I Became the Patron of Villains

10. Misunderstanding (5)

After dealing with the golems.

“Were you hiding your power?”

Returning to the place where the carriage was and preparing for camp, Evan couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked.

“Of course not.”

“…Then, was that really second-tier magic?”

“Yes.”

Evan made a face that showed he couldn’t believe Alon’s answer.

“Is that so.”

However, realizing that there was no point in asking further questions as Evan had already understood from their previous conversations that no answers would be forthcoming, he sighed deeply and nodded, continuing with the camp preparations.

Alon, who was watching him, felt a bit aggrieved, though his expression remained impassive.

After all, Alon himself had no idea why the magic he had cast earlier had behaved in such a manner.

‘…I knew that imposing restrictions would make it stronger to some extent.’

The battles in Psychedelia, which Alon played, were turn-based rather than real-time, and the use of hand signs and phrases in the game consumed turns to enhance magic damage.

Depending on the magic used, forming the appropriate hand signs would strengthen the magic itself.

Similarly, choosing the correct phrases from hundreds of options within a time limit would enhance the properties of the magic.

For example, the phrases Alon used for the magic known as ‘Chain Lightning’ in Psychedelia were four in total:

Refraction, Repulsion, Blue Light, and Diffraction.

By using these four phrases and hand signs, he strengthened the magic ‘Chain Lightning,’ and further imposed restrictions to always use hand signs and phrases when casting magic on individuals, thereby enhancing the magic.

In other words, Alon had anticipated that the magic he used would be more than twice as strong as usual.

‘But it wasn’t supposed to be this strong.’

In Psychedelia, each hand sign and phrase consumed a turn.

Thus, the magic Alon used this time was equivalent to a five-turn preparation in the game.

‘…Even considering that, to overkill a golem…?’

Alon shrugged his shoulders as he pondered.

In truth, the conclusion was that this mission had gone well according to his plans, and the unexpectedly strong magic was something to be pleased about.

In fact, beyond being pleased, Alon’s mind was now filled with curiosity.

‘Honestly, I’d like to experiment if I could.’

The hand signs and phrases Alon used this time were typically employed in Psychedelia when raising the protagonist, known as the ‘Glass Cannon’ mage, to easily handle large groups of enemies with large-scale electric magic.

In other words, Alon’s mind still held more than ten hand signs and phrases that he hadn’t used today.

What piqued Alon’s curiosity the most was the visibly changing magic each time he uttered a phrase while casting the spell earlier.

‘In the game, phrases merely increased damage by 10% each time the correct form was chosen, but here it’s different.’

A regular mage might not have noticed.

However, Alon, who had a unique talent for controlling magic and had performed the spell himself, ‘observed’ the visibly changing properties of the magic with each added phrase.

Not just an increase in power, but the very nature of the magic itself changed with each phrase.

Therefore,

‘I’ll have to experiment as soon as my mana recovers.’

With a good feeling, despite his impassive exterior, Alon closed his eyes inside the carriage.

And at that moment.

A girl appeared in the place where Alon had used magic, leaving only piles of stones that could no longer transform into golems.

A girl with deep green eyes shining.

“……”

The girl – or rather, the one who could later be called the Greedy Rine – silently passed by the golems that had turned into piles and looked at the door Alon had entered earlier.

A door that was broken and worn, but with carvings on the frame emphasizing that it was clearly artificial, not natural.

However, Rine knew that the carvings on this door frame were not just meaningless decorations.

Born with a great mission and able to access the ‘Ancient Library’ at any time, she could understand what was written on this frame.

‘The era of the forgotten outer gods, the script of the Alaneph Empire.’

Recognizing this, Rine began to read the letters on the frame.

[For the cowardly Palaon, who will be left alone.]

“……Ha.”

Rine let out a hollow laugh as she read those words.

Because she knew that there was only one person who used the name ‘Palaon’ in the ancient language.

The great Palaon.

Who had repelled the invasions of the ‘black ones’ several times during the era of the outer gods, and fought and defeated the ‘Al-Akulakka’, who made subjects offer their hearts just by looking at them.

The noble, revered, great, and radiant emperor.

Knowing that the Palaon referred to in the ancient language was only that one person, she let out a hollow laugh.

At the same time.

‘Palaon made it, didn’t he.’

In Rine’s mind, Alon’s voice echoed.

The image of the great moon, staring silently at the frame of the outer wall with an expressionless yet somewhat heavy look, came to Rine’s mind, and a hypothesis cluttered her thoughts.

The conflict between denial and affirmation in her mind, with the scale tipping towards denial.

But then, what came to mind was the magic Alon had shown just a moment ago after escaping the labyrinth.

“……”

His magic didn’t seem particularly special.

But the phrase he muttered was different.

The phrase whispered by the great moon was something that didn’t exist even in the ancient library.

Recalling that, the scale that had been swaying in her mind balanced out.

‘……I knew he wasn’t an ordinary person, given that even the Bloody Queen from history followed him.’

Finally, the balance within her, which had reached the identity of the red moon leading the blue moon, defines the assumptions in her mind as truth.

That the great moon, Palaon, was a friend who showed respect and reverence even while lowering himself.

As soon as she defined it, she felt goosebumps all over her body and looked at where Alon was.

…When the clear light of respect began to shine in her eyes, which had so far moved only according to the orders of the red moon without anything else.

“You have returned.”

When she slightly turned her gaze to the subtle presence she felt from Rine, Deus, who had appeared at some point, nodded his head with a gentle glow in his eyes.

“Yes.”

“Did you find out any information?”

Recalling that a week ago, Deus had stopped monitoring Alon and chased after the man in black who was returning, she asked, and he shook his head.

“No. I didn’t get any information.”

“…Why?”

At Rine’s question, which seemed to indicate she didn’t understand, Deus began to explain what had happened when he chased after the man in black.

And then.

“While chasing him, the man in black died…?”

“Yes, his neck twisted twice in the empty air. He died instantly. I didn’t feel anything at all.”

At Deus’s continued words, Rine fell silent for a moment.

“It seems… we need to report this.”

“I think so too.”

After exchanging a few more words, they disappeared from the spot.

Finally, only the lonely moonlight remained there.

Two months had passed since Alon had obtained the restriction in the Labyrinth of Whispers.

Altia was currently going through a very confusing time.

There were three reasons for this: the first reason was that the second son of the duke’s family, Kig, and the second daughter, Pairinne, had suddenly died.

The second reason was that Duke Altia, who had been languishing and had been told he didn’t have long to live, had finally met his end.

The third reason was that the first son of the duke’s family, Timalian, had died along with the first daughter, Marrianne, a day after the duke’s death, as if timed to it.

They had stabbed each other with swords.

As a result, the sons and daughters who would succeed the duke’s family had disappeared in an instant, and now Loria was the only heir to the duke’s family.

Just like Count Palatio had been not long ago.

“……”

Loria sat quietly in the duke’s office, a place she never thought she would be in just two months, and held her breath.

Rumors about Loria had already begun to circulate within the duke’s household.

Yet, amusingly, despite the quiet spread of these rumors, she had not suffered any harm.

This was because she had an alibi that was too clear.

When the second daughter and second son died, she was just returning from the ball.

The first daughter and first son had killed each other.

Moreover, Loria had not met with them recently, and most importantly, the reason she could avoid all suspicion was because…

Her organization had already been destroyed while she was at the ball.

That’s right.

By the time she returned from the ball, she had already lost all her power thanks to her damned family.

Because of this, despite the rumors quietly spreading, she was not suspected in any of the administrative investigations.

Such a clean and perfect job.

“There will be good things.”

Loria recalled that voice once again.

The events that unfolded after those seemingly indifferent words were anything but indifferent.

She was already convinced that this incident had occurred because of him.

If anyone thought all of this happened by coincidence, they would be considered to have a problem with their intelligence, as everything was so contrived.

“…What does he want?”

Loria recalled her conversation with Alon.

He had clearly rejected her request on the surface, but he had handled the matter more decisively than anyone else, and yet, even a month after all the heirs of the duke’s household had died, he had not contacted her at all.

Even now, when she had absorbed all the organizations that had lost their leaders with minimal damage.

“Pure goodwill?”

At the fleeting thought, Loria laughed.

It was nonsense, even to herself.

So, after thinking for a long time, Loria finally reached one conclusion.

That Alon was drawing some kind of picture.

Of course, Loria did not know what that picture was.

But she vaguely realized one thing.

“That picture needs the Altia duchy.”

What someone who could kill the people of the duke’s household so naturally and without a trace wanted was ultimately something he did not have.

It was, in Loria’s opinion, most likely the renown of the Duke of Altia.

‘And with that renown, what can be done…’

Loria clamped her mouth shut at that thought.

Because it was then that she realized.

How absurd it was to have made a pact with a demon.

“……”

Realizing this, Loria let out a hollow laugh but clenched her fist tightly.

She knew that once the pact was made, there was no turning back, and she was well aware of what would happen if she violated the pact, having seen the four precedents before her.

Therefore, without even considering the word betrayal, she decided to focus on what she had to do.

‘Still, I should at least express my gratitude.’

For the first time, an unknown smile appeared on her expressionless face.

A week later.

A bottle of wine and a card arrived at the Count’s office for Alon.

The wine was from the imperial territory of Sernance, where only three bottles were produced a year, and a single bottle could fetch thousands of gold.

–

With respect.

–

“???”

Alon looked puzzled as he read the card that came with it.

.

.

.

And two months later.

“So, you’re saying that Loria, the third of the Duke of Altia, has become the Duke of Altia?”

“Yes.”

“Altia Loria?”

“That’s correct, but…”

“???”

“Is there a problem, young master?”

Alon realized that something was amiss.