“......Using Blackie?”

“Yes.”

At Alon’s reaction, as though he could not understand, Reinysius nodded and immediately began explaining.

“Do you perhaps remember what I said last time?”

“What?”

“That, fundamentally, the powers of spirit dragons and Shadow Dragons often follow their user.”

“I remember, but...... why bring that up now......?”

“To put it simply, because that is why Blackie can be used.”

“......Because of that?”

Reinysius nodded and looked at Blackie.

“Before anything else, let me tell you one thing first. Blackie’s ability is, strictly speaking, your ability.”

“......My ability?”

“Yes. The ability to absorb the powers of Divine blood. Of course, it seems the Shadow Dragon uses it of its own will.”

“Then the absorption of Divine blood abilities was my power, not the Shadow Dragon’s?”

“Yes. But it is not something to be that surprised about. Did you not already suspect that to some degree?”

At that question, Alon fell silent without realizing it.

It was true.

Alon had wondered whether the ability Blackie used might have something to do with him.

Even if he could not currently use the ability the way Blackie did, when he had previously given abilities to Divine blood, the abilities Alon possessed had disappeared at the same time.

On top of that, the fact that abilities had appeared even though Alon had not absorbed them could also be explained if Blackie had secretly absorbed them without Alon knowing.

“I thought of it less as my ability and more as something being shared.”

“That is not strange. Whether it is a Shadow Dragon or a spirit dragon, once you form a contract, it is essentially the same as having your souls connected.”

“It is not particularly strange for abilities to be shared either,” Reinysius added in a mutter, and Alon asked,

“......But how does Blackie sharing abilities with me connect to automatically spreading blessings?”

[Kyuu.]

Along with Alon’s question, Blackie tilted its head the opposite way.

Looking at the two of them, Reinysius said,

“There is a complicated explanation and an easy explanation. Which do you want to hear?”

“......How complicated is the complicated one?”

“About three days.”

“......What?”

“I think it would take about three days and five hours to explain. There are many parts I would need to explain from the very beginning.”

“......Let’s go with the easy one.”

After Alon made the decision without hesitation, Reinysius immediately continued.

“You seem to have used it several times already, but Blackie can handle your calculations for you. However, naturally, that is not the end of it.”

“It is not?”

“No. Assuming it is supplied with enough mana, the current Blackie can, in effect, do exactly what you do— no— no, not exactly. Even if not exactly the same, it should be able to imitate about fifty percent of you.”

“Fifty percent of me?”

“Yes. Though its appearance would be nearly one hundred percent.”

“......That’s possible?”

Alon looked at Blackie in surprise.

[Kyuu?]

At that, Blackie looked back at Alon and tilted its head.

“Yes, it is possible. If you command it, it will be able to carry it out well enough.”

Reinysius continued.

“But the important point here is that even if you are not near Blackie, as long as the mana is maintained, it can sufficiently assist calculations as you wish. And that is not all.”

“......?”

“Because Blackie is connected to you, it can also identify, as you wish, the divine power coming into you and the divine power going out of you.”

“!”

At Reinysius’s words, Alon finally understood without difficulty why he had brought that up.

“......So you are saying you want to entrust the automation to Blackie?”

“Yes. Of course, it will not be perfect. The method I am proposing is only possible within the range Blackie can perceive.”

“......What does that mean?”

“It can identify divine power coming and going, but it would have to confirm directly ‘who’ it is coming from, would it not? If the divine power is to be returned.”

At Reinysius’s words, Alon let out an involuntary “Ah,” then looked at Blackie.

[Kyuu?]

Receiving Alon’s gaze, Blackie tilted its head the other way again.

After staring at Blackie for a while, Alon opened his mouth.

“......I understand what you mean. Certainly, if what you say is correct, even if it is not perfect, it does seem like it could realize what I was talking about.”

“Yes. You could say we are almost halfway there.”

Reinysius nodded.

However, as Alon looked at him—

“But I will not proceed with this plan.”

He said that.

“Why?”

At Reinysius’s calm question, Alon placed Blackie, which had poked out, back into the pocket at his chest.

“......Thank you for thinking of an efficient method, but I have no intention of turning Blackie into a machine.”

The proposal Reinysius had given him was certainly good, and he felt grateful for it.

Because Reinysius was trying to help Alon.

But separate from that help, Alon had no intention of turning Blackie into a machine that did nothing but work.

In the end, if he followed Reinysius’s words, Blackie would be no different from becoming a machine part.

......On top of that, though it was truly from a long time ago, he also had memories of being worked to his absolute limit at a shitty small company.

“Sorry.”

Alon apologized briefly.

At that, Reinysius stroked his chin and said,

“No, there is no need to apologize. Certainly, from the Shadow Dragon’s standpoint, even if a certain amount of mana is supplied, the task itself could be burdensome. After all, the Shadow Dragon is ultimately a mental body as well.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“I will seek another method.”

Reinysius nodded at Alon’s words.

And just as the conversation seemed to be ending—

[Kyuu!]

Blackie, which Alon had just put into his pocket, abruptly popped out again.

“?”

Alon looked at Blackie with a puzzled expression.

But Blackie tapped Alon’s hand.

“......Are you asking for mana?”

[Kyuu?]

Alon, who understood its meaning without difficulty, pushed mana into it.

And then—

Pop!

“?”

“?”

Along with that, Blackie’s body split into two.

“......Huh?”

Alon looked in confusion at the two Blackies that had split apart.

But he soon realized which one was the real Blackie.

After all, of the two Blackies, one was moving just as before, while the other Blackie was staring straight ahead with a blank expression.

“......What is this?”

So, while Alon was flustered by this sudden situation—

“Oho—”

Reinysius let out a strange exclamation, as though he had realized something.

“It seems it separated itself.”

“......Separated?”

“Yes. Of course, that does not seem to mean it halved its power. It feels more like it created something.”

“......Created?”

“Yes. A half-body just sufficient for sensing and calculation, as long as mana is supplied.”

After saying that much, Reinysius looked at Blackie once in amazement.

“It seems to be an answer to what you said.”

“To what I said?”

“Yes. You said you would not use the Shadow Dragon like a machine. It seems to be telling you to use this.”

“Can a Shadow Dragon become this intelligent?” Reinysius muttered.

Hearing that, Alon looked at Blackie.

[Kyuu!]

Blackie raised its face stiffly with an expression that seemed to say, Did I do well? and cried out.

“......Thank you, Blackie.”

[Kyuu!]

At Alon’s thanks, Blackie cried once and went right back into Alon’s chest pocket.

“So, after the Shadow Dragon has gone this far to accommodate you, what will you do?”

At Reinysius’s words—

“......I will try it.”

####

Alon answered that way.

Immediately after that, in the short span of a single day, Alon was able to determine several things about Blackie’s clone body.

The first was that Blackie’s clone body had been created through one of the Divine blood abilities obtained this time.

The second was that the clone body possessed sufficient calculation ability and sensing ability.

And finally, the third was that as long as the clone body existed, Blackie’s mind could naturally move back and forth between the clone body and the main body.

In truth, they ran several other experiments after that as well, but that did not mean he could delay going to the Empire.

“I’ll be back.”

“Yes. By the time you return, I will have finished the later research, so do not worry. By then, the experiments should be finished to some degree as well. And for those experiments, certainly—”

“Sili. If you contact her, you should be able to receive help.”

After answering that, Alon climbed onto Basiliora.

“Lord Alon.”

“Speak.”

“It seems we will not need to stop by Teria.”

“......He still has not returned, then.”

“Yes.”

Evan’s answer.

At that, Alon briefly considered stopping by the Mage Tower before opening his mouth.

“Evan, how long do you think it will take to reach the Empire?”

“Mm...... If we move diligently, in terms of time, roughly one to two months should be enough. Not exactly, though.”

“Between two and four months, then.”

For a moment, he was satisfied with a speed that was unimaginable compared to traveling by carriage.

‘......I should go to the Mage Tower after I return.’

Alon ended his thoughts that way.

“Let’s go to the Empire.”

To meet the guardian dragon of the Empire.

No.

To meet Arculainysis.

‘And to confirm what the Wanderer said, too.’

And to do what needed to be done, he soared into the sky.

####

That night.

In the castle of Palantia—

[Mm— so, to summarize, does this mean one will now be able to receive Lord Alon’s blessing simply by offering faith?]

“Yes.”

Having finished preparing the experiment, Reinysius was contacting Sili, just as Alon had told him to.

[Those words...... are they truly true?]

“What words do you mean?”

[That one can receive a blessing simply by praying in Divine Land.]

At Sili’s following words, Reinysius thought for a moment before answering.

“There is a high probability it will not fail.”

Reinysius’s words.

At that, Sili—

[Mm— mm— mmm—]

seemed to close her eyes and think.

[All right.]

Then she smiled.

“Thank you.”

Reinysius expressed his thanks.

However—

[Oh my, there is no need for you to say that. If anything, I should be thanking you.]

“......Is that so?”

[Yes. If what you said is true— then at last, I will finally be able to accomplish what I have been thinking of.]

“......What you have been thinking of?”

[Well— it is nothing much.]

Sili said that, then—

[Then please come to Divine Land as quickly as possible.]

“......I will leave once day breaks.”

[Yes.]

Soon, she turned off the magic sphere.

Looking at the now-dark magic sphere, Reinysius slowly stroked his chin.

Because somewhere—

Somewhere, he had seen a human with that kind of feeling before.

So Reinysius thought for a while.

“Ah.”

Then he let out a small exclamation.

Because he realized where he had seen that girl’s eyes before.

‘......They were the eyes of fanaticism.’

Around the time Reinysius was thinking that—

In Divine Land—

“Mm— this is a good thing.”

Sili, smiling as though she was in an incredibly good mood, turned her gaze away from the dark night sky she had been looking at and looked to one side.

There were believers there.

Countless believers offering prayers to the great living sage god she served.

And among them, looking at the young-looking female mercenary praying especially fervently—

and, separate from her, the male mercenary praying with a somewhat subtle expression, yet one strangely full of expectation—

“Who should I start with this time?”

She murmured softly.

“......The starting point of the Sanctuary, I mean.”

Her faint purple eyes gleamed.