Chapter 49
When I said I would kill the Demon King, it reacted violently.
<H-how... how dare you say something so deserving of divine punishment! Kill His Majesty the Demon King? What... what an insolent thing to say!>
It seemed utterly shocked.
<...How can you say that without truly knowing how great and terrifying His Majesty the Demon King is?! He is the master of this Demon King's Tower and everything that exists within it!>
“Well, I mean... I suppose he must be strong.”
<Then please, I beg you, retract those words! You must beg forgiveness at once!>
I looked down at it in silence.
“But... you're really funny. Why are you worried about me? I'm trying to loot the treasure you're guarding.”
It couldn't answer right away.
After remaining silent for quite some time, it finally said,
<I don't want you to take the treasure... but at the same time, I don't want you to be annihilated by His Majesty the Demon King.>
I was dumbfounded.
I decided to stop caring about its state of mind. I couldn't understand it anyway.
Instead, I asked another question.
“Have you ever seen the Demon King?”
<I have not.>
“Then why are you so afraid of him?”
Treasure Keeper replied, panting heavily.
<Because His Majesty the Demon King is everywhere in this Tower! It isn't too late yet. Please... don't let this chance, while he is still showing mercy, pass you by...!>
I let out a snort of laughter.
“He's everywhere?”
<Yes! His Majesty the Demon King is always watching over us like that!>
“Hey, is the Demon King some kind of god? Who else fooled you?”
<I was not fooled! When I was first assigned here, the Legion Commander clearly told me so!>
“The Legion Commander? Then I guess he fooled you.”
I continued, trying to enlighten it.
“He just said that to make you guard this place well. Who would be stupid enough to take it literally?”
<……>
“You've been fooled for 500 years. And now I understand. You must have been brainwashed into liking all these gold coins you couldn't possibly spend.”
I continued speaking.
“For someone as innocent as you, the world outside the Tower must be full of things you'd like.”
<…>
I fixed my gaze beyond its disheveled hair.
“I'll kill the Demon King and set you free.”
Treasure Keeper answered.
<That will not do. I absolutely cannot allow you to challenge His Majesty the Demon King.>
“……”
It was laughable.
Treasure Keeper was more opposed to my challenging the Demon King than to my opening that golden chest.
It must have already given up on the chest.
After all, opening it was only a matter of time.
I said as I continued digging through the gold coins,
“In any case, I'm definitely going up. To do that, I need what's inside the golden chest.”
<…Do you know what is inside the golden chest?>
“No. But it looks like it must be something incredible, doesn't it? It's in a chest that huge.”
After I finished speaking, it fell silent.
I didn't bother asking what was inside the golden chest, either. I would find out soon enough.
I continued digging through the pile of gold coins.
Time passed in that state.
Treasure Keeper no longer tried to dissuade me.
It stayed silent until it spoke again.
I didn't know what thoughts had passed through its mind in the meantime.
<…You may stop moving your hand now.>
“Why?”
<I will help you.>
“……Really?”
<Yes. I can no longer use my wave attack in my current state, so I will tell you where the locks are.>
“Thanks... that'll save us some time.”
I thought that once I defeated the real Demon King, I should set this one free first.
Treasure Keeper struggled to raise its remaining arm.
It indicated the locations of the locks buried in the pile of gold coins.
I picked up all the keys and went to the places it had indicated.
One lock I hadn't found yet was among them.
Click.
I opened the first lock.
Click.
The second.
And then.
The third.
At the moment the latch of the final lock twisted in its keyhole.
Click-!
Rrrrrumble-!
The golden chest that filled the back wall of the cavern began to vibrate.
A gap opened, and the lid slowly opened.
“Finally...”
I swallowed dryly and approached the chest.
Just then, Treasure Keeper said,
<Before you inspect the chest, please take the gold coins first.>
“Huh?”
<Would you please take all the gold coins in this place first?>
“Why do I have to do that? Is there some kind of order to follow?”
<Yes. If you take the contents of the golden chest and its energy leaks out... the surrounding gold coins will come into contact with that magical power and turn into lumps of stone.>
“Really...?”
<I don't want the gold coins I cherished to turn into lumps of stone... Will you grant me this wish?>
‘So it thinks it would be better for me to take them...’
Thinking that, I decided to do as it said.
“All right.”
<Thank you...>
It didn't seem to be lying.
Since I was manipulating its blood flow, I could roughly tell what it was feeling.
If it had just deceived me, it should have felt at least a little elated, but its blood was actually flowing more slowly.
It had clearly resigned itself to its fate.
First, I turned away from the chest and reached toward the pile of gold coins.
I activated my inventory.
[You have acquired gold.]
[You have acquired gold.]
[You have acquired gold.]
[You have acquired gold.]
Since there was such an enormous amount, it took quite a long time.
It was also because I could use only one hand.
[You have acquired gold.]
[You have acquired gold.]
In the midst of this repetitive task, I suddenly voiced a thought that occurred to me.
“Maybe we can travel together.”
<Yes?>
“When you die, I'll turn you into an undead. Then your consciousness might live on in my undead.”
I didn't know exactly what happened to an undead's consciousness after resurrection.
But it was possible.
Perhaps its current consciousness could be transferred to an undead.
But then.
<Yes... I understand.>
Its reply was halfhearted.
“What, you don't like me either? I told you to curse at me if you're angry! Or do you not trust me? I know necromancy. You've been fooled about everything else, so why can't you believe this?”
<…For now, please continue taking the gold coins.>
For some reason, it kept changing the subject.
Clink. Shrrr-rattle.
How much time had passed?
At last, the balance in the hologram window showed 8.1 billion gold.
The entire mountain of gold coins had vanished.
“Wow... I took all of that...”
Once the golden glow was gone, the floor was completely bare marble.
Just then, Treasure Keeper beckoned to me.
<There is still one left.>
It was holding out the final gold coin to me.
And then it said,
<Now you will believe me.>
“Believe what?”
<It's fortunate that I can tell you now.>
An echo rang through the cavern where the pile of gold had disappeared.
“What are you talking about?”
<You did not seem willing to believe me until you saw it yourself. I had no choice but to choose this method.>
“What are you saying you'll tell me?”
<Thank you for becoming my friend.>
“Huh?”
<I am happy to be of help.>
The conversation was entirely one-sided.
Treasure Keeper didn't seem inclined to answer my questions.
<His Majesty the Demon King is everywhere. So please, I beg you, abandon your reckless thoughts.>
That was the last thing it said.
Treasure Keeper flicked the final gold coin toward me.
The instant the gold coin entered my inventory.
The blood flow I had been manipulating in Treasure Keeper abruptly stopped.
That was the first thing I felt.
And immediately afterward.
The scene before my eyes had changed.
Above Treasure Keeper,
a
hand
appeared,
stretching
down
from
the
ceiling
and
pressing
down on the floor.
“Huh.”
It was a demon's pitch-black hand.
Treasure Keeper's body had been crushed beneath that palm.
It had happened impossibly suddenly.
I hadn't blinked.
I hadn't looked away.
I hadn't spaced out.
Thus, 'appeared' was the most accurate way to describe it.
It was as if the future five seconds from now were playing out.
‘…’
I blankly raised my gaze.
Toward where the wrist connected.
That was the exact moment I looked at the hole in the ceiling.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only then did the deafening roar slam into my ears.
RUMMMMMBLE-!!!!!!
Only then did I begin to feel the vibrations as well.
The debris from the breached ceiling fell belatedly.
“……”
I was speechless.
It was utterly overwhelming.
It was a spectacle of the cause chasing after the effect.
‘…Was this all to show me that...’
Treasure Keeper seemed to have deliberately abandoned its role and been punished.
It must have been trying to make me give up by showing me how powerful the Demon King was.
But it was still hard to comprehend.
- His Majesty the Demon King is always watching over us.
How much of that statement was I supposed to believe?
Could it really be true that the Demon King was everywhere?
It was downright chilling.
...No.
That was obvious enough to be almost banal.
It was laughable.
Why had I thought, even for a moment, that those words were frightening?
[You have become the master of this floor by winning a duel against the floor's master.]
[You have acquired 9,900G as a promotion reward!]
[You have gained a large amount of experience.]
[Level Up! 111Lv -> 112Lv]
[Level Up! 112Lv -> 113Lv]
...
...
...
[Level Up! 119Lv -> 120Lv]
What I had been doing.
Which floor I had climbed to.
How much I had earned.
What level I had reached.
After all, I had never once not been watched.