Chapter 351 : Voting (6)

On the day of the vote to choose Marquis Palatio’s partner.

Alon sat blankly in the massive auction hall, right beside the statue of the Marquis.

“Would it even be right to call this an auction hall?”

He stared absentmindedly at the scene before him.

The first thing that caught his eye was the outer walls of the hall, completely opened up.

Next, the sheer number of gathered citizens of the domain filled his vision.

And at the center, where items for auction should have been displayed, stood Deus instead.

[Now, before we begin the voting, let’s hear a few words from the final candidates.]

As the townsfolk clapped and cheered with loud cries, Alon turned his gaze away and looked at Evan.

Evan answered with nothing but an expression that said, “Don’t look at me, I don’t know anything either.”

When Alon turned his eyes again, the auction master, Alexion, opened his mouth as if waiting for this moment.

“The candidates themselves requested it.”

“They requested it?”

“Yes, they said they wanted to speak one last time before the vote.”

“Isn’t that… spending a bit too much money for something like this?”

Alon’s expression soured.

Of course, he had saved enough wealth to spend freely if he wanted.

But he had no desire to waste it on something so trivial.

Even though he had become wealthy, Alon’s humble, small-citizen mindset hadn’t changed.

“There’s no need to worry about the cost. None of it came from our funds.”

“…How?”

“It just turned out that way. The candidates themselves covered things like the wall construction, so we had no expenses. Besides, it was a good time for renovations anyway.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Since our house’s trade business has been expanding, more and more merchants have been coming and going. I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

Alon nodded.

Alexion’s words were true.

“So, the auction hall space has gradually become insufficient, is that what you’re saying?”

“Exactly. And with the walls opened up like this, we believe there are many advantages. For instance, as you thought, my lord, the Marquisate could adjust when and how merchants gather here.”

Alon hummed thoughtfully, nodding again.

Indeed, if they used this setup to host open events, they could gather specific merchants when needed.

“I see.”

And just as Alon came to terms with it, the first candidate appeared on stage.

[Greetings, everyone.]

It was Duchess Altia.

She used her two minutes to deliver a polished, elegant speech, as if she had rehearsed it countless times, before stepping down gracefully.

It was so well-crafted that even Alon quietly admired it to himself.

Though, the townsfolk’s response was rather lukewarm.

The following candidates also came up one by one to speak, but none managed to win the crowd over, nor did any of them surpass Duchess Altia in eloquence.

Then, when the fourth candidate stepped forward—

[Ahem, ahem~]

It was Seolrang.

She lightly tapped the magically-amplified communicator, tested it with an “Ah, ah—,” and then declared—

[If I become the Marquis’s partner, I will build a Colosseum in the Marquisate!]

She suddenly threw out a shocking promise.

“…What?”

‘What in the world is she saying?’

Alon turned his eyes toward the gathered gladiators.

Naturally, they too tilted their heads in confusion.

But Seolrang paid no attention.

[And I’ll move… ah, no, not move… um… transfer! Yes, I’ll transfer the gladiators here!]

With her fanged smile beaming brightly, she shouted her pledge.

‘Babayaga? Then does that mean we’ll be able to watch the Colosseum here too?’

‘That’d be amazing!’

The hall erupted with excitement.

And just like that, her speech—lasting less than a minute—garnered more applause and enthusiasm than all the others combined.

“…Do you think that promise could actually be kept?”

“It could… be kept.”

“Could be?”

“Well… it might spark a war.”

“…Hmm.”

Gladiators were the main military force of a colony.

And now one colony’s core strength was being claimed by the Marquisate?

Even if it wasn’t the Marquis’s intention, from the colony’s perspective, it was like watching their main forces being stolen in broad daylight.

“So Seolrang just—”

“She just blurted it out, really.”

‘Can she handle the consequences?’

Alon swallowed heavily.

The next candidate stepped onto the platform.

Following Seolrang was Magrina.

And then—

[Everyone, I am the Queen of the Elves.]

For a moment, everyone was stunned by the sudden revelation.

[If I become Brother’s partner, I promise continuous exchanges between our kingdom and the Marquisate.]

At her words, a cloud of confusion hung over the crowd.

Their faces said, “So what?”

But then—

[For example, marriages between elves and humans.]

The moment she added that, the puzzled looks on the townsfolk’s faces transformed into wide-eyed exclamation.

“!!?”

Even the elves themselves were thrown into disarray.

‘Did I really just hear that?’

They stared at Magrina, their expressions filled with shock that quickly shifted toward dismay.

Alon turned to look at Evan.

“Why are you suddenly looking at me?”

“Well, I was wondering if Magrina had given you any hint about this beforehand…”

“Not at all.”

“…So she just…”

“She just blurted it out.”

Alon silently turned back to face forward.

Magrina stepped down with a bold expression after finishing her speech.

‘This feels strangely familiar, like in my past world…’

It was just like watching politicians who made countless promises they could never keep, tossing out empty pledges to win votes.

Alon felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Time passed.

Perhaps spurred on by the shocking statements of Seolrang and Magrina, or maybe it had been planned all along, but—

[Elect me and I’ll protect everything.]

[If you choose me, I’ll give every citizen a gold coin.]

Historia and Rine followed suit, tossing out their own wild pledges.

Only Ryanga refrained from joining in.

Instead—

[Um, I don’t really have anything special I can do…]

With an embarrassed face, she fidgeted nervously.

[E-even so, I’ll do my best as Chief’s partner!]

She clenched her fist and shouted, as if she had made up her mind and overcome her embarrassment.

Of all the speeches so far, hers had the least substance.

However—

—We’re rooting for you! We’ll cheer for you!!

—Go, White Ghost!!!

—White Ghost is the best!!!

Strangely, the voices cheering for Ryanga were incredibly loud.

No—looking closely, it wasn’t that the crowd was huge, but that a subset of them was reacting to Ryanga with extreme fervor.

Alon felt like he had seen that scene somewhere before.

‘…Where had it been?’

Where had he seen it?

“Ah.”

“What is it, my lord?”

After a long silence, Alon realized the source of his déjà vu.

“It feels like idol fans.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

He waved it off vaguely.

Ryanga awkwardly waved her hand, and from one side of the crowd came a strange roar of “Uooooo~!!!”

The final candidate to take the stage was Yutia.

[Hello, everyone. I am Cardinal Yutia.]

Yutia greeted them politely.

Unlike the other candidates, she radiated clear composure.

[I won’t be making any promises like the others. I only want you to keep one thing in mind.]

Ahem.

[The lamb that does not heed the voice of truth and steps into the forbidden shall, in the end, be torn by beasts and become an offering to judgment.]

Yutia’s solemn voice rolled low across the hall.

As the suddenly hushed crowd looked on, Yutia smiled gently.

[Choices are very important, you know?]

With that, she stepped down from the platform.

“…That’s kind of scary.”

“I agree.”

It was surely a quote from scripture.

Yet after everyone heard it, the remark felt half like a warning and half like it wasn’t.

[Now then, we’ll begin the vote.]

The voting began.

***

The “election” only ended five days later.

Had the preparations been more thorough, it could have finished sooner.

Just the voting took more than two full days, and the counting took even longer.

There were even some odd attempts at interference during the process.

For example, an elf who was caught siphoning off votes meant for Magrina.

A domain resident who tried to vote twice for Seolrang.

Counterfeit ballots turned up that hadn’t been issued by the Marquisate.

Despite the various incidents, fortunately they didn’t cause major disruption to the count.

And at the end of the five-day marathon, the one selected as Alon’s partner was—

“Well—an expected result.”

Yutia.

Yutia Bloodia wore an utterly relaxed smile.

“No way~!”

“They must have pulled some trick!”

“Yeah!”

“Uuugh—we worked so hard.”

The other candidates shouted at Yutia, who was basking in victory.

However—

“Please don’t be so down. This truly is the natural outcome. I told you from the very beginning, didn’t I?”

“That’s exactly what’s weird! I definitely had the better crowd reaction!”

Seolrang protested, as if it made no sense.

Even so, Yutia replied without losing her smile to Seolrang’s impertinence.

“It simply means the world knew who suited Lord best.”

No matter who lobbed a slur, Yutia’s answer was always, “So what exactly can you do?”

Panting, Seolrang glared at her—then suddenly seemed to think of something.

“Then I’ll be a bodyguard knight!”

“…A bodyguard knight?”

“We’re allowed two escorts! Then I’ll be Master’s bodyguard knight!”

She shot her hand up and shouted.

At that, the defeated candidates, who had been glaring at Yutia a moment ago, immediately changed targets.

“F-fine, I’ll take that as a consolation prize~!”

“M-me too, I want to, me too!”

“I’d be better than you—”

“Everyone, please maintain decorum. This too should be decided by a fair vote—”

At the instant the word “vote” came out of Magrina’s mouth again amid the chaos—

“Enough with the voting.”

Alon firmly put a stop to them.

Then—

Sighs of relief could be heard near the trees and the castle wall by the office, from both elves and gladiators.

Alon quickly wrapped things up.

“Now, there’s not much time left—let’s head to the ballroom. We also have to stop by the Mage Tower.”

A journey to Teria.

It would be his first outing in months.

Just as Alon was preparing to depart—

“Let’s go back.”

“Yes.”

Duchess Altia also came to a realization.

Among the strong, survival is this difficult.

“The weak cannot survive.”

With slumped shoulders, Duchess Altia took her leave of a place little different from a demon realm.

***

As Alon made for the Mage Tower—

“So you’re saying he said he doesn't even need three times the amount you first offered?”

“That’s correct.”

“And if he won’t comply so easily?”

“If it comes to that—”

King Palmaryan, sovereign of Tolenis and Caliban, was speaking with a grave expression.

“—we may have to go to war.”

Something about this… has gone wrong.