Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 258

It hadn’t persuaded Sarkegar of anything. It was merely a threat.

Since I couldn’t hide the fact that I cherished Ellen, in the end, the only thing I had left to do was to put my life on the line and threaten Sarkegar with it.

Sarkegar wouldn’t be able to touch Ellen.

He wouldn’t be the type to test whether my threat was a bluff or not.

But the fact remained that Ellen’s identity was exposed.

Although Sarkegar wouldn’t take any action, he could monitor Ellen at any time, and her movements could certainly be tracked.

From this moment on, Sarkegar would surely keep a close watch on Ellen. If she found out my identity and tried to do something to me, it was entirely possible that Sarkegar would act first.

Eleris, who already looked troubled, did not ask me anything for the time being.

Sarkegar left, filled with anxiety and fear, and so did Eleris.

This wasn’t the end of it, but I had to return to the original matter. I had to resolve the issue with Aaron Mede.

Strictly speaking, I wasn’t the one who had caused trouble this time. It had been Ellen and Harriet.

The two of them were the ones who had entered Aaron Mede’s home and fought with him. Harriet had set up the Anti-Magic Field, and Ellen was the one who had physically fought.

Since I didn’t actually kill Aaron Mede, there was no need to admit to it.

However, I was reluctant to let those two know that I had contacted a Black Order mage. Naturally, they would vehemently oppose it and see it as some sort of madness.

Moreover, they didn’t even know that Aaron Mede had been a member of the Black Order.

After listening to the detailed reasons that had led Ellen to this point, I felt rather conflicted.

While we could cover up Aaron Mede’s death, doing so would cast suspicion on Harriet and Ellen.

Since they had visited him after a recommendation by Ms. Mustang, they inevitably be strongly implicated in his death, which had come so soon after that.

We couldn’t hide it, and so we had to reveal it.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there had been no living servants in Aaron Mede’s house, as they had all been mind-controlled by homunculi.

Ellen and Harriet had gone to Aaron Mede’s house, saw numerous inhumane experiments being conducted. Aaron Mede had tried to kill them, but had ended up being killed instead.

That was how the situation was going to be laid out.

***

Vertus crossed his arms and smirked at my request. “Do you want me to make it seem like that?”

“It’s not that I want you to make it look like that; that’s just how it is.”

“I don’t know where you got into trouble again, but now it’s chimeras and homunculi. There’s definitely something off about your life. It’s clear. I’m getting tired of becoming involved in your messes.”

“I’m telling you, this time, it wasn’t my fault. That guy tried to kill me.”

“Regardless of right or wrong, the fact that you’re involved in such issues means there’s something off.”

“... That’s true.”

In the end, the only ones who could clean up such issues were Vertus or Charlotte. The facts weren’t significantly different from the story I gave. Aaron Mede had indeed tried to kill Ellen and Harriet, and before that, he had tried to kill me.

I thought about mentioning the Black Order, but decided against it. The imperial family could infer that Aaron Mede was part of the Black Order by examining his underground workshop.

“It’s disgusting. A Temple teacher involved in such things. Mages...”

Vertus clicked his tongue in contempt. He seemed quite annoyed that there were such people among the Temple’s teachers.

“Even without your request, it would have been well handled. You don’t need to worry.”

“And the other kids?”

“They won’t even be investigated. There’s nothing to gain from revealing their involvement.”

Just the fact that a Temple teacher was involved in human experimentation and numerous forbidden practices would be a fatal blow to Temple’s image.

This incident would be buried. Aaron Mede would be treated as a missing person, and the issues, including the assassination attempt, would sink below the surface.

Powerful people were able to brush certain issues under the carpet to avoid having to deal with troublesome matters.

It was the same in any world.

This incident would disappear, slowly and quietly, regardless of my needs.

With that, the threat of assassination that had been draining my energy for quite a long time came to an end.

[Event Completed - Assassination Threat]

[Trait - ‘Qi Sense’ acquired.]

[Trait: Qi Sense]

[Description: A trait that allows one to identify threats, ranging from immediate life-threatening dangers to long-term risks. It aids in combat by sensing killing intent and allows one to detect and identify dangerous factors in advance.]

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It seemed like a trait that offered not just absolute benefits, but abstract ones as well.

Traits that were granted by events were usually significant rewards.

This time was no different.

***

The incident was concluded. It wasn’t completely resolved yet, but it had now been passed into Vertus’s hands. He would take care of the rest of it.

The incident had occurred in the outskirts of the capital, and since it had happened inside the mansion, there were no witnesses. Therefore, there was no commotion.

There were a couple of things left for me to do.

I had heard the full story of how Ellen and Harriet found Aaron Mede, but I hadn’t organized that information yet.

I first sought out Harriet.

She wasn’t in the Magic Research Club or the magic lab in the dormitory, but holed up in her room.

“Hey,” I called out.

“...”

Harriet looked very pale.

“Can we talk?”

“Yeah...” Harriet cautiously opened the door. “Do you want to come in?”

Normally, she would never have let me in, but she looked in bad shape.

Although she hadn’t actually killed anyone, she must have seen some horrific things.

Whatever she’d seen, they must have been things beyond her imagination. Seeing something in reality was different from just imagining it or hearing about it.

We sat across from each other at the table, and Harriet stared blankly at the empty table.

Normally, I would have been angry, and demanded why they’d done something so dangerous. Just as they had a lot to say to me, I had a lot to say to them.

“Why... why did he have to go to such lengths?”

“...”

“There’s no need to make such things. Bugs that control people, mixing humans and beasts. Why did he have to create such things?”

Chimeras... Harriet seemed to have had a mental breakdown after seeing the ones Ellen had cut down.

She was horrified by the malice of the mage.

“Reinhart...”

“Yeah?”

Harriet, trembling, cautiously grabbed my hand. “This time, I know it wasn’t like that... I know you didn’t do it on purpose... but... Can you not get involved in these kinds of scary things anymore? It’s too frightening... I can’t understand it... I don’t mind other things, like fighting with the kids... but these kinds of things... Can you stay away from them?”

Harriet, trembling, finally burst into tears.

“I’m scared that you’ll go too far away,” she continued. “No, it feels like you already have, and it’s terrifying...”

I had been too calm while in the middle of such an event, and Harriet seemed to be afraid of that too.

“I don’t want to either,” I said. Harriet’s hand was clammy with cold sweat. “I’ll try to do that.”

It was a lie. A lie that had to be told, even though Harriet could see that it was a lie.

At that moment, it was the only thing I could say.

***

Later that night, I went to find Ellen in the dormitory’s training grounds.

Our bloodstained clothes had been cleansed using Harriet’s purification magic, so we had faced no suspicion when returning to the Temple.

Ellen and I were the only ones in the training ground.

Ellen looked at me without saying a word.

Click.

Ellen silently locked the door of the training grounds.

I had a feeling I knew why.

“Summon it.”

“... What?”

“Tiamata.”

Ssss...

Lament was in Ellen’s right hand.

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

Ellen stared at me with her dark blue eyes. “Do it.”

I summoned Tiamata in my right hand.

A blue flame enveloped Ellen’s body as she charged at me.

Kang!

Even though I pushed my physical enhancement to the limit, Tiamata still slipped from my grasp in a single clash, and the tip of Ellen’s Lament was pointed at my throat.

An overwhelming difference in skill... Was that what she wanted to show me?

“...”

Ellen’s eyes were filled with seething anger.

“If it hadn’t been for Harriet, I might have died,” Ellen stated calmly.

Even Ellen, with her Mana Reinforcement, might have died in the alchemist’s house without Harriet’s Anti-Magic Field. That was what she was saying.

“You shouldn’t have gone.”

Ellen, unaware that I had brought Sarkegar and Eleris with me, couldn’t help but be angry.

Clang!

Unable to contain her anger, Ellen threw Lament onto the floor.

The divine relic rolled across the ground like trash.

“I told you not to do dangerous things!” Ellen shouted, trembling. “I... I told you. So many times. So many times. Why... why do you... why do you keep...”

Tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall.

“Why do you do this... Why...”

She believed that if she and Harriet hadn’t reached the house first, I would have died. And she was right.

If I had gone alone, I would certainly have died.

Since there was no way I could explain myself, Ellen was understandably frustrated.

She could only think of me as a madman who couldn’t control his need for petty vengeance.

Ellen, crying, grabbed my hand.

“You should have at least brought that white-haired ahjumma along with you. Why do you always... why do you always try to do everything alone?”

Not taking Loyar with me had indeed been a mistake.

Ellen seemed to be going crazy just knowing that I was involved in dangerous matters. She couldn’t bear seeing me constantly crossing lines without any regard for my own safety.

It was too much for her to handle.

“Are you angry?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m angry.” Ellen looked at me with her bloodshot eyes. “What? Do you think I’m not angry?”

“...”

Ellen was right.

If Harriet hadn’t been with her, Ellen would have been helplessly killed in the alchemist’s mansion. She wouldn’t have even had a chance to fight, dying to the numerous magical traps.

Thinking that I was the one who was lucky to be alive was a misconception.

The one who was truly lucky to be alive was Ellen.

Sarkegar had discovered Ellen’s existence, and if I hadn’t risked my life to threaten him, Sarkegar would have acted immediately.

Even now, she couldn’t be considered safe.

Ellen was in long-term danger.

Just as Ellen was angry, so was I. But she was in danger because of the actions she had taken for my sake, so I couldn’t even blame her for it.

Still... I could have handled the matter myself.

When I saw Ellen coming out of the secret entrance of Aaron Mede’s mansion, my heart nearly stopped.

‘Why is she here? She’s still alive, but how did she get here? What if she dies like this?

‘And on top of that, Sarkegar’s seen Ellen. What should I do? How should I handle this?’

I had been caught up in a whirlwind of thoughts that almost made me lose my sanity.

But I couldn’t tell Ellen any of this. I couldn’t tell her that she was in danger and would continue to be in danger.

“I’m stronger than you,” Ellen said as she glared at me.

“That doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”

“I might not be invincible, but I can protect myself better than you can.”

That was true.

But... Even if I disregarded the fact that Sarkegar knew about Ellen, Ellen and Harriet had overextended themselves.

No matter how strong Ellen was at that moment, she was still below Loyar’s level. No matter how strong Harriet was, she was still inferior to Eleris.

They had overextended themselves. They’d fought a life-or-death battle without fully understanding their opponent’s capabilities.

I was truly a hypocrite. I believed it was okay for me to do it, but not them.

Someday, we might all have to be thrown into the flames of battle, but there was no need to experience it prematurely.

But a more fundamental question arose.

If Ellen became a Swordmaster and Harriet became a Grand Mage, would I be okay with them risking their lives for me?

Probably not.

And so I had to say something harsh.

“While I appreciate that you’re willing to risk your life for me, there’s no need for you to actually do it.”

“So, you want me to just watch you go off to die? At the very least, you could have told me what you were thinking, what you were planning to do. Then we could have talked about it. Then... we could have at least gone together...”

Ellen had no intention of backing down, but this wasn’t a problem I could discuss with her. I couldn’t even tell Sarkegar the specific reason why I had targeted Aaron Mede, so there was no way I could convince Ellen.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything?” I asked.

“...”

Just as I hadn’t told Ellen anything, Ellen hadn’t told me anything either while conducting her own investigation.

In the end, Ellen and I were the same. We hadn’t told each other of our plans because we were afraid the other would act recklessly.

We didn’t tell each other anything because we knew it was dangerous and feared the other would jump into the danger.

I could lie and say that I wouldn’t do dangerous things anymore, but Ellen wouldn’t believe it. In reality, I would have to step into even more dangerous situations in the future.

“Yeah. It doesn’t matter what I say, does it?” Ellen said, looking resigned.

She knew she couldn’t persuade me otherwise. If I were the type that could be persuaded, I wouldn’t be living like this.

“If you die, I’ll die too,” Ellen said, as if it was a warning. “If you treat your life as worthless, then I’ll think that you see my life as worthless too.”

Was it a warning or a threat?

It was both a warning and a threat, but ultimately, it was nothing at all.

It was just words, an exchange of feelings. But such things are the essence of life.

I threw her words back at her. “That’s what I wanted to say.”

Ellen glared at me. She seemed angrier than before, perhaps because I’d refused to back down.

Ellen dismissed Lament and picked up a practice sword, tossing one to me as well.

“Take it.”

Ellen pointed her practice sword at me.

“If you’re going to overextend yourself despite being weak, you should at least practice more.”

Her provocation didn’t stir any feelings in me, because I was indeed weak.

“Alright.”

Kang!

Ellen charged at me, and I parried her blow.

I could see a whirlwind of emotions in Ellen’s eyes as she tried to find an opening in my defense.

In the end, that day’s practice didn’t go well.

It wasn’t practice; it was just a fight.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

If we were to exchange words, they would likely leave indelible scars on our hearts. It felt as though something irreparable would happen.

So, instead of hurting each other’s hearts, we chose to hurt each other’s bodies.

Naturally, I was the one who got hurt more.