I Became the Patron of Villains

148. Secret (1)

Alon, whose thoughts temporarily stopped at the sight of Seolang’s sparkling eyes, let out a low sigh.

‘Well, I had been thinking about it.’

In fact, he did remember the promise he made with Seolang.

When he made that promise with Seolang, he had also made a commitment to the Yongin tribe for two years later.

However, the reason he was a bit taken aback was that Seolang was more serious than he had thought.

‘…No, I knew she was serious back then too.’

There were two main reasons why he had told Seolang to think about it in two years.

First, as someone who had to care for Seolang’s mental state in some way, he knew she would be disappointed if he promised too long a period, so he had set a rough period of two years.

Second, he thought that by then, Seolang’s affection (?) would have decreased.

The affection Seolang showed him was more like familial attachment than romantic feelings.

Alon was already aware of this.

To put it bluntly, it was like a young daughter saying to her father, ‘When I grow up, I’ll marry you!’

So he thought that after about two years, it would have subsided to some extent, and the promise could be glossed over.

No matter how much daughters cling to their fathers, they gradually become independent as they grow up.

Moreover, two years ago, Seolang was already an adult in the fantasy world, but by Alon’s standards, she was still young.

‘…Actually, she doesn’t look much different now.’

Alon looked at Seolang, who was smiling brightly with her legs wrapped around his waist.

Her pure, unblemished smile, which seemed to have no worries in the world, was like that of a child.

It made the hearts of those who saw it feel at ease.

If I had to describe it, I would say it was an untainted purity.

From noble mtl dot com

…In other words, it means he hasn’t matured much mentally over the past two years.

Anyway, while Alon was pondering what to say amidst various thoughts.

“Surlang.”

“Huh? Ah! Rine! What brings you here?”

Surlang, who was momentarily surprised by the voice, smiled brightly again.

Rine also greeted Surlang with a gentle smile.

“I had some errands to run, so I came along with the godfather.”

“I see-“

“By the way, Surlang. It seems like the two years the godfather mentioned haven’t fully passed yet, shouldn’t we wait a bit longer?”

“Oh- is that so?”

Surlang tilted her head in confusion.

Not missing the opportunity, Alon immediately continued.

“Well- there are a few months left.”

“Eh-“

Surlang’s expression turned sour, but only for a moment.

“Well, it’s okay! It means I can get an answer in a few months!”

She wagged her tail and regained her bright demeanor.

Seeing her unshaken, Alon was momentarily at a loss for words,

“…Alright, let’s talk again in a few months.”

“Got it, mentor!”

For now, he decided to be satisfied with the postponement.

####

Shortly after.

Alon’s party moved to Surlang’s guild.

“Wow! What’s this!? So cute!”

As soon as they entered the slightly chilly guild office, a black cat popped out of the pocket on his chest.

Surlang’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the black cat.

Thud-!

Before Alon could stop her, Surlang immediately picked up the black cat.

Alon, who was about to speak, and Evan, who couldn’t help but let out a playful smile at the situation that was about to unfold.

Just as the two had expected.

Thud-!

Immediately, Kkamang’s entire black body was covered with randomly scattered red eyes.

However.

“Wow! You have so many eyes now!”

“?”

“?”

Despite the creation of dozens of grotesque eyes in an instant, instead of finding it creepy, Seolang lifted Kkamang higher, as if fascinated, leaving Evan dumbfounded.

Kreeeeek-!!!

As if not to be outdone, Kkamang opened its mouth on its body and let out a monstrous sound.

“Wow! You even have a mouth now! Amazing!!!”

With eyes shining even brighter, Seolang now spun Kkamang around in the air as if giving it a plane ride.

“…This isn’t right?”

Evan was stunned.

[……??]

Kkamang, too, reverted to its normal appearance.

As if it couldn’t fathom the situation, it tilted its head slightly with a somewhat trembling gaze.

Kreeeeek-!

Kkamang let out another scream.

However.

“Ah! Wait a moment!”

Seolang disappeared somewhere with Kkamang, only to reappear in an instant, arms full of something.

And soon after.

“Wow! So cool!”

“……”

“……”

Suddenly, Kkamang was dressed in a cute knight doll outfit, held up like a doll in Seolang’s hand.

[……Kyu?]

Kkamang’s eyes widened as if to say, “What on earth is happening?”

In a situation where he had lost even the will to threaten, perhaps because it was so absurd.

“Do it again! Like before, with a lot of snow,”

[Kyuu?]

“I think that would be cooler!”

Seollang, excitedly wagging his tail.

At that sight.

“……Um, Seollang’s standards of beauty seem to be a bit different from ours, what do you think?”

“……Yeah.”

“Right?”

Unlike the two people who were dumbfounded, Rine watched with a pleased look.

But only for a moment.

By the time Kkamang was sweating profusely.

[What’s all this noise!? ……Huh? Puhahahaha, what is that!]

Basiliora, who had come out grumbling as if annoyed, found Kkamang in a cute knight’s outfit and laughed.

“A talking snake?!”

Seollang immediately put Kkamang down and grabbed the spirit form of Basiliora.

[Kek! Wh-what!?]

Basiliora gasped for breath in shock.

But Seollang, with a look of having found another interesting toy, stared intently at Basiliora.

“Should I dress you up too? I have some clothes left.”

[What nonsense! This great god would never wear clothes fit for a doll- wait, wait!]

He started humming a tune as he began the makeover(?).

At the bizarre scene repeating once more, Alon, Evan, and this time even Rine were momentarily speechless.

####

The next day after arriving at the colony.

“Godfather, then I’ll be off for a while.”

“Understood. How long will it take?”

“Hmm- I think about a day or two. Why?”

“If you don’t come back within that time, I’ll assume something went wrong and come to rescue you.”

Rine paused for a moment.

Soon, she set off on her way, leaving behind a gentle smile and words of gratitude.

Shortly after, Alon also headed to the ruins early in the morning.

‘…Should I ask about what Laenisius said and the ritual?’

As he was organizing his thoughts.

“Seolang.”

“Why?”

Evan pointed his chin at the small snake, as if curious.

“…How do you handle Basilio?”

“How do you handle it?”

“Yeah, Basilio is in a spirit state.”

In response, Seolang made a crackling sound with his hand and answered as if it was nothing.

“Hmm- by passing the Trial of Essence?”

“Trial of Essence?”

“Yeah, this thing that the master gave me.”

Seolang showed the gauntlet on his hand and added.

“When you pass the Trial of Essence, you get one ability at a time- but no one outside our race can use it.”

“…That’s a really good item.”

Evan admired.

Before long, Alon, who had been listening to the conversation, also exclaimed inwardly.

He knew there was a secret hidden in the essence Seolang possessed, but he didn’t know it was like that.

“So, does your ability increase one by one as you pass each trial?”

“Hmm- that’s right?”

“So how many abilities have you gained?”

“…Five?”

“How many trials are there in total?”

At Evan’s question, Seolang counted on his fingers for a moment and then shouted.

“Ah, eight!”

“Eight?”

“Yeah! But I haven’t passed the sixth trial yet.”

“Why?”

“Condition is anger? It’s something I have to do, but there’s no particular reason to? According to Jeongsu’s story, this is the turning point.”

“Turning point?”

“Yeah, to see if you have the qualifications of a king or not… something like that?”

At Seollang’s words, Evan nodded with an “Hmm-” and shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, you’re taking it easy now, right? You’re strong enough at this point.”

“No?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? To get revenge, I have to be stronger than I am now. The same goes for protecting my benefactor.”

“…Marquis?”

“Yes!”

When Evan glanced at Alon and tilted his head,

“Isn’t the Marquis strong enough now that no one needs to protect him?”

“I still want to protect him!”

Seollang lifted the black cat he was holding high and shouted proudly.

At that, Alon unknowingly smiled faintly.

Receiving someone’s kindness was quite a pleasant thing.

How long had they been crossing the desert while having such small talk?

“We’ve arrived!”

With Seollang’s cheerful voice, they finally entered the ruins.

Right after arriving at the ruins.

As usual, Alon went straight into the tower in the center of the ruins.

[It’s been a while.]

As soon as he saw the dragonkin looking at him as if waiting, he muttered to himself.

“…Blue?”

[Oh, it seems you can see a little now.]

Unlike before, when he could only see black shadows and white, this time he could see that the dragonkin’s eyes were blue.

For a moment, he stared at the dragonkin’s eyes with a curious expression.

Alon soon regained his composure and got to the point.

“……There are many stories accumulated over the past two years, do we have enough time?”

[Well- don’t worry. Although I did put some effort into refining the thing you left behind, we still have plenty of time to talk.]

With that, Alon organized his thoughts and began with the story of the observer from two years ago.

And then.

[Wait, so you- couldn’t see the past after all?]

“Yes, instead, what I saw was an eye.”

[……That can’t be right?]

The humanoid, listening to Alon’s story, tilted his head in confusion.

[Explain exactly what the situation was.]

Alon explained the situation in more detail.

From looking into the mirror to the words spoken by the eye in a place that seemed like the universe.

The humanoid, who had been quietly listening, tapped his chin for a while and then summarized what Alon had said.

[So, what you’re saying is, just before you could see the past, a gigantic eye blocked it. An eye so enormous that it’s unbelievable.]

“Yes.”

The humanoid fell silent and pondered again.

For quite a long time.

Just as doubts began to creep into Alon’s mind.

[Do you remember the past?]

“……The past?”

[Yes, when you asked me about the ‘black thing’.]

Alon nodded.

“You said something about gaining favor with a high god, didn’t you?”

This time, the humanoid nodded.

[Yes, back then, I certainly told you that. Because I had a rough idea about the black and blue things.]

“……But why are you asking about that now?”

The humanoid put on a serious expression.

[To put it briefly, it seems I made a wrong assumption.]

“……You misinterpreted the information?”

[Yes, the ability of the bronze mirror to record history is absolute, as you might have heard from the observer. Interfering with the bronze mirror- even the ‘black thing’ or ‘blue thing’ I originally thought of can’t do that.]

“……Is it really that difficult to interfere with the bronze mirror?”

[The black and blue things I had anticipated were, in the end, those who had succeeded in sealing more than half of their power in the fight against the black things, even if they had lost their names.]

To put it bluntly, they were among the top five of our gods, added the Yongin tribe.

He took a moment to catch his breath and continued.

[Even so, it is impossible for them to interfere with the power of the Donggyeong.]

“Why is that?”

[Because that Donggyeong was created in a generation far before ours – a generation that cannot be observed. In other words, being able to interfere with something created in that previous generation means…]

The Yongin tribe let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

[…it means they are a far higher existence than the five gods of the past.]

He uttered such words.