Chapter 430: Strange (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 430: Strange (1)
Nataman, the Emperor of the Western Empire. Alon didn't know much about him.
While Prince Contanias of the Northern Empire was famous enough to be discussed in the communities of the previous world, everything Alon knew about Nataman came from Evan.
His territory had been torn to shreds by the Divine Blood, leading to his empire's downfall.
Aside from that, there was no real information on Nataman.
Of course, the Emperor likely didn't know Alon either.
Alon had lived in the United Kingdoms until now, so he had never once met the Emperor of the Western Empire.
Yes, that should have been the case.
It really should have.
"Nataman—!! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
So why was this situation unfolding before his eyes?
Alon looked ahead. There stood Nataman, a smile on his face, having just slammed a straight punch into the face of his own brother, Contanias.
"What am I doing? I'm simply correcting my elder brother's manners."
"Ha—"
A hollow laugh escaped Contanias's lips.
But soon, his face contorted like a demon's in pure rage.
"A pathetic fool who couldn't even protect a single scrap of the territory we divided dares to spout such nonsense to me?!"
"As I told you yesterday, it was a strategic retreat. I 'intentionally' reduced it, you see?"
Contanias tried to lung forward immediately, but—
Snap!
Unfortunately, his movement was cut short by the Mask, who flicked his fingers.
"I have told you many times. The Seeker does not wish for the losers to engage in useless bickering."
The Mask gave a polite warning.
Nataman, who had been watching the spot where Contanias had been standing, turned back with a pleasant, amiable smile.
"My apologies. Seeing my brother act so insolently made my hand move before I could think."
Nataman scratched his head nonchalantly, as if saying, 'Haha, my bad, I made a mistake.'
The expressions of those watching him turned peculiar.
"Allow me to apologize on my brother's behalf."
Not stopping there, Nataman even bowed his head. Alon replied, "…No, there's no need for that."
"How generous of you!"
…It wasn't so much generosity as it was Nataman blowing Contanias away before Alon could even react.
Alon simply nodded for now.
Nataman nodded back, then turned and disappeared through the door.
Alon stared blankly at his retreating back for a moment, but then—
"Hmm, I wondered who it was. It seems you are indeed the protagonist of those rumors."
At the sound of the voice, Alon turned his gaze. There stood two women who had been sitting with Nataman and Contanias until moments ago.
One wore a subtle smile.
The other watched Alon with a blank, expressionless face, as if scanning him.
Looking at the two figures who ruled the Eastern and Southern Empires respectively, Alon instinctively pulled information from his memory.
‘The shorter one is Princess Serdea Polantisia of the Eastern Empire, and the taller one is Princess Irenena Polantisia of the Southern Empire.’
Both possessed brilliant golden hair, but the atmospheres they radiated were vastly different.
While Alon was lost in thought, Serdea spoke.
"Mm—but it seems now is not the time for a chat."
After saying that, Serdea Polantisia quickly turned and headed in the direction Nataman had gone.
"Brother."
"Yes."
"Were you perhaps acquainted with the Imperial Prince?"
Receiving a question from Yuman that made him want to ask, 'Huh? Me?' in return, Alon also left the room.
Yutia, who naturally stuck by Alon's side as they exited the conference room, looked back.
She looked toward the spot where Nataman and the Imperial Princesses had just departed.
And.
"…Why didn't it work?"
The Skull Mask was also staring at the spot where Nataman had been, muttering to himself.
He was looking back and forth at his own fingers.
* * *
The next day.
When Alon attended the meeting again, the gazes focused on him were different from the day before.
The most prominent feeling was curiosity.
Following that was a gaze dripping with pure hatred, even though Alon hadn't done anything to deserve it.
However, perhaps because they had been warned in some way yesterday, they only glared and made no actual moves.
Alon let out an internal sigh and looked to his side.
Siyan was there.
"……."
Siyan was giving Alon an inscrutable smile.
In truth, he had tried to talk to her after yesterday's opening ceremony—which could hardly be called a meeting—but she had vanished immediately.
‘I should try to talk to her today.’
Just as he was thinking that—
Wuuu—
With a small ripple of mana, a black shadow appeared at the seat of honor at the very front and began to take shape.
The situation was clearly different from yesterday.
The gazes of the kings from every nation converged.
After a short while, a man appeared in the seat of honor.
The man was far too strange to be called 'alive.'
His skin was an ash-gray color, so pale he looked like a walking corpse, and his eyes held strange symbols instead of human pupils.
And.
"……."
Alon reflexively caught his breath at the sight of that form.
The way those present viewed the Seeker varied.
Some felt curiosity.
Some felt interest.
Some felt suspicion.
A multitude of emotions flickered chaotically.
But Alon felt something else entirely when looking at the Seeker.
Pressure.
The kings gathered here didn't seem to feel it, but Alon was feeling an overwhelming weight just from the Seeker's presence.
The thing before his eyes was dangerous.
A Sin?
No.
Divine Blood?
No.
The thing sitting there right now—
It looked more dangerous than any entity he had ever met in person.
As Alon momentarily held his breath—
"……."
The man, who blinked once or twice as if fully regaining his senses, scanned the conference room.
When he discovered Alon, a strange light flickered in his eyes for a moment, and he lightly tapped his finger.
Sss—
With that, the pressure Alon had been feeling until a moment ago began to slowly dissipate.
Before Alon could even process the sudden change—
"Contractors who have not forgotten the covenant of centuries and have come all this way, I welcome you. I am the Seeker."
He began to speak.
The surrounding area buzzed at the brief self-introduction.
One person raised their hand as if they had been waiting and tried to speak, but—
"I imagine everyone gathered here has many questions, but I will take questions later. There is something more important than that right now."
The figure who introduced himself as the Seeker continued speaking, showing no intention of entertaining questions.
"As you all know, the continent is currently in a very dangerous state due to the 'remnants of gods' that have fallen—the Divine Blood. As some of you already know—"
The Seeker looked around the room.
"—If we cannot stop the Divine Blood, the continent will perish."
At that statement, tension instantly bloomed in the previously restless atmosphere.
"I do not know how you all feel about this situation. Some may think it will simply pass, while others may try to profit by using the Divine Blood."
"……."
"But mark my words: the Divine Blood are beings that have come to destroy the continent. No matter what you think, that fact does not change."
The Seeker looked around the audience with a dry, hollow voice.
"It is not a prosperous kingdom that will perish."
"It is not a prosperous empire that will perish."
"This land, where countless empires have risen and fallen, and countless kingdoms have been created and destroyed—"
He continued.
"—It is you who will disappear. Without history—without a trace."
At those words, the kings all wore different expressions.
Some looked as if they couldn't believe it.
Others looked shocked.
Some were desperately trying to grasp the overall situation.
And the Seeker, who had been calmly observing everyone, spoke again.
"Therefore, in accordance with the Contract of the Seeker, I intend to bestow power upon you. The power for you, as humanity, to fight against the Divine Blood."
He spoke with emphasis and flicked his fingers.
Wuuuuuung—!
Soon, accompanied by a massive resonating sound—
In the center of the empty table, a giant sphere appeared.
It was a sphere that looked very similar to the Faith Alon had been using frequently of late.
The giant sphere was instantly divided into small fragments.
"!"
"What—!"
The fragments began to be sucked into the bodies of the kings sitting in their respective seats.
The kings looked flustered for a moment.
After confirming the power had been absorbed in an instant before they could even resist, the Seeker spoke.
"In accordance with the contract, I have bestowed 'Possibility.' From now on, I will inform you one by one of the locations of the hidden treasures that will allow you to wield that possibility."
He said it nonchalantly.
* * *
Shortly after, just as he had appeared, the Seeker vanished from his seat in an instant.
Those gathered were bewildered.
However.
"I will guide you from here on."
The Skull Mask, who walked out as if he had been waiting, stood where the Seeker had been.
First, he exited the room to guide the king at the very front to somewhere else.
In the chaotic atmosphere following the sudden disappearance of the Seeker and the Mask—
"……Brother."
Yuman suddenly spoke to him.
"What is it, Saint?"
"……Was that mana that entered our bodies just now?"
Alon pondered.
In fact, from the moment the Skull Mask left, Alon had also been thinking about the energy that had seeped into his body.
However, Alon couldn't easily answer Yuman's question.
That was because he himself hadn't properly identified what had seeped into his chest.
‘……It’s ambiguous.’
Alon recalled the energy that had entered his body.
It certainly wasn't mana.
But it felt strange to call it divine power either.
"It doesn't seem to be mana, but……."
"I see."
Yuman muttered, then shared his thoughts.
"To be honest, I am a bit worried."
"Are you?"
"Yes. I came because Rosario has important records regarding the Contract of the Seeker, even if they are only in ancient texts…… but a power that is neither faith nor mana."
Alon agreed with the opinion that it was suspicious.
He didn't think the probability of the Seeker being an enemy to those gathered here was very high.
Neither the settings Alon knew nor the records remaining in each country designated him as a dangerous person.
However, since it was true that they had received a suspicious power as Yuman said, Alon looked at Yutia just in case.
"I'm sorry, Teacher. This…… I'm not sure either."
"……Is that so."
"I'm sorry, Teacher."
"No, there's no need for that."
Alon's words were the truth.
There was no way Yutia could know the truth about this sphere.
Just like Alon, this experience must be a first for her as well.……
Unless she was also living through a second turn.
"……."
For some reason, Alon felt a sense of relief in one corner of his heart.
"You there."
At the sound of the voice, he turned his head forward.
There stood Serdea Polantisia, the Princess of the Eastern Empire, who had been giving Alon a strange smile yesterday.
She looked at Alon with a slightly playful expression, pondered for a moment, and then—
"Do you know much about me?"
She threw a question.
To Alon, it was a question whose meaning he couldn't grasp.
However, answering it wasn't difficult.
"……I know you are Serdea Polantisia, the one leading the Eastern Empire."
Alon replied as such.
"Hmm—"
At that, Serdea nodded with a satisfied smile.
"If you already know about me, then this conversation will be quick, which is good."
"……What do you mean?"
"I'll be blunt."
She added.
Before Alon could even understand her intent—
"You, wouldn't you like to become my husband?"
Serdea asked Alon.