Mastermind
Copyright© 2026 by FantasyTranslater
Chapter 34
In the northern lands, where the harsh cold and gray earth stretch endlessly, lies the place where a battle was recently fought between an Outer God and the Count of Asteria. Now, it has become a field of countless graves, the final resting place of those the expedition couldn’t retrieve.
Clunk—
Clad in a black sacred robe, with ominous black accessories jangling at his waist and hands. Though his face was hidden beneath a hood, he seemed to scan his surroundings.
“...?”
“...?”
He twisted his mouth, as if he didn’t understand the situation. However, soon after, as he continued to glance around, a faint, amused smile crept onto his face.
“Interesting.”
His voice, strangely cheerful, was ill-suited for the gray landscape. It echoed, layered with multiple tones, making it unclear whether the speaker was a man or a woman. As he slowly surveyed the area, his gaze finally landed on the ground. It was the very place where the Outer God had vanished, and where, through a rightful duel, Alon had landed his blow.
Silently staring at the spot, he muttered, “Let’s see how far this will go. Shall we watch?”
With those cryptic words, he turned without hesitation, as if there was no more business to be done here. And so, the gray land, home only to graves, was left utterly desolate once more.
Five months had passed since gifts had been arriving endlessly at the Palatio County, and now the time had shifted from spring to the clear, warm days of summer. Though the breeze was warm, it was still more aptly described as “pleasant” than “hot.”
At this time, when the flood of gifts accompanying Alon’s magical studies was beginning to slow down, two major tasks arose for him.
The first was the reappearance of the forgotten city of Kahara. After continuously seeking information from the guild, Alon had quickly obtained word that the lost city had been discovered in the desert. Though the guild’s report only mentioned that explorers had found a hidden city, Alon, based on his prior knowledge, easily identified it as the forgotten city of Kahara. In other words, all that remained was to depart from the colony, and he could finally acquire the information he had sought.
However, instead of heading to the desert city, Alon was currently traveling in the opposite direction, towards the capital of Asteria, Teria. The reason for this was his second task: the Grand Assembly, held every three years, which nobles were obligated to attend.
“Are we there yet?”
“We should be arriving soon,” replied Evan, who was riding in the carriage with Alon, looking up at the sunny sky.
“I hope we’re not close.”
“But if we push the pace any further, it’ll be difficult.”
Alon nodded at Evan’s words. The carriage, now speeding along an unpaved road, was moving unusually fast for such a vehicle.
‘I don’t want the attention from arriving late... ‘
Calculating time poorly, Alon found himself in danger of arriving late to the Grand Assembly. Behind his expressionless face, he sighed deeply. He was tempted to abandon everything and turn the carriage back toward the colony, but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Like the social gatherings he’d attended previously, the Grand Assembly was a mandatory event for all Asterian nobles, held once every three years.
‘Why do such rules even exist?’
While Alon had looked through documents for a way to avoid attending, he knew the reason such regulations were in place.
‘Is this a communist country...? Oh, it’s a monarchy, so maybe it is...?’
Yet, knowing the reason for the rule didn’t change his mind. He had no interest in joining Asteria’s political factions, not before and certainly not now. Joining a political faction was essentially making enemies within the kingdom, something Alon had no desire for.
Of course, making enemies could bring benefits, but none of those were things Alon wanted. Money, for instance, had become abundant due to his “ever-grateful” servant, Deus.
‘ ... There was a time when receiving too many gifts felt burdensome, but now, things are quite comfortable.’
In any case, Alon saw no benefit to joining a faction given his current dreams, so he had stayed away from them from the start.
“Evan.”
“There, you can see the capital now.”
As if waiting for Alon’s words, Evan quickly responded. Alon shifted his gaze outside the carriage and saw the capital of Asteria, Teria, coming into view.
“Oh.”
Teria’s level of development was impressive, better than any other kingdom Alon had seen so far. Though he had only visited about five estates and one other capital, Caliban, the difference in development, aside from the size of the land, was not significant.
As he gazed absentmindedly at the view of the capital...
“There it is.”
Seeing the building for the Grand Assembly in the distance, Alon couldn’t help but feel the same nervous anticipation as a university student running ten minutes late for a lecture. His face tensed with anxiety at the thought.
“Hmm...?”
However, as soon as he entered the assembly hall, Alon tilted his head in confusion. Despite the fact that the meeting should have already started, a large number of nobles were still outside, casually socializing instead of entering the hall.
‘What’s going on...?’
Alon briefly wondered but quickly dismissed the thought. Instead, he felt relieved that he wouldn’t have to endure the cold stares of arriving late. He hurriedly stepped down from the carriage, eager to get inside.
Soon after...
“Phew—”
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