I Became the Patron of Villains

128. Are you a heretic? (3)

In the dark of night, in front of the Merkilran estate.

Despite the fact that it happened a few weeks ago, the signs of fierce battle remained in front of the estate, and ‘it’ appeared, cutting through the blue moonlight with its black cloak.

As before, it quietly stared at the outer castle, which no one was guarding, then turned its gaze and calmly walked.

Step- Step-

Neither big nor small, neither fast nor slow, just the right pace.

The first place it reached was the spot where the artificial outer gods and Basiliora had fought.

Next, it headed to the place where Marquis Palatio had been.

The last place it stopped was where Duke Comalon had been.

“…….”

“`

The place where Duke Komalon lay, eyes closed, turning to dust.

The one who had been staring intently at that spot now wore a variety of expressions, unlike the smile that had been on its face until now.

It maintained a blank expression, then smiled faintly.

Its face clouded over slightly, then twisted into a grotesque grin.

And then.

“So, the half-baked sorcerer ends here.”

Muttering in a low voice, words that might have been a sigh, it looked ahead.

“Well- it doesn’t matter. A new person of interest has appeared. I suppose I’ll watch over this one too.”

It turned and headed into the darkness.

From noble mtl dot com

“Whether he is truly the chosen one or not.”

The strange language scattered in the wind, leaving no one behind.

####

On the way back to the Marquisate of Palatio after everything was over.

Alon gazed out the window at the approaching winter with a relaxed expression.

…In truth, the cleanup wasn’t finished yet, but that wasn’t his concern.

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“You’ve been deep in thought lately.”

Evan, who had entered the carriage for camping, asked, and Alon shrugged as he replied.

“There’s a lot to think about.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Until now, he had been focused on recovering his body and was immediately summoned to Tern, so he was busy. Now, he was thinking about what needed to be done.

‘Duke Komalon, the black things, the border, magic… The first thing to do is investigate those matters.’

No, to be precise, he had to find out about Duke Komalon’s mention of ‘those things rising.’

Based on all the information Alon had gathered, the identity of ‘those things’ seemed to be the ‘Five Great Sins.’

“Hmm-”

This was quite an important issue for Alon.

He had been making every effort to prevent the Five Great Sins from descending upon this world.

…Honestly, he hadn’t been trying to the point of life and death, but it was true that he had been raising the children who would become the Five Great Sins well, ensuring they grew up normally to prevent their awakening.

“Did I raise them well…?”

Suddenly recalling the sins he had encountered so far, he felt a slight unease, but soon calmed his mind and continued his thoughts.

At this point, what was important to Alon was.

The fact that the five great sins, which he thought would not appear because he had raised the children well, might eventually appear.

“Honestly, it’s a bit unclear.”

He had a slight doubt, wondering if such a thing could happen.

The reason the five great sins descended was because the villains who became their mediums had turned dark.

According to the information Alon knew from the game, most of the children, including Utia, had grown up without turning dark, so it was correct to say that the probability of the five great sins appearing had practically disappeared.

However, even so, Alon could not ignore the words of Duke Komalon.

Having glimpsed a hidden fragment of this world, Alon knew that this place did not operate exactly like the game’s settings.

“……”

Alon recalled the time he had talked with Duke Komalon.

After letting out a bitter laugh, Alon couldn’t determine whether Duke Komalon’s words were true or false.

But no matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like Duke Komalon was lying at that time.

The look in his eyes.

Duke Komalon’s eyes were not those of a madman believing in delusions, but rather those of someone facing an endlessly dark reality.

Therefore.

“Did he say the south of the border…?”

He recalled the words Duke Komalon had said.

The south of the border.

Literally, the border between the United Kingdom, which was the stage for this Psychedelia, and the Empire, which was the stage for Calypsophobia, was a place Alon originally had to visit at least once.

“If the five great sins descend, it’s a place I must go.”

Recalling the wasteland that users called the Badlands, he went over Duke Komalon’s words again.

“There is truth in the south of the border…”

He sighed and made a decision.

“I should move as soon as my body recovers.”

The issue related to the five great sins was extremely important.

Additionally, he had become a bit curious about Duke Komalon.

“Then, first, I’ll recover my body, and by the time I go to the border, it will have been exactly two years… Then I can go to Colony and ask about the ritual Duke Komalon mentioned.”

He organized his thoughts that way.

“Marquis.”

“Why?”

“Would you like a sweet potato?”

“Yes.”

Alon, who was eating the sweet potato that Evan had handed over, confirmed that pure white snowflakes were falling beyond the carriage window.

“Oh. It’s snowing.”

“Indeed.”

He chewed the sweet potato while watching the first snow fall.

…Maybe it was because of the snow, but the sweet potato tasted better than usual.

And so, time passed.

About two weeks later, Alon arrived at the Palatio Marquisate.

The next day.

Alon’s eyes widened as he received a brief report on the state of the territory from Evan, who had gone to check on it.

“…Are these all the treasures sent from the Merkiland territory?”

“Yes.”

“All of them?”

“Yes, all of them.”

It was because he could see the five carriages filled with treasures that he hadn’t noticed when he arrived at the Marquisate yesterday.

Alon, with a blank expression, went forward and opened one of the carriages.

Shrrrrrrk-!

As soon as he opened the carriage, gold and silver treasures poured out.

Watching the coins that instantly dyed the white snow golden.

“Wow-“

Evan, who was watching from the side, couldn’t help but exclaim, and Alon was the same.

Although his expression didn’t show it, Alon was very surprised.

‘No, this is… quite a lot?’

Of course, it wasn’t that Alon had never received such gifts before.

He had received such gifts from Karmakses III in the colony, and from the Holy Kingdom of Rosario.

But he had never received this much gold before.

‘How much is this, exactly? No, why so much?’

Alon gaped, unable to comprehend.

Of course, it was true that Alon was the hero who saved the Merkilian estate.

If he hadn’t saved the Merkilian estate, it would have vanished entirely.

But this seemed a bit excessive…

‘…Phillian, now I see you’re a friend who repays kindness very thoroughly.’

He gratefully accepted the gold coins.

The more money, the better, that’s the way of the world. Isn’t it a virtue to accept gifts given?

‘Well, the Merkilian estate is wealthy anyway.’

Knowing the circumstances, Alon decided to accept the gift without hesitation.

“Marquis.”

“Yes?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you give me just one gold coin?”

“I’ll allow it.”

Alon gifted one gold coin to Evan and hummed to himself as he gazed at the cart filled with gold coins for a while.

He was hungry, and his fingertips and toes tingled from magic addiction, but now he felt somehow healthier.

A smile crept onto his face.

This was what happened on Alon’s first day back at the Marquis’ house.

####

Around that time.

In the office of the Merkilian estate.

“Do you think the gift has arrived safely?”

“Yes, it should have arrived well.”

“That’s a relief.”

As Phillian nodded, his secretary Kulan spoke up.

“But young master—no, Duke, are you sure about this?”

“About what?”

“The gift. Is it really okay to send so much money when we need to restore the estate immediately…?”

The secretary’s worried murmur.

His words were valid, but Phillian shook his head firmly.

“If the Marquis of Palatio hadn’t stopped the Duke of Komalon, the Merkilian estate would have been destroyed. Then Kulan and I wouldn’t be facing each other like this.”

“`

“……That’s correct.”

“And also, it’s a rule to repay a favor. Even if that amount of money disappears right now, we have enough to handle this situation, don’t we?”

“That is also true, but just in case.”

“Kulan.”

“Yes.”

“When repaying a favor, calculations are unnecessary. If you can repay it right now, you just do it. Father would have done the same.”

A firm statement.

Kulan, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.

“I misspoke.”

He bowed his head in apology and left to attend to his duties.

After sending Kulan away, Phillian let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair.

“It’s tough-“

His face, which had been stern just moments ago, now bore a relaxed expression.

In truth, the demeanor he had shown while dealing with Kulan was nothing but an act.

‘I don’t want to do this.’

To be honest, Phillian wanted to quit this act as soon as possible.

But the reason he continued was because of his younger brother, Merkilian Gillan.

In fact, Phillian had initially intended to pass the title of Duke to his brother.

Despite his abysmal social skills, he had a good sense of self-awareness and knew he wasn’t fit to lead the territory.

So, Phillian had planned to hand over the title to his brother immediately.

‘……A center is needed until the territory stabilizes.’

Hearing his brother’s words, he decided to take on the role of heir until the territory stabilized.

Even someone as oblivious as him knew that the state of the territory, right after being attacked by artificial foreign gods, was not good in many ways, even if not financially.

‘If, after the territory is fully settled, you still wish to pass the title of Duke to me, then I will follow in your footsteps.’

Phillian recalled Gillan’s words as he gazed out the window.

And suddenly, he thought.

‘Ah, I want to learn magic.’

In truth, he had never been interested in magic.

The reason?

He simply had no interest in the study of magic, and he was so obsessed with the sword that nothing else caught his eye.

“`

But these days, Philian was deeply engrossed in magic.

And it was all because of Marquis Palatio.

“……”

Philian closed his eyes.

As soon as he closed his eyes, what he saw was-

The image of Marquis Palatio summoning a god to deal with the artificial outsiders.

And the image of the marquis blocking the meteor shower from the sky.

Lastly, the brilliant, radiant line created at the tip of Marquis Palatio’s fingers.

“Wow-“

Recalling that moment, Philian let out another exclamation.

It was already his 23rd exclamation of the day.

These days, he spent his days marveling at the magic used by Marquis Palatio.

He thought about it almost all day long, but he never got tired of it.

More than not getting tired, these days, when Philian thought of the marquis, he felt like a child full of innocence who had just picked up a sword.

To that extent, Philian had come to admire Marquis Palatio.

No, it wasn’t just admiration. These days, Philian had even reached the point of looking up the first-class magic books.

Because he wanted to learn magic.

In that way, Philian also wanted to become like Marquis Palatio.

Of course, as he was not really a child, Philian knew that if he excelled as a sword master, he could become as strong as the marquis.

Because he had talent.

But that wasn’t what Philian wanted.

It wasn’t just about ‘becoming strong’.

Philian just wanted to be like the marquis.

At that time, in the ashen world, like the marquis who used magic.

“……”

Of course, Philian also knew well that it wouldn’t be easy.

Right now, the marquis’s magic skills were on a different level from the wizards he originally knew, and above all, the two eyes attached behind the marquis gave him the certainty that the marquis was an incredibly powerful wizard.

But even so, Philian still wanted to become a great wizard.

Even though he could fully anticipate how difficult that path would be, or even worry that he might never reach it.

These days, he had reached the level of Sword Master, but he began to learn magic.

“…It would be nice if I had talent in magic too.”

At the moment he muttered such a wish.

“Ah.”

Phillian suddenly had a thought.

‘…Should I build a statue?’

It was a thought that came to him suddenly.

It was a thought that came to him because he had come to admire Marquis Palatio so much.

However.

“…It might not be a bad idea?”

In fact, it was true that Marquis Palatio had saved the Merkilian territory, so Phillian unknowingly nodded his head with a hum.

After a brief moment, an irrational and illogical conclusion formed in Phillian’s mind.

‘Well, before I hand over the position to my brother, this much should be fine…’

He stood up as if he had made a decision.

And exactly one month later.

In the central square of the Merkilian territory, a statue of Marquis Palatio using magic was erected.

And that story soon reached the ears of Alon, who was suffering from magic addiction.

“…My, statue?”

“Yes.”

“…Why did they build my statue in the Merkilian territory…?”

“Well, I don’t know either…?”

“…”

Alon was at a loss for words, and most of the nobles who heard the news were equally bewildered.

No matter how much the Marquis had saved the territory, building a statue seemed a bit excessive.

But that was only by the standards of other nobles.

“…A statue?”

“Yes.”

“…Hmm-“

One of Caliban’s swordsmen, Deus Macalian, said,

“…I’m jealous.”

“Yes…?”

“Should I do it too…?”

“Yes…???”

He muttered sincerely, as if envious.

…The deputy commander lost his words again as he watched Deus, who always became strange whenever the story of the Marquis came up.