The day after Seolgak’s attack on the Colony, the entire place was in disarray, like it had just been hit by a bomb.

Although Seolrang had killed Seolgak and Rine had stopped the Scorpion, the damage was far from insignificant.

For starters, the city walls were gone.

Buildings along the Scorpion’s path had collapsed into ruins, and the area around Seolrang’s guild had been devastated by Seolgak.

Moreover, more than 50% of the royal palace in the Colony’s inner city had crumbled under the Scorpion’s rampage, leaving the atmosphere inside the palace understandably grim.

In the midst of this chaos—

“...First, let me express my gratitude, Marquis Palatio. We’ve received your help once again.”

“It’s nothing. The credit belongs to Seolrang, not me.”

Alon was having an audience with Carmaxes III.

“Likewise, I thank you as well, Rine Groff. Truly, thank you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was only able to act because of Godfather.”

“...? Godfather? Are you referring to Marquis Palatio?”

“Yes.”

Carmaxes shifted his gaze back to Alon.

“...Wasn’t Marquis Palatio with Seolrang?”

“Well, once that monster started causing trouble, I figured the Marquis wouldn’t want to be inconvenienced.”

“....”

Rine smiled, and Carmaxes let out a heavy sigh, realizing with resigned acceptance, Ah, she’s one of those types too.

It was already the fourth time he had sighed since meeting Alon.

After forcing down his frustration, he spoke again.

“My apologies. As you can imagine, the situation is quite the headache.”

“...I understand.”

Alon sympathized with Carmaxes III.

For the king of the Colony, the entire ordeal had been nothing short of a disaster.

A natural disaster, really—one with no one to blame.

As a result, the financial damage to the royal palace alone would be astronomical, even accounting only for restoration costs.

Of course, there were options that didn’t involve spending beyond palace repairs, but none of them were exactly ideal.

In short, the king’s mind was likely overwhelmed with stress.

He would have to revise the government’s annual plans and scramble to reallocate the budget for the rest of the year.

Alon silently offered the king a brief moment of sympathy.

Soon after, he left the temporary audience chamber and headed toward the ruined palace’s center.

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“Is it really okay for us to collect the corpse like this?”

Evan, walking behind him, asked.

Despite having been near the battleground where Seolgak and Seolrang fought, Evan didn’t have a single scratch on him.

Alon stared at him for a moment, and Evan tilted his head in confusion.

“...? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Ah. I’m just still amazed you’re completely unscathed.”

“Did you expect me to be injured...?”

“Well, not exactly.”

Of course, Alon knew why Evan was perfectly fine.

He said he broke through a window and escaped the moment he heard the commotion outside.

Alon found himself impressed once again by Evan’s quick decision-making, then answered his question a beat later.

“In most other kingdoms, I wouldn’t be sure. But in the Colony, there’s a tradition that grants all rights to the one who slays the monster. So yes, it’s allowed.”

“Is that so?”

“Probably.”

To be honest, he wasn’t entirely certain, but it had been mentioned a few times in the game, so he wasn’t off-base.

Anyway, thanks to Rine, Alon had secured the rights to the Scorpion’s corpse.

Before long, they arrived where the body still lay.

“...Wow. I saw it before, but it’s still ridiculously huge.”

“Indeed.”

They stood before the Scorpion’s enormous corpse, which filled most of the courtyard.

Its head was half-crushed, lying lifeless.

“...Rine.”

“Yes, godfather?”

“You said you took it down in one hit?”

“Hmm—not exactly one hit, godfather. Its outer shell was sturdier than I expected.”

She added that it had probably taken about three hits.

Alon looked back at the Scorpion.

Should I be impressed that it held out that long, or that Rine managed to take it down?

In truth, Alon had been quite surprised when he first heard that Rine had defeated the Scorpion.

Taking down such a beast was no easy feat.

Although not as large as Rikrakamur, the Scorpion’s claws secreted an incredibly strong acid that could melt through any weapon.

Moreover, the dozens of venomous stingers it fired from its tail were instantly lethal if even one hit its target.

The sheer volume of projectiles alone made it deadly, and even surviving those attacks meant facing the risk of severe poisoning.

In other words, the Scorpion was, in some ways, an even tougher boss than Rikrakamur.

The reason Alon thought the Scorpion might have simply endured well was what had happened the night before.

When Alon, dumbfounded, asked how she had managed to defeat the Scorpion, Rine casually summoned Pluto.

...If this thing withstood three hits from Pluto, then maybe the monster was impressive after all.

Just imagining Pluto’s massive fists slamming into the ground was enough.

“Amazing. It’s not a creature that can be easily taken down.”

Alon praised Rine once again.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s thanks to the power you gave me, godfather. Honestly, I’m still not fully familiar with how to use it. I can only summon it about three times before I reach my limit.”

“...That’s you not fully knowing how to use it?”

“Yes. Right now, I only know the activation phrase and some basic controls.”

“...So if you eventually learn to use it ‘fully,’ could you summon the weapon itself?”

“Maybe?”

Hearing that, Alon felt an odd pang of envy.

...That’s kind of cool.

Clearing his throat to refocus, Alon asked, “...Are you really okay with me taking this corpse?”

“Do whatever you like, godfather. It’s useless to me.”

Grateful for her easygoing permission, Alon approached the massive corpse.

[Meow?]

As he neared the body, close enough to touch it, Blackie slipped free from Seolrang’s grasp.

Unlike when it was playing with Seolrang, Blackie’s bright eyes now sparkled with anticipation as it stared at the corpse.

It glanced at Alon and tilted its head, as if waiting for permission.

Unlike last time, when it had absorbed a monster without asking.

Seeing this, Alon thought, ...Is Blackie getting smarter?

...If Blackie absorbs the corpse, will it also absorb the Sin Artifact?

Truthfully, Sin Artifacts weren’t items Alon needed to acquire personally, as long as they didn’t fall into the hands of the Five Great Sins.

After a moment’s thought, Alon gave Blackie a small nod.

Sssssss!

Blackie immediately darted toward the corpse and began absorbing it.

The massive body turned to dust in an instant.

“Huh?”

Evan, seeing this for the first time, froze in shock, while Rine watched with interest.

Before long, Blackie had completely devoured the corpse—even faster than it had with Rikrakamur.

With a satisfied “meow-meow,” it climbed back onto Alon’s shoulder and rubbed its head against him affectionately.

The artifact wasn’t absorbed.

Where the Scorpion’s body had once lain, a gray exoskeleton armor remained.

Alon had successfully acquired the Artifact of Pride.

*****

A few days after retrieving the artifacts.

Once Alon confirmed that Seolrang had recovered to some extent, he began preparing to leave the Colony. He had already done everything he needed to do, and since he planned to visit again in two months anyway, there was no reason to stay ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) longer.

“I should’ve pretended to be sick a bit longer.”

As Alon and his party prepared to depart, Seolrang grumbled, her tail drooping. Alon gently coaxed her.

“I’m planning to visit again in two months.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

When Alon nodded, Seolrang quickly brightened and stepped right up in front of him.

“Master! Do that thing for me!”

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Looking down at her childlike face, Alon—now without hesitation—gently pressed both of her ears.

“—”

Seolrang hummed, clearly in a good mood.

Since the Seolgak incident, Seolrang had stopped asking for head pats and instead preferred this. Alon obliged without complaint.

A conversation they’d had a few days ago surfaced in his mind.

Seolrang.

Hmm? What is it, Master?

...Why do you keep asking me to cover your ears?

Hmm~ You know, it just feels nice. I can feel your heart.

...Heart?

Like how I cherish you, Master, it feels like you cherish me too.

Is that so?

Yep.

Cherish, huh.

“?”

Lost in thought, Alon suddenly felt something on his own ears.

Seolrang was reaching up, struggling to cover both of his ears with her small hands.

“What are you doing?”

“Mm— I wanted you to feel it too.”

“...To feel that I’m cherished?”

“Yep. Do you feel it?”

Amused by her playful smile, Alon let out a quiet chuckle.

“...What are they doing?”

Evan appeared, watching them with disbelief, and Rine stood nearby, visibly annoyed.

And then—

“Master! See you in two months!”

“Yeah.”

With Seolrang’s cheerful farewell, Alon left the Colony.

*****

The second office of Marquis Palatio—essentially used as Penia’s laboratory—was usually unbearably noisy.

Every day, without fail, it echoed with various terrifying screams: the furious shrieks of a woman mixed with the sorrowful wails—or rather, the cries—of a man.

Because of this, the office had earned the grim nickname “The Room of Despair” among the staff, though no one found it particularly funny.

But today, it was unusually quiet.

Not even the usual clattering, or the sound of something being tightened, could be heard.

It was so eerily silent it would’ve shocked anyone familiar with the place.

Of course, Penia did have a visitor.

But even so—was it possible for that Penia Crysinne to be this quiet?

She was someone who kept the same attitude no matter who came to see her.

The servants of the Marquis household glanced curiously at the so-called “Room of Despair” from afar.

Inside were two women—not the usual Crysinne siblings.

One of them was Penia.

Normally, if things didn’t go her way, she would take it out on Felin and curse like a sailor, omitting even the title of “Marquis” from her tirades.

But now—

“......”

She silently darted her eyes around, deliberately avoiding eye contact.

In front of her stood—

“Hello, Penia Crysinne.”

The Cardinal of the Holy Kingdom,

“...I sent you a letter, but you never responded.”

A figure now rumored to be one of the top three most powerful people in the Holy Kingdom.

“So I decided to come in person.”

Yutia Bludia stared at Penia Crysinne, her crimson eyes glowing faintly.