Alon stared blankly ahead.

There, still floating in the air, was that Cthulhu-like thing he had seen earlier.

As if it embodied the end of the world.

“...That’s really my manifested form?”

“Yes. Well, basically?”

At Kalannon’s shrug, as if asking what the problem was, Alon asked,

“Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“Mm, the manifestation part?”

“Yes. No matter how I look at it, there’s more than one thing to take issue with.”

Alon genuinely thought so.

He was human to begin with, yet the manifested form went beyond human to the point where it made him wonder if it had ever been human at all.

But Kalannon tilted its head, looking puzzled.

“But that’s your image, Lord Alon.”

“...Just what kind of image do I have?”

At Alon’s baffled tone, Kalannon looked back and forth between him and the manifested form.

“Mm—there are definitely a few differences.”

“Not a few. It’s a lot.”

“No, it’s not that much.”

“In what way, exactly?”

“Uh...”

Kalannon made a face that clearly said, You don’t know?

Then it added,

“Well, honestly, appearance isn’t that important anyway, is it?”

“...At the point where it looks like that, it matters.”

“But it can’t be helped. The form you show when you manifest is created by the wishes of your believers.”

“Created by their wishes?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been walking around as a human this whole time.”

Alon spoke in a daze, still looking at the apocalypse floating in the Milky Way, and Kalannon drew out a thoughtful hum.

“Mm—well, I’ve seen a few cases like this. Usually it happens because of a difference in perception.”

“A difference in perception?”

“Yes. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but simply put, people see you as something more extraordinary than you present yourself to be.”

Alon stayed silent, signaling it to continue.

“In other words—even if you act as a human, they think, ‘Actually, Lord Alon must be something far greater! His true body must be somewhere else—and it must look like this!’ Something like that.”

“And that result is... that?”

“Exactly.”

“Just who is having that kind of misunderstanding...?”

Alon muttered in disbelief.

Kalannon focused its gaze on a point and offered a guess.

“Honestly, if you think about it simply... it’s probably those Divine blood.”

“Divine blood?”

“Yes. Timing-wise, when you were only receiving faith from humans, you couldn’t even manifest. But once you started receiving faith from Divine blood, it became possible. Which means—”

“The probability is high that the Divine blood see me like that?”

“Yes.”

“Then if their image changes, will that form change too?”

“Mm—yes, basically? Gods change according to the image held by their believers. Of course, the more humans who believe in you—people who aren’t Divine blood—the more it’ll change as well.”

Just like that, Alon found himself with one more task.

No matter how he thought about it, he had no intention of turning into something like that.

‘More work.’

As he quietly considered how to change the image the Divine blood held of him, Kalannon, on the other hand, looked at the enormous eye and said,

“But... honestly, doesn’t that form look pretty good?”

“That looks good to you?”

Is something wrong with its head?

At Alon’s questioning tone, Kalannon replied, a little embarrassed,

“Of course, aesthetically it’s... well, but it would be great for gathering faith.”

“......”

“Like a god of the apocalypse...”

Kalannon averted its gaze slightly as it said it.

...Alon’s resolve only hardened.

####

Right after finishing his conversation with Kalannon and returning to the real world—

“Sili.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any spare statues?”

“Uh...”

Momentarily startled by the sudden question, Sili quickly answered,

“There should be one finished by tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, but may I use that statue?”

“That should be fine, but... do you need it urgently for something?”

Perhaps pleased by his interest, Sili looked even more expectant than usual.

Alon nodded firmly.

“Yes. I have somewhere I need to use it right away.”

“Then I’ll prepare it immediately!”

“While you’re at it, I’d appreciate it if it’s carved well.”

“!! Don’t worry!”

At his words, Sili’s eyes sparkled.

“...?”

“What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?”

Since both Penia and Evan knew Alon usually wasn’t particularly fond of statues, they couldn’t help but be puzzled.

“Evan, we’re heading back to Palantia first.”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you going to meet the Divine blood?” 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

“I’ll meet them tomorrow. I need to take the statue with me.”

With that, Alon boarded Basiliora to return to Palantia.

And shortly after—

it was only once they were on the way back to Palantia, riding Basiliora, that Penia and Evan understood why he had made that decision.

“...So it was a gigantic eye, right?”

“Yes.”

Evan let out a low sound, then nodded.

“Yeah... suddenly turning into something like that wouldn’t feel great.”

“Exactly.”

Alon answered quickly, then looked at Penia.

She wore an expression of deep thought.

“What is it, Penia?”

At his question, Penia came back to herself and said,

“It’s nothing. I just had something to think about.”

For some reason, her smile looked a little awkward.

Alon felt a hint of doubt, but soon shrugged it off.

After arriving in Palantia, the first thing Alon did was say his goodbyes to those who were about to leave.

“I’m heading out, Brother!”

“Right.”

Radan waved casually and left without even bothering with an excuse, as if he had no lingering attachment the moment he secured his place.

At this point, Alon wondered why he had lied about his house being gone in the first place.

‘If it was going to be like this, I should’ve been suspicious from the moment he came saying his house was destroyed...’

Thinking that belatedly, Alon returned Radan’s farewell.

“I’ll be going as well, Brother.”

“I’ll come visit again.”

Nangwon and Deus also said their goodbyes.

“Boss! Me too!”

“I’ll go as well, god.”

Ryang-a waved energetically, while Historia gave a small wave in contrast.

“I’ll be going too, Godfather.”

At Rine’s farewell, Alon asked,

“Rine, where will you be staying?”

“I’ll probably be in Fildagreen for a few months.”

“I’ll come by soon.”

“Ah, to see Ar?”

“I should see them at least once.”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

As Rine smiled at his nod, Magrina, who had been standing beside her, spoke up.

“Brother. If you’re going to see Ar, may I come with you?”

“...Would that be alright?”

“Mm, if it’s just a few days, it shouldn’t be a problem to leave my position.”

With Rine affirming that, Alon nodded as well.

“Understood. Then we’ll go together.”

“Thank you.”

Magrina dipped her head slightly.

Turning his gaze, Alon looked at Yutia.

“I’ll stop by Rosario soon as well.”

“Oh my. That’s wonderful to hear, Teacher.”

“Or... would you like to come along in about a week? I’ll probably leave around then.”

If he met the Divine blood and moved right away, that was about how long it would take.

But Yutia shook her head.

“I truly appreciate the offer, but I have somewhere to stop by first.”

“I see?”

“Yes. So I’ll see you in Rosario.”

She said it with a smile.

After finishing his farewell with Yutia—

“Benefactor!”

“Seollang.”

Alon turned his gaze to Seollang.

Not the act from before—this time, she looked at him with a genuinely bright expression.

“I’ll be going too!”

“Alright.”

Watching her tail sway, Alon naturally reached out and patted her head.

“You know, Benefactor? If things get dangerous, tell me anytime, okay?”

“Understood.”

He nodded at her words.

Seeing his faint smile, Seollang beamed, then naturally leaned closer—

and—

chomp—

bit his nose.

Of course, it didn’t hurt.

Even though she “bit” it, it was really just placing her teeth against it.

...Though aside from pain, it was a bit embarrassing.

‘Ah... this might get misunderstood.’

As he accepted her affection, that thought suddenly crossed Alon’s mind.

After all, it was similar to what had been misunderstood by Penia and Evan last time.

‘...Hm.’

And as if to prove that thought correct, when he looked up—

he saw them staring at Seollang with stunned expressions.

Alon was about to say something as soon as Seollang pulled away from his nose, but—

“Seollang? I told you not to bite noses carelessly, didn’t I?”

Yutia scolded her as if she already understood the situation—and for some reason, there was a faint chill in her tone.

Alon felt relieved.

Quick-witted as she was, it seemed she hadn’t misunderstood.

“Ah—so it was the nose?”

“Ah. Mm.”

“That’s a relief.”

“...I was seriously considering whether I needed to grab Brother and run.”

At Yutia’s words, everyone seemed to agree, letting out sighs as their shock faded.

“That’s right, Seollang. Please don’t make Godfather uncomfortable.”

Rine added calmly.

Hearing both of them, Alon said,

“No, it’s fine.”

“...Pardon?”

“?”

Yutia and Rine’s eyes widened.

“?”

At the same time, Alon was puzzled by their reaction.

“Well—something like that is just a light expression. There’s no reason I can’t accept it.”

He shrugged casually.

“Wait... up to the nose is safe...?”

Ryang-a muttered blankly.

A brief silence followed.

And then—

“...Hm—”

“Brother! Something urgent just came up, so I’ll be going first!”

As if sensing something, Deus and Radan, who had already said their goodbyes, hurriedly left again.

“Mm—I should go too.”

“Y-yeah, me too.”

One by one, the others began to leave.

And then—

“Bye, Benefactor!”

Even Seollang left, and the reception room grew quiet.

“??”

As everyone disappeared like the wind, question marks filled Alon’s head.

And the next day.

“Let’s go.”

“You’re stopping by Divine Land first, right?”

“Yes.”

[Hahaha—! Is it time for me again!]

As Alon rode Basiliora toward Divine Land—

at the main gate of Palantia—

“...Oh my, Rine. Weren’t you leaving?”

“And you, Yutia—didn’t you say you had somewhere urgent to go?”

The four who had supposedly left for their own destinations just yesterday—

“Hm—does everyone have business with Benefactor?”

“Now that I think about it, I also have something I’d like to discuss.”

stood facing one another with smiles.

“......”

“......”

“......”

“......”

Though their eyes were not smiling at all.