Chapter 415: The Second (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 415: The Second (4)
Silence descended upon the office following Siyan’s words.
Alon stared at her blankly.
‘…Did I hear that correctly?’
That was his first thought.
It wasn't that he hadn't heard her clearly. It was simply such an unexpected statement that Alon had to struggle for a moment to suppress his rising confusion.
“Did it sound too absurd to you?”
Siyan’s voice broke through Alon’s thoughts.
“…Pardon?”
“What I said just now. The idea that this world is the second one.”
“To be honest, yes.”
At that, Siyan hummed thoughtfully for a moment before adding, “Well, strictly speaking, it is more in the realm of a deduction than a certainty.”
“…A deduction?”
“Yes, a deduction.”
Alon was dazed once again.
Siyan gazed intently at his face. Then, she asked with a hint of suspicion, “—And yet, even after hearing that this is your second life, you don't seem as surprised as I expected. Even if I did frame it as a deduction.”
“…Me?”
“Yes.”
“I may not look it, but I am actually quite—”
Surprised, Alon was about to say, but he reflexively closed his mouth.
‘…Huh?’
It was because of the shift in his own emotions.
Clearly, he had been shocked when he first heard Siyan say this life was the second. But at this very moment, his emotions had turned strangely calm. It was as if the fact that he had been surprised earlier was a lie.
He felt a brief sense of wonder at this, but it was short-lived.
“And there is no need to be so formal with your speech. You and I are now looking toward the same place from the same level.”
“…Is that so?”
“Indeed. Is there anything you wish to ask?”
As Siyan casually continued the conversation, Alon pushed his thoughts aside for a moment and wiped his face with his hand.
A smile had already formed on Siyan’s lips, and her eyes were filled with intrigue. In contrast, Alon’s mind was a mess.
Something he wanted to ask? There were so many things.
The problem was that there were too many, and he didn't know where to start.
After a long silence, Alon forced himself to cut off the endless stream of thoughts and spoke.
“…Then, from now on, I will speak more comfortably.”
“You are still using honorifics, though?”
“I will fix that gradually. I am still more used to this.”
Siyan looked slightly dissatisfied but eventually nodded. “So, what is it you want to ask?”
Alon hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth. “How did you come to the deduction… that this is the second time?”
Siyan stared at Alon for a moment, tapped her chin, and then answered. “It hasn't been long. To be more precise—”
She took a breath before finishing her sentence. “—It was when the Golden History Eye awakened, after the Divine Blood fell.”
“Awakened…?”
“Ah, of course, I do not know for certain if ‘awakened’ is the right word. I only said it that way to help you understand more quickly.”
She continued her story. “As you know, the Golden History Eye I possess inherits power through the generations, and it also inherits a portion of memories.”
“I am aware.”
“And as I mentioned before, I have seen your face many times within those memories.”
“…….”
“To be honest, until then, I simply thought someone from the Palatio family in a past life had a face similar to yours. The you in reality and the you in the memories had different atmospheres.”
“Different atmospheres…?”
“The you in the memories was full of emotion. You always had a sly smirk on your lips and were constantly playing pranks on me, even though I was the Queen. Especially after you became the Holy King.”
“Anyway—” Siyan muttered, getting back to the point. “So I judged it to be a simple matter of the past. Of course, I found it strange when Cardinal Yutia appeared in the memories alongside you, but even then, I didn't infer that life was repeating.”
“…Why not?”
“Because you told me that you had been to the past.”
“Ah.”
Alon let out a low exclamation.
“I thought that if you could go to the past, it would be possible for you to go again someday. You said going to the past was a ‘coincidence,’ but you called the return a ‘magic.’”
“I thought it was highly likely you would go to the past again,” Siyan added, letting out a long sigh. “However, as I said, after the Divine Blood fell, there was room to think about the situation differently.”
She finally reached the core of the matter. “The Golden History Eye inherits the memories of the previous successors, but they are not always clear. However, the new power and memories inherited after the Divine Blood fell gave me much to think about.”
“If you mean the inherited power, could it be—”
“Yes, it is likely the power I used to deal with the Divine Blood, which you were curious about.”
When Alon asked back as if he couldn't understand, Siyan gave a light smile and opened her hand.
And then—
Woooooooong—!!!
A brilliant golden light erupted from Siyan’s hand, and a strange tattoo began to etch itself onto her palm.
Alon stared blankly at her palm for a moment before realizing that the sunlight streaming into the office had been blocked.
“…?”
The moment he looked out the window with a bewildered expression, he saw it.
Outside the window, a massive golden spear was eclipsing the sun.
“The Spear of Longinus.”
Siyan spoke. “This was one of the clues that led me to believe this life might be the ‘second’ one.”
She showed Alon the weapon she had used to deal with the Divine Blood for a brief moment before it vanished.
“That’s enough. I still need practice to maintain it for long.”
It turned into bright light and disappeared.
Watching the scene, Alon let out a soft exclamation. “…Ah.”
“Well? Do you need an explanation?”
Alon reflexively shook his head. The moment he saw the Spear of Longinus, he fully understood why she called it the ‘first clue.’
‘…The Spear of Longinus.’
Siyan’s Golden History Eye is a power that inherits the past. In other words, if she inherited something from the past, it had to be something that existed in the past.
However, the Spear of Longinus she had summoned… more precisely, the magic circles embedded in that massive ‘weapon’ were absolutely not from the past.
They weren't Ooparts found in a forgotten era, either.
The things engraved on that weapon were magic circles created by the mages of the current era. Magic circles they had continuously developed and would continue to develop.
To others, it would simply look like a massive and magnificent weapon. But Alon could tell.
After all, he was a mage.
“No, I don't think I need one.”
And since Siyan had inherited the memories of her predecessor, who was also a mage, she had been able to realize that fact as well.
“Hehe—”
Siyan chuckled, seemingly satisfied with Alon’s answer.
Alon felt a significant amount of surprise toward her. Of course, he knew she was brilliant and that she had inherited the power of a mage, but to deduce the hypothesis of a ‘2nd Turn’ from just this much… it was truly astonishing.
After all, she didn't have the common knowledge of regression or possession that Alon possessed.
That was why Alon asked again. “…You said the Spear of Longinus was just one of the clues, didn't you?”
Siyan smiled and replied, “That’s right. Because the inheritance of the Golden History Eye includes not just power, but ‘memories’ as well.”
* * *
Meanwhile, at that same time.
‘Hmm—no matter how I look at it, the budget is looking grim.’
Thanks to Kun, who had procured the materials much faster than expected, Alexion had begun the expansion work on the territory. However, another problem was giving him a headache.
It wasn't that they lacked funds, as those who wanted to establish close ties with Palantia had filled the national treasury. But that was only when calculating the cost of materials for building the castle.
‘…The labor costs for the mages are beyond imagination.’
He had used mages before when building the auction house, so he knew how expensive their rates were.
‘I never imagined the labor costs would rise along with the material costs.’
He hadn't expected the mages' labor costs to jump to such an absurdly high level.
‘…At this rate, I might have to settle for building the castle over a long period and hire only the absolute minimum number of mages.’
Feeling a sense of regret, Alexion began to draft the estimates. Of course, Alexion wouldn't be the one using the finished product, but he still wanted to build the best castle possible with the best cost-efficiency.
Because it was the castle Alon would use.
Alexion and Alon hadn't started their relationship on the best of terms. It was more accurate to say that only Alexion felt that way, but it was true that his feelings hadn't been great at first.
However, as time passed, his heart changed.
While serving under Alon, Alexion had received so much. Alon was different from other nobles. Even though he could have easily exploited Alexion, he always looked out for him and provided ample rewards.
Not only that, but Alon had also appointed him to a high-ranking position even after proclaiming the Kingdom of Palantia. Despite his past as someone who had crawled through the slums, Alon trusted him because of his competence.
…Of course, the decisive factor in Alexion getting that high-ranking position was Evan’s comment: “Wouldn't it be best to hand over the headache-inducing problems to Alexion?”
But Alexion, who had no way of knowing that, had now resolved to be Alon’s loyal subject in the truest sense. That was why he was racking his brain so hard.
Just then.
“A-Alexion-nim?”
“What is it?”
His secretary entered, looking quite serious.
Instinctively sensing that something had happened, Alexion’s expression also turned grave.
“I heard that the Purple Tower Master and the Brown Tower Master have arrived to help with the construction of Palantia’s castle…?”
“…What?”
Alexion could only wear a dazed expression.
After snapping out of it, he rushed to where the two Tower Masters were. There, his expression became even more incredulous.
What he saw was:
“Move!”
“You brat with no respect for your elders!! You move!”
“Respect? I won the bet in the first place! Get lost!”
“Shut up! I’m the one building the castle of Palantia!”
“What nonsense! I already called all my kids here!”
“Hmph! I called mine before I even left!”
“You old… have you no shame?! I’m the one building it!”
“It’s me!”
“I said it’s me!!”
It was the sight of the two Tower Masters fighting over who would be the one to build the castle of Palantia.
“????”
Alexion’s brain temporarily ceased to function, unable to process the situation.