“Do elves not believe in gods?”

“Do you mean they do not believe in their existence, or that they do not worship them?”

“The latter.”

“They do not believe.”

Veolgrin stared calmly at the crumbling fortress.

“Do gods exist? Of course. But do we worship them? Absolutely not.”

“Is it because elves believe they are a race greater than the gods?”

To Ivan, there was no other reason. This is a world where personal gods with great power directly bestow their might upon their worshippers.

In such a world, ‘atheism’ cannot be explained by any other reason. Merely believing allows one to borrow the power of the gods. What rational reason could there be for not believing?

But Veolgrin shook his head.

“Can any race, can any individual be said to be greater than the gods? Of course not.”

“Then why?

”

“If the gods had remained silent, we would have willingly become their sheep. If they merely existed in the heavens. If they silently observed… but Ivan, the moment gods who exist intervene in the affairs of mortals, they are no longer great.”

Veolgrin turned his gaze to Ivan.

“Why should we worship beings who require faith and reverence? Gods certainly exist. But elves worship only ‘truly great things’.”

“What are those?”

“The treasures that accumulate, the ambition for higher status, the magic dormant in all things, and reason and rationality.”

At Veolgrin’s gesture, the magic quivered. From afar, a demon pretending to be dead and biding its time was lifted into the air and crushed.

Veolgrin wiped his hands and laughed.

“Kalion is paradise. No cry dares to cross Kalion’s great sea, and no being can disrupt Kalion’s peace. Our distant ancestors made gods with their own hands long ago. Milestones. The great filtration devices that project boundless magic… those are the mysteries we should rightfully worship.”

They are great relics from a time that can no longer be replicated. Milestones are mysteries that cannot be designed even with the highly advanced modern technology.

If there is a god, it is such a thing. One that projects boundless magic to all, yet exists impartially without any will or intelligence. Nature itself.

No personality is perfect. Therefore, the concept of a personal god entails inherent imperfection. How could one entrust their fate to the capricious mercy and anger bestowed by the great beings of the heavens?

Gods exist. But they are not great.

“Indeed, just look at the Seven Dragon Generals.”

“You called those wretches gods? Hahaha, then humans shouldn’t be said to have faith either!”

“What?”

“They are merely puppets mimicking the shadow of gods. Even if they imitated fragments, can they truly be called gods?”

Veolgrin burst into laughter as he rose from his seat.

A mighty power swirled around him and then converged into his chest. It was a clearly visible flow to the naked eye.

Ivan inwardly lamented. How enviable it would be to have such power, a power that could not be reached by individual effort, such an immense strength.

Veolgrin turned his body toward Ivan’s gaze.

“When believers reach out, sometimes the gods whimsically take their hand.”

In the form of divine power and miracles.

“So, someday. One might be able to pull the hand they grasp and meet them face to face on earth.”

The latter part of his sentence, spoken as he looked up at the dark sky, was so quiet that Ivan could not catch it, and thus the conversation that day ended there for him.

Veolgrin continued to gaze at the night sky for a long time until he rejoined his companions.

The sky in the demon realm was always covered with clouds. Thick and dark storm clouds, which seemed not to permit a single ray of light.

What celestial phenomena might the high-ranking elven astrologer have been trying to read by looking at the sky for so long?

Ivan, being a 21st-century man who detested prophecy, magic, and superstition. Consequently, at that time, Ivan didn’t yearn for Veolgrin’s contrived “mystery.”

Perhaps.

In retrospect, it would be fair to say that he was frightened. After all, this was a crude, pre-modern fantasy world where prophecies, magic, and superstitions did indeed exist.

He feared that the great wizard might utter an ominous prophecy from his lips, such as, “You will never return to your homeland.”

Chapter 172: Astronomy

“The Astronomical Faction has been advisors to the royal family for a very, very long time!”

Elpheira sang out on the deck, savoring the fresh air. Since returning to Kalion, she had been unusually excited and lively.

Kalion’s environment provided elves with the most suitable air quality and magic distribution. Like a fish meeting water, Elpheira was immensely happy.

Edel, who was old enough that her emotions were hard to read, showed no particular reaction. She seemed to prefer Kalion over the cold Krasilov as well, but it was difficult to be sure.

It’s inherently difficult to understand the thoughts of an elderly person.

“Edel, will the Alchemy Faction be of any help?”

“Wait a minute, Sir Yeremov. Are you not listening to me at all?”

“Of course. Even though it suffers internal conflict, such enterprises are not common.”

Ivan ignored Elpheira’s outburst beside him and turned his attention to Edel.

“If those people have any remaining strength, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate potential future troubles?”

“To annihilate the Alchemy Faction? Not only would time be an issue, but we wouldn’t be able to avoid the attention of others… Before we could even finish the task, the navy from this entire sea region would be upon us.”

Edel chuckled and shook his head.

“In every business, it’s safe to assume there are spies from competitors. What happened yesterday? That kind of dispute ends in ‘ridicule.’ They got involved with Veolgrin and me and lost. But annihilation is a different story. If they had killed all the elves on the island, or at least both barons, a warrant would have been issued immediately.”

Baron Chesterhold wouldn’t have any leeway to sort out his internal affairs for the time being. His competitors wouldn’t just sit back and watch the inner turmoil of the Alchemy Society.

It can never fully recover by its own strength. Its nature has burst, its research infrastructure is gone, and one of its Privy Council members responsible for research has died.

This scale of the incident naturally allows one to raise issues with the Privy Council. But would they really charge Edel, who uncovered the dirt of the Alchemy Society through ‘persuasion’?

Edel is the master of the Black Horn. Moreover, Veolgrin’s daughter is also present here. If they make it an issue, they’ll turn all of them into enemies. The Alchemy Society’s capabilities will make it difficult to manage.

“Therefore, he must choose to remain silent.”

“He won’t be docile.”

“Elves don’t let emotions ruin the big picture. Jhon, if he opposes us, his situation will get worse. How could he do that?”

“Isn’t it impossible to have no enemies against Black Horn and Veolgrin?”

“Aha, joining hands with the enemy of the enemy?”

Edel chuckled and shook his head again.

“From the moment he let us go safely, that became impossible. Other Privy Council members aren’t fools either. From the moment we left the Alchemy Society without any problems, they’ll think Baron Chesterhold joined hands with us. That also benefits the baron.”

“Benefits…?”

“He’ll be evaluated as cunning enough to eliminate an old colleague and swallow the entire Alchemy Society alone while even drawing in the mighty Black Horn and Veolgrin.”

There will be no criticism for betraying an old colleague. It will be seen as ‘high political skill and sinister scheming.’

In elf society, that’s no blemish at all.

So, emerging safely from a situation surrounded by numerous troops means Baron Chesterhold also recognized the situation.

Thus, Edel comfortably lay back in the chair.

“Don’t worry, Jhon. Elf politics differ from you humans. Did you think we should have left some form of contract or restraint out of fear of future troubles? Or that we should have killed him too?”

“Hmm.”

“I think such one-dimensional actions are always detected. Magical restrictions can be identified externally, and drugs can’t bind the head of the Alchemy Society.”

But profit is different. Baron Chesterhold isn’t foolish enough to abandon profit over anger or humiliation.

Such people can never stay in the Privy Council.

“If it’s so easy, why wouldn’t others try it?”

“Huh? What?”

“Ambushing, taking hostages, interrogating, extracting information, and then blackmailing.”

“Of course, it’s impossible! Didn’t I say there are too many eyes watching? You’ll always get caught!”

“But I managed to do it.”

“Because it’s you.”

Edel waved his hand.

“When you attacked the Alchemy Society’s headquarters, all the ‘elves’ in your group quietly waited on the ship. Only two humans infiltrated, and as a result, they killed Baron Ashcliff and his subordinates. How do you think that looked to other elves?”

Elves recognize humans as intellectual beings. However, they do not see them as ‘equal’ intellectual beings.

If Edel or even Elpheira had directly attacked the Alchemy Society from that ship, it would have certainly become an issue. Even if the Alchemy Society stayed silent, other corporations would seize the opportunity to criticize the Astronomical Society.

However, only two humans landed, and as a result, Baron Ashcliff and his subordinates were all killed.

From an outside perspective, this is impossible without the help of Chesterfield. It would seem that Baron Chesterfield cleansed his business partner in an internal political struggle rather than an abrupt attack by the Astronomical Society and the Black Tower on the Alchemy Society.

What human could single-handedly infiltrate the Alchemy Society’s walls, slaughter all the elves, and return alive?

Especially a human whose name and information are unknown.

“By now, other corporations must be scrambling to gather information desperately.”

“About me?”

“Yeah. Who could you possibly be for the Black Tower and the Astronomical Society to employ you as a mercenary? Where did they find you? They must be wondering.”

Ivan’s expression grew heavy at her words.

As it recollected, elves are masters of external espionage. They’re specialists in extracting information through memory distortion (Trickery) and mind control (Befriending).

If they put their hands to it, it shouldn’t be hard to trace Ivan’s movements. If his connection to Krasilov were revealed, it could also affect his homeland.

“Don’t worry.”

“Hmm?”

“Until they met you directly, no one even knew you were alive. Jon. The ‘scrubbing your traces’ your country did was perfect even by elven standards.”

Ivan’s expression eased at her words. He nodded calmly.

“Was I ever mentioned in elven society during that time?”

“Of course. Cu-Geamhradh: the Winter Hound. You were one of the few humans we were wary of.”

“That’s good.”

“Hmm?”

Edel tilted her head at Ivan’s words. It wasn’t a simple feeling of pleasure from having a name recognized by the elves.

It was more like a sense of usefulness.

Ivan did not provide an explanation. He silently turned his gaze to the floating clouds.

“Until it faced directly, its true nature is not discovered. Good. This means we won’t burden Krasilov.”

Krasilov, now facing winter, had to rely entirely on imports for its main resources. With Tilles’s granary burned down, this winter would be uniquely harsh.

If the elves were also to check Krasilov in this situation, it could have a negative impact. Meaning, it won’t end with just that one problem.

However, it would be beneficial if his true identity remained unknown. This would mean his scope of activities would considerably widen.

And.

“It is not something that can be hidden forever.”

Whatever direction the operation took, he had to have a private meeting with Veolgrin, see the Elf Queen, and track down the hidden Alexander’s whereabouts.

In the midst of such a process, the status of ‘human’ draws too much attention. Inevitably, the elves would be on high alert and would undoubtedly dig into his past.

No matter how perfect Krasilov’s measures were, Ivan had been involved in many activities since rejoining the field. There’s no way to conceal all of that.

Someone would realize his true identity. It wouldn’t take very long.

And Elovandi. As the Dwarven lord mentioned, authority stems from fear.

Back then, all the nobles of every nation feared the Cleanup Unit. The elves were no exception.

He was the only man, not in the hero party, who killed the Seven-Headed Dragon Knight.

Even without such high-sounding achievements, they would realize that the sole survivor of the Cleanup Unit had arrived.

“Alexander. Let’s see how long you can last.”

If the elves who realized his true identity were smart enough, they would undoubtedly approach Ivan.

The downfall of the Cleanup Unit was too famous a story; Alexander would be too tempting a bait for the ‘survivor of the Cleanup Unit.’

Someday, someone. Would inevitably approach him. And that won’t be far off. It must be set up that way.

Ivan stared at the horizon with sunken eyes.