Chapter 167: The Ball (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 167: The Ball (2)
Alon stared intently at the statue of 'Kalanon the Lightning Receiver' that Siyan was holding.
Certainly, there is a resemblance.
Of course, the statue had no facial features, so it was impossible to tell if the faces actually looked alike.
However, the reason Alon thought so was that, no matter how he looked at it, the clothes Kalanon wore were remarkably similar to his own.
Well, the coat is different since I’m wearing the one the Red Tower Master gave me, but if I consider my old coat... there really are a lot of similarities.
Evan, wearing a strange expression, hesitated for a moment before answering.
"…The attire does seem somewhat similar."
"Just the attire, hmm…?"
Siyan stared at Alon for a moment, then shrugged and placed the statue back on her desk.
"Well, surely you, a Marquis of the Asteria Kingdom, couldn't be Kalanon the Lightning Receiver, the new object of worship in the Luxible Grand Duchy. Just take it as a light joke and move on."
"Yes, I understand."
At Alon’s blunt acceptance, Siyan nodded a couple of times as if satisfied and changed the subject.
"So, I’ve heard you’ve been involved in quite a few things lately. Could you tell me a bit about what you’ve been up to?"
"Yes, I will."
He wondered why she was asking, but Alon reported his activities faithfully.
And then.
"…Hmm, a Chosen One."
"Yes."
After Alon finished his story, he asked a question in return.
"May I ask you something as well?"
"Go ahead."
"I was wondering if you summoned me because something else came to mind?"
The last time they had met in her office, she had clearly said, ‘I’ll call you if anything else comes to mind.’
"No, not particularly."
"…Is that so?"
"This time, I simply called you because I wanted to see you. It has been a while, after all."
It was an unexpected answer.
"I see."
"Are you dissatisfied?"
"No, not at all."
Siyan stared at Alon as he gave his indifferent denial.
"Hehe—"
"…?"
A soft laugh escaped her lips. A look of bewilderment crossed Alon’s face.
"I’m teasing."
"Pardon…?"
"I mean that I didn't call you for no reason at all."
"Ah."
"Your reaction is a bit weak."
"My apologies."
Alon bowed his head, wondering if Siyan had always been this kind of character.
"There’s no need to apologize."
She smiled, seemingly having enjoyed teasing him, and then rested her chin on her hand.
"As you suspected, another thing came to mind."
"What is it?"
"The memories I inherited said that you visited the World Tree in Greinif. They said you obtained something necessary there."
"The World Tree in Greinif… you say?"
When Alon asked for clarification, Siyan nodded.
"Yes. Do you not know of it? The land of the elves, located in the southern country where the demi-humans gather—that place is called Greinif."
"Ah."
Only then did Alon realize why the word 'Greinif' felt so unfamiliar.
…It makes sense that I wouldn't know much about the land of the elves.
Of course, it wasn't the first time Alon had heard the name.
The reason it felt foreign was that the land of the elves was a DLC area in Psychedelia.
He hadn't purchased the DLC.
In other words, while he might have heard the name Greinif a few times while playing the game, he had never once visited the region where the demi-human nations were located.
Furthermore, the relationship between the United Kingdoms and the demi-human nations was not very good—though not as bad as the Empire's—so it was rarely even mentioned.
As a result, Alon had very little information on the subject.
Something necessary is there…
As Alon fell into thought, Siyan added, "Of course, you don't need to go right away."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. More accurately, you don't have to go at all. It’s a bit funny for me to say this after bringing it up, but that place isn't exactly friendly to humans."
"…I am aware of that."
Alon nodded, thinking of the friction between the United Kingdoms and the demi-human kingdoms. Siyan shrugged and leaned back in her chair.
"So, take your time and think about it. However, if you do end up going, I would appreciate a report."
"I understand."
After some brief small talk, Alon left the office.
Once he had completely disappeared from sight, Siyan sat there for a while, stroking her chin as if deep in thought while staring at the door.
"Well, whatever. This should be enough."
Leaving behind a cryptic smile, she rose from her seat.
* * *
Attending the ball, Alon clicked his tongue inwardly at the crowd, which was much larger than the last time.
However.
"Greetings, Marquis!"
"Good evening!"
"I am—"
Before he even had a chance to look around, he was bombarded by a relentless wave of greetings from the nobles.
It took over thirty minutes of individually acknowledging the greetings of the Kalpa nobles—led by Duke Zenonia and Count Altia—before he finally found some semblance of freedom.
Alon let out a sigh and thought, Balls really are exhausting.
Moving to one side of the ballroom, Alon was eating an egg tart from the buffet at the edge of the room when a man approached him.
"It has been a long time, Marquis Palatio."
"…Hmm?"
A man had approached him. His face didn't immediately ring a bell, but it felt strangely familiar.
He racked his brain for a split second to figure out who the man was.
"…Duke Merkillan?"
Only then did he remember the man's identity.
Philian’s second younger brother and the current head of the Merkillan family.
Duke Merkillan smiled and gave a slight bow.
"I am honored that you remember me."
"…How could I forget?"
He wasn't just being polite.
Even if it hadn't come to him instantly, Alon was bound to remember the Merkillan Ducal House.
Not only because Philian, who could be recruited as a companion for the protagonist, was from that house, but because of something much more striking—
It was the place where Alon's statue stood.
A statue of Alon that didn't even exist in the Palatio Marquisate.
"…I suppose that’s true."
Duke Merkillan replied with an awkward expression.
Alon looked around and thought, I heard many nobles from other countries were coming, and it seems to be true.
At first, he had been too busy responding to the Kalpa nobles, but looking around now, there were indeed many unfamiliar faces at this ball.
Among them.
…Shuhtalian V?
The King of Ashtalon was also present, and the knight standing closely behind him caught Alon's eye.
Even at a glance, the knight was an overwhelming figure, easily over two meters tall.
He looked out of place in a ballroom, yet no one could guess his identity.
He was wearing a helmet that completely obscured his eyes.
However, it wasn't difficult for Alon to know who he was.
Kurak the Engraved.
The one who had come from the demi-human lands Siyan mentioned earlier. He was a Lizardman who had reached the status of a 'Strongest'—a key combatant when facing the Five Great Sins in Psychedelia.
On top of that, he’s a character designed to make players want to buy the DLC.
When facing the Five Great Sins in Psychedelia, NPCs are the basic members of the party.
Depending on the country where the Sin appeared or the player's past actions, relevant NPCs would join as allies to help.
Kurak the Engraved was also a character who helped in battle if a Sin appeared in Ashtalon, but he was different from other NPCs.
In other words, he was strong enough to lower the difficulty of the Sins—which usually resulted in broken controllers—to a manageable level.
…Even so, it only adjusted the difficulty from 'Hell Mode' to 'Very Hard,' but in Psychedelia, where there were almost no ways to lower the difficulty, even that was incredible.
And the Psychedelia DLC allowed players to summon Kurak—who normally only helped once in Ashtalon—for any battle against the Five Great Sins.
Furthermore, clearing the DLC story allowed players to summon other demi-human powerhouses comparable to Kurak.
Because of this, most players who wanted to enjoy the game even a little more comfortably purchased the DLC.
…With the exception of players like Alon, who possessed a petty pride regarding the game.
I didn't realize he was this big.
Kurak, who had been looking forward until a moment ago, turned his head.
Though his eyes were hidden by the helmet, his gaze definitely landed on Alon.
For a moment, Alon wondered if he should try to establish a connection, but unfortunately, he knew nothing about Kurak.
From the reason he helped the protagonist to his goals and motivations, nothing was revealed in the base game.
Since there wasn't a single clue to create a link, Alon was about to give up on building a relationship and look away when—
Flinch!
"…?"
Alon saw it.
The massive frame of Kurak, clad in knight's armor, gave a slight shudder.
Before he could even wonder why.
"…Marquis?"
At Duke Merkillan’s call, Alon remembered he was in the middle of a conversation and gave a slight nod.
"Ah, my apologies."
"No, it’s fine. But actually, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you?"
"…A favor?"
"Yes. It’s not a very difficult request, but…"
Behind his expressionless face, Alon tilted his head in confusion but answered nonetheless.
"Please, go ahead."
"…It’s nothing else, but I was wondering if you could write a letter to my older brother…"
"By older brother… do you mean Philian?"
"Yes. You see—"
Duke Merkillan hesitated awkwardly before baring his heart, and Alon summarized the situation after hearing the whole story.
"So, you’re saying that he’s planning to hand over the current statue to Deus Macallian of Calliban and erect a new statue of me… but he’s trying to spend far too much money on it."
"Yes, exactly. I’m not sure if my brother has a poor sense of money, but this time he’s asking if we should make it entirely out of gold… and he just won't listen to me."
"Now that I think about it, I suspect the reason he gave the statue to Lord Deus was to create an excuse to build a new one," Merkillan muttered with a deep sigh.
Feeling the genuine anguish in that breath, Alon was left speechless.
…No, why is he so obsessed with erecting statues of me?
He had helped Philian, but he couldn't understand why he would go that far.
…He suspected he would never understand.
Alon nodded for now.
"I understand. I will do as you ask."
The Duke let out a sigh of relief.
Alon felt a strange sense of guilt, as if he had done something wrong, even though he hadn't…
* * *
Late at night, as the first day of the ball was drawing to a close, Alon prepared to head to his quarters.
…In truth, he had wanted to leave hours ago.
He felt exhausted, as if he had spoken six months' worth of words while being held up by nobles without a moment's rest.
As he was passing through a corridor to reach his assigned room after finally escaping.
"Huh…?"
Alon encountered a very familiar face.
"…Sirkal?"
Swift Sirkal and her younger sister, Jenira.
Alon tilted his head for a moment, but soon guessed why they were here.
Did they say the Thunder Snake Tribe joined hands with the Luxible Grand Duchy?
While he was recalling the rumor he had heard in passing from Evan, the two of them approached Alon.
"It’s been a—"
Before Alon could even finish his sentence.
"We greet Kalanon the Lightning Receiver."
"We greet Kalanon the Lightning Receiver."
They uttered those words.
While bowing their waists deeply and respectfully.
"Huh…?"
A flurry of question marks filled Alon’s mind.
And behind a pillar on one side of the hallway.
…What did they say?
Karmakeses III, who had quietly followed the Marquis to make a secret proposal that no one else should hear, was also watching the scene with his jaw dropped at the unbelievable truth(?).
Marquis Palatio is… a god?