Chapter 196

For Duke Merkiliane, elves were both mysterious and terrifying beings.

It was natural.

The Allied Kingdom and the Allied Races.

Their relationship was not good enough to allow for any meaningful exchange.

Since he had never had the opportunity to see elves, they remained an enigmatic existence to him.

“An elf’s lifespan is ten times that of a human, while a high elf’s lifespan is… twenty times longer—”

At the same time, what he had read in old books made him fearful of them.

Despite their appearance being similar to humans.

They were beings who lived for what was, in comparison to humans, an almost eternal span of time.

With such a long lifespan granted to them,

It was written in books that each individual elf was naturally far stronger than humans.

And that wasn’t all.

“I feel like I can’t breathe.”

A suffocating pressure.

Duke Merkiliane unconsciously let out a rough breath as he stared at the elves before him.

A group of elves numbering well over ten.

Each of them exuded a powerful killing intent, pressing down on Duke Merkiliane and Zukurak.

As if they were ready to kill them at any moment.

However.

“Hahaha. These pointy-eared bastards still have the same nasty temper~!”

Zukurak received the killing intent as if it were nothing, letting out a hearty laugh from beneath his helmet.

“I won’t say it twice. Do not approach the Primordial Elf.”

The elf, Draim, once again gave a chilling warning.

Seeing the clear fanaticism burning in his eyes,

Zukurak smirked and thought to himself.

“As expected, it’s certain. That person is the Primordial One.”

Of course, ever since he first saw Marquis Palatio,

He had already suspected that he was not just the Primordial Elf, but the Primordial One.

Starting with the Shadow Leaves that surrounded him.

And that ‘black thing’ behind the marquis—

Something no ordinary human could possibly carry.

On top of that, the unmistakable divine presence he felt when he met him in person today.

It left no room for doubt that he was the Primordial One.

The only question was,

Why did the marquis subtly deny being the Primordial One himself?

That part bothered him a little, but—

“Well, he must have his reasons.”

Zukurak glanced over the elves before him,

And once again reaffirmed that his suspicions were correct.

If the marquis wasn’t the Primordial Elf—if he wasn’t the Primordial One—

The elves wouldn’t be acting like this.

Having sorted his thoughts, Zukurak casually spoke.

“Sorry, but that’s not going to happen. I follow orders as well.”

“If you approach again, it won’t end in words next time.”

“Heh, do you have the strength to back that up?”

“If all of us attack together, it’ll be a different story.”

“Pfft—Just because we had a conversation, you’re getting all hostile now?”

“Think about what your kind did to him before you speak.”

Blatant hostility.

But Zukurak simply—

“Well—suit yourselves. I don’t feel like fighting you guys right now.”

With a shrug, he turned away as if dismissing the elves.

“Let’s go.”

“…In this situation?”

“Then are you not coming?”

“No, but the elves—”

“Don’t worry. These pointy-eared guys are rigid, but they do have a sense of honor.”

Ignoring the duke’s concerns, Zukurak strode forward without hesitation.

“W-wait—”

Duke Merkiliane quickly followed him, afraid of getting separated.

He had been anxious about a potential confrontation,

But just as Zukurak had said, while the elves remained wary, they did not attack.

At that moment—

“Huh.”

In an instant, the group of elves disappeared without a trace.

“I think that should be enough explanation for you to understand, don’t you?”

Zukurak’s voice rang out.

“…Then, are you saying that Marquis Palatio is the Primordial Elf?”

A brief silence.

“Strictly speaking, the Primordial One. But yeah, the pointy-ears call him that.”

At Zukurak’s confirmation, Duke Merkiliane could only gape in shock.

“Marquis Palatio… is actually a god?”

Overwhelmed by an unbelievable truth.

***

It had been about a week since Zukurak and Duke Merkiliane left.

Alon had been resting during that time.

All thanks to his outstanding assistant, Alexion.

In the past, when he returned from a trip, he would have to wrestle with paperwork for at least a month.

But now, the highly competent Alexion took care of it all.

As a result, Alon only needed to review and approve documents briefly in the morning.

For the rest of the time, he either rested or focused on magic research with Penia.

Though, to be fair, the time spent on magic research far outweighed his rest.

“Hoo—”

Leaning back in his chair, Alon let out a small sigh.

Penia, who had been closely observing his magic, finished writing something down and nodded.

“Hmm, I think we’ve found up to five seals now.”

“I see.”

[Meow?]

What Alon had been researching was the proper linkage to control Blackie.

Over the past week, they had found two additional seals for linking.

“That was faster than I expected.”

“Well, as you know from last time, once we identify the molecular structure corresponding to the linked seals, we can find them quite quickly.”

“Indeed.”

As Alon stroked its head, Blackie let out a pleased meow and pressed against him even more.

“Oh, by the way, I also looked into the nature of ‘Arrow.’”

“Did you discover anything?”

“Hmm… I did.”

As he resumed his magic training, Alon had wondered whether this ‘Arrow’ could be incorporated into magic, so he had asked Penia to investigate.

That inquiry had led to their research on the nature of ‘Arrow.’

“Is it useful information?”

“It’s… half and half.”

When Alon straightened his posture, Penia hesitated briefly before speaking.

“To start with, while ‘Arrow’ shares some similarities with mana, it feels different.”

“For example?”

“Well, with mana, the way a mage arranges and utilizes molecular structures determines the magic’s outcome, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But this Arrow that you’ve shown, my lord, isn’t quite like that. It feels more like your phrases or sentences.”

“My phrases and sentences?”

“Yes.”

Penia placed a finger on her chin, deep in thought.

“The phrases you use twist mana, and your sentences warp magic itself—as if they were some sort of law.”

“Hmm.”

“This Arrow feels similar. But if there’s a difference… it’s that it feels absolute.”

“…Absolute?”

“Yes. Your sentences may alter magic, but this Arrow is much broader. In short, it’s like an absolute law—something that remains unshaken under any circumstances.”

“What do you think would happen if it were used alongside magic?”

“Hmm… Based on the Arrow you’ve shown so far… I’m sorry, but I can’t say for sure. I still don’t fully understand what kind of phenomenon it truly is.”

“I see.”

Alon felt a slight tinge of disappointment.

“But if this absolute law can be incorporated into magic, it could create truly unbelievable spells.”

“Such as?”

“It’s just a rough thought, but if the absolute law were something like ‘immutability,’ you could create an eternally burning fire, for example.”

“……….”

“In any case, it’s definitely worth researching.”

“Impressive, as always.”

Hearing Alon’s praise, Penia briefly puffed up with a ‘Hmph! Who do you think I am?’ expression, but then—

She suddenly let out a small exclamation.

“Ah, but just in case, you should be careful about using Arrow within the phrases or sentences.”

“And why is that?”

“As you already know, phrases is fundamentally a phenomenon caused by irregular mana distortions—so irregular that they interfere with space and time itself.”

“……Would using Arrow there cause problems?”

“Normal magic wouldn’t be an issue, but if you were to use an absolute-law-like power in such a place, I doubt the outcome would be good. Hmm~”

Muttering as if piecing together a hypothesis, Penia soon added as if she had realized something.

“If I had to guess, the already unstable space-time could warp even more severely, dropping you into some bizarre location… or your magic might fail to manifest and trigger an explosion instead. One of the two.”

“I’ll have to be careful.”

Either outcome was best avoided.

Later, as they wrapped up their research and shared idle conversation, a thought suddenly struck Alon, prompting him to bring it up.

“Come to think of it, isn’t the academic conference coming up soon?”

“Yes, sir!”

The moment the topic of the magical conference was mentioned, Penia answered almost as if she had been waiting for it.

A smile had already formed on her lips, and in her cat-like eyes, a peculiar gleam of ambition shimmered.

“Then I suppose we’ll be attending this time. When should we leave?”

“Around a week from now should be fine…!”

“Then let’s do that.”

Leaving behind the now highly motivated Penia, Alon stepped out of the secondary office and prepared to use Footsteps of the Past.

Originally, he had wanted to use it the moment he returned, but he couldn’t.

Ironically enough—

He had only recently realized that if he didn’t use Footsteps of the Past immediately after fully replenishing his mana, it would slowly start leaking mana over time.

Having restored the mana that had gradually evaporated, he could now finally use it.

As the scenery shifted,

“You’ve arrived.”

Alon found himself once again in the ruined world, facing Kylrus.

“You followed all my previous instructions, correct?”

The first thing Kylrus did upon seeing him was confirm the progress.

Alon nodded before asking a question himself.

“Before we start training, I have something I’d like to ask first. Would that be alright?”

“What is it?”

“It’s about ritual techniques and Arrow.”

“…Ritual techniques and Arrow?”

At Kylrus’s questioning tone, Alon recounted what had happened in the elven lands of Greynifra.

The story of the technique that defies heavens.

How, among the multiple Arrows, he was only able to use the Green Arrow.

Kylrus listened intently before furrowing his brow.

“Ritual techniques are one thing, but why are you asking me about Arrow? You already know how I became a god. Asking me won’t do you much good.”

“Hmm, I see. I asked just in case, but is there really nothing you can infer?”

Kylrus let out a thoughtful hum before answering.

“I’ve already said that my knowledge of Arrow is shallow. What I do know is mostly secondhand. But if I had to make a guess— You should go to the symbol.”

“…The symbol?”

“Yes. Didn’t you say that out of the five Arrows, you have an idea where faith for at least one of them converged?”

“That’s right.”

“Then go to that Arrow’s symbol.”

Seeing Alon’s puzzled expression, Kylrus elaborated.

“A god’s power ultimately comes from faith. And that faith flows into you through symbols. If you can find that symbol, awakening your dormant Arrow won’t be difficult.”

“Simply finding the symbol will awaken it?”

“Yes. Symbols are incredibly important to a god. And if my assumption is correct, you’ll be able to wield yet another Arrow.”

The possibility of handling another Arrow.

Alon’s expression subtly shifted in thought.

He hadn’t needed to find a symbol to awaken the Green Arrow—the Arrow of the Primordial Elf.

But that doubt lasted only for a moment.

He reconsidered.

‘If the World Tree itself is the Primordial Elf’s symbol, then it does make sense.’

After all, when he was inside the World Tree, the Green Arrow had reacted.

With that in mind—

‘I should visit the Thunder Serpent Tribe.’

Alon decided that after attending the magical conference, his next destination was set.