Chapter 168: The Ball (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 168: The Ball (3)
First, one certain fact.
Alon knew next to nothing about 'Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver.'
At most, he knew that Kalanon was another god worshipped by the Thunder Snake Tribe and the state religion of the Luxible Kingdom.
"We greet you, Lord Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver."
"We greet you, Lord Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver."
Because of his lack of knowledge, Alon couldn't understand what Sirkal and Jenira were saying.
In fact, it went beyond that. To be honest, he was so flustered that the words, 'Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver? Me...?' almost tumbled out of his mouth.
"…That—"
Alon opened his mouth to deny it, but he stopped himself.
He realized this situation wasn't entirely bad.
More accurately, he realized he might be benefiting from their misunderstanding.
Alon looked down at the two girls bowing their heads and recalled a previous memory.
‘By the way, Marquis, your magic is a bit peculiar.’
‘In what way?’
‘…Well, in terms of its power. The way the magic is established and the molecular arrangement are clearly the same, but strangely, the destructive power is steadily increasing.’
‘…Can you feel it that clearly?’
‘Hmm, if you look at it day by day, the difference is negligible. But if you compare now to two months ago, there’s definitely a distinct difference.’
‘…I see.’
That was the conversation he’d had with Penia.
She had said that even though his magic remained the same, its power was growing stronger. He had speculated the reason was the accumulation of his Divinity.
In short, the misunderstanding of these two girls—and the Thunder Snake Tribe—thinking he was Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver, might be the very thing strengthening his magic.
Of course, from Alon's perspective, he hadn't the slightest clue when, how, or through what process of delusion he had become Kalanon.
However, if Alon's hypothesis was even somewhat correct and his magic was indeed being bolstered by the Thunder Snake Tribe's misconception, there was no need to correct the mistake.
‘…Of course, it’s just a guess.’
Naturally, when it came to Divinity, he had no choice but to rely on speculation.
Even though Alon had played Psychedelia, there hadn't been much information regarding Divinity in the first place.
After a moment of deliberation, Alon reached a conclusion.
"…Do not speak that name in a place like this."
He decided not to deny their misunderstanding.
In truth, he wanted to subtly ask why he was being revered as Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver.
But there was no need to go looking for trouble.
"We apologize."
"The thought of seeing the Great One once more made us lose our composure."
At their response, Alon spoke indifferently.
"So, what brings you here?"
"There is no particular reason. It would be impolite not to offer our greetings when the Great One is nearby."
Sirkal’s attitude was incredibly polite, a stark contrast to her somewhat fierce demeanor from before.
‘…In short, they just came to say hello.’
Various thoughts and curiosities suddenly flooded Alon's mind.
Among them, the most pressing question was how the Thunder Snake Tribe currently perceived him.
‘…Do they see me as a reincarnation of the god? Or perhaps a Living God itself?’
However, to resolve his doubts without breaking the illusion, he needed a silver tongue.
"…I shall visit you sometime later."
For now, he suppressed his curiosity. He decided to formulate his questions carefully and visit the Luxible Grand Duchy in person later to ask.
"We shall wait with joy."
"…Very well."
Suddenly, the statue of Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver, that Siyan had shown him this morning came to mind.
The one Siyan had said looked remarkably like him.
‘…Was that actually me?’
Hiding his absurdity behind an expressionless face, Alon returned to his quarters.
Immediately after Sirkal and Jenira also departed.
A man stepped out from the empty corridor.
It was Karmakeses III, who until a moment ago had been hiding behind a pillar, eavesdropping on the conversation between the Marquis of Palatio and the envoys of the Luxible Grand Duchy.
‘The Marquis of Palatio is… Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver?’
He recalled the scene from moments ago with an expression of utter disbelief.
The envoys of the Luxible Grand Duchy bowing to Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver.
And the Marquis of Palatio accepting those greetings as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Based on that alone, it seemed certain that the Marquis was indeed 'Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver,' the deity of the Luxible Grand Duchy's state religion.
Yet, he couldn't easily accept this fact.
It was a matter of common sense.
A human who was clearly visible, walking around alive—and while certainly great, was a mere noble and not even a king—being a god...
It was a realm beyond understanding.
Nevertheless, the reason Karmakeses III didn't simply dismiss this as 'strange' and continued to dwell on it was because of two lingering points.
One was the mention of 'Living Gods' existing among demi-humans that he had once read in an ancient text.
The other was Seolrang.
‘…If the Marquis of Palatio is truly a god, it explains why Seolrang follows him so faithfully.’
Until now, Karmakeses III had been completely in the dark as to why Seolrang followed the Marquis.
It wasn't easily visible due to Seolrang's characteristic easygoing and slothful atmosphere, but Karmakeses III knew.
He knew that her common sense was strictly aligned with the law of the jungle.
By those standards, the Marquis of Palatio should have been far beneath Seolrang.
The Marquis was certainly strong, but he was no match for her.
Yet the reality was different.
He always stood above her, beyond the reach of her common sense, in a sublime position.
He had heard stories of her owing him a great debt in the past, but Seolrang's behavior toward the Marquis couldn't be explained by that alone.
But what if the Marquis of Palatio was truly a god?
Then it made sense.
It explained why she, with her survival-of-the-fittest worldview, followed, liked, and revered the Marquis to such an extent.
In the silent, deserted hallway.
Karmakeses III stared at the spot where the Marquis had stood for a long time with a complex expression.
‘…It seems I must properly investigate the concept of a Living God.’
He turned away, adding a new plan to his agenda.
* * *
After enjoying the ball for about another week, Alon began preparing to move.
The ball would continue for about two more days, but he had no desire to stay until the very end.
…To be honest, from Alon's perspective, the ball was nothing but exhausting.
"Are we going to Lartania?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll prepare immediately."
Evan, who had been leisurely eating dessert in the quarters, stepped out.
Alon calmly organized the few pieces of information he had gathered during this ball.
Most of it was useless, though.
‘…The only thing that could be considered information is that the country has been quite chaotic lately due to the Strange Gate phenomenon… I suppose.’
Aside from that, he had also heard from one of the Calliban nobles that Deus Macallian was having very busy days in Calliban lately.
‘…I heard he’s making something.’
He hadn't heard the details of what was being made, so he was briefly curious, but his attention soon shifted to the peculiar event that had occurred yesterday.
‘…I greet the King of Colony.’
‘It has been a long time, Marquis Palatio.’
‘…? Ah, yes. But why are you using honorifics with me…?’
‘Ah, ahem—no. It’s nothing.’
‘…???’
It was the sudden change in Karmakeses III’s attitude, using formal speech.
‘…Why did he suddenly start using honorifics?’
Just as a slight frown began to form around Alon's eyes.
"Marquis. Preparations are complete."
"Already?"
"I figured you'd be moving soon, so I prepared in advance."
Following the diligent Evan, Alon boarded the carriage to head for Lartania.
* * *
Silli Macallian, the younger sister of Deus Macallian, had been wearing a peculiar expression frequently of late.
The reason was the statue erected in the middle of the private training ground Deus had provided for her magic practice.
Furthermore, it was a statue that only consisted of the lower half of a body.
Silli didn't have a major grievance with 'such a thing' being in her private training ground.
…Of course, even though it was only half-finished, the statue was so massive that it made the full-sized statue in the garden look like a joke, but the training ground assigned to Silli was also vast.
The problem, however, was...
[Ahem, ahem.]
Her brother, Deus Macallian, who came to admire the leg-only statue at all hours of the day.
…No, to be precise, her brother Deus coming to look at it 'itself' was fine.
It was embarrassing to say, but Silli liked her brother quite a bit.
However—
[Silli, what do you think of the Marquis's statue?]
[Hmm, the statue is radiant today as well—don't you think so, Silli?]
[Truly, it is being crafted to perfection. Don't you agree, Silli?]
Every time her brother visited, he would stare at the lower half of the statue and force her to give her impressions.
…Of course, each time, she would go along with Deus's words with an awkward smile.
But honestly, Silli had only one true impression.
…I mean, it’s just a pair of pants… was her cold, honest thought.
However, she couldn't say that, so Silli always brushed it off with a smile. Today, as she came out to the training ground for her magic practice as usual...
"?"
She realized the lower-half statue had grown a bit larger.
No, it hadn't just grown.
Initially, the lower half alone was about the height of the space between the first and second floors of a normal building.
But now, the height of the lower half easily surpassed the second floor.
"……???"
As Silli’s brow furrowed.
"You've come, Silli."
"Brother...?"
"Yes."
Looking back and forth between the solemn-faced Deus and the statue, she barely maintained her smile and asked.
"…Um, Brother, the statue seems to have gotten a bit bigger?"
"Yes, that's right. I enlarged it a bit."
"……"
This isn't just 'a bit'… She almost blurted it out but barely held it back. She asked again.
"At this rate, once the statue is finished, it'll easily tower over the mansion, won't it?"
"Yes. But it couldn't be helped."
"…It couldn't be helped?"
"Yes, because Ladan said he was going to gift the Sea God to the Marquis."
"The Sea God?"
"Yes, I heard it's incredibly massive."
She loved her brother dearly, but for a moment, she had the urge to point out what on earth that had to do with the size of the statue.
"…Um, Brother?"
"What is it?"
"…Don't you think the heart behind a gift is more important than its size?"
Silli tried a direct approach, but...
"No, Silli."
"…It's not?"
"Indeed. A gift must be able to move the heart. And the larger it is, the greater the emotion. Can't you feel it too?"
As Deus radiated a sense of immense pride, Silli silently turned her gaze back to the statue.
…To the thing that still only consisted of a lower half.
"Hmph—"
As if saying 'This is it,' Deus let out a low exclamation of admiration.
What in the world was this...
"Ah, and I plan to visit Lartania for a while."
"…Lartania?"
"Yes, I intend to personally procure the gems that will adorn the Marquis's 'eyes.' Once I make the eyes with those—"
Deus's eyes sparkled as if he were scouring the vast universe.
"They will be worthy of the Marquis."
Seeing her brother act a bit more childish whenever the Marquis was involved, Silli somehow found herself resenting the Marquis of Palatio...