Chapter 114: What’s Wrong with You…? (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 114: What’s Wrong with You…? (1)
“…You’ve lost contact with the experimental subjects?”
“…Yes.”
In Duke Comallon’s office.
At the Dark Elf’s report, the Duke asked calmly, “What was the final report before contact was cut?”
“The last report stated they had located Marquis Palatio.”
“So they couldn’t even perform the foundation work.”
“I offer my deepest apologies.”
The Dark Elf bowed his head low.
Duke Comallon was well aware that this failure wasn’t necessarily the fault of the man standing before him.
“…Hmm.”
He suddenly recalled the words of the man in the black holy shroud.
The warning to be wary of Marquis Palatio.
“…”
Duke Comallon remained silent for a long while as the Dark Elf kept his head bowed. Finally, he broke the stillness.
“Fine, it doesn’t matter. They were short-lived tools anyway; I only intended to use them to gauge his strength.”
“…Will that be alright?”
“Our goal isn’t to deal with Marquis Palatio. We only targeted him because he kept interfering with the Great Cause. However—”
The tail must not wag the dog.
“We cannot abandon the Great Cause just to deal with the Marquis. The plan has been delayed because the Spirit Dragon’s egg was stolen, but that doesn’t mean it has collapsed.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
He could no longer afford to delay by worrying about a single annoying thorn in his side.
“How much time is left until the ball?”
“Two weeks, Your Grace.”
“Order the organizations to begin preparations for Outer God-ification immediately. Make sure everything is ready for the ball in two weeks.”
“I shall obey your command.”
The Dark Elf bowed low once more and vanished.
Left alone in his office, Comallon muttered to himself.
“The Great Cause must be achieved. By any means necessary…”
He whispered as if reciting an incantation, a vow to himself.
“It must be done. Because that is the only way… for me to save this world.”
His voice was as quiet as a held breath.
When he looked up again, a vivid madness flickered in his eyes.
* * *
Alon returned to the Palatio estate about a week later.
Upon his arrival, his most important task was rest.
Of course, he didn't neglect his magical research, but the long-awaited rest at the mansion was incredibly sweet after months of frantic travel.
However, he couldn't spend the entire week just playing around.
“…This is going to be tougher than I thought, isn't it?”
“Indeed.”
At some point, Evan had started helping with Alon's work.
Alon nodded in agreement with Evan’s assessment. The two were currently looking over documents regarding the current state of the Palatio estate.
“…The financial situation isn't exactly bad, but it’s not good either.”
“Tell me about it.”
The estate’s finances were mediocre. Actually, to be precise, they leaned toward the negative.
“Well, isn't this expected? Our territory doesn't really have a source of income to begin with. Even in its heyday, it thrived on black market money. Honestly, isn't it the same now?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The deficit is basically being covered by funds coming in from the faction.”
Evan pointed to a section of the document.
“That… is true.”
Alon felt a sense of inner conflict.
The estate’s overall balance was barely being maintained by the Marquis family’s private coffers.
Unlike the mediocre state of the territory, the Palatio family’s personal finances were actually quite abundant. This was because Alon had collected a vast amount of treasure as rewards during his travels.
However, that wasn't a fixed income.
‘…I need to establish some kind of stable revenue stream.’
He realized he needed to put his brain to work. Even if the family’s current finances were fine, without a steady income, the well would eventually run dry.
‘Maybe I should strike while the iron is hot and create some kind of local specialty.’
Alon sat in thought for a moment before closing the thick stack of papers and asking, “Did our estate never have a local specialty?”
“A specialty?”
“Yes.”
“…Drugs?”
Where did that come from?
“…Suddenly?”
“Well, in the past, the Marquisate’s specialty was drugs.”
“Was it really that bad…?”
“There wasn't anything else…?”
Alon nodded with a strange expression.
Right, the Palatio family had long been one of the masterminds of Asteria, deeply entrenched in the underworld.
“Is there nothing else?”
“…Probably not? There’s really nothing around here that qualifies as a specialty.”
It felt a bit pathetic to have nothing, but Alon didn't dwell on it for long.
‘Let’s handle the other tasks first.’
He decided to clear the backlog of work before thinking more deeply about the estate’s development.
‘Come to think of it, I should reply to those letters.’
He opened the three letters from Yutia that had piled up in his absence and began to read them one by one.
The first was a casual greeting, updating him on Line and Seolrang.
The second was similar, but also included news about Ladan.
Thanks to Evan’s consistent reports, Alon already knew a bit about Ladan’s situation.
‘He discovered a remarkable relic… Come to think of it, there haven't been any rumors about Ladan lately.’
The thought occurred to him, but he quickly dismissed it.
‘…Well, for a pirate, no news is good news.’
If there were any updates, they would almost certainly be about his bounty increasing. Alon felt a small sense of satisfaction at Ladan’s lack of notoriety and opened the final letter.
After confirming it was also a friendly greeting, he began to draft his reply.
When he finished, the letter was about a page long. However…
‘…I’ve been sending fewer replies compared to how often she writes lately. Maybe I should make it a bit longer.’
In an attempt to balance things out, he began to write more than usual.
He wrote about his recent trip to the jungle and even shared the trivial detail of trying to decide on a local specialty for the estate.
“Phew.”
He looked over the three-page letter and felt a proud smile tugging at his lips.
After handing the letter to Evan, he turned his gaze out the window.
Unlike the jungle with its year-round humidity, autumn was deepening in Asteria. Red maple leaves were falling one by one as winter approached.
Late autumn was already slipping away.
* * *
Time passed, the maple leaves vanished, and winter arrived in full force.
“It’s time to move.”
“To the Magic Society?”
“Yes.”
As soon as Alon secured another invitation to the Magic Society through Siyan, he began preparing for the journey.
“But Marquis, are we leaving already? I believe there’s still quite a bit of time before the Society meeting begins. Even if we took our time, we’d arrive early.”
Evan asked while helping with the preparations.
He was right, of course.
However, Alon’s primary goal for attending this session was to meet Heinkel.
“There’s no harm in arriving early, is there?”
“Well—I suppose not.”
Evan accepted the answer and naturally turned his gaze toward a corner of the room.
“Are you taking this black egg as well?”
The black egg sat against one wall of the office.
There hadn't been any major changes, but it was slightly larger than before.
Alon thought for a moment and then nodded.
“Let’s take it.”
They immediately set off for the Magic Society.
* * *
Alon arrived at the Central Tower, where the Magic Society was being held, about two weeks after leaving the estate.
“This place never fails to impress. It looks even better in the evening.”
“I agree.”
Alon nodded at Evan’s exclamation of awe as they looked up at the Central Tower.
Indeed, the sight of the tower soaring toward the heavens against the backdrop of the blue moon was even more magnificent than during the day.
It was a scene straight out of a fantasy illustration.
‘The view at night is definitely superior.’
After staring at the tower for a while, Alon finally reached the entrance.
They parked the carriage and walked inside.
And there…
“Ah, Marquis Palatio?”
He heard a voice naturally calling his name.
Alon looked at the man with a questioning expression, but it only lasted a moment.
“I-I’m not sure if you remember me, but we met once before at the Society. Penia was—”
“Ah.”
Alon dipped his chin slightly as he searched his memory.
“…Milan, was it?”
“I’m honored you remember my name.”
“It’s nothing to be honored about. Regardless, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.”
Alon accepted Milan’s greeting while scanning the surroundings.
Despite the fact that the Society hadn't officially started yet, there were quite a few mages present.
“The meeting hasn't started yet, but there are many mages here.”
As if understanding Alon’s confusion, Milan explained the reason.
“Ah, it’s likely because the Tower Masters are participating this time.”
“The Tower Masters?”
“Yes. The Blue Tower Master and the Red Tower Master are attending this session. I heard they’ll even be giving brief lectures tomorrow.”
If the Tower Masters were attending, it made sense that so many mages had gathered early.
For mages, a lecture from those of such high Tiers was an invaluable opportunity.
‘In a way, I’m here for a lecture too.’
Alon didn't just want to ask Heinkel about the ring; he also hoped to learn something from her.
Though he had been overcoming crises using the Babylonian Phrases, Self-Embodiment, the Brute God’s belt, and various self-imposed constraints, he was still technically only a 4th Tier mage.
“Oh, by the way, congratulations.”
Suddenly, Milan offered an unexpected congratulation.
“…Congratulations?”
“Yes.”
“What are you congratulating me for?”
When Alon asked with a puzzled look, Milan beamed with a knowing smile.
“There’s no need to play dumb. Most of the mages already know.”
“…???”
No, I really don’t know.
Alon stared at him blankly, but Milan continued to smile brightly.
“I already heard the rumor that the Blue Tower Master officially approved of your relationship with the Vice Tower Master. Congratulations, Marquis.”
He said.
“…What??”
For a split second, Alon’s eyes—which had rarely shown any significant change in expression until now—widened in utter disbelief.