After a brief discussion about what gift to present to the Great Moon, the meeting resumed as normal.

Of course, there were moments when Deus abruptly brought up the Great Moon or Seolrang exclaimed, “I’ll be the gift!” disrupting the flow temporarily.

Nonetheless, the meeting, which proceeded a bit more smoothly than usual, began to draw to a close just before dawn.

As everyone prepared to say their closing remarks,

[Seolrang]

[Huh?]

Deus suddenly called out to Seolrang.

[By the way, what’s with your ears?]

Seolrang had been pressing her ears shut with her hands.

And not just once or twice.

Throughout the meeting, she would press her ears intermittently whenever she found a chance. Deus had found this peculiar habit rather baffling.

As everyone’s gaze turned toward her, Seolrang let out an “Ah!” and broke into a bright smile.

[It’s what the Great Moon did for me!]

[… The Great Moon did that for you?]

[Yes! Like this, like this!]

Although no one had asked, Seolrang began recounting the events of the recent colony one by one.

[That’s how it happened!]

As her story ended, the others each expressed their reactions in their own way.

[… To think the Great Moon showed such a genuinely concerned expression…]

[That’s remarkable.]

Deus and Radan looked envious, perhaps because they were used to Alon’s usual expressionlessness.

The fact that the Great Moon had shown even a fleeting emotion toward Seolrang held great significance for them.

[…]

Even Rine, who had spent several days in the colony, gazed at Seolrang with a subtly envious and sulky expression.

However,

[Of course, Seolrang. The Great Moon cares for ‘us.’ It’s only natural to be concerned when one of us, like you, is in danger, right?]

Only Yutia retained her usual serene smile. A calm smile with no hint of emotional fluctuation.

Seolrang stared at Yutia for a moment, then suddenly shrugged her shoulders triumphantly, as if she had realized something.

[But I’ve seen the Great Moon smile!]

[… The Great Moon smiled?]

[Yes!]

When Deus hesitantly asked, Seolrang nodded vigorously.

Even Yutia’s lips twitched slightly at this.

[… That must’ve been because the Great Moon was worried about you.]

Still, Yutia didn’t lose her smile.

[Nope! The Great Moon just smiled while we were chatting!]

Thud—

A sudden shift in the atmosphere.

Yutia’s mouth closed tightly.

Seolrang, now even more triumphant, shrugged her shoulders once again.

[You haven’t seen the Great Moon smile, have you, Yutia?]

Declaring victory, Seolrang made a V-sign with her fingers.

The expression of Hidan, who had been silently observing the situation, grew peculiar.

While it was true that the Moons often reacted like children whenever the Great Moon was mentioned, even considering that, Seolrang’s taunt was… quite juvenile, to say the least.

‘…There’s no way the Red Moon would lose composure over something so trivial—’

Hidan turned his gaze to Yutia with confidence but soon found his mouth agape.

The unchanged smile Yutia had been wearing until moments ago

was now visibly twisted for anyone to see.

In other words, it was undeniable that Seolrang’s words had scratched her pride.

Hidan cautiously averted his gaze.

[Right!? So I’m the first to see the Great Moon’s smile, huh?]

Seolrang, seemingly intoxicated by her “victory,” continued speaking gleefully, completely oblivious to the mood shift.

But only for a while.

[Hmm! When the Great Moon pressed my ears like this…]

After a few minutes of boastful chatter, even Seolrang began to trail off and glance around nervously.

[…]

Because Yutia was no longer smiling at all.

The moment Seolrang realized she had been far too caught up in her sense of triumph,

[Hmm, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave now. The meeting seems to be over anyway, so I’ll step out first.]

Radan, who had a knack for reading the room, brought up some improbable midnight errand and disappeared from the screen.

[…I have the same. I have a knightly meeting scheduled next…]

Likewise, Deus immediately escaped the meeting.

As Hidan pondered whether a better excuse than a pre-dawn meeting might exist,

[… I’ll be going too. I’ve got work to do.]

[… Huh?]

Rine, who had been glaring at Seolrang with slight dissatisfaction, also left.

Only then did Seolrang realize something was wrong.

And soon,

[Eek…]

Noticing the sneer forming at the corner of Yutia’s lips, Seolrang unconsciously released her grip on her ears.

Her freed ears instinctively folded back.

Seolrang, who began glancing around nervously, slowly started retreating.

[I-I should get going now too!]

She fled.

And then, the last two people remaining in the meeting were Hidan and… an extremely upset Yutia.

When Hidan cautiously raised his head, he realized he had missed his chance to leave.

‘What should I do?’

Hidan began to feel suffocated.

Surely, the other Moons had fled because they understood. They all knew how terrifying the Red Moon could be when even slightly angered.

Of course, she wouldn’t mercilessly harm her allies, but her mere anger was enough to instill fear.

Worried that her displaced wrath might turn toward him, Hidan nervously edged out of the screen and held his breath.

The next moment,

[Hah…]

What reached his ears wasn’t an angry voice but a small sigh from Yutia.

Hidan, now successfully out of the frame, cautiously glanced at the still-lit screen.

On it was Yutia, her cheeks slightly puffed out.

‘Puffed cheeks…?’

Her slightly sulky expression, tinged with a faint blush,

seemed out of character for her.

[I’m the one who thinks about him the most…]

She murmured softly, almost like a complaint, before ending the communication.

“…???”

Hidan was left dumbfounded by the fresh, unfamiliar side of the Red Moon he had just witnessed.

Then, he realized.

She had let her guard down, thinking all communication had ended because he had stepped out of the screen.

Though it didn’t suit the Red Moon’s image, paradoxically, it was the first time she felt like a unique, individual “her.”

As if witnessing a mirage, Hidan stared into the air for a moment.

‘I should forget this.’

Quickly assessing the situation, he broke into a cold sweat.

If, by any chance, the Red Moon found out about this…

That would be the end of him.

Therefore,

‘I need to erase this completely from my memory.’

He made a firm resolve within himself.

***

It had been about two months since Alon met with the Greenwood Trading company.

As the ball approached, Alon began to hear developments aligning with the storylines he was familiar with from the original work.

“… With this, it’s essentially complete.”

“That’s right.”

Facing Penia, Alon dispelled the newly perfected magic they had just fine-tuned.

“Thanks. If it weren’t for your help, it would’ve taken much longer.”

“Oh, no need to mention it.”

Despite her humble words, Penia’s shoulders rose slightly.

Her body language shouted, “Did you see that? That’s how amazing I am!”

Alon, hiding a faint smirk behind his neutral expression, asked,

“When is the next conference?”

“Ah, well… It’s about three months from now, I think?”

“Then let’s go together to that conference. Since you kept your promise, I’ll keep mine.”

“Thank you so much!”

Penia, as if she had just received a priceless treasure, bowed deeply in gratitude.

After gazing at his hands briefly, Alon took a seat.

“By the way, is there any point in further combinations now?”

“Hmm~ Based on our research so far, it seems like creating a better formula would require a bit more experimentation…”

Penia’s face grew noticeably tense, as if she feared Alon might actually want to continue.

Seeing through her, Alon lightly shook his head.

“Well, don’t worry. I’m not so shameless as to keep everything to myself,” Alon remarked.

“Ah, yes…?”

‘Doesn’t he lack shame already?’

Penia kept the thought to herself, deciding not to say it aloud.

“Still, your magic is quite unusual, Marquis,” she said.

“In what way?”

“…Its potency. The magic’s foundational structure and molecular arrangement are the same, but somehow its power keeps increasing.”

“…You can sense that clearly?”

Penia hesitated before responding.

“Hmm, it’s negligible if you look at it day by day, but if you compare it to two months ago, there’s a noticeable difference.”

“I see.”

Alon nodded unconsciously.

Of course, Alon hadn’t been secretly training at night or testing out new arrangements. His painfully small mana reserves didn’t allow for such indulgences.

Yet, the reason his power seemed to be increasing was likely related to his divinity.

…Though he had no idea where exactly this increase was coming from.

As Alon mused over this, Penia spoke up again.

“Um…”

“Yes? What is it?”

“If it’s alright, could you give me a hint about the reason behind this phenomenon?”

Her eyes darted nervously, but her curiosity seemed to overcome her fear.

Alon, realizing he couldn’t disclose the connection to divinity, deliberated for a moment.

After some thought, he replied, “…I’ll let you know next time.”

“Really? Thank you so much!”

Brushing off her question, Alon left the office—now essentially Penia’s research lab.

‘Well, now that my mana is replenished, it’s time to move on.’

Alon pulled out the artifact, ‘Footsteps of the Past,’ from his inner pocket to check its condition.

Once a jet-black hue, it had now turned blue, indicating it was finally ready to be used.

‘…It took a lot of effort to fill it with mana. Not that I’ll be using it just yet.’

Even while conducting magic experiments, Alon had diligently infused the artifact with mana, making it functional.

Recalling the effort it took, he mentally reviewed his schedule.

‘…First, attend the ball, then head to Lartania to use ‘Footsteps of the Past’ to meet Kylrus, and afterward, retrieve the artifact from the ruins.’

Without taking much of a break, Alon left the Marquis’ estate as planned.

***

A few weeks later, as Alon and his group arrived at Terea, where the ball was to be held, in the Holy Kingdom of Rosario,

“Greetings, Cardinal Yutia.”

“Yes, it’s been a while, Chosen.”

Cardinal Yutia and Chosen Eliban exchanged greetings.

A hidden, profound smile lingered on their faces.