Chapter 300 : Divine Land (3)
It had been about two weeks since Alon left Greynif.
"Marquis."
"What is it?"
"Are you planning to take a longer break this time?"
On the way back to the marquis' estate.
Alon, who had been blankly enjoying the sunshine, paused at Evan's question and cleared his throat.
"Well, I'm not sure."
Of course, having gone all the way to the East, he did feel the need to rest a bit.
Even so, the reason he couldn't answer easily was because of the Sin.
He had heard about the emergence of the Sin.
He had actually confronted it.
And he still had to face three more Sins.
In short, he couldn't afford to relax.
'How did things end up like this...'
Alon looked out into the distant mountains.
Come to think of it, all he had ever wanted was to live a quiet noble's life.
"Why are you sighing all of a sudden?"
"No reason, I was just thinking about how I wanted to live my life baking toast, but somehow things turned out like this."
"?"
Evan tilted his head with a question mark practically floating above it.
"?"
[?]
[?]
Likewise, Penia, Blackie, and Basiliora—who had been lounging on top of Blackie—all looked at Alon with puzzled expressions.
"Why are you all giving me that look?"
Alon was rather confused by their reactions.
"No, it's just..."
[That's just so absurd...]
"I think so too..."
An awkward silence briefly passed between them.
Alon cleared his throat and said,
"In any case, I do think I'm getting closer to the dream."
"You're fighting monsters that can wipe out half a territory in one blow—how is that anywhere near a peaceful noble's life?"
"Well—"
Alon was about to say that once he dealt with the Sins, he'd be able to live in peace without any more threats, but he swallowed those words back.
The moment he said it out loud, it would only lead to more explanations than necessary.
So instead, "No, forget it."
"What's that? You were about to say something and stopped."
Rather than responding to Evan's complaint, Alon recalled something Rine had told him before.
"Half-finished, huh...?"
That was how Rine had put it to him.
She said divine powers and incantations were like puzzle pieces—each could function independently, but together they created something complete.
'To be honest, I still don't quite get it...'
Up until now, Alon had been using both magic and divine power.
But he had never once thought of them as similar.
After all, the two were fundamentally distinct forces.
Magic drew from mana, while divine power drew from divinity—they were different from the very beginning.
'Of course, if you go as far as rituals, the concept of pulling from established rules might make the structure look a bit similar.'
Still, because the core energies were different, he couldn't quite grasp what Rine meant.
Strictly speaking, she had only told him what to do first—she hadn't explained how divine power and magic might complement each other.
'Or rather, I haven't "opened" it yet...'
In a way, it was a subtle and ambiguous situation.
Even so, Alon had two major reasons for choosing to follow Rine's advice.
First, he knew that the library in Rine's mind was a place that held only truth—no lies.
And second, Alon himself believed that integrating divine power could be of great help.
'If I can somehow combine the two divine powers that I currently can't use simultaneously, it'll definitely be a huge boost.'
Alon calmly organized his next steps while recalling the divine-magic puzzle that neither Kylrus nor Sparrow had known about.
The first task was to create the Divine Land, just as Rine had mentioned.
Of course, there were other things to be done too, like saving his followers or founding a knight order.
But creating the Divine Land had to come first.
The second task was to seek out the Observer, just as he had heard in the East.
'Anyway, let's get this Divine Land thing sorted out first.'
Declaring Divine Land wasn't particularly difficult.
He could even do it now, technically.
The issue was finding a location for it.
'I'll need to talk this one out.'
Although Alon held the marquis title under the Kingdom of Asteria, declaring Divine Land on nearby lands would require the Queen's permission.
Of course, even if he went ahead without permission, it probably wouldn't cause much trouble.
But still, it was better to get formal approval.
'I suppose I'll have to visit the Kingdom of Asteria.'
Alon finished mapping out his plan in his head.
"But Marquis."
"What is it?"
"Now that I think about it—what's that?"
Following Evan's gaze, Alon looked down at his own chest.
There was a badge adorned with a green gem.
"Oh, that. It's something Rine gave me."
"Really?"
"She said it was a gift."
Rine had asked him to wear it no matter what before he left Fildagreen.
As Alon thought back to that moment and stared at the green badge,
"Hmm, is that so?"
Evan stared at the gem for a while, fascinated, then shrugged his shoulders.
After a few weeks of travel, Alon finally returned to the Palatio estate for the first time in a long while.
"M-Marquis~!"
"Alexion?"
As soon as he stepped into the estate, he was met by a breathless Alexion, whose face had gone pale.
"Her Majesty the Queen is waiting for you...!"
"What?"
Still panting, Alexion delivered the shocking news.
***
"It's hard to even catch a glimpse of you these days."
"I have no excuse."
The moment Alon entered the office and greeted Siyan, he bowed his head deeply.
Truthfully, Alon should have shown his face in Teria right after stopping by Rosario.
"Were you busy with something?"
Standing before the Queen who had come in person, Alon nervously cleared his throat.
"...Yes, a bit—"
"Hmmm~"
Siyan stared at him intently.
However—
"Well, fine. It feels a bit much to keep asking a busy man like you to always come to where I am."
"Thank you for understanding."
As Siyan leaned back into her chair like it was no big deal, Alon bowed again and asked,
"But, Your Majesty, what brings you all the way out to this remote region...?"
On the outside, he seemed composed, but in truth, Alon was very curious.
A ruler is someone who summons others— doesn't go to them.
Unless there's a truly important meeting, she never moved in person.
As Alon stared curiously, Siyan shrugged casually.
"It's a mix of reasons. As you know, the Allied Kingdom has been pretty noisy lately."
"You mean the Abyssal Beings."
Siyan nodded.
"Right, we held a meeting because of them. I don't know how seriously you're taking this, but the situation is quite grave."
Alon realized just how much damage the Abyssal Beings had caused.
If even the kings of multiple countries had gathered for a meeting, it meant things were really bad.
'So even if I handle the Sins, the future still gets worse little by little, huh?'
As Alon was lost in such thoughts—
"So, when were you planning to tell me the story?"
Siyan brought up the topic.
"I came all the way here to hear what happened in Rosario. Were you planning to leave me hanging?"
With a teasing smile, Siyan spoke lightly.
"I'll begin now."
Clearing his throat, Alon started recounting what had happened in Rosario.
After listening quietly,
"I see."
"Yes."
"Actually, I already heard about what happened in Rosario."
She said it suddenly.
"Oh, yes..."
To be honest, Alon had suspected Siyan might have already heard.
So he just nodded awkwardly without much reaction—at which point Siyan's smiling expression turned a little sour.
"You're surprisingly oblivious."
"Excuse me?"
"When someone says they already know, you should be asking why they still wanted to hear it again."
A sudden grumble dropped in.
"If I had asked that, what would your answer have been?"
Though it was late, Alon tried to play along and asked.
"I'd have said—it was just an excuse to see you."
Siyan twirled her finger and replied with a playful grin.
Alon's mind went blank for a second.
Normally, it would've been something he brushed off.
But having heard similar things from Rine lately, Alon found himself naturally thinking more about the meaning behind those words.
Noticing Alon frozen in place, Siyan chuckled with amusement.
"What's the matter?"
"Pardon?"
"This conversation, I mean."
At Siyan's follow-up, Alon hesitated.
He wasn't sure how to respond.
"..."
"Don't worry—just speak freely."
In the end, Alon gave his honest thoughts.
"Pardon me, but... it felt like you were hoping I'd take the hint more seriously, or... something along those lines."
Still smiling, Siyan responded, "Did it?"
"Yes."
"Well then, let me remind you—those were your words."
She leaned forward and added, "Pardon? Mine?"
"Yes."
"No way—"
Alon's mouth fell open.
"Something I said in your memory?"
"Exactly. And you said it with a very sly grin, I might add."
Alon felt his face heating up for some reason.
...He briefly wondered just what kind of nonsense the version of himself in Siyan's memories had gotten up to.
"?"
That's when he noticed Siyan, who had been smiling just moments ago, lost in serious thought.
As if something had come to mind, she was deep in contemplation.
Seeing this, "Your Majesty?"
"!"
Alon gently called out to her, and she quickly snapped out of it and cleared her throat.
"Ahem. Anyway, the reason I came to see you was, like I said, for several reasons. To attend the meeting, and to share some newly resurfaced memories with you."
With that, she stood from her seat.
"Well then, I'll take my leave. Truthfully, I would've liked to chat more or see what kind of amusing things are happening in your domain, but if I stay longer, I'll be late for the meeting."
But Alon stopped her briefly.
"Your Majesty, if it's not too much to ask... may I borrow just a bit more of your time?"
He then began to speak about the Divine Land.
***
In the end, Alon successfully received a grant of empty land from Siyan to be used for Divine Land.
It was about a day's travel away from the Palatio Marquisate.
"Whew—"
Back in his office, Alon let out a heavy sigh.
The unexpected visit, and the unplanned royal audience, had drained him more mentally than he expected.
He slumped into a chair and let himself rest.
The next day—
"Penia already left for the academic society?"
"Yes."
"I see."
Alon let out a small sigh and took a bite of toast Evan had brought.
'Now this is more like it.'
A long-awaited moment of peace.
Sure, this might be considered a luxury, but he had been running around too busily until now.
So he resolved to take it slow—at least for today.
"...?"
Suddenly, he sensed a bit more commotion than usual and looked outside.
"??"
He saw a strange sight.
It was—
A massive crowd that filled not only the inner walls of the Palatio estate but even stretched far beyond to the outer walls.
No, to be precise, it wasn't just a crowd of people.
"Elves... and lizardmen...??"
It was a huge gathering of various races, all swarming the Marquisate.
"Evan?"
"Yes, Marquis?"
"What... is all that?"
Following Alon's finger, Evan looked down and was equally shocked.
"Oh."
He quickly recalled something he had discussed with Alexion the previous day.
"Ah... I think they're all here for the Holy Knight Order entrance exam. That's today."
"Knight Order...?"
"Yes, don't you remember, Marquis? You told us to put out an announcement ahead of time."
"Well, yes, but—"
Alon looked again at the overwhelming crowd that seemed on the verge of bursting.
'This... wasn't what I had in mind.'
He couldn't bring himself to say the rest aloud.