Chapter 306
C306. Laksas (2)
Two weeks have passed since Alon Palatio departed from the Divine Land heading for Laksas.
Alon Palatio was training at a slightly more relaxed pace than before.
The reason was simple: on this trip, Penia was not present.
When she was there, Alon Palatio would use Steps Running Through the Past and face Kylus multiple times, but now he couldn’t do that.
Of course, if he repeated activating and deactivating Reverse Heaven instantly, he could recharge the Steps Running Through the Past at will, but doing so placed too much strain on his body.
The Reverse Heaven that Alon Palatio utilized, no matter how briefly used, damaged his body.
In any case, due to the current situation…
Alon Palatio had stopped entering the Steps Running Through the Past and moved while dedicating his time to devising spells on his own and training Blackie‘s ascension.
—Good work.
[Nyaa~]
Hearing Alon Palatio‘s words, Blackie let out an adorable “nya” and curled up on his chest with total naturalness.
—Is it finished already?
While stroking the little one’s head, Evan approached.
—Yes.
—It is surprising how consistent you are.
—Right now, I need it more than ever.
—Hmm~ Last time you told me that when he adopts that form, it is easier for you to control mana, right?
—That is correct.
At Alon Palatio‘s affirmation, Evan nodded and pointed to the side.
—Please have dinner. It is already prepared.
—Saying it is “prepared” is an exaggeration; it’s just roasted, isn’t it?
Looking at the sweet potatoes in front of the fire, Alon Palatio commented…
—Well, in the end, it is still cooking, isn’t it?
Evan shrugged as if it were no big deal, and then pointed at Basiliora, who was already eating one.
—Hey, snake head, can you stop eating first like an ill-mannered person?
[Hmph, and what would be the reason why this body shouldn’t eat first? I am different from a simple human like you.]
—This bastard started again—
It was a common, ordinary day, nothing out of the usual.
During the two weeks advancing toward Laksas, Alon Palatio had clearly noticed that the United Kingdom had changed compared to the past.
—Evan.
—I really want to strangle this— Yes, my lord.
After arguing with Basiliora, Evan turned his head, responding immediately.
—How long until we reach the next village?
—Hmm… normally we would have arrived tomorrow, but… as I mentioned in the last village, the settlement that used to be there was attacked, so it will take us about four days.
—Four days…
Normally, when Alon Palatio traveled through the United Kingdom, he would camp every other day.
That is to say, in the United Kingdom, as a general rule, there was always a large or small village every one or two days of travel.
But in these two weeks, they had only passed through four villages.
All the others had been destroyed by bandits or looters.
Since the Abyssal Cores began to circulate, bandits emerged, and the United Kingdom began to suffer severely; Alon Palatio had known that for a long time.
But it is one thing to “know it” and quite another to see a freshly looted village firsthand.
—…Definitely, the situation is grave.
Evan nodded seriously.
—Yes. Where the hell are the Abyssal Cores coming from…?
—Have you found out anything?
—I asked the information guild to investigate, but… it seems they can’t find anything useful. Ah, but there is something that, while not exactly good news, isn’t bad either…
—What is it?
—They say that lately, mercenaries and knights have started eliminating bandits on their own initiative.
—…Did someone place a request?
—No, from what I heard, they do it without receiving anything in return.
—How curious.
That knights would act out of honor made sense.
But for mercenaries to do something like that was extremely strange.
In this world, mercenaries never cared about anything that wasn’t an internal matter of Lartania.
—It seems strange to me too, but… anyway, that is the rumor.
Nodding, Alon Palatio took a piece of sweet potato and brought it to his mouth, when suddenly he remembered something.
—Now that I think about it, why haven’t we run into any bandits?
—You already said that last time, didn’t you?
—Yes, but even so…
Alon Palatio tilted his head.
If there were so many looted villages, it was normal that they would have encountered at least one.
But not a trace.
…And there are no corpses either, even though they should remain if they were attacked…
Something didn’t add up.
But he only thought about it for a few seconds.
—Well, if we don’t meet bandits, that’s better, right?
It was true.
Not finding them was a good thing.
So Alon Palatio finished the sweet potato and naturally moved on to the next topic:
What had happened when he declared the Divine Land.
The Star Eater…
That being who imposed restrictions on him said that.
That it celebrated the return of the Star Eater.
…It must have referred to me.
It wasn’t the first time they called him that.
Once, when he first arrived at the abyss of Laksas and found an Outer God.
The other time, when in the East he met an entity whose origin he couldn’t even comprehend.
What is the Star Eater?
He had been turning it over in his mind for days and hadn’t managed to decipher anything.
The Star Eater.
In Psychedelia, he had never seen that title.
After meditating a while longer, Alon Palatio sighed and let go of the thought.
Throughout the trip, he had tried to figure it out in his mind and it always ended the same.
When I go to the Observer, surely I will understand.
Stroking the Magatama on his chest, he continued reflecting.
Several days passed.
Near the port settlement, Alon Palatio saw Radan waving at him.
—Brother!
—Radan, were you okay?
—Yes, all good.
To go to the maritime town of Laksas, one necessarily had to travel by boat.
Of course, Radan was the first option.
With his help, Alon Palatio departed immediately toward the Shifra Archipelago.
His true goal in going to Laksas was precisely to reach Shifra, where he could find the Observer.
After some time sailing…
While they talked about their recent lives, Alon Palatio observed Radan and asked him:
—Radan, is something wrong?
—With me, brother?
—Yes. Your expression doesn’t look very good.
At first glance, Radan was smiling serenely.
But Alon Palatio noticed a small shadow on his face.
—Ah, lately I have some things to think about.
—Things to think about?
—Yes, yes. Things that worry me a little…
Radan smiled with some discomfort.
Alon Palatio thought about asking him more, but stopped.
It was evident that Radan didn’t want to talk about the subject.
So he simply said:
—…If at any time you need help, tell me. I will help you in whatever I can.
—Thank you, brother.
Radan lowered his head with a sincere smile.
A few more days passed.
—We have arrived, brother.
Alon Palatio arrived at the Shifra Archipelago, where he had found the Observer before.
—Hoo…
Like the previous time, he held the pendant that Yongrin had given him and walked toward the eastern end of the coast.
The temple of the Lightning Receive, Kalanon, now had many more faithful than before.
The temple hadn’t always been this big.
At the beginning, when Silly built it, there were only a few lightning mages and some victims of her insistent preaching.
But since Reinhardt, one of the knights of Caliban, began to seriously use the power of Kalanon, the believers grew in masses.
Now the number of faithful following the Lightning Receive Kalanon was such that…
—Oh…
During worship hours, they filled the enormous temple completely.
An astonishing growth.
And guiding all those believers who were growing at a colossal rate was the saint Silly.
—…Brother, is that true?
[That is so.]
Deus was telling her a piece of news.
—The Marquis… no, the God… wants to become king?
[There is no doubt.]
Silly observed Deus‘s face.
As was natural for him, there wasn’t the slightest sign of a joke.
That meant…
That what she had just heard was true.
After a brief moment of confusion…
—I see.
Silly recovered her composure with surprising speed and clenched her hands tightly.
—But I think it is the right thing.
[I believe so too. The Marquis has the courage to—]
Deus nodded immediately, but…
—No, brother. You are mistaken.
[…Mistaken? About what?]
—It’s not that he has the “courage”.
Silly looked at him with a determination even stronger than Deus‘s, and said:
—It is natural.
[The… natural?]
—Yes. A supreme God cannot be below simple humans. It is absurd.
Any noble who heard that would faint.
If Alon Palatio heard it, he would choke.
Even for Deus, the certainty with which she said it was so forceful that he went momentarily blank.
But that wasn’t all.
—Furthermore… it is not enough to be king.
[…Not enough?]
—The proper position for him is not “king”.
It is “Emperor”.
With a firm voice, Silly stood up.
—I will join you soon.
That was the last thing she said before cutting the communication.
—If God wishes to ascend to the heavens, it is natural to help him.
She turned her gaze back to the temple.
—If he seeks to rise up to there…
The temple full of believers.
—…I will do everything necessary to open the path for him.
Silly‘s eyes shone.
Something was starting to move.
And Alon Palatio, unaware of all this, was eating a roasted sweet potato on the road…
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