Chapter 342 : ???? Years Old (1)

Because the office was too small, they first moved to the tea parlor where everyone could sit.

After that.

Alon simply served tea, then awkwardly scratched his head in the still-quiet atmosphere.

Just then—

“Marquis.”

“What is it, Evan?”

“It’s about the auction house matter you stamped last time............”

“Did something go wrong?”

“It seems so. The proposal came up again and I think you should check it now.”

“If that’s the case~”

Evan brought the report.

Alon stood up right away and said,

“Sorry, but I’ll go take care of this real quick. We’ve already introduced ourselves, so go ahead and talk amongst yourselves.”

Everyone nodded in unison.

Alon turned and left the room.

Once again, silence fell over the tea parlor.

Though no one was outwardly threatening, there was still an odd sense of tension in the air.

Even Seolrang, who would usually giggle and mess with Rine whom she hadn’t seen in a while—

Clink—

Sat stiffly with both hands wrapped around her teacup, her face frozen.

And the first to speak was—

“Was it Deus Macallian?”

—Nangwon.

“That’s right.”

Deus nodded calmly.

A moment later.

“Fufufu, I’m impressed you noticed. You must have an eye for such things.”

“Is that so? But it was so well made that I couldn’t help but admire it.”

Unlike the earlier tense mood, Deus and Nangwon were conversing with faint smiles on their lips.

The reason was—

“To think you’d engrave something like that into a statue—never crossed my mind.”

“If you’re interested, I can show you how I carve it into a statue next time.”

“Oh, I’m looking forward to that.”

—Because of Alon’s statue.

The atmosphere quickly lightened thanks to the sudden camaraderie between Deus and Nangwon.

As only their voices echoed—

“Ahem, let me reintroduce myself. I’m Yutia Bloodia.”

“Allow me as well. I’m Magrina, Queen of Fildagreen.”

“I’m Ryanga.”

“I’m Seolrang!”

“I’m Rine.”

“Historia.”

Those who had remained silent earlier now introduced themselves one by one, and naturally, the conversation began to flow.

The air had softened considerably compared to the beginning.

But even so, there remained a subtle line between those present, excluding Nangwon and Deus.

For example—

“As the queen of elves, I’m sure you must have a lot on your plate. But no worries, we’re already supporting Lord well, so there’s no need for you to concern yourself too much.”

“I can’t just ignore it. Ms. Seolrang over there and Sister Rine here are all from foreign lands, so I have to offer a bit more help.”

“It’s fine, really. We’ve already taken care of anything that might trouble our Lord.”

“Still, Brother often needs information. We believe it’s important to support him in the ways he needs.”

Though they were smiling as they spoke,

They were clearly referring to each other in distinct groups.

It couldn’t be helped.

Yutia, along with Seolrang, Rine, and Deus, were people Alon had saved roughly ten years ago.

Whereas Magrina, Nangwon, Historia, and Ryanga were people he had rescued after traveling to the past.

“Our Lord already has plenty of support from us.”

“So do we.”

‘We can support him well enough on our own, so don’t overstep.’

‘Nope, I will.’

That’s what Yutia and Magrina were saying to each other with smiles.

Just as the brief moment of harmony began to dissolve and the tension began to rise again—

“What a coincidence. Who would’ve thought that everyone with a connection to the Marquis would all gather here today for something important.”

The tea party—

“That matter should’ve already been settled though.”

Snap.

With just one line from Yutia, the air instantly froze.

“Oh my, what do you mean by that?”

Raising her teacup with a smile, Magrina paused, then slowly set it down and asked again.

But Yutia replied without losing her smile.

“Just as you heard? The important decision has already been made, so I thought you might feel a bit regretful.”

“You seem to know what that matter is?”

Yutia didn’t answer Magrina’s question.

She simply smiled slyly with those snowy fox-like eyes and took a sip of her tea.

“S-Seriously? It’s already over? Wait, didn’t it just begin???”

Ryanga, who had only been awkwardly scratching her head until then, gasped in shock, clearly shaken.

Magrina, who had been staring at Yutia, spoke.

“As far as I know, it’s not over yet.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. We were supposed to talk about it today.”

“That conversation won’t mean much.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because it’s already been decided.”

“But I heard this person only chooses candidates. The one who really decides is Brother, right?”

Magrina’s firm retort.

Yutia simply kept her calm expression and sipped her tea again.

Sllrp—

Her attitude was just so composed.

After elegantly setting down her teacup, she said—

“Yes. That’s why I’m telling you now.”

She smiled sweetly.

Everyone’s gaze quickly shifted to Yutia.

In the face of that overwhelming confidence, everyone was left speechless.

“That’s just Yutia’s opinion, isn’t it?”

Rine suddenly countered.

“Y-Yeah! Yutia! That’s just what you think! We don’t know what Master’s going to decide!”

Seolrang chimed in.

The invisible alliance that had formed moments ago collapsed in an instant.

Allies from a few seconds ago became adversaries within seconds.

“So it seems.”

“Ahem, it’s true that Chief will make the final call, so nothing’s set in stone yet.”

Magrina added with a smile.

Ryanga clenched her fists quietly, renewing her resolve.

Despite all this, Yutia remained composed.

“Is that so?”

As if she’d known she’d win from the beginning.

She wore the smile of a victor.

At that, the others all clamped their mouths shut.

Even Magrina, who had managed to keep smiling until now, subtly tensed her face.

If Yutia was that certain—

There must be something going on.

Feeling the pressure, Seolrang clenched her teeth and hesitated.

Should she use that?

But fearing the consequences, she struggled internally—

Then made her decision.

“But still, Yutia isn’t really suited to be a partner, is she?”

She let it out.

Yutia stared at her calmly through the silence.

Feeling oddly exposed, Seolrang averted her eyes and mumbled.

“Yutia’s, uh, like, hundreds of times older than Master…… right……?”

She blurted it out.

Avoiding eye contact—

Yutia froze in place.

Seolrang’s secret weapon, launched recklessly, fell right on Yutia’s head.

And—

“Oh my, is that so.”

Within seconds—

Magrina declared a new alliance with Seolrang.

“Hmmm~”

“That’s certainly true.”

Ryanga and Rine jumped in right on cue.

Historia’s emotionless gaze turned toward Yutia.

A perfect counterattack.

However.

After freezing up for a moment, Yutia softly laughed.

“Fufu~”

She glanced around at everyone.

There was a faint cracking sound—barely audible.

“Sorry, Seolrang, but that’s not quite right, is it?”

“Huh? What do you mean—”

“I’m twenty-two years old this year.”

“?”

“?”

“?”

“Eh? That can’t be right. You’re clearly—”

“I said I’m twenty-two.”

“......Aren’t you just insisting on that?”

“Well, what can I do if it’s the truth, Rine? It’s not nice to spread falsehoods, you know?”

Tilting her head, Yutia acted as if she had no memory of her past.

By the time everyone was making an exasperated face, she continued speaking.

“Besides, if we’re going to bring up age, I believe most of you aren’t exactly in your teens either. Am I wrong?”

“!!”

“!”

Everyone fell silent once more under Yutia’s attack.

Truthfully, she wasn’t wrong.

Magrina, Ryanga, and even Historia had all lived for 600 years.

On top of that, Rine had technically been sealed for 600 years, so she couldn’t escape either.

“Ahem, did you know? High Elves live a really long time? So by elven standards, I’m only around twenty.”

Recovering her composure, Magrina pulled out a miraculous calculation method (?).

“M-Me too! We live for a long time, okay!? If I wanted to, I could live for thousands of years… Uh, wait, how old am I in human years again +.....?”

Trying to follow Magrina’s logic, Ryanga glitched out with spinning eyes.

“I’m the same.”

Historia calmly agreed.

But Rine countered.

“I’m still twenty, Yutia.”

“How so?”

“Because I was sealed. I didn’t age.”

“But you were awake for those 600 years.”

“Even so, my physical age didn’t change. If you’re saying I aged during that time, then your logic doesn’t make sense either, Yutia.”

Yutia clammed up again at her words.

And Rine looked at her expressionlessly but with a strangely triumphant face.

“Ahem. Then I must be the one who suits Master best!”

Right after, Seolrang entered the fray, full of confidence.

Just then—

“What.”

Even while engrossed in the statue discussion, Nangwon had heard everything and spoke absentmindedly.

“Whether it’s 600 years or more… Honestly, that’s still just aging all the same, isn’t it?”

“I agree with that.”

“Right? In the end, by human standards, you’re all kind of Aun—”

He didn’t finish the last word.

The moment Nangwon tried to say that word, both he and Deus were kicked—

By Magrina and Yutia respectively.

And then—

BOOOOOOM—!!!!

[—?!]

“—!?”

Alon, who had been reviewing the proposal that had come back, suddenly sensed a surge of violent magical energy and a loud boom—

And saw the mansion wall completely shattered with Deus and Nangwon smashed into a bookshelf.

In shock, he tried to activate Reverse Heaven.

“I’m sorry, my Lord.”

“Sorry for causing a scene.”

“Yutia… Magrina?”

Alon froze at the sight of Yutia and Magrina emerging from the smoky rubble.

Following behind were Ryanga, Historia, and Rine.

The three of them silently grabbed Nangwon and Deus by the ankles and dragged them back into the room they came from.

Alon just—

Blankly stared at the scene.

“Don’t worry, my Lord. We just got caught up in a small conversation and things got a bit messy.”

“We’ll be heading back now.”

“Do your best with work, Chief!”

“Good luck, Divine One!”

“See you in a bit, Godfather.”

The girls cheerfully waved as they dragged the two grown men away.

Alon sat down with a thud, his mind completely blank.

[Meow~]

Then, gently stroking Blackie who had jumped into his arms in alarm,

“Deus and Nangwon… are they going to be okay…?”

He stared blankly at the hole in the wall.

***

That night, after the big commotion at the Palatio Marquis’ mansion.

Alexion—

Began conducting interviews.

“Hello.”

“......Good evening.”

“I’m Rine Groff.”

……

“Ah, yes, but um… the letter, where did you get it?”

“It came to me.”

“Oh… You received a letter?”

“Yes.”

“……Uh, sorry, but we didn’t send a letter to a Ms. Rine Groff.”

“Huh?”

“Well, I don’t recall writing a letter to Ms. Rine Groff—”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t send—”

“Huh?”

“..............Come to think of it, I guess I did send it.”

“Right?”

“Yes.”

—Interviewing the thief.

“Oh, by the way, I heard the interviews are based on a scoring system?”

“That’s correct.”

“I hope I get a good score.”

“Well, the scoring is based on a number of criteria—”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Rine agreed far too easily.

Just as Alexion was about to revise his evaluation of her to ‘A person who may lack shame, but at least has basic decency’—

CRACK!

Alexion saw it.

The golden crown emerging from behind Rine.

Effortlessly boring a clean hole through the desk between them.

“Ah, I’m so sorry. I’m not used to this body yet, so I messed up. I don’t even have full control over my strength yet… I apologize.”

Rine muttered soullessly.

At that sight—

“L-Let’s begin.................”

Alexion tightly shut his eyes.