SOTBW - 242

Venus prayed fervently in his heart as he waited for Belshua’s response. For a moment, Belshua seemed lost in thought, idly spinning the teacup between his fingers, as if debating whether it was appropriate for him to freely discuss Aron.  

Even as time passed, Belshua’s figure remained faintly reflected in the fragrant tea.  

After seeing off all the other heroes, Aron had devoted himself more to recording their deeds than to his own legacy. Unfortunately, those records had been abandoned by someone or accidentally burned, leaving nothing behind.  

While Venus had often encountered people who revered Rakhshu and Sylin, he had never met anyone as passionate about Aron as he was. Thus, Belshua reasoned that sharing a few anecdotes wouldn’t tarnish Aron’s honor.  

Belshua set down his teacup and crossed his legs. With a slight nod of his chin signaling Venus to proceed, tears welled up in Venus’ eyes, overcome with emotion.  

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Venus quickly glanced around before scrambling to fetch paper and a pen. His excited gaze sparkled like that of a child receiving a sweet dessert, brimming with joy.  

Though Belshua found this somewhat burdensome, he reminded himself of the considerable debt he owed Aron in the past. With that in mind, he decided to endure the situation, viewing it as partial repayment for that debt.  

“How did Lord Aron create the sacred relics?”  

The question was surprisingly ordinary. Belshua had half-expected Venus to ask something absurd, like the color of Aron’s favorite underwear, so he felt a subtle sense of relief as he rummaged through his ancient memories.  

“He created them together with Mackanon.”  

“…You mean the emperor of the Astien Empire?”  

The unexpected name made Venus’ eyes widen in shock. Belshua paused to take a sip of tea, recalling Mackanon’s characteristic smug gestures, and furrowed his brow slightly.  

“Aron proposed creating the relics, and Mackanon agreed. That guy usually ignored what others said, but he listened to Aron about half the time.”  

“That ‘guy’ you’re referring to is…?”  

“Mackanon.”  

The only person in the world who could refer to the sole emperor of the Astien Empire as “that guy” would be Mahilen.  

Venus nodded awkwardly, trying not to appear too flustered.  

“Ah, I see… So they were close. This is completely new information… No wonder even he recognized Lord Aron’s noble character and became friends with him!”  

Venus concluded that Aron and Mackanon must have been close friends, speaking in an excited yet restrained tone.  

“No.”  

Venus, who had been elated at the thought of Aron earning Mackanon’s recognition, suddenly looked as though he’d fallen from a great height when Belshua calmly negated his assumption. He was utterly dumbfounded.  

Ink dripped from the nib of the pen onto the paper, one drop at a time. Belshua glanced briefly at the ink spreading across the page before turning his gaze back to Venus, who blinked rapidly, unable to process the collapse of his expectations.  

“So… when you said ‘no,’ you meant that His Majesty the Emperor of Astien and Lord Aron weren’t friends?”  

“Mackanon liked Aron’s face.”  

“…Pardon?”  

Venus stared blankly, unsure if he’d heard correctly. Whether he was shocked to learn that an immortal being, supposedly detached from worldly concerns, was actually a staunch believer in superficial beauty, or simply disappointed that the reason wasn’t as romantic as he’d hoped, Venus couldn’t close his gaping mouth for some time.  

However, as someone who deeply admired Aron Noctis, Venus quickly pulled himself together and tried to rationalize the situation positively: Lord Aron was not only talented but also possessed the kind of fantastic beauty that could captivate even Mackanon.  

Belshua continued speaking to Venus, who had barely managed to regain his composure.  

“The two weren’t lovers. Both were heterosexual. Especially Mackanon—he only cherished Astien.”  

Venus assumed “Astien” referred to the Astien Empire. It was natural for an emperor to love his own country.  

For a brief moment, Belshua and Venus’ thoughts diverged. Unaware of this, Belshua gazed into his now-empty teacup, reminiscing about the past.  

“Aron resembled Astien, which is why Mackanon followed him around like a puppy.”  

At this, Venus blinked rapidly. What did it mean for Aron to resemble the Astien Empire? The metaphor sounded bizarre, and a troubled expression settled on Venus’ face. Only then did Belshua recall that people of this era knew almost nothing about a woman named Astien. Hurriedly, he added an explanation.

“Astien is a person’s name. The empire’s name was derived from it.”  

“Ah…”  

After becoming immortal, Mackanon would occasionally visit Mahilen unannounced whenever he grew bored. On that particular day, it seemed he had come to irritate Mahilen but instead encountered Aron, who had just spectacularly failed an experiment in the lab while trying to develop a spell usable without magic. Mackanon was utterly captivated at first sight.  

Mahilen had never met Astien, so he didn’t know whether Aron truly resembled her. However, given that Mackanon—someone who had loved only one person for tens of thousands of years—shed tears upon seeing Aron, it was clear the two must have borne a striking resemblance.  

Aron was not Astien’s reincarnation; they simply looked alike by coincidence.  

Even Mahilen didn’t fully understand what Aron meant to Mackanon, who had been cursed by the Dragon Lord to never find Astien again. But one thing was certain: Aron’s presence brought vitality to Mackanon’s otherwise monotonous and weary existence as an immortal.  

From that day forward, Mackanon began following Aron around. He wanted to admire every day the face that reminded him of his beloved Astien.  

As a result, despite being heterosexual, Aron suffered rumors his entire life that he might be interested in men, all because of his unusually delicate and handsome features. Mackanon played a decisive role in spreading this misconception by constantly trailing after Aron like a shadow.  

How much did Aron despise Mackanon back then? The moment they crossed paths, Aron would punch him in the face without hesitation. Of course, Mackanon—a mad genius when it came to magic—would instantly heal his battered face within 0.1 seconds and cling to Aron like a chick following its mother hen.  

Did Mackanon meekly take those punches? Yes, he did. He remained perfectly still whenever Aron hit him, refusing to defend himself for fear of accidentally leaving a scratch on Aron’s face.  

Once, Mackanon, drunk on alcohol, caused a huge uproar when he tried to put an overly padded bra on a sleeping Aron. His reasoning? Since Aron already resembled Astien, making their bodies similar would make the likeness even more striking.  

Rakhshu had issued Mackanon a restraining order, but naturally, it was ignored. Eventually, Aron threatened to slash his own face with a knife if Mackanon dared approach him even once more. Only then did Mackanon, genuinely heartbroken, disappear from sight. Of course, he didn’t leave Aron’s side entirely—he still visited secretly now and then to catch a glimpse of his face.  

One interesting fact is that Mackanon was present the moment Aron awakened his divine power—not Rakhshu, Sylin, Sainth, or Mahilen, but Mackanon.  

Aron, cursing his body for lacking magical talent, had attempted to jump into a lake teeming with monsters. In the midst of his suicide attempt, however, he noticed a child being dragged away by the monsters and sacrificed himself to save the child, becoming prey in the process.  

Bitten by the monsters and dragged to the lake’s bottom, Aron lost consciousness but gained some profound enlightenment, awakening his divine power. At that very moment, Mackanon evaporated all the water in the lake to save him.  

The rituals Aron developed were not solely his work either. While it was indeed Aron who discovered that non-divine beings could harness divine power, it was Mackanon who devised the specific incantation structure known as “rituals.”  

Mackanon didn’t want Aron to attempt suicide again. Why? Because he wanted to keep gazing at Aron’s face, which reminded him so much of Astien. For that sole reason, Mackanon volunteered as Aron’s assistant and created the concept of rituals.  

There’s an anecdote that proves Mackanon cared only about Aron’s face. One day, long after the Seriths were sealed away, Mackanon stopped seeking Aron out. By then, Aron had reached middle age and no longer bore any resemblance to Astien.  

Though Mackanon likely expected Aron to feel hurt over their parting due to the bond they’d built through years of bickering…  

‘Fuck, what a relief! Go jerk off thinking about your precious Astien, you bastard!’  

Aron was absolutely thrilled that Mackanon had left.  

Lost in reminiscence about those chaotic old days, Belshua accidentally recalled some of Mackanon’s insane antics and couldn’t help but grimace in disgust. Even thinking about Mackanon left a bitter taste in his mouth. But there was no way to continue the story of Aron without mentioning Mackanon.  

Belshua rinsed his mouth with the last sip of tea from his cup. For a moment, he almost forgot the question Venus had asked after letting his mind wander.  

Belshua resumed unraveling the tale of the sacred relics.  

“Mackanon was an ancient man well-versed in alchemy. While it’s impossible to create something from nothing using alchemy, it is possible to imbue existing objects with certain attributes. However, just because it’s possible doesn’t mean anyone can do it. Mastery of creating magical arrays was required, and Mackanon was a genius whose mind worked exceptionally well when it came to inventing new spells. Though he’s completely lost it now, back then, he was hailed as a prodigy who followed in the footsteps of Aisatis Maleth, the Sorcerer King who first made a contract with a dragon. Hell, he even created that insane artifact called the Soul Compass in his quest to find his lover. Transforming magical energy into divine power to craft weapons was child’s play for him.”  

Venus, overwhelmed by unfamiliar terms like “Sorcerer King” and “Soul Compass,” momentarily froze before hurriedly jotting down Belshua’s words. Belshua spoke as slowly as possible to ensure Venus could keep up without straining himself.  

“That’s not to say Aron simply stood by and watched Mackanon create the sacred relics. Aron undoubtedly collaborated with Mackanon in designing them and actively participated in their creation. People these days may not know this, but alchemy can only imbue an object with a single attribute. Mackanon added the ability to convert magical energy into divine power to various items, and Aron further enhanced them with additional properties, resulting in what you now call sacred relics. Only Aron could add new attributes to objects that already had one. For example: Rakhshu’s sword gained an unbreakable defensive barrier, Sylin’s bracelet acquired rapid healing capabilities, Reje and Renee’s earrings allowed for shared thoughts, Mackanon’s ring stored intangible objects, and Briotton’s necklace granted the power to stop time for the user.”  

Venus, frantically scribbling down Belshua’s words, suddenly paused.

It seemed he had just heard something truly astonishing.  

“…Stop time, you say?”