Chapter 146: Toward the Colony (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146: Toward the Colony (3)
“Ahem.”
Alon cleared his throat and got straight to the point for the sake of Perion, who was looking visibly uncomfortable with the situation.
“To be blunt, I need ‘Rumielle’s Oath.’”
“……Rumielle’s Oath, you say?”
Perion, who had looked intimidated until a moment ago, now wore a look of shock.
It was a natural reaction.
Rumielle’s Oath was one of the thirty-two hidden treasures of the elf race, and he had never once revealed it to anyone while disguised as a human.
In other words, from Perion’s perspective, he had no choice but to conclude that Alon knew his true identity.
“Let’s have the others step out for a moment. Line, I’m sorry, but could you give us the room?”
“Of course.”
Line bowed her head immediately and left the room.
Once Alon confirmed that the mercenaries who had followed Perion had also withdrawn, he spoke again.
“Now that the outsiders are gone, let’s have a proper talk.”
“……I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about—”
“There’s no need to deny it so fervently.”
“…….”
When negotiating rather than threatening, it’s usually not a good idea to pressure the other party unnecessarily.
Nevertheless, Alon applied pressure for two reasons.
First, unless he started this way, it would take an incredibly long time to obtain Rumielle’s Oath. If he approached this like a player in the game, he would have to stay in Lartania for at least a year.
Second, he was certain that Perion would accept his proposal even with this pressure.
Alon looked at Perion, whose expression had turned serious now that Line was gone.
“Of course, I’m not asking for Rumielle’s Oath for nothing.”
“……Who are you?”
His voice was laced with wariness.
Alon replied calmly.
“I don’t think who I am matters much in this situation. We only need to be clear about what we’re exchanging.”
“…….”
“One thing I can tell you for certain is that I have no intention of selling your identity to anyone.”
“……I’ll hear what you have to say.”
After a moment of deliberation, Perion nodded slowly.
Alon laid out his terms without hesitation.
“If you give me Rumielle’s Oath, I will tell you the location of the item you are looking for.”
“……The item I’m looking for?”
“Lagieni’s Blessing.”
“!”
Perion’s eyes widened, and his body jolted involuntarily.
“…….”
Seeing Perion’s reaction, Alon felt a bit puzzled inwardly.
Of course, it was surprising that he mentioned Lagieni’s Blessing at all. Normally, no one besides Perion and the Queen should have known he was searching for it.
Even considering that, his reaction is a bit extreme. Well—maybe it’s because the game described it as something incredibly precious.
Regardless.
In the original story, Perion wanders in search of Lagieni’s Blessing before eventually giving up and returning home.
The reason Alon knew the location of that hard-to-find blessing was simple.
The secret room on the 42nd Layer.
It was an item obtainable in the very place he always visited for Labyrinth grinding during gameplay.
Of course, he had never handed the blessing over to Perion in the game. No matter how early he arrived at the Labyrinth to start the quest, Perion would always leave Lartania by the time the player reached the 40th Layer or higher.
Right, I know it’s precious…
Alon watched Perion, whose hands were trembling, before continuing the conversation.
“……I believe telling you its location is a fair price. What do you think?”
“Are you saying you know the location of that heirloom?”
“Yes. If you agree to the negotiation, I will tell you where it is.”
“……You have no proof. Why should I believe you?”
“Just confirm this much. If I tell you the location of the blessing, will you agree to the deal?”
A brief silence followed.
Soon, Perion nodded.
“……If the information is true, I will.”
The negotiation was a success. Alon smiled inwardly with satisfaction.
“The eastern end of the 42nd Layer. There’s only one path, so it should be easy to find. When you go inside and reach the dead end, look for a switch.”
“A switch… at a dead end?”
“Yes. Lagieni’s Blessing will be there. I will receive Rumielle’s Oath after you’ve secured it.”
A look of incomprehension lingered on Perion’s face for a while.
“……Even if the information you gave me is true, have you not considered that I might take the item and run?”
It was a natural question, so Alon had an easy answer.
“I don’t believe you would violate the principle of faith, which is one of the laws of Pagade.”
“……! You, how do you know about Pagade…?”
“Who knows.”
Perion was shocked once again.
Alon intentionally remained vague. He had simply repeated words he had heard directly from Perion while playing the game.
He had considered saying he trusted him rather than speaking in such a roundabout way.
However, since Perion had shown immense pride in Pagade multiple times in the game, Alon chose this response on purpose. In essence, it was a warning not to try anything foolish.
Well, even if I hadn’t said that, he’s not the type to break a promise based on his character in the story.
Hadn’t Perion almost died just to keep a promise to the protagonist?
Recalling that episode, Alon felt another wave of curiosity.
……I don’t know why he’s that surprised, though.
If I know about the hidden treasure, Lagieni’s Blessing, isn’t it natural that I’d know about Pagade too?
“……I will need about a week to verify this.”
At Perion’s words, Alon stood up.
“I’ll be waiting.”
With that, he turned away.
A moment later.
“Is the conversation over?”
“Yes. By the way, Line.”
“Yes, Godfather?”
“I’m just asking out of curiosity, but I heard you’re the only High Councilor left….”
Alon trailed off, but Line answered easily.
“Yes.”
“Did you… by any chance… do that on purpose?”
“No? I didn’t do it.”
“……Really?”
“Yes. Why would I bother doing something like that?”
Line gave a bright smile.
……Does she mean she knows what happened but didn’t do it herself, or does she mean she didn’t know about it from the start?
Alon considered asking more but held his tongue. He simply thought it would be best to keep a closer eye on Line.
* * *
About five days after Alon met Perion.
“……Thank you.”
“I take it you found it.”
“Yes. I was able to find Lagieni’s Blessing.”
Alon met Perion again sooner than expected.
Perion bowed his head even more politely than before.
“I am truly grateful.”
Bowing deeply as if to convey his sincerity, Perion took a ring from his robe and handed it to Alon.
The ring looked as if it were made from plant stems, yet it didn’t look flimsy at all.
Recognizing immediately that it was Rumielle’s Oath, Alon accepted the ring and offered his thanks.
“Thank you.”
“……May I ask one thing?”
Perion requested cautiously.
“What is it?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Perion gazed intently at Alon.
“……How did you know where Lagieni’s Blessing was?”
His voice was a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
Alon remained silent for a moment, looking at Perion’s hand. In his hand was the dagger, ‘Lagieni’s Blessing.’
“That is—”
He couldn’t exactly say it was because he had seen it countless times in a game.
“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
In the end, that was the only answer Alon could give.
“My imagination?”
“Yes, I understand.”
After a final light exchange of greetings with Perion, who bowed without further question, Alon stepped outside.
Hmm…? Come to think of it, I don’t think Perion ever bowed to anyone.
For a split second, he wondered if there was a clause in the laws of Pagade stating they shouldn’t bow to anyone except the Queen.
I guess Lagieni’s Blessing was just that important of a relic.
He reached a casual conclusion.
Soon, Alon tucked the ring away and began preparing to leave, satisfied. His business in Lartania was finished.
[Gwahahahaha! All the money in this world is mine!!!]
“This is seriously infuriating!!”
[I don’t know about that, just hand over the money!!! 5,500 gold!!]
As soon as he returned to Merde, Alon informed Basiliora and Evan—who had been obsessed with a Psychedelia-style board game for over three days, laughing and crying over fake money—that they would be leaving soon.
“Godfather.”
He turned to see Line calling him.
“What is it?”
“If you’re going to the Colony, may I come with you?”
“……Do you have business there?”
“Yes, there’s something I need to check on anyway.”
Alon thought for a moment before nodding.
He had two reasons for going to the Colony. One was to visit the ruins and meet the Dragonkin, but there was another task.
……There’s an Abomination in the desert that needs some preliminary work. It would be better to have Line’s help if I can get it.
It was his plan to deal with the Abominations. Having Line along would certainly be helpful.
“If you’re fine with it, let’s go together.”
“Then I’ll get ready.”
Two hours later, Alon’s party left Lartania and headed for the Colony.
* * *
At that moment.
Perion, the elf currently disguised as a mercenary who had handed over Rumielle’s Oath to Alon, stared silently down at Lagieni’s Blessing in his hand.
“…….”
Normally, Perion should have been feeling ecstatic.
Lagieni’s Blessing was something he had sought even after coming to the human world. Above all, it was an incredibly precious item to the elves, and especially to Pagade.
Yet, the reason his expression remained grim was none other than Marquis Palatio.
……Just who is that man?
Perion thought of the Marquis.
The man who had told him the location of the blessing with an indifferent expression. There were more than one or two strange things about the Marquis.
First, it was bizarre that Marquis Palatio even knew about ‘Pagade.’
Pagade was a secret society born through the blood rituals of the elves, created solely to protect the World Tree. Those who knew the name of the organization were high-ranking nobles of the High Elf class or above, the members of Pagade themselves, and the Queen.
There was absolutely no reason for that name to be leaked to the outside world. Most of the high-ranking nobles never left the World Tree, and Pagade resided underground to protect the roots.
Furthermore, even those few elves were bound by a constraint that prevented them from speaking the name ‘Pagade’ of their own volition.
In short, that word was something that should never have come from anyone’s mouth.
……Except for one person.
Only the original founder of the group and the Primordial Elf, ‘Altima,’ could directly mention the name Pagade without constraint.
The Primordial Elf and Guardian of the World Tree who used Lagieni’s Blessing as a weapon. Only he could.
That wasn’t the only strange thing.
……The space the Marquis told me about was created by an elf.
The reason Perion could tell was simple.
The space itself was constructed using spirit arts and magic circles used by elves—no, more accurately, it was identical to the magic circles used in Pagade hideouts. Thanks to that, Perion was able to check who had visited the space when he arrived.
Those magic circles stored the mana of users who entered the space, recording them in the form of a guestbook until the moment the circle collapsed.
There, Perion confirmed it.
No one but himself had ever visited that room.
And then.
[I hope this reaches my brother well.]
As if delivering a message to him, a sentence was written in a language only Pagade could recognize where the dagger had been placed.
“…….”
In other words, Marquis Palatio knew that Perion was an elf and a member of Pagade.
He also knew that Lagieni’s Blessing was inside that space without ever having stepped foot in it himself.
……This was impossible, no matter how much he thought about it.
Unless the Primordial Elf, who had lost his life in the battle against the black things, had returned to life. It was absolutely impossible.
Confused by a situation he couldn't fathom, Perion eventually made a decision.
“……I must report this first.”
He deferred judgment. Instead, he decided to relay this fact.
To the one who watched over all elves.
To the being closest to the World Tree, the Great Queen.