“Marquis, you must be pleased this time, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, the kids all said they’d celebrate your birthday!”

Birthday, huh.

Alon cleared his throat unnecessarily.

“Well, it’s certainly appreciated.”

“Oh, acting all nonchalant now.”

“It’s not an act. This is exactly how I feel.”

“For someone claiming that, your lips are subtly curling up.”

Alon gently covered his mouth with his hand.

To be honest, he did feel a bit excited.

He had never received a birthday gift from the kids he had supported.

Of course, that was natural since he had never told them his exact birth date.

More importantly, he never supported them with the intention of getting birthday presents, so he wasn’t disappointed.

‘… Really.’

“Come on, remember when Rine said she’d send you a gift but didn’t? You were sulking.”

“I don’t recall any change in my expression.”

“Now I can tell right away.”

“… Was it that obvious?”

“Not that you made it obvious, but after serving you for nearly ten years, I’ve picked up on it.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yes.”

Alon awkwardly fiddled with the corner of his mouth.

[Hmph, after ten years, and that’s all you’ve noticed? How laughable.]

Basiliora, who had been quiet just a moment ago, slithered out.

“There he goes again.”

Evan clicked his tongue the moment Basiliora appeared, as usual.

Not backing down, Basiliora snapped back.

[Hah, how rude for a mere human. I’m only speaking the truth. Why react like that?]

“What truth?”

[The fact that after ten years, you’re only now starting to notice such things means you haven’t been fulfilling your duties as a servant, right?]

“You’re begging for a flick on the forehead. So you’re saying you can tell the Marquis’s emotions right away?”

Basiliora straightened his small, insignificant body confidently.

[I can’t.]

“…?”

[What’s with that face?]

“You were just ranting about reading expressions!”

[That’s your problem. Whether I can read expressions or not doesn’t matter to me. Am I Alon’s servant? No. I am—]

“You are?”

[A god!]

Cackling like a villain, Basiliora burst into laughter.

Evan turned away, as if it wasn’t even worth responding to, and looked at Alon.

“Marquis.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you say you’re going to the Magic Tower conference soon?”

“That’s right.”

Evan gestured toward Basiliora with his chin.

“Why not leave him with that guy, Heinkel, or whatever his name is?”

[!? What nonsense! I was just stating facts! Why is this happening—]

“Maybe I should.”

[Kyaaaahhh!!!]

As if haunted by traumatic memories, Basiliora started writhing all over.

[Nooo—]

Blackie shook his head pitifully at the sight of Basiliora.

“Marquis, don’t you think this guy’s become unnecessary?”

Evan wasn’t stopping.

“Basiliora, you mean?”

“Yes. You haven’t really used him much since last time.”

“Hmm, only used him once, I guess.”

“Then why not just hand him over to Heinkel completely?”

[?! What are you saying?! Speak something sensible, you brat!!!]

Foaming at the mouth in protest, Basiliora looked at Alon, clearly distressed.

[It’s not like I didn’t want to fight! You’re just not summoning me!!]

“That’s not wrong.”

Basiliora’s voice grew louder, clearly desperate not to be sent to Heinkel.

Indeed, Basiliora was one of Alon’s strongest assets.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was useless.

Though he currently looked like a 30cm stubby snake, his essence was that of a god.

‘And on top of that—’

Alon glanced down at Blackie and Basiliora.

Something Kylrus had mentioned before—

Practicing to properly handle the shadow dragon.

Along with that, exploring what the spirit dragon could do.

If that worked out—

‘I could make Basiliora even stronger.’

Having made his decision, Alon looked at the bracelet on his wrist, ‘Salvation of the wanderer.’

‘It’s about time to recharge this. Maybe I should do that before visiting the elf village.’

He mentally organized his necessary plans.

[You beast of a human! Are you plotting to send me to hell with that scheme of yours!?]

“How does it feel to have your life threatened by a beast? And how about the crushing realization that your win rate against that beast isn’t even 50%?”

[Don’t spout nonsense! I’ve won more than half, and you’ve won less!]

Watching the two bicker pointlessly, Alon stretched out comfortably in the scorching desert heat.

Alon arrived at the Palatio territory approximately two weeks later.

“That… is the auction house?”

A massive building stood proudly in the center of the Marquis’s territory—something that certainly hadn’t been there when he left.

“Apparently, yes.”

“…It’s huge.”

And that wasn’t all.

Buildings were springing up like mushrooms around the enormous auction house, forming a new district.

Alon couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride swelling in his chest.

… Even though he hadn’t done anything.

With a slight sense of excitement, he passed by the massive auction house and arrived at the Marquis’s estate.

What greeted him there, however, was—

“…What is this?”

“Documents.”

“…This many?”

“Yes.”

From the floor to the ceiling.

A towering stack of paperwork, almost like a paper fortress.

Alon let out a deep sigh.

The pride that had momentarily filled his heart was now replaced by gloom.

‘So heading straight to the elf village was impossible from the start, huh.’

It wasn’t like handling this immediately was an urgent necessity.

He had put off paperwork several times before.

But one fact was painfully clear—

Eventually, he would have to process all of these.

“Sigh—”

A heavy sigh echoed through the office.

How was he supposed to handle all this alone…?

“Evan.”

“Yes.”

“Put up a hiring notice.”

“A hiring notice for what?”

“For someone to handle administrative work.”

However—

“…Putting up a notice is fine, but shouldn’t the Marquis handle this himself? Most of these documents must be important.”

“…That’s true, isn’t it?”

“Of course. If you leave things like this to someone else, they’ll quietly skim off the top.”

The world wasn’t so simple.

Alon groaned.

“Is there anyone reliable?”

“Hmm… Well, maybe one person?”

[Bullshit.]

Basiliora interjected briefly.

Evan continued speaking as if he hadn’t heard.

“But paperwork isn’t exactly my strong suit.”

“Hmm~”

A face suddenly came to mind.

‘Should I ask Yutia?’

Alon considered it for a moment but soon dismissed the thought and sat down.

Hiring someone would take time anyway.

So—

“…Might as well get started.”

He picked up a document.

He had felt good about returning home after two months, but now—

As he flipped through the papers, he thought staying outside might have been better.

“…Hm?”

A sudden idea struck him.

***

Alon finished processing the towering stack of documents in just a week.

How was that possible?

“Hah… Hah…”

All thanks to the talented Penia Crysinne.

Even after fulfilling her role as Alon’s magical research assistant, Penia had not returned to the Magic Tower.

Instead, she had set up a research lab in the second office.

To conduct experiments using the catalyst Alon had given her.

‘The talent was right under my nose.’

Alon recruited her to assist with paperwork.

Of course, she hadn’t been happy about it at first.

She said she’d do it, but her eyes screamed—

“Why me?”

But now—

“…It’s finally over?”

“Yes. You did well. Thanks to you, we finished much faster.”

“That’s… a relief.”

Despite working overtime for several days in a row, Penia genuinely looked happy.

And the reason for that—

Alon had made her an offer.

He had merely promised to arrange regular magic lessons with Heinkel.

And yet, she had worked so passionately.

Alon recalled the past few days.

She had juggled eight pens at once, processing documents at an incredible speed.

A sight so reassuring that he had nearly dropped his own pen just to applaud.

“What even is magic?”

Even though she must have been exhausted, Penia never lost her smile.

What was magic to her, exactly?

Why did she throw herself into something most people would avoid?

Recalling his previous image of a rigid and meticulous mage—

‘…Maybe mages are actually the simplest of all.’

He decided to revise that thought today.

“Alright, take a break today. Tomorrow, we’ll focus on magical research.”

“Understo—huh?”

Penia responded reflexively, then blinked, eyes widening.

Alon patted her shoulder knowingly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything to Heinkel.”

“Gasp! Understood—!”

It took less than a second.

Her gloomy expression instantly brightened.

Her energy seemed to return as she sprinted out of the room.

Watching her go, Alon thought—

‘…Yeah. Mages really are simple creatures.’

Alon quietly nodded.

***

The morning of Alon’s birthday arrived before he knew it.

Waking up early, Alon glanced beside his pillow.

There, curled up as always, was Blackie, sleeping peacefully.

Gently stroking the soft black fur, Alon got out of bed.

‘Is it today?’

In both his previous life and since inhabiting this one, he’d never considered his birthday particularly special.

However, knowing that the kids had prepared gifts made today feel oddly different.

‘I wonder what kind of presents they’ve got.’

The thought crossed his mind naturally as he changed clothes.

It wasn’t that he expected anything expensive.

This feeling of anticipation had nothing to do with the value of the gifts.

No matter what they had prepared, the simple fact that they had put in the effort tickled Alon’s heart.

This unfamiliar emotion made even him feel like a stranger to himself.

‘Well, good things are just… good.’

With a faint smile, he pulled back the curtains.

“?”

And immediately noticed something strange.

Not just towering over the Marquis’s mansion but even dwarfing the walls of the Palatio territory itself—

A massive statue.

“???”

The statue depicted Alon himself, clad in a flowing black coat, one hand casually raised, with giant diamonds embedded in both eyes.

It stood proudly in the center of the territory.

Alon froze, staring blankly for a long time.

Then—

“Hmm?”

He felt a strange sense of familiarity.

The odd feeling came from the pose of the statue.

It seemed incredibly familiar somehow.

Where had he seen it before?

As he dug through his memories—

“Ah?”

He realized it.

That pose—

“That’s…”

It was almost identical to the statue of the North Korean leader he’d seen in his previous life.

Thus began the eventful day of his birthday.