Warning
Hillen Cargill had left for the northern snowfields together with Granada and the Red Hawk Strike Force.
It meant time had passed, and that the Unity of the Tower, scheduled for a month later, was now approaching.
But he couldn't help wondering whether they could even hold the Unity of the Tower at all.
After spouting nonsense, Vivian Blunt had shut herself inside her tower and hadn't come out, and Reina Sordein was currently at war with the White Falcon, so she wasn't in a situation where she could leave her tower.
『I mulled it over for a while. Whether it would be right to hold the Unity of the Tower with four people excluding Lady Reina, or whether postponing it would be the right choice.』
"Didn't you say it's only natural to postpone if there are circumstances?"
『I did say that, yes, but the movements of humans have been unsettling as of late. There's what Lady Vivian did, and Lady Reina's situation as well.』
『I thought it necessary for us to gather and discuss countermeasures.』
He couldn't deny that.
"I heard a strike force attacked Vivian's tower?"
『Yes. Still, perhaps because the princess wasn't kidnapped, they stopped at a moderate level.』
Failing to kidnap the princess had been misfortune for her—but in a sense, it was a blessing.
No… she probably thinks it's purely misfortune.
Vivian believed that if she had succeeded, she would have safely escaped this damn dimension.
At any rate, thanks to that, humans were buzzing like a stirred-up beehive.
"So what's the conclusion?"
『A gathering that began with five must remain five until the end. I do not believe it is right to hold the Unity of the Tower without Lady Reina, who has consistently worked for it.』
In the end, it meant the Unity of the Tower would be postponed.
I'd hoped they would push ahead with it anyway…
Even if Berze had regressed, the current Arein was very different from the past. The small breeze he had stirred was growing into a great storm.
The past he remembered and the present the Demon Lords knew differed significantly.
As long as it's not my tower…
『Which leads me to my next point. It isn't the Unity of the Tower, but I would like to arrange a separate meeting with you, Lord Berze.』
"With me?"
『We agreed to cooperate, but we haven't actually done anything tangible yet, have we?』
『There is something I wish to tell you regarding that.』
"Something you want to say?"
『It's not something we should discuss over communication.』
Jayson was smiling beyond the communicator. As always.
Berze searched his memory for what Jayson might be referring to.
But nothing came to mind.
Before the regression, Jayson around this time didn't do anything significant—other than, a bit later, lending Reina Sordein an enormous amount of demonic energy and using that debt to make her nearly indistinguishable from his own subordinate.
Just because I didn't know doesn't mean he did nothing.
Back then, he didn't know. Berze had been arrogant, self-righteous, and centered on himself.
He didn't care what Jayson did, or how he was setting out to conquer Arein.
He didn't even know—
Why Jayson was called the Demon Lord of Lies.
Nor what race he belonged to.
He simply hadn't considered it important then.
But not anymore.
Jayson was clearly doing something. And his methods were neither ordinary nor orthodox.
If Berze continued on his current path, Jayson would become the one he clashed with most.
Learning Jayson's direction—his goals—was something he had to do.
"Fine."
『Shall I come? Or will you, Lord Berze?』
"I'll go."
Like a commander heading to the front line—
Berze braced himself.
***
The Tower of Lies he visited again was just as it had been before.
Excessively luxurious, filled to the brim with monsters and demons.
Succubi guided him to the summit of the tower.
He sat at Jayson's round table and waited.
"It's been a while."
"It's an honor to see you again, Lord Berze."
"You have more monsters now?"
"Thanks to you, Lord Berze. Ah—would you like some tea?"
"Gladly."
A succubus maid served tea, along with light refreshments.
"So what is it you wanted to say?"
"Is there any need to rush?"
Jayson smiled, removed the steeped leaves, and stirred with a teaspoon.
"The truth is, Lord Berze, I didn't think you would last very long."
At the sudden jab, Berze asked calmly:
"Why?"
"I keep an ear out for news from the Demon Realm. It requires a great deal of demonic energy, but I consider it necessary."
"If it's because of what I did in the Demon Realm, that's hardly surprising."
"You kidnapped the crown princess of Hilderan the moment you arrived, didn't you? I'm still curious how you overcame that crisis."
"Luck."
"You said so before as well. Do you still think you won't be discovered by humans?"
"That depends on what they do."
Crack—
Jayson snapped a hard cookie in half.
"Do you have an adjutant?"
"I don't know what you're getting at. What Demon Lord doesn't have one?"
"Since you graduated first from the officer academy, I imagine your adjutant must be the top of their training school as well. What race is this person?"
"A dark elf."
"Dark elf. Skilled in magic and intelligent—well suited to managing a tower. You've chosen a good adjutant."
Berze set his teacup down. A strange sense of déjà vu—and irritation—welled up.
Jayson today was different from usual. They'd only met face-to-face twice, but they had spoken multiple times through the communicator.
"Why are you curious about my adjutant?"
"They would be a high-rank demon, yes?"
"You know only a high-rank demon could dare call themselves an adjutant."
"And yet Lord Demon has no other high-rank demons besides your adjutant."
"Get to the point."
"These past few days, I've been thinking about Lord Draxon's death."
"And?"
"The Draxon I knew wasn't someone who never lied—but he wasn't someone who would make a lie that made no sense."
"You're saying the high-rank demon who intruded his territory was real?"
"Yes."
"Who was it?"
Jayson rested his chin on his hand. His sly gaze met Berze's.
"It could have been Lord Ugar. It could have been Lady Reina. And I am also keeping in mind the possibility that it might have been you, Lord Berze."
"It wasn't me. An adjutant cannot leave the tower. You wouldn't claim you didn't know that."
"Usually, no. But it doesn't have to be a high-rank demon, does it?"
"…What do you mean?"
"Demon Lord."
He smiled.
"What if? What if the Demon Lord personally took action, and Lord Draxon mistook them for a high-rank demon due to the urgency of the situation?"
"…"
The blade stabbed straight in, and Berze exercised superhuman patience.
He forced himself to answer calmly.
"A Demon Lord invading another Demon Lord's territory? That makes no sense."
"Neither does a high-rank demon. And then there's Louise Verft."
Jayson dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
"She, the princess of Verft, was there. So was a prince named Max Ormus."
Berze tapped the table with his finger.
"And?"
"They came to kidnap a prince or princess but ran into trouble and failed. And that butterfly effect led Lord Draxon to kill the prince."
A fairly convincing deduction, wouldn't you say?
The problem was—
"Hillen nor Lord Ugar, nor even Lord Berze—all three of you are the type who would personally abduct royalty."
"So in the end, you're suspicious of all three. We're back to square one."
"Correct. However, it actually doesn't matter much who the culprit is."
"Why not?"
"If it is true, then it is only natural for a Demon Lord to kidnap royalty. Even if someone was unfortunately caught up in the process, you can't blame the Demon Lord who attempted the kidnapping, can you?"
Unless they intentionally tried to harm Lord Draxon.
The added line was even colder.
"That is why I prefer to cover things up quietly."
"What do you mean?"
"As I said, regardless of who stepped forward, they were doing exactly what they should. It was Lord Draxon who misunderstood the situation and caused a problem—not the others."
No.
Invading someone else's territory without permission was clearly crossing a line.
"And I doubt the Grand Duke Alkaine would want a conflict between Demon Lords either."
He shifted the topic.
"By the way, are you making good use of the 100,000 gold I gave you?"
Berze met his gaze. His eyes were still curled in amusement, but impossible to read.
A strange discomfort pricked Berze's nerves.
"I'm using it well."
"If it's not rude, may I ask how you're using it?"
"It's rude."
"I see."
Silence followed. Only the sound of both of them drinking tea filled the space.
It was Berze who broke the quiet first.
"You keep rambling about nonsense—why did you ask to meet me? Don't tell me it was just to irritate me?"
"Of course not. We promised cooperation, didn't we? I wish to be of help to you, and for you to be of help to me."
"Help?"
"A war will break out."
"A war?"
"Well, not a particularly big one. A large-scale ore vein will be discovered in the Philerium Mountains, and the Southern Alliance and the Empire will fight for profit. Quite a bit of blood will spill."
"And you're giving that to me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"As I said—cooperation. I will help you, and I hope you will help me. And for that, I want you to solidify your position even further."
A carrot and a stick.
The feeling of being trained made Berze grind his lips.
"If you don't want it…"
"No. I'll take it."
"A wise choice."
The conversation that followed was like a melon with its flesh scooped out—neither useful nor pleasant.
After a long while, Berze rose from his seat. He opened space and created a portal to return to his tower.
"Safe travels. I look forward to seeing you again."
"Sure."
"Ah."
Jayson clapped softly.
"I did have another question… but—"
He shrugged.
"I forgot."
"You're playing stupid little tricks now."
Berze growled and stepped fully into the space tear.
It closed behind him.
Crunch—
Jayson bit into a cookie. The sweet chocolate flavor was decent.
Ptui—
He spat it out. Sweet things really weren't for him.
"What in the world is he using all those magic points for…?"
Summoning monsters leaves records. Through Grand Duke Alkine, Jayson confirmed that not a single monster or demon had been summoned into Berze's tower.
And yet he should have plenty of demonic energy—from kidnapping three princesses and even repelling a hero.
Jayson leaned back in his chair.
"If he doesn't want to say, I'll let it go for now."
"And my desire to see your tower…"
Just what was in that tower built in Ergest?
His curiosity burned ever hotter.
***
"…Did he notice?"
He noticed.
It was only a suspicion, and he avoided pointing directly at Berze by dragging in other Demon Lords as decoys—but still.
Jayson had approached the truth.
He realized Berze had invaded Draxon's territory.
And even so, he said he preferred to cover it up.
Then he dangled the carrot of war.
"He hasn't figured everything out."
Perhaps, as he himself said, he only thought something like 'He went to capture royalty and things went wrong.'
No—he was certain that was it.
If he knew Berze had climbed the tower himself and contributed to killing Draxon, he wouldn't have told him to "just let it go."
He simply believed it wasn't intentional, and so he was brushing it aside.
Which means…
It was a warning.
The back of Berze's neck prickled.
He had long known Jayson was setting up something enormous.
Berze's movements must have displeased him. So Jayson quietly summoned him, telling him to behave—just take what he was given.
This bastard… how dare he…!
Berze ground his teeth.
After regressing, he had never imagined he'd run into something like this.
But unlike right after the regression, he didn't bare his fangs recklessly.
His information is incomplete.
He didn't know Hillen Cargill had been fully taken in as one of Berze's hands.
He didn't know about Granada or the elves either.
He didn't know the tower was protected not by monsters but by mana cannons and princesses.
He didn't know a Berze empowered by the Phoenix could roam the continent far more freely than any other demon.
He didn't know.
Since he brought up money…
He may know about the Golden Moon Trading Company.
But he would never imagine that Arman's Orb was implanted inside Hillen Cargill's head.
He probably thought Berze was merely playing at being some shadowy mastermind.
Berze needed to gather strength from within that blind spot.
"Still…"
Tch. He clicked his tongue.
"If he's going to offer a carrot, he should at least give me one I don't already know."
Unfortunately, this carrot was something Berze was already aware of.
It was simply happening a bit earlier than before. It was originally an event several years away.
"Jayson must have made a move."
Or perhaps it was a war he had intended to cause all along.
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