Chapter 213 – North… (4)

Halfway between Greynif and the land of the lizardmen.

At a temporary negotiation site.

“……An escort is not necessary?”

“Yes, he said so.”

Magrina heard such a report from Lim.

“Is it true?”

“It is true, Great One.”

Hazard was sitting in front of Magrina.

When he asked, Kurak bowed his head deeply and affirmed.

At that, Hazard stroked his chin several times as if contemplating something.

“It can’t be helped. If my friend thinks so, I have no choice but to let it go.”

Contrary to expectations, he stepped back very cleanly.

“Hmm, you are surprisingly clean about it.”

“I’m different from the long-ears who act honorable in front but are gloomy behind.”

“I think you were gloomier than us in the past.”

“Ahem.”

Hazard cleared his throat and looked away as the old stories came up.

To those with lower status, it only looked like black smoke was billowing.

But his gestures clearly showed that Hazard was flustered.

After a short while.

“Anyway, if my friend says so, there is no need for us to be doing this.”

Hazard stood up as if there was no further need for discussion.

“Then I shall go.”

He really coolly turned around and left the negotiation site.

Soon, while Magrina, left alone, was looking at where he had departed.

“Queen.”

“Speak, Lim.”

Lim called the Queen with a face full of slight regret.

If it had been decided that the elves would take charge of the escort this time.

She had wanted to escort the First Elf once herself.

Escorting the First Elf, who could be called ‘God’ to Lim…no, to virtually all elves.

It was a very glorious and honorable thing.

Normally, the Pagade would have to protect the World Tree from those coming up from the roots, so there would be no time to escort others.

But since those things had disappeared after the First Elf visited the roots.

Lim, who was now able to take on other duties, felt even more regret.

“Then, as you said, I will have the Black Leaves return.”

As if she knew that heart.

Magrina smiled quietly and then shook her head.

“No.”

“……Yes?”

“There is no need to have the Black Leaves return.”

“Yes? But clearly.”

“Lim, even if he refuses the escort, the First Elf is someone we must protect. You know that, right?”

“Yes, I know well.”

“Yes, that is the answer. The First Elf refused, but that must be out of consideration for us.”

The reality was Alon’s desperate effort ‘not to be caught in the misunderstanding.’

Magrina, unaware of this, smiled even more deeply.

“So we must perform the escort. We can’t leave his escort to those lizards, can we?”

It was true.

Lim nodded while feeling curious inside anew.

[……What is the relationship between the Queen and that Sage God from earlier?]

Precisely, the relationship between Queen Magrina and the Sage God of the lizardmen, who was talking with her without formality until just now.

The relationship between the two.

At least Lim knew that the Queen and the Sage God had not met often.

However, the two seemed very close, at least from Lim’s point of view.

……Of course, they threw insults at each other excessively.

But at a glance, it felt more like they were old friends rather than having the intention to truly slander each other.

But Lim, who had such doubts, soon cleared the thoughts from her mind.

Because that was not what was important right now.

“Then I will keep the Black Leaves as they are.”

“Do so.”

“And Queen.”

“Yes.”

“By any chance.”

Around the time Lim was cautiously making the request to the Queen that she had been thinking about.

Inside the giant palanquin carried by the lizardmen, Kurak was tilting his head.

“……You mean to dispatch an escort force?”

“Yes.”

A luxuriously decorated space, large enough to be called a room.

Kurak was bewildered by the order from Hazard, who sat firmly in the center.

Because he had given an entirely different order from when he discussed it with Magrina earlier.

“……Um, didn’t you clearly say earlier that you wouldn’t dispatch anyone?”

At that, Hazard let out a smirk.

“That was obviously a lie.”

“But wouldn’t it be something my friend doesn’t want?”

“Well, honestly, I think my friend might not want it that much. But this is a separate matter.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I protect him because I am worried about my friend.”

“It’s just that simple,” Hazard muttered lowly and continued.

“Anyway, that’s how it is, so pick some escorts and send them. Well, they shouldn’t be caught, so use those who are best at stealth.”

“……Should I send the Shadow Veil Clan?”

“Hmm, that wouldn’t be bad.”

Hazard leaned further back against the backrest as if satisfied.

Kurak, who was quietly watching him, spoke up with a question that suddenly arose.

“May I ask one question?”

“What is it?”

“……If we were going to send an escort anyway, was there a need to hide it from those long-ears?”

“Of course there was.”

“?”

“The long-ears pretend to know honor, but they are very gloomy. If they happen to tell my friend about this, it’ll just be a headache.”

“I know the long-ears very well, of course,” Hazard nodded.

In short, at the sight of the God worrying that the elves might tattle to Marquis Palatio.

Kurak made a strange expression.

Never before.

Had he seen the God who bestowed power upon him care about another’s opinion.

But now, Hazard was concerned about the elves, fearing he might be caught by his friend.

Kurak, who was silent for a moment.

“I understand. Then, I will have it prepared immediately.”

Soon he bowed his head and moved to follow Hazard’s command.

####

About a week has passed since then.

“Marquis, I have looked into what you asked me to investigate in detail last time.”

“Are you talking about Silly?”

“Yes.”

“So, how is it?”

“It seems she really is being called that.”

“……”

At the news Evan brought, Alon looked at him with a strange expression.

“……Because of what?”

“Well, it seems that after the Marquis left, she continued various relief activities in the villages near Caliban.”

“……Relief activities?”

“Yes, you know, that kind of thing.”

Things like dealing with monsters or distributing relief supplies.

Evan, who listed several things, added.

“Anyway, because of that, it seems she is being called the ‘Saintess of Callanon, the Receiver of Lightning’ in the villages near Caliban recently.”

Alon scratched his head without realizing it.

In fact, this situation itself was not a big problem for Alon.

No, it was rather good.

Silly’s actions were gathering faith for Alon right now.

[……I didn’t hand over the power hoping for that, though.]

However, the reason Alon made a somewhat flustered expression anyway.

Was because this was not what he intended.

Since he had only handed over the power so that Silly could have the strength to protect herself.

Alon, who had unexpectedly come to sit at the very top of a multi-level pyramid, thought.

[Well, it’s not bad, so it doesn’t matter, but…… should I tell her she doesn’t need to try so hard?]

He did not want to make Deus’s sister suffer this much.

Alon, having organized his thoughts, concluded that he would give her a hint when he visited Caliban again.

At that time.

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

Evan asked.

“Come to think of it, I suddenly remembered something, didn’t you say last time that you had to stop by somewhere else besides the jungle?”

“During the last trip?”

“Yes. Thinking about it, it seems we didn’t stop there.”

A place to stop by.

Alon, who had been contemplating for a moment, soon let out an exclamation of ‘Ah.’

“There was a place to stop because of the usage time of ‘Feet That Run Through the Past.'”

“Right? I thought of one place we didn’t stop, so I asked. Why didn’t we stop there?”

“It’s not that I didn’t go, it’s that I couldn’t. That place is somewhere one can only stop by when there’s a reason to go to the North.”

“So that’s how it was.”

Looking at Evan who was nodding, Alon let out an exclamation once more and brought out an object.

It was a gem in the same shape as the red ruby Alon had obtained in the Colony.

[It was said that it would talk to me on its own if I possessed it.]

Alon looked at the red gem.

The red gem, which was not particularly special, showed no reaction whatsoever, just as it had when he received it from the Dragonkin in the Colony.

[Until now, I was just waiting for it to talk moderately, but…… at this point, hasn’t some problem occurred?]

Contrary to the explanation that it would talk if he waited for a month or two.

Despite it having been almost half a year since he brought it from the Colony, no words were heard.

[I should probably visit the Colony once after coming back from the North.]

Alon, who added a place to visit, put the ruby back.

About two weeks later.

“Let’s depart.”

Alon departed for Asteria to meet Siyan.

####

Around the time Alon was heading to Asteria.

Hidan was at the Palatio Marquisate.

Because there was an order from Utia.

Originally, he had intended to stop by the Marquisate on the way to Caliban, take only the items in the hideout, and leave quickly.

……If only he hadn’t seen one peculiar situation.

Hidan looked ahead.

The presence coming into view.

Right there were different races emitting unusual auras…namely, lizardmen.

Was that all?

Even on the opposite side.

The elves were all confronting the lizardmen with hardened expressions.

“……”

Hidan had never properly seen any other races except for beastmen until now.

While beastmen were gathered in a place called the Eastern Kingdom, they were already active in the United Kingdom.

But elves and lizardmen were originally so few that they couldn’t be seen in the United Kingdom.

No, they were almost non-existent.

In that sense, the more than ten lizardmen and the more than ten elves Hidan was looking at.

Watching them warily monitoring each other with scowls was a very strange sight.

And even.

Those who each emitted an overbearing aura.

However, Hidan soon prepared to leave.

Although it was certainly a peculiar scene, it was not enough to put the Red Moon’s command as second priority and watch.

However.

“Get lost, lizards. We will protect the Marquis.”

“Hmph, don’t talk nonsense, long-ears. We will escort Marquis Palatio according to his command, so you are the ones who should back off!”

“……?”

At the words that followed.

Hidan momentarily stood still with a questioning expression.

“Where do these stupid lizards think they are running wild saying they’ll protect the Marquis?”

“It is naturally correct that we, who are stronger than those long-ears who only know honor, should protect him.”

“No, it’s us elves who protect the Marquis!”

“No, it’s us lizardmen!!”

At the continuing conversation.

“……???”

Countless question marks filled his head.