Penia looked at the faces reflected in the magic sphere with a bewildered expression.

Every single one of them looked disappointed.

But at the same time, they also looked like they were calculating something intensely in their heads.

At first, Penia could not understand what they were calculating, but her exceptional mind did not take long to arrive at the answer.

'......No way, seriously......?'

Penia stared at them with a dumbfounded expression.

Honestly, part of her thought, Would they really go that far?

Even so, she could not hide the lifeless look in her eyes.

Because of their gazes.

Aside from Seollang, who still looked confused as though she did not understand the situation yet, all of them had eyes filled with a strange sort of resolve.

And so, just as the thought 'Are these people actually sane?' rose in Penia’s mind—

[Ahem—]

Magrina, who until just moments ago had been deep in thought like the others, cleared her throat.

[This really is unfortunate.]

Then she smiled faintly.

'......Is she really unfortunate about it?' A perfectly reasonable suspicion arose.

Just as Penia was looking at Magrina with a strange expression—

[Mm-hmm— indeed.]

[Because we cannot be Seollang.]

Yutia and Rine nodded in agreement as well.

They looked suspicious too.

But only for a moment.

[Though, why are you looking at us like that?]

“Ah, uh? Me?”

[Yes.]

At some point, Penia had forgotten to manage her expression entirely and had been staring at them with a completely flabbergasted look on her face.

At the polite remark, she finally came back to her senses, but soon realized there was no helping it and spoke.

“No, um—”

Should she answer honestly, or should she say it indirectly?

Penia’s thoughts tangled for a moment.

Of course, the proper thing would have been to phrase it indirectly, but unfortunately, trying to convincingly disguise the expression she had just made was an incredibly difficult task.

“You seemed like you were thinking...... slightly dangerous thoughts......”

[Dangerous thoughts?]

“Um—”

She hesitated once more over whether it was really okay to say the truth aloud, but eventually made up her mind.

She would just say it.

Because she knew that if she tried to make excuses and got caught, the situation would only become even stranger.

And so Penia, frantically rolling her eyes around—

“Um— it kind of looked like you were thinking about trying to seem younger, and maybe changing Lord Alon’s perception a little......?”

answered extremely cautiously.

At that, Yutia let out a small laugh and spoke.

[Oh, come on— surely not. No matter what, do you really think we would think something like that?]

“......Huh? Then that wasn’t what you were thinking......?”

[Mm— even so, that would be a bit much, wouldn’t it?]

[Exactly.]

At Penia’s bewildered question, Magrina and Rine answered immediately.

And at that, Penia felt overwhelming relief.

“Hahaha...... Right? I mean, surely you wouldn’t actually go that far?”

[Of course not.]

[Exactly.]

[Mm-hmm—]

After confirming the three women nodding, Penia was finally able to relax.

A faint smile rose to her lips.

Seeing Penia react that way, the three of them also began to smile.

[Hahaha—]

[Hahaha—]

[Hoho—]

[Hahaha—]

A warm and friendly atmosphere.

[Haha—]

[Ha—]

[Ho—]

[Haha—]

But only for a moment.

[.......]

[.......]

[.......]

[......Ha?]

At some point, Penia realized that she was the only one still laughing.

And around the moment she realized that—

[Mm, I should get going now.]

[Me too.]

[Same here. I have something I need to do.]

As if it had all been a lie, they suddenly hurried away one after another, claiming they each had something to take care of.

And soon, the only thing left in the magic communication sphere was—

“Ah......”

Penia, letting out a low groan—

[......Acting your ag—]

Crackle—!

No, truly, only Penia remained.

Seollang, who had clearly still been there together with her, had not even managed to finish her last sentence before the magic sphere shut off.

Moreover, judging by how the mana circuit had suddenly been severed, it obviously had not been Seollang who turned it off willingly.

Not only that, but in the final moment, Penia had caught a glimpse of fierce green eyes.

“......”

Penia decided it would be best to keep her mouth shut.

And the next day.

After staying in Rosario for a day, Alon immediately headed for Palantia.

Now that he had already met the “Wandering Me,” there was no reason left for him to remain in Rosario any longer.

“I’ll be going now.”

“I hope we meet again next time, Brother.”

“Right.”

“Ah, and it seems Cardinal Yutia went out early this morning because she had something to do.”

“I see.”

After briefly exchanging farewells with Yuman, Alon headed straight for Palantia, and around the time they rose into the sky riding Basiliora—

“Lord Alon.”

“Speak.”

Evan called out to him.

“Once we arrive in Palantia, are you planning to head to the Empire immediately?”

“I am. Why?”

“No reason. It’s just that before, you mentioned you might stop by Teria as well. Since it’s on the way anyway.”

Evan was right.

“That’s true, but— didn’t they say last time that the king had gone out and not returned?”

“If you tell me to, I can confirm that first.”

When Alon nodded in agreement, Evan immediately began organizing the schedule.

“Then if the king of Asteria is there, we’ll stop by. If not, we’ll head directly to the Empire.”

With Alon’s nod, the conversation ended.

####

A week after leaving Rosario.

Alon returned to Palantia.

For a brief moment, he found himself once again impressed by the speed, incomparable to traveling by carriage.

After stepping down from Basiliora—

“......Rine?”

“Ah, Godfather, you’ve returned?”

“I have, but—”

As he exchanged greetings with Rine, Alon could not help looking confused.

Because the people who had stayed behind to speak with him just a week ago were nowhere to be seen.

“Where are Magrina and Seollang?”

When Alon asked, Rine answered with a smile.

“Both of them had urgent matters come up, so they left first, Godfather.”

“Urgent matters?”

“Yes. It seems something happened in both Fildagreen and Colony. Though it isn’t related to Divine blood, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

Though somewhat puzzled, Alon nodded for now.

Certainly, given their positions, both Magrina and Seollang would inevitably become busy if something happened in their respective countries.

Then—

“By the way, Godfather.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Do I perhaps look different somehow?”

Rine suddenly asked.

Without making it obvious, Alon carefully looked her over.

Expressionless.

......Yet with a strange smile on her face, looking at him with eyes full of expectation.

For some reason, Alon felt a sense of déjà vu.

Even though he had never had a girlfriend, it felt like suddenly being tested with a ‘Didn’t you notice anything different about me today?’ kind of question.

Suppressing his fluster, he examined Rine closely—

and fortunately, he immediately noticed what had changed.

It was not one of those hard-to-spot differences he had only heard about in stories before, like slightly changed bangs or nail polish—

“......Your clothes changed.”

because her clothes had changed.

“You noticed immediately, Godfather.”

At Rine’s smile, Alon observed her outfit more carefully.

Unlike the neat clothes she usually wore, this one had frills attached here and there.

“......”

Of course, taken as a whole, the clothes were not strange. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

To begin with, Rine naturally had a very youthful appearance, and the frills were not excessive enough to feel burdensome.

If he had to describe it, it felt closer to a well-mannered noble young lady dressing in a slightly more “young” noble-lady style than usual.

“What brought this on?”

Since Rine had never tried this sort of style before, Alon asked with genuine curiosity.

She simply smiled faintly.

“A change of pace, Godfather.”

“A change of pace?”

“Yes.”

At Rine’s response, Alon nodded as well.

“Still, it suits you rather well.”

“That’s a relief, Godfather.”

Rine answered with a smile at Alon’s compliment.

And for a moment, the question 'Why is it a relief that I think it suits her?' arose in his mind.

But Alon soon shrugged it off.

“Rine. If you’re fine with it, I’m thinking of leaving for the Empire tomorrow immediately. What do you think?”

“As long as you are fine with it, Godfather, I don’t mind.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I only need to bring myself.”

At Rine’s answer, Alon decided they would leave for the Empire the very next day.

“Then we’ll depart tomorrow.”

“Yes. I’ll look forward to it, Godfather.”

After leaving that brief farewell behind, Alon headed toward the office.

And then—

“......Reinysius?”

“You’re back.”

The moment he entered the office, he saw Reinysius.

Specifically, with a strange curtain spread across the middle of the office.

“I heard you returned, so I was waiting.”

“You were waiting?”

“Yes. Ah, and don’t pay too much attention to this curtain. It’s one of the things I’ve been experimenting with.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isolation magic. It seems to be magic designed to prevent information from leaking outside under any circumstances. The tower masters were researching it, so I adjusted it a little.”

“Oh?”

“Once you enter here, any artifact or communication magic becomes useless. It seems to be functioning properly.”

At Reinysius’s explanation, Alon simply responded with a plain I see and sat down.

“So, what is it?”

“To begin with, there are two things I need to tell you.”

“......Two?”

“Yes.”

“What are they?”

“I was just considering which one would be better to explain first.”

As Alon sat down, Reinysius stared at him and fell into thought.

Alon grew curious, but since he did not particularly want to rush him, he quietly waited for Reinysius to think.

After some time passed—

“Good.”

Reinysius finally opened his mouth, apparently having organized his thoughts.

“First, I learned something additional about your Shadow Dragon— in other words, Blackie.”

“Something additional? What?”

[Kyuu?]

At Reinysius’s words, Blackie poked its head out from Alon’s pocket as if curious.

Reinysius looked at Blackie and spoke.

“However, I will tell you that after I explain the next matter.”

“......Suddenly?”

“It is not sudden. After thinking about it, I decided it would be better to explain the latter matter first.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t you have just started with the second topic from the beginning?”

When Alon voiced his confusion, Reinysius explained.

“It may sound a little strange, but I needed to mention Blackie first. The first and second matters are connected to a certain degree.”

“......?”

The confusion on Alon’s face deepened even further.

At that, Reinysius calmly said,

“To give only the conclusion first, I found a method.”

“A method?”

“Yes. Didn’t you say it before? A way for others to automatically receive blessings from you through faith, even if you yourself do not directly grant the blessings.”

“!”

“I found that method.”

He dropped the core revelation.

Soon, Reinysius’s gaze turned toward Blackie.

“By using Blackie, that is.”

“Using Blackie......?”

[Kyuu?]

As both of their gazes focused on it, Blackie—whose head had already been sticking out of the pocket—tilted its head ninety degrees.

As though saying, 'Meee?' ...