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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A Useful Princess
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Berge had personally confirmed Granada's enlistment into the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps.
Though bound by contract, he was satisfied that a reliable subordinate had infiltrated human society.
'Now the real work begins.'
With his support, Granada and the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps would grow rapidly.
The corps' expansion would mirror Granada's own growth, and that elf would one day become a poisoned dagger for the future.
A stiletto poised to stab humans and heroes in the back of the neck.
'One problem down.'
When Berge descended into Aren to conquer the dimension, he had outlined three main strategies.
Become the shadow manipulator.
Grow stronger himself.
Fortify the tower and its domain.
The tower and domain could only be enhanced with magi points, which weren't feasible right now. But loosening the dimension's interference didn't strictly require magi points.
'Elixir herbs.'
Herbs or elixirs dense with the dimension's mana. Their nature differed from magi, but the tower could convert mana into magi.
Though less pure than emotions or magi points, it was better than nothing.
'Time to do some legwork.'
The farther he strayed from the tower—which slightly suppressed interference—the greater the burden on him.
The newly established tower's range was extremely narrow, making it no easy task to scour the vast snowfields for elixir herbs.
Still, he had to do it because he couldn't leave everything to Granada.
'Granada's just support. If I'm weak, it's meaningless.'
No matter the defenses, heroes would eventually knock on the tower's door. Someone had to face them.
And Berge hoped that someone would be him.
With his own hands.
With his own power.
He wanted to crush those vermins' throats himself. To roar at the bastards who mocked and killed him that he had returned.
That was when it happened.
"..."
His steps toward the city's north gate halted abruptly.
A sinister gaze pricked the back of his neck stealthily.
Someone was tailing him. Watching him.
Who?
Daring to stalk him?
Berge resumed walking, slowly entering a deserted alley—but quickly.
'Did they catch on?'
The shadow tailing Berge hesitated. The dark alley felt like a dragon's maw.
Instinct screamed a warning.
'I've been made. Retreat for now and wait for another chance...'
"Your brain's grinding so loud it's deafening."
"...!"
A chill of killing intent froze his spine.
The shadow gritted his teeth.
Rip—
Beast claws slashed the air. His muscles tore through his clothes and bulged.
The moment he realized the attack had failed, he launched himself away. The rooftop partially collapsed under the impact.
"A beastkin."
Berge snapped his fingers at the fleeing demon.
Whoosh—
Black flames shot forward in a straight line.
"Kuh...!"
The beastkin twisted his muscles midair, forcing a turn. But the flames curved like a living thing, engulfing him.
Blazing in fire, the beastkin unleashed his magi in a burst. It would leave traces, but he had no time to care.
The magi shook off the flames' remnants.
But.
"I'll praise you for shedding the flames. Not bad for a beast—you've got some brains."
That brief opening allowed Berge to seize the advantage.
Boom!
A massive hand clamped around the beastkin's throat.
It punched through the roof, smashing five floors before hitting the ground. The beastkin writhed in agony.
'H-how? Even a Demon King should be weakened by dimensional interference...!'
In contrast, he had descended to Aren long ago and regained much of his power. Yet this overwhelming gap—what was it?
"Wh-why are you doing this?"
"Don't worry. I won't even ask who sent you. Isn't it obvious?"
"I was just passing by!"
"Sure. And I was just in a bad mood. You dared glare at the Demon King and run, souring it further. Isn't that reason enough to punish you?"
"That's forced!"
Crack—
The grip on his throat tightened. Bloodshot veins bulged in the beastkin's eyes.
"So? Might makes right."
"I-if you do this, Lord Drakson will...!"
"If you're going to hide it, hide it to the end. Have you beasts lost your brains too?"
It was pointless anyway.
"I'll let you live, for now."
His mood soured, but antagonizing Drakson outright wasn't wise yet.
The chokehold loosened. The moment the beastkin sighed in relief, both his arms snapped.
"Gaaargh!"
"Can't let you off scot-free, though. Tell Drakson this: I'm no debtor owing him money, so he has no reason to watch me."
Berge tossed the limp beastkin into a spot out of public view.
Then he scaled the walls and headed into the mountains.
'More direct than I thought.'
It might have been simple surveillance, but it soured his mood. And it confirmed Drakson would interfere no matter what he did.
'I need to reduce dimensional interference as fast as possible.'
Demon Kings were forbidden from battling each other, but loopholes existed. He couldn't be sure Drakson wouldn't exploit them.
In such a scenario, only personal power was reliable.
His eyes hardened coldly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Erjest Mountains were vast and immense.
No mountain range on the continent could match their height and ruggedness, so humans and other intelligent beings dared not venture in.
Naturally, monsters claimed the empty territories, and the mana in this untamed environment grew purer over time.
Plants absorbed natural mana as they grew, becoming spirit herbs.
Animals ate those herbs and became spirit beasts.
One human mage described the Erjest Mountains thus:
"A treasure trove of elixir herbs."
Guarded by treacherous terrain and countless monsters.
If he wasn't using magi points right away, this was the easiest way to reduce interference.
The problem? They were still hard to find.
"The farther you go from the tower, the stronger the interference. And the worse the mountain weather, the weaker the tower's influence. It's dangerous."
Gordon's objections were valid.
In a place like Erjest, blizzards weren't mere natural disasters—they were mana-fueled storms.
Just as fire wouldn't burn in the rain, chaotic mana would diminish the tower's effects.
It was a mistake to think monsters wouldn't attack a Demon King. Unless fully subjugated, they only fled from intimidation; show weakness, and they'd rip out your throat without hesitation.
"Above all, there's no guarantee we'll find any. The mountains are enormous."
"True, but stumbling around will turn something up eventually. Better than doing nothing."
"Well, yes, but..."
That was when it happened.
Knock knock—
The door cracked open slightly. A small face peeked through the narrow gap.
"Um... are you busy?"
"What is it?"
"Well, it's just..."
In that instant, a spirit materialized above her face, announcing its presence.
"..."
Berge and Gordon gasped in unison.
Unexpectedly, the answer was right under their noses.
The solution: spirits, more sensitive to mana than anyone.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"I'm really looking forward to this."
The princess smiled, a expression oddly cheerful for the situation.
"I was bored out of my mind. A little? No, a lot."
Though she'd borrowed others' hands, shedding the burden she'd longed to escape was pure joy.
Not being harmed after her kidnapping was sheer luck.
But weeks of idleness in emptiness turned pleasure to boredom, gratitude to curiosity.
She'd heard the rumors as a princess.
'The Beast Demon King stuffs kidnapped princesses into animal cages.'
Or.
'The Demon King of Frost turns princes into ice statues.'
Or even.
'The Demon King of Lies gives kidnapped princes and princesses the royal treatment.'
To Demon Kings, princes and princesses were bait to lure heroes or valuable hostages for negotiations.
Whether kindly or cruelly, they twisted situations to their advantage. Yet this Demon King hadn't touched her once. Hadn't even visited.
Curiosity stirred, but she quashed it.
'He's still a Demon King...'
Being left alone? She was just grateful.
But infinite free time was torture for someone crushed by endless duties and expectations.
She wanted to do something, but she was still a hostage.
'I could decorate this place however I want.'
Her eyes fell on the empty fourth floor. She wanted to turn this void into a playground for spirits.
Boldly, she knocked. Reckless, but her boredom had peaked.
Her heart pounded. Yet the response was unforeseen.
"Bundle up tight."
She wrapped herself in the thick fur coat he handed her, bought recently from a nearby city.
"Keep your promise."
"Letting you decorate the fourth floor however you like? Find elixir herbs, and it's yours."
When he first heard, Berge thought she was insane.
'Even loosened up, she wants to decorate a Demon King's tower? A mere human?'
But he accepted instead of scolding. He had no spare time to grow the tower anyway.
And since he wanted something from her, a trade suited them both.
The tower door opened. For Ernyan, it was her first glimpse outside in weeks. The biting cold and swirling snow stung, but it was refreshing.
The water spirit cheered. The fire spirit shrank and hid in her clothes.
"I'm probably the first to roam the upper Erjest Mountains."
"Don't care. Listen up, princess. Your job is..."
"Ernyan."
"...?"
"Call me Ernyan. We'll be seeing each other awhile—it's nicer that way, right?"
Berge's face twisted.
Too lenient—she'd gone mad.
"You keep forgetting your place... Want me to move you to a cell?"
"..."
She fell silent. The subtle killing intent paled her face.
Berge withdrew it and strode out.
"Simple task. Use the spirits to find mana-dense spots."
Spirit herbs needed special mana-concentrated areas to form. Finding broad zones was easier than pinpointing tiny plants.
"Got it."
Ernyan sent out her water and wind spirits.
"Found one."
"...?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meanwhile, as Berge searched for spirit herbs with Ernyan...
A message arrived from Granada.
⚙ MESSAGE FROM GRANADA ⚙ News from the Information Guild. Hero Hillun Kagil and 32 other heroes have departed Hildean capital, heading north. Expected to act like typical heroes; their forces will likely grow en route.
Gordon bit his lip.
"I hoped they'd be delayed as long as possible..."
The heroes had finally begun to move.