Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 461

That single phrase was the cause of the countless tragedies that had unfolded since, that humanity was trying desperately to beat back.

Reinhart had disappeared, and humanity was facing ruin. Therefore, whenever they faced each other like this, they could not help but reaffirm each other’s sins.

Ellen, at least, could do something. She could do things like saving people who were in danger. But Charlotte could do nothing but remain confined within the Spring Palace, unable to even show herself to the crowds.

Ellen slowly approached Charlotte and sat on the bedside. Then, she gently embraced the frail Charlotte.

“Soon, we will be able to destroy all the warp gates across the continent.”

“...”

“And then, if we slowly eliminate all the monsters on the continent, all of this will end.”

“...”

Ellen spoke softly, hoping that her words could somehow alleviate Charlotte’s guilt, even though they offered no consolation to herself.

“Then, the people who lost their homes can find them again.”

The dead could not return.

“Everyone will be able to find their place and live as they did before.”

Nothing could ever restore a homeland that was lost.

“It will take a long time, but if we do it little by little, everything can return to the way it was, like before.”

Broken relationships could never be fully restored.

“So let’s hold on a little longer. Just a little more... a little more...”

As she spoke, Ellen finally bit her lip hard, recalling the many things her words did not touch on. She tasted the metallic tang of blood from her torn lips.

“...”

“...”

“Will we...” Ellen’s voice finally trembled. “Will we be able to be forgiven...?”

Charlotte cried, knowing she wanted forgiveness from Reinhart and the whole world, but could not receive it.

Ellen, however, could not even cry.

***

The more Ellen faced Charlotte, the more she felt devastated. They had not been on good terms before, but after things turned out this way, the relationship between Ellen and Charlotte became something beyond just that of a protector and her liege; they shared a peculiar bond of guilt. Theirs was a relationship bound by sadness and guilt, and they projected the same emotions onto each other.

Therefore, Ellen could not turn away from Charlotte. Even though she knew she could not improve Charlotte’s condition, and even though she knew she would receive no answers, Ellen would always return to the Spring Palace in the capital after her days of brutal battles.

Ellen always said that the situation was improving, and strictly speaking, it was not a lie. One could say that the situation was improving from the worst state to a less dire one.

She had spoken of saving a few people that day, and that was not a lie either. She just did not mention how many died in the fight.

She also said they drove out the monsters from the ruined city. That was not a lie either. She just didn’t mention that there was not a single living person left in the ruins.

She did not speak lies, but she did not speak the miserable truth either, even though she knew Charlotte could read between the lines.

After sharing those stories, Ellen left the Spring Palace and the imperial palace compound, leaving behind an unchanged Charlotte.

From the hill at the entrance of the imperial palace compound, Ellen could see the Temple beyond the Irine River.

The Temple, which had been severely damaged by the meteor shower, had already been restored. The cradle that used to nurture the world’s greatest talents had now turned into a military base for training combatants.

Now that there was no way to connect to other places on the continent, the Temple was conscripting and training those among the refugees who showed even a hint of talent for combat.

The Temple, which once only accepted students selectively and charged expensive tuition, now provided weapons to those who wished to fight, taught them combat, and deployed them to the field.

Even with Moonshine, most were sent to the battlefield as soldiers without even mastering Mana Reinforcement, and countless had died. Those who had originally been students of the Temple, who had undergone careful selection before this calamity, were active in battles, but most of the newly-conscripted soldiers were amateurs driven by revenge.

Given the situation the empire was in, even such amateurs were needed. Ellen knew that while she saved many people, there were also countless people who admired the hero who saved them and volunteered as combat soldiers, only to die like mayflies on the battlefield.

The Temple, once a cradle of talent, was now raising moths who were flying straight into a flame.

Fortunately, among Ellen’s classmates in the Royal Class, there had not been a single death yet. It was horrifying to think of that as fortunate, and Ellen felt a chill at having to use the word “yet.”

It was nighttime, and there was a little time left before Ellen had to deploy for the next operation.

Afraid of being recognized, Ellen pulled her hood over her head. She was no longer just tired of her fame; she was afraid of it.

As Ellen walked quietly through the streets of the capital, she sensed a presence behind her.

There were many people, but it felt as if someone was watching her. However, when she turned her head, there was no one there.

“...?”

It felt like something had definitely been watching her. Feeling a strange sensation, Ellen resumed walking down the street.

***

I hadn’t expected to see Ellen. Given how busy I usually was, she would also undoubtedly be spending her time rushing about without a moment to spare. However, as soon as I arrived in the capital, I heard people on the street discussing the hero’s return.

Ellen was in the capital.

On a whim, I stood idly near the entrance of the imperial palace and waited for quite a while.

And that was how I was able to see her. Although she wore a hood, I managed to see the face inside it. I saw Ellen, her expression colder and more indifferent than before, with an unmistakable weariness etched on her face.

I wondered if I should have spoken to her. If I had, perhaps we could have had a surprisingly ordinary conversation. But a lot of time had passed, and I didn’t know what Ellen was thinking.

Ellen had played a decisive role in my escape, but at this moment, I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. She might hate me, or she might feel sorry for me.

It was not the time to ask how she had been, but I wondered if we could talk about anything at all. I wanted to hold her and have a conversation.

But Ellen was no longer the Ellen I’d met, the student in the Temple’s Royal Class.

She was now Ellen Artorius... The hope of humanity and the adversary of the Demon King.

Just as Ellen could no longer be a Royal Class student, I was no longer Reinhart, the Royal Class student. We were divided, forced to either end of the dichotomy of hero and Demon King.

It was not right for us to meet. Even having a conversation would only make things more painful for both of us.

So I was content with watching from afar.

No. To be honest, I wasn’t satisfied. I hadn’t seen her for two years. There was no way I could be satisfied with just that.

I wanted to spend more time watching her. However, since I couldn’t do so, it was enough to know that she was somehow getting by, even if she didn’t seem to be doing well.

I walked through the capital. The faces of the people I passed by, worn down by death, devastation, and hardship, only reflected pain.

The Gate Incident had struck the capital hard, so the residents of the capital had not come out unscathed. Most people had lost parents, siblings, children, or their entire family.

People still wandered about, trying to live on in spite of the despair. Amidst these despairing faces, a few wore hopeful expressions.

—The hero has returned!

—They say she killed a lot of monsters again this time.

—Someday, she’ll defeat the Demon King too, right?

In the expressions of those who were talking about Ellen, I could see hope. She was a hero, a being who could turn negative emotions like hatred and anger towards the Demon King into hope. In the capital city of Gradium, overflowing with gloom, anger, and hatred, Ellen was at least a source of hope for the people.

The masses, engulfed in fear and hatred, were, as always, making up stories and rumors.

—They say the Demon King has returned to the Dark Land and is gathering the monsters from the Gate...

—I hear that the monsters roaming the continent are nothing compared to the Demon King’s main force...

—No matter how great the hero is... would she be able to defeat the Demon King?

Among the people crowding the capital, it seemed to be a common belief that I was not only commanding the monsters from the Gate, but had already used those monsters to complete the reconstruction of the Millennium Kingdom in the Dark Land.

But in truth, after a brief tour to absorb whatever demons were at the borders into my own forces, I hadn’t gone back there at all.

—The hero has two holy relics, but they say the Demon King has two as well...

—It’s terrifying to even imagine what would have happened if the hero had fallen for the Demon King’s schemes during their time at the Temple...

—That’s why the hero revealed the Demon King’s identity so early on. The hero knows everything. She wouldn’t fall for the Demon King’s little tricks.

It was public sentiment that my infiltration of the Temple was to recruit Ellen Artorius, the hero.

The masses shared these made-up stories like snacks, and before long, they started believing them. The fake truths, their origins having disappeared, were being spread by who knows whom.

I had become the ruler of the strongest Dark Land in history, one that had just been rebuilt. They imagined as they pleased, feared as they pleased, and hated as they pleased.

‘There is no such country. Beyond your gaze, in the distant southern sea, lies the Edina Archipelago, where my country is. There are humans and demons there, but no gate monsters.’

In hindsight, the reality was harder to believe.

The Demon King, living with humans? If I wasn’t the Demon King and had been one of those people in the crowd instead, I would have shouted at anyone spouting such nonsense to stop talking rubbish.

The idea that I could command the gate monsters was a common theme in all the nonsense rumours. They seemed to assume that since the Demon King had caused this situation, he could naturally control the gate monsters as well.

Why couldn’t they imagine that if that were possible and I truly hated humanity, I would have invaded the capital and wiped it out long ago?

If someone proposed such an opinion, another ridiculous rumor would be created to refute it, so the truth was always meaningless.

But I was not the sole target of these rumors.

—Isn’t it possible that the emperor is actually being controlled by the princess?

—Yeah. Why would they keep the princess around otherwise?

—No matter how important the princess is, it’s suspicious that she hasn’t made a public appearance, especially since she’s supposedly been cursed by the Demon King.

—If the princess was really fine, as the empire claims, they should at least present her to the public once, but they haven’t, have they?

These ridiculous rumours said that the reason the empire hadn’t executed Charlotte was because the emperor was being controlled by her somehow.

—Come on, the hero wouldn’t just stand by and do nothing if that were true.

—That’s true, but...

Ultimately, Ellen served as a brake when it came to this issue as well.

People believed in the omnipotence and omniscience of the Demon King, and thus, as his adversary, they also believed in Ellen’s omnipotence and omniscience.

If the princess had truly fallen, why would Ellen, her protector, remain silent? The talk around executing the princess seemed to hang in a precarious balance without tipping over into any extreme.

—As for the princess, fine, but what about the Three Enemies...?

—Those damnable women...

Riana de Granz, Olivia Lanche and Harriet de Saint-Ouen... The three students who sided with me and escaped from the Temple had become known as the “Three Enemies” in the human world, the betrayers of humanity.

Perhaps, because they were human, they had become even greater symbols of hatred than I had.

***

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

There were refugee camps both in the Edina Archipelago and in the capital. However, since there was no need to worry about monsters in the Edina Archipelago, it was possible to expand indiscriminately across all available territories.

This was not possible in the capital. They couldn’t recklessly expand the available residential areas, and even if they did, they couldn’t protect them. There was always the risk of the monsters that still roamed the continent suddenly attacking.

Thus, the empire did not actively work on the expansion of refugee camps, even though people continued to flow in.

As I entered the vast refugee camp filled with makeshift shanties, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of familiarity.

When I first arrived in the capital, I entered Eleris’s shop, and a few days later, I saw a group of beggars under the Bronze Gate Bridge. Those beggars lived in makeshift shanties, and mostly lay sprawled out, reeking of alcohol. Their group was called the Rotary Club. That landscape in which those now-dead people used to live, now spread all the way to the horizon.

The vast land of beggars unfolded immediately beyond the boundaries of the capital’s cityscape. That was the reality of the great and splendid capital of the Gradias empire, Gradium.

The makeshift shanties were not soundproof, nor did they offer much protection from the wind, and since they weren’t built to any standard, it was easy to see the people who were lying on mats inside. The smell of filth and of something rotting, was so pervasive that it was like a punch in the face, not to mention the hordes of flies and other insects.

While the situation in Edina’s refugee camps wasn’t exactly good, it wasn’t as dire as this.

I saw smoke rising from somewhere and headed in that direction, thinking there might be a communal kitchen, but it was nothing of the sort. The smoke was rising from a pile of burning corpses.

Was there an outbreak of disease? Even so, there would be priests available to address such diseases, so it shouldn’t have become this severe. Were they simply starving to death?

Near the smoke rising from the burning corpses, children dressed in rags were playing.

Even in this situation, the children laughed brightly, a sharp contrast to the somber pile of corpses burning beside them. It felt less like hell and more like a scene of life that had been forced to adapt to the hell around it.

‘If only I hadn’t existed... If only I hadn’t been in this world...’

I had decided not to think such thoughts, but I couldn’t help as those thoughts rose on their own.

“...”

The capital, Gradium, was hell.