Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 445

The news that Reinhart was the Demon King caused turmoil throughout the imperial capital, and it shook the Temple most of all.

The students in the Temple all paled upon learning the cause of the recent unsettling atmosphere that had pervaded the Temple. They had believed the Temple to be the safest place in the empire after the imperial palace, yet the Demon King had managed to enroll as a student. Not only that, but his identity had been uncovered and he was being imprisoned within the Temple itself.

It was only natural that the chaos and fear led many students to pack their belongings and leave the Temple.

The Temple was in disarray, and the Royal Class was no exception.

“No... Something must be wrong, right? No matter how much of a bastard Reinhart is...” Erhi de Raffaeli muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

The hopeless quartet were all in a daze.

They had all sensed the strange atmosphere and had wondered why Reinhart had been completely absent.

The true reason for all this was earth-shattering. Even though they weren’t that close, they had been living under the same roof as the Demon King.

Despite their shock, they couldn’t believe it. They knew he had a bit of a temper—no, not just a bit, but a very short and explosive temper—and there was something unusual about him, especially after he had been chosen by a holy relic, which made him seem like someone on a different level. However, it had been revealed that Reinhart was, in fact, the Demon King.

“What... What on earth is this...” Heinrich von Schwartz said in a daze.

“No... There has to be some misunderstanding, right? This... Does this make any sense?” asked Connor Lint.

“...” Kaier, who had picked a fight with Reinhart as soon as he had seen him in their first year, was pale and trembling.

***

Ludwig was discussing this news with the Class B students.

“There has to be some misunderstanding, right? No, Reinhart couldn’t be like that. He’s a human, after all.”

“Maybe he used some kind of transformation magic...”

Delphine’s words made Ludwig furrow his brow and shake his head.

“But how did he get into the Temple?” asked Lanian Sesor.

Cristina tilted her head and said, “I don’t know. Maybe there’s some magic out there that lets him do that. He is the Demon King, after all... But... It just doesn’t make sense...”

Class B was equally shocked and confused by the revelation that Reinhart was the Demon King.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

Scarlett walked by as these discussions were taking place. Even though she had known about this earlier than them, she still couldn’t accept the situation.

“So, all the things related to the Demon King up to this point were... Reinhart’s doing?”

The massacre of the holy knights, the attack on Raziern, and even the second attack by the demon god cultists... When it was mooted that Reinhart had ordered all those things, everyone was stunned.

They had all thought that Reinhart was just an outstanding classmate from the class next door, but his true nature had been revealed as the Demon King who had committed civilian massacres. This created another wave of fear and betrayal.

“Why? Why would Reinhart...?” Ludwig said.

Ludwig had seen Reinhart at Duke Granz’s funeral.

Had that somber expression been fake? Had he really gone to the funeral after ordering the death of his friend’s parent?

Why did it have to be that way? Just to revel in despair?

Ludwig couldn’t understand the connection between all those events. While they were discussing the matter, the students in the lounge soon noticed something dark creeping down the corridor.

“W-what is that...?”

An unknown shadow was spreading across the corridor. All the students jumped up in fright.

A dark and ominous aura was growing, as if trying to engulf the world.

Everyone else was frozen in place, and only Ludwig moved towards the corridor. The unidentified black aura covered the entire hallway.

Though he couldn’t fully understand it, Ludwig realized it was emanating from the B-1 room at the very front of the corridor.

It was coming from Charlotte’s room. Something had happened to Charlotte.

“Charlotte!”

Without thinking, Ludwig pushed through the dark aura and flung open Charlotte’s door.

Clunk!

The door was not locked.

“Ch-Charlotte...?”

In the middle of the dormitory room, Charlotte sat quietly on the bed, black energy emanating from her entire body.

Following Ludwig, the other students also rushed over and saw Charlotte enveloped in that ominous aura.

Sitting listlessly on the bed, Charlotte slowly turned her red, devilish eyes towards Ludwig and the other classmates.

“Leave... me... alone...” Charlotte de Gradias grated, her voice sounding like death.

***

That was how the students in the Temple learned about Charlotte’s condition.

Charlotte was immediately escorted back to the imperial palace by the imperial family. None of the students could understand exactly what it was, whether it was Charlotte’s supernatural power, which had been kept secret all this while, or something else.

Charlotte had been kidnapped by the Demon King, and had been close to the Demon King’s heir.

Rumors circulated among the students that the princess might have been afflicted by something similar to the Demon King’s curse.

Rumors begot more rumors, creating fabricated untruths. Charlotte de Gradias, arguably the Demon King’s greatest victim, was now under a very different sort of suspicion.

Was the first princess actually one of the Demon King’s collaborators?

The fact that she had escaped safely from the Demon King’s Castle was already suspicious. And coincidentally, her closest classmate was the Demon King’s son.

All of this might have been planned. The First Princess might not have been used, but could have been a collaborator.

Most people did not know that Charlotte and Ellen had played a decisive role in tracking down the Demon King, and even if they did, it wouldn’t change anything.

People often drew conclusions first and then fit the circumstances to match.

Suspicious events and circumstances often blur together and give birth to untruths, and the First Princess was surely suspicious.

The rumors were growing and spreading, changing form and trying to latch onto a new target.

The First Princess was in too high of a position to become a victim of such rumors. However, it was uncertain how long that status would protect her.

***

Inside the Grand Hall of the headquarters of the Order of the Holy Knights...

An urgent religious matter had brought together individuals who would not normally convene in this space.

The Grandmaster of the Order of the Holy Knights, Illeion Volten, was there, as were the popes of each of the Orders of the Five Great Gods—Ouen, Mensis, Alse, Riter, and Shalam. And even the two Champions, Olivia Lanche and Ellen Artorius, were present.

Representatives of each order, the one representing the combined military power of those orders, and the two Champions of the Gods... It was an unprecedented gathering, and Olivia and Ellen seated at the highest positions. Such was the authority of the champions within the orders.

Even though Ellen was not actually a believer, Champions inherently held immense religious authority and symbolism. Therefore, Olivia, who was a believer and priestess of the Order of Ouen, as well as Ellen, were given the highest seats by the popes.

Despite this, silence filled the conference room.

The Five Great Gods had traditionally been perceived as gods of humanity, as they had always bestowed their holy relics only to humans. The demons had separated themselves and created their own faith in the Demon Gods. However, the God of War, Alse, had chosen the Demon King as his Champion.

Ironically, the God of War, who had bestowed his holy relic on a hero of humanity who had used it to kill the Demon King, had now chosen the son of the slain Demon King to be his next Champion. In the face of this incomprehensible situation, all the popes were silent, unable to speak.

Olivia was the first to speak. “The gods choose righteously. Therefore, I believe that there is a divine purpose behind Alse’s choice of the Demon King. Though that purpose may be beyond our understanding, I believe this will ultimately result in greater good and justice for the world.”

Olivia had no interest in the will of the gods, but it was easy for her to feign said interest. The will of the gods was so grand that it was beyond human comprehension, and there had to be a reason why the Demon King had been chosen. It had to be for the absolute and long-term good. Olivia’s logic led to the conclusion that the existence of the Demon King had to be embraced.

The pope of the Ouen Order was the first to respond. “Champion, demons have always been the enemies of humanity, and the Demon King, their leader, is the absolute enemy of humanity. The demons possess incomprehensible power that we cannot understand. Therefore, it is entirely possible that the Demon King has exerted an unholy influence on the holy relic.”

“The purity of a holy relic is absolute. Doubting it is akin to doubting the absolute nature of the gods. Are you now denying the choice of this Great God?” The pope of the Alse Order countered.

To say that an unholy influence had been exerted on Alse’s holy relic in order to twist it away was to deny the absolute power of the God of War, as well as the sanctity of the Alse Order. This situation had the Alse Order in a most prickly state.

Olivia faintly smiled at the statement given by the pope of the Alse Order. Olivia was not the only one who had to defend Reinhart; it was the prerogative of the pope of the Alse Order as well.

Because the hero had wielded Alsbringer to defeat the Demon King, the Alse Order currently had the most followers among the five different Orders. The ironic situation that humanity found itself in had thus shaken the followers and priests of the Alse Order most of all. They feared a situation in which Alse’s authority was denied or doubted the most.

If they were to affirm the Demon King, they had to do so completely, and if they were to deny him, they had to do so unequivocally. That was the situation with the Alse Order.

“... That is not what I meant,” clarified the pope of the Ouen Order. “I merely wanted to express concern that fully affirming the Demon King might be premature, as we do not know what power he possesses or what unholy acts he might commit.”

Those around the table nodded. They were aware that there was already a great dispute happening, and the situation was quickly escalating, threatening to burst into a massive conflict centered around their religion. The decision made in that room could very well ignite the flames of a great war. Making a hasty decision could put everyone at risk.

Recklessly denouncing the Demon King would shake the foundation of faith in the Five Great Gods, but recklessly affirming the Demon King might lead to a war between the empire and the Church of the Five Great Gods. The prevailing consensus seemed to be to remain neutral and to observe the situation for the time being.

Everyone was wary of Olivia Lanche. Although Olivia was saying things that were both correct based on the situation and prevailing doctrine, she was not hiding the fact that she was entirely on the Demon King’s side.

Ouen’s champion was a hothead that was willing to go to war. Therefore, whenever Olivia opened her mouth, everyone gritted their teeth. This was especially true for the pope of the Ouen Order.

A saint and a promising candidate for either the next leader of the Ouen Order or the next Grandmaster of the Order of the Holy Knights had somehow become an extremist.

‘Why did Ouen have to choose someone like that?’

Such thoughts, which should not be entertained, inevitably arose. Naturally, Olivia was not unaware of such sentiments.

“The pope of the Ouen Order seems to be looking a little unwell.”

One other fact, which had been revealed to Illeion Volten, had yet to be revealed to the other popes present.

“I’d like to share an interesting fact,” Olivia said. She grinned and summoned Tiamata. “Actually, the Demon King and I have shared mastery over Tiamata.”

“What?!”

“That means that there isn’t only one current Champion of Ouen—there are two.”

Before this revelation, only one order had to carry the burden of defending the Demon King’s existence—the Alse Order. However, the Ouen Order had just been added to that list.

Ellen and Illeion Volten, who were already aware of this fact, remained silent. However, the popes of the five Great Orders were shocked.

The Demon King had not only been chosen by Alse, but by Ouen as well.

Naturally, the popes were all in utter disbelief.

However, Olivia’s statement could not be definitively proven. It was possible that Olivia was lying to strengthen support for the Demon King.

“If you doubt my words, you can ask the one next to me, the champion of Mensis,” Olivia said as she gestured towards Ellen.

Ellen... The only person with the political and religious standing to potentially stop Olivia’s antics, and the deceased hero’s sister.

Everyone looked at Ellen Artorius, hoping she would say it wasn’t true.

However, Ellen had no intention of lying. “It’s true.”

“Oh, gods...” One of the popes exclaimed, though it wasn’t quite clear if it was a lamentation or a form of exalted praise.

The situation might have been manageable if only the Alse Order had to answer for it, but following this revelation, the Ouen Order had been roped in as well.

The pope of the Ouen Order was on the verge of losing his mind. His god’s Champion, who already seemed to be on the side of the Demon King, was already driving him crazy, and it turned out the Demon King was the chosen of Ouen as well.

“Since I became Ouen’s Champion last year, I would be recognized as Ouen’s Champion first, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The pope of the Ouen Order had assumed that it was someone else’s house on fire, only to find that his own house had already burned down to ashes.

No one at the table was aware that Ellen had also acquired Lapelt, the holy relic of Shalam. Therefore, the Demon King, who was in possession of two holy relics, was, by all accounts, the most powerful religious symbol of the time.

Being the master of one holy relic was enough of a headache. But two...

Claiming that he somehow hatched a scheme to steal Alsbringer was difficult enough, but to claim he had stolen two relics would essentially be accusing the Great Gods of incompetence. That was fundamentally impossible.

Could they then legitimize the existence of the Demon King? It would be difficult for the public to handle psychologically, and many within the faith would fail to comprehend it.

Not only would such affirmation and legitimization mean opposing the empire, but it could also lead to strife within the Church as a whole and the Order of the Holy Knights as well.

In the long term, worship of Ouen and Alse risked being branded as no different than worshipping the Demon Gods. Over time, it could lead to the collapse of the Orders themselves, while sparking an intra-religious war in the short-term. A catastrophe—or perhaps something even worse. The worst choices, with nothing but calamities, lay ahead of them.

“For now, though, we all agree that it is our right to make a decision on the issue of the Demon King, correct?” Olivia said nonchalantly.

The Grandmaster of the Order of the Holy Knights as well as the popes of the five Great Orders were on the verge of losing their minds.

She did not hide her intention to claim the Demon King’s innocence through a proper trial once he was in their custody, and eventually secure his safe release. However, none of the other leaders could deny that this was an issue reserved for the Church of the Five Great Gods to resolve, since this matter concerned the authority of the Five Great Gods.

The five popes of the Great Gods turned their eyes to Ellen, who wielded a similar level of influence as Olivia. They clung to the faint hope that at least she remained rational, that she would somehow put a stop to the statements of this mad champion of Ouen.

Ellen Artorious finally spoke. “Reinhart... No, the Demon King...”

She steadied her voice. “I think we should give him a chance to explain everything that has happened so far.”

There was no hope to be found in her either.