Chapter 145: Toward the Colony (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 145: Toward the Colony (2)
“You can look forward to your gift.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“……Then I shall look forward to it.”
“Please do.”
As Line gave a subtle smile, Evan, who was standing beside Alon, whispered softly.
“You must be pleased, Marquis.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t you look a bit dejected last time because she didn’t get you a birthday present?”
“……I did no such thing.”
Alon replied calmly.
……But Evan wasn’t entirely wrong.
In truth, he had felt a tiny bit bitter.
‘……If I hadn’t heard about it in the first place, I wouldn’t have expected anything.’
Of course, he had no intention of blaming Line, who had been the one to mention giving him a gift back then.
A birthday present depended on the heart of the giver; it would be ridiculous for the person celebrating the birthday to pester someone for one.
Just then.
“So you were looking forward to it.”
“Don’t mind him. Evan is just talking nonsense.”
Line let out a soft, airy chuckle.
“Don’t worry, Godfather. I definitely plan on giving you a gift this year.”
After their light conversation, Alon finally brought up the main reason he had come.
“Line, I read the letter you sent, but……. Is there anything else you’ve discovered regarding the Shadow Spirit Dragon?”
At that, Line’s gaze shifted toward Blackie, who was tucked inside the breast of Alon’s coat.
“That’s the Shadow Spirit Dragon, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm—”
Line pondered for a moment before slowly beginning her explanation.
“After you asked about the Shadow Spirit Dragon, Godfather, I did some more research on my own. However, there wasn’t much more information I could obtain from the places I have access to.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Alon’s expression turned peculiar at her answer.
‘I suspected as much from the letter, but it seems the Shadow Spirit Dragon is an even more dangerous existence than I thought.’
The reason he had tried to ask Line about it ever since he first obtained the Shadow Spirit Dragon’s egg was simple.
It was because he knew that Line had a library inside her head.
That library contained most information in existence, excluding ‘things that must not be perceived.’
In fact, to be precise:
Information regarding ‘things that must not be perceived’ did exist within the library in Line’s head.
However, that information was located in the Restricted Section, and because it was sealed by the world’s settings, Line could not access it.
Alon knew the method to open the Restricted Section, but he had absolutely no intention of letting that happen.
Because that method involved accepting the Five Great Sins.
While Alon recalled that fact, Line added:
“Still, it’s not as if I found nothing at all.”
“Really?”
“Yes, though I’m not sure if this information will be useful.”
She shared the rest of what she knew, and Alon listened in silence.
After some time had passed.
“That’s all.”
“Hmm…….”
Alon nodded instinctively.
As she had warned, not all of it was immediately useful.
However, there were two things he had learned through her.
“You’re saying that if a Shadow Spirit Dragon grows and satisfies certain conditions…… it becomes a god?”
“I’m not entirely sure of the details, but according to the information I found, unlike regular Spirit Dragons, if a Shadow Spirit Dragon overcomes its destructive impulses and grows by consuming unclean things, it can eventually attain Divinity.”
The fact that Blackie, whom he was carrying, could become a ‘god’ if he grew well.
“……And Blackie is different from other Shadow Spirit Dragons?”
“Yes. Since I only checked the records, I have no way of knowing for certain, but normally, a Shadow Spirit Dragon cannot change its form from its original state. That remains true even if they regain their reason.”
“……Meaning, normally, it shouldn’t be able to take the form of a cat like this.”
“You are correct, Godfather.”
And the fact that Blackie was special.
Alon stared blankly down at Blackie.
[Kyu?]
Blackie tilted his head with an innocent face.
‘……It doesn’t really sink in.’
Of course, he had seen it.
He had seen what kind of form Blackie transformed into when attacking an enemy.
But since the creature always looked like this in front of him, the idea of an ‘original form’ felt foreign.
As he observed the black cat for a while, a memory suddenly surfaced.
‘Then, back then, when he devoured Rikrakakmur……. Was that part of it?’
After briefly recalling that scene, Alon felt a small sense of relief.
If, as Line said, the Shadow Spirit Dragon simply devoured unclean things, it meant Blackie wouldn’t be influenced by the nature of the Abominations.
‘He still seems a bit different from a typical Shadow Spirit Dragon, though……. Well, for now, I should be satisfied with knowing this much.’
Alon gave Blackie’s head a stroke and then turned his gaze back to Line.
“It must have been difficult to find that information. Thank you for telling me.”
“It was nothing. It was your request, Godfather.”
Line smiled brightly.
Watching her, Alon cleared his throat with a short “Ahem.”
He had one more favor to ask.
“I know I’m being shameless, but could I ask for one more thing?”
“Yes, what is it?”
When Line agreed without a moment’s hesitation, Alon decided to be a bit bolder.
“Could you perhaps arrange a meeting with Perion?”
“……By Perion, do you mean the leader of the Kaltz Mercenary Group who settled in Lartania two years ago?”
“That’s right.”
“Why him?”
Line tilted her head curiously.
It was a natural question for her to have.
Until now, Alon and Perion had never had any point of contact.
The reason Alon wanted to meet him despite that was because Perion currently possessed an item Alon needed.
Perion, leader of the Kaltz Mercenary Group.
He was a character one could meet after progressing quite far through the quests in the Labyrinth City Lartania within Psychedelia. On the surface, he pretended to be human, but he was actually an Elf who had come from the demi-human territories in the south.
‘I’m certain……. The reason he came to Lartania was to find something.’
Regrettably, Alon couldn’t remember more than that.
In the first place, while Perion was clearly among the ranks of the strong, he stood one step back from the player’s main story.
‘I think he became one of the main characters if you added the DLC.’
But Alon had never played the DLC.
He had heard that while adding DLC was good for new content, it significantly diminished the fun of the base game.
Regardless, Alon’s perception of Perion was simple.
He was the person who gave a necessary item for a Mage playthrough.
“I have something to negotiate with him.”
Originally, he had planned to meet Perion without asking Line.
However, one thing he had overlooked was that Perion was a much harder person to meet than he had thought.
As a player, he had met him naturally while resolving various major incidents in the Labyrinth, so it was only after entering Lartania that he belatedly realized Perion didn’t meet people easily for a mercenary.
Of course, for Line:
“If that’s what you want, Godfather, I’ll set up an appointment for around tomorrow.”
“Is it that simple?”
As if it were no big deal,
“Of course. If it’s what you want, Godfather.”
She replied easily with a beaming smile.
* * *
Meanwhile,
Beyond the window of Merde, Line’s shop, Yuna was hiding, perched on a tree branch, staring intently at Alon’s face.
‘Hmm— as I thought, he doesn’t look particularly special. I wonder why the Moons are so fanatical about him.’
Eventually, she even tilted her head slightly.
It was purely a coincidence that she was watching the situation inside from the window overlooking the office of Merde.
She had come to deliver Yutia’s message to Line.
Their schedules just happened to overlap, allowing her to see Alon with Line.
After spying on the two for a while, Yuna recalled Alon’s earlier remark.
‘……A birthday.’
Birthday.
It wasn’t a word that usually evoked any special emotion, but now it felt strangely significant.
It was because she had heard that the Great Moon, whom the Moons worshipped fanatically, had been a bit dejected because he hadn’t received a birthday present.
‘……Of course, those were just the words of his guardian knight, and the Great Moon himself showed no expression…….’
Whether it was a joke from a knight who maintained a very close relationship with the Great Moon or the truth, she couldn’t be sure. After a moment of deliberation, Yuna decided.
‘……Should I report this to the other Moons first? I have to make the rounds anyway.’
She decided to tell the other executives that ‘the Great Moon seems to feel a bit neglected if his birthday isn’t acknowledged.’
……It was a decision that might, perhaps, be a bit dangerous.
* * *
In Alon’s mind, the image of Perion, leader of the Kaltz Mercenary Group, was that of a knight with strong convictions despite being a mercenary.
Of course, because he was in disguise, he looked like a knight who lived his life carelessly on the surface, but no player ever thought of Perion that way.
Funny enough, he only changed his appearance; he didn’t bother to match his behavior to his look.
Thanks to that, Perion openly appeared to be a man of incredibly rigid principles, and the players’ interpretation wasn’t wrong.
In reality, he was a knight of the ‘Pagade’ among the Elves—a rank treated as slightly higher than the Master Knights of Calliban.
Anyway, knowing Perion’s background to some extent, Alon planned to obtain the item he wanted through negotiation.
‘……To get the item Perion wants, I’ll have to go down into the Labyrinth, so it’ll take a few days, but considering how much it’ll help in the future, it’s worth the trip.’
He finished his calculations, deciding to spend a few days on it.
The next day, following Line’s arrangement, he moved.
“……I am Perion, of the Kaltz Mercenary Group.”
“I am Marquis Palatio, a noble of the Asteria Kingdom.”
“Ah, yes, I—I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
“I see…….”
He finally met Perion.
Not the knight overflowing with conviction despite his sloppy appearance that he knew so well.
“That—”
“Yes, yes, please—go ahead and speak.”
But a man who looked incredibly intimidated.
Even in the middle of their conversation, Perion repeatedly shifted his eyes toward something and then quickly looked away.
Naturally, Alon turned his head to see where Perion’s gaze was heading.
“Is something wrong, Godfather?”
“……Uh, no.”
“Yes, please speak freely, Godfather. Perion-nim is going to have plenty of time today. Right? Perion-nim?”
“Uh, yes, that’s right. I have plenty of time today.”
Line was there, smiling.
She was quietly watching Perion as he nodded his head vigorously.
Suddenly, Alon recalled the rumor Evan had mentioned a week ago.
The rumor that all the High Councilors had died, leaving Line as the sole survivor.
“…….”
It felt as though Alon had learned a truth he didn’t necessarily need to know.