Of course, it would be.
"You said he told you to contact him anytime if you needed help?"
"Yes."
The sudden, out-of-nowhere message from Jayson raised Berze's guard.
"So that means he's aware of what's happening right in front of us?"
"Yes. I believe so."
"How did he know?"
"He must have ties with humans, don't you think?"
Well, there was no need to look high. The moment Lavinia Acan climbed Erezest alone and the Acan troops followed behind her, their identities were exposed.
"Of course, Demon King, you surely have your own thoughts—but you must never accept goodwill as pure goodwill."
Gordon's advice was unsurprising.
For Demon Kings, who were all competing rulers, to help each other out of pure goodwill was absurd.
But if it's Jayson, it's possible that the help itself is genuine.
Just not the intention behind it.
"Send a simple reply saying we understand."
"Yes."
"Any word from Granada?"
"Not yet. I believe she's being cautious because several Heroes are mixed in among Acan's force."
Knock, knock—
At that moment, Ernan cracked the door open and peeked in.
"Demon King, Kurutu is here."
"I'll go."
Berze rose to his feet.
"Please be careful."
"I know."
He replied half-heartedly and descended to the first floor. Logar was waiting with all sorts of tools, and Kurutu with supplies. Along with several dozen Fur Orcs.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
They rode out on the frost wolves brought by the Orcs. Logar sat in front of Kurutu and asked:
"Do we do it like last time?"
"Yes."
Last time—when they dealt with Hillen Cargill. They installed cannons along the predicted route of the Hero party and triggered an avalanche.
As a result, the Heroes' morale dropped sharply, allowing them to be repelled relatively easily.
"How much progress on the golem core?"
"Mana and demonic mana are completely different. Their nature and foundation diverge entirely, so the magical structure and circuits required for a core are all different."
"Judging by how long your mouth is running, the progress must be terrible."
"…A-about 1%…?"
"Did you even research anything at all?"
Berze's expression twisted.
He understood that most of Logar's time went into building the mana cannon and the first floor structure—but this was basically the same as having done nothing.
"Didn't you say you were skilled in alchemy and enchantment magic?"
"Magic using mana and magic using demonic mana are entirely different systems! I am learning a completely new discipline alone, through self-study!"
"So?"
"…Not that I mean to use that as an excuse, but I hoped you would appreciate my hard work just a little…"
"If you raise it to 10% within two weeks, I'll give you part of the tower's accessories."
"I, Logar, swear on my reputation as the greatest craftsman in Berft—and on my life! Leave it to me!"
As expected, this dwarf was easy to handle.
"Kurutu. Are your clansmen well?"
"Yes. Some warriors were frightened by the chimera beast, but they overcame it thanks to your majesty's presence."
"That's good."
As Orcs who lived for battle, fear was rarely a real issue.
Come to think of it, I didn't pay much attention to them.
His attitude had basically been: throw them into the field and let them grow on their own.
Though he did give them elixirs and the heart of the Prison Drake they hunted.
"Are the clansmen satisfied?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, Demon King, our tribe grows and our territory expands daily. Our loyalty to you is higher than the sky."
"And troublesome monsters?"
"None. How could any arrogant creature stand proudly before the power you granted us?"
"Hm."
Why did this feel like dealing with a devout fanatic serving the Demon Emperor?
Not that it was bad—just slightly embarrassing. Before the regression, maybe, but now Berze knew very well how insignificant he truly was in Arein.
"Claiming Erezest for ourselves is good. But do not go northeast."
"Yes. I will follow your order."
Kurutu asked no further questions.
"There's something there that's like cold, congealed soup. Nothing good will come from dealing with it—avoid it."
"Yes."
Berze added the warning, and Kurutu bowed.
After a long ride, they reached their destination—one of the mountain paths.
A light touch was all it would take to send the snow piled higher up crashing down, swallowing Acan's forces whole.
"Set the mana cannons here."
The Fur Orcs unloaded the cannons they carried.
"Demon King, I've been thinking."
"What is it."
"Instead of something crude like an avalanche, how about we concentrate the cannons here and sweep them with pure firepower?"
"They must never learn I possess mana cannons. Are you planning to broadcast your existence to the humans?"
"As long as the secret stays safe, isn't it fine?"
"You don't think they'll fail to recognize a mana cannon, do you?"
"Of course not, but as long as my secret isn't exposed, it's fine, isn't it? And…"
"The dead can't speak?"
"Exactly! If we fire dozens of cannons at once, will they even have time to scream? And if any survive, the Orcs can finish them!"
"..."
Who's the Demon King here?
It was a good method, but unusable.
"Denied."
"…What?"
"The prince and princess of Acan are with them. Killing them is unwise for now."
Even if they were in Erezest, those two wouldn't die easily. Naturally, suspicion would fall on Berze.
"Ah… I see…"
Logar sighed in disappointment.
"But I promise you this: someday, the mana cannons you build will wipe out an entire Hero party."
"…I await that day with burning anticipation!"
Logar's face lit up.
…Ernan, the princess of Acan, and this guy too…
Why does no one seem normal?
Why is the Demon King the one worried about this?
Berze pushed aside the strange thought.
***
"Mmm."
Granada swallowed a groan. The situation was unbearably stressful.
"Does the food not suit your taste?"
"No. It's delicious."
It tasted good—she simply couldn't tell whether she was eating it with her mouth or breathing it in through her nose.
Because of the two pairs of red eyes staring at her without rest.
On one side, the princess. On the other, the prince. And further, the captain of the Blue Meteor Mage Corps and the captain of the White Wolf Knights.
When had she ever received this much attention from royalty and nobility?
She had gotten attention during Hildegran's banquet—but that had been different.
"More."
A large chunk of meat—stabbed on a fork—was placed on her plate. The small, pale hand belonged to Lavinia.
"Y-yes, thank you."
"Looks like Lady Lavinia really took a liking to you, Granada."
"…Khm."
"…Mhm."
The prince watched with amusement, while the knight and mage beside him swallowed uneasy groans.
Chomp, chomp, chomp—
And behind them, the towering Titan devoured its meat with ravenous enthusiasm.
It was the very definition of sitting on a bed of nails.
She had thought they arranged this meeting to ask her about Erezest…
"More."
"This is far too much."
"More."
Another chunk of meat was placed on her plate. At this point, the pile of meat on Granada's plate was a mountain.
Under the intense gazes, she had no choice but to put a piece into her mouth. After chewing and swallowing it adequately, she wiped the sauce from her lips with a napkin.
"I heard you had questions regarding Erezest."
"Ah, yes. That was indeed the purpose."
Kain set down his knife.
"Before coming here, I conducted my own research on Hero Hillen's journey. What surprised me most was the part where monsters attacked the Hero party every night."
It wasn't simply a matter of a few beasts being sent their way. Monsters harassed the Hero party every night. That led to the worst possible assumption—that the Demon King could control all the monsters of Erezest.
"How was it? Did it truly look like the Demon King controlled the monsters of the mountain range? As though the whole mountain was his domain?"
"You already heard what I said, did you not?"
"But the Heroes were not survivors like you, Granada. They didn't hold out to the end like you did."
Hmm.
Granada hesitated.
How could she answer in a way that satisfied Kain, without harming the Demon King?
Too obvious a lie would only draw more suspicion.
"That is something I cannot say for certain."
"Naturally. Unless you were close to the Demon King himself, you could never know such things. I'm not expecting that. I simply want you to tell us honestly what you experienced and felt."
"We wandered the mountain range for over a month searching for the tower."
"Yes."
"And not a single night passed without a monster attack."
"How many were there?"
"A lot. Easily in the hundreds."
"Hundreds of monsters, every single night?"
"Yes."
Most of those "hundreds" were actually Fur Orcs used to herd the monsters, and only a small portion attacked directly—but that didn't matter.
The fact remained: hundreds had come.
…Won't this make them give up entirely?
If so, the Demon King would be pleased.
"…My word. Are you saying all the monsters of the mountain range are effectively servants of the Demon King?"
Kain swallowed hard. The captain of the Blue Meteor Mage Corps disagreed.
"Impossible. Perhaps if the tower had stood for several hundred years without falling—but it has only been a year since his descent. No Demon King could do that so soon."
"But there is a witness."
"If such a feat were possible, the continent would have fallen to the Demon Kings long ago."
"Ah… That makes sense."
Kain nodded.
"Then what could it be?"
Instead of answering, the mage asked Granada:
"Lady Granada, what were the main monsters making up their numbers?"
"Fur Orcs."
"They attacked only at night?"
"Yes."
"I knew it."
"You've realized something?"
"As Your Highness knows, Orcs live in packs. Their chain of command is absolute, and they carry out the chieftain's orders even at the cost of their lives."
"You mean, if one could control the chieftain, one could command countless Orcs?"
"Exactly. And the fact that they attacked only at night is a huge clue."
"How so?"
"Though the demons invented mental magic, not all demons are adept at it. In fact, the Demon King of Flames is known to have fire-based authority."
"Yes."
"Which means he would naturally be lacking in mental magic. So he could only control Orcs during the night, when the demons' power is relatively stronger."
"Ah…! Then that means—"
During the day, it would be relatively easier.
The restriction of nighttime attacks made the situation far less hopeless than their earlier assumptions.
"It won't be easy, but as long as we are careful at night, there is no reason we can't survey the mountain. Hero journeys have survived a whole month, after all."
"And considering most of them were Fur Orcs, that makes sense."
Not that Fur Orcs were weak—far from it. A disciplined group following a chieftain's orders could be a nightmare.
But everything is relative. They were far preferable to hundreds of Yetis, Prison Drakes, Twinhead Trolls, or Werewolves.
"Perhaps the Fur Orcs were merely herding other monsters. If hundreds were spent every day for a month, that would imply tens of thousands of Orcs existed—impossible."
"That's true as well."
The two quickly approached the correct answer.
"Then we'll need to build a strategy around that."
"I should contact the homeland and have magical equipment transported here."
"Yes, do that. Ah, Lady Granada. Would you by any chance remember the paths you took up the mountains? We'd like you to guide us."
"Well…"
According to Berze's plan, she should say she got lost too much to recall clearly.
"Of course you would. Elves are more attuned to nature than any other race. I've never heard of an elf forgetting a path they once walked."
"Oh, is that so?"
"A High Elf I know once said: 'For an elf to lose the path they have traveled, they must have done it on purpose—or taken a blow to the head.'"
"…I remember everything."
She simply couldn't bring herself to lie. The mage's statement was, unfortunately, true.
"Then we can eliminate quite a few areas. That will help greatly."
"Yes, then based on those terrains—"
The prince and the mage began an enthusiastic discussion.
"..."
Did I say something wrong…?
Granada fell silent.
For some reason, she felt she no longer had the face to look Berze in the eye.
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