Chapter 114 - What's Wrong with You...? (1)

"... We've lost contact with the test subjects?"

"... Yes."

In Duke Comalon's office, he calmly questioned the dark elf about his report.

"... What was their last report before contact was lost?"

"Their last report stated that they had located Marquis Pallatio."

"They couldn't even gauge his abilities?"

"My apologies."

The dark elf bowed his head low. Duke Comalon knew full well that the man before him was not to blame for this, but...

"... Hmm."

He suddenly recalled what the man clad in a black holy shroud had said—the warning to beware of Marquis Pallatio.

"..."

Comalon remained silent for a while, the dark elf still bowing before him, before finally breaking the silence.

"Well, never mind. I was only trying to assess his strength using men who had little time left to live anyway."

"... Will that be all right?"

"Our goal is not to eliminate Marquis Pallatio. We tried to dispose of him because he kept obstructing our greater cause. But—we cannot let the tail wag the dog. We must not abandon our greater cause to eliminate him. Losing the Shadow Dragon's Egg has delayed our cause, but that does not mean our plan has fallen apart."

"I will keep that in mind."

They could not afford any further delays over an irritating thorn in their side.

"How long until the ball?"

"Two weeks remain."

"Have the organizations begin preparing for transformation into Outer Gods. Time it for the ball in two weeks."

"As you command."

The dark elf bowed deeply once more and vanished. Left alone in his office, Comalon murmured to himself.

"Our cause must be fulfilled. Whatever it takes—"

"It must succeed. Because that is—"

He reaffirmed his resolve as though reciting an incantation.

"—the only way I can save this world."

His voice was very quiet, barely more than a breath.

When he raised his eyes again, unmistakable madness glimmered within them.

####

Alon returned to the Pallatio estate about a week later. His most important task upon arriving was to rest. Of course, he did not neglect his study of magic even then, but after months of frantic travel, the chance to relax at his manor was truly sweet.

Still, he had not been able to spend the entire week simply enjoying himself.

"... This is going to be tougher than I thought."

"Indeed."

At some point, Evan had started helping with Alon's work as well. Alon nodded at his assessment. The two of them were examining a document detailing the current state of House Pallatio's territory.

"... Our finances aren't bad, but they aren't good, either."

"Exactly."

The territory's current finances were mediocre. No, strictly speaking, they were closer to poor.

"Well, isn't that to be expected? Our territory doesn't really have any way to make money. Even when it was thriving, that was thanks to underworld money. Isn't it still the same now, really?"

"What do you mean?"

"The money coming in from the faction is essentially covering the deficit."

Evan pointed to a spot on the document.

"That is true."

Alon felt deeply troubled inside. The house's own funds were barely keeping the entire territory's books balanced. Unlike the territory's mediocre condition, House Pallatio itself was quite wealthy, thanks to the many treasures he had received as rewards during his travels.

But those were not a steady source of income.

'... I think I need to establish some sort of reliable revenue stream.'

He realized he would have to put his mind to it. Even if the house's finances were sound now, without regular income, its resources were finite and would eventually run dry.

'Should I capitalize on the money coming in now and develop a local specialty or something?'

After pondering for a while, Alon closed the thick sheaf of documents and asked, "Didn't our territory have any local specialties?"

"Local specialties?"

"Yes."

"... Drugs?"

Why were those coming up here...?

"... Where did that come from?"

"Well, drugs used to be the house's specialty."

"It was that bad...?"

"There wasn't anything else...?"

Alon nodded with an odd expression. Right. House Pallatio had long been one of Asteria's shadowy powers, deeply involved in the underworld.

"Isn't there anything else?"

"... I don't think so? There really isn't anything around here that could be called a local specialty."

Wasn't it a little much to have nothing at all? He mulled that over briefly.

'Let's deal with the other work first.'

He decided to handle the other tasks that had piled up while thinking about how to develop the territory.

'Come to think of it, I need to answer those letters, too.'

He began opening and reading Yutia's letters one by one. Three of them had accumulated in his absence.

The first was a casual letter checking in, with news of Rine and Seollang. The second likewise offered a friendly greeting, along with news about Radan. Thanks to Evan's regular reports, Alon already knew a little of how Radan was doing.

'He found an incredible relic... Come to think of it, I haven't heard any rumors about Radan out here lately.'

The question suddenly occurred to him, but...

'... Well, no news is good news when it comes to pirates.'

Any new developments would almost certainly amount to rumors of his bounty going up or something of the sort. Feeling a little pleased by Radan's lack of rumors(?), Alon unfolded the final letter. After confirming that it, too, was fortunately just a letter checking in, he began writing his reply.

When he finished, the letter was about a page long. But...

'... I've been sending fewer replies than the number of letters I've received lately. Maybe I should at least write a little more.'

Hoping to even things out in his own way, he continued writing a little more than usual. He included everything from his recent trip to the jungle to trivial everyday matters, such as what he might choose as the house's local specialty.

"Whew."

He inspected the three-page letter and smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

After entrusting the letter to Evan, he turned to look out the window. Unlike the jungle, humid all year round, winter seemed to be approaching Asteria. Crimson autumn leaves were falling one by one. Already, late autumn was drawing to a close.

####

Time passed. The autumn leaves disappeared, and winter arrived in earnest.

"It's about time we set out."

"For the magic symposium?"

"Yes."

As soon as Siyan secured him permission to attend the magic symposium again, Alon began preparing to leave.

During their preparations, Evan asked, "But, my lord, are we leaving already? I understand there's still quite a while before the symposium begins. We'd have plenty of time even if we took a leisurely journey starting now."

He was right, of course. But Alon's real reason for attending this symposium was to meet Heinkel.

"There's no harm in arriving early, is there?"

"Well, that's true."

Evan accepted that, then casually glanced to one side and asked, "Are we taking this black egg, too?"

The black egg sat against one wall of the office. It had not changed noticeably, though it was a little larger than before. Alon considered for a moment, then nodded.

"Let's take it."

They promptly set off for the magic symposium.

####

Alon arrived at the Central Tower, where the magic symposium would be held, about two weeks after leaving his territory.

"This place amazes me every time I see it. Even more so in the evening, I think."

"I agree."

Alon nodded as Evan gazed at the Central Tower in admiration. Indeed, with the blue moon behind it, the tower soaring seemingly endlessly into the sky looked even more majestic than it did by day. It was a sight straight out of a fantasy illustration.

'It certainly looks more impressive at night.'

Unable to take his eyes off the tower for a while, Alon finally reached it a short time later. They parked their carriage to one side and headed inside. There...

"Oh, Marquis Pallatio?"

He heard a voice calling his name with easy familiarity.

Alon gave the man a questioning look, but only briefly.

"Um, I don't know if you remember, but we met at a previous symposium. Penia—"

"Ah."

He dipped his chin slightly, searching his memory as though something had come back to him.

"... Milan, was it?"

"I'm honored that you remember my name."

"There's no need to feel honored. In any case, it's been a while."

"Yes, it has."

Even as he returned Milan's greeting, Alon looked around. There were quite a few mages present, despite the symposium not having begun yet.

"The symposium hasn't started yet, has it? There are a lot of mages here."

Understanding his curiosity, Milan explained.

"Oh, that would be because the tower masters are attending this time."

"The tower masters?"

"Yes. The masters of the Blue and Red Magic Towers are attending this symposium. I hear they'll even be giving a short lecture tomorrow."

If the tower masters were attending, it certainly made sense that so many mages had already gathered. Lectures by those of higher tiers were enormously helpful to mages.

'I'm essentially here for a lesson myself.'

Alon, too, hoped not only to ask Heinkel about the ring but also to learn whatever he could from her. He had been overcoming crises through Babylonia's phrases, Manifestation of One's True Nature, the belt of the God of Strange Powers and Untamed Spirits, and the several constraints he imposed on himself. Strictly speaking, however, he was only now at the level of a fourth-tier mage.

"Oh, by the way, congratulations."

Just then, Milan offered his congratulations out of the blue.

"... Congratulations?"

"Yes."

"What are you congratulating me for?"

When Alon asked in bewilderment, Milan smiled brightly, as though he knew everything.

"There's no need to pretend you don't know. Most mages already know all about it."

"...???"

No, he really didn't know.

Alon stared at him expressionlessly, but Milan continued smiling as he said, "I've already heard the rumors that the Blue Magic Tower's master has formally approved your relationship with the deputy tower master. Congratulations, my lord."

"... What??"

... For a fleeting moment, Alon's eyes—which had never once shown any real change of expression until now—widened slightly for the first time, as though he could not comprehend what he had heard.