Finding the Runaway Blacksmith
"Are you perhaps named Seniel?"
"…What is that."
"No, I guess not. I was just curious."
Berze ignored Ernan's sulky glare.
"She is the imperial princess of Jespine who will be living with us on the 4th floor from now on."
"…P-pleased… to meet you."
Was pleased to meet you really the right thing to say?
Kaede felt her understanding of the world collapsing the entire time she climbed the mountain.
Why had she been kidnapped?Why was she climbing a mountain?Why was the tower hidden by a basin?
It was a chain of mysteries. Before she knew it, she was already inside the tower.
"…Did you kidnap another Hero?"
"She's a princess."
The first thing she saw was a "Dwarf Hero" tinkering with a magic cannon.
And now, spirits were fluttering through the air as a human spirit mage welcomed her.
Was this really the Demon King's tower?
Was that man truly a Demon King?
But that overwhelming Magi…
Her instincts as a Hero screamed that if he wasn't a Demon King, nothing made sense.
The Demon King vanished without another word. Kaede also failed to understand that nonchalance.
Not a prison, but an entire 4th floor?Some Demon Kings were known to treat certain princes or princesses courteously—but Kaede wasn't valuable enough to warrant that.
Maybe this is a chance…
Kaede inspected the interior of the 4th floor. Ernan, who had been silently watching, spoke.
"What are you doing?"
"I plan on escaping. Help me. You're human as well—surely you're not here because you want to be?"
No human sincerely served a Demon King. At least Kaede believed that. They were invaders, after all.
"If you want to go, just go. No one will stop you."
"What…?"
"Did you see any monsters or demons on the way up? There's no guarding force. Whether you can survive out there is another matter, though."
"Ah."
Kaede understood. This was the Ergest Mountains, and she didn't have the skill to survive Ergest's cold or its monsters.
As expected of a Demon King. Even within his looseness, there was thoroughness.
"As expected… he is a Demon King…"
Kaede bit her lip.
She had come to help Hillen Cargill slay the Demon King, only to end up captured by him. It was laughable.
"You shouldn't think too badly of him. The tower's master is surprisingly gentlemanly."
"'Gentlemanly' is not a word that fits someone who commits kidnapping."
"Well, that's one way to see it. But he doesn't throw princesses into underground cells. He lets them live freely on the 4th floor."
Ernan lightly waved her hand. At her command, an earth spirit raised a wall.
"You can stay there. There's no set meal time—just grab something from that storage whenever you're hungry."
"Yes."
For now, Kaede decided to follow her instructions. There was a saying that even if you were dragged to an ogre's den, you could survive if you kept your wits about you.
A Demon King was incomparable to an ogre, but sooner or later, a gap would open.
In some ways… maybe this is better…
She laughed bitterly, recalling why she had chased Hillen to capture the Demon King.
"But what is that Dwarf Hero on the 1st floor?"
For some reason, this Demon King's tower—where monsters should have been swarming—held other things instead.
"A Dwarf Hero."
"No, I mean…"
"I don't know the details. I'm a prisoner too."
"…A prisoner?"
Kaede had thought she was a human who had defected and now served the Demon King. A watcher, assigned to keep an eye on her.
She had been freely manipulating the 4th floor, after all.
"Oh, did I not explain myself? Let me introduce myself properly."
Ernan bowed gracefully.
"I am Ernan Hilde Ran, crown princess of Hilde Ran.Just like you…"
I was kidnapped.
"…"
Kaede seriously wondered whether this succubus was lying on the Demon King's secret orders.
"I didn't expect to stand in this place again."
Hillen straightened his clothes. His reflection in the mirror was impeccable.
"Are you ready?"
"I am, though I can't help feeling nervous."
"Haha, aren't you the Hero with the most experience in situations like this?"
"This time, it isn't something to celebrate."
"How is any of this your fault? It's the new Demon King who's strange. Thanks to you, we now understand the threat he poses. Isn't that a good thing?"
Was it really good?
No one would ever imagine a Hero becoming the Demon King's lapdog.So they were simply overjoyed that he returned alive.
That was precisely the Demon King's intention for him.
Shift the blame:His failure was framed as the fault of a bizarre Demon King, not the Hero.Maintain his fame.Become the greatest Hero of all.
"Shall we go?"
He smoothed out the last wrinkles.
He walked forward with his assistant.
What is the Demon King planning?
How did he intend to use him?
Was he going to tell me to kill another Hero?
That didn't seem like the type of plan he'd make.Hillen Cargill knew his own worth.
He was not a disposable pawn.
Let's think positively.
The Demon King Berze did seem different from other Demon Kings, but so had all the Demon Kings who descended over the last several centuries.
Yet Arein had never once faced true destruction.These days, people even saw Demon Kings as money-making opportunities.
The continent never falls.
The world was wide and full of Heroes.There were countless nations.If a continent could collapse because one Hero defected, it would have fallen ages ago.
And I gained ninety thousand gold.
The generous Demon King had simply handed the money over.A full hundred thousand gold slept in his subspace.Even after paying back his debt of ten thousand gold, ninety thousand remained.
And most of it would be invested into the Golden Moon Merchant Guild once Aman Katrash became its heir.
That enormous capital would breathe life into the dying guild.
If Hillen Cargill personally supported it, rebuilding the guild wouldn't be unrealistic.A guild that large would become the Demon King's collaborator—and Hillen's powerful backer.
This was the future Hillen Cargill envisioned.
Separate from the Demon King, money never lied.And Hillen knew exactly how to use it.
Clack—
He opened the hall's doors.
"He's here!"
"It's really Hillen Cargill!"
Reporters eagerly turned toward him.Hillen enjoyed their attention as he slowly walked onto the platform.
Click—Click—
Brilliant flashes from magic cameras stung his eyes.
"Nice to meet you, everyone. I am Hillen Cargill. I cannot say for certain whether this meeting is joyous or sorrowful. I will start by telling you what happened from the moment I began climbing the mountain. Questions will be taken afterward."
Silence fell.
Hillen calmly recounted his time there—carefully edited.
"I searched for the tower. I wanted to save the princess, no matter what. But the Demon King was cunning."
"There was no tower anywhere. Only freezing cold, blizzards, and monsters stronger than anything we'd faced."
"My comrades screamed. They bled. They fell. I did everything I could to save even one more of them. For weeks, I wandered those forbidden mountains so their sacrifice would not be in vain."
Sometimes cold and logical, sometimes emotional, he captivated the crowd.A single tear rolling down his cheek sealed the performance.
By the end, the reporters were full of pity.
Hillen had become a tragic hero ensnared by a vile trick, not a failed Hero.
"I'll take questions now."
At that moment—
The doors opened a crack.A few people peeked in, then hurried straight to the reporters.
A sudden murmur spread.
What's happening?
A new development?
Judging from their faces, it's not trivial…
A chilling unease tightened around Hillen's heart.Then someone raised their hand.
"Yes, go ahead."
"It's been reported that the Demon King you failed to subjugate has now kidnapped the imperial princess of Jespine. Do you feel any guilt, thinking she wouldn't have been kidnapped if you had succeeded?"
"Do you feel no guilt?"
"…?"
What kind of dogshit question was that?
The kidnapping of Kaede Jespine, ninth imperial princess of Jespine, came to light purely because of terrible luck.
The Demon King had openly unleashed his Magi, and its force shook HotenWalk itself.
"An enormous amount of Magi!"
"If Magi can be felt near here…"
"It's the newly descended Demon King of Ergest. He must be enraged by the Hero Quest."
The city went into emergency alert, and when the city guard finally arrived, they found collapsed mercenaries.
They assumed demons had attacked them, and while treating them, one mercenary regained consciousness.
"The princess!"
He shouted.
"…"
"…"
It was only a small incident.But because a Demon King was involved, that incident exploded into a massive rumor.
"Magi was detected in HotenWalk."
"The surroundings were destroyed and mercenaries were lying unconscious. There must have been a battle."
"The Demon King appeared to kidnap someone."
"The mercenaries were actually knights."
"The person kidnapped was a princess!"
Every piece fit perfectly.The mercenaries denied everything and then vanished.
"The Demon King kidnapped a new princess so soon after the failed Hero Quest? Has he gone mad?"
Some people denied the rumors. Their reasoning was fairly logical.
But the timing was bad.
Hero Hillen Cargill's party had failed, and it had become evident that the new Demon King was different from all previous ones.
"The new Demon King bastard must've been crazy from the start!"
"It's definitely true—he kidnapped the princess of Jespine!"
Yet the Jespine Empire itself made no official response.
Smack—SMAAACK—
Blood splattered. Snow-white teeth scattered across the floor.
Yet the knight kept his head bowed silently.
"Enough."
The superior officer's hand stopped mid-slap. He knelt before the throne, pressing his head to the floor.
"Do you know?"
The voice was bored, almost lazy.But beneath that thin veil lay a chilling coldness that made the knights swallow hard and lower their heads even further.
"They say even the street dogs know. That the princess of Jespine has been kidnapped by the Demon King."
All because of one knight's sleep-talking.
A raspy chuckle rippled across the throne room.
"I'm beginning to question whether you even deserve to remain knights."
"Kill us!"
"If you truly desire that, I can oblige."
"…"
"I despise insects who stir up trouble and then try to run from the consequences."
"I swear I will rescue Her Highness."
"Should I rip that mouth apart so my ears don't get soiled?"
He clicked his tongue.
"You claim to be one of the Ten Sacred Stars, yet Hillen Cargill failed. With what power do you intend to succeed, you brat? Words should be spoken after thought."
The knights could say nothing.They simply trembled, praying for their lord's mercy.
"Ector."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What should I do? With your incompetence as a royal guard who let the princess escape, your weakness in losing her to the Demon King, and your loose tongue that spread this mess?"
"…If it is Your Majesty's will, I will bring Her Highness back no matter what."
"How?"
"…"
The emperor rose.He slowly stepped down from the throne and struck Ector across the head.
"I told you to think before you speak."
"My apologies."
"Do not apologize for things you should not have done in the first place. Do not test my patience again."
The emperor spoke coldly. Then he returned to his throne and closed his eyes.
"Go to the Ormus Kingdom."
After a moment, he opened them again.
"Inform that greedy old king that his bride has disappeared. Cooperate with him as much as necessary to retrieve Kaede."
"Yes."
"And send an envoy to the Hero Guild. Tell them that since they've taken so much money, they'd better start earning it."
"Yes."
"Go. And remember—this is your final chance."
"We obey!"
"We shall carve it into our bones!"
The knights left.
"There's no need for me to act."
Hillen Cargill himself failed to even locate the tower.There was no reason for him to suffer the losses first.
Let Hilde Ran—the nation that lost its crown princess—and Ormus—the nation that lost its future concubine—go mad and thrash about.He would watch from a safe distance.
Kaede simply wasn't an important enough princess.
"Troublesome. She should've just obediently gone to Ormus…"
He clicked his tongue.
Berze left the tower once more.And he now realized that the disturbance he caused was far larger than expected.
"As I thought… Jespine."
He had a rough idea already.Though he despised following the proper method due to past trauma, Berze was still a Demon King.If a princess lingered in front of him, how could he simply ignore her?
"There's no real problem."
The location of the tower hadn't been discovered.That alone was a huge advantage.
"And even if it is discovered, I can always use the Specter of Mana."
It would cost a large amount of Magi Points, but nothing was more important than survival.
"I should start saving up more Magi Points."
With rumors spreading about the kidnapped princess, more Magi Points would naturally accumulate.
"And it's been a while since I've been here."
Enormous buildings pierced the sky.Artificial flows of mana were anchored throughout the city.
Airships soared overhead, and magical devices were everywhere.
This was the Magic Kingdom, Acan's royal capital—Amur.
It wasn't his first visit.He had once come here to kidnap the princess of Acan.
And instead of a princess, he kidnapped the prince.
"…Unpleasant memories."
It wasn't… exactly a mistake.
He had simply judged based on her gaze, her presence, and the state of her room.Much like avoiding filth—he just avoided her.
"Silly thoughts."
It was the past, and it would not happen again.There were plenty of kingdoms and even more princesses—he had no reason nor desire to bother with Acan again.
"The best option is the Magic Tower…"
The Magic Tower didn't just train magicians—it also functioned as a marketplace for potions and magic materials.It was the easiest place to find Seniel Powder.
The problem was that the Magic Tower almost always had a Hero stationed inside.
If he hid his Magi well enough, he could fool weaker Heroes.But this was the Magic Tower in the Magic Kingdom.There was no way he wouldn't be discovered.
"I should check the nearby magic markets."
Their quality wouldn't match the Magic Tower, but it was better than nothing.
Then—
"Are you sure he's here?"
"Absolutely. What else could a runaway from the kingdom possibly do?"
"A man like him wouldn't give his craft to a dog. He'd pick up his hammer again."
"Yes. Without a doubt. The easiest places to obtain materials are the Acan Kingdom and the Tarafarta Union. But I believe he'd prefer Acan."
"Because Tarafarta is too close to the homeland?"
"Yes. They cooperate too closely. He'd pick somewhere where the kingdom's reach was weaker."
"Makes sense."
A booming voice echoed.Passersby glanced at them but were ignored.
That voice—
Hooh.
It was Louise Verft, second princess of the Dwarf Kingdom—Verft.
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