“Is that really a rumor going around?”

“Yes. There was a meeting of the United Kingdoms not long ago, right?”

“Was there?”

“…Honestly, it seems like the Count really has no interest in what’s going on around him.”

“That’s true.”

Evan quickly responded to Alon’s nod.

“Anyway, it seems that kind of story came up there. There’s talk that Penia Crysinne and Count Palatio might end up together.”

“Was there?”

“Was Penia Crysinne present there?”

“Of course not. The event was just for the royals to build rapport and maintain the alliance of the United Kingdoms.”

“Then why did such a rumor start?”

“I don’t know. I only heard it secondhand.”

When Evan shrugged his shoulders, Alon looked genuinely puzzled. It was understandable, as there wasn’t any plausible basis for such rumors to arise between Penia and Alon. In fact, thinking back to Penia’s behavior not long ago, it was baffling that such a rumor had even started.

‘What… is this?’

Alon, still looking perplexed, soon decided to ignore the rumors. Gossip tended to get distorted as it spread, especially among the nobility, and he figured it would naturally disappear over time. Most baseless rumors that Alon had encountered so far had faded away quickly.

“It’s just a rumor that doesn’t require much attention.”

And so, Alon dismissed it lightly—at least until a few days later, right before arriving in Terea.

At the simple banquet held for the nobles attending the title-bestowal ceremony:

“Congratulations, Count!”

“For what, exactly?”

“I heard a rumor that you and Penia Crysinne are in a certain kind of relationship.”

Alon found himself internally repeating question marks. He had heard this same rumor five times now, despite having only just arrived at the venue.

“Thank you for the congratulations, but unfortunately, that’s just a false rumor.”

After dismissing the noble’s comment, Alon retreated to one corner of the banquet hall to enjoy an egg tart. Soon, Duke Altia appeared before him.

“It’s been a while, Count.”

Alon nodded at her smiling, bowing gesture, but it was only brief.

“It has been a while.”

“Is there any truth to that rumor, by any chance?”

“What rumor are you referring to?”

“The one I recently heard about you having a certain relationship with Penia Crysinne, the Master of the Blue Tower.”

It was the sixth time now. Baseless rumors might fade away quickly, but before they did, they certainly blazed brightly.

Sighing, Alon responded, “I’ve already said it multiple times, but that rumor is nonsense.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It’s not even remotely true.”

“I thought it was real.”

“…Why?”

“Well… marrying the Master of the Blue Tower would have a very positive impact on your household and our faction, you see. For example—”

As Altia began to enumerate the advantages of marrying Penia Crysinne, Alon felt an increasing sense of weariness. Her thorough analysis of all the potential benefits and drawbacks, from major to minor, reminded him that she was indeed one of Asteria’s three major strategists.

‘…Not that anything has really changed now.’

Just as Alon was having these thoughts:

“Given all these positives, I figured you would seriously consider marriage, Count. Am I wrong? Besides, I assumed you were the one who spread the rumor.”

“…Me?”

“Rumors can be quite powerful, you know. When spread this way, even if the other party dislikes it, they might be compelled to consider it due to the collective interests of the factions involved.”

Altia’s casual comment, which turned him into a scheming manipulator, prompted Alon to respond:

“Even I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Really…?”

Seeing Altia’s genuinely surprised expression, Alon couldn’t help but wonder how he was perceived by these people. As he contemplated this, Altia, who was deep in thought, suddenly said:

“Maybe you’re a bit romantic when it comes to matters like this, Count.”

With that comment and a soft smile, she departed after exchanging a few more words. By the end of that day, Alon had received congratulations nine times.

‘It wasn’t as easy as I thought.’

###

The next day, the title-bestowal ceremony began.

In front of the gathered nobles, the 8th Monarch Cretinia, Siyan, declared that Count Palatio had been promoted to the rank of Marquess. The title-bestowal ceremony, in reality, ended very quickly. However, despite the ceremony being over, Alon was still technically a Count. The reason was simple: in order to officially use the title of Marquess, he had to receive a blessing from the Archbishop of the Holy Kingdom of Rosario.

With this in mind, Alon began preparing to head to Rosario immediately after the ceremony.

“Well then, have a safe trip.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”

Siyan, who was watching Alon bow his head in response to her well wishes, suddenly approached him with a thoughtful expression. Then, just as she had done before, she gently lifted the corners of his mouth with her index finger.

“Didn’t I say you look better when you smile?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty,” Alon replied, bowing his head again.

“Well, that’s enough. Once you complete the blessing, come back. Let’s have a proper talk face-to-face.”

With a faint smile, Siyan waved her hand and turned away. Alon, who had been left staring blankly at Siyan’s unexpected behavior, began preparing for his journey to the Holy Kingdom.

###

The journey from Asteria to Rosario took about two to three weeks—a relatively long trip. However, it was more comfortable than his previous trip to Raksas, as there were more villages and territories along the way where he could rest. Because of this, Alon enjoyed a relatively smoother journey compared to before.

About a week into the trip to Rosario, Alon was taking a break at an inn in the village of Nenda.

“Should I call you Marquess now, instead of Count? It’s hard to get used to,” Evan remarked.

“I’m still not a Marquess yet, so just call me Count.”

“Alright then, Count. I found one of the pieces of information you asked me to look into.”

“…Here?” Alon asked, surprised.

“Yes, there’s an information broker in this village as well. So, I stopped by.”

“So, what’s the information?” Alon inquired.

“It’s nothing major, but it seems that Abyss Stones and Abyssal Entities have been appearing more frequently in the black market recently.”

“…Does that mean they are being widely distributed?”

“No, it doesn’t seem to be in large quantities, but they’ve been showing up often,” Evan replied.

“Hmm…”

Alon thought deeply, realizing this was not good news. The spread of Abyss Stones and Abyssal Entities was never a positive sign. Abyssal Entities granted divine powers to the strong, making them even stronger, and their emergence in the underworld significantly increased the likelihood of the world descending into chaos. Moreover, the original text only mentioned that Abyssal Entities were being distributed “somewhere,” without specifying the exact distribution channels. This meant Alon couldn’t use his knowledge to stop their spread.

“Have you found the source of the distribution?” Alon asked, just in case.

Unfortunately, Evan shook his head.

“No, I couldn’t find the source, but I did learn where most of it has been going.”

“Where is it?”

“The Holy Kingdom,” Evan answered.

“…The Holy Kingdom?” Alon’s expression became puzzled.

The Holy Kingdom seemed like the least likely place to be involved with Abyssal Entities.

‘Of course, the Holy Kingdom isn’t exactly free from corruption, but I didn’t think they would go as far as dealing with Abyssal Entities,’ Alon thought, tilting his head.

‘I should probably ask Yutia about this too… Now I’ll have two requests for her. Should I get a gift for her as well?’ Alon considered. He was already planning to ask Yutia for a favor once he reached the Holy Kingdom.

‘I should try to stop somewhere along the way and get at least one gift,’ he decided.

###

A little while later.

“It’s about time for dinner. Let’s go down and eat.”

“Alright,” Evan agreed.

As they descended to the first floor of the inn to have dinner, Alon noticed that the previously empty room was now filled with boisterous noise, almost to the point of hurting his ears.

“Are those mercenaries?” Alon asked.

“It seems so,” Evan replied.

“…This inn has surprisingly good soundproofing.”

“I was surprised too,” Evan added.

Alon then moved toward an empty table in the corner of the inn. Despite the noise, he still needed to eat.

However, just as Alon was about to sit down—

“Hold up!”

“Huh?”

A mercenary suddenly occupied the seat, leaving Alon bewildered.

“What are you looking at? This is my seat!” the mercenary, who had been mingling with his comrades moments earlier, snapped at Alon.

Both Alon and Evan wore incredulous expressions.

Even for a mercenary unfamiliar with the ways of the world, it seemed absurd for someone to provoke a clearly noble-looking individual.

“Are you telling me to sit somewhere else? Huh?”

He caught a whiff of the mercenary’s overpowering stench of alcohol and quickly realized that his intoxicated state had rendered him almost mindless. He pondered how to handle the situation.

“…?”

Alon suddenly noticed that the surroundings had grown quiet and looked around. The other mercenaries were still there, but the raucous chatter had stopped. They were now staring at Alon and the drunken mercenary, their faces frozen in shock and their mouths clamped shut.

Just as Alon was wondering what had caused the shift—

“Didn’t you hear me?! Just leave—”

Before the troublesome mercenary could finish, someone appeared behind him.

Crash!

A bottle shattered on his head. With a thud, the mercenary collapsed to the ground, shivering uncontrollably.

Alon, startled by how quickly things had escalated, saw a female beastkin standing there. She was holding the broken bottle and bowing her head deeply.

“M-My apologies, Count Palatio!”

Upon seeing her, Alon quickly recognized who she was.

“…Myaon?”

“I’m truly sorry…!”

It was Myaon, the guildmaster of the Ancient Trackers Guild, one of the five major guilds in Lartania. She kept her head bowed.

###

At the Blue Moon’s regular meeting.

Typically, only the five executive members of the Blue Moon participated in these meetings, but this time, Hidan was granted an exception due to his recent discovery of information about the faction that opposed the Great Moon.

While the meeting was primarily for him to report this information, Hidan couldn’t help but feel a bit excited. Deep down, he had a sense of respect for the Great Moon and the other Moons, beings with fundamentally different strengths from his own.

With anticipation, Hidan entered the meeting room.

“I’m getting married!”

“No way!”

“I’m getting married!!”

“No way!!”

“I’m getting married!!!”

“No way!!!”

“I’ve said this before, but this is too unfair. It’s about time you let us send letters, too—”

“I think that’s fair enough!”

“Looking up at the Moon like this reminds me of those days… It’s been years, but the memory is still vivid. The way the Great Moon dealt with the Outer God was truly impressive. Oh, by the way, Hidan, have you heard about it? If not, let me explain in detail.”

Hidan could only feel dizzy amidst the chaos.