Right after Yuman warned and left, Alon returned to his room for a brief rest.
“So, that Rikrakamur, or whatever it’s called, was it big?”
“…All of a sudden?”
“The soldiers back from the expedition have been making a huge fuss. I keep hearing them talk about it.”
Evan asked.
[Hmph, it was just a giant-sized weakling.]
But the one who responded wasn’t Alon—it was Basiliora.
“Huh? How is it out here?”
[Don’t point at ! You lowly human!]
Basiliora snapped at the finger pointed toward it.
“It complained about being too bored, stuck inside the ring. So I made it so it can co out freely.”
“…That was possible?”
“If you connect a trace of magic to the ring’s slot as it said,
it can co and go as it pleases.”
[Ha-ha-ha-ha! That’s right! Now I am a free spirit!]
Basiliora curled its body and opened its mouth wide.
As always, it was no larger than 30 cm and just looked cute.
“Anyway, Rikrakamur was bigger than Basiliora.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then this snake-head could’ve been killed in one hit?”
Evan smirked as if teasing.
The small snake beca enraged at his words.
[What nonsense! If I had manifested fully, I could have shredded that thing into pieces!]
“Yeah, yeah, sure.”
[Don’t underestimate , human! You even lost to in a card ga!]
“You barely won one out of thirty rounds, and now you’re talking big!”
[Hmph! The final victor is the true winner!]
The two started bickering again as soon as they t.
‘…Are they getting along, or not?’
anwhile, the small creature on Alon’s chest—Blackie—
erged from his coat and curiously stared at Basiliora.
[Huh?]
Noticing the gaze, Basiliora sneered.
[Hmph! A little brat like you, still reeking of milk, dares to look up at !!!]
With a growling sound, Basiliora roared.
However, Blackie simply tilted its head once.
Smack!
[ow?!]
It struck the spectral form of Basiliora, sending it flying.
Basiliora crashed to the ground like a toy, rolling about.
“Oh. Ohhh! Finally, I have an attack option!”
Evan lifted Blackie as if he had found a great weapon,
but—
Screeeeeech!!!
The little kitten suddenly revealed glowing red eyes,
letting out a terrifying screech.
Evan, who had been grinning, imdiately put Blackie down.
Witnessing all this, Alon muttered,
“…What a ss.”
He sumd up the triangular relationship simply.
***
While Alon’s party was spending their peculiar but cozy ti together, in a guest room near the border, two individuals were facing each other.
On one side was Cardinal Yutia of the Holy Kingdom, and on the other was Yuman, the Saint of the Holy Kingdom.
“Your Holiness, you said you had business with . What is it?”
Yutia smiled lightly, while Yuman, with a hardened expression, got straight to the point.
“Cardinal Yutia, did you visit the border a month ago?”
The question was dry and interrogative, devoid of any pleasantries.
Yet Yutia’s smile did not waver.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“I heard rumors of you being seen in the northern canyon region a month ago.”
It was just a rumor, but Yuman hadn’t co to Yutia based on re hearsay.
“Cardinal Yutia, you were in Caliban about a month ago, weren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I was scheduled to attend the kingdom banquet.”
“No, that’s incorrect. The banquet was originally ant for Cardinal Sergius, but you suddenly altered the schedule to attend, didn’t you?”
Yutia did not respond. She simply gazed at Yuman with a faint smile, as if inviting him to continue.
Yuman calmly pressed on.
“I heard that after arriving in Caliban, you disappeared for about three days.”
“I did inform the priests that I was going to spread Sironia’s teachings in another village.”
“I know. And the village you visited, ‘Pigani,’ is about a day’s journey from Caliban. It’s known for its cheese—a specialty that visitors are always encouraged to try. A very hospitable place.”
“Is that so?”
“Did you have so cheese?”
“Of course.”
Yutia answered imdiately with a smile.
However, Yuman’s expression grew colder.
“That’s unfortunate. Because what I just said was a lie.”
“Pigani’s specialty is indeed cheese, but unfortunately,
no cheese was made this year. And there’s none left in storage either, because Pigani’s food warehouse burned down in an accident months ago.”
“……”
“In short, Cardinal Yutia, you couldn’t have eaten any cheese.”
Yuman stared intently at Yutia and bluntly declared,
“…Cardinal Yutia, you were in the canyon, weren’t you?”
“Perhaps.”
Even when Yuman struck the nail on the head,
Yutia continued to smile without the slightest sign of fluster.
In fact, she seed to find the situation amusing, her smile deepening.
To the point where Yuman felt disconcerted.
His voice grew colder.
“If you don’t intend to answer, then I’ll change the question. What are you planning to do with Marquis Palatio? What sche are you working on?”
“Is that what you want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“…Because he is already a man who has endured many trials. You cannot treat him recklessly or thoughtlessly.”
For the first ti, a faint curiosity flashed in Yutia’s eyes.
It was fleeting, so brief that even Yuman failed to notice.
But soon after, she quickly masked it, gently brushing her lips with her fingertips.
“Perhaps you and I are looking at the sa thing.”
“…What did you just say?”
“You said you wanted to know what I’m planning for my lord, didn’t you? It’s simple. I want to make him into sothing greater. Yes, just that.”
“…Sothing greater?”
“Yes, sothing greater.”
“He is already great.”
“Well, is he really?”
Her lodious laughter echoed in the room.
“I agree with you. But it’s not enough. He will beco even greater. No, he must beco greater. More, much more.”
Yuman involuntarily shuddered.
He was sure the person before him was Cardinal Yutia.
There was no surge of magic or divine power, no visible change.
Nothing had changed.
Yet his entire body trembled.
Because in Yutia’s eyes, madness glead vividly.
Staring into her eyes, Yuman was certain.
They couldn’t possibly be looking at the sa thing.
She was dangerous.
—
Fleeting thoughts raced through Yuman’s mind.
How could he separate her from the Marquis?
No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t co up with a way.
Or rather, he thought of a few thods, but couldn’t predict how Cardinal Yutia would respond if it ca to that.
Therefore—
“…I won’t let you manipulate Marquis Palatio as you please.”
Yuman declared firmly to Yutia, but even that—
“Please do so, Your Holiness. The more you do, the more it will benefit my lord as well.”
Yutia responded softly.
For a mont, their gazes locked.
A mixture of unreadable emotions and determination filled the air.
***
anwhile, back with Alon—
Tap, tap~!
[Ack… Please, please stop. Have rcy…!]
“That’s it, Blackie! Crush that stupid snake-head!”
Alon stared blankly at the one-sided sparring between Basiliora and Blackie, thinking to himself—
‘…Should I eat so sweet potatoes?’
About a day later, as Alon debated whether to head to Lartania or return to the Marquis’ estate, at an auction house in Marquis Palatio’s estate—
“Ha-ha-ha-ha~!”
Alexion, once the fad appraiser, now the owner of the auction house, let out a boisterous laugh in his office.
Despite sleeping barely four hours a day, he couldn’t help but revel in his current life.
The reason? Money.
Alexion was earning so much that it felt like he was reliving his golden days in the backstreets of Raksas.
To put it in perspective: he had already recouped every penny he had grudgingly invested thanks to Satan’s nacing glare.
And that wasn’t all.
Running the auction house under Marquis Palatio’s na had brought him a slew of goodwill and connections.
All without lifting a finger.
Simply opening the auction house in the Marquis’ estate was enough for people to assu he had ties to the Marquis, earning him not goodwill—
No.
“Ha-ha-ha—”
He was being bribed.
Clink, clink!
Alexion repeatedly dipped his hands into the two boxes on his desk.
The boxes brimd with valuable items.
He lifted them up and let them fall back with a soft clatter.
Just looking at it filled him with joy.
He couldn’t help but smile, feeling that the grueling months of hard work were finally paying off.
The fact that this wealth ca from soone else’s status made it all the sweeter.
It was free money, unearned, like stumbling upon a fortune.
While he was basking in this euphoria—
Knock, knock~!
A knock sounded at his office door, and he responded cheerfully,
“Co in.”
But—
The mont he saw who walked in, he froze.
“Oh my—”
A man stepped in leisurely,
“You’ve certainly been enjoying the fruits of your labor.”
“…What?”
It was soone who should not have been here.
“…Radan?”
“Yes, that’s .”
The Pirate King of Raksas, Radan, greeted him with a sly smile.
For a brief mont, Alexion gaped in disbelief.
Before he could even ask how Radan got here,
“So, you’ve been enjoying a lot of bribes, haven’t you?”
Radan’s words cut through the silence.
Alexion stamred,
“Ah, well… you see… this was all ant for you!”
“Is that so?”
“Ha-ha-ha, of course! Since these goods ca through the Marquis’ status, it’s only natural to share so of it with you…!”
Alexion tried to slyly create an opening.
But—
“So of it?”
“Ah—ha-ha-ha, no, no, more than half! I an, I did put in so effort too, so…”
“You think you need the rest?”
At Radan’s next words—
“…No.”
“Then?”
“…I’ll give it all to you.”
Alexion nodded obediently.
And then—
“That’s the right choice.”
Radan nodded along with him.
Watching Radan, Alexion cursed inwardly,
‘This damn sea bass…’
But outwardly,
“Could I get a cup of coffee?”
“Of course, I’ll get it right away.”
He hurriedly bowed his head and forced a grin.
A grin full of desperation to survive.
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