Demon King of the Royal Class
Chapter 541

Chapter 541

Connor Lint wasn’t exactly imprisoned. Antirianus had captured him of his own accord, and I had no intention of treating him as a prisoner. Besides, Connor Lint probably didn’t even know where the Edina Archipelago was, and seeing the scenery outside wouldn’t reveal anything to him. Of course, he wasn’t allowed the freedom to roam; he was confined to a bedroom equivalent to a VIP room.

There was no exchange of pleasantries like “It’s been a while” or “How have you been?” Neither the situation nor our relationship required it.

“So, you weren’t on a reconnaissance mission, you just wanted to check things out on your own whim?”

Connor Lint nodded slowly, frozen in place. “Uh, uh... yeah...”

Even back in the Temple, Connor Lint and his group, the so-called idiot trio, had been quite afraid of me. That hadn’t changed. If anything, it had gotten worse.

Going from a school bully to a continent-wide menace... or perhaps even more than that... It would be strange if they weren’t scared.

No matter how much these guys had changed, I had changed even more. Given the circumstances, and the fact that he had been kidnapped, it was no wonder Connor Lint looked pale.

It was inevitable that the Allied Forces would become aware of our existence. Of course, Sarkegar was still keeping tabs on them, and from what I had seen while I was at the Allied Forces’ base, the rumors and suspicions had not spread far.

Only a few units, like Shanapell, the Imperial Mage Corps, and a select few units on the front lines, knew a rough version of the truth. The rest of the army might suspect that the Empire was hiding its true capabilities, or withholding some crucial information.

Connor Lint had gone ahead to Serandia on his own, without orders from above, and had discovered us.

“Whatever you saw is true. We’re dealing with the Gate Incident in our own way. That’s all.”

Connor Lint looked at me silently. “You’re... the Demon King,” he finally said.

“That’s right,” I said, nodding calmly.

It was a well-known fact now, but Connor Lint’s face turned even paler.

“You caused the Gate Incident... didn’t you...?”

He trailed off, holding his breath.

‘What should I say? In the end, he isn’t wrong.’

Despite all the circumstances and misunderstandings around it, Eleris had been the one to trigger the Gate Incident to save me, so I couldn’t deny it.

“In a way, yes, but it wasn’t what I wanted. That’s why I’m doing this.”

Connor Lint remained silent.

“The full story is complicated and meaningless, but you should know that everything I’ve done, from when I first entered the Temple up to now, has been to stop the Gate Incident. It’s true that it eventually happened because of me, but it wasn’t what I wanted.”

Would he believe me? He had seen me risking my life fighting the Gate’s monsters, but could Connor Lint really understand where I was coming from?

He had lost family members, too. No matter how justified my reasons were, if he focused on the fact that I was the root cause behind the Gate Incident, I couldn’t blame him for hating me.

“Why should I... trust you?” Connor Lint stammered, clearly finding it difficult to speak. “After all, the Gate Incident... you triggered it to get your revenge on humanity... but you need the Gate Incident to end too... so you’re helping the Allied Forces... it could be something like that. Once the Gate Incident is over, you might do to humans what you did in Serandia... you might destroy them...”

Connor Lint was not convinced. The monsters from the Gate attacked both humans and demons indiscriminately. From his point of view, the Gate Incident had been triggered to bring about the end of humanity. But if humans were destroyed, demons would be next.

Perhaps I was reluctantly helping the humans out, and was waiting for them to bring an end to the Gate Incident before betraying them and wiping them out.

It was actually a plausible assumption. After all, both demons and humans needed an end to the Gate Incident. It was possible that I was helping the Allied Forces and just using humans until this situation was resolved.

“Oh, that’s actually a smart observation.”

Connor Lint looked bewildered by my sudden praise.

“It’ll be a good excuse to use later on,” I continued.

“An excuse? What do you mean...?”

Wasn’t there a saying about temporary alliances? If the Allied Forces learned that the Demon King’s army was helping humans and became confused, I could say that it was a temporary alliance against a mutual enemy, knowing full well that we’d eventually have to face each other.

It might be possible to openly form an alliance with the Allied Forces with this excuse. People would need a reason to accept the fact that the Demon King was cooperating with humanity, and this reason might be one that they could swallow.

It was other people’s assumptions about my intentions that led to all this chaos. They were free to assume anything they wanted about me this time as well.

Connor Lint looked bewildered. He did not understand what I was saying, and he did not know where he was.

I intended to let him go. But before that, I needed to make sure he wouldn’t spread unnecessary stories.

“For now, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention anything about me clearing the way for the Allied Forces or destroying warp gates. You didn’t see anything, okay?”

“You want me to pretend I didn’t see anything?”

“Yes. If this gets out, people will think I’m up to something, just like you said. But I’m not. Once the Gate Incident is over, that’s it for me. I have no ulterior motives or schemes. It’s true that I didn’t want the Gate Incident to happen.”

I shrugged. “If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. You’re right that you have no reason to trust me, but that’s the truth.”

Connor Lint’s expression grew even more bewildered.

I could explain to him the full series of events leading up to the Gate Incident, but that explanation would be too lengthy, convoluted, and full of missteps.

Connor Lint stared at me blankly. “Did you really... not want this to happen?”

“Yeah.”

“So, just like what I saw today... This is your way of helping the Allied Forces?”

“That’s right.”

Connor Lint was different from the others who had only heard my explanations.

He had seen it firsthand. He must have witnessed my small army fighting fiercely against the monster hordes in Serandia. He had seen us destroy several warp gates. Having seen it with his own eyes, he could sense some truth in my words.

“If this wasn’t your doing... if it wasn’t what you wanted... shouldn’t people know the truth?” Connor Lint asked as he looked up at me. “People think it’s all your fault...”

“That’s right,” I replied.

“I thought so too. And... I still can’t fully believe it,” Connor Lint added.

“Of course. I understand.”

There are things that are hard to believe even when seen. Being suddenly kidnapped and told by the one responsible for everything bad in the world that it wasn’t their fault—how could anyone believe that so easily? Only a fool would blindly believe such a tale.

“If all these things happened for a reason and it’s really not your fault... then you’re being wronged. People should know the truth... If you really are innocent, this isn’t right, is it...?” Connor Lint said.

“I honestly think what you said is just an excuse to persuade me to trust you,” he continued anxiously, “but I also don’t see why you’d need to make up all these excuses to me since convincing me of your innocence will not bring about any significant change... So why are you telling me this...?”

He paused to gather his thoughts. “Ugh... Whatever... Let’s assume what you said is true, even though I still can’t believe it. If what you said is true, and if it’s not your fault but everyone is blaming you for it... Is that really okay with you?”

I could never say that it was okay. It wasn’t okay. It truly wasn’t. But I had accepted that inevitability. I was not going to try to change what couldn’t be changed.

“If you’re not to blame... Then shouldn’t people know? If you’re really innocent, and if people are falsely blaming you, the Demon King, for all their suffering... If there was an unavoidable reason—”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, cutting him off.

“Huh? It doesn’t matter?”

“If people knew this, it would become more of a problem.”

Ignorance truly was bliss. Those who did not know the truth hated and resented me. However, as soon as they learned the truth, they would not stop hating and resenting me; rather, their hat would grow to encompass Ellen and the imperial family.

They would hate everyone who kept the secret and continue to blame everything on me. The revelation of this truth would only spread more hatred.

I did not have any grand theory or noble purpose for not wanting the truth to spread. Quite to the contrary, I just wanted to prevent any further confusion or division.

The truth benefitted no one. That was all there was to it. That was why I had no intention of telling Connor Lint what really happened.

Letting the truth out would only cause more individuals to be hated. I didn’t want that. I just wanted the Gate Incident to end. Hoping for any sort of understanding or trust was a pipe dream.

“A truth that divides everyone is a truth that leads to everyone’s downfall.”

Connor Lint remained silent. freew\e bnovel.com

“If that’s the nature of this truth, then it’s better for it to be kept hidden.”

In a world where division would mean death for everyone, a truth that divided humanity would lead to ruin. If that was the nature behind this truth, and if this ruin could be avoided by me taking on the burden of being wrongly accused, then I would rather just suffer being wronged.

I wasn’t okay, but I couldn’t say I was not okay. But if it was just a matter of me not being okay, then I would just have to endure it.

“So just pretend you didn’t see anything,” I said.

Everyone who was hated by the humans was fighting for their lives, not just me.

‘The Demon King is fighting to put an end to the Gate Incident and wants nothing else.’

That was a truth that could never be understood, and if some managed to understand, that would be more problematic.

If the responsibility for this apocalypse was shared among many, it would only increase the number of targets for hatred, which would only hasten the downfall of the entire world.

Connor Lint just stared at me silently for a while. He probably found it impossible to believe me.

He knew that I wanted the Gate Incident to end, and he had seen me personally involved in the fighting. It was only natural that he believed that my assistance toward the Allied Forces was only temporary, that I was leaving other things for later. In fact, that might be more credible than the truth.

To those who had lost things precious to them, my words were just empty talk. Even if they found it in themselves to believe me, it would not change the fact that I was the root cause behind the Gate Incident.

Even I sometimes had the thought that things would be much better for everyone if I did not exist in this world. Therefore, expecting others not to think the same was foolish.

“You... I always thought you were strange,” Connor Lint said with a chuckle, “but it turns out you were stranger than I thought.”

There was a slight positive nuance in the way he said the word “strange.”

“You’re right. If I say that I saw the Demon King risking his life to destroy the warp gates in Serandia, who would believe me? People would just think I’ve gone crazy because of the war,” he said with a helpless laugh.

From what I’d observed from my time in the Royal Class garrison in cat form, Connor Lint’s abilities had progressed significantly, but he was still seen as somewhat of a fool.

If Connor Lint went around saying that he’d seen things that no one else would believe, people would not just think that he was spouting nonsense, but making jokes in poor taste.

“So, are you going to keep doing this then?” Connor Lint asked.

“Yes. As long as I can.”

Since I couldn’t openly cooperate with the Allied Forces, I had to do what I could from the shadows.

Most of humanity might find it suspicious, but I couldn’t just leave things as they were. I would continue to do whatever I could.

Connor Lint looked at me quietly, then nodded. “Yeah. If I go around telling people unbelievable stories, they’ll just think I’m even weirder than before. There’s no point in saying anything.”

“Alright, then I’ll send you back to the Allied Forces’ encampment...” I said.

“Hey, but you know...”

“Yeah?”

“Uh... um...” Connor Lint tilted his head, and his face seemed to turn slightly red. “I’ve wanted to ask this since before... No, this isn’t the right time to say this... Actually, um...”

‘What is he trying to say?’

Connor Lint scratched his head, then gave me a hopeless look.

“Was it you?” he asked.

I blanked out for a moment. “Huh?”

‘What is he talking about? What does he mean by “was it you”?’

I did not immediately understand what he was talking about.

No—I had a strange feeling I knew, which made it even more confusing.

‘Ah, wait a minute. No way. Damn it, no!’

Before I could say anything, my surprised expression gave it away.

“I-it really was you, wasn’t it?!”

“N-no! N-no way! I mean, what?! No, I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

‘Should I just... eliminate him right now...?’