“What… What did you just say?”

At Rim’s reaction, Paloel’s expression turned to one of shock.

No, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

No matter how much she was affiliated with the secret organization Paggade, her rank and authority were not higher than that of the Elder Council.

In other words, Rim speaking informally to Paloel right now was—

A blatant overreach of authority.

Paloel’s brow furrowed deeply.

But he dared not utter his next words.

‘This girl… she’s serious.’

A murderous aura filled the space.

The sheer intensity of it spoke volumes.

If he said another word—

‘Paloel, I will eliminate you.’

Though Paloel struggled to find the words, he could not understand Rim’s behavior.

Just a few days ago, she hadn’t even liked that human.

So why had her attitude changed so drastically?

As he pondered, Paloel finally reached a conclusion.

There was only one conclusion he could draw.

That was—

‘Could it be that Marquis Palatio, who arrived in Greynifra claiming that human might truly be a god—’

If not, Rim’s sudden shift in attitude was simply incomprehensible.

At that moment—

“Let me make this clear.”

“……”

“From now on, any attack against Marquis Palatio will be considered an attack against me.”

Leaving behind that warning, Rim walked past him effortlessly.

Paloel could only watch her back in silence.

Meanwhile, at that same moment—

“……So that’s the situation.”

“I see, I understand now.”

In a private audience with Queen Magrina of the Elves, Alon observed her reaction after explaining the full story.

Then, he moved on to the next topic.

“Anyway, I have a few questions about this matter. May I ask?”

“Of course. If it’s something I know, I’ll answer anything.”

At her friendly smile, Alon asked his first question.

“By any chance, when did the ones below—no, the Ash Seeder—first appear?”

“That… I can’t say for sure. Even we elves don’t know the details.”

“……I see.”

“However, if I were to make a rough estimation—I’d say it was about 600 to 700 years ago.”

“600 to 700 years?”

“Yes. That’s when I first heard about it.”

Alon unconsciously tilted his head.

‘600 to 700 years… Is that too ambiguous to be related to Greed?’

From what Alon knew, the Mother of Greed always manifested alongside the Sin of Greed.

And even after that, the Sin of Greed had to be nearby for her to appear.

The Five Great Sins, including the Sin of Greed—

Once they descend, they never remain idle.

As if their goal was the total annihilation of the continent’s population, they would move toward any place teeming with life to spread death.

In other words, if the Sin of Greed had truly appeared, chaos should have already erupted.

‘If I assume the Sin of Greed appeared 600 to 700 years ago and perished, leaving only the Mother of Greed alive—then the timeline isn’t completely implausible.’

As he pondered, Alon asked another question.

“……Was there ever an instance of the Sin of Greed awakening around that time?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure about that. I don’t think so.”

A vague response came back.

“Is that so?”

Deciding to set aside his hypothesis for now, Alon moved on to the next question.

He judged that pressing further wouldn’t yield any useful information.

‘If it’s something from that far back, it might be recorded in ancient texts. I should look into it.’

Then, suddenly—

Alon found himself scrutinizing Queen Magrina’s face.

‘……How old is she?’

It wasn’t a pressing issue at the moment.

But no matter how he looked at her, the years she casually mentioned didn’t match her youthful appearance, which raised questions in his mind.

‘Casually talking about events from 700 years ago means she was alive back then. So that would make this elf at least—’

As his thoughts naturally continued—

“Oh—no, Marquis? Are you perhaps entertaining some rather disrespectful thoughts?”

Her words snapped him back to reality.

The queen was smiling.

However, despite the curve of her lips, her eyes were not smiling at all.

“Ah, no, that’s not it.”

He answered more quickly than usual.

“Then please continue with your questions.”

“Of course.”

Fortunately, the moment passed without incident.

“Do you know about the mirror beneath the roots?”

“A mirror?”

“Yes, a full-length circular mirror.”

Alon recounted the strange experience he had encountered.

“Hmm, first of all, I can confirm that what you saw was indeed an artifact. However—”

She paused briefly, then gently shook her head.

“I don’t know exactly what its effects are.”

“You don’t know its effects?”

“Yes. Normally, that mirror doesn’t reflect anything. That’s why we assumed it was an artifact.”

“……Since when has that mirror been there?”

Once again, Queen Magrina took a moment to consider before answering.

“I don’t know exactly. But it’s been there since the first time I visited that place.”

“Then that means no one knows who placed it there either.”

“Regrettably, that seems to be the case.”

This, too, remained a mystery…

Alon let out a short “Hmm~” before moving on to the next question.

“Do you know what this is?”

What he held out was a golden fruit obtained from deep within the roots.

The moment the queen saw it—

“…! This is… How did you obtain this?”

She asked, seemingly a little surprised.

Alon briefly explained the situation.

After a short pause—

“I see, so that’s how it happened.”

Magrina nodded.

As if she had come to understand something.

She sank into deep thought for a while.

Then, as if surfacing from the depths, she finally gave Alon an answer.

“The fruit you are holding right now is the fruit of the World Tree.”

“The World Tree’s fruit?”

“Yes.”

“…What happens if one eats this fruit?”

Magrina’s answer came immediately.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s the fruit of the World Tree.”

“And that means?”

“You will likely gain magical power beyond imagination.”

“…Magical power beyond imagination?”

“Yes. The World Tree’s magical power is contained within it. Just consuming it will fill you with mana.”

“Oh.”

A faint expression of admiration appeared on Alon’s face.

If Magrina’s words were true,

This fruit could be the key to resolving Alon’s congenital mana depletion.

However—

“Still, you should exercise some caution before consuming it.”

Nothing in this world came so easily.

“Is there some kind of side effect?”

“Rather than a side effect… It’s more that the effect is too powerful.”

Too powerful?

“Yes. If you eat it improperly, your body might explode.”

“…Are you serious?”

“The fruit only increases your mana, but it doesn’t enhance your body’s capacity to handle such a massive amount of energy.”

Alon fell silent.

He realized that the golden fruit before him was nothing more than a “gilded persimmon”—all show, but potentially deadly.

However—

“Enhancing my constitution, huh?”

He wasn’t about to give up on this rare opportunity.

Determined to research ways to improve his constitution, Alon put the fruit away.

“Have you asked everything you were curious about?”

Just as the conversation was about to wrap up—

Alon remembered one last question on his mind.

“May I ask one final thing?”

“Of course.”

Despite the many questions he had already asked, Magrina showed no sign of annoyance.

She simply smiled.

After a brief hesitation, Alon finally asked—

“…Can you tell me everything you know about the Primordial Elf?”

In the end, he asked that question.

Since she had mistaken him for the Primordial Elf,  this question would undoubtedly sound strange to her.

But after coming this far, leaving without any information on the Primordial Elf?

That wasn’t an option either.

Carefully, he posed the question.

Though his expression remained neutral on the surface,

Inside, he was quite tense, waiting for Magrina’s response.

“The Primordial Elf… you say?”

“Yes.”

Then, Magrina—

“Oh—sure, sure, I’ll tell you. That’s not difficult at all.”

She smiled as if saying, ‘Oh, so that’s what you’re curious about?’

Just like the first time, when Alon denied being the Primordial Elf.

“Hmm~ Where should I start?”

“I’d prefer if you told me everything you know.”

He had to gather as much information as possible.

So Alon made his demand without holding back.

Magrina, as if she found it an entertaining game,

Began sifting through her memories.

“First of all, he was a mage.”

“I see.”

“He had a daughter, too.”

“…A daughter?”

“Yes.”

That was unexpected information.

‘So he was married.’

Alon casually shrugged.

“Anything else?”

“He was intelligent. And although he seemed stern on the outside, he was kind-hearted.”

From that point on, Magrina shared many nostalgic memories.

As he quietly listened to her stories, Alon eventually said—

“This should be enough.”

“You think so?”

“Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Leaving behind Magrina, who seemed a little disappointed, he returned to his quarters.

***

Sili, the second daughter of the Maccalian family.

Recently, she had become quite a celebrity.

Of course, Sili had always been well-known.

After all, her older brother was Deus Maccalian, Caliban’s Swordmaster.

And he was widely recognized as a “sister fool” who doted on his younger sister to an excessive degree.

However, the reason Sili had gained fame recently—

Was because of magic.

In Caliban, mages were generally not held in high regard.

And yet—

Despite learning magic for less than two years, she had rapidly risen to the second rank.

A testament to her genius.

Because of this, she had become quite a prominent figure in the capital.

Today, she had something to discuss with Deus, so she visited his office.

“Brother?”

“What is it?”

There,

She found her brother holding binoculars, engaged in some strange activity—

No, he was observing something.

“…What are you doing, brother?”

“What am I doing? Oh, you mean this?”

“Yes.”

When Sili nodded, Deus grinned confidently.

“Take a look.”

He handed the binoculars to her.

“?”

Though puzzled, she accepted them.

Adjusting the focus,

“What is—?”

She unknowingly gasped at the vast estate that filled her vision.

Then, beside her, Deus’s cheerful voice rang out.

“It’s the Marquis’s estate.”

“…Excuse me? The Marquis? As in Marquis Palatio?”

“Yes. The view is quite clear, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but… How?”

When Sili looked confused, Deus proudly straightened his shoulders.

“I asked a mage to cast a sharing spell on a gemstone retrieved from a labyrinth. Normally, such a distance would be impossible, but artifacts from the labyrinth are exceptionally effective.”

Deus burst into laughter.

“…Oh, I see. But… why exactly did you do this?”

“Why? Obviously, to protect the Marquis.”

“The Marquis?”

“Yes. There might be enemies targeting him. This way, we can keep watch over him 24/7.”

Hahaha.

Deus’s face was filled with smug satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Sili—

‘Watch over him? Like this…?’

“If any scoundrels try to target the Marquis, we can deal with them immediately.”

The more she listened,

‘Isn’t this more illegal…?’

She felt like she was falling into a labyrinth of confusion.

“No one will ever dare touch the Marquis! Hahaha!”

It was a rather strange evening…