Because I've searched everywhere
Since everyone was already dead,he had planned to leave anyway.
Once Logar drew up the schematics, they would have to buy the materials to match.
The only one who could leave the Tower without issue was Berze.All that had changed was that he now had an extra piece of baggage.
That was how he decided to think of it.
"If you're thinking of running away, that's fine. Carrying you as a roasted corpse wouldn't be too bad either."
"Of course not! I can remake myself if I absolutely must, but it takes a long time!"
Logar denied it emphatically.
It wasn't that the thought hadn't crossed his mind, but it was impossible for now—especially because of the necklace around his neck.
"The exact function of this necklace is…?"
"There's only one."
"What… kind?"
"It separates your head from your body. Logar Friedri becomes Logar and Friedri—split apart."
"…Under what circumstances?"
"That depends entirely on you."
"Ah…"
"If you're curious, you can try taking it off."
"As if I ever would! I am the Demon Lord's loyal servant!"
"Consider it an honor. It's probably the first time that thing has hung around the neck of someone who's neither a prince nor a princess."
The necklace was a blade meant to prevent kidnapped princes or princesses from escaping. It could be purchased with Magic Points.
"…It is an honor."
Logar swallowed his tears.
The two soon arrived at Hotenwalk, the human city closest to Ergest.
"You've thought of the list of materials you need, right?"
"Of course. Buying them in the Dwarf Kingdom would be cheapest and highest quality. But… that won't be possible. It'll take time."
"That's fine."
To avoid any possible pursuit or exposure of their identities, they traveled through several kingdoms.
It took a month just to wait for materials to be gathered. They purchased almost everything they needed.
"Only one thing remains now."
"The equipment you said you made?"
"I call it a Mana Phantom. It erases traces of mana… like a ghost."
"Terrible naming sense."
"..."
"Let's head inside first."
Finally.
Returning to the Dwarf Kingdom for the first time in nearly two months, Logar couldn't hide his excitement.
However, the gatekeepers—who had met him countless times—didn't recognize him. The hideous mask covering his and the Demon Lord's faces looked no different from real skin.
Logar barely resisted the urge to tear the mask off.He did not want to become Ro/Ger again right now.
"Haven't seen your faces before."
"Mercenaries."
"A dwarf–human pair, huh. Not common. What brings you to the city?"
"Finished a job nearby and came for some rest."
"I don't want to be strict when a fellow dwarf is with you, but with the city's current situation, I'll need to perform a search."
"Something happen?"
"Just consider it… circumstances."
Berze and Logar obediently submitted to the search. Everything suspicious was stored in subspace anyway, so nothing turned up.
"Don't cause trouble. Everyone's on edge—things won't end well."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Well, if a dwarf trusts a human enough to work as mercenaries, I suppose you can handle yourselves."
Rrrrr—
The ground began descending vertically.
"What do you think is going on?"
"…I suspect it's because I'm missing."
"Because you're a Hero?"
"I was kidnapped in the middle of making a weapon for the princess."
"That thing melting in the furnace?"
"It's probably just a lump of molten scrap by now."
"Which princess are we talking about?"
The princes and princesses of the Dwarf Kingdom were all fierce by nature—warriors born as beasts who sought battle.
"I hope it's not the Second Princess…"
"It is Her Highness the Second Princess. You know her?"
"…What a nuisance."
Berze instinctively checked his condition.Being far from the Tower weakened his interference power—his strength had diminished.
He didn't know how strong the princess currently was, but one thing was certain: he could not guarantee victory.
"Let's go to your workshop first."
"Yes."
The workshop had lost its usual heat.
No hammer strikes.No sweat of blacksmiths.
Instead, something else awaited them:
Sturdy iron fences—and soldiers guarding them.
"It's been what, a month or two since you were kidnapped?"
"A little less."
"Harsh."
Just like in the previous life, this time too.
"…How is it like this?"
"We'll just sneak in quietly and grab what we need."
"That's impossible."
"Think before you open your mouth. Think again before you wag your tongue. Don't confuse your capabilities with mine."
"M-my apologies. I overstepped."
"Is there a secret entrance to the workshop?"
"There is."
The entrance was located about three kilometers from the workshop's outskirts.
"So again, I have to walk while staring at your ass?"
"S-sorry, I carved the tunnel to fit my body…"
"Just lead the way."
"Yes!"
"A whole month and a half has passed! And you still haven't found him?"
The princess of the Kingdom of Verftr slammed and tore the table apart in frustration.
Blood trickled down the knights' foreheads.
"How incompetent are you? How long must this princess endure your stupidity?!"
"We apologize."
"Is apologizing all you can do?!"
"There are too many secret tunnels dug by dwarves. We are checking them one by one, but it's highly likely he already escaped."
"Of course he escaped! If the bastard didn't leave after a month, he wouldn't be a kidnapper—he'd be an idiot!"
She had given up on seeing the kidnapper dragged before her within a week.
"Who told you to drag that bastard here immediately? I asked for a trace. Is finding a single trace of that damned bastard so hard?"
"Our deepest apologies."
"Two weeks. I'll wait exactly two months from the day he disappeared—two more weeks. In that time, find traces of the bastard who stole my craftsman. Where he went, who he is—hell, even a single strand of hair!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"And block every tunnel in the city except the ones built secretly by the kingdom."
"As you command."
"Get out. I can't stand the sight of you."
The knights quickly fled the room.The princess fumed, trying to calm her breathing.
But her anger refused to subside.
"Graaahhh!"
She smashed a chair, crushed the table, balled up every iron cup into a single lump, and stomped her foot.
"Clean this up."
Only after a long time did she finally calm down.The maids waiting outside hurried in.
The princess left her office and headed toward the workshop of the craftsman who should have completed her weapon.
A massive workshop that occupied half of the third floor.The furnace, which should have been roaring without rest, was cold.The hammer of the craftsman could no longer be heard.
And the lump of scrap metal left behind tried to reignite the anger she'd barely managed to cool.
That should have become my weapon!
The furnace should have spewed fire.Logar's arms should have been swinging the hammer.
Even if he had been kidnapped, he should have completed her weapon before getting dragged away.
It shouldn't have ended like this—leaving behind a weak, half-melted lump of scrap.
"Logar, please at least be alive."
No—he had to be alive.
"You cannot die until you finish my weapon."
At that moment—
"Uh…?"
A section of the wall quietly slid open.The princess—who had been muttering curses as if she meant to chew someone alive—locked eyes with a dwarf emerging from the passage.
"…You?"
"…Your Highness?"
The princess's brows twitched.She turned her head to look at the furnace, then turned back to stare at the dwarf.
"…You're Logar. Aren't you?"
His face was different, but this was Logar's workshop.
A space he had designed himself—one no one else could enter without his permission.
And since the princess was a dwarf herself, she understood exactly what a workshop meant to dwarves.
Which is why she was certain:
A dwarf naturally emerging from the workshop's secret tunnel could only be its owner.
And she immediately grasped the truth of the situation.
This wasn't a kidnapping.This was a bastard who ran away because he didn't want to make her weapon.
"So that's how it is…"
The human who had entered alongside Logar was nowhere in sight.
"You disappeared because you didn't want to make my weapon, is that it?"
Her tiny fist clenched.
"You should've said so earlier."
She smiled.
The dwarf took a step back.
"If you had, I would've sliced you up and made you into jerky right away."
"M-My lady, it's a misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding? No, I don't think there's even the slightest misunderstanding."
She stomped the ground.
"For daring to insult your princess, I'll rip out your tongue and make you my slave!You'll spend your entire life forging weapons for me!"
"H-Heeek…! S-Spare me!"
BOOOOM—
A violent shockwave shook the workshop.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
Her icy glare shot toward the human.
The Demon Lord—disguised as a human—felt the tingling sensation in his hands.
"Logar, grab the equipment you mentioned."
"So you left something important behind, and came back for it? After turning me upside down like this?"
"It'd be best if you calmed down first. Aren't you a princess?"
"If you want calm, go look for it in the afterlife."
She punched again.Berze clicked his tongue at the sheer violence emerging from such a small body.
The solid muscles peeking through her clothes were nothing to scoff at.
"Where's the equipment?"
"Over… there…"
Berze followed Logar's pointing finger.
"…Do you have a death wish?"
"That's why I said sneaking it out would be impossible…"
In one corner of the workshop stood a machine that filled the entire area.
Nearly five meters tall.A marvel of magi-engineering.
Hundreds of cables extended outward, wrapping around the entire workshop.
It was a mystery how Berze hadn't noticed it when he first kidnapped Logar.
"You can detach it, right?"
"It's installed into the workshop itself, so I have to unbind it and disconnect the lines. It'll take some time."
"Who said you could?!"
Smack—
The princess's fist stopped right in front of Logar's nose.The pressure that followed blew his hair back.Blood trickled from his nose.
"Make it ready to take immediately."
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
Berze grabbed the princess's wrist and threw her aside.She twisted midair and landed lightly using a roll.
"Who are you?"
"Let's say I'm the master of the poor dwarf you're abusing."
"Master? According to who?"
Her brow twitched again.
"That dwarf is mine.He'll be my slave and forge weapons and armor for me forever."
"That won't happen. Unfortunately for you."
"No."
She growled.
"I take whatever I want. I always have, and I always will."
"This time will be different."
"You know, there aren't many who dare to talk down to me like that."
"Because you're a princess?"
"Because they're all dead."
She raised her aura.It surged through her aura-roads, spreading across her entire body—strengthening muscle, veins, bone, and skin.
She stomped the floor.It cracked with a bang.In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of Berze.
BOOM—
There was no trickery in her punch.No elegance.Just a straight, brutal blow.
Yet it was fast and heavy enough to erase all those shortcomings.
Berze stepped back.Punches and kicks poured down like a storm, and he was forced to focus solely on blocking.
Not as strong as back then.
Before his regression, she had been one of the strongest he had ever met—on a completely different level than now.
But Berze now was also nowhere near the monster he had been back then.The difference between his former self—who toppled kingdoms and removed the dimensional interference of countless worlds—and his current self was like that between a dragon and a snake.
I could kill her if I had to.
He would be completely drained afterward, but it was possible.
And the dwarves who heard the commotion would swarm them.He would be captured—or killed.
That would be the absolute worst.
So hurry up.
If things go wrong, I may have to kill you and run.
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