The Demon Prince goes to the Academy

Holy Knight Commander Eleion Bolton.

After the previous Holy Knight Commander, Riverrier Lanze, stepped down from his position due to the atrocities he committed against his daughter Olivia Lanze, Eleion became his successor.

Although he was a pro-empire figure, this was only in comparison to Riverrier Lanze, and it didn't mean that he was completely loyal to the empire.

Riverrier Lanze had dreamt of establishing a Holy Empire by completely separating the Holy Knights and the Five Great Religions' forces from the Empire. He had intended to establish his daughter as the first Holy Emperor of this new empire.

He dreamt of an empire of gods, led by a Holy Emperor who would rule over the five popes of the Great Holy Religions, each representing one of the factions.

Of course, very few knew about his ambition, and he had no choice but to put an end to his long-cherished dream when he was killed by the Demon King.

Compared to Riverrier Lanze, Eleion Bolton was a moderate figure.

He believed that maintaining the current status quo with the power and resources at hand was the best course of action. As such, he was someone who could easily appeal to the existing factions.

He had successfully led the Holy Knights since the Gate Incident, and the fact that the Holy Knights still remained strong was proof of Eleion Bolton's capability to perform his duties as a commander.

Ellen was alone in the meeting room with the Holy Knight Commander.

However, she was not alone in the visit itself, as she was accompanied by her companions.

Ludwig, Heinrich.

And Louise von Schwarz.

The other three entered the reception hall instead of the meeting room and were waiting separately in another room for the meeting to end.

This was Louise's idea.

Ellen asked if it would be better for Louise to wait outside to avoid getting involved in any troublesome disputes, but Louise shook her head.

"I’ll come with you, but you’ll have the meeting alone."

"Wouldn't it be better if we go to the meeting together? If we're going to be separate, it would be better if they didn't know we were here together."

If they were going together, they should either meet the Holy Knight Commander together, or not let him know they came at all.

Ellen thought that would be better.

She was concerned that coming together like this, but not having the meeting together, might be worse than not coming at all.

"Just the fact that you're not alone puts pressure on the other party."

"The Holy Knight Commander has to take my presence into account because we came together, but I have the excuse of just stopping by the Holy Knights' reception hall with my youngest and his friend."

"They may not believe that excuse, but you don't know how many issues we can avoid with such an obvious reason. What matters is how it appears."

"It will be much easier for you to talk if I'm not there."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

After hearing Louise's explanation, Ellen nodded her head.

"I see. I understand what you're saying."

Just like Ellen said, Louise's presence alone held significance. The Holy Knight Commander might not have a conversation with Louise von Schwarz, but he couldn't help but feel her presence.

Thus, if the Holy Knight Commander were to harbor any ill intentions towards Ellen, he would have to think very seriously before taking any action.

Ellen was not only a hero herself, but also a guest who had come with the heir to the Schwarz royal family.

Hence, deceiving Ellen was tantamount to deceiving both the hero and the Schwarz royal family.

It is known that excessive display of presence can have adverse effects, and Louise knew well how to utilize her presence at an appropriate level.

Thus, Ellen waited alone in the audience chamber, having asked the others in her party to wait in separate rooms.

The reputation of a hero is never to be taken lightly.

For an ordinary person, requesting an audience would be impossible, and even if someone with the right to request an audience arrived, they would have to wait until the Commander of the Holy Knights was finished with their duties.

However, merely because Ellen had come, the Commander of the Holy Knights was obliged to stop his work immediately and go to the audience chamber.

When Ellen said she wanted to see the Commander of the Holy Knights, it was no different from saying she wanted to see him right away.

It took Ellen less than ten minutes to arrive at the Holy Knights' headquarters, reach the audience chamber, and lay eyes on the Commander's face.

Thud

As the door to the audience chamber opened, and Commander Eleion Bolton appeared, Ellen rose from her seat and bowed her head to him.

"Hello."

Seeing Ellen's greeting, Eleion Bolton carefully stroked his neatly trimmed goatee.

"Hmm. I didn't expect to see you here at the Imperial Capital."

"Indeed."

Although Ellen was very polite, her politeness was consistently impartial. When she had met Louise von Schwarz, she had simply greeted her and said nothing more.

She and the emperor had an informal relationship due to their shared past at the temple.

Thus, Ellen was not especially polite to anyone.

Of course, no one in the world would dare point this out, neither in the past nor now.

"Please, have a seat."

"Yes."

At the invitation, Ellen sat down on the sofa, and Eleion Bolton sat opposite her.

The two were quite familiar with each other.

In fact, Ellen had often been on the battlefield with the Commander of the Holy Knights, and although she did not always attend meetings, they had seen each other's faces at such times.

However, it was very rare for them to come all the way to the Imperial Capital and see each other at the Holy Knights' headquarters.

Just before the gate incident erupted.

Ellen had been present the day Olivia Lanze had caused a scene, arguing over what to do about Reinhardt's whereabouts.

If not for that time, it would have been their first encounter.

Ellen was struck by that thought.

Neither then nor now had she been at that place for a good reason.

Although Ellen was polite, she was not one to beat around the bush.

"Do you know why I came here?"

"..."

Eleion Bolton was silent for a moment.

"I received a report that you entered the burned church scene."

"Explain everything from beginning to end. What's what. If you know, tell me, and if you don't, say so."

Ellen spoke calmly, her expression unchanging.

"I didn't expect the hero to come out like this."

Eleion Bolton managed a bitter smile, for there had never been a situation like this before.

"I do what needs to be done."

Ellen knew how to be rude when it was necessary.

"If I won't tell you, what do you intend to do?"

At that, Ellen considered for a moment.

"I'll keep asking until you speak."

Even if she were to lie down here, there was no one in the world who could lay a finger on Ellen.

Even if it were the Commander of the Holy Knights himself.

------

Ellen half-threatened Eleion Bolton as she demanded the truth from him.

But the answer was simple.

"I don't know."

"…"

Ellen stared at Eleion Bolton, who had given such a blatantly candid response.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"I can only say what I know."

Ellen pondered over how to break through his infuriatingly calm lie.

If he consistently claimed ignorance, what was she supposed to do?

"Are you saying that Archbishop Rowan, who was in the church, wasn't a member of the Holy Knights but of the Tu’an Order, and that's why you don't know? Is that what you're saying?"

"No, Archbishop Rowan was a member of the Holy Knights. She was the heresy inquisitor of the Holy Knights and oversaw the heresy inquisitors of the Imperial Capital."

As Ellen had suspected, Archbishop Rowan was indeed the chief inquisitor of heresy.

"So you're saying you didn't know that she was torturing refugees in the church's basement?"

"To be precise, I didn't know until now."

"…Are you playing with words?"

Ellen couldn't fathom where to start pointing out the absurdity of the Holy Knights' commander claiming ignorance of something he should have known.

As Ellen glared at him, Eleion Bolton stared down at the table.

"I suppose I must make excuses for my incompetence."

"Incompetence…?"

"Yes, incompetence."

The Holy Knight commander spoke as he gazed at Ellen.

"As the leader of the Holy Knights in the Allied Forces, I have commanded knights and priests until now, and I have only returned to the Imperial Capital a little over a week ago."

"…"

"Is it so hard to believe that I couldn't help but be ignorant of the circumstances in the Imperial Capital?"

The leader of the Holy Knights had been busy.

Exceedingly busy.

He had been too occupied to pay attention to, let alone know about, the state of the Holy Knights in the Imperial Capital and the situation of the Five Great Religions.

He claimed his incompetence stemmed from not knowing because he wasn't skilled enough to manage it all.

Ellen couldn't deny that, at the very least, Eleion Bolton's words were honest.

The Allied Forces didn't consist solely of Imperial troops. The army was an amalgamation of the remaining forces of countless nations, including the Mage Guild, the Saint Owan Duchy, the Kernstadt Army, and the resources of numerous groups and countries.

Each army was divided, and the direction of the military was determined by the central command.

The Holy Knights were a crucial pillar of the Allied Forces, just as the Kernstadt Army was one of the major backbones.

Like the Emperor being busy or like Commander Louise von Schwarz not being able to leave the Allied Forces until she received command authority from the king.

Eleion Bolton, the leader of the Holy Knights, couldn't leave the Allied Forces' base either.

"I don't know if you'll understand, but the Holy Knights aren't a simple group."

Eleion Bolton spoke with his finger resting on the table.

"The Holy Knights are a coalition of the five religions."

"I know that, of course."

"It means that the Empire was formed by the combination of the five successor nations."

"…"

Although it might sound blasphemous, the meaning was correct. The Holy Knights themselves were akin to a small empire.

"But the leader of the Holy Knights isn't the Emperor."

"…!"

Ellen couldn't help but widen her eyes at his words.

She herself had said the same thing in response to Ludwig's question just a few days ago.

The position of the Holy Knight Commander was above the Chief Inquisitor but below the Pope. At best, it was considered equal to the Pope.

When human nations come together to form an empire, an emperor appears, but when the five Orders come together to elect the Holy Order Commander, it does not result in a being greater than the Pope. It is merely a position that represents and commands the group.

"Do you understand that as the Commander of the Holy Knight, I commanded the United Army of the Holy Order, and therefore, there must be things about the Orders and the Holy Knight that I am not aware of?"

The Holy Knight Commander is a military position, but the five Popes are not. And the Holy Knight Commander has no authority to command the Popes.

If the Popes have something they are hiding from the Holy Knight Commander, it is possible that the Holy Knight Commander may not know.

Not knowing is not ignorance.

Ellen is well aware that it is overwhelming enough to wage war.

Indeed, the Holy Knight Commander could have known nothing at all.

------

Eleion Bolton could not have known about the situation in the Empire.

This could be because waging war alone was overwhelming, and because the Popes were responsible for the matters of the Empire, there was no obligation to inform Eleion Bolton.

Since the Holy Knight's authority is nominally lower than that of the Popes, there is no reason for the Popes to inform the Holy Knight Commander about the affairs of the Empire, and it is not considered dereliction of duty or anything of the sort.

Eleion Bolton did not say that the Popes were suspicious.

He is saying that it is not strange in the first place for the current Holy Knight Commander not to know the situation in the Imperial Capital. It just left more room for Ellen's imagination.

"I knew that Archbishop Rowan was performing her duties as the chief inquisitor of the Imperial Capital's heretics. But I didn't know she was torturing the heretics."

"And I dispatched the Holy Knights this morning after receiving contact. It's not good for civilians to enter such a place carelessly."

"I ordered the control of the site and the concealment of the underground facilities."

"As I just said, you know the reason."

"But I don't know what Archbishop Rowan was doing."

"I only hid the things that people shouldn't see."

Ellen listened quietly to Eleion Bolton's words.

It was impossible to quietly bury the incident since it had drawn attention due to the fire.

If his words were true, Eleion Bolton had ordered the Holy Knights to deliberately collapse part of the building and bury the stairs leading down to the underground beneath the rubble.

The incident had already occurred, the massacre had taken place, and the fire had started. It was a small blessing that looters did not carelessly enter the underground and become buried alive.

Eleion Bolton did not know about the attackers or why Archbishop Rowan was killed.

In a situation where the crime scene itself had to be cleaned up and the truth had to be uncovered, Eleion Bolton had simply done so.

The Holy Knights at the scene also knew that the place was a church of the heretical inquisitors, but they did not know what had happened there.

If word got out that people had been captured and tortured in the church's underground, the already volatile public sentiment in the Imperial Capital would worsen. That's why Eleion Bolton had no choice but to clean up the situation belatedly.

And it was Ellen who had gone directly to the scene to assess the situation.

Eleion Bolton did not know what Rowan was doing. It was already overwhelming for him to come back to the Imperial Capital and grasp the situation.

"Do you really not know anything?"

"I don't know, but I can try to guess."

Eleion Bolton looked at Ellend quietly.

He was supposed to be at the Allied Army's camp, but he hadn't simply returned.

"Recently, the cemetery in the Holy Order's underground was robbed."

Although only a very few people knew about it, Ellen had overheard and was aware of the matter. It was a major incident, but she had forgotten it since it was unrelated to her.

"Could it be that incident...?"

"Yes."

Eleion Bolton nodded.

"She must have been investigating that matter."

Since the Holy Knight Commander of the Holy Order had returned to the Imperial Capital to investigate it, it was clear that the heretical inquisitors who had remained in the Imperial Capital were also investigating the matter.

For other factions or individuals, such an incident might be dismissible, but for the involved party, it was a major accident that could not simply be overlooked.

"Was it the refugees who robbed the cemetery... Is that what you're saying?"

At Ellen's words, Eleion Bolton shook his head with a stern expression.

"I can't know that for sure. And there are no treasures buried in the tombs of the saints."

Eleion Bolton spoke as he looked at Ellend.

"Because what was stolen was not treasure, but the remains."

"…Pardon?"

Naturally, there was no way Ellen could know the truth.