Chapter 383 : Magic (3)

“I suppose it’s my turn to have a little fun.”

As soon as Rine finished speaking, a cold silence filled the room.

But only for a moment.

Yutia, who had been slightly startled, slowly began to compose herself.

Her face calmed with surprising speed.

As if what had just happened was a lie, she quickly regained her smile and opened her mouth—

“Wh-what is that?”

—but couldn’t finish her sentence.

Even Hidan, who was standing right next to her, could clearly hear the tremor in her voice.

It was a sign of Yutia’s agitation.

As if she had expected this reaction, Rine smiled faintly.

“You already know this, Yutia, but I’ve been doing my best to protect the Marquis.”

A short statement.

But that alone was enough for Yutia to easily understand how that magic orb had been made.

Forcing a smile, she stepped closer to Rine.

“R-right.”

“Yes. Don’t you have anything to say, Yutia?”

“Me?”

“Yes. I just remembered that you once told me spying on someone wasn’t a good idea.”

At Rine’s reply, Yutia froze for an instant.

Still smiling, she naturally reached toward the orb in Rine’s hand.

“But of course not. I know how much you care for the Lord, Rine.”

Whoosh!

Unfortunately, Yutia’s hand grasped only empty air.

The two exchanged smiles that didn’t quite reach their eyes.

“Hic—”

Hidden in the shadows, Hidan hiccupped involuntarily.

At the same time, Yutia’s hand darted toward Rine again—

Whoosh!

Once more, her hand caught nothing.

Refusing to give up, Yutia moved again.

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

Yet she never managed to grab the nearly damaged orb.

“This prank’s going a little too far, don’t you think, Rine?”

“Is it? I don’t think I’m moving that fast, Yutia. You could easily catch it if you wanted.”

Rine winked teasingly.

And she was right.

If Yutia truly wanted to, she could have snatched the orb from Rine’s hands in an instant.

But she didn’t—because Rine had already tampered with it.

Of course, she hadn’t completely destroyed it.

The orb was still functioning properly even now.

However, if Yutia exerted even a little strength to take it by force, it would almost certainly shatter beyond repair.

“So you’re saying you want to test me?”

Yutia glared sharply without realizing it.

“Me? Oh, no way. If you took my little prank that way, I apologize. I guess I should stop now.”

“Wait—!”

Rine’s motion to crush the orb made Yutia cry out in panic.

“Why? You told me to stop, didn’t you? That’s all I’m doing.”

Rine’s calm tone only deepened Yutia’s strained smile—the kind worn by someone barely holding back anger.

“What is it you want?”

“What I want?”

“Yes, you must want something.”

“You’re suddenly asking what I want?”

“Sure. I might’ve taken things a little too far myself.”

Yutia’s expression said, 'Let’s settle this peacefully, shall we?'

Rine smiled mysteriously.

“Thirty days.”

“...Thirty days?”

“Let me spend thirty days alone with Marquis.”

“That’s... not exactly something I can decide.”

“Maybe not decide, but you could make it happen, couldn’t you? Oh, and I don’t mean completely alone—just mostly.”

Her words hinted that she already understood Yutia quite well.

Yutia remained silent for a moment.

“Ten days.”

And so the bargaining began.

“Twenty-five.”

Rine countered immediately.

“Twelve.”

“Twenty-three.”

“Fifteen.”

“Twenty.”

“Sixteen.”

“Nineteen.”

Their fake smiles vanished.

Only the chill in their eyes remained as they locked gazes and exchanged numbers.

“Sixteen.”

“Nineteen.”

“Sixteen.”

“Nineteen.”

The situation reached a stalemate.

'W-what on earth is happening?'

Hidan stared blankly, unable to follow their sudden haggling match.

“Seventeen days. I won’t go any lower.”

“...Fine.”

At Yutia’s concession, the orb that had been trapped in Rine’s grasp dropped to the floor.

Thud.

As if she’d been waiting for it, Yutia caught it at once and tucked it into her chest like a precious treasure.

“That was a good deal, Yutia.”

“...Yeah. I suppose it was.”

Forcing a smile, she folded her arms and watched Rine’s sly grin.

And just like that, the tense battle of nerves between them came to an end.

'I have no idea what just happened anymore...'

Hidan let out a sigh of relief.

####

That night, after Alon discovered a new possibility with a bit of Yutia’s help, he suddenly opened his eyes and realized something.

'My memory’s back.'

He sat there blankly for a moment, feeling a flood of memories rushing into his mind.

But soon, as he looked at the view before him, he realized this wasn’t reality.

'A dream?'

A dream.

There was no better word to describe what Alon was seeing.

It was as if dozens of gray pastel shades were constantly sketching something and fading away, over and over, in a world otherwise painted entirely in black and white.

[Hello.]

“...Predecessor—no, wait, you’re... the Blue Eyes?”

He came face to face with Blue Eyes in the form of Predecessor.

[Correct. I like that you catch on quickly.]

Blue Eyes answered with satisfaction.

In truth, Alon had only guessed that it was Blue Eyes.

Its form was so hazy and shifting, like smoke, that no one could have identified it clearly.

The only reason Alon had recognized it was the vivid glow of its blue eyes and the black clothing that stood out even in this colorless world.

Whether Blue Eyes knew that or not, it spoke casually.

[So, how was the gift? Did you like it?]

“...Gift?”

[I made it last a little longer for you, didn’t I?]

“You were the one who did that?”

[Of course. I can help to that extent.]

“...Would’ve been nice if you’d thrown in a hint while you were at it.”

Alon’s complaint made Blue Eyes chuckle lightly.

[Sorry, that’s not my role.]

“Not your role?”

[Anyway, once you wake up, go find that friend of yours.]

“That friend?”

[What was her name again? Sironia? Yeah, that one.]

Blue Eyes dropped the hint.

“Wait, what do you mean—”

[All right, that’s enough talk for now. We’ll meet again someday.]

Before Alon could say more, Blue Eyes turned away, waving a hand as if to say farewell.

And the moment it did, Alon opened his eyes completely.

He was staring at a ceiling that had become all too familiar by now.

Blinking a few times, he wiped his face and sat up.

'Was that really a dream?' he wondered for a moment.

But he soon shook his head.

The memory was far too vivid to dismiss as a dream.

'Said our next meeting would be much later, though...Always doing things their own way.'

With a faint sigh, Alon reached over to gently stroke Blackie, who was still sleeping beside him as usual.

[Meow–?]

The little creature blinked awake and looked up at him with bright, curious eyes.

[Meow–!]

As if realizing that Alon had regained his memory, Blackie began excitedly wriggling around him—so different from before.

Smiling, Alon patted the happy creature and rose from bed.

It was time to deal with everything that had piled up while his memory was gone.

####

Even while he’d been without his memory, Alon had done his best to handle his duties.

But there were still matters he hadn’t been able to fully address.

Specifically, those concerning Divine Land.

He had managed the simpler issues, but unfortunately, most problems from Divine Land weren’t the kind that could be solved lightly.

That didn’t mean they were bad problems, though.

“So, what exactly are the things we need to handle first?”

“Well, to list the main ones—overpopulation, housing shortages, public safety, supply management, civil disputes... oh, and there’s also the matter of proclaiming the kingdom,” Penia explained.

Hearing that, Alon let out a quiet groan.

“That’s... quite a lot.”

“Well, it’s been nearly a month of neglect, after all.”

“Even if we’d dealt with it a month ago, it probably wouldn’t have been much different.”

“That’s true,” Penia admitted readily.

Then, after thinking for a moment, she added, “Still, I think it’s about time we decide on a proper direction.”

“Direction?”

“Yes. Up to now, we’ve been letting Sili handle things with full authority, but honestly, most of it’s been improvisation.”

“That’s true.”

“It’s grown too big to keep running that way... Though, honestly, the fact we’ve managed to last this long like that is a miracle.”

Alon nodded in agreement.

“Then the first thing we need to decide is—”

“I think we should start by deciding whether to declare the kingdom officially. Once we do, we can establish a proper system and—”

She trailed off, saying that once that was done, the rest would naturally follow.

Alon began to think deeply.

'A kingdom proclamation...'

Of course, he had no intention of becoming a king.

Without a doubt.

Regardless of good or evil, Alon knew himself well enough to know he lacked the temperament to be a ruler.

But the reason for his hesitation lay elsewhere—because of the Divine Blood.

His magic alone wasn’t enough to face them.

To stand against the Divine Blood, he needed divine power.

Which meant that, at this point, Divine Land itself had become something Alon needed.

Whether he liked it or not.

After some time in thought, Alon finally said,

“We’ll proceed with the proclamation.”

He’d made his decision.

“Hm. I didn’t want to say it first in case it sounded like personal opinion, but I think that’s the right call too,” Penia agreed.

“Then the first tasks are to decide the date of proclamation, then set up the governing structure, and afterward assign personnel...”

“Just hearing that already makes my head hurt.”

“Don’t worry too much. I’m sure Sili will handle it well.”

“Sili, huh...”

Alon thought of her.

The first thing that came to mind was her bright, innocent smile.

Then, all the work she had done so far.

'Yeah, if it’s Sili, things will definitely move forward.'

“The only concern is that she might overdo it,” Penia added.

“True.”

After a brief moment of mutual admiration for Sili’s abilities, the two got to work.

“I’ll let her know about the decision right away.”

“Good. And... prepare a gift as well.”

“A gift?”

“Yes. We are declaring a kingdom, after all. We’ll need to be mindful of how neighboring nations see it.”

Alon was well aware that Divine Land’s power was overwhelming.

The Allied Kingdoms had already suspected the proclamation was coming, largely because of Sili’s influence.

Still, officially declaring it would be another matter entirely.

From the Allied Kingdoms’ perspective, it wouldn’t be taken lightly.

So Alon thought it best to make some preparations.

“Understood.”

After discussing a few more details, Penia left the room.

'While I’m handling the Divine Land matters and preparing the proclamation, I’ll also need to move through Rosario,' Alon planned to himself.

And that night—

[A gift?]

“Yes.”

[So... send a gift, huh...]

Hearing Alon’s message through Penia, Sili thought about it for a moment.

[Hmm, all right. I’ll prepare a ‘gift.’]

She nodded with bright, determined eyes.

But then—

“Just to be clear, you’re not thinking anything weird, right?”

[What? Of course not! This time I fully understand what Lord Alon means! I’ll prepare a proper gift for the kingdoms, so don’t worry one bit!]

She smiled radiantly as she answered.

'...Why do I still feel uneasy about this?'

Penia couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of dread.