Chapter 284: Treatment (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 284: Treatment (3)
Immediately after meeting Historia.
"I am truly, deeply sorry!"
Alon looked down at the male beastman who was currently prostrating himself as if begging for his life.
His cynical attitude from earlier was nowhere to be found; the man was now performing a full-body prostration, pressing himself against the ground.
"Wow... that’s a bit of a mood killer..."
Standing beside Alon, Evan muttered under his breath, looking at the man with cold, unimpressed eyes.
...To be honest, Alon felt much the same way.
A man who had been acting like a common thug was now unable to even lift his head.
Of course, it wasn't Alon’s power that had reduced the man to this state.
"Ria."
"Yes, God."
Historia answered immediately at Alon’s call.
Her characteristic expressionless—or perhaps, in a way, slightly vacant—eyes stared blankly at him.
"Aren't you a bit too close?"
Just as he said, Ria was standing at a very close distance.
More than just close, she was practically glued to Alon’s side, her white tail wrapped firmly around his waist.
"We were always at this distance before."
"And the tail?"
"It was like this before, too."
"..."
Ria wasn't wrong.
Ever since Arculainisis had started wrapping her tail around Alon’s waist in the past, everyone with a tail seemed to follow suit, coiling them around him as a matter of course.
"I seriously wonder what the Marquis does to have women like that constantly sticking to him."
"Well, it’s a bit complicated to explain... but generally, the Marquis himself is the cause."
"..."
The conversation between Evan and Penia drifted in from behind. Alon briefly ignored the somewhat anxious gaze Ladan was sending his way and focused on how the situation had been resolved so cleanly.
He definitely called Ria a member of the Great Race, and the moment Ria acted like she knew me, the situation was settled instantly.
With just a single word from Ria, the soldiers had retreated like the ebbing tide.
Alon spoke to the beastman face-down at his feet.
"Raise your head. As I said before, I didn't come here to start a fight. First, could you tell me who you are?"
"Yes, yes!"
The man, his entire body stiff with tension, introduced himself as 'Hao,' the master in charge of the Eastern Country's port.
"I am truly, truly sorry...!"
Hao prostrated himself once more.
...Since he was bowing so low, Alon didn't even feel like scolding him anymore.
"Raise your head. Honestly, I’m not particularly pleased, but I don't intend to blame you."
"Thank you...!"
At those words, Hao smiled brightly as if he had been granted salvation.
Even so, he kept stealing glances at Historia.
Seeing that, Alon became curious about just how much power she held within the Eastern Country, but he moved on to the main point.
"Could I ask about the current situation in the Eastern Country? As I mentioned, we are outsiders and don't know much about what's happening here."
"I-I will tell you everything!"
Hao, now fully energized, quickly straightened his posture and began to list the circumstances of the Eastern Country.
Thanks to that, Alon was able to understand the situation in detail.
"...Treason and terrorism?"
"Yes. To summarize, humans wearing red clothes who call themselves 'The Martyrs' have begun to run rampant, and a rebellion has broken out within the Eastern Country."
"The Martyrs... is it?"
Alon stroked his chin, murmuring the name.
It was a name he knew well.
The Martyrs.
In the mid-game of Psychedelia.
This organization, which begins its activities immediately after one of the Sins is destroyed, was notorious within the community as an incredibly annoying group for players.
In the game, if you didn't complete the emergency quests that appeared when The Martyrs showed up in a territory within the time limit, the territory would be ruined, and all convenience facilities would become unusable.
Furthermore, the reason The Martyrs wanted to destroy the world was for a nonsensical goal: 'The Enthronement of a New God.'
Players dismissed this organization as a trick by the developers to artificially inflate the game's difficulty.
In Psychedelia quests, where the passage of time was crucial, they were nothing but a nuisance.
However, Alon now had one question.
Aren't they supposed to be found only in the United Kingdoms?
Of course, Alon had never played the DLC.
Therefore, it was impossible to predict what would happen in the Eastern Country.
Even so, it was strange for The Martyrs to be here.
After pondering for a moment, Alon nodded as if he understood and looked at Historia.
"?"
Historia tilted her head at Alon’s gaze.
"Ria."
"Yes? God?"
"Why are you here?"
"The reason I'm in the Eastern Country?"
"Yes."
Historia, who had been standing with her mouth slightly open in a daze, answered.
"Because of a gift."
"A gift?"
"Yes, I came for a bit because of that."
"...Did you come to receive it?"
"After doing a favor."
"So you came to receive a gift after doing a favor, is that it?"
A nod.
The conversation was choppy and didn't flow well.
When Alon summarized it in his own way, Historia simply nodded.
...Feeling that the point of the conversation was still slightly off, just as it had been in the past, Alon turned back to Hao.
"Would it be possible to have an audience with the King of the Eastern Country?"
"You mean His Majesty?"
"The reason I came here is because I heard that the King of the Eastern Country wished to meet me."
Of course, the reason Alon had decided to come to the East was because of the Goddess Sironia’s words.
...Come to think of it, the Goddess Sironia only told me to go to the East; she didn't say what to do.
Would he get an answer if he asked the King? Just as Alon was thinking that.
"God, is meeting the King your goal?"
"That's right."
"Then I'll take you."
"...You?"
"Yes, I was planning to go anyway once I finished my work."
Historia interjected into the conversation.
"If you go with Lady Historia to the Shipowner where His Majesty is staying, you will definitely be able to have an audience."
Following Hao’s words, Alon decided to do so and stepped out of the room.
I almost died...!
As soon as Alon and Historia left, Hao let out a deep sigh of relief, as if he had just escaped death.
"!"
He suddenly turned his head, startled by a presence felt from the side.
"L-Lady Historia? What brings you...!"
There stood Historia, who had clearly left the room with Alon.
Hao was terrified but forced a smile.
Historia stared intently at his trembling lips.
"Keep this in mind."
With an utterly indifferent expression.
"There won't be a next time."
After spitting out those words, she quietly turned away.
* * *
After that, Alon was able to learn two additional facts.
The first was the reason Historia was down here right now.
She had come at the King's request to deal with The Martyrs, who were the backbone of the rebellion.
And the second was...
"Lady Historia...!"
"Wow... it’s Lady Historia."
"So that is the Great White Wolf..."
That Historia’s status within the Eastern Country was incredibly high.
Alon observed the gazes of the beastmen.
Every single one of them was filled with admiration and longing, looking much like the devout believers he had seen in Rosario.
This scene is quite interesting.
The Historia Alon knew—the one he had seen in the past and in the game—was simply a woman of few words who always traveled alone among the Seven Strongest, so this situation felt foreign to him.
A moment later.
"God, wait here."
Historia took a step forward.
"Are you telling me to wait until you finish your work?"
"Yes. It won't take long."
"Have you identified all their locations?"
Alon said to her.
"We will help as well."
"You, God?"
"Yes, since we received your help."
Of course, he could have escaped that situation without Historia’s help, but if she hadn't been there, the probability of things ending peacefully would have been close to zero.
"Hmm—"
Historia pondered for a moment, then naturally wrapped her white tail around Alon’s waist and spoke.
"Thank you."
"Then let’s go."
"Yes."
The two, stuck together as if they were one body, began to walk.
"...Wait, is he not going to say anything to us?"
"I explained the gist of it earlier, didn't I?"
"I’d prefer a slightly more detailed explanation than that... sigh, let’s just go. It’s not like me not understanding things is anything new."
Evan, lamenting as he watched their retreating backs, soon shrugged and followed.
Penia was also about to move when...
"?"
She realized that Ladan, who was beside her, was standing still as a statue and asked.
"Aren't you coming?"
Ladan, who was fiddling with his lips with an anxious look in his eyes.
"It’s dangerous... I might not be able to hold back if I’m not careful..."
He muttered something softly.
...What does that mean?
Penia flinched and simply stared at him with a strange look.
Of course, Ladan remained drenched in anxiety, heedless of Penia’s gaze.
And within his trembling eyes—
The Red Brooch was reflected.
* * *
Not long after they moved to help Historia with her task, Alon arrived at the hideout of The Martyrs.
No, to be more precise.
"...This isn't just a hideout."
He was facing a massive fortress.
A gap in the valley beneath a mountain range so vast that ordinary people couldn't even approach it, large enough to block out the sun.
The fortress of The Martyrs situated there looked extraordinary at a glance.
Everywhere Alon turned his gaze, he saw...
The mutant monsters that always appeared alongside them.
Monsters that typically possessed more than twice the strength of ordinary specimens.
Was that all?
The fortress before his eyes looked much larger than the ones he had cleared in Psychedelia.
And above all, what made Alon frown was...
"...Abyss Bodies."
"They’re here too."
The fact that the Abyss Bodies, which were causing so much trouble in the United Kingdoms, were also present here.
As Alon was contemplating what to do.
Ssh—
Historia, who had been clinging to him with her tail wrapped around his waist, stood up.
"Ria?"
Alon called out to her.
Ria looked at Alon for a moment.
"I’ll be back. It won't take long."
She began to walk forward.
"Wait, rather than doing it alone—"
Alon tried to reach out to stop her.
Of course, he had known from the beginning that Historia was strong.
Setting aside 700 years ago, Historia was one of the Seven Strongest of the United Kingdoms.
But even so, the opponents were The Martyrs.
Beings who appeared in the mid-game, each possessing a bizarre level of strength.
Furthermore, under the pretext of 'Martyrdom for the Great God,' they were known to commit any act, including suicide bombings. Knowing that facing them alone would lead to various difficulties, he tried to stop her, but...
In the next moment.
Alon saw it.
A massive amount of mana began to condense within Historia’s body as she prepared to draw her sword.
And then.
First Form.
Historia’s sword was drawn.
Genesis.
...Nothing happened.
Click—!
Historia sheathed her sword and turned around.
The world remained unchanged.
The Martyrs in the fortress still existed.
The monsters also remained.
Nothing had changed.
"...?"
Evan wore a bewildered expression at the situation.
Penia was the same, and Ladan tilted his head with a slight look of doubt.
Alon was no different.
However.
[...Holy shit.]
Only Basiliora, perched on Alon’s shoulder, spat out a curse as if what he was seeing was impossible.
And just as Alon was about to question Basiliora’s reaction.
──────!
A small sound reached everyone’s ears.
A very faint noise, like something scraping.
Krrr-grrr-grrr—!
And in the next moment.
Alon saw it.
The brilliant sun that momentarily consumed his vision.
Alon frowned at the light but felt a sense of confusion.
At this position, the massive mountain was blocking the sun, so the light shouldn't be able to reach them.
So why was the light pouring down?
It didn't take long to find the answer.
Beneath the sunlight.
"Ah."
The massive mountain, sliced horizontally.
Was falling toward the valley where the Martyrs were.
──────────-!!!!!
A thunderous roar echoed through the world.