Chapter 457 : Why is that............? (5)
Two weeks had passed since heading toward the central Mage Tower.
Alon’s group reached near the central Mage Tower without any particular trouble.
“We’re already here.”
As Alon muttered while chewing on a roasted sweet potato, Evan nodded.
“Doesn’t it feel much more convenient moving through the Allied Kingdom Alliance?”
“Is that so?”
“Well, compared to the Empire, the geography is more familiar and it feels more comfortable.”
Evan was right.
It wasn’t as if the Empire was always dangerous, but compared to the Eastern Empire days, it definitely felt less tense.
Alon looked out the window.
Before he knew it, the Mage Tower was close.
At that moment, Basiliora, who had been sleeping with Blackie in one corner of the carriage, staggered up and disappeared.
“Ah, what a waste.”
[Shut up.]
Evan smacked his lips at the sight, while Basiliora popped out of the ring and snapped at him.
Evan ignored her completely.
“Ah, come to think of it, it seems like diverse hairstyles are trending these days.”
“I felt that too.”
“Right? I didn’t expect each town to have such different styles. And weren’t most of them beauties? When did there get to be so many beautiful women...”
As they chatted idly and the carriage continued forward—
Boom!
A loud explosion was heard from afar.
It clearly came from the direction they were heading—namely, the central Mage Tower.
“...... ”
“Hmm?”
After checking ahead, Evan let out a strange, uncertain sound.
“What is it?”
At Alon’s question, Evan stared ahead blankly before speaking.
“Well... how should I put this. It’s quite... peculiar, so it’s a bit hard to explain.”
“Just say it.”
“Yes. So... to describe exactly what I see, suddenly a bunch of mages came pouring out of the central Mage Tower and lined up in a long row—”
“......”
“......”
“And then...?”
“They suddenly started fighting each other with magic...?”
“?”
Alon paused for a moment.
“...What does that mean?”
“I told you it was rather bizarre.”
Alon slightly opened the window and looked ahead.
Sure enough, he could see a large group of mages gathered in the distance.
They were facing off, as if ready to unleash their mana at any moment.
It was a strange situation.
Of course, many mages were eccentric, but cases where they caused violent clashes among themselves like this were extremely rare.
Even when conflicts did occur, like the one Alon had experienced before, they usually took the form of duels.
Not like a street brawl.
Before he could even grasp the situation—
“Lord Alon, shouldn’t we stop that?”
At Evan’s question, Alon nodded with a complicated expression.
Mages might be arrogant, but they valued honor, so it was unlikely they would truly engage in a brawl—yet he couldn’t just stand by.
The atmosphere felt quite serious even from afar.
Perhaps, even the slightest possibility of them actually clashing had to be stopped.
Thus, as they slowly approached and Alon was about to open the carriage door and step out—
“Make way! It was already agreed that we would welcome the King of Palantio!!”
“What nonsense! That arrangement from yesterday is void!”
Those shouts struck his ears—
“What do you mean void! We already finished the oath! Stop spouting nonsense and get lost! We will welcome the King of Palantio!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! That’s our role~!”
“No, us—”
“Us!”
“I said us!!!”
“Ack—how dare you pull my beard, you old geezer!”
“Let go of my already thinning hair!!”
Watching the two groups, who shouted loudly like they couldn’t possibly be old men and fought in a manner far too unsightly for mages—
Thud.
Alon silently closed the carriage door.
“......You’re quite popular, Lord Alon.”
At Evan’s ‘compliment,’ Alon covered his face with both hands.
...What on earth did you do, Penia............ was the only thought passing through his mind.
After one round of chaos—
No—
“Welcome to the central Mage Tower, King of Palantio—no, ‘Magic King.’”
“Magic King...?”
Passing through the mages of the tower who were blatantly trying to leave an impression on him—
“Oh, you’ve arrived!”
“......It’s been a while, Tower Master.”
“Oh my, speaking politely to me.”
“......You may treat me as before.”
“Hm hm, is that alright?”
“Then, may I also treat you as before?”
“I as well...”
After dealing with the Blue, Green, and Red Tower Masters who clung to him—
“Then, let’s discuss the details another time.”
“Ah... yes.”
“Well then!”
Alon finally boarded an artifact similar to an elevator within the central Mage Tower.
He already felt exhausted.
Closing his eyes, he muttered—
“...What is this ‘Magic King’ anyway.”
“Isn’t it nice?”
Evan suddenly said.
“What?”
“I think ‘Magic King’ sounds pretty good.”
“...Are you serious?”
“Yes. It’s not bad.”
Watching Evan shrug, Alon once again felt the same sense of dissonance he had felt back with the moving statue, and just then, they arrived where Penia was.
“You’re here!”
“Penia...”
Alon glanced once at the instigator(?) who greeted him energetically, then looked around.
The 77th floor of the central tower—it was arranged like an office.
“Ah, I borrowed it for a bit. Since we’ll be staying for a while, it couldn’t be helped.”
Noticing Alon’s puzzled gaze, Penia answered immediately.
But there was something more important.
“I need an explanation.”
Alon asked as he naturally sat on the sofa she indicated.
“Yes! I was about to explain anyway! I told you before, right? If we’re going to distribute blessings anyway, it’s better to move more efficiently.”
As if she had been waiting, Penia began her explanation.
Twenty minutes later—
“And that’s how we arrived at the current situation~”
Looking at Penia smiling proudly, Alon organized what he had just heard.
To summarize briefly—
“So after revealing that receiving my blessing allows one to use magic, you deliberately said only a few mages would be selected to incite competition... something like that?”
Penia nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Then do you know why the title ‘Magic King’ came about?”
At the question, Penia puffed out her chest confidently.
“Yes! I made that title.”
“...You?”
“Yes.”
“......Why?”
Penia answered without hesitation.
“Well, there are several reasons... but the main one is to gain the mages’ faith.”
“Faith?”
“Yes. As you know, mages are the type who would sell even their souls for magic. But strangely, when it comes to faith, they tend to become a bit rigid.”
So—she created the title ‘Magic King’ to make it more familiar to them.
Alon couldn’t shake off a fundamental doubt.
“Will that really help?”
“Hmm—it probably will quite a lot. As you know, people are heavily influenced by names.”
Finding her reasoning fairly logical, Alon accepted it for now and asked—
“Then what should I do now? Should I give blessings to the mages?”
“No? There’s no need to give them right away. Since you’re giving them anyway, it’s better to select a few.”
“Why?”
“Well, if what they want is achieved all at once, faith won’t gather.”
Clearing her throat, Penia smiled like a schemer.
“As you know, humans lose their desperation the moment they become satisfied. But if something remains unfulfilled, they grow more desperate. Especially when they see a few people being rewarded for that desperation.”
“So there’s no need to rush. We just slowly stimulate that desperation whenever we want and grant blessings. Ah, of course, the timing is up to you, Lord Alon.”
Watching her, Alon was reminded of something he had forgotten—how Penia had been treated in Psychedelia.
“Hah, as expected of someone who experienced it firsthand, your understanding is exceptional.”
Evan, who had been listening, chuckled and chimed in.
At that, Penia looked puzzled, then upon seeing Evan’s sly smile, frowned as if she realized something.
“Do you have a death wish??”
Evan shrugged and pretended not to care.
Not understanding the conversation, Alon tilted his head.
“...What are you talking about?”
“Hm hm, it’s nothing.”
Penia cleared her throat awkwardly and looked away.
The tips of her ears had turned slightly red.
“?”
Only Alon remained confused.
After meeting Penia, Alon headed straight to the library where Heinkel was.
He wanted to continue talking with Penia, but he had heard that Heinkel was waiting.
As soon as he arrived at the library, Heinkel waved and greeted him.
[Oh, you’re here.]
“......It’s been a while, Lady Heinkel.”
As soon as they exchanged brief greetings, Heinkel got to the point.
[There’s something I want to confirm first. May I ask?]
“That’s fine.”
[Penia told me that if one receives your blessing, they can use a True Mage’s magic. Is that true?]
“Well, more or less...”
As Alon confirmed it, Heinkel’s eyes gleamed with determination.
[Then could you grant me your blessing?]
She asked immediately.
“......A blessing?”
[Yes.]
“It’s not particularly difficult, but...”
Granting a blessing itself wasn’t hard.
The problem was—
“...Aren’t you unable to use magic in your current state?”
That Heinkel was a ghost.
Strictly speaking, it was a bit ambiguous to call her that, but in any case, she was closer to a spirit than a human.
When Alon pointed that out—
[Ah, that’s true. In this body, using magic is impossible. At most, I can move mana slightly.]
Heinkel nodded in agreement.
[But you don’t need to worry about that.]
“......What do you mean?”
[I can come back to life.]
She suddenly said something unexpected.
“...What?”
Alon asked in shock.
Heinkel was about to explain, but then stopped—
[Well, it’s better to show you than explain. Wait a bit. It’ll take about 30 minutes to prepare.]
She smiled confidently.
As Alon nodded absentmindedly, Heinkel chuckled softly.
[Ah.]
Then, as if something came to mind—
[By the way, when is the wedding?]
“......Pardon?”
[What, pretending you don’t know? The rumor has already spread all over the Mage Tower.]
“?”
She asked—
—Flash.
For some reason, the red brooch began to shine.
As if imbued with blood-red light.