The Demon King and the Princesses
"How did you persuade them?"
"Pardon?"
"I thought it would take much longer. I was even thinking of imprisoning the elves."
Even with Granada as precedent, the elves' hostility toward demonfolk was no small thing.
So he expected it to be difficult—something requiring time.
He never imagined they would swear loyalty the moment they arrived.
"Among the elves, there was someone I already knew. That made the conversation easier."
It was probably more than just that. The elves had said they never would've agreed without Granada.
This guy has something of his own going on…
Well, it didn't matter.
As long as the World Tree remained intact, Granada could never betray him. And besides, Granada was still acting completely loyal.
Berze led them up to Ergest. After enduring the freezing cold, the elves were stunned when they saw the tower.
"…A tower exists in a place like this?"
"Magia cannons? Where are the monsters?"
"A dwarf Hero?"
"Four princesses?!"
The Demon King of Flames… the Tower of Flames… everything was strange.
He had kidnapped four princesses despite the world only knowing of three.
Instead of monsters or demonfolk, the tower was lined with magia cannons.
A Hero and princesses were serving as the Demon King's subordinates.
Everything was layered with contradictions—and the final blow was the high-grade water spirit.
— Welcome to the Demon King's Tower, elves!
A high-grade spirit welcoming elves in a Demon King's Tower…
It was an abomination beyond reason.
…Though maybe not the worst thing.
Relatively speaking, of course. The tower Charlotte and the thirty-two elves imagined was what any elf expected:
A place infested with monsters, demonfolk shouting threats, and a Demon King treating them like slaves.
But this place was not like that. They didn't know why a Hero and princesses were helping the Demon King, but their faces looked alive. No coercion. They even seemed to enjoy it.
Well, Lord Granada wouldn't throw us to just any Demon King, not even for freedom.
Their trust in Granada made this unusual Demon King seem a bit more acceptable.
"So then, what should we do?"
Their tour of the tower was finished. The elves waited in the vibrant ecosystem of the tower's fourth floor for the Demon King's orders.
"Do I have a magician here?"
Charlotte quietly raised her hand.
Elves were naturally sensitive to mana, and that sensitivity usually leaned toward spirits rather than pure magic.
So most elves were spirit-summoners, not traditional magicians.
"What kind of magic do you use?"
"Elemental magic—mostly wind."
"Not bad. Step aside. The rest of you?"
"There are pure spirit-summoners, and warriors who use swords or bows. But all can summon spirits."
"Perfect."
The Demon King's lips curled upward.
"Ten of you will become members of the tower. The rest will return to the continent and live as part of it. Of course, for my sake. The choice is entirely yours. Ah, except for you."
His finger pointed at Charlotte.
"You are mandatory."
"May I ask why?"
"There's a patient lying half-dead on the third floor."
"You mean Princess Elena Hilderan."
"From today, she's your student. Teach her magic."
"…?"
Charlotte tried to understand his meaning. But no matter how she thought, nothing hidden appeared.
She stammered and asked again:
"So… as a subordinate of the Demon King, I am being ordered to teach magic to a kidnapped princess?"
"Yes."
Instinctively, Charlotte looked to Granada. Their eyes met.
Is this correct?
Probably.
Granada looked away.
***
"Now it finally feels like demonfolk are actually living here."
Most of them weren't demonfolk at all—but regardless, the once-empty tower was coming to life.
That thought crossed his mind.
Once the golems were finished and the elves settled in…
Once a Balrog resided on the second floor and he filled the third with something…
By then I might be able to reveal the tower to humans…
Would it be fine?
Negative emotions—rage, sorrow, despair—were not the only way to gather magia points.
Blood, life, direct death—these produced vastly superior quality and quantity of power. No one could deny that.
Thus all Demon Kings welcomed human wars. And if those deaths and lives occurred inside a tower that drank in magia like a core?
He—his tower—could grow far stronger, far faster.
Berze's tower, filled with traps no Hero expected, would become a demonic mire that ceaselessly devoured Heroes and humans.
But would that truly be enough?
No. No, it wouldn't.
The more death the tower produced, the larger and stronger the wave of humans that would come.
If he began in earnest, that tide would never stop—not until Berze died or humanity perished.
And once that repeated long enough…
"That bastard would come."
The Hero with the red sword.
The bastard who pierced his heart. Mocked him.
Could he defeat that monster with just this?
Not even close.
Magia cannons had an absolute limit. They excelled at slaughtering the weak en masse, but could not defeat a single overwhelmingly strong foe.
Golems were the same.
And that bastard had cut down even a Balrog as if it were nothing.
To fight him, Berze needed strength far beyond what he had before—strength that was overwhelming.
The tower must remain hidden till the very end.
That was the correct answer.
And if the tower were someday discovered, he would still need political power among humans to obstruct the Hero's advance as much as possible.
Conveniently, Berze had just gained a new set of chess pieces.
Pawns for now—but in time, who knew?
A rook, a knight, a bishop… even a queen.
The elves.
He activated the crystal orb and summoned Granada.
A moment later, Granada entered.
"You called?"
"Have the elves decided where to go?"
"Yes. We selected twenty-two who wish to return to the Golden Moon Guild."
"Not all of them will return there."
"Do you have something in mind?"
"If they remain tied to a single merchant guild, there's no reason to bother using elves."
"Then…?"
"Send half to Acan."
"…?"
"Acan is a nation that values magicians. If you show exceptional magical talent, you can rise in status even if you started as a slave."
Limited, perhaps, but still more meritocratic than any other nation.
"And elves…"
"Compared to humans, they all have superior mana affinity."
"That, and elves are naturally gifted spirit-summoners. Spirit arts are a type of magic."
Indeed, human magical academies included spirit arts as a branch.
More innate talent was required, but magic remained magic.
"And on top of that—you built rapport with Acan's prince. That will help the elves blend into the kingdom more easily."
The sudden appearance of elves would surprise them, yes.
But they wouldn't reject valuable talent.
Especially with Hillen Cargill involved.
For the sake of his reputation and connections, they wouldn't mistreat them.
They might face a bit of scrutiny—but nothing severe.
"…Surely you don't intend to swallow Acan whole, do you?"
"Hardly."
Sending in a few elves wouldn't make such a thing possible.
"I only need one respectable noble to rise from Acan."
And if that noble used their position to form connections with nobles from other nations—and those connections fed Hillen's influence, or synergized with the connections Hillen himself built…
"Just thinking about it is delightful, isn't it?"
Those elves would become Berze's agents, finding and obstructing the Hero with the red sword.
"You are a truly frightening man, my lord."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"May I offer one piece of advice?"
"Gladly."
"In that case, Charlotte is ideal."
"Charlotte?"
"She may not handle spirits, but she is a magician who has engraved six magic sigils. In Acan, she would be welcomed more than anyone."
"To that extent?"
"Charlotte doesn't use spirit arts because she dedicated herself to elemental magic. Her magical talent was the highest even within the Maple Tribe."
"And someone like that ended up captured by humans and forced into slavery?"
"…For elves who have lived only inside Elven, human society is nothing but a trap."
"There's no need to make excuses."
Berze fell into thought.
Sending the more exceptional one to Acan would be best. Acan always welcomed powerful magicians.
The problem was—
"That elf must teach Elena."
Which made her all the more necessary in the tower. To raise Elena Hilderan into a greater magician, someone exceptional had to guide her.
"If that is the case, then it cannot be helped."
Frankly, he had no idea whether Elena was as gifted as they said. Her body had weakened so much since living in the tower that the mana eating away at her had already been drastically reduced.
But he knew one thing—the Demon King never spoke nonsense.
"Ah, you know you'll have to visit the northern snowfields, yes?"
"Yes, I've heard. Another Demon King's tower, is it?"
Ugh—Granada let out a displeased groan.
"Reina is not someone to be taken lightly. Of course, you and Red Hawk will survive like cockroaches anyway."
"…Could you please leave me out of the cockroach part?"
"It was a compliment. You'll need that cockroach-like resilience this time."
"To that extent?"
"Reina has been waiting."
"So there is a possibility of failure?"
"There is."
"And you're still allowing this?"
"Hillen Cargill wants it."
"…Wait, don't tell me…"
Granada's face twisted strangely.
"You're sending him knowing he'll fail? Because you want him to fail?"
"I told Hillen it would be best if he did not go. But he insisted, so he must bear the consequences of failure. That is all."
"So the shrimp's back breaks while the whales fight, is that it…"
Damn it—Granada cursed under his breath.
"Hillen isn't a whale."
Perhaps a slightly oversized pufferfish.
***
"I contacted Prince Kain, and luckily the conversation went well."
Granada departed.
The twenty-two elves went with him.
Berze personally escorted them to the outskirts of Ergest. Granada would stop by Acan, drop off half the elves, and then return to the Hero's Guild.
Then they would head to the northern snowfields, rolling in the icy plains and fighting Reina.
Those who remained in the tower numbered eleven elves—Charlotte among them.
Charlotte, now a magical instructor, met Elena for the first time.
"A pleasure to meet you, Princess. I am Charlotte of the Maple Tribe."
"Nice to meet you."
Ernan had not lied.
She said Elena's magical talent was excellent—enough that, if not for her frail body, she would have surpassed even Ernan herself. Charlotte realized the truth of that within mere hours.
"Why in the world haven't you been learning magic until now?! The Hilderans must have lost their minds! To think they never taught magic to someone like you!"
"My body is just weak. Mana overload."
"Oh—my apologies."
"It's fine."
Unlike humans, elves did not build walls. They shared knowledge freely and considered it an honor to teach someone talented.
Charlotte was no different. Though she disliked that her student was human rather than elf, she was captivated by Elena's potential—greater than anyone Charlotte had seen.
She wanted to shape Elena, this raw gemstone, with her own hands. To polish her into a jewel that dazzled the world—proud that she had contributed a single facet to this masterpiece.
"I may be lacking, but I will teach you everything I know!"
While the elf and the princess devoted themselves to magic on the third floor, a meeting between another princess and the elves took place on the fourth floor.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the dark spirit-summoner in charge of the fourth floor."
"…Sorry? Dark?"
"And all of you will be protecting the fourth floor together with me."
"Here, with us…"
The elves showed somewhat bright expressions.
They had expected a hell filled with monsters and demonfolk. But there was not a single monster in the tower, and the only demonfolk were the Demon King and the dark elf.
More than that: on the first floor, a dwarf Hero; on the second, a knight and Hero princess; on the third, a sickly princess; and on this fourth floor, countless spirits.
Could this even be called a Demon King's Tower?
They had prepared for the worst of the worst. To be told to serve a human princess—a spirit-summoner who could call forth a high-grade spirit—was unexpectedly good news.
"We will serve you to the best of our ability."
"There's no need to serve me specifically. You and I are both the Demon King's subordinates. We work together to protect the tower."
"Yes."
"May I ask one question?"
One elf raised a hand.
"Of course."
"…Are you truly a princess?"
"I am. Crown princess of the Hilderan Kingdom—Ernan Hilderan."
"You were kidnapped?"
"I didn't walk in of my own will."
"…As someone who now serves the Demon King, I may not have the right to ask this, but… why do you serve him?"
"I wouldn't say I serve him."
"…Then what?"
"If I had to define it…"
Hmm—Ernan stroked her chin.
"A mutually beneficial contractual relationship?"
The Demon King abducted her because he needed her.
And she accepted because she needed something as well.
That was probably the closest description.
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