Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 96

Thanks to Ellen’s unexpected decision to go on an evening hunt, everyone ended up filling their stomachs with lobster meat.

For the picky eaters, lobster was preferred over tediously picking through the grilled fish or the tough wild boar meat.

“I’m... I’m so full...”

Everyone was making contented sounds, which was quite a luxury given that we were trying to survive on a deserted island.

Of course, it seemed like the food still wasn’t enough for Ellen, who was slicing off the wild boar meat with a knife and eating it.

“Amazing, Ellen. We owe you our lives.”

Vertus was smiling as he observed everyone finishing their meals with satisfaction.

Ellen pointed towards the sea. “There were also plenty of huge clams.”

“Oh really? That’s great.”

It seemed like Ellen was already thinking about eating those the next day.

It’s often said that big eaters think about what they’re going to eat next while they are still eating, and she was exactly like that.

The rest of the class vaguely thought of Ellen as just “the indifferent student with good skills”, and they probably didn’t know much about the real her.

That day, though, they learned a bit more about Ellen.

Like the fact that, while eating something, she would just randomly jump into the sea and come back after a successful hunt, or how strong she was as she chopped wood with her ax.

Om nom nom.

Or how she could eat such an absurd amount of food.

They might have thought that she ate quite a lot during meal times at the Temple before, but this time, they truly realized just how much.

The fact that her appetite was unchanged in this situation was so odd, and Harriet mumbled to herself in a daze, “Wow... I saw her eating a lot in the past as well... but wow, she sure does eat a lot.”

“Hey, try this.”

“... W-What is this?”

“It’s okay to eat. Give it a try.”

I handed her something that looked like the meat of a white squid, which Harriet cautiously bit into. When she did so, her face twisted into a bizarre expression.

“Wh-What is this? Is it coconut?”

“Yeah. We have to eat everything we can here.”

Despite her initial reaction, Harriet continued to chew the coconut flesh, which gave a satisfying crunch, before swallowing it. Everyone stared at me as I began to scoop out the inside of the coconut.

“Don’t throw these away, since they’re edible. Use a knife or whatever you have to scoop them out and eat.”

One by one, with hesitant expressions, the other students started to drink the juice and gathered the empty coconut shells together.

***

The sun had set, and evening turned to night.

As the meal came to an end, Vertus naturally started to give orders to the others.

“Good work today everyone. It’s dangerous, so don’t go into the forest, and just stay along this coastline for now. Those who want to sleep early, go ahead and sleep.

“We’ll also be keeping a watch throughout the night, since we can’t be sure what might happen. I think we can take turns, with each person standing watch for one hour at a time, but it sure is tricky to keep track of time here...”

I knew that some people were able to tell time just by looking at the night sky, but I didn’t know if there was someone like that in our group.

“It seems... it looks to be around eight o’clock now,” Adelia said as she gazed absent-mindedly at the sky.

“Oh, I’m glad you can tell the time. That’s a relief. Then let’s make our bedtime ten o’clock, and after that, we’ll take turns to keep watch based on our assigned numbers, for one hour each. Since Adelia can’t keep checking the time, we’ll rely on each person to be honest about the length of their watch.”

He was requesting that the person on watch should switch once they thought that roughly an hour had passed. It wasn’t precise, but there was no better method.

That meant Vertus would take the first watch, and I’d be the last. Being the last was essentially the same as not having a watch at all.

“Okay. Just remember not to go into the forest. Those who want to sleep, sleep; those who need to rest, go ahead and rest.”

Despite the extreme situation we were in, Vertus somehow managed to take charge of and console the students who had been on the verge of mentally breaking down, and we made it to the first night.

The most exhausted one of all was likely Vertus himself.

***

Nearly everyone was utterly exhausted, both mentally and physically. Thus, even those who had complained about not being able to sleep in such a place, or about the bugs, seemed more than willing to give the cramped cone-shaped huts a chance. And once they went in, they didn’t come back out.

They probably fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the ground. Fatigue conquered everything, after all.

As for Heinrich, he was still managing the fire, making distilled water, and filling the empty water containers.

Having observed the day’s activities, it seemed he’d realized just how vital water was, and now believed that the task he was assigned was the most important one.

It was a moonless night, so the sky was laden with a staggering number of stars, and even the Milky Way was visible.

I edged a little closer to the seashore and sat down. The water and the night sky were so clear that the sea seemed almost transparent.

It was an absolutely breathtaking scene. Now, at last, I could enjoy this view with some peace of mind.

The Class B campsite still looked pretty rowdy. They were probably partying like they were on vacation.

“Phew... Why are they wasting their energy like that?”

Thump.

Vertus, who had arrived unnoticed, sat down beside me.

“They must have energy to spare,” I said.

“Hah... I envy them,” replied Vertus.

His voice was heavy with emotion, and it was unclear whether he envied their ability to enjoy the situation, or their energy to keep playing even into the night.

“Reinhart, you were a big help today.”

“Well, I’m not so sure about that.”

“If it weren’t for you and Ellen suddenly heading into the forest, at least three people would have given up on the spot.”

My initiative to take action had given the others who had wanted to give up a moment of hesitation, and more than anything, it had even stopped Vertus’s own thoughts of giving up.

“It’s crazy to think how, on one hand, you have Class A sulking all day long, wondering why they have to do this kind of ‘nonsense’, while on the other hand, you have Class B, who seem like they’re on an excursion, full of excitement and playing late into the night...”

Class A seemed to be reluctant participants, while Class B was enjoying themselves, and Vertus acutely sensed the difference in attitudes.

“... We really don’t stand a chance against them.”

He forced a bitter smile. We were enduring this, while they were enjoying themselves. It was clear to see what the outcome of this mission would be.

In a way, Vertus was showing weakness. He seemed to be under immense mental pressure, and stressed enough to make such a statement to me. The situation may have been harsh, but in the end, it was just a deserted island, where the inconveniences of meeting life’s basic needs were the only real challenge.

However, Vertus probably didn’t want to admit that he was stressed out just because of the discomfort of not having food, clothing, or shelter.

He would realize that, as a person, he was only that much, and that realization would wound his pride.

“Reinhart.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

That statement sounded truly sincere.

***

Class A consisted of seven males and four females, and there were a total of six completed huts.

Therefore, two people shared one hut, and one of the male students had a single hut. That person was Vertus. He had taken on the role of the leader in this situation and, being a prince, it seemed only natural.

Of course, everyone knew that this small privilege wasn’t a big deal.

It was still early dawn when Kaier Vioden, the person who was keeping watch before me, woke me up. His bleary eyes were a clear sign that he was struggling with the uncomfortable sleeping conditions.

“Keep the pot filled with water, wake everyone up if there seems to be a danger, and don’t let the fire go out. That’s all you have to do.”

“Okay.”

He might have still been reluctant to interact with me, but I didn’t really have any strong feelings about him anymore. Honestly, at this point, he wasn’t significant enough for me to either like or dislike.

The other people on watch before me had kept the campfire alive. After I confirmed that Kaier had crawled into his palm-leaf hut, I pushed some of the leftover wood used to build the shelters into the fire.

Since I was the last one in the rotation, I didn’t need to wake anyone up. And since there was no set time to wake up, there was no reason to wake anyone when daylight arrived. Everyone would wake up in their own time.

The camp was set up such that the huts formed a circle around the central campfire.

The six huts had their entrances slightly obscured by palm leaves, but the interiors were still partially visible through the gaps.

Everyone seemed to be sleeping like the dead within. After fetching seawater to fill the pot, and replenishing the firewood, there wasn’t much else to do.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, when suddenly...

Rustle.

There was a rustling noise from one of the huts, and someone poked their head out.

“Are you done sleeping?”

“No.”

It was Riana de Granz, looking disheveled.

She crawled out of her hut and staggered to her feet, her body almost creaking. I wondered why she was getting up when she hadn’t slept enough.

Suddenly, she started walking toward the forest.

“Hey, where are you going?”

She ignored my question and kept walking in silence.

“Don’t go into the forest! It’s still night.”

“...”

“Come on, what is it? Say something or—”

Thwack!

When I tried to grab her, she smacked my hand away roughly and glared at me.

Her gaze was chilling, cold enough to freeze me on the spot.

‘What’s her problem? She seems really pissed off.’

“I’m going to take a shit. Are you happy now?”

With a threatening aura that suggested she would not hesitate to harm me if I said another word, she vanished into the jungle.

The fact that she’d responded so straightforwardly made it pretty clear that it was an emergency.

***

The girl who went off to relieve herself disappeared as if swallowed up by the jungle fog.

“... What should I do?” I mumbled to myself in a daze in front of the campfire.

Had something happened to her? Or was it just constipation?

If there was trouble, I’d have to go help, but what if she was in an embarrassing situation? Would it scar the delicate sensibilities of a lady from the ducal house forever?

‘Isn’t it strange that she’s been gone for over twenty minutes, though? I haven’t heard any screams, though.’

Could she be so tired that she’d fallen asleep while doing her business?

‘No way...’

Could it be?

With apprehension, I rose from my spot and approached the forest.

“Hey! If everything is okay over there, show me one spark! If you’re facing some kind of trouble, show two sparks! And if you don’t give me any sign, I’m heading in!” I shouted toward the forest.

Silence ensued for a moment.

And then...

Spark! Spark!

Faint flickers of light, like that of electricity, were visible from deep within the forest. Had she really gone that far in?

Well, she was conscious, and there was some kind of problem.

I had a rough idea of what it could be.

“Uh, if you need... something to wipe with, just give one spar—”

Spark!

Before I could even finish, there was another flash of electricity.

It seemed our clumsy friend had rushed into the forest without thinking ahead, and hadn’t realized she had nothing to wipe herself with.

“Just use the nearby leaves to wipe yourself! It’s not like we have that kind of stuff here!”

Spark! Spark! Spark! Spark! Spark!

I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say, but it felt like she was telling me to stop spouting nonsense. Then again, where in this situation would you find anything clean to wipe yourself with? She had to be asking for something reasonable.

“Or... do you want me to bring you some seawater?”

“...”

After a moment of silence, there was a spark.

Spark!

A single spark.

***

I carefully placed a medium-sized pot filled with seawater close to where I thought she was.

“... You can use it, but be careful... Because, you know, we might use this for cooking or something later... You get it, right?”

There was no reply, but we had reached an unspoken agreement.

After a while, Riana returned with the empty pot.

“...”

Her expression suggested that her dignity as a human being had been severely trampled upon.

For a precious lady who had been raised delicately in a ducal family, it must have been an unbearable experience.

What had I done, assigning such a mission to these kids? The embarrassment should have been hers, but I felt more ashamed.

She seemed like a marionette,controlled by unseen strings, staggering forward without even looking at me as she walked toward the sea.

Quietly, she began to rinse the pot in the seawater.

The seat of her pants was slightly damp.

“I give up,” she said as she placed the pot back in its original spot.

The pot had indeed been scrubbed clean.

‘Still, let’s not cook anything in that pot. Ever,’ I resolved firmly.

Anyway, after enduring such an ordeal, it seemed Riana had been hit hard, and was giving her situation some serious reflection.

How could I ask a 17-year-old girl, who had been raised so tenderly and given every indulgence, not to quit after going through something like this?

Honestly, even Vertus would have admitted that this was too much.

“Come on... isn’t it a waste to quit after, rather than before, doing... that?”

She should have given up before she’d done the business, if that's what she wanted to do. At my words, Riana looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“... I guess you’re right.”

“Y-Yeah. If you quit after doing something you can’t bear, that would make you feel even worse, don’t you think?”

“...”

As I observed Riana, I realized that a person who was embarrassed beyond a certain point did not even blush anymore due to a complete lack of shame.

“Yeah, I guess I’ve already thrown myself away now...” she muttered. With that self-deprecating comment, she crept back into her hut.

“... What?”

Resignation, acceptance, and finally, self-mockery.

I was witnessing a rare phenomenon. After being pushed past the point of resignation, she actually seemed to accept the situation.

It was the same if someone had already rolled around in the mud and become dirty—becoming dirtier stopped mattering to them.

But... was the situation so extreme to require such a level of self-deprecation?

Sob.

A while later, I heard the sound of sniffing from Riana’s hut, but it was unclear if she was crying, or doing something else.

‘What even is... poop...’

These were the thoughts that I found myself pondering, beneath the splendid, star-filled night sky.

It was a night that triggered a variety of thoughts and imaginations.

***

Some more time passed.

Rustle.

There was a rustling from another hut as someone else emerged.

“R-Reinhart...”

The person who had called my name in a quivering voice was none other than Harriet.

She looked at me as though she was about to cry.

“Wh-What do I do...?”

I recognized her expression as one that only the truly desperate and urgent wore. Her plea was evident, perhaps because she knew that I had taken care of her in the past.

Her expression was crying out, saying, “Please do something about this situation for me.” There was no pride or anything of that sort. It was cute in an entirely different sense, but now held an additional layer of pity.

There was nothing more difficult to witness than Harriet in such distress.

I quietly placed the medium-sized pot into her hands.

“Wh-What is this...?”

“Fill this pot with some water before you go.”