He really had come.

Martin clutched his throbbing head. No one would ever imagine it: the damned Demon King who had turned the entire continent upside down and become a public enemy of the Empire was calmly enjoying coffee in front of an imperial prince.

“You look as though you didn't think I'd actually come.”

“Of course I didn't. What Demon King in the world would willingly walk into the heart of the Empire?”

And alone, at that.

“Do you know another hero's journey is underway, searching for your tower?”

“I do. The poor things are wasting their time.”

“... How on earth did you hide the tower?”

“If I told you, I might have to take your head.”

“Never mind. Then what is that appearance of yours?”

“Is it strange?”

“... Strange? Very strange indeed.”

His face was the same. So was his build. But his hair color, his eye color, and the air about him were different. Not a trace of demonic energy could be felt; even knowing who he was, Martin found it hard to think of him as a Demon King.

“What method did you use?”

“You don't need to know.”

“Can other Demon Kings wander around like this, too?”

“Aren't you trying to get a little too much for nothing?”

“What do you want?”

Berge gave him a sly smile.

“Do you want to know that badly?”

“This is a serious matter.”

“If you want to know, there's no reason I can't tell you. Depending on what you can give me, of course.”

“I hear you're fond of money.”

“I am.”

“What would a Demon King use money for?”

“You want to know that, too? That raises the price.”

“... Tell me.”

“I want a trading company.”

“A trading company?”

“If you can't give me one, you won't get your answer.”

It was a precaution of sorts. Now that he sensed Jason's sinister reach extending toward the Golden Moon Trading Company, he couldn't simply do nothing and let it happen. He needed a replacement in case Golden Moon collapsed.

“I own several trading companies. I'll give you one of them.”

“The sort you can dispose of immediately if you change your mind?”

An imperial prince could destroy a small trading company whenever he pleased. Especially if he used its becoming a Demon King's pawn as an excuse to eliminate it at his own discretion.

Martin Jespine had merely joined forces with him temporarily for his own benefit. He wasn't an ally Berge could trust to watch his back.

“As a member of the great Empire's ruling bloodline, I will keep my word.”

“Can you swear that extends to a Demon King?”

“... Of course.”

“Unfortunately, that's not enough to move me.”

“Then what do you wish for?”

“An imperial prince of your standing must have a trading company or two in other countries, surely?”

“That's...”

“Don't try any clumsy lies. Not unless you want to bow out of the succession early.”

“... I do.”

“In the Traparta Union?”

“There are two trading companies under House Aincheil.”

“Hand one over. Sever its ties with House Aincheil completely. Oh, and of course, no one must be able to tell from the outside that its owner has changed.”

“Neither company is particularly large.”

The Traparta Union was a center of trade. It was a wealthy nation that drew great numbers of people and vast sums of money, but it also had correspondingly many trading companies.

The Union pursued a policy of supporting its domestic trading companies affiliated with its constituent small states. As a result, the White Rose Trading Company and the Hyacinth Trading Company barely stayed afloat, doing little more than serving as informants who brought back intelligence on the Traparta Union.

“Then hand over both.”

“... Are you a robber?”

“You know better than I do that it's worth that much.”

Oh, and another thing.

“Invest more in the companies, too. That will determine not only the answer to this question, but how much cooperation I give you in the future.”

“You would have done well in politics instead of being a Demon King.”

“You flatter me.”

“I'll invest five thousand gold. That's the most I can raise at the moment.”

“Not bad.”

He had grown used to hearing large figures like a hundred thousand or sixty thousand, but it was enough money for a small trading company to launch a new venture.

'No, not just one. Several.'

Who was it who said you should do business with other people's money?

“Now tell me.”

“No Demon King besides me can wander around with their demonic energy completely concealed.”

“And?”

“You must have some idea.”

“Suspecting and knowing are different things.”

“Patronage. We support those in difficult circumstances.”

“Naturally, your intentions can't be pure.”

“Obviously. People receiving patronage from Demon Kings are spread far and wide across the continent.”

Berge subtly planted a bomb. He sponsored no nobles himself, but Jason surely sponsored quite a few. If the Third Prince dug into the ties between Jason and the nobility and turned everything upside down, it would make for quite an entertaining spectacle.

“... That was very expensive information.”

“Cheap, you mean. Compared with living each day in fear, believing other Demon Kings can do this, too.”

“I won't deny that.”

In truth, revealing this face wasn't a good choice for Berge, either. He had nevertheless shown himself openly because he held Kaede hostage, and because he wanted to examine that sword despite the risk. If it truly was the sword that had pierced his heart, it would be worth it.

“Now it's your turn.”

“Did you bring the token?”

“Here it is.”

“Give it to me.”

“After I hear your plan. Before coming here, I asked Kaede about the imperial palace's secret vault.”

The secret vault had been built when the Empire was founded, but it had taken its present form roughly seven hundred years ago, after the emergence of an archmage with nine engravings.

“The vault has a cavern with two doors. One leads to the custodian's quarters, and the other leads into the vault itself. Correct?”

“... Correct.”

“The token responds only to imperial blood. Anyone who isn't a member of the imperial family cannot enter the vault even with a token. Even as an escort knight, I can go no farther than the cavern. A custodian guards the vault, and an imperial family member who enters may bring out only one treasure. Is that correct, too?”

“... That is correct as well.”

“Well, then.”

Berge smiled. He radiated no intimidating presence. Neither his tone nor his expression was threatening. Yet Martin's skin prickled. He felt like an animal standing before an ogre.

“What about the fact that no one unworthy can wield that symbol of the Empire you mentioned?”

“...!”

Martin shut his mouth.

“... Kaede?”

“Surely you didn't think I wouldn't ask your sister? After showing such obvious holes in your story?”

Or perhaps...

“Did you think your sister wouldn't readily tell me when I asked?”

“... How on earth did you win my sister over?”

“That's hardly the important thing. If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, even I don't know what I might do.”

If it came to it, he could abduct every member of the imperial family. The consequences? With his tower buried in the sea, why bother worrying about those?

“... The Empire won't stand for it.”

“I suppose the Empire had nothing to do with the hero's journey currently heading for Erjest, then? What you need to do is offer an alternative that satisfies me, not make pathetic threats.”

“...”

There was no such alternative. In fact, Berge's appearance before him had already thrown Martin's plan off course. He had never imagined a Demon King would brazenly come to see him with his demonic energy perfectly concealed.

He had taken the token. He had even obtained imperial blood. He should have acted on his own and failed, caught by the custodian and the great magic protecting the vault. Instead, this so-called Demon King had come to the imperial capital as an official guest.

Martin bit his lip.

“You still haven't answered.”

The Demon King pressed him.

“... That's correct. No one has lifted that sword in hundreds of years, and I can't be sure I am worthy, either.”

“Yet you had the nerve to spout nonsense about handing it over to me.”

“You're a Demon King. You might have had another way. You took both the token and my blood, so why are you following the proper procedure?”

“So you were hoping I'd fail and trying to lure me into a trap after all?”

“... That's...”

“Did you think Kaede wouldn't tell me that an archmage's defensive magic circle was installed there and has been steadily reinforced?”

“Why on earth...”

“You should be thanking your sister, Martin Jespine. She did it to save your life. If I had known nothing, and things had played out as you intended...”

Berge's eyes turned cold.

You...

“Would be dead.”

“...”

“This is your last chance, Martin Jespine. Try to play me for a fool like that one more time, and you'll meet an end worse than anything you've imagined.”

Don't think I'll keep sparing you for Kaede's sake.

“... I'll remember that. But...”

“You still have more to add?”

“Why did you come, knowing all that?”

“To make sure.”

Taking on the vault's defensive magic circle and its custodian, attempting a reckless theft in the imperial capital, was the worst possible move. Perhaps things would be different if he removed all dimensional interference and regained his full strength, but it was utterly impossible for Berge as he was now.

Ultimately, his only hope was for Martin Jespine to become Barstein's master and bring it out legitimately. Frankly, he didn't expect much. Believing a sword that had remained masterless for hundreds of years would suddenly choose Martin was far too optimistic.

He had come nonetheless for precisely the reason he'd stated: to make sure. It would be good if Martin brought it out, but even if he couldn't, Berge could obtain accurate information about Barstein in the imperial capital and establish whether it was the sword that had pierced his heart.

“What does Barstein mean to you? That sword has lain dormant in the vault for hundreds of years.”

“You don't need to know that.”

'And if, by some chance, he does bring it out...'

Berge had to seize or destroy it by any means necessary.

That red-bladed sword represented a possibility: the possibility of a blade that could kill Berge. That keen sword, said to be made from nothing less than dragon bones, had mercilessly crushed his scales, flesh, and bones. It could display its power even in an ordinary person's hands, but in extraordinary hands it became stronger still.

Back then, in that moment, perhaps the outcome—his defeat—would not have changed. But at least, if that hero hadn't had that sword, he wouldn't have lost so brutally and pointlessly. At the very least, he would have torn out the bastard's throat and taken him down with him.

Eliminating that possibility alone made destroying the sword worth the risk. If he couldn't destroy it, he could at least keep it himself or hide it.

“There are two things you need to remember.”

First, bring the sword out and hand it to Berge. Or...

“If you can't become its master, capture an image of the sword so I can examine it.”

“... Understood.”

Berge growled his instructions. Martin nodded.

* * *

Only members of the imperial family could enter the imperial palace's secret vault. Only those who held a token could enter, and they were given just one opportunity in their lifetime. Every treasure within was an exceptional artifact, but they could bring out only one.

Yet every artifact had its own requirements. These noble artifacts chose their masters and would not permit the touch of an unworthy hand.

“They say some members of the imperial family have actually come out empty-handed.”

“Don't try any bullshit. If you're chosen and hide it from me, my mercy ends that instant.”

“... I was merely mentioning one possibility.”

“Shut up and get into the vault.”

“Won't you accompany me?”

“Of course I will.”

Even if he could only go as far as the entrance, it was a chance to see the vault and the fellow called its custodian.

“Very well.”

Thus, Martin obtained the emperor's permission to enter the vault. Berge followed him as his escort knight.

“Welcome, Your Highness. I've been expecting you.”

They descended a long way underground to reach the vault. An enormous cavern and a door came into view, and the man guarding it was waiting for them.

“I am Jaxion, custodian of the secret vault.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Jaxion.”

“Your escort knight may go no farther.”

“Very well.”

Even as he answered, Berge kept scrutinizing Jaxion and their surroundings.

'He's strong.'

At least on par with a high-ranking demon—no, in some respects, beyond one. He was roughly at Gordon's level when fighting at full strength in the Demon Realm.

That wasn't all. The spells laid throughout the vault were linked to Jaxion. The instant a fight broke out, they would support him and augment his strength while suppressing Berge's.

'If I fight him now...'

He would lose eight times out of ten. There was no need to gamble.

“Your Highness, would you please place the token here?”

“Very well.”

Martin inserted the token into the recess at the center of the door. It clicked neatly into place. Then he cut himself with a small knife and sprinkled his blood over it.

HUMMMM

The door and token resonated. With a thunderous rumble, the door slowly opened.

“You may bring out only one item.”

“I know.”

Martin entered the vault. He couldn't help marveling at the dazzling array of artifacts, each capable of turning an ordinary human into someone endowed with extraordinary abilities. But he passed them all and headed for the center. From what he'd heard, the symbol of the Empire would be at the highest point there.

“... My God.”

But unlike the splendid surroundings...

“... The Red Dragon Sword...”

The most important place of all stood empty.

“... It's gone.”

The Red Dragon Sword, Barstein, had already found its master.