Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 419

Since Ellen had come to see me, I debated whether to tell her about heading to the lich’s tomb but decided not to.

No matter how safe it was supposed to be, I was already uneasy about Harriet coming along, and couldn’t involve Ellen as well. If I mentioned it, Ellen would surely want to be involved.

I didn’t know if Vertus would try to involve Ellen, but for the moment, I preferred that she wasn’t.

Just as I was pondering how best to evade the topic, Ellen made her sudden move.

I thought Ellen might have something to say, but I never imagined she would suddenly kiss me.

Why did she do that? Had there been some change in her feelings?

Ellen left with an apology, and without any proper explanation.

Her expression, her gaze, and the unfamiliar sensation left on my lips all lingered in my mind.

Even though it wasn’t the time to be thinking about such things, I wondered what had been going through Ellen’s mind when she did what she did, and why she’d left without saying much.

However, it wasn’t the time to dwell on that. I immediately summoned Lucinil.

Since I was in room A-11 on the second-years’ floor and Lucinil’s was in A-11 on the first-years’ floor, I could summon Lucinil anytime.

“Are you sure?” Lucinil asked with a serious look once I had explained the situation to her as quickly as possible.

“Rother Dwin might not be part of Cantus Magna, but I’m sure the empire’s elite will be heading to the lich’s tomb,” I said.

Even if Cantus Magna was not there, it was certain that the empire’s elite would enter the lich’s tomb.

The quantum maze could be breached, and when that happened, the scale of the conflict could explode.

“I’ve decided to join the imperial forces and head to the lich’s tomb. Depending on how serious the situation is, we might have to decide to retreat, and depending on the circumstances, we might have to fight. We need to secure at least one Cantus Magna mage. You need to inform the Order and the Council quickly. Also, pass the information to Sarkegar and Loyar,” I said.

“Understood.”

With that, Lucinil turned into a mist and disappeared before my eyes.

I was trying to catch Cantus Magna, but the empire’s elite were now coming along.

Was it better to retreat, even knowing this might be the only chance to capture Cantus Magna?

If the empire captured all of Cantus Magna or they all died before we could secure any information, the situation would become incredibly complicated.

Moreover, there was a possibility that we might inadvertently give them the opportunity to complete Akasha.

As early as that day, or by the next day at the latest, I would be heading to the lich’s tomb with the imperial forces. There was nothing I needed to prepare.

I felt like praying, but I didn’t believe in gods. If there was a god, the true god of this world would be me, so I couldn’t pray to anyone.

I was the only one in this world who could not pray to anyone.

I was a god, and my power was Incantation.

So, I prayed to myself.

“Everything will be fine. I’ll make sure everything is fine.”

In the end, I had to do well.

***

It was Saturday night...

An emergency meeting was convened in the land ruled by eternal winter.

Normally, only the members of the Vampire Council would gather around the round table in the grand hall, but due to the slight change in the nature of the Council and the special circumstances of the current situation, others besides vampires were present.

There were the four heads of the Vampire Lord families, excluding Antirianus, who was in charge of the lich’s tomb. These were the expected members: Eleris, Lucinil, Lruien and Galarsh.

Sarkegar, a subordinate of Baalier, was present as well, and so was Mr. Effenhauser, a member of the Black Order.

Almost everyone was gathered, except for Loyar the lycanthrope.

“Are we certain that Rother Dwin is a member of Cantus Magna?” Eleris asked, her expression serious.

Lucinil furrowed her brow. “We can’t say for sure. It’s all circumstantial evidence. But considering he managed to pull off such a stunt in the imperial palace and was obsessed with a large number of magical tomes, it would be strange if he wasn’t part of Cantus Magna.

“And if this is indeed Cantus Magna’s doing, it means they’ve decided to focus all their efforts on this matter. They’re likely concentrating all their resources on the lich’s tomb. Even if they’re not, a character like him drooling over the bait we’ve set could lead to unforeseen complications.”

Galarsh nodded, arms crossed. “That’s important, but what’s even more crucial is the fact that the full force of the empire is heading there. The tomb will undoubtedly be breached, and it’s doubtful whether we can extract even a single Cantus Magna mage from the empire’s grasp.”

The empire represented the collective will of humanity, and Shanapell and the Imperial Mage Corps were both composed of the most outstanding individuals.

While the Temple had been established with the goal of nurturing exceptional talent regardless of status, Shanapell and the Imperial Mage Corps were the places where such nurtured talents were concentrated. They were the strongest groups in humanity, filled with individuals whose loyalty to humanity and the empire has been thoroughly vetted, and who possessed exceptional talents and intelligence.

No matter how powerful a secret society might be, in the end, it was still a secret society.

When superhumans were filtered through a fine sieve and then concentrated in one place, there was no way to oppose them.

Their task was to extract a core member of Cantus Magna instead of letting them be killed.

“It might be better to retreat rather than hedge our bets on such a low-probability play. If we suffer losses while trying to get a lead on Cantus Magna, the situation could become irreparable,” Lruien suggested. She seemed to consider retreat as the best option.

Initially, Eleris, Lucinil, and Antirianus were the ones who drove the Council to cooperate fully with the remnants of the demon forces. Galarsh and Lruien were in a position to cooperate as much as possible, but they had no intention of sacrificing their lives for Baalier.

Therefore, they were ready to withdraw if the situation became excessively dangerous.

Going up against both Cantus Magna and the empire simultaneously to uncover the truth about the mysterious artifact Akasha was beyond reckless. Lruien’s judgment wasn’t unreasonable.

“I agree with Lruien. Going up against not only Cantus Magna but also the empire is too great a risk,” Galarsh said.

At those words, Sarkegar, who appeared as an ordinary human male, said with a worried tone, “But didn’t our lord decide to head to that location?”

“That’s right,” Lucinil said, nodding at Sarkegar’s words. “Baalier has decided to join the imperial forces and head to the tomb. Therefore Baalier might not face any significant danger.

“But we can’t be completely at ease because we don’t know how much of its forces Cantus Magna will deploy. Even if we go there ourselves, we might not have to engage them directly.

“We can observe from a distance and intervene only if it seems necessary. And if we manage to capture a Cantus Magna mage, we can decide later to take action discreetly.”

Lucinil looked at Sarkegar and said, “You’re good at that sort of thing, aren’t you?”

Since they had met several times to exchange communications, Lucinil was well aware of Sarkegar’s abilities. Sarkegar was more skilled in disguise and infiltration than direct combat.

“I’m deserving of being called an expert in that field,” Sarkegar replied confidently.

Effenhauser quietly observed Sarkegar but didn’t say anything.

“The imperial forces will likely want to capture the Cantus Magna mages rather than kill them all immediately. They’d want to find out their motives before deciding to execute them. However, the fact that Cantus Magna has resorted to such extreme measures means they’ve decided to go all out. We need to be thoroughly prepared on our end as well,” Lucinil said.

“Lucinil, are you planning to go?” Lruien asked, looking curiously at the silver-haired girl.

“Yeah, I plan to,” Lucinil replied.

“I don’t quite understand. Why are you so eager to support him...?” Lruien questioned, puzzled.

Lucinil crossed her arms. “I always want to give things a treat when they’re pretty, and I think our Baalier is quite pretty.”

Lucinil smiled brightly, while Lruien sighed deeply, still unable to comprehend her compatriot.

Somehow, Lucinil ended up leading the meeting.

There were six people present: Lucinil, Eleris, Sarkegar, Effenhauser, Lruien, and Galarsh.

In preparation for any potential incidents at the lich’s tomb, the Council decided that someone would observe from a distance and intervene if necessary.

“Anyway, I’m going. Anyone not planning to go, raise your hand.”

At that, Lruien raised her hand high.

“...?”

Lruien was the only one with her hand raised.

“... Galarsh, are you too old to hear properly?” the oldest vampire out of all of them asked.

“I plan to go, Galarsh replied plainly.

“... Pardon?”

Like Lruien, Galarsh wasn’t particularly inclined to cooperate with Baalier, and so Lruien naturally assumed he wouldn’t participate, but he’d decided to accompany the rest.

Lruien quietly observed Galarsh, who was staring intently at the smiling Lucinil with a worried expression.

It was clear he was going because he was worried about Lucinil.

“Oh, this insincere monster...”

“Be quiet, pointy ears.”

“W-what?! Pointy ears?”

“You’re the one who called me a monster first.”

Effenhauser simply watched the elf and orc vampires bicker without intervening.

In the end, everyone except Lruien decided to head to the site.

“... I’m not usually someone who gets swept along like this... I really am not...” Lruien mumbled, feeling conflicted.

Seeing everyone else decide to go made Lruien feel uneasy about being the only one left out, and she felt a strong urge to not miss out.

“No, Lruien, you do get swept along,” Lucinil remarked.

“Yes, that’s quite true,” Eleris added.

“In my judgment, having known you longer than you’ve known yourself, you do lack conviction,” Galarsh concluded.

Because Lruien reset her memory every two hundred years, the other Vampire Lords, who had observed Lruien for longer than she had known herself, were more accurate in their assessment.

Since she knew this as well, the already pale elf vampire’s complexion turned even whiter.

“R-really...?”

“Yes, it’s always like this. You think you have firm beliefs, but you always react this way when you realize that you’re actually easily swayed,” Lucinil explained.

Lruien’s mouth dropped open at Lucinil’s words. “I... lack conviction?”

Indeed, Lruien had initially had no intention of cooperating with Baalier, but when Galarsh had decided to side with Baalier, she’d reluctantly agreed to cooperate.

In the end, even the non-committal Lruien decided to join the group heading to the lich’s tomb.