Chapter 371 : King? Me? (1)

Right after regaining consciousness.

“So, why did you pull a stunt like that?”

“Mm— I just wanted to let you know that the people around you right now aren’t exactly... pure of heart, Godfather.”

Alon’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Rine, who answered so calmly.

“......Really?”

“Mm... in part, yes?”

Still smiling, Rine added, “But don’t worry. None of my friends would ever stab you in the back, Godfather.”

Then, after glancing at Alon’s face for a moment, she confessed quietly.

“Anyway, I won’t be around for long.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

Rine nodded slightly, then lowered her gaze and gestured downward.

“......Huh?”

Alon noticed it.

Rine’s body was slowly fading from the feet up.

“What—?”

He frowned, not understanding what was happening.

But only for a moment.

“Don’t worry too much. I told you before, remember? That I came here with the help of an artifact.”

“Then this disappearing thing—”

“My time’s up. Normally, I could’ve lasted another month or two, but... well, things got a little intense, didn’t they?”

“Using power shortens your stay?”

“Mm, it’s more like an overload than simple time reduction, but yes.”

Alon nodded at her explanation.

She hadn’t used her full power during the battle against Sin, but it had still been a fierce fight.

“Anyway, I won’t be able to see you again for a while.”

Rine murmured softly, sounding a little lonely.

For a fleeting moment, a strange sadness passed across her face.

Alon caught that moment and replied.

“I’ll come find you soon.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Then, as if her earlier melancholy had been a lie, Rine’s sly, fox-like smile returned.

“......You.”

He had fallen for it again.

Alon couldn’t even finish his sentence.

“I’m satisfied now. I was the first face you saw after waking up, and now you’ve promised to visit me yourself.”

Still smiling like a fox, she added, “I’ll be waiting for you, Godfather.”

With that gentle farewell, she completely vanished.

Thunk—

As soon as Rine disappeared, something fell to the ground — an object that looked suspiciously like a lithium battery from Alon’s old world.

He bent down and picked it up.

Just then—

“Oh, Marquis!?”

“Evan.”

Evan burst into the room.

Alon greeted him calmly, and Evan’s surprise quickly turned into frantic concern as he hurried closer.

“Are you all right, sir!?”

“Yes, not bad.”

After checking him over, Evan sighed in relief, then hesitated before asking.

“......Do you still have your memory?”

“My memory?”

“Yes. After you collapsed, Rine mentioned that your memory might be a little unstable.”

Alon thought for a moment—then decided to tease him a little.

“Well, I suppose there might be a few blank spots here and there.”

“R-Really?”

“But don’t worry. I still remember promising to cut your salary in half.”

“......Wh-what?”

“What’s wrong?”

“N-no, sir, I thought you said... increase by half, not cut...”

“I’m pretty sure it was ‘cut.’”

“Ugh—”

Seeing Evan’s pale face, Alon couldn’t help but chuckle.

***

After that, visitors began to pour in as if they had been waiting for him to wake.

The first to arrive were Basiliora and Blackie — both of whom, for some reason, were in Yutia’s care.

[Meow!]

[I’ll protect you now~!]

Whatever had happened to them, both were trembling slightly.

Alon simply nodded in acknowledgment.

After that, one by one, everyone who knew Alon came to visit.

Of course, there were moments — like when Ryanga or Seolrang subtly tried to test his memory, or when Penia looked at him with eager, sparkling eyes — but Alon decided to play dumb for their peace of mind.

After enduring that flood of visits, several more days passed.

Once his body had fully recovered, Alon was finally able to grasp the situation in detail.

“A completely new type of creature?”

“Yes. We’re calling them monsters for now, but these are totally new species that started appearing after the Milky Way fell. Their forms are all over the place.”

“Is the situation bad?”

Evan shook his head.

“No, according to reports, not that bad yet.”

“......Really?”

“Yes. If they’d attacked randomly, that would’ve been one thing, but so far they’ve just been appearing, not attacking villages. However—”

“However?”

“If they ever do start attacking, things could get very ugly.”

“And with the anomaly gates on top of that...”

“Oh, that’s actually fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yes. Maybe it’s coincidence, but right after the Milky Way fell, all remaining anomaly gates vanished.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

The Milky Way — the divine blood — had fallen, and in its wake, the anomaly gates disappeared.

Could that really be coincidence?

Alon pondered it briefly, then nodded.

“Anything else to note?”

“Mm— aside from the meeting tomorrow, not really. Unless... you mean Eliban.”

“Eliban...”

As Alon murmured the name, Evan quickly added—

“He still hasn’t awakened from his coma. Rine said even she couldn’t tell.”

Alon let out a quiet sigh.

To be honest, he had secretly hoped that Eliban would be awake by the time he opened his eyes.

There was so much he wanted to ask him.

“Anyway, that’s everything that happened while you were unconscious, my lord.”

Alon nodded and exhaled slowly.

The truth was, ever since this last battle ended, his own thoughts had become heavy.

Even leaving aside everything related to Eliban, there was much to consider.

The first matter was divinity.

More precisely, the change that had occurred in Alon’s body.

Alon calmly closed his eyes and entered a state of introspection.

What he expected to see was the same divine authority he always saw.

Yes—under normal circumstances.

‘It’s gone.’

Alon saw nothing but pitch-black emptiness within himself.

For a moment, he wondered if he had made an error entering his inner world.

But no—this was undeniably his inner realm.

Which meant that all of his divine authorities were gone.

Even the one that emitted that ominous light—gone without a trace.

It was a shocking situation.

Yet, Alon managed to remain calm—relatively speaking.

After all, he could still use divine power just fine.

His divinity was gone, but his divine power remained usable.

That was the first thing troubling him.

The second was the divine blood that had fallen to the earth—something he had never once seen in Psychedelia.

Alon had never seen anything in the game beyond the point where Psychedelia ended.

Naturally—because the game ended once Sin was defeated.

Which meant that from here on out, Alon would have to uncover the truth about the divine blood himself.

About those divine bloods that now sought to bring ruin to this world.

Fortunately, Alon did have one possible source of information.

“......This is what Eliban was carrying?”

“Yes, sir.”

The Jewel of the Closed-Eyed One.

Alon silently stared at the black crystal he had been searching for all this time—yet had never expected to find in Eliban’s possession.

With this, perhaps the questions burning in his mind could finally be answered.

Questions about the divine blood.

And questions about himself.

Then, his final troubling thought surfaced.

“......What was that voice?”

The words he had heard when the Milky Way fell.

[Now I can finally see you! Come, show me—]

[finallyfinallyfinallyFiNaLlY——]

The intense static had made it impossible to make out clearly.

But even from the parts he had heard, it was strange.

It sounded as if the voice had known Alon for a long time.

‘What was that?’

Alon found it deeply unsettling.

Assuming the voices belonged to beings looking down on him from above, their words weren’t entirely unfathomable.

But that would only explain them knowing him—not the favor he sensed.

Because mixed in with that favor was undeniable malice as well.

‘And that last voice...?’

Alon recalled it.

Right before he lost consciousness—after hearing the voices of the falling divine blood—there came another whisper.

At the time, he couldn’t make out a single word.

It had sounded like nothing more than a faint mumble.

But after awakening—and replaying that noise in his mind over and over—Alon was now able to interpret the words.

[Come to the eastern edge, friend. Then I will return to you that which is precious to you.]

A voice so quiet that he hadn’t even realized it had been words.

Perhaps it had even come from behind him.

Alon remained silent for a long while.

Why would those divine beings—if that’s what they were—say such a thing to him?

He had no idea.

But eventually, he shook his head.

In any case, with no information, drawing any conclusion would be impossible.

“Evan.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“After next week’s meeting, we’ll head to Raksas.”

“So suddenly...? Understood, my lord.”

Evan bowed his head, and Alon let out a long sigh.

It was late at night.

***

One day later.

In the wake of Ashtalon’s destruction, and the emergence of strange new monster species around the world, a council meeting was convened.

Alon attended.

Until the moment he stepped into the council chamber, he had no particular thoughts.

No—more accurately...

“So then, what are your thoughts, Marquis Palatio—no, Your Majesty?”

“...Hm? What? No... wait—what?”

It wasn’t until Carmaxes III casually referred to him as king that Alon’s mind truly went blank.

It had barely been a few days since he had regained consciousness—

And now question marks were once again flooding above his head.