I Became the Patron of Villains

37. The City of Colonies on the Desert (2)

Just after two weeks and three days had passed since Alon left the capital of the Kingdom of Asteria, Teria.

He was crossing the southern desert that he had to traverse before reaching the Colony.

“Phew-”

Alon glanced at the scorching sun, feeling as if his lungs were being cooked just by taking a breath.

“It’s disgustingly hot.”

At Evan’s voice, which came as he stared blankly at the sky, Alon nodded with difficulty.

No matter how good the carriage was, it couldn’t block out the heat.

“Ugh- If only I had an ice crystal-”

Evan mentioned an artifact that would cost as much as several mansions just to purchase one.

It was amusing to see him panting like a dog because of the heat, but Alon couldn’t laugh at Evan’s appearance.

The desert was, indeed, unbearably hot.

‘We should have arrived by now if we had moved a bit faster…’

A low sigh escaped Alon’s lips as thoughts flitted through his mind.

In reality, Alon had reached the edge of the desert just over a week after heading towards the colony. If he had entered the desert immediately, he might have arrived at the colony by now.

But there were two reasons why Alon couldn’t do that and continued to wander the desert.

One reason was that he had stopped by another territory to prepare a gift for Seolang in the colony.

‘Even if it’s our first meeting, it’s only polite to bring a gift, even if they don’t help.’

Anyway, because of that, despite having enough time to reach the colony, Alon was still traversing the desert under the scorching sun.

…Thinking about it coldly, whether he started early or late, the distance to cross the desert was the same, so nothing would change. But feeling the hot sun, Alon felt a strange sense of injustice.

“Hoo-“

How much time had passed since he felt that unreasonable emotion?

“We’ll camp here!”

As the boiling sun slowly descended into the sunset, Alon heard a voice from outside and stepped out of the carriage.

When he stepped out, he saw dozens of carriages lined up on the darkening ground, each with a small lantern hanging.

And this was the second reason why Alon had started late.

“It’s been five days since we’ve been seeing this, but the more I see it, the more stable it feels.”

Alon nodded at Evan’s words.

He was moving with a caravan crossing the desert.

He knew all too well that it wasn’t a good idea to cross the long desert to the colony alone.

“Excuse me, Count.”

While watching the merchants start preparing for camp at the command of the caravan leader, Evan spoke up.

“Why?”

“Aren’t you going to practice magic?”

Evan, trying to hide his excitement, asked with a hopeful expression.

Alon, momentarily puzzled, soon realized what Evan was talking about and replied.

“I plan to, but it will be different from the magic I’ve been researching so far.”

“Ah.”

Evan looked a bit disappointed, but Alon had no intention of changing his mind.

After months of research, practicing the magic he had now mastered perfectly held no meaning for him.

“……Can’t we practice just once?”

“No.”

“Ugh……”

Evan sighed regretfully at the firm response.

“Wow, it’s really…… flat. Anyone would think it’s a bug.”

As the sun slowly disappeared and the weather started to get chilly, Alon lit a campfire and followed Evan’s gaze.

There were five people where Evan was looking.

One was a man dressed in quite luxurious clothes, and the other was a woman with red hair that looked like it was made of flames. Behind them stood mercenaries holding various weapons.

‘The merchant leader and the red tower’s mage. They never miss a day.’

Alon knew them.

No, it was impossible not to know them.

The man groveling in front of the red mage and mercenaries was the leader of the ‘Golden Hair’ merchant group, and the mage in front of him had been picking fights with Alon lately.

“Wow, he stuffs his face every day without fail. Doesn’t he have any pride?”

Evan shook his head as he watched the merchant leader, who provided high-quality wine and food once a day, rubbing his hands together.

But both Evan and Alon knew why the merchant leader was groveling to the mage.

From the merchant leader’s perspective, getting close to the tower’s mage was very beneficial, but more importantly, the reason he was bowing his head so much was because she was the daughter of the red tower’s master.

Even though she hadn’t yet become the deputy tower master, she had reached the fourth rank at the young age of 23.

In other words, from the merchant leader’s perspective, where business acumen and connections were crucial, she was someone to be treated with utmost respect.

……Of course, objectively speaking, Alon was also in a position where he couldn’t be ignored in terms of necessary connections, but unfortunately, the person groveling to the mage seemed to have not heard the recent news that he had become the leader of a faction, and had given up on building a relationship with him without hesitation.

More precisely, it was highly likely that both sides wanted to build a relationship, but because the mage had created a point of contention with Alon, they had boldly given up on one side and focused on the other.

“……”

As Alon watched the merchant leader bowing his head in a daze, he soon realized that she was looking at him and turned his gaze away.

“Hmm. What are you looking at?”

Despite that, she quickly caught on and came to pick a fight, Rian Aguilar.

Alon replied as he looked at her.

“Just happened to.”

“Is peeping a hobby of yours?”

Rian started to pick a fight without hesitation.

Her voice carried a strange mix of contempt and ridicule.

“Not really, I don’t have such a hobby.”

“Is that so? My apologies. I thought someone who works so hard to create rumors would also have a peeping hobby.”

Alon sighed at her blatant provocation, even though he had answered her moderately.

‘What a nuisance.’

He didn’t know exactly why Rian had been picking fights with him all this time.

However, he could guess a few reasons why she mainly picked fights, one of which was because of the rumors.

The rumor that Alon had made a significant contribution with magic in dealing with foreign affairs, which spread mainly among the wizards of Caliban and the Blue Tower.

Ironically, Alon had never said a word about it, yet she seemed to firmly believe that he was the one who spread the rumor.

Another reason she picked fights with him was.

“I’ve told you several times, I didn’t spread the rumor.”

“Feigning ignorance, just like the Blue Tower.”

It seemed she hated the Blue Tower very much.

“……”

Alon chuckled behind his expressionless face.

Of course, even if Alon seemed suspicious to her, it wasn’t a common behavior in this world to blatantly pick fights like this.

Yet, Alon just listened to her provocations because they were so childish that he didn’t feel anything.

…Actually, that was just one of the reasons, the real reason was her status.

Unlike Fenia, she didn’t have any position in the Red Tower.

However, she had a bloodline more terrifying than any position in the Red Tower, being the daughter of the Red Tower Lord.

Of course, the Red Tower Lord wasn’t a major character in the game, as he died spectacularly when one of the Five Great Sins descended and destroyed the Red Tower.

In other words, it meant that the Red Tower Lord’s fiery nature didn’t fear even death.

…To put it more bluntly, it meant he was a madman.

And seeing the level of mercenaries sticking around her, even though she wasn’t strong enough to fight in the Fourth Dimension, showed how much the Red Tower Lord cared for her.

‘Well, it’s not like we’ll see each other after the crossing anyway.’

He was moderately ignoring her provocations.

“Hmph…”

Noticing that Alon was only moderately dealing with her, Rian frowned deeply and turned around, heading back to the carriage. Alon shook his head.

The next day.

Lad, the head of the Golden Hair Caravan, who traveled to various kingdoms except for the Empire, where it was impossible to enter with more than thirty carriages, smiled as he looked at the blazing sunlight.

Sweat dripped from his obese body, indicating how much his body was screaming from the heat, but a smile was still on his lips.

And for good reason, as he had the opportunity to build a connection with the daughter of the Red Tower Lord.

Moreover, if things went well, there was a chance he could secure a distribution right to regularly supply goods to the Red Tower in the city they were heading to, which made him feel happy even in the scorching heat.

‘…It would have been nice if I could have established a connection with the nobility.’

Rad turned his gaze back with a regretful expression.

At the end of the caravan, there was the carriage of Count Palatio, who was traveling with them, but Rad’s eyes showed no particular emotion except for a slight regret.

Rad knew very well from his long years of trade that he couldn’t catch two rabbits at once.

Moreover.

‘…With a magic skill of about the third rank, such rumors are indeed a bit unreasonable.’

Lian, the daughter of the Red Tower Lord, had mentioned several times the amount of magic power she felt from him, and from what he heard, Alon was spreading false rumors, so he didn’t feel too regretful about not being able to establish a connection with him.

Of course, if Rad had heard the latest rumors, the story might have been different, but unfortunately, he only knew that Alon had a connection with one of the Master Knights of Caliban.

Anyway, thanks to that, Rad was enjoying his trade journey in the scorching heat without much worry.

…Until just a moment ago.

“Everyone, prepare for battle-!”

He frowned at the sudden voice of a mercenary coming from the front row of the well-moving caravan.

If the mercenaries were telling them to prepare for battle in such a desert, there was only one reason.

‘Tsk, a bandit group…’

Thinking of the bandit groups that targeted caravans in this vast desert, Rad sighed, but there was no sign of tension on his face.

That was because the current Golden Foot caravan had dozens of mercenaries he had hired, as well as more than ten B-rank or higher mercenaries hired to escort the daughter of the Red Tower Lord.

In other words, it was clear that an ordinary bandit group would never be able to harm the caravan, so Rad had a relaxed expression.

But the moment he saw the huge flag in the distance, Rad’s face turned pale with fear, and his eyes widened.

The flag approaching with a cloud of dust in the distance was one that merchants should never encounter.

‘Blood Sand…!’

Rad’s face quickly turned to fear as he recalled the name of the bandit group.

Even at a glance, the bandit group, numbering in the dozens, each member had the strength of a knight.

Swish-!

As soon as Rad’s thoughts ended, one of the bandits running from the front threw a chain sickle at the mercenary in the lead, taking his life.

Thus began the fight.

No, the massacre.

As if they had no intention of negotiating from the beginning, the bandits quickly slaughtered the mercenaries protecting the carriage.

And so.

“Alright, up to here-“

In less than two minutes, a man walked out from among the Blood Sand Bandits who had killed most of the mercenaries.

Wearing an eye patch on one side and curved twin swords at his waist, the man turned his gaze in the middle of the gruesome massacre where most of the mercenaries had been slaughtered.

“Oh.”

He soon twisted his lips into a smile as he looked at the mage Liyan, who was filled with fear and tension among the elite mercenaries still holding out.

“Oh, there really is one? This is a real catch.”

A voice filled with excitement.

“Who are you, exactly?”

When Liyan frowned and asked, the man drew the curved sword from his waist.

“You’ll find out if you come with me.”

He then twisted his lips into a smile and infused his sword with magic.

Seeing the blue magic burning on the sword like a blazing flame, Liyan frowned, but inside, she felt a deep sense of despair.

It was because she realized that the aura burning from the man’s sword was of a level clearly different from other knights.

There was no way to escape from here.

…Perhaps she would face a fate worse than death.

“……”

As that thought crossed her mind, past traumas began to flash through Liyan’s head like a stream.

Her eyes held more fear than necessary.

The moment she felt the insidious trauma gnawing at her mind, making her whole body tremble just by thinking about it.

“……”

What brought Liyan back to her senses was-

“-?”

-The air.

The hyperventilation that came with the trauma stopped for a moment and was slowly exhaled.

Along with it, the white breath clearly visible to Liyan’s eyes.

The moment she saw it, Liyan suddenly realized.

The air that had been hot enough to scorch her lungs just a moment ago was now cold enough to chill her.

“What-“

As Liyan stared blankly ahead, she could see the man’s expression, which had been twisted into a smile just a moment ago, now filled with confusion.

The ground that had been hot just a moment ago was now cold, with frost forming on the sand.

And then.

Thud-

In the silence, the sound of footsteps was heard.

The bandits turned their gaze.

The mercenaries, who had been wearing tense expressions just a moment ago.

The man who had been aiming at Riyan with two curved swords.

Where Riyan, who had been floundering in trauma until just now, turned her gaze.

A man was walking.

Thud-

With steps neither fast nor slow.

Thud-

Expressionless, as if he felt no particular emotion about the situation itself.

Thud-

Letting the ashen magic flow from his bracelet into the cold air, the man finally stopped walking-

“Ilsoon (一巡)”

-Count Palatio murmured the phrase.