Inside the office.

Alon stared blankly ahead.

In front of him stood two individuals—or rather, an elf and a lizardman.

One of them was Rim, who exuded an unwavering devotion toward Alon.

Unlike when they first met in Greynifra, her eyes now sparkled brightly, and she stood with the utmost politeness.

The other was Zukurak, the lizardman who had visited Alon just recently, radiating the same boisterous energy as before.

Alon looked at the two, cautiously raising his hand to rub his temple.

“So, what are you saying?”

“We came to ask who should be in charge of your protection.”

“You only need to decide, my friend! We will handle the rest!”

While Rim bowed politely, Zukurak burst into hearty laughter.

“…No, that’s not…”

Of course, Alon wasn’t just curious about the conclusion.

First of all, he had no idea why Rim and Zukurak were here together.

More than anything, he couldn’t understand how this situation had come to be.

He understood the literal meaning of “providing protection.”

But why was that topic even brought up, how did it progress, and how did it reach this point?

He couldn’t make sense of it at all.

…Even if he generously accepted that the elves would act this way, why the lizardmen?

His gaze naturally shifted to Zukurak, as he found his presence particularly puzzling.

“Hmm—just as expected, the marquis has sharp judgment. Indeed, we are far stronger than those pointy-eared folk.”

“This guy—”

Alon had only looked at him out of sheer confusion.

Yet Zukurak confidently jumped to conclusions, while Rim frowned at his words.

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes since Alon entered the office, yet he had already sighed multiple times.

“…I think I need an explanation first. Could you tell me exactly what’s going on?”

“Ah…! I will explain right away.”

Startled by Alon’s request, Rim immediately straightened up in attention.

Alon thought there was no need for such strict discipline.

But he knew telling her to relax wouldn’t work, so he silently listened to her explanation.

After some time had passed.

“So, in other words, you’re deciding who will be in charge of my protection.”

“That’s correct.”

“Indeed.”

Rim and Zukurak nodded confidently.

Alon remained expressionless, but inwardly, he was bewildered.

Because his own will wasn’t even considered in their conversation and conclusion.

Of course, being protected wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

From Alon’s perspective, it was actually quite appealing.

In a dark fantasy world full of threats, having more protection was undoubtedly beneficial.

However, Alon’s main concern was that this entire debate stemmed from a misunderstanding.

He roughly understood the elves’ mistaken reasoning.

But he had no idea what had led the lizardmen to join in.

‘No, seriously, how are they even misunderstanding this?’

He could try to deduce something based on Zukurak’s past statements.

But even so, he couldn’t fathom how things had escalated to the point of an actual competition over his protection.

Even after listening to their explanation just moments ago…

After a brief moment of thought, Alon spoke.

“…I appreciate the consideration, but I don’t really need protection.”

“Oh—”

“Hmm.”

Rim and Zukurak let out quiet sighs of disappointment.

Alon, though slightly tempted, steeled his resolve.

Receiving protection without any cost.

It was a tempting offer, but it felt like a seductive trap.

Everything stemmed from a misunderstanding.

Though it wasn’t something Alon had intended, they had jumped to conclusions on their own.

Regardless, Alon had already gained several benefits from their misperception.

If he went further and accepted protection, and those guarding him saw his actions up close, they might realize their mistake.

If that happened, the losses he’d suffer would outweigh any benefits he had gained thus far.

‘Besides, I’ve started accumulating divine power now.’

Recalling the level of divinity he had already amassed, Alon let out a silent breath and looked at the two.

For now, he had to protect their misunderstanding.

“Therefore, I must decline your offer.”

“…I see.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Rim and Zukurak couldn’t hide their disappointment.

“Understood. Since you insist, I won’t bring it up again.”

“I shall follow the words of the Primordial Elf.”

Zukurak bowed deeply, and Rim, now addressing Alon without hesitation as the “Primordial Elf,” followed suit.

With the matter settled, Alon let out a light sigh as he dismissed them.

Evan shrugged his shoulders.

“They’re getting desperate to protect you now.”

“…I have no idea why they’re acting like this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Evan hummed in thought before pointing towards something.

“Oh, Marquis. Have you seen that?”

“That?”

“Yes, that.”

Following Evan’s hand, Alon turned his gaze toward the window.

Outside, he spotted the massive statue that Deus had gifted him on his birthday.

“…?”

“…?”

It hadn’t been there when Alon left earlier.

Now, the statue had two massive horns.

“…When did it grow horns?”

As Alon asked, Deus responded as if he had been waiting for the question.

“I heard Deus arranged it in advance. Some workers arrived before we got here and added them.”

“…A statue is something you can just modify like that?”

“Normally, no. But apparently, it’s possible with magic. It’s expensive, though.”

Alon stared blankly at the statue, his mouth slightly open.

Now adorned with two massive horns, it no longer looked human—

It looked like a being returning from hell, shouting, “Rise, you as well!”

‘…More embarrassing than I expected.’

Alon sighed deeply once more.

***

Two months passed since Rim and Zukurak visited the Palatio Marquisate.

By the time winter had fully set in, covering the world in white snow—

“Let’s stop here for today.”

“Ah, already?”

“Yeah, it’s more exhausting than I expected.”

“Understood.”

Alon was immersed in magical research with Penia.

More precisely, in divine and magical studies.

Panting slightly, he let out several deep breaths.

Penia handed him a towel and said,

“Still, it seems you’ve nearly achieved the proper implementation of it.”

“That’s certainly true.”

“Yes, but no matter how many times I see it, it’s still fascinating. Converting mana into lightning… I had a hunch when you first demonstrated your divine power, but every time I witness it, it amazes me.”

Penia added as an afterthought, “Well, that’s why the magic we’re creating now is technically possible.”

Alon nodded before asking, “Haven’t you seen even greater things?”

“That’s true. Even after converting mana into lightning, it still changed again to match your sigil. Just like Blackie.”

Penia gestured toward the desk where Blackie was perched.

[Meow?]

Blackie, who had been idly tapping at magical reagents, turned to face Penia and Alon.

“It’s definitely worth researching in various ways.”

“I’m always grateful. Thanks to you, our research is progressing quickly.”

“I’m receiving plenty in return, so it’s fine. Besides, this research is fun.”

After lightly commending Penia, whose face was filled with pride, Alon sat down and organized everything he had discovered about divine power over the past two months.

There were three key findings.

First, to use divine power for incarnation, one must clearly understand its abilities.

Second, a clear trigger must be recognized for incarnation to occur.

Third, it was impossible to use two divine powers simultaneously.

In other words, since Alon was using Kalannon’s divine power, he couldn’t use any other divine power at all.

‘Though, the Primordial Elf’s divine power is an exception since I can at least surround myself with it.’

However, since he hadn’t fully grasped the Primordial Elf’s divine abilities, he couldn’t incarnate them yet either.

‘…Should I go to Greynifra and ask about its power?’

Lately, Alon had been contemplating how to accurately understand the power of the Primordial Elf.

“Ah, Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“I recall hearing that you plan to move next month. Is that right?”

At the unexpected question, Alon nodded.

“Yes, I’ll likely be moving next month.”

In truth, if it were just about going to Caliban, he could take his time.

However, he planned to leave a little earlier so he could stop by Asteria as well.

‘I need to meet Siyan.’

He had to report to her about his visit to Greynifra.

Hearing Alon’s response, Penia slowly nodded before saying,

“Hmm… Then by that time, this research should be completed.”

“That does seem likely. All that’s left is fine-tuning.”

“Even so, just in case, it would be best to refrain from using it in actual combat, even if the adjustments are perfect. It’s undoubtedly groundbreaking, but there are still quite a few risks involved.”

Muttering to herself that it would be great if they could conduct research more frequently, Penia sighed.

Alon agreed with her.

The current rate of accumulating divine power wasn’t quite enough to conduct research without limitations.

“Though, compared to the beginning, I’ve gathered quite a lot.”

Back when he first started researching at the Marquisate, he could barely conduct experiments once every three days.

But now, he was able to research almost once per day.

As Alon recalled that fact, a question suddenly arose in his mind.

‘…Wait? Now that I think about it, why is my divine power accumulating so quickly?’

He hadn’t questioned it before, but upon reflection, it seemed a bit strange.

Thanks to the events in the jungle last time, faith had likely been accumulating more efficiently.

However, even accounting for that—

The power he could once use only every three days could now be used almost daily?

Immediately, Alon entered a meditative state and examined Kalannon’s divine power.

And then—

“???”

He saw it.

Three months ago, Kalannon’s divine power consisted only of itself and the Star of Sili, which had directly granted him power. The rest had been pitch-black darkness.

But now, a vast, blue nebula had formed around it.

“…What is this?”

His face filled with confusion for a moment.

Since he couldn’t continue deep contemplation inside Penia’s office, Alon hurried back to his study.

And as soon as he arrived—

“Marquis, did you hear?”

“What is it?”

“Sili has become a saintess.”

“What?”

Before he could even fully process his thoughts, a piece of shocking news left him utterly stunned.