Chapter 411. Proclamation Ceremony (6)
The banquet hall was incredibly noisy.
It was natural.
Right now, those participating in Marquis Palatio’s proclamation ceremony were key figures of the Allied United Kingdoms.
And their numbers were enormous.
Even so, despite being so crowded and the noise not ceasing, curiously, all sounds around Alon diminished notably.
Ryanga and Historia, who were about to bring food to Alon, stopped dead in their tracks with the plates still in their hands. The Elven Queen Magrina, who until a moment ago was receiving delegations from different countries, perked up her elven ears.
Evan and Penia looked at Alon with a “Huh!?” on their faces.
Between them, Penia had an expression with a bit more surprise and curiosity than Evan.
And Yutia and Rine, who were conversing with other people, perfectly perceived the situation and also looked toward Alon.
All of that…
Happened in just a few seconds.
But Alon himself didn’t realize it.
Even if the surroundings had become somewhat quieter, the banquet was still noisy by nature.
“May I ask if there is someone occupying your heart?”
Before Alon could notice anything, the queen asked that question.
*Hh—!*
Immediately, from somewhere to Alon's right, a held breath was heard. Among those keeping silent, a palpable tension emerged.
Deus and Radan looked at Alon with expressions of sudden interest.
Nangwon and Nangyeon, disguised as ordinary humans so as not to bother anyone with their inverted eyes, shone with eyes full of curiosity.
And…
‘…My legs are going numb.’
From the ceiling of the hall, Hidan—who was silently protecting him as a precaution—looked down with a very tense expression.
[Hidan had already seen something like this before.]
And Alon, who was receiving all those gazes without realizing it,
“…That might be disrespectful, so I would prefer not to say…”
Responded to the queen.
“My, I think I asked a question that was too bold. It must be my age; I’m becoming indiscreet.”
Despite not getting the information she desired, the queen smiled, bowing her head. Alon shook his head gently.
“It is fine.”
The atmosphere relaxed instantly.
The gazes directed toward Alon naturally returned to their previous conversations.
Ryanga and Historia began to move again.
And Hidan let out a silent sigh in secret.
But then—
“Then… even if it is indiscreet, may I ask you one more time?”
“…About which part?”
“The truth is, I am curious about who you have in mind, being someone so imperturbable. Could you at least tell me some characteristic?”
With the queen’s new question…
The tension tightened again.
The gazes that had dispersed pinned themselves back onto Alon.
Hidan, who had just sighed in relief, held his breath again.
And Alon—
‘Why is she digging so deep…?’
He was a little surprised by Torimavia’s insistence.
But thinking about it calmly, he understood why she was so desperate.
‘It seems the princesses' marriage period is reaching a dangerous point.’
Although according to Alon, most of them weren't that old…
In this fantasy world, the “right time” to marry arrived very early.
In other words, even though they were still young, they were starting to pass that time.
‘Though I passed that long ago, of course…’
Naturally, Alon was already far from that.
But the reason the queen insisted so much was simple: he was no longer a simple marquis, but a king.
Understanding why she insisted was one thing; but Alon had no intention of marrying yet, so he began to think of what to answer.
Finally, he finished his reflection.
“She has a beautiful smile.”
“I see.”
“And she is adorable.”
“A-ad… adorable…?”
“Yes.”
“…Is there no other trait?”
“Hm… She is very considerate. She always thinks of others.”
Upon hearing that, the queen showed a rather strange expression.
‘Even I would make that face if I heard something like that.’
Of course, Alon wasn’t thinking of anyone in particular.
Currently, he had no romantic interest in anyone.
He just said the first thing that came to his mind.
“I hope that answers your question.”
“…Yes, thank you for enduring my indiscretions.”
“You do not have to see it that way.”
With that, Alon finally managed to free himself from the queen.
As he watched her blend back into the crowd of the hall, he sighed in relief.
And on the ceiling, observing everything, Hidan could see something very peculiar:
The very complex and subtle expressions of those who were close to Great Moon.
They seemed not to know whether they should be happy or sad.
They tried to smile victoriously but immediately hesitated: “Huh? No…?” changing expressions again and again.
Hidan observed that scene with complicated feelings.
***
Exactly one day later.
The territory, which had spent almost a week of uninterrupted celebrations, finally began to return to normal.
And when even the bustling banquet finally began to calm down—
“Hu—”
Alon let out a deep sigh in his office.
“What is the matter, sir?”
“Nothing, I am just a little tired.”
Evan nodded.
“It is understandable.”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
Alon recalled the previous day.
He thought that after the Queen of Laksas retired he could rest in peace, but he didn’t have such luck.
Because immediately after, he fell into the hell of introductions with high dignitaries.
‘Thank goodness that those I had already spoken to on the day they arrived had the decency not to return.’
While preparing the proclamation, he couldn’t greet all the important visitors; not only due to a lack of time but because there were too many.
That is why, the previous day…
He had to greet everyone he had missed.
Until the sun disappeared behind the mountains.
…In reality, in his heart, he just wanted to run away from the place, throwing everything aside.
But he was now the King of Palantia.
And being king didn’t mean being able to do whatever one wanted. Alon sighed deeply.
“But do not worry too much. Yesterday all the greetings part ended. Now only enjoying the last days of the banquet remains.”
“Well… that is true.”
“Besides, people will soon start to leave.”
Alon nodded.
Certainly, the first day of the banquet was the noisiest; from there, it calmed down little by little.
‘…Then, starting today or tomorrow, I will be able to have some quiet time.’
While he was thinking that, someone opened the office door.
“Penia.”
“Hello, Marquis— no, now I should say Your Majesty, right?”
It was Penia.
“Hmm. That sounds awkward.”
“Then should I keep calling you Marquis?”
“…That also sounds a bit weird.”
Alon hesitated for a moment.
He would have liked for her to simply call him “Marquis,” but that might look strange now that he was king.
“…Just add ‘-nim’. That is fine.”
“Alon-nim? Like that?”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Penia smiled and nodded.
As Alon watched her, he noticed something.
Something had changed about Penia.
After a brief hesitation, he identified it.
“Penia.”
“Yes?”
“Did you change your hairstyle?”
Penia’s eyes widened slightly and a warm smile appeared on her face.
“Yes. Mm-hm~ How did you notice?”
“You were always the same. Did something happen?”
He knew that Penia used to be very strict with her usual hairstyle.
But Penia replied:
“No, nothing special… I just wanted to change the mood.”
She answered while toying with her blue hair, twirling it between her fingers.
Alon tilted his head.
‘…Penia was always obsessed with her hairstyle.’
In the original story, she rarely changed it.
It seemed strange to him, but he didn’t ask further.
“Ah, and Silly said she would start moving from today.”
“Suddenly?”
“Do you remember what she mentioned? That she would take people to the Divine Land.”
At that, Alon let out an “ah”.
But then he felt curious.
“…Penia, just to ask, what exactly is Silly doing?”
“Silly? I am not sure, but I heard that she gathered some money for what she needed from the Divine Land and… according to what they say, she is going out to preach.”
“…Gather money? Wait, preach?”
“Yes.”
“Does she plan to attract people… by preaching?”
“Uh… according to her, yes.”
Alon was bewildered.
As incredible as Silly was, attracting almost half the population just by preaching was absurd.
So—
“Evan, keep an eye on her a bit. Find out what Silly plans to do.”
“…Understood.”
With a mix of curiosity and concern, Alon gave the order.
Meanwhile, during the Kingdom of Palantia's banquet…
In the underground catacombs of the Caliban Kingdom—
[Hm—?]
The One Who Stands Tall, sitting on a gigantic stone throne with his eyes closed, opened them in the darkness.
The first thing he saw was a black hole in front of him, rippling.
Although it was an irrational image impossible in reality, The One Who Stands Tall observed it calmly.
[Long time no see, Arm Spitter.]
He spoke.
Immediately, the small hole expanded massively and black tentacles sprouted from within it.
Tentacles so dark they seemed to devour life just by touching them.
And in the center of the abyss from which they came, a white eye opened.
[It has been a while.]
Arm Spitter replied.
[You always enter making noise.]
[I haven’t “entered”. I just opened a Home to communicate.]
[That is precisely what is noisy.]
The One Who Stands Tall shrugged.
[By the way, I heard the story. You helped that guy Laksas… or Laksas-si? That one from Laksas.]
[Well… the creature was intoxicated with decent power, so I thought it would be easy to devour him later. Besides, I received the order from Him. Although—]
“Although?”
At The One Who Stands Tall’s question, Arm Spitter moved his tentacles after a brief silence.
[Truthfully, if I say it, I didn’t want to help him much. It is more useful to devour something that has been modifying artifacts at will.]
[Ah, on that I do agree completely.]
Both spoke in a code that only the Divine Bloods understood.
[But let me tell you something: later on you will think that your choice was correct.]
“…The choice from now?”
[Yes.]
[Why?]
The One Who Stands Tall smiled broadly.
[Because by helping Laksas, you have aligned yourself with Star Eater.]
[Aligned? And what importance does that have?]
At Arm Spitter’s confusion, he replied:
[It has importance, and a lot of it.]
[…What do you mean?]
The One Who Stands Tall let out an even broader smile.
[Star Eater can naturally absorb the power of the Divine Bloods… and distribute it however he pleases.]
“…What… WHAT did you say?”
Arm Spitter shuddered. If Alon had heard that, he would have said: “Excuse me? What kind of stupidity is that?”
[Is it… really true?]
[Yes.]
When The One Who Stands Tall nodded, Arm Spitter’s huge white eye opened wide.
