Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 596

There was no need to rush.

The enemy was an unknown force capable of launching an attack on the temple of the leader of the Inquisition and massacring all within.

Whether they were mages, demon god cultists, or some other group was still unclear. What mattered was that they wouldn’t leave their pursuers alone, and there was a strong chance they would target both the hero of humanity and the princess of the Schwartz royal family.

But while the temple of the Inquisition, disguised as a declining temple of Ouen, might not be safe, the Temple itself was certainly secure.

Still, it wasn’t wise to provoke them by acting hastily. Ellen decided to wait at the Royal Class dormitory, hoping to gather some clues from Anna de Gerna.

The internal issues between the Order of the Holy Knights and the Church of the Five Great Gods also needed careful consideration. For the moment, she chose to wait and observe the situation.

Ludwig was in the Class B dormitory, while Ellen, Louise, and Heinrich were in the Class A dormitory. It was snowing, and they needed to gather their thoughts.

Heinrich, who did not possess the physical prowess of a superhuman, was resting in his room, exhausted from being out all day.

Louise was sitting on the sofa in the lobby, lost in thought, when she noticed Ellen, fresh from a shower and with a towel around her neck, walking down the hallway and looking around.

“Is something wrong?” Louise asked.

“Ah...” Ellen paused, tilting her head as she looked at Louise. “Have you seen the cat?”

“Hmm...? No, I haven’t. Has it gone missing?”

Louise had never been interested in pets, but if this was the cat Ellen cherished, it might be serious.

As Louise hesitated, unsure of what to say, Ellen shook her head. “No, it often wanders off on its own. It was like that at the garrison too. It’ll come back soon.”

Ellen reassured her that even if the cat was not in sight, it was probably exploring another dormitory. She sat across from Louise and began drying her hair with the towel.

Ellen Artorius, the Hero... Her brother Ragan Artorius’s fame had already faded, while Ellen’s stature as the next hero of humanity had grown even larger. Yet, Louise could hardly see the image of a hero in Ellen, who was drying her hair and looking around for her cat.

At that moment, she seemed a bit clumsy and not very talkative—just a girl her age.

“Do you like cats?” Louise asked.

Ellen paused, furrowing her brow in thought. “I don’t think I used to.”

“Really?” Louise replied, surprised.

“Yes,” Ellen confirmed, glancing out the window at the falling snow. “I think of it more as a friend that occasionally visits me... Rather than something I own.”

Even with the cat nowhere in sight, Ellen seemed unconcerned, as if she trusted it was simply exploring somewhere nearby.

“I hope it hasn’t gone outside,” she added, a hint of worry in her voice.

It was cold and snowing, and she hoped the cat was safely wandering inside the Royal Class dormitory.

With that, Ellen continued to dry her hair.

A hero raising a cat... Louise couldn’t help but chuckle as she remembered Ellen’s unexpected gesture the day before, offering up the cat to be petted. Ellen had thrust the cat forward with a stern expression, insisting it be called cute. That image kept replaying in Louise’s mind.

She thought about how Ellen had acted that day. Although she seemed impulsive, when Ludwig, who had been through a major ordeal, asked for help, she had agreed without hesitation, diving into the situation without a single question.

Even knowing the risks, she quickly figured out where she needed to go, guided by her sharp insight and sound judgment.

Wise, decisive, always ready to help others, and already strong in her own right. Though she didn’t fit the typical image of a hero, the hidden layers beneath her ordinary exterior made Ellen truly heroic.

To Louise von Schwartz, Ellen Artorius was a stranger. She was a classmate of her son, a hero, the bearer of two holy relics, and humanity’s hope.

It wasn’t the first time Louise had seen Ellen’s face. She had watched Ellen fight many times. But seeing her cuddle a cat, chat with friends, and tackle everyday problems—witnessing the human side of the hero was a first.

Louise found these glimpses of Ellen’s humanity unfamiliar yet endearing. Ultimately, she couldn’t help but like this side of her.

Ellen had entered the Temple, concealing the weighty legacy of her brother’s name. Even back then, she had already been the master of a holy relic, but few had known her true identity.

A hero is a figure summoned by the times. Just as Ragan Artorius became a hero during the Great War, Ellen Artorius was hailed as a hero because of the presence of the last Demon King and the Gate Incident.

Even the Demon King Reinhart had been seen as a hero until the revelation of his true identity. Humanity believed it had two heroes, but one of them turned out to be the Demon King in disguise. That revelation had shocked everyone.

Louise was unsure what to make of her son’s claim that the Demon King might not be truly evil.

Ultimately, Louise could not dismiss Ellen from her mind. If none of this had happened—if the Gate incident hadn’t occurred—would she have lived a different life?

Louise, as a princess and heir of the Schwartz royal family, would have continued her life as royalty even without the Gate incident.

But Ellen was different. Ellen was a commoner. Without the Gate incident, she would have led an ordinary life. Because of it, though, Ellen had become the most important person in the world.

If none of this had happened, Ellen would have lived an ordinary life, free from such heavy burdens.

“If none of this had happened...” Louise mused aloud.

“Sorry?” Ellen responded, caught off-guard.

“What do you think you would be doing now?”

At Louise’s sudden question, Ellen froze, lost in thought, and remained silent.

“You wouldn’t have wanted to live this kind of life, right?”

A short pause.

“That’s right.”

To everyone else, Ellen was just a hero. But Louise had glimpsed the person behind the title over the past couple of days. This made her wonder about Ellen’s true desires and the life she wished for, even though discussing it seemed pointless. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Ellen gazed out the window, lost in thought.

‘If none of this had happened...’

“I would still be attending classes in the Temple.”

Although she was physically in the Temple, things were different. If the Gate Incident hadn’t occurred, the place would be alive with students. It would be winter break, and everyone would be gearing up for a new school year.

Even if she wasn’t particularly close to the other students, they might have become acquaintances, sharing simple conversations. That was still true now, but they wouldn’t have formed bonds forged in shared sorrow, a comradeship born of necessity.

In a world without the tangled relationships of this horrific present, no one would have died, and everyone would still be there.

‘If only things had been different... If none of this had happened...’

Ellen looked out the window, wishing she didn’t have to curse the snow.

If nothing had changed, and it snowed like this, then...

A memory rose in Ellen’s mind: Reinhart’s playful grin as he stuffed a snowball into Harriet’s mouth, and Harriet’s indignant expression in response.

“I think he’s actually out of his mind!”

“Hey, if it’s hot, you have to put something cold in to cool it down. Isn’t that right?”

“Oh, really? Is going ‘Ugh! Ugh!’ like that also part of your so-called dignity?”

“H-huh...? What? What did you just say? I don’t even know what to say... And when did I ever do that?!”

She remembered sitting on the terrace on a quiet, snowy night in winter, eating beef stew.

It hadn’t been a particularly special day. But even then, she knew she would look back on it fondly. That those ordinary days she took for granted were, in fact, special.

Ellen realized that that was enough.

Friends and loved ones... Just being with them was enough.

She understood now that the days she thought would always return had become days that never could.

It wasn’t how she imagined it, but it was her own actions that had shattered it all.

If she could only go back to that time, make it so none of it had happened, and everything continued as it was, what would she be doing?

“I would probably be making a snowman.”

“A snowman...?”

“Yes,” Ellen said softly.

In the falling snow, just like before.

Watching the snowflakes, eating or drinking something warm, and building a snowman.

Simple things. Nothing grand, nothing extraordinary.

She would just be living those ordinary but special days.

***

Anna de Gerna did not return the next day. It wasn’t just Anna; Cristina and Louis Ankton, who were deeply engrossed in their research, were also missing.

Since the work at the research building might not be connected to them, it was possible the message hadn’t reached them.

Without knowing where they were conducting their research, all Ellen and her group could do was wait at the dormitory.

Venturing outside the Temple recklessly was too risky, especially after they had already drawn unwanted attention by poking around the day before. When faced with an unknown enemy, one day of hasty action was more than enough.

Two days passed as they waited at the Temple, yet Anna de Gerna still hadn’t returned.

“Does she usually stay away this long?” Louise asked.

Ludwig nodded. “Yes. She often doesn’t come back for days.”

The four of them were gathered at the Class B dormitory, anxiously waiting for Anna’s return.

“Even if meeting her doesn’t give us a clear solution... should we try finding a dark mage within the Temple?” Louise asked.

“If the Temple were fully operational, maybe. But right now, I doubt we can find one.”

Most mages had been drafted into the army, and dark mages were likely no exception. They were probably stationed with the Allied Forces.

“Hmm...”

They hadn’t planned on rushing, but the uncertainty of Anna’s return left them feeling anxious. So, they spent their days idly in the Class B dormitory.

Ellen gently stroked the back of the cat sleeping on her lap. It had vanished for a while, but that morning, she had found it curled up peacefully by her bedside.

She left the door ajar, allowing the cat to come and go as it pleased, and it wandered in and out of her room as if it owned the place.

“The snow still hasn’t stopped,” Heinrich said, peering outside with concern. The relentless snowfall had weakened, but showed no signs of letting up.

“I heard this morning that even some of the Imperial Mage Corps have been deployed to clear away the snow. A lot of mages from the Allied camp are returning,” Ludwig added.

Heinrich nodded quietly. “That’s a relief...”

A significant number of Royal Class students who had returned to the Temple had been sent out to clear the snow, and now even high-ranking mages from the imperial family’s mage corps were involved.

They were barely managing to prevent the snow in the capital from causing massive casualties. It was serious enough that archmages were being deployed, but their efforts were keeping the situation from worsening.

Through the window, they could see guards clearing snow inside the Temple.

Most of the students had gone out to help, while the four of them waited for Anna, unsure when she would return. They knew her answers to their questions weren’t likely to yield any major clues, but she was their only lead.

Contacting the popes of the Five Great Orders was an option, but a dangerous one. Louise and Ellen decided it was wiser to gather more information first.

How long had they been sitting in the lobby like that?

Suddenly, Louise noticed one of the doors in the dormitory open.

Click.

A student emerged, walking—almost staggering—slowly down the hallway, looking thin and frail.

“Oh, hello Detto,” Ludwig greeted the student, who merely nodded slightly and continued on without a word.

“Hello.”

Ellen tried as well, but again the student only gave a brief nod, showing no interest, and walked away.

Louise had seen this frail student a few times during her two days at the dormitory. She quietly watched him disappear down the hall.

“Dettomorian... was that his name?” Louise said.

“Yes.”

“Well... um... he seems like an unusual child.”

Louise chose her words carefully, afraid of giving offence. Though she hadn’t observed him for long, Dettomorian certainly left a strong impression.

There was something eerie about him that made everyone feel unsettled.

“He gets misunderstood a lot, but he’s a good friend,” Ludwig said.

Ellen nodded in agreement, and Louise was visibly surprised by their defense of him.

“No, I didn’t mean to imply he’s a bad kid...”

“Sister, I get what you’re saying. I haven’t really talked to him much either.”

Heinrich still felt a bit uneasy around Dettomorian because of his unsettling vibe.

Dettomorian was the kind of person who ignored everyone, even when someone like Louise was around in the dorm. He didn’t care who greeted him or who was there; he just went about his business.

Louise had heard a little about Heinrich’s classmates, but seeing them in person was a different story.

“His talent is in sorcery, right?”

“Yes.”

Dettomorian had a talent for sorcery. Louise knew Heinrich’s friends were all remarkable, but she’d never come across anything like sorcery before.

“What exactly is sorcery?”

Louise’s question left both Heinrich and Ludwig looking uncertain.

“Well... I’m not sure either.”

Even Ludwig, who had lived with Dettomorian for a long time, had no clue what sorcery truly was. It was something like magic, but not quite magic.

“Though I’m not sure how it works, it’s definitely a way of wielding power. I’ve seen it a few times myself,” Ellen spoke up.

“You have?”

“Yes.”

Ellen had witnessed Dettomorian’s ritual to awaken the cursed Demon Sword, Tiamata, alongside Reinhart. She had also seen Dettomorian praying for peace with Vertus and Sabioleen Tana.

The talisman around Ellen’s neck had been carved by Dettomorian as well. Ellen wasn’t certain if the talisman truly protected her. She couldn’t tell if she was enduring her ordeal on her own or if the talisman was genuinely helping her maintain her sanity.

Dettomorian had advised her to pray that the talisman would guide and protect her soul, so she did. She hoped it was working, even if she couldn’t be sure.

Was that the essence of sorcery?

Louise didn’t doubt Ellen’s claim about having witnessed sorcery in action. Ellen had to have seen something significant to speak with such conviction.

“That’s fascinating,” Louise said, crossing her arms thoughtfully. “If sorcery manifests power, is it a way of manipulating mana, or is it a form of Divine Power?”

That was a fundamental question—was sorcery magic, or was it faith? The question left all three of them puzzled.

“I’m not sure, but I’ve heard that sorcery is the most primitive form of magic, sister,” Heinrich offered.

His knowledge was limited, but even that was more than what most people knew. It was only because of their classmate, Dettomorian, who possessed the unique talent of sorcery, that Heinrich knew that much.

Before the formal establishment of magic as a system, sorcerers were the first mages. Thus, sorcery was considered a primitive form of magic. Ellen knew this too, but she had never given it much thought. Now that she had time to consider it, it seemed quite intriguing.

When Dettomorian was performing the ritual on Tiamata, Ellen had watched him closely. He seemed to be praying for peace.

The word “prayer” lingered in her mind.

“When he does it, it feels more like praying than casting a spell...” she mused.

Ellen had witnessed Dettomorian’s rituals, and they resembled prayer more than magic.

Louise, intrigued, turned to Ellen.

“Magic through prayer? Is that even possible?”

Magic, as Ellen understood, was a technique that applied specific formulas and theories to channel mana, either from within or outside the body.

That was how mages operated. Prayer, on the other hand, was about invoking divine intervention, which was the realm of priests.

“That’s true,” Ellen agreed, sensing something amiss. “Sorcery is a peculiar power.”

It was unclear if sorcery truly qualified as magic. It lacked the structured formulas and theories, so it wasn’t a technique. Yet it wasn’t a prayer to any of the Five Great Gods either, so it didn’t draw its power from their authority.

Where did sorcery’s power originate? If it wasn’t borrowed from the divine, it should fall under the realm of technique, like magic, but sorcery didn’t seem to involve any technique. It was indeed a strange power.

“Is it really that strange...?” Ludwig suddenly chimed in, interrupting Ellen and Louise’s train of thought.

“Hm? What do you mean? How is it not strange that a power that’s neither magical nor divine can still work?” Louise mused aloud.

Ludwig tilted his head, pondering her question. “Well, I’ve heard that the rituals performed by heretics can lead to strange things occurring. It’s one thing if it involves demon god cultists, maybe... but even if it’s just people who don’t really believe in anything, their rituals might still cause something unusual to happen, right?”

He was recalling what Rowen, an inquisitor, had shared with him. Rowen had spent time in refugee camps and witnessed many inexplicable events, and there was no reason for her to lie about that.

Heretics prayed to strange entities, and while their prayers didn’t always have an effect, sometimes they did. They weren’t using magic, yet something happened.

“Are you suggesting that sorcery is similar to heretical rituals...?” Louise asked.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant,” Ludwig stammered, realizing his words had come out wrong.

He’d wanted to make the point that it wasn’t surprising for sorcery to have real power, given that heretical rituals could also produce strange results, but he’d ended up implying that Dettomorian was like a heretic. He regretted his slip of the tongue.

“No,” Ellen interjected, shaking her head as she considered Ludwig’s flustered expression. “Actually, it seems like the person we should be looking for isn’t Anna, but Dettomorian.”

If heretics or demon god cultists were involved in this incident, then Dettomorian might be the key, not Anna.

Praying to an unknown force and having it respond... If heretical rituals were indeed behind this incident, then the person they needed might not be a dark mage, but a sorcerer.

Dettomorian had just left the dormitory.

“Let’s go find him.”

“Detto often leaves his room. Do you know where he went?” Ludwig asked.

Ellen nodded, recalling that strange and unsettling place—the basement of the club building.

She knew that Dettomorian went there to pray every day.