Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 494

In the end, I had to clear the snow off the roof. Even though Luna hadn’t specifically asked me to, the sight of the thick snow piled threateningly on the roof of the wooden house made me fear that, as Luna had warned, I might actually end up buried under a collapsed roof. I couldn’t sleep with that thought hanging over me. Never in my life had I imagined I’d witness such heavy snowfall that I’d have to climb onto a roof to clear it.

According to Luna, it wasn’t just an idle warning; roofs really did collapse under the weight of such heavy snowfall. Clearing the snow from the roof, especially when it was piled up to waist height, was a bizarre task. It involved slicing the snow into blocks with a shovel and then lifting each block up.

Once I felt I could push the snow off, I’d shove the pile down the roof.

Whump...

The sound of the snow falling to the ground was so threatening that it was hard to believe it was just snow. As I worked, I began to understand why roofs collapsed under heavy snowfall during winter.

I had returned to rest, but ended up clearing snow until the sun set. It wasn’t just me; other villagers were doing the same.

If the village paths were blocked, we wouldn’t be able to move, so we had to keep clearing the snow even as it continued to pile up.

Finally, when there was only one last pile of snow left on the roof, I took a deep breath and pushed the thick snow down.

-Whump!

“Reinhart...!”

“...?”

I looked down from the roof, sensing something unusual below, and saw Luna staring up at me with a dazed expression, having been hit by the snow I had just dumped.

“Oh... well...”

Thump, thump!

Luna, covered in snow, brushed snow off her head and shoulders, and narrowed her eyes. She sighed.

“... Have dinner,” she said.

For a moment, I was genuinely worried I might get scolded.

***

Dinner turned out to be exactly what I had hoped for: a hearty stew with wild herbs and meat, accompanied by thin slices of baked bread. I was growing accustomed to the basic yet hearty meals of this mountain village.

“I wonder when the snow will stop,” Luna remarked, and Ronan nodded in agreement.

Until the snow stopped and melted, all activities in Rijaiera would be confined to the indoors, or within the village.

Knock, knock.

During dinner, there was a knock at the door. When I answered it, I found Lena standing there with a pot.

“Oh, hey Reinhart. Grandma asked me to bring this over.”

“Please say thank you to your grandmother for me, Lena,” Luna said.

“Will do, ahjumma!”

Living in a communal village, sharing dinner was common. Luna often made extra food and asked me to deliver it to other houses, so I had done my fair share of rounds. Sometimes, Lena or Arta joined us for dinner, and I had been invited to their homes as well.

Inside the pot Lena handed me was an apple pie. Occasionally, our dinner menu expanded beyond what we could handle. The concept of neighbors, which had become so foreign to me, was still alive in Rijaiera.

With an additional dish added to our dinner, we continued our meal.

Having spent a long time in Rijaiera, I had come to know not only Lena, Arta, Ronan, and Luna, but also others in the village such as Arta’s older brother, Dallen, Lena’s younger sisters, their parents, and grandparents.

It wasn’t a large village, so remembering everyone’s names wasn’t difficult. In contrast to the overwhelming number of names and people I had to remember in the past, everything in Rijaiera was smaller.

In this environment, the saying that one could know even the number of spoons in a neighbor’s house felt overwhelmingly true. There were so few people to manage, resources to control, and situations to encounter.

Some might dislike being so close with their neighbors, but for me, who had been burdened by the sheer number of people and names to remember in the past, my time in Rijaiera felt like a final vacation.

However, I was also aware of Rijaiera’s peculiarities. The village had a fair number of elderly people. It was inevitable for families to grow large, given that people lived in the village for generations. Although the village seemed isolated due to the Gate Incident, it didn’t appear to have always been that way. Otherwise, the village would have perished long ago.

However, I was curious about something else. Both Arta and Lena had grandparents and many siblings. They were large families. Yet, the leaders of Rijaiera, Luna and Ronan Artorius, only had each other. Luna’s parents and Ronan’s parents were absent. Ragan was dead, and Ellen was away from the village. Even if they were present, I couldn’t understand why they were the only nuclear family.

“How is the work progressing?” Ronan asked.

“Ah... We’ll have to see when the snow melts, but if I continue at this pace, I should finish before winter ends.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Despite the challenges of winter, the work was progressing steadily. I could finish everything before spring arrived. What would happen then, I didn’t know. I had grown fond of Rijaiera, but I knew I had to leave. I hoped to have achieved something by winter’s end.

When I first arrived in Rijaiera, Luna had said that becoming just a bit stronger while I was there wouldn’t make a significant difference. I agreed with her. I hadn’t reached Master class yet, and even if I did, could I face the monster that would appear at the end?

I couldn’t just sit idly by, and perhaps reaching Master class would open new possibilities for me. That was why I was spending this extended time in Rijaiera. Even if I reached Master class, the chances were slim. Ultimately, I had to rely on the holy relics.

I had learned a bit about the hidden powers of the relics. Tiamata allowed the user to gain access to powerful Divine Power, which could be used to both heal and destroy. Ellen’s Lament could cut through anything. Alsbringer was the ultimate relic that could summon the power of its god, but at the cost of one’s life. I did not know the true power of Lapelt.

Tiamata’s key was anger. Lament’s key was sorrow. Alsbringer’s key was sacrifice. Lapelt’s key was hatred. If reaching Master class didn’t increase my chances of survival, I needed to consider other options.

“I have something to ask you both,” I said, drawing Luna and Ronan’s attention.

“Sure,” Ronan said.

“Go ahead,” Luna encouraged.

“If the answer lies with the relics... Do you know where the Holy Spear, Alixion, is?”

I had read about it in a book, so I knew its form.

The last relic was in the shape of a spear. The relic of the God of Courage, Riter... Perhaps they might know about it.

I had only come across Alixion briefly while researching Tiamata and the other relics, so I didn’t know much about it, only that it was a relic in the form of a spear. Of course, even if it ended up in my hands, I wasn’t sure how well I could wield it, since I had only ever used swords. But perhaps the true power of that relic could offer me a slim chance.

Their answer was simple.

“We don’t know,” replied Ronan, which was punctuated by Luna’s shake of the head.

The fact that Lapelt had been in the possession of the family of Sunday and Monday seemed to be related to the family’s name, but their “we don’t know” felt different from simple ignorance.

Luna carefully took a spoonful of the stew and spoke.

“To be precise, no one can find Alixion.”

“Then... does it not exist in the world?”

Luna shook her head, and it was Ronan who answered. “No. Alixion isn’t something you find. It finds you.”

“It finds you?”

“Yes. It appears for those who need it. That’s why, throughout history, Alixion has rarely appeared in the world.”

The concept of it finding you rather than being found felt foreign, and discussing such an important relic in a snowy mountain village seemed quite odd.

“If it appears to those who need it... does that mean that if I believed I needed it, Alixion will appear before me?”

“If that were the case, anyone could summon Alixion. It doesn’t respond to ordinary desires,” said Ronan.

“What kind of extraordinary desire does it respond to?”

Luna took over from Ronan.

“It’s Riter’s relic. What do you think it requires?”

That was an obvious question.

“Courage...?”

“Exactly.”

As the relic of the God of Courage, it would respond to the desires of those who had courage. Courage. If I had to assess whether I had courage, I’d say I did. Approaching someone who had nearly killed me to ask for help, while perhaps foolish, was certainly courageous, wasn’t it?

I thought I had the qualifications to be Alixion’s master. Perhaps it was arrogance, but I genuinely believed so.

Seeing my expression, Luna looked at me seriously. “Reinhart, what do you think is the most important thing about courage?”

“... Sorry?”

I didn’t quite understand Luna’s question.

“What’s the most important thing about courage besides courage itself...? Um... Bravery? Confidence? Is it something like that?”

Seeing that I didn’t understand, Luna shook her head.

“Let’s say there’s a terrifying enemy. Like that otherworldly dragon you mentioned. An enemy you can’t possibly defeat by ordinary means.”

“... Yes.”

“Imagine you standing before it, determined to do something, even though you know you can’t defeat it. You face it with the mindset that somehow you’ll manage.”

“... Yes.” freēwēbnovel.com

“Do you think that’s courage?”

‘If that’s not courage, then what is?’

I held back my words, sensing Luna had more to say. It was Ronan who continued.

“That’s not courage (勇氣); it’s recklessness (蠻勇).”

His words left me speechless.

“What does it take for recklessness to become courage?” Luna asked. She looked into my eyes, waiting for my answer.

The difference between recklessness and courage... I had never seriously considered the distinction between these two concepts.

Recklessness and courage were, strictly speaking, very similar. Both involved confronting or opposing something. But there was an inherent foolishness in the idea of recklessness. Why was it foolish? Because it involved arrogance, believing one could confront an unbeatable opponent.

So what made courage different?

If recklessness lost its foolishness, it would become courage. Courage was recklessness that was wise, with an awareness of one’s own strength.

“...”

Facing an unbeatable opponent, knowing it would be impossible, yet still confronting it. If the basis of courage was understanding an opponent and still opposing them, then I had to realize what was most important about courage.

“Is it... Fear?”

“Yes.”

What made courage truly courage wasn’t bravery, pride, or determination. It was truly knowing the opponent and fearing them, yet still standing against them. That was the true condition of courage.