Chapter 163 - ...Huh? (2)

The desert city of Coloni had been very noisy lately, thanks to the reconstruction of the capital.

Scorpirion and Seolgak’s attack had inflicted heavy damage on the capital. It had not been enough to wipe out the entire city, but one section of the city wall had collapsed completely, the royal palace had been smashed to pieces, and the northern and eastern districts had suffered badly.

Faced with this situation, Karmakses III had made a major decision: to empty the national treasury to restore the capital. Naturally, this was bound to hamper the running of the country afterward, but thanks to his decision, the capital was being rebuilt at a tremendous pace.

Yet Karmakses III still had another very serious concern.

"... You’re saying the damage from Time Gates—no, Monster Gates—is getting worse?"

"Yes."

"Whew... One disaster on top of another."

He let out a deep sigh, considered something, and asked, "What damage has been reported within Coloni?"

"There hasn’t been much yet, but I’m afraid we’ll soon be hearing reports from all over the country."

"And the Baba Yagas?"

"... Apart from the Golden Flash, they’re all doing as we ask for now, but at this rate, I believe it will become too much for them."

The secretary’s report sent the king back into thought. As he had said, the Baba Yagas were currently dealing with the Monster Gates at the kingdom’s request, but that would not last long. The five Baba Yagas could be called Coloni’s greatest fighting force, but they were not in the state’s service. They were merely gladiators who fought in the colosseum, free to come and go at any time without being bound to the nation of Coloni.

He scratched his head and sighed for what must have been the umpteenth time.

'It worked well enough until now.'

Of course, people had repeatedly suggested bringing them into state service. But Karmakses III—no, every king since the very first—had a reason for lavishing money and attention on the five Baba Yagas without making them state retainers.

Convenience.

The colosseum was the very reason Coloni had managed to prosper so greatly despite its location in the desert. Yet when the first king devised the colosseum and the Baba Yagas, his original purpose had been less about prosperity than securing fighting strength.

Coloni had a great many untapped gold mines that other countries lacked. Because of them, before joining the allied kingdoms, Coloni had been forced to endure the threat of foreign invasion while lacking just about everything. And so the first king had devised a solution: build a colosseum and begin gathering powerful fighters from across the land who owed allegiance to no particular nation.

Those who ranked among the top five received better treatment than nobles, even without pledging allegiance to Coloni. He even created the title of Baba Yaga to fire the ambitions of those powerful fighters.

The first king’s plan had indeed worked. Powerful fighters who had yet to enter any nation’s service flocked to Coloni in pursuit of money, fame, and rank. With the colosseum’s gladiators, Coloni reinforced the fighting strength that had once lagged behind other countries.

Strictly speaking, it was largely a show of strength, but that alone was enough. After all, the system was meant not to invade other nations, but solely to prevent invasions of their own. And the gladiators and Baba Yagas more than lived up to their reputations.

Beyond that, the system was useful in several ways for Coloni—no, for its king. Since the fighters were not in the kingdom’s service, he could not control them completely, but the benefits they received from the kingdom allowed him a degree of control. And if they caused trouble, the kingdom had no obligation to take responsibility. In other words, he could take what he wanted from these powerful fighters without drawing them into politics and weakening royal authority.

But that was how things had worked until now. With the emergence of Monster Gates, the situation had changed.

'I need to bring the Baba Yagas under my control.'

Of course, it was not a matter where every second counted. The Monster Gates appearing now were a nuisance to the kingdom, but were not immediately causing tremendous damage. Still, the other monarchs were surely worrying, just as he was, about the Time Gates they would face in the future.

'Time Gates are steadily evolving.'

Had they not already worsened into Monster Gates? What if a form one stage beyond those Monster Gates appeared? Or even if that never happened, what if Monster Gates began inflicting far greater damage instead of the minor harm they caused now?

'If I wait until then to respond, it will be too late.'

Whatever the case might be for other nations, that was true of Coloni. Thus, bringing the Baba Yagas into state service was something Karmakses III absolutely had to accomplish in the long term.

And the person who most held his attention was...

'... Seollang. I want to bring Seollang into our ranks somehow.'

The Golden Flash.

The Golden Flash had already become fundamentally different from the other Baba Yagas. That made it all the more imperative to secure her, whatever it took. Yet it would be anything but easy. Money and fame did not motivate her in the first place.

The only person who could move Seollang was...

'Marquis Pallatio alone.'

In short, he could not bring Seollang over without first winning over Marquis Pallatio. After considering his options at length, Karmakses III finally spoke, as though he had reached a decision.

"Is that my only option?"

"... How long until the ball in Lartania?"

"Two months," his secretary replied.

Karmakses III’s eyes shone with resolve.

'... I’ll settle this there.'

####

Meanwhile, atop a building that had already been partially rebuilt in less than two months, Seollang’s secretary, Lime, was covering her ears with both hands.

"Mmm... That’s enough now."

"... Is this not right?" Lime asked, taking her hands away.

"No, it’s not."

"... I thought I did it very much like he did."

"No. It’s different when Mentor does it."

"... In what way?"

"Mmm... When Mentor does it, how should I put it..."

Seollang knitted her delicate brows as though searching her memory.

"There’s this nice, firm squeeze."

She lay down where she was and pressed her hands firmly over her ears, murmuring in a strangely dejected voice, "I miss Mentor..."

Lime lowered her awkwardly raised hands and scratched her head.

'... Somehow, she seems worse than before... Or not? Should I actually call this an improvement, given the circumstances?'

Lime recalled what Seollang had been like before the incident. Unless something special happened, she used to spend all day lying around looking bored, apart from exercising or doing handstands.

But now?

After personally digging graves and burying each of the guild members who had been inside the guild when the incident occurred, Seollang’s daily life had remained much the same, except for practicing her newly acquired ability.

Two things, however, were definitely different.

She would occasionally say, "I want... an ear-squeeze."

And unlike before, she wore a smile rather than a bored expression.

Lime bent down toward Seollang, who was lying there covering her own ears.

"Shall I do it for you again?"

"Mmm... It’s really not the same..."

"... How different can it be?"

"If Mentor’s ear-squeeze is one, yours is about 0.3 ear-squeezes, Lime?"

"... That is quite a difference."

Without realizing it, Lime’s expression turned rather sulky as she wondered just what could be so different.

Then Seollang, who had already forgotten all about Lime, quietly murmured, "... Should I sneak off to see him?"

####

The journey back to the Pallatio estate was uneventful.

"Stable."

["Leader."]

"Deputy."

["Tycoon."]

"You snake-headed bastard."

["Huh? You’re the one who suggested playing. Why are you picking a fight?"]

"... Just because?"

Evan and Basiliora bickered from time to time, but otherwise there was plenty of time to enjoy the quiet forest, with sunlight streaming through the leaves. Thanks to that, Alon had been able to sort through his thoughts at leisure.

'... Now that I have The Foot That Runs Through the Past, I’ll go to Lartania and use it soon.'

Recalling the conditions required to use The Foot That Runs Through the Past, he took the Staff of the Holy One out from inside his coat.

Despite its name, the Staff of the Holy One was shaped like a glove. It was something he had badly needed.

'... So its abilities were array stabilization and enhanced magic, right?'

Its abilities were simple, but that very simplicity made it easily outperform other staffs.

'I’d wanted to get this from the very beginning.'

Obtaining this relic first required Rumiel’s Oath, which had been in Perion’s possession, so only now had he finally acquired it.

'Though I have no idea what mechanism made that the key item.'

Alon vaguely concluded that there must be some connection involving the primordial elf and absentmindedly slipped the glove onto his right hand. It was loose at first, but gradually contracted until it fit his hand perfectly.

"Hmm."

He smiled in satisfaction as he examined the black glove, accented with gold embroidery, only to suddenly remember something.

"Huh?"

'... Doesn’t this normally have a race restriction?'

There was a reason he had kept the Staff of the Holy One inside his coat rather than bothering to put it on after obtaining it: only elves could equip this artifact.

Because of that, players who acquired the Staff of the Holy One in the game had to complete another quest concerning the artifact in Lartania to remove its race restriction. That was why he had not bothered trying to equip it, yet when he absentmindedly slipped his hand into the glove, it had equipped itself.

Puzzled, Alon tried casting a spell just to see.

'... It really works. The array is more stable than before, and the magic is noticeably stronger even with less mana.'

Its effects were unmistakable.

"Huh?"

He examined the glove in bewilderment for a moment, but soon felt pleased.

'... This is nice.'

Really, a good result was all that mattered. Unexpected as it was, there was nothing bad about being able to equip the item despite its race restriction.

Just as a faint smile was about to touch his lips, he thought, 'Still, I should look into it, just in case.'

Having gathered his thoughts once more, Alon gazed absently out the window at the forest. It was an afternoon when the leaves shone like jewels.

####

About another week later, Alon arrived at the Pallatio estate, only to find that he had to receive guests before he could even relax.

"..."

"..."

A beautiful woman stared intently at him outside his office, with a man standing behind her. As Alon gazed blankly at the pair, whose beauty would have left anyone gaping, he suddenly recalled what his servant had said.

["A group called the Teal Forest Trading Company wishes to discuss exclusive distribution rights for gold handicrafts with you, my lord. What shall I tell them?"]

'Gold handicrafts, then...'

Gold handicrafts sold for extremely high prices, both in his former world and in this one. Even if the estate was now earning a stable income on its own, it was worth hearing the details first.

But...

'... Neither of these two looks much like a merchant.'

As Alon found himself almost entranced by the woman before him, whose looks would surely have drawn unanimous praise from anyone, a single tear suddenly dropped from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"Huh?"

He saw it.

And then...

"Hic..."

"What?"

The beautiful woman, who had been staring at him with a rigid expression until now, burst into heartbroken sobs.