<h4>Chapter 349</h4>


    I had gone to the Dark Land during my summer vacation, and this time, during the winter vacation, I was heading there again.


    Of course, mypanion this time wasn’t Ellen, the future hero. I was apanied by the princess and the continent’s greatest swordswoman.


    Ellen and I had not ventured that far into the Dark Land. This time, mypanions and I were heading to the Demon King’s Castle, which was located deep within the Dark Land.


    The Allied Forces had advanced in a straight line through the Dark Land to capture the Demon King’s Castle and had seeded in their assault, but they did not explore the areas beyond their route of advance.


    The continued exploration and development of the Dark Land was continuing under the leadership of the adventurers, but they too had yet to explore vast swathes of the uncharted territory.


    Our group consisted of just the three of us: Sabioleen Tana, Charlotte, and myself. We did not need additional attendants or troops to escort us, and mobilizing arge force would only cause unnecessarymotion.


    “We’ll have to pass through quite a few warp gates, Your Highness.”


    “Okay.”


    To maintain their supply lines, the Allied Forces constructed warp gates at regr intervals as they advanced to maintain their supply lines. Naturally, these warp gates had be major targets for the Demon King’s army during the war.


    The n was to pass through several mega warp gates to reach the Egxian Forward Base, then activate the dormant warp gates along the route that the Allied Forces had taken to reach the Demon King’s Castle directly.


    It would take some time to activate the dormant gates, but since a warp gate had been installed right in front of the Demon King’s Castle after the war, the actual travel time would not be too excessive.


    Charlotte wore a tense expression. The Demon King’s Castle had to have been a hellish ce for her. She was returning to a ce she never wanted to go back to, hoping to find even a small clue to resolve her condition.


    Charlotte was undoubtedly feeling a set ofplex emotions, and so was I.


    ***


    At present, the Demon King’s Castle was upied by the imperial army. Although the Allied Forces had thoroughly looted the castle, aplete search and investigation of the entire castle had not yet beenpleted.


    My party quickly traveled through the warp gates and passed through the Egxian Forward Base. Almost too quickly, we had arrived in front of the Demon King’s Castle.


    “...”


    “...”


    Charlotte and I looked wordlessly at the deste silhouette of the Demon King’s Castle. The massive gray castle stood in the middle of the wilderness, under the bright winter sky. The traces of devastation left by the war were still evident.


    The castle itself wasn’t in ruins, but the walls bore the marks of countless spells and siege weapons.


    “So this... is the Demon King’s Castle.”


    Sabioleen Tana, who hadn’t participated in the Great War, was seeing the Demon King’s Castle for the first time. I couldn’t tell what she felt as she regarded the remnants of humanity’s great victory.


    Even though Vertus would eventually find out about our mission, we had no intention of announcing our presence. Having notable figures appear at the garrison would undoubtedly cause unnecessarymotion.


    The three of us donned robes as we approached the Demon King’s Castle.


    “Greetings, Your Highness. I am Count Alfreid, the suprememander of the Demon King’s Castle garrison.”


    Themander, who had been informed of our arrival in advance, came out alone to greet us. It was clear that Charlotte and Sabioleen Tana had taken care to avoid unnecessary disturbances.


    “Ah, I see. Nice to meet you, Count Alfreid.”


    Vertus likely already suspected that Charlotte’s power was rted to the Demon King. He just hadn’t used it as a weapon yet.


    Charlotte whispered to me as we walked, exining that she was here under the pretext of inspecting the Demon King’s Castle garrison.


    Although the warp gate here wasn’t always active, the garrison seemed well-supplied.


    Proper buildings—not just tents—had been constructed around the Demon King’s Castle, and the garrison appeared to be focused more on research and exploration thanbat.


    We followed Count Alfreid, themander, into the garrison headquarters.


    Our visit wasn’t exactly top secret, but it hadn’t been publicized either. Only a select few, including themander, knew of our presence. I didn’t bother introducing myself to Count Alfreid, and he seemed to assume I was just an attendant.


    After a brief meal with themander, he led us to the map room of the headquarters. Charlotte’s official purpose was to be updated on the investigation of the Demon King’s Castle.


    In the center of the room was a scale model of the Demon King’s Castle, and the walls were covered with drawings that appeared to be ns of the castle.


    “The Demon King’s Castle is enormous, as it was the residence of the Demon King. We haven’tpleted our exploration of it yet.”


    “... Is it that extensive?”


    “Yes.”


    The scale model detailed even the copsed sections of the castle walls. The Demon King’s Castle was indeed vast. It was on a grand scaleparable to the Imperial City of Emperatos.


    Unlike the Imperial City, which had a pce located along each cardinal direction, the Demon King’s Castle consisted of a massive central pce surrounded by numerousrge auxiliary buildings.


    Themander seemed to take Charlotte’s words as a reprimand for not having done more, and he mumbled with a troubled expression, “There are still areas where traps are active, so we’re proceeding cautiously. The priority is to prevent casualties as we strive to fully understand theyout...”


    “It’s not urgent, so I think it’s right to proceed cautiously,” said Charlotte. “I wasn’t reprimanding you, Commander.”


    “Thank you, Your Highness.”


    The Demon King’s Castle hadn’t been fully explored yet, not only because of its vast size, but because there were still active traps around thepound.


    All the visible structures had been modeled, but there were still unexplored areas marked out on the ns.


    Themander pointed to the ns and to the model as he began exining to us the areas of the castlepound that had already been explored. The massive auxiliary building,parable to a pce, was a barracks.


    It felt strange to be learning about something I, a prince of the Demon Realm, should have known from the garrisonmander.


    “The barracks likely housed a standing army. However, no matter howrge thepound is, it couldn’t have amodated all the demons and monsters we fought during the Great War. It’s presumed that they summoned demons from other regions.”


    “That makes sense.”


    The Demon King’s Castle had been defended by far more troops than it could normally amodate.


    Themander added that the Demon King’s Castle wouldn’t have had such arge standing force during peacetime.


    “The first floor of the Demon King’s Pce contains facilities for living, such as dining halls and banquet rooms. Do you see this central courtyard?”


    “Yes.”


    There was a wide, open space in the center of the Demon King’s Pce, filled with destroyed columns and statues. Even the debris was intricately represented.


    Even though it was just a model, it conveyed the sense that a massive battle had taken ce here.


    “Is that... the ce?” Charlotte asked as she looked at themander, and he nodded.


    “Yes,” themander confirmed.


    The vast courtyard of the Demon King’s Pce...


    “This is where Ragan Artorius and the Demon King fought.”


    The central courtyard of the Demon King’s Castle, where the hero and the Demon King had shed. Although neither Charlotte nor I had witnessed the battle, we had both heard the earth-shattering explosions that seemed to herald the end of the world.


    Charlotte shivered slightly, and I swallowed hard.


    The traces of the Demon King... Charlotte’s vague hope was that, bying into contact with those traces, she might learn something or find a way to resolve her condition.


    “I need to see this ce for myself.”


    It was only natural that Charlotte would say that.


    ***


    The Demon King’s Castle was far enough away that we had to ride horses to get there. I had learned horseback riding at the Temple, so I was now capable of riding without difficulty.


    The Demon King’s Castle was under investigation, so no one was living inside unless they had a specific mission. As a result, arge settlement, or garrison, had formed around the castle.


    Whether there had been a demon vige around the Demon King’s Castle, like the human capital, was unknown. If there hadn’t been, then it made sense that no traces were found. If there had been, it would have been wiped out in the war, without leaving a trace.


    “Which areas are currently confirmed to be safe?” Charlotte asked.


    “All the auxiliary buildings are confirmed to be safe, and there are no active traps on the ground floor of the Demon King’s Castle. However, the underground levels are still dangerous, so you should avoid going down there if possible. As long as you don’t head too deep underground, you should be able to move around freely without much issue,” themander replied.


    That statement implied there was nothing to gain by merely exploring the ground floor of the Demon King’s Castle. If I wanted to find what I was looking for, it seemed I would have to go underground.


    Charlotte, riding alongside themander, asked, “Have many soldiers fallen victim to the traps?”


    “It’s not just regr soldiers. Even skilled rangers, knights, and even mages have been caught. It’s fortunate if they only suffer physical injuries. Those who stumble into mental magic traps can end up with their mindspletely broken. That’s why we’re being extra cautious with the underground exploration.”


    “Hmm... Is it that severe?”


    These weren’t just traps in some remote dungeon; they were traps in the Demon King’s Castle. When she heard that people could die or bepletely incapacitated if they triggered them, Charlotte let out a small sigh.


    The issue with Vertus aside, the Demon King’s Castle wasn’t a particrly safe ce.


    Themander repeatedly emphasized that the underground areas hadn’t been fully assessed for safety and should be avoided. However, I was sure Charlotte, Tana, and I all shared the same thought.


    <i>‘If there’s anything to find, the clues would be underground.’</i>


    We soon found ourselves in front of the grand and imposing entrance of the Demon King’s Pce.


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The girl who had been assumed to be a poor hostage kidnapped and taken to the Demon King’s Castle had, in fact, been a princess. And the princess, upon being rescued, had instinctively known that she was going to die.


    Returning with Dyrus, obtaining the Teleport scroll, and fleeing from the clutches of the Duke of Salerion’s knights, riding with all his might.


    Without me, Charlotte would have died.


    <i>‘What’s Charlotte thinking? Is she recalling the fear, pain, and horror?’</i>


    “...”


    When I nced over at Charlotte, her expression seemed filled with sadness. She did not seem consumed by anger or pain.


    I didn’t need to ask to know what she was thinking about. She was likely thinking about Baalier. The one who had saved her but then disappeared suddenly, with whom she exchanged letters for a while before he cut off all contact. Now, she had to ponder in anguish about who he really was. And here I was, standing beside her as Reinhart.


    “Let’s go in,” Charlotte said, dismounting with a determined air.


    ***


    The path to the central courtyard of the Demon King’s Pce wasn’t overlyplicated, but the scale of the pce was so vast that we had to traverse long, wide corridors and pass through several halls. The traces of battle were still evident within the castle.


    “Of course... Your Highness knows best, but... after the Demon King died, all the demons surrendered.”


    “Yes, I suppose so.”


    As we walked, themander pointed out the battle scars in the massive halls of the pce. “Most of the traces of battle inside the pce are from the hero’s party.”


    “Oh, I see.”


    The gates of the Demon King’s Castle had only fallen with the death of the Demon King. And once the demon army surrendered, all fighting had ceased. There had been no fighting inside the pce between the Demon King’s army and the Allied Forces.


    Most of the damage to the furnishings, statues, and walls had been caused by the fighting between the Demon King’s forces inside the pce and the hero’s party.


    Themander pointed out various things as we walked through the pce. There was a sense of pride in his voice. Humanity’s great victory... The Demon King’s Castle was like a museum, a living record of that victory. It seemed he viewed it that way, and he wasn’t entirely wrong.


    Themander stopped in front of a copsed wall in what appeared to be a massive dining hall and bowed his head slightly.


    A single white flowery in front of him.


    “This is where the body of Raghdna Olfi was found.”


    This was the ce where the body of one of the members of the hero’s party had been discovered. After the Demon King’s death, all the bodies had likely been recovered. The bodies of the hero and his party would have been found throughout the Demon King’s Castle, where the battle had taken ce.


    The retrieval party would have recorded where each body had been found.


    “Over there was the body of one of the Four Demon Lords, Arquirion.”


    Raghdna Olfi was the ranger in the party. I hadn’t officially established who the Four Demon Lords were, so I hadn’t heard of Arquirion. All I had established was that the members of the hero’s party had died one by one as they defeated the Four Demon Lords, and in the end, only Ragan Artorius remained to face the Demon King.


    It was a cliché for the hero’s party to face the Four Demon Lords one by one, and I had written it in that way without putting much thought into it. Perhaps there was some reason as to why the Four Demon Lords had faced the hero’s party one by one, but it was toote to find out.


    Sabioleen Tana and Charlotte bowed their heads in silence, following themander’s lead, and I did the same. We hadn’t exactly asked for a tour, but themander seemed to consider it his duty to guide us.


    This time, it wasn’t a hall, but a massive corridor. There, too,y a white flower that seemed to have been ced recently. It seemed someone—themander, or someone else—brought in fresh flowers every day.


    The columns on either side of the corridor had copsed, and somewhere among the fallen pirs, themander paused for another moment of silence.


    “This is where the body of Merlern was found...”


    Merlern, the mage of the hero’s party.


    “... Along with the body of one of the Four Demon Lords, the Subus Queen Reyna.”


    Subus Queen Reyna had been Airi’s mother. I’d heard that name before, and it carried significant weight.


    Themander gazed at the remnants of destruction as he spoke.


    “The Subus Queen Reyna was a significant threat. On the nights when she exerted her influence, tens of thousands of soldiers feared being ensnared by nightmares and were unable to sleep. Those who sumbed to sleep often never woke up.”


    He emphasized several times that the true terror of the Subus Queen was her nature as a demon of nightmares. While she might not have been able to prate the minds of those with strong wills or anti-magic training, countless soldiers without such resistance fell victim to her nightmares.


    “In fact, aside from Larken Simonstite, the Subus Queen and her kin were likely responsible for the most allied casualties.”


    It seemed like Sabioleen Tana flinched slightly at the mention of Larken Simonstite. Or was it just my imagination?


    Themander moved on. “Given the circumstances, it seems likely that Merlern overextended his magical powers to save hisrades from the Subus Queen’s powerful enchantment...”


    Count Alfreid, themander, led us to each location where the bodies of the other members of the hero’s party had been found, one by one. Our original purpose was to see where Ragan Artorius and the Demon King Baalier had fought, but Charlotte didn’t seem to mind.


    The hero’s party had saved her life, so she felt a duty to acknowledge that.


    After passing the ce where the cleric Sheydin died, we reached the spot where the magic-wielding swordsman Seijaria, presumed to be one of thest two standing with Ragan Artorius, had fallen. Themander let out a sigh.


    “This is where the bodies of Larken Simonstite, the foremost of the Four Demon Lords, and Seijaria were found. It’s presumed that the battle between Ragan Artorius and the Demon King urred immediately afterward.”


    <i>‘Larken Simonstite...’</i>


    I heard he had tutored both Airi and I in swordsmanship. I had been the cker, while Airi had been the diligent student. Of course, I didn’t know much about him.


    “...”


    Sabioleen Tana stood there silently, observing the site where an intense battle must have taken ce. Her expression hardened. “I wanted to kill him with my own hands.”


    Her fingertips trembled slightly. Neither Charlotte nor themander said anything, as if they already knew.


    I was the only one who didn’t understand why Sabioleen Tana would say such a thing. Sensing my confusion, she gave me a rueful smile.


    “He was my mentor.”


    “... Pardon?!” I was utterly taken aback by the unexpected revtion. My shock drew the attention of both Charlotte and themander.


    “You... learned swordsmanship from a demon?” I asked.


    “...?”


    “Hmm?”


    Sabioleen Tana crossed her arms and murmured softly, “I guess you didn’t know. Well... it’s possible that you wouldn’t have known this. Larken Simonstite was human.”


    <i>‘What? One of the top-ranked Four Demon Lords was actually human? Isn’t it a big deal not to know this?’</i>


    Fortunately, they all believed I was from a humble background, and so my ignorance was epted.


    A chill ran down my spine.


    “He was a traitor to the empire, and deserved to be torn apart,” Sabioleen Tana’s eyes burned with a quiet fury.


    <i>‘Come to think of it...</i>


    <i>‘“Yes, His Highness the Prince and Her Highness the Princess learned swordsmanship from Sir Larken Simonstite, the First of the Four Demon Lords.”</i>


    <i>‘In hindsight, The title “Sir” is a title fit for a knight, isn’t it?’</i>