Chapter 182: Birth, Day…? (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 182: Birth, Day…? (3)
Alon stared blankly out the window.
There stood a gargantuan statue, struck in a pose that was all too familiar.
It didn't take long for him to make his way toward it.
There, he found the creator(?).
"Marquis."
"……Deus."
Beneath the massive statue, Deus stood with his head bowed low.
Alon pointed a finger at the monument.
"What... is this?"
"It is a gift I have prepared for you, Marquis."
His expression was brimming with confidence.
Alon looked up at the statue in silence.
Up close, the statue—posed exactly like the Northern Chief—seemed even more colossal.
It was absurdly, impossibly large.
……To be honest, it was almost embarrassing.
"Well—um…… I mean."
"Please, ask me anything."
Alon had many things he wanted to ask.
Not just a few, but a great deal.
The reason he couldn't easily open his mouth, however, was simple.
He had no idea where to even begin.
After staring at the statue for a long while, Alon finally spoke.
"How did you even bring this here?"
He decided to resolve the biggest mystery first.
"First, I used Shrink magic to reduce its size as much as possible before transporting it. I did not like the idea of shrinking a statue of you, Marquis, but it was a necessary evil for the journey."
Deus answered without a moment's hesitation.
"I see."
"Do you have any other questions?"
Silence returned.
The words 'Isn't this a bit much?' tried to force their way out of his throat several times, but Alon suppressed them.
No, he had no choice but to suppress them.
Alon gazed intently at Deus.
His expression was the same as always. His aura was calm, and aside from a tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth, there was no significant change in his features.
But there was one decisive difference.
His eyes.
"……"
Contrary to his stoic face, his eyes were sparkling as if they had stars embedded in them.
It was the look of a child pleading, 'I did good, right? Hurry up and praise me!'
"Hmm—"
He hadn't known Deus was capable of making such an expression.
Since he didn't want to throw cold water on those pure, expectant eyes...
"I like it, Deus. Thank you."
Alon gave his approval to the statue that bore the likeness of the Northern Chief.
The corners of Deus’s mouth curled up visibly this time.
"I am glad it is to your liking, Marquis."
"Indeed—"
"However, you will be even more surprised when you see this."
"……?"
There’s more?
Before Alon’s pupils could even dilate in surprise, Deus exuded an air of supreme confidence.
"Prepare yourselves."
He nodded toward the knights he had brought along.
Upon receiving the order, they moved in perfect synchronization, quickly setting up a massive target.
And then.
KABOOM—!
Magic circles instantly deployed from the diamond-encrusted eyes of the statue.
A massive mana cannon fired, obliterating the target.
"How is it?"
Deus looked even more triumphant.
Alon stared blankly up at the statue once more.
‘A size so massive you can see the entire territory at a glance, the exact pose of the Northern Chief... and it even fires mana cannons……’
……For a moment, he felt as if he could almost hear a voice booming, 'You, too, shall stand!'
Alon cleared his throat with a "Ahem" and shifted his gaze back to Deus.
Deus stood there, shoulders squared with pride.
Looking at him, Alon reached a realization.
Deus, you……
You have the taste of a child.
Though it was mortifying, he couldn't disappoint Deus after he had brought such an overwhelming gift.
"……It’s magnificent."
"Thank you."
In the end, Alon...
Became a man who loved statues.
* * *
[It fires beams from its eyes?]
"……That’s actually kind of cool."
[Kyu?]
While Basiliora and Evan gathered in front of the statue, letting out sounds of pure admiration...
"Brother!"
Ladan arrived.
"You’re here too."
"Of course, Brother. It’s your birthday."
Ladan grinned.
Alon thought to himself that they hadn't exactly made a big deal out of his birthday until now, but he didn't want to ruin the festive mood. He simply nodded.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Oh, and your gift should be arriving soon…… Ah, there it is."
Following the direction of Ladan’s finger, Alon spotted something massive entering through the North Gate.
"What is that?"
"It’s a Sea God. A creature from the deep sea. I caught it for you, Brother."
"Oh."
Alon let out an involuntary exclamation.
The dragon-like head alone exuded a majestic aura.
He also felt a strange sense of familiarity.
The Sea God.
It was a monster that any player choosing the Mage path in Psychedelia would inevitably encounter at least once.
Of course, it was a "God" in name only, not a true deity.
It was simply a mysterious monster with a giant dragon’s head.
However, its scales could be refined into incredibly efficient magic-resistant armor.
‘I’ve never seen one alive before.’
In Psychedelia, no matter which route you took, you could never see the Sea God alive.
It was always treated as mere crafting material.
It was amazing enough to see its original form, but for some reason, it felt incredibly vivid.
As if it might start moving at any moment—
RUMBLE—!!
"!?"
The moment its head cleared the North Gate, the Sea God began to thrash violently.
Is that thing…… alive?
While Alon was reeling in shock...
"Ah, there he goes again. One moment, Brother."
Acting as if it were no big deal, Ladan dashed forward and delivered several heavy blows to the Sea God’s head.
The Sea God immediately quieted down.
Ladan let out an awkward laugh.
"Sorry, Brother. I thought I’d trained him well, but he’s being a troublemaker."
"……Is that thing alive?"
Ladan tilted his head as if he’d been asked the most obvious question in the world.
"I mean, yeah? He’s a pet, after all."
"A pet?"
Alon looked at the Sea God again.
[■■■■—]
It let out a deeply sorrowful cry.
But the head wasn't the end of it.
"It’s…… bigger than mine?" (Moving)
Even though more than half of it had already entered through the estate's widest main road...
The body just kept coming.
"This is impossible……"
Deus, who was standing nearby, muttered in a voice thick with—for some reason—a sense of defeat.
Ladan wore a look of 'I won.'
Watching the two of them, Alon thought:
Is that really what’s important right now?
"……"
He glanced at the Chief…… statue, then turned his gaze back to the Sea God.
The Sea God was being dragged in, its horns bent in odd directions and its body wrapped in heavy chains.
……He didn't even know where to start criticizing this.
He couldn't even wrap his head around it.
"Is that…… the kind of monster, no, animal that can even be raised?"
"Of course. I’ve finished all the training, so he’ll be great as an ornamental pet, Brother."
"Ornamental…… I see."
……He doubted whether "ornamental" was the right word, but...
"……Isn't that a creature that lives in the sea?"
"He lives in the sea, but he can breathe on land too."
"……Looking at his size, I don't think he can be raised here."
"Oh, don't worry about that, Brother."
Ladan spoke confidently and walked toward the Sea God, which had now reached the side of the statue.
Alon followed him.
"Hey, get small."
At Ladan’s single command...
The Sea God, who had been nervously glancing around with eyes larger than a grown man’s torso—
Sssssss.
Alon witnessed the creature slowly shrinking in size.
And so.
"……This is the Sea God?"
"Yes. It turns out this guy can shrink his body at will. I was thinking about stuffing him, but I decided to bring him as a pet instead. I heard there are even bigger ones than him in the deep sea."
Tremble, tremble—
The Sea God shook violently, as if it understood Ladan’s words.
……Or maybe it wasn't understanding him, but was just terrified?
Deciding to stop thinking too hard about it, Alon spoke.
"……So, I just have to raise him like this?"
"Yes. Just in case, though—do you not like him?"
The question was directed at Alon.
Tremble, tremble, tremble—!
As if sensing its future was hanging in the balance...
The Sea God looked at Alon with an even more desperate, pleading expression, its body shaking uncontrollably.
……How on earth did he train it?
"……No, I like him."
In the end, Alon nodded.
"I knew it, Brother! I’m glad you’re happy!"
Ladan broke into a satisfied smile, and the Sea God slumped over, seemingly relieved that the tension had snapped.
……Why was this happening?
Alon was starting to get scared of what the others might bring.
* * *
"……Hm? Were you already raising a snake, Brother?"
[I am not a snake! I am Basiliora the Receiver!]
"Well—something like that."
[I said I am Basiliora!!!]
"Hmph—the color is black, I see."
[Do not ignore me!]
"It is black."
[I said stop ignoring me!!!!]
Basiliora threw a fit.
Ignoring the commotion, Ladan pondered something deeply for a moment.
"……Brother."
"What is it?"
"……Could you give me about a month?"
"Why?"
Ladan glanced toward the Sea God.
"I’ll go catch a black one."
"……Do black ones even exist?"
"I’ll have to look for one, but still."
Alon thought, 'Is that really necessary?' but then...
‘……Is it because of his obsessive-compulsive tendencies?’
He guessed the reason.
It was Ladan’s personality—he couldn't rest until everything was perfectly matched in a pair.
Glancing down, Alon saw that the target of that obsession, the Sea God, was now clinging tightly to his arm.
"……There’s no need to go that far."
"Is that so—"
Ladan smacked his lips, looking a bit disappointed.
Through his arm, Alon could feel the vivid vibrations of the tiny Sea God flinching.
Once the situation settled down...
Just as Ladan and Alon were catching up on how they’d been...
"Hello, Godfather."
"You’re here?"
"Yes."
Line arrived.
Alon felt inwardly relieved to see that her complexion had improved significantly since their last encounter with the Apostle.
As if she had been waiting, Line pulled a small gift box from her coat.
"This is for you, Godfather."
"Thank you."
As he took it, Alon felt a strange sense of relief and warmth.
Outside the window.
And on his arm.
Because of the gifts that had exceeded all imagination since early morning...
He had started to feel more dread than anticipation.
Fortunately, Line’s gift looked normal(?) at a glance.
For one, it wasn't giant.
That alone was enough to satisfy Alon.
‘Yes, this is the kind of gift I wanted.’
Something that didn't need to be grand, but let you feel the heart of the giver.
……Like a father receiving a gift from his daughter?
Of course, it wasn't that he didn't feel the hearts of Ladan and Deus.
It was just that, if they were to prepare gifts for his birthday next year, he hoped they would be a bit more modest.
"Open it, Godfather."
"Alright."
At Line’s urging, he opened the box.
Carefully, so as not to tear the expensive wrapping paper.
The identity of the gift was soon revealed.
At the same time, Alon was bewildered.
Inside the box was a single, small button.
"……This is?"
Behind Line, Ladan and Deus were secretly wearing 'I won' expressions.
But Line just smiled.
"If you press that, the Lord of Lartania’s head will explode, Godfather."
She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"?"
"?"
Behind her, Deus and Ladan, who had been making small victory poses, froze.
Their expressions said they couldn't believe what they had just heard.
"???"
Naturally, Alon felt the same way…….