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Chapter 558

Although we had harbored some expectations for our journey to the Demon King's Castle, we ultimately returned empty-handed.

However, we managed to secure seventy-five Death Knights, which, according to Olivia, are of the highest quality.

These Death Knights are far more powerful than the ones we had previously encountered.

Though they may not be the war heroes of the Empire, the heroes of the Knight Order who were promoted to become Saints should not be underestimated.

After returning to Edina, we shared the results of our operation with the Elders' Council and other relevant parties.

"The tombs were empty?"

"Well, not all of them. But it seemed that most of the tombs in the Hall of Heroes were empty."

Naturally, Charlotte's reaction was the most horrified.

Upon hearing that the Empire appeared to be doing the very thing we intended to do, Charlotte could not close her gaping mouth.

"What on earth are they planning...?"

"They'll probably use that force when they reach their limit. We can't know when that will be."

It's an incredibly powerful army, but using it would undoubtedly have significant side effects.

Unless faced with a truly desperate situation, Bertus would not deploy that army.

Ideally, it would be best if that force never had to be used.

A cornered rat will bite a cat, and cornered humanity will do whatever it takes.

Even if it means spitting on the ethics and morals established thus far.

In order to survive, one must be willing to do anything, and this is just one example of that.

------

I had expected it to take several days, but surprisingly, everything was wrapped up in just one day.

This was partly due to unforeseen circumstances and also thanks to Kono Lint's assistance.

After sharing the situation, Harriet, Olivia, and I had a late dinner together.

Harriet quickly finished her meal and left to visit Lucinil, saying she would learn about soul manipulation techniques from her over the winter.

"Sis, you should go rest too."

"I don't get to do this often, so I want to stay with you a bit longer. Is that okay?"

Olivia tilted her head cutely, asking if it was okay.

Even when she was blatantly acting cute, she still looked adorable.

As much as I thought I would get used to this behavior, I never really did.

"Well, alright."

"Shall we go up there? To that place you often visit."

I had planned on taking a walk, but Olivia seemed to have a specific place in mind.

------

Olivia and I climbed to the top of the tower with warm tea in our cups.

From this place, I often looked down at Edina. When I had nothing better to do, I would spend my time here, lost in thought. Of course, such occasions were rare.

-Wooosh!

As it was winter and we were up high, a cold wind blew at the top of the tower.

"Wow, it's chilly."

We weren't greatly affected by the cold, but it was still inescapable.

Olivia took a sip of her tea and shivered.

"It would be so pretty if it snowed, right?"

Olivia gazed down at the landscape of Lazak in the winter night, making that comment.

"People would only struggle more in the snow. Wouldn't it be better if it didn't snow?"

"Maybe so?"

If it snowed, people would suffer even more due to the frozen ground.

Olivia gazes at me with a subtle glance.

"...Why?"

"No, it's just that I find it interesting you'd think that way."

"..."

I suppose so.

Instead of thinking about how beautiful the scenery would become when it snows, I ponder how people's lives would change when snow falls.

At some point, did I lose my sense of appreciation and only think about practical matters?

I am not fit to be a king, and I have indeed abandoned that role, but I cannot help my transformed mindset.

"You were originally an Archdemon, so maybe it's natural for you to think that way?"

"...Maybe?"

"It's strange."

Olivia sits beside me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Looking back on it, you hid so much during your time in the temple."

"...I'm sorry."

"I'm not saying this to receive an apology. I'm just saying... it was like that."

"..."

Back then, everything was a lie.

Those lies shaped the situation and relationships, and they created this world.

"I feel like the you from the temple days is the real you."

"..."

"This Reinhardt who became the Demon King... somehow feels fake."

Olivia looks up at me with a faint gaze.

"There are no secrets now, but you, who have lost all secrets, feel even more like a fake."

"Whatever."

"As if you're trying to force it somehow."

"As if you're trying to wear clothes that don't fit you. That's how it seems."

"You're the Demon King, so this should be your true nature."

"I don't know."

"I think you would have been better off just being Reinhardt."

"Bad-tempered."

"Rough-spoken."

"Violent, but..."

"When someone asks for help, even if you scowl, you eventually end up helping anyone."

"I think that Reinhardt is your true self."

"I think living like that, just going on without any problems, would have been better."

"Like now."

"Only thinking about the pain and trying to endure it... you seem..."

"Sad."

The essence of being the Demon King.

It seemed Olivia knew that it didn't suit me at all.

I wore a mask in the temple, and my current appearance should be my true self.

In a way, Olivia's words were right: everything during my time with a false name should be fake, and everything now, with my true name, should be real.

But my real self was in the temple, and this current appearance is just a fake, forcibly imitating something else.

I can't be the Demon King, nor a king.

But I have to be, so I'm forcing myself to do it.

It was exactly what I usually thought.

Everything is burdensome because I'm trying to force myself into clothes that don't fit.

I wasn't entirely thoughtless, but my self in the temple was closer to my true self.

"That might be true."

At my simple reply, Olivia giggles.

"Did I seem really crazy today?"

"...It's a problem that you don't think you are, usually."

"What?"

Olivia narrows her eyes in a challenging way.

No, you're right!

You're always crazy!

Not knowing that is even stranger! That's even crazier!

And the fact that I even suggested going to the Demon King's castle makes me a madman too...

"Ugh, you're only harsh to me. You're not like that with the brat, Charlotte, Ellen even more so. You know you're always admiring them, tolerating them, and forgiving them, while only treating me like this? It hurts my feelings, you know? Want me to tell you everything that's piled up till now? Go on, tell me you want it.”

"...I'm sorry."

"But do you know that?"

Olivia suddenly wraps her arms around my waist.

"You know, I don't actually mind it that much?"

"Why, why is that?"

"Because I think you're the most comfortable around me. And honestly, I kind of like that."

I accept that her slight roughness comes from her being closer to me.

"It might not be true, but thinking that way makes me feel a little better."

"Uh, what kind of rhythm should I follow?"

I can't figure out what to say as her expression shifts from sullen to cheerful to gloomy.

"I'm trying, you know. Trying not to be upset."

"..."

I have a lot to apologize to Olivia for.

Even though she has plenty of reasons to be upset, she still tries not to be.

Olivia once said that even if the whole world abandoned me, she would stand by my side, and she has kept her word.

Though the whole world hasn't abandoned me, the fact that Olivia is my eternal ally hasn't changed.

"Actually, it's kind of weird for me to be upset after you've saved my life so many times, isn't it?"

"But I've saved you too, haven't I?"

"That's a separate matter."

Isn't that something you say in the opposite situation?

When my identity as the Demon King was discovered, Olivia used her status and influence to cause a commotion and try to save me. And it undoubtedly had an effect.

Of course, there were various incidents that led Olivia to realize I was the Demon King.

The lingering question of why the Demon King killed Riverrier Lanze and facilitated her own escape.

Once that was resolved, it was inevitable that she would trust me more after learning I was the Demon King.

In Ellen and Charlotte's case, it was a situation where they could only feel betrayed, while Olivia was the opposite.

"Actually, the fact that you couldn't attend the Miss Temple Contest because of me, looking back on it now, it was a rather pleasant incident."

"No, your life was at stake! How could I attend the Miss Temple Contest in such a situation?"

In the end, I couldn't see Ellen in a dress, but the gravity of the situation was incomparable.

Even if I went back to that time, I wouldn't have been able to attend the Miss Temple Contest, since I would have chosen to save Olivia and Adriana.

"Anyway, you came to me. That's what's important."

Olivia tightens her embrace around my waist.

"Looking back, you couldn't have defeated my stepfather at that time, right? Reinhardt, you didn't have any hidden strength or anything like that."

"That's right."

People on my side naturally know that I didn't have any hidden strength in the Temple.

I was genuinely powerless. Most of the power and skills I've gained were indeed cultivated at the Temple.

Olivia has never actually seen me fight.

"How did you win?"

"I used the Demon Sword."

He was not only unharmed by the storm of fire and lightning but he was also a monster that regenerated even when his heart was pierced.

If I hadn't used the Demon Sword Tiamata, there would have been no way to kill Riverrier Lanze.

"Hmm, even if you used that, it wouldn't have been enough to beat him."

That's also true.

I should not have been able to defeat Riverrier Lanze. Of course, there were many factors and assistance that contributed to my victory, and it wasn't just me fighting alone.

But even with the demonic sword in my hand, Riverrier Lanze was an enemy I should not have been able to face.

"Well, it all worked out somehow, didn't it?"

Somehow, it had all come together like this.

There was nothing more to say.

In the end, I went to face an enemy I should not have been able to face. And I won.

It was reckless, but I somehow managed.

I risked my life to save Olivia and Adriana. At my words, Olivia sighed deeply.

"You're a strange one."

"Like you're one to talk."

"Fine, you did something for me, so I'll put up with your annoying behavior."

Saying it was all because I saved her, Olivia hugged me even tighter.

The topic of Riverrier Lanze shouldn't come up between the two of us. After all, I killed Olivia's stepfather.

But the situation was rather peculiar.

Olivia had no choice but to hate her stepfather.

She even went so far as to resurrect his own corpse as a Death Knight.

"No matter how I think about it, you and your stepfather have some bad karma. Right?"

"...Well, looking back, that guy messed with me from the beginning to the end."

"It's almost a wonder, isn't it?"

Riverrier Lanze, the Holy Knight Commander.

He was demoted from his position because of the truth I uncovered.

Then, he tried to use Olivia as a puppet for his Thousand-Year Empire, and died by my hand.

Now, he had risen as a Death Knight and had to fight for us.

What a twisted fate.

At this point, even if Riverrier Lanze came back from the dead and put a knife to my throat, I wouldn't have anything to say.

I'm not only responsible for ruining his life, but also for using him even in death.

"But it's absurd that all this would have never happened if you hadn't messed with me."

"Isn't that so?"

My entanglement with Riverrier Lanze was all because of Olivia.

I saved her twice and once at her request.

A ridiculous and eerie connection.

Riverrier Lanze was, of course, not a good father. If he had been, he would not have died by my hand in the first place, and Olivia would not have turned him into a Death Knight.

Being forced to be a good child, and to live up to expectations, was Olivia's life.

She lived a life where sacrificing herself for others was taken for granted.

Of course, Olivia is no longer such a person.

The person who was once called the Saint of Eredian has become twisted through various events.

She's become selfish, violent, foul-mouthed, and even suggests committing horrible acts without any hesitation.

"My father wanted a Thousand-Year Empire. You know?"

"He did. He wanted to make the Holy Knights the core force and completely separate the Church's power from the Empire."

"I didn't want any part of that. It was disgusting. I lost interest in gods and all that, so why did he try to force that on me?"

Olivia gazed down at the landscape of Lazak quietly.

"But ironically, after my father died and the world started to fall apart, I ended up becoming the leader of the United Holy Church, which combines the beliefs of the Five Great Religions and the Demon God Cult."

"..."

“I find it strange sometimes, that I now willingly do what I once refused, when my father tried to force it upon me.”

"Do you dislike doing it?"

"I'm not sure if I dislike it, but I don't particularly enjoy it either."

Olivia looks at me.

"It's similar to you playing the part of the Demon King."

I don't like it, but I do it because I have to.

It's not forced upon me.

Both Olivia and I are doing things we don't particularly want to do, but we have to.

It's like trying to force oneself into clothes that don't fit.

"Sometimes, I think that at this rate, we might end up going to war with the Empire, either destroying or absorbing the Five Great Religions, and becoming the ruler of the Five Great Religions. What do you think?"

It wouldn't be called the Thousand-Year Empire.

But it was what Riverrier Lanze wished for Olivia.

Somehow, Olivia was getting closer to that goal.

Would it really be possible to establish a new faith in this land?

Olivia Lanze, who would rule over it all.

It wasn't impossible for Olivia to become something like the first Holy Emperor of that world.

"I wonder how happy my father would have been if he were alive to see this?"

Olivia says.

It was a terrible joke, not a single bit of sincerity in it.

"Please stop talking nonsense..."

"Why? Isn't it a common story for someone to not understand their parents' intentions and disobey them while they're alive, but come to their senses after their parents have passed away?"

"Exactly, so please stop..."

No matter what, my sister is definitely not a filial daughter!

Even if Riverrier Lanze was a garbage-like father, that doesn't mean my sister becomes a filial daughter! If anything, she's worse now!

"Anyway."

Olivia wraps her arm around mine.

"It's cold."

As she said, the wind was chilly.

The 12th month.

It would only get colder.

------

No matter how much our strength was enhanced, it could never be enough.

But we had completed the first phase of our power enhancement, and we began to solidify our foundations in preparation for the next advance of the Allied Forces.

Olivia seemed to be considering ways to strengthen the already created Death Knights or permanently turn monsters into undead with the Holy Order's priests and knights.

Charlotte was still handling administrative affairs and focusing on the management of Edina's government. Harriet continued her usual magical research, sometimes alone and sometimes with Lucinil.

And if I wasn't doing dream training with Airi, I had nothing else to do in Edina.

Charlotte already knew more about Edina than I did and had become my perfect superior, so I thought I might be a hindrance if I stayed.

That's why I arrived at the Allied Forces' base to undertake my next task.

-Meow

A black cat.

To see for myself what had changed and how.

To understand the current state of affairs.

I'm going to verify it with my own eyes.