From what Alon had heard, the process of the proclamation ceremony itself was not very long.

In truth, there was no real reason for the proclamation ceremony itself to be long.

In the end, all Alon had to do was put on the prepared crown in front of those gathered for the ceremony in the very center of the inner castle of the territory, then read the declaration Sili and Alexion had written.

That was the end of the ceremony.

In other words, compared to how grandly and how long it had been prepared, it was an event that ended quickly.

Like a wedding prepared for an entire year ending in barely three hours.

Anyway, because of that, Alon had intended to hold the proclamation ceremony efficiently.

From the start, he had judged that there was not much point in making a one-time proclamation ceremony excessively grand and extravagant.

That should have been the case, and yet...

“Evan.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

“What... exactly is that?”

The giant annex in the central plaza of the town.

While waiting there for the procession, the first part of the proclamation ceremony, Alon asked as he looked out the window.

“I heard Deus and Sili worked very hard to make it.”

“...You knew about it?”

“No, I only saw it this morning too.”

At Evan’s answer, Alon looked at the statue and the crowd gathered around it.

He had known there would be people, but the streets were so packed that it made him wonder whether there had really been this many people in the territory.

...The problem was that every last one of them had their eyes fixed on the statue, making it look less like they had gathered for the procession and more like they had come because the statue fascinated them.

Alon rubbed his face with a conflicted expression.

Then Evan asked,

“What’s wrong, Marquis?”

“...It’s just that, in a lot of ways, this isn’t easy.”

“What part?”

“The statue, obviously.”

When Alon pointed at the statue, Evan tilted his head as if puzzled.

“Well... isn’t it fine?”

“...Fine?”

“Yes. It looks cool. Since it has your face on it, Marquis, from my point of view it does feel a little... somehow... but still, the fact that it looks cool is true.”

“...Are you serious?”

“I am.”

Even though Alon looked completely at a loss for words, Evan continued.

“How does it look to you, Marquis?”

“To be honest...”

“To be honest?”

“...It looks a little lame.”

“Lame?”

Alon silently nodded.

Of course, he could roughly imagine how much effort Sili and Deus must have put into making that thing.

But no matter how he thought about it, from Alon’s point of view, it was a statue that made his face burn with embarrassment in several different ways.

When Alon conveyed that honest opinion, Evan answered,

“Mm... I think it looks cool.”

“You might be the only one who thinks that.”

Alon shot back immediately.

At that moment—

Vmmmm—

As if it had been waiting for this exact moment, the statue, which had been quiet until now, began raising its hand again just like before.

Ooooooh—!

At the same time, strange exclamations burst out from the countless people in the crowd.

And then, once the statue’s arms had fully risen—

The moment blue eyes lit up on the statue and lightning burst from the raised arm—

“Waaaaaaaah!!!”

A roar like thunder poured out.

In that heat, Alon was left blankly stunned.

“It looks like you’re the only one who thinks otherwise, Marquis.”

Looking at Evan, who grinned as though he found this whole situation amusing—

‘That looks cool?’

Not childish?

—Alon felt seriously confused about his own sense of aesthetics.

But only for a moment.

“Marquis! Everything’s ready!”

Sili, who had not shown her face until now, suddenly appeared and shouted, and Alon rose from his seat.

“Here, this is for you!”

She immediately handed him a piece of paper, and Alon naturally took it.

“What’s this?”

“The declaration.”

“...Do I just read it at the end?”

“Yes! First you ride in the procession, then you go into the inner castle, put on the crown, and finish by reading the declaration!”

At Sili’s explanation, Alon nodded, then called to her.

“Sili.”

“Yes?”

“...Never mind.”

He hesitated for a moment.

Whether to say something about the statue or not.

Then he decided against it.

Alon thought it was incredibly childish, but unlike him, the people’s reaction had been truly explosive.

So Alon tucked Sili’s declaration into his clothes and obediently headed out of the annex.

He got into a carriage that was different from the one he usually rode in, one that looked extravagantly luxurious at a glance.

And with that, the procession began.

“Ah, it’s started.”

Before the largest avenue in the distance, as he watched the carriage heading toward the marquis family’s inner castle, Penia approached Evan before he noticed.

“Where were you?”

“Ah, I went to see the tower masters for a moment.”

“Ah—the Blue Tower Master, the Red Tower Master, and the Green Tower Master came, right?”

“Yes.”

Penia had only just nodded when the two of them naturally let out exclamations.

Because along the path Alon had to travel, golden crowns began appearing in a disorderly flood, decorating the street.

“It’s Lady Rine.”

“Looks like it.”

As the two admired it, white light poured down from the sky this time.

“It’s Lady Yutia.”

“Looks like it.”

Again, it was not hard to figure out the cause.

And after that—

White hands rose up over the buildings lining the crowded street and over the people’s own hands, then began waving enthusiastically.

“...?”

“?”

The two of them were left baffled.

But before they could even comment on it—

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■-!!!!

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■-!!!!

Two Sea King Gods that had suddenly appeared near the inner castle let out skin-crawling shrieks as they coiled around the castle walls.

Then they bowed their heads toward Alon.

“......”

“......”

As Penia and Evan stared blankly at the two Sea King Gods, Historia, who had been sitting on top of one of their heads, rose to her feet and drew her sword.

A sword that looked far larger than Historia itself.

Drawing it, Historia launched it straight into the sky without hesitation.

Bang—!

With the sound of air exploding, the clouds that had been blocking the sunlight only moments earlier split apart. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

““......””

The street had gone quiet before anyone knew it.

And Penia and Evan, silently staring at that street—

“...Excuse me.”

“Yeah.”

“This is a kingdom proclamation ceremony, right?”

“...I think so?”

“It’s not some kind of Demon King birth ceremony... right?”

“...To be honest, I was thinking the same thing.”

Quietly exchanging their thoughts with one another,

‘...Ah.’

Alon, who was watching all of this from the carriage right then, also squeezed his eyes shut.

‘I want to go home.’

He was thinking that with all his heart.

####

Because of the astonishing procession in so many ways, Alon was worried about what came next, but contrary to expectations, once they entered the inner castle, nothing else unexpected happened.

...Of course, because the two Sea King Gods had suddenly appeared, the knights of the Divine Land abruptly started showing off divine power all at once in the middle of everything.

And because of that, he did get to see Queen Torimavia, Palmarian, and many other important figures all staring with their mouths open, having forgotten even their dignity.

Still, that much was fine.

From Alon’s point of view, after experiencing ominous things since morning, he could treat at least that much as relatively minor.

At last, after even the storm-like crown investiture had ended, Alon, now wearing a crown so brilliant it almost seemed heavy purely because of all the jewels on it, rose from his seat.

He let out a sigh and pulled the declaration from inside his clothes.

Because the ceremony would only end once he read this.

So he took the document in hand without hesitation.

After glancing once at the cover, which read Declaration of the Kingdom of Palantia, Alon unfolded the paper and began reading without hesitation.

“People of this territory, and all honored guests who will share in the new era of the Kingdom of Palantia!

This is the very heart of the Kingdom of Palantia. Upon this land, cultivated by our ancestors through blood, sweat, and toil, I personally and solemnly proclaim this to you.”

After reading the first paragraph, Alon nodded even as he spoke.

Because the contents were more peaceful than he had feared.

So Alon naturally moved his eyes to the next paragraph.

“This territory has long been peaceful. That is because, under my merciful rule and under the rule of our honored guests, all have acted wisely. And that peace shall continue from this point onward as well. Of course—”

After reciting that much, he suddenly fell silent.

Because of the sentence written in the next paragraph.

Of course, that is only on the condition that everyone here fully obeys my will...

‘What?’

For a moment Alon’s brain stopped, and he went blank.

But he quickly scanned down the letter with his own eyes.

‘The new law of Palantia is very simple.

My word is the law, and my glory is the glory of Palantia.

Those who engrave this deeply in their hearts and swear loyalty to me shall become my eternal companions and the true heroes of Palantia.

But if there are any who dare harbor dissatisfaction toward my wise rule, or attempt to stir disorder in this steadfast kingdom...

That person will be in very, very, very considerable pain.

The suffering they endure will lead to screams, and their miserable end will serve as an excellent lesson to all.

Therefore, for the prosperity of Palantia and for your happiness, please act wisely.

Let us build a glorious future together!

Entrust everything to my wisdom and mercy.’

“Ah.”

After reading that far, Alon let out a sound without meaning to.

Two realizations had struck him.

The first was the meaning of this declaration.

Put simply, it was: Don’t get smart with me. If you do, you die.

The other was the fact that if he read this out loud here—

there could be problems in many different ways.

So—

“—provided, of course, that you all choose to heed my wise counsel.”

Alon continued speaking slowly, softening the contents of the declaration as much as possible.

“With this, I announce that the Kingdom of Palantia has taken its place upon this continent.”

And with that final line—

“Waaaaaaaah!!!!!”

As thunderous cheers and applause rang out, Alon let out a secret sigh of relief.

####

The moment the proclamation ceremony ended, a banquet began at the Palatio marquisate.

Even though the banquet hall was spacious, it was so crowded that there were hardly enough seats. Alon had only just let out a sigh among the mass of people when—

“You look very tired.”

Someone approached the Alon seated on the throne.

“I am a little worn out.”

“You will probably have to get used to this soon. You have now become the sky of an entire nation.”

It was Queen Torimavia of Raksas.

She spoke to Alon with a deeply benevolent smile.

“And how was your last meeting, by chance?”

At Torimavia’s next question, Alon immediately understood what meeting she meant.

‘She means Serena Raksasia.’

Naturally, Alon did not have much of an impression to leave behind.

If he had to name one, it was that Serena had seemed like someone speaking in a half-brainwashed state.

But since he could not say that honestly—

“She seemed like a good person.”

That was what he said.

On the surface, it sounded as though he had taken a liking to her.

However, among nobles, that expression was merely a polite refusal, so Torimavia let out a small gasp.

“Oh my, how unfortunate. Did she perhaps commit some rudeness...?”

“It was nothing like that, so please do not concern yourself.”

At Alon’s polite answer, Torimavia seemed to think something over.

“Is there perhaps someone you already hold in your heart?”

She asked carefully.

Alon considered it.

‘...There was a second princess, probably?’

At present, there was no one Alon held in his heart.

But he vaguely understood that if he told the truth here, Torimavia might in some way ask him to meet the second princess just once.

Of course, from Alon’s point of view, refusing a meeting with the second princess would not have been difficult.

But he disliked creating that situation in the first place, so after considering it for a while, Alon said,

“Yes, there is.”

He gave a vague answer to avoid the trouble.

And at that moment—

Click.

Unlike the still-noisy atmosphere of the banquet hall, the area around Alon, where lively laughter and conversation had been flowing just moments ago, suddenly fell silent as if it were a lie.

Very, very silent.