"It’s really fine."

In the end, this bizarre fight wrapped up with Alon desperately blocking the princes’ wallets that were trying to sponsor him.

However, Alon’s feelings after fending off the sponsorship were nothing short of strange.

'......No, something’s weird?'

Alon did his best to stop the princes’ and the princesses’ sponsorship.

And in the end, he stopped it.

Of course, from Alon’s standpoint, receiving sponsorship wasn’t a bad thing.

But it wasn’t to the point where he had to go around holding out his hand.

And on top of that.

If he accepted sponsorship for no reason, and then, using that sponsorship as an excuse, they started making him do this and that?

Wouldn’t that be a headache in its own way?

Anyway, he blocked the sponsorship with that kind of mindset, but—if you looked at it simply, Alon gains by receiving sponsorship.

Conversely, for them, not sponsoring is the better business.

In the first place, sponsorship in a place with absolutely no commercial value.

That sponsorship would be hard to have any meaning at all.

Yeah, it definitely should be like that.

But.

"......"

Alon recalled the expressions of the honored guests who had been looking at him earlier.

Those faces full of hostility, every single one of them.

At that moment, Evan’s voice came.

"So— the marquis was on the side trying to draw out sponsorship, and they were in the position of not wanting to do it, right?"

Alon answered without hesitation.

"It’s the opposite, Evan. I was the one trying to stop it, and they were the ones insisting on sponsoring."

"...I thought so. So I didn’t check wrong."

"Right."

"But why on earth are they trying to sponsor?"

"......If I knew that, I wouldn’t be agonizing over it."

Alon pondered.

Why, exactly, had the princes and the princesses been looking at him with faces like they’d been betrayed?

"...Well, if I had to roughly guess, maybe they figured they’d sponsor a huge sum and try to use this place like mercenaries— isn’t it something like that?"

"Is that... possible?"

"Hm, I only said it. This definitely isn’t a mercenary group. That hypothesis doesn’t really fit. Well, if it’s like this, then there’s only about one thing left."

"What is it?"

"The knight who handled the introduction must’ve told the story so well that it charmed the princes and the princesses, something like that."

Alon made a "Hmm—" sound and rubbed his chin.

"Evan."

"Yes."

"What do we have in our Divine Land?"

"...Well? Barracks, I guess?"

"And?"

"More barracks, I guess?"

"And?"

"Some very big barracks, I guess?"

"Apart from barracks—"

"...Yeah, ‘they explained well’ is hard to swallow as an explanation."

Evan nodded as if he understood.

Alon gave a light shrug.

Whatever their expressions were, in any case.

In the end, Alon had accomplished his purpose.

'Since I laid all the shortcomings out honestly too, their suspicion that I’ll start a war will definitely be dispelled.'

Things were flowing in a direction completely different from what he intended, but—

Alon, having no way of knowing that, felt satisfied and said to Evan.

"Evan, later, give Seamus some kind of personal reward."

"Seamus—"

"The knight who introduced Divine Land this time."

"Mm— understood. I’ll tell him before we leave. By the way, if we go back now, that day isn’t far off."

"That day?"

"Yes. After we return, won’t there only be about a week left?"

Only then did Alon nod as if he realized it.

"Come to think of it, how is the vote going?"

"The vote?"

"Yeah. Didn’t you say all sorts of things were happening?"

At that, Evan fell into thought.

"What are you thinking about so hard? Choosing your words?"

"No. Rather than choosing them, it’s just that there’s too much if I try to tell you one by one, so I’m not sure how I should inform you...... That kind of feeling. Yes."

"I was here for more than two weeks, sure, but...... It’s been two weeks."

"Right."

"But in two weeks, stories piled up to that extent...?"

"It’ll be more than you’re imagining."

"Now you’ve made me even more curious. Just tell me briefly, only the things you can think of off the top of your head."

Evan organized his thoughts for a moment, then opened his mouth.

"First, Yutia and Rine unified."

"...Huh?"

"Also, Seollang and Magrina unified. After that, Ryang-a unified with Yutia, then declared independence and pulled out."

"Wait."

"After that, Historia unified with Magrina, who stabbed Seollang in the back, and then unified with Rine, who betrayed Yutia, then dissolved it. And—"

"Wait."

Listening quietly, Alon’s head started spinning.

He covered his eyes with his palm and let out a low groan.

"......Is what I’m hearing right now really the partner vote?"

"It is."

"Why is it the partner vote, but I’m hearing talk about unification and whatever?"

"Marquis, in the first place, I’m just hearing information and passing it on—what would I know."

"......That’s true."

Of course Evan wouldn’t know the details.

Why, in a partner vote, was a word like “unification,” something you’d use back in the world Alon used to live in, coming out?

While Alon was thinking, Evan, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth.

"But there’s one thing I know for sure."

"What is it?"

"That the marquis won’t want to go back right away."

"You know well."

"Should we go a bit slowly?"

Alon immediately nodded.

......It was autumn.

####

Duke Altia periodically paid the information guild a fairly large amount of money, and received information at set intervals as well.

Of course, there were times when, compared to the money she paid, the quality of the information she received was lacking.

Even so, Altia had never once thought the money was a waste.

To her, information was—depending ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) on 'how you use it,' it was like hidden gold that could generate an overwhelmingly great value.

And right now.

She had amassed a great deal of information she could use.

The problem, if anything, was—even though she was clearly gathering information, she couldn’t use it.

"......"

No, to be precise.

Before Duke Altia even used the information, it was more accurate to say the information was getting used.

"Your Grace, here—"

Duke Altia stared blankly at the stack of papers her secretary held out.

A stack that was clearly dozens of pages at a glance.

Altia silently read the phrase written at the very top.

[Yutia Bloodia’s age at least 2,800. Territory residents 'shocked']

The content was one thing, but—the sentence was painted in a provocative red that jumped out at a glance. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

A flyer openly spread to drag Yutia Bloodia down.

Looking at it, Duke Altia naturally flipped to the next page.

[Yutia: 'Such an absurd falsehood,' statement released, territory residents 'relieved']

[Baba Yaga Seollang once put Marquis Palatio in danger— 'appalled']

[King of the four great powers, White Ghost Gang: 'Marquis Palatio is our boss,' remark, 'uproar']

[When asked whether Magrina is over 600 years old, Magrina refutes: 'In human age, I’m about 20,' territory residents 'tilt their heads']

[Territory resident vanishes— could it be the work of some narrow-minded elf? The world is 'appalled']

With each page she flipped, paper after paper filled with new remarks that made her dizzy.

This was—the amount of flyers spread throughout the territory in only four days.

And on top of that, for each flyer, it wasn’t like only one sheet was going around—nearly hundreds of copies were being distributed, so the territory truly was dyed in all sorts of flyers right now.

"Why on earth do they add words like ‘relieved’ or ‘appalled’ at the end......"

"I’m sorry, Your Grace. As for that, I really—"

"You don’t have to apologize. I didn’t say it because I wanted an answer in the first place."

Duke Altia let out a sigh.

"......This is three days’ worth, right?"

"Yes, that’s correct."

In only three days, dozens of flyers circulating.

And the partner candidates unifying, then stabbing each other in the back, repeating it over and over.

Thinking over this overall mess, Duke Altia had been instinctively feeling something lately.

......Was it even right for her to be involved?

Of course Duke Altia had never once been insincere, either.

From the moment she received the letter and decided to come to the marquis’s estate, she truly made thorough preparations, intending to participate in this fight with all her heart.

But there was one thing she overlooked.

That the partner candidates were even more serious than she expected.

No, it wasn’t just that they were serious.

"......"

Duke Altia quietly looked out the window of the mansion where she was staying.

Before she knew it, the time had been dyed in darkness.

So the scenery outside should have been endlessly dim.

Yeah, it should definitely be dark.

It should be normal.

But—

"......"

Duke Altia looked at the bluish golden flashes whipping in the distance, and the golden crowns flying around in chaos.

It wasn’t just that.

Light that was clearly divine power being emitted by Rosario’s martyrs decorated her vision, and all around the territory, large and small explosion sounds were ringing out.

More than anything—

"Historia? I told you, didn’t I? In human age, I’m only twenty."

"Yeah, even so, you’re the same as me—over 600."

"......"

"You’re even older than me, too."

"You’re saying we should...... do it?"

Magrina was spewing red mana to the point it made goosebumps rise all over her body, and—

"If you can."

Historia, replying to Magrina like it was nothing, smoothly drew a sword far larger than the body holding it.

Before Duke Altia could even process it, the two vanished in an instant with a tremendous boom.

This wasn’t something that had happened for only a day or two.

Every night, the marquis’s estate turned into chaos like this.

Duke Altia stared blankly at the scenery outside the marquis’s estate window and agonized.

Was it really right for her to be involved in this inhuman hellscape?

But only for a moment.

Duke Altia forcibly grabbed hold of her confidence, which was slowly fading.

'Yeah, I knew from the start it would be hard.'

She had expected to some degree that this wouldn’t be easy.

......Of course, she hadn’t expected it to be this not-easy.

Still, she didn’t want to give up without trying anything.

So.

'First, I’ve grasped the rough situation, so from here—'

Just as Duke Altia was about to steady her heart again—

KWAaaANG—!!

Someone smashed through the duke’s room window and got slammed into the wall.

"!?"

Duke Altia looked toward where the intruder had crashed, her expression startled.

And soon, through the dust filling the air, she saw Seollang step out, grinding teeth with a harsh crunch.

"Rine is old too!!"

After shouting as if wronged, Seollang once again turned into a brilliant golden light and vanished.

Duke Altia stared blankly at the figure disappearing, then looked around the inside of the room, now utterly wrecked.

For a long while, listening blankly to the sounds of many battles coming from far away in the territory that had become chaos, along with the room that had become chaos—

'......Let’s stop.'

In the end, her heart broke.

And after a little more time passed.

"......Marquis, even so, isn’t it too much that you came on the night one day before the voting day?"

"There was something going on."

"Something...... like that?"

"Magic research is a serious matter."

And so, the vote to choose Alon’s partner began.