Chapter 69 - Is This Really Okay...? (2)

Milanon, a noble of Coloni and a son of the comital House Filmaria, could not make sense of the situation.

Not a single part of it.

For starters, he did not understand why Seollang, Coloni’s foremost Baba Yaga, had wrecked all his private soldiers and seized his head as though she meant to burst it, simply because he had sneered at a noble walking around with a clueless expression.

Nor did he understand why Yutia Bloodia had suddenly emerged from her carriage and taken that noble’s hand. She was, after all, one of the cardinals of the Holy Kingdom of Rosario, and reputedly the most powerful of them these days.

Everything about the situation baffled him.

But then...

"... Isn’t that Count Pallatio?"

"Looks like him."

"He’s with the Baba Yaga, so I think it must be."

Only when he heard the citizens quietly whispering did Milanon finally realize why Seollang had grabbed his head.

The rumor that Seollang followed Count Pallatio, a noble of the Kingdom of Asteria, and called him Mentor had spread quite widely over the past year.

Yet one thing still made no sense.

'Teacher? She called him Teacher...?'

He, too, had heard the rumors about Count Pallatio. He knew that Seollang, the foremost Baba Yaga, called him Mentor, and that Deus Makalian, the foremost of the Master Knights of Callivan, the land of knights, called him his benefactor.

He even knew that the count was exceptionally close to one of the labyrinth city’s high councilors.

But...

'He was close to a cardinal of the Holy Kingdom, too...?'

He stared blankly at Alon and Yutia.

Unlike the expressionless Alon, Yutia, standing opposite him, radiated affection—so much affection that even if Milanon really had been treated unjustly, she would never take his side.

'Just who is he...?'

As astonished curiosity took hold of Milanon...

"Seollang, stop."

Alon’s voice finally secured his release.

"Urgh—"

Milanon clutched his head, which hurt as though it would split open. Alon stepped up to him.

"Are you all right? My apologies."

It was a straightforward apology.

Milanon instinctively opened his mouth to respond. Of course, he knew that sneering at Count Pallatio was no way to treat a fellow noble, but the response had undeniably been excessive. There were even plenty of witnesses around.

... Granted, no one thought well of Milanon, since he had used his private soldiers to cordon off the area so he alone could watch in comfort. In fact, many found Seollang’s actions gratifying.

"Even so—"

At any rate, Alon’s apology had given Milanon some grounds to complain. He tried to say something, but soon had no choice but to shut his mouth.

"..."

"..."

Seollang and Yutia were standing behind Count Pallatio, staring straight at him. Their golden and red eyes gleamed as though they would not miss a single thing he did.

Unblinkingly.

And so...

"... It’s... nothing."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. Q-quite all right... Perfectly all right...!"

After vehemently waving away his concern, Milanon promptly vanished as though fleeing the scene.

####

Once the noble—whose identity Alon did not even know—had fled, Alon put aside his surprise at the unexpected reunion and moved to Seollang’s guild to escape the public gaze.

Only then could he talk to Yutia at ease.

"You came to Coloni on a brief errand?"

"Yes. So I won’t be staying very long."

Alon nodded at Yutia’s radiant smile, studying her with renewed wonder. It was such a kind smile that she might truly deserve to be called a saintess.

That image felt strangely at odds with what he had imagined.

'... I suppose it feels so unfamiliar because I only saw her as a Sin in Psychedelia.'

He realized anew that although they had exchanged letters often, this was his first time seeing her in person.

'Still, she’s grown up well.'

Once again, he felt proud. Perhaps because her destructive image as one of the Five Great Sins was etched so clearly into his mind, the pride he felt for Yutia was different from what he felt for the others.

Looking around, Alon asked,

"By the way."

"Yes, what is it, Teacher?"

"... Do you two not get along very well?"

Seollang, who was usually all smiles, had looked terribly tense ever since Yutia arrived.

Yutia answered without losing her smile.

"Of course we do. Seollang and I get along very well. Don’t we?"

"We do."

Seollang nodded. Yet there was something peculiar between them that made it difficult to call them close.

Alon tilted his head for a moment, then shrugged. Since they said they were close, it would be odd to pry any further.

Then Seollang asked,

"Mentor, you’ll think about it in two years, right?"

Alon looked bewildered at the question out of nowhere, then realized she meant the marriage registration form and gave an evasive answer.

"... Hmm. I’ll give it some thought when the time comes."

"Give what some thought?"

"Oh, well, earlier—"

Alon wondered how to explain it to the curious Yutia, but before he could get the words out, Seollang declared with a triumphant expression,

"Mentor said he’d seriously consider marrying me in two years!"

Alon involuntarily let out an "Ah."

"... What?"

At Yutia’s utterly astonished question, Seollang grew even more smug, as though she had never been sulky at all.

Yutia stared blankly at her, mulling over those words.

"Pfft—"

"?"

Then she suddenly snorted with laughter and turned to Alon, looking perfectly composed.

"There’s no need to explain, Teacher. Seollang probably asked for something so unreasonable that you had no choice but to answer that way, right?"

Alon smiled inwardly despite himself. She seemed so mature, grasping everything without his even explaining the circumstances. Anyone would have thought she was the very model of a wonderful older sister.

Just as he was about to nod in satisfaction...

"Yes, that must be it. Seollang is a little childish, so you had no choice but to soothe her, because she would be terribly sad if you refused, so you had no choice but to say two years to reassure her because you had no choice, right? I know you had no choice and did it for Seollang’s sake, Teacher. Lying is wrong, but there are lies in this world that you have no choice but to tell. No. Choice. At. All."

"...??"

Question marks all but appeared above Alon’s head as Yutia rattled off that increasingly incoherent speech in a single breath, her smile unchanged.

Leaving the now-frozen Alon alone, she turned her gaze to Seollang.

"Now, Seollang, you understand, don’t you? You mustn’t put Teacher in such a difficult position. And as I told you before, you’re too young to marry, aren’t you?"

"I didn’t put him in a difficult position! Besides, the deputy guildmaster told me a five-year age gap was just right!"

"I said no, Seollang. You mustn’t make things difficult for Teacher."

Yutia spoke with a smile. Seollang made a frustrated, growling face, then shouted,

"You’re the one who can’t, Yutia! You’re old!"

"... What do you mean by that, Seollang? I’m only two years older than you."

Yutia still wore her smile.

But then...

"Rine told me. Your estimated age is a thous—"

Just as Seollang was about to finish...

BANG! CRASH!

Seollang went straight through the floor and disappeared into the story below.

"?"

Alon stared blankly at the sudden turn of events.

Yutia stared at the spot where Seollang had been with a somewhat fierce expression. Then, apparently remembering Alon’s presence, she restored her kindly smile.

"... This building is rather flimsy, isn’t it?"

It was a lie that would never work.

"The building is... flimsy?"

"Yes."

"... Really?"

"Really. It suddenly collapsed, didn’t it?"

She insisted repeatedly, as though she absolutely refused to admit that she had slammed Seollang into the floor below.

"... I see."

Alon had no choice but to nod. Remembering once again that she had been one of the Five Great Sins, he thought,

'So a woman’s age really is taboo... Still, a thous... A thousand... I didn’t think it would be that much.'

He filed away this new information he had not particularly wanted to know.

"I’ll go fetch Seollang first."

A few minutes after those final words, Seollang returned and sat down with stiff, jerky movements, like a puppet controlled by a puppeteer. Watching her, Alon once again understood what an absolute taboo that subject was.

About thirty minutes later, after chatting with Yutia following her return with Seollang, Alon heard her say,

"I think it’s about time I went, Teacher."

He nodded.

"Of course. You did say you had business here."

"Yes. I’ll probably be here for about three weeks, too, so I’ll visit often while you’re staying here."

"All right."

Yutia gave him a small smile and was about to turn away when she clapped her hands, as though suddenly remembering something.

"Oh, and you said earlier that you were going to compete in the colosseum, didn’t you?"

He had indeed mentioned that during their conversation.

"Yes. As I said, there’s something I want from the royal treasury."

"Sparrow’s Staff, was it?"

"Yes."

"Hmm—"

Yutia nodded slightly, then smiled as though she understood.

"Then I’ll come see you again soon."

She left. Not long afterward, Alon watched the white carriage head toward Coloni’s royal castle. Beside him, Seollang let out a deep sigh, apparently relieved at last.

'Well, I should start getting ready, too.'

####

The next day, after spending the night at Seollang’s guild, Alon went straight to the colosseum to register as a gladiator. Thanks to Seollang’s help, the registration, which took about a week on average, was completed in just one hour.

'An F-rank gladiator token. This is where it begins.'

Gripping the F-rank token issued to every gladiator upon first registering, Alon steeled his resolve.

Two days later...

WAAAAAAH!!!!

Alon entered the colosseum arena for his first match.

"... Whew."

He let out a shallow sigh and looked around.

The stands above the arena were packed with spectators, without a single empty seat. Around a hundred gladiators stood in the arena with him.

His first match was not a duel but a battle royale, and the victory condition was simple.

Be the last gladiator standing.

There were no other conditions. The rules focused entirely on survival.

Alon would actually have preferred a duel, but his reason for choosing a battle royale was simple: winning would promote him straight from F rank to D rank.

From D rank onward, gladiators had the right to challenge someone one rank above them and exchange ranks. His aim was to skip quickly past the lowest ranks.

Alon surveyed his surroundings.

'There’s one way to enter Coloni’s royal treasury and take a treasure out: become an A-rank gladiator.'

Of course, becoming a Baba Yaga would grant him access to the Treasure Vault, which held Coloni’s national treasures, but he did not need to go that far. Both the item he had originally wanted and Sparrow’s Staff were in the treasury accessible to A-rank gladiators.

'... This won’t be smooth sailing.'

He looked around expressionlessly.

The many gladiators in his field of view were all staring at him, gripping their respective weapons, as though they had agreed to do so beforehand.

Some looked tense. Others looked serious or openly mocking. Still others cautiously assessed the situation. Their emotions varied, but everyone in the arena was preparing to turn their weapons on him.

"..."

Of course, he had anticipated this.

They might be F-rank gladiators, but none of them were here merely to fill out the roster. Every one had entered the battle royale for a chance to turn their fortunes around—to trample the others and claim a D-rank token in place of their F-rank one.

To them, Alon was plainly the first target they needed to eliminate. Rumors had already spread that he had repelled Outer Gods time and again and been instrumental in fighting a Baba Yaga.

In short, since they needed to win, it was only natural that they would seek to remove him.

["Now, then, we will begin the gladiators’ match—"]

At the announcer’s voice, most of the gladiators...

["—right noooow!!!"]]

...charged Alon as though they had been waiting for this moment.

The situation was poised to explode.

The crowd’s frenzied cheers rang out, and the gladiators’ battle cries battered Alon’s ears.

Then, just as the first gladiator to reach him was about to bring an axe down on his head—

Alon’s fingers, fitted with an ink-black nail guard, moved slightly.

CRACKLE!

Bitter Cold descended upon the arena.

"!!!"

The charging gladiator’s axe froze in place.

"Ice Crystal."

As Alon formed a seal, walls of ice began rising around him.