Chapter 4: She Doesn't Make Bets She'll Lose

Could it have been a nightmare?

The Treasure Vault, where all sorts of rare and significant treasures of the Empire were kept.

How could someone like me have possibly broken in?

And yet, that impossibility became reality, and suddenly, it became the past.

“In short, you are saying the vault doors were wide open and there were no guards on standby?”

“…Yes.”

I had much to say, but once the opportunity arose, my mouth went dry and my tongue felt stiff, as if frozen.

I knew I had to speak clearly to minimize misunderstandings.

But the anxiety etched into my body would not easily dissipate.

“Do you actually think that makes any sense right now?”

My father glared at me, his face unusually grim.

“…….”

In contrast, my mother remained silent, and silent still.

It was likely only because the Emperor had quickly settled the situation that this meeting was arranged as if it were a private audience.

But this part, too, would probably spread as a nasty rumor.

“So, what did you do there? Or rather, what happened to you?”

It wasn’t an interrogation.

At least, that was the Emperor’s voice.

And in his blue eyes watching me, the desire to satisfy curiosity seemed stronger than the intent to demand accountability for a crime.

“…….”

However.

How could I tell the truth?

-These brats have grown quite a bit. Seeing the children all grown up… well, I suppose it’s about time.

It was also important that this was not the office, but clearly the Reception Room meant for guests.

Nevertheless, the Golden Woman, who was drifting through the air and watching the situation with interest, was incredibly distracting and irritating.

“I… I heard some voices… and by the time I realized it… I was inside the Treasure Vault. I tried to leave immediately, but….”

“Kariel. Your voice is too quiet. Please be honest and speak clearly to His Majesty, without any discourtesies.”

“Ah, it is fine, Ermina. I can hear him well. Do not rush him so much.”

My mother broke her silence to point it out, but it was the Emperor who stopped her.

“So, you were led there by some calling, but strangely, there was no one guarding it, and the vault doors were wide open. Is that the story?”

“Yes, that… is correct.”

My mouth is dry.

My throat feels like it’s burning.

My heart is racing, and my hands and feet are so uncomfortable I can hardly control them.

Just suppressing that is enough to make my mind go hazy.

-Hmm…?

And.

The Golden Woman, who was leisurely observing those symptoms of anxiety from the air.

She smiled purely, but then quickly curled the corners of her mouth into a sneer.

But for Kariel, who sat with his head bowed low in intimidation.

He had no way of perceiving her mischievous, tangled expression or the intentions hidden within it.

Still.

His palms were covered in an unpleasant sweat, as if his inner agitation were leaking out.

====

“It wasn’t a magical act.”

The Empress, returning to the Reception Room late, informed them of the investigation’s progress.

“Seeing as there are unnatural points, it is certain that something intervened, but….”

To this, the Emperor rubbed his chin and asked.

“Even so, we cannot simply treat this as a supernatural phenomenon. Is that not so?”

“Perhaps a demon or a heretic was involved.”

The Emperor calmly accepted my mother’s opinion.

“The reality might be nothing special, but until the situation is clear, nothing can be guaranteed. I will handle this part personally, so Lueld, Ermina—I hope you will not scold Kariel too harshly.”

“I am ashamed, thanks to my foolish son.”

As my father spoke with a bitter expression, the Emperor chuckled and shook his head.

“What is there to be ashamed of between us?”

“…….”

My mother still looked like she had much to say, but she remained silently mute.

“You must be tired, so head back quickly. Ermina, is this not the time when you should be more mindful of your own well-being?”

“But….”

“I will request additional personnel from the Religious Order, so just rest quietly. It is not for your sake, but for your child’s. You know well what I mean, do you not?”

“…Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, Your Majesty.”

“Honestly. I told you not to be so stiff when it’s just us.”

“Fufu. If she could live with her shoulders relaxed like that, she wouldn’t be Ermina.”

“…Well, that is true.”

After some brief pleasantries, I had to board the carriage with my parents to return to our Family Home.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Strangely.

The silence was incredibly grueling.

-This is not a normal family dynamic, is it?

The Golden Woman, lying in the air with her head propped up by her arm.

She was watching the situation with interest.

But I did not show a single sign of it for a moment.

Only after returning home and locking myself in my room.

Did I finally vomit out my pent-up true feelings.

“…Who on earth are you?”

-You’re asking now?

“It wasn’t… the situation to ask.”

Being dragged before the Emperor, the Empress, and my parents, if I had let this slip…

-You could have just honestly said you were possessed by a ghost or a spirit, couldn’t you?

“…Because the response would have been obvious.”

My father would have surely scolded me, saying I was deluded due to a lack of mental strength.

And my mother would have tried to stifle me for a while, saying that such a thing clung to me because I harbored wicked thoughts and my behavior was flawed.

The Emperor, while always generous and merciful, was also an unknown variable.

-Then do you think hiding it solves the problem?

“It wasn’t a problem that would be solved by revealing it.”

-To say this is just puberty… the trust relationship is somewhat inappropriate. It’s interesting, in its own way.

“Seeing as you called my parents and His Majesty by their names… did you know them all in your lifetime?”

-I knew them. Because we had a bad relationship.

Her slight smile was very charming.

I had been ignoring it due to tension, but as I felt when I first saw her, she was truly a charming woman.

Her way of speaking shifted from archaic to suddenly frivolous.

Her gestures and behavior were a bit messy, but.

Because of that, she felt free-spirited.

-Ah, the tension is dropping. Fine, let’s do this.

She sat as if finding her balance while floating in the air.

-There is the boring way of asking and answering, and the way of understanding each other instantly. Which one do you prefer?

“Are you planning to use some magic that shares knowledge or experience? In that state?”

She’s clearly a ghost.

And yet, is she saying that’s possible right now?

-Something like that. So, which one do you prefer?

Asking and answering allows either party to hide or distort the information they possess.

On the other hand, the second proposal… I don’t know.

A sudden worry crossed my mind that if the opponent possessed such overwhelming ability, they might unilaterally toy with me.

-I don’t mind excluding consideration, but I am neither a rioter nor a tyrant. Just trade and mutual agreement. Equivalent Exchange. This method of transaction is the minimum fence that maintains civilization and society.

“…….”

I know people who speak like that.

Just trade.

Mutual agreement.

Equivalent Exchange.

And.

The fence of maintaining a civilized society.

This is….

“Are you a demon… or of the Demon Race?”

-Have you decided on asking and answering?

“…No. Let’s make a contract.”

As she snapped her fingers, letters written in light appeared in the air.

One. Both parties shall reveal themselves without falsehood.

Two. The method of revelation shall be information based on each other’s experiences. For example, memories.

Three. The memories provided can be arbitrarily selected.

Four. Finally, the contract is completed when both parties are satisfied, and unnecessary insistence, stubbornness, and emotional venting shall be completely excluded.

-If you’ve checked it, stamp it with your hand. Right there.

At the bottom, there was an underline like a signature line.

After carefully examining the contents, as I brought my hand to it.

Naturally, my name was engraved.

-Executing a contract so carelessly is a bad habit, kiddo.

“If you wanted to trick me, there were ways far worse than this.”

-What if my intention was to pull you in deeper so you couldn’t escape?

“…Enough with the empty words, I’ve signed.”

-He was a total novice and a loser in front of the Emperor and his parents, but he becomes bold the moment he’s in his own room.

Letting out a small chuckle, she similarly reached out and put a period to the contract.

-Now, select the memories you wish to reveal to me. After I check those, I will provide corresponding memories.

“There was no specific order in the contract, was there?”

-Even if I scraped together your entire life, it wouldn’t be a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of mine! Stop complaining… and take advantage of my consideration while you can.

“…….”

The Golden Woman urged me with a relaxed face.

“But, how do I transmit them?”

-Exert your will. It’s not difficult. Think, organize, and then submit.

…I’d have to have done something like that to know how.

Still, it wasn’t something to give up on from the start.

As she said, Kariel calmly organized the content he wanted to show her.

So….

Excluding my early childhood, which is a blur.

‘Roughly.’

Fifteen.

Revealing from then until now should be enough, right?

About two years’ worth.

Having decided, he allowed it internally for a moment.

As if an exchange had been established and a deal struck.

Unknown memories seeped into him like a spring of water gushing up.

The content was not much.

No, rather, it was so concise that he was momentarily bewildered.

“……?!”

The Golden Beast.

For example, the being called The Worst Gold.

The one said to have led the Human World into hell for four years.

The Golden Demon King.

The being who provided the catalyst and starting point for the Nine Heroes, including my father, to make their names known to the world as Heroes.

He.

No, she was….

“Y-you?! W-why are you clinging to me?!”

-Don’t panic, kiddo.

The woman laughs.

-Did I wish for this? You were the one who approached me. Let’s make that point clear.

“…….”

Looking at her, she only seemed like a beautiful woman.

However, her true identity… was the Demon King who once dyed the world in the Flame Demon.

That being, once called the Golden Demon King, was one of the subordinates of the Great Demon King who had once unified the Demon Realm.

And after the Great Demon King disappeared, she was the final victor who built her own kingdom by purging all her rivals.

Yet, for some reason, she was now in this form.

“…….”

-To think you’d try to end the contract just by telling me your name! Isn’t that petty? Isn’t it unfair! I expected you to complain at least this much. You aren’t as naive as I thought. Fufufu!

“…You said something similar earlier. That if you wanted to deceive and backstab me, there were ways far worse than this.”

She is, after all, a Demon King.

Furthermore, the woman before him was not a being who became a Demon King through brute force.

Wisdom and conspiracy.

To be precise, she was a being who became a Demon King through gold.

Did that mean her martial power was weak?

The story that the Nine Heroes barely won, nearly facing total annihilation, was surely no exaggeration.

To the point that the topic of the Demon King remained a taboo even among the heroes.

That is how terrifying she was, and how they could not stop trembling.

Even if it was all in the past.

The engraved wounds and scars remained.

-If I intended to deceive you, I could have claimed to be a Spirit King, or even scammed you by saying I was a god. That was entirely possible.

“If it was possible, why didn’t you?”

-Because there was no reason to.

She was relaxed.

-I don’t need to pretend to be a rat, do I? I might tease someone for fun, and it would be different if I were deceiving an opponent to win a war, but do I need to worry about such things now?

“But….”

Is she clinging to the surface because of some lingering regret?

Or perhaps she cannot ascend to heaven and must fall to hell, but since she cannot, she is forcibly held to the surface?

…I don’t know.

-Well, don’t worry. I am a woman who knows how to accept defeat. If I were alive, I would have used anything, no matter how pathetic, to make a comeback, but as you can see, I’m dead. Clinging to things miserably would only be ugly. And boring.

“Are you not curious? About what happened to your people?”

-Why should I care? The dead do not interfere in the lives of the living. I am neither a wraith nor an Evil Spirit. Why would I care about my lifetime affairs even after death?

…It was different from being irresponsible.

Her words made enough sense.

Perhaps.

Even this was a disguise to deceive Kariel himself.

-I’ve made all the preparations. My people are probably maintaining a proper relationship with you all.

She smiled fiercely.

-Those who didn’t listen to me are probably still being persecuted and slaughtered. Everything is reaped as it is sown. It is the duty of the people to listen when the King speaks. If they rebel, they must pay the price.

“…….”

Is that the way of thinking of a tyrant?

Or the way of thinking of a rational sovereign?

Honestly, I don’t know.

-More importantly, seeing your memories has increased my curiosity. I’ve become interested in knowing a bit more deeply about it.

“Then, does that mean you are not satisfied with the contract?”

-No, it’s not that.

She drew a sharp line.

-Reading memories and hearing it from the person’s own mouth—these have different flavors. Now that I have the basic knowledge about you and your surroundings, let’s hear why the present of a man like you became such a mess. Let’s hear what happened in your past.

“…….”

-Of course, I will provide a generous reward. The thing you need most right now.

How about it, Kariel.

-Do you want power?

The power to overturn your miserable fate.

A power more overwhelming than any other being in this world.

-You can change the world. If you wish.

“…….”

It was truly the temptation of a devil.

A devil never makes a bet they will lose.

As someone once said.

However.

“I have no need for it.”

-Hm?

What?

Did I hear that wrong?

The Demon King’s brow furrowed, and a small wrinkle formed on her jade-like forehead.