That night, after hearing the Seeker’s words—
“Lord Alon, you seem especially troubled today, don’t you?”
Penia asked, sounding curious.
“Do I?”
“Mm-hm, yes? Actually, before, it was hard to tell, but these days I can tell a little.”
“...Really?”
“Yes. Like, your posture is a little different, maybe.”
Normally, Alon kept his back perfectly straight, but whenever he had a lot on his mind or something to think over, his back would naturally bend.
As he listened to Penia’s explanation, Alon recalled the Seeker’s words once more.
‘...The power of possibility is the power of Monster blood...’
Right after hearing that, Alon had been forced to leave the Seeker’s room.
The Seeker had said the time he could manifest was not very long, so any further conversation was impossible.
“...Hm.”
Alon stroked his chin.
He needed to sort through, one by one, all the information he had gathered so far.
There were not many exact facts he knew about Monster blood.
The first was that Monster blood was the one responsible for destroying Babiloia and Ilanef, nations that had once been as vast as the two Empires of the past.
The second was only that Yutia was called the daughter of Monster blood.
But the information he had obtained this time through the Seeker contained parts that did not line up with those first two points.
Naturally, Alon could only sink deeper into thought.
Then—
“Um, Lord Alon, could it be... because of what happened today?”
“What happened today?”
“Yes. Um, I heard one of the imperial princesses proposed to you.”
Penia cautiously threw out the question, watching his reaction.
Alon set aside what he had been thinking about for the moment.
“...That did happen, but where did you hear it?”
“A little while ago, when I went to briefly meet the Queen of Asteria.”
“Ah.”
Alon recalled that he had sent Penia and Evan away for a while so he could meet with her earlier.
...In the end, she had suddenly left the tower, so they had not met face to face, but apparently she had told Penia in the meantime.
“It isn’t because of that.”
“I thought so too... Ahem. I did think it probably wasn’t, but I asked just in case.”
For a moment, Alon was bewildered by the way she had waited with a strangely anxious look, only to let out a sigh afterward.
[Kyuu?]
Blackie suddenly popped out from his chest and looked startled.
Wondering what had happened all of a sudden, Alon looked at it.
“She says she didn’t think it was that, but the moment she heard that story and saw you looking troubled, she started stamping her feet—”
“Please shut up!”
A short exchange passed between Penia and Evan in the meantime.
“Hm? What did you say?”
“What? Ah—nothing at all. More importantly, Blackie’s frozen up, hasn’t it?”
Penia smoothly changed the subject with a smile, and Alon nodded.
“Yes, it suddenly started acting like this.”
The moment he tried to pet it, Blackie—who had been darting glances around with a startled face—ducked back into his chest again.
Alon only grew more confused.
“So, what were you worrying about?”
Penia opened her mouth again.
After hesitating for a moment, Alon answered.
“It is nothing worth worrying over too much.”
“Is that so?”
“It is not the kind of matter that would produce an answer no matter how much I thought about it right now.”
As for Monster blood, it was better to put it off for now.
No matter how much he kept following the thought right now, he would not reach any conclusion anyway.
‘If I can meet the Seeker one more time tomorrow, I’ll have to ask more then.’
Having finished sorting things out, Alon changed the subject.
“More importantly, it seems I will not be returning to the territory right away this time.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“There is somewhere I need to stop first.”
While Penia tilted her head, Alon recalled the other information.
‘The Father of Maggots, and the temple at the far west.’
That was what the Seeker had told him.
That what he needed was with the Father of Maggots and at the temple at the far west.
“...”
Honestly, if he thought about it coldly, moving right away might not be a very good choice.
The Seeker had said that what he needed was there, but also that it was dangerous.
Even so, the reason Alon made his decision quickly was because the time he had been given was not sufficient.
More precisely, it was closer to the fact that he did not know how much time he had been given, because he had no way of knowing when the second-stage Divine blood would break free.
“Where are you going to stop?”
At Penia’s next question, Alon told her about the conversation he had with the Seeker today.
After hearing everything, Penia’s brow faintly twisted.
“...Then we should assume a fight is guaranteed.”
“Probably.”
“Mm... will just us be enough?”
It was a fair question.
Alon had a record of dealing with Divine blood, but he was not strong enough to face them comfortably.
However—
“It will be fine.”
Alon spoke calmly.
Penia looked puzzled for a moment, then—
“Ah, come to think of it—”
—as if she had remembered something, she nodded.
“—yeah, I guess there’s a good chance it won’t be dangerous after all.”
She agreed at once.
Alon then recalled the other thing the Seeker had said.
‘...Set a law, was it.’
Just like the Blue-Eared One had told him, the Seeker had told Alon the same thing.
To move on to the next stage of Divine blood and set a law.
‘...A law, a law.’
Until now, Alon had never thought much about laws.
To begin with, he already possessed a kind of power of his own called Reverse Heavens.
But if he could obtain a law here—
If that was what Alon needed in order to move even farther forward—
Then, just as the Seeker had said, he had to think.
More deeply.
“...”
Alon’s thoughts deepened as much as the night itself.
The second day after the Seeker’s gathering began.
Surprisingly, in the space of just one day, the number of attendees had dropped to less than half.
The two imperial princesses—including Serdea, who had flirted with Alon just yesterday—as well as Contanias, who had been looking at Alon with hatred, were nowhere to be seen.
Among the imperial royals, the only one still remaining here was—
“Good morning, Mr. Alon.”
Nataman, speaking to Alon with a bright smile.
“Good morning.”
“Yes, it’s a lovely morning.”
“...I see.”
In that space filled with tension, Nataman alone was smiling cheerfully.
Alon asked him a question.
“But Nataman, you did not leave the tower.”
“No. There was no particular reason to leave at night. I’m just about to depart now.”
Nataman stared straight into Alon’s eyes.
“So before I leave, I came to see you, Mr. Alon.”
The relaxed smile at the corner of his mouth did not fade.
“...Me?”
“Yes.”
At Nataman’s nod, Alon was left dumbfounded.
“...It may be inappropriate to ask while we’re speaking like this, but did we know each other?”
In one sense, it was a rather rude question.
But Alon simply could not understand Nataman’s behavior.
That was why he asked despite the discourtesy.
Nataman answered as though he did not mind in the slightest.
“No, not exactly. If anything, you could say I know you one-sidedly.”
“...You know me one-sidedly?”
“Yes. I’ve heard many rumors about you.”
“...In the Empire?”
“Yes. In fact, I may know more information about you than you do.”
Nataman curled the corner of his lips up in a grin and casually tossed out a single line.
“Anyway—to get to the conclusion, I came to admire you.”
“...Me?”
“Yes. If one only hears your story through rumors, it sounds like the epic of a great hero.”
That, precisely, is one of the reasons I’m showing you goodwill, Nataman added boldly.
Then, as if something he had forgotten had suddenly come back to him, he made a small face of realization.
“Ah, right, I really should be going now. I hope we meet again next time.”
Without losing that lively smile, he leisurely left the meeting hall.
Alon could only stare blankly at the spot where Nataman had disappeared.
Before long, the second day’s meeting began.
Contrary to his expectation that he might be able to meet the Seeker, today’s session was led mainly by the skull mask, which seemed to be one of the Seeker’s familiars.
The main topic was lending useful items only to those who remained.
While Alon watched the sight of people following the mask one by one—
“Teacher.”
Yutia spoke to him.
“What is it?”
“I heard that this time, instead of returning to the kingdom, you’ll be going somewhere else.”
Alon nodded.
“That is true.”
“May I ask where you’re going?”
“I think I’ll be heading west.”
“...West?”
Yutia looked as though she had not expected that—perhaps even a little surprised.
“Yes.”
“...Why are you moving there?”
After a brief silence, Yutia asked carefully.
Alon told Yutia as well about the conversation he had with the Seeker yesterday.
As she listened quietly—
“...So there’s something there that you need, Teacher.”
“Yes.”
“Then may I come with you too?”
She proposed traveling with him.
“...Come with me?”
Caught off guard by the sudden proposal, Alon asked back.
Yutia nodded.
“Yes.”
“...I think it will ★ Novelight ★ probably be very dangerous.”
He could not help feeling a little concerned.
At that, Yutia brushed her hair back behind her ear and said,
“That’s why.”
“What...?”
“Because it seems dangerous, I want to go with you.”
Because I don’t want you to get hurt, Teacher.
Yutia smiled faintly as she said it.
“So... would you allow it?”
She conveyed her wishes to Alon once again.
“...All right.”
From Alon’s perspective, there was no real reason to refuse.
And so it was decided that Yutia would accompany him.
That night, the same day Yutia promised to travel with him—
“Hoo.”
Letting out a light sigh while lost in thought over something, the Seeker suddenly looked out the window.
To be honest, the view beyond the tower window was not particularly beautiful.
There were no clusters of stars at all. Only the moon hung there.
And so, while staring blankly at it, the Seeker—
—suddenly noticed something.
The color of the moon, which had shone only blue, was gradually changing.
The Seeker, who until a moment ago had been relaxed and bored, hurriedly tried to move—
Thunk—
—but unfortunately, his body did not move.
No, he could not move.
As though something had fixed him in place.
And then.
When the bluish moon turned into a complete blood moon—
the Seeker heard it.
The calm sound of footsteps drawing closer from far away.
At last, when the clicking footsteps came to a stop, the Seeker came face to face with her.
A girl in black holy robes, her dark red eyes glowing as deeply crimson as the red moonlight ruling the sky.
And then—
“...I thought as much, but still—”
The Seeker looked at the girl, Yutia Bloodia.
“—you crossed over, monster.”
He murmured quietly.
Blood-red moonlight settled silently over the room.

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