Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 397 [Illustration]

This conclusion was not one that only Olivia could reach. Even in the atmosphere of fear that remained in the wake of the attack, an individual who could remain calm and rational could deduce this from the list of victims.

If the main force had attacked this Merchants’ Guild branch, sweeping away the empire’s influential figures and then disappearing, it would demonstrate that the demons might not need a significant reason in order to kill powerful individuals within the empire.

Demonstrating that even those with immense power could become targets would instill fear in the populace.

Even if the special investigation unit’s investigators did not know the truth about the Raziern attack, they could have easily figured all of this out.

“The influential figures who died at that location were all rather skilled, as were the forces they had escorting them. The escorts were a small elite group, rather than a large force. The core forces of the demons would have hit the Merchant’s Guild branch and then retreated.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“This time, though, there’s no trace of large-scale destructive magic being used. Of course, it seems like veteran close-combat fighters were involved... which means that the remnants of the demon forces are not insignificant, or they might have built up a new force. Given the appearance of orcs and goblins, which haven’t been seen before, the latter seems more likely.”

Orcs, goblins, ogres, trolls...

The fact that they had deployed forces they hadn’t used before made Olivia consider the possibility that the demons had strengthened their forces.

Olivia had yet to reach the point where she suspected that this might not be the work of demons but someone else, and that was perhaps understandable.

Even Olivia, who had been thoroughly disillusioned with humanity, had limits to her thinking. If I weren’t the Demon King myself, I might have just clicked my tongue and dismissed the whole situation as the demons suddenly going crazy upon hearing about such an incident.

Even though some of the circumstances surrounding it were suspicious, I might have brushed it off, since there were many other suspicious things in the world. I was sensitive and serious about it because it was my business. If it were something happening far away, I probably would have just ignored it, no matter how involved the Demon King was in it.

“If the demons attacked this place to create chaos within the empire, then they succeeded. They did not just attack the capital. By sending forces to Raziern, they have shown that the demons’ strength is much greater than most people expected.”

Many influential figures had been killed, and although the demons hadn’t caused significant damage to the city, the fact that a horde of demons had attacked Raziern already served as a demonstration of power.

They were flexing their prowess, proving that they had both elite and regular forces and could deploy them anywhere in the empire via mass teleportation and carry out a massacre at will.

Even though I, the true Demon King, had no hand in this attack, people, including those in the investigation team, would perceive it that way.

“The question is, how did the demons know that all those important people would be gathered at the Merchants’ Guild branch on that day and at that time?”

Naturally, most people wouldn’t have known about such a meeting. But the demons had known about it and carried out the attack.

That was because the Merchants’ Guild master was a traitor from the start, and the attack was actually carried out by the imperial family, not me. The current assumption was that Shanapell might have been responsible for that task.

So, where had the demons gotten their information?

“Just like with the previous attack on the Order of the Holy Knights, it seems the demons have access to a great deal of secret information,” Olivia said.

We had managed to stage the previous attack because of Radia Schmidt’s meddling, but it was because of her that we had gained that important information. From the perspective of someone who was not in the know, it was entirely possible to suspect that the demons somehow knew everything.

“In any case, the first course of action seems to be to find out why so many people were gathering at the Merchants’ Guild branch. There must have been some kind of spy.”

What was so important that a whole slew of prominent people had gathered at a Merchants’ Guild branch in this small southern nation? That was what Olivia was focusing on, and she was getting closer to Owen de Getmora, even if she hadn’t quite pinpointed the crux of the situation yet.

The more Olivia spoke, the more complicated my thoughts became.

‘Why did Sabioleen Tana send me here?’

The special investigation team that had been sent here hadn’t been dispatched to conduct an investigation but to obscure the truth. I didn’t know if all the investigators knew the truth, but the head of the investigation, Scotla Kelton, surely did.

The guidance given to him by the imperial family would naturally be to conceal the truth.

In short, the empire had intervened to prevent the Levainan royal family, whose territory had been directly attacked, from conducting their own investigation.

The conspiracy regarding the Imperial fabrication of the demon attack was not yet done; it would only end the moment this investigation team concluded the case, but for the moment, it was still ongoing.

No matter how the investigation proceeded, they would ultimately come to the conclusion that this attack was the work of demons. If the Levainan royal family tried to intervene in the investigation, the empire would find some excuse to stop them, and Levaina wouldn’t be able to refuse the empire’s decrees.

This investigation headquarters had not been established to solve the case, but to shape the conclusions as they saw fit. There were suspicious circumstances everywhere, but once the official investigation was concluded, no further investigations would go ahead. The final stage of this grand conspiracy was the conclusion of the special investigation.

However, Olivia and I were special. The empire’s investigation team had the authority to deny the Levainan royal family their own investigation, but they couldn’t interfere with me or Olivia.

If we were ordinary students, they might have told us to stay out of it, but they couldn’t treat Olivia or me lightly.

In short, we could delve into the real truth without being affected by the guidelines set by the special investigation team. They couldn’t give us orders.

“I’ve confirmed everything I needed to at this scene. Let’s visit the Merchants’ Guild branch tomorrow,” Olivia said.

“Yes, senior.”

‘What is going on, then? Is it okay for Olivia and me to find out the truth?’

***

Olivia and I planned to visit the Merchants’ Guild headquarters in Raziern the next day. Since it was late at night, we decided to go to bed early, and Olivia and I each went to our respective bedrooms.

However, there was a high possibility that Olivia would gain nothing from that trip other than an increased sense of suspicion. If that was the case, I didn’t know what Olivia’s next move would be.

Since I already knew the truth, I could reveal it if I wanted to. I didn’t need to dig elsewhere and could go straight to the capital and meet Owen de Getmora.

‘A very important meeting was held in the south, a gathering of influential figures. What was it about? Why weren’t you, the guild master, present at such an important meeting?’

I could try to entangle Owen by asking those questions. While I might not get him to confess the truth, I could certainly color him as a suspicious person.

The problem was that no matter what we did, the truth behind the imperial family’s grand conspiracy had to ultimately be uncovered by the imperial investigation team, but such a thing would never happen.

Even if Olivia discovered the truth, it was likely that no one would recognize it. Instead, her disdain for humanity might only grow.

That was why I disliked both scenarios: whether Olivia uncovered the truth, or ended up believing the fabricated truth.

I was still curious about Sabioleen Tana’s intentions. Why had she sent me to assist Olivia? One thing about it was clear, though: she’d sent me because there was no danger in this place.

Moreover, it could add something to my resume—helping out with the investigation at the site of a demon attack, or something like that. Just being involved with the special investigation into this demon attack would be a significant addition to my resume.

It was like building a career by being parachuted in. I could grow my reputation by taking up positions with low risk but high reward. The empire did not want me to be in any actual danger. Being involved in things like this investigation was much more preferable.

‘Is it difficult to avoid becoming a manufactured hero?’

As I lay there in the VIP bedroom, my thoughts grew increasingly complicated. At least Olivia hadn’t seemed too hurt by my story.

I went out to the living room to get a glass of water.

Sob... Sniff...

From beyond the closed door of Olivia’s bedroom, I heard the faint sound of her sobbing.

‘Right. Of course, she’s not actually okay. She’s someone who cries alone.’

Someone who always wore a smiling mask was now living her life wearing a mask of anger instead.

Olivia was never one to show her struggles to anyone, and that part of her hadn’t changed at all.

I was trying to believe only what I saw because I couldn’t bear the situation either, even though I knew what sort of person Olivia was behind that smile.

I wanted to believe that she was truly smiling.

Ugh... Uh...

What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know.

—Listening to someone crying... You’re such a jerk.

Olivia, who had sharper senses than mine, must have heard me coming out of my bedroom.

—You could at least come in and pat my back, even if you don’t hug me. Idiot.

I stood there, unsure of what to do, while Olivia chided me from beyond the bedroom door.

I hesitated, wondering if it would be okay for me to enter, but eventually, I opened Olivia’s bedroom door.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t locked, which was a little unexpected.

Entering the bedroom, I found Olivia sitting on the bed and rubbing her eyes, which were red.

“I didn’t really mean for you to come in. My eyes are swollen,” she said, covering her eyes.

“Well... what was I supposed to do?”

As I stood there awkwardly, Olivia lowered the arm covering her eyes.

She’d said her eyes were swollen, but honestly, I couldn’t tell. They just looked a little red.

The room was dark, lit only by the moonlight streaming through the window.

“You’re not going to marry me, are you?”

“...”

“You won’t even say it as a joke. I’m really hurt,” Olivia said, shifting herself and leaning against the headboard.

Olivia wasn’t looking at me. She gazed out the window from which the moonlight streamed in, her lips shaped in a pout.

“I’m just going to marry the Demon King, then.”

“... Sorry?”

“Well, if you’re not going to look at me for the rest of your life, why should I look at you? I’ll just find the Demon King, marry him, and then stab you in the neck, you jerk.”

‘Uh... noona... Actually... that’s also me...’

***

Even though Olivia had said it jokingly, there was a hint of sincerity in her words. Whether she truly intended to side with the Demon King or not, I couldn’t tell, but she had come all the way to the Kingdom of Levaina to find out if the Demon King was truly as evil as the world perceived him to be.

Of course, it was a bit funny to talk about marrying the Demon King without ever having seen him. What if the Demon King turned out to be some genderless, monstrous creature?

Honestly, if Olivia were serious, she’d probably say it didn’t matter, which was a bit scary.

.

.

The next day...

“I’m not sure about the details myself,” said the branch manager when Olivia and I arrived at the Merchants’ Guild branch in Levaina.

“It must have been a major project being handled by the guild, but in such cases, information isn’t usually shared with lower branches; we’ll only be told that a meeting would be held at our branch. It’s not that uncommon...”

Judging by his expression, it seemed clear that the branch manager of the Levaina Merchants’ Guild didn’t know anything.

Olivia also scrutinized his face before nodding. “I see.”

She had readily accepted the explanation. Clearly, she hadn’t expected to gain much information from this person.

Each of the deceased had been a key figure from various sectors of the empire, and if they were indeed involved in a major project run by the Merchants’ Guild, it would only be natural that the information wouldn’t be widely disseminated. Olivia didn’t find the branch manager’s words particularly suspicious, and neither did I.

Olivia asked the branch manager a few more questions, but he did not reveal any significant clues, except for one important piece of information: the Merchants’ Guild headquarters had ordered the branch to be vacated for a specific period, not just a specific date.

The Raziern branch had simply followed the headquarters’ instructions.

Olivia seemed satisfied with what we’d found out.

“Let’s go, Reinhart.”

“Alright.”

Outside the Merchants’ Guild branch, Olivia tilted her head and pressed her index finger to her cheek.

She was obviously trying to be cute, and it was actually working, which was a bit annoying.

“Using the place for a specific period instead of a specific date is a bit odd...” she said.

“The meeting might have been held over several days,” I replied. “Even if it wasn’t, there were many important people on the guest list, so they would have needed time to clean the place and prepare it thoroughly.”

“Hmm, that’s true. I’ve never seen important people who weren’t picky, especially with food. Some are particular about the water, about what they want to eat or what they don’t eat... And if anything’s wrong, they just complain about it nonstop.”

Olivia had probably had plenty of opportunities to meet high-ranking people in the past. She understood that when such distinguished individuals gathered, preparations had to be made well in advance. That could explain the order to vacate the premises for a period rather than a specific date.

“There were quite a few like that among the clergy too.”

“... Even the clergy?”

“Yes. Even among the high priests, there were those who insisted their prayer spaces be set up exactly as they wanted, and dragged around a large carriage decorated like a chapel. Some wouldn’t let anyone below a certain rank hear their sermons, claiming they were only for the elite. People often think of themselves as a couple of steps above their actual position. It’s like they revere themselves. It’s ridiculous.”

The derisive tone at the end of her tirade highlighted her disdain for humanity.

“Those that are low are ugly because they’re low, and those that are high are ugly because they’re high.”

The ugliness that came from ignorance and baseness, and the ugliness that came from knowledge and nobility... Olivia seemed to believe that humans were inherently ugly.

“In that sense, my foster father was a decent clergyman. He was honest, at least. The problem was that he was insane.”

Only from her current perspective could Olivia provide this sardonic yet somewhat positive description of her foster father. Having been disappointed by everyone, Olivia seemed to think that her foster father, at least, was a madman who followed his beliefs, making him somewhat better than others.

Leverier Lanche had tried to establish the Church of the Five Great Gods as a state in its own right, independent of the empire, and had intended to enthrone Olivia as the first Holy Empress. He had accepted his death only when he realized that the gods had never chosen him, and saw his demise at the hands of Ouen’s Champion as a judgment from the god himself.

Olivia looked off at the distant sky and flashed a bitter smile. “Enough of that. Let’s head back to the capital. The guildmaster of the Merchants’ Guild might know something.”

“... Alright.”

I knew the truth and who we needed to seek out, but Olivia had naturally come to the same conclusion on her own.

‘Is it really okay for Olivia to meet Owen?’

If Olivia learned the truth, she would inevitably be in danger. Olivia was ultimately a Champion of Ouen like me, although that information was not widely known, and nobody in the empire’s government knew that.

I might be safe, but would Olivia be?

However, the empire, which couldn’t afford to lose a single person, would surely want to avoid sacrificing Olivia, especially since she was, for the moment, much stronger than either Ellen or me. Furthermore, her value would only increase if they learned that Olivia shared mastery of Tiamata with me.

As these thoughts bounced around in my head while we were heading to the warp gate in Raziern...

—It’s all because of them! @@novelbin@@

—They summoned the demons!

—Kill them! Kill them all!

There was a commotion in one of Raziern’s squares.

“What’s going on?” Olivia asked.

“I wonder as well,” I replied.

There was a mob forming, and those filled with rage were being pushed against the guards, who were trying to hold them back.

—Kill the demon god worshipers!

—Kill the heretics!

—Call the inquisitors!

“Demon god worshipers...?”

Olivia’s expression hardened, and so did mine.

A word I had long forgotten but was still lodged in a corner of my mind.

‘Demon god worshiper...’

That phrase was echoing in the heart of Raziern.

***

In the middle of Raziern’s square, someone was being accused of being a demon god worshiper.

“Stand back! I said stand back!” shouted someone who appeared to be the head of the guards, but the angry crowd continued to push against the guards.

Olivia and I could see the people lying inside the circle formed by the guards.

I didn’t know who the demon god worshipers were, and there was nothing about their appearance that identified them as such. They just looked like ordinary people—young men, women, the elderly, and even children.

No matter how I looked at them, they seemed like just regular people.

—An inquisitor from the Church of the Five Great Gods will be here soon. They will follow the proper procedures to determine if these people are demon god worshipers! Anyone resorting to vigilante justice will be severely punished under Levaina’s national law!

—There are people who heard them whispering about the Demon King!

—If those who stay holed up at home worshiping suspicious idols aren’t demon god worshipers, then what are they?

—Kill them! Kill them! The Demon King will come again!

—If they bring the Demon King back to Raziern, will you take responsibility?

Olivia’s expression turned cold as she watched the crowd.

“It seems that, in the face of an incomprehensible situation, they’ve decided to hate the people around them whom they dislike.”

“...”

“Isn’t it interesting, Reinhart?” Olivia looked at me with a smile. “The Demon King was the one that killed people, but humans are trying to solve something by killing other humans.”

Would the old Olivia have helped those being persecuted?

Perhaps they were demon god worshipers, or perhaps they weren’t. The fabricated demon attack had triggered many other flashpoints.

The people of Raziern, the capital of the Kingdom of Levaina, were trusting their own instincts rather than putting their faith in the investigators dispatched by the empire.

—They’ll bring the demons back again!!!

Even if the people in the circle were truly demon god worshipers, the Demon King had no reason or obligation to respond to their summons.

‘How could such insignificant beings, no different from you, summon the Demon King to this remote place?’

But people still believed it.

And because they believed it...

—O Five Great Gods, watch over us...

They believed that killing these individuals was justice, and that they were performing a righteous act.

They seemed to have no awareness that what they were attempting was nothing short of murder.

Olivia was mocking humanity, but I didn’t want to mock humanity nor despise it.

“It’s sad,” I said.

Olivia gave a surprised chuckle. “That’s unexpected, Reinhart. I didn’t think you had such compassion for humans.”

“Life isn’t precious only because it’s good.”

“... Ha. Is that so.”

For a moment, I thought that the roles of the Demon King and the saintess had been reversed.

Olivia didn’t mock the dreadful scene any further. However, she showed no desire to intervene.

“Let’s go,” she said. “It’s unpleasant.”