By the time the Tower of Hellfire had hidden itself beneath the sea and Berge returned to the continent, the continent was ablaze.

【Kingdom of Akan Occupies Artian Island. The Kelcasis Alliance Collapses...】

The fury of the dwarves who had lost their princess and craftsmen had passed through Akan and reached the Pirate Archipelago.

【Balaf Dislord and Three Stars Return to Erjest... There Will Be No Second Failure.】

The great hero who had been forced to retreat without so much as glimpsing the tower had set foot in Erjest once again.

【Golden Moon Trading Company Escapes Bankruptcy Crisis.】

【Why Did the Trading Company Thriving on Hillen Cargill's Investment Suddenly Face a Crisis...?】

And one trading company was teetering.

"... What is this?"

Berge crumpled the newspaper provided by the restaurant. He had been about to head for the Empire after a light lunch in Kroint, a city in the eastern Kingdom of Dormund.

It was absurd.

'The company nearly went bankrupt?'

It had been perfectly fine until recently.

The only consolation was that the immediate crisis had passed. Otherwise, he might have sought Aman out and torn his head off.

He crunched down the chicken leg he had been tearing into, bones and all, and left the restaurant.

'What caused it?'

The matter might already be settled, but an uneasy chill crept over the back of his neck.

The Golden Moon Trading Company was more than just a means of procuring materials.

Information and connections.

The information that reached him through its merchants and its web of connections were the company's greatest assets. If it went bankrupt, all of that would vanish.

'Now that Ernyan has returned, I do have another organization in Hilderan, but...'

That was no reason to abandon Golden Moon. Hilderan and Golden Moon each had to serve as his hands and feet.

Furious, Berge quickened his pace.

* * *

HIC!

Aman, who had been processing the company's paperwork, was startled by the door bursting open and the furious eyes confronting him.

"B-bankruptcy? That's preposterous."

A crumpled scrap of newspaper was thrust into his face.

"Even with an article spelling it out so clearly?"

"We did face a crisis, but it was resolved successfully."

"And you didn't report it to me?"

"I did! But you didn't answer!"

"You should have kept trying!"

"I did keep trying!"

At the sheer injustice written across Aman's face, Berge reined in his anger for the moment.

"When exactly was this?"

"About a month and a half ago."

"Hmm."

That was when he had been moving the tower again, this time toward the sea. With nothing else to do, he had taken his time tending to the tower's residents and ignored every bothersome call.

'So it was my fault.'

But a Demon King did not admit fault to just anyone.

"And? You're not about to feed me some bullshit about only trying then and giving up, are you?"

"There are reasons for all of it! Please hear me out!"

"I'll hear you out."

But if he failed to convince him...

CRUNCH!

"I'll leave what happens afterward to your imagination."

"O-of course."

Aman swallowed at the sight of the chair's armrest breaking apart.

"A few weeks ago, the White Sand Trading Company contacted us."

White Sand was a trading company based in the Empire.

"They wanted to buy mana cannons."

Only a handful of companies in the Empire were permitted to handle military supplies such as mana cannons. White Sand was one of them—a supplier to the imperial army.

"We refused at first, but..."

"Why?"

"As I mentioned before, Iasin had first priority."

That was the price of the Kingdom of Iasin's protection. They had to supply the royal family and prioritize sales to Iasin's trading companies.

Naturally, they had intended to do exactly that. Yet the royal family had actively encouraged them to trade with the Empire instead.

"It was an attempt to ease the Empire's pressure, even a little. As long as we get paid, it doesn't matter who buys, does it? Especially when they're offering a premium."

"Continue."

"Yes. In any case, the contract proceeded smoothly, and we received twenty thousand gold up front."

It was both an advance and payment in full. Golden Moon had been thinking of charging ten gold per mana cannon; they could hardly refuse.

The buyers left, and the company dispatched its caravan.

With a full 150 mana cannons to transport, they took particular care. They sent a hundred guards alone, so they could fairly say they had done their part.

"But the shipment was destroyed."

Monsters had attacked. More than half of those accompanying the caravan died, and most of the mana cannons were reduced to useless scrap.

"Monsters? You expect me to believe mere monsters inflicted that much damage?"

Monsters were not weak. But there was nowhere between the Kingdom of Iasin and imperial territory where particularly powerful monsters were likely to gather in packs.

Both countries regularly culled them to keep the roads safe.

"... Well..."

"Spit it out."

"Most of them died in a chain of explosions, not from the monsters."

"What?"

"The monsters set off the mana cannon shells when they struck them. That caused a chain reaction..."

"... Ha."

He was too dumbfounded to speak. Certainly, even if mana cannon ammunition used mana rather than gunpowder, it still contained explosive power.

Of course it could explode if handled carelessly. But the ammunition should have been far more stable than gunpowder.

"As I understand it, they won't normally explode unless a mana cannon's firing mechanism strikes the circuit."

That damned Logger had talked about it so much that Berge remembered.

"Apparently, a basilisk breathed fire onto them."

"Why the hell was there a basilisk there?!"

"Even if you ask me that..."

"... This is maddening. And then?"

"We had to pay a penalty of three times the advance."

"Sixty thousand gold."

"Including what we spent lobbying various parties, it came to over sixty-two thousand gold."

"You spent over two thousand just on lobbying? Isn't that putting the cost of the extras above the thing itself?"

"This wasn't meant to be a one-time deal, was it?"

"... True."

Berge intended to procure a great many things through the company in the future, and paying for them with mana cannons was the most efficient option.

"In any case, the company couldn't raise that much money immediately."

It was no small sum. All the hundred thousand gold Berge had provided had been invested in expanding the business, as had their earnings.

Unable to pay immediately, the company began to falter. Naturally, troubling rumors spread.

"Fine. I understand that much. But I don't think you've addressed the most important part yet."

Berge seized Aman by the collar. Suspended in midair, Aman flailed.

"I-I was just about to explain!"

"Then explain."

"Sir Hillen told me! He said you were busy with the hero's journey, my lord, so we should resolve things first and wait for you to contact us!"

"Hillen did?"

"He said Lady Ernyan had asked him to relay that!"

"Ernyan?"

"Y-yes. Shortly afterward, the Kingdoms of Hilderan and Iasin invested fifty thousand gold each, for a total of a hundred thousand. That let us put out the immediate fire."

"... In the name of Hilderan's royal family?"

"Yes, in the names of the two kingdoms..."

The rest of his explanation barely registered.

* * *

『I'm sorry if I overstepped. You kept leaving our calls unanswered, so I thought you must be very busy. But we couldn't afford to wait indefinitely for you, my lord, so I took action.』

"That's not a problem. I bear some responsibility as well. But did you really need to get involved yourself?"

『I'm one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Of course a Heavenly King should sort things out when her Demon King is in trouble.』

『I'd be hurt if you thought that was strange.』

She smiled as she said it, leaving him with little to say.

"... Thank you."

『You're welcome. Oh, and don't worry. It wasn't my money or the royal family's. I have more than enough to cover that amount myself, but there was no need to use my own funds.』

"Duke Heinz?"

『Yes. Thanks to you, my lord, he was easy to persuade.』

"Persuade? You didn't steal it?"

『... What do you take me for? You were the one who stole, my lord.』

"As I recall, someone living in Hilderan was quite enthusiastic about helping."

『I was a hostage. I had no choice. Surely I had to obey the Demon King's orders to survive?』

"Even a passing hellhound would laugh at that."

『Let it laugh. Anyway, may I continue?』

"Go ahead."

『This is all thanks to you kidnapping the dwarven princess and pinning the blame on the Demon King of Carnal Desire.』

"Because of that?"

『The dwarves have thoroughly misunderstood the situation and are using Akan, Hessen, and Dormund to turn the Pirate Archipelago upside down. In the process, enormous quantities of dwarven strategic equipment are flowing into those three kingdoms.』

The foremost example of that strategic equipment was the mana cannon.

The Kingdom of Berft had strictly controlled mana cannons rather than releasing them equitably abroad. Now they were being concentrated in just three kingdoms.

『What do you think will happen?』

"The neighboring countries will be shitting themselves."

Even between allies, no country—no human—would simply stand by and watch another nation grow stronger.

It was the opening act of an arms race.

『Exactly. Hilderan is one of those countries. And Duke Heinz is also the commander of the kingdom's navy.』

『Then a trading company appears before him that can manufacture quite respectable mana cannons, even if they can't compare to dwarven ones.』

『And wouldn't you know it, that company is in trouble?』

"Hilderan should be capable of manufacturing mana cannons too."

『Golden Moon's mana cannons performed better than the ones we made ourselves.』

"... I understand."

That damned Logger. Told to lower their performance moderately, he really had lowered it only moderately.

『They decided to reach out and acquire the technology first. Of course, I'll keep things under control so the company isn't swallowed whole.』

"Even so, Iasin wouldn't have handed it over easily."

『There were some fairly complicated negotiations. They'll have to share the spoils with the Kingdom of Iasin, but they seem reasonably satisfied with the outcome.』

『It also helped enormously that Golden Moon had already paid off so many people at the top.』

Oh, she had also thrown in a few threats and Sir Hillen's name.

Ernyan smiled brightly.

"I see."

『But there's something that doesn't quite add up.』

"What is it?"

『The caravan was attacked in the Ormus region. That used to be the Beast Demon King's territory.』

"And?"

『Beast-type monsters attacked the caravan. That makes sense. The monsters there were set loose after the Beast Demon King died. But one of the survivors says he saw a beastman.』

"... A beastman? Are you certain?"

『Not certain. He may have imagined it in the confusion. No one else saw one.』

"I see."

『It's also strange that the basilisk immediately breathed fire onto the mana shells as soon as it appeared.』

"It could be a simple coincidence."

『It probably is. That's why I only said it didn't quite add up.』

『And there's one more thing. White Sand handles some military supplies, but those are low-quality swords, shields, and armor, and even those go only to certain regional forces.』

『It's a small operation. Isn't it strange for people like that to suddenly buy 150 mana cannons, paying the full amount up front?』

"That is a little strange."

Still, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible if they had seen the mana cannons as a promising opportunity and gambled the company's future on them.

They didn't even need to supply the imperial military. Thanks to Berft and Akan, many countries were now seeking mana cannons.

'But put the two together, and it is a little strange.'

Viewed separately, neither was strange at all. But what were the odds of both coincidences happening at once?

'A beastman.'

Most of the beastmen should have died along with Drakson.

Even those who survived couldn't have lasted long without their tower. There was no way they could still be alive.

'Unless they became another Demon King's servants...'

Berge's eyes grew cold.

'Another Demon King's servants.'

Who could it be?

Not Reina. He had visited her tower several times and seen no beastmen.

'Ugar or Jason.'

It was one of the two.

But why?

["Then, in the end, none of the Demon Kings interfered with the dwarven kingdom. They acted on a misunderstanding."]

Jason's parting words came to mind. Berge could not forget the look in his eyes as he stared at him with a smile on his lips.

Perhaps Berge was being overly suspicious, or overreacting.

It seemed like an absurd coincidence, but such coincidences did sometimes happen.

That didn't matter. He could investigate, and if it proved to be a coincidence, leave it at that. The time and effort involved were preferable to letting the suspicion in his heart grow.

'If this really is your doing...'

Berge swallowed his murderous intent.

"Understood, for now."

『Shall I look into it?』

"There's no need for you to get involved. How are things in the kingdom?"

『A little annoying. Since my brother married Hessen's princess, companies with ties to Hessen's trading companies have started receiving preferential treatment.』

Those benefits had increased both the number of Hessen companies doing business in Hilderan and the number of Hilderan companies heading to Hessen.

And all those companies inevitably came within the Second Prince's reach. Naturally so: through the princess, he held a firm grip on the connections to Hessen.

"So that's how he intends to expand his influence?"

『Exactly.』

His influence over merchants and nobles would inevitably grow. However exceptional someone might be, no one was immune to money.

"Will you be all right?"

『Don't worry. I told you, didn't I? I don't like having what's mine taken away.』

"I'll trust you."

『Good. Oh, I heard you're going to the Empire. It's because of that sword, isn't it?』

"Yes."

『It's a symbol of the Empire. Will you be able to obtain it?』

"I'm not trying to obtain it. I'm going to destroy it."

『Destroy it?』

"Yes. I'll smash it to pieces so no one can ever use it."

If it was indeed the sword that had pierced his heart. The very existence of that revolting sword in this world disgusted him.

'And I'll have to look around as well. A hero wielding the sword that symbolizes the Empire must have close ties to it.'

Frankly, he had initially suspected Balaf Dislord. Stronger than any other hero and on friendly terms with the First Prince, Balaf had seemed the likeliest candidate.

But his face and demeanor were a little different.

'Who besides Balaf Dislord is a hero of that caliber?'

He had checked most of the Stars, either personally or through Hillen Cargill. None had seemed particularly suspicious.

Hollen Kalaif was the only Star he hadn't gotten a proper look at, but the Stars were not the only powerful heroes.

Some had once been Stars and relinquished their positions. Though effectively retired, their strength could not be ignored.

'I hope Hillen Cargill becomes Guildmaster of the Heroes' Guild soon.'

Then he would have access to the guild's entire roster.

『I'm curious, but I won't ask why. I'm sure you have your reasons, my lord. Good luck.』

"Yes, good luck to you as well. Tell me if you need help. I'll do everything I can."

『I will.』

The connection ended.

* * *

"How interesting."

His attempt to apply pressure through the trading company had failed, but Jason remained cheerful.

"I expected Hillen Cargill to intervene, of course, but he seems to have won them over more thoroughly than I thought."

To think Duke Heinz of Hilderan had personally stepped in to invest.

"Hilderan's Crown Princess is reportedly involved as well."

"That would be Hillen Cargill's influence. After all, a hundred thousand gold was passed off as his money and invested in Golden Moon."

Jason had pieced together his own understanding of events.

The money he had sold Berge in exchange for demonic energy had gone straight into the Golden Moon Trading Company. And just then, the company's heir had returned after wandering in the wake of a failed hero's journey.

With his aura core destroyed, no less.

"If Berge destroyed his aura core after making him a dark knight, he can't manifest demonic energy externally. An excellent choice."

"Could Hillen Cargill be involved too?"

"He must be."

Otherwise, that enormous sum of a hundred thousand gold could not have become Hillen's investment immediately after his return from Erjest.

"Hillen Cargill has joined hands with Berge. Perhaps he found the tower from the very beginning and lied about being unable to locate it."

"Even so, for a Star hero to..."

"Heroes are human, after all. And humans are infinitely weak in the face of desire."

"I believe revealing this immediately would be difficult."

"Correct. Without clear evidence, it will be dismissed as a baseless rumor. The reputation he has built carries considerable weight. Attacking him blindly would be unwise."

First, they should take down the trading company, cut off Hillen's funding, and slowly erode his reputation.

"That would be the prudent approach."

"I'll proceed to the next plan."

"And as for Hilderan's Crown Princess..."

After a moment's consideration, Jason continued.

"Leave her alone. When she eventually discovers that Hillen Cargill was a Demon King's lackey, she'll feel used and become all the more furious, driving her to kill Berge."

"True. After all the suffering Demon King Berge put her through, her grudge must run deep."

"Please contact Hilderan's Second Prince. Hillen Cargill's support for the Crown Princess must make him more than a thorn in the prince's side."

"Yes."

They did not know that one of their assumptions was wrong.

Perhaps they would never find out.

In their understanding of the world, an abducted princess never became one of the Four Heavenly Kings.