“Welcome, Marquis!”

“You have arrived, Marquis……………”

As soon as Alon entered the office, Sili greeted him energetically, while Deus, in contrast, barely nodded, looking as if his soul had left his body.

Alon asked how the two were doing.

“So, have you both been well?”

“Yes! Thanks to the grace you’ve bestowed upon us, I’ve been having a wonderful time!”

“I feel the same…….”

Their responses were just as contrasting.

Sili leaned forward, chatting brightly, while exhaustion was evident on Deus’s face.

Observing them with a curious expression, Alon spoke to Sili.

“By the way, I heard the story.”

“Oh, what story……………?”

For a moment, the words “multi-level marketing” almost slipped out of habit.

Alon barely held them back and struggled to find a better way to express it.

Since the term “multi-level marketing” had been stuck in his mind, an alternative didn’t come to him easily.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Alon cleared his throat.

Fortunately, though it was difficult, he managed to come up with the right words.

“I heard you’re conducting relief work using the power of Kalannon.”

“Yes! I am deeply grateful for the power the Marquis has granted me, and as a recipient, I strive to act in a way that is not shameful.”

“……Is that so.”

“Yes!”

Sili responded with a radiant smile.

Well, seeing her smile was nice enough, so…

Halting his train of thought, Alon patted Sili on the shoulder.

“Just to be sure, don’t overexert yourself.”

Of course, from Alon’s perspective, it was beneficial if Sili worked hard and gathered faith.

However, since she was also Deus’s younger sister, he didn’t want to place too much burden on her.

“Oh—have I, perhaps, caused trouble?”

As soon as she heard that, Sili’s eyes welled up as if her world had collapsed.

Alon was inwardly flustered by her unexpected reaction.

“Just to clarify, I didn’t mean it like that. Obviously, what you’ve done has been very helpful.”

“Then—”

“It’s just a genuine concern. Relief work isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

Fortunately, the misunderstanding was quickly cleared up.

Sili’s face brightened again, as if nothing had happened.

“Don’t worry about that! I’m not overexerting myself at all!”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes! Besides, I think a little effort is fine. I serve the Marquis, so this is my duty!”

Sili declared with a face full of responsibility, as if she had taken on a great and noble mission.

Beside her, Deus smacked his lips in envy.

However, the very person who had supposedly instilled this heavy sense of duty in her, Alon,

“Right, I see.”

Was actually slightly bewildered behind his neutral expression.

‘Did I… ever say anything like that…?’

Well, when he first heard the rumors that Sili was being called a saint, he had thought about it.

But Alon had never explicitly mentioned any mission when he granted her power.

That wasn’t all.

He hadn’t instilled any sense of responsibility, nor had he ever officially declared her as a saint.

And yet—

“I will continue to do my best!”

Seeing the girl, her eyes sparkling as if she had been entrusted with the most sacred mission in the world,

Telling her, ‘You’re not actually a saint,’

Was simply not an option.

“……I entrust it to you.”

“Yes!”

Alon just shrugged.

‘Well, does it even matter?’

He had only ever focused on the fact that he possessed divine power—he had never seriously considered forming an official religious order.

Now that he thought about it, letting things stay as they were didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Since he had no plans to create a structured religious order, it didn’t really matter who played the saint or the knight.

Therefore—

“If there’s anything you need for the relief work, let me know. Also, feel free to do whatever you wish.”

He said this to ease her burden even a little.

“……!! I’ll work even harder!”

Sili’s eyes widened once more, and she nodded so vigorously it seemed her head might fall off.

‘So, the relief work must be costing a lot of money after all.’

A faint sense of satisfaction settled in his chest.

After finishing their conversation, Alon left the room with the siblings.

It was only then that he remembered Yutia beside him, and he realized his mistake.

“……Yutia, have you been uncomfortable?”

“Hmm—what part made you think that?”

“Because you worship the goddess Sironia.”

Even as he spoke, Alon felt a bit awkward.

‘I haven’t paid enough attention to Yutia.’

Followers of the goddess Sironia generally did not outright reject other deities.

However, while they did not actively oppose other gods, it was an undeniable fact that they often found them unsettling.

Knowing this, Alon looked slightly apologetic as he explained.

Even though they were close and Yutia followed him devotedly, she was still a devout believer of Sironia and had even served as a cardinal in Rosario.

After hearing his apology, Yutia gazed at him for a moment before a small smile formed on her lips.

“Hmm~ That’s true. Just as you thought, while we don’t outright reject other gods, we do find them a bit uncomfortable.”

“So, it really is like that?”

“Well, that’s the general sentiment. But—it’s fine.”

“……?”

“This time, it was you, My Lord. So it’s okay.”

“Is that… so?”

“If I had to distance myself from you or feel uncomfortable just because I must believe in the Goddess Sironia—”

Despite the gentle smile on her lips,

Yutia’s eyes sharpened like a cat’s as she continued.

“Then I don’t think I would need such a god.”

She added, as if it were nothing.

—Isn’t that an incredibly dangerous statement if someone else heard it?

Yet, Yutia spoke without a care and continued with ease.

“Now that I think about it, if that happened, I wouldn’t have anywhere to go. How about you accept me as your saint instead, My Lord?”

“A-Absolutely not!”

This time, Sili interjected.

Clenching her fists tightly,

“Y-Yutia! You serve the Goddess Sironia! You can’t say such things—it’s dangerous!”

“But I’m serious.”

“S-Still, you can’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m the saint!”

“Hmm~ Did you know, Sili? The saint is ultimately chosen by the god. Depending on how the deity decides, that position can change at any time.”

“S-Still, I am the saint!”

Sili trembled, her small body shaking, as she looked at Alon with desperate eyes.

Her gaze practically screamed, ‘Right? That’s true, isn’t it? Say it’s not! It’s really not, right?!’

Unfazed, Yutia also looked at Alon with subtle anticipation.

However, that moment was short-lived.

“Of course, I’m joking.”

Yutia took a step back—

“Sili, you mustn’t trouble the Marquis. After all, you are the saint.”

She said with a calm and composed smile.

***

Leader of the Black Hand, Tulman, was dreaming a blissful Dream.

No—he had no choice but to dream happily.

Because the commission he had recently received— could very well pay more than all the jobs he had ever taken combined.

Of course, the fact that the target was the Marquis of Palatio posed a considerable risk for Tulman.

But even so, he never once considered failure.

After all, the request was not to kidnap the Marquis, which would have been difficult, but simply to steal one of his possessions.

And when it came to theft, Tulman believed the Black Hand, his organization, had the absolute best skills.

Furthermore, he had already prepared how to handle any risks after completing the job.

Of course, that “plan” involved eliminating the executives who took part in the job, using random underlings as scapegoats,

And slipping away cleanly himself—a garbage-tier method, really.

But to Tulman, it was the best possible approach.

Recently, he had been filled with hope for the future.

—At least, until just a few moments ago.

“Ah—”

Tulman blankly stared at the fallen members before him.

Each of them had been considered an elite among the Black Hand.

Yet now—all of them had been utterly crushed.

And walking between their shattered bodies, two races Tulman had never seen in his entire life appeared.

“Our side took down more of them.”

“No, we did.”

Elves.

And—

Lizardmen.

“You were late.”

“We destroyed two additional bases before arriving here. That means we were far faster than you.”

Is this real life…?

Tulman was left dumbfounded at the sight of two mythical races, whom he had only read about in books, frowning at each other as they walked toward him.

It was unbelievable enough to see them in person.

But why were they attacking the Black Hand’s headquarters?

He had no clue.

However, his instincts screamed at him.

‘Run.’

Tulman tried to turn his injured body and escape, but—

Thud!

“Kh—!”

Unfortunately, the sword lodged in his heart made escape impossible.

“You damned pointy-ears, ambushing while talking?”

“Hmph, you were simply too careless.”

As the strength left his body, Tulman barely managed to whisper,

“Why…?”

He truly didn’t understand.

Hearing his weak voice, the elf and the lizardman, who had been glaring at each other just moments ago, both turned their gaze toward the sword stuck in his chest— and as if in perfect sync, they answered.

“Because you targeted the Marquis.”

“If you dare lay a hand on the great one’s friend, you must pay the price.”

Their words were indifferent.

And with that final statement—

“This should be the end.”

“Of course, we still need to track down the client—”

Tulman’s consciousness faded completely.

***

“…The Black Hand is gone?”

“Yes, that’s what I heard.”

“……Is that true?”

“It is.”

Before heading to the North, Alon had been staying in Caliban for about a week, waiting to leave with the expedition.

During lunch on the day of departure, he received an unexpected piece of news from Evan.

“……Who took them down?”

“Hmm—Even the Information Guild hasn’t figured that out yet. But I thought you’d be curious, so I made sure to ask around in advance.”

Alon absentmindedly stroked his chin.

‘…The Black Hand is gone? That Black Hand?’

It was difficult to believe.

In the game, the Black Hand had been an ongoing nuisance, pestering players well into the mid-to-late stages.

And now, they had just vanished?

‘Well, I suppose their disappearance isn’t a bad thing.’

Even so, the mystery of who took them down kept nagging at him.

Just as he was lost in thought—

“We’re ready!”

The expedition was finally assembled.

As Alon began walking, he spotted Reinhardt among the members.

“Listen carefully, Reinhardt. Failing to bow before the statue of the great Kalannon is a serious violation—”

“Bow your head, Reinhardt.”

“Arghhh, shut up already!!”

“Reinhardt, please reconsider. You saw his power, didn’t you? If you devote your faith, you too could wield that power.”

Holding his ears as if he were in agony, Reinhardt let out a tormented scream.

Beside him, Sili stood firm, logically (?) persuading him to convert.

At that moment, Alon had an epiphany.

He finally understood why faith had been accumulating so quickly over the past few months.

And so, the journey to the North began.