I Became the Patron of Villains

165. …Huh? (4)

After briefly discussing the gift for the Great Moon.

The meeting began to proceed normally again.

Of course, there were moments when Deus suddenly brought up the Great Moon, or when Seollang interrupted the flow by saying, ‘I’ll be the gift!’

Nevertheless, the meeting, which progressed a bit more smoothly than usual, began to show signs of ending just before dawn.

When everyone was about to say their closing remarks.

[Seollang.]

[Huh?]

Suddenly, Deus called out to Seollang.

[But, why are you holding your ears like that?]

Seollang was pressing her ears shut with her hands.

Not just once or twice, but throughout the entire meeting, she would press her ears whenever she had the chance.

Deus was puzzled by this new peculiar habit.

As everyone’s eyes turned to her, Seollang let out an ‘Ah-‘ sound and then flashed a bright smile.

[My mentor did it for me!]

[…The Great Moon did that for you?]

[Yeah! Like this, like this!]

Even though no one asked, Seollang began to recount everything that had happened in the colony.

[That’s how it happened!]

As soon as her story ended, the moons each let out their own exclamations.

[……The Great Moon showed a genuinely worried expression.]

[That’s, interesting.]

Deus and Radan wore envious expressions.

Knowing Alon’s usual impassive face.)

The fact that the Great Moon showed such emotions to Seollang, even for a moment, held great significance for them.

[…….]

Even Rine, who had been with them in the colony for a few days, looked at Seollang with a strangely envious, sulky face.

But.

[Of course, Seollang. The Great Moon cares about ‘us’. It’s only natural to worry when one of us, like you, is in danger, right?]

Only Yutia maintained her usual smile.

A subtle smile that showed no change in emotion.

Seollang stared at Yutia for a moment, then suddenly shrugged his shoulders triumphantly as if he had realized something.

[But, I saw the Great Moon smile!]

[……The Great Moon, smiled?]

[Yes!]

When Deus barely managed to ask, Seollang nodded vigorously.

Yutia’s lips also twitched slightly.

[……That must have been because he was worried about you.]

But Yutia still hadn’t lost her smile-

[Nope! He just smiled while we were talking!]

Thud-

A sudden change in the atmosphere.

[…….]

Yutia’s mouth clamped shut.

Seollang, feeling even more triumphant, shrugged his shoulders.

[You’ve never seen the Great Moon smile, have you, Yutia?]

Seollang made a V sign with his hand as if to say, “I won!”

Hidan, who had been silently observing the situation, had a peculiar expression.

Of course, whenever the Great Moon was mentioned, the Moons generally showed somewhat childish reactions, but even considering that, Seollang’s provocation was… to be honest, a bit more childish.

‘……The Red Moon wouldn’t get angry over something like this-‘

Hidan turned his gaze towards Yutia with certainty.

But soon, he couldn’t help but open his mouth.

The smile that had been unchanged on Yutia’s face until a moment ago.

[…….]

“…….”

It was clearly out of place for anyone to see.

……In other words, it was evident that he was scratched by Seolang’s words to an undeniable extent.

Hidan cautiously lowered his eyes.

[Right!? I knew it- So I’m the first one to see the teacher’s smiling face?]

Seolang, thinking he had won against Yutia for the first time, shrugged his shoulders and chattered away, oblivious to the situation.

But only for a moment.

[Hmm! The teacher, you know, pressed my ear like this…….]

Seolang, who had been boasting excitedly for a few minutes, soon began to drag his words and started to notice the atmosphere.

[…….]

Because Yutia was no longer smiling at all.

The moment Seolang realized that he had been too intoxicated with his sense of victory.

[Hmm, I have something to do now, so I should get going. The meeting seems to be over, so I’ll leave first.]

Radan, who had an uncanny grasp of the situation, mentioned a task that couldn’t possibly exist at this early hour and disappeared from the screen.

[……Me too, I have a knight meeting next.]

Likewise, Deus immediately escaped from the meeting.

Just as Hidan was thinking that there could have been a better excuse than a dawn meeting.

[……I’ll go too. I have something to do.]

[……Huh?]

Rine, who had been glaring at Seolang with a slightly dissatisfied expression, also made her exit.

Only then did Seolang realize that something was wrong.

And soon.

From noble mtl dot com

[Hik…….]

Seolang, who discovered the sneer on Yutia’s lips, unknowingly let go of the ear he was holding.

The freed ear instinctively folded back.

Seollang, who had been rolling his eyes around, slowly started to back away,

[I’m, I’m going to leave now-!]

and bolted.

And then.

The two people who remained in the meeting until the end.

Hidan and… a very angry Yutia.

Hidan, who cautiously raised his head, realized.

That he had missed the timing to leave.

‘What should I do?’

Hidan felt suffocated.

The other members must have known and fled.

How terrifying it becomes the moment Red Moon gets even a little angry.

Of course, she doesn’t mercilessly deal with her allies, but just the anger itself was frightening.

Worried that the misplaced anger might focus on him, Hidan quietly slipped out of the screen and held his breath.

The next moment.

[Hoo-]

What reached his ears was not an angry voice, but a small sigh from Yutia.

Hidan, who had successfully slipped out of the screen, sneakily checked the still-on screen with a sidelong glance.

There was Yutia, her cheeks slightly puffed up.

‘Puffed up, cheeks…?’

With a slightly sulky expression and a blush on her face, she.

[I’m thinking about it the most…]

She muttered quietly, as if complaining, and ended the call.

“…???”

Hidan was stunned by the fresh side of Red Moon he had never seen before.

Soon he realized.

That because he had slipped out of the screen, Red Moon thought all communications were over and had relaxed.

It didn’t suit Red Moon, but paradoxically, it felt like he had finally seen her as a unique individual.

As if he had seen a mirage, Hidan stared into the void.

‘I must forget.’

He quickly grasped the situation and broke into a cold sweat.

Really, if by any chance, Lord Jeokwol finds out about this.

…That day would be the end of him.

Therefore.

‘I must erase everything from my mind.’

He firmly resolved inwardly.

####

It had been about two months since Alon met the top of the Green Forest.

The ball was approaching, and the developments of the original story he knew well began to flow into Alon’s ears.

“…With this, it’s practically complete.”

“Indeed.”

Facing Penia, Alon dispelled the new magic they had just successfully tuned.

“Thank you. If you hadn’t helped, it would have taken much longer.”

“Hmph- Don’t mention it.”

Though the response was humble, Penia’s shoulders subtly lifted.

‘Did you see that? This is how good I am!!’ Alon, who smiled faintly behind his indifferent expression, asked.

“When is the next conference?”

“Ah, now… it’s about three months from now… right?”

“Then let’s go to the conference together. Since you kept your promise, I will keep mine.”

“Thank you!”

Penia bowed deeply, as if she had obtained the world’s treasure.

Alon, who was looking down at his hands for a moment, sat down.

“By the way, it would be meaningless to try more combinations now, wouldn’t it?”

“Um- based on our research so far, it seems we would need to do a bit more experimentation to create something better than this…”

‘No way, is he planning to do more?’ Penia’s expression became visibly anxious.

Alon lightly shook his head.

“Well, don’t worry. I’m not that shameless.”

“Ah, yes…”

Isn’t he already shameless?

Penia didn’t bother to voice the thought that briefly crossed her mind.

“But, your magic is a bit peculiar, Marquis.”

“What part are you referring to?”

“…The, powerful part. The way the magic is structured and the molecular arrangement is the same, but strangely, the power keeps increasing.”

“…Can you clearly feel that?”

Penia hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Well, if you look at it day by day, it’s negligible, but if you compare it to two months ago, there’s definitely a noticeable difference.”

“…Indeed.”

Alon nodded unconsciously.

Of course, it wasn’t that Alon secretly trained at night or tried new arrangements without Penia knowing.

The terribly small mana hole didn’t allow Alon such luxuries.

Nevertheless, the reason his power was gradually increasing was probably due to his divine status.

‘…I don’t know where it’s coming from, though.’

As Alon was thinking that.

“Th-“

“Why?”

“If it’s alright with you, could you give me a hint… about the reason?”

Penia asked cautiously, rolling her eyes around.

She seemed to be scared of something, but her curiosity seemed to overcome that fear, and Alon pondered for a moment.

He couldn’t reveal that the reason his power was increasing was due to his divine status.

After thinking it over, he said.

“…I’ll tell you next time.”

“R-really? Thank you!”

After roughly glossing over it, he left the second office – which had practically become Penia’s laboratory.

‘Well, now that I’ve replenished my mana, shall I move on?’

Alon took out the ‘Footsteps of the Past’ from his bosom and checked it.

At first, the ‘Footsteps of the Past’ was just pitch black, but it had now turned blue.

Unlike before, it now meant it was in a usable state.

‘…It was quite a hassle to infuse mana into it… Well, it’s not time to use it yet, though.’

While conducting magic experiments, he had steadily infused mana into the artifact to make it usable.

Recalling the rather difficult past, he organized his schedule in his mind.

‘……First, go to the ball. Then, stop by Lartania, use the Feet of the Past to meet Kylerus, and after that, go to the ruins to retrieve the item.’

Without any rest, Alon immediately left the marquis’ house as planned.

A few weeks later, when Alon and his party arrived in Teria, where the ball was being held.

In the Holy Kingdom of Rosario.

“Hello, Cardinal Utia.”

“Yes, it’s been a while, Selector.”

Cardinal Utia and Selector Elivan exchanged greetings.

With a deep smile that seemed to hide something.