Chapter 85: The Title Conferral Ceremony (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: The Title Conferral Ceremony (1)
For a moment, Alon wore a bewildered expression. He hadn't heard a single word about the situation—apparently, he had "disposed of" over seven nobles.
He briefly considered how to clear up this misunderstanding, but ultimately decided not to respond to that particular comment.
In a normal relationship, one should quickly clear up rumors about who rubbed out whom. However, the person he was currently speaking to was one of the masterminds of Asteria.
"…Is that the only reason you contacted me?"
When Alon moved the conversation along without confirming or denying the rumor, Duke Altia nodded.
[Yes, since I’ve already given you the full report.]
As she said, Alon had already received the report regarding Kalpa before this topic came up, so he simply nodded back.
[Then, I shall see you at the coronation.]
Watching Duke Altia bow her head in farewell, Alon let out a small sigh and thought to himself.
Come to think of it, there was a coronation.
Recalling this, Alon began sifting through the pile of letters stacked on one side of his desk. Soon, he found a letter stamped with the royal seal and a note beneath it.
The note, left by a royal secretary, was filled with various flowery fillers, but the gist of it was that since Count Palatio had been absent for so long, they were simply leaving the letter behind.
"The coronation is… four months away."
Four months.
As he contemplated this period—which could be considered long or short depending on the perspective—another thought occurred to him.
In about four months, it’ll be less than a year until the start of the original story.
The realization that the timeline he had experienced countless times in the game was approaching brought a fresh wave of emotion, but it was short-lived.
…By then, there will probably be a truckload of bastards I’ll have to deal with.
He thought of the enemies that would emerge at the start of the original plot.
The Agent has been dealt with, but I haven't taken care of the Ghostly Wail yet.
Recalling the memories he had reviewed before going to the Colony, Alon leaned back in his chair with a small sigh.
There was more work to do than he had expected.
I have to deal with the ones running wild right now, and I have to handle the hidden Outer God.
In truth, dealing with the ones currently causing trouble wasn't that difficult.
In Psychedelia, aside from the Outer Gods or the Five Great Sins, the entities that truly plunge the entire United Kingdoms into war and chaos don't start their activities until the original story begins.
Of course, Alon’s goal was to be living a life of leisure by the time those world-threatening entities appeared.
That was exactly why he had provided support to the original protagonist, Elivan.
I’ll have to give him another boost when the story officially starts.
Thinking of Elivan, who would be responsible for his peaceful future, Alon shifted his thoughts back to the Outer God and let out a heavy breath.
Regardless of future threats, the Outer God was something Alon had to handle himself.
The problem is I don't know where it is… and even if I find it right now, it’s a problem.
The only reason Alon had been able to secure victories against Outer Gods so far was that he had faced them before they could fully manifest.
Not only that, but he had won because he knew their specific characteristics—their weaknesses.
In other words, if he were to face a hidden Outer God, the battle would likely take a completely different turn than before.
…Well, as long as I can find out who the Outer God is, I can prepare accordingly, so that’s not the main issue. The real problem is full manifestation.
If an Outer God was hiding on the continent, there was a high probability it had already fully manifested.
Once an Outer God descends to the surface, it takes only a few months for it to fully manifest in this world as a Living God.
An Outer God that had achieved full manifestation would undoubtedly be incomparably stronger than the ones he had faced so far.
In short, even if he found the Outer God now, there was a high chance he wouldn't be able to win.
…No, it wasn't just a high chance; it was 100%.
Alon’s magic was strong enough to affect an Outer God, but even so, he lacked too much to face one that had fully manifested.
For starters, there was a clear limit to how many times he could use his magic, and the time required to manifest it was overwhelmingly long.
The only advantage was that the magic, once manifested, would actually work on the enemy.
I need to prepare. First, I’ll look for information on the hidden Outer God.
Deciding that he needed to prepare for the fight against the Outer God, he looked at the letter from the royal family.
…Suddenly, four months didn't feel like such a long time.
* * *
While Alon was organizing his future tasks alongside the royal letter and letting out low sighs.
Three weeks had passed since Count Palatio’s departure, and Penia Kraysinne and Pellin Kraysinne were still traveling with Ladan.
Of course, the only reason Penia continued to accompany Ladan was for the sake of convenience.
Most of the cases she had to investigate in Laxas concerned the illegal leakage of materials and finished products from the Magic Tower.
Furthermore, since Alon had made a request before leaving, Ladan was treating Penia and Pellin quite well.
Thanks to that, Penia was able to handle her tasks a bit faster than scheduled with the help of the pirates.
And today, she was currently inside the royal castle of Laxas.
Along with Ladan.
Even though they had entered together, their purposes and timing were different.
No matter how much Penia ignored the gaze of others, she had no intention of publicly broadcasting that she was traveling with the Pirate King.
Thus, Ladan was there as an envoy—the Pirate King who had unified the Seven Archipelagos—to coordinate future relations with Laxas.
Penia was at the castle to demand answers regarding the secret leakage of certain illegal magic supplies from the kingdom.
Having finished all her business for the day, she was now…
"It’s been a long time. How long has it been, Penia?"
"I saw your face when the last envoy came… so about four years?"
"Wow, has it been that long already?"
"I guess so."
She was meeting the 1st Princess of Laxas, Serena Laxacia.
The relationship between Serena Laxacia, who was smiling at Penia, and Penia herself was quite deep.
It was because of the current Blue Tower Master, Selaim.
Penia, who had been learning magic as his disciple in the past, was a fellow student of Serena, who had also come to the Blue Magic Tower due to her talent for magic.
Of course, in Serena’s case, she eventually felt the limits of her talent and returned to Laxas, but the two had become very close, perhaps due to their childhood bond.
"So, how is your progress in magic these days?"
"Hmm… I think I’ll be moving up a level soon."
"Wow, really? That’s truly amazing."
"Isn't it?"
Serena held her status as a Princess.
Penia held her status as a Vice Tower Master… though she usually lived as if she had set that aside…
Anyway, the two spoke without any formality, like old friends. After they had been chatting for a while…
"Oh, come to think of it, I heard some interesting news."
"Interesting news?"
"Yeah. I heard you’re being whipped by some man?"
"…Huh? Me?"
Serena nodded as she looked at Penia’s dumbfounded expression.
"Yeah. Who was it? Hmm… Ah, Count Palatio? I think that was the noble's name. Is it true?"
"Huh? Whipped? What are you talking about? That’s absolutely not true."
"Oh, come on~ The rumors are everywhere. You, who can't hide your personality, are supposedly so demure in front of Count Palatio?"
"…."
Penia frowned slightly at Serena’s words and tried to say something, but then fell silent.
Come to think of it, those words weren't exactly wrong.
However, she hated to just admit it.
"No, I’m telling you, it’s not like that. Really."
When Penia weakly denied it, Serena spoke with an expression as if she had found something incredibly entertaining.
"…You really like him, don't you?"
"What? Who?"
"Count Palatio."
Penia looked at Serena with an incredulous expression at her "I-know-everything" attitude.
"I do not!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, really, absolutely—even if the sky falls, that’s not it!"
Recalling the nonsense Pellin had spouted before, Penia scowled, and Serena wore a peculiar expression.
"Is that so?"
"Yes! I have no idea why everyone is making such a misunderstanding in the first place! I’m telling you, I really don't like him!"
"Hmm—"
"I mean it! I mean, who on earth would like a man as stiff as a board like him?! All he knows how to do is keep a straight face and extort—"
"?"
"Extort—"
"Extort?"
Serena asked back.
However, Penia couldn't continue the story any further.
The reason was simple.
Wh-Why is he here—!
Ladan, who was supposed to be in the middle of a long conversation with the King, was standing outside the window facing her, staring at her with an expressionless face.
Wh-What the hell…!
Penia’s shoulders shook for a moment.
In truth, she wasn't particularly afraid of Ladan.
She had seen his strength firsthand, but she didn't think she would lose to him if they fought on land.
However, the reason she was trembling despite that was because she realized there was a very high possibility that Ladan would immediately report this to Count Palatio.
Because of that, Penia desperately pretended not to see Ladan, her pupils shaking violently.
"—extort, he does not."
"…Huh?"
"Count Palatio is a very wonderful person. He’s a very wonderful person and… and, he’s very cool."
"…? I think I’ve heard the word 'cool' three times already."
She desperately continued the conversation.
"You know? When you see the Count’s magic, it’s like you get sucked into it, or something like that. Count Palatio’s magic is very unique."
"…Then don't you like him?"
"That—absolutely—"
"Absolutely?"
"—ly, might be true."
With a creaking sound, Penia lowered her head and spoke. Seeing this, Serena wore a joyful expression, as if her suspicions had been confirmed.
"I see~ You do like him."
"Y-Yeah… right."
With her head down, Penia stole a glance toward the side.
At the end of her gaze was Ladan.
Nod.
With a satisfied look, Ladan nodded once and vanished from the window.
"Phew—"
Penia let out a sigh of relief, but Serena, watching her, thought differently.
It seems she can't easily make a move because of her personality.
After thinking that for a moment.
Well, since my friend has worked so hard to reveal her true feelings, should I help her out a bit?
…She decided to show a bit of goodwill to her one and only friend.
A goodwill that Penia had never even imagined.
"Hehe—"
Having made her decision, Serena chuckled softly.
It was a sly, serpentine smile from someone who didn't dream for a second that she was mistaken.
* * *
Four months later.
Alon had spent a busy schedule gathering information to uncover the identity of the Outer God, training to expand his mana hole, and delving into magical research. Finally, he was heading to the capital, Teria, in a carriage for the coronation.
"Count."
"What is it?"
"Did you know?"
"…What is it this time?"
"There’s a rumor going around about you lately."
"…A rumor about me?"
"Yes."
From Evan, he heard a rather bizarre rumor.
"I heard that a rumor has spread saying Penia Kraysinne is in love with Count Palatio."
"…What?"
"Penia Kraysinne. The Vice Tower Master of the Blue Magic Tower."
"…."
It was an absurd, nonsensical rumor.