Chapter 312 : What Is This............. (3)

At the sight in front of them, even Penia let out a “Wow, what the—” with her mouth hanging open.

Everyone let out a collective gasp, if only for a moment.

Alon and his group headed toward what seemed like the temporary main gate of Divine Land.

“......Is this the line?”

“Looks like it.”

Unfortunately, they couldn’t go beyond that gate right away.

Because of the endless line stretching out before them.

“No way this whole line is—"

“Seems like... everyone really gathered because of the rumors?”

Following Evan’s remark, Alon’s expression changed as he stared in disbelief.

“I mean, even so, this many people?”

“Right?”

Next to the incredulous Alon, Evan clicked his tongue.

However—

“Really? I don't find it that surprising.”

Penia tilted her head as she looked at Evan and Alon.

“Why not?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You know how the Allied Kingdom is in utter chaos because of the bandits, right?”

“Well, yeah, that’s true.”

“I’m telling you, it’s seriously bad right now.”

She added that entire towns they’d passed by before had simply disappeared by the next time they came through.

“So it's only natural people are desperate to find a way to survive and are turning their eyes to Kalannon’s power.”

“......So what they need is power.”

“That too, but more importantly, it’s, um... how should I put it... the sense of legitimacy?”

“Legitimacy?”

“I mean~”

Alon thought, “What even counts as legitimate power in this world?” but he kept listening to Penia’s explanation.

“Look. Those Abyssal Cores? They're used by the underworld types, right? And if you absorb one, your magic leaks out all pitch-black like those guys from the Black Tower.”

“True.”

“So even if it makes you stronger fast, anyone who cares even a little about public perception wouldn’t use that method. Even in Rosario, the punishment for using an Abyssal Core is severe. Remember that artificial Outer God incident?”

As Alon nodded to show he was listening, Penia continued her explanation.

“That’s why mercenaries and knights—who live and die by their name and reputation—couldn’t even touch that stuff. But now, Kalannon’s power comes out and all you need is some training? Bam!”

“......Even if it’s just a rumor.”

“Yeah. But the result is—”

She gestured at the crowd as if to say, “This right here,” and Alon nodded unconsciously.

It did kind of make sense when she put it that way.

Still—

Even so, this is a bit much—

Regardless of the reasoning, the current situation he was in felt undeniably burdensome.

Because ever since earlier, it felt like the buzz around him had died down and people were now silently staring in his direction.

“Hey, look, that’s Marquis Palatio’s carriage.”

“You’re right.”

“That must be the guy from Kalannon...”

Maybe because the crowd had gone quiet, he could even hear what they were saying.

Just as Alon tried to focus on Penia’s words and ignore the attention—

“Everyone, halt!!!”

A loud voice rang out from the distance, and knights started running over.

“Welcome, my lord!”

They assembled right in front of Alon’s carriage window and shouted in unison.

Because of that—

The attention that was already on him now fully converged on the Palatio marquis’s carriage.

Alon—

“...Yeah.”

Feeling both the overbearing loyalty of the knights and the piercing stares of the crowd, he barely managed to nod.

“We’ll guide you immediately!”

The knight at the front answered firmly, then started clearing the long line aside.

Not that he needed to, since the line was already parting on its own.

Anyway, Alon’s carriage proceeded into the Divine Land grounds along the cleared path.

“We’ve arrived!”

Stepping down from the carriage, Alon was met with hushed murmurs and countless stares.

“Salute!!!”

Knights and soldiers stood at attention as if they had been waiting for this moment.

From the start, Divine Land had been built with strict discipline in mind.

Sure, that was true—

But by now, it was clear these knights and soldiers would carry out any order without hesitation.

‘...Even though they’re just guards.’

And then Alon spotted Deus off in the distance, watching his soldiers with a proud expression.

Suddenly, another realization hit him.

“Wait, when did they even get their uniforms coordinated?”

Back when they were first chosen, the knights didn’t have matching armor except maybe their shoulder guards.

Which made sense.

There hadn’t been time to settle on a uniform design or make new armor.

But now—

Even at a glance, their shiny, coordinated armor looked custom-made and impressive.

“When did this happen... and where did they get the money for that?”

Strange questions started piling up in his mind, and he turned his gaze away.

Then he spotted a somewhat familiar face among the knights standing in front of him.

“...?”

A man with blue skin.

‘Did I mistake him for someone?’

Alon shook his head.

That distinctive blue skin was unmistakable.

And his first impression had been so intense, there was no way he’d forget.

So Alon asked—

“Hey, what are you doing there?”

To Blue Ghost standing in the front row of the knights.

Blue Ghost looked up at the distant sky and muttered—

“......Yeah, seriously, why am I even here...?”

With the voice of someone who had reached enlightenment and given up on understanding anything.

***

Blue Ghost thought back to a little over a month ago.

The days when the White Ghost Ryanga would constantly claim to be depressed and vent her stress by beating her subordinates under the guise of “training.”

Back then, he had headed to the Marquis’s estate hoping to present Alon in front of her and end her tyranny.

Up to that point, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Upon arrival, he heard that Alon wasn’t at the estate but instead at Divine Land, a day’s distance away.

So he went to Divine Land.

And that’s when the weirdness started.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Marquis Palatio—”

“Oh, hey, a newbie? What are you doing? Don’t wear that raggedy stuff—change into this!”

“No, that’s not—"

“Shhh! No excuses! Hurry up! Training starts soon and things here are tougher than they look!”

“Wait, hold on, I’m not a soldier here or anything—”

“Stop complaining! Just change already!”

That was the first strange thing that happened.

It started the moment Blue Ghost entered Divine Land and asked a soldier where to find Marquis Palatio.

Before he knew it, he had changed into training gear.

Then the next person he encountered was—

“...You.”

“Right, just the guy I needed. You’ve seen me before, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

It was Deus.

As soon as Blue Ghost saw Deus, he approached him to explain the situation.

“Did you enlist as a soldier?”

“No way. I’m here to find Marquis Palatio—”

“I see.”

“No, seriously, I’m not a soldier! I’m just here to find the Marquis—"

“A man of your talents would be wasted as a soldier. I’ll promote you to a knight.”

‘...What? Wait! That’s not what I meant—’

“Take command of Squad 1.”

“No, wait!”

Just like that, he became a knight in an instant.

To be honest, at that moment, Blue Ghost felt a little annoyed.

And who could blame him? No one was actually listening to what he was trying to say.

Because of that, for a brief moment, he seriously considered trashing the place.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that.

There were two reasons.

First, this place had been established by Marquis Palatio.

Now, whether it was built by Palatio or an entire kingdom didn’t really matter to Blue Ghost.

However, his boss, Ryanga, cherished Palatio deeply.

And Blue Ghost knew that all too well.

If it ever got out that he’d made a mess of things here...

He knew Ryanga would not let him live it down.

The second reason—

“Being a knight is amazing.”

“You’re definitely strong.”

“Whoa—how did you even...?”

It was because the knights and soldiers around him were sincerely recognizing and admiring him.

Of course, it wasn’t like Blue Ghost had never been acknowledged before.

Even if Ryanga beat him up now and then, Blue Ghost was still the deputy boss of the Hundred Ghosts, second only to Ryanga in strength.

In other words, acknowledgment had always followed him as a matter of course.

But this was different.

Blue Ghost had never experienced this kind of admiration—pure and free of any discrimination.

Because of his naturally blue skin, he had endured unimaginable scorn from humans.

Even among the Hundred Ghosts, although his power was recognized, some still dismissed it as nothing more than inherited strength.

Of course, no one dared to say that to his face.

But it was definitely something whispered about behind his back, and he knew it.

So this kind of genuine respect felt refreshingly new.

On top of that, while knight training wasn’t too intense, it was very different from the raw and brutal style used by the Hundred Ghosts.

‘...No, actually, it was very different.’

Unlike the Hundred Ghosts, who slacked off when given orders—

The knights under his command put effort into even the smallest tasks.

And while many among the Hundred Ghosts were weak but still prideful enough to challenge him—

There was no such nonsense among the knights.

He didn’t feel any of the burdens of a superior that had constantly weighed on him back in the Hundred Ghosts.

So naturally—

Blue Ghost had spent the last month growing fond of this place without even realizing it.

Of course, he didn’t share the full story, figuring it would sound too weird, so he just said, “It kinda just happened like this.”

“So yeah, that’s how it is.”

He ended the explanation succinctly.

Inside the temporary command tent of Marquis Palatio—

Alon, who had been watching Blue Ghost speak with a faint, distant gaze, came to a conclusion.

“So in the end, you came here because of Ryanga.”

“That’s right. I came to bring you back.”

As Blue Ghost nodded, Alon looked a little sheepish.

“I did think I’d visit eventually.”

But somehow, he hadn’t gone until now.

Scratching his head, Alon said,

“Well, I was planning to head out anyway. I’ll drop by soon.”

“Understood.”

Then Alon added something more.

“Oh, and I know you kind of got swept up in all this, but... thanks for your trouble. If you want to quit, you can.”

Based on what Blue Ghost had told him—

He’d just come looking for Alon and ended up suffering for nothing.

Alon meant it as a comforting offer, but—

“No, it’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I’ve already got a position in the knight order now. Wouldn’t it be weird to just up and leave?”

Blue Ghost’s eyes started shifting around, unsure.

“Well, I guess that’s true... but shouldn’t you be getting back to Ryanga?”

“Ah, right…”

After Alon’s reply, Blue Ghost let out a soft sigh.

For a brief moment, Alon thought, “What even is this?”

“Marquis.”

“What?”

“Anyone can see he still has feelings about it, right?”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“What kind of place is this Hundred Ghosts group, anyway…”

As Evan whispered beside him, Alon quietly nodded in agreement.

“By the way, Marquis! If things are going this well… your divine power must’ve increased a ton too, right?”

“Oh, that’s true!”

Penia clapped her hands and asked, and Evan nodded as well.

“Is that so…”

At that, Alon closed his eyes to reflect inwardly.

And the moment he did—

“…?”

He found himself transported to a very familiar place.

A space filled with a shimmering blue galaxy.

“This is—”

It didn’t take long for Alon to realize where he was.

And soon—

“Long time no see.”

‘…Kalannon?’

He was finally able to meet Kalannon, the lightning receiver, again.

But—

“Yes, it’s me.”

She was no longer a young girl, but a fully grown woman.