Chapter 148: Secret (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 148: Secret (1)
Alon’s thought process ground to a halt as he stared at Seolrang, whose eyes were sparkling with anticipation. He let out a low, soft sigh.
‘Right, I did have that in mind.’
In truth, he remembered the promise he had made to her.
Back when he made that deal with Seolrang, he had also promised the Dragonkin that he would return in two years.
However, the reason he was slightly flustered was that Seolrang was far more serious about it than he had expected.
‘...No, I knew she was serious back then, too.’
There were two main reasons why he had told her to "think about it again in two years."
First, as someone who had to manage Seolrang’s mental state in one way or another, he knew she would be devastated if he set the timeline too far into the future. Thus, he had settled on a period of roughly two years.
Second, he had assumed her affection(?) would have waned by then.
The affection Seolrang showed him felt less like romantic feelings between lovers and more like an attachment to family. Alon was already well aware of this.
To use an analogy, it was like a young daughter telling her father, "I’m going to marry Daddy when I grow up!"
He figured that after about two years, those feelings would subside to some extent, allowing the promise to be glossed over or forgotten. No matter how much a daughter clung to her father, she would eventually grow up and become independent.
Furthermore, while Seolrang was technically an adult by the standards of this fantasy world two years ago, she was still quite young by Alon’s common sense.
‘...Though she doesn't look much different now, to be honest.’
Alon looked down at Seolrang, who was beaming as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her smile, which seemed utterly devoid of worry or blemish, was like that of a child. It was the kind of smile that put the observer’s mind at ease.
If he had to put it into words, it was a sort of untainted purity.
...In other words, she hadn't matured much mentally over the past two years.
Anyway, while Alon was busy weighing his words amidst a flurry of thoughts—
"Seolrang."
"Hm? Oh! Line! What brings you here?"
Startled by the voice, Seolrang turned and gave another bright smile. Line greeted her with a gentle smile of her own.
"I followed my Godfather here because I have some business to attend to."
"I see~"
"By the way, Seolrang. It seems the two years my Godfather mentioned haven't quite passed yet. Shouldn't you wait a bit longer?"
"Oh—is that so?"
Seolrang tilted her head curiously. Not missing the opportunity, Alon immediately chimed in.
"Well—there are a few months left."
"Ehh—"
Seolrang’s expression soured instantly, but only for a moment.
"Well, that’s fine! It just means I’ll get my answer in a few months!"
Wagging her tail, she quickly recovered her cheerful demeanor. Alon stared at her, momentarily speechless at her resilience, before finally speaking.
"...Right. Let's talk about it again in a few months."
"Got it, Mentor!"
He decided to be satisfied with the postponement for now.
* * *
Shortly after.
Alon’s group moved to Seolrang’s guild.
"Whoa! What’s this?! It’s so cute!"
As soon as they entered the somewhat chilly guild office, Blackie popped out of the pocket on Alon’s chest. Seolrang’s eyes sparkled the moment she spotted the black cat.
Grab!
Before Alon could even try to stop her, Seolrang scooped Blackie up. Alon opened his mouth to speak, while a mischievous smirk crept onto Evan’s face in anticipation of what was about to happen.
Just as the two expected—
Shift!
Red eyes began to manifest randomly all over Blackie’s black body.
However.
"Whoa! It has so many eyes now!"
"?"
"?"
Even though dozens of grotesque eyes had formed in an instant, Seolrang didn't find it disgusting. Instead, she held Blackie up even higher, looking fascinated. Evan was stunned.
Kreeeeeeeeek—!!!
As if refusing to lose, Blackie opened a mouth on its body and let out a bizarre, screeching sound.
"Whoa! It even has a mouth! Amazing!!!"
Her eyes sparkled even more. She began to swing Blackie through the air as if giving it a plane ride.
"...This isn't how it's supposed to go."
Evan looked dazed.
[...??]
Blackie was equally confused and reverted to its normal form. It even tilted its head with trembling eyes, as if it couldn't fathom the situation.
Kreeeeek—!
Blackie shrieked once more.
However.
"Oh! Wait right there!"
Seolrang disappeared somewhere with Blackie and returned a moment later with her arms full of something.
And before long.
"Wow! So cool!"
"..."
"..."
Suddenly, Blackie was being held up like a doll in Seolrang’s hands, dressed in a tiny, cute knight’s outfit.
[...Kyu?]
Blackie’s eyes went round, as if asking what on earth was happening. Perhaps because the situation was so absurd, it had lost even the will to threaten her.
"Do it again! The thing with all the eyes from before."
[Kyu?]
"I think that would look even cooler!"
Seolrang was having a blast, her tail wagging furiously. At that sight—
"...Um, Seolrang’s standard of beauty seems a bit different from ours. What do you think, sir?"
"...Indeed."
"Right?"
Unlike the two men who were completely out of it, Line watched the scene with a warm gaze.
But that didn't last long.
Just as Blackie was starting to break into a cold sweat.
[What is all this racket?! ...Hm? Pwahahaha! What is that thing!]
Basiliora grumbled as he emerged, only to burst out laughing when he saw Blackie in the dainty knight costume.
"A talking snake?!"
Seolrang immediately set Blackie down and snatched up the spiritual form of Basiliora.
[Gack! W-What?!]
Basiliora gasped in shock. But Seolrang just stared at him intently, as if she had found another fascinating toy.
"Should I dress you up too? I have some clothes left over."
[What kind of nonsense is that! This great god would never wear clothes meant for doll play—W-Wait!]
She began to hum as she started the "makeover."
Faced with the repetition of this bizarre spectacle, Alon, Evan, and this time even Line, were left speechless.
* * *
The day after they arrived at the Colony.
"Godfather, I’ll be heading out for a bit then."
"Understood. How long will it take?"
"Hmm—probably a day or two. Why do you ask?"
"If you don't return by then, I’ll assume there’s a problem and come to find you."
Line paused for a moment. Then, with a gentle smile, she thanked him and set off.
Immediately after, Alon also headed toward the ruins early in the morning.
‘...The things I need to ask about are what I heard from Rainisius and the matter of the formula.’
As he was organizing his thoughts.
"Seolrang."
"Yeah?"
Evan gestured toward the small snake with his chin, looking curious.
"...How are you able to touch Basiliora?"
"How am I touching him?"
"Yeah, Basiliora is in a spirit body state."
At that, Seolrang replied as if it were nothing, a crackle of energy sparking from her hand.
"Hmm—because I passed the Trial of Essence?"
"Trial of Essence?"
"Yeah, this thing Mentor gave me."
Seolrang added, showing the gauntlet on her hand.
"Every time you pass a Trial of Essence, it gives you an ability—though no one but our race can use them."
"...That’s an incredibly good item."
Evan marveled. Alon, who had been listening to the conversation, also felt a surge of admiration inwardly. He knew there was a secret hidden within the Essence Seolrang possessed, but he hadn't known it was something like that.
"Then do your abilities increase every time you pass a trial?"
"Hmm—I guess so?"
"Then how many abilities have you gained?"
"...Five?"
"How many trials are there in total?"
At Evan’s question, Seolrang counted on her fingers before shouting.
"Oh, eight!"
"Eight?"
"Yeah! But I haven't passed the sixth trial yet."
"Why not?"
"The condition is... Wrath? I have to be angry, but I haven't really had a reason to be. The Essence told me this is a branching point."
"A branching point?"
"Yeah, to see if I have the Qualification of the King... or something like that?"
Evan nodded at Seolrang’s words, then shrugged.
"Well, I guess you're taking it easy now? You're plenty strong enough by this point."
"No?"
"Why not?"
"What do you mean why? To get revenge, I obviously have to get stronger than I am now. Same goes for protecting Mentor."
"...The Marquis?"
"Yeah!"
When Evan glanced back at Alon and tilted his head.
"Isn't the Marquis strong enough now that he doesn't need anyone to protect him?"
"I still want to protect him!"
Seolrang thrust Blackie into the air and made a grand declaration. At that, Alon couldn't help but let out a faint smile. Being the recipient of someone’s goodwill was quite a pleasant feeling.
After crossing the desert while sharing such small talk for a while.
"We’re here!"
With Seolrang’s cheerful voice, they finally entered the ruins.
* * *
Immediately upon arriving at the ruins.
Alon headed straight for the tower in the center of the ruins, as he always did.
[It has been a long time.]
The moment he saw the Dragonkin looking toward him as if he had been waiting, Alon unconsciously muttered.
"...Blue?"
[Oh, it seems you are starting to see a bit more now.]
Unlike before, when he could only see black shadows and white, this time he could see that the Dragonkin’s eyes were blue.
After staring at the Dragonkin’s eyes in fascination for a moment, Alon quickly regained his composure and got to the point.
"...A lot has happened over the past two years. Do we have enough time?"
[Well—do not worry. I spent quite a bit of energy refining the fellow you left behind, but there is still plenty of time to talk.]
At those words, Alon organized his thoughts once more and began with the story of the Observer from two years ago.
And then.
[Wait, so you are saying—in the end, you did not see the past?]
"Yes. Instead, what I saw was an eye."
[...That should not be possible.]
The Dragonkin tilted his head as if he couldn't understand Alon’s story.
[Tell me exactly what happened, in detail.]
Alon explained the situation at the time more thoroughly. Everything from looking into the mirror to the words the eye had spoken in that space that felt like the universe.
The Dragonkin listened in silence, tapping his chin for a long while before summarizing what Alon had said.
[So, in the end, you are saying a massive eye blocked you just before you could see the past. And an impossibly large eye at that.]
"Yes."
The Dragonkin let out a low hum and sank back into thought. It lasted for quite a long time.
Just as questions were starting to form in Alon’s mind.
[Do you remember before?]
"...Before?"
[Yes, when you asked me about the 'Black Thing.']
Alon nodded.
"Didn't you say I had caught the favor of a high god, or something like that?"
This time, the Dragonkin nodded.
[Yes, that is certainly what I told you then. Because I had a rough idea of what the Black Thing and the Blue Thing were.]
"...But why are you asking that now?"
The Dragonkin took on a very serious expression.
[To put it briefly: it seems my assumption was wrong.]
"...Your assumption was wrong?"
[Yes. The power of the Bronze Mirror that records history is absolute, as you may have heard from the Observer. Interfering with the mirror in the first place—even for the 'Black Thing' or 'Blue Thing' I was thinking of—should be impossible.]
"...Is interfering with the mirror really that difficult?"
[The Black and Blue things I was anticipating were, in the end, those who succeeded in sealing more than half the power of the black existences in the war against them, even if they lost their names.]
To be blunt, they were among the top five even among our gods, the Dragonkin added. He took a breath and continued.
[Even so, it is impossible for them to interfere with the power of the mirror.]
"Why is that?"
[Because that mirror is an object made in a previous era—one that cannot be observed, even further back than us. In other words, to be able to interfere with an object from that previous era so casually...]
The Dragonkin let out a hollow laugh despite himself.
[...It means that being is of a far higher status than even the five gods of the past.]
He uttered those words.