“Hmm-hmm—”

Alon cleared his throat and immediately got to the point for Perion, who was clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

“To be direct, I need ‘Lemiel’s Oath.'”

“…Lemiel’s Oath, you mean?”

Perion, who had been looking dejected just a moment ago, now wore a somewhat surprised expression.

Such a reaction was understandable.

‘Lemiel’s Oath’ was one of the 32 treasures of the Elf race, and he had disguised himself as a human, never once revealing it to anyone.

In other words, from Perion’s perspective, it was impossible not to think that Alon knew his true identity.

“Wait a moment, let me have someone leave. Rine, sorry, could you step out for a bit?”

“Of course.”

Rine bowed her head and quickly exited the room.

Once Alon confirmed that the mercenaries who had followed Perion had also left, he spoke again.

“Now that the outsiders are gone, let’s have a proper conversation.”

“…I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”

“You don’t need to deny it so vigorously.”

When negotiating, it’s generally not a good idea to pressure the other party too much.

However, Alon was putting unnecessary pressure for two reasons.

One was that, without starting this way, it would take a very long time to obtain ‘Lemiel’s Oath.’

If approached like a game player, he would have to stay in Lartania for at least a year.

The other reason was that he was certain Perion would accept his offer despite the pressure.

Alon watched Perion, whose expression had turned serious after Rine left.

“Of course, I’m not asking for Lemiel’s Oath without any compensation.”

“…Who are you?”

Perion’s voice was full of suspicion.

Alon answered calmly.

“I don’t think it matters much who I am in this situation. As long as what we’re giving and receiving is clear, that’s all that matters.”

“……”

“One thing I can assure you of is that I won’t be spreading your true identity around.”

“…Let’s hear you out.”

After some hesitation, Perion slowly nodded.

Alon confidently laid out the terms of the negotiation.

“If you give me Lemiel’s Oath, I’ll tell you the location of the item you’re searching for.”

“…The item I’m searching for, what do you mean?”

“The Blessing of Raguernie.”

Perion’s eyes widened in surprise, and his body instinctively twitched.

Seeing Perion react this way, Alon felt a bit confused.

It was no surprise that he was startled by the mention of ‘The Blessing of Raguernie.’

The fact that Perion was looking for it was something only he and the Queen should have known.

‘Even with that in mind, his reaction is a bit too intense. Well, it’s something considered very precious in the game, after all.’

Anyway,

In the original story, Perion spent a long time searching for the ‘Blessing of Raguernie’ but eventually gave up and returned.

The reason Alon knew where this difficult-to-find ‘Blessing of Raguernie’ was located was simple.

It was in a secret room on the 42nd floor.

It was an item that could be obtained by entering that room, which players always visited during maze farming.

Of course, in the game, Alon never gave the blessing to Perion.

Even if Perion reached the maze quickly to start the quest, he would leave Lartania before the player could clear the 40th floor.

“Yes, I know it’s valuable…”

Alon stared at Perion, whose hands were shaking, and continued the conversation.

“…If I tell you where it is, I think it would be a fair exchange. What do you think?”

“Are you saying you know the location of the artifact?”

“Yes. If you agree to the negotiation, I will tell you the location.”

“…Are you asking me to trust you with no proof?”

“Let’s make it clear. If I give you the location of the Blessing, will you agree to the deal?”

A brief silence.

Then, Perion nodded.

“…If the information is true, then I will agree.”

As expected, the negotiation was successful.

Alon smiled inwardly.

“The location is at the eastern edge of the 42nd floor. There’s only one path, so it should be easy for you to find. Once you’re inside, look for the switch when you reach the dead end.”

“The dead end… and the switch?”

“Yes. The Blessing of Raguernie should be there. I’ll take Lemiel’s Oath after that.”

Perion’s face showed confusion for a while.

“…What if, even if the information you gave is true, I take the item and run away?”

That was a natural question, so Alon could answer easily.

“I don’t think you’d break the oath of Paggade.”

“…! How do you know about Paggade?”

“Well…”

Perion was once again greatly surprised.

Alon intentionally gave an ambiguous response.

How he knew, and he had simply said something he had heard directly while playing the game.

Though he considered using a more trusting phrase instead of being vague,

He had repeatedly shown how proud Perion was of Paggade in the game, so Alon chose this approach.

It was like telling him not to make a foolish move.

‘Well, even if I didn’t say anything, looking at his character in the game, he’s not the type to break a promise.’

Perion had even nearly died to keep a promise with the protagonist.

Alon, recalling that episode, was a bit puzzled.

—Why is he reacting like this?

It wouldn’t be strange if he knew about the hidden treasure, the Blessing of Raguernie, and also about Paggade.

“…It will take about a week to confirm.”

Alon stood up after hearing Perion’s words.

“I will wait.”

With that, he turned his body.

A moment later.

“Did everything go well?”

“Yes. But, Rine.”

“What’s wrong, Master?”

“Just asking in case, but I heard that you’re the only senior member left…”

Alon subtly trailed off, but Rine answered easily.

“Yes.”

“Could it be… you… did it on purpose?”

“No? I didn’t do it.”

“…Really? …Really?”

“Yes. Why would I go to such lengths?”

Rine smiled faintly.

…Did she mean that she knows what happened but didn’t do it, or did she not know from the start?

Alon considered asking more but decided to remain silent.

He just thought it would be better to pay a little more attention to Rine.

***

Five days after Alon met Perion.

“…Thank you.”

“It seems you found it.”

“Yes. I was able to find the Blessing of Raguernie.”

Alon was able to meet Perion again earlier than expected.

Perion, bowing his head slightly more politely than before.

“Thank you so much.”

Perion, seemingly wanting to express his gratitude, bent deeply at the waist and then took a ring from his possession and handed it to Alon.

The ring looked as if it were made from a plant’s stem but was by no means flimsy.

Alon quickly recognized that this was the Lemiel’s Oath as he took the ring and thanked Perion.

“Thank you.”

“…May I ask you something?”

Perion asked cautiously.

“What is it?”

After hesitating for a moment, Perion stared at Alon.

“…How did you know the location of the Blessing of Raguernie?”

His voice mixed with suspicion and curiosity.

Alon paused and looked at Perion’s hand.

In it, Perion was holding the dagger, ‘Blessing of Raguernie.’

“That…”

He couldn’t say that he knew because he encountered it countless times in the game.

“Let’s leave it to your imagination.”

Alon could only respond like that.

“Imagination, you say?”

“……”

“Yes. Understood.”

Without questioning further, Perion bowed his head, and after exchanging a brief farewell, Alon left the room.

“Hmm…? Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Perion bow to anyone.”

For a brief moment, Alon thought of the clause in the laws of Paggade, where it was forbidden for anyone, other than the Queen, to bow to anyone.

“Seems like the Blessing of Raguernie is that precious.”

He reached a conclusion without giving it too much thought and began preparing to leave with the ring.

Everything he needed to do in Lartania was finished.

[Hahahahaha! All the money in this world is mine!!!]

“Seriously, this is so frustrating!!”

[Don’t care about that, just give me the money! 5,500 gold coins!!]

As soon as he returned to Merd, Alon informed Basiliora and Evan—who had been obsessed with a psychedelic board game for over three days, laughing and crying over a single piece of fake money—that he would be leaving soon.

“Master.”

Rine, who had been calling him, made him turn around.

“What is it?”

“If you’re going to the Colony, may I come with you?”

“…Do you have to go there?”

“Yes, I need to confirm something for a moment.”

Alon thought for a moment before nodding.

The reason he was heading to the Colony was twofold.

He wanted to meet the Dragonkin at the ruins, but there was also another matter.

There was a cursed item in the desert that needed to be dealt with. If Rine could help, it would be better.

The cursed object disposal plan.

If Rine joined, it would certainly be helpful.

“If you’re fine with it, then let’s go together.”

“Then I’ll prepare.”

Two hours later.

Alon and his group left Lartania and headed to the Colony.

***

At that moment.

Perion, disguised as a mercenary, silently looked down at the ‘Blessing of Raguernie’ in his hand.

Normally, Perion should have been very happy right now.

The ‘Blessing of Raguernie’ was the item he had been searching for even after coming to the human world,

And above all, it was an extremely valuable item for the Elves.

Especially for Paggade.

However, the reason his expression was stiff was because of Marquis Palatio.

…What was that man, really?

Perion thought of the Marquis.

The man who had nonchalantly told him the location of the blessing.

The Marquis was strange in several ways.

First, it was odd that Marquis Palatio knew about ‘Paggade’ at all.

Paggade was a secret organization formed by the Elves through their bloodline rituals, created solely to protect the World Tree.

Only high-ranking nobles, those of High Elf status and above, and members of Paggade knew the name of the organization.

And the Queen.

There was no reason for this name to be spoken outside of those individuals.

Most of them were high-ranking nobles who did not leave the World Tree, and Paggade stayed underground to protect its roots.

Moreover, there was a restriction that prevented even those few Elves from saying the name of Paggade.

In other words, that name should never have come from anyone’s mouth.

‘…Only one person.’

The original founder of this group and the first Elf, Altima,

Only he could mention Paggade freely.

The one who used the Blessing of Raguernie as a weapon, the first Elf and protector of the World Tree.

Only he could speak of it.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

The place where the Marquis had told him about was somewhere the Elves had created.

The reason Perion could tell was simple.

The space itself was made with the magic circles used by Elves and spirit magic—

Or more precisely, it was identical to the magic circle used in the Paggade hideout, which allowed Perion to check who had been there when he arrived.

The magic circle stored the user’s magical power,

And it kept a record of their visit in the form of a guestbook until the circle collapsed.

Perion had checked there.

No one but him had been there.

And then…

[I hope it gets conveyed well to my younger sibling.]

It was written in a language only Paggade could understand, as if sending a message to him.

In other words, Marquis Palatio knew that Perion was an Elf, knew he was a member of Paggade,

And also knew that the Blessing of Raguernie was in that space without ever having entered it.

…This was an impossible story, no matter how much he thought about it.

Unless the first Elf, who died in the battle against the Black Ones, had come back to life,

It was absolutely impossible.

Confused and unable to make sense of it, Perion thought…

“…I must report this.”

He decided to withhold judgment.

Instead, he would report it to the one who watched over all the Elves.

And, at the same time, to the greatest existence closest to the World Tree, the Great Queen.