chapter 26
026. I live with money
The demon lords have their own preferred environment.
The Demon King of Beasts built a pagoda in the grasslands where animals can run wild, the Demon King of the Geum River in a canyon full of rocks, and the Demon King of the coldest weather in the north, where heavy snow falls all year round.
And the Demon King of Lies built a tower on a beautiful lake.
Water birds flying, fish flapping. A place where there is a soft fog in the morning and the waves reflected in the sunlight during the day are absolutely beautiful.
The tower on the lake was perfectly suited to his inclination to be obsessed with what is shown, such as beauty and courtesy.
“What kind of secret are you calling out so hard to tell?”
When I opened the door and went out to the terrace, she was there.
The Demon Lord of the Cold, Reina Sordain. She looked at the rippling lake and turned her head. Just getting close to him gave me a soft chill.
“It’s not really a secret story. I just wanted to share a story with you from the moment I heard the rumor.”
“with me?”
“Because you insulted the standard, my girlfriend thought you would look a little harsher. But it’s normal.”
“It’s not ordinary, it must be handsome.”
“…if you think so yourself, then you will.”
Her silver-blue eyes stared at Berge.
“My wife partially agrees with your opinion.”
And then immediately dropped the bomb.
At the completely unexpected remarks, Berger couldn’t control his expression for a moment.
Has Reina ever said something like this in a previous life? there was no
There were few contact points, but the encounters with those enemies were not good either.
No, apart from that, I didn’t know that standard would come out of the mouth of another demon king.
“Are you serious?”
“Are you saying that you can’t be a real woman when you think like that?”
“No, I was surprised to hear that he hated Standard from other demon lords other than me.”
“Wrong.”
Reina kindly corrected Berge’s words.
“I only agree with ‘some’, but my wife doesn’t hate standard. Rather, I think that we should worship it and keep it.”
“Like other demons?”
“Like other demons.”
“Is the front and back different?”
“My wife likes the standard. There is nothing wrong with those things. However, I think some changes should be made depending on the environment and circumstances.”
understood.
Reina was different from him, who hated the standard itself. He was just a realist who acknowledged the reality and thought that change was necessary.
However, it was surprising that the Demon King, who had grown up listening to the greatness of the standard and the first demon king, had such a thought without any special occasion.
“Then it wouldn’t be that I sang to set the standard privately. Is this a warning? Childish like a baby beast?”
“There is no Demon King who perfectly adheres to the standard in Arain. Do you know why?”
It’s a peer-reviewed answer But Berger answered.
“There are many warriors.”
“Because it has not been occupied for hundreds of years at the same time. It’s because I got used to the demon lord and the demon lord is no longer an absolute existence. Rather, it has become a situation where the hero is hunting the demon king, and it is impossible to survive by keeping the standard as it is.”
So, twisting in the line encompassed by the standard was the way the Demon Kings of Alain lived.
“But it is. Those idiots are ashamed of that. I hate to get it out of my mouth even when I feel the need. And they say that they are keeping the standard more faithfully than anyone else and force them on others.”
Reina hated it.
Becoming a Demon King and twisting the standard is considered a shame. So it is said that the standard is always followed.
It is said that there is no problem with Arain, and it will be resolved when they become stronger.
“I don’t know that it is more embarrassing. So I wanted to see you once. At least, I think I’ll be able to communicate better than those idiots.”
“How do you feel?”
“I don’t like the fact that you hate standard, but I admit that you at least communicate better than those idiots.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“But you better be careful. you are so rebellious Unlike Ugar, that beast does not flutter.”
“Know.”
already hit it once He became Archduke Alkyin’s dog, giving him absurd orders and sending kenafouls to monitor him.
I gave a warning but didn’t listen. Horton Walk was still packed with watchers.
“Did you mean to tell me that?”
“Because I want you, who can speak, not to disappear any time soon.”
“Would there be a Demon King of Lies?”
“The guy doesn’t know what’s inside. What are you thinking and what are you doing? At least it’s better than two nerds.”
She shrugged. The conversation ended there.
“Call me anytime for advice. As long as you don’t curse Standard in front of your real woman, I’ll accept it in moderation.”
“okay.”
I didn’t have anything to ask, but I hoped that I would become acquainted with Reina Sordain.
Among the four demon lords, he was the only one who could use the word ‘at least it was reliable’.
“It’s a personal communication tool. But is Hillen Cargill really wandering the mountains?”
“At least a few weeks away.”
“Right.”
She didn’t believe it, but she disappeared. Berge was fiddling with the marbles. I felt a cold chill.
After a while, I went back to the venue.
“Where did everyone go?”
Of the five chairs, only one found its owner.
“Everyone is back.”
Jason, who was slowly stirring the tea with a teaspoon, greeted him.
“The unity of the tower is over.”
“Short.”
“Because it’s not a regular reconciliation. This unity is more meaningful than the original purpose of welcoming the new Berge-nim, but since Berge-nim and the Demon Lords are not on good terms, is there any need for a longer connection?”
Berge sat down across from him without saying a word.
“Would you like some tea?”
“I don’t like human cars.”
“It belongs to the elves.”
“That or that.”
“It can’t be compared to that of the Demon Realm, but Arain’s has its own flavor.”
“It has already been eliminated from being incomparable.”
“You were a strict person.”
Jason put the teaspoon down.
“Did you have a good conversation with Reina-sama?”
“so so.”
“If I asked you what you were talking about, would you not answer?”
“·················ogue.”
“It’s a joke. After a while, I was jealous. I also want to make friends with Berge-nim.”
Today Berge surprised twice.
“why? Did I insult the standard?”
“Of course it is, but I think Araine is a special dimension and needs a little flexibility. And in the absence of the Demon Lord, even the Demon Lord swears at him.”
“I did it in front of everyone.”
“So, he has the dignity of a demon king who is more dignified than anyone else.”
He answered without changing the color of his face. And the smile that was built was a bit stilted.
“It’s a different story than before.”
“That’s it.”
he brightened his eyes
“Aren’t we just the two of us now?”
There was no need for that, but his voice became as small as a whisper.
“Maybe we don’t think we’ll have a pretty good relationship, do you?”
And it was sweet.
* * *
“How was the meeting with the lieutenants?”
“ah. It was just ordinary.”
Gordon couldn’t be more honest. It was only a curse on the demon lords who served them all, and he said that he occupied most of the shares.
“How was the Demon King?”
“not bad.”
There are two sure enemies and two uncertain allies.
Just getting to know them and having friendly conversations with them was enough to make this reconciliation worthwhile.
and.
“I have to hurry up. I’ll use the ones I captured.”
The Demon Lords did not believe that Hillen was still roaming Erzest. It was natural. A strong warrior who came to conquer the tower.
Leaving it alone and emptying the tower could not be understood by their common sense or Berger’s common sense. In the end, they passed without knowing each other.
But how long will that last?
Questions must be removed before they come to the truth. Before digging further and discovering that he was using the hero in the tower.
It was a different level of problem than simply breaking the standard a little.
“How are you going to use those you captured?”
“Of course, there is only one way for the Demon King to ‘trust’ and use humans.”
“Are you planning to make it a black knight and a warlock?”
Black Knight and Warlock is the classic and most reliable method.
Weak human souls overflowing with negative emotions are mortgaged, strengthened, and manipulated with limbs.
With their souls captured, they can never betray the Demon King and become loyal dogs and stalk humans.
It slowly destroys its people and stabs it as a dagger.
The classic was still in the present, but it was obsolete in Alain.
There are many warriors.
Because the demon lords who were cut by the hero are not the only ones.
To the humans of Arain, the Demon King was no longer absolute. There is no point in obeying until the soul is taken as a mortgage.
“But they are the exception.”
The prisoners had no way out, so if they wanted to live, they had to be forced to become slaves of Berge.
That’s the only way out.
“Is it worth it? If you use any force, you will be detected immediately.”
Warlocks and black knights who have accepted the magic as they are in human bodies can use the human shell to avoid the senses of the hero.
But that was only true when it was completely hidden inside the shell.
“That’s for them to do.”
Of course, Berge was not a part-timer.
“If humans do that, what about the warriors?”
“Kill everyone except Hillen Cargill.”
The anger against the warrior has passed through life. It got deeper and hotter.
Still, he endures because Logger and Hillen Cargill are worth using. It was because he thought that the best revenge he could give to the hero who used him as a toy would be to overthrow the continent by using him.
Conversely, he did not have the mercy to spare even those of no value.
“The Braves had never been to the Tower. They will go down the mountain like this and live as usual.”
Even if the reputation is a little damaged, it will recover quickly because it is Hillen Cargill.
“Of course it would be nice, but you can’t make a champion into a black knight or a warlock. Aren’t we supposed to kill Hillen Cargill too?”
“I will use Armani’s marbles.”
Armani’s marbles are artifacts of the demon realm. You can purchase it using Magi Points and use it to take advantage of someone.
The moment the marble is swallowed by mouth, it melts and takes root in the brain of the host.
You cannot refuse the owner’s command on which the seal is engraved, and you can share your vision and transmit information.
“Would Healan Cargill Eat On His Own?”
Asmodians were a race specializing in magic that dealt with the spirit and soul, but the heroes were different.
Receives dimensional power and has high mental resistance. In particular, in order to feed the marbles of Armani, the hero must remove all defense mechanisms and consume them directly.
Otherwise, the marble cannot reach the brain and melts away.
But are there any warriors who do such stupid things?
“So we should talk.”
Fortunately, Berge had a clue among the stories that Hillen was pouring out.
* * *
His lips were dry and his throat was cracked.
He sticks out his tongue with dripping water. It was dirty and disgusting, but my thirst was quenched a little.
He shut his eyes that had gotten used to the darkness.
‘…why are you still keeping them alive?’
There is a demon king who takes a princess or a prince as a prisoner and makes a deal with the kingdom or the hero.
However, there is no demon king who can save the captured hero.
The hero is the enemy of the demon king, and the demon king is not merciful. The fate of a hero who failed and could not escape is death.
Still, Hillen was alive.
‘From one to ten, everything is strange.’
Why did the dwarf hero install a magic cannon for the demon king?
Are elves acting as spies for the Demon King?
Does the princess claim to be the demon king’s subordinate?
Do you put yourself in prison without killing yourself?
Had it not been for the throbbing pain that reminded us of reality, Hillen might have thought it was a dream and committed suicide.
‘What is the purpose?’
To imprison without killing means that there is something to be desired.
But does the demon lord want anything from the hero? Can the hero grant what the demon lord wants? Is that worth more than a demon lord killing a hero?
Hillen shook his head. none. No matter how you think about it, it doesn’t exist.
It was then that the prison doors opened.
It wasn’t the elf who came to visit at noon.
“···Devil.”
Berge looked beyond the darkness to examine Hillen’s condition. The cracked skin was lifeless. His hair was brittle and his strength was also noticeably lost.
But the eyes still didn’t die. I liked that.
“Looks good enough.”
“…are your eyes rotten?”
“I will save you.”
“···········?”
“I will release you and everyone in prison now. You didn’t find the tower in the first place, and even if you fail, you’ll become a hero who hasn’t been defeated.”
“No, wait. Wait a minute.”
Hillen couldn’t understand what the Demon King was saying.
“Are you going to release me? me?”
“Are there any other humans here besides you?”
“Have you ever gone crazy by taking drugs?”
“Unfortunately, there are no drugs in Arain that can drive me crazy. Of course, the same goes for the Demon Realm.”
“Then you just went back.”
“Do you not want to live?”
Don’t you want to live? No, no one wants to die. Healan Cargill was more greedy and faithful to his instincts than anyone else.
I wanted to live, I wanted to be famous, I wanted to enjoy money and wealth.
So, the hero was his vocation, and at least until now, he’s done well. Even if this damn demon hadn’t used the princess, it would have happened.
momentary silence.
Hillen came to the truth after anguish.
Phhahahaha-
Hillen was stunned. I could feel the pain in my cracked lungs, but I couldn’t stand it.
“…are you trying to convince me now? Is the Demon King a Hero? really?”
“Many humans have claimed to be our families. Is there anything different about being a warrior?”
“Not different. It’s so different, it’s so different!”
Demons and humans exist in incompatible symmetry.
A war of whether to conquer the world or not, which is different from wars between kingdoms or tribal wars in the past.
The hero is the vanguard of humans in such a war, and the demon king is the vanguard of the demon realm.
“not different. No matter what Middle-earth is, the dead have no words and no future. So what matters is whether you want to live or not.”
“·················ogue.”
It was quite a key word.
“I mean, you want me to be your dog.”
“There is a saying among humans that it is better to die than to roll in the dog poop.”
“You think I’m going to get over it with just those words?”
“I read a very strong desire from you. Greed, lust, and lust for survival. You don’t want to die now more than anyone else. Isn’t that right?”
Berge was sensitive to the feelings of others. The intensity that he felt from the exploding Hillen wasn’t everything.
“You value your honor more than your cause as a warrior. Prioritize your desires.”
The reason Hillen was frustrated was not simply because he failed to subdue the Demon King. It was because of the loss of fame and money to be lost, and the longing of life to live.
There was no feeling of resentment at not being able to defeat the demon king anywhere.
‘It’s not really anything special.’
The warriors here are faithful to their desires. It was not for nothing that the merchants chimed in at the warriors.
“Fame minimized damage by not being defeated by the Demon King. If that’s the case, all that’s left is money, and I’ll give it to you.”
“···under?”
“I will pay all the debts you said you were suffering from.”
No, that alone is not enough.
“From now on, I will pay you all the money you need while you are a warrior. I will be your water lord. The great demon king, I, Berge Deias.”
So you give me allegiance
“Heh heh heh.”
Hillen laughed.
It’s not funny, I just laughed.
Will the Demon King be the supporter of the hero? When will I ever hear this bullshit again?
freaked out However, I also wondered how far this demon king could go.
“Oh yeah?”
So I decided to tweak it a bit.
“My debt is 10,000 gold. And if you use all the money you need for social life in the future, it will be about 100,000 gold. give me that money Then it will be four.”
“100,000 gold?”
“Why is it expensive? to be my sponsor. In order for a hero to trust and follow the Demon King, doesn’t he have to give him that much money and swear by it? Oh, don’t worry if you think it’s a lie. you know? A hero never breaks his promise.”
He laughed at the bewildered demon king.
10 million gold. A huge amount of money that can never be saved by a single demon king.
Hillen thought he would scream and rage, telling him not to insult him.
However.
“wait. Bring it soon.”
He quietly left the prison.
“···uh?”
* * *
“My lord! I got a call from the Demon King of Berge!”
Drakson, who had been sleeping dangly, buried in a huge monster, opened his eyes.
“I want to exchange Magi into human money.”
“Come to think of it, I must have accumulated quite a few Magi points.”
“But I have requested 100,000 gold.”
“···········?”
Drakson got up.
“100,000 gold? Do you have that kind of magic?”
“Magi is steadily coming in, so it is said that the payment is made gradually. I have been told that if you want, you can write a contract in the Demon Realm.”
If so, that’s sincere. The contract of the demon realm can never be broken because it is forcing a demon. If you take it, it will damage the rank.
“What are you going to do with 100,000 gold all of a sudden?”
“Let’s see.”
“It’s later, how long are you in the warehouse?”
“Five thousand gold.”
“It’s not enough.”
Each demon lord has different ways of collecting money, but in the first place, most demon lords are not very interested in human money.
Therefore, the income that Drakson earned was all the by-products obtained from the warriors and the warriors who came to him.
Of course there weren’t that many. It was even more so because there were a lot of cases where quite a few warriors gave up and retreated in the middle instead of trying to reach the top.
That part made me feel proud that I had raised the tower well, but that wasn’t what was important right now.
“·················ogue.”
There is a lot of delicious magic in front of you, but there is no way to get it.
“Are you going to pay it back? Then say we’ll give it to you gradually. I will try to raise money somehow.”
100,000 gold is a lot of money. Therefore, the magic that can be received is also enormous.
Drakson never wanted to miss this.
“…I’m living and living, I’m afraid I’ll be sad because I don’t have enough human money.”
Are you crazy? No. What was crazy was Berge, who sold precious Magi for only money.
* * *
“So you’re going to give it to me whenever I have money?”
“Yes. That’s right. Right now, that’s enough money for our Demon King…”
“Then the deal ends here.”
“for a moment! Wait a minute, Demon King!”
“Tell me.”
“There will be no demon lord who can get that much money right away. Give us a little time and we’ll figure it out.”
“Unfortunately, I have no intention of waiting for that ‘a little’ time.”
『Draxon Demon Lord has many means! I will be able to satisfy the Demon Lord enough!”
“Call me back after the means have produced results.”
tuk-
Berger unilaterally cut off communication and injected new magic.
The connection went on for a while.
If it had been before, he would have waited for Drakson to prepare. However, there were other demon lords who made their mark after the unity of the tower.
I couldn’t even say that they were close, but they weren’t even close enough to trade money.
“I want some money.”
『············.”
Berge was an iron-faced skin that didn’t care that much.
momentary silence.
“This is interesting.”
“Because Draxson said the same thing a while ago.”
“Is there something I don’t know?”
“He’s funny. Did you plan on borrowing it from you and lending it to me again?”
“That’s how it happened. Can you see why I need money all of a sudden?”
“Because I need it.”
“If you don’t want to tell me why, I’ll ask you something else. how much do you need And what will you give me in return?”
“100,000 gold.”
“It’s not a small amount of money.”
“And the price is Magi.”
『… It’s a little surprising, but Berge-sama isn’t playing a joke on me, is it? If so, I think you will be a little disappointed.”
“Are you that close? U.S?”
“It is ambiguous to give a huge sum of 100,000 gold.”
“Do you know? For 100,000 gold, I have to rake up most of the money I have collected.”
“I have collected a lot. And it was you who said that I wanted to get to know you first.”
“I’m thinking about it now, but I think I did a really good job of saying that.”
“And no amount of human money can be described as great.”
“It is true in the Demon Realm, but all values are relative laws.”
“But nothing is more valuable than Magi.”
There was no need to worry. There was no need to worry about repayment against the Demon King, who is currently the hottest among humans. Jason Cockmundo made the same choice as Drakson.
“It was a good deal.”
“That’s what I’m going to say. Please do not ask me to return it later.”
* * *
iron-
bang-
bang-
Dozens of gigantic bundles were placed in front of Hillen.
The demon king himself untied the bond and showed the inside. golden mountain. A huge amount of gold coins flickered.
“Bring it. 100,000 gold.”
the devil said
“I don’t buy you. So from now on, you are mine.”
The beads went into his mouth.
And Hillen Cargill accidentally swallowed it. No, even if it wasn’t accidental, I couldn’t resist it.
This is because, in exchange for receiving dimensional power, there are restrictions on the promise of a hero.