Chapter 147: Toward the Colony (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 147: Toward the Colony (4)
Caslot, a territory within the Grand Duchy of Luxible.
"Phew—it’s the same as ever."
Reinhardt, one of the Five Swords of Calliban, muttered as he looked over the bustling scenery of Caslot.
"Commander, we need to move quickly."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
The one speaking with such cold efficiency was Elise, the Vice Commander of Reinhardt’s knight order, 'Siolan.' She was a petite woman who looked to be at least two heads shorter than Reinhardt.
"Do not even think about running away again."
"I told you, I’m not going to run."
"You said that last time, and then you disappeared."
"That was... well, there were circumstances..."
"Regardless. It won't happen this time."
Despite her small stature, she exuded an overbearing pressure as she rattled off her warnings.
Reinhardt scratched his head and replied, "Don't worry. No matter how much of a mess I am, I wouldn't do something like that while acting as an envoy for Calliban."
"I'm glad you still have a shred of common sense left."
"...What exactly do you think of me?"
"If you run away again, I will personally ask the Commander of the Solar Eclipse Knight Order for help."
The Solar Eclipse Knight Order.
At those words, Reinhardt’s face immediately contorted into a grimace.
"Isn't that a bit much?"
"Judging by your expression, it seems like exactly the right threat."
"Sigh—"
A deep sigh escaped him. Just thinking about that man made Reinhardt’s head spin.
"You know it too, don't you? Being around that guy makes people go crazy."
"...Hmm."
"If you mention mages, it's Marquis Palatio. If you just say the word 'magic,' it's Marquis Palatio. Even if you talk about magic tools, it's Marquis Palatio! Ma, ma, ma—! If a word starts with 'Ma,' he summons that Marquis into the conversation and worships him for an entire hour!"
"Please lower your voice."
"I'm even more pissed because I can't shut him up! That bastard has gotten so ridiculously strong that it's hard to even spar with him properly anymore!!"
Reinhardt thumped his chest as if it were about to burst from frustration.
Elise watched him for a moment before nodding.
"True. I was surprised when he started praising Marquis Palatio out of nowhere while we were just talking about a statue."
"Exactly! I almost lost my mind too."
"But that is precisely why I will send for him. If I put it that way, you won't run away, Commander."
"...You're really too much."
"Anyway, let's go."
Elise turned her small body and scurried forward.
Watching her back, Reinhardt shook his head in resignation and began walking toward the royal castle.
"By the way, it's impressive. I didn't think the King would actually be able to purge those corrupt bastards and re-establish royal authority."
"I feel the same. I thought he was just a hollow shell full of nothing but ideals. But I heard he made a deal."
"A deal?"
"Yes. Thanks to that, Luxible no longer recognizes the Holy Kingdom of Rosario as its state religion. They worship a different god now."
A different god.
Reinhardt looked puzzled.
"...Well, I don't exactly pray to gods myself, but is that really okay?"
"Rosario never cared much for Luxible anyway, so it shouldn't matter. Though they’ll certainly be offended."
"So, what kind of god are they worshiping?"
At Reinhardt’s question, Elise paused for a moment before answering.
"I believe the god was called... Kalanon the Lightning Receiver."
"Kalanon the Lightning Receiver?"
"Yes. Oh, there is a statue over there."
They happened to be passing through the central plaza.
Elise pointed toward the center of the square.
Reinhardt followed her gaze and saw a massive statue standing there.
"Huh?"
The statue looked strangely familiar to him.
"They say that's the god they worship now."
"...That's Kalanon the Lightning Receiver?"
"Yes, so I'm told."
"..."
He stopped in his tracks and stared blankly at the statue.
The statue depicted a man in an ink-black coat reaching out as if to catch a bolt of lightning. His face was left blank, without features.
However, even though the face wasn't properly rendered...
Reinhardt couldn't help but be reminded of someone.
No, it wasn't just a reminder. Except for the missing face, it was simply that person.
It was Marquis Palatio.
And the only person who would pull a stunt like this was—
"...Elise."
"Yes?"
"Was the person who made the deal with the Kingdom of Luxible... Deus Macallian?"
Only that man could possibly—
"No? Why would it be him?"
Huh? It wasn't him??
"But why do you ask all of a sudden?"
Leaving Elise behind as she tilted her head in confusion, Reinhardt...
‘...What on earth is going on here...?’
...could only stare at the statue for a long time with a bizarre expression on his face.
* * *
At that same time.
"The Grand Duchy of Luxible changed its state religion?"
"Yes. They say they changed it to Kalanon the Lightning Receiver."
"...Is it really okay to just change a state religion like that?"
"I'm not sure about the details, but that's what people are saying."
It was the first night after they had reached the desert and begun their crossing with the merchant guild as usual.
Alon heard the news from Evan.
"...But I've never heard of a god named Kalanon the Lightning Receiver. What kind of god is Kalanon?"
"It's my first time hearing it too."
[Hmm—I think I might have heard that name before.]
"You have?"
When Alon asked, the small snake nodded.
[Of course, it was a ve—ry long time ago, so I don't remember well, but it's not an entirely unfamiliar name.]
"So you don't actually know. Typical snake-brain."
Evan didn't miss the chance to needle Basiliora.
At that.
[You have a lot of nerve for a mere human!]
"You're just a snake."
[I am a god!]
"If you're a god, why can't you beat me?"
[Th-that was just because I was extremely unlucky yesterday!]
The conversation shifted to the strange board game they had played the day before, and their voices naturally grew louder.
‘...There hasn't been a quiet day lately.’
There used to be nothing but quiet days.
Alon felt a brief moment of sentimentality before shrugging his shoulders.
He figured it was better to have a bit of noise and human touch than for things to be so quiet it felt lonely.
Just then.
"Godfather."
"Yes?"
"I think Kalanon the Lightning Receiver is an indigenous god of the Thunder Snake Tribe."
"The Thunder Snake Tribe?"
"Yes."
Line, who was in the carriage with them, shared some new information.
"...So the Grand Duchy of Luxible has come to believe in a local god of the Thunder Snake Tribe?"
"Well, based on what people are saying, that seems to be the case."
"...How peculiar."
Alon’s expression turned thoughtful.
"Would you like me to look into it further, Godfather?"
Alon considered it for a moment before shaking his head.
"No, there's no need to go that far."
He didn't know exactly what circumstances led Luxible to worship Kalanon, but it wasn't particularly important to him.
"Understood, Godfather."
Line, accepting his answer immediately, began rummaging through her things and handed him something.
"Please, have some."
"A sweet potato?"
"Yes. I prepared them in advance, Godfather."
It was a perfectly cooked sweet potato, with the skin already peeled off the top half for easy eating.
"...Thank you."
"It's my pleasure."
Line gave a pure, happy smile.
Alon accepted the sweet potato she offered.
However, unlike his expressionless face, he felt a slight sense of pressure.
It was because Line had been taking such good care of him throughout their journey, which had lasted a little over a week.
...To an almost excessive degree.
‘Starting from bringing me water to wash my face as soon as I wake up, to preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner all by herself... And if there's something I don't know, she appears instantly to give me the answer.’
Beyond that, if Alon mentioned it was hot, she would pull out a cooling magic tool. Even though she roasted them over a campfire, she brought him sweet potatoes without a single burnt spot. Her devotion was immense.
"...It's delicious."
"Thank you, Godfather. It makes me happy to be praised."
Line smiled again.
Yet, despite the title 'Godfather' she used for him...
Alon felt a strange sensation, as if he were being looked after by a mature older sister.
"Please ask me for anything, anytime, Godfather. I will do everything I can to help you."
"...Thanks."
"Don't mention it. You're my one and only Godfather, after all."
Alon chewed on the sweet potato while listening to Line’s voice, which flowed like music.
The sweet potato was still sweet.
* * *
A few days later.
While crossing the desert, Alon stopped the carriage at the sound of a loud alarm and stepped outside.
"There are a lot of them."
"There certainly are."
They had encountered a band of desert bandits.
A quite large number of them.
"...I suppose a new bandit group has formed?"
"Bandits are like that; they naturally appear as time passes."
"...Even so, they look more numerous than the Blood Sand Bandits."
Alon glanced toward the horizon.
The dust cloud rising from there was ominous.
"...There must be at least several hundred."
"Looks like it."
‘...Even if the Blood Sand Bandits were wiped out, well, it's impossible for bandits to disappear entirely from a place like this.’
As he was thinking that.
"Why don't you show us what you've got, Marquis?"
"Usually, in times like this, shouldn't you, the bodyguard, be the one stepping out?"
"Ayy—how am I supposed to kill all of them?"
"...What's the point if you're going to deny your own abilities?"
"Well—I'm more of a, you know, that."
What is 'that'...? Alon wondered, but he prepared to step forward anyway.
However.
"Godfather. I'll handle this."
"...You?"
"Yes. Please wait just a moment."
Line blocked his path and walked forward, her usual smile still on her face.
Once the bandit horde was close enough to be clearly identified...
"───"
Kiiiing—!
Line’s voice rang out softly, and above her head—
A golden eye appeared like a hologram.
A massive eye, adorned with a halo.
And then.
Phit—!
With a short, sharp sound, golden cylindrical tubes were fired in an instant.
The launched tubes split into dozens of branches, piercing through the charging enemies in a heartbeat.
It took less than a minute.
What remained was a landscape where the dust cloud closing in on the horizon had been swept clean.
The charging bandits had all been skewered by the golden tubes, forming a massive, macabre jungle gym.
The merchants and mercenaries, who had been filled with tension and anticipation just moments ago, fell into a stunned silence.
Soon after, Line, who had retrieved her Golden Tube as if nothing had happened, turned back.
"I've taken care of them, Godfather."
She gave her usual eye-smile, as if it were no big deal.
"...Right. But—uh."
"Yes?"
"...How did you do that?"
Alon, who had witnessed the entire process alongside Evan, found himself asking.
Of course, he had fought alongside Line against Kailas, so he knew she possessed a certain level of combat ability.
But for it to be this much...
"It's all thanks to the item you gave me, Godfather."
"...The one I gave you?"
"Yes."
"...The Stalker's Eye?"
"I'm embarrassed to say I'm still not very good at using it. But I've grown a bit more accustomed to it now, Godfather."
Alon slowly looked up at the massive eye floating behind Line.
‘That... is the Stalker's Eye?’
It was an eye that looked completely different from what he had imagined...
‘What is that...?’
A strange sense of dread began to color Alon’s entire being.
* * *
A week later.
Alon’s party finally arrived at the Colony.
And.
"Mentor!"
As soon as they arrived, they were met by Seolrang, who lunged straight at Alon.
"It's been so long!"
"...It has been a while."
Alon barely managed to greet Seolrang, who had already wrapped her legs around his waist like a snake and was clinging to him.
"You're going to give me an answer now, right!?"
"...An answer?"
With a wide grin plastered across her face—
"Two years have passed! Are we getting married now!?"
"Ah."
Faced with Seolrang’s innocent question, Alon could only let out a pained groan.