Alon blankly stared out the window.

A massive statue stood in a pose he was all too familiar with.

Before long, he made his way toward the statue and was able to meet its creator(?).

“Marquis.”

“……Deus.”

Beneath the massive statue, Deus bowed his head deeply.

Alon pointed at the statue with his finger.

“What is this?”

“It’s a gift from me to you, Marquis.”

His expression was filled with confidence.

Alon silently gazed up at the statue.

Seeing it up close, the statue, which was in the pose of the North Korean Leader, appeared even larger.

Truly, it was absurdly massive.

Honestly, it was a little embarrassing.

“Uh… well, so.”

“Please ask anything.”

Alon had many questions.

Not just a few—quite a lot.

Yet the reason he couldn’t easily open his mouth was…

He had no idea where to start.

So, after staring at the statue for a while,

“How did you even bring this here?”

He asked to resolve the biggest mystery first.

“I first used a reduction spell to shrink it as much as possible. I didn’t like the idea of shrinking your statue, Marquis, but it was necessary for transport.”

Deus answered without hesitation.

“I see.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

Silence returned.

Several times, Alon almost let out the words, “Isn’t this a bit much?”

But he held back.

No, he had no choice but to hold back.

Alon quietly observed Deus.

His expression was as calm as ever.

The atmosphere was serene, and aside from the small smile on his lips, there was no significant change in his expression.

But most importantly,

His eyes were different.

Unlike his composed face, his eyes sparkled like stars.

Like a child eagerly waiting for praise, as if saying, “I did good, right? Hurry up and compliment me!”

“Uh—”

Had Deus always been capable of making such an expression?

Not wanting to dampen the pure enthusiasm in his eyes,

“I like it, Deus. Thank you.”

Alon approved of the statue that resembled the North Korean Leader, and Deus’ lips curved up in a clearly satisfied smile.

“I’m glad it pleases you, Marquis.”

“Right~”

“But, if you look at this, you’ll be even more surprised.”

“……?”

There’s more?

Before Alon’s pupils could fully dilate,

With an air of absolute confidence, Deus ordered,

“Prepare it.”

At his signal, the knights who had accompanied him swiftly moved into formation and soon brought forth a massive target.

And then—

BOOOOM!

In an instant, a magic circle unfolded from the diamond-adorned eyes, and a colossal magic cannon blasted forward, obliterating the target.

“How about that?”

Deus looked even prouder now.

Alon once again blankly stared up at the statue.

A ridiculously enormous structure, large enough to overlook the entire territory, in the exact pose of the North Korean Leader… and it even fires magic cannons?!

For a brief moment, he swore he could hear a voice shouting, “You, too, must stand in admiration!”

Clearing his throat, Alon shifted his gaze to Deus.

Deus stood tall with his shoulders squared, exuding an air of pride.

Watching him, Alon came to a realization.

‘Deus… You have the taste of a child.’

Even though it was a bit embarrassing, he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint Deus after receiving such a grand gift.

“……It’s magnificent.”

“Thank you.”

In the end, Alon became someone who liked statues.

***

[It shoots beams from its eyes?]

“……That’s actually pretty cool.”

[Meow?]

As Basiliora and Evan, gathered in front of the statue, voiced their admiration—

“Brother!”

Radan arrived.

“You came too.”

“Of course, it’s your birthday, Brother.”

Radan grinned.

‘Though, come to think of it, have we ever celebrated my birthday before?’

But it wasn’t the time to rain on the parade, so Alon simply nodded.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. Ah, and your present should be arriving soon… Oh, perfect timing, it’s coming in now.”

Following Radan’s pointing finger, Alon turned his gaze.

And there, approaching through the north gate, was a massive something.

“What is that?”

“It’s the Sea King God, a creature from the deep sea. I caught it for you, Brother.”

“Oh.”

Alon couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.

A dragon’s head, exuding overwhelming majesty.

And strangely, he felt a slight sense of familiarity.

‘Sea King God.’

In Psychedelia, it was a monster that any mage player would inevitably encounter at least once.

Of course, despite its name, it wasn’t an actual god.

Just an enormous, dragon-headed, mysterious creature.

However, its scales could be refined into extremely efficient magical armor.

“I’ve never seen a living one before, though.”

In Psychedelia, no matter what path one took, the Sea King God could never be seen alive.

It was only ever treated as  crafting material.

Seeing its original form was fascinating, and for some reason, it felt strangely lifelike.

As if it could spring to life at any moment—

RUUUUUUUUMBLE—!!

“!?”

The Sea King God’s head started thrashing wildly the moment it crossed the north gate.

Is that… alive?

While Alon was silently shocked,

“Ah, there it goes again. Just a moment, Brother.”

Radan dashed out casually, as if it was nothing unusual, and smacked the Sea King God’s head a few times.

Soon, it calmed down.

Radan let out an awkward laugh.

“Sorry, Brother. I definitely trained it, but it’s being a bit troublesome.”

‘…Is that thing actually alive?’

Radan tilted his head as if Alon had asked an obvious question.

“Well, of course. It’s a pet.”

“A… pet?”

Alon looked at the Sea King God again.

It let out a mournful whimper.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

“It’s… bigger than mine?”

Although more than half of it had already passed through the largest avenue of the Marquis’ estate,

Its body still continued.

“This is ridiculous…”

For some reason, Deus muttered with a voice full of defeat.

Radan grinned, wearing an expression of “I’ve won.”

Watching the two, Alon thought,

‘Is that really the important thing right now?’

He briefly glanced at the statue, then shifted his gaze back to the Sea King God.

Its horn was bent at an odd angle, and it was dragged along, wrapped in heavy chains.

‘…Where do I even start questioning this?’

He had no idea.

“Is that even the kind of monster… no, animal you can keep as a pet?”

“Of course. I’ve trained it well, so it should be great as an ornamental pet, Brother.”

“Ornamental… pet, huh.”

Alon was skeptical if ornamental was really the right word.

“……Isn’t that a sea creature?”

“Sure, but it can breathe on land too.”

“……Judging by its size, there’s no way we can keep it here.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Brother.”

With a confident tone, Radan walked toward the Sea King God, now standing beside the statue.

Alon followed him.

“Hey, shrink.”

At Radan’s command,

The Sea King God, which had been nervously darting its enormous eyes around—

Fsssssshh.

Began to gradually shrink.

And so—

“……This is the Sea King God?”

“Yes. Turns out it can keep its body small most of the time. That’s why I brought it as a pet instead of having it stuffed. I’ve heard there are even bigger ones deep in the sea.”

Shiver shiver shiver—

The Sea King God trembled, seemingly understanding Radan’s words.

…Or maybe it’s just scared?*

Deciding not to think too hard about it, Alon spoke.

“……So, I just keep it like this?”

“Yes. But if you don’t like it, Brother—”

Although Radan’s words were directed at Alon,

Tremble tremble tremble tremble—!

The Sea King God shook even harder, staring at Alon with pleading eyes, as if its fate depended on his answer.

‘…Seriously, how did this happen?’

“……No, I like it.”

In the end, Alon nodded.

“I knew you would, Brother! That makes me really happy too!”

Radan grinned with satisfaction, and the Sea King God finally relaxed, its body going limp.

‘……………Why do I feel like this isn’t the end?’

Alon was starting to get genuinely worried about what others might bring next.

***

“……Huh? You already have a snake, Brother?”

[I am not a snake! I am the great Basiliora, the revered one!]

“Eh, kind of feels like a snake to me.”

[I am BASILIORA!!!]

“Hmm—your scales are pretty black, though.”

[Don’t ignore me!]

“Yeah, definitely black.”

[I SAID DON’T IGNORE ME!!!]

Basiliora flailed in rage.

Radan, completely ignoring the outburst, seemed lost in serious thought.

“……Brother.”

“Yes?”

“……Could you give me one more month?”

“Why?”

Radan glanced at the Sea King God.

“I’ll bring you a black one.”

“……There’s a black one?”

“Well, I’ll have to find out.”

‘Is that really necessary?’ Alon thought, but soon realized—

‘…Maybe it’s an obsession?’

He could already guess the reason.

Radan had a personality that demanded everything to be in perfect pairs.

Glancing down, Alon noticed that the Sea King God had somehow ended up clinging tightly to his arm.

“……There’s really no need to go that far.”

“Is that so?”

Radan clicked his tongue, a bit disappointed.

Alon could distinctly feel the slight trembling vibrations of the shrunken Sea King God against his arm.

After the situation settled down, Radan and Alon finally had a chance to catch up.

“Hello, Godfather.”

“You’re here?”

“Yes.”

Rine had arrived.

Since the encounter with the Apostle, her complexion had improved significantly, and Alon felt a quiet sense of relief.

As if she had been waiting for this moment, Rine pulled out a small gift box from her coat.

“A present for you, Godfather.”

“Thank you.”

Taking the box, Alon felt an odd mix of relief and warmth.

After all the extravagant, unimaginable gifts he’d received since early morning,

Worry had started to outweigh any sense of anticipation.

Fortunately, Rine’s gift appeared completely normal(?) at first glance.

Most importantly, it wasn’t huge.

That alone made Alon feel satisfied.

‘Yes, this is the kind of gift I wanted.’

Nothing grand—just something heartfelt from the kids.

‘…Like a father receiving presents from his children.’

Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate the thought behind Radan and Deus’ gifts.

It’s just that, maybe next year, if they were to prepare gifts again, something simpler would be nice.

“Please open it, Godfather.”

“Alright.”

At Rine’s urging, Alon carefully opened the box, making sure not to tear the luxurious wrapping paper.

Soon, the gift was revealed.

And Alon was utterly bewildered.

Inside the box was a single, tiny button.

“……What’s this?”

Behind Rine, Radan and Deus exchanged triumphant glances, mouthing, “We’ve won.”

However, Rine smiled sweetly and said,

“If you press that, the Lord of Lartania’s head will explode, Godfather.”

She said it like it was the most casual thing in the world.

“?”

“?”

Radan and Deus, who had been quietly celebrating their victory, froze.

Their expressions shifted to pure confusion, as if they couldn’t process what they had just heard.

“???”

Naturally, Alon was just as bewildered.