Chapter 17 - The Blue Magic Tower (3)

It was fair to say that Alon had already accomplished everything he wanted at the Blue Magic Tower. His sole objective had been to obtain the relic from the Time Gate in its basement, so he decided to leave immediately.

There was no reason to stay, and Penia, who plainly disliked him, might pick a fight for no reason. Of course, he knew she was not that irrational, but there was always the possibility.

That was certainly what he had thought when he secretly breathed a sigh of relief just after closing the Time Gate.

... What he had thought, anyway.

"What is this...?"

"A potion I made."

Alon glanced at her as she forced her sharp eyes into a smile, then picked up a potion bottle from the desk. The deep-blue liquid glowed white at the slightest shake.

'... This is a mana restoration potion. An extremely expensive one, too...'

Mana potions in this world took effect gradually when consumed, rather than instantly as they did in other games. Strictly speaking, then, they ought to be called "mana recovery enhancement potions" rather than "mana restoration potions."

Of all those mana potions, however, the five bottles Penia had placed before Alon were the only kind here truly worthy of the name "mana restoration potion." The highest-grade potion in his hand could replenish at least a little mana instantly just by drinking it.

Naturally, in a world where potions that merely enhanced recovery were called mana restoration potions, these commanded an astronomical price. Alon had once looked into buying some because only being able to cast magic once a day was inconvenient, and the price had nearly made him clutch the back of his neck.

'I'm pretty sure two bottles cost as much as a small vacation home...'

After studying the potion for a long while, he turned to Penia. Anxiety lurked beneath her awkward smile, and she spoke the moment he looked at her.

"Do you... like them?"

"... I can see these are high-grade potions, but why are you showing them to me?"

"They're a gift for you."

"You're giving me these potions?"

"Yes."

"...?"

A question mark appeared in Alon's mind.

To be fair, he could understand to some extent why her attitude had changed the moment he closed the Time Gate, when before that she had been practically itching to devour him. At a time when no method of closing a Time Gate was known, she might feel gratitude or a little awe toward the person who had closed it for her.

But to his eyes, none of Penia's gestures or expressions came from either "gratitude" or "awe."

'Has she misunderstood, like that mage who came with Lady Xenonia last time?'

With that thought, Alon spoke.

"... Let me make this clear beforehand. I am a second-tier mage."

"Yes, I know. Of course. You're a second-tier mage."

He had spoken in case she was mistaken, but when Penia nodded as though she had been waiting for him to say it, it was his turn to look confused. Watching her nod again and again as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, he briefly wondered whether she was mocking him.

Yet her expression showed no sign of joking. In short, Penia apparently was not mistaken about that, which only left Alon more confused.

"I'll keep what I saw earlier absolutely secret. I promise I won't breathe a word."

Alon answered her renewed assurance.

"There's no need to make that kind of prom—"

"No, please! Let me promise. I want to! Shall I even swear a mana oath? I'll do it right here!"

"No, wai—"

Before Alon could finish speaking, Penia drew up her mana in an instant. Power so intense it made his heart drop spread through the office, and before he could say anything, she swore a mana oath.

'She's going this far just to keep one method of closing a Time Gate secret? Granted, Time Gates are still a mystery to them at this point...'

Although his face remained utterly expressionless, inwardly Alon was thoroughly incredulous. He could tell that she had definitely misunderstood something, but...

"You saw that, didn't you? I keep my promises. I'll keep it absolutely secret. Truly...!"

"... Very well."

Faced with Penia's desperate expression as she spoke immediately after completing the oath, Alon could only give a composed nod in the end.

... There was no sign whatsoever that he could clear up her misunderstanding.

And so Alon acquired five bottles of mana restoration potion from the Blue Magic Tower, along with the relic he had wanted.

####

In the carriage returning from the Blue Magic Tower to his family's estate, Alon's gaze naturally fell to the bracelet on his wrist. He had taken it with Penia's permission after closing the Time Gate. It was the very item he had sought on this trip.

'The Bracelet of the Unclean.'

The bracelet's design was hardly sophisticated. If he had to compare it to something, it resembled a cheap bracelet sold for less than ten thousand won. Its only slightly unusual feature was the black gemstones set at intervals along it, which looked as though they might absorb all light. Nothing else about it stood out.

Despite that crude, unremarkable appearance, however, the bracelet had an ability that could amply compensate for his small mana reservoir.

"..."

Alon turned his wrist slightly to inspect the black gemstones. It was invisible at first glance, but on closer inspection, a very faint blue energy rippled between them.

'It's working properly.'

The Bracelet of the Unclean absorbed mana from the atmosphere and stored it for use when needed. Of course, its storage capacity was limited, and that limited amount was not particularly large. Absurdly enough, though, it was still larger than Alon's own mana reservoir.

"..."

For a moment, he felt a peculiar wave of deflated clarity at the reminder that his body could hold less mana than an item from Psychedelia meant merely to assist a mage.

"Whew."

He calmly settled his mind and thought,

'This much is enough. It's not as though I'll be fighting.'

His only reasons for seeking out this Imprint of the Unclean were to study magic more efficiently and to protect himself in the event of an unforeseen crisis. Viewed in that light, the amount of mana the Imprint of the Unclean provided was more than enough, or at least sufficient—not inadequate.

Of course, more would be much better than less.

'I think there were phrases that forcibly adjusted a spell's power to reduce mana consumption. I'll have to look into those.'

Ending his inner monologue there, Alon put his thoughts aside with a lighter heart and looked out of the carriage.

As he looked outside, he suddenly recalled Penia bowing respectfully before him right up until he boarded the carriage.

'What on earth was that about?'

Alon thought back over Penia's bizarre behavior(?) since he had closed the Time Gate, then shrugged. He would have no further business with her anyway.

For a while, he watched the forest sway, its soft green suffused with gentle sunlight.

It was a warm spring.

####

Meanwhile, as Alon was returning to House Pallatio, two women sat facing each other in House Altia's office.

One was Loria, the mistress of the ducal house. Having now fully absorbed House Altia's power, she had inherited all the strength of the previous duke's house in both name and reality.

The girl sitting opposite her was Kalia, the young lady of House Xenonia—or, more precisely, its de facto ruler.

"It's been a while."

"It has."

The two exchanged easy greetings, dispensing with formalities.

Ordinarily, this would have been unthinkable. Loria Altia had already inherited her noble title and become a duchess, whereas Kalia belonged to a count's house and had not even inherited its title yet, remaining merely its young lady.

Yet Loria, who ought to have looked displeased at not receiving the deference due her, remained perfectly calm.

That was partly because she knew Kalia effectively held complete authority over the count's house, and partly because Count Xenonia's name carried somewhat more weight in the underworld than House Altia's.

Above all, however, Loria tolerated Kalia's informal manner because they already followed the same person: Count Pallatio. In other words, they had no need to fight over precedence.

Whether they wanted to or not, they had already been obliged to establish an alliance at Count Pallatio's command, without even knowing why they were supposed to do so. Of course, they had only been able to interpret "Go meet the Duchess of Altia" as an instruction to form an alliance after meeting, talking, and discovering that they both served under Count Pallatio.

In any event, they knew how meaningless it was to determine the hierarchy below an absolute, unchallengeable leader once that position had been settled.

"What brings you here today? Our meeting isn't until next month."

In response to Loria's question, Kalia carefully took a letter from inside her clothing and placed it on the desk.

"I came because he sent me a letter."

"... This one?"

"Yes."

At Kalia's nod, Loria picked up the letter to check its contents.

"..."

The contents reflected in Kalia's eyes as she silently read through the letter were hardly those of a secret document. It took the form of an almost excessively ordinary letter.

After a brief greeting, it discussed noble houses. Citing several houses as examples, it made the point that "some nobles have complained to me before," then concluded with "there aren't many nobles I get along with."

Alon had indeed sent it about a month earlier. Troubled by having treated Kalia somewhat brusquely, he had simply written what he considered a reasonable excuse.

His intended meaning could probably be summed up as: "I don't only act like that toward you. I'm a little curt when I talk to other nobles too. You're not the only one I've grumbled at."

In fact, if an ordinary noble had received such treatment from Alon and then gotten this letter, they would likely have inferred something very close to his actual intention.

There were, however, three things Alon had failed to consider.

First, the people receiving and examining this letter were major figures in the underworld. Second, they regarded Count Pallatio as an unrivaled leader they could never oppose. And third, because of that second point, they naturally assumed this everyday letter contained some sort of command.

And so, with the extraordinary quickness of mind befitting a leading underworld figure, Kalia immediately began piecing together a puzzle that could not possibly exist.

"Baron Kenia belongs to the aristocratic faction... and Marquis Malantino is one of the royalist faction's key figures."

"Viscount Villanda is a royalist. Likewise, Duke Paldion is a key figure in the aristocratic faction."

They began classifying the houses Alon had listed as he recalled the nobles he had met and spoken to at the ball. Before long, the pieces started coming together—

"... In short, he dislikes both the aristocratic faction and the royalist faction, so..."

Kill them all? The thought crossed both their minds, and they shook their heads as though by prior agreement. That would be beyond reason.

Thus, the alternative that naturally occurred to them was:

"He intends to push out the existing nobles and establish a new regime?"

At those words, both fell silent.

Ordinarily, such a thing would be impossible. Changing an already established system was not something one or two nobles could achieve simply by joining forces.

But if those two were the women who weighed and manipulated those nobles on the political stage as naturally as breathing, it was an entirely different story. Various preparations would be required, and it would take time, but in short, the answer was: it could be done.

"Ah—"

Loria let out a quiet exclamation. In truth, until now, she had been unable to guess what Alon was after, and thus had not understood why he had made her a duchess. But if this was truly his objective, the reason was unmistakably clear.

As she had suspected, what he was attempting now absolutely required House Altia's formidable reputation. And with an alliance with House Xenonia, which could be called the dominant power in the west, she was certain the scales would tip decisively toward success rather than failure.

"... I think that must be it."

Having grasped the count's hidden intention, Loria trembled with a thrill.

And so, late that afternoon, as the sun sank and the sunset faded, they began drawing up plans without even turning on the magical lamps.

... A strange puzzle had come together and begun moving of its own accord.

And at that very moment, Alon was...

"Hmm..."

...eating a sweet potato in a forest where the sun had set early and the temperature was falling.

"... Delicious."

Utterly oblivious to it all, he took a bite of his sweet potato, and his modest observation drifted into the forest.