The Demon Prince goes to the Academy

Louise had just heard a shocking story from Heinrich.

She had already suspected that there was a secret behind the coalition's excessively smooth advance. She thought it wasn't necessary to uncover it immediately.

However, it was hard to believe the rumor that the Demon King was leading the vanguard.

Nevertheless, if it were true, she would understand why the Empire had no choice but to be silent.

If this truth were to spread, people would start to doubt the Demon King's intentions.

Just as Louise was feeling confused now, it would be disastrous if this information spread throughout the coalition.

That's why the Empire had to pretend to be unaware of the Demon King's assistance, even as they received it.

“It seems certain that the Empire's relationship with the Demon King goes beyond tacit cooperation.”

It was also hard to believe that her son had fallen for the Demon King's sweet talk. If that were true, Heinrich would have no reason to remain with the coalition. He was in a dangerous situation and had no choice but to leave, yet he didn't.

“The Empire… and the Demon King…”

Her son could have been taken by the Demon King.

But, on the other hand, the Demon King might have tried to save her son.

“If there's a truth we don't know, what do you think it is?”

“I don't know. If the Demon King didn't want the Gate incident to happen… then why did it happen… and why is the Empire hiding the truth… I really don't know.”

The Demon King had not mentioned any truth that would endanger Heinrich if he knew it.

Heinrich stared at the confused Louise.

“I apologize. I didn't mean to confuse you. But… I felt I had to tell you…”

“…”

Louise couldn't help but understand why this was happening, even without thinking deeply.

Most people believe the Demon King is the root of all evil, and the few who know the truth encourage that belief.

But if there was a different truth about the Gate incident.

If it were true that the Demon King didn't want the Gate incident to happen.

Then what would become of the world?

If the strong bond formed by hatred for the Demon King were to crumble, humanity would be finished.

Heinrich bowed his head as he watched Louise's confusion.

“I may be under the Demon King's spell… but I can't help but think that way…”

“No, you did well. You told me well…”

Although Louise still couldn't free herself from the confusion, she had to commend her son for having the courage to talk about his secret meeting with the Demon King.

Louise's mind was in turmoil because of Heinrich's words.

Who is the Demon King really, what is the truth behind the Gate incident, and what is the Empire thinking?

She knew nothing.

But does it matter if there is a truth unknown to everyone in the world?

Regardless of the intentions, the Gate incident happened, and it must be put to an end, and that fact remains unaltered in the face of any truth.

Snow still falls.

A blizzard pours down.

Snow accumulates.

Snow covers everything.

The earth, buildings, trees, and frozen rivers.

It buries everything.

The Gate incident is like this snow.

When a massive blizzard falls, everything is buried.

When a blizzard comes, everything else loses importance.

The snow had to be cleared away. It had to be continually cleared away to prevent it from engulfing and destroying everything.

Just as one must clear away the snow before it devours the world, eventually nothing becomes more important than the snow itself.

Truth too, buried beneath the blizzard called the Gate Incident, had become invisible and unimportant.

The Gate Incident must be resolved.

That absolute proposition buried all truth and justice.

And thus, another absolute proposition: the buried truth is not important.

Louise von Schwarz had no choice but to realize this.

But if the Demon King really was such an entity.

Fighting at the forefront to end the Gate Incident, yet unrecognized by anyone in the world.

"If what you say is true... and if it's really such a situation."

How terrifying, powerful, and yet,

How sad an existence must the Demon King be.

"How sad. All of this."

Louise sighed, looking up at the sky.

------

Heinrich and Louise walked aimlessly down the street in the Temple.

What the Demon King said to Heinrich might have been a lie.

However, it was also difficult to assume that the Demon King had lied. If he had intended to deceive, he should have at least said something.

Words like "It's dangerous, so let's go together."

"I'll tell you what's been going on so far if you follow me."

He said nothing else and even stepped back meekly when Heinrich refused.

Heinrich's opinions on the Demon King and the events in the allied forces were the result of his own thoughts and judgments.

The fact that the Demon King had been watching the Allied Forces' base all this time was a chilling story to Louise, but in the end, the Demon King had not even attempted to deceive Heinrich.

Indeed, Heinrich's life was truly in danger. An assassination attempt had taken place, but hadn't Louise dealt with it?

If Louise had not intervened, Heinrich would have been killed.

The Demon King didn't want Heinrich to kill his brothers, nor to be killed by them.

That's why he wanted Heinrich to join him.

When the Demon King came to find Heinrich, he said nothing other than the fact that an assassination attempt would occur.

So, there was only Heinrich's judgment.

Thinking this way, Louise found it strange.

He was despised by his brothers, his life was in danger, and he didn't even know the truth about Louise.

"My youngest."

"Yes, sister."

"Wasn't it...wrong not to leave?"

"It would have been right, at that moment."

"Yes, you were in danger, and you didn't know what would happen in the future. I didn't even know I would do such a thing either."

In a situation where safety was uncertain, it was inevitable to think that Heinrich's decision to stay was foolish.

"There were various reasons... but if I decided to leave, I could see the consequences that would unfold. Our soldiers, officers, royalty, and even Kernstadt would be affected."

"Ah..."

Louise couldn't help but be dumbfounded, as she hadn't imagined that Heinrich had such a mindset.

"Even with my limited mind, I could tell that people would receive such gazes and resentment."

"..."

"So, I decided not to leave."

Regardless of the reasons, it would be seen as betrayal.

The people from Kernstadt would receive the same gaze as those from Tu'an Order, the Als Order, and the people from Saint Owan Duchy.

Knowing it was dangerous to think so, he still did not leave.

At those words, Louise felt as if her breath was being taken away.

"And if I had left... This would never have happened, and this time would never have existed. Forever... I would have known nothing."

Not all of his siblings hated him. He would never have known that some of them were just hesitant, finding it difficult to face him.

"I'm glad you didn't leave."

Heinrich looked at Louise.

The war had changed many things, and it had plunged far too many people into misery.

But not everything changed for the worse. Heinrich had gradually become someone capable of contemplating many things.

Overwhelmed with emotion and regret, Louise couldn't find the right words.

Instead of hating her for knowing the truth, her son was grateful, embracing the situation with joy. Louise couldn't help but be thankful for so many things.

How long had they walked in this pleasant silence?

"...Huh?"

The two, walking quietly, had no choice but to stop when they heard voices in the distance.

On the opposite side of the path they were walking, a group of guards was blocking the road.

"Is this a restricted area?"

"It seems so..."

The guards did not speak to Heinrich and Louise, but their stance blocking the road clearly indicated that this was a controlled area.

By walking aimlessly, they had stumbled upon a place they would never have entered otherwise.

"It seems... this is the university grounds."

"Ah, I see. Then it's understandable."

However, a restricted area? Louise and Heinrich looked at the grounds blocked by the guards and the buildings beyond. As if it was not an issue to look, the distant guards paid no attention to the two.

But was there a reason to control access?

Few passersby were in the area, so there would be no one who would casually venture there.

"If it's a controlled area with no one coming and going..."

There must be something happening inside that is considered confidential.

And the scale of the visible security force was anything but ordinary. Although they couldn't know what was happening inside, with that level of security, something of even greater magnitude must be taking place.

"It seems to be a magic university."

Having seen the sign, Heinrich nodded slowly as if he understood what the university inside the controlled area was.

"A magic university... So, they must be conducting some kind of research."

Louise agreed, nodding her head, thinking that it must be something the Empire would treat as confidential.

"Are they trying to create another Titan? If such a weapon is developed again, it would be good for everyone..."

"It's probably not a Titan. I heard they don't have the resources to make another one."

"Really? Then they must be working on another large-scale magic weapon or something else?"

"If it helps the war effort, anything would be good."

"That's true..."

The Titan.

Upon witnessing its power, Louise felt both shudders and fear. She thought time and time again how fortunate it was that the Titan was on their side.

Even those who opposed the Empire, even if they were the Demon King's army, would have been crushed under the Titan's feet and vanished without a trace.

The Empire was doing something at the Temple Magic University. It wasn't the Titan, but they were researching something.

It seemed that the B-class peers had been included in the research. They were said to be at the temple, but they were hardly ever seen returning to the dormitory from the magic university.

Although Heinrich couldn't know the details, he could guess that Louis Ancton, Christina, and Anna de Gerna would be involved in the research being conducted there.

"Wasn't a girl named Adelia involved in the Titan Project as well? Your friend…"

"Yes, that's right."

Adelia's power cartridge was a great invention, but the Titan surpassed it overwhelmingly.

But this time, even other peers were involved.

What kind of weapon could it be?

"All your friends are… incredibly talented, to say the least."

The children from the second year of the temple.

Louise couldn't help but think that an unusual number of monstrously talented people were gathered in that grade.

Geniuses and disasters were gathered in a strange way.

Could it be an all too terrible coincidence?

Louise and Heinrich walked slowly through the snow-covered streets of the temple, leaving the magic university behind.

------

Ludwig left the security headquarters with a desolate expression.

There was no way the debris from the collapsing church could have killed Ludwig. After rescuing Rowan's corpse from the pile of stones in the collapsing church, Ludwig encountered the guards who had come to clean up the fire scene.

He was then taken to the security headquarters, pledging to fully cooperate with the investigation.

However, the answer Ludwig heard left him dumbfounded.

"…It's difficult."

"Difficult, you say?"

"Yes. If they were caught at the scene, it would be different. But if dozens of thugs attacked the church and scattered… if it was a spontaneous crime rather than organized… finding the suspects would be very difficult."

"I saw them with my own eyes. People looting the church and running away… I didn't see everyone, but I saw them clearly. I remember."

"Ludwig, the population of the Empire is over 100 million now. And if the crime was committed by people from a refugee village, where even their identities have not been properly determined… catching the criminals is virtually impossible."

If the attackers were hiding somewhere in the maze-like alleys of the refugee village, it would be impossible to find them.

"And with the weather like this…"

In the current situation, where they are overwhelmed by dealing with the heavy snowfall, there is neither the manpower nor the possibility of finding the criminals.

Ludwig didn't know what to say.

This is the reality of the Empire, where catching criminals is nearly impossible unless the crime happens right in front of you.

Spontaneous crimes, spontaneous arson, spontaneous looting.

The spontaneous nature of these incidents made it virtually impossible to catch the criminals, and the security forces were already marking it as impossible before even starting the investigation.

The deep fatigue on the face of the person in charge made it clear that he was not being irresponsible in his statements.

"But… are we just going to let this go? Without any investigation, without doing anything? Just like that?"

The security force has the power of summary execution, at least because they maintain some semblance of social order.

But if they give up on this case where social order has completely collapsed, what have the security forces been doing up until now?

If the guards aren't doing their job, they shouldn't have the right to kill people as they please.

With a hollow expression, Ludwig looked at the guard captain, who let out a deep sigh.

"Ludwig, this case is not within our jurisdiction. Even if we wanted to investigate, we wouldn't be allowed to."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a case of arson, looting, and murder that occurred in the church of the Five Great Religions."

Ludwig could somewhat guess why the guard captain seemed to be washing his hands of the matter.

"The authority to investigate this case lies with the Holy Knights."

The guard captain implied that, while they had no intention to investigate, even if they wanted to, they couldn't.

They had cleaned up the scene, but the Holy Knights would likely conduct their own internal investigation.

"We don't know if the Holy Knights can properly track down the culprits, but we'll probably have to hand over the case materials to them."

After hearing that, Ludwig left the district's guard headquarters.

Rowan was dead.

Most of the people who had been staying at the church were dead as well.

And finding the culprits was practically impossible.

Ludwig walked the streets in a daze.

Archbishop Rowan.

She was a peculiar woman, but she was never evil.

It was unclear if the thugs' target had been the food inside the church or their anger was directed at the Tu’an Order.

But Rowan, who had tirelessly roamed the streets to help people without even getting proper rest, had been brutally murdered.

Why?

Why did it have to come to this?

And they're not even getting caught?

Was a person who could save tens of thousands of lives worth just a piece of bread?

That didn't make sense.

This kind of thing shouldn't happen.

Even the guards themselves said they couldn't find those people and didn't have the resources in the first place.

Ludwig didn't overestimate himself.

He didn't think he could do what the guards couldn't.

This wasn't a matter of strength but intelligence.

And it required the power to get involved in the case.

Ludwig's thoughts had reached that point.

He lacked the power to get involved in the case and the intelligence to solve it.

He needed help.

Someone's help.

Desperately.

Those who committed such acts needed to be punished.

With that thought in mind, Ludwig walked the streets, his eyes wide open.