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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A Useful Princess
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Berge personally confirmed that Granada had joined the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps.
Though bound by contract, it was satisfying to have a reliable subordinate infiltrate among the humans.
'Now it begins.'
With his support, Granada and the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps would grow rapidly.
The growth of the mercenary corps would mirror Granada's own, and that elf would one day become a poisoned dagger for the future.
A stiletto to stab the humans and heroes in the back of the head.
'One thing resolved.'
When Berge descended into Arelin, he had outlined three main directions for dimensional conquest.
Becoming the black curtain behind the scenes.
Growing stronger himself.
Reinforcing the tower and territory.
The tower and territory could only be strengthened with Magi Points, which wasn't feasible right now. But loosening the Dimensional Interference didn't necessarily require Magi Points.
'Elixirs.'
Herbs or spirit pills dense with the dimension's mana. Though different in nature from magi, the tower could convert mana into magi.
Even if the purity was lower compared to emotions or Magi Points, it was still better than nothing.
'Time to do some legwork.'
The farther he strayed from the tower—which slightly suppressed the Interference—the greater the burden on Berge.
The newly established tower's range was extremely narrow, making it no easy task to search the vast snowfields for elixirs.
Yet he had to do it because he couldn't leave everything to Granada.
'Granada is ultimately support. If I'm weak, it means nothing.'
No matter how much they blocked, 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' necks himself. To those bastards who mocked and killed him, he wanted to roar that he had returned.
That was when it happened.
"..."
His steps toward the city's north gate came to an abrupt halt.
A sinister gaze stealthily pricked the back of his neck.
Someone was following. Watching.
Who?
Daring to stalk him?
Berge resumed walking. Slowly, but into a sparsely populated alley.
'Did they notice?'
The shadow tailing Berge hesitated. The dark alley felt like a dragon's maw.
Instinct warned him.
'I've been made. Retreat for now and wait for the next chance...'
"Your brain grinding is too damn loud."
"...!"
A chill of murderous intent froze his spine.
The shadow gritted his teeth.
Slash—
Beast claws rent the air. At the same time, muscles tore through his clothes and bulged out.
The moment he realized the attack had failed, he launched himself away. The roof partially collapsed under the impact.
"A beastkin."
Berge snapped his fingers at the rapidly fleeing demonkin.
Whoosh—
Black flames shot in a straight line.
"Kuh...!"
The beastkin twisted his muscles mid-air to forcibly change direction. But the flames curved like a living thing, engulfing him.
Blazing in flames, the beastkin unleashed his magi all at once. It would leave traces, but he had no time to worry.
The magi shook off the flames' remnants.
But.
"I'll praise you for shaking off the flames. Not bad for a beast—you've got some brains."
That brief opening allowed Berge to seize the space ahead.
Boom!
A massive hand gripped the beastkin's throat.
Crashing through the roof, piercing five floors, and slamming into the ground. The beastkin writhed in agony.
'H-how? Even a Demon King should be weakened by Dimensional Interference...!'
On the contrary, he had descended to Arelin long ago and regained much of his original power. But what was this overwhelming gap?
"Wh-why are you doing this?"
"Don't worry. I won't ask who sent you. Isn't it obvious?"
"I was just passing by!"
"Sure. I was just in a bad mood. You dared glare at the Demon King and run, souring my mood. Isn't that reason enough to punish you?"
"That's forced!"
Crack—
The grip on his neck tightened. Bloodshot veins burst in the beastkin's eyes.
"So? Might makes right."
"I-if you do this, Lord Drakson...!"
"If you're going to hide it, hide it to the end. Have you beasts turned your brains to mush too?"
It was meaningless 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.
"Gaaaargh!"
"Can't let you off scot-free, though. Tell Drakson this: I'm no debtor who borrowed his money, so I owe him no attention."
He tossed the limp beastkin into a spot out of public view.
Berge scaled the walls and headed into the mountains.
'More direct than expected.'
It was mere surveillance, but it soured his mood. And it confirmed: Drakson would interfere no matter what he did.
'Must reduce the Dimensional Interference as fast as possible.'
Demon King battles were forbidden, but loopholes were fair game. He couldn't be sure Drakson wouldn't use them.
In such a situation, only personal power was reliable.
His eyes sank coldly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Erjest Mountains were vast and immense.
No mountains on the continent could match their height and peril, so humans and other intelligent beings dared not even consider entering.
Naturally, monsters claimed the empty domains, and the mana in this untamed environment grew purer over time.
Plants sprouted, absorbing nature's mana to become spirit herbs.
Animals ate those herbs and became spirit beasts.
One human mage described the Erjest Mountains thus:
『The Treasury of Elixirs』
Guarded by treacherous terrain and countless monsters.
If he wasn't using Magi Points right away, this was the easiest way to mitigate the Interference.
The problem was finding them.
"The farther from the tower, the stronger the Interference. Poor mountain weather weakens the tower's influence too. It's dangerous."
Gordon's objection was reasonable.
Places like Erjest turned blizzards into mana storms, not mere natural disasters.
Like how fire wouldn't burn in rain, chaotic mana would diminish the tower's role.
It was a misconception that monsters wouldn't attack Demon Kings. Unless fully subjugated, they merely avoided due to intimidation—and would rip out your throat at any sign of weakness.
"Above all, no guarantee we'll find any. The mountains are vast."
"True, but searching beats doing nothing. We'll find something eventually."
"Well, yes, but..."
That was when it happened.
Knock knock—
The door cracked open. A small face peeked through the narrow gap.
"Um... are you busy?"
"What is it?"
"Well, it's just..."
At that moment, a spirit rose above her face, making its presence known.
"..."
Berge and Gordon gasped in unison.
Unexpectedly, the answer was close at hand.
The solution: spirits, more sensitive to mana than anyone.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"I'm so excited."
The princess smiled, a bit out of place for the situation.
"I was bored. A little? No, very bored."
Though relying on others' hands, shedding the long-craved burden was bliss.
Not being harmed after kidnapping was fortune.
But weeks of idleness turned joy to boredom, gratitude to curiosity.
She had heard 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 for heroes or valuable hostages for negotiations.
Good or bad, they twisted situations to their favor. Yet this Demon King hadn't touched her once. Hadn't even visited.
Curiosity arose naturally but was soon dismissed.
'He's still a Demon King...'
She figured gratitude for being left alone sufficed.
But infinite free time was torture for one crushed by daily duties and expectations.
She wanted to do something, yet she was a hostage.
'I could decorate this place however.'
Her eyes fell on the empty fourth floor. She wanted to turn this void into a playground for spirits.
She boldly knocked. Madness, but boredom was unbearable.
Her heart pounded. Yet the response was unexpected.
"Bundle up tight."
She wrapped herself in the thick fur coat he handed over, bought recently from a nearby city.
"Keep your promise."
"Letting you decorate the fourth floor however? As long as you find elixirs, gladly."
When he first heard, Berge thought her mad.
'Even loosened up, she wants to decorate a Demon King's tower?'
A mere human?
But he accepted instead of scolding. No spare time to grow the tower anyway.
And since he wanted something from her, a trade suited both.
The tower door opened. For Ernyan, her first outside view in weeks. The cold bite and swirling snow stung but felt refreshing.
The water spirit cheered. The fire spirit shrank, hiding in her clothes.
"I'm probably the first to roam upper Erjest."
"Don't care. Listen up, princess. Your job is..."
"Ernyan."
"...?"
"Call me Ernyan. We'll see each other awhile—it's better, right?"
Berge's face twisted.
Too lenient; she'd gone nuts.
"You keep forgetting your place... Want me to move you to a cell?"
"..."
She didn't reply. Her face paled at the subtle killing intent.
Berge withdrew it and strode out.
"Simple job. Use the spirits to find mana-dense spots."
Spirit herbs needed special mana-concentrated places. Easier to find broad areas than specific tiny plants.
"Got it."
Ernyan sent out the water and wind spirits.
"Found it."
"...?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meanwhile, as Berge searched for spirit herbs with Ernyan.
A message arrived from Granada.
📰 Message
News from the Information Guild. Hero Hillun Kargil and 32 other heroes have departed Hilde란 Kingdom's capital, heading north. Expected to exhibit typical hero behavior, with forces likely to grow accordingly.
Gordon bit his lip.
"Hoped they'd be delayed longer..."
The heroes had finally begun to move.