I’m the Demon King, but There Are Too Many Heroes

025. Demon Lords

“What happened to Hillen Cargill? Are you dead?”

Her first words were, ‘Hello, Gordon. Is this your first time seeing it in person?’

And right to the point.

When I came here, I expected that these questions would surely come up.

Because of this, Berge gave Gordon a strong warning.

– We didn’t fight. Hillen Cargill is still wandering somewhere in Erzest.

I asked why. Do you really need to hide the fact that you caught the handsome warrior? Wouldn’t it be better to talk about your achievements and raise your position among the demon lords?

Berge said that it was a short insight.

– He will be the dagger I planted. Even if there are some failures, I will still return as an undefeated hero.

I knew what you were thinking. Gordon was astonished. However, he could not protest at the resolute gaze of Berge.

It was impossible with his common sense, but all of Berge’s actions so far have been like that.

The result?

complete success.

So Gordon decided to trust Berge. ‘Cause I’ve already done that

“He didn’t die. In fact, he didn’t even come to the tower.”

“What else does that mean?”

Again and again-

Aina’s bewildered voice could be heard through the sound of her shoes.

“Healen Cargill is probably still roaming Mount Erzest.”

“Does that make sense?”

It shouldn’t be standard. but now it is

“I believe you know what Berge-nim did at the graduation ceremony of the Demon King Academy.”

“… you insulted the standard.”

“It was not just an insult. I heard it myself. They said it was just stupid trash carrying a hatchling’s corpse and heading to the dragon’s rare.”

“…no matter how good a demon king you are, you shouldn’t dare insult the standard.”

Gordon affirmed the slight anger he felt in his words.

“That’s what I want to do.”

“…I can understand why you were so dissatisfied. So you really mean you built the tower somewhere else? Not the highest peak?”

“Whatever, I poured one more drink and hid it out of sight.”

“That’s great. If you even hid it in a rough area called Erzestra, it’s understandable that the hero can’t find the tower.”

she stopped walking

“It’s the first time, so don’t be too nervous. Unlike the meetings of those handsome demon lords, our lieutenants are just subordinates who come to complain about their boss.”

“If that’s the case, I’m confident I’ll do the best I can.”

“It sounds like you’ve heard the story.”

He turned around and adjusted Gordon’s clothes.

“Still, it’s the Demon Lord I serve, and there are no perfect secrets, so don’t be too vicious.”

“of course.”

“I am kind to everyone. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a bit like this.”

“Isn’t . . . excessive self-awareness?”

“Oh my, your heart sounds a little loud while you’re talking?”

“Dark elves have a big heart.”

quiver-

The door opened. It was Gordon’s first deputy meeting.

* * *

“You didn’t even come to the tower?”

How am I supposed to deal with that disappointing statement?

Drakson Doldorf snorted.

Reina Sordain blinked expressionlessly.

And Ugar Belbek decided to be angry.

It has already been over a month since the troop first started climbing the mountain.

Half of the crowd fell out, and the same stragglers were either dead or descended.

But Hillen Cargill didn’t even make it to the tower?

“Are you telling me to believe that now?”

“You don’t have to believe it. There’s no reason to beg someone like you to believe.”

“Who are you calling a lump now?”

If it wasn’t for the tower, if it wasn’t for the prohibition of disputes between demon lords, it would have been a life that would kill me right away.

And if that was the case, it was possible. Berger, who received the most dimensional interference, was weaker than anyone else here.

“Wait.”

It was Jason who dug into that life again this time.

“It sounds like Hillen Cargill continues to roam Mount Erzest to this day.”

“right.”

“Then their heroic journey is not over yet. The protection of Berge-nim’s tower was not finished either.”

By the way.

“Why did Berge-nim leave the tower?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Of course not.”

Jason raised the glasses that were lowered. spoke calmly.

“The Demon King does not always have to protect the tower. When you kidnap a princess or a prince, when you plan something, or when you have unity in the tower like this. You can empty the tower.”

However.

“If the hero is aiming for the tower, the demon lord must never leave the tower.”

A tower is an existence that can only be completed with the presence of a demon king. It is operated according to the command of the demon king, lends power to the demon king, and all functions work smoothly only with the demon king.

“That means you’re going to drop the tower yourself.”

is going to commit suicide. A demon king without a tower cannot live. Replenishes the energy consumed by the tower’s medium, collects magic points, and becomes free from interference.

Is the Demon King who has lost everything really the Demon King?

It is no longer the Demon King.

It’s just hunting.

In fact, in the history of Arain, there were also demon kings who had their towers taken away and died as toys for the warriors.

“It was you who invited us to the unity of the tower.”

“Of course I thought the battle was over. It’s been a few weeks since Wharton descended with a troop of warriors.”

Berge did not answer. But that was enough of an answer.

“Did you really build the tower somewhere other than the top?”

It was Draxson who suddenly intervened.

“I know you are an asshole. I know very well what you did at the sacred graduation ceremony.”

“therefore?”

“But before that, I heard that he believed in the standard more than anyone else. So I thought it was just a whim, just words.”

At least until the moment the princess was kidnapped, she kept it.

“But openly breaking the standard?”

“There is no verse in the standard that says you must build a tower on top of a mountain.”

“There is a part where you have to be proudly in a place where you can find it easily, in a moderately dangerous place. You broke both of them.”

The summit of Mount Erzest is extremely dangerous. In the depths of that area, there were also people that even the Demon Kings could not take care of.

“therefore?”

“What?”

“A standard is not a law that must be followed unconditionally. The Demon King’s standard is, to the last, the advice of the first Demon King combined into one. Nowhere does it say that it must be followed.”

“It is a tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years. Tradition is a tradition because it has to be kept, and a standard is a standard because it is natural.”

“Sounds right!”

Ugar added Chuimsae. Berge looked at them calmly and twisted his lips.

“Are you guys confident that you have kept the standard upright?”

“At least I didn’t break it like you did.”

“It doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem.”

There was no way that a standard that was originally tailored for other dimensions could be used as it is in a special dimension called Arain.

If that was the case, they would have been demon lords, not demon lords.

“Come on, let’s go over here.”

This time, Jason Cockmundo intervened at just the right time. The feeling of being deliberately neglected was not very pleasant.

“What Berge-sama said is correct. I also don’t like breaking the standard, but we do not have the right to force Berge-nim.”

“huh.”

“And you haven’t answered the question yet. So can I know where Hillen Cargill is?”

“I would have said that I was wandering the mountains.”

“I want to believe Berge-sama, but honestly, I don’t think he is foolish enough to empty the tower when the hero is sharpening his blade towards the demon king.”

“I said I was wandering in the mountains, but I never said that the tower was dangerous.”

“How many days?”

The voice that suddenly broke in was cold. It was a frost demon who sat at one side of the table boringly the whole time.

“At least a week.”

“The unity of the tower is over in one day. I don’t think it’s a bad choice at all. It’s efficient.”

“What broke the standard?”

“I know it just ended. Ugar. Are you so stupid that you keep repeating the same story?”

Ugar flinched at the cold eyes. Even between the equal Demon Lords and Demon Lords, there was a difference in their differences.

“…awesome.”

He turned his head.

“Jason. Why don’t you stop too? If the tower is occupied, it is your responsibility.”

“of course. I was just worried, and I respect Berge-nim’s free will.”

Jason shrugged.

momentary silence. What followed was a normal conversation.

“This time, our people decided to come down to Arain. I decided to become a family member and help me. It will cost you quite a few magi points, but it’s worth it.”

“That’s not bad. But don’t show it too easily. Humans do not stand by the demon lord who has grown too large.”

“The 9th Princess of the Jespine Empire has disappeared. I’ve been wanting to ask you this all the time, but maybe it’s not the work of someone here?”

“I have no intention of touching the Empire.”

“If it’s the 9th Princess, hasn’t the story of marriage with the king of Ormus come and go?”

“The second princess of Werft, the land of dwarfs, left the kingdom and began to wander the continent. Is there anyone involved here?”

“I heard that Logger Friedree is missing.”

“Is that half a penny a hero?”

“It is said that he escaped by himself because he did not want to make a weapon for the princess, not a kidnapping.”

“Don’t even do that. The character of the 2nd princess is more appropriate to be called a demon.”

Berge did not participate in the conversations of the Demon Kings. It was a trivial conversation for the demon kings, but since the subject was the demon king, there were many news and rumors from all over the continent. I sat quietly and listened, wondering if there was anything I could use.

There may be imaginary tricks to deceive yourself, so be careful.

At that moment, I felt a stinging gaze. Reina Sordain. Their eyes met with the demon king of the cold.

a momentary gaze. She blinked and stood up.

Berge followed quietly.

widely-

As the gates of Daejeon closed, the three demon kings who were talking loudly shut their mouths at the same time.

“What are you going to say, aren’t you curious?”

“It’s obvious.”

Drakson snorted.

“Last year, we did not talk openly, but occasionally expressed dissatisfaction with the standard. To be honest, it’s a subtle half-bone in the bottom. We will have a good time playing together.”

“I don’t like either of them.”

Draxson and Ugar grind their teeth.

Jason just looked at the door where they disappeared with a curious expression.

* * *

“What are you doing?”

Tok tok-

Logger looked back at a light hand pat on the shoulder.

As always, the princess with an innocent face had eyes full of curiosity.

“The broken magic cannon is being repaired.”

“Aren’t you running away?”

“What does it mean?”

The logger stopped moving.

“Now there is no one there.”

Currently, there is neither Demon Lord nor Gordon in the tower. There were no forces or means to prevent their escape.

‘No, there is.’

An elf named Granada. And Erzest, a natural barrier.

But isn’t it simply because he’s scared and not running away?

Logger asked himself.

not.

“I can’t run away, so I’m not going.”

Exactly, ‘I can’t’.

Thanks to the Demon King, Logger no longer has a warm home. The workshop where he was always engulfed in passion is no longer his.

‘Princess Louise.’

Logger knows her well.

He felt that her anger was directed at him, that her obsession had begun.

They are probably searching the whole city by now, and if they still can’t find it, they’ll try to achieve their goals by traveling around the whole kingdom and continent.

If caught.

Logger trembled at the sudden goosebumps. I didn’t even want to imagine.

Of course, it wasn’t just because of bad things. He was fascinated by this strange building called this tower, which was given to the demon king.

I feel a little sorry for the heroes who were hit by their own magic cannons and will suffer in the future, but I know. After all, the most important thing in life is yourself.

“Why doesn’t the princess run away?”

The strangest thing to Logger’s eyes was the princess. Unlike the logger, she was not subjected to any oppression. Nevertheless, he is voluntarily cooperating with the Demon King.

To the hero who came to rescue him, he pretended to be the demon king’s subordinate and fell into a trap.

“I don’t have the confidence to go down Mount Erzest alone.”

I know that’s not the reason. Still, Logger didn’t bother to ask. He said something about this princess was reluctant.

“okay.”

Instead of continuing the conversation, he focused on repairs again.

Then, this time, he stabbed me in the cheek.

“…what are you doing?”

“It’s a gift.”

It wasn’t a finger. warm feeling. sweet smell. It was a cookie sprinkled with chocolate.

“I just baked it.”

“In this flat tower?”

When the logger first came to the tower, there was nothing there. At most, all the basic items that fill the 5th floor.

The Demon King didn’t even order him to make something. I was just telling you to prioritize the magic cannons.

“I made a hearth by trimming the earth and put a fire spirit in it.”

“Aha.”

Well, for an Elementalist who can handle all four attributes, this would be easy.

Apart from that, I have to acknowledge the courage to bake cookies in peace with the kidnapped subject.

Even though it wasn’t the car on the go, the logger chewed the cookie.

Ajak-

It was moderately crunchy and moderately sweet.

“how about it?”

“Delicious.”

Even if it wasn’t for her bright eyes full of anticipation, it was a delicious cookie.

“Uh…?”

Maybe it was when I chewed it about five times that I noticed something unusual?

“…what did you do to the cookies?”

“I put very little pieces of aloe into the dough.”

The princess laughed.

“…isn’t that an elixir?”

“Actually, I ate a lot of elixir even in the kingdom. There is still a lot left in my body, so it was difficult to completely digest new things. So I’m going to try to use it like this.”

aloe. He knew that the princess had received it from the Demon King in return for being hostile to the hero.

Could you do that to yourself?

Although it was a part, Erzestra grew up in a heavenly fortress and was an extremely pure primordial plant. The pure mana was absorbed greedily without leaving a trace of the interference in the hero Logger.

it was gimmick

As a warrior, he came closer because he was a lowly logger.

“It’s a gift that we want to be friends with in the future. Do you like it?”

“I like this mask so much, but why bother with me…”

“Is there a reason? Logger, Granada, and me. We will have to live face to face for a long time to come.”

If it was for that reason, I would rather bow down to thank you.

“thank you.”

“Will Granada like it too?”

“You will be more than me.”

“Also.”

She disappeared with a gunshot. Stepping on the stairs going down to the basement seemed to be heading towards Granada.

‘You’re a bold princess.’

No matter how much the elixir overflows, it is always the elixir that is greedy. Giving it to others was never something anyone could do.

Logger’s liking for Ernyan slightly increased.

‘But why…’

Do you feel like you took an ominous bribe?

For some reason, my spine became cold.