Chapter 360: What Must Be Done (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 360: What Must Be Done (3)
A knight of Calliban, and a man who belonged to one of the orders of the Master Knights.
Leo stood dazed, staring straight ahead as he reminisced about everything that had happened until now.
Up until yesterday morning, nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
He had started his day at the knight order as usual, going through his training.
The trouble began in the afternoon.
An ominous telegram arrived stating that a nobleman of Calliban, who had attended the birthday party of the "Chosen One" known as the Hero, had been murdered. Consequently, Leo was deployed.
In truth, it wasn't a matter he necessarily had to move for.
After all, he was a knight belonging to the Master Knights.
However, there was only one reason he had mobilized nonetheless.
The nobleman murdered at the Chosen One's birthday party was the father of a fellow Master Knight.
And so, he had set out in haste without hearing the full details.
He had come to Tern. And there, he saw it. That was all.
“…….”
That was all.
That should have been all.
Surely.
“……Ah.”
A hollow sound escaped Leo’s lips.
A single knight had entered his field of vision.
A knight who sent shivers down his spine just by looking at him.
Clad in armor that resembled living blood vessels, the knight stood there vacantly, holding a sword.
Yet, contrary to that gruesome appearance.
Leo felt absolutely nothing from him.
Yes, he felt nothing at all.
Not the crushing pressure one feels when facing an overwhelmingly powerful foe.
Not the triviality one feels when encountering the weak.
Not even the sense of rivalry one feels when meeting an equal.
He felt nothing.
Leo stared at the sword the man held.
The blade was incredibly worn and battered.
It felt more appropriate to say it was meant for tearing rather than cutting, and it exuded no majesty whatsoever.
Perhaps, it didn't even allow one to feel threatened.
But then, why?
Why were the Master Knights and the soldiers who had charged ahead of him…
Now nothing but corpses?
“…….”
Where Leo was looking, corpses lay scattered in a wide circle.
There had been no screams, no traces of desperate resistance.
Like ripe fruit falling from a branch, lives had been snuffed out with terrifying ease. The scene was excessively simple, and excessively cruel.
That wasn't all.
Beyond them, countless other soldiers and knights were already piled up into a mountain of bodies.
Leo thought for a moment.
He hadn't seen the knight before him swing his sword.
All he had seen were the charging knights and Master Knights.
And then, the gruesome corpses.
It was a situation where he should have been terrified.
It was only normal to fear the sight before him.
Master Knights stronger than him were dead.
His comrades were dead.
Behind the man stood a mountain of corpses.
It was only normal to be afraid…
And yet.
Bizarrely, Leo still felt nothing toward the knight.
It was as if the very emotion of fear had been excised from him.
It was strange.
Truly strange.
Nevertheless, Leo drew his sword.
Feeling a peculiar contradiction in his own emotions, he faced the knight—no, he faced this plain, unadorned ruin.
He simply ran forward.
And so.
The moth dove into the flame.
Calmly, until the very end.
* * *
The day after receiving various reports from Evan.
Alon left the Marquis's estate without rest and headed straight for Divine Land.
Originally, he had planned to take a short break, but something he needed to ask had come up.
Since he didn't have a magic orb, he had no choice but to visit in person.
“I should have prepared one in advance.”
“Are you talking about a communication magic tool?”
“Yes.”
“Well, considering how much time has passed, it is a bit strange that we haven't gotten one yet. I’ll take care of it this time.”
While talking to Evan, Alon suddenly looked across from him.
He saw Ryanga and Historia sleeping while leaning against each other.
And.
[Gwaaaaah! No way! This is a scam!]
[Kyu!]
Below them, he saw Basiliora and Blackie playing a board game they had learned from the girls.
Basiliora was shouting nonsense as if he couldn't believe the outcome, while Blackie shook his head, looking at him with pity.
Watching the two of them enjoy their freedom, Alon suddenly thought of Seolrang.
‘……She said she had business to attend to, right?’
Just yesterday.
Immediately after finishing her peculiar duel with Ryanga.
Seolrang had told Alon she had something to do and would be back soon before disappearing.
Thanks to that, Basiliora and Blackie, who had been hiding for a long time, were finally able to show themselves.
[Wait! Let me take that back! I misunderstood the rules in the first place!]
[Kyu-u, kyu-u.]
As Alon was lost in thought with the voices of Basiliora and Blackie in the background, Evan asked.
“Are you thinking about Seolrang?”
“……How did you know?”
When Alon asked back in surprise, Evan shrugged.
“I could tell by your expression.”
“My expression?”
“Yes. I don't know about other people, but when you're thinking about the kids, it shows on your face to some extent.”
“……It does?”
“Yes. Well, it’s very subtle, but still… Anyway, there was a slight change in your expression, so I just took a guess that you were thinking about Seolrang, who disappeared yesterday.”
“Well…… I suppose so.”
While Alon was touching his face, Evan tilted his head.
“But Marquis.”
“Yes?”
“Come to think of it, shouldn't Seolrang be going back rather than coming back?”
Evan was right.
“……That’s true.”
Unlike Ryanga or Historia.
If one were to look at her affiliation, Seolrang belonged to the Colony.
Furthermore, she wasn't just a disposable asset to the Colony; she was vital.
The longer she wandered outside, the more anxious the Colony would become, so Evan’s point was valid.
“Well, she said she received a vacation, so I assume she’ll return on her own.”
“True, even if Seolrang has a childish side, she’s not a complete child.”
After spending the next day sharing such trivial conversations, Alon arrived at the cliff overlooking Divine Land as usual.
And at the sight unfolding before his eyes, countless question marks began to float above his head.
“……Evan.”
“……Yes.”
“Didn't you say it was…… small-scale?”
“I…… did, didn't I?”
“But, no matter how I look at it…… it doesn't look that way.”
Centered around the eastern part of Divine Land, houses were being constructed in an incredibly dense fashion.
“……It certainly looks that way.”
“……No, is that all you have to say?”
“Wow, Boss was right. At that scale, all my subordinates could fit in there.”
“Yeah.”
As Alon and Evan exchanged dazed words, Ryanga and Ria chimed in.
“…….”
Alon silently raised his finger.
He tried to count the number of houses, which were as clearly visible as a strategic map… but gave up.
There were too many to count with just his fingers.
And even a rough estimate suggested the scale was beyond imagination.
It was a level that could never be covered by ordinary donations.
Alon stared blankly at the massive construction site for a moment.
Eventually, he snapped out of it and headed into Divine Land.
“Ah, Marquis!”
There, he met Silli, who was smiling brightly.
* * *
Alon took Silli to the temporary office.
He debated what to ask her first.
But he decided to start with the reason that had brought him here so quickly.
“I heard the news. You’re building a residential area?”
“Yes, though it’s only small-scale.”
“……Small-scale?”
“Yes, isn't it?”
Silli tilted her head cutely as if wondering what the problem was.
At that sight, Alon felt like clutching his forehead.
“It looked like it easily exceeded dozens of houses…….”
“Hmm—well, the population of Divine Land is quite large, after all.”
“Are you saying it’s small-scale compared to the population of Divine Land?”
“Exactly!”
That’s not how you categorize scale, though.
He wanted to retort, but he decided to let it slide for now and continued the conversation.
“……Setting that aside, is the funding alright?”
“The money?”
“Yes, it seems like it would cost quite a lot to start a project of this magnitude.”
When Alon brought up the main point, Silli nodded as if she finally understood.
“You don't have to worry about that at all. Thanks to you handling things so well, Marquis, the donations are more than enough to cover it!”
“?”
She answered cheerfully.
Alon, momentarily stunned, managed to ask back.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Pardon?”
“……Didn't you just say it was thanks to me?”
“Yes! Because it’s the money you got after crushing those arrogant kingdom folks.”
“?”
“?”
Alon looked at Silli with a bewildered expression.
Silli also blinked, looking back at Alon.
But that only lasted a moment.
“Ah.”
Alon, who didn't find it difficult to grasp how the situation had roughly unfolded, spoke.
“Silli.”
“Yes?”
“By any chance—do you have the donation ledger?”
“Of course I do! I’ll bring it to you right now.”
He checked the donation ledger immediately.
And behind his expressionless face, he was horrified.
Because the kingdoms, excluding Asteria.
Had donated literally astronomical sums to Divine Land.
‘I clearly told them back then that they didn't have to donate? ……Has the United Kingdoms gone collectively insane?’
Alon counted the amounts with such thoughts.
According to what was written in this ledger.
It wasn't just a small-scale housing project; it was enough to practically create a small territory.
He summed it up again and again.
And.
The result of the calculation…
Was the same every time.
Tremble—
The moment he realized the answer wasn't wrong, his hands began to shake.
Money that couldn't even be seen in the Palatio Marquisate, which had essentially grown into a merchant territory, had come in as donations.
In this unbelievable situation, he looked at Silli.
“……Silli?”
“Yes, Marquis?”
“Is this… written correctly?”
“Uh…… yes?”
Silli hesitated, then let out an "Ah!" as if she had realized something.
At that, Alon also took a deep breath, thinking, 'Was the amount written incorrectly?'
“Ahem—”
Silli pointed at the ledger as if she understood everything—
“Should I tell each kingdom to offer double the current donation amount?”
“????”
She calmly uttered something insane.
“No, what are you talking about, Silli…….”
“Ah, then should I ask for triple?”
Silli brightly raised the numbers.
Had he really done the right thing by leaving Divine Land to her?
Or should he have taught her a sense of financial value first?
Just as he was having both thoughts simultaneously.
“Marquis.”
Deus entered the tent.
“Deus.”
Alon turned his head and flinched slightly.
Because Deus’s expression was even more rigid than usual.
And so.
“……What is it?”
Alon asked cautiously.
“……Elivan has become a Sin.”
“……What?”
Unexpected news.
Had been delivered.