Chapter 292 : Sin of Greed (3)
"...Magrina?"
"Ah."
Magrina fell silent as she looked at Eliban.
When Alon gave her a puzzled look, she blinked once and then gave an awkward smile as if she'd come to her senses.
"Yes, what's wrong, brother?"
"No, you just seemed spaced out for a moment."
"Ah, well, he looked a bit like someone I know. But~"
Magrina paused and stared at Eliban.
"On second thought, maybe not."
She shook her head slightly.
"Haha, I do hear that a lot."
Eliban laughed cheerfully.
Alon, though thinking, 'There's another guy out there that good-looking?', nodded anyway.
Considering elves are naturally born attractive, he figured it wasn't impossible for someone to look similar.
So he just watched quietly as Eliban began chatting with Magrina like they'd been waiting for it.
"So, it was through his introduction that you came here."
"That's right."
Having figured out how Eliban ended up here, Magrina welcomed him with her usual smile.
"Then please make yourself comfortable."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Mew, please prepare rooms for our guests."
"Understood."
Right after Mew disappeared with Eliban.
"Magrina."
"Yes, brother?"
"Have you seen Eliban before?"
Alon asked again.
No matter how he thought about it, Eliban's looks weren't exactly common.
In fact, he was so handsome that it would be hard to find even among elves.
That earlier reaction of hers stuck in his mind, prompting him to ask again.
"Mm—no, I think it was just a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?"
"Yes."
Magrina lightly denied it.
When Alon nodded, she turned her gaze toward Historia.
"More importantly, an old friend has arrived."
"Hello."
"Long time no see."
"Yes."
"How have you been?"
"Not too bad."
Their responses were short and minimal for people with a long history.
Yet they seemed to have no issue communicating, which struck Alon as a bit odd.
"Ah, also brother."
"Yeah?"
"I haven't met the other two before, could you introduce them?"
Magrina gently pointed in one direction.
It was where Seolrang and Radan were standing.
Realizing he hadn't introduced them, Alon cleared his throat and spoke up.
"This is Seolrang."
"Hi."
"And this is Radan."
"Nice to meet you."
Seolrang looked sullen, unlike her usual lively self, and Radan gave a moderate response.
Their attitude toward a queen was overly casual, borderline rude, but Magrina just smiled like it didn't bother her.
"Seolrang, Radan, I've heard a lot about both of you."
Then, as if she'd researched them in advance, she shared what she knew.
"Seolrang, you're the Baba Yaga of the colony, and Radan, you're the great pirate, right? Nice to meet you."
Alon raised his eyebrows in mild surprise at Magrina's words.
That kind of basic information was easy to come by anywhere, but not for Magrina.
Greynifra had no ties with the Allied Kingdom.
In other words, for Magrina to know even that much, she would've had to make the effort to gather information from outside.
"Thank you for always helping my brother."
At her words of gratitude, Radan shook his head.
"It was only natural."
"Right. He's my Master."
Seolrang also chimed in without hesitation.
But—
"No, even if you two received help from my brother first, you're still 'outsiders.' Acting this way isn't easy."
"...?"
"...?"
Both Radan and Seolrang wore puzzled expressions at Magrina's follow-up.
But before either could say anything—
"Please continue taking good care of my brother."
Magrina sealed the conversation with a polite nod.
The two of them were momentarily dumbfounded.
Seolrang still hadn't grasped the situation.
Radan, who was a bit sharper, realized this was turning into a subtle power struggle.
A bit childish, honestly.
But a fight they absolutely couldn't afford to lose.
"Hey, you've got it all wrong, alright? Me and the big girl here, we're like family with Brother."
"That's right!"
Radan protested immediately, and Seolrang, finally catching on, backed him up enthusiastically.
But Magrina just covered her mouth with her hand as if amused.
"Oh, I'm very well aware that you two are like family to my brother. I'm sure he thinks of you that way too."
"...?"
"...?"
Radan and Seolrang were left confused by the suddenly lightened atmosphere.
'Was that a power play just now?'
At the moment Alon was thinking that—
Creeeak—
The door opened, and Mew returned once more.
Magrina immediately made a request.
"Mew, would you show them to their rooms too?"
"Understood."
At that, Radan and Seolrang turned away with embarrassed expressions, and Alon also turned his body.
"Ah, but brother, you need to stay here."
"You have something else to say?"
"No, but you're officially part of the royal family now."
"Is that so…?"
"Yes."
Magrina took hold of Alon and said, "Now that you're family, we can't have you staying in a guest room."
She smiled sweetly.
"!"
"!"
Only then did Seolrang and Radan snap their heads toward Magrina, as if they had finally realized something important.
But—
"Then please rest comfortably."
Magrina waved her hand elegantly, issuing a graceful dismissal.
"Master! Let's get married after all!"
Ignoring her command, Seolrang ran over and grabbed Alon's hand tightly.
"Hmph—Royal marriages aren't something you can bring up so casually. After all, there's the matter of class."
"Master doesn't care about that stuff!"
"Even if he doesn't, there are still proper procedures that must be followed."
"You're one to talk about proper procedures when you're not even following them yourself!"
"Me?"
"Yes! How can you call him 'brother' when you're hundreds of years older than him?!"
"...Huh?"
A bit of chaos began to unfold.
...Just a bit.
'…Right, just a bit?'
Alon thought to himself as he noticed Magrina's expression turning cold.
In the end, Alon slept separately.
The reason: as a newly titled royal, he could no longer stay in the guest rooms.
Frankly, Alon didn't really care where he slept.
But since he held the title—even if only honorary—he chose to obey Magrina without complaint.
And the next day—
He woke up.
He woke up, but…
"H-here you are."
"Yes."
"I will bathe you now."
"No, that's quite alright. I can handle it myself."
"Then I'll prepare your meal immediately—"
—It wasn't that anything specific made him uncomfortable.
In fact, from a physical standpoint, Alon was being treated much better now.
What made him feel uneasy inside was—
"How would you like your food prepared?"
The overly attentive behavior of the elves.
Alon knew.
He understood that as a royal, the treatment would naturally change.
But still—
'This... feels way too submissive, doesn't it…?'
Alon even began to wonder if he was being low-key insulted.
While humans didn't enslave elves in this world, the relationship between the races was... antagonistic at best.
But contrary to Alon's assumptions, the elves were overly kind.
No, beyond kind—
"I'm fine."
"A-are you really sure?"
"Yes, really."
"Did I perhaps do something wrong…?"
They even seemed afraid.
'Did I… do something?'
Alon briefly searched his memories.
But he had no significant interactions with elves in the past, which only deepened his confusion.
Then he remembered what Magrina said yesterday and headed to the audience chamber.
"Ah, Marquis."
"Eliban."
Alon came face-to-face with Eliban standing in front of the chamber.
"Here to see Magrina?"
"Yes, I have some information I need to confirm."
After exchanging a few brief words with Eliban, who still wore his ever-energetic smile, Alon entered the chamber and met with Magrina.
"Welcome, brother. And Eliban."
Alon yielded the floor to Eliban.
"Go ahead, take care of your matters first."
With a grateful bow, Eliban nodded.
"It's not about the strange gate—there's something else I'd like to ask. Would that be okay?"
He began asking Magrina questions.
After some time had passed—
Alon overheard something odd in their conversation.
Near Greynifra, aside from the strange gate, mutated monsters were starting to appear.
'Mutated monsters…?'
In Psychedelia, mutations could occur not only during abyssal incursions, but also with divine manifestations or the appearance of Apostles.
As Alon pondered the implications—
"I've heard everything I needed. I'll take care of the tasks right away, and I'll return tonight to ask a few more things."
Eliban wrapped up the conversation and left.
After that, Alon asked his question.
"Magrina."
"Yes, brother?"
"Mutated monsters—are they appearing?"
"Mm—yes, there have been a few reports recently."
"Any idea what kind they are?"
Magrina shook her head.
"Not exactly. All I've heard are a few scattered reports of mutated monsters. Nothing detailed yet."
"I see."
"But we've dispatched the Shadow Leaves to the areas where they've been seen. We'll know more soon."
Leaving that topic for later, they talked a bit more before Alon brought up the real reason for his visit.
"…How's the seal?"
The reason Alon had come to see Magrina today.
He wanted to ask about Rine's seal.
"It didn't show any major problems. The concerns you raised last time didn't come to pass either."
"That's a relief."
"Just a few more days now."
Alon nodded at Magrina's soft murmur.
The day was almost here.
The day Rine could finally be freed from her seal.
"…I just hope nothing goes wrong."
Alon muttered quietly, barely loud enough to hear.
That night.
Magrina was quietly gazing at the moon and the Milky Way shining over the land from her room.
Then, sensing a presence behind her, she slowly turned around.
"Hello?"
It was Eliban.
Standing calmly in her private chamber, Eliban greeted her as if it were nothing.
"The guards—"
"Don't worry. I didn't harm anyone. I'm not here to cause trouble."
Before she could even finish her sentence, Eliban smiled brightly and replied.
Magrina stared at him and asked calmly.
"By the way, did you finish your duties? I heard you went to deal with the strange gate this morning."
"Of course not. That kind of thing takes time, no matter what."
Their conversation felt strangely superficial.
Magrina didn't bother asking how Eliban had managed to sneak into her chambers at night.
And Eliban answered her questions without hesitation.
However—
"Really? That's odd. I thought you'd finish quickly."
"Why?"
"Well—"
Taking a step closer, Magrina continued,
"You've lived for hundreds of years while hiding your power, haven't you? I figured you'd easily have that kind of strength."
Her casually dropped comment caused a ripple.
Eliban fell silent.
"Am I wrong?"
She asked again with a gentle smile.
"Hiding won't work anymore, huh?"
A calm voice echoed through the room.
Eliban's blue eyes shimmered softly under the moonlight.