An endless shantytown stretched out in front of the marquis’s estate.
Staring at the sight, Alon seriously wondered what on earth Sili had done.
But only for a moment.
After passing through the countless shacks and reaching the front gate, Alon looked at the line that went on without end and muttered,
"...Was my territory always this popular?"
"It really was popular," Evan said, looking over the long line with a hint of exhaustion. "It was already a must-stop route for merchants because of the auction house. But—"
He swallowed hard.
"...There’s never been this many. Not even close."
"...Yeah. I think so too."
"So what did Sili do—no, what did she do for there to be this many people?" Evan asked, shivering like he’d had the same thought as Alon.
"I was wondering the same thing," Penia added.
Alon glanced around.
"...It kind of feels like I’ve become some corrupt lord."
"All of a sudden?" Evan asked.
"No, I mean—inside the walls is all dazzling, but outside the walls it’s nothing but shabby tents."
"...Hmm."
Evan looked back and forth between the shantytown and the inside of the walls, then pointed at Alon’s statue.
"If you just look at it, you don’t really get that feeling, but somehow... when you look at that, it does feel a little like what you’re saying, Marquis."
"...Hmm."
Alon stared at his own statue.
...Yeah. Looking at it made the feeling even stronger.
’...Does that pose have some kind of cursed power or something?’
Alon was spacing out for only a moment, though.
After easily getting past the massive line and entering deeper into the territory, he—
"Oh, you’re here, Marquis...."
"...Alexion. Are you okay?"
"I’m alive... technically...."
He ran into Alexion, who was doing paperwork in a state of utter exhaustion.
Alon got a rough explanation of what was happening.
"So people were already slowly gathering, but starting about a month ago it exploded. That’s what you’re saying?"
"Yes."
"...Why?"
"Honestly, I don’t know the details either. But lately, rumors about your statue have been spreading."
"Rumors about the statue...."
"If you have your statue, kind Divine blood will protect you...? That sort of rumor is going around."
"That rumor is what did this...?"
Alexion answered immediately.
"I don’t think the rumor itself had some massive impact. It hasn’t even been a few weeks since it started spreading. But it probably became a trigger that pulled in even more people."
"Don’t people believe rumors way too easily...?"
"Divine blood monsters can erase a whole country like it’s nothing, can’t they?"
"...That’s true."
Alon agreed briefly, and Alexion continued.
"And like I said, the reason people are gathering right now is probably not the rumor so much as the Saintess."
"...The Saintess, you mean Sili?"
"Yes."
"So it really is...."
"You already expected it," Alexion said.
Evan and Penia nodded along as well.
"What did Sili do...?"
"I don’t know the details, either. But judging by the result, it seems she gathered Ashtalon’s refugees."
"Ashtalon’s refugees?"
"Well... it did fall, so it’s possible...," Penia said, nodding, but still tilting her head in doubt.
Alon had the same question.
’Is that... even possible...?’
Strictly speaking, it was only Ashtalon’s royal family that had been wiped out. Ashtalon’s territory itself—maybe by sheer luck, even in a world where Divine blood were crawling out—was still intact.
Which meant the king was gone, but the nobles who held each territory were still fine.
Alon hadn’t paid much attention to it, but he did know the other nations had been busily working behind the scenes to bring Ashtalon’s nobles into their own countries while they had the chance.
Ashtalon had fallen, but that didn’t mean refugees would come all the way here.
"...How did she gather them?"
The question naturally slipped out of Alon, and Alexion hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Well... as far as I know, some rather ominous rumors started circulating in Ashtalon."
"Ominous rumors...?"
"Yes. Like Divine blood would soon descend on Ashtalon, or that someone saw an unusual individual coming out of the mountains..."
"...Just from rumors like that?"
"And right after that, Divine blood actually appeared in Colony, Caliban, and a small southern kingdom called Rogatan."
"Ah."
"And that was when rumors about you spread everywhere, Marquis."
"What kind?"
"That you’re a living sage-god."
Just hearing that much, Alon could roughly tell what kind of method Sili had used to draw Ashtalon’s refugees in.
Even so, one question still wouldn’t go away.
"I get it, more or less... but even so. Is it really possible for this many refugees to come from just that?"
Alexion nodded like it was an entirely reasonable doubt.
Then, after stealing a quick look at the others, he quietly leaned forward.
"Well... actually, I thought that part was a little strange too, so I looked into it."
Evan and Penia naturally leaned in as well to listen.
And—
"...Apparently, several villages in Ashtalon were secretly destroyed."
"Huh."
"Huh."
At those words, Alon, Penia, and Evan all froze with blank expressions.
"...Don’t tell me—?" Evan asked in shock.
Penia, Alon, and Alexion carefully looked at each other.
"Wait," Alon cut in first.
"...Even so, I don’t think Sili would go that far."
A reasonable objection.
Evan and Penia were about to agree—
"Mm... even if it’s Sili...."
"That’s true. Even she wouldn’t... wouldn’t go that far...."
"...Could she...?"
The four of them stared at each other’s faces.
Regrettably, not a single one of them could say with certainty that Sili wouldn’t do it.
And just as complicated feelings about Sili brushed through Alon—
"Ah, you’re here!"
Alon turned at the sudden voice from behind.
"...Sili?"
Sili stood there with the same smile as always.
"I had some business at the marquis’s estate anyway, and I heard you’d arrived, so I came right away!"
She cheerfully greeted the group, then—
"...But why is everyone making that face?"
Seeing the group naturally take a step back from her, she looked genuinely puzzled.
Right after Sili showed up.
After hearing the rough suspicious circumstances(?) from Alexion, Sili said,
"Uh—well... even if I always do my best with what I’m given, isn’t it a little too much to think I’d go that far...?"
She puffed out her lips like she couldn’t believe it.
"Right? I knew it."
"I trusted you!"
"I did as well."
"...You really don’t look like you trusted me at all, though," Sili muttered, letting out a sigh.
"First of all, I’m telling you—this wasn’t something I intended. The Marquis hates that kind of thing, so why would I do it?"
"...Is that so?"
"Of course. I’m the Saintess."
Saying, I obviously don’t do things I hate! with her chest puffed out proudly, Sili made Evan let out a long sigh.
"Then the villages being destroyed was just a coincidence."
"Ah, I did do that."
Sili, Sili... what are you saying?
The four of them all made the exact same face.
"W-Wait... didn’t you just say you didn’t do it?"
"Right? You said you’ve never harmed anyone."
"...But the villages...?"
When Evan asked in a daze, Sili smiled.
"Ah~ those were empty villages."
"Empty villages?"
"Yes, they were empty. You don’t have to worry about ‘What if there were people still living there?’ I checked, over and over."
"Were there empty villages...?"
"As you know, when Ashtalon’s capital was destroyed, the bigger towns didn’t run because of their property. But some of the smaller places with nothing to their name abandoned their villages and fled. I got rid of those."
"...Then other people would already know they were empty villages."
"Mm, the people nearby know."
"Right."
"But people who aren’t nearby don’t."
"...Ah."
Evan looked like he understood immediately.
Penia and Alexion did too.
Of course, Alon understood as well.
So—
"Anyway, don’t worry! Nobody was harmed!"
Watching Sili say that with a bright smile—
’Is this... that ‘chaotic good’ thing...?’
Alon could only think blankly.
"Rest today, and starting tomorrow, I think it’d be good if we have a serious talk about what we’re going to do."
"Alright."
Just as Alon finished talking with Alexion after confirming that the citizens of the new kingdom had been brought in through a peaceful(?) method—
"Ah. Could you take a look at this for me?"
Alon showed Alexion the "Foot That Runs Through the Past."
"This is...?"
"It’s an artifact. I think something went wrong with it. Can you figure out how to fix it?"
Alexion took the Foot That Runs Through the Past and turned it around, checking it for only a moment.
Woooong—
Soon, he formed a thin channel of magic at his fingertips and began touching the artifact on the spot.
After a little time passed—
"Here."
"...Huh? You’re done already?"
"Yes. Looking at it, it seems one of the artifact’s circuits malfunctioned and trapped magic inside, so I recalibrated it."
"Impressive."
"It’s not that impressive. The impressive ones are the people who make artifacts. Fixing them is basically just adjusting circuits."
Nodding at Alexion’s words, Alon took the artifact back.
And the moment he returned to the office, he used it right away.
Then—
[It’s been a while.]
Alon came face to face with Kylrus, standing in that gray space with his usual cool expression.
"Yeah."
After nodding, Alon looked around the world, now tinted gray instead of the abyss like last time.
"...It changed."
[What happened?]
Alon gave him a brief explanation of everything that had happened up until now.
[After you dealt with the beings called Divine blood, it became like this.]
"Yeah."
[So you came to confirm that?]
Then he got to the point.
"That too, but the real reason I came today is because of Blackie."
[Blackie? ...Ah, you mean that shadow dragon.]
"Yeah."
[What’s the problem?]
"...Just in case, I’m asking—can a shadow dragon absorb someone and transform?"
[Transform?]
"Yeah."
While Alon was talking, Blackie seemed to realize the conversation was about it and popped out of his chest with a little pop.
Kylrus, with a look like he wasn’t particularly interested, picked up Blackie from Alon’s chest.
Blackie stretched out with a squeee—! and stuck back together.
Kylrus looked at Blackie and said calmly,
"...There’s no particular difference."
"Blackie?"
Alon spoke to it.
And as soon as Blackie heard Alon’s command, spider-like legs started pushing out from its back.
"After it ate Divine blood corpses, it was able to change like this. But I don’t know anything about shadow dragons... so I figured you might."
Then Blackie’s face changed into the shape of the lava-eater.
Watching the process, Alon suddenly realized Kylrus had been silent for a long time, and lifted his gaze.
"...Kylrus?"
In the silence, Alon called his name.
And then—
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
Thud—!
With a shriek like a little girl, Kylrus hurled Blackie far away.
Then he collapsed, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
"...W-What is that?"
Alon’s bewildered mutter echoed through the gray space.
[Kyuu... kyuu?]
Blackie, having been thrown, let out a wronged little sound.

Comments

Loading...