First, one thing was clear.

Alon knew very little about “Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning.”

At most, he knew Kalannon was another deity worshipped by the Thunder Serpent Tribe and by the state religion of the Luxible Kingdom.

“We greet Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning.”

“We greet Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning.”

So Alon couldn’t comprehend what Syrkal and Jenira were saying right in front of him.

To be honest, he was so startled he nearly blurted out, Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning? Me?

“...What...?”

Alon opened his mouth to deny it—then stopped.

He realized this situation might not be so bad.

More precisely, he realized he might actually benefit from their misunderstanding.

As he looked at the two girls bowing their heads, Alon recalled an earlier conversation.

—By the way, Marquis, your mana is somewhat unusual.

—In what way?

—...Its strength. Even though the mana’s foundational methods and molecular structure are the same, its power has been increasing remarkably.

—Can you clearly perceive it?

—Well, day by day it’s subtle, but comparing now to two months ago, there’s undeniably a noticeable change.

—I see.

A conversation with Penia.

She had said Alon’s mana was growing stronger despite remaining the same in every other respect, and she’d speculated it was because his divinity was accumulating.

In other words, if he put it simply, the two girls from the Thunder Serpent Tribe might have mistaken him for Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning—and that misconception could have amplified his mana.

Of course, from Alon’s perspective, he had no idea when, how, or through what process he’d come to be mistaken for Kalannon.

But if his hypothesis was even partly correct—if his mana truly grew stronger because of the Thunder Serpent Tribe’s belief—then there was no need to correct them.

Of course, it was only speculation.

Anything tied to divinity had to be, by nature, conjecture.

Even though Alon had played Psychedelia, divine elements weren’t covered in much depth.

After a brief moment of thought, Alon reached a conclusion.

Let’s not bring up that name here.

He decided not to deny their misunderstanding.

To be honest, he was curious why they revered him as Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning, but there was no reason to stir up unnecessary trouble.

“My apologies.”

“We were simply overwhelmed at the thought of meeting such a great figure again.”

At that, Alon replied evenly.

“Then why have you come?”

“There’s no particular reason. It would be improper not to greet a great figure when they are nearby.”

Syrkal’s tone—far more courteous than before—stood in sharp contrast to her earlier fierceness.

So they really did just come to greet me.

Alon’s mind drifted through a tangle of thoughts and questions.

More than anything, he was curious how the Thunder Serpent Tribe perceived him.

Do they see me as the reincarnation of a deity? Or as the deity himself?

But to unravel that without breaking their misconception, he would need careful, deliberate words.

“I’ll pay a visit sometime.”

For now, he swallowed his curiosity, deciding to shape his questions gradually and visit the Luxible Duchy later.

“We’ll await your visit with joy.”

“...Sure.”

Suddenly, he remembered the statue of Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning, that Siyan had shown him that morning.

The one she’d said looked strikingly like him.

...Was that really me?

Behind his impassive expression, disbelief flickered as Alon returned to his quarters.

After Syrkal and Jenira left, someone stepped into the now-empty hallway.

It was Carmaxes III, who had been {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} hiding behind a pillar and eavesdropping on the exchange between Marquis Palatio and the Luxible Kingdom’s envoys.

“Marquis Palatio... is Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning?”

Utterly bewildered, he replayed the scene from moments ago.

The envoys of the Luxible Duchy had bowed in greeting to Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning.

And Marquis Palatio had accepted their greetings as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

From that alone, it seemed certain: Marquis Palatio really was Kalannon, the Bearer of Lightning, newly elevated to the status of state religion in the Luxible Duchy.

And yet, accepting it wasn’t easy.

Common sense rebelled.

How could a living, breathing man—not a king, not some extraordinary noble, but simply human—be treated as a deity?

It was incomprehensible.

Even so, Carmaxes III didn’t dismiss it as merely “strange.” He kept turning it over in his mind.

Two points, in particular, troubled him.

One was a passage from ancient texts he’d read, mentioning that certain other races believed in “Sage-Gods.”

The other was Seolrang.

...If Marquis Palatio truly was a god, then Seolrang’s fervent devotion would make sense.

Until now, Carmaxes III had never understood why Seolrang was so loyal to Marquis Palatio.

Beneath Seolrang’s usual lazy, relaxed demeanor was a razor-sharp instinct for survival—something Carmaxes III knew well.

Her worldview revolved around survival of the fittest.

By her standards, Marquis Palatio should have been far beneath her.

The marquis was certainly strong, but he was no match for Seolrang.

And yet reality was different.

Again and again, he seemed to defy Seolrang’s standards, standing on some exalted plane above her.

There were rumors she owed him a tremendous favor, but her behavior toward him couldn’t be explained by gratitude alone.

But if Marquis Palatio were truly a god...

Then it would explain it, at least to some extent.

Why someone with Seolrang’s ruthless worldview would follow, adore, and revere Marquis Palatio so devoutly.

In the quiet, deserted hallway, Carmaxes III stood for a moment, staring at the spot where Marquis Palatio had been.

...It seems I need to properly investigate these Sage-Gods.

He turned, adding it to his plans.

*****

Over the following week, Alon endured the grand ball as it continued on.

Even so, he began preparing to leave.

There were still about two days left, but he had no desire to stay until the end.

...Honestly, to Alon, the ball was exhausting more than anything.

“Are we heading to Lartania?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll prepare right away.”

Evan, who’d been leisurely eating dessert in their lodging, stood and left.

Alon calmly sorted through the scraps of information he’d picked up at the ball.

Most of it was useless.

...The only actionable piece was that the country had been in turmoil lately because of the Strange Gate incident.

He’d also heard, through a Caliban noble, that Deus Macallian had been extremely busy in Caliban recently.

Apparently, he was making something.

Alon didn’t know what, and the curiosity only lasted a moment.

Soon his thoughts drifted back to yesterday’s odd encounter.

...I greet the King of the Colony.

“It’s been a while, Marquis Palatio.”

...What? Yes, but why are you addressing me so formally...?

“Oh, ahem, never mind that.”

...?

Carmaxes III’s sudden shift in tone.

...Why did he suddenly start using formal speech?

As Alon’s brow furrowed slightly at the memory, Evan interrupted.

“Marquis, the preparations are complete.”

“Already?”

“I figured you might be ready to move soon, so I prepared in advance.”

Following the ever-diligent Evan, Alon boarded the carriage for Lartania.

*****

Deus Macallian’s younger sister, Sili Macallian, had been wearing a peculiar expression more and more often lately.

The reason was a statue erected in the middle of the private training ground Deus had personally prepared for her magical practice.

A statue consisting of only the lower half of a body.

Sili didn’t have any major complaints about having something like that in her training ground, but she couldn’t help finding it strange.

Of course, even though the incomplete statue—currently only a lower half—was enormous, dwarfing the fully formed statue in the garden, it still felt manageable given the size of Sili’s private training ground.

The problem was elsewhere.

[Hm, hm.]

Her older brother, Deus Macallian, came by often to admire the lower-half-only statue.

Not that his visits themselves were an issue.

Embarrassing as it was to admit, Sili was quite fond of her brother.

But—

[Sili, what do you think of the Marquis’s statue?]

[Hm, the statue shines brilliantly again today. Don’t you agree, Sili?]

[Truly, it’s being crafted to perfection. Wouldn’t you say so, Sili?]

Every time he visited, Deus would stare at the statue and demand Sili’s opinion.

Of course, Sili would nod awkwardly and agree, but deep down her honest thoughts could be summed up in one unimpressed sentence:

...It’s just pants.

But telling the truth was out of the question, so Sili always managed it with a smile.

And as usual, today she came to her training ground for magical practice—only to notice something odd.

“?”

The lower-half-only statue looked... bigger.

No, not just a little bigger.

Before, it had been about the height of a typical two-story building.

Now it easily rose past the second floor.

...???

Sili frowned slightly.

“You’re here, Sili.”

“Brother...?”

“Yes.”

Flicking her gaze between Deus’s solemn expression and the ever-growing statue, Sili forced a smile and asked,

“...Brother, does the statue seem a bit larger?”

“Yes, that’s right. I made it a little bigger.”

This isn’t “a little,” though... Sili barely stopped herself from saying it out loud. Instead, she asked carefully,

“At this rate, won’t the completed statue easily surpass the height of the mansion?”

“Yes. But it couldn’t be helped.”

“...It couldn’t?”

“Indeed. Radan mentioned he plans to gift the Marquis a Sea God.”

“A... Sea God?”

“Yes, and it’s supposed to be enormous.”

Sili adored her brother, but she couldn’t help wondering what on earth that had to do with the statue’s size.

“...Brother?”

“What is it?”

“...Isn’t it the thought behind a gift that matters more than its size?”

Sili tried for a straightforward argument, but—

“No, Sili.”

“...No?”

“Yes. A gift should inspire awe. And the bigger it is, the more awe it inspires. Surely you feel the same?”

Deus spoke with radiant satisfaction. Silently, Sili turned her gaze back to the statue.

...Still just a lower half.

“—”

Deus breathed out in quiet admiration, as if the statue embodied all his aspirations.

What even is this...

“Oh, by the way, I’ll be making a brief trip to Lartania.”

“...Lartania?”

“Yes, to personally acquire the gemstones to adorn the Marquis’s ‘eyes.’ Once those are in place—”

Deus’s eyes sparkled, as if he were picturing the cosmos itself.

“—it will suit the Marquis perfectly.”

Watching her brother become inexplicably youthful whenever Marquis Palatio was involved, Sili couldn’t help resenting the marquis just a little.