Chapter 226: The First Magus (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 226: The First Magus (2)
[Six times.]
[Nine times!]
[...We shouldn't be too greedy, should we, Seolrang? Six times is plenty.]
[Still, nine times!]
[Think about it, Seolrang. As I told you, this isn't just a tool for spying on our teacher; it was given to us strictly for his safety. We shouldn't use it just for peeking, right?]
[But Yutia, you watched him!]
[...When did I ever?]
Yutia feigned ignorance, acting as if she had no idea what Seolrang was talking about.
Watching her, Seolrang puffed out her cheeks and shouted.
[You always watched the Mentor while he was sleeping! I can sense mana movements now, no matter how faint they are!]
[Hmm? You must be mistaken, Seolrang.]
The two continued to bicker.
Caught between them, Hidan felt a slight discomfort—
No, let me correct that.
Right now, he was feeling an immense amount of discomfort.
It was only natural. The two people currently engaged in their heated argument were completely unaware that Hidan was even present in this meeting.
Because of that, Hidan wanted to escape this place immediately.
He had no interest in eavesdropping on such conversations.
Moreover, while he wasn't sure about Seolrang, he knew that if Yutia ever found out he had heard this, the consequences would be dire.
Given how she secretly felt embarrassed about showing this side of herself, he might actually have to put his life on the line...
Hidan thought this while trembling.
Regardless of his fear, he couldn't even think about leaving the meeting.
Strangely, when joining this video conference, the screen simply flickered on without a sound.
In other words, it was silent.
Unfortunately, however, when leaving the conference, the distinct activation sound of mana would gradually fade out, and the noise of the connection cutting would be captured at the end.
And it was quite loud.
That meant if Hidan were to cut his mana now to leave of his own accord, he would essentially be confessing that he had been eavesdropping on the situation.
So, Hidan lowered his body without even making a sound, trying to erase his presence.
Meanwhile, the conversation between Yutia and Seolrang continued.
[I know you were peeking at the Mentor while he was sleeping.]
[You're mistaken.]
[I saw you grinning when Evan was praising you to the Mentor, too.]
[You. Are. Mistaken.]
[I know you stare intently whenever the Mentor uses magic!]
[...You're mistaken.]
Hidan, still hiding and listening to the conversation, shifted from a terrified expression to a peculiar one.
After all, if everything the Golden Moon said was true—
‘...Isn't that just a stalker...?’
The word crept into his mind.
Hidan glanced up at the Red Moon, who was denying every one of the Golden Moon's claims with "You're mistaken."
[Hmph, and when Alon went to wash—]
[...Let's make it eight times.]
When the Red Moon finally backed down at the Golden Moon's last remark, Hidan quietly covered his mouth.
‘...!’
Hidan knew better than anyone how much the Red Moon—Yutia—revered the Great Moon.
But based on the conversation so far, and inferring what the Golden Moon was about to say before she was cut off...
Wow, this is a bit much— he thought.
Hidan couldn't help but be horrified as he learned the shocking truth (?) about the once-devout Red Moon.
‘So right now, the Moons are gathered here to trade (?) opportunities to spy on—no, peek at—the Great Moon.’
He stood there with his mouth agape before suddenly snapping back to his senses.
Because he had been lost in thought, the mana he was injecting into the crystal ball—which required a precise, constant flow—faltered slightly.
Seeing the crystal ball about to flicker out, Hidan hurriedly stabilized his mana.
Vrrr—!
The magic orb, which had momentarily cut out before being restored, let out its characteristic strange hum as it restarted.
At that sound.
[Hm?]
[!]
The gazes of Seolrang, who had been basking in victory, and Yutia, who had been sighing in exhaustion—
“...!!”
—turned toward Hidan.
Hidan ducked his head and groaned.
He squeezed his eyes shut, debating whether he should beg for forgiveness right now.
Which option offered a higher survival rate—?
At that moment.
[It's rare for Seolrang to be here first.]
[Hello!]
[...It's Line.]
Line joined at the perfect moment and gave her greetings, naturally drawing the attention of Yutia and Seolrang toward her.
Deus followed shortly after.
[...I'm late.]
[Welcome, Deus! But you look a bit down today. Did something happen?]
[It's not that anything happened, but...]
[Really? You look pretty gloomy for someone who says nothing happened.]
[Indeed. Did something occur?]
[...Something sad happened.]
Hidan let out a sigh of relief.
About thirty minutes later.
[...My apologies, I'm a bit late.]
Hidan, who had been waiting for the right moment, greeted them as if he had just arrived.
[Oh, Hidan, welcome. So? What is it?]
[It's a bit strange to see even Deus looking so depressed.]
The Moons, who gave him a brief acknowledgment, turned their attention back to the Purple Moon, Deus.
[I'm here too—huh? Deus. Why do you look so miserable?]
After receiving concern even from the Silver Moon, who entered next, the Purple Moon let out a long sigh.
[...To start this story, I must go back a few months to what happened in the forest.]
He began his preamble.
[!]
[!]
[!]
In that instant, everyone except the Red Moon froze, the concern vanishing from their faces.
They had finally realized it.
They had set the stage for Deus themselves.
[Uh—hey, maybe just the main point—]
Ladan instinctively tried to shut Deus up, but...
[It began... yes. It was that morning. When I woke up as usual, my lovely and adorable younger sister, Silli, was nowhere to be found—]
[Ah—]
[Oh...]
[...]
It was too late.
As the story began to pour out, the Moons groaned in unison.
‘If Lord Purple Moon starts with his own story instead of talking about the Great Moon... it'll be at least five hours... no, six?’
Just as Hidan was muttering to himself in pity.
“...?”
Hidan suddenly felt a gaze and turned his head, meeting the eyes of Line, who was looking at him.
And he saw it.
Line was silently mouthing words to him.
<Tell me what Seolrang and Yutia were talking about earlier.>
“....”
Hidan realized that Line's intrusion earlier hadn't been a coincidence.
Nod.
He gave a nod of gratitude.
The meeting continued.
* * *
The next day.
Alon finally understood why the faith in Kalanon had surged so rapidly.
“So, you're saying Reinhardt used Kalanon's power on the Northern Front?”
“That's right.”
“...Isn't that a bit lacking in probability? Just because of that?”
“In what way?”
“Even if Reinhardt is strong, it seems a bit strange for knights to suddenly start worshipping Kalanon as the God of Knights just because he used that power.”
Evan nodded as if he fully understood.
“It certainly sounds that way if you only hear that part. I was a bit puzzled at first, too.”
“Is there more to the story?”
“It's more that I heard an explanation of the situation.”
As Evan relayed the details of what happened back then, Alon pondered for a moment before speaking.
“To put it simply, the power of Kalanon that Silli uses didn't really resonate with them, but the power Reinhardt used did?”
“Yes. To be honest, no matter how nicely you put it, Reinhardt was someone who engaged in religious activities quite reluctantly.”
In other words, it was a situation where the knights thought, ‘Wait? Lord Reinhardt, who seems to be doing this so half-heartedly—no, I'm not even sure if he's doing it properly—is using divine power?? Maybe I can too?’ Evan added.
Alon found himself nodding in agreement.
‘So that was it.’
Well, from Alon's perspective, it wasn't really a problem.
In fact, it was better if the knights worshipped him.
As the knights built up faith, Alon's divinity would also grow.
‘However, for this phenomenon to be maintained, I need to use that faith to grant them power...’
Alon stroked his chin.
Of course, distributing the power of faith wasn't particularly difficult.
The problem was choosing the right people to give that power to.
“Hmm—”
If Alon were a god who didn't ‘exist as a physical body’ in this world, he wouldn't have to worry about this.
Unfortunately, he had a physical form.
‘Of course, right now the focus is on Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver, and the idea that the Marquis of Palatio is that god is either dismissed as a wild rumor or met with uncertainty.’
Regardless, while there was much to gain from spreading power to anyone right now, that wouldn't be the case later on.
If someone who received the god's power used it improperly, Alon would ultimately have to bear the brunt of the negative consequences.
Therefore.
‘I'd like to consult with Kalanon about this... My divine power is starting to fill up; shouldn't she be appearing soon?’
Alon looked at Kalanon's horn, which Blackie was currently using like a cat tower, purring as he slept.
After a brief moment of thought, Alon stood up.
Since he didn't actually know how to meet Kalanon unless the other party initiated contact, there was no point in dwelling on it.
‘Well, she'll show up eventually.’
Having settled his thoughts, Alon made his way toward the 2nd Office where Penia was.
He had work to do with her today.
“Ah, you're here?”
“Yes.”
“I've finished the preparations, so please have a seat!”
As soon as Alon arrived, Penia welcomed him more warmly than usual and offered him a seat.
Noticing that her dark circles had grown even deeper, Alon spoke.
“...It seems the Linked Circle was quite interesting to you.”
Alon's task for today was to convert Penia's mana into his own to charge the ‘Feet Running Through the Past.’
If Alon were to charge the artifact alone, it would take nearly a month.
Even if he did nothing but inject mana without researching any magic, it would still take one to two weeks.
However, Penia Kraysinne, the future archmage recognized even by Psychedelia—
“Yes, it was truly fascinating! Where did you get this artifact?!”
—possessed such a vast amount of mana that she could fully charge the Feet Running Through the Past using only a fraction of it.
‘...I'm jealous of that talent.’
As Alon watched Penia put on the ring, feeling a fresh wave of envy.
“...Hm?”
He suddenly felt as if the Red Brooch had flashed with a red light, and he glanced down.
But he soon shrugged and looked back up.
There was no reason for the gem to glow on its own.
“Well then, I'll begin.”
“Right, I'm counting on you.”
A moment later.
Penia, who wore the ring on her left middle finger just like Alon, began to release her mana.
Vrrrr—!
The vast mana that poured out in all directions was instantly drawn into the ring on Penia's hand, flowed into Alon's ring, and began to be absorbed by the Feet Running Through the Past.
The artifact, which had been a dull gray, instantly began to glow with a blue light.
After about a minute had passed.
“It's done.”
“Oh, is it finished?”
“Yes.”
Seeing the task that would have taken him a month of hard work completed in just one minute, Alon once again felt the gap in their talent.
“Th-then—can I—can I research this just a little bit more...!”
Penia, her face flushed with excitement, shouted as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“You can keep it. I don't have much use for it right now anyway.”
“Thank you!”
“In return, I'll be counting on you in the future as well.”
“Yes, sir!”
With a light nod, Alon lifted the fully charged Feet Running Through the Past.
Flash—!
His vision turned pure white—
“You're late.”
And he encountered Kailas, who stood with his back to the Black Dragon.
“....”
Though he was always overwhelmed by the sight of the massive dragon, Alon quickly regained his composure and looked at him.
“I have something to ask before we begin training. Can we talk?”
“What is it?”
“I've been to the Horizon.”
“...What do you want to know?”
In response to Kailas's question, Alon briefly summarized what had happened at the Horizon.
“What exactly is that place?”
He asked the question with genuine curiosity at the end.
Kailas remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“The friend of Palaon.”
“...What?”
“That place was created by a friend of the great human Palaon, the one who first spread the path of magic to this world. And—”
He continued calmly.
“He was the only Magus who ever used the formula known as ‘Defying Heaven.’”