Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 559

In truth, I could have remained a kitten forever, but that would have been unnatural. Those observing it would inevitably wonder why it wasn’t growing. Therefore, each time the cat appeared, it had to grow a little bit more.

“Oh, you survived, huh?”

Even the guards stationed at the Royal Class garrison had become familiar with me.

“It’s quite something. I wonder how it sneaks in and follows us around.”

Indeed, this couldn’t continue until the war ended. As the guard mentioned, this army wasn’t stationed in a fixed location, and it was involved in battles where countless soldiers died.

A cat that kept surviving and reappearing was, in fact, rather suspicious.

Quite some time had passed since the pacification of Serandia. Naturally, the atmosphere within the Royal Class garrison had become quite subdued.

Three people had died in the last battle, and given how small the Royal Class cohort was, the absence left by someone’s death was inevitably significant.

Delphine Izadra, like Ludwig, had been a kind and good person. According to Sarkegar’s report, she had put herself at risk and died trying to save Scarlett and Ludwig when they were in danger.

While any death was tragic, Delphine’s death was particularly devastating.

If one were to argue, it was the death most forcefully depicted in the original work.

Spirit magic was a very powerful force. Yet, in any fleeting moment, one could lose their life. The current situation made it clear that there would be no exceptions.

No matter how often I had seen a future through the Preview feature where I would be killed after a fight with Ellen, if I just waited for death in the next battle, I would die.

Changing the future was easy. It was just difficult to change it to the desired future.

I needed to check on Ellen, but for the time being, I planned to wander around the Royal Class garrison.

The first classmate I encountered at the garrison was Cliffman.

“...”

Even within the Royal Class, there were those who were crazy about cats and those who weren’t.

Ludwig, Cliffman, and Rudina were among those who had no interest. To be precise, they were the type who would ignore me. Perhaps they didn’t have the capacity to care for or pay attention to small animals.

This time, though, Cliffman, who had always ignored me as a cat, was quietly looking down at me.

He hesitated for a while, then said, “You survived.”

He gently lowered his head and patted my head once.

There was a lot of meaning behind that gesture, as if he were somehow relieved.

He then left without saying anything else. It didn’t seem as if he was thinking that more important people should have survived instead of this small animal.

***

When I was in cat form, I had to constantly remind myself that I was in the form of a cat. Therefore, when someone petted me, I would picture it as if they were petting the cat and not actually me.

If I didn’t think that way, I wouldn’t be able to endure the fact that people of all ages were touching me here and there.

I tried to remind myself that I was just borrowing the form of a cat, and that the cuteness belonged to the cat, not me.

Of course, it was just sophistry. But if I didn’t think that way, I felt like I would fall into constant self-deprecation and lose my mind.

Connor Lint was right; I was indeed a pervert. A truly bizarre type of pervert, seeing that I had even transformed into an animal.

Naturally, the Royal Class garrison wasn’t just filled with classmates from my year; there were seniors and juniors too.

Although the atmosphere was gloomy, they were glad to see me (the cat) after a long time.

The most grueling part of being in cat form honestly wasn’t when someone petted me or kept touching my paws.

“Aren’t you hungry? Here, eat this.”

It was when they kept trying to feed me.

‘I’m not actually an animal!’

Even if they warmed up some milk for me, I didn’t particularly want to drink it.

‘Do you know the humiliation of sticking your head into a dish to eat? Real cats probably don’t think about such things, but I’m not like that!’

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Meow.

Some even offered me leftovers of what they were eating from the dining tent, instead of something freshly made.

It was distressing. I had to close my eyes and eat a few times, afraid that they might say I had a refined palate for a wild animal.

Being an animal and having to do animal-like things was a torment.

I wandered around the Royal Class garrison, immersed in its subdued atmosphere.

“Take a break, will you?”

“I don’t know when we’ll need it, so I have to charge it as much as possible. It’s not even halfway full yet.”

“We’ll be here until winter is over anyway, so what’s the rush?”

I saw Rudina and Kaier arguing in the distance.

It seemed like the situation had reversed from before.

I had always seen Rudina scolding Kaier about charging the Arc Crystal, and I knew they shared a rather sour relationship.

“There are still monsters around. You always said to keep it charged because we never know when we’ll need it.”

“No, I mean... I’ve said I’m sorry several times. Why are you like this, really...? I’ve said it’s all my fault...”

“I’ve told you several times that it’s not because you did something wrong to me. Why can’t you understand?”

“I know, I know... But I’m saying there’s no need to rush... Why can’t you understand what I’m saying...?”

Now, it was Kaier insisting on doing his work while Rudina was trying to stop him. It was a strange turnaround indeed.

“I can handle it, so let me be. I’m not always overdoing it.”

In the end, Rudina’s eyes began to turn red, and she started to cry. Kaier left her there and walked away.

“Ugh, he’s at it again.”

Hearing a voice from one side, I turned my head to see Connor Lint standing there with his arms crossed, clicking his tongue.

He looked down at me and picked me up.

“Hey, where have you been hiding all along?”

‘You’re not saying that to me, Reinhart, right?’

He probably hadn’t realized that I could transform into an animal. Even if he did, it wouldn’t change anything much.

If he knew it, then in his mind, the perverted Demon King Reinhart would just turn into the crazy perverted Demon King Reinhart.

Connor Lint picked me up and stared at me, as if he was thinking about something.

‘You’re a fool, aren’t you? What are you thinking about, you fool?’

“Eh...”

He muttered something incomprehensible and then put me down again.

After walking for a while, he turned back to look at me.

Meow.

I tilted my head.

He muttered “Eh” again and left.

He seemed to have some awareness, but was ultimately still clueless, proving he was indeed a fool.

***

Naturally, there were those who were interested in the cat, but not as much as before. While some were relieved that this small animal was still alive, it inevitably led them to think about those who were gone.

The Royal Class garrison wasn’t just made up of sleeping tents and a dining area.

Clang!

“Can we try one more time?”

“Okay.”

I watched as Ludwig picked up the fallen sword at the outdoor training grounds of the Royal Class garrison.

His opponent was Scarlett.

With an awkward smile, Ludwig took a stance with the sword in his left hand.

“Sorry, I’m not used to it.”

His opponent remained silent.

Ludwig was practicing his swordsmanship left-handed. I didn’t think he would give up easily, but was he trying to find a breakthrough with only his left arm?

Scarlett seemed on the verge of tears as she stood across from Ludwig.

“Ludwig, I can help you as much as you need. As much as you want... But...”

“I may only have one arm, but I can still use Mana Reinforcement.”

Ludwig’s words weren’t wrong. Even in his state, Ludwig possessed combat abilities far surpassing any ordinary soldier.

Even without an arm, a superhuman is still a superhuman.

However, even Delphine, who had also reached the level of a superhuman thanks to Moonshine, had died on the battlefield.

If thrust onto a battlefield where anyone could die while in his current state, Ludwig would most likely die. It would be akin to a suicide mission.

“Ludwig, I’ll fight twice as hard, and shoulder your share of the fighting. Because of me... Because of me, you’ve become like this. And Delphine...”

“No, no.”

Scarlett seemed about to burst into tears, but Ludwig shook his head firmly.

“No, it’s not your fault,” he said.

Scarlett blinked back tears.

“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault for being weak,” Ludwig continued.

It was a strange thing to say.

If Delphine’s death wasn’t Scarlett’s fault, it shouldn’t be Ludwig’s fault either. However, Ludwig was blaming himself for everything.

It was a pathological level of self-loathing. Had Ludwig succumbed to this as well?

“Sorry. Asking you to help me like this must be a burden on you too, Scarlett. I didn’t think of that. I’m sorry...”

“N-no, Ludwig, it’s okay.”

“I’ll train alone. It’s not like swordsmanship is needed in this fight. It’s not about technique when it comes to killing monsters.”

Ludwig seemed to think it was only important to be able to wield a weapon with his left hand, and there was no need to refine his technique.

Ludwig, feeling indebted to Scarlett, said it was selfish to ask her to practice swordsmanship with her, and began practicing Mana Reinforcement alone.

Scarlett offered to help, but Ludwig declined, saying it would be better for her to focus on her own training.

Scarlett eventually wiped her eyes dry and left the training grounds.

Responsibility and guilt.

From a distance, their shared burden seemed pitiable and tragic.

The training grounds weren’t empty. Other seniors and juniors were also diligently engaged in their own training, whether it was sparring or practicing Mana Reinforcement.

I sat in a corner of the training grounds, watching Ludwig.

“Hup!”

Thud!

Not only did he wield the sword with his left hand, but he also practiced heavy strikes and incorporated kicks as well.

Since these were superhumans training, the training dummies weren’t just ordinary training dummies; they were special ones designed to withstand powerful impacts.

Thud! Thump!

“Ugh!”

Thud!

However, Ludwig often lost his balance, falling over when trying to kick or getting hit by his sword as it rebounded after striking the target.

Ludwig was right-handed, but it was a weapon that was ultimately wielded with both hands, especially when it came to fighting monsters.

He had lost his primary hand, so wielding a sword two-handed became impossible.

It wasn’t just arithmetic when it came to losing an arm. His combat power had not been halved; it was mostly gone.

Ludwig, who had essentially lost everything, was trying to make do with just his left hand, with whatever remained.

Thud!

Loud impacts rang out through the training ground. The noises weren’t just coming from the training dummy Ludwig was hitting.

Other seniors were watching Ludwig with a slightly weary expression. It was probably because they felt a chill watching Ludwig, drenched in sweat, still training despite being suffering an injury that rendered him basically disabled.

Ludwig was fundamentally diligent. That was something I had known from the beginning of the first school year. But was it diligence to keep hitting a training dummy, to continue to fight, even after losing an arm?

This wasn’t diligence; it was madness.

Ludwig was a superhuman, and had moved beyond the realm of ordinary humans. However, he was still like a cart with a missing wheel.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

He often lost his balance and fell, and his technique was expectedly poor.

Someone putting in desperate effort could be awe-inspiring, but watching Ludwig only made others feel despair.

He was trying to do something he couldn’t.

Of course one could fight without an arm or a leg. They could continue to fight while wearing a prosthetic.

However, these were monsters that they were fighting. Even entering combat in perfect condition was not enough to guarantee survival, and if one was missing something as important as an arm, one would inevitably die.

If Ludwig had been a mage or a superhuman, it might have been a different story. But in a situation where close combatants were the most likely to die, fighting with one arm was suicidal.

Seniors, juniors, and classmates alike were inevitably disheartened as they watched Ludwig.

The Allied Forces were raising the dead as Death Knights, but that didn’t mean Ludwig had to fight.

It was just an obsession. An obsession to do something more.

He was solely driven by desperation.

Ludwig didn’t scream in pain or throw his sword away. He didn’t kneel and cry out in despair, or utter words of hatred towards the world.

Thud!

Thump!

Clang!

He lost his balance and fell, picked up his weapon when it bounced away, and kept hitting the training dummy without proper force.

He was just stubbornly hitting the training dummy, landing poorly-struck blows, as if there was no wavering of his will, no despair, no pain.

This never-give-up attitude was something I had given him. Yet even I couldn’t help but feel a chill as I watched Ludwig, who wasn’t giving up even in a situation where he should.

He had to give up, or he would die in the next battle.

I thought the world would give Ludwig what he wanted, but the world had taken his arm instead.

Ludwig was no longer the protagonist. Therefore, there would be no next time. He had to see it and give up, but he wouldn’t.

I wished Ludwig would just give up, and that we could jump to the end of the story.

I hoped he wouldn’t run towards an obvious death, but there seemed to be nothing that could stop Ludwig.

That obsession, that longing to do something, seemed unstoppable.

There are times when a human should give up.

Seeing how focused Ludwig was on never giving up, I realized just how inhuman it was.

Ludwig did not appear noble at all. He looked pathetic.

The sun began to set, and the other seniors and juniors, disheartened, began to leave.

“Ludwig.”

Someone else who remained at the training grounds approached Ludwig, who was drenched in sweat despite the cold weather.

“Yeah?”

“How many days has it been? You have to stop now.”

“Huh?”

“You can’t fight anymore.”

It was Cliffman, wearing a serious expression.

Had he approached Ludwig because he couldn’t bear to watch that miserable sight any longer?

“Return to the capital. You’ve earned the right to do that through the merits you’ve achieved thus far.”

Ludwig shook his head. “No, I can do more.”

“No. You can’t.” Cliffman placed his sword on a stand and stood in front of Ludwig. “If you don’t know why you can’t, then I’ll show you why.”

Cliffman took up a position opposite him and dropped into a stance as though challenging Ludwig, who was enveloped in blue mana.

Ludwig looked at Cliffman and nodded quietly.

“You want to spar? Then you should use Mana Reinforcem—”

“I don’t need to,” Cliffman interjected.

Cliffman was unarmed and barehanded.

“I don’t need that much to deal with a cripple.”

“...”

It seemed Cliffman intended to make Ludwig recognize reality and leave the battlefield, rather than watching him run towards an obvious death.