Chapter 416: The Second (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 416: The Second (5)
After concluding his audience with Siyan.
Because their conversation had lasted late into the night, Alon was forced to spend the night in Teria. It wasn't until the following day that he was able to leave the capital of Asteria and head toward the Central Magic Tower.
"Sigh—"
"You've looked deep in thought since yesterday."
Evan spoke up awkwardly, his tongue still not quite used to not calling Alon 'Marquis' after all this time.
"Do I look that way?"
"Yes. You looked so serious that I didn't even dare open my mouth yesterday."
Alon fell back into his thoughts without answering.
The 2nd Turn... huh.
The 2nd Turn.
The inference Siyan had offered yesterday had surprised Alon in many ways, but there were still parts he found hard to be certain about.
He had seen the Spear of Longinus with his own eyes and heard from Siyan about the 'memories' of the succession.
Even so, it wasn't easy to simply accept that this was his second life.
Even if he possessed the knowledge to comprehend such a concept.
However, regardless of that, the new puzzle piece Siyan had thrown his way fit perfectly into the empty spaces Alon had been unable to fill until now.
Alon recalled the moment the Divine Blood entities fell from the sky.
The way they fell while uttering those strange words.
“…….”
At the time, Alon couldn't understand it.
He couldn't fathom why the Divine Blood already harbored such intense emotions toward him.
He had considered the possibility that they simply knew of him. After all, it was only a guess, but they were in the heavens and could have observed his actions at any time.
But possessing emotions that went beyond mere recognition was a different matter—whether it was hatred filled with rage or, conversely, an overt display of sincerity toward him.
That was why Alon had always questioned it.
But if, as Siyan said, this world is indeed the 2nd Turn... and if the high-ranking Divine Blood, if not the lower ones, remember it—
Then the way they reacted was no longer impossible to explain.
And that wasn't all.
"Evan."
"Yes?"
"How is Elivan?"
"If you mean Elivan—as far as I know, he still hasn't regained consciousness."
"……I see."
Alon thought of Elivan.
The man who had acted as if he knew everything in advance and had prepared for it.
...He was like the protagonist Alon knew.
Yet, at the same time, he was different from the protagonist he knew.
In truth, Alon hadn't been able to guess why Elivan had moved in such a manner until now.
But if Elivan, like Siyan, remembers the 1st Turn...
Even if his exact intentions remained unknown, the puzzle pieces regarding his actions finally clicked into place.
And if he followed that logic...
One particular existence naturally came to Alon's mind.
'Teacher, do you remember that time?'
'……That time?'
'Yes. When that Seraphim of Jealousy appeared.'
He had brushed it off as nothing special back then, but she had naturally known the name of the Sin without him ever explaining it.
'Yes, everything will probably return to normal soon.'
Back when everyone in Rosario was trembling in anxiety because the connection with Sironia had been severed, she had spoken with certainty that everything would return to how it was supposed to be.
‘……Perhaps.’
Yutia Bloodia.
"Sigh……."
Alon wiped his face as he pictured her.
A flood of thoughts had flashed through his mind in an instant.
However.
……Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.
Alon soon set that thought aside.
He felt as though he was jumping to conclusions.
Instead, Alon shifted his focus. He still had plenty of other things to contemplate.
Setting aside the fact that he had fitted the mismatched puzzle pieces together, Alon had gained several new questions from his conversation with Siyan yesterday.
The most prominent among them was his own emotions.
Naturally, Alon felt all his emotions; it was just that they weren't expressed through his face.
……At least, that was what he himself believed.
‘……The me of the 1st Turn and the me of the 2nd Turn are different.’
Siyan had said that the Alon in her memories and the current Alon were only different on the outside, while their principles of action were similar.
But the point was that there was, ultimately, a difference.
If so, where did that difference come from?
‘—No matter how I look at you now, you are emotionless. As if someone has forcibly suppressed or stolen your emotions.’
[‘You do not even realize the constraint you placed upon yourself beneath the "Eye." O ■■ of the Black Eye.’]
Two things came to mind.
One was what Siyan had said yesterday.
The other was what he had heard at the very beginning, in the East, when he encountered the noise-shrouded entity presumed to be the Blue Eye.
“…….”
He hadn't understood it at all back then.
But reflecting on Siyan's words, Alon pondered those statements, which now seemed vaguely connected.
Just then.
"What on earth did you two talk about?"
Evan's voice broke Alon's reverie.
‘What I am about to tell you will merely be a process of confirming my hypothesis.’
‘……Confirming, you say?’
‘Yes. Everything I've said is just the most rational truth I've inferred based on the information available so far; I cannot say it is the absolute truth. However, if the things I'm about to mention actually happen—’
‘……Then the hypothesis becomes a certainty?’
‘Exactly.’
‘I'm listening.’
‘First, before long, the "Contract of the Seeker" will be fulfilled.’
‘The Contract of the Seeker?’
In his memory, Siyan had nodded understandingly at Alon's question.
‘It must sound unfamiliar. I understand. I only found out what it was after searching through ancient books once I inherited my memories. Simply put, the Contract of the Seeker is a pact made hundreds of years ago by a mediator called "The Seeker" between the United Kingdoms, the Empire, and us.’
“…….”
‘Of course, even though it's called a contract, the contents aren't anything special. It just forbids groundless conflict between the United Kingdoms and the Empire, and states that if the continent faces the threat of destruction, everyone has the duty to protect it together. That's about it.’
Siyan had briefly explained the Contract of the Seeker, which Alon had only known about in passing.
‘In other words—’
‘If the Contract of the Seeker truly comes to pass, then my hypothesis is correct.’
‘I see.’
‘Ah, there is something else I want to tell you.’
‘Is it about the hypothesis?’
‘Hmm, this time, you could call it a preparation.’
The woman in his memory had worn a gentle smile.
‘You, create Apostles.’
‘……Apostles?’
‘Yes. To be more precise, don't just stop at letting them borrow your divine power. Create Apostles and believers who evolve by completely consuming your power.’
‘Why are you suddenly saying this……?’
Despite Alon's questioning, Siyan's smile didn't fade as she continued.
‘Because in the inherited memories, you once lamented about it. You said that if you had done that beforehand, you would have been able to stop more of the Divine Blood.’
Of course, she had added a disclaimer that this memory might be a statement Alon made while traveling from the future to the past, making it difficult to use as definitive proof for her hypothesis.
Quietly recalling Siyan's words, Alon muttered.
"Create Apostles... huh."
"Huh? Did she say something like that?"
"Yeah."
Actually, he had heard something similar from Line as well.
After all, she had also told him to evolve the Divine Land.
The reason Alon had been neglecting the Divine Land was because of his divine power.
His divine power had changed strangely from the moment the Divine Blood began to fall.
‘Ah, and if you're worried about your divine power, try visiting the Divine Land. You might find the answer there.’
However, Siyan had offered advice as if she already knew Alon's concerns.
"Hmm—I knew she was interested in your affairs, Lord Alon, but it seems she's even more invested than I thought."
"……Is that so?"
"Yes. Ah—"
As Evan spoke, a sly grin spread across his face as if he'd just thought of something.
"Could it beee... love or something like that?"
Evan's voice was thick with mischief. At that, Penia, who had been listening quietly by their side, chimed in.
"Hmm—I don't think that's it."
"Really? Don't you think she's a bit too interested for it to be nothing?"
"Even so, if she actually had feelings for Lord Alon, wouldn't she have had plenty of chances to show it since a long time ago?"
"Well, that's true, but—"
Leaving the two of them to bicker, Alon recalled the final conversation he'd had with Siyan yesterday.
‘Thank you for sharing such valuable information.’
‘It's nothing. Given the relationship between you and me, this much is easy.’
‘……Is that, so?’
‘Yes. It's still just a hypothesis and not certain, so it's hard to give a definitive answer—but if my hypothesis becomes a certainty, you and I were quite close.’
‘……A close relationship?’
At Alon's question, the Siyan in his memory had nodded with a smile.
‘Yes, we were close.’
‘……What kind of relationship did we have?’
‘Hmm—’
Siyan had pondered for a moment before speaking as if recalling a specific moment.
‘You, do you remember that time?’
‘……If you mean that time.’
‘I told you about Cardinal Yutia before.’
‘Ah, I remember.’
‘Do you remember what Cardinal Yutia said back then?’
‘……"Don't touch what's mine"?’
At Alon's answer, Siyan smiled.
‘Yes, that is our relationship.’
She then placed her index finger on Alon's cheek and pushed the corner of his mouth up to force a smile.
‘If you think about why she said those words, you'll naturally realize it.’
Our relationship, that is. She had added.
The image of Siyan smiling as if her hypothesis had already become a certainty was vividly etched into his mind.
* * *
Two weeks had passed since Alon moved to the Central Magic Tower.
In Palantia, Alexion was looking at the blueprints laid out before him in awe.
"This is truly... incredible."
"Isn't it?"
Alexion nodded at the Brown Tower Master's words.
To be honest, I was a bit suspicious when they first said they'd build a castle for free...
Contrary to those worries, the two Tower Masters had brought him blueprints as if they truly intended to build a proper castle in Palantia.
And as he looked at them, Alexion was being surprised in real-time.
He didn't know much about architecture, but he could instinctively tell how extraordinary the blueprints the two Tower Masters had brought were.
……There are hundreds of magic circles being engraved just for the start.
It was an incredible design that could practically be called a fortress rather than a royal castle.
While Alexion stood there dazed, the Brown Tower Master, who was watching him with a satisfied expression, asked.
"By the way, why have you been looking at the first page this whole time?"
"……Huh? The first page? Isn't this all of it?"
"Ah, my mistake. I didn't release the magic."
Realizing his late error, the Brown Tower Master immediately waved his hand.
"!?"
With that, the paper Alexion was holding began to thicken in an instant.
It grew so much that Alexion had to spread his hands wide to hold it.
Alexion's face grew even more bewildered.
"……Are these all blueprints?"
"Yes. They're all blueprints for different sections."
"……Different sections?"
"That's right."
Based on the scale of the first blueprint Alexion had read, the size of the castle drawn on that single page was equivalent to the size of an inner castle.
Thus, the frozen Alexion...
"……So, you're saying these are all... blueprints for completely different sections?"
He stammered out the question.
"Isn't that obvious? There's no need to draw the same thing twice."
"……Then, if we build the castle exactly according to these blueprints……."
"Well—it'll probably be just a bit smaller than this entire territory?"
At the Brown Tower Master's retort, which sounded as if he were asking something incredibly obvious...
Are these people…… out of their minds……?
Alexion's jaw dropped in horror.