Chapter 235 - The Demon King, the Imperial Princess, and the Knight

“That ended more smoothly than I expected.”

It was thanks to his use of the imperial prince. Without Martin, he could never have met the marquis and dealt with matters so easily.

That did not mean there were no problems. Marquis Aincheil’s place had been filled, but the Third Prince had vanished.

Martin had said he would handle that himself, so Berge left it at that. He was an imperial prince, after all. Surely he had some means at his disposal.

“We’ve made a recording with the recording orb, so our business here is finished.”

“My brother will do well, won’t he?”

“Haven’t you always told me how dependable he is?”

“Yes, but...”

This was a first.

Her brother wearing their grandfather’s skin. She did not know how to express how jarring and alien it felt.

“The shock must be enormous for him.”

“Isn’t it the same for you?”

“... I’m all right. I have someone to lean on now.”

“Someone to lean on?”

“... Never mind.”

Anyway.

Her face growing hot for some reason, Kaede quickly changed the subject.

“My brother doesn’t.”

“The emperor has already been devoured. We should assume the same of the empress.”

“I believe so, but even if she hasn’t, the Third Empress is a woman who sees my brother and me as tools.”

Berge frowned.

The Empire really was a shitshow.

“You can help him soon enough. If things go as Ernyan said, it won’t be long before you can return to the Empire. Now, let’s return to the tower.”

Was it the warm sunlight? Berge felt a slight lethargy in his body as he murmured.

“Yes. May I ask a small favor?”

“Of course.”

“I’d like to look around the imperial capital.”

“Why?”

“However strange the Empire has become, the imperial capital is my home. What’s happened has happened, and someday the coalition will march all the way here. When that happens, the capital’s splendor will lose its luster.

“I want to see it with my own eyes one last time.”

“Is that a request from a former knight of the Empire?”

“It’s simply a request from Kaede Jespine, an imperial princess.”

“Very well.”

Returning to the tower as quickly as possible would have been best, but their business had ended sooner than expected, leaving them some time. Spending a few hours walking around the imperial capital would be no problem.

The Empire’s pillar houses, including House Aincheil, held the most valuable lands in the central region around the capital, so it was not far away.

Knights were conducting inspections at the gate into the capital. Thus, Berge brazenly went over the wall.

A mere protective barrier over the capital could not detect Berge’s concealment, which he had perfected.

“I never imagined I would enter the capital this way.”

In a deserted spot, Kaede smiled wryly.

“It makes no difference to me, but plenty of people would recognize your face.”

“Actually, having this conversation with you, my lord, feels even stranger than climbing over the capital’s wall.”

Indeed, she could never have imagined it.

Being kidnapped by a Demon King, persuaded by Hilderan’s Crown Princess to become his servant, getting even her brother to cooperate with him, and fighting a Star as one of his Four Heavenly Kings.

“So do you regret it? Coming to Hortonwork to help Hillen back then?”

“I regretted it quite a bit at the time.”

But not anymore.

“Why?”

“... Why don’t we walk around a little before it gets dark?”

“Would you like some chocolate?”

“Yes.”

The Demon King and the imperial princess emerged from the deserted alley.

A tidy boulevard opened before them. People thronged the streets, and the buildings lining either side were neat yet grand. The place brimmed with vitality.

“Haven’t they heard there’s a war?”

It was so peaceful that it was hard to believe the Empire was at war. People were going about their ordinary lives.

“They all know.”

“Then why?”

“Pride. This is the heart of the Empire.”

The Empire’s people carried the confidence that even if war broke out, its flames would never reach the capital.

“And the Empire is powerful enough to wage war without making a fuss over it.”

“But this time, those flames will reach it. Most of that power will be destroyed.”

“Yes. That’s why I want to take in the capital while it’s still intact.”

Kaede led the way down the street. With her robe pulled low over her face, no one recognized her as the kidnapped imperial princess.

“Where do you intend to go first?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“An imperial princess should know at least one good restaurant. Lead the way.”

“Of course. As your knight, I shall take you to the finest restaurant, my liege.”

She led him to an upscale restaurant in the center of the capital. Guests could enter with their faces covered if they wished, and every table was in a private room, ensuring strict confidentiality.

“The capital’s nobles often come here. With such good privacy, many use it for clandestine meetings.”

A little later, a server entered, and Kaede ordered dishes with practiced ease.

The long, multicourse meal was so delicious it seemed to melt on the tongue.

“Not bad.”

“It’s not merely ‘not bad.’ It’s exceptionally delicious.”

“... Are you becoming like Ernyan too?”

“... Me?”

Kaede clapped a hand over her own mouth.

“... I’ll be careful.”

By the time they finished their long meal, night had fallen.

“I’d like to visit just one more place.”

That place was the imperial palace’s mage tower.

The tallest tower in the capital.

“I don’t think we can enter with our faces covered. Could we go up to the rooftop?”

“Certainly.”

Berge entered a deserted alley with Kaede. He activated his concealment and spread his wings.

They landed atop the thirty-story mage tower.

Kaede spread both arms, enjoying the breeze.

The imperial palace’s nighttime scenery stretched before them.

“From here, you can see the whole capital at a glance. The night view, with all its lights, is incomparably beautiful.”

“It certainly is.”

She was not lying.

The capital’s nights were not dark. The lights illuminating every corner, the people, and the buildings blended into a scene like a masterful painting.

A cold breeze brushed through Kaede’s hair.

“... So even a capital like this could be destroyed?”

“If it keeps dancing to Lies’ tune until the end, that’s very likely.”

“I don’t want the capital destroyed. All the more so if it’s being manipulated by the Demon King of Lies.”

“There is a chance it can be spared.”

“I know. If it surrenders before the coalition army tramples it...”

“No. I simply have to kill Jason.”

A mere demon masquerading as the emperor could be killed this very instant if Berge wanted. Using Martin and Vivian to dispose of the demons that had infiltrated the Empire would not be as difficult as one might think.

But he refrained in order to avoid crossing a line.

“If I start destroying Jason’s foundations first, he’ll do the same.”

Whatever measure of restraint he had shown would disappear. Hilderan would fall. Berge did not want that.

“Ultimately, the situation on this continent is simple. It will be decided by the outcome of my fight with Jason.”

Once Jason was dead, the demons, deprived of their master and tower, would no longer be able to play emperor and nobles. If Martin stepped forward, revealed that it had all been Lies’ scheme, and restored order, the war might end sooner than expected.

Conversely, if Jason defeated Berge, no one capable of stopping Jason would remain. The continent would fall into his hands.

“How absurd. The continent’s fate rests on two Demon Kings.”

“One of whom is your liege.”

“Do you know? There are only two years left now.”

“... That’s right.”

Kaede had negotiated a five-year term before becoming his servant.

Three years had now passed, leaving two. In two years, he would have to release her from his service. If he kept his promise.

“Are you not going to honor it?”

“I’ll leave that to you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You seem to have changed a great deal.”

“So have you.”

“... I suppose I have.”

Kaede rose from her seat.

“Back then, I would never have dreamed of making this choice.”

She met Berge’s eyes squarely.

“I’d like you to remove the five-year limit.”

“Meaning?”

“I will be your knight, my lord.”

“You already are my knight.”

“You know what I mean, don’t you?”

“For how long?”

“Forever.”

Berge stroked his chin.

“Naturally, that won’t come free.”

“Protect the imperial capital. Do that, and you will gain the greatest knight on the continent.”

“For the greatest on the continent, you’re only third among the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“... That’s not because there’s something wrong with me. Those two are monsters.”

A faint blush rose to Kaede’s cheeks.

“... But someday, I’ll become stronger than them. A knight never gives up.”

“That’s not a bad resolve.”

Berge smiled.

“Killing someone I have to kill anyway and gaining the greatest knight in Arain is a profitable bargain.

“Very well.”

Berge helped Kaede to her feet.

“Since it won’t take effect immediately, having you swear your oath again now would be a little...”

“Haaah.”

He let out a long yawn.

“... For now, I think we should hurry back to the tower.”

“Are you sleepy?”

“No. This isn’t just... sleepiness.”

He had suspected it. Damn it.

Berge gave a hollow chuckle as his body grew increasingly sluggish.

‘Did I stuff myself too much, like Reina said?’

It certainly seemed that way.

* * *

“... How amusing.”

Jason burst into laughter.

His servants scattered across the continent were sending him information in real time.

No, even without their reports, there was no way he could have missed the enormous Demon King’s tower floating over Hilderan.

“You said you’d put legs on your tower to move it. But instead of walking, it’s actually flying, isn’t it?”

Good heavens. A Demon King’s tower flying through the sky.

Jason had lived in Arain for centuries, yet the thought had never once occurred to him.

That made it all the more problematic.

Berge was dangerous. His thoughts, his imagination, were dangerous.

“I truly cannot leave you alone any longer.”

This time, he had to finish him for good.

“The tower reportedly wiped out the demonic creatures.”

“The tower itself as a weapon. Isn’t that a wonderfully amusing idea?”

“It would be amusing if it were yours, my lord.”

“Aina...”

Jason leaned back in his chair.

“It seems something displeases you.”

“Berge is dangerous. Far too dangerous.”

“I know.”

“Yet perhaps you’re giving him too much time...”

“Do I seem foolish to you?”

“... No.”

“When you lie, do take more care with your expression.”

Jason swirled his glass.

“Demonic dragons, you see, are such an extraordinary race that no one knows the limits of their potential.”

That was what demonic dragons were. The greatest race in the Demon Realm.

“They were merely lucky enough to be born dragons. Doesn’t it seem terribly unfair?”

“... I’m not sure.”

“Indeed. In truth, neither am I.”

Jason shrugged. Turning his head, he looked down at the lake stretching outside the tower.

Until recently, the corpses of demonic creatures and humans had turned the entire lake red, but now it had largely regained its original color.

“What I mean is that even a demonic dragon has limits.”

“Pardon?”

“Daniel is a talent I cultivated for centuries. He is unlike ordinary heroes or Demon Kings. Even Berge cannot digest him easily.”

“Then isn’t that all the more reason to kill him now?”

“Why should I? I personally handed Daniel over for him to eat. I ought to let him chew thoroughly and digest him properly. Won’t I gain more when I devour him that way?”

“... But...”

“I know. Berge is dangerous.

“But...

“It has been a hundred and fifty years.”

He had begun raising Daniel centuries ago, but only as a contingency. He had truly reached his wall about a hundred and fifty years ago.

Since then, he had made little progress, despite devouring so many heroes and Demon Kings.

In the end, after enduring it for thirty years, he had lost control.

“That was when you killed the other four Demon Kings and began cooperating with the Empire in earnest.”

“Correct. I was so frustrated that I swallowed all four Demon Kings at once.”

Though it had accomplished nothing.

“That is why I don’t want to let this opportunity slip away. I want this fruit, which looks so sweet and delicious, to ripen further.”

“But if you end up losing because of that, my lord...”

“I told Berge he could grow by devouring new Demon Kings, but what do you think would happen if he died and the Demon Realm learned of this?”

The Demon Realm was not foolish. After a few more attempts, if they decided it was hopeless, they would abandon the dimension of Arain altogether.

Then Jason would be left isolated. At his current, in-between level of strength, he would struggle to make a move against the Demon Realm, so he could not return there either.

“An ordinary demon might be another matter, but I am a traitor.”

“...”

“I have no choice. Berge is my last hope.

“Do you understand?”

“...”

“Don’t worry. I will not lose.”

Jason shook his head firmly.

“My centuries are not so insignificant.”

Even if Berge was a demonic dragon.

Even if he had shown himself different from other Demon Kings.

“Time is fair to everyone.”

He sipped his wine.