Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 532

The tornadoes sweeping through Senkerian and the surrounding area subsided after two days. Before the monsters could once again flood the empty plains, the Allied Forces had already completed their preparations. ƒгeewebnovёl_com

As soon as the weather anomaly subsided, the Allied Forces marched into Senkerian. It was almost anticlimactic.

The Allied Forces split into three large divisions and attacked Senkerian, which had been devastated by the tornado, from the east, south, and west.

The tornado had not only reduced the number of monsters, but had torn the entire city apart, leaving no buildings or large chunks of debris for the monsters to hide behind.

The Allied Forces only had to deal with the newly-appearing monsters in the already fallen city or the powerful monsters that had survived the tornado. And since there weren’t many of those powerful monsters, they were swept away like fallen leaves by the Master-class close combatants in the vanguard.

Given that Senkerian had three warp gates, there were still a substantial number of monsters. However, when compared to the Allied Forces, they were insignificant.

The massive artillery weapons that the army had brought along had been set up, but they couldn’t fire a single shot because the strike forces had already moved into the city. There was no reason to fire them anyway since these weapons were meant to decimate large groups of monsters. The hordes of monsters had already been decimated, and there was more risk of hitting friendly targets if fired.

The first operational battle of the Allied Forces concluded in less than half a day. A squad led by Ellen Artorius destroyed two medium-sized warp gates.

Sabioleen Tana broke through the final barrier and brought an end to the Senkerian campaign by demolishing the large warp gate.

It was an almost absurdly easy campaign. The Allied Forces suffered fewer than a hundred casualties, and zero deaths.

The extreme reduction in the number of monsters allowed the elite forces to quickly enter the field and strike the warp gates.

Srrrng!

Ellen sheathed her void sword as she looked at the ruins of the destroyed warp gate. Of course, destroying this gate did not mean it was over. They still had to exterminate the surviving monsters, but those were few in number.

“The operation is over. Well done.”

Ellen gave a small nod. “Yes.”

The operation had been completed safely and there were only a few casualties.

Ellen had an idea whose help had made this possible. She held her necklace quietly, steadying her breath.

When she returned to camp, she planned to hug and pet the cat. She intended to tell it that everything had turned out better than expected.

She hoped things would continue to resolve themselves in this way in the future. Of course, that would only be possible if the cat, which disappeared and reappeared at will, was still at the camp.

***

The Allied Forces succeeded in occupying Senkerian.

The Allied Forces’ high command knew that the timely occurrence of the large-scale natural disaster was no coincidence. Aside from them, most of the other leaders in the Allied Forces believed that it had been a demonstration of the last remaining strength of the empire.

The few who had some idea of its true nature did not bother to refute such assumptions. These were mostly figures like the popes of the Church of the Five Great Gods or the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, Illeion Volten.

They knew that many in the Allied Forces, not just the ordinary soldiers, would not be able to accept the idea that they were receiving help from the Demon King, and so those in the know did not mention it.

Although success in the operation had been achieved absurdly easily, it was undoubtedly a great victory—the first victory of the expedition.

If they could reclaim all cities large and small within Rizeln, including the capital, the Gate Incident would be brought to a close.

There was still a long way to go, but there was no reason not to celebrate this first victory.

Once the area around Senkerian was cleared, banquets were held all throughout the military encampment. Since they had sustained almost no casualties in a battle where a huge number of casualties had been expected, there was no reason not to celebrate.

The emperor allowed the soldiers to partake in a certain amount of drinking, though not to excess.

Songs that spoke of the desire for the complete end of the war, for peace, and for the death of the Demon King filled the air. Naturally, a banquet was also held within the Royal Class section of the camp. Those who could drink had a glass, and Lanian Sesor played on his instrument while drunk. Although his playing wasn’t as precise given his inebriated state, the music was still lively.

—Hooray!

The Allied Forces had fought numerous battles up to this point, but this was the first one that could truly be called a victory. Thus, it was only natural that the students were intoxicated with the sense of victory. Even those who usually kept their senses sharp or who did not consider this a true victory still listened to the songs of victory without dampening the mood.

The whole military encampment was filled with merriment. Not everyone was drunk, but everyone was enjoying the banquet in their own way.

In one corner of the Royal Class base’s banquet hall...

Groan...

Some students watched as a black kitten writhed and squirmed on a pile of green leaves.

Ellen’s gaze flitted between the writhing kitten and the mysterious leaves that Anna de Gerna had brought back.

“Is this... okay?” she asked with a worried expression.

“They say it’s alright...”

Groan...

The kitten seemed to be intoxicated, sniffing at the leaves and rolling around. As always, it had disappeared somewhere and then returned to the Royal Class camp once the occupation of Senkerian had been completed.

The Royal Class students had grown accustomed to the kitten disappearing for a few days and then reappearing. They all expected that even if it disappeared for about a week, it would come back eventually.

This time, as soon as the kitten returned, Anna de Gerna laid out some leaves and placed the kitten on them. It had been in this state ever since. The cat was clearly intoxicated.

Scarlett, Cristina, Adelia, along with other Royal Class students, watched the kitten squirm about as if drunk. It was cute, but it seemed to be a potentially dangerous situation, though Anna assured them it wasn’t.

“Is this what you snuck into the supply list last time?”

“Yeah... it’s called catnip.”

“So that’s what you slipped into the list of important alchemy reagents that you requested the last time.”

“They say it’s like a drug for cats...”

Meow...

Startled, Ellen quickly picked up the kitten that was rolling around on the catnip leaves and glared at Anna.

‘What did you do to my cat?’ her eyes said.

“A drug...?”

“It’s just an expression... It’s not really a drug...”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s not harmful to them, as far as I know,” said another senior, nodding.

Groan...

The kitten was still limp and intoxicated. It seemed completely out of it, but it definitely seemed happy rather than unhappy.

Ellen, still unsure, placed the black kitten back onto the pile of leaves.

Meow...

The kitten began rolling around on the catnip again. Of course, only the kitten itself would know if it was screaming internally.

***

A banquet was also being held near the Kernstadt military command tent. A lavish table had been set to celebrate victory.

“At this rate, it seems like the Gate Incident will be over soon, doesn’t it?”

“It was surprisingly easy. I don’t understand why we hadn’t done this before.”

“If this is all the resistance we’ll face, I wonder if there was even a need to organize such a large-scale army.”

“Hey, if this war ends, everyone who participated will have their names recorded in history.”

.

.

.

Heinrich listened quietly to the conversations being exchanged among the commanders.

Alphonse, Louise, and German were seated together at the obvious head of the table, with Heinrich sitting next to German. However, Heinrich felt a clear sense of distance between them.

“Sister, how far is it to the next operation area?”

“It’s about a week’s march, they say.”

“That’s quite close.”

“It’s just a small city, so it should be easier than this operation. They say there’s only one small gate there, so the strike forces might handle it alone.”

German von Schwartz had completely turned his back to Heinrich, clearly ignoring him as he spoke with Louise. He was clearly ignoring him. However, Heinrich was not someone who could be ignored.

“Prince Heinrich, aren’t you drinking?” asked one of the commanders seated a distance away. His face was already slightly flushed.

“Ah... I’m not really one to enjoy it.”

“But on a day like today, shouldn’t you have a drink?”

“Ah, yes. I suppose I could have one drink...”

“To the prince!” the commander shouted, and others raised their glasses and drank. Heinrich reluctantly took a sip of the wine in his glass.

Heinrich didn’t know much about the structure of the Kernstadt military. He simply followed the orders of Louise von Schwartz, unaware of the military hierarchy or even the names of the commanders. However, given the special circumstances of this war, Heinrich von Schwartz, who stood in front of the vanguard and swept away all enemies, could never be seen as lowly.

He was the one who killed the most enemies, and that was no different from saving those who would have died fighting those monsters. No matter what his royal siblings thought, the soldiers and commanders of the army couldn’t help but throw their support behind Heinrich.

Heinrich could sense his three siblings’ expressions hardening, even if they did not let it show.

Heinrich had once been just a presence that passed by now and then. But now, like a rolling stone gathering momentum, his status was growing more significant, and he was beginning to realize that resentment among his siblings was brewing with his continued rise.

But why? Why did they treat him like a thorn in their side? And why to such an extent?

“Heinrich,” Louise called out.

“Yes, sister?”

“You must be tired. Go get some rest.”

Why? Even if he wasn’t particularly enjoying himself at this banquet, why were they chasing him away, acting as if he didn’t even have the right to sit there?

Was the praise for the youngest prince’s valor so unbearable to them? Why did they hate him so much?

“Yes, sister.”

Heinrich suppressed the feeling rising up in his chest and left the tent where the banquet was being held. As he left, the commanders called out words of encouragement to the hero of the Kernstadt army, Heinrich von Schwartz, telling him to rest well.

Both praise and jealousy coexisted in that place, but Heinrich had no choice but to leave.

Banquets were being held, and the army would camp near Senkerian for a few days to rest before departing again.

Soldiers were eating and drinking throughout the camp.

Feeling suffocated and unable to enjoy himself, Heinrich approached some soldiers carrying food and drinks.

“Oh, Prince!”

“Excuse me for a moment,” Heinrich said as he took a bottle from a crate of wine being moved into the banquet hall.

***

The first time Heinrich had tasted alcohol was at Riana de Granz’s mansion.

After learning the day after that he had made a scene and been shocked by Riana, he realized he had no self-control when it came to alcohol. Of course, things had been a bit strange at the time.

Since he did not have good memories of his first time trying it, Heinrich had no reason to seek out alcohol again. However, he was now an adult, and there was no one around to scold him for drinking. Of course, circumstances had prevented him from actually drinking after becoming an adult, so this was his first time drinking since that day.

He sat on a chair in his tent and drank the wine straight from the bottle without a glass.

Was the sin of his past so great? It had to be, but he was doing his best in his position. It had happened so long ago that he couldn’t even remember it. Could his siblings still not forgive him?

He was nothing but an eternal uninvited guest.

He let out a long sigh.

Heinrich didn’t have a taste for alcohol, so he couldn’t usually tell the quality of the wine, but this bottle tasted distinctly off. It probably wasn’t a good vintage.

The empire still had some capacity when it came to finances, but not much, as evidenced by the state of the wine provided to the command tent.

Heinrich knew that the operation that day had been too easy. It had been strangely easy. If every gate suppression operation was as easy as this one, the Gate Incident would swiftly be brought to a close.

What then? What would happen next?

Plenty of commanders and soldiers had praised him effusively, hailing him as a hero. When the soldiers returned to Kernstadt, they would surely speak about the youngest prince’s prowess, and as in other famous stories, they would make up songs about him everywhere.

His siblings, who disliked him, would hear the songs praising their youngest sibling echoing throughout the country.

“Your siblings will kill you.”

“Heh Heh... heh...” Heinrich was beginning to see that those words were not entirely baseless.

The sheer level of dislike that his siblings held for him made it clear that such a thing might indeed happen.

Still, they were siblings.

“...”

Even when he tried to suppress these thoughts, they kept rising.

Heinrich did not know politics. Nor did he know family love. So he didn’t understand how someone could hate a family member so much that they wanted to kill them.

Not knowing love meant not knowing hatred either. One can’t reminisce about something one has never tasted, so one can’t hate it either.

Heinrich was just frustrated. Why did they hate him so much? Did they truly want to kill him?

Heinrich drank the remaining wine and stood up.

‘If you don’t know something, you ask. If you really don’t understand, you find someone who does.’

Heinrich von Schwartz gathered his courage. Not knowing politics meant he had to find someone who did.

Borrowing the courage that came with the alcohol, Heinrich decided to seek out someone he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Vertus de Gradias... He was surely still somewhere in the camp.

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