Chapter 337 : Perplexity (3)

Everyone who had helped in the recent battle, including Alon, gathered in the conference room.

It was the first time King Stalian V had made an appearance.

“Thank you all for your help.”

They were finally able to see his face.

He looked much more emaciated than the last time they saw him.

While Alon was momentarily surprised, Stalian V quickly ended his not-so-grand speech and lightly gestured toward the air.

At that, the knights who had been completely still until then stepped forward and handed each person in the room a small jewel box.

“This is what I promised you.”

Stalian V added a few more words of formal thanks before turning away and leaving the room with his haggard face.

As the brief audience ended, Evan, standing behind Alon, slowly opened his mouth.

“That ended quicker than I expected.”

“It did.”

“The king didn’t look all that happy, though?”

Penia, standing nearby, gave him a scolding look, as if she found his comment ridiculous.

“Would he be happy? More than half the territory is gone.”

“Still, he nearly died and lived to tell the tale.”

“So what? From now on, it's going to be hell for him.”

“Hm—”

Seeing Evan's doubtful expression, as if wondering “Is it that bad?”, Penia shook her head in disbelief.

“Think about it. What’s the real problem when you lose your territory?”

“Money?”

“Money’s already gone.”

“Hmmm—Power?”

“That too is as good as gone.”

With his continued wrong answers, Penia let out a deep sigh and explained.

“Listen carefully. This isn’t just about losing territory. If it was just a region or two, maybe, but half the kingdom was obliterated. And that happened because of the king.”

“That hasn’t been confirmed, has it?”

As the situation became public, rumors spread that Ashtalon had secretly pursued the strange black stones and that’s what caused this mess.

Still, nothing had been officially verified.

But Penia furrowed her brows in frustration.

“Officially, yes, but in reality, it’s practically confirmed.”

She continued, ‘Why else would he try to clean up the mess if it wasn’t something he started?’

“Anyway, from now on, the king of Ashtalon is in for a rough ride. Internally, he’ll have nobles brimming with resentment watching for any chance to strike. Externally, he’ll be held accountable for this disaster.”

Well, if he continues to pretend he knows nothing, maybe he won’t be held responsible—but either way, the kingdom’s influence was bound to decline significantly.

“In short, it’s only going to get worse from here.”

“...Is it okay to talk about this here?”

“Of course not. Normally, I mean.”

With a shrug, Penia turned to look at Marquis Palatio with a trusting gaze.

‘Why is she looking at me? I haven’t said a word…’

He greeted the people he knew, quickly pushed the clingy mages off onto Sharan, and returned to his room.

“Marquis, how about opening it now?”

Together with Penia, he looked down at the jewel box they’d received earlier.

In truth, he was curious about the black stone Stalian V had offered as a reward.

‘Unlike the Abyssal Core, it supposedly boosts your power with no side effects…’

Alon recalled the rumors about the mysterious stone and opened the box.

“Oh—”

“That’s amazing.”

As Evan and Penia admired it, he looked inside.

Inside the box was a purple gemstone.

But it was clearly different from a normal gem.

“Indeed, it’s quite strange.”

It looked as if something was trapped inside the gem.

Alon stared at the white light confined within the gem.

Its brightness pulsed with such life-like intensity that he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

At that moment—

[Meow-?]

The black kitten, Blackie, who had been sleeping in his pocket, suddenly poked out his head.

With wide, curious eyes, the little one stared intently at the gemstone.

His big round eyes sparkled.

To top it off, Basiliora also emerged from the ring and examined the gem.

[This is—]

Basiliora tilted his head as if he didn’t quite understand what he was seeing.

“Do you know what it is?”

When Alon asked, Basiliora stared at the gem in silence for a moment, then finally spoke with an uncertain look.

[If I’m right, what’s inside this gem is divine power.]

“Divine power?”

[Yes. But it doesn’t feel like the kind of divine power we use.]

“What do you mean?”

Perplexed, Alon asked again, and Basiliora tilted his head a few more times.

[The divine power we use comes from faith.]

“Right?”

[But this definitely feels like divine power, yet—]

Hmmm~ After dragging it out a bit, Basiliora finally said,

[Honestly, I don’t really know.]

“...Then just say you don’t know.”

[Didn’t I just say that!]

Basiliora protested, clearly frustrated by Penia’s disappointed glare.

While Alon rolled the gem in his hand, he noticed that Blackie still had his face practically pressed against it.

He lifted the gem higher to take a closer look.

At that, Blackie turned to look at Alon, as if saying with his eyes, ‘Gimme.’

Alon hesitated for a second, then handed the gem over to Blackie.

And then—

Fwoosh—!

“!?”

Something was instantly sucked into Blackie’s body.

It didn’t even take a full second.

Alon quickly pulled the gem away from Blackie’s forehead, but—

The black stone had already lost its light.

“Ah—”

“Ah…”

Alon, Penia, and Evan stood there, speechless.

[Meow-]

In contrast, Blackie looked extremely satisfied, licking his front paw as he snuggled back into Alon’s arms.

“Is… is that okay?”

Evan’s voice was laced with panic.

Of course, Alon didn’t really care whether he had the gemstone or not.

He’d only been curious because it hadn’t appeared in Psychidelia, not because he intended to use it.

Still, regardless of whether he planned to use it—

He hadn’t confirmed the safety of the black stone yet.

So Alon looked toward his pocket where Blackie had gone back in.

Despite everything, Blackie curled into a ball with a satisfied expression and went to sleep.

“I should probably ask him about it later.”

Alon could only press a hand to his forehead.

***

The next day.

Alon moved to meet with Eliban.

He figured that someone like Eliban, who had often dealt with corrupted gates, might also know something about the black stones.

However—

Alon couldn’t help but be surprised.

It was because he saw a crowd of nobles surrounding Eliban.

“He really is popular.”

“Honestly, I didn’t think it’d be this much.”

Alon was aware of Eliban’s fame.

It was impossible not to be.

He had been steadily gathering information, and every time, stories of Eliban’s heroic deeds would come up.

“Actually, isn’t this kind of small?”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. Eliban attracts nobles wherever he goes, no matter the country. And in towns? He’s treated like a living legend.”

“Well, that makes sense. After all, he’s the one chosen by the goddess of Sironia, and all of his actions are focused on protecting people.”

Just as Alon nodded at Penia’s last comment—

“Oh, Marquis! What brings you here!?”

“Eliban.”

As soon as Eliban spotted Alon from afar, he abandoned the crowd of nobles and ran over.

From afar, Alon could feel the mixed stares of unease and awe.

He could practically hear them say, “I’ve been waiting forever to meet him!” and “Wait, Eliban respects him that much??”

Feeling a bit awkward, Alon cleared his throat and replied.

“Am I interrupting?”

“No, I was just chatting. What’s going on?”

“I had something I wanted to ask you.”

“Ask away.”

“Do you happen to know much about the black stones?”

Alon gave a brief explanation of what had happened yesterday.

“Oh, you probably don’t need to worry too much about that.”

Eliban answered lightly.

“…Really?”

“I mean, I don’t know everything about them either, but some of my comrades have absorbed them, and so far, they’re all fine.”

“Your comrades too…?”

“Yeah. Watching them grow stronger made me want to try it too, but I couldn’t absorb it, so I gave up.”

Alon nodded, satisfied with Eliban’s personal account.

“Oh, by the way, are you planning to head back soon?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“Then I’ll see you next time! Though we’ll probably run into each other again in about three months.”

“Three months?”

When Alon asked, Evan, who had been listening nearby, added a clarification.

“Oh, I think he’s talking about the upcoming ball in Asteria.”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

Eliban said it with a refreshing smile.

“Well, see you then!”

With a light wave, he turned and went back to conversing with the nobles.

As Alon watched him, he said,

“He’s right. It really is time to return.”

“Then shall we get ready to leave?”

“Let’s stay for about one more day. I still haven’t said goodbye to Seolrang or Radan, and I need to meet with the Saint as well.”

“Understood.”

Penia, who had been standing nearby, quickly raised her hand.

“Ah, Marquis. Then I’ll go visit my Master real quick. I should say goodbye at least.”

“Go ahead.”

After parting ways with Penia, Alon began walking back toward his room.

Not long after—

“Oh, right. Marquis.”

“What is it?”

Evan spoke up, as if he had just remembered something.

“When you return to the Marquisate, there’s something you’ll need to do.”

“Something I need to do? Did I leave some official business unfinished?”

“No, not that. You need to choose a partner.”

“…Partner?”

“Yes. For the ball in Asteria, you need to have a dance partner of the opposite sex.”

“Is that so…”

Alon’s gaze grew troubled.

‘Can’t I just not attend…?’

A fleeting thought.

But he quickly shook his head.

‘…I’ve skipped too many. I should go at least once.’

Alon hadn’t attended a single ball since a few years ago.

Sure, he’d always had plausible excuses each time.

But now, even he felt the social pressure from skipping so many.

‘And I didn’t even go to the one Siyan personally asked me to attend last time.’

Recalling that, Alon opened his mouth.

“I’ve put it off until now, so I’ll attend this time. But do I absolutely have to have a partner?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you do. This ball apparently requires a partner.”

“Guess I’ll have to find one then.”

“Exactly. You should start thinking about it ahead of time.”

“Hmmm…”

He chewed on his lip in thought for a moment.

“…Once I get back, I’ll just ask someone close by.”

“That works too. It doesn’t have to be a noble, after all.”

“You’re not the type to care about that sort of thing anyway,” Evan added.

“Or I could ask around for you if you’d like?”

He offered casually.

“Sure, that works too.”

Alon replied without much concern.

Completely unaware of the crimson brooch shining unusually bright.