Alon felt dizzy from the completely reversed situation.

As a noble from another country, he was seated on the throne, while King Pamilono, the rightful owner of the throne, was bowing deeply below.

If someone were to ask, “Is this a normal situation?”, he could shake his head without hesitation.

Of course, Alon had no desire to sit on the throne.

There was nothing for him to gain, and he had something to request—so why would he dethrone the king?

If anything, he wanted to stop this from happening as much as possible.

And yet, the reason he was seated there was none other than the persistency of King Pamilono.

“……I’m fine with it.”

“I am fine as well. Please, I ask this of you.”

“No, I mean, is there really a reason I must sit—”

“There is. Marquis, you must sit.”

To be precise, it was more due to Jenira and Syrkal, standing behind him, who seemed to be coercing him.

“Hoo—”

Alon looked down.

Standing beside the king, as if he were already used to the absurdity, Evan let out a light chuckle.

Ignoring his expression, Alon asked the king.

“……I have a favor to ask first.”

“Please, speak of anything.”

The king bowed his head politely.

Alon felt discomfort once again.

A noble seated on the throne.

A king bowing beneath him.

No matter how one looked at it, this was utterly abnormal.

But since he more or less grasped the situation, Alon decided to make his request as quickly as possible.

“Ahem.”

“Yes?”

“That, about the statue…”

“The statue? Are you referring to the one of Kalannon, the lightning receiver?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, yes. Is there a problem with Marquis’—no, with the lightning receiver Kalannon’s statue?”

“No, there’s no problem. It’s just—”

Alon abruptly shut his mouth mid-sentence.

Of course, he knew.

The moment he made a request, the king would comply.

That meant at least he didn’t have to feel burdened about asking.

And yet, the reason he hesitated was—

‘It’s harder to say than I thought.’

It was embarrassing.

To specifically request horns to be attached to Kalannon’s statue…

If the lightning receiver Kalannon had nothing to do with him, it wouldn’t have mattered, but—

“Please, speak of anything.”

He didn’t need to think too far.

Just by looking at their eyes, he could tell.

To them, Alon was Kalannon himself.

Even if it wasn’t his intention, requesting horns to be added to the statue was practically akin to a child throwing a tantrum, demanding his own statue be made cooler.

‘……This is embarrassing.’

He couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud.

“If it’s about improperly representing Kalannon’s form, we shall rebuild it properly.”

“……I would appreciate that. That—”

“Yes, we shall reconstruct it and ensure even the majestic horns are properly implemented!”

Thanks to Syrkal’s quick wit, the horn request was smoothly settled.

Feeling secretly grateful to her, Alon nodded as nonchalantly as possible.

At last, he was able to escape from the throne.

***

Two days later—

Alon headed to Caliban in preparation for his journey to the Snowy Mountains.

Truthfully, he would have liked to rest for a few more days.

But he had no choice but to leave Luxibl Duchy as soon as possible.

Ever since he had defeated the Apostle of Sloth, everyone who saw him would immediately prostrate themselves…

It was unbearably suffocating to remain there.

Though he managed to flee from the duchy, unfortunately, he hadn’t completely escaped discomfort.

The knights of Caliban were the reason.

The moment he stepped out of the carriage, every single one of them bowed their heads deeply.

A new wave of burden crept over him.

No, he had merely stepped out to have dinner, yet the moment he appeared, everyone dining abruptly stood up, solemn expressions on their faces, and bowed.

…It was far more uncomfortable than expected.

But more than anything—

“Marquis, would you like to try this?”

“…….”

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it. If there’s anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

The final touch to his burden was the Macallian siblings, visiting his carriage every hour to check on him.

Deus had always been like that, so Alon had grown somewhat accustomed to it.

The real issue was his younger sister, Sili.

Ever since he saved her, she hadn’t missed a single day checking on him, making sure he was comfortable and preparing his meals three times a day.

As if they had planned it, they even came separately.

So practically every 30 minutes, Alon received greetings from one of the Macallian siblings.

“……Aren’t you overworking yourself?”

“Overworking? Not at all. Thanks to you, Marquis, I’m even alive right now.”

Sili smiled brightly.

Looking at her, Alon spoke.

“Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a lot of effort. If there’s anything you need, just ask me. If it’s within my power, I’ll help.”

“Is that really okay?”

Sili widened her eyes at the lighthearted suggestion Alon had made, concerned that she was overworking herself.

“It is.”

When he nodded, she glanced around nervously and began fidgeting.

Alon was momentarily bewildered.

What kind of request is she planning to make…?

Contrary to his worries, Sili’s request was surprisingly simple.

“Would it be possible to get… your autograph?”

“……An autograph?”

“Yes.”

“……You mean a signature?”

“Yes…!”

The thought of why on earth? crossed his mind only briefly.

Alon received a piece of paper from Evan and signed it.

“Will this do?”

“………! Yes, yes! This is more than enough, Marquis!”

“But… why did you ask for my autograph?”

It was an obvious question.

This world didn’t really have a culture of autographs.

Even in the modern world, unless one was a celebrity, exchanging autographs wasn’t common.

At Alon’s question, Sili beamed as she replied.

“I’m going to keep it as a family heirloom!”

“A… family heirloom?”

“Yes! Thank you so much!”

Bowing deeply in gratitude, she clutched the autograph to her chest like it was a priceless treasure and dashed out.

Before long—

“Brother! Look at this! It’s the Marquis’ autograph!”

“Gasp.”

Hearing the commotion outside the carriage, Alon felt yet another wave of embarrassment wash over him.

“Marquis, you must be pleased. You even have fanatics now.”

“…Not particularly.”

“Is that so?”

Evan asked slyly.

“If anything, it’s embarrassing.”

“Hmm—I think I’d love it~”

[Hmph, only scoundrels like you, who twist their bodies to win over women, would enjoy something like this.]

“……This little bastard, you stayed silent the entire time in the duchy, and now that we’ve left, you pop right out?”

Basiliora, never one to miss an opportunity, had appeared.

[Hmph—I simply had no interest in seeing those people’s faces.]

“It wasn’t about that. You just didn’t want to get mocked for being so tiny, did you?”

[Kuh—]

Judging by his expression, Alon had hit the mark.

[Meow-]

Perhaps intrigued by Basiliora’s rare appearance, Blackie soon emerged from Alon’s chest as well.

For a moment, Alon felt a quiet sense of satisfaction as he looked at them.

“Hmmm~”

His gaze shifted to the finely decorated horns displayed on one side of the carriage.

The horns Kalannon had specifically requested to be attached.

‘…I have so many things I want to ask. When will we be able to talk again?’

There was much he wanted to know.

He was curious if Kalannon and the Hundred Ghosts were related, and why she had told him he needed faith yet advised him not to recklessly gather it.

Most importantly, he wanted to understand the detailed usage of divinity.

‘…Will we be able to talk once her divinity has recovered enough?’

By now, Alon was well-practiced in observing his inner self.

He quietly watched the faintly regenerating traces of Kalannon’s divinity, thinking of her for a long while.

***

A dark night.

Under the silent night sky, where everyone was fast asleep—

Inside the carriage, Deus gazed at his sleeping sister.

Sili was clutching Alon’s autograph close to her chest as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

Deus smiled at the sight before shifting his gaze toward another carriage.

The one where Alon was resting.

“……”

Deus suddenly recalled the past few days.

That moment when he could have lost everything.

Yet, conversely, the moment when everything had been saved.

‘…If Marquis hadn’t come then.’

Deus would have lost his entire world.

His knights.

His sister.

His honor.

Everything.

But that man—

He had protected all that Deus had nearly lost because of that damned bastard.

On top of that—

He had even left that bastard for Deus to handle, giving him time and advice so that he could take revenge himself.

And yet, in the end…

Deus had failed to take revenge.

Because he was still too weak.

“Tch—!”

Unconsciously, Deus clenched his fists.

He had thought he had grown stronger.

But even now, it wasn’t enough.

He was still far too weak.

He hadn’t been able to properly exact vengeance on the one he needed to, and once again, he had been protected by that man.

‘I have to get stronger.’

Deus gritted his teeth.

He had to become stronger—so much stronger that he could serve as that man’s sword.

No, beyond that—strong enough to protect him.

To repay the one who had called him family.

And to return the endless grace he had received from him.

“……”

A dark night.

Under the silent night sky where everyone was fast asleep, Deus made a vow in silence.

The blue moon shone upon him.

***

A colossal altar, ancient as the pyramids themselves.

Deep inside this altar, guarded by the great Lizardman tribe, Karamble—

“I greet the great one.”

Zukurak bowed his head.

[Ah, it has been a while.]

Hazad received Zukurak’s respectful greeting with a leisurely demeanor.

Even for Zukurak, Hazad was an entity whose form and expression he could barely discern.

Without any unnecessary formalities, Hazad went straight to the point.

[So, did you find out?]

“Yes.”

[And?]

“As you predicted, it was indeed him.”

[Is that so?]

Hearing Zukurak’s confirmation, Hazad smiled, clearly pleased.

However—

“But there is an additional matter I must report.”

[What is it?]

Hazad’s expression shifted to one of curiosity.

Zukurak then relayed in detail what had transpired when he visited Marquis Palatio.

[So, the divine power was exactly as expected, but he himself denied it. Is that what you’re saying?]

“Yes.”

Hazad seemed to ponder something for a moment before—

[I see—]

He nodded in understanding.

[I don’t know why he’s denying it, but it doesn’t matter. After all, there are those who would recognize him regardless.]

“Are you referring to the elves?”

[Indeed.]

Elves.

Upon hearing Hazad’s response, Zukurak bowed his head once more and stepped forward.

“Then, shall I go and confirm it?”

[No need.]

“……Then?”

[I will go myself.]

“……You mean, personally?”

[Yes. It’s about time I heard directly what’s going on with my dear friend.]

As Hazad thought of the Elf Queen,

[Besides, if I’m going to assign my friend a guard, I need to negotiate with the elves in advance.]

He rose from his seat leisurely.

On his face—

[And I need to make sure that any useless elves unworthy of guarding my friend are removed.]

—was a deeply amused smile.