Chapter 134: The Border Zone (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 134: The Border Zone (2)
About twenty minutes later, Alon was able to cross into the Border Zone, backed by two guarantors.
...It was the first time such a thing had happened since the border was established.
Regardless, having successfully entered the Border Zone, Alon was greeted by a bizarre sight as he faced the wasteland.
It was the sheer number of monster corpses piled against the outer castle walls.
Of course, the sight itself wasn't necessarily strange. The very purpose of the wall was to defend against monsters and potential imperial invasions.
However, the reason it struck him as odd was that this was a wasteland.
...There are monsters in the wasteland, but it’s strange for them to swarm in such numbers.
There weren't just hundreds; there were thousands of corpses. Furthermore, soldiers were busy clearing them away in real-time.
"Marquis."
At the sound of a voice, Alon turned his head to see Kiriana, the officer in charge of the border defense, approaching him.
"I owe you for what happened before."
"...Before, you say?"
"Yes. In the North. If you hadn't dealt with that Outer God, Marquis, I probably wouldn't be standing here alive today."
"Ah."
Alon nodded as he realized what she meant.
"It was nothing. I simply did what had to be done."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"You have a strong sense of duty."
At Kiriana’s remark, Alon hesitated for a moment. He could guess why she was saying that.
Alon had only gone to stop the Outer God because he knew how difficult things would become if it fully descended. However, to Kiriana, who had no way of knowing that, he appeared to be a man who had traveled all the way to the North specifically to prevent casualties by slaying the entity.
Since he didn't have a proper response, he simply gave a short "Not at all" and decided to change the subject.
"By the way, may I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"I see a lot of monster corpses. Has there been an attack recently?"
Kiriana tilted her head.
"Yes, but... were you unaware?"
"I was."
"Ah, since you arrived with those two, I assumed you were already briefed on the situation."
She then gave him a brief explanation of the current state of the border.
"...A Monster Wave?"
"Yes. It’s been happening every few days for over two months now. At first, it was only dozens of them, but recently the numbers have been increasing. That’s why we invited those two—to ask for help with repairing the gate."
Only then did Alon realize the full context of the situation.
So that’s what the gate was about.
He had heard the reason for the visit from Yuman yesterday, but Alon hadn't known much about the gate itself. In the first place, the gate never appeared in Psychedelia. Naturally, there had been no quest involving monsters swarming the border like this.
Since such an event was never mentioned in the original work either...
...Is it just something that happened before the original story started, so I didn't know? Or has something twisted to cause this?
Just as he was pondering this...
"So, Saint, please focus on repairing the gate. I will stay by the Teacher's side."
"Cardinal Yutia, isn't repairing the gate a task more suited for a Cardinal?"
"Not at all. Wouldn't it be more appropriate for the one with the more 'devout' divine power to do it?"
Yutia and Yuman were approaching from behind, conversing with each other. Their mouths were smiling, but their eyes were cold.
...They really don't get along.
Alon watched them for a moment before turning back to Kiriana.
"So, about the monsters—?"
But Kiriana had already slipped away.
"Then, I wish you a safe journey...!"
Alon watched as she reached the border entrance, giving a relaxed smile and a light nod. Then he looked at her aide, who looked half-dead from having to deal with Yutia and Yuman. Alon realized the truth.
...She didn't come here to thank me; she just dumped the burden on them and bolted.
Just as the thought of how shrewd she was crossed his mind...
"Cardinal, you can just act as you usually do. My brother is not the type of person who wouldn't understand that."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Even when my brother was being slandered in the Kingdom, you remained idle, did you not?"
"...As I told you before, I had already finished all the preparations."
"But in the end, you weren't there at the time, were you? You should know, Cardinal. Help is only meaningful when it's given at the right time and place."
Alon realized one thing. Yuman, who was smiling so serenely, was much better at getting under people's skin than he had expected.
Seeing Yutia’s expression stiffen, Alon broke into a cold sweat.
* * *
Shortly after.
Not long after they set out for the border, Alon separated from Yutia and Yuman’s group.
It was possible thanks to their consideration. As if she had known beforehand, Yutia gave Alon permission to act independently as soon as the Allied Forces were hidden from view by the wasteland.
Strangely enough, Yuman also sent him off with a kind smile, saying, "I'm sure you have things you need to do."
Thanks to that, Alon was able to move alone.
"Marquis."
"What is it?"
"When on earth did you get so close to the Saint?"
"I don't know either."
"...Really?"
"Why would I lie?"
In fact, Alon himself was the most confused. He couldn't understand why Yuman was being so friendly.
...What kind of misunderstanding is he under?
After a brief moment of thought.
"...First, let's head down."
"Yes, sir."
Recalling Duke Comallon's words, Alon began walking toward the south of the border.
* * *
Quite some time had passed since Alon and Evan headed south.
Seeing the sun high in the sky, Alon fell into a strange reverie. As he drew closer to the place Duke Comallon had mentioned, the thoughts he had been suppressing began to leak out.
Starting with how much of the Duke's words were true. Curiosity about what lay in the south. A strange sense of exploration toward a place that had never appeared in Psychedelia. And finally, worry about the Five Great Sins.
Various emotions and thoughts surfaced.
After walking south for a while, Alon suddenly had a realization.
...I was only told to go south; I wasn't told how far down I had to go.
This border was incredibly long from north to south, even if it wasn't as wide from east to west. Because it was technically a border, the wasteland between them was vast.
Just as he was sighing and wondering how much further he had to go...
[How curious. Are you a Magus?]
A voice suddenly echoed in Alon's head. A clear, masculine voice.
Before Alon could even respond.
[If you've come to this place where no one ever visits, there's a high probability you've come looking for me. This is perfect, as I was getting bored. Shall we have a little chat?]
As soon as the voice in his head finished speaking...
Vrooooooom—!!!
A magic circle formed beneath Alon's feet.
"!"
It happened in an instant. Before Alon could take any action, the magic circle activated with terrifying speed and swallowed him whole.
And so, in the wasteland...
"...Marquis?"
Only Evan was left behind, having been following Alon listlessly while staring at the ground.
And then.
The first sight Alon saw after being instantaneously summoned by the magic circle was a chillingly vast cavern.
And the next thing he faced was...
"!"
A pair of golden eyes.
They were massive golden eyes, easily taller than Alon himself, though they looked dull as if they had lost their luster. Alon stared blankly at the slit, reptilian pupils before slowly turning his gaze.
Beyond that, he could see more.
Golden scales—or rather, brown scales that looked dull after losing their shine. And three massive black spears pierced through the scales of that enormous body.
The moment he saw all of that, Alon realized what the being before him was.
[Yes. Why have you come to find me? Me, the Golden Dragon Rainisius.]
The ancient dragon who, according to the legends of Psychedelia, was said to have fought against the Five Great Sins.
That very being was quietly looking down at Alon.
* * *
Philian Merkillan had recently officially handed over his position as successor to his younger brother, Kilan, now that the situation had mostly settled.
He had never intended to take the position in the first place.
Now free, he devoted himself to training in swordsmanship and magic. He spent his entire day training, and he found his current life very enjoyable.
Swordsmanship was what he was best at, and while he didn't have much talent for magic, he still enjoyed learning it. Every time he learned a bit of magic, he felt like he was getting one step closer to the person he admired.
Today, as usual, after finishing his magic training in the afternoon, Philian headed to the center of the village. It was to see the statue of Marquis Palatio located in the central plaza.
Of course, like the other nobles, even his younger brother couldn't understand why he had erected the statue, but Philian himself had no regrets. No, rather, he was greatly satisfied with his achievement.
To Philian, Alon was already the very definition of an idol.
Thus, Philian, who visited the statue every day...
"...Hm?"
"?"
...met someone he hadn't expected to see.
It was Deus Macallian, whom he had seen during the Kingdom's symposium. He was standing there, quietly looking at the statue of Marquis Palatio.
Why was he here?
Before he could even voice his question, Philian instinctively shrank back. No matter how easygoing his personality was, the trauma from the symposium was still vivid in his mind.
While he was frozen, unsure of what to do...
"...It’s been a while."
"It has been a while, Sir Deus."
Philian returned the greeting with a slightly dazed expression as Deus spoke first. Even with Philian's disastrously broken social skills, he knew one thing for sure: Deus Macallian disliked him.
"...I heard you were the one who suggested erecting this statue. Is that correct?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes. That’s right."
Philian nodded as if possessed at the follow-up question.
"Why did you want to build a statue?"
After hesitating for a moment, Philian answered sheepishly.
"Because the Marquis saved our territory."
"Is that all?"
"No, it’s not just that. How should I put it... It’s a bit embarrassing to say this as an adult, but after seeing him save the territory, I came to admire him."
He let out an awkward laugh and continued.
"That’s why I suggested we build it."
"I see. So you came to admire him."
"Embarrassing as it is, yes."
"No, that is nothing to be ashamed of."
"...Pardon?"
Deus, who had approached him at some point, placed a hand firmly on Philian's shoulder.
"You are right. The Marquis is a man worthy of more than just admiration. Don't you agree?"
He even gave a light smile as he sought Philian's agreement. Philian, whose heart melted upon having his feelings—which he had thought were too embarrassing to voice—understood, nodded fervently.
"Exactly...!"
"Indeed. Speaking of the Marquis, it brings to mind what happened in the North—"
As if it were a pre-planned course, Deus naturally brought up the story of the North.
"Ooh...!"
Philian began to listen to Deus's story with eyes shining brighter than ever before.
And so, about five hours later.
"...Cullan."
"Yes, Duke."
"...Where is my brother?"
"He is in the central plaza."
"...Still?"
"Yes. As I reported earlier, he is still in conversation with the First Sword of Calliban."
"...Didn't you say they were talking five hours ago as well?"
"...It is the same now."
"Why didn't you call them for dinner?"
"Well."
"Well?"
"...Both Lord Philian and the First Sword looked so genuinely happy during their conversation that I couldn't bring myself to interrupt. In fact, they seemed to be getting even more excited as time went on, so..."
Upon receiving Cullan's report, Gillan...
...Just what on earth are they talking about?
...was flabbergasted, yet curious.
And so.
"They still need to eat dinner, so bring them both here."
"Understood."
Just as curiosity killed the cat, Gillan made a foolish choice.
I'm curious.
A very, very foolish choice.