I Became the Patron of Villains

133. Border Area (1)

After the regular meeting of the Blue Moon.

“How was it?”

The magical sphere that had been conducting the video conference until a moment ago was turned off.

While Yuna stood there with a blank expression, Hidan, who had been in the next room, came over.

She opened and closed her mouth as if she didn’t know what to say.

“……That,”

“Speak.”

“This, this was a meeting, right?”

She finally asked.

“It was a meeting.”

“……This?”

“Yes.”

“……Talking about deifying the second prince to erect the statue of the Blue Moon, this is a meeting……?”

“The second prince did try to slander the Blue Moon once.”

“……Well, he deserved it, but still-“

“But until the middle, it was an ordinary meeting, wasn’t it?”

“Still-“

Yuna.

“Red Moon and Gold Moon… something about marrying the Great Moon… fighting, or Green Moon boasting about the gift received from him for over 30 minutes, or Silver Moon… hearing that there are additional people slandering him, and even though the meeting wasn’t over, he broke the window and ran out… Isn’t this a bit too much, no matter what?”

“Hmm…”

“Was Lord Purple Moon always this talkative? I don’t think so. He was definitely taciturn before, but today he kept talking about the Great Moon for over two hours…?”

It wasn’t the personality of the Moons she knew.

They had changed too much.

As a complex expression appeared on her face, Hidan also closed his mouth.

…He wasn’t much different from Yuna.

Especially the recent meetings had become even more severe.

The intensity of fanaticism had become even more fierce than when he first participated.

‘…Did the Great Moon… learn something like hypnosis?’

While thinking about what Radan had once thought, he looked at Yuna.

She had a look on her face that said, “This isn’t the kind of meeting I wanted to see!”

And then.

“Hidan.”

“Why?”

“The Great Moon… does he have some kind of ability to manipulate perception… or something like hypnosis? When I saw him from afar last time, he didn’t seem like that…”

Seeing Yuna reach the same conclusion as himself.

“…Maybe.”

He didn’t bother to deny her words.

The United Kingdom and the border area were so far from the Marquis of Palatio that it took about a month to get there.

That was natural.

The Kingdom of Asteria was a country located in the east, and the border was at the western end beyond Caliban in the United Kingdom.

Because of that, Alon had to travel by carriage for over two weeks.

But there was no time to be bored.

The reason was because of Kamang… that is, the Shadow Dragon he obtained along with the emblem ‘Union of Shadows’.

“Marquis, what are you so worried about?”

Alon, who was looking at Kamang eagerly eating sweet potatoes by the campfire.

He answered Evan’s question slowly.

“I just can’t get a grasp on it.”

“Ah, magic?”

Alon nodded.

‘Magic isn’t manifesting at all.’

While riding the carriage to the border, Alon repeatedly tried to use the Union of Shadows, but he still hadn’t figured out the proper method.

‘What’s the problem…?’

Of course, he knew there could be various issues at play.

Fundamentally, magic that uses phrases and sentences requires the ‘correct and precise terminology’ to produce the desired effect, as the dragonfolk had mentioned last time.

However, what puzzled Alon was the precedent so far.

Even when he didn’t know the proper usage of phrases and sentences, the magic itself would manifest to some extent, albeit imperfectly.

But the ‘Union of Shadows’ didn’t manifest at all, merely consuming magical power.

‘…Is this a magic that needs to be used in a special way? Or is it a magic that can only be activated by a dragon, making it impossible in my current state as a shadow dragon?’

His doubts snowballed.

“Marquis, come to think of it, I forgot to mention something.”

“What is it?”

Evan’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Alon organized his thoughts and turned his gaze.

“It’s news I heard from the territory we visited this morning, but it seems that recently, there have been many occurrences of Shimon.”

“Shimon?”

“Yes. Originally, Shimon only appeared around the Magic Tower, but now they are appearing simultaneously in various places.”

It wasn’t surprising news.

‘…Well, with less than half a year until the original story begins, it’s about time.’

He had anticipated that the frequency of Shimon appearances would increase from now on.

‘The reason the protagonist Elivan’s adventure began in Psychedelia was because the next phenomenon, the Kaimon, appeared in the village, putting it in danger.’

Although Alon’s attention was currently focused on the five great sins that were directly linked to the world’s destruction, Shimon was also one of the main events driving Psychedelia’s story.

There had been quite a few incidents during the Shimon events that endangered the entire kingdom.

Even so, Alon wasn’t overly worried.

Because of the protagonist.

Indeed.

Alon didn’t have to worry because there was Elivan, the protagonist who would go around closing the portals according to the original story.

‘…He’ll manage to close them well on his own.’

Unlike the five great sins that would inevitably destroy one or two countries when they descended, the portals wouldn’t cause any major problems as long as they were closed in time, so Alon wasn’t too concerned.

‘Well, maybe I’ll give him some help when he starts his first adventure. I’ll also provide some extra supplies… If he’s weaker than expected, should I stay in Lartania and train him a bit?’

While thinking of Elivan, who would struggle, and making his own plans, he put the now-cold sweet potato into his mouth.

“…Delicious.”

“Marquis, you always eat sweet potatoes when you light a campfire. Aren’t you getting tired of them?”

“No, they’re always new and delicious.”

“…Is that so?”

Evan, who was eating potatoes, seemed to be tired of sweet potatoes.

‘…I didn’t originally like sweet potatoes this much.’

Why are they so delicious?

He wondered for a moment, but soon shrugged and pushed the sweet potato into his mouth.

The sweet potato eaten by the campfire in the cool night weather was still delicious.

About two more weeks later, Alon finally arrived near the border.

“Wow, it’s really a wasteland from afar.”

Looking at the high wall dividing the border and the sandy wasteland beyond, he started to think.

‘…How should I cross?’

The wasteland between the United Kingdom and the Empire, known to players as the Badlands.

This place was guarded by the ‘Allied Forces,’ so it wasn’t easy to enter.

No, ordinary nobles weren’t even allowed to set foot in the wasteland, and even in Psychedelia, it was a place that could only be crossed a few times due to special quests.

‘…The reason was partly because of the Empire, but also to prevent the awakening of the Curse, right?’

The Curse.

Although it hadn’t shown itself yet, in the future, it would be called one of the four great forces along with the Hundred Ghosts of the Jungle.

It had taken root in that wasteland.

There were many other trivial reasons, but ultimately, that was the main one.

‘Should I use the secret passage?’

He thought of the only secret passage in the wall, which was covered with dozens, hundreds of magic circles, but soon clicked his tongue in embarrassment.

‘…I don’t want to use it if I can help it.’

From noble mtl dot com

If he used the dog hole, he could definitely get inside.

But if there was another way, he didn’t want to use it.

Because moving through the dog hole was harder than he thought.

‘…I don’t know exactly how it’s hard, though.’

Whenever Alon entered the wasteland through the dog hole for game leveling, a notification window always popped up saying, ‘You consumed too much stamina!’ and the party members’ HP dropped by 50%.

While he was deep in thought.

“Shall we go to the village first?”

“Yeah.”

Since the sun was already setting, they decided to spend the night in the village that was visible from the border area.

And so, in the village they arrived at.

“Teacher?”

“…Yutia?”

“Brother.”

“…The Saint is here too.”

They encountered a very strange combination.

“What brings you here?”

Surprised by the unexpected meeting, but only for a moment.

Alon answered Yutia’s question, who was walking quickly among the many clergy with a calm smile.

“…I have some business at the border.”

“At the border?”

“Yes, but why are you here?”

When he asked why they were here.

“Recently, there have been problems at the border, so we are heading there to repair the gate, brother.”

Yuman intercepted the answer.

Yutia looked at Yuman with a slightly stiff smile, perhaps because the conversation was cut off.

However, Yuman didn’t seem to notice and added with a gentle smile.

“If you have business at the border too, let’s go together.”

Although it didn’t show on his face, Alon was delighted.

Because if he went to the border with him, he wouldn’t have to use the dog hole.

“…Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

Thanks to an unexpected windfall, Alon was able to enter the border with ease.

####

The ‘Allied Forces’ guarding the border.

As the name suggests, it is organized by conscripting soldiers and knights from five countries representing the United Kingdom, not just one nation.

And at this point, the commander of the Allied Forces was Kiriana, who was called the second sword among the five swords of Caliban a few years ago.

She was not surprised by the sudden appearance of the saint and the cardinal.

She had already received word from above.

Rather, the one who piqued Kiriana’s interest was the Marquis of Palatio, who had come with them.

Not only was he not mentioned in the report, but she had also owed him a favor in the north once before, and had not been able to properly greet him until now.

But that was only for a moment.

Kiriana found herself in a difficult situation.

No, it was actually a bit amusing.

The situation was this:

“……You can use me as the guarantor.”

“No, please use my name.”

It was a dispute over whose name to write as the guarantor for the Marquis.

The saint and the cardinal, who had come to repair the castle gate, did not need a guarantor, but the Marquis of Palatio needed a definite guarantor to follow them to the border area.

Not many guarantors were needed.

Only one.

In other words, only one of the two in front of her needed to write their name in the signature field.

But just for that one name to be written.

“……Saint? I will be the guarantor for you, so don’t worry.”

“No, Cardinal Yutia, I will do it, so don’t worry. I heard you find these things very uncomfortable.”

“Not at all, even if it’s someone else, but it’s you. This is not uncomfortable at all? Because it’s between you and me.”

“I feel the same way, brother. This is nothing between us, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

For over ten minutes, they had been in a standoff.

“……”

Kiriana looked at Yutia and Yuman’s faces.

Both had cool smiles on their lips, but their eyes were not smiling.

……Rather, it felt strangely eerie.

“Saint? How about you start giving up your stubbornness? It seems like the teacher is starting to feel uncomfortable.”

“How about you, Cardinal, give up your stubbornness?”

‘……No, what is this…….’

Even Kiriana, who had started to feel uncomfortable with the two clergymen’s increasingly aggressive wording, began to feel uneasy.

“Stop being stubborn.”

“Cardinal, I ask you, please. You did nothing when the brother was reprimanded at the last kingdom meeting, so there’s no need to exert yourself just because the brother is watching.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already sent the letter before the Saint even knew. I care much more about the teacher than the Saint does.”

In the now truly hostile atmosphere, Kiriana barely resisted the urge to hold her head.

‘What on earth is the Marquis of Palatio……?’

She looked at the cause of the dispute.

But Alon, too.

‘……Why are they like this?’

He was just as clueless.