Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 360

The questions I heard were so bizarre that they completely overshadowed the seriousness of the moment. It felt more like a conversation between a student and a teacher rather than one between the Demon King and a member of the Black Order. However, we couldn’t just talk about trivial matters forever.

“Before sharing the information I have on Cantus Magna, there are a few things I want to know,” I said.

“Speak. If it’s a question I can answer, I will,” replied Effenhauser.

“You’re not a mage, are you, sir?”

Effenhauser was not a mage. Therefore, the Black Order member I’d first encountered, who had appeared right after Aaron Mede’s death, could not have been Mr. Effenhauser. The one I had come across during the cross-dressing contest could have been Mr. Effenhauser, or maybe not. The homeroom teacher that was a mage was Ms. Mustang, the homeroom teacher of Class B.

‘Surely, it’s not possible that, because the Class A homeroom teacher is part of the Black Order, then Ms. Mustang is part of Cantus Magna, right? Also, why would someone who isn’t a mage be affiliated with a magical secret society?’

“There’s no stipulation that every member of the Black Order has to be a mage,” Effenhauser replied simply.

I didn’t know what the membership requirements for the Black Order were. However, I knew that Aaron Mede had just been a low-level pawn. If wasn’t sure what rank Mr. Effenhauser was within the Black Order—if the Order did have ranks—but since he had revealed his face and made contact with me, he couldn’t be just a pawn.

“What is the relationship between Cantus Magna and the Black Order...?” I asked.

“Cantus Magna desires that our Order be silenced. That’s why they persistently try to find us.”

“Is there an actual conflict happening between the two groups?” I inquired further.

“Yes, the history of strife between the Order and Cantus Magna runs very deep,” he confirmed.

The long-standing battle between Cantus Magna, who sought the prohibition of forbidden spells, and the Black Order was a lengthy one. Cantus Magna was always on the hunt for the Black Order. The Black Order had a negative image because it was portrayed as using evil and dangerous magic, while Cantus Magna, the group of forbidden spell hunters, was seen in a positive light because they hunted down such dangerous mages.

All of this was perfectly true, so what the public knew about these two organizations was not wrong. However, the fact that Cantus Magna was basically trying to rob the Black Order of their spells wasn’t known.

Because of this conflict, one of the Black Order’s missions was to find and destroy all of Cantus Magna’s bases, their sworn enemies who were seeking their destruction.

“So, what information do you have about Cantus Magna?” Effenhauser asked.

“I know the reason they’re collecting forbidden spells,” I replied.

At my words, Effenhauser stopped walking and looked at me intently.

“Their goal is to complete an artifact called Akasha.”

“...”

Since Antirianus knew this information, the Black Order might have already figured it out.

Mr. Effenhauser looked silently at me, then said with a quiet nod, “Akasha... That’s something I’ve never heard before.”

It was clear that the Black Order did not have this information beforehand. This raised another question. How could the Black Order, which had been opposing Cantus Magna for a very long time, not know about Cantus Magna’s true intentions?

The way Antirianus put it, his stint with Cantus Magna had been brief. If Antirianus could learn about the existence of Akasha in such a short period of time, it didn’t make sense that the Black Order, despite being their enemy, hadn’t known about it until now.

Antirianus might have been involved with Cantus Magna for longer than he claimed.

“Where did you get that information?” Effenhauser asked.

If Antirianus had been active in Cantus Magna for a long time, he might have hunted the Black Order under the name of Cantus Magna. In that case, even if it happened hundreds of years ago, Antirianus could still be considered an enemy by the Black Order. If I said that the information came from an insider who had since broken ties with Cantus Magna, they might try to kill him instead.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose that,” I replied. I couldn’t risk ruining my already-fragile agreement with the Vampire Council from the start.

“If I don’t know the source, I can’t be sure if the information is reliable,” Effenhauser pointed out.

“I don’t exactly know if this is entirely accurate information either,” I admitted. After all, Antirianus could have lied to me, and he wasn’t exactly a trustworthy figure, so it was possible that everything he’d said about Akasha was a lie.

“However,” I continued, “I understand that Cantus Magna’s goal is to complete an artifact called Akasha. It’s said to be an artifact that can contain spells. I don’t know what will happen once it’s completed, but it’s no ordinary artifact. Also, it’s possible that it contains spells that I’m after.”

Since I didn’t know exactly what Akasha was, everything I said sounded vague. However, since even the Black Order didn’t know about Akasha, it was clear that Cantus Magna had kept this secret well-hidden for a very long time, except for the one slip-up with Antirianus.

“Hmm... This information is very unexpected. It needs verification,” Effenhauser remarked. “I don’t know everything about ancient artifacts either, so I’ll look into whether there’s any related information within the Order.”

Although Effenhauser was affiliated with the magical order, he wasn’t a mage himself, so he might not know where the Order’s main base was, but there had to be more information there.

“Does the Order know how to contact Cantus Magna?” I asked.

“If we knew an easy way to do so, we wouldn’t have contacted you in the first place,” he replied.

That was the answer I expected, so I wasn’t too disappointed.

“There have been times when they’ve found us, and other times when we’ve found them, but just as they haven’t identified our core base, we haven’t identified theirs either,” he explained.

There might have been small skirmishes or isolated battles, but nothing on the level of a full-scale war. Cantus Magna would want to raid the Black Order’s base to steal all their spells and fill Akasha with them, while the Black Order would want to raid Cantus Magna’s base to wipe out the annoying spell thieves. However, nothing like that had happened yet.

“You’ve probably heard rumors that the Black Order conducts evil black magic or experiments,” Effenhauser said.

“Yes,” I replied, wondering where this was going.

“Those are false rumors spread by the Order to lure Cantus Magna to certain areas or locations,” he revealed.

The strange rumors about the Black Order were actually fabricated by the Black Order themselves. They had willingly sullied their own name in order to lure out and kill their enemies. They spread bizarre rumors about their own forbidden spells to lure Cantus Magna to them, but they hadn’t actually committed civilian massacres or anything like that.

“So, you’re saying nobody in the Black Order has actually used a forbidden spell?” I asked.

“Of course, to lure them to us, we have to perform or maintain magic that is unknown to them at that location. They’re not the kind to bite at just any bait. The results were sometimes successful, sometimes not, but we’ve never exposed their core,” Effenhauser explained, gazing quietly at the rows of trees.

“Of course, I won’t say that the Order hasn’t caused any casualties. Some forbidden spells inevitably involve sacrifices... But I have no reason to make excuses to you about that,” Effenhauser said, stopping himself as if realizing how odd it was to talk about casualties to a Demon King who had infiltrated the human world.

‘No, really. First, it was about cross-dressing, and now I’m being treated as though I’m an evil entity. This is truly absurd.’

In any case, I didn’t know the true purpose of the Black Order. However, due to their tiresome conflict with Cantus Magna, it was clear that the annihilation of Cantus Magna had become a significant goal of the Black Order, regardless of their true purpose.

In the end, they weren’t operating that much differently from Antirianus. They were using forbidden spells to lure Cantus Magna in. They had also been fighting Cantus Magna for a long time, and was willing to cooperate with me

“They don’t fall for every trap we bait. And if their goal is to complete an artifact, then using too big of a bait might result in them completing the artifact,” Effenhauser warned.

We also had to consider the possibility of not being able to counter Cantus Magna’s attacks. We did not know the exact nature of Akasha. If we put out something irresistible and drew them in, then failed to capture them, it could lead to even more unforeseen situations.

“For now, the most pressing matter is to find out what Akasha is,” I concluded.

I had built an alliance of sorts with the Vampire Council, and this time, I was doing the same with the Black Order, despite the unexpected shock that Effenhauser was the representative of the Order. Each plan had its own risks, but they were starting to unfold according to my intentions.

My identity could be revealed at any moment. I had no choice but to seek out and join hands with these other groups. Effenhauser watched me quietly.

“Reinhart,” he said. He did not call me Baalier, but Reinhart. Nor did he address me as the Demon King’s son. Of course, he wouldn’t know that the Demon King’s son shared the same name as the previous Demon King, Baalier.

“Don’t make foolish choices,” he finished. I could not discern any emotions within his gaze, but that single sentence seemed to contain a myriad of different meanings.

What did he mean by foolish choices? If anything, I felt like I was already making them.

He still seemed to think of me as his student. I couldn’t tell what Effenhauser or the Black Order wanted. I didn’t know what they expected from me. However, since he still treated me as a student, I responded in kind.

“Yes, Mr. Effenhauser,” I replied, still addressing him as my teacher.

***

Mr. Effenhauser was my link to the Black Order. I didn’t know how he communicated with the Order or what activities he was actually involved in.

Whatever I had set as the backstory for my novel remained true, but there were many holes in my setting that had been filled with things I did not know about.

Mr. Effenhauser was a patriot. Whether his membership within the Black Order was related to his patriotic nature was uncertain. However, it was impossible for the Black Order to be an anti-imperial organization, because my description of Mr. Effenhauser as a patriot remained true.

‘But if they’re a pro-imperial organization, why would they keep me alive? Is it because they believe my existence somehow benefits the empire?’

For the moment, it seemed clear that they were very cautious about dealing with me. In fact, they had decided to ally with me to defeat Cantus Magna. They still seemed to regard me as someone they could work with.

Mr. Effenhauser’s advice not to make foolish choices could be interpreted as meaning that the Black Order’s actions or attitude towards me would change depending on my behavior.

Mr. Effenhauser would report the information about Akasha to the Order’s headquarters or something similar. If there was a clue to be found, he would find it. If not, we would use the forbidden spells held by either the Black Order or myself as bait to lure out Cantus Magna directly.

If we used a forbidden spell on a scale large enough that Cantus Magna could not ignore it, it could lead to a situation close to a full-scale war.

Either Cantus Magna would be annihilated, or the Black Order, along with my forces, would be destroyed. One of these scenarios would occur, and the fate of Akasha and its whereabouts would be decided then.

Time passed, filled with anxiety and impatience.

***

“You’re acting a bit strange lately, aren’t you?” Riana de Granz, who was spending a few days at the dormitory before returning to her ducal house, said to me.

“What do you mean?”

“You usually have a slightly irritable vibe, but these days, it’s more like... hmm...” Riana muttered, crossing her arms as she looked at me.

“You’re like watered-down alcohol, or maybe water with a little alcohol in it,” she said.

It was hardly a comparison someone of her age would make, but knowing Riana, who was likely sipping alcohol at home, it wasn’t that strange of a metaphor.

“Maybe I’m just a bit tired.”

“Really? What have you been up to that is so intense? You should take it easy.”

“I’ll handle it.”

“Hmm, well, do as you will,” Riana said before wandering off. My tiredness wasn’t particularly because of training, though I wasn’t neglecting it either.

There was an underlying anxiety that this life might end someday. Because of that, my recent behavior seemed rather out of character.

.

.

“Is there something on my face?” Ellen asked during training. I had been staring at her face for a long time without doing anything.

“No, just...”

.

.

“Wh-What is it all of a sudden... Do you have something to say?” Harriet asked, startled when I suddenly patted her shoulder while we were chatting about various things at the Magic Research Club mansion.

“No, sorry.”

“Y-You scared me...” Harriet replied, clearly surprised.

.

.

“Reinhart, let’s go on a date!” Olivia suddenly suggested.

“Sure,” I replied.

“... H-Huh?” she stammered.

“Where do you want to go?” I asked.

“Oh, uh, um, I’ll think about it now!” she said, caught off guard by my unexpected agreement.

Even I had to admit that I was acting a bit out of character, like someone with a screw loose.