servant! All I meant was that if you took me in as your servant, you should take responsibility for me!"

"Naturally, that is how I understood it."

"No, what I mean is..."

Vivian stumbled over her words.

"... Forget everything I said. I'm simply your faithful servant. It's a shame I can't go back, but yes, that's all."

"... What do you mean?"

"Nothing! I don't mean anything!"

Vivian gave an awkward smile. Berge was suspicious, but he did not press her. It was hardly the first time she had acted strangely.

"Then you'll be hearing from him again soon, Reina."

"I believe so."

"Since his strategy involving Vivian has failed, he'll use that fellow Dorche instead."

Berge had heard about Dorche a few times while in the Demon Realm. But demonic dragons rarely interacted with their own kind, so he knew little beyond the fact that such a fellow existed.

"Can he kill Jason by using Dorche?"

"Who knows?"

"According to that hero Daniel, he is stronger than Daniel himself. Did you not barely secure victory after a close battle with Daniel?"

"'Barely' is a misleading choice of word."

"Is it?"

"It is."

"Very well. But I believe it is undeniable that Jason—or rather, that being whose name we do not know—possesses strength beyond what either of us considers possible."

"Certainly."

Humans grew stronger the longer they trained. Demons were no different.

And he had spent hundreds of years doing so.

Just as heroes grew stronger by hunting demons, demons grew stronger by hunting heroes. Nor did it end there. Demons could also gain power by hunting their own kind.

For hundreds of years, this doppelganger had devoured heroes and Demon Kings, building his strength. Unlike demons who merely absorbed a portion of another demon's demonic energy, a doppelganger lived inside its host and absorbed its power in full.

There was no telling how strong he had become.

And yet, for some reason, Berge did not think he would lose.

His tower combined three towers into one, increasing the efficiency with which he overcame dimensional interference.

His attack on the Empire and repeated repulsions of heroes' journeys had set the entire continent ablaze with rage and fear, sorrow and despair. Death. All of it had provided—and continued to provide—an unprecedented, enormous quantity of demonic energy.

Then there were the undying bird's corpse and the Red Dragon's heart.

He had already surpassed the level he had reached just before his regression.

And he was still growing stronger. At three times the efficiency, he had already removed all dimensional interference, but his inherent strength continued to rise.

Demonic energy points did more than merely remove dimensional interference. They were the fundamental reason all demons wished to become Demon Kings, descend upon other dimensions, and conquer them.

To become stronger. Because they could become stronger.

"But the same is true of Jason. Indeed, he has been doing it for far longer."

"Yes, that's true. But he's alone, and I'm not."

He had more high-ranking demons at his side than he knew what to do with. But in the Demon Realm, a handful of supremely powerful individuals could overwhelm a multitude of powerful foes.

Even setting aside Vivian, a succubus queen who did not specialize in combat, Reina Sordein was a giant who could devour dozens of ordinary high-ranking demons.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I have the Four Heavenly Kings, too."

"Certainly, that spirit king's contractor is stronger than most Demon Kings. It is astonishing that such a human is your servant."

"Indeed, a stroke of luck... Servant?"

Berge tilted his head.

Come to think of it, was Ernyan Hilderan his servant?

Had he fed her an orb and entered into a servant contract with her?

"... She's not my servant."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She's not your servant?"

Reina and Vivian were aghast.

But it was true.

'With Ernyan...'

He had never entered into a servant contract.

Berge realized something he himself had failed to recognize.

'A human I haven't even bound with a servant contract, and I...'

Trusted her? Had trusted her? Was trusting her?

Why?

'... It simply turned out that way.'

Yes, it had simply happened naturally.

Because she had been with him since his first crisis, because she had helped him so much, because she had given him reason to trust her.

Their relationship had formed naturally.

"Why did you not make her your servant?"

"Exactly. She's a spirit king's contractor! What on earth makes you trust her?"

'Humans cannot be trusted.'

That belief remained unchanged. But when it came to Ernyan...

"I have no particular intention of doing so."

He did not want to.

Nor was there any need.

"You made me, a fellow Demon King, your servant, but you're letting that princess off? You think that makes sense... It does."

Vivian recalled Ernyan wearing her crude mask, summoning the water spirit king, and toying with the heroes.

Was that really how a human looked when forced to do something she hated?

"Yes, that's right. I think so. You're right. There's no need."

"I trust your judgment."

Both Demon Kings agreed.

"Reina, handle Grand Duke Alkain's call as you see fit when it comes. Tell him we will gladly join forces to deal with Jason."

"Understood."

"I should go back to interrogating Daniel."

He had rushed out to put his scheme into motion at the mention of a doppelganger, but he had yet to hear everything.

Daniel Deirus still had much to confess.

Just then—

KNOCK, KNOCK

Someone knocked on the door. Berge knew it was Kaede.

"What is it?"

"Are you busy?"

"I have time to hear you out briefly."

"Um..."

Her gaze swept over the two Demon Kings standing on either side of him.

"Why? Is it difficult to speak with them here?"

"No. In fact, this is something everyone else should hear as well."

"What happened?"

"My brother contacted me."

"Martin? What is it?"

"Something unusual has happened in the Empire."

* * *

After hearing the whole story, Berge gave a disbelieving laugh.

"What do you think?"

"It may be a little harsh, but I agree with my brother that the Empire has gone mad. This is not right. Whether it wins or loses, nothing will be gained. I cannot understand why His Majesty and the nobles, in all their wisdom, would make such a choice."

At least, the imperial nobles she knew would not have done so.

Many were consumed by greed, but many others were not. In particular, she found it hard to believe that her maternal grandfather, Marquis Aincheil, who had advocated peace rather than war, had agreed to this.

Even if it was an imperial command, how could he have no qualms whatsoever?

"So Martin's proposal is..."

"He asks that you help the coalition defeat the Demon King of Lies."

"And what does he offer in return?"

"He said he cannot promise you anything at present."

"The fellow has some nerve."

"But he did share an important fact."

"That Jason's connection is not merely the First Prince?"

"Yes."

Yes, Berge's very premise had been mistaken.

The First Prince was not the source of Jason's backing. It was the Empire itself—the emperor and its high-ranking nobles.

'That makes sense.'

He was not merely the Demon King of Lies, but a doppelganger. If he had operated in secret throughout the continent and the Empire for hundreds of years, establishing a connection with the emperor would have been no trouble.

"It would be safe to assume the current situation is his doing, wouldn't it?"

"I believe so."

"As an expert in enthrallment, what do you think?"

"You said they're acting the same as usual, yet differently, right? I can't say for certain without seeing them myself, but it sounds like a mild suggestion. Or, since he's a doppelganger, it could be someone else wearing their skin."

"Either way, it's certain Jason has intervened in some fashion."

That alone made Martin's proposal well worth accepting. Jason was his greatest immediate enemy, and if he could use humans to eliminate him, he ought to throw himself into it.

'It's irritating to leave without fully interrogating or killing Daniel...'

But he could not ignore a sea monster about to attack his boat just to attend to a fish he had already caught.

'No, leaving him behind will only make him burn with anxiety.'

He would be hoping to tell everything quickly and be released, convinced that release awaited him.

'Escape is impossible.'

After Hillen Cargill had broken free of his restraints, Berge had enlisted the dwarves to reinforce them, and had continued strengthening them ever since.

'But how do I help the coalition?'

He was a Demon King. He could not openly and legitimately help a hero's journey. Nor would they readily accept him.

He had taken hundreds of heroes as servants, but they would be participating in the hero's journey anyway.

'And sending mediocre fighters to help won't accomplish anything.'

Then perhaps he should participate with a small, dependable elite force. Even if he could not kill Jason, discovering the enemy's true capabilities would have value in itself.

'Should I join the battle as Pale?'

He would participate in the hero's journey as Pale. With Roselle's or Hillen's help, he should be able to blend in more easily.

'And if possible, more...'

Until he knew the extent of Jason's strength and forces, the more blades he had to stab him with, the better.

"Tell him I accept."

"Will you go yourself?"

"Yes."

"I would like to help as well."

"No. You're known to have been abducted. If you were suddenly released, it would likely raise suspicions instead."

But...

"Lavinia Akan is another matter."

* * *

"... I go out?"

"Yes, you're going out."

"Not going."

"No, you are."

"Chimeras."

"You haven't finished making your chimeras? It doesn't matter. You're going, no matter what."

"... Abandoning me?"

Lavinia's eyes wavered.

"What?"

"Me, servant. Abandoning?"

"No, I'm not."

Good grief, she was acting like a child. When he tossed her some chocolate, she accepted it readily and munched away.

"I'll be going with you."

"Together?"

Only then did her face brighten.

"We're going to join the coalition attacking the Demon King of Lies. Since you haven't officially been abducted, there's room to maneuver."

"Demon King, horns?"

"He didn't have any horns."

"Wings?"

"I'm not sure."

"None?"

"There must be something."

A doppelganger's skin crumbled the moment it was peeled off, leaving nothing that could be properly studied or used.

Nor did Berge know much about doppelgangers, a race exterminated hundreds of years ago.

"Mine."

"Yes. If we catch him, I'll give you a portion."

"Okay!"

Lavinia beamed.

"Cher?"

"Yes, Cher will come too."

"Okay."

And just like that, the Demon King's outing was decided.

"However, Jason may already know about Lavinia Akan."

"I can say for certain he... No, I can't."

This had been the first time the princesses other than Ernyan had fully revealed their strength as Berge's subordinates.

All the heroes who had experienced or witnessed it had become his servants. But now that he knew Jason was a doppelganger who had spent hundreds of years living as a parasite, he could not confidently assert that the secret remained safe.

"But it doesn't matter. Whether he knows or not, it still means one more blade on our side."

Even if she could not serve as a hidden dagger, there was no denying the objective strength of her forces.

"What if Jason spreads rumors that the princess is your servant?"

"He has no clear evidence. And I can use the heroes to prove otherwise."

Hundreds of heroes were Berge's servants. If they all denied it in one voice, what lunatic would insist it was true?

There were no fewer than six Stars among them.

"I see. I overstepped."

"No, it was a reasonable question."

Leaving Reina behind, Berge spoke to Gordon.

"Gordon. Take good care of the tower while I'm away."

"Yes, of course, my lord."

"If anything urgent happens, consult Reina and deal with it together."

"Yes."

"What about me? Why leave me out? I'm a Demon King too!"

Berge ignored Vivian.

"We're counting on you, my lord."

"Have a safe trip."

"Ah, I'm jealous. I want to go fight too."

"You must come back soon! I'll have the blueprints drawn up perfectly!"

Building something and merging it with the tower required his authority. The dwarves, obsessed with the sky tower, wished for the Demon King's return as soon as possible.

"Lavinia, please take care out there."

"Okay."

"Don't pick up random things and eat them."

"Okay."

"Please help our lord."

"Okay."

"If you see my sister, please give her my regards."

"Okay."

The farewells, at once brief and lengthy, came to an end.

The Demon King, the princess, and the chimera she had modified left the tower and began their journey to the Kingdom of Akan.