The Demon King Is Also a King
"I'm delighted. I never imagined I'd get to meet the famous one in person. Honestly, I mentioned it, but I wasn't expecting much."
The prince laughed cheerfully.
"Am I famous?"
"There was an incident where some mana leaked out during Lady Rozel's experiment. The mages of the Tower all sensed its purity and began investigating who the owner was."
Rumors spread instantly.
"My sister took quite a liking to it as well. She kept asking Lady Rozel several times, but… Rozel is stubborn."
"Elven heart."
Lavinia, who had been silent, pointed toward Granada's chest.
"Hot."
"Yes. My sister said she could feel a little of that presence from you as well, Sir Granada. That's why she remembered—because you were in Tarta with someone named Pale."
'So during our first meeting, that…'
So that's what she meant by "hot."
'She's saying a bit of the Demon King's power lingers inside me?'
Of course, he had spent time near the Demon King in her Pale form. The mana was so absurdly pure that he unconsciously meditated beside her, refining his own mana through the Mana Circulation Method.
But it should have faded quickly. It was only mana.
'A remnant must have stayed.'
And the fact that she sensed it meant Lavinia's mana perception was absurdly sharp.
'Is that why she's showing interest?'
It was just a feeling—but likely correct.
"A pleasure. I am Pale."
"…Wow."
And that feeling turned into certainty when he saw Lavinia's eyes—eyes that locked onto Berze, who had awakened the Phoenix's mana.
***
"Show proper respect to His Highness!"
A knight barked. The faint hostility in his voice made Berze frown.
'What did I say earlier?'
He arrived, was guided in, and greeted them. He did say he was glad to meet them.
'I didn't think about this part.'
Before and after regression, he had met many royals. But not once had he ever shown proper etiquette to them.
Because he was the Demon King.
Because he is the Demon King.
But right now, he was not the Demon King Berze—he was the human Pale.
If one stood before royalty—even foreign royalty—one had to at least display basic courtesy.
"..."
The problem was that he loathed that idea with all his soul.
'You want me to bow to some twenty-year-old brat?'
Impossible. The Demon King's pride would never allow it.
"You should be the one showing respect to me, you idiot knight."
"What?"
As the dumbfounded knight spat a retort, Berze moved first.
Crunch—
"Ghk…!"
"You cur!"
The knight dangled helplessly in the air, Berze's hand crushing his throat. The other knights drew weapons and shouted.
A flurry of auras flew at him. At the same time, mana erupted from Berze's body, creating a violent rebound shockwave.
It didn't seriously injure the knights—but it was more than enough.
"Enough."
Kain raised his hand. The knights halted.
"Who are you?"
"Someone who deserves respect, just as you do."
"You're… royalty?"
Berze did not answer. He simply held Kain's gaze in silence.
Tension rippled through the air.
"Hot."
Lavinia stepped between them. With a bright, innocent smile, she looked up at Berze.
"What now?"
"So hot."
"Hot?"
"Fire. Here."
Her fingertip pointed to his lower abdomen—the precise location of the second heart, where the Phoenix's mana slept.
"Amazing."
"Y-Your Highness!"
"This way, please!"
The knights panicked. Kain let out an exhausted laugh.
But thanks to that, the atmosphere loosened slightly.
"Mm… I apologize for my knight's rudeness. Would you grant mercy to someone who looks moments from death?"
"Very well."
The pale knight fell to the ground, coughing violently. The others rushed to carry him away.
"Requesting your visit without fully understanding who Sir Pale was—that was my failure. Forgive us."
"I accept."
"Please, come inside."
A small garden had been prepared with a simple table. The two royal siblings, Berze, and Granada took their seats.
"I won't ask which country you belong to, since you clearly do not wish to say. Royalty with circumstances… there are more than a few."
"Thank you. And I apologize for my own discourtesy."
"We gratefully accept."
A maid brought tea and refreshments. After taking a sip, Kain spoke.
"First of all, thank you for accepting my invitation. Granada said you had a past connection, so I tried asking—though I didn't expect you to actually come."
"If I can build a good relationship with the royals of the Acan Kingdom, it won't hurt me."
"True."
Kain's eyes gleamed.
He caught two things in Berze's words: that he was not naïve, and that he was—at least for now—positively inclined toward them for his own reasons.
"The reason we wanted to meet you was because we sensed your mana."
"I heard. Everyone in the Magic Tower learned of the mana I gave Rozel Charnt."
"I've never seen such pure mana except from elementals. At first, I thought it was the mana of a fire spirit. When Lady Rozel told us it was yours, I was shocked."
Kain was not a mage but a knight—yet pure mana appealed to more than just mages.
"I'm dying to know how you acquired such mana, but asking would be impolite, wouldn't it?"
"It would."
"Haha, I figured I'd try."
Then Lavinia—who had been listening quietly—extended a hand.
"Give mana."
As expected—she was insane.
"And why would I do that?"
"Want."
"You want it? No."
"Rozel."
"Rozel Charnt paid a proper price in exchange for mana."
"I pay."
"If it's a trade, I have no reason to refuse. What can you give me?"
Lavinia thought for a moment, then reached into her subspace. When she withdrew her hand, she held a bright red scale.
"Scale."
"A Red Drake's? I have no need for it."
"Horn?"
"Same answer."
She took something else out. It was a beating heart.
So the princess carried things like this around. No different from her room.
"A werewolf's heart?"
"Mm."
"And what would I use this for?"
"Chimera?"
"Don't compare me to yourself."
"Me."
"You're saying you'll give me a chimera you made?"
"Mm. Horn, heart, scale."
"You'll make one using those three?"
That was tempting. Not because he coveted chimeras themselves, but because after hearing from Ernian about the significance of chimeras, Berze had become interested in researching them himself.
And if it was a chimera personally crafted by Lavinia Acan, who was considered unmatched in chimera creation—
But accepting it outright felt unwise with the prince watching. Most humans didn't exactly like chimeras.
"Sister, there aren't many people who like chimeras."
"Don't like?"
"Of course they don't."
Kain added a word toward Berze.
"If they don't suit your tastes, we can contact the homeland and prepare gold or whatever treasure you prefer."
"You're awfully generous over mere mana."
"It isn't 'mere.' There isn't a mage in Acan who wouldn't fall for that mana."
"Money, huh. And how much do you think I'll demand?"
"I couldn't know. But I am a prince—I hold a certain level of authority."
That hooked him. After all, money was something where more was always better.
"Fine."
So he didn't refuse.
"In fact, I want all of it. Money, treasure, and the chimera."
The Demon King hid none of his greed.
"I'm glad you agreed."
"How much were you thinking?"
"I intend to match your wishes as much as possible. Perhaps we should discuss that matter separately later?"
'Planning to wring everything out of me?'
Berze let out a faint laugh. Well, royals weren't the type to make deals that put them at a loss.
"As much as you want."
Of course, Berze wasn't any different.
One thing did concern him, however—Rozel Charnt's growth due to his mana.
So perhaps the solution was to simply avoid making her his enemy in the first place.
'If I use this opportunity to build ties with Acan…'
If Pale became someone on good terms with Acan—
If he could move Acan in some way, he would gain many advantages.
"Good."
"Don't talk nonsense."
After Lavinia's nonsense, Berze changed the subject.
"I heard you're preparing to search for the Demon King's Tower."
"Yes. There are some concerns, and we want to make sure everything is in place. Ah—could you possibly assist us?"
To Kain, Pale's strength was unmistakable. In the treacherous terrain of the Ergestra, every fighter mattered—and a strong one was invaluable.
"That may be difficult. That isn't why I came."
"Ah, I was too forward. My apologies."
"But what preparations are you making?"
"I'm sorry, but if you do not plan to join us, I cannot disclose that."
"Saying that won't make me agree."
"Hm, I had hoped you would cross the line more easily. Seems not."
The conversation continued for quite some time. As the sun began to set, Kain concluded:
"Shall we end here for today? I would like for you to join us for dinner."
"I'll accept your invitation."
"Good. Escort these guests to the detached palace."
Berze and Granada vanished with the knights.
"Contact the homeland and investigate this 'Pale.' We don't know which country he's from, so check them all."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Kain's eyes sharpened.
***
Berze and Granada arrived at the detached palace assigned to them. Once they confirmed no one was around, Granada exhaled the breath he'd been holding.
"I thought I was going to die from nerves…"
"If someone heard you, they'd think you were the one who said something wrong."
"Well, that's not exactly untrue, but—how are you even understanding the princess?"
"You don't understand her? You call yourself an elf and your language comprehension is that lacking?"
"I… protest that, actually."
Gather a hundred humans in a room and ask—more would say they don't understand her than do.
"You're not human, you're an elf."
"…You really know how to leave a man speechless."
Clicking his tongue, Granada changed the topic.
"Ah, now that I think about it—were you really royalty?"
"A Demon King is also a king."
"Ah, I've actually been curious about that. Are Demon Kings really royalty in the Demon Realm?"
"Of course not. We're just vanguard commanders. Equivalent to officers, if you compare to humans."
"Then why the title 'Demon King'?"
"Because it scares humans more. 'A demon realm officer invaded' doesn't sound as impactful as 'a Demon King invaded,' does it?"
"That's… seriously the only reason?"
"For 'only,' it works absurdly well."
"Well… fair."
"Besides, humans were the ones who first called us Demon Kings. Thousands of years ago, one world's humans screamed the name in fear, and we simply adopted it."
Not that it meant anything to Arein anymore.
"Being the Demon King's subordinate has its perks. I finally get some answers. So that means you're also not actually royalty?"
"Demon Kings are the finest of the demonkind—our strength is no different from that of a king."
Meaning: your smug little grin could be erased in an instant.
"…Can't you take a joke?"
"You and I are not close enough to trade jokes."
"…Tch."
Granada lowered the corner of his mouth.
"Anyway—what preparations are they making?"
"No idea. They didn't tell me either."
"Why not?"
"How would I know the intentions of nobles? They learned the snow monsters attack at night and began preparing for that, so I assume it's related."
"Hm."
So perhaps a daytime attack would work.
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