Chapter 283: Treatment (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 283: Treatment (2)
Shuhtalian V stared at the object in his hand with a look of utter confusion.
It was a blue Re-education Letter.
Actually, it was a bit awkward to even call it that. To begin with, he was a believer in Sironia, the Goddess of the Moon, not Kalanon the Lightning Receiver. Unlike the previous letter from Rosario, this blue Re-education Letter didn't pose any immediate political obstacle for Shuhtalian V.
And yet, the reason his head was spinning was because of the followers of Kalanon.
First, there was Saintess Silli, who was currently expanding the Kalanon faith and gathering believers. She was the one and only younger sister of Deus Macallian, the First Sword of Calliban. And Deus Macallian doted on his sister to an absurd degree.
To put it simply, the man was a siscon.
That fact alone was enough to give Shuhtalian V a pounding headache. What if he overreacted and ended up mobilizing Deus Macallian—a strategic bomber that even Calliban couldn't properly control?
Such a thing must never happen; Shuhtalian V didn't even want to imagine it.
The only reason he even factored this scenario into his calculations was that he knew Deus Macallian was far more reckless than people thought. Just recently, the man had shown up threatening to personally butcher Shuhtalian’s son over a single misplaced word.
But what if he ignored the Re-education Letter? What if Deus Macallian lost his mind and came charging in...?
Sure, if it came to that, he could probably handle it by mobilizing his entire military force. Since Deus Macallian would be the one striking first, Ashtalon could even claim the political position of the victim.
However, the problem was that stopping Deus Macallian would clearly drain an immense amount of resources. Furthermore, it would be difficult to find anyone capable of helping to restrain him on short notice.
In other words, from Shuhtalian V’s perspective, Deus making a move was a lose-lose situation, no matter how it turned out.
"Sigh..."
There were plenty of other headaches besides that. The mages the Saintess of Kalanon had recruited would be a nightmare to deal with if they turned hostile.
But above all else, the reason he couldn't ignore Kalanon was the fact that Marquis Palatio was linked to it.
The public was still speculating about the nature of the connection between Marquis Palatio and Kalanon in various ways. Some said Marquis Palatio was Kalanon himself, while others claimed he was merely Kalanon’s Apostle.
But the truth didn't matter. To Shuhtalian V, the mere fact that Marquis Palatio was involved with Kalanon was what was important. With just a single word from the Marquis, those insane strategic bombers might all gather at once and turn Ashtalon into a wasteland.
Moreover...
‘Your Majesty, I have a very short fuse.’
‘I hope there won’t be any more regrettable incidents like this in the future.’
The girl’s voice was etched vividly into his mind. Shuhtalian V shuddered at the voice, which felt as clear as if she were standing right next to him.
She possessed a beauty that commanded admiration the moment one saw her. Yet, that bizarre terror that made one hold their breath was something he could never forget, no matter how hard he tried.
Shuhtalian V stared down at the letter in silence for a long time.
"Whew."
He let out a short sigh, wondering how he had ended up in this predicament. Finally, he forced his stiffened fingers to move and unfolded the letter.
* * *
"Oh."
Alon let out a low exclamation of admiration as soon as they arrived near the Eastern Country. The scenery of the Eastern Country visible from afar was unlike any kingdom Alon had seen so far.
The Oriental-style buildings exuded an air of mystery at a glance. The view of the village, which looked like something out of a wuxia novel or another game, naturally drew gasps of wonder.
"Wow... it’s like a painting."
"Amazing."
Evan and Penia followed suit with their own praise.
[Hmph, it’s decent enough to look at.]
Basiliora was also busy looking around, despite his haughty tone.
Eventually, the group finally entered the Eastern Country. It was a smooth entry without any issues.
Yes, there were no problems—until they arrived.
"..."
Alon looked ahead. The sight that greeted them as soon as they stepped off the carriage was a grim scene of soldiers swarming them as if they had been waiting, their spears leveled at the group.
"...Marquis, were we supposed to start in a situation like this?"
Evan, his body stiff with tension, whispered the question.
Alon shook his head, though he too was puzzled. Of course, he hadn't expected a grand welcome. Although Alon had fought alongside the beastkin 700 years ago to defeat Baarma, that was 700 years in the past. He was well aware that, aside from a few long-lived phantom species, very few would remember those events.
However...
‘Even so, to be met with this much hostility...’
Alon scanned the soldiers. Their eyes were filled with pure animosity, as if they were facing their sworn enemies.
Just as his confusion was deepening, a wolf beastkin stepped out from among the spearmen. Unlike the other soldiers, he wore somewhat ornate armor. However, the hostility in his expression was exactly the same.
"...I would like to have a word with you," Alon said after a moment's thought.
"Hmph! I have nothing to say to a filthy human inciting rebellion!"
The wolf beastkin drew his sword and pressed it against Alon’s throat. Just as Alon was starting to get a headache from the situation escalating after a single sentence...
"Sigh—"
A sigh reached his ears. It was low, but heavy with annoyance.
And then.
"I'll give you five seconds."
Ladan’s voice rang out, drawing everyone’s attention to him. The cheerful smile that usually graced his lips was gone, replaced by a hard set. His eyes, which usually held a hint of laughter, were now cold and indifferent. The playful aura that usually surrounded him had vanished, replaced in an instant by an eerie, overwhelming pressure.
Ladan took a step forward.
"Lower your sword. Now."
It was a chilling warning directed at the beastkin pointing a blade at Alon. The beastkin scowled, but Ladan began to count as if he didn't care.
"Five."
At that moment, Alon recalled the side of Ladan he had seen once before—the time he had nonchalantly blown a captain’s head off.
"Four."
Because of that...
"It’s alright, Ladan."
Alon decided to stop him.
"Brother! But these bastards...!"
Ladan’s face contorted with frustration. In truth, Alon wasn't feeling particularly great either. He had come to the East based on Hazard’s word, and he hadn't expected to be treated like this. However, he stopped Ladan because he judged that if Ladan stepped in now, things would only get complicated and his goals in the East would take much longer to achieve.
"It really is fine."
"...Understood."
Ladan clamped his mouth shut with a dissatisfied expression but stepped back. The expression of the beastkin pointing the sword at Alon worsened. Seeing this, Alon explained calmly.
"I am Marquis Palatio. I have come here at the recommendation of Hazard, the Living God of the Lizardmen. If it isn't too much trouble, could you explain the current situation?"
It was a polite request.
"..."
Perhaps because of that, the beastkin withdrew his sword and slid it back into its sheath. Alon let out a light sigh of relief, thinking they could finally talk, but then...
"Bind them."
"???"
The following command left him utterly bewildered.
* * *
To put it simply, Alon was bound by the soldiers and dragged off somewhere.
"Marquis, aren't we in big trouble?" Evan whispered softly.
His concern was valid. The group was restrained to the point where they effectively couldn't do anything. It was a clearly unpleasant situation, but Alon endured it for two reasons.
First, for his original purpose—to gain more information about the Sins or the Words of Sin—it wouldn't do any good to make enemies of the beastkin. If Alon had visited the Eastern Country even a few times in Psychedelia, it might be different, but unfortunately, he had never experienced this region, which only appeared in the DLC. Furthermore, he had only heard the most basic information from Hazard.
This meant that to achieve what he wanted here, he first needed to gather information.
‘And I can only get that information from the beastkin.’
The second reason was confidence. Alon could break these bindings whenever he wanted.
"..."
That wasn't all. He had confirmed with glances that Penia and Ladan, if not Evan, could also easily break their restraints. In other words, their safety was guaranteed.
Having made his judgment, Alon observed his surroundings even as he was being dragged along. Eventually, the moment they entered a large building, Alon saw him.
"Is it you? The humans from the outside."
A man dressed in quite flamboyant attire, with 'narcissist' practically written all over his face.
"I am Marquis Palatio. I have come here at the recommendation of Hazard, the Living God of the Lizardmen. If it isn't too much trouble, could you explain the current situation?"
Alon introduced himself once more, but the man openly sneered.
"Regrettable, but that will be impossible."
"...And why is that?"
"Because you are humans."
"It seems some incident involving humans has occurred, but that has nothing to do with us."
"They all say that. Every single one of the vermin we've caught so far said the same thing."
Alon saw it clearly—the deep-seated loathing in the man’s eyes and the mockery playing on his lips.
And then.
"Well, whether you're really involved with them or not... we'll find out once we kill you."
At the man’s words, the waiting soldiers began to level their spears as if they had been waiting for the signal. Seeing this, Alon realized something. He didn't know what had happened in the Eastern Country, but contrary to what Hazard had said, there was no room for dialogue from the start.
The moment he realized this, he prepared to move his mana. Ladan and Penia were also about to circulate their mana when...
"What is going on?"
A woman’s voice drifted from the doorway, which had been firmly shut until just a moment ago. It was a voice as clear as the scent of lilies. However, Alon immediately turned his head at the sense of déjà vu he felt from the voice.
There stood a woman. A woman with white hair and large wolf ears, much like Seolrang. Her clothes weren't flamboyant, but what caught the eye was the beautiful sword hanging at her waist.
However...
"Gasp...!"
The mere appearance of the woman caused a stir in the room. Every beastkin lowered their weapons and bowed to her in unison. It was a clear sign of profound respect.
That wasn't all.
"We greet the Great Race...!"
The beastkin man, who had been flaunting his arrogance as if he were king and showing blatant hatred toward Alon, also widened his eyes and hurriedly bowed his head.
"What is going on?" the woman asked again, her voice flat.
"We were just about to execute the companions of the disgusting rebels we captured," he reported, bowing even lower.
Unlike the other beastkin, she approached the group slowly with a somewhat vacant expression. But the moment she saw Alon’s face...
"!"
She froze. It was as if she had been turned to ice.
And then.
"Ah—"
Alon finally realized why her voice was familiar. Furthermore, he realized why her appearance was familiar. At the same time, a question arose. As far as Alon knew, she was supposed to be on the continent, not in the Eastern Country.
But the being before his eyes was undoubtedly the woman he knew.
"Ria...?"
He called her name.
"...God?"
Her tail, which had been perfectly still, gave a tiny wag.
And then.
"...Huh?"
The beastkin who had been sneering at Alon with blatant loathing just a moment ago realized one thing.
Something had gone very, very wrong.