Chapter 213: The North…? (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 213: The North…? (4)
Halfway between Greinif and the Lizardman lands.
At a makeshift negotiation site.
“……He said he doesn’t need an escort?”
“Yes, those were his words.”
Magrina received the report from Rim.
“Is this true?”
Hazard, who was sitting across from Magrina, asked the question. Kurak, sitting beside him, bowed his head deeply in affirmation.
Hazard stroked his chin several times, letting out a thoughtful "Hmm," as if weighing the situation.
“It can’t be helped, then. If my friend feels that way, I have no choice but to step back.”
Contrary to expectations, he backed off quite cleanly.
“Hmph. You’re being surprisingly reasonable.”
“I’m not like those gloomy knife-ears who obsess over honor in public while acting shady behind everyone’s back.”
“I recall you being much shadier than us in the old days—”
“Ahem, ahem.”
As the talk of the past came up, Hazard cleared his throat unnecessarily and averted his gaze.
To those of lower status, it merely looked like black smoke was billowing and swirling. However, his gestures made it clear to anyone watching that Hazard was flustered.
After a short silence.
“Anyway, if my friend says so, there’s no need for us to keep lingering here.”
Hazard stood up as if there was nothing left to discuss.
“Then, I shall take my leave.”
He turned around and left the negotiation site with remarkable coolness.
As Magrina watched his departing figure, she remained alone for a moment.
“Your Majesty.”
“Speak, Rim.”
Rim called out to the Queen with a face full of lingering regret. If it had been decided that the Elves would provide the escort this time, she had hoped to be the one to guard the Primordial Elf.
To Rim—and effectively to all Elves—guarding the Primordial Elf, who was essentially their 'God,' was an immense honor and a matter of great prestige.
Normally, Pagade would have no time to escort anyone else, as they had to protect the World Tree from the things rising from the Roots. However, ever since the Primordial Elf visited the Roots, those creatures had vanished.
Now that she was free to take on other duties, Rim felt the disappointment even more keenly.
“Then, as discussed, I shall have the Black Leaf return home.”
As if sensing her feelings, Magrina smiled gently and shook her head.
“No.”
“……Pardon?”
“There is no need to recall the Black Leaf.”
“What? But he clearly said—”
“Rim, no matter how much he refuses an escort, the Primordial Elf is someone we must protect at all costs. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I am well aware.”
“Exactly. That is the answer. He may have refused, but that was surely out of consideration for us.”
In reality, it was Alon’s desperate effort to keep his 'misunderstanding' from being found out, but Magrina, unaware of this, only smiled more deeply.
“Therefore, we must provide an escort. We can’t exactly leave his protection to those lizards, can we?”
It was a valid point. Rim nodded, but a sudden curiosity flickered in her mind.
‘……What exactly is the relationship between Her Majesty and that Living God from earlier?’
The relationship between Queen Magrina and the Living God of the Lizardmen, who had been conversing without any sense of hierarchy until just a moment ago.
As far as Rim knew, the Queen and the Living God had rarely met face-to-face. Yet, despite that, the two of them seemed incredibly close—at least in Rim’s eyes.
……Of course, they had spent the whole time hurling insults at each other. But even that felt more like the bickering of old rivals rather than a genuine intent to slander.
However, Rim soon cleared those thoughts from her head. That wasn't what was important right now.
“Then I will maintain the Black Leaf’s deployment as is.”
“Please do so.”
“And, Your Majesty.”
“Yes.”
“By any chance—”
Just as Rim was about to cautiously voice a request she had been considering, Kurak was tilting his head in confusion inside the massive palanquin carried by the Lizardmen.
“……You want me to dispatch escort troops?”
“That’s right.”
In the center of the luxuriously decorated space—large enough to be considered a room—Hazard sat regally and gave the command. Kurak was bewildered. It was a completely different order from what had been discussed with Magrina just a moment ago.
“……But, didn’t you just say you wouldn’t be sending any?”
Hazard let out a smirk.
“That was a lie, obviously.”
“But if your friend doesn’t want it—”
“Well, honestly, I think he might not want it much either. But that’s a separate issue.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. I’m worried about my friend, so I’ll protect him.”
“That’s all there is to it,” Hazard muttered lowly before continuing.
“Anyway, that’s how it is, so pick some guards and send them. Though—make sure they’re the ones best at stealth so they don’t get caught.”
“……Shall I send the Dark Curtain Tribe?”
“Hmm—that sounds good.”
Hazard leaned back against the headrest, looking satisfied. Watching him, Kurak spoke up as a sudden question occurred to him.
“May I ask one question?”
“What is it?”
“……If you were going to send an escort anyway, was there a need to hide it from those knife-ears?”
“Of course there was.”
“?”
“Those knife-ears pretend to be all about honor, but they’re incredibly shifty. If they find out and tell my friend, it’ll just turn into a headache.”
Hazard nodded to himself, as if saying, ‘I know those knife-ears all too well.’
In short, seeing the God who was worried that the Elves might snitch on him to Marquis Palatio, Kurak wore a strange expression.
Never before had he seen the God who bestowed power upon him act so mindful of someone else’s opinion. Yet here was Hazard, worrying about being caught by his friend and keeping an eye on the Elves.
After a moment of silence, Kurak spoke.
“I understand. Then, I shall make the preparations immediately.”
He bowed his head and moved to carry out Hazard’s command.
* * *
About a week later.
“Marquis, I’ve looked into what you asked me to investigate last time.”
“You mean about Silli?”
“Yes.”
“And? What’s the word?”
“It seems she really is being called that.”
“…….”
At the news Evan brought, Alon looked at him with a peculiar expression.
“……For what reason, exactly?”
“Well—it seems that after you left, she continued various relief activities in the villages near Calliban.”
“……Relief activities?”
“Yes, you know. Things like that.”
Evan listed a few examples, like dealing with monsters or distributing relief supplies, and then added:
“Anyway, because of that, it seems she’s recently been called the ‘Saintess of Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver’ in the villages near Calliban.”
Alon reflexively scratched his head.
Strictly speaking, this situation wasn't a problem for Alon. In fact, it was quite good. Silli’s actions were currently gathering Faith for him.
‘……I didn’t hand over that power hoping for this, though.’
However, the reason Alon looked a bit flustered was that this wasn't his intention at all. He had only given her the power so she could protect herself.
Alon, who had unexpectedly found himself at the top of a pyramid scheme, thought to himself:
‘Well, it’s not a bad thing, so it doesn’t matter…… but should I tell her she doesn’t need to work so hard?’
He didn't want to make Deus’s younger sister suffer this much. Having organized his thoughts, Alon decided to give her a hint the next time he visited Calliban.
Just then.
“Marquis.”
“What is it?”
Evan asked.
“Now that I think about it, didn’t you say last time that there was somewhere else we needed to stop by besides the jungle?”
“During the last trip?”
“Yes. Thinking back, I don’t think we ever went there.”
A place to stop by—
Alon pondered for a moment before letting out a soft "Ah."
“There was a place I needed to visit because of the duration of the ‘Feet Running Through the Past.’”
“Right? I was asking because I realized we missed a spot. Why didn’t we go?”
“It’s not that we didn’t go, it’s that we couldn’t. That place is somewhere you can only visit when you have business in the North.”
“I see.”
As he watched Evan nod, Alon let out another exclamation and pulled out an object. It was a gem shaped exactly like the red ruby he had obtained in the Colony.
‘They said it would speak to me on its own if I carried it.’
Alon stared at the red gem. The gem, which looked perfectly ordinary, showed no reaction whatsoever, just as it had when he first received it from the Dragonkin in the Colony.
‘I’ve been waiting for it to speak up whenever it felt like it…… but at this point, has something gone wrong?’
Contrary to the explanation that it would speak within a month or two, nearly half a year had passed since he brought it from the Colony, yet he hadn't heard a single word.
‘It looks like I’ll have to pay a visit to the Colony after I get back from the North.’
Adding another destination to his list, Alon tucked the ruby back away.
About two more weeks passed.
“Let’s head out.”
Alon set off for Asteria to meet Siyan.
* * *
Around the time Alon was heading toward Asteria.
Hidan was at the Palatio Marquisate. He was there on Yutia’s orders. Originally, he had planned to stop by the Marquisate briefly on his way to Calliban, grab some items from the hideout, and leave quickly.
……That is, if he hadn't witnessed a bizarre situation.
Hidan looked ahead.
A presence entered his field of vision. There were demi-humans—specifically, Lizardmen—exuding an unusual aura.
And that wasn't all. On the opposite side, Elves were standing in a tense standoff with the Lizardmen, their expressions hardened.
“…….”
Hidan had never properly seen any demi-humans other than Beastkin until now. While Beastkin were gathered in the Eastern Country, they were already active within the United Kingdoms. In contrast, Elves and Lizardmen were so few in number that they were rarely seen in the United Kingdoms. In fact, they were almost non-existent.
In that sense, seeing over ten Lizardmen and over ten Elves glaring at each other in mutual wariness was a very strange sight for Hidan. Especially since every single one of them radiated an intimidating pressure.
However, Hidan soon prepared to leave. Even though it was a peculiar scene, it wasn't worth prioritizing over the Red Moon’s orders.
But then.
“Get lost, you lizards. We will be the ones to protect the Marquis.”
“Hmph—don’t talk nonsense, you knife-ears. We are here to escort Marquis Palatio according to the Great One’s command, so you’re the ones who should back off!”
“……?”
At the words that followed, Hidan paused, a look of confusion crossing his face.
“Where do you stupid lizards get off thinking you can protect the Marquis?”
“It’s only natural that we, who are stronger, protect him rather than you knife-ears who only care about honor.”
“No, it is we Elves who shall protect the Marquis!”
“No, it’s us Lizardmen!!”
As the conversation continued—
“……???”
Countless question marks filled Hidan’s mind.