CH 654

In truth, it was a very shocking and complicated moment.

However, when Adriana saw Reinhardt, all other concerns and situations flew out of her mind, leaving it completely blank.

All other thoughts had vanished.

So, she couldn't help but rush to Reinhardt and embrace him.

She had heard that he was safe somewhere, and she knew that he had appeared in the Imperial Palace.

She knew he was safe.

But when she saw his face, she couldn't help but embrace him, overwhelmed by a sense of relief that pushed everything else aside.

And then.

Gradually, thoughts began to fill her once-blank mind.

She had hugged him too tightly.

And Reinhardt, in turn, hugged Adriana tightly as well.

It was a joyful reunion, but.

"..."

"..."

Gradually, it became awkward.

The embrace had been so intense that it felt as if they were siblings separated by war, making the situation even more uncomfortable.

Had they ever been this close...?

It was inevitable to wonder.

Although she had hugged him impulsively out of joy, they didn't know when to let go, so they hesitated until Adriana carefully released her arms first.

"Ah... um..."

"Yes... well..."

Their faces turned red as they stepped back and stammered awkwardly.

Adriana couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation, even though she found it somewhat ridiculous herself.

For some reason, a surge of emotion welled up from deep within her chest.

He had been an annoying junior who often made irritating noises.

But still, the expression she saw most often on him was this one.

When he couldn't run properly, when he knew nothing about fighting.

That was the expression he always wore back then.

"You haven't changed, junior."

At those words, Reinhardt gritted his teeth.

It was as if he was trying to suppress a surge of emotions.

Although she knew he was the Demon King, to Adriana, Reinhardt was still the clumsy junior who knew nothing but was full of confidence.

And yet.

Later, he had risked his life to save her. It was only much later that she found out that it had been Reinhardt who had done so.

Even later, he had become the protagonist of terrifying events.

He was now synonymous with terrifying events, and seeing that he had summoned her through the Holy Knight Commander, Adriana knew that something she couldn't understand was happening.

She still didn't know what had happened or how things had come to this point.

But Adriana couldn't help but know.

Junior.

With just that one word.

What exactly he felt with that one word.

As his eyes reddened and he tried to suppress something from bursting out.

That the person before her was not the Demon King, but Reinhardt of the Temple, the real person she had always wanted.

She couldn't help but know that.

Otherwise, that one word wouldn't have turned his gaze so nostalgic.

At first, Adriana had been so surprised and overjoyed that she had hugged Reinhardt fiercely.

This time, she carefully embraced his head.

"Junior, you've had a hard time."

"..."

The second embrace was filled with different emotions than the first.

Not joy, but worry and comfort.

Adriana was a more special existence to the Demon King than she could have ever imagined.

It was a time when there were secrets, but no power to conceal them.

In those days, he was truly weak and knew nothing; his only defining feature was his foul temperament.

Before anyone else in the world, before Ellen Artorius, was Adriana.

She had seen the frail side of the Demon King and was the first to guide him.

Without hesitation, she took the hand of a person who was utterly detestable, with a bad temperament and an even worse first impression.

That's why, more than she could imagine, the Demon King couldn't help but see Adriana as someone special.

To the Demon King, Adriana was the only one.

"Yes," the Demon King spoke, wrapped in Adriana's embrace.

Adriana was the only person in the world who could see his vulnerable side.

"It was hard," he admitted.

At his honest answer, Adriana held back tears and embraced her junior, who was stronger than anyone else but, in truth, also more fragile, even more tightly.

------

Their reunion wasn't tearful, but it almost was.

In a moonlit field, Reinhardt and Adriana sat side by side.

Although the awkwardness between them had somewhat subsided, Reinhardt hesitated.

"Uhm... There's so much to say that I can't seem to say anything."

"Actually, I feel the same way," Adriana confessed.

Like Reinhardt, she didn't know where to start because of the many things they had experienced.

Both the Demon King and Adriana had gone through more than a few trials.

But among all of their stories, there was not a single one they could share with laughter.

"In the end, there was so much I didn't know. I didn't even try to learn."

She had become someone who moved according to the orders of the Demon King, through the Commander of the Holy Knights.

There were countless things that could be imagined from that alone. Adriana couldn't help but know the significance of the sudden fall of Eleion Bolton.

"So, Lord Bolton..."

"He's alive."

"Ah, that's... good."

Adriana sighed in relief.

Just as Adriana didn't know much about Rowan, she knew little about Eleion Bolton.

Nevertheless, Adriana couldn't help but think it was fortunate that someone was still alive.

Watching Adriana sigh in relief, Reinhardt grinned bitterly.

"But all five popes are dead."

"...What?"

"I didn't kill them, but I ordered their deaths."

"I see..."

Adriana lowered her head, her expression complicated.

The death of the popes was a significant event. If such news had become public, Adriana would have known.

The confusion caused by the change in the Holy Knights' commander was still ongoing, but somehow the popes' deaths remained hidden.

Of course, this meant that the upper echelons of the religious order were all puppets moving according to Reinhardt's commands, and their influence was so great that they could even cover up the deaths of the popes.

Adriana had expected Reinhardt to go through various trials, but she never thought he would have to decide someone's death.

All of these tragedies were unwanted by both of them, Adriana knew. But in the end, deciding who lived and who died in these unwanted circumstances was inevitable.

That's why Adriana couldn't help but be sad.

To Adriana, who considered it fortunate that Eleion Bolton was alive, Reinhardt confessed that he had ordered the deaths of others.

It must have been a warning not to harbor any illusions.

Adriana did not ask for the reason.

For speaking of it and hearing it would be a painful affair.

And naturally, when confronted like this, there was someone who could not help but come to mind.

Irene's wild dog.

That's what she had been called.

They hadn't known each other for long.

But entangled with the Holy Knights and the Five Great Religions, Adriana became a hostage and was later rescued.

With nowhere to go, Reinhardt entrusted Adriana to the Rotary Club.

And Adriana could not help but become very close to Loyar.

But that Loyar was actually Lycantrop.

Lycantrop, who had urged Adriana to flee at that time.

In the end, Loyar, who died saving Reinhardt, and the people of the Rotary Club, could not help but come to mind.

They all died.

Loyar thought she was keeping her secret well, but most of the club members already knew that Loyar was Lycantrop. Of course, the club members must have implicitly known that Reinhardt was not an ordinary person.

If any of them had carelessly opened their mouths, neither Loyar nor Reinhardt would have been safe.

Neither Reinhardt nor Loyal knew that they were keeping the secret, not until they all died.

Loyar's name, too.

And the people of the Rotary Club.

Neither Adriana nor Reinhardt mentioned each other.

But the long silence itself made it impossible for them not to know what the other was thinking.

Neither of them brought up the sad stories, on purpose.

Now was the time to think about the future.

"Can everything be alright?"

It wouldn't be.

Adriana could not help but realize that something else would come after the Gate incident.

The Demon King and the Empire.

Something was already happening between them.

"As it always has been, it might not be," Reinhardt did not offer a positive outlook.

"Still, I'm trying to do as much as I can."

"…Right."

Adriana looked at Reinhardt.

The junior, who had always been far inferior to her, was now in a position of incomprehensible strength and unreachable status.

"Junior, am I stronger than before?"

At Adriana's seemingly playful remark, Reinhardt smiled.

"I suppose so."

"I don't use a sword anymore, but a hammer?"

To kill monsters, she now wielded a massive hammer instead of a sword.

A giant hammer that ordinary people could barely lift.

With it, she had not sliced but crushed countless monsters.

Reinhardt nodded at her words.

"I know."

"…Huh? How do you know?"

"I, I was watching…."

Reinhardt, who had been hesitating to say something, finally gave up and sighed deeply.

"The cat. Do you remember?"

"…Cat?"

At the unexpected remark, Adriana tilted her head.

In this place, mentioning a cat out of the blue could only mean one thing.

Adriana's eyes widened with a sudden intuition.

"Oh, no way."

"That was me."

"…"

At the shocking revelation, Adriana could only stand there with her mouth agape.

The black kitten that had suddenly appeared.

Disappearing and reappearing, staying for a while and then vanishing again.

Eventually, the black cat was taken away by Ellen to the temple.

"To be honest, it wasn't exactly like a dog... Well, fine, I admit it. It was a bit perverted. I know that. I know, but..."

"Somehow."

Adriana interrupted Reinhardt's attempt at an explanation.

Reinhardt quietly stared at Adriana.

Despite the bizarre story, Adriana was laughing.

Smiling, she pinched Reinhardt's cheek.

"Somehow, that cat really liked both Ellen and me."

Strangely enough, the kitten was particularly fond of Ellen and Adriana.

The kitten would sit on Adriana's lap and eat jerky, and it wouldn't resist when Ellen took it to her room.

That was definitely the case.

If the cat was Reinhardt, it made sense that it behaved that way.

That fact revealed a lot.

The cat's behavior showed that Reinhardt hadn't changed from before.

He still liked Ellen and cared about her, which was why he visited her in that form.

And not just in front of Ellen, but also in front of Adriana, the cat was well-behaved and tried to stick close.

"Junior, you must have really missed not only Ellen, but also me, huh?"

"..."

At Adriana's teasing words, Reinhardt, or rather, the Demon King who was now in an almost unreachable position, blushed.

Embarrassed that his true feelings had been discovered, he seemed unsure of what to do.

In the end, even now, it was because he wanted to talk to Adriana that he had summoned her like this.

"You're so cute."

"What do you want me to do about it..."

Watching her junior blush, Adriana laughed for the first time in a while.

And then, she was surprised at herself for laughing.

She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed like this.

The realization that there had been days when she could laugh like this made her inevitably calm down again.

"So, is there no particular reason?"

"Reason?"

"Yeah, if there's something you want to talk about, it should come out by now. But it doesn't look like there is."

They had embraced passionately, worried about saying something they shouldn't, and had a little conversation.

So if there was something to say, it should have come out by now, but Reinhardt hadn't said anything about his purpose.

"In a way, the reason was that there was no reason."

"Huh?"

Reinhardt looked at Adriana.

"Since the Gate incident, there has been a reason for everything I've done."

"..."

"So, it means that none of it was done because I wanted to."

It was because something was needed.

Because he had to become stronger.

Because he had to form an alliance.

Because he needed information.

Because he wanted someone's power.

To prevent some disaster.

To prevent someone's death.

Or, to kill someone.

All of them were reasonable actions.

Rather than reasons, to be more precise, they were necessary actions.

Things that the Demon King had to do.

He had been acting to achieve certain goals that he had to accomplish in order to achieve his desired objective.

Even matters related to Ellen were necessary, as observing the hero's situation would help predict future events.

But.

There was no need for him to meet Adriana.

"Before everything ends, I just wanted to do something for the sake of doing it. Something that wasn't necessary or had no reason, but I just wanted to do it."

"..."

Adriana faintly smiled at his words.

He had simply wanted to see her after a long time.

The Demon King had sought out Adriana just for that.

"Was that the reason you came to see me?"

"...Is it strange?"

"No, it's not strange. In fact, I'm grateful."

Adriana suddenly stretched her arms towards the sky, yawning.

"But it does make me feel a bit miserable, knowing that I'm not someone of any real use."

"...That's not what I meant."

"But it's true. I don't have much influence, and whether I'm on your side or not doesn't really matter, so meeting me would be a waste of time from your perspective. I know I'm weaker than you now. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"..."

Ultimately, Adriana was not someone directly involved in the grand scheme of things.

Although she was much stronger than ordinary people, she was still infinitely weaker compared to those who made the big decisions.

She had no power or authority.

That's why the Demon King had no need to make time to seek out Adriana.

While keeping an eye on other more important figures had its own significance, Adriana was not one of them.

Adriana was someone he didn't need to use.

"Still, thank you for putting it nicely, my junior. Saying that you wanted to see me for personal reasons. That makes me happy."

"..."

In the end, it's all about perspective.

It could be considered a waste of time.

But it could also be said that he had left important matters behind to see someone he truly wanted to see.

Adriana couldn't help but be happy that she was the only person he sought out for personal reasons.

Reinhardt quietly looked at Adriana.

"To be honest, I was scared."

"...Scared? Of what?"

Just as Adriana thought Reinhardt hadn't changed much from before.

The Demon King couldn't help but think that Adriana treated him the same way as before, based on her attitude.

"I was scared that you might have changed."

"...Ah."

"Everyone has changed, you know."

That's why he hadn't faced Adriana until now, because her attitude and perspective might have been different from before.

Someone had drastically changed, and it would be strange if they didn't change at all.

Since he was the only one reminiscing and remembering the past, meeting Adriana again could lead her to curse the Demon King who had created the world as it was now.

The Demon King said he was afraid of that.

Not death or anything else, but the fear that Adriana might look at him with a twisted face and curse him.

"It's just that you were scared of."

"..."

"It's just that... and you're still scared..."

Adriana, as if feeling pity, bowed her head and shed tears.

The Demon King didn't cry.

He just talked about his fear with a stern expression, saying he was scared of just that.

As if trying to throw away any weak appearance today.

He talked about the fear he had never told anyone before.

"I didn't have any particular purpose."

"Right."

"But, when I came here and saw you in person, one emerged."

"Purpose...?"

Reinhardt looked at Adriana as they spoke, wondering what had come to mind when he said he had come without a specific purpose.

"Escape from here."

"...Huh?"

"Stop fighting."

Adriana's eyes widened at the unexpected remark.

"Return to the Imperial Capital, or follow me. I'll take care of everything else, and so will the others."

Now, there was only one battle left in the Gate incident.

Thus, the purpose of urging her not to fight the last battle emerged when the Demon King faced Adriana.

"My junior."

Adriana's expression hardened.

"Are you telling me to be a coward?"

"Yes."

He didn't beat around the bush, insisting it wasn't about cowardice or offering other reasons.

It's because she could survive the final battle or die.

Run away in cowardice and live.

The Demon King had no intention of using Adriana, but he said such words because he wanted her to survive.

"My junior, the power I have may be weak. I may be weaker than you, infinitely weaker compared to other strong people, and it might not mean much."

"..."

"But that doesn't mean my desire to do something is insignificant."

The desire to save someone.

The desire to help, even a little bit.

The size of one's power doesn't determine the size of their heart.

At Adriana's words, the Demon King bit his lip.

Everyone had their own determination.

To try to break that because of his own desires was arrogance.

If Adriana wanted to fight, did he have to forcibly remove her from the battlefield because it was dangerous?

"Still, I can do more than my fair share."

"..."

Reinhardt could no longer pressure Adriana.

It was already selfish enough to ask someone to step aside out of fear for their death.

He couldn't force someone to leave if they didn't want to.

However, as if he couldn't stand it,

Adriana could clearly see the expression that showed he wanted to do so, even by force.

"Promise me."

"...What?"

"Promise me you'll survive."

In front of her junior, who said those words with a sad expression,

"Who am I, then?"

Adriana smiled and threw back the same words her junior would often say when he acted like a fool.