Chapter 164: ……Huh? (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164: ……Huh? (3)
“……?”
Watching the woman suddenly burst into tears, Alon couldn't help but feel utterly bewildered.
She had been staring blankly at him, only to start weeping without warning.
Did I… do something?
All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, but of course, he hadn't done a thing.
In fact, he hadn't even had the time to do anything.
His confusion lasted only a moment.
“I’m sorry. I—something suddenly got in my eye.”
“……Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“……I see.”
Alon could only give a dubious response to her slow explanation.
No matter how he looked at it, those weren't the tears of someone who had something in their eye; she looked like she was crying out of genuine sorrow.
However, since she insisted that was the case, it felt awkward to press her further, so he decided to let it slide.
“……Let’s start by introducing ourselves.”
“Yes. I am Lina, the head of the Azure Forest Merchant Guild.”
Alon briefly tried to recall the name ‘Azure Forest Merchant Guild’ but quickly gave up.
I guess it’s not a very famous guild.
The only information he had was what he’d heard from his servant moments ago.
“I heard you wanted to speak with me regarding gold handicrafts. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Let’s hear the details, then.”
Lina, still dabbing at her eyes, nodded.
* * *
Thirty minutes later.
“Marquis.”
“What is it?”
“Did the conversation go well?”
“It ended reasonably well.”
“Oh, really?”
Alon asked, noting Evan’s surprised reaction.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well, usually when you talk to guild masters, things don't end this quickly. Especially when it involves gold handicrafts. I assumed there would be a lot of fine-tuning to do.”
“Well—you’re not wrong.”
Alon nodded in agreement.
Gold handicrafts are certainly high-value items.
Gold itself was expensive, and the price of handicrafts varied wildly depending on the artisan who worked the metal.
Even if he didn't know every detail, he was well aware of the common sense that governed this world.
“To be honest, I was a bit surprised myself.”
“Why?”
“That it ended so quickly.”
In truth, Alon had been puzzled the entire time by how smoothly things had gone.
……The terms were far too good.
Of course, good terms weren't a bad thing for Alon.
However, in business, the better the terms were for Alon, the worse the profit would inevitably be for the other party.
Fundamentally, a transaction was about weighing ‘gains and losses’ to find a point of equilibrium.
If one side was particularly favorable, there had to be a trade-off somewhere else.
That was a principle that had held true in the countless deals he had struck with numerous merchant guilds until now.
Yet, in this deal, there were many terms that were unilaterally favorable to Alon even before negotiations began.
……Something is strange.
That was exactly what Alon found odd.
Although the negotiation was a success, no matter how much he thought about it, Alon couldn't quite figure out what that merchant guild was getting out of this deal.
……Well, if I had to be pedantic, it’s not a losing business for them either……. But there were definitely areas where they could have been greedier. Didn't they give up too much?
Alon started to dwell on it further but soon gave his usual shrug.
The result was good.
It wasn't a contract where he stood to lose anything, so there was no need to overthink it.
……Though I still don't know why she started crying at first.
The fact that she had burst into tears the moment she saw his face was a separate matter that weighed on his mind.
“Ah, by the way, Marquis.”
“Yes?”
“I heard the Vice Tower Master seems to have discovered a new formula.”
“……Really?”
At the news, which arrived before he could sink deeper into his thoughts, Alon stood up to head toward where Penia was.
* * *
The head of the Azure Forest Merchant Guild who had been speaking with Alon just moments ago—no, the Elf Queen Magrina—was currently submerged in a deep sea of thought.
Perion, who had followed her as a guard after shedding his human disguise, watched her with a somewhat peculiar expression.
The reason was the attitude the Queen had shown earlier.
……What was that?
Perion could not understand her overall behavior today.
The Queen, who should never have left Greinif under normal circumstances, had come all the way here to find the Marquis of Palatio for one reason only: to confirm whether or not the Marquis was the Primordial Elf.
……But Perion had secretly believed that the Queen would gain nothing from this trip.
According to the predictions of Philde, the mage who held the most exalted position among the Elves: even if the Marquis of Palatio were the Primordial Elf, and even if he recognized Magrina as his Queen and younger sister, he would not be able to acknowledge her.
In other words, as long as such a constraint existed, there was no way for the Queen to know if the Marquis was the Primordial Elf or not.
That was why Perion had remained skeptical, despite the Queen’s conviction that she would judge for herself once she saw his face.
However.
……Why did she shed tears?
The Queen currently wore a very grave expression as she sat in thought, but he had definitely seen it.
Earlier, the moment she saw the Marquis of Palatio’s face, a single tear had rolled down her cheek.
“…….”
Perion could say with certainty that it was the first time he had ever seen the Queen like that.
She never revealed her private emotions in front of others.
She was a benevolent Queen, but she carried and fulfilled the duties of a monarch more heavily than anyone else.
Had she truly felt something from the Marquis of Palatio?
Through some method unknown to him?
But if that were the case—
Perion looked at her again.
Magrina had already returned to the serious face of a ruler.
Not as a ‘younger sister’ revealing a glimpse of emotion regarding the Primordial Elf, but clearly as a ‘King.’
Just as Perion was considering risking an impertinent question to satisfy his curiosity.
“Perion.”
The Queen, who had been silent ever since they left the Palatio estate, suddenly spoke.
“Yes.”
Perion momentarily caught his breath.
It was because a flurry of emotions had just flickered across the Queen’s face, which had been nothing but serious until a moment ago.
It vanished in an instant, but a brief flash of regret, sorrow, and a gentle smile had certainly graced her features.
After a short pause, Magrina gave her command.
“……Place the ‘Dark Leaf’ by his side.”
“……! The Dark Leaf, you say?”
“Yes.”
The Dark Leaf.
If ‘Pagade’ were those who protected the roots, the ‘Dark Leaf’ were the Elves who protected the Queen from the shadows, each and every one of them a Sword Master.
They were, for all intents and purposes, the Queen’s direct escort unit.
“Does that mean—”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“……How did you realize it?”
Perion wore a look of total incomprehension.
Magrina thought back to the gauntlet the Marquis of Palatio had been wearing.
A gauntlet that only an Elf could use.
No, to be more precise, a gauntlet that only the Primordial Elf—
……Only her older brother had ever used.
Magrina had shed tears involuntarily the moment she saw it, but that wasn't the only reason she was certain the Marquis of Palatio was the Primordial Elf.
“I have my own ways.”
“…….”
The Queen answered with a smile and pulled something out from her robes.
It was an old ring.
A ring that had not fared well against the passage of time, its luster faded in various places.
……A ring that, by all rights, should be the only one of its kind in the world.
“My own way.”
“…….”
Resting on her palm was the ‘Ring of Constraint,’ the very same kind Alon had first obtained in the Labyrinth.
A ring she had received from the Primordial Elf.
At that same time, Alon was…
“Hmm—so you’re saying the gold handicraft guild master gave you everything you wanted and then went from crying to laughing?”
He was reviewing the earlier events with Penia.
“Well……. The order was reversed, but that’s the gist of it.”
“It wasn't like…… a forced contract or anything, right……?”
Just as a look of shared sympathy began to dawn on Penia’s face.
“What do you take me for……?”
She hurriedly waved her hands.
“A-Ah—no, no, I didn't mean it like that. Haha……. Then maybe…… the guild master just has something like bipolar disorder……?”
“……Hmm, perhaps.”
“How tragic for someone so young.”
The conversation, which ended with a consolation directed at who-knows-who, came to a close.
……It was dusk.
* * *
In Hidan’s opinion, the regular meetings of the Blue Moon were generally a bit rowdy.
……To be precise, they started out quiet and grew more clamorous as time passed.
Regardless, Hidan hadn't found it particularly uncomfortable until now.
If the meeting became excessively loud or heated, the Red Moon would step in and mediate the situation appropriately.
However, right now, Hidan felt extremely uneasy.
The reason was…
[You’ve all heard, right?]
[A birthday present—]
It was because of the Great Moon’s birthday present.
No, to be exact, it was because of the discussion surrounding the Great Moon’s birthday present—
[Deus, I’m telling you now, nothing too ridiculous.]
[I know.]
[Do you really know?]
[Yes, I plan to prepare something within ‘appropriate’ bounds.]
[Mm—me too. I plan to prepare something within very appropriate bounds.]
[Same here. We shouldn't make Brother feel burdened.]
……It was because the Moons had begun to subtly check one another.
[Mm, everyone has the right idea. It seems you all know that we shouldn't burden him by giving a gift that is too grand.]
[Yeah, I know that too!]
Hidan scanned the other Moons, including Yutia.
The Moons all wore relaxed smiles.
To an outsider, their words might have seemed sincere, but Hidan, who traveled far and wide to deliver reports, knew better.
……He knew that the five Moons were absolutely not preparing ‘appropriate’ gifts.
In other words.
[That’s right, we should give something within ‘appropriate’ bounds.]
[Yes, I agree. Within ‘appropriate’ bounds.]
[I understand perfectly. ‘Appropriate,’ indeed…….]
[……Me too.]
[Me too!]
In this conversation where the same words were being repeated over and over, everyone except for the purely innocent Golden Moon was hiding their true intentions while warily watching each other.
……All to give the Great Moon a better gift than the other Moons.
Because of that.
Do they really…… have to go this far?
Hidan felt as if his energy were being drained and swallowed a sigh in secret.