Chapter 400: What Is That…? (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 400: What Is That…? (3)
To Alon, the King of Palmalian had always been the quintessential monarch of a nation, for better or for worse.
He possessed the high-reaching pride of a king, refusing to lose face regardless of who he was dealing with. Yet, he was also a ruler who was surprisingly sincere about caring for his people.
He had been that way in the game, and he had remained consistent throughout the time Alon had known him in person.
Perhaps that was why Alon’s inner turmoil only deepened as he watched the man now.
“I am truly grateful.”
The King nodded vigorously, refusing to let go of Alon’s hand.
Did Palmalian… actually like that kind of thing?
A hypothesis flashed through Alon’s mind, only to be firmly discarded within seconds. No matter how much he racked his brain, he had never heard even the faintest rumor, let alone actual information, that Palmalian had such… tastes.
Besides, even if he did happen to like statues, would anyone actually want that? A statue striking the pose of a Northern Chieftain?
Alon immediately considered another possibility. Perhaps he was being coerced—
“…”
Alon looked into Palmalian’s eyes, which were brimming with genuine goodwill. Since he couldn’t exactly ask the King to blink twice if Deus was threatening him, he subtly shifted his gaze to check on Deus.
“…”
Deus was nodding along with an expression that said, Yes, yes, this is exactly how it should be.
Alon realized his second assumption was also wrong.
Was the King actually under some kind of hypnosis? His eyes were so full of favor that it felt like a reasonable suspicion.
“…”
Furthermore, hadn’t the King said it was a gift from Silli? Alon began to worry if the statue had been rigged with some kind of device, but he eventually dismissed that thought as well. When he had passed the statue earlier, he hadn’t sensed any special power like mana emanating from it.
Then what could it be?
The rest of the party, excluding Deus, also wore expressions of utter bewilderment. Just as Alon was about to question the situation internally once more, the King continued the conversation.
“No, we shouldn’t stay here. You’ve come to meet him, haven’t you?”
“That is correct, but… I didn’t see him when I arrived in Calliban.”
Alon had no trouble guessing who the King meant by “him.”
“Could you wait here for a moment?”
Palmalian nodded as if telling him not to worry.
“…? Yes, I understand.”
As soon as Alon answered, the King departed with Deus. Alon and his companions were left standing alone in the audience chamber. After a brief silence, Evan spoke up.
“Hmm…”
Having confirmed there were no knights or guards in the room, Evan looked at Alon.
“Marquis.”
“What is it?”
“…Even if you didn’t want to apologize, isn’t using hypnosis a bit much?”
“…Are you being serious?”
“Well, it did feel a bit strange to imagine the Marquis bowing his head, but still—”
“I find it fascinating too. I didn’t know such magic existed… Oh, wait. Is it the Divine Blood power you awakened recently?” Penia chimed in, joining Evan.
Alon felt a sense of frustration behind his expressionless mask. “…If the only thing I could do with Divine Blood was hypnosis, wouldn’t that be strange in its own way?”
“So it’s not Divine Blood?”
“You must have developed that magic behind our backs.”
“…How about we start by moving away from the premise that I did something to the King?”
“You didn’t?”
“I didn’t.”
“Are you sure you didn’t?”
“I said I didn’t…”
Alon let out a sigh at the relentless questioning from Penia and Evan. The two of them added, sounding genuinely impressed.
“…I was certain it was hypnosis.”
“I thought so too. If it were any other statue, maybe, but a statue like that…”
“Ah, I agree with you there. It’s the first time in ten million years we’ve seen eye to eye.”
“Ten million years…?”
“That’s about the extent of our psychological distance.”
“…You really know how to twist the knife, don’t you?”
Alon listened blankly to their banter for a moment until Palmalian returned to the audience chamber.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we?”
Alon followed Palmalian out, and the place they arrived at was the royal family’s basement.
“What is this place?”
“It’s an underground hollow created by our royal family a very long time ago. I’m not sure why it was built, though.”
Alon couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation of wonder. The underground space beneath Calliban was impossibly vast—large enough to be considered a subterranean city.
How was Calliban even built on top of a hollow this massive?
Lost in thought, Alon continued deeper into the cavern following Palmalian. Eventually, they reached a certain point.
“Can you go on alone from here?”
“Is there a reason?”
“He says he wishes to speak with you in private,” Palmalian explained.
Though puzzled, Alon nodded. He walked alone through the dim underground, which was mysteriously lit just enough to see.
“…”
Suddenly, a profound sensation washed over him, causing him to stop in his tracks. His calm heart began to race, and a strange tension gripped his entire body. It was a sensation Alon knew all too well.
Standing still, he slowly lifted his gaze.
“…”
There, he saw a giant.
Its entire body was shrouded in a blue light. It was of such overwhelming size that he had to tilt his head all the way back just to see it.
Meeting the giant’s gaze, Alon’s expression reflexively tensed.
Rumble—!
As the giant began to rise, Alon secretly started to circulate his mana. Even though he knew this was the Divine Blood that had helped Calliban and had spoken favorably of him, he couldn’t rule out any possibilities.
Thud!
However, Alon was forced to let his mana dissipate at the giant’s next action. The colossus dropped respectfully onto one knee before him and spoke.
[I greet the Star Eater, friend of the great Divine Blood, the Gazing Void.]
The giant’s voice boomed and echoed. For a moment, Alon couldn’t find his voice. Beyond the initial shock, he simply didn’t know how to respond.
Part of him wanted to take advantage of meeting a friendly Divine Blood to ask all sorts of questions. The problem, however, was that Alon didn’t fully understand the nature of this relationship.
If he asked something while being completely in the dark and it contradicted what the Divine Blood expected, it could cause problems. And if a fight broke out here…
Considering the capital of Calliban was directly above them, it was a scenario that absolutely had to be avoided.
Just as Alon was debating whether he should try to act the part, the giant, who had been silent until now, spoke again.
[As expected…!]
“?”
The giant suddenly exclaimed to himself. Alon grew even more bewildered. However, because his face naturally betrayed no emotion, the giant failed to notice Alon’s confusion and shouted excitedly.
[You are truly magnificent…!]
“…What?”
[To think you slew two Divine Bloods while inhabiting the body of a lowly creature for the sake of Karma! It is truly remarkable!]
The giant began to clap his hands fervently. Alon was flustered by the display, but as the giant continued with a solemn nod, he began to understand how the creature perceived him.
[However, since you have cast aside all your former power to descend for the sake of your achievements, you must still face many dangers. I shall serve you faithfully until you reclaim your strength.]
Alon thought for a moment before responding.
“I look forward to it.”
[Yes!]
For now, he decided to play along and extract information from the giant.
* * *
So, this Divine Blood thinks I’m a friend of the ‘Gazing Void,’ and he’s under the delusion (?) that I’ve cast aside my original power to descend to the human realm in this form for the sake of Karma.
Once he had organized his thoughts, several questions came to mind. Why did the Gazing Void call him a friend? What were the Star Eater’s achievements?
He could somewhat resolve the first question. While some entities had spat curses at him back then, there were certainly those who had spoken to him with familiarity… though he still didn’t know why they felt that way toward him.
Alon continued his train of thought, wondering how to ask his questions without blowing his cover. After a brief deliberation, he decided to start with the question least likely to arouse suspicion.
“…There is something I wish to ask.”
[Speak, O Star Eater.]
The giant gazed at Alon with sparkling eyes full of—for some reason—intense respect. Feeling burdened by that look, which felt strangely familiar, Alon asked as calmly as possible.
“There are many other nations. Why did you choose to save Calliban?”
There were various countries within the United Kingdoms. Although Ashtalon had fallen, there were still more than ten other nations, large and small. He was curious as to why Calliban had been the choice.
To that, the giant replied:
[That is obvious. It is because this is the territory protected by the Star Eater.]
“…The territory I protect?”
[Yes. I realized it the moment I saw the statue here.]
“…Ah.”
At that moment, all the puzzle pieces seemed to click into place for Alon. He finally understood why Palmalian—a man who didn’t even like statues and was the very definition of a ‘king’—had treated him with such overwhelming favor.
[The others likely moved in a similar fashion.]
“I see.”
Alon barely managed a nod at the giant’s following words.
* * *
The world was currently in a state of great chaos due to the Divine Bloods. Despite this, Silli Macallian had been living her life as faithfully as ever.
Her days were filled with tasks such as gathering subjects for the Great One or sending ‘gifts’ to various nations upon his command.
During all this, Simus rushed into her office.
“Saintess!”
“Come in. What is the matter?”
“Well… it’s about the gifts…” Simus began tentatively.
Silli nodded, as if she had expected this. Recently, following the Great One’s will, she had been sending gifts starting with the largest nations.
Naturally, Silli had an idea of how the kingdoms receiving those gifts would react. There was a high probability they would view the gifts as a provocation.
But she had sent them anyway because it was necessary for the Great One. He needed to receive faith. The more faith he received, the stronger he became.
And as his Saintess, Silli’s goal was to enlighten as many of the ignorant masses as possible. She had sent the gifts knowing there would be a backlash.
In truth, Silli didn’t care what choice the kingdoms made. If they did something disrespectful to the Great One’s statue, she could make an example of them. If they kept the statue out of fear, they would gain faith that way…
They might harbor hostility toward her, but that wasn’t a major concern. Any hostility they sent would be handled by Silli before it ever reached the Great One.
“What happened?” Silli asked, calmly reviewing her plans in her head.
Simus reported the latest news.
“Well… every single nation in the United Kingdoms is clamoring for a gift.”
“Hmm—is that so? Every nation in the United Kingdoms is complaining about the gift… wait, what?”
Silli, who had been answering naturally, paused and asked again.
“…Wait, what did you say?”
“Exactly what I said. Every nation is demanding a statue.”
“…Every single one?”
“Yes. I told them it would take time and that we would send them out sequentially, but… they said they’re willing to pay more if it means they can get their statue sooner…”
“…Pardon?”
“The Frontier Nation of Karnon has even sent an envoy who is currently on his knees, begging.”
“??”
Just as Silli was struggling to process Simus’s words, a commotion erupted outside.
“Gwaaaaah! Let me go! I said let me go!”
“You aren’t allowed in there!”
“Saintess! I beg of you! Please give us the Great One’s statue first! Please—!!”
“Get out of here, now!!”
“Please!!! Grant us the statue first!! Pleaaaaase!!!”
However, before long, the desperate voice vanished along with a strange final cry.
“…No, I mean…”
…What is going on?
Silli was truly, utterly bewildered.