CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

“Move them carefully! Every one of those is worth more than your lives!”

“You stupid ogre bastard! Don’t throw it!”

Dozens of furnaces spewed flames without pause. Muscles flexed as bare-chested dwarves brought their hammers down with powerful blows.

Countless pieces of metal were refined and carried out of the workshop. Monsters hauled the finished components outside, where craftsmen waiting in the snow inscribed circuits and joined the pieces together into a single whole.

“Over here!”

“Hurry, hurry! The circuits aren’t fully engraved yet!”

“Whoa, it’s tipping! Watch out!”

Enormous legs.

There were no fewer than eight of them, each nearly twenty-two meters long. They were rapidly nearing completion.

After just three months.

“... Incredible speed.”

Watching from a small rise, Berge marveled at the sight. He had pushed them hard, but he had never imagined they would finish this quickly. He had expected it to take at least half a year.

“Don’t forget how much I contributed.”

Vivian shrugged. He did not care for her smugness, but this time she was right.

She had brought dozens of demons with her, most of them succubi. And Berge had discovered another talent the succubi possessed.

They were meticulous. Surprisingly good with their hands.

Their skills were a drop in the bucket compared with the dwarves’, but they were more than capable of assisting them. There was no denying that the succubi’s participation had done much to hasten the legs’ completion.

“Me too.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Scale.”

Though he grimaced, Berge pulled off a scale and gave it to Lavinia.

After all, the increased intelligence of the monsters she had turned into chimeras had made the work proceed more smoothly. Cher had also been a tremendous help, lifting most heavy objects single-handedly.

But the greatest contributors of all were undoubtedly the dwarves.

They wanted to complete this creation as soon as possible—something they had never made before and would never have the chance to make again.

That obsession, combined with Logger’s desire to impress Berge, had driven them to pour their very lives into the work.

“I’m glad it was completed in time.”

“Yes. Very glad.”

Just two days earlier, word had arrived that the Empire had finished preparing its hero’s journey. The force it had assembled was far beyond anything Berge could stop in his current state, even if he died and came back to life.

‘The more I think about it, the more incredible this timing is.’

“My lord! It’s finished!”

Logger shouted from below, where he had been directing the dwarves. All eight legs were now positioned around the tower.

They appeared to be attached to it, but in truth, they had only been pressed tightly against it. The tower’s outer walls were so hard that ordinary methods could not pierce them.

“It’s finished!”

“To think we actually made this.”

“But will it really work?”

“Exactly. We haven’t connected it to the tower’s core. We’ve only pressed it against the walls.”

“Shh. Surely the Demon King wouldn’t have us do something pointless.”

“I wasn’t sure we could do it at first, but not having to build a core made it easier than I expected.”

“For all that, your nose is bleeding.”

“And your eyes look like a rotten frozen fish’s. Why don’t you go get some sleep?”

“Hehehe. You want me to sleep through the glorious moment this thing starts moving? Are you picking a fight?”

“That wouldn’t be so bad. Just remember, I haven’t slept in days, so my hammer doesn’t know when to stop.”

The dwarves growled at one another, their nerves frayed by three months of punishing work.

Berge considered ripping out their insolent tongues, but decided to be generous and let it pass. Thanks to them, the work had been completed without mishap. This was a good day, made possible by their hard work.

Berge reached out.

He felt the chill of metal steeped in Erjest’s cold.

And then.

[The tower recognizes the magical devices ‘Spider Legs’ X8 positioned against its outer walls.]

[Confirmed to have been installed at the Tower Master’s will. The devices can be assimilated into the tower.]

[3,200,000pt required.]

[Proceed with assimilation?]

The tower had recognized the legs.

‘Four hundred thousand points per leg, then.’

It was hardly a small sum, but it fell within his expectations. Berge nodded without hesitation.

[Expending points.]

CRACKLE!

The tower’s demonic energy surged all at once.

But then.

[Faint mana energy detected.]

[Assimilation failed.]

[More demonic energy is required for complete assimilation.]

[Expend 7,200,000pt to proceed with assimilation?]

“... W-what’s wrong, my lord?”

Logger shrank back from the sudden torrent of murderous intent.

“No. Nothing.”

Berge clutched his throbbing head. Come to think of it, this had happened when he assimilated the Mana Ghost, too.

It had been because of the dimensional interference imbued in it by Logger, a hero.

‘Should I be grateful it isn’t ten times the cost this time?’

Presumably, relatively little dimensional interference had seeped into it because Logger had not made it alone.

Though given the sheer size of the thing, the total amount was still enormous.

Berge nodded once more. Fortunately, the demonic energy he had steadily saved with the legs in mind was sufficient.

[Beginning assimilation.]

A vast current of demonic energy engulfed the tower and its eight legs.

* * *

“... Will he be all right?”

Ernyan anxiously bit her nails. It was rare for the smiling mask she always maintained to crack.

- Why not try contacting him?

“I have. But he isn’t answering.”

He had warned her beforehand that he would be doing something and might be unreachable for a while.

But being warned did not mean she would not worry. Especially now that the Empire had fully drawn its sword.

“I didn’t know. I never imagined the Empire would be this desperate.”

Wasn’t she merely the Ninth Princess, after all?

And even if he had tried to overthrow the Empire using dark mages, hadn’t that attempt ultimately been stopped?

As a rule, no country allowed another nation’s army to enter its borders under the pretext of a hero’s journey.

That held true even for the Empire. No, the Empire was even more problematic, given its history of toppling several nations that way long ago.

Thus, unless it intended to wage war against the entire continent, she had assumed the Empire would observe the unwritten rules of a hero’s journey.

Instead of regular troops, it would send heroes officially unaffiliated with any nation, raiding parties, and mercenaries.

That was the usual practice.

As the name suggested, heroes formed the backbone of a hero’s journey against a Demon King, but it was impossible to fill every position with one. Though there were over three thousand heroes, that was not an inexhaustible supply.

Yet the Empire had done it.

It had assembled a hero’s journey numbering five hundred, made up entirely of heroes.

And that was not all.

Balaf Dislord, Gillian Aint, Aina Diaphrin, and even the newly appointed Star, Watton Collo.

No fewer than four Stars were among them. Even hundreds of mana cannons and the elves’ assistance could not stop such a force—not even with the Demon King of Carnal Desire as his servant.

It might have been different if both Demon Kings had spent over a decade in Arain, but each had only been there for around two years.

- Well, I’m not particularly worried.

- I don’t think that Demon King will win, but I don’t think he’ll die, either.

“... You’re right, aren’t you?”

- Isn’t that why you can’t reach him right now?

- Something about attaching legs to the tower, or whatever.

“Yes.”

Ernyan gave a small nod.

On reflection, it was not a bad sign. He was making progress toward escaping the worst-case scenario.

“It’ll work out. He’s always done well.”

Things always went wrong, but each time, he found a suitable solution. That was the Berge Deias she knew.

- Right. He even kidnapped eight more princesses at the last minute.

- He was running wild like an absolute hooligan.

“... Please don’t bring that up.”

A tiny crack appeared in Ernyan’s expression.

For the past few weeks, Berge had been provoking kingdoms far and wide, claiming he needed to stockpile as many demonic energy points as possible.

He had left alone the three northern kingdoms, which could march their armies north directly. But beginning with Iasin’s four princesses three months ago, he had taken Ormus’s Fourth Princess, Hessen’s Third Princess, Gaina’s First Princess, and even the First Princess of the Principality of Carmenia, which headed the Traparta Union.

The entire continent was thrown into an uproar, but the Empire’s threat that they must wait their turn kept everyone as quiet as mice.

- Still, isn’t that a relief? Apparently none of them are like you, Kaede, Elena, or Lavinia.

“What do you mean, like us?”

- Finding a Demon King’s tower more comfortable than your own home? Treating a Demon King as a friend and a romantic interest?

“Don’t make me sound strange.”

- But you are strange... Of course, I like that about you.

- ‘The first you reached out to.’

- ‘The first to take your hand.’

- ‘Your first princess.’

- Aaaaaah! I love it!

“... Don’t you ever get tired of that?”

- Never! It’s always thrilling! Always fresh!

“Please be quiet. I have something important to do right now, you know?”

- How could I possibly do that!

The water spirit, already beside itself, refused to listen.

Ernyan closed her eyes and covered her ears. She slowly steadied her breathing and calmed herself.

A little later, the door opened.

Dressed in a neat suit, Hillen Cargill bowed slowly.

Ernyan raised her lowered head and gently swept back her platinum-blond hair.

“Your Highness, you look beautiful. That dress suits you wonderfully.”

Its pale violet color was warm yet otherworldly, perfectly complementing Ernyan’s presence.

Her eyes shone more beautifully than any jewel adorning the dress. Her light makeup only enhanced her beauty.

“You don’t have any ulterior motives, do you?”

“Of course not.”

“I believe you.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Me?”

Ernyan’s lips curved upward.

She was nervous. But not because of what was about to happen. It was because she could not reach Berge.

“Not at all. My brother couldn’t overcome his anxiety and bared his claws first. I should enjoy watching.”

“Quite a few nobles are wavering.”

“I’m grateful. He’s taken it upon himself to give me a chance to weed out those opportunists.”

“It is also His Majesty’s will.”

“I know Father better than you do. He must have been quite displeased with my refusal, if he’s being contrary like this.”

It did not mean much. More than half the nobles had already sided with Ernyan Hilderan.

That was thanks to the talent and dignity she had demonstrated, and to the popularity of Hillen Cargill, who stood beside her.

Even in a kingdom centered on its nobility, the people’s wishes could not be ignored entirely. With so many commoners supporting Ernyan and Hillen, the nobles had no choice but to follow the prevailing tide for their own safety.

Her brother’s actions, despite all this, were his final desperate struggle.

Unable to bear watching himself slowly sink, he was trying to turn the situation around by any means possible.

The king’s silence also played a part, driven by his lingering anger at Ernyan for refusing to marry Hillen.

But two things would never change.

First, Ernyan’s faction was no longer so weak that a single word from the king could strip it of its authority.

“My brother is a fool. He doesn’t realize that killing me is the only way to change Father’s mind. But he’s a coward without the nerve to do it.”

“It isn’t that he won’t, but that he can’t. I protect you, Your Highness, and you are a spirit summoner contracted with a high-ranking spirit. How could anyone assassinate you?”

“If he truly wants to be king, he ought to accomplish it no matter what.”

“Even if he succeeded in killing you, His Highness the Second Prince would not escape unscathed.”

The other was that the king could never give up on Ernyan Hilderan.

To him, she was more than simply the Crown Princess. She was the light that would turn his kingdom into an empire.

“It’s time. Shall we go?”

“Would you grant me the honor of escorting you, Your Highness?”

Hillen knelt and offered his hand.

“Gladly.”

Ernyan took his hand and rose. Together, they headed for the banquet hall.

That day, the wedding of Hilderan’s Second Prince and the Kingdom of Hessen’s Second Princess was held in Hilderan’s royal castle.