The following day.
There was a massive uproar in the Imperial Capital.
Rumors about the battle that took place on the outskirts of the southern part of the Imperial Capital last night had quickly spread.
It was said that a monstrous lifeform, believed to be a demon, had flown across the night sky, and that large-scale destructive magic had been cast, powerful enough to influence the weather.
"The demons have appeared!"
Naturally, such rumors could not help but reach the Temple quickly.
I quietly watched Kono Lint excitedly retelling the gossip he had picked up in the streets.
"Demon? What demon, all of a sudden?"
"Apparently, demons appeared in the southern part of the Imperial Capital yesterday, and there was a huge commotion."
"What happened?"
"I didn't hear the details. Just that demons had appeared..."
Since it had happened last night, the specifics of the situation were not yet widely known. It was only natural for the children to be shocked by the sudden news of demons during the festival.
It was breakfast time, and Ellen looked at me with a serious, stern expression.
"Could it be the same demons from that time?"
"...Maybe."
"What's their plan this time?"
"I don't know..."
Ellen, Harriet, and Liana, as well as all their classmates, were bewildered by the unexpected news of demons.
There was no way I could be suspected.
Even if I didn't tell anyone about my whereabouts yesterday, it would be an excessive leap to think I was involved in the attack.
It doesn't make sense for someone to suspect their friend might be a demon in the first place.
At most, Ellen might suspect the possibility of involvement in a crime through the Rotary Club.
Sometimes, something is so unbelievable that suspicion can't take hold.
It was clear that Charlotte and Bertus would be busy again, and there was only one conclusion.
A state of emergency would be declared in the Imperial Capital, and the festival could not continue.
As I expected, Charlotte was absent, and Saviolin Turner, who had been acting as a temporary supervisor, had also disappeared from the dormitory, presumably returning to the Imperial Palace.
It was inevitable since the elite holy knights were massacred near the Imperial Capital.
If the attack had taken place within the Imperial Capital rather than the southern part, the loss of life would have been tremendous.
During a time when the population was already high, if even a single top-tier destructive spell used by high-ranking demons had been cast within the Imperial Capital, tens of thousands would have easily perished.
And so, the feast had ended.
Now, it was time for everyone to return home.
At the top floor of the dormitory, in the empty clubroom.
I was sitting there with Olivia and Adriana.
Last night, Adriana had stayed in Olivia's room. It would have been impossible under normal circumstances, but it seemed she was able to sneak into the temple during the festival.
"Did you have a good time, my junior...?"
"Yes, well, I..."
Adriana had made the excuse that she was just visiting, but her pale complexion and expression made it impossible to hide that something was going on.
Olivia was not much different.
Adriana was used as bait to lure Olivia out.
It must have been quite a shock. Her distrust towards the faithful had already been growing, and she tried to erase such worries through a monastic life. Yet, even there, she experienced more disappointment.
Adriana's mental state couldn't possibly be normal.
Both Olivia and Adriana were saved by me, but they don't know that.
I didn't want to show off, nor could I.
Olivia's expression was a mix of gloom and guilt. She probably thought I was upset with her since yesterday.
Olivia looked at Adriana.
As if seeking agreement, Adriana gave a slight nod. I could see it.
"Did you hear about the demon attack?"
"I'm not sure about the details, but yes."
Olivia trusts me.
"We were at the scene... when the demons attacked."
Olivia seemed to want to tell me everything, rather than making excuses.
Hearing the story from Olivia's mouth, which I already knew, was awkward. Pretending to be surprised was harder than I thought.
Of course, the story I heard from them wasn't very long.
The head of the Artuan monastery where Adriana had been was a member of a secret religious group called the Nameless Monastery, and she handed her over to Riverrier Lanze.
In a sense, the head of the monastery was also deceived. She wouldn't have expected that Adriana would be used as bait.
Afraid that saying anything at the scene would endanger both her and the head of the monastery, Adriana had no choice but to be taken away quietly.
As expected, the ex-leader of the Holy Knights lured Olivia out, and Olivia headed to the scene as soon as she received the letter.
There, they fought against Riverrier Lanze when suddenly, demons appeared.
"The strange thing is... those demons... saved us."
Confusion was written all over Olivia and Adriana's faces.
When Olivia was captured by a terrifying and bizarre demon, she thought about the battle after Adriana's safety had been secured.
But strangely, that demon dropped them off far away from the ruined monastery and simply left.
Olivia and Adriana had no choice but to flee in a panic after witnessing a large-scale magical attack on the monastery.
"I can't understand it."
Both Adriana and Olivia nodded at my words.
Pretending to be surprised and ignorant was difficult, even though I knew the truth. However, the gravity of the situation made it easy to take it seriously.
It was a relief that they told me. Now, I could discuss alternatives with them.
"I think it's best not to tell anyone about this."
"...We've been thinking the same."
"We don't know why the demons acted that way, but if that fact becomes known, we might be accused of colluding with the demons... In that case, we need to deal with the surviving Holy Knights first..."
There were no survivors. There may have been people who saw the demons flying in the distance, but the orders were strict not to leave a single person alive among those caught up in the battle, and even the fleeing knights were dealt with accordingly.
The rumors spreading throughout the imperial capital were not from those who had witnessed the battle firsthand, but rather from accounts of people who had seen the demons flying and the large-scale magical attacks from afar.
The involvement of the knights in the battle had not yet been made public knowledge.
"I'm not sure about that."
It was only natural for Olivia and Adriana to say this, as they too did not know the exact details of the battle.
"Still, let's consider the situation under the assumption that the knights were annihilated on the spot."
However, there were no witnesses to the battle. I looked at Adriana.
"Do you think others might know that you two were there?"
If the nameless monastery members in other regions knew that Adriana and Olivia had been there yesterday, it would cause problems.
Everyone there had been killed in the demon ambush, so if people asked how the two of them survived, there would be no excuse to offer.
"I'm not sure..."
Olivia spoke with her lips pursed.
"I don't know about others... but the Abbot... she knows that I was with the nameless monastery members..."
Adriana said with a dark expression.
The very person who had handed Adriana over to the Riverrier Lanze.
Although she didn't know it now, once she learned of the nameless monastery's destruction at the hands of the demons, she would inevitably harbor doubts about Adriana's survival.
She would undoubtedly have to face the question of how she returned alive when everyone else had perished.
"...Senior, you must not return to the monastery."
"...I suppose."
The unfathomable situation of being under the demons' protection was a calamity in itself, no matter which investigative body learned of it.
Therefore, if Adriana had chosen to remain silent, she must not return to the monastery.
It would be better for her to be known as having died on the spot.
One could be grateful that communication and media were not well-developed in this world.
The news from the imperial capital would take a long time to reach the Artuan Monastery in the Saint-Thuan Duchy. It would take an even longer time for the news to spread to the local cities of Saint-Thuan Duchy.
As real-time information sharing wasn't possible, there was no need for Adriana to go into hiding, but it would be enough for her to live quietly somewhere far from the public eye and influence.
"Staying at the temple won't be good for you, so let's go somewhere else for now. I'll find a place for us to live."
The Rotary Club headquarters.
Under Loyar's protection for the time being, I would need to consider Adriana's living arrangements.
"What about you, junior?"
"...What indeed?"
Both of them were unaware that I belonged to an organization called the Rotary Club.
"It's a hassle to explain, so just think of it as it is."
"...Thank you, junior."
Although I didn't commit a crime, I belonged to an organization that was close to it, and there was no need to boast about it. Thus, neither of them knew my background.
Come to think of it, only Harriet, Ellen, the prince, and the princess were aware of my connection to the Rotary Club.
And maybe those three pathetic brothers who had once mocked me as a beggar.
"Let's get moving."
Keeping Adriana in the temple for too long was not a good idea.
I immediately led the two of them out of the temple.
The atmosphere in the Imperial Capital was tense.
People were bustling about, going somewhere.
“The demons have appeared…”
“We should hurry back.”
“The queue for the gate is incredibly long. It's a mess.”
“Are the demons attacking the Imperial Capital too?”
“It's possible.”
Rumors of demons appearing in the southern part of the Imperial Capital had already spread far and wide.
Since it was a festival period, the magic train, which was already packed, was even more crowded, so it wasn't even a viable option for transportation.
"We'll have to walk."
"Okay."
"That's the only choice."
The chaos was unprecedented.
It wasn't just the crowds of people roaming around to see various parts of the Imperial Capital during the festival.
With a massive movement to leave the Imperial Capital as quickly as possible, there were disturbances near the large warp gates, as well as the magic train.
“Please enter the queue in an orderly manner! There are no priorities!”
Many more soldiers than usual were controlling the queues for the gates, and it was the same for the medium and small warp gates.
“Let's get out of the Imperial Capital and come back when things calm down.”
“Yeah.”
There seemed to be quite a few people who wanted to move far away from the Imperial Capital.
It appeared they intended to return to the Imperial Capital when the chaos subsided and use the large warp gates to travel back to their hometowns.
All the tourists in the Imperial Capital were panicking due to yesterday's incident.
Cold sweat broke out.
I was afraid of the fact that my actions had such a profound impact on so many people.
I had killed Riverrier Lanze.
I still believed it was necessary, but I felt as if my every move could literally turn the world upside down.
The demons.
And the Demon King.
I truly felt the magnitude of their influence in this human world.
The Great Demon War had ended.
After that, people should have gradually forgotten about the Demon King and the demons.
“Has the Demon King... returned?”
“Don't say such unlucky things, you fool!”
“The Demon King is taking revenge! He didn't die after all! Artorius failed to kill the Demon King!”
“It can't be... it can't be true…”
However, because of my actions yesterday, people were making their own assumptions and turning them into facts.
The Demon King hadn't died.
Or, the next Demon King was taking revenge.
If not that, the remaining demons would continue to plunge the continent into chaos.
Numerous false rumors grew and multiplied as they took on a life of their own.
Fear paralyzes people's rationality.
If the demons had truly staged this attack for revenge, they should have targeted the Imperial City or the Imperial Palace, not the abandoned monastery in the southern region of the Royal Road.
However, no one speaks of this.
“If the Demon King has truly been resurrected… who will kill him?”
The concern was about who would have to kill the new Demon King in someone's stead.
Adriana and Olivia silently follow behind me. Having been saved by the demons, they must be the ones feeling the most confusion in this situation.
It took quite a while to travel on foot.
It would take more than a day or two for people to escape the crowded Royal Road like a receding tide.
Since people flocked to the side where the gate was located, the other side was relatively quiet.
"But… why did the demons… attack the Holy Knights?"
"I… don't know."
At Adriana's question, Olivia shook her head with a stern expression.
They don't know why the demons saved them, nor what their purpose was. It's too strange an event to even guess.
I, who am walking ahead, couldn't possibly reveal that I am actually the son of the Demon King and that I had used my subordinates to attack an unnamed monastery rather than the Holy Knights in order to save them.
"The demons attacked the Holy Knights last time, too."
"Yes… they did."
"Did they harbor a grudge…?"
Adriana may not know, but Olivia knows the truth about the previous attack.
The corruption and degeneration of the Holy Knights, including the demon prisoners.
She knows that the demons attacked to rescue the succubus prisoners, not to raid the unnamed monastery. It's not about revenge against the nameless monastery, but against Riverrier Lanze, the former leader of the Holy Knights.
There's no need to go that far. Riverrier Lanze, the former leader of the Holy Knights, is a war hero of the Great Demon War and, as such, is an enemy of the demons.
He is now weak and has lost his power. So, attacking him now that he has lost his power and influence could be seen as quite reasonable.
"Revenge… perhaps."
Olivia's reasoning is logical in its own way.
She understands that yesterday's incident was an attack to kill Riverrier Lanze, not the Nameless Monastery.
In reality, it's completely different.
However, if Olivia interprets the demons' intentions in that way, it's good for me.
Of course, even with that thought, rescuing Adriana and Olivia is still a strange act. Olivia murmurs as if she's realized something.
"This might be a stretch, but…"
"What is it?"
Olivia looks at Adriana and me as she speaks.
"If the demons… attacked the Holy Knights for revenge yesterday… could they have left us alone because… we're outsiders?"
"…Huh?"
Adriana tilts her head at Olivia's words.
"No, that's not it. The place itself was in a condition difficult for outsiders to be present… The only reason they went out of their way to save us… must have been to prevent targets other than the intended ones from getting hurt…"
Olivia makes a different assumption. That the attack came first, and the rescue followed.
There would be no reason to attack the Holy Knights if the purpose was to harm humans. So, attacking the Holy Knights must have been the original intent.
However, discovering outsiders there and not wanting to involve them inadvertently, she comes to the conclusion that they were rescued for that reason.
"Do demons… really care about such things?"
Adriana seemed to not understand Olivia's words, as all humans should be enemies to demons.
Her attitude was almost as if she was saying the demons were kind.
It's common sense that demons hate humans unconditionally and try to kill them. Naturally, Adriana couldn't help but harbor such thoughts.
But the demons did save them.
"Maybe… it's a bit strange."
"…I don't know either."
Neither Adriana nor Olivia.
It seemed difficult for them to overcome the deeply rooted prejudice.
Of course, rescuing the two of them was the priority, so whatever Olivia's reasoning, it must be wrong.
Therefore, seeing Olivia furrow her brow and wonder why such a thing happened yesterday only made me find it amusing.
