Chapter 500: She Must Claim It
After dinner came to an end, the instructors informed Amon’s group that the Demon Queen wished to meet them once again.
Without delaying, the five of them followed a royal knight through the quiet corridors of the royal palace.
The palace was peaceful at night.
Golden lamps illuminated the stone corridors, while the sound of their footsteps echoed softly through the grand halls.
Before long, they stopped in front of the same room they had visited yesterday.
The royal knight knocked politely. "Your Majesty, they have arrived."
"Send them in."
Her calm voice came from inside.
The knight opened the door.
"Please."
The five entered the room together.
It was the same spacious guest chamber as before.
Comfortable sofas surrounded a beautifully carved wooden table placed in the center.
Sitting on the sofa was Demon Queen Nyxariel Noctyra.
Unlike yesterday, she wasn’t wearing her black armor.
Instead, she wore a neatly fitted white shirt tucked into black trousers. Brown leather boots reached just below her knees.
One long leg rested elegantly over the other as she sat with perfect posture.
Despite dressing casually. She still radiated overwhelming authority.
The group bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Nyxariel gave a small nod.
"Please, have a seat."
The five sat down together on the long sofa opposite her.
From left to right sat Marcus, Aisha, Amon, Seraphina, and Eliana.
Nyxariel quietly observed each of them.
Normally an incident involving a few unknown demons wouldn’t have reached the Queen herself.
However, this case was different.
The guests involved were students from Arcadia Academy.
Not only that. Most of them belonged to influential families.
Seraphina was the granddaughter of Duke Alistair Luminous.
Marcus belonged to the prestigious Lionheart Ducal Family.
Aisha came from the respected Darkfang Clan of the Beastman Kingdom.
Eliana was the Princess of the Elven Kingdom.
And Amon...Well... Amon was simply Amon.
He was a commoner and nothing more.
Nyxariel folded her hands together.
She started to talk and then hear everything from the group.
They told her in detailed what happened.
"Hmm... thank you for informing me about today’s incident."
Her expression softened slightly.
"And... I sincerely apologize that you had to experience such danger while visiting our kingdom as honored guests."
The group was slightly surprised. The one who eas most surprised was Amon.
He was once again surprised by her just like yesterday.
He simply couldn’t understand this woman.
She was a queen yet apologizing personally? It felt strange very strange.
’Is she... plotting something?’
Amon thought for a brief moment.’Nah... we’re leaving tomorrow anyway. It won’t affect us.’
The atmosphere became quiet. Then Amon suddenly spoke. "By the way, Your Majesty..."
Nyxariel looked toward him. "Do you know anything about the Primordial Shard?"
The room fell silent. To be honest, Amon had hesitated before asking.
At first he didn’t want to reveal anything related to the Primordial Shard.
However the professors had already informed the Queen that those two demons had been chasing Lark because of something called the Primordial Shard.
There was no point hiding that much.
Although none of them mentioned the golden pendant Lark possessed. They all agreed to keep that possibility a secret.
But Amon knew it, that Lark’s life was going to be more hard.
Nyxariel remained silent for a few moments before calmly answering.
"To be honest...I have no idea what it might be."
She leaned back slightly. "But... now that I’ve heard about it, I’ll have people investigate."
Her face remained calm. Almost too calm.
Amon quietly looked into her crimson eyes.
’She’s lying?’
He couldn’t tell. She was a queen. Someone who had lived for well over a hundred years.
Surely someone like her should know something. And even if she doesn’t know about it, at least she might have heard about it before.
Yet he had absolutely no way to prove his suspicion. After a brief pause, Amon smiled awkwardly.
"Oh...I guess it’s still a mystery then."
Nyxariel simply gave a small nod.
"Perhaps." Then she smiled faintly.
"Well... before you leave tomorrow, you should explore the city. The capital is especially beautiful at night."
The group looked at each other.
Marcus straightened his posture. With a respectful expression, he spoke politely.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. It has truly been an honor for me and my friends to speak with you. We sincerely enjoyed our time here. And... we would love to explore your beautiful city. But after today’s incident..."
Amon slowly turned his head toward Marcus.
’What...? Who is this guy?’
He had never seen Marcus speak in such a formal and respectful tone before.
It felt extremely strange.
Nyxariel smiled. "Of course. The capital is completely safe. You needn’t worry. As long as I remain in this city...everyone knows what will happen if someone dares ignore my orders and harms any student from Arcadia Academy."
There wasn’t the slightest hint of arrogance in her voice.
Most people in city already knows about students from human kingdom and few other races students were in city.
And they know what consequences they need to face if anyone hurt this people.
She simply stated it as a fact. The group respectfully bowed again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Seraphina spoke calmly. "We appreciate your kindness."
Eliana smiled gracefully. "Thank you very much."
Aisha also lowered her head respectfully. "We’re grateful."
With that, the five stood up. They turned toward the door.
However Amon suddenly stopped. He turned around once more.
Nyxariel looked at him curiously.
"Yes?"
Amon smiled.
"Your Majesty...We’ll probably return to the Human Kingdom tomorrow. So...This might be the last time we meet."
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly before smiling again.
"Still...I hope we meet again someday."
Nyxariel blinked once.
Then she chuckled softly.
"Certainly, Amon. I would like that as well."
Amon smiled before finally leaving the room together with his friends.
’I hope they won’t do anything bad to Lark.’
The large wooden door slowly closed behind them.
---
Silence filled the room.
Nyxariel remained seated without moving. Her gentle smile slowly disappeared. The warmth in her eyes vanished.
Replacing it was a cold, unreadable gaze.
Knock.
Knock.
A knock echoed through the room.
"Enter."
The door opened. A broad-shouldered demon wearing dark silver armor stepped inside.
His black hair was neatly combed back, while two sturdy black horns rose proudly from his head.
He possessed a powerful physique.
He was tall, well-built.
Yet he was still noticeably shorter than the Queen.
The man immediately knelt on one knee.
"Your Majesty."
Nyxariel looked at him.
"You may stand, Commander Varok."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Varok, the Commander of the Royal Knights, stood respectfully.
"We’ve located Lark."
Nyxariel remained expressionless.
"He is currently staying at one of the city temples."
"We’ve already assigned men to quietly monitor him."
"No one will approach him."
"We’ll simply observe."
He paused briefly.
"Once the Arcadia Academy students return to the Human Kingdom..."
"...we can quietly bring him before you."
Nyxariel nodded once.
"Good. Continue watching him. Do not alarm him. And make sure no one else reaches him first."
"Understood."
Varok bowed deeply.
"If that is all, Your Majesty..."
"It is."
"You may leave."
"As you command."
The commander turned and quietly left the room.
The heavy doors closed once again.
Silence returned.
Nyxariel leaned back against the sofa.
Her crimson eyes slowly narrowed.
"...Primordial Shard."
She whispered those two words to herself.
"To think..."
"I would hear that name again after so many years."
She slowly closed her eyes.
"I never imagined I’d finally discover where it might be."
Her fingers gently tapped the sofa’s armrest.
"I cannot allow anyone else to obtain it."
"No matter the cost..."
"I must claim it."
The room once again became silent. Only the Queen remained there. Quietly planning her next move.
---
Outside the palace...
After receiving permission from the professors, several students decided to explore the capital city before leaving the Demon Kingdom tomorrow.
Not everyone joined.
Many students preferred to stay at the manor and rest after today’s exhausting battle.
Only a few groups wanted to head out.
Amon’s group naturally decided to go as well.
Before leaving, Amon approached Professor Adelia.
"Professor."
She looked at him.
"Yes?"
Amon smiled awkwardly.
"Would you like to come with us?"
Adelia blinked.
"...Me?"
"Yes."
"It’ll be more fun."
She stared at him for several seconds.
Then she sighed helplessly.
"...Fine."
"It’s probably better if I keep an eye on all of you."
Her gaze stopped on Amon.
"Especially you."
Amon scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"I didn’t do anything..."
Adelia simply smiled knowingly.
"That’s exactly what worries me."
A short while later. The group gathered outside the manor.
Unlike her usual attire, Adelia now wore a flowing sky-blue dress that reached her ankles.
The elegant dress perfectly suited her gentle beauty. Her long bright green hair swayed softly in the evening breeze.
The students couldn’t help but glance at her in admiration.
Soon several small groups left the manor together.
Although they separated to explore different streets...
None of them wandered too far from one another.
The brightly lit capital city awaited them, alive with countless lights, lively markets, and the peaceful atmosphere of a kingdom enjoying another quiet night.
