Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 587

Heinrich, Ludwig, Ellen, and Louise formed an unexpected group and left the Temple.

They left the cat behind, knowing they weren’t heading to a pleasant place.

Since there were individuals among them who disliked attention and those who shouldn’t be noticed, they all wore hoods.

There was no particular reason for secrecy, but they didn’t want to stand out either. Heinrich, however, wore a guilty expression as he watched the snow piled up on the streets and the guards clearing it away.

The snow on the main roads was being cleared by the guards as it continued to fall. Ellen, leading the group, looked at Ludwig.

“Tell me everything you know about that priestess,” she said.

“About Rowen...?”

“Yes.”

“Is that important?”

“It could be, depending on the situation.”

Ellen didn’t bother explaining to Ludwig why Rowen’s story was important.

Ludwig began to recount what he knew.

The priestess’s name was Rowen, and she held the rank of archbishop. She was tasked with purifying diseases under the protection of the guards.

“Even when I hear it again, it’s surprising that an archbishop-level priest was wandering the streets alone. The shortage of manpower must be quite severe.”

“Yes...”

“Hmm... It has to be. Most of the clergy and the holy knights are with the Allied Forces, and the number of priests of Ouen has drastically decreased...”

Many places were in need of priests, but given how few priests were left over, things were so dire that even an archbishop had to wander about alone.

Louise nodded as if she understood the implications.

Knowing everything about Rowen might help with the case.

Although Rowen was already dead, Ludwig thought about how much he knew about her. He didn’t think Rowen should have died like that. But in reality, Ludwig didn’t know much about her. They had worked together for less than a week, so there wasn’t much to go on.

However, Ludwig recalled something about the archbishop.

“I remember hearing something.”

“What did you hear?”

“Well... Priestess Rowen was originally a bishop, but she was promoted to archbishop after the Gate Incident...”

Ellen and Heinrich slowly nodded.

“There were too many vacancies, so someone had to fill them, which was why she took on a position that was more than she deserved... I’m sure that’s the way she said it.”

Ludwig wasn’t good at piecing together clues to deduce something, but he certainly had a good memory.

Rowen wasn’t a noble who had lost her territory. Instead, she had been appointed as an archbishop only after the start of the Gate Incident.

“She had been given the role of archbishop, but with much smaller responsibilities,” said Ellen quietly as she walked. “That means that she wasn’t an archbishop in charge of a diocese before that. She probably had other duties, and the disease purification work was more of a task than a set duty. She must have had a separate position and mission, whether it was with the Ouen Order or the Order of the Holy Knights.”

They didn’t know what they were chasing, but they were sure of what to focus on.

Understanding who Rowen was was also important.

Ludwig couldn’t shake the strange feeling that came over him. Rowen was dead. She had been murdered, yet Ellen was asking about something completely different. She was asking to know about the victim, rather than the scene of the fire or the suspect’s description.

However, she was probably after something that he couldn’t see, so he had to squeeze out everything he knew.

“Yesterday, before we parted, I asked her what she was really doing,” he recounted.

“What did she say?” Heinrich asked.

“She said she was investigating strange occurrences in the refugee camp while purifying diseases... She said that strange things happen in places where too many people die. She said she would deal with them if she could...”

“She was investigating strange occurrences?”

“Yes. She definitely said she was doing that as well.”

Louise nodded slowly from within the cowl of her robe.

“If you don’t put much meaning into it, it could simply mean she was trying to deal with any unspecified situations in the refugee camp... But if you consider a slightly more dangerous possibility...”

Louise’s voice dropped lower. “It could mean she was keeping a close watch on everything happening in the refugee camp.”

“What does that mean, sister...?” Heinrich asked, and Louise looked at him intently.

“It means her actual role might have been performing surveillance or gathering information in the refugee camp,” Ellen answered instead of Louise. “Her work purifying diseases was probably a side mission, while her real job was something else.”

“Is there an organization or group related to information gathering in the Order of the Holy Knights or the Ouen Order?”

“Well...”

Louise felt that they were crossing into a realm better left alone just by discussing this possibility.

“The Order of the Holy Knights, which brings together the combined power of the five different faith Orders, is a force that wields more power than most nations.”

“That’s right.”

“While I can’t say for sure, it would be strange for such a large organization not to have an internal organization dedicated to information gathering.”

One did not need to know a lot in order to understand this. The Order of the Holy Knights would be overly complacent if they didn’t have an internal organization dedicated to information and intelligence gathering.

“Wait... So, are you saying that... Rowen was like a spy... or something?” Ludwig said, flustered. “And why do you keep talking about Rowen...?”

Rowen was a victim of murder, but Ellen and Louise were talking as if Rowen was the key to the case, almost as if she were a suspect.

Ellen looked at Ludwig.

“Ludwig.”

“Y-yes...?”

“If this was simply the actions of an angry mob, there’s nothing I can do,” she said.

“...”

“If Rowen was an ordinary priestess and was really just doing disease purification work, she would indeed be an unfortunate victim.”

Ellen continued to speak as she watched Ludwig’s expression harden.

“But if Archbishop Rowen wasn’t an ordinary priestess, then this can’t be an ordinary incident.”

Archbishop Rowen... The nature of the incident might be different depending on who she actually was.

If it had been an attack by a random mob, neither Ellen nor Louise would be able to investigate anything. The best they could do was catch a few petty thieves, and that would be the end of it.

If this was an ordinary incident, there was nothing Ellen could do.

“If it’s not an ordinary incident, though, I might be able to discover something else.”

On the contrary, they would be able to dig deeper if there indeed was something suspicious about it all. Simple incidents were harder to solve, but the more complex they became, the easier it was to uncover clues.

Ellen was focusing on the victim first, rather than the suspects, to understand the complexity of the incident.

“That’s why I’m asking this,” Ellen added as she continued to walk.

Nothing was certain yet. She was asking just in case.

***

The four of them had to stop at the end of the road. The burnt temple was visible in the distance.

“As expected, the area around it is being controlled,” Louise said, and everyone nodded.

“These aren’t the city guard, but forces from the Order of the Holy Knights.”

Just as the guard captain had said to Ludwig, the Order of the Holy Knights had already taken over, and were the ones providing security.

Some onlookers were hanging around the burnt temple, but most of them hurried past the scene, afraid of catching the attention of the grim-looking holy knights who were restricting access.

A few priests and believers stood there, facing the jeers, contempt, and hatred of the crowd, but no one dared to point fingers at the holy knights.

Others hurried past, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

“I can’t interfere in incidents involving the Empire or Order of the Holy Knights. You understand what that means, right?” Louise said.

“Yes.”

Louise had too many responsibilities to act like a curious individual. If she approached recklessly and mentioned her position, it could be considered interference in the internal affairs of the Order of the Holy Knights or the Empire, which could lead to unnecessary and significant misunderstandings.

She wanted to help Ludwig, but she could only do so within her personal capacity. If people started questioning her intentions, it would lead to more problems.

“I don’t plan to get close. Little one, your situation is slightly different from mine, but you shouldn’t get too close either.”

“Yes, sister.”

Heinrich nodded with a firm expression, understanding Louise’s concerns.

Because of her political position, Louise had no reason to get involved in an incident under the jurisdiction of the Order of the Holy Knights. She was only there to offer advice, and had no intention of getting directly involved in the incident.

Moreover, Ludwig was practically a civilian from the perspective of the Order of the Holy Knights, so there was no way they would let him through.

However, there was someone with them who wielded immense, intangible power that would allow them to involve themselves in any incident concerning the Empire or the Order of the Holy Knights.

Lament and Lapelt—there was no door that wouldn’t open before the owner of those two holy relics.

“Ludwig, follow me,” Ellen said.

And it was entirely possible for her to bring along a companion.

***

What Ellen did was simple.

She approached the holy knights blocking the burnt temple and removed her hood.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“H-Hero...?”

The one who seemed to be in charge of the holy knights at the entrance froze upon seeing Ellen, who was peering inside the temple.

Ellen didn’t hold any official position in the Order of the Holy Knights or the Church of the Five Great Gods.

However, the master of two holy relics held more authority than any pope or even the leader of the Order of the Holy Knights.

To defy Ellen was akin to defying the will of the gods. If it were the Demon King, who himself was the master of two holy relics, things would be more ambiguous, but to those within the Order of the Holy Knights, Ellen’s words were as good as law.

“Um... We are still investigating the details of the incident, but it seems that an unspecified crowd attacked the temple, looted the interior, killed the priests, and set it on fire,” the holy knight responded.

“Can I take a look inside?”

“The building is weakened by the fire and at risk of collapse! Hero! If you go in recklessly—”

“I’ll be fine even if a building ten times this size collapses on me.”

The holy knight hesitated, seeing that Ellen intended to bring Ludwig inside as well.

“H-Hero, that’s totally true if it were just you, but bringing an outsider in with you...”

“He’s my friend.”

“W-well... still...”

“Is there a problem?”

The holy knight couldn’t find the right words to respond to Ellen’s question, as the mere thought of defying her was terrifying.

Ellen was the representative of the gods. No matter where his orders came from, they couldn’t outweigh Ellen’s words.

The holy knight hesitated, trying to find the right response.

Ellen didn’t wait for him. She pushed past the holy knights and walked into the charred temple. The holy knights were anxious and restless, but none dared to lay a hand on Ellen’s shoulder.

Even though she had just barged in, Ellen faced no issues. She was someone whose actions could be justified no matter what she did, even if she didn’t actively exploit that advantage.

The burnt temple was indeed in a precarious state. Parts of the roof had collapsed, and the rest of it was at risk of further collapse.

Moreover, given the heavy snowfall, the weight of the snow accumulating on the temple roof would eventually cause the entire structure to collapse.

Therefore, it was only natural for the holy knights guarding the entrance to warn Ellen of the danger of entering.

One of the holy knights entered after her, tiptoeing around her like a mouse around a cat.

‘He’s following us,’ Ellen thought, but her focus was on something else.

She surveyed the temple’s interior. The furniture, including the chairs, was all burnt, and the stone walls were covered in black soot.

Ludwig naturally looked pale. Although the fire had been extinguished, he had seen countless bodies inside, including Rowen’s.

The scene that had greeted him that morning must have replayed itself in his mind when he entered.

“What happened?”

“We are still piecing together the details, but it seems that a crowd of unspecified people attacked the temple, looted the interior, killed the priests, and set it on fire,” the holy knight explained.

They were still in the initial process of investigating the matter, and the details of how the incident had unfolded were still unclear to the Order of the Holy Knights.

“Have the casualties been identified?”

“Three laypeople, three priests, and seven temple staff... all found dead.”

Ellen nodded as she listened.

‘It’s unclear how large the mob was, but... given that many, proper resistance would have been impossible.’

The temple wasn’t particularly large, and had not been well-staffed.

Given the weakened state of the Ouen Order, it was inevitable.

‘All dead... In that case, it’s not so strange that they all fell to the mob.’

There had been too few people in the temple. This outcome was plausible if a large mob had attacked them.

This temple was exceedingly small. Thus, it became very likely that Louise and Ellen’s assumption—that an archbishop couldn’t be easily killed by the common rabble—was wrong.