Chapter 485

C485

After the conversation between Alon and Alexion, late into the night.

—Mmm…

Alexion’s secretary observed him deeply immersed in worry, which generated doubts. Alexion used to meditate on various matters, but this time his countenance seemed truly serious.

—Sir Alexion? Is something wrong?

At his secretary’s curious question, Alexion looked at him from the corner of his eye and replied with a complex expression.

—It seems that trouble is brewing.

—Trouble? Of what kind…?

—His Majesty mentioned that he might grant one of the inner castles to someone of trust.

—… An inner castle?

The secretary’s eyes widened. However, he soon accepted it. That a king would grant a castle to someone was, in a way, something very natural.

… Of course, granting an inner castle did not seem to be common, but even so, it did not seem reason enough for Alexion to be so distressed.

—If it is not an indiscretion, may I ask why it worries you so much? —the secretary asked cautiously.

Alexion murmured with the same complicated face:

—As I said, I have a feeling that something strange is going to happen…

—Something strange?

—For example, that I am unfairly assigned to perform the “evaluation” or something of the sort… ugh!

At that moment, he held his head as if suffering a sudden attack of post-traumatic stress disorder. Then, he looked at his secretary with eyes even more restless than before.

—Act as if you haven’t heard any of this, unless His Majesty mentions it again.

—… Eh? Yes, I understand.

—Under no circumstances let this leave your mouth.

—Understood.

Alexion made sure to seal his subordinate’s lips. The secretary was confused but nodded. However, despite such caution, there were two things Alexion was unaware of.

The first was that, no matter how much care he took, the conversation between Alon and Alexion had already been exposed through legal surveillance, or rather, a “protection activity” (?).

The second was that, in Alexion’s small residence still located near Palantia, far from the main castle, two individuals capable of instantly spreading that information anywhere were secretly spying.

Two beings so familiar that their absence would feel strange looked at each other. One was a demon belonging to the Information Guild; the other, an elf from the Shadow Tree.

Sensing the presence of several others besides them, both silently looked away. Soon, the presences felt in Alexion’s house disappeared in the blink of an eye.

… Very quickly.

The next day.

Alon Palatio woke up feeling more refreshed than usual after sleeping in a bed after a long time of camping in the open. The first thing he did was not go to see Lainicius, but—

—… All of this?

—Yes, these are the documents you must process.

—… go to work.

—Wow, a castle of papers has appeared in the office!

[Kkyu-!]

Evan exclaimed with admiration. Blackie climbed onto one of the piles of documents, curled up, and tapped his tail rhythmically. While Alon stood there dazed, Evan looked around the office. Mountains of paper filled the room.

—Why are there so many…?

Clearly, they hadn’t accumulated to this level last time. Before Alon could finish speaking, Alexion discreetly looked away. Following his eyes, the territory could be seen. Alon hadn’t noticed because he was preoccupied with the castle, but the territory had definitely grown in scale.

—… Eh?

When Alon finally realized that fact, Alexion spoke carefully:

—Since the capital continues to develop continuously, the documents have… accumulated quite a bit.

After letting out a low sigh, Alon resigned himself and sat down. Standing there in despair would not reduce the work.

‘I’ll have to call Penia to do it together for a few days.’

Rather than lamenting, he devised a practical solution and began processing the papers. At the same time, he mentally organized his future tasks.

‘The most urgent are the Divine Blood.’

Alon remembered the words of the Sculptor. It won’t be long before not only level 2 but also new level 3 forms fall. Being strict with the remaining time, there were about 8 months left.

8 months. It could be a lot or a little time, but Alon Palatio had to prepare the defenses in his own way. In his mind, a rough sketch of how to counterattack was already being drawn.

‘Then, go to Rosario.’

Of course, he had many other tasks. He had to research airships to improve transport efficiency, visit the Divine Land, and investigate the “Manifestation.” Additionally, he had to go see Ar and inform the empire about this situation. All of this, as quickly as possible.

‘I have already written the letters, but…’

And above all else. He had to perform an experiment on the laws.

The law that was permitted to Alon. The power to impose restrictions to obtain superior strength, a “high risk, high reward” power. During the return trip after using it on Seolrang, Alon experimented with his law and discovered a very interesting fact. Something necessary to make the most of his law, which carries an enormous risk for each use.

‘That requires Penia to prepare something separately, so I’ll be able to do it when it’s ready…’

Penia had told him that the preparation would not take long. Meanwhile, Alon processed the documents, meditating on what to do first. Shortly after.

—Sorry for being late…

A Penia who looked strangely depressed appeared.

—Is something wrong?

When Alon asked her, a flash of doubt crossed her face for an instant. She lightly bit her lower lip.

—No, well… it’s just that a letter arrived…

—A letter?

—Yes… with a not-so-good feeling…

Alon was curious to know what the letter was about, but seeing that she did not seem to want to talk about the subject, he did not insist. Penia joined the paperwork battle with a somber face. After a while of silence where only the turning of pages was heard, Blackie, who was sleeping curled up on a mountain of papers, climbed onto Alon’s head.

Alon checked the clock.

—We’ll leave it for today.

—Alright…

It was time to go see Lainicius.

—Ah.

—What’s happening?

Alon, who was heading to the second office (originally Penia‘s, but now occupied by Lainicius), suddenly remembered a fact.

—Now that I think about it, they took your laboratory, are you okay with that?

Penia let out a brief exclamation and waved her hands.

—I’m fine! Anyway, I was only borrowing it.

—Really?

—Yes! Besides, it doesn’t matter if we research together in Alon-nim’s laboratory!

—But isn’t it uncomfortable? If you want, I can prepare a room for you…

—It’s fine!

—Even so, if it’s uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to tell me.

—Yes.

When Alon relented, Penia smiled radiantly as if she had achieved something. But suddenly her face turned sad, then she smiled again, and then she became depressed again. Alon was bewildered by those mood swings.

‘Could it be that I should create a separate office for her until the castle is finished…?’

Looking for solutions, he opened the door to the second office they had just reached.

—Eh? It’s been a while.

—Kylus.

Kylus, sitting in the office chair, greeted him. Next, Lainicius spoke:

—You’ve come.

—Lainicius.

—Sit down. There is much to talk about.

As soon as he saw Alon, he offered him a seat and immediately said to Penia:

—I’m sorry to say this, but could you step out for a moment?

It was a direct order of expulsion. However, Penia looked alternately at Lainicius and Alon and said:

—I understand.

She left meekly. After confirming her departure, Lainicius placed a barrier around them. Alon, observing the situation, spoke:

—Is it something important?

—I prefer that what I am going to say does not leak outside under any circumstances.

—… What exactly is it that you have discovered?

At that, Lainicius nodded gravely and remained silent for a moment. Kylus watched Lainicius with his arms crossed. Lainicius frowned and relaxed his expression several times, as if debating what to say first.

—Alright.

He spoke as if he had made a decision.

—I think it’s better to start with the fact I have discovered.

—The fact you have discovered?

—Yes.

Lainicius nodded and, with a solemn expression, said to Alon:

—Alon, the gods of the forgotten era have not died.

—… What?

—They are simply all trapped.

He said so.

—In the prison of time.

At that moment, Hidan, who was grateful to be alive every day after escaping the exhausting regular meetings, suddenly received a strange report.

—… What?

—You see, the residence of Golden Moon in Colony has suddenly been partially destroyed.

—… Partially destroyed?

—Yes.

—Out of nowhere?

—That’s right.

—… Who committed such madness? —Hidan asked, stunned.

The subordinate shook his head cautiously.

—It hasn’t been possible to confirm yet… Most testimonies simply say that the guild house suddenly exploded…

—How strange…

Hidan meditated and tilted his head. That a house explodes is certainly a problem, but if nothing else happened, he saw no reason for an “immediate report,” reserved for urgent or exceptional cases.

—Is there anything else?

At Hidan‘s question, the man tilted his head as if he didn’t understand either, but continued the report:

—There is something additional I must mention.

—What is it?

—It is said that, besides the residence of Golden Moon, the residences of the other Moons have also disappeared.

—… The residences of the other Moons too?

—Yes. Especially the residence of Red Moon, which was being rebuilt, collapsed again yesterday…

—Red Moon‘s too?

—Yes. But according to what I’ve heard…

—…

—Rumor has it that Red Moon herself was the one who destroyed it…

At the continuous report, Hidan‘s mind suddenly became a chaos.