While countless “secret friend” promises from suspicious older men kept pouring in, Alon spent the next few hours after entering the ball receiving greetings.

"It’s already gotten dark."

"It has."

The sky that had been tinted with sunset had, at some point, turned completely black. After checking the sky, Alon leaned against the balcony as if exhausted, let out a sigh, and looked back inside.

The ball was packed, like it was only just getting started, and a huge number of nobles had gathered off to one side.

Just like how they’d swarmed over earlier to greet Alon.

"?"

Belatedly puzzled, Alon turned his gaze—and at the center of it was Elivan, surrounded by nobles, wearing a cheerful grin.

"When did he get here?"

"You mean Elivan?"

"Yeah. I didn’t see him until a little while ago."

"He probably arrived around the time we came out to the balcony, Teacher."

Alon nodded at Yutia’s words, then looked back toward Elivan. The nobles were clustered so tightly it looked like Elivan might actually get swept away by the crowd.

Alon murmured quietly.

"He’s popular."

"Are you jealous?"

Alon turned to Yutia with his usual blank face.

"As if."

"I knew it. You don’t really like it when a crowd piles up around you, Teacher."

Yutia chuckled to herself, apparently amused by something, then spoke.

"The reason Elivan is that popular is probably because he’s become something like a hero."

"...I did hear he’s done all sorts of things."

"Yes. Since becoming a chosen one, he’s done an incredible amount. He stopped the birth of outer beings and got rid of countless strange texts all on his own. And he did it while traveling across the entire Allied Kingdoms."

"Mm-"

Elivan really did deserve that kind of popularity. No matter how ruthlessly a player controlled Elivan in Psychedelia, it would be impossible to handle almost all the strange texts the way Elivan was doing now.

Which meant Elivan had saved the world more perfectly than even the veterans who’d researched countless builds and played the game for ages.

"Considering what he’s accomplished, it makes sense."

"Right. He’s a hero who saved the entire world."

Alon watched Yutia’s beaming smile for a moment, then asked:

"But are you fine?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"No, you’ve been getting worn down for hours, but you look pretty fine."

She let out a small exclamation.

"Ah- well, I go through this a lot when I attend balls or other official functions."

"Do you?"

"And it’s part of what I have to do."

"...What you have to do?"

At Alon’s question, Yutia put on a slightly playful smile and stared steadily at the green-glowing badge on Alon’s chest.

"You fixed it?"

Yutia changed the subject. Alon tilted his head, but answered anyway.

"Rine fixed it for me."

"Hmm- is that so?"

Whatever was so fun, Yutia raised a finger and lightly tapped the green badge, which seemed especially bright today.

Tap, tap-

"Because I have to make an announcement."

Yutia whispered it, the corners of her lips lifting.

It was a strange smile.

"An announcement...?"

Alon asked again, but Yutia didn’t answer. Instead, as if something suddenly came to mind, Yutia looked at Alon.

"Teacher, here."

"What is th—"

Yutia put a sweet potato in Alon’s hand.

"...A sweet potato?"

All of a sudden? Here?

Alon looked at Yutia with exactly that feeling, but whether Yutia noticed or not, Yutia just kept smiling brightly.

"You like them."

"...Well, I do like them."

"So I brought one."

"..." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Alon stared blankly at the sweet potato for a moment at the randomness of it, and then—

"Eat."

At Yutia’s urging, Alon shrugged and stuffed the sweet potato into his mouth. Come to think of it, Alon had spent hours doing nothing but greetings, and then slipped out to the balcony before the nobles could latch on again, so Alon hadn’t eaten properly.

"How is it?"

"It’s good."

Sweet potatoes really did taste good when you were hungry.

Once the sun went down, the Milky Way painted the night sky without fail.

'Do they look beautiful to you...?'

When Alon looked at the Milky Way, the Observer’s voice came to mind by reflex. Strangely, whenever Alon looked at the Milky Way, those words surfaced.

'Beautiful... huh.'

Alon stared up at the sky with Yutia.

Unlike the world Alon knew, the black night was filled with a brilliant river of stars.

"..."

For a long while, Alon and Yutia just looked at the sky in silence.

####

At that moment.

Fildagreen, the country of the elves.

BANG-!!!

A massive explosion roared out from the royal palace. It was loud enough to make the palace shake.

But despite that kind of noise pollution, the elves—

"What was dinner tonight again?"

"A marma fruit set meal."

"Again...?"

"Yeah."

"Ah... not a fan."

—were calm.

"Ah- I want to go home."

"Then go."

"I’ll get fired."

"You said you wanted to go."

"...Let’s not talk."

They were peaceful.

Why?

Because the elves were strong, so it wasn’t much of a threat?

Or because the elves’ danger-sensing ability had dropped to rock bottom?

It was neither.

The reason they were peaceful was because, for the elves now—

KABOOM-

—this kind of situation had become an utterly peaceful everyday routine.

KABOOM-! KABOOM-! KABOOM-!

"Hmm, so it’s furious tonight."

"Looks like it."

"If it’s hitting three times more than usual, isn’t that extremely furious?"

"...Is it? Now that I listen, it does sound like it."

"Doesn’t it sound like the Queen is hitting, too?"

At Rohan’s comment—an elf standing guard on the wall—Tuman, who’d been listening quietly beside Rohan, made a thoughtful face.

"It might be."

"Man- the maids on duty tomorrow are going to be dropping like flies-"

"Why? Lady Magrina doesn’t really do anything, does she?"

"True."

"Then why would the maids be dropping?"

"I heard it’s psychologically terrifying."

"...Psychologically?"

"Yeah. They say Lady Magrina doesn’t say a word and just stays still. With a blank face."

Tuman seemed to think for a moment.

"...Ah, yeah, that might actually be scary."

"Right?"

"Yeah."

"We’re lucky we’re assigned to the wall."

"I was just thinking that."

They patted their chest in relief.

KABOOM-!

At the huge explosion that boomed again—

"After tomorrow, most of them will have dead eyes."

Everyone’s gaze went back toward the source of the explosions.

And inside the palace, where Rohan and Tuman were looking—

In that problematic place—

"...Hoo."

"..."

Rine and Magrina were staring at a magic orb, both wearing expressions of intense irritation.

More precisely—

Inside a magic orb that had been made ridiculously huge after Magrina realized that Rine was secretly (of course, Rine insisted it was very legal, for the sake of protection) able to see Alon’s face through it—

Yutia’s smiling face was visible.

No—strictly speaking, it was more accurate to say that with Yutia’s face visible, the artifact had stopped functioning.

"Just what is that person? That person clearly isn’t even a mage, so how can that person connect directly to the artifact and pull something like this...?"

Magrina vented, sounding utterly baffled. Rine agreed a hundred times over, wearing a dumbfounded expression.

Rine had known Yutia was unbelievably strong, but Rine hadn’t realized Yutia’s grasp of magic would be this deep as well.

So.

"...Haa."

"Haa......"

Staring at the artifact that had gone completely dead, Rine and Magrina could only sigh.

####

The next day, after receiving countless “secret friend” promises from suspicious older men, Alon was finally able to reach the truth behind that “secret friend”.

"First, we’ll talk slowly, and you should eat comfortably."

"Yes."

Through Kritenia Siyan, the King of Asteria.

Munch—

In an atmosphere that still felt a little suffocating, Alon stuffed a sweet potato into Alon’s ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) mouth and looked at Siyan.

Maybe seeing Alon eat sweet potatoes was that enjoyable.

Siyan watched Alon with a faint smile on Siyan’s lips.

After some time had passed—

By the time Alon, holding the sweet potato with both hands, finished eating all of it—

"Was it good again this time?"

"...Yes."

"That’s good to hear."

Siyan nodded as if satisfied with Alon’s answer, then lightly cleared Siyan’s throat.

"Ahem- I called you here for two reasons."

"Two reasons...?"

"Yes. First, I simply wanted to see your face after so long. And second, it’s because of that matter."

"That matter... you mean what you said a moment ago?"

"Yes. That rumor that you’re gathering nobles to attach to the kingdom you’ll newly create."

Alon let out a quiet sigh.

The reason those “secret friend” nobles had clung so hard last night—Alon realized it had been because of that rumor spreading among the nobles.

"Let me say this first: I have absolutely no intention of doing that."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I mean it. In the first place, there’s no reason for me to do that, is there?"

"Hmm-"

Siyan looked at Alon quietly. But the atmosphere wasn’t heavy at all. There was still a calm smile on Siyan’s face.

"Well- at the very least, I know the you I’ve seen isn’t the sort of person who would do something like that."

"...That’s a relief."

"But just in case, I’d like to hear how that misunderstanding came about."

"I can explain as much as you want."

Alon immediately began from what Alon considered the starting point of the misunderstanding and calmly laid everything out.

After listening for a while, Siyan—

"So that’s how it happened-"

—nodded after hearing Alon’s entire story.

"Hmm, so that’s what happened."

"Yes."

Alon let out a small sigh. From Siyan’s expression, it looked like Siyan believed Alon well enough.

But only for a moment.

"Well, I understand roughly."

"That’s a relief."

"What—honestly, I didn’t think you were having thoughts like that. The situation is a bit coincidental, but like I said, I know the kind of person you are."

"Do you...?"

"Yes. Because I found out something."

"Found out something...?"

At Alon’s question, Siyan smiled softly and pointed a finger at Siyan’s own eye.

"...Did something come to you again?"

"That’s right. Whether I’m seeing you here or seeing you there, you’re truly consistent."

Still smiling, Siyan rolled Siyan’s shoulder lightly, as if Siyan’s neck was stiff.

"Anyway, that’s a relief. Then the rumor that the Luxible Kingdom is preparing an army must also be nothing but a false rumor."

Siyan said that, and—

"...Huh?"

Alon’s face went blank.

"There’s been a lot of talk lately that the Luxible Duchy that follows you is preparing a holy army to match the timing of the Divine Land."

"...Ah—"

"In fact, the king suddenly changed, and we found a few suspicious signs, so I sent an informant. But it seems I was worrying over nothing."

"I see. Just in case, may I ask... the one who became the new king...?"

Alon asked.

And.

"...I believe I heard the name Sircal."

"..."

The moment Siyan casually dropped that name—

Alon said:

"...I see."

And began to feel an unnameable sense of unease.