Chapter 62

Chapter 62
Five days after setting out for the royal capital, with roughly two days of travel left before reaching Terea, the capital of Asteria, Alon sat inside his carriage, studying a document.

“It would be ideal to manage the rest if I can.”

The document was one he had compiled over the last several days, listing the antagonists from Psychedelia.

These were not petty troublemakers; they were the sort who could create genuine disaster if they were allowed to operate freely.

“Because Duke Altia and Count Zenonia have taken control of the underworld, a handful have already been removed.”

Regrettably, what Alon truly had to watch out for in Psychedelia were not the major underworld syndicates, but the covert factions entrenched in that sphere.

They would remain hidden at the start, but once the player became active, they would emerge without warning and begin sowing disorder.

These clandestine groups were powerful, and a number of them presented a serious risk to his security.

Yet it was impractical to confront all of them on the basis of potential danger, so Alon resolved to remove just the two most dangerous factions.

“The Proxy and the Ghost Castle.”

From Alon’s experience in the game, neither the Proxy nor Ghost Castle were especially worrisome from a player’s viewpoint in Psychedelia.

The Proxy, a compact group of elites, was formidable, but they only emerged if a particular story path was followed.

Ghost Castle was much the same—unless you engaged with the side quests in the Kingdom of Ashtalon, you would never meet them.

However, the reason Alon ranked these two as his primary targets for elimination was that he was no longer a player but a noble of Asteria, and these organizations were conspiring to overthrow the kingdom in the future.

Naturally, Alon had never witnessed their plans come to fruition.

By the time those groups were deeply engrossed in their preparations, the Five Great Sins would arrive, annihilating the kingdom and rendering any overthrow plan pointless.

But in this world, where the Five Great Sins had already been destroyed, what might occur now?

Furthermore, the Proxy and Ghost Castle were notorious for assassinating numerous nobles to achieve their aims, so Alon was convinced these two must be eliminated.

“…….If we consider the Empire, there is also the Bone Eater.”

Alon looked briefly toward the east, in the direction of the Empire, and then shrugged.

The Allied Kingdoms and the Empire were separated by a great distance, and most incidents within the Empire would be managed by that region’s main character.

“They claimed the in-game timeline is synchronized, so once the original narrative starts, the protagonist in the Empire will begin to move as well.”

While sifting through dim memories, Alon found himself thinking.

“The protagonist over there…………… was the name Palyan?”

The protagonist of the Empire.

To be exact, when the original story of Psychedelia begins, a different game by the same developers, ‘Calypsophobia’, would be unfolding in the Empire.

Put simply, ‘Psychedelia’ deals with the events in the Allied Kingdoms, while ‘Calypsophobia’ covers the incidents in the vast neighboring Empire.

“Hmm…….”

Having reached this point in his thoughts, Alon stopped thinking any further.

He had only played the beginning of ‘Calypsophobia’ before he stopped, so his knowledge was limited. Besides, Alon had no reason to involve himself with the Empire’s affairs.

After all, the Empire and the Allied Kingdoms were strictly divided, and they shared very little beyond a few trade goods.

All events within the Empire would be handled by Palyan, the protagonist of ‘Calypsophobia’, and their companions.

Therefore,

‘The Proxy and Ghost Castle…… What is the best way to handle them?’

Alon remained in the carriage for some time, steadily turning the problem over in his mind.

The following day came, and,

“Count, you can see Terea ahead in the distance. We are nearly there.”
“We’ve arrived a day early?”
“Yes, fortunately, we have gained some time.”

At Evan’s statement, Alon looked out the window at the view of Terea.

Even though he had seen it previously, the scenery of Terea was as magnificent as ever.

The walls were high and solid, fitting for the capital of a nation.

Staring at it blankly, Alon clicked his tongue softly.

If he had come merely to see the capital, his spirit would have felt wealthy and free, but sadly, that was not the reason for his visit.

“I hope no significant troubles arise.”

As Alon moved steadily deeper into Terea, he found himself wishing this silently while observing the streets going by.

Naturally, he did not truly believe things would proceed easily.

The very fact that the Queen had summoned Alon personally indicated she required something specific from him, and it was almost certainly connected to Kalpha.

‘………..Will events unfold as I hope?’

In truth, during this journey to the capital, Alon had conceived a reasonably sound plan.

‘If the Queen brings up expanding my influence here, I could act somewhat persuaded, lessen Kalpha’s hold a little… and then continue to manipulate things, preserving an equilibrium between the factions…’

It was only a personal fantasy, formed without counsel from others or a deep analysis of the present circumstances, but it was one of the more viable strategies he could devise right now.

From the beginning, openly defying the Queen was not an option, so if matters developed in that direction, Alon’s moderate participation in factional politics could very well become advantageous.

“Sigh.”

He released a quiet breath as the royal palace came into view.

***

Late that night.

Although the moon was high in the sky, Radan had not retired and was waiting in his office.

The reason was that this night held the regular gathering of the Blue Moon.

Even though the meeting was still 20 minutes away, most members of the Blue Moon, with the exception of Deus, had already assembled.

It wasn’t due to any special occurrence.

It was simply that all members of the Blue Moon were expected to gather 30 minutes prior to every meeting.

In fact, for Deus to still be absent with only 20 minutes remaining was somewhat out of the ordinary, but something even stranger was taking place.

[We’re getting married!]
[I told you before, no!]
[We’re getting married!]
[I said no!]

Unlike the typically quiet pre-meeting atmosphere, Yutia and Seolrang had been bickering for more than 10 minutes.

[Why not! You have no right to forbid me!]
[Even so, the answer is no!]
[This is unjust!]

Seolrang was stubbornly demanding to be married, while Yutia was frantically attempting to prevent it.

Watching this, Radan thought, ‘If she is that resolved, wouldn’t it be simpler to just marry in secret and inform everyone later?’

But then he reconsidered, ‘That could lead to difficulties.’

Given Yutia’s temperament and her particular brand of zeal, no one could guess how she might respond, so Radan stayed quiet.

Time moved on as their argument persisted.

[Rine! Yutia is being completely unreasonable!]

With about five minutes left until the meeting, a deeply frustrated Seolrang appealed for support. Radan looked toward Rine, but…

She seemed lost in her own thoughts, as if she hadn’t even heard Seolrang’s complaint.

Seeing this, Radan shrugged.

He hadn’t anticipated Rine would pay any attention to Seolrang’s grievance anyway.

However…

[Do not be so upset, Seolrang. Yutia has been serving the Great Moon for far longer than any of us.]

Radan’s expression showed his astonishment at Rine’s unanticipated reply. He clearly recalled that during the last meeting, she had dismissed their squabble as beneath her notice.

[Eh~!]
[You see? Behave and be quiet.]

To be honest, Radan didn’t quite understand how Yutia’s long service to the Great Moon was relevant to the current disagreement.

Still, seeing Rine display such a surprisingly novel attitude, he felt a little more at ease.

[Ah, that reminds me, Yutia, I have a proposal.]
[Yes? What is it?]

Perhaps pleased that Rine had supported her, Yutia smiled cheerfully, and Rine put forward her idea.

[I was considering submitting my own report soon. What is your opinion?]
[Is that needed? I have already compiled and sent everything from your team.]
[I am aware, but I wished to report something related to ‘Eye of the Tracker.'”]
[If it is about that, you could simply tell me-]

Yutia kept her smile in place. But then…

[Would it not be better if I delivered it myself instead of passing it through you?]

As Rine went on, Yutia’s once bright smile began to dim.

[I have always managed the reports perfectly well until now, have I not?]
[But this concerns ‘Eye of the Tracker.’ I wish to speak on that subject personally, and also provide my own report.]

…..
[!]
[!]

Both Radan and Seolrang were taken aback when they saw Rine offer a slight smile as she spoke.

Despite having grown up together for over eight years, neither had ever seen Rine smile before.

They were momentarily stunned.

[Eheh-!]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[My apologies, I just recalled something amusing.]

As Rine suddenly grinned more widely, showing her fangs, everyone was left speechless.

‘…………Is it possible the Great Moon is using some kind of hypnotic artifact?’

Witnessing Rine’s dramatic transformation, Radan couldn’t help but wonder.

It was a reasonable suspicion—since encountering the Great Moon, both Seolrang and Rine had changed considerably, just as Deus had before them.

Their devotion to the Great Moon had grown nearly as intense as Yutia’s, leading Radan to seriously contemplate whether the Great Moon might possess an artifact capable of influencing minds.

Just as everyone was still recovering from Rine’s unexpected expression…

[My apologies for the delay.]

Deus walked in, exactly on time for the Blue Moon’s scheduled meeting.

He looked momentarily puzzled by the sight of the other members, all wearing stunned expressions, but he quickly composed himself.

[I am sorry, but I have an urgent matter to share before we begin the meeting.]

At his words, the other members, shaking off their stupor, focused their attention completely on him.

[It appears an organization known as ‘The Proxy’ has the Great Moon in its sights.]

Upon hearing this…

[Huh?]
[What?]
[What did you just say?]
[I beg your pardon, what?]

The eyes of all present sharpened with focus, each reacting with clear intensity to this news.