Chapter 215 – Darkness of the North (2)

Pulton could not properly understand the current situation.

No, it was natural that he didn’t understand.

He had never actually seen an elf before.

Because the relationship between the United Kingdom and the elves was not particularly good.

An elf he hadn’t even seen properly in the slave market,

But now, there were more than ten of them before his eyes.

Moreover.

“……”

Elves with skills that anyone could see were unusual.

Pulton, having confirmed their stage, immediately shrouded his body in magic power.

He did not grasp the situation properly.

Why there were elves near the Asteria Kingdom.

Why they were furious while mentioning Marquis Palatio.

Pulton did not know.

But one fact he grasped clearly was,

[It is dangerous.]

Since the current situation was not good for him.

[I must flee right now.]

Pulton immediately released magic power.

Blue magic power scattered around.

At that, the elves moved their bodies to react, but.

Before they could react, the magic power Pulton released turned into black fog and began to disturb their vision.

!

Watching the elves momentarily flustered, Pulton sneered and turned his body.

[They should have caught me immediately instead of talking.]

Actually, Pulton’s combat ability was at the very bottom among the executives of the Black Hand.

In some ways, he was even evaluated as being so weak that he didn’t befit an executive.

However, despite such evaluations, the reason Pulton became an executive of the Black Hand and no particular complaints arose among other executives was one thing.

Because his stealth ability was incredible.

Especially his innate ability to ‘change the quality of magic power into fog.’

Once it was unfolded, even if one attempted detection using magic power, his appearance could not be confirmed.

[I must get away quickly and inform them of this situation.]

Pulton immediately moved his body and,

Lost consciousness.

“-?”

His consciousness, which had gone out for a very short, instantaneous moment, returned.

Immediately after that, the first sensation Pulton felt was a terrible pain in his side.

What he noticed next was.

The fact that he had been hit by something and sent flying within the fog he had scattered.

And the last thing he could perceive was,

“Hmm, so this fellow is the one who tried to harm the Great One’s friend.”

“Kugh!”

It was a lizardman with an incomparably giant body, grabbing his neck and lifting him up as if to crush his head.

At that moment, Pulton’s eyes widened at the aura of the lizardman with a very ferocious expression.

“……Lizard, do not snatch our merit!”

An elf’s voice immediately interrupted, and the lizardman sneered, applying more strength to the hand holding Pulton’s neck.

“You’re talking nonsense. We just caught what you failed at.”

“You guys didn’t even know where he was until we found him!”

“Anyway, you must know how much discomfort the Great One’s friend, namely, the Marquis, might have felt if you had lost this fellow.”

“We could have caught him sufficiently even if you hadn’t helped.”

The two began to argue with raised voices, as if they had planned it in advance.

At that strange sight, Pulton made an expression showing he understood even less.

Those currently before him were.

Different races that could almost never be seen in the United Kingdom, elves and lizardmen.

And to infer based on their talk.

The elves and lizardmen seemed to be escorting Marquis Palatio.

Moreover, it wasn’t just a simple escort, but so intensely that they even used honorifics while asserting their right to escort.

At that.

[……Just what on earth is his identity?]

Pulton recalled the image of Marquis Palatio, who had certainly seemed ordinary.

At that moment.

“Be quiet, you long-ears. Rather than that,”

With a smile that was creepy to anyone who saw it,

“First, shall we hear the story?”

Watching the lizardman turn his gaze toward him,

“Ah.”

He realized that something had gone very wrong.

####

“……What do you mean by that?”

“Well, it’s a simple story. To put it more bluntly, I’m asking if you are in love.”

At Siyan’s leisurely voice, as if asking, ‘What are you having for dinner today?’

Alon was about to ask back again but stopped and slowly shook his head.

“We are not in that kind of relationship, though.”

“Is that so?”

“But may I ask your intention behind asking that?”

At that, Siyan tapped her lips with her index finger for a moment and spoke as if it were no big deal.

“Well, there was something I was a bit concerned about.”

“……Something you are concerned about?”

“Yes. It’s not particularly something the Marquis needs to know. It just stemmed from personal curiosity.”

“May I ask what the curiosity was about?”

At Alon’s question, Siyan pondered with a ‘Hmm’ for a moment.

Then she gave a meaningless smile.

“I will tell you that the next time you come to see me.”

“Is that so?”

“Isn’t that how you will come to find me immediately as soon as your work is over?”

“……”

Alon was momentarily startled, but.

[Did she know?]

He maintained an expressionless face and turned his gaze to the side.

“……I am sorry, Your Majesty.”

“It’s alright. It was just a joke.”

Siyan let out a smirk.

Then she frowned slightly as if she had forgotten something.

Soon she let out a low exclamation and held something out in front of Alon.

It was a box containing sweet potatoes.

“I am sorry. Come to think of it, I had forgotten.”

“……Not at all.”

“Eat. They should be warm since they were made around the time the Cardinal stopped by.”

Siyan handed the sweet potatoes to Alon as if it were perfectly natural now.

At that sight, Alon bowed his head with etiquette.

“I will eat gratefully.”

“Eat slowly.”

Siyan watched with a satisfied smile as Alon skillfully pushed the sweet potato into his mouth as if he were quite used to it now.

[……I feel like a monkey in a zoo for some reason.]

Although the pressure had decreased compared to last time, a strange feeling was still felt.

After the sound of eating sweet potatoes echoed for a while.

“Now, shall we hear the story?”

Having confirmed that Alon had finished eating the sweet potatoes, Siyan straightened her body again.

Alon slowly recalled the events that occurred in Greynif in his head and soon began to convey them without missing a single thing.

After some time had passed since the report began.

“Ho, so in the end, you have become the God of the elves now?”

“……It is similar.”

When Alon inevitably affirmed toward Siyan, who asked with great interest, she nodded as if she finally understood.

“So that’s why you said it was a very great help.”

She was thinking deeply about something.

“May I ask if there were any such additional memories after this?”

Siyan shrugged her shoulders.

“No, there aren’t.”

“Is that so……”

Then.

“Well, there is one. Although it’s not about the Marquis.”

She added with a somewhat playful smile.

Alon was silent for a moment at that sight and then replied.

“……It seems it will take quite a long time to hear the story.”

“Probably. Since I can only tell you around the time my next memory surfaces.”

Soon she raised her index finger and lightly pulled up the corner of Alon’s mouth.

“But then again, if it’s that long, interest will also drop. I will give you one hint so that you can maintain interest.”

A leisurely voice flowed, as if she were holding Alon in her hand and manipulating him.

“I saw Cardinal Utia in a passing memory. In a somewhat different appearance than now.”

“A different appearance?”

“Yes, she had her hair swept to the side. The clothes she wore were different too.”

“Like this,” Siyan said, sweeping her own hair back with her remaining hand.

At the sight of Alon pushing back against her index finger even a little, she slowly removed her finger.

“That’s all. I will tell you the rest next time.”

“Is that so.”

“Ah, and for your information,”

A playful laugh echoed through the audience chamber.

“Cardinal Utia is quite beautiful even with her hair swept to the side.”

“……I see.”

At Alon’s reaction, which was a beat slow.

Siyan’s smile deepened even more.

“Then in three months, no, it’ll be four months since I’ll call you for the United Kingdom conference. See you then.”

With those words, the audience time concluded.

He felt as if his energy had been drained for some reason.

Soon Alon, arriving at the inner castle, could see Utia waiting for him with Evan.

“Is all your work finished, teacher?”

“Yes, I’ve had the audience with Her Majesty, so I should go now. But,”

Alon, who was answering, suddenly looked ahead with a strange expression.

In a short interval,

“……Did something pleasant happen?”

Because Utia’s expression had become even brighter than usual.

“Hmm, is that so? I think it’s good because I saw you, teacher.”

“……Is that so?”

She looked more specifically happy than just that……

“Yes. And on top of that, it might be even more because I met someone I could talk with a bit?”

“Are you talking about Her Majesty?”

“That’s right, teacher. I’ve had a lot of reasons to travel around lately and meet various people, and Her Majesty is much easier to talk to than I thought.”

“Haven’t you seen her face once before?”

“Because I’ve never shared a detailed conversation until now. Anyway, it might be because she’s a very ‘good person’ that I feel good.”

Well, if that’s the case, then so be it. As Alon nodded, Utia asked.

“So, where are you heading, teacher?”

“I have business in the North, so I am heading that way.”

“Then we can move together.”

At those words, Alon asked back.

“……? Are you heading to the North?”

“Yes, I have some business to handle in the North.”

“……If there’s business to handle in the North, is it toward Caliban’s outpost?”

“That’s right.”

Alon nodded as if it weren’t bad.

“Then we can move together.”

Thus the accompaniment was decided.

“It’s a good thing.”

Utia, who was watching Alon for a moment, let it out.

“……Is it?”

“Yes. As for why it’s good,”

Soon her eyes curved softly like scattered petals.

“I told you when we went to see the evening primroses last time, so I won’t bother saying it.”

####

The next day.

Alon began to move toward Caliban after leaving Teria with Utia.

He could also hear the reason why Utia was going to the North.

[Because of the Pope.]

Pope Liriterios III of Rosario, who had not appeared for almost several years while in seclusion.

She explained that she was heading to the North following his orders, but Alon felt a strange doubt.

No, to be precise, he was feeling doubtful about the Pope’s seclusion.

[Although there is a setting in the original where the Pope is in seclusion, didn’t he not really go into seclusion at the time the original began?]

With such questions in mind.

In no time, about a month had passed when Alon reached Caliban.

He went straight to Deus’s mansion.

And he.

Could see it.

A very luxuriously decorated statue, in fact several times more luxurious than the one at the Marquisate, and.

Dozens of knights who were praying diligently in front of it.

“……”

Alon, who was at a loss for words, soon arrived at the office guided by a knight.

The scene that unfolded before his eyes immediately after was,

“Brother, how many times do I have to tell you to understand? I told you that you have to bend your wrist about 5 degrees to the side!”

“Like this?”

“No! Not that, like this, like this!”

“……Like this?”

Deus, who was struggling with something, and.

“It’s off by about 2 degrees! Now, straight! If you’re going to follow, you should follow properly!”

“……Ah, I understand.”

It was the sight of Silly correcting his posture in real-time.

“……”

Alon felt as if his vision was growing even darker for some reason……