Chapter 156 - The Road Home (3)

The spirit world.

The dragonkin had sealed himself away, remaining imprisoned not merely for hundreds of years, but for a thousand.

["Aaaaagh!"]

["Shut up for a moment."]

As he worked on modifying the artifact he would give Alon, he pondered the “black thing” attached to Alon's back.

'... What in the world is it?'

The dragonkin had lost most of his power when he sealed himself. He had also cast his name and abilities somewhere into this world during the sealing, leaving him weaker still.

Even so, he could see the two eyes behind Alon. The divine stature he had possessed since the forgotten age of the gods made that possible.

'... A being capable of interfering with the bronze mirror...'

Unlike the “blue thing,” the “black thing” intervened quite actively whenever he tried to voice his conjectures about it, while ensuring Alon never noticed.

It did so with overwhelming power.

'That power—'

It sent chills through his entire body, despite his being a spirit.

It was a terrifying power unlike anything he had ever felt, capable of casually erasing his very existence merely by scattering traces of itself.

In truth, even without its threats, there was little the dragonkin could have deduced.

Still, he did not believe the black thing would harm the only Magus left in this world. Even if he could not properly comprehend that unfathomable being, its actions revealed something of its intentions.

'... No, it seemed to be helping him, if anything.'

Ultimately, the dragonkin let out a deep sigh. He had too little information even to imagine an answer.

'... What on earth is that fellow, to go around with something so incredible behind him...?'

All he could do was mutter quietly and drift aimlessly through the spirit realm.

####

About two weeks later, as they neared the end of their desert crossing, Rine spoke.

"Godfather, I think I'll head back from here."

"Will you?"

"Yes. I've finished what I came to do, and I have other things to take care of."

"You sound busy."

Rine gave a little laugh at Alon's remark.

"My dependable secretary handles most things, so I'm not that busy. But there are things I have to do myself. Preparing your gift, for instance."

"... My gift?"

"Yes."

A little bewildered inwardly, Alon answered.

"... It's not as though I want anything extravagant."

That was true. He had felt a very, ve-ry slight pang of disappointment that no one had gotten him a present for his last birthday, but that did not mean he wanted a grand gift.

... Of course, a big present would be nice. Still, what he wanted was for them to celebrate his birthday at all.

"No, I want to give you something like that."

"... Do you?"

"Yes. I want to give you a gift you'll never forget, Godfather."

"If you feel that strongly, I won't stop you. But don't overdo it."

"No."

Rine slowly shook her head.

"I want to build a relationship with you, too."

"... A relationship?"

"Yes. Like Seollang."

Why was she suddenly bringing up Seollang...?

Alon considered it for a moment before speaking.

"... You and Seollang are both like family to me."

"Are we?"

"Yes. If that's why you're preparing such a big gift, there's no need. I don't know what you think, but I truly feel the same way about both of you."

Alon cared equally about all of the Five Great Sins.

"Then do that for me, too."

"... That?"

"Yes. What you did for Seollang."

Though inwardly taken aback by Rine's uncharacteristically assertive request, Alon gently covered her ears with both hands.

A brief silence followed.

"Mm, thank you."

At its end, Rine smiled again.

"... Satisfied?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm glad."

It was a simple exchange. The people around them, however, grew all the noisier.

["What are they doing? It seems utterly meaningless. Is it for warmth or something?"]

"Good grief, you're hopeless. Though I suppose a snake without hands wouldn't know—"

["Hah, the human bastard is getting cocky again. Are you saying you know something, then?"]

"Of course I do."

["What is it?"]

"No idea."

["?"]

"?"

["Didn't you say you knew?"]

"I lied."

["..."]

Basiliora glared at Evan with a look that said, This little bastard...

As Alon watched their comic exchange, they finally emerged from the desert.

"I'll be going now, Godfather."

"All right. I'll come visit you sometime."

"And I'll come see you on your birthday."

Alon parted ways with Rine.

Afterward, when Alon's carriage had reached the far end of the road, Rine turned away.

"Godfather and I... This isn't the relationship I want," she murmured.

"... I want a deeper bond with him than anyone else has."

A soft green light spilled from her eyes.

"More than anyone."

She quietly walked away.

####

Alon arrived at House Pallatio's domain about two weeks later.

The moment he took in the view, he could not help being startled.

"... This is our estate?"

He had only been away for about a month, yet the domain had grown larger and grander than before.

"Wow, it's changed incredibly fast in just a month. Is this thanks to that magical construction?"

"Magical construction?"

"Yes. Apparently, if you have enough money, you can hire mages to put up buildings quickly."

"I see..."

Only then did Alon understand how the domain had changed so dramatically in so little time.

When he entered the house, he found a thoroughly haggard Penia.

"Hel...lo."

"Are you all right...?"

"Uh, well... I think I am, and I think I'm not."

"... Did something happen?"

She looked utterly dispirited, like a plant torn up and left to wither. Feeling somewhat uneasy, Alon asked the question.

Penia gave a self-deprecating smile.

"So many things happened—Ah!"

Then she snapped to attention as though she had realized something and hastily concluded,

"Nothing happened!"

"Yes, really, nothing happened. Yes. That's right."

Her words gradually slowed, as though her sudden burst of energy was fading.

Alon's puzzled expression lasted only a moment before he realized why Penia looked so miserable.

"Wait, you did all of this?"

"... Didn't you ask me to before you left?"

Alon glanced at Penia's resentful face, then looked back at the research journal she had brought him. It was thick enough to pass for a law textbook, and his mouth fell slightly open.

"No, I only meant a preliminary compilation."

"... Huh? What?"

"... Didn't I say so? I specifically told you to compile only the combined mana arrangements for the seals—"

"Doesn't that include how to combine them?"

"No."

Penia looked utterly desolate, as if to say, What? Then what have I been doing all this time?

Alon felt a little guilty. He had not asked her to do all that, of course, but it did not change the fact that she had worked hard.

As he considered whether there was some way to compensate her, he suddenly let out a quiet "Ah."

"... If you don't mind, would you like this?"

He handed Penia a glass bottle.

"What is this?"

Her eyes were full of exhaustion and a sense of bitter injustice. Alon awkwardly met her gaze.

"... I hear it's an excellent catalyst."

"An excellent catalyst?"

"Yes."

Of course, he knew little about its effects himself. He was simply repeating what Seollang's secretary had told him, so he did not know how effective it actually was.

'Well, Rine said it looked very good, too.'

At any rate, he thought it would serve as some compensation for Penia.

"..."

Accepting the catalyst with a curiously suspicious look, she discreetly fed mana into it.

"... Gasp!"

She was immediately startled.

"Wh-where did you get this?"

"What's wrong?"

Penia was trembling as she asked. Her intense reaction puzzled Alon as well.

"Th-this is just absurd! It's such an incredible catalyst that you couldn't even find it in the Forest of Distortion...? With this much, I could finish the experiment I've been unable to perform in one go—no, I could try it at least five times...!"

Muttering fervently to herself, Penia lifted the glass bottle. The resentment in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a brilliant gleam.

As though all her hardships had been erased, she excitedly listed the magical experiments she could now perform.

"Hehehe..."

When she even began letting out a strange(?) laugh, Alon realized once again that she was a born mage.

"Will this be enough compensation?"

"Yes, yesyesyesyes!! Absolutely, absolutely!!"

Watching her spin in place like a child who had just been given a kitten, Alon recalled something a servant had told him earlier.

"Come to think of it, I heard Yutia visited you. Was everything all right?"

It was a casual remark.

And yet Penia abruptly stopped dead. Then she forced herself to move, jerking like a malfunctioning machine.

"Yes, of—of course. Nothing happened."

"... Really?"

"Yes. Nothing—nothing happened. Absolutely nothing."

She was painfully awkward.

"I-I'll be going now."

"...? All right."

"Yes."

Suddenly, even her eyes brimmed with tears as she hurried away.

'What happened?'

Watching her retreat, Alon could only look puzzled again.

####

About two weeks after Marquis Pallatio's return, Pilde and Perion left the elven land of Greinif and arrived near House Pallatio's estate.

"Hmm-hmm."

"Are you that pleased?"

Perion looked at Pilde, who was humming in obvious high spirits. She nodded.

"Of course I am. Wandering around human towns is more fun than being in Greinif."

"You have unusual tastes."

"I'm inquisitive. I'd rather travel the world doing research than shut myself in a room studying magic."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"... But don't you usually just wander around drinking at your leisure?"

"Mm-hmm, do I? That might be nice, too."

Pilde leisurely drank despite Perion's criticism. Giving her a doubtful look, he shook his head slightly and continued.

"By the way, Lady Pilde."

"What?"

"Have you ever seen the primordial elf?"

"No."

"... Your spirit sight lets you see souls. If you've never seen the primordial elf's soul, how can you distinguish it from any other?"

After considering it for a moment with a thoughtful hum, Pilde answered lightly.

"I can't, can I?"

"Pardon?"

"I said I can't distinguish it."

"... Then don't tell me you lied to Her Majesty?"

As Perion's expression hardened, Pilde chuckled.

"Lied? Why would I do that? There is a way."

"... And what way is that?"

"Listen carefully. A soul is formed to fit its body perfectly. So if a soul that doesn't fit enters a body, the body and soul won't match."

"In other words, if we can confirm that the soul and body don't match—"

"Exactly."

Pilde brought her bottle to her lips again.

"Though honestly, I think the chances of that are less than one percent."

"... That low?"

"I've never seen it happen."

"Then isn't there no chance at all?"

"You're the one who said you were suspicious."

Perion maintained his silence for a moment, then realized.

"... Did you just want to get out?"

"Two birds with one stone? Well, we're still checking, aren't we?"

Watching Pilde let out an odd "Ahahaha," Perion's gaze turned cold.

'... And this is a mage on the threshold of the ninth tier...'

He had barely finished sighing when they arrived.

"We're here."

"Oh, this is the place?"

Cheerfully tipsy, Pilde casually snapped her fingers upon reaching House Pallatio's estate.

Spirit magic, the elves' distinctive method of using spirits to construct magic circles, manifested. In an instant, a concealed magic circle formed outside the estate's walls.

Perion let out a low exclamation at the magnificent sight.

A brief silence followed.

Then Pilde, who had kept her eyes closed, opened them with a playful smile.

"Found him."

At that moment, an image of Marquis Pallatio working in his office was projected before the magic circle.

"Now, shall we take a looook?"

With that languid remark, she “opened” her spirit sight.

"Huh...?"

Perion saw it: Pilde's face, which had worn an easy smile just a moment before, froze into a chillingly grim expression.

And he heard the bewildered murmur that slipped from her lips.

"... The soul doesn't match?"