Chapter 32 - What Is a Duel Meant to Protect? (4)

A little over two weeks later, they arrived in Kirdam, the capital of Callivan. The wounded had slowed their progress more than expected, but the citizens welcomed them with enthusiastic cheers.

Everywhere they looked, people were beaming, cheering with overflowing pride.

Led by Deus, the knights and soldiers entered the royal palace amid the people's cheers. Their report of the Outer God's defeat brought the expedition to a close.

As for Alon...

"It's about time I left."

He prepared to depart again without hesitation.

After all, from his perspective, there had been no reason to remain in Callivan once the Outer God disappeared.

'And I've received plenty of gifts.'

He glanced at the carriage with satisfaction. It was loaded with gifts from Callivan's king, who had quickly recognized the opportunity to establish friendly relations after hearing the report.

Privately pleased with the somewhat excessive gifts despite his impassive face, Alon turned to Deus.

"Well, I'll see you again sometime."

It was the sort of perfunctory Korean farewell that meant, Let's get a meal sometime. Alon was about to turn away when Deus spoke.

"May I ask you something?"

For the first time ever, Deus had suddenly posed a question. Alon stopped mid-turn.

"What is it?"

About a month had passed since he met Deus. From their departure for the north to their return to the capital, Deus had never asked any meaningful questions, merely expressing his increasingly violent respect. Alon waited quietly.

After a brief silence, Deus spoke.

"Can I become strong, too?"

The question seemed rather out of the blue, leaving Alon puzzled. Deus was already strong enough.

Wondering what he meant, Alon reached his own conclusion.

'... The spell I used against the Outer God certainly made quite an impression. So that was why he was showing me more respect.'

Having worked that out to his own satisfaction, Alon answered.

"Of course you can become strong."

"... I... can?"

"Yes. If you put in the effort, you can become strong enough to achieve what you want."

"Really?"

"...? Yes, really."

Deus's eyes widened as he asked again, and the answer came in bewilderment.

Alon was not lying. Deus—no, all of the Five Great Sins, including Deus—had possessed ridiculously powerful unique abilities even before the descent of the gods.

'... Deus can become a Swordmaster through swordsmanship alone, without even using his unique ability. If he's come this far in just one year, becoming stronger is only a matter of time.'

Laying it out like that made him realize anew what a blessed, extraordinarily talented person stood before him, leaving a faintly bitter taste.

If only he had been reincarnated in a more talented body. Putting that fleeting thought aside, Alon spoke.

"So don't worry."

"Understood."

"I'll be off, then."

"... Wait. May I ask one more question?"

"... What is it?"

As Alon halted awkwardly halfway through turning away, Deus spoke.

"... May I ask why you always make requests rather than give orders?"

"...?"

Puzzled behind his expressionless face, Alon briefly wondered what on earth Deus meant before roughly piecing together the situation.

'Does he think all the support I've given him came with ulterior motives?'

Of course, he did intend to prevent the Five Great Sins from descending. But apart from that, the reason he had supported them with his precious money and gifts all this time was pure goodwill.

... The matter of the Five Great Sins was involved, certainly, but it was goodwill nonetheless.

Feeling that Deus's interpretation had somewhat undermined his sincerity, Alon felt a little wronged.

"Who gives orders to their family?"

With those words, intended to make Deus recognize his sincerity(?), Alon said his final farewell, boarded the carriage, and departed for Asteria.

####

That night, Deus sat silently in his mansion's study, gazing vacantly at the moon in the sky.

"Whew..."

A soft sigh escaped him. It was not because of the work piled on his desk or the tasks ahead of him, but because this expedition had made him realize his own ignorance.

"..."

Until now, Deus had believed he was strong enough. The unique ability he had inherited by birth was powerful enough to earn even Yutia's highest praise.

Moreover, his talent for the sword—which he had taken up in accordance with the Great Moon's will—surpassed even Reinhardt, Callivan's greatest First Sword. Deus knew that himself.

No, he could hardly have failed to know it. The countless expressions of awe and praise he had received while rising to become a Master Knight faster than anyone else had made that impossible.

And so he had vaguely assumed that his present strength was surely enough to take revenge on the "black ones."

Even if it fell a little short, his talent for the sword would surely take him the rest of the way.

That was what he had believed—until he met the Outer God.

"..."

The Outer God's existence—no, its strength—had shocked Deus. Merely standing there, it choked people with dread, making him painfully aware that he was a frog in a well.

And that realization struck him even harder when he saw the Great Moon.

"... Whew."

Unbidden, the memory returned: the Great Moon casting magic at the Outer God with the sunset at his back.

And the two eyes behind him.

"..."

Naturally, Deus had no idea what they were. All he could discern was that the two eyes belonged to entirely different beings, and that the Great Moon was using their power.

Yet, quite apart from that, he had instinctively understood one thing upon seeing them: those things were not to be perceived at all. Even trying to learn about them was forbidden.

Though it was his first time seeing them, that knowledge lodged in his mind as something self-evident.

Like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

Like every living thing dying after being born.

The understanding that he must not seek to know them had arisen just as naturally.

"..."

At that thought, Deus suddenly felt ashamed. Unlike Penia, who could only be understood as already knowing Alon's strength, he had failed to notice the Great Moon's power at all.

In fact, he had thought the Great Moon was weak. Through his eyes, he could sense only a little mana from him.

But that had merely been Deus's ignorance. While Deus had frozen, unable to offer any resistance to the Outer God, the Great Moon had stood before it as though it were the most natural thing in the world, fought it, and ultimately made it disappear.

Deus had followed the Great Moon claiming he would repay his kindness. Yet instead of repaying anything, he had merely received another favor.

Once again.

'I can't go on like this.'

It was the same thought he had kept returning to since they began the journey back to Callivan after dealing with the Outer God. Yet despite revisiting it dozens of times, he had never managed to move beyond it.

Because of doubt.

Doubt in himself.

After seeing the Outer God, and seeing the Great Moon—now not merely a benefactor whose kindness he owed, but someone he truly respected—Deus had begun to doubt whether he could ever reach those heights.

He knew his talent was extraordinary. Even so, the strength the Outer God and the Great Moon had displayed was enough to crush that talent into insignificance.

Thus, until today, he had remained unsure of himself, repeating the same question over and over.

But today, he had finally put an end to the doubts that had troubled him for weeks.

["Of course you can become strong."]

["Yes. If you put in the effort, you can become strong enough to achieve what you want."]

["Yes, really."]

He recalled what Alon had said that day. The Great Moon's voice had held no emotion, but neither had it held any hesitation as he answered at once.

Deus had the talent to become strong enough to kill the black ones.

If he worked hard, he could reach that height.

Those words, uttered by Alon without the slightest hesitation, were enough to give Deus a certainty unlike any he had ever known.

'I must become stronger.'

Deus clenched his fist.

'Stronger.'

For the first time, his stalled thoughts moved forward.

'To take revenge on the black ones—'

With certainty, vague thoughts developed into concrete ones. In an instant, those concrete thoughts followed one another, branching into dozens of possibilities.

And so the frog in the well, having gained the confidence to venture into the wider world for the first time, began preparing.

'—and become strong enough to be his sword.'

With this new reason as his motivation.

'Family...'

With the Great Moon's final acknowledgment as his talisman, warming his heart merely to think of it, he began truly preparing to move forward.

"..."

Blue moonlight shone upon Deus as he sat in the dark study.

A little while later...

"..."

Still silent, Deus suddenly recalled that moment and raised his left hand, extending it before him.

'He definitely did it like this.'

Holding his middle and ring fingers together, he stretched out his hand just as Alon had when facing the Outer God. Then he briefly spread his mana to check whether anyone was nearby.

"... Line of Silence."

He murmured quietly in the empty room.

His left hand twitched.

... Naturally, nothing happened.

Having imitated Alon's display all alone in the empty room, Deus settled back into his seat, his expression mixing faint embarrassment with satisfaction.

A fleeting thought crossed his mind: if only he had a talent for magic like that man.

.

.

.

Meanwhile...

"My lord."

"What is it?"

"I've noticed you really like sweet potatoes."

"Because they're delicious."

Alon answered Evan as he roasted and ate sweet potatoes beside the campfire.

"... Mmm."

The sweet potatoes were truly delicious.

####

About a month later, late at night, Alon finally arrived at House Pallatio.

'That was exhausting.'

By his reckoning, he had returned after roughly three months, prompting that quiet reflection.

Nothing much had happened on the journey back from Callivan. The only real nuisance was Evan, who could not contain his curiosity about Alon's power and kept asking questions every other day.

The only other noteworthy development was that rumors had begun circulating among the kingdoms that Count Pallatio had made a major contribution to defeating the Outer God in Callivan.

In any case, having finished what had been a rather long journey, Alon intended to rest first.

He had been so focused on returning from Callivan to his estate that he had not given it proper attention yet, but he needed to visit Coloni, and several matters now required investigation.

Just off the top of his head, he needed to look into the black one and the blue one, why the Outer God had appeared, and why Ultultus had a true name.

In other words, he had a great deal to do.

Even so, he chose to rest.

After all, his goal from the outset had been to relax and enjoy the life of a noble. He did enjoy studying magic, but his aim was self-preservation rather than accomplishing anything grand.

In short, all this effort was ultimately for the sake of a comfortable life. Alon concluded that, after everything he had endured, rewarding himself with a rest—even a short one—was only appropriate.

Planning to spend roughly a week doing nothing, he settled into his study after arriving at the estate, intending to quickly clear the accumulated work within a day.

Then he opened one of Yutia's letters, which had piled up unread and unanswered during his absence.

"... Huh?"

A dazed sound escaped him.

For the letter contained...

"Evan."

"Yes?"

"How high a position is a cardinal in Rosario?"

"... A cardinal...? Well, when you get down to it, they're essentially one rank below the pope or a saint, aren't they? Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"... It says Yutia has become a cardinal."

"... What???"

The letter said that Yutia had become a cardinal of the Holy Kingdom of Rosario.