A little while later.

“Is everyone here?”

Alon looked at the five people in the reception room and the one extra.

Yutia, Rine, Seolrang, Ryanga, Magrina.

And even Historia, sitting there with a sulky expression.

‘Why is Historia here?’

When Alon glanced at Evan with a puzzled look.

“…Is something wrong?”

Evan, looking just as confused, asked back.

“Historia wasn’t on the list.”

“Huh? The list? …You mean the partner list?”

“Yes.”

“Wait… the people you gathered here were the ones on the partner list?”

Evan looked utterly clueless, his eyes widening.

And Alon’s suspicion only deepened.

“You didn’t know?”

“Of course not.”

“…Why wouldn’t you know?”

“How would I know?”

Alon tried to recall Alexion’s words from yesterday and opened his mouth.

“Alexion clearly said you would—”

“Ahem, my Lord, that’s not really the point, is it?”

Unfortunately, he was instantly cut off.

“…Not the point, huh?”

“The results are already in, aren’t they?”

“I think so too, brother.”

“Me too, my Lord!”

“Ahem, same here, Chief.”

“That’s right, godfather.”

Starting with Yutia, the others jumped in one after another, as if they had rehearsed it.

Alon lost his words for a moment.

…He could have sworn they weren’t on such good terms.

When he stole a glance at Evan, his face showed even more confusion, as though he understood even less of the situation than Alon did.

“…Fine, let’s move on.”

There was no helping it.

How these people had received letters and even passed interviews—he had no choice but to shelve that question for now.

It wasn’t that his curiosity was gone, or that he no longer cared.

He simply had a gut feeling that he wouldn’t get any meaningful answers even if he asked.

‘I’ll have to ask Alexion later.’

Alon let out a light sigh and addressed those gathered.

“I’m sure you already know, but the reason I’ve called you here is because of the partner selection.”

He looked around at the nodding heads and asked just in case.

“Does anyone want to withdraw as a partner candidate right now?”

He wondered if anyone had been pressured into attending the interview.

But the only reply was complete silence, not even a breath out of place.

No—instead, their eyes seemed to burn with a strange determination.

Alon unconsciously fell silent himself.

Why were they all so obsessed with becoming a partner?

It was troubling, but at the same time, a little gratifying.

To think they would desire the position this much.

Of course, not many of them truly understood what being a partner meant when they sat for the interview.

Still, gratitude was gratitude, so he cleared his throat unnecessarily.

“Since you all applied, it would be difficult for me to choose one of you myself.”

That was the truth.

No matter how he did it.

Anyone who wasn’t chosen could harbor resentment.

And Alon didn’t want these people to feel that way.

That’s why—

“So, we’ll hold a vote.”

Alon revealed the card he had kept hidden.

“A vote?”

“Yes. From now, I’ll give you about an hour. During that time, you’ll all vote among yourselves.”

It was, simply put, a vote.

To be honest, it didn’t change much except removing the burden from him of having to personally choose someone.

But he figured this was something everyone could accept.

“A vote, huh—”

“That sounds fun.”

“I’m in!”

Fortunately.

The five candidates all nodded without protest.

“Then, starting now.”

The voting began.

And exactly one hour later.

The results were—

Yutia: 1 vote

Rine: 1 vote

Seolrang: 1 vote

Magrina: 1 vote

Ryanga: 1 vote

Historia: 1 vote

Even though it was an anonymous vote, the outcome made it obvious who had voted for whom.

But wait—wasn’t Historia not even on the original list?

Alon shifted his gaze toward her.

Her usual blank expression.

Yet she was staring at her ballot with eyes filled with solemn determination.

“Since it’s a tie, let’s do it again.”

Seeing Historia’s tail swish, Alon decided not to mention that she wasn’t on the candidate list and simply suggested a revote.

Another hour passed.

And then—

The results:

Yutia – 1 vote

Rine – 1 vote

Seolrang – 1 vote

Magrina – 1 vote

Ryanga – 1 vote

Historia – 1 vote

…

The exact same outcome repeated.

Alon hesitated for a moment, then said,

“I’ll give you two hours this time. How about you discuss it among yourselves?”

Leaving those words behind,

“I’ll step out to handle some matters.”

He left the room.

***

Some time passed after Alon left.

Following his instructions, Evan quietly observed the situation.

“Hoo~ if this keeps up, it’ll never end.”

The voice belonged to Magrina, who had been silent until now.

“Mmm, true.”

“I agree.”

“Agreed.”

Everyone nodded one after another.

Magrina added,

“So, let’s pick someone to pool our votes on.”

“What do you mean by pooling votes, Magrina?”

“A game. How about that?”

“…A game?”

“Hehh, a game—”

Yutia nodded with interest.

“Alright then, suggest a game.”

The discussion moved forward quickly.

The chosen game was rock-paper-scissors.

Yes, just rock-paper-scissors.

But then—

“Magrina, come over here for a moment.”

“What is it?”

“Well, you see~”

“Seolrang?”

“What is it, Yutia?”

“Could you step aside for a moment?”

“Huh?”

Evan witnessed it.

Groups breaking off here and there, whispering conspiratorially.

…Wasn’t rock-paper-scissors just a straightforward game with clear winners and losers?

Why in the world did they need scheming sessions for such a simple contest?

The thought barely formed when—

Each and every one of them bore grave expressions.

Then—

“Ugh—”

The sheer force of their mana and divine power surged, overwhelming even Evan, who had the strength of an average knight.

He felt crushed by the pressure and had to step back.

The result—

The votes came in as:

Yutia – 1 vote

Rine – 1 vote

Seolrang – 1 vote

Magrina – 1 vote

Ryanga – 1 vote

Historia – 1 vote

Another deadlock.

“…Evan.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Didn’t you say a winner was decided?”

Alon, returning, looked baffled.

Indeed, a winner had been decided.

It had been Yutia.

Evan turned his gaze forward.

Despite it being only rock-paper-scissors, Yutia had played with cunning strategies and ruthless planning.

She smiled—just her lips curling upward.

“Hahaha… You all broke your promise. That’s a little unfair, don’t you think?”

She said it with a laugh.

But Magrina coolly replied,

“We didn’t break our promise. You cheated, didn’t you?”

“Cheated? What do you mean?”

“From the start, you were using holy power to read everyone’s muscles, figuring out what they would throw.”

“That’s something everyone else was doing too~”

“And you threw a little late as well~”

“Didn’t you all say nothing at the time?”

“Because we knew you wouldn’t admit it otherwise.”

…

Evan realized with a start—so the reason they unleashed enough mana and holy power to practically shatter the house… was for that?

While he mulled over the absurdity, Alon stared down at the tied ballots once again.

“At this rate, we’ll never reach a conclusion. Let’s change the method.”

He spoke calmly.

All eyes turned to him.

Drawing their full attention, Alon declared,

“One month from today, we will hold a vote among the citizens of the territory.”

He announced a public vote.

***

Naturally, everyone was shocked.

“We’ll follow your decision, my Lord.”

“Me too. It does seem fair.”

“…If Chief says so.”

“Then it’s my win!”

“There’s much to consider, but alright.”

With Historia nodding last, everyone departed, each carrying a quiet confidence, as though sure of their own advantage.

Evan, deep in thought, spoke softly.

“…This way, there will definitely be a result.”

“Exactly.”

“Yes, though the scale’s gotten a bit bigger. But this is actually how partner selections are sometimes done.”

“Really?”

Though Alon had proposed it to dodge choosing someone himself, he secretly worried he had gone too far.

But hearing there was precedent, he felt relieved.

At least it wasn’t excessive.

As Alon nodded to himself, Evan added,

“It’s not without precedent.”

“Good to know.”

“Well, it’s usually royalty who’ve done it.”

“…What?”

“I’ve heard that royalty have often chosen brides or grooms this way.”

“Royalty?”

“Yes. But so what? Just because royalty have done it doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who can.”

“That’s true.”

“They might think we’re copying them, but that’s about the worst of it.”

Evan shrugged, and Alon felt reassured once again.

A few days later—

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“A pilgrimage group from Rosario is on its way.”

“…?”

“Yes. They say they’ll arrive for the completion of the new church.”

“Understood.”

“That’s not all.”

“What else?”

“Warriors from Colony are also coming to the Marquisate of Palatio.”

“From Colony? Suddenly?”

“Yes, apparently for some kind of training. And remember that trade guild we signed with? The one run by the Elf Queen? They’re also arriving with a caravan in a month. And on top of that—”

Alon realized instinctively.

Something was happening.

And then—

“Is that all?”

“No, my lord. This next part is the most important.”

“What is it?”

“You remember you told me to send invitations to the kings?”

“…Did a problem arise?”

“Not a problem. More like… everything went a little too smoothly.”

“…Meaning?”

“All of the kings accepted your invitation. Their representatives will be arriving soon.”

“I see—wait, what?”

“They all accepted your invitation.”

“…Why?”

“Uh? Well… asking me won’t…”

Evan trailed off awkwardly.

Alon froze in bewilderment, yet at the same time instinctively understood.

“Evan, if they accepted, when will they all arrive in Divine Land?”

“In about two weeks.”

Something was going wrong.

Terribly wrong.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep