The first thing Alon saw upon arriving at the colony was—

Crack!

“Masterrrrrr~!”

“……Seolrang?”

It was Seolrang who jumped into his arms without warning.

Since his body wasn’t fully healed yet, they decided to talk in detail later and take a rest for now.

Strictly speaking, it happened even before they arrived at the colony.

Seolrang smashed into the carriage and clung to Alon.

How long had he been comforting the suddenly crying Seolrang?

“……Have you calmed down a bit?”

“…”

Seeing Seolrang nod with a swollen, teary smile— Alon felt both warmth and a slight heaviness in his heart.

Because he felt he might have made her worry too much.

So, just like he always did when they met, he gently pressed down her two ears.

Seolrang leaned further into Alon’s hand, seemingly pleased.

Then Alon naturally shifted his gaze outside the carriage.

Thanks to Seolrang’s overly enthusiastic greeting(?), the ceiling had blown off, revealing the clear sky.

As he felt the breeze coming in—

“Master.”

“What is it?”

“Why are you hurt?”

Seolrang, who had been giggling moments ago, suddenly asked when she noticed the bandages wrapped around Alon’s body.

“……A lot happened.”

He had no choice but to be vague.

Most of the wounds hadn’t come from someone else’s attack— but from using Reverse Heaven.

The Reverse Heaven technique, by its nature, reverses the mana burn law to endlessly generate magical power.

But what Alon hadn’t considered was the speed at which that power was generated.

The speed at which Reverse Heaven released mana was overwhelmingly faster than Alon could control it himself.

During the battle at Baarma, the only reason Alon had been able to sustain mana for several minutes— was because he pushed his body to the limit using the divinity of the Primordial Elf that he had recreated.

In other words, if Alon hadn’t had that divinity— his body might’ve exploded the moment he used Reverse Heaven.

‘…Even with the divinity, it was tough just maintaining the constant release of mana.’

That’s why most of the injuries remaining on his body came from the mana that couldn’t be released quickly enough.

Of course, they were now far smaller than when they first appeared.

Regardless, if Alon wanted to properly use Reverse Heaven, he still had a lot of research to do.

Even the divine regeneration through the Elf’s divinity wasn’t fully complete.

Alon recalled the battle against Baarma.

At first, his body regenerated well.

But as time went on, the regeneration from the divinity started to slow down.

Even though the divine power being consumed seemed the same…

He had postponed thinking about it due to being busy.

But now those thoughts all rushed in at once, momentarily pulling his focus.

“Who did this to you?”

A voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

When Alon looked down, he saw Seolrang staring up at him, her face now expressionless—different from before.

“Who was it, Master?”

Her voice was the same as always.

So were her twitching ears.

But her eyes were different.

Her golden irises, which always sparkled brightly even through swollen lids— were now dull and sunken.

“Tell me. Who did it.”

She asked again.

“……”

Alon felt an inexplicable pressure.

‘…Was Seolrang always like this?’

He didn’t think he’d ever sensed this kind of danger from her before.

Breaking into a cold sweat, Alon quickly reached out to pat her head.

“Don’t worry. Really, no one did this to me.”

“……Really?”

“Yeah, it just happened while I was coming back. So don’t worry too much.”

“That’s a relief.”

Seeing the golden eyes return to their usual gleam, Alon let out a quiet sigh.

Seolrang looked at him intently, then said—

“Still, Master.”

“What is it?”

“If anyone ever lays a hand on you, promise you’ll tell me?”

She said this while clutching tightly to the hem of his clothes.

Noticing the deep concern in her golden eyes—

“Alright.”

Alon nodded without hesitation.

####

Exactly six hours later, around late evening— Alon’s group finally arrived at the colony.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Brother. You’ve clearly had a tough time, so please rest well tonight. I’ll handle any pending matters in advance.”

“Thank you for being considerate.”

“Not at all, Brother.”

Yuman left after saying his goodbyes first.

“Marquis!”

“Penia.”

“I’ll be gone just for a day! Something came up that I need to do!”

“Something to do?”

“Yes! I want to talk with the Tower Master about a few things.”

Penia reported excitedly, full of anticipation.

She was clearly planning to talk about the past with Celaime.

Alon nodded without hesitation.

“Alright.”

“Yes! Then I’ll see you tomorrow!”

As soon as he gave permission, Penia disappeared in a flash.

‘But… was it really necessary to get my permission?’

Though a bit puzzled, Alon made his way to Seolrang’s guild house, where they planned to stay for the night.

And the moment he stepped into the guild house—

“Welcome, sir!”

“Hello, Marquis!”

He was met with the Golden Mane Tribe’s enthusiastic hospitality.

“Welcome!”

“Yes! So glad you’re here!”

“Really! Really really really really! We’re so glad you’re here!”

…?

An overly intense welcome.

And on top of that—

“Marquis!”

“…Lime, was it?”

“Yes, yes! That’s me! I’m Lime! So glad you’re here! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Well, nothing serious.”

“That’s a huge relief!”

It was as if Alon’s very presence was a blessing—Lime’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked deeply moved, leaving Alon utterly bewildered.

He had met the Golden Mane Tribe several times before.

But not once had they ever made such a fuss.

If anything, they had always been proper and formal.

‘…Did I accidentally cause a change in the past somehow?’

A faint doubt crossed his mind.

But Alon soon realized why their reaction had been so intense.

“……Seolrang?”

“Yes. When the rumor spread that the Marquis had died, oh, it was truly unbearable. She was practically spreading malice in every direction.”

Even now, Evan crossed his arms and shivered as though the memory still haunted him.

“Anyway, that’s probably why everyone is in a festive mood over your return.”

Only then did Alon get a vague sense of how things had gone down.

He recalled the Golden Mane Tribe from earlier.

All of them exhaling deeply in relief, as though they could finally breathe.

‘…Was it really that bad?’

Alon had a strange expression on his face.

He had only ever seen Seolrang in her usual energetic state, so he couldn’t even imagine her filled with malice.

But Evan had no reason to lie to him.

‘Yes, yes! That’s right! I’m Lime! I’m so glad you’re here! You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?’

Even the usually composed Lime had been teary-eyed, anxiously checking him all over.

Alon suddenly recalled Seolrang’s expression earlier.

Her voice and face had remained the same— but those brilliant golden eyes had turned dark and murky in an instant.

“Marquis. I haven’t heard the full story yet, but what exactly happened?”

Evan’s voice broke through Alon’s reverie.

“You mean from the moment I disappeared with the Agu?”

“Yes. You were completely out of contact for three whole months.”

Thinking back, he hadn’t properly explained everything to Evan since returning.

After a moment of thought, Alon decided to tell Evan the truth.

And— time passed.

“…Is all of that really true?”

“There’s no reason for me to lie about it, is there?”

“I know there’s no need to lie, but… right, well… I’ll take your word for it.”

Even as he said that, Evan furrowed his brow multiple times, clearly finding it hard to believe.

Eventually, he nodded in understanding.

“Then please get some rest for today.”

He left Alon’s room after a final farewell.

“…Ah.”

Alon suddenly remembered that he hadn’t asked Evan more about the current near-war situation he had mentioned earlier.

But he simply shrugged.

He’d find out everything tomorrow anyway.

‘…For now, I just need to rest.’

Alon lay down on the bed.

####

The next day.

Having completely passed out the moment he lay down due to accumulated fatigue, Alon woke his heavy body and headed toward the royal palace of the colony.

“……Marquis! I’m so glad you’re alive!”

“It’s been a while.”

He exchanged brief greetings with Karsem, who greeted him with a very bright smile.

Then, Alon was granted an audience with King Carmaxes III.

And—

“You’ve come. Truly, I’m so glad you’re here…!”

Carmaxes III gave him a warm and heartfelt welcome.

For a moment, the déjà vu of it all left Alon confused again.

But that didn’t last long, as Alon tried to receive a full update on the current situation from the king—

“Ahem, well, you see, the thing is~”

—But he couldn’t get anything useful.

“……”

Alon shifted his gaze slightly.

There was Seolrang, pretending to be distracted and looking elsewhere.

“Whii— Whii—”

She puckered her lips to whistle but only let out silly puffs of air.

“Seolrang.”

“Yes! What is it, Master?”

“I’d like to speak privately with His Majesty for a moment. Is that alright?”

“With me!?”

“Eh—”

Her expression screamed Nooo.

But when Alon calmly stared her down, Seolrang reluctantly gave in.

“…Okay…”

She trudged out of the audience chamber.

“Phew— Thank you. Now I can finally speak freely.”

“Not at all. So, can you explain the situation in more detail?”

Carmaxes III sighed in relief the moment Seolrang stepped out.

He hesitated for a moment at Alon’s request, then began to speak slowly.

“…Would you prefer a detailed explanation or just the basics?”

“Let’s save the detailed explanation for later. For now, I’d like to get a general understanding of the situation.”

Carmaxes III nodded.

“Are you familiar with the first prince of the Ashtalon Kingdom?”

“I do know of him.”

“He sent his condolences regarding your death.”

“Yes.”

“This is what he said: ‘The death of Marquis Palatio is truly unfortunate, and I offer my deepest condolences. However, even so, we cannot remain stagnant. The Kingdom of Asteria must move forward, overcoming its sorrow.’”

“…That’s the gist of it.”

As he carefully mulled over the words, Alon nodded.

There were a few unnecessary embellishments, but— overall, it came off as a message of encouragement.

So he quietly waited for what would come next.

“…That’s what started it.”

“…Excuse me?”

“…That message is why we’re now on the brink of war.”

“…???”

Alon’s mind filled with question marks at what he just heard.

“Did I hear that correctly?”

“…You did.”

“How could that possibly be the trigger for a war?”

“…That’s what I want to know…”

Carmaxes III sighed deeply and turned to look at one side of the room.

“I really want to know… how this ended up being the spark for war.”

He muttered gloomily.

Following the king’s gaze, Alon turned toward the window—

“……”

There—

Twitch—

Two golden ears, poorly hidden, twitched slightly behind the edge.

‘…So it was you.’