Chapter 415. The Second (4)
Following Siyan's words, silence fell over the office.
Alon looked at her in a daze.
"...Did I hear wrong?"
That was his first thought. It wasn't that he hadn't heard correctly. But because it was such a completely unexpected statement, just as Alon was beginning to suppress his momentary confusion—
"Did it seem too absurd?"
Siyan's voice broke his train of thought.
"...Pardon?"
"What I said just a moment ago. That this world is the second one."
"If I'm being honest, yes."
At that, Siyan murmured a "hmm" and reflected for a moment before adding:
"Well, strictly speaking, it's not a certainty. It falls more into the realm of conjecture."
"...A conjecture?"
"Yes, a conjecture."
Alon looked blank again.
Siyan observed his face in silence.
Then, with a somewhat mischievous tone, she asked:
"–And yet, even though I told you this is your second life, you haven't been as surprised as I thought. Although, of course, I added the condition that it is a hypothesis."
"...Me, you say?"
"Yes."
"Even if it doesn't look like it, I really—"
Alon was about to say "am surprised," but he closed his mouth involuntarily.
"......Huh?"
It was because of the sudden shift in his emotions.
Without a doubt, when Siyan first told him that this life was the second one, he was surprised.
But in this precise instant...
His emotions were strangely calm.
As if the surprise he had felt before had been a lie.
The strangeness only lasted a moment.
"And there's no need for you to speak to me so formally. Now you and I are looking from the same place."
"...I see."
"Good. Do you have anything to ask?"
As Siyan continued the conversation so naturally, Alon pushed his thoughts aside and ran his hand over his face.
A smile was already appearing on Siyan's lips, and interest shone in her eyes.
In contrast, Alon's mind was in chaos.
Questions?
He had many.
Too many.
The problem was...
That there were so many, he didn't know which one to formulate first.
So, after a long silence, Alon cut off his thoughts and said:
"...Then, I will speak more comfortably from now on."
"Are you still using formal language?"
"I'll correct it little by little. I'm still more used to this."
Siyan made a slightly awkward expression, but eventually nodded.
"Fine, then. What do you want to ask?"
After thinking it over for a moment, Alon spoke:
"How did you arrive at that... 'conjecture' that this is the second time?"
Siyan observed him intently for a few seconds, touched her chin, and replied:
"Not long ago. To be exact—"
After adjusting her breathing once, she continued:
"—It was after the Divine Blood fell and the Golden Eye awakened."
"Awakened...?"
"Ah, right, I don't know if it was an 'awakening' per se. I only say that to make it easier for you to understand."
She proceeded:
"As you know, the Golden Eye inherits the power of its predecessors, and part of their memories."
"I know."
"And as I told you before, I saw your face several times in those memories."
"Until that moment, I thought that perhaps someone from the ancient Palatio lineage had a face similar to yours. The atmosphere of the real you and the you in my memories was different."
"Different how...?"
—The you in my memories had many emotions. You always had a mischievous smile on your lips and you always played pranks even on me, who was queen. Especially after I became the Saint Queen.
Murmuring an "anyway," Siyan returned to the topic.
"That's why I believed they were simply memories from the past. Although it seemed strange to me that Yutia Bloodia appeared next to you in those memories, even so, I didn't think that life had repeated itself."
"...Why not?"
"Because you yourself told me that you had traveled to the past."
"Ah."
Alon let out a slight exclamation.
"If you could travel to the past, I thought that perhaps one day you could do it again. You said going to the past was 'accidental,' but the return was 'magic.'"
'Then perhaps he can return to the past,' I thought —Siyan added, and sighed—.
"But as I said, after the fall of the Divine Blood, things changed."
She entered the central point:
"The Golden Eye inherits memories, but not so clearly. However, the memories and powers inherited after the fall of the new Divine Bloods gave me much to think about."
"If you're speaking of the inherited power... could it be—?"
"Yes. The power I used to process the Divine Blood."
Alon, unable to understand, asked again. Siyan smiled slightly and extended her hand.
And then—
Woooooooom—!
A golden light burst from Siyan's palm. A strange tattoo appeared on her hand.
As Alon looked at her hand in astonishment, he realized that the sunlight entering the office had been covered.
When he looked out the window, bewildered...
He saw it.
Outside, through the window—
A gigantic golden spear covering the sun.
"Longinus's Spear."
And then:
"This was one of the clues that made me think this life could be the 'second' one."
After showing him the weapon with which she had destroyed the Divine Blood—
"That's enough. I still need practice to maintain it longer."
The weapon vanished in a flash.
Alon observed the scene, letting out a weak exclamation.
"What do you say? Do you need an explanation?"
Alon shook his head immediately.
The instant he saw Longinus's Spear...
He understood everything.
"...Longinus's Spear."
Siyan's Golden Eye inherits the past.
That is to say, any inherited power must necessarily be from the past.
But the Longinus's Spear that Siyan had summoned...
More precisely, the magic circles engraved on that gigantic "weapon"—
Did not belong to the past.
Nor were they lost remnants of a forgotten artifact.
They were magic circles created by the mages of the current era. Those who have developed magic tirelessly, and who continue to develop it.
In the eyes of others, it would just be a majestic weapon.
But Alon knew.
Because he is a mage.
"No, I don't need an explanation."
And Siyan, who had inherited a mage predecessor, could also understand it.
"Hehe—"
It seems Alon's response satisfied her.
Alon was genuinely surprised by her.
He knew she was intelligent; he knew she had inherited power from a mage.
But to deduce the possibility of a "second round" with only that...
It was impressive.
Especially since Siyan had no concept of regression or possession.
That is why Alon asked:
"...A moment ago you said that Longinus's Spear was only one of the clues, right?"
And Siyan replied:
"Yes. The Golden Eye doesn't just inherit power, but 'memories'."
She said that with a smile.
Meanwhile...
"Hmm... no matter how I calculate it, the budget is impossible."
Thanks to Tun, who obtained the materials surprisingly fast, Alexion was able to begin the territory expansion.
But he now had another big problem.
Although various forces that wanted to strengthen relations with Palantia had filled the coffers, and there was no lack of money for construction materials...
That only covered the materials.
"...Mages are a thousand times more expensive than I imagined."
He had already hired mages for the construction of the auction house, so he knew how expensive they were.
But he never imagined their fees would rise along with the prices of materials.
Worse yet, he didn't expect them to rise so much.
"...In that case, I will have to invest much more time in the construction of the castle, and hire the minimum number of mages possible."
With resignation, Alexion began to draw up the budget.
Although he wouldn't live in the finished castle, he still wanted to build one with the best cost-performance ratio...
Because it would be the castle that Alon would use.
Their relationship hadn't started well.
Rather, Alexion didn't have a good impression at the beginning.
But over time, his heart changed.
Being Alon's subordinate, he had received too much.
Alon wasn't like the other nobles.
He could have exploited Alexion... but he never did. He always treated him well and gave him fair compensation.
And furthermore?
When he declared the Kingdom of Palantia, Alon kept him in an important position.
Him, who came from the slums.
...Of course, the real reason he obtained such a high position was...
Evan's phrase: "Wouldn't it be better to pass the headaches to Alexion?"
But Alexion, ignoring that, decided to be truly loyal to Alon.
That is why he was now exerting himself.
At that moment—
"Ah, Sir Alexion."
"What is it?"
His assistant entered with a serious face.
Alexion's instinct activated: What has happened now?
Then his assistant said:
"The Tower Master of the Purple Tower and the Tower Master of the Brown Tower have come to help with the construction of the Palantia castle."
"...What?"
Alexion could only make a foolish face.
He regained his senses and ran toward where the two Tower Masters were.
And there...
His expression became even more absurd.
What he saw was:
"Move!"
"You disrespectful piece of a brat! You move!"
"Respect? I won the bet! Get lost, you old fart!"
"Shut up! The one who will build the Palantia castle will be me!"
"What are you saying, old hag? I already brought my mages!"
"Ha! I called them before leaving!"
"Damn it— this shameless old woman! I will build that castle!"
"Me!"
"Me, I tell you!!"
The two Tower Masters fighting because both wanted to build the castle.
"???"
Alexion's brain stopped working for a few seconds.
