Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 481

The regent had to have significant power. However, if the regent grew too close to the king’s subjects, the Demon King could end up being cut out of the governance structure entirely, and if the regent gained more trust than the Demon King, the Demon King would become a mere figurehead.

Charlotte could control Edina, but she was aware of the danger of forming overly intimate relationships with key figures. Charlotte believed that she was merely a substitute for the king, and was not there to become the ruler herself. This was different from what Reinhart actually desired.

Of course, Charlotte did not believe that she could gain more trust from the Four Demon Lords and the Senate than the trust they had in Reinhart just because she wanted to. Charlotte could not easily match the amount of time they had spent together. She was merely cautious of such a situation developing, though she did not believe that Olivia or Riana would trust her more than Reinhart.

Even so, the regent had to be there as an undeniable presence, and also an uncomfortable one. She could neither be too weak nor too strong. Charlotte was in a position where she had to walk a tightrope when it came to the power she wielded.

Just before returning to Rajak from Port Mokna...

“Guys, there’s something you need to know...”

“Something we need to know?”

“Yes.”

Lucinil had no choice but to tell Charlotte and Harriet about the grotesque scene she had witnessed on the outskirts of Port Mokna.

When they heard her story, Charlotte and Harriet understood what Lucinil was talking about.

“Oh, that place is probably...”

“Yes, it must be...”

“What, do you know what’s going on?”

After a moment of hesitation, Charlotte briefly explained to Lucinil what had happened in Port Mokna.

“Ah...”

That helped Lucinil understand what she had seen. The survivors were being filtered at the Port Mokna, and Lucinil had come across the aftermath of that filtering.

Charlotte remained impassive, while Lucinil and Harriet couldn’t hide their expressions of pity. After a moment of contemplation, Lucinil finally let out a long sigh.

“Still, whatever it is, we need to take action.”

“If you’re talking about what to do in the future, we’ve decided to halt the search for survivors for the time being.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Lucinil pointed to the outskirts of Port Mokna. “If someone with a strong enough spiritual sense passed by, they will surely feel that strong sense of eerie energy.”

“Eerie energy...?” Harriet repeated, and Lucinil nodded.

“Yes. It could also evolve into some bizarre kind of calamity, whether it’s ghosts materializing as undead, or some unknown curse descending.”

The large death toll had caused too many vengeful spirits to accumulate in the area. There were not just one or two of them. No one knew how many had died there over that long period of time.

They were not limited to those killed by Riana’s hand. The world had become a world where vengeful spirits had no choice but to wander the land. Ghosts called out to other ghosts, the same way ghosts were drawn to the seat of the Vampire Council.

“We have to do something about it, perhaps perform an exorcism or a consecration, before it becomes unmanageable.”

“If we don’t, what will happen?” Charlotte asked.

Lucinil shook her head with a serious expression. “I don’t know either. That’s what makes it even scarier.”

A calamity caused by vengeful spirits... The world was littered with unjust deaths.

Ghosts were bound to attract more ghosts. If they did not act quickly, no one knew what might happen.

***

Using teleport scrolls, I could go back to Edina, rest for a few days, then return. But teleport scrolls were not infinite, and there was a limit to the distances the spell could cover, so one scroll alone would not be enough to transport me back to Edina right away.

It took Harriet several sleepless nights of constant scribbling just to create a teleport scroll.

Considering all the hard work Harriet had put in, I could not recklessly waste such a scroll. If I used up the scrolls thoughtlessly, Harriet would ultimately be the one who suffered.

Monsters appeared frequently in the Sren Mountains, as with the rest of the continent. Moreover, due to the excessively rugged terrain, the monsters that managed to enter the mountain range were on a different level from the common ones roaming the wilds.

Given the terrain, average creatures could not even enter this place. Because of this, I couldn’t sleep at all, fearing an attack while asleep.

The fact that I had managed to stay awake for fifteen nights alone made me realize that I had become some sort of transcendent being, different from ordinary humans, though it was hardly the best situation to make such a realization.

However, no matter how exceptional my stamina was, a mountain range was still a mountain range. There was a limit to how fast I could climb over rocky cliffs and steep ridges as I traversed the bitterly cold mountains at night.

‘Where exactly is Rijaiera?’

Entering the mountain range to find a single village was practically the same as wandering a vast desert searching for a tiny oasis.

‘Is all this just a waste of effort? Yes, it’s definitely a waste.’

With a sigh, I clambered onto a rocky ledge atop a mountain peak and looked down at the endless sprawl of the mountain range below. Seeing the undulating mountains, like giant frozen waves of earth, I couldn’t help but despair that I would never find Rijaiera.

If I had known this would happen, I would have gone with Ellen the last time she visited her hometown. If someone spent their childhood playing in such rugged terrain, even someone as weak as Erhi could become as strong as Ragan Artorius.

No matter where I was in the undulating mountain range, I could not see anything resembling a village.

I did not think Rijaiera had been destroyed by monsters. However, if Rijaiera still existed, how would they deal with the monster problem? Could they have relocated the village to somewhere no monster or any other living thing could find?

Just as Edina was safe from monsters because it was a chain of islands, it was entirely possible that the people of Rijaiera had left to find a new home.

If Rijaiera had ceased to exist, wandering the Sren Mountains was a pointless endeavor.

I was so frustrated that I just wanted to set the entire mountain range on fire. With the Flame of Tuesday, I could incinerate the entire mountain range. Then at least the monsters bothering me would either burn to death or be driven off.

“...”

Of course, if I did something like that, Ellen’s mother would try to kill me the moment she saw me.

Who would spare someone who set fire to their front yard and then casually said “Oh, there you are” when you appeared?

My situation was so dire that all sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.

I climbed down from the rocky ledge and started walking again. I was tired. I wanted to sleep.

Screeeech!

But out of nowhere, a flying monster swooped down at me.

“Damn it.”

Whoooosh!

I summoned Tiamata in my right hand, gripped it tightly, and threw it with all my might.

Swish! Boom!

Tiamata flew toward the incoming flying monster, releasing a torrent of holy power in mid-air, and blew the creature to pieces.

“Phew.”

Leaving behind the blood mist from the exploded monster hanging in the air, I descended the mountain.

‘Rijaiera, where on earth are you?’

***

Three more days passed. Due to a lack of proper sleep, my sense of time dulled, and I was reaching a state of near oblivion, almost forgetting where I was and what I was doing.

Having run out of all the preserved food I’d packed, I hunted and ate wild animals. Thanks to the Flame of Tuesday, I didn’t have to worry about starting a fire, which was a small convenience. I could only be amazed at the fact that wild animals somehow managed to survive in this monster-ridden environment.

At this rate, by the time I found Rijaiera, I might not even recognize it.

I climbed up a cliff and entered a crevice in the rock just big enough for a person to squeeze into. I crawled in there to sleep, leaving it to fate. I believed that if I were in mortal danger, my Qi Sense would wake me up. It was a reckless action, but I had no choice because I felt like I was going to die if I didn’t sleep.

I awoke. I had no idea how long I slept. It could have been hours or days. I couldn’t tell, but the important thing was that I was still alive.

I crawled out of the crevice, descended the cliff, and found a valley with running water. Monsters emerged without pause. I did not come across any deadly monsters, but the ones I met were not to be underestimated. There were those that were as big as houses, or the size of deer, and even flying ones. Fortunately, I could cut down those that were almost like incorporeal spirits, which were immune to physical attacks, with the holy relics I possessed.

I did not know how many peaks I had crossed, nor how many valleys I had traversed. I was just wandering through the middle of the Sren Mountains.

Where exactly was Rijaiera, and was Ellen’s hometown really such a difficult place to get to? Rijaiera couldn’t possibly be this deep in the mountains. If it were, Ellen wouldn’t have been able to casually visit it during the previous vacation and return so quickly.

If that were so, then Rijaiera had to be somewhere near the entrance to the Sren Mountains. But I did not know whether Rijaiera was closer to the north, west, south, or east of the Sren Mountains.

I was crossing mountains aimlessly. It felt like I was searching for a Mr. Kim [1]in Seoul, just looking around every time I summited a mountain.

Having fallen asleep once, I had lost track of how much time I had spent in the mountain range. I wandered the mountains day and night, cutting down monsters over and over again.

On one such night...

“Huff... huff...”

Whoooosh...

After tearing apart the horde of monsters that had swarmed toward me, I sat down, blood-soaked, on a rocky ledge at the top of yet another mountain.

Could it be that Rijaiera didn’t actually exist? Was it some mystical place that couldn’t be found by those who were not invited? Was all this just a waste of effort?

The Achievement Points I had accumulated from cutting down monsters over the past several days had surpassed twelve thousand. But Achievement Points could not get me to the Master class.

Whoooosh!

The biting wind at the summit was so strong that it felt like it would rip off my ears and tear through my face. The clothes I was wearing had become tattered.

I wanted to wash up somewhere.

‘Should I find a place to settle and do some laundry tomorrow instead? I thought it would be a waste to bring anyone else along, so I came alone, but should I have brought someone after all?’

This unnamed, towering peak seemed to be the highest among those I had climbed thus far. I sat on the rocky ledge and quietly looked up at the night sky. Before I knew it, the full moon was shining brightly down on me.

Ellen’s mother, Luna Artorius, had seemed to move the world itself, suddenly causing the full moon to enlarge and drawing a sword from it. It had been a surreal sight, unbelievable even while I was witnessing it.

I still did not know if it was magic, a supernatural power, or some other kind of force.

But the name Luna meant “The Moon,” and I couldn’t help but recall it while sitting below this full moon.

Where was Rijaiera? Where was Luna Artorius? Could I really find it?

I wasn’t Ellen. I had awakened Mana Reinforcement on my own, but I wasn’t Ellen Artorius, so I didn’t know how to become a Master on my own.

I needed someone to tell me how. I needed to grab hold of someone because I didn’t know what came next. Because I did not want to die. Even though I knew sacrificing my life in the end was the best option, I absolutely didn’t want to do that.

I had to find someone. Someone who could lead me to the next step.

I quietly looked up at the moon.

“... Luna.”

Would she come if I called out to the moon? If I shouted at the moon? If I pleaded to the full moon?

Could I find Rijaiera and Luna Artorius? In a weak voice, I called out to the moon. “Luna Artorius.”

“Mother,” I muttered out of frustration and anger.

“Mother!” I shouted. “Come out! I know you’re observing everything! You’re seeing everything! So just come out!”

Desperately.

“Mooooooom! Mother! Come out! I know you’re watching!

—Moooom...

—Moooom...

‘Goddamn it. Now isn’t that embarrassing...’

I listened quietly as the echo of my embarrassing shout reverberated across the mountain range. It was one of those moments where I was relieved no one heard it.

Just as I was thinking that...

“... Why do I...”

A low voice spoke from behind me. It was a voice I had heard before.

“Why do I have to hear such things from you?”

I turned around.

“Mother?”

“... Why are you calling me that...?”

There stood someone whose face was familiar yet unfamiliar, looking exasperated.

Luna Artorius...

As expected, she had been watching me from somewhere.

1. ”Kim” is the most common surname in South Korea ☜