Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 156

To reach Altz Point via Naklitz, we had to choose between venturing through rugged landscapes or taking an already-established path. If we opted to traverse the unexplored territories, there was a possibility that we would make new discoveries, but the journey would be slow and quite perilous.

Choosing the well-beaten path would allow us to arrive more quickly, but there wouldn’t be much to gain from the journey itself.

“Considering Ms. Rellia is with us, it would be best to take the easier route,” Ellen decided, taking into account the stamina of our mage, Eleris.

“Oh, I’m fine, really...”

Of course, there was no point worrying about Eleris’s physical condition. Although I wasn’t certain about how much stamina a vampire had, hers was likely far superior to both Ellen’s and mine.

Now that I thought about it, Eleris’s specialty was magic, and I did not know if she could handle close combat or not. I had never asked.

“Besides, the surrounding area has almost been completely scoured. Venturing through rugged terrain would hardly yield anything new. Let’s just go with the regular route,” Ellen said firmly.

“Ah, okay...Thank you for your consideration,” Eleris responded with a shy smile.

Eleris seemed quite adept at pretending to be unaffected by the sun’s harsh rays. We made our way along a trail that had been carved out to the south of Saints Point.

“I’m not one to worry, but it must be tricky for those wagons to navigate,” I commented.

“That’s true.”

The trail was far from wide, and although the terrain south of Saints Point wasn’t particularly mountainous, it was still rather hilly, with countless ascents and descents.

It would be quite a struggle for that long, snaking caravan to make its way through. Our party did not have any wagons to haul with us, and all we had to do was walk. Both Ellen and I were physically in good shape, and to be honest, there wasn’t any need for Ellen to give Eleris any special consideration either.

Although Eleris wasn’t wearing heavy armor, she was definitely clad in some sort of armor and carried a backpack, so it wasn’t completely comfortable for her either. Moreover, it was summer.

“... It’s hot.”

We walked for a while, and soon, sweat began to stream down our faces. Ellen’s comment about how we would be boiled alive if we wore full armor now made sense.

Of course, things were still better when compared to what we had faced during our survival mission on the deserted island. There, the extremely high humidity had made it difficult to breathe.

Here, although the heat of the sun was intense, the humidity wasn’t as high.

Ellen appeared to be handling it well without becoming overly exhausted, but she was visibly affected by the heat.

“I see,” Eleris noted as she observed Ellen and I.

She asked us to stop for a moment, and after a brief time of preparation, she cast a magic spell.

“Oh, wow.”

“It’s cooler now.”

Our bodies cooled down, and the feeling of being overheated subsided, accompanied by a refreshing chill.

“It’s a minor spell called Chilling Touch,” Eleris smiled. She further elaborated that the spell had a relatively long duration, but if needed, she would be happy to cast it again.

“Thank you,” Ellen said sincerely.

“Not at all,” Eleris said, downplaying what she’d done. “Handling these minor tasks is the role of a low-level mage.”

‘Indeed... Nothing beats magic—not supernatural powers, combat skills, or whatever else.’

Although acquiring the skills to be proficient at it was the most challenging, in the end, magic reigned supreme. Even minor magic could be incredibly convenient, depending on how it was used.

With the sensation of having an air conditioner built into our clothing, we continued our journey, feeling refreshed. There was no danger in the area we were traveling through, so it felt no different from walking along a slightly uncomfortable path.

Eleris quickened her pace and sidled up next to Ellen.

“By the way, what is the relationship between you two? Are you guys... more than just friends?”

‘What?! Why would she suddenly ask that?!’

Eleris could hardly keep the excitement from her face. I immediately grabbed Eleris by the shoulder.

“We’re friends. Just friends.”

Although that was what I said, my eyes said something else.

“Why would you ask something like that!”

“It’s just for fun, you know?!”

Eleris could barely contain her amusement.

‘Stop making that face as if you’re a mother dying to know what kind of person your son’s girlfriend is!’

Had she followed us so willingly because she was curious as to what kind of person Ellen was?

Ellen stared at me, then replied tersely, “Yes, we’re friends.”

Eleris didn’t stop but continued to press the matter.

“So you’re close enough that you would embark on an adventure together?”

“Yes. That’s what I think,” Ellen answered as she walked on, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

‘Phew... For some reason, that was a bit touching.’

***

After a long walk, noon approached, and we ate lunch under the shade of a tree near the path. We hadn’t brought anything to cook with, so our meal consisted of preserved food, eaten by the side of the road.

Ellen and I chewed on jerky and biscuits, while Eleris also nibbled on a biscuit. While she did eat, it didn’t seem like she was forcing herself to do so. I didn’t know what human food would taste like to her.

Ellen quietly observed Eleris as she ate and drank water.

“Ms. Rellia, you don’t seem to sweat at all,” she said.

Ellen’s sudden remark sent shivers down my spine instead of Eleris’s.

‘Wait, what? Did she notice something off? Does she think Eleris is odd?’

Indeed, Eleris, who was supposed to be less in shape physically, looked completely fresh and unbothered by sweat.

“I continuously use Chilling Touch on myself. Besides, I naturally don’t sweat much,” Eleris replied, her lie so smooth as if she had prepared it beforehand.

Ellen nodded, as if she found the response satisfactory. After all, we also hadn’t been sweating much after receiving Eleris’s magic.

It seemed Ellen was merely making a simple inquiry, and did not harbor any suspicion. Ellen didn’t eat much, perhaps aware of the need to conserve our preserved food—not that it was tasty enough to indulge in.

“I know it’s probably normal, but it really is deserted out here,” Ellen murmured quietly, her eyes scanning across the length of the pathway that was visible to us.

“Except for a few, no one really uses this road.”

“That makes sense...”

While there was a path here, there was little reason to take it unless one was an adventurer. The absence of travelers was expected.

Eleris tilted her head in thought.

“By the way, the Adventurers’ Guild is quite impressive. Creating and maintaining these small towns, and even rebuilding them when they’re destroyed,” she said, marveling at the Adventurers’ Guild’s financial muscle.

“The Adventurers’ Guild is operated by the empire,” Ellen responded.

“Ah... Is that so?”

I had assumed as much, but it had now been confirmed that the Adventurers’ Guild was not a private organization, but one supported by the empire. That explained why the official from the Adventurers’ Guild had threatened us with investigations and such the day before.

“The empire provides the foundation, and individuals known as adventurers carry out the pioneering. The risk and reward are the responsibility of the individual.”

The empire supported the enterprise with capital, but it was the adventurers who stepped into dangerous territories at their own risk. The new lands, thus secured within the Dark Land secured, could potentially be annexed as new human territories, depending on the need.

The guild purchased powerful magical relics as well.

In any case, the empire was the principal contractor, the Adventurers’ Guild was the subcontractor, and the adventurers were the sub-subcontractors.

“Let’s get going.”

If we walk for the entire day, we would reach our next destination, Klitz Point.

“... The sky has gotten quite cloudy all of a sudden,” Eleris commented, looking at the darkened sky with concern.

Eventually, an hour after we resumed our journey, it started to rain.

***

Ssshhh...

It wasn’t exactly a downpour, but the rain was still pretty severe. The three of us wore ponchos we had prepared in advance. Since the path wasn’t well-maintained to begin with, it soon turned into a muddy mess.

Rumble...

“Hmm...”

As we walked, Eleris kept making displeased sounds, perhaps because of the unpleasant weather.

“Hmmm...”

No, it seemed like it wasn’t just the weather bothering her.

“What’s bothering you?” Ellen asked, sensing something was off.

“Ah, no... I was just thinking... The convoy’s departure might be delayed because of this,” Eleris replied. She seemed concerned that the large caravan of wagons would not be able to pass through the mucky road.

“Why worry about that? It’s their concern, not yours.”

At my words, Eleris scratched her cheek with an ambiguous expression. “Ah... Well, that’s true, but... If the delivery of supplies to the three isolated points in the south is delayed... Wouldn’t that be problematic?”

She was worrying about people who were completely unrelated to us again, unable to break the habit of caring for others. Certainly, if the rain continued and the road turned to mud, the caravan’s departure could indeed be delayed.

She seemed to be considering the possibility that people and adventurers stranded at those three points in the far south could suffer from hunger, or worse.

“How long have those places been isolated?”

“Hmm... To my knowledge, it’s been more than ten days.”

It was a day’s walk to Klitz Point.

From there, it was three days by foot to the next hub, Altz Point.

And the sub-stations, Altz Points 1, 2, and 3, were another four days’ journey away.

Whoever was in there was sure to be facing a shortage of provisions. If the supplies did not start moving quickly, the stranded adventurers might face starvation, not just threats from monsters.

Although it was not something that directly concerned us, Eleris’s worry about potential large-scale starvation could indeed come to pass.

“It’s strange,” Ellen remarked as we walked through the rain, tilting her head thoughtfully. “If the intermediary supply bases have collapsed, instead of staying put in isolation, it would have been better to return to Klitz Point...”

Returning to Klitz Point from the front lines, bypassing the collapsed Altz Point, would have been a seven-day journey. However, the lack of information reaching us so far suggested that no adventurer has returned to Klitz Point to report what had happened.

“There might be some reason preventing them from returning,” Eleris speculated.

Eleris seemed unaware of any specifics of the incident that might have occurred at Altz Point. The personnel at Altz Points 1, 2, and 3 were isolated, and for some reason, they seemed unable to choose the option of returning to Klitz Point. Moreover, adventurers who had gone to check on the situation at Altz Point had not yet returned either.

Whether they had fallen victim to something or were merely delayed was unknown. At any rate, the cause of Altz Point’s collapse was mere speculation, and that was the core of the problem.

***

It was a day’s journey to Klitz Point.

However, the sudden downpour delayed our journey, and it was well after sunset by the time we neared Klitz Point. In the darkness, we had to rely on Eleris’s light magic, moving cautiously, step by step.

“It seems to be over there.”

Sssshhhh...

Standing on a slope, we could see a faint light piercing through the rain. Ellen was pointing in that direction.

“Damn, I really want to rest.”

Although we were wearing ponchos, our boots were completely soaked after being exposed to the rain for so long. Both Ellen and I were exhausted from the prolonged walk in the rain.

As we neared Klitz Point, which appeared to be similar in size or slightly smaller than Saints Point, our steps naturally quickened. We walked towards the faint light, like ships lost at sea that had finally glimpsed a lighthouse.

Suddenly, though, Ellen, who was in the lead, stopped in her tracks.

“Wait,” she hissed. “Cancel the light.”

“What? Oh... Yes!”

Ellen’s abrupt command seemed to confuse Eleris, but she canceled her light magic anyway. From Ellen’s hushed tone, it seemed she might have noticed something odd.

“Is something off?” I asked, but Ellen just quietly stared at the light through the rain.

“Why is there only one light?”

“... What?”

‘One light?’

It seemed Ellen had noticed something that I hadn’t even considered to be odd.

“Klitz Point is supposed to be about the same size as Saints Point. But what we’re seeing now is way too different from what we saw yesterday.”

Ellen’s words made me think of the view we had of Saints Point as we approached it the previous night. It hadn’t exactly been a brilliant nightscape, but many buildings had been lit up inside. From that distance, it had appeared like a village, with numerous illuminated buildings.

However, the faint light we could see through the rain seemed to be from a singular source.

It wasn’t just one source, to be precise; it looked like only one building had lights on inside. The multitude of other buildings that should have been there were swallowed by the darkness, invisible to us.

Even if the building was an inn, it was strange for it to be the only building with lights on. After all, there should have been several inns at Klitz Point. It wasn’t late enough that everyone would have gone to bed yet.

“It seems there’s a problem.”

Whatever had befallen Altz Point might have somehow made its way to Klitz Point as well.

“Let’s approach from a different route.”

In silence, we decided to leave the path and approach Klitz Point from a different direction.