Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 390

‘Let’s get engaged. We don’t have to be fully married yet.’

It was to give Charlotte a temporary justification. Not because I was afraid of Vertus’s faction, but to prevent Charlotte’s aides from turning against her. I was making this suggestion to put out an urgent fire.

Charlotte, still lying down, looked up at me and bit her lip.

“Why… why go this far?” she asked, bringing her hand to my cheek, just as I had done to her.

The slightly cold warmth of Charlotte’s hand was transmitted to my cheek.

“I’m not someone you should have to go this far for... I’m not...” she said.

“You’re precious,” I replied.

“...”

“You’re precious to me.”

Despite the whirlwind of emotions and thoughts that felt like they would split my head open, this was all I could say.

“Isn’t that enough?”

This was the wrong choice. This decision would not bring happiness to anyone; it would only ensure someone’s survival.

Wasn’t that enough? Was it better to just let Charlotte die? Was choosing the lesser of two evils, just to avoid the worst outcome, truly the right thing to do?

Charlotte, hearing my words, began to cry, her face contorted, eyes tightly shut.

“Reinhart… I’m so… so grateful, but…”

In the end, Charlotte wept, overwhelmed with sorrow.

“It’s too… sorrowful…”

She felt sorrowful because she knew I was making this choice not out of love, but to protect her.

***

Since I couldn’t spend the night at the Spring Palace, I returned to the Temple, using the warp gate below the Spring Palace.

It wasn’t officially announced, but Charlotte and I had decided to get engaged. I didn’t know how or in what manner it would happen, but it was a promise made between the two of us.

In a situation where every path seemed to lead to the wrong answer, I felt like I had chosen the lesser of two evils. Since we had decided to get engaged, I couldn’t make decisions about this matter on my own.

Publicly, I was just a student of the Temple’s Royal Class, so I needed to create a justification for being designated as a consort to the imperial family.

It would soon have to be revealed that I was the master of Alsbringer. Just because we had decided on this course of action didn’t mean the engagement could happen immediately. There was one person of utmost importance that I had to meet in order to discuss the next steps.

“An engagement… you say,” the emperor said.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Given the situation, it was quite audacious. A mere commoner requesting a private audience with the emperor, and then proposing to be engaged to the princess… However, in reality, the emperor had intended to ask me for this favor but hadn’t been able to bring it up. I was merely speaking up first.

It wasn’t a marriage, but an engagement. The emperor, perhaps trying to gauge the leeway created by this temporary solution, closed his eyes for a moment and pondered the situation.

“Can you handle it?” he asked.

He didn’t state what exactly I could handle. But that single word held many implications.

He was probably asking whether I could handle Vertus, even though it was Vertus who had brought this up in the first place.

Furthermore, once the fact that I was Alsbringer’s master was revealed, I might attract the attention of the Demon King. And there were my relationships with others to consider as well. This step might complicate or even ruin some of them.

I had risked my life twice in the past for Charlotte. But this time, I would have to risk everything—my life, and everything else.

Though it seemed to carry the same meaning, to me, it held a completely different significance. Even Charlotte, rather than being happy about my decision, felt sorrowful, as if lamenting her situation.

“Yes, I can handle it,” I replied simply, despite my complicated feelings.

I would protect Charlotte. This time, I would completely save the first thing I had rescued with my own hands.

“Thank you… Reinhart,” the emperor said, expressing his gratitude for the second time.

It should have been a moment of honor, yet it didn’t feel particularly glorious.

***

I had discussed the engagement with the emperor. Officially, I was still just an ordinary student, and if news of my engagement to Charlotte got out, the fact that some commoner had gotten engaged to the princess would blow up into a scandal. I had to be acknowledged publicly as Alsbringer’s master before the engagement could hold water.

I wasn’t sure about the details of how to proceed, but it had to be done before the danger surrounding Charlotte grew. For the moment, Charlotte had control over her power, so she would probably be safe from physical attacks.

On top of that, I didn’t know how to explain this to the others. They wouldn’t understand. I didn’t expect them to. I was stuck, unable to decide how to explain it.

As of now, only the emperor, Charlotte, and I knew about this. Perhaps Vertus, who had made the suggestion, would find out as well.

The weekend passed, and the following week, Sabioleen Tana summoned both Ellen and I.

“From now on, I will be in charge of your major classes,” she announced.

Both Ellen and I had our major classes completely replaced, something we had both expected. Although we were already supposed to be doing combat training, our real training needed to be based around using the holy relics we possessed, and I had even acquired Alsbringer.

Sabioleen Tana, who had been working as our temporary dormitory supervisor, ended up taking on the role of temporary instructor, solely to teach the two of us.

“When I have other duties, there will be other personnel to oversee your classes,” she added.

“Yes,” we both replied.

I wondered if Tana distancing herself from her role as Charlotte’s bodyguard was due to Charlotte being pushed out of the succession race, but I wasn’t sure.

Sabioleen Tana did not lead us to the dormitory training grounds to conduct our training.

“This facility usually can’t be accessed freely, but you’ve both been granted permission. I’ll register you two, so you can come here to train whenever you want.”

We were led to the Temple’s high-level combat training facility. The combat training facility had the same system that was used in the main stadium during the festival tournaments. We could go all out during combat, and the recall artifact would activate before we sustained critical injuries.

The facility had been expensive to construct and had high maintenance costs, so not just anyone could use it. Even the combat majors of the Royal Class did not have their exclusive classes in this venue.

While the main stadium was open-air, we entered the combat training ground wearing safety artifacts.

Ellen summoned Lament, while I summoned both Alsbringer and Tiamata.

“…”

Sabioleen Tana looked at me with a thoughtful expression.

I had both swords, so I summoned them both, but…

‘Does this mean I have to practice dual-wielding now?’

“… It’s a headache,” Tana said.

“I think so too,” I replied.

“Indeed,” Ellen nodded in agreement.

“You’re the first…” Tana seemed to recall the case of Ragan Artorius and glanced at Ellen before correcting herself. “Well, maybe not the first, but it’s rare to have two holy relics and be unsure whether to use both or just one. Should we call this a fortunate dilemma…?”

She seemed unsure whether I should start learning the peculiar art of dual-wielding or focus on using one relic at a time, switching as needed.

“Your opinion is important. What do you plan to do?” Tana asked.

Tiamata and Alsbringer… Both were incredibly powerful relics.

Sabioleen Tana seemed to have a relatively negative opinion about dual-wielding. I wanted to use both, but I didn’t want to throw away everything I had learned so far and start learning dual-wielding from scratch.

‘It feels like the loss of the freedom to use my off-hand while dual-wielding is more significant than just gaining another means of attack. Can’t I somehow combine them into one sword? I’d even rename it Alstiamata or something.’

Of course, nothing like that would happen.

I dismissed Tiamata.

“I’ll stick with one. Trying to force myself to use both at the same time seems like it would lead to failure,” I decided.

“A wise decision, Reinhart,” Tana replied in acknowledgement.

Trying to force myself to use both would likely ruin everything I had built up thus far. For the time being, the priority was to become familiar with the basic abilities of Alsbringer.

***

Though I hadn’t properly set it up within the novel, holy relics generally possessed two types of powers: a basic ability and a true ability.

In Tiamata’s case, its basic power was its strong anti-magic capabilities. However, its true power was the ability to use vast amounts of Divine Power to support its wielder, though that was a special situation that I had achieved with Olivia’s help.

Lament’s basic effect made it similar to an Aura Blade, but I still didn’t know its true ability. Lapelt’s basic effect was akin to the effect of Aura Armor, but again, I didn’t know its true ability.

And then there was Alsbringer. Its true power was the ability to summon the god of war.

Kwabang!

“Ugh!”

Alsbringer clashed with Lament, and Ellen took half a step back. This happened despite the significant difference in strength between Ellen and me.

Kang! Kaang!

We exchanged several more blows, each one pushing Ellen back. Alsbringer’s true power was the ability to summon the god of war, but that was not the sole ability that it possessed.

The basic effect of Alsbringer was simple. The stronger the enemy was compared to its wielder, the more powerful its wielder became. Thus, the more enemies I had to face, the stronger I became.

It was a basic effect that was simple yet powerful, befitting the sword of the War God. Of course, it wasn’t just because of that alone. Rather, I had created this setting to more easily depict a protagonist overcoming stronger foes.

Alsbringer, once wielded by Ludwig, had fallen into my grasp, and its power with it.

Naturally, as with such settings, it did not make me invincible. It made the wielder stronger, but that vague statement did not guarantee victory against stronger opponents.

It made you stronger as your enemies grew stronger and more numerous, but it didn’t promise victory. It might help you win, but it might not.

It was a very powerful relic, but one with ambiguous conditions because ambiguous settings were more convenient for writing.

Clang!

Ellen’s Lament roughly deflected my sword at a precise angle, and her blade arced toward my neck.

Pop!

And with that, I was recalled outside the training field.

Had it been a real battle, no matter how much I reinforced my body with mana, I would have been decapitated.

Ellen was much stronger than I was. Even though Alsbringer made me stronger, it still wasn’t enough.

Ten matches, ten losses…

“Huff… Huff…”

Outside the training ground, I nearly collapsed, exhausted.

If it had been a real fight, I would have died ten times to Ellen.

“The power of the relic is certainly noticeable. On average, you lasted over fifteen more exchanges than usual,” Sabioleen Tana observed, nodding as she watched from outside the training ground.

Although I had lost every match, I managed to push Ellen back more frequently.

Ellen returned to the waiting room, her hair sticking to her forehead, drenched in sweat.

“I’m tired,” she said, indicating how intense the ten matches were.

“Imagine how I feel, having lost,” I replied.

Ellen hadn’t even used Lapelt. If it had been a real battle, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.

‘Is there any way to use both Alsbringer and Tiamata simultaneously? If I put one in a scabbard and carried it on my waist or back, could I use both enhancement effects?’

“Reinhart, you often experience situations where your physical abilities are enhanced, including via your reinforcement-type supernatural powers. As a result, you can’t accurately judge your physical capabilities at any given moment. This often leads to situations where you rely on brute force, and you tend to be surprised when your opponent is pushed back. You need to become more familiar with how much your physical abilities grow in different situations.”

Both Ellen and I, exhausted, sat side by side on the bench, listening to Tana’s feedback.

“Ellen, there’s nothing about you that I need to criticize.”

“Thank you.”

Apparently, I was the only one who needed to hear feedback.

Sabioleen Tana’s favoritism no longer existed. It wasn’t that Tana was disappointed in me.

‘Should I say something to Ellen too? If I only criticize Reinhart… I can’t just criticize Ellen to make sure Reinhart doesn’t lose confidence. What should I do? I want to praise them.’

She wanted to show favoritism but couldn’t. She might say we were at a similar level, maybe, but frankly, I was using a supernatural power as a cheat, along with a relic that boosted my physical capabilities, and yet I was still beaten.

Ellen wielded Lament, but with Alsbringer, an unbreakable sword, in my hand, sharpness wasn’t much of an advantage. If she were at Tana’s level, capable of creating mana waves with the sword itself, then things would be different.

Ellen, in essence, was overpowering me with sheer physicality, despite all my cheats.

Still…

“Huff… Huff….”

Seeing Ellen panting and drenched in sweat made me feel like I was catching up, even if it was just because of our equipment.

And every time I looked at Ellen, an uncomfortable feeling rose up inside me. A sense of guilt, perhaps, or some kind of discomfort.