Chapter 129: Are You a Heretic? (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 129: Are You a Heretic? (4)
About a month and two weeks had passed since the artificial Outer God incident caused by Duke Comallon.
"Whew—"
Shuhtalian V let out a long sigh in Tern.
It was a sigh heavy with many meanings.
Now that it was certain Duke Comallon was the one behind the Outer God incident, the Ashtalon Kingdom had to pay reparations to the other kingdoms in one way or another.
However, that wasn't the primary source of Shuhtalian V's stress.
He had expected things to turn out this way from the moment the truth of the incident came to light, and he had prepared his own countermeasures. He had even managed to negotiate reasonably fair reparation terms after over a week of discussions during the second emergency monthly meeting.
The reason his expression remained grim was something else entirely.
I shouldn't have provoked Marquis Palatio back then—
"Sigh..." Shuhtalian V pinched the bridge of his nose.
Of course, Marquis Palatio hadn't actually done anything to him. He hadn't even seen the Marquis's face since that day.
The real problem was Yuman.
He replayed the words Yuman had uttered during the meeting over and over in his head.
'Hmm—is that so? I find it lacking.'
'Hmm—I believe this is a point where a clear apology must be made. Glossing over it so vaguely doesn't look particularly good. Ah—come to think of it, you did the same thing last time, didn't you?'
'You speak as if other countries are also at fault, but that doesn't sound very pleasant to my ears.'
One by one. Every time Shuhtalian V opened his mouth, Yuman would find some flaw to attack.
Recalling that persistent face, the King simply couldn't understand it.
The Ashtalon Kingdom wasn't particularly close to Rosario, but they had maintained a decent relationship, and the same went for his relationship with the Saint.
Yet, that relationship had been shattered just because he had tried to call out Marquis Palatio once.
"Whew—"
His head began to throb. At the same time, questions filled his mind.
Just what is his relationship with Marquis Palatio?
No matter how much he thought about it, it was strange for Yuman, the Saint, to shield Marquis Palatio. Marquis Palatio was closely linked to Cardinal Yutia. And Cardinal Yutia and Saint Yuman of Rosario were known to keep each other in check, even if it wasn't obvious on the surface.
Thus, Yuman’s attitude—acting as if he were on the Marquis’s side—was bound to be bizarre.
Because of that...
There must be something about Marquis Palatio... I'll have to look into it.
Just as he decided he couldn't let it slide.
"Your Majesty, it is time for you to join the meeting."
"...I'm coming."
At the sound of the voice, Shuhtalian V stood up. Unlike before, a hint of ease returned to his face. This was because Saint Yuman would no longer be participating in the meetings starting today.
Relieved of a heavy burden, he made his way to the conference hall, only to...
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
As soon as he entered the hall, he found a golden-eyed beastkin who hadn't been there yesterday, glaring at him as if she wanted to devour him whole.
"??"
He couldn't understand why the Babayaga of the Colony was looking at him like that.
"Ah."
But it didn't take long for him to remember that she was very close to Marquis Palatio. He let out a low groan.
That day.
...I should probably avoid touching Marquis Palatio whenever possible.
He made a firm vow to himself, his expression inwardly weary.
...Of course, regardless of that vow, Shuhtalian V suffered a suspiciously high number of unfortunate accidents during the remaining week he spent in Tern.
* * *
It happened in the heart of winter.
It had been about two months since Alon returned to the marquisate.
During that time, Alon spent most of his days resting. This was due to his mana poisoning.
The priest was surprised by how quickly he recovered, and after some time, he was able to move his body without much difficulty. However, that only meant his body felt lighter; he still couldn't use mana.
In the end, unable to even dream of practical magic research, he spent his days in leisure.
Of course, being in such a state didn't mean he was entirely idle. He still had to fulfill his duties as the lord of the territory. He had to process the mountain of tedious paperwork that had piled up.
Fortunately, the process wasn't as boring as it could have been.
The reason was—
[Hahahaha! How foolish—this is my victory.]
"Whoa, wait a minute. How did it end up like this?"
[Foolish creature. To think you could win against a god was arrogance itself.]
—it was because of Basiliora.
Alon looked at the two beings sitting across from each other at a board game similar to chess.
Evan had a look of pure shock, while Basiliora, in the form of a small spirit upper body, looked triumphant. The contrast between joy and sorrow was stark.
"Hey, let's go again."
[Hmph, why should I? Do you think I will deign to spar with a weakling like you again?]
"Stop talking nonsense! You won exactly one game out of thirty! What the hell are you talking about?!"
Evan's voice was full of indignation.
For once, Alon sympathized with Evan. Basiliora had lost over thirty games to Evan, and after winning one by sheer luck, he was acting incredibly smug. It was like a novice winning a single round against a pro in a fighting game and then saying, "Wow, you're such a scrub, lol."
[Sigh—your level is so low I can't bear to play with you anymore.]
"Wow... this snake-head is really making me crave snake wine..."
[Hmph! And what can you do about it? What can you do besides tremble in rage like that?!]
Basiliora opened his mouth wide and coiled his spirit body to make himself look taller. ...Though, since he was a spirit and barely thirty centimeters tall, he just looked cute.
"Marquis! Can't you just summon this guy for real?!"
"If I summon him, this whole territory will be leveled, you know?"
"No, I mean—not his original size, but a bit smaller. About my size. Is that not possible?"
"It's not."
He really couldn't do it. Even if he wanted to materialize Basiliora just to let Evan get his revenge, it was unfortunately impossible.
...The usage limit for Salvation of the Wanderer was five years... No, was it ten?
Alon glanced down at his bracelet. The bracelet, which had glowed with a vivid red light when he summoned Basiliora, had now faded to a dull black.
In other words, according to the settings, Alon would have to wait five to ten years to use this artifact again.
However, the reason Alon wasn't particularly bothered was that there was another way to use the bracelet.
Well, in the game, I didn't wait for the cooldown; I used a reset. I think... that person appears about half a year after the original story starts?
Alon shrugged as he thought of the individual who could reset the cooldown of the Salvation.
[As expected, a dull-witted human can never defeat me—]
"...Marquis, this guy flinches every time the Central Tower is mentioned. There must be something there, so let's just ship him off to that place."
[!? Wait, such a cowardly move—]
At any rate, Alon spent his time processing paperwork, using the antics of Evan and Basiliora as entertainment to ward off the boredom.
Time passed, and exactly four months later.
Just as Alon's mana poisoning was gradually fading, allowing him to cast a spell or two, and the warmth of spring began to replace the winter chill.
"Evan."
"Yes."
"...When did an auction house open in our territory?"
Alon asked, holding a sheet of paper.
"Um, I believe it was about four months ago. Wasn't a report already submitted to you, Marquis?"
"...Yes, I remember that."
"...? Then why do you ask?"
Alon checked the numbers on the document once more.
"...No, it's just that for something that opened only a few months ago, it's paying a surprising amount of tax."
The reason he asked, despite knowing the auction house existed, was the tax revenue.
...Wait, it's only been three months since the auction house was established, so how is the tax this high...?
Of course, the absolute amount wasn't so large that it would make one's jaw drop. However, it was far too much to have come from an auction house that had only been operating for a few months.
"Evan."
"Yes."
"Can you bring the owner of this auction house to me?"
"The owner?"
"Yes."
Alon wanted to meet the owner of the auction house for the sake of the territory's development.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but Alon was quite ignorant when it came to managing a territory. While he could maintain the territory by processing various documents, growing it was a different matter entirely.
As a result, the Palatio family's finances currently had virtually no additional income other than the money Alon brought in himself. Even if there was income, it was consumed by maintenance costs, resulting in a net zero.
Because of that...
...If the auction house is doing well, I could invest in it to expand the business... and maybe build a tourism industry around it.
A plan began to form in his mind. He needed to have a business discussion with the auction house owner. Even if a plan looked good on paper, business always had variables, and he knew that those with experience were the best at it.
A short while later, when Alon met the owner Evan had brought...
"...Huh?"
He was momentarily speechless.
The identity of the man brought in as the owner of the auction house...
"...Alexion?"
"I greet the Marquis."
...was far too familiar.
* * *
The life of Alexion the Appraiser was a mess.
If you asked him where it all started to go wrong, he would say without hesitation that it was the moment he met Ladan.
The Pirate King, Ladan.
After being screwed over by him countless times, Alexion had eventually been forced to come to the Marquis's estate under Ladan's "threat" (?). At the time, Alexion had wallowed in misery, wondering what sins he had committed in his past life.
Though, even looking at his current life rather than a past one, he was living a life full of sins...
...Anyway, despite those days of gloom, Alexion had eventually succeeded in making a comeback. His innate business instincts had allowed him to brilliantly catch on to the fact that a surprisingly large number of merchant guilds passed through the Palatio territory.
Through a few additional maneuvers, he had succeeded in creating a thriving auction house in this empty marquisate in just a few months.
"...Why are you here?"
"Haha, things just turned out that way."
Alexion wanted to scream, "Your pirate brother dragged me here by force!!!!" but he barely managed to hold it in. It wouldn't do him any good to say such things anyway.
Furthermore, he had been warned by Ladan to behave himself if he wanted to stay alive. Since he had come to the marquisate precisely because he didn't want to die, it was only natural for him to watch his words.
Regardless, despite how uncomfortable the situation could have been, Alexion was currently in a fairly good mood. He had a rough idea of why the Marquis had summoned him.
"...I'm not much of a talker, so I'll get straight to the point. I'd like to invest in the territory's growth, and I'd like to hear your thoughts."
Because the very words he had anticipated were coming out of the Marquis's mouth.
Of course, it was too early to celebrate. However, since he already knew the Marquis's intentions through Ladan, the Marquis's words sounded like nothing less than "I'm going to give you money."
No matter what the Marquis was thinking, Alexion was confident he could secure an investment from him using his own skills.
Therefore...
How should I play this? First, I'll test the waters by using tourism as an excuse, and then I'll bring up the expansion of the auction house.
He smiled inwardly, thinking about how to manipulate the Marquis, who didn't seem hostile toward him. Of course, he wasn't crazy enough to try and scam someone connected to the Pirate King, but he could certainly get "a little bit more" than he originally intended.
"Ahem—"
The moment Alexion cleared his throat.
"...?"
Something outside the window caught his eye.
A woman was perched on a tree outside. She had blonde hair and was dressed in ink-black clothes. She was staring intently at Alexion, and as soon as she confirmed they had made eye contact, she pulled a magic orb from her robes.
And then.
As she gave a slight smile, the magic orb glowed, projecting an image in front of Alexion.
His expression froze instantly.
[...]
In the projected image was Ladan, looking at Alexion with an incredibly stern, dignified, and serious expression.
"..."
Dark clouds once again gathered over Alexion's face.