Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 415

The middle-aged man who ran the weapon shop next to the now-empty scroll shop introduced himself as Raldren.

Although he was busy with his business, and merchants in Aligar typically didn’t spend time on things that didn’t make them money, Raldren didn’t demand any payment. He merely invited Ellen and Charlotte into his weapon shop to talk.

“Elena didn’t really mingle with people, but she was a polite young lady. Whenever we met, she’d always greet me with a ‘Good morning,’ ‘Good afternoon,’ or ‘Good evening,’ and wish me a pleasant day.”

The shop owner’s name was Elena. Charlotte already knew this information, but it was new to Ellen.

“There were quite a few people who bothered Elena. It wasn’t just young men; even older gentlemen would hang around without buying anything. Those men should know their place. I probably shouldn’t say this openly, but there was a guy named Swinton next door who was particularly annoying to Elena. Even though he had a wife. Tsk.”

“Oh... i-is that so...”

“He’s a bad person.”

The excessive and unnecessary information caused Charlotte to feel some discomfort, while Ellen glanced in the direction of the neighboring shop and muttered briefly. It was a short but chilling sentiment.

Charlotte knew that the scroll shop owner, Elena, did not have any close relationships, and suspected that Elena might belong to some secret organization of some kind.

Elena was kind to everyone, but didn’t form close bonds with anyone.

“Still, she wasn’t really cut out for business. She was too soft-hearted... You know how the Aligar business scene can be rough with customers, right? She didn’t know how to handle that and would even lower her prices for customers. I always wondered how she could make a living like that...”

A scroll shop that didn’t deal in offensive magic... Charlotte already knew most of this, so this information was new only to Ellen.

Being able to run a business for so long without having a temperament that was focused on profits... Charlotte wondered why Elena was even in business. Perhaps Elena was a member of a magical society, hiding in the capital with some ulterior motive, she’d once thought. But now, her thoughts had changed.

The Demon King had come to seek help from a spy from the Dark Land who had infiltrated the capital, and Elena had hidden her lord in a safe place. It hadn’t been a chance meeting; it had been a planned visit. Charlotte was convinced that Elena was a spy from the Dark Land.

“Still, she seemed to have quite a bit of backbone.”

“Backbone?”

“Of course. Even with so many people pestering her, she was never harmed. Whether she dressed them down or whatever she did, they all left looking like their spirits had been drained. Even that Swinton guy next door stopped bothering her eventually.”

Many people pestered Elena, but none of them managed to get close to her, and it seemed they all left as if they had been scolded.

‘She said she had a boyfriend.’

Charlotte recalled finding a strand of blonde hair on the bed when she searched Elena’s shop. The color of that strand of hair was distinctively different from Elena’s own, and when she’d asked her about it, Elena had said it was her boyfriend’s. Now that she knew that Elena wasn’t close to anyone, it seemed the boyfriend story was a lie.

An agent infiltrating the capital on an important mission wouldn’t have the leisure for romance.

So, the blonde hair must have belonged to someone other than a boyfriend. It couldn’t be the Demon King, as Charlotte had seen the boy who was the Demon King, and his hair was more reddish-brown than blonde.

However, if that hair color had been a disguise and the Demon King was originally blonde, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that strand of hair belonged to him.

Charlotte had assumed the Demon King would be staying in some remote area outside the capital, but perhaps he had actually been living on the second floor of that shabby scroll shop in the capital all along.

However, blonde hair wasn’t so rare that it could be used to identify someone specific.

“Still, it was a bit disappointing. I didn’t expect her to disappear so suddenly without a word... and also leave all her belongings behind. The landlord was actually pleased that the tenant had left everything behind rather than running off with them.”

“Oh, I see...”

With the Demon King making his presence known, it was only natural for Elena to leave. After all, Charlotte and Reinhart, who were aware of the suspected location of the Demon King, were in the capital.

Raldren glanced around and then asked Charlotte, “But, you know, this is something only I know but...”

“Oh. Is there something you can tell us?”

“I think Elena might have actually liked that young man.”

“... Sorry?”

Charlotte was taken aback by the unexpected comment, and Ellen tilted her head in confusion.

“Well, there was this guy who would visit occasionally. He looked like a dandy, you know? His hair was as golden as his prospects. He seemed like the type who would be chased by quite a few women.”

“...”

“...”

Ellen and Charlotte exchanged glances. Just from that description alone, they had a good idea of the person he was talking about. Both of them instinctively knew that the man was referring to Reinhart.

Reinhart had frequently visited the shop as Charlotte’s messenger, so it wasn’t surprising that Raldren, the owner of the neighboring shop, remembered him.

“All the guys who came with the intention of hitting on her left looking like they’d been scolded, but it didn’t seem like that with that guy. That says it all.”

Raldren seemed to conclude that the scroll shop owner, Elena, who was kind to everyone but didn’t give her heart to anyone, simply had a secret relationship.

Charlotte knew this was a huge misunderstanding, and Ellen, having heard about this from Charlotte, knew that this middle-aged man was making an unwarranted assumption.

Reinhart wouldn’t have had any reason to visit Eleris’s shop after Charlotte told him he didn’t need to deliver letters anymore.

The only other time would have been when Charlotte’s feelings had been wavering between Reinhart and the Demon King, and Reinhart had volunteered to tell the mage to flee. That was the only time.

Reinhart had said that the Demon King couldn’t be that big of a threat, so he would just tell her to run away. He said he would handle whatever came afterward.

Charlotte’s guilt stemmed from that moment. She should have told Reinhart to capture Elena instead of being indecisive.

In the end Charlotte had not gained any new information, and she had to reaffirm that all her decisions had only led to negative outcomes for everyone.

There was no special information, just what was already known. All this questioning seemed pointless.

Just as Charlotte was about to leave, Raldren spoke again. “But I can’t help but think that Elena closing up shop and leaving had something to do with that blonde guy.”

“... Sorry?”

Charlotte was puzzled by Raldren’s strange comment. Of course, Elena likely left the capital after hearing Reinhart’s warning.

But how could the neighboring shop owner have overheard such a secretive conversation?

“The last time he came, he brought a girl with him.”

‘A girl...’

At that, both Charlotte and Ellen fell silent.

“Judging by her school uniform, she seemed to be a fellow Temple student. He probably told her something like, ‘I’ve found someone new. I’m sorry but let’s end this.’ Maybe that’s why Elena was hurt and decided to close up shop and leave.”

What a bizarre and speculative fantasy this was. Both Ellen and Charlotte were dumbfounded by it, but they had gained a peculiar piece of information.

Reinhart had brought a girl in a Temple uniform to Elena’s scroll shop, but they didn’t know who he’d brought or what was discussed.

“The two students, both the boy and the girl, looked determined, like they had made up their minds about something. Not long after, Elena closed her shop. So, I think that’s what happened. Anyway, that blonde guy, I knew from the start he was trouble.”

Raldren’s comment, based on Reinhart’s appearance, was ironically accurate, even if his assumptions were mostly wrong.

The fact remained that Reinhart had brought someone to Elena’s shop, a place he wouldn’t normally visit in the company of others.

Reinhart usually avoided attention by visiting Eleris’s semi-basement room. However, he had visited Eleris’s scroll shop with Radia Schmidt in an emergency, and at that time, Reinhart could not have afforded to be cautious.

Because of that, he’d left a trace.

“Do you remember what the girl looked like? And when was this?” Charlotte asked.

Raldren tilted his head in thought.

“The girl had black hair, I think. Her eyes were... strange. Creepy, you might say. Not quite normal, which is why she stood out in my memory.”

After pondering, he furrowed his brow as if recalling something.

“Right. Now that I think about it, it was the day before the whole uproar about the Demon King happened, the day the holy knights were massacred. It was the day before that. I remember because it was such a big event.”

“...”

“...”

The Demon King’s attack had been reported in the capital a day after it happened. So, the day of Reinhart’s visit and the day of the attack were the same day.

On the day of the Demon King’s attack, Reinhart had brought a female Temple student to Elena’s scroll shop. And the shop owner, Elena, was closely associated with someone suspected to be the Demon King.

Who was the girl Reinhart had brought? Why had Reinhart visited Elena?

Ellen and Charlotte exchanged glances.

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“...”

“...”

Neither of them said a word.

No, they couldn’t say anything at all.

***

After wrapping up their questioning, Charlotte gave Raldren a small token of appreciation. It was an answer to Raldren’s question about why they were asking about such things.

Raldren accepted the gold coin, nodded as if he understood, and asked no further questions.

“...”

“...”

A strange imaginary scenario lingered in the minds of both Charlotte and Ellen.

Having too many thoughts could be problematic, and both Charlotte and Ellen were capable of running through various scenarios in their minds.

Charlotte had only told Reinhart she would forget about the Demon King after Leverier Lanche had been killed.

But Reinhart visited Elena on the day of the attack.

By that time, though, he no longer needed to deliver letters, and so Reinhart had no reason to visit Elena.

Of course, there could be personal reasons for Reinhart to visit Elena.

Reinhart might have had private conversations with Elena beyond just delivering the letters, and had possibly grown closer to her.

However, now that they knew that Elena and the one she was protecting were suspicious, it seemed odd for Reinhart to meet her privately.

It was indeed strange, especially since he’d brought a girl from the Temple with him. And it was on that very day that Leverier Lanche had been attacked.

Elena was a mage. Charlotte knew that there was a powerful mage among the Demon King’s forces. If there wasn’t another mage, then it was highly likely that Elena was that mage.

Reinhart had brought a female Temple student to Elena’s scroll shop, and Elena had probably participated in the attack on Leverier Lanche that night. Furthermore, the day of the attack on Leverier Lanche had been the day of the Miss Temple contest, and Reinhart had not attended the Miss Temple contest.

It was a painful memory for Ellen, and Charlotte was aware of the situation.

Ellen recalled Reinhart returning to the Temple very late, with his cheeks and hands red and chapped from the cold, unable to do anything.

“Ellen,” Charlotte said softly.

“Yeah.”

Both of them considered countless possibilities in their minds...

“Let’s not say anything until we’re sure of something.”

“...”

“Until we’re sure, let’s not think about it.”

They didn’t know what conclusion they would reach after all these conjectures, but whatever lay beyond that veil of darkness seemed too terrifying to handle. So they stopped thinking about it altogether.

“Yeah. Let’s do that,” Ellen said quietly.