Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 478

The Thunder Queen, Riana de Granz, returned to Port Mokna late into the night.

Charlotte watched from within the command center as the knights and priests on horseback made their way back to Port Mokna.

It seemed they had managed to find some survivors, as there were a considerable number of carriages at the rear of the unit. These carriages were used to safely escort the refugees to Port Mokna. Not all the carriages were filled with people, but Charlotte could see that some were carrying passengers.

At the very rear of the unit was Riana de Granz, riding a white horse, who escorted them until the very last moment. She led the charge in battle and protected the rear during escort missions.

This routine scene demonstrated to Charlotte the simple truth that a commander who always fought in the most dangerous positions would naturally earn the respect of their troops.

The carriages carrying the survivors were brought to the temporary refuge area. The refugees alighted, with guidance from the unit members. They calmed the frightened people, provided some initial information about Edina, and then loaded them onto transport convoys that would eventually bring them to Edina.

This was the raison d'etre of the forward base at Port Mokna.

“Still... quite a few,” Harriet muttered absentmindedly as she watched the survivors alighting from the carriages.

This was Riana’s task: to frequently go out on reconnaissance missions and bring back survivors. These expeditions could sometimes be completed in a single day, but there were also cases in which the expeditions lasted longer and took several days.

Although it was becoming increasingly difficult to find survivors, and they were considering relocating the base, survivors could still be found in the vicinity, albeit in far fewer numbers than before.

Neither Harriet nor Charlotte knew how long this particular mission had taken, but Riana and her unit had rescued more than twenty survivors from their desolate life in the monster-ridden wilderness.

Even though they had been brought to a safe place, the survivors still trembled with fear. Charlotte quietly studied their faces.

***

Riana returned to the command center. She tilted her head at the news that Charlotte and Harriet had been waiting until late at night. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Whatever it is, just wait a bit. Let me wash up.”

Charlotte didn’t have time to spare either. She didn’t know what was the issue in Port Mokna, and it might turn out to be nothing significant. However, since Riana might be involved in the matter, she had set aside everything to go there. She needed to finish her business as quickly as possible and return to Edina.

However, Riana had only glanced at Charlotte as if the regent’s arrival was a trivial matter and then went off to wash up, leaving Charlotte quietly watching her as she walked off.

‘Is she hinting that I’m getting on her nerves?’

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Charlotte did a little internal shake of her head. ‘No, that can’t be it.’

Even during their time at the Temple, Charlotte and Riana had not been particularly close. However, that didn’t mean she knew nothing about her.

Riana de Granz, the daughter of the Duke of Granz, possessed Electrokinesis, a top-tier offensive supernatural power. After the death of Duke Granz, her abilities had grown several dimensions stronger than before.

Charlotte knew that Riana had a rather bold personality, and that she didn’t concern herself with trivial matters. At this point, she likely harbored hatred for the empire, and so she probably did not have any good feelings towards Charlotte.

Riana was the type to say what she needed to say directly. She wasn’t the kind to suppress others with subtle power plays.

She was a very different kind of person compared to Olivia Lanche. While Olivia might make snide remarks to subtly belittle someone, Riana would simply say, “I don’t like you,” if she disliked someone. Therefore, while she appeared to have ignored Charlotte, it was likely just an action taken without much thought. Even if it had been Reinhart instead of Charlotte in this situation, Riana would have said the same thing.

Harriet was tense, unsure of what might happen.

Some time passed, and Riana, having changed out of her light armor and into casual clothes, re-entered the reception room. It seemed she hadn’t had time for a proper meal, as she began to munch on a plate of sandwiches brought in by an aide.

As she took a bite of a sandwich, Riana stared directly at Charlotte.

“So, what is it?” Riana asked.

Riana was straightforward from the start. She wasn’t one to speak in circles or feign nonexistent goodwill. Her tone clearly conveyed that she didn’t think highly of Charlotte and wasn’t pleased with Charlotte becoming the regent of Edina.

Overly direct people often made enemies easily. However, Riana was direct in both her words and actions, and she always led the charge in battles. In this unique environment, her seemingly abrasive demeanor had earned her the absolute trust of most of the forces stationed at Port Mokna.

“I heard it’s getting difficult to find survivors, but it seems there are still some people left,” Charlotte said, beating around the bush, as Harriet quietly observed them.

Riana, the direct one, and Charlotte, the indirect one—Harriet, who was watching the situation, sensed how different the two of them were.

Riana took a sip of water and sighed. “Well, naturally, they haven’t all disappeared. But to put it bluntly, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s inefficient. That’s why we’re planning to relocate the base. You know that, right?”

“Yes. I’ve heard you’re planning to move the base to another port location.”

“Why? Do you think we should keep operating Port Mokna because there are still survivors around here?” Riana asked, and Charlotte shook her head.

“No, you have the most accurate perspective as the field commander,” Charlotte replied. “If you believe that moving to another location will allow us to rescue more people, based on what you’ve seen and experienced over the past two years, then you’re probably right.”

“Actually, being able to rescue more people if we relocate is just a prediction. I don’t really know for sure. And to establish a new base, we’ll have to clear out the monster hordes in that area. It will be dangerous, but we can’t just settle here.”

More people needed to be saved. Riana was simply offering her opinion and acting in line with Reinhart’s policy.

People respected and admired Riana. She was far from being driven by personal greed. Her decision to abandon the relatively safe Port Mokna and establish a new base, all the while taking on the associated risks, was clearly not motivated by personal desires.

“How many people are in the refugee settlement now?” Charlotte asked.

“Well, I’m not sure of the exact number, but including the people we rescued today, it should be around one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty,” Riana replied.

Once they were loaded onto the next transport ship and sent to Rajak, they would become residents of Edina.

“How long do survivors typically stay here before being transported to Rajak?” Charlotte asked.

“Well, it’s not about how many days the refugees stay, but rather when the transport convoy, which comes every three weeks, arrives. If they arrive the day after the convoy leaves with the survivors, they’ll have to stay for three weeks. If they arrive a week before, they stay for a week,” Riana explained.

“I see,” Charlotte nodded, falling silent as if deep in thought. After a moment, she asked again, “How many people were on the last transport convoy?”

“Hmm. I think it was about eight hundred,” Riana replied.

“And before that?” Charlotte continued.

Riana furrowed her brow at Charlotte’s repeated questioning. “Hey.”

Charlotte remained expressionless and kept her gaze on Riana.

“What are you trying to do?” Riana asked.

“... What?” Charlotte replied.

Riana glared at Charlotte, not bothering to hide her displeasure. “That’s not something you need to hear from me, is it? The numbers are all in the reports anyway, so why come all the way here to ask about such trivial numbers?”

Riana put down her sandwich, crossed her arms, and glared at Charlotte, her hostile gaze crashing against Charlotte's calm stare. “Stop beating around the bush and get to the point. Why are you here?”

“Hmm...”

Charlotte’s roundabout way of questioning was to gauge the other person’s attitude towards her—whether they were friendly, hostile, or neutral. However, Riana was unable to tolerate even a few indirect questions and got directly to the point.

Riana was straightforward and did not like Charlotte, in line with Charlotte’s expectations.

“I suspect that Port Mokna has been requesting more food supplies than is actually needed,” Charlotte stated.

Riana’s expression hardened. “What?”

“And it’s been like that for quite some time. Judging by the numbers... it seems to have started just under a year ago,” Charlotte continued, causing Riana’s expression to freeze. Harriet’s eyes widened as she watched Charlotte.

Charlotte had deduced just by reviewing a few documents that Port Mokna had been over-requesting food supplies for nearly a year. There were about two thousand people stationed at Port Mokna, and additional food reserves were determined based on the number of survivors residing there.

For about a year, Port Mokna had been over-requesting food.

Riana rubbed her chin as she processed Charlotte’s words. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as if she was exercising her jaw.

“Food is a critical issue, especially for soldiers about to go into battle. They need to eat as much as possible and have high-quality meals to boost morale. Given Edina’s circumstances, we’ve only been receiving the bare minimum, but now we’re trying to provide better meals to boost the soldiers’ morale. Is this such a big issue that you had to come here and interrogate me? Do we, fighting on the front lines, have to hear this from you just because we’ve been eating a bit more?”

Riana’s words were laced with hostility, and Charlotte nodded quietly. “Yes, I thought you might say that,” Charlotte replied calmly.

“What?” Riana’s face turned ominously rigid at Charlotte’s composed response.

Riana was direct, and thus, she often dropped many clues in her words. Charlotte had already picked up on one.

“So, you were aware of this over-requisition of food, and you’re acknowledging that it was under your directive,” Charlotte concluded.

Only then did Riana realize she had been caught in Charlotte’s trap. She bit her lip.

Words inevitably held clues, and Charlotte was adept at catching them. Riana, on the other hand, had no talent for such things.

“Yes, that’s right. I did it. So what? Is it such a big problem?” Riana retorted.

“You wanted to provide better meals to boost the morale of the troops, right?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes.”

“But that’s not it, is it?”

“... What did you say?”

Charlotte began to explain calmly and quietly. “You said you wanted to provide more and better meals to boost the morale of the combatants. To do that, you would have aimed to provide a higher quality diet rather than just a larger quantity. That would mean requesting more higher-quality supplies like meat and processed goods. However, the supplies that were requested in excess were not meat or processed goods, but basic items like flour.”

“...”

“You wanted quantity, not quality,” Charlotte continued calmly, her face still expressionless.

Riana de Granz’s expression grew increasingly rigid. Harriet felt a heavy pressure settling in her throat, as if something was stuck there.

Riana had claimed she was trying to improve the quality of the meals. But according to Charlotte, while the quantity of food may have increased, the quality did not.

Charlotte never revealed everything she knew from the start. She waited for the other person to make a mistake and then presented the other facts she knew, cornering her opponent. Then, she used the opponent’s words against them.

Riana attempted to justify her actions. “Given Edina’s circumstances, I just thought it was important to keep everyone full. Meat is hard to come by, so I tried to fill them up with basic food...”

“The existing amount of food supplied already took into account that combat troops would require twice the required nutrition of an average person,” Charlotte countered. “In such a case, there is no reason to request more flour or rice. They couldn’t have consumed it all. No matter how much they overeat, the troops at Port Mokna cannot consume all these extra supplies.”

“Fucking hell,” Riana cursed.

Bang!

Riana slammed the table hard, glaring at Charlotte.

Crack! Crackle!

Sparks flew from Riana’s forehead as she glared at Charlotte with a fierce look. “What are you trying to say?”

Charlotte maintained her calm expression, looking at Riana.

“It’s simple. There were more mouths to feed here than were actually reported to Edina,” Charlotte stated.

“More... mouths?” Harriet asked, sensing a foreboding feeling.

“...”

Riana remained silent.

Charlotte continued, “For days or weeks, you had to feed them somehow, so more food was needed. But for some reason, these people never made it to Edina. A significant number of the survivors who were actually here never reached Port Mokna. That’s why more food had been supplied than was actually needed, at least based on the numbers. That food was for the people who were not recorded in the documents.”

Riana remained silent.

“What did you do with those people?” Charlotte asked quietly.

“...”

“The ones who should have gone to Edina but didn’t, what happened to them?” Charlotte pressed.

Riana remained silent, glaring at Charlotte.

The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity.

Charlotte knew that Riana was the last person to be driven by personal greed. Therefore, the excess requisition of food had to have been necessary. The reason for hiding it and lying about it had to be because the truth was something that couldn’t be spoken out loud.

With a hardened expression, Riana slowly opened her mouth.

“... I killed them.”

“W-What?!” Harriet gasped in shock at Riana’s words, breaking the silence.

“I couldn’t put Edina in danger any longer,” Riana explained.

“...”

Charlotte nodded quietly, as if she had anticipated this.