Chapter 358

C358. What Must Be Done (1)

The king had not died, nor was she a direct heir of the monarch.

Even so, Sircal had taken the throne so naturally that the awkward conversation between Alon Palatio and her continued.

Then, suddenly, something he had heard from Siyan came to Alon’s mind.

“She is gathering troops…”

Of course, the fact that Sircal was gathering troops and that the Divine Land had been formed was nothing more than a simple coincidence. There was no relation between the two things.

In fact, Alon hadn’t seen Sircal for several years.

That was why he hesitated to ask her about that topic.

“My… ahem, would you mind if we moved for a moment?”

Sircal’s sudden request made him look around.

Nobles who seemed to be waiting anxiously to speak with her were gathering.

Are they nobles from another country? Thinking that, Alon nodded.

“Sure, sorry for taking up your time.”

“No, don’t say that. After all, I am moving now ‘because I have no choice’.”

“…Because you have no choice?”

At Alon’s question, Sircal nodded with a slight smile.

“According to the Saintess, everything is going well, so you shouldn’t worry.”

As she passed by his side, she whispered in a voice so low that no one else could hear it.

When Alon reacted late and turned around, she had already rejoined the nobles.

“…?”

Stunned, Alon recalled her words again.

“According to the Saintess, everything is going well, so you shouldn’t worry.”

Her voice even had a hint of laughter.

“Hmm…”

Alon thought calmly.

…Thinking about this was just strange, but…

Alon knew that in the Duchy of Luxible, Kalanon, The Lightning Receive, was worshipped.

He also knew that Sircal and her sister Jenila had distributed statues with an appearance similar to hers.

That is, the “Saintess” Sircal spoke of could only be Silly, the Saintess of The Lightning Receive — since the goddess Sironia currently had no Saintess.

Therefore, there was only one conclusion.

The “Saintess” Sircal mentioned… was Silly.

Once he reached that deduction, Alon naturally reflected on the next doubt: the “preparation.”

What exactly did it mean?

…No, actually Alon already knew.

A sudden change in the ruler of the Duchy Luxible…

And if he added the secret information he had heard from Siyan…

It wasn’t difficult to understand what that “preparation” meant.

Troops.

Interpreting Sircal’s words directly:

“According to Silly, the troops are being prepared correctly, so you shouldn’t worry.”

As soon as she combined both things, the conclusion turned out to be shocking.

Alon opened his mouth in surprise and looked at Sircal again.

…Silly, Silly… what on earth are you doing?

“Master, is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Yutia Bloodia returned after finishing her business.

Alon waved his hand to indicate that he was fine and asked her:

“Did you resolve your conversation well?”

“Yes, it was nothing important.”

“What was it about?”

“Hmm… do you want to know?”

“…? I am curious, but if it is something I shouldn’t know, there is no problem.”

“Hmm~”

Yutia made a thoughtful gesture, but then smiled as if a great idea had occurred to her.

She stuck a fork into an egg tart and handed it whole to Alon.

“Ah.”

She opened her red lips slightly.

“?”

Alon was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood what Yutia wanted.

He took the fork and brought the egg tart to his mouth.

With a crunch, the dessert entered his mouth.

Gyaaaaaah!

Then, behind them, a very familiar voice screamed a sort of shriek.

Alon tried to turn his head, but—

“Mmm, it’s delicious.”

“Yes?”

“Yes. I think it tastes better because you gave it to me.”

Yutia’s voice stopped him before turning.

“Isn’t it simply that the egg tart is delicious?”

“No. It tastes more special to me.”

Covering her mouth slightly, Yutia chewed and then showed a satisfied smile.

“The truth is it wasn’t a big deal. It was about Eliban’s birthday.”

“The birthday…”

“Yes. They say it will be right after the ball. Approximately within two weeks.”

“So, practically upon finishing the ball.”

“Exactly.”

“It is rushed.”

“Well, there are nobles who even prefer it that way.”

Alon nodded, but suddenly became curious.

“Yutia.”

“Yes.”

“Will you also go to the party?”

“No, I wasn’t invited.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. And not just me, there are quite a few nobles who didn’t receive an invitation. I don’t understand what criteria they are using to choose the guests.”

“It seems many want to go.”

“It is normal. For nobles, these opportunities to converse are very important.”

Upon remembering his encounter with Eliban earlier, Alon felt a strange sensation.

Once the conversation ended, Alon ate some egg tarts and left a bit before the ball ended.

“Hey, are you kidding!? Where are the egg tarts?!”

“B-but they were here a moment ago!”

“Damn it! Move! We have to replace them with others!”

On the way, he heard the voices of the servants.

Apparently, all the remaining egg tarts —the ones Alon had eaten with such gusto— had disappeared completely.

Shrugging his shoulders, he headed to the room he had been assigned.

That night.

“Master! Don’t you have something you want to ask me?”

“…Ask?”

“Yes!”

“Right now not much, why?”

“Well… for nothing! Aren’t you curious why my tail is so fluffy, for example?”

“And if I say that I am curious…”

Seolrang handed him a fork with a skewered egg tart.

“Aaah~”

So it was you guys…

Like a little bird asking for food, Seolrang opened her mouth, looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

Alon finally understood the truth behind the disappearance of the egg tarts.

That day he also received questions from Ryanga and Historia about the horns and tail he had on his head…

And he had to eat eleven more egg tarts.

“…I don’t need to eat egg tarts for a good while.”

It was his brief soliloquy.

---

Two weeks later

Already recovered from so much egg tart and eating his beloved sweet potato, Alon returned to the Marquis House of Palatio.

And while the nobles invited to Eliban’s birthday participated in the new ball in Tern…

“Good… is everything ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

Duke Pimalian of Ashtalon arrived in Tern.

With a satisfied smile, he ordered his servant:

“Make sure to prepare it well. It is a gift for him.”

“Yes, we will manage it carefully.”

Stroking his chin, the Duke observed the city with a relaxed expression.

He could see a large number of soldiers and knights.

Too many to be just a guard group for a party.

Furthermore, each wore different uniforms.

Apparently, they had recruited soldiers from various countries.

The Duke walked toward the interior.

“My lord.”

“Speak.”

“When the party ends… should we deliver the item immediately?”

“Yes.”

“But… is it really a good idea to hand over something like that?”

The Duke smiled soundlessly.

He knew perfectly well what worried the servant.

And he was right.

The “gift” that the Duke planned to give to Eliban…

Was drugs.

A drug that lately was being sold at sky-high prices in the underworld.

At first glance, Eliban seemed the person least compatible with drugs.

Well… at first glance.

“Do as you were ordered.”

At the order, the servant bowed and withdrew.

The Duke entered the luxurious ballroom while thinking:

What would people say if they knew that it was Eliban who proposed the drug business first?

The smile on his face deepened.

Even today, remembering it made him laugh unintentionally.

It was natural.

That hero whom everyone praised for saving the world, so pure, so dedicated to protecting others… had come to him in secret to propose an illicit business.

Not once, but twice.

He brought extremely precise information from the underworld.

And it wasn’t a clumsy attempt to manipulate him.

Eliban knew more about the underworld than the Duke himself. He even knew exactly what he did for a living.

…Who would imagine that the hero who saved the world was like this.

The Duke clicked his tongue internally while observing his surroundings.

There were many nobles gathered at the ball.

Some were known, others not.

But there was a peculiar detail.

Almost all the nobles who seemed familiar to him had one foot —even if just a little— in the underworld.

Chiiiiik—

While he gathered information, the Duke noticed the central door of the hall opening.

Eliban appeared.

But there was something strange.

…Is he alone?

Eliban was always accompanied by companions who assisted him. That had also been the case at the Asteria ball.

While the Duke wondered silently, Eliban went up to the main stage and cleared his throat.

As soon as the nobles’ gazes focused on him, Eliban muttered something.

He was looking around, muttering something incomprehensible nonstop.

The nobles began to look at each other, confused.

The Duke also frowned and moved a bit closer.

“Two… thirty…”

Eliban’s words were heard clearly.

He was counting.

“Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty…”

He did it calmly.

Looking at different places.

When Eliban’s strange behavior began to unsettle them…

“Forty-eight.”

His gaze stopped on Duke Pimalian.

Before the Duke could ask anything…

Eliban smiled broadly.

“Aha…”

He cleared his throat, as if he were about to start a speech.

“A total of forty-eight nobles have gathered here today. Thanks to you… I can finally alleviate the weight of the ‘Hero’.”

He said.

Just when the nobles started to show expressions of bewilderment—

CRAAACK—

One of the nobles closest to Eliban…

His neck twisted twice on itself.

SPLAT!

And he fell to the ground, spraying blood in all directions.

A thick stench of blood impregnated the air.

And then…

“Thank you very much. Everyone.”

With his face splattered with blood, Eliban smiled.

It was the signal.

“Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!”

And hell began.