Chapter 185 - Greinif (1)

The day after Alon and Yutia had admired the spectacular expanse of evening primroses...

"I'll be going now, Teacher."

"All right. Travel safely."

"I will. I'll see you again next time."

Yutia, too, left the marquis's estate.

Unlike yesterday, the office was distinctly quiet.

'... It's just like a holiday gathering.'

Memories of his original life surfaced. His father and his father's older brother, who fought whenever they met because their political views differed. The youngest taking over the eldest's computer and turning it into a paradise for viruses.

Still, they had been a fairly happy family. However much of a shitshow their gatherings became, he always felt a little wistful once everyone went their separate ways.

"It certainly feels empty, my lord."

Evan apparently felt the same; wistfulness colored his voice.

"I can't deny it feels a little that way."

"Doesn't it?"

"Yes."

"Well, everyone has their own work to do."

Alon agreed and looked around the office. It did feel a little empty.

"... Perhaps we could hold gatherings like this regularly, if everyone has the time."

Evan's eyes widened slightly before returning to normal.

"Hmm. Then let's discuss that the next time you meet."

Alon gave a small nod.

"Then we should start making our own preparations."

"For the elf village you mentioned before?"

"Yes."

Evan hesitated with a thoughtful hum.

"I'll get everything ready, but will it be all right? I hate to say this, but honestly, that place sounds dangerous."

"Hmm."

The places Alon had visited so far hadn't been particularly safe either. Yet he hadn't minded much, because he already knew something about them.

But Greinif, the land of the elves?

Unfortunately, he had almost no information about it. Just how little? He had learned nothing about it while playing Psychedelia. All he had was the scant information he'd encountered since possessing this body in this world, and even that was very likely incomplete.

'... It certainly could be a little dangerous.'

Whether one had information had a considerable effect on the level of risk. No matter how dangerous a place he ventured into, knowing about it would let him avoid its dangers. Conversely, even somewhere less dangerous could catch him unawares if he didn't know what to watch out for.

But...

'... Even taking that into account, it's worth a visit.'

Whether he wanted it or not, Alon had realized that he was tied to Greinif through quite a few secret matters.

"... Well, let's get ready for now."

"You're going without looking into it further?"

"I've already looked into all the information we can obtain at this point."

"That's true."

Alon had made his own attempts to gather information about Greinif. The problem was that, despite spending a considerable sum on the investigation, he'd found nothing meaningful. Sitting here and searching further would yield nothing.

"Before crossing into nonhuman territory, let's ask around once more in a nearby domain or village."

"There should be a domain called Nail."

"We can make inquiries there, then."

That was Alon's decision.

A little while later...

"My lord."

"Are the preparations finished?"

"No, it's not that—do you remember the Teal Forest Trading Company?"

"... Ah, them?"

"Yes. They seem to have just arrived. I thought it might be best to have a brief discussion before we leave. What would you like to do?"

Evan had brought fresh news.

After a moment's thought, Alon nodded.

"Let's do that. It's still early, and this is our first transaction with them."

"Yes, I'll bring them in."

With permission granted, Evan immediately turned and left. A short while later, he escorted a man into the office.

"Greetings, Marquis Pallatio."

"You are—"

"My name is Recon. Last time, I was, er... behind the caravan leader..."

"Ah, I remember."

"I'm honored."

Recon bowed deeply. He was alone.

"Where is the caravan leader, though?"

Alon's question was reasonable. Unless a trading company was enormous, its caravan leader generally came in person to meet a noble.

"My apologies. Our caravan leader was attacked by monsters and is currently receiving treatment, so he was unavoidably unable to come."

"... How unfortunate. Pay my question no mind."

"Thank you for your consideration."

Recon bowed again, and they began discussing business.

"... Will the terms remain as we discussed last time?"

"Yes. We don't intend to change them."

The terms were exceedingly favorable to Alon. He wondered whether a trading company, whose first priority was profit, could really afford that, but he didn't press the matter. Whatever the case, he had absolutely nothing to lose from this transaction.

"Then let's proceed on that basis."

"Yes, understood."

The discussion progressed smoothly. Once the contract was finally signed, a question occurred to Alon.

"By the way, where did you say the Teal Forest Trading Company usually operates?"

"In the south."

"Where do you mainly travel?"

"Hmm. We generally travel throughout the southern region. This visit is something of an exception; we've come north to expand our routes."

On the off chance, Alon asked,

"Then, just out of curiosity, do you know anything about Greinif?"

"Grei... nif, you say?"

Recon had been smiling until a moment ago. Now bewilderment spread across his face.

"Yes, but if it's difficult to discuss, you needn't tell me. I only asked on the off chance."

At Alon's addition, Recon quickly composed his expression.

"Not at all. It's just—I was a little surprised, that's all. Er... people don't usually take an interest in Greinif."

"True enough."

"But why have you suddenly asked about Greinif—?"

Alon answered calmly.

"I have business there."

"Busi... ness, you say?"

"Yes."

"Then you're coming—no, going to Greinif?"

"That's right. That's why I was curious. About precautions I should take, or the route there, for instance."

Recon looked dazed for a moment at Alon's words, then spoke cautiously.

"... Well, I do know a little. Just a very little."

"I'd appreciate any pointers, then."

An hour later, Recon had left.

"Shall we set off now, my lord?"

"Yes, I think we can."

"Oh, and I did some looking around. Apparently there's someone in Nail who spent years gathering medicinal herbs in the forest within Greinif's territory. We should be able to learn something by asking them."

Evan had brought good news, but Alon shook his head.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary."

"Pardon? Why not?"

"I've obtained some fairly useful information."

"Useful information—from... ah, that merchant?"

"Yes. He knew quite a lot."

"... Really?"

Evan looked puzzled.

Alon was equally puzzled. He had asked casually because the man mainly traveled in the south, only to hear far more than he'd expected—and information that seemed quite credible, at that.

'... I never imagined he'd even explain in detail how to enter Greinif.'

He couldn't be certain it was all one hundred percent true, but Recon had no reason to fabricate information, did he? Besides, it had been detailed and vivid...

'... Could he be an elf?'

The thought suddenly crossed his mind, but Alon soon shook his head. An elf had absolutely no reason to conceal his identity just to come and trade with him in the first place.

"Anyway, let's be off."

"Understood."

As Alon set off for Greinif with Evan, Recon—no, Perion, who had been at the marquis's estate until shortly before, could not hide his confusion.

Naturally, Marquis Pallatio was the cause.

'The primordial elf is coming to Greinif? Why? No, before that—has he discovered my identity? That shouldn't be possible...?'

His thoughts tangled wildly in an instant. Struggling to calm himself, Perion tried to list everything he didn't understand, one point at a time.

'... Pilde clearly said the primordial elf held something in his hands and wouldn't come to Greinif...?'

'No, before that, why did he ask me how to get to Greinif? Surely he must know—'

'Did he say that to avoid any involvement at all? Wait—then has he discovered my identity too?'

'Impossible. Last time, they were discovered because they were merely disguised with mana, but this time I used an elven heirloom. In fact, neither the queen nor I were discovered last time either.'

'Or—was he simply pretending not to know—?'

Unfortunately, every thought led to another. Unable to put them in order, Perion finally reached one conclusion.

That was—

'I must report this to the queen...! Before the primordial elf arrives—!'

He had to report this to the queen before the primordial elf entered Greinif.

Perion immediately broke into a run.

####

Alexion the Identifier.

"Hmm..."

No, Alexion, now the owner of the enormous auction house at the Pallatio estate.

He had been enjoying life immensely of late.

Because he was taking bribes from nobles?

Of course not. Whenever he took a bribe, Radan or that blond-haired girl under his command would appear with uncanny timing and confiscate the money. Alexion had long since given up on that avenue.

The reason he could still enjoy life was the money that rolled in even without bribes.

Yes, money.

Alexion's happiness came solely from money.

Money had made him happy when he worked in the slums of Laxas. Even when he had nothing to spend it on, earning money made him happy. Simply having money made him happy.

To him, "money = happiness."

And for a man like Alexion...

"Hehehe..."

The auction house operating at the Pallatio estate was earning so much money that the corners of his mouth practically reached the ceiling.

Of course, a certain portion of the earnings continued to be invested in improving the auction house or sent to the marquis's house. But that was fine. Even after those payments, what remained dwarfed anything he'd earned by working hard in the slums.

He simply couldn't help laugh...

"Hey there. Good to see you."

"... Lord... Radan?"

... Actually, he could.

At the Demon's sudden appearance, Alexion barely managed to suppress a hiccup.

"Er, I was certain... you left yesterday—"

"Oh, I did. I should've taken care of something Big Brother asked me to do before leaving, but I completely forgot and just left."

"Hahaha... I... see."

"So, still living off bribes these days?"

In less than a second, Alexion shook his head more than five times and hastily shouted,

"Of course not! Truly, I haven't taken a single bribe since then."

"Really?"

"I swear it by the heavens."

Alexion looked utterly above reproach.

"Oh..."

Radan chuckled as though seeing him in a new light and gave his shoulder a tap.

"Really? Then you're fairly trustworthy, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm trustwor—"

"Then you can manage Big Brother's domain in his place."

"... Pardon?"

He had issued a special assignment.

"Didn't you hear me?"

"No, no, no! I-I heard you, but—"

He had heard all too well. How could he not? The words that had just left Radan's mouth effectively spelled the end of Alexion's happy life.

"Er, you mean... acting lord?"

"That's right. It's nothing much. Just handle the paperwork. Summarize the important stuff and leave it."

A tremendous crisis.

Alexion's eyes darted about.

Acting lord. The words alone sounded wonderful. And it really was a fairly good position. Once appointed acting lord, he could reign like a king in the lord's absence and help himself to delicious bribes.

But that was only possible in a domain with no power.

What if that domain belonged to House Pallatio?

'I'm in deep trouble...!'

He wouldn't be able to enjoy a single privilege of being acting lord. If he took bribes, Radan would try to kill him. If he threw his weight around, Radan would come. If he pulled any tricks, Radan would come.

Everywhere.

Radan, Radan, Radan...!

No, even if Radan didn't come, that blond-haired girl would show up and—

'Ugh...!'

The mere thought was horrifying.

In short, being acting lord of House Pallatio meant responsibility without pleasure—and, unlike his current position, a murderous workload.

And that wasn't all. One wrong step could send his head flying clean off...

Which was why...

"Er—what I mean is—I, well, that sort of thing is a little—"

"You can do it, right?"

"An acting lord isn't someone you can just appoint on a whim like—"

"You can do it, right?"

"Er, Lord Radan? As you know, I'm a thoroughly rotten bastard who grew up in the slums and lived like trash—"

"You. Can. Do. It. Right?"

HIC!

This time, he couldn't suppress the hiccup. Radan's smiling face as he looked at him said it unmistakably:

'You know just how much I hate saying things twice, don't you?'

Radan's fingers twitched as though ready to lop off his head at any moment.

And so...

"... I'll... give it a try."

"Yeah? Good choice."

In the end, Alexion nodded.

'You fucking piece of shit—'

A lament tinged with tears began to rise in Alexion's heart—

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"You just cursed at me, didn't you?"

"N-no? I didn't?"

"... Really? I had that feeling. All right."

"..."

Before it could even fully ring out, it quietly faded away.

... It was late summer.