The Demon Prince goes to the Academy - Chapter 259

I spoke with Harriet and Ellen.

That wasn’t the end of it.

I had to explain to Elise why I knew about the Black Order and how I knew about Cantus Magna.

They acted as if they knew things they shouldn’t know.

Sarkeghar saw Ellen as a problem, but not the Black Order. You can speculate all you want about why I’m dabbling in new powers.

However, while Sarkegar may be fine, Eleris is not.

He’s been doing this and that, and now he’s trying to get to the Black Order.

Beyond the danger, it’s a rather odd situation if I don’t dream of rebuilding the demon world.

Sarkeghar seems rather pleased, so there’s no need to convince him.

So, I had to do something about this situation where Elise, who had always been my greatest ally, might become my enemy.

The next day.

I left the Temple and found myself in the lower chambers of Elerith’s Ring.

Elise’s mood was much different than usual.

Unlike the usual cheerful face that greeted me, Eleris was staring at me with a stern expression.

If Elise wants to kill me, I can’t stop her.

“That’s scary.”

“You’re trying to contact the Black Order, and you come to me in person in this situation, and you speak of your fears for me, and they can’t be real.”

“That’s really scary.”

“…….”

Eleris stares at me, still.

“I thought you’d bring Loyaar or Sarkegar, but you’re coming alone…….”

Darkened ring.

It may not be night, but her powers are at their peak. If she can kill me in broad daylight, there’s no way she can’t kill me in this environment.

“As for you, sir, you are a strange man.”

Her eyes were fluttering.

“The two sides of you, trying to work with a dangerous group called the Black Order, and then trying to protect a child named Ellen with your life. I don’t think I’ll ever understand it.”

It didn’t seem to understand me at all.

“Jae-hyun, whatever you’re dreaming about, I think you’re putting too much faith in me……. You shouldn’t. If you dream of rebuilding the Demon Realm, you should stay away from me. Even if you’re not dreaming of becoming a Demon Realm Rebuilder, you’re putting too much faith in me. Instead……. Why do you have so much faith in me, you don’t even know me.”

Eleris said pleadingly. She looks like she’s about to burst into tears.

Sarkegar and I had some friction this time, but he could never kill me. In the end, I’m forced to comply, and while I can’t stand Ellen’s presence, I can’t touch her for now.

But not Eleris.

Eleris kept doubting and worrying that I was dreaming of war and rebuilding the demon world.

Eleris is an unwieldy load.

A subordinate who can kill me at any time if my intentions don’t align with his values.

There’s no reason to keep such a subordinate around, and I’ve been favoring Elise. She can’t understand me like that.

The trust between me and Elise has been broken.

Eleris will never believe me when I say I want peace, because I tried to reach out to the Magic Covenant.

Therefore, at a time when you are wondering what to do with me, I appear alone, as if to kill you, and you are confused.

When I was dropped into this world, I was psychologically overwhelmed.

I was relieved to see Charlotte, but I didn’t know what to do with the ecliptic.

I met Elise at a time when I was worried about today, not years from now.

In a world full of human beings, I met someone who must be on my side.

It’s like finding an oasis in the desert, and meeting Eleris was like a circle of salvation for me.

So I couldn’t help but be drawn to her, no matter what she actually was.

“I never lied.”

I stare at Eleris.

“I’m not interested in rebuilding the demon world, and I’m not interested in war.”

Eleris looked disbelieving. Yeah, I can’t believe it either. This whole pacifist thing has gotten out of hand.

When I took Elise to Aaron Mede’s house, I already knew this was going to happen.

It was a moment that had to come at some point.

Now Elise has a very important job to do.

“If I told you I knew the future, would you believe me?”

“……Yes?”

I was going to tell her about the future, at least.

* * *

Know the future.

Elise was flustered, not sure how to react, as she hadn’t expected me to say such an outlandish thing.

I wanted to tell others, but I couldn’t.

It would require explaining too many other things, including things that could never be said.

But I could only tell one person, and that person was Elise.

To be more precise, I wanted to remove the last bit of doubt about me from Elise’s mind.

I wanted to make Eleris, now truly on my side.

On my side, unsuspecting no matter what I do.

“Degrading……. What……. What in the world are you talking about?”

“I don’t know the whole future. All I know are some of the big events that will happen in the future, and I can’t predict the future as it changes in real time.”

It’s hard to explain the details. I couldn’t and didn’t want to believe that I was the creator of the world.

This is a place I do not know. It is a house built by others on the ground I have cleared. I know the foundation, but the finished world is a place I don’t know.

“The information about the Black Order and Cantus Magna is just stuff I already knew. You know, there’s no reason or way for me to know that stuff.”

“Lower……. I don’t understand what you’re saying. Are you saying, Mr. Zhao, that you’re a person from the future?”

“Not quite, but it’s close.”

I’m pretty sure that’s what they mean when they say “peepers. Elise looked like she was convinced there was something really wrong with my head.

“You won’t believe it, you won’t believe it, but hear me out.”

It’s too long a story to answer every single question that comes to mind as she listens to me. For now, she is silent at my words.

“There’s not a lot we can prove. What matters is that in two years, warp gates on every continent are going to be connected to the Otherworld, and a lot of people are going to die because of it.”

“I’ve come up with my own name for it, ‘The Gate Crisis,’ and I don’t know the exact reason it’s happening. But I do know that if we leave it alone, it’s going to kill a billion humans.”

“The only thing I can think of right now that could do that is magic, and I’m trying to get a clue from magic. It could be the Black Order or the Cantus Magna, or some other magical organization, and I’m trying to contact them because they might know the solution.”

“I’m expanding my power now, so that if things get out of hand later, I might have to put in a precipitation that destroys the warp gates of an entire continent.”

“There’s a lot more I could do. Because in the end, I need to be able to do a lot of things.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s hard to believe, and you’re probably wondering why the hell I know that.”

“Okay, now ask.”

I’m not free.

Therefore, she needs to be moved instead. Elyse can use teleportation.

It’s the only thing around me that can carry out my most important instructions immediately and accurately.

She must either believe that I am very much out of my mind, or that I am telling the truth. Eleris was silent for a very long time.

“All of a sudden you said this to me……. I didn’t know what to do…….”

In the end, she didn’t seem to believe me.

“Yeah, you can’t trust me, but I want you to know that I’m not wishing for war or the end of the world.”

It was more likely to be disbelief.

With the Orbis class gone, I can’t even point to the minutiae of the Temple as evidence.

But I do know a few things about the future that are certain.

“You made a club, remember?”

“Yes, he founded a magical society and is even the president…….”

“Something amazing is about to be made there.”

“……!”

Eleris had told me about the Magical Research Society beforehand. I was surprised that she was president without knowing magic.

And I’d already heard about the stuff they were going to build there. Like everyone else, Elise was negative.

That’s why Eleris told me about the manifestation of magic using atmospheric mana.

“No way…….”

“Yeah, I knew they were going to make that stuff, that’s why I had them make it ahead of time.”

Power Cartridge and Moonshine.

If those two objects were made by students, she would have some faith that I knew the future.

“Also, the future has changed so much, I don’t know what’s going to happen…….”

Another solid future.

“Alsbringer will choose a master, and that master is my classmate, Ludwig.”

Ludwig. This is the first time Eleris has heard the name Ludwig in her life.

“Ellen……. Are you saying that’s not her?”

“Uh.”

Knowing about Ellen’s identity, Eleris naturally couldn’t believe that if the next owner of Alsbringer was to be found, it wouldn’t be Ellen.

“Time will tell if I really know the future or not.”

You may not believe it now, but I’m sure she’ll agree with me when she sees what I’m saying come to fruition.

Eleris seemed to sense something in my uncanny confidence.

That what I’m saying is true, or at least that I’m not in a lying mood.

“I don’t know if you’re a trustee or something, but……. but I’m not sure I can believe it for now…….”

“That’s exactly how I thought you’d react, which is why I didn’t tell you until now. I’d be looked at like a crazy person.”

“…….”

I don’t know how long it will take for the future to come. But she will wait until she sees that my words are true.

Soon, or at least until then, it will be my ally.

“You telling me this means……. It must mean I have a role to play after all.”

Eleris looks at me with determination in her eyes.

“What do I need to do?”

She didn’t seem intent on turning away from me for now.

“Don’t get me wrong, listen.”

“Yes.”

Here’s the kicker.

“We need to rebuild the demon world.”

“……neh?!”

Eleris made an uncharacteristically new sound.

After saying that she wouldn’t dream of rebuilding the Demon Realm, the sudden sound of rebuilding the Demon Realm caused Eleris to be stunned.

It was more than just bringing the whole story full circle. Eleris looked at me, startled, and then stared back.

He looks at me like I said all those crazy things to get to this point.

“Technically, we’re not rebuilding the Demon Realm, but we need to make the humans believe that the Demon Realm has been rebuilt.”

“I don’t know what you mean……. I’m not sure.”

“Now that Ragan Artorius is dead, if word gets out that the Demon Realm has been rebuilt, the humans will panic, right?”

“……Yes.”

This was the reaction of a young senior, Redina, the other day.

If Artorius dies and the demon is resurrected, who the hell is going to kill it?

Fear of the Devil.

In the absence of Artorius, the only real opponent, the devil has returned.

Humans panic.

“We don’t have much time. Only two years. No, not even two years.”

At the beginning of the first semester of the third year, the gate crisis erupts.

It’s not two years, it’s a year and a bit.

“If we don’t fix what’s causing the gates in those two years, we’re going to have to do the next best thing and smash all the warp gates on the entire continent, which might cause something else to happen, but we’ll have to do it for now.”

“……I don’t think you can do that.”

“Right.”

It’s impossible to break all the warp gates on a continent in one fell swoop. Unless I become the Empire itself.

But I can’t be the empire itself, but I can be its arch-enemy.

Becoming someone’s enemy means gaining influence over them.

“If we make them believe that a demonic force is invading the lands of men through a warp gate, what do you think will happen?”

Elise’s eyes widened at my words.

“By ourselves……. I’m going to seal the warp gate……. Is that what you’re saying?”

“It will do that, if not destroy it. Even if we don’t destroy it, we’ll do enough to defend it.”

It won’t solve everything, but it will mitigate the initial damage considerably.

“That’s why it’s insurance, just in case. So we don’t have to rebuild the Demon World for real. Just enough to keep the humans on their toes. Just enough to make them realize that it’s happening here and there, and when it comes down to it, I’m going to step up, or someone else is going to step up, and we’re going to raid their land through the warp gate.”

It won’t be demons that actually come out, but otherworldly monsters, but that’s probably a good thing. Humans will be prepared.

This is a backup plan in case I don’t accomplish anything in the end. Humans must believe that the Demon Realm is being reorganized, and they must fear it.

Eleris looks at me with a stony expression.

“That role is……. Are you saying I should take that role?”

“Yeah.”

Sarkegaard and Loyaar have a job to do here.

Eleris, however, was not given a job. As a wizard, her mobility is unparalleled, as she can move from continent to continent in an instant.

The rebuilding of the Demon Realm should be left to those who want it least. Of course, it’s not really rebuilding, it’s just an ulterior motive under the guise of rebuilding.

I think Elise knew she was going to do this somehow.

“……Yes. Degradation.”

Elise also.

He looked like he was accepting a fate he couldn’t fight.

“Great, but all of this would be……. false.”

If all this is just a lie, will you kill me?

“I’m……. I’m going to be very sad.”

Even when she didn’t know whether or not to trust me, it seemed like she couldn’t choose between hating me or harming me in the end.

When she first saw me on the ecliptic, she looked like she was going to kill me.

Maybe it was just my imagination.

Eleris seemed like someone who couldn’t do a hair’s breadth of harm to my body.

The big story was over, but there was still more to tell.

“But……. Speaking of rebuilding the Demon Realm, what on earth should I do and how should I start…….”

Rumors spread through the human world that the rebuilding of the Demon Realm has begun.

That meant something had to be done, but Elise didn’t seem to have a clue.

“The demonic core has been decimated, and I told you, some of them don’t get it.”

“Oh……. Yes.”

Demonic forces on the fringes who have not answered the call.

“Let’s eat them first.”

You must actually have power. Even if it’s just a sham of a reconstruction, you must have power itself. You must subjugate the demonic forces that still exist and crush them underfoot.

That first batter.

“Vampire Council.”

“……Yes?”

Something that wasn’t even a demonic force in the first place.

“Round them up.”

I’m going to have that first.

“Lock the door, point the holy sword at the mother tree, make a blood oath or something.”

“!”

I don’t know if I can crush the pride of a long-lived vampire, but maybe a holy sword can force their closed minds open?

It’s the best weapon on earth for undead only, and Elysse would get a kick out of Tiamata.

History proves it.

There’s nothing like violence to open a closed door.