The Lowest Royal Returns

Raelis got up from his seat, and at the same time, Zeri followed.

He thought she was going to pick what he would; however, she soon parted ways from him and started scouring the nearby papers to find something to do.

And of course, he did the same.

It took several minutes, but eventually, he found a request that was extremely close to the Azteran Mountain Range. Coincidentally enough, it had something to do with demon hunting.

There were hundreds of Lesser Demons and 33 confirmed regular Demons.

The request looked innocent beyond that, but Raelis didn't need to be a sage to understand how the demonic ranks worked.

If there were more than 15 regular demons in one spot, that meant a Demon Captain could possibly be nearby. Or at the very least, the demons were ordered to set up a temporary base.

However, when that number was 30, then it was guaranteed. It was just that no one had confirmed the presence of a Demon Captain, but it was definitely there.

"Hmm..."

Raelis gave the excursion one last look, and then brought it over to his desk.

Of course, there was more to the request, and he decided to read the full details swiftly.

A village chieftain had recently spotted demonic claw prints on his village's trees. Naturally, he went to check them out with a couple of mercenaries.

However, their quick little curiosity run ended up with everyone but the village chieftain being killed.

Demons had this habit of letting one person live to tell the story, and as luck may have it, that was how the chief survived.

Still... it says he went back for a second time, Raelis flipped through the document. Demons don't spare the same person twice, unless...

His hand froze as he suddenly thought of one possibility. It was the most plausible possibility that he could surmise given the evidence.

A man among demons... Raelis tapped the desk with a single hand.

He might've become a demonic human. Now he's masquerading as the village chief to lure in innocent sacrifices from the village.

Demons had use for humans. Whether it was for demonic rituals or some other obscene acts...

But it was hard to understand just what, considering this entire request had been the village chieftain's recount of the story. He was the one who made this request in the first place.

If I was a demonic human, I would keep my mouth shut, so unless his conscience suddenly sparked up, I find this really suspicious.

Therefore, Raelis wanted to get the excursion going right away.

So as the clock ticked down, eventually, all the students had picked an excursion they wished to go on. Soon, Julian passed by each of their desks, inspecting the excursions they had picked.

He stopped at some tables and wrote the name of the student down. And of course, it didn't take long for Julian to arrive at Raelis's desk.

"Raelis, are you suicidal?" Julian asked, baffled.

"I'm not." Raelis shook his head. "Weren't you told about my bet with the headmaster?"

"I was... I just expected you to delay it a bit. Perhaps a year or two. It's not like this is the only time you can go on an excursion."

"I'm impatient," Raelis replied plainly. "But I'm also someone who's confident in his abilities. That's why I want to go on this excursion."

Julian stared at him with a conflicted look, then let out a sigh.

"Normally, I would decline such stupid requests, because we both know what this kind of excursion entails, don't we?"

Raelis nodded, and Julian continued.

"However, since there are some special circumstances involved, I am willing to allow you to go on this excursion," Julian said, raising a single finger. "But do know, from what I've seen up to date, you don't have what it takes to deal with the enemies you will be fighting."

Nice prep talk. Raelis rolled his eyes. "Thank you for worrying about me, instructor, but I am sure I'll be just fine."

After all, he had put in some serious effort to train relentlessly. Even his Flying Knife technique had improved to the point where he could confidently use 20 Knives at once in battle.

And no, he wasn't being overconfident. The persona he was currently putting on in class was a fake. Inwardly, he couldn't be more nervous about going out.

This was going to be his first actual dangerous encounter in both lives. After all, the most dangerous thing he had done by himself was climb to the top of the imperial palace to snatch a pigeon.

As for the other times he was tortured by his siblings... it wasn't that important.

Therefore, when Julian noticed Raelis's determination, he simply handed the document back to him.

"You may go on this excursion whenever you wish. Preferably, you must get to the location within a month. If you take carriages and the express way of travel, you should arrive there in a week's time."

"I'll be traveling on foot," Raelis replied with a smile.

Julian's brows twitched. "Not all excursions are equal, and I understand that. You will be given 3 months to return, and if you are not back by then, you will be considered dead, and of course, expelled."

He's making it sound like it's worse to be expelled than killed. Raelis chuckled inwardly and stood up, puzzling Julian.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm heading out for the excursion," Raelis replied. "There shouldn't be a problem, right? You did say I was on a time limit."

Julian was speechless, but since Raelis wasn't exactly wrong, he gave him the green light.

"Very well... do be on your merry way, and make sure to gather the necessary supplies so you're not killed along the way," Julian added.

Raelis nodded again, and as he was about to step through the classroom door, he suddenly felt a tug at his sleeve. Upon turning around, he noticed Clea clinging onto him, while also holding her infinite water flask in her other hand.

"Clea..."

"You should have it," Clea said with a smile. "I'm sure you're going to need it more than I will."

"I can't." Raelis shook his head. "I'm the only one who's going to go there, and you're going to the Crimson Palace... your place is just as dangerous as mine."

However, her insistent gaze didn't waver in the slightest, so after a few minutes of staring at each other without moving, Raelis had no choice but to accept the flask.

"Good." Clea smiled in satisfaction, twirling on her heel and shooting him a subtle glance. "When you get back, there's something I want to ask you. So make sure to stay alive. Oh, and don't break my flask."

With that, she walked back to her seat, leaving him standing in the doorframe.

For some reason, his heartbeat sped up slightly, and almost like he was embarrassed, he swiftly left the classroom, then walked through the hallways with Clea's flask in his hand.

He stared at it for a moment, then shook his head.

There were too many thoughts in his mind, and thinking about Clea was not something he wanted to do right now.

Therefore, he hardened his expression and glanced out of the academy window.

It was about time he began his excursion.