Became the Patron of Villains

On the fifth day since departing for the royal capital, with about two days remaining until they reached Terea, the capital of Asteria, Alon was inside the carriage, reviewing a list.

“It might be best to take care of the others if possible.”
The list he was looking at was one he’d created over the past few days, detailing the villains from Psychedelia. 
They weren’t small-time criminals; these were the types that would cause real trouble if they started acting out.

“Thanks to Duke Altia and Count Zenonia conquering the underworld, a few of them have disappeared.”
Unfortunately, what Alon needed to be wary of in Psychedelia wasn’t so much the main underworld organizations, but the shadowy factions rooted within that world.
They wouldn’t show up at first, but once the player began acting, they’d suddenly appear and start causing chaos. 

These hidden organizations were strong, and there were several that posed a significant threat to his safety.
But it was unrealistic to deal with all of them just because they might be dangerous, so Alon decided to eliminate only the two most threatening groups.
“The Proxy and the Ghost Castle.”

In Alon’s experience playing, the Proxy and Ghost Castle weren’t particularly concerning when viewed from the player’s perspective in Psychedelia.
The Proxy, a small but elite group, was strong, but they only appeared if you followed a specific route.
As for Ghost Castle, it was similar—if you didn’t pursue the side quests in the Kingdom of Ashtalon, you wouldn’t encounter them.

However, the reason Alon considered these two groups to be the top priorities for elimination was that he was no longer a player but a noble of Asteria, and these organizations were plotting to overthrow the nation in the future.
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Of course, Alon had never seen their plans succeed.

By the time those groups were diligently preparing their schemes, the Five Great Sins would appear, obliterating the kingdom, making any plan to overthrow it irrelevant.
But now, in this world where the Five Great Sins had already been eradicated, who knew what could happen?
Moreover, the Proxy and Ghost Castle were known to assassinate many nobles in pursuit of their goals, so Alon believed these two absolutely had to be dealt with.

“…….If you include the Empire, there’s also the Bone Eater.”
Alon glanced eastward, toward the Empire, then shrugged.
The Allied Kingdoms ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ and the Empire were far apart, and most of the events happening in the Empire would be handled by the protagonist of that region.
“They said the in-game timeline is the same, so once the original story begins, the protagonist over in the Empire will start moving as well.”

While recalling faint memories from the past, Alon thought to himself unconsciously.
“The protagonist over there…………… was their name Palyan?”
The protagonist of the Empire.

To be precise, at the time when the original story of Psychedelia begins, a separate game by the same developers, ‘Calypsophobia’, would be progressing in the Empire.
In simple terms, ‘Psychedelia’ covers the events in the Allied Kingdoms, while ‘Calypsophobia’ focuses on the happenings in the vast neighboring Empire.
“Hmm…….”

Having thought this far, Alon stopped pondering any further.
He had only played the early part of ‘Calypsophobia’ before quitting, so he didn’t have much information. Besides, Alon didn’t need to concern himself with the Empire.
After all, the Empire and the Allied Kingdoms were strictly separated, and the only things they shared were a few items.

All the events in the Empire would be dealt with by Palyan, the protagonist of ‘Calypsophobia’, and their party.
Therefore, 
‘The Proxy and Ghost Castle…… How should I deal with these two?’

Alon sat in the carriage for a while, continuing to mull over the problem.
The next day arrived, and,
“Count, you can see Terea in the distance. We’re almost there.”

“Did we arrive a day early?”
“Yes, thankfully we made it with some time to spare.”
At Evan’s words, Alon glanced out the window at the scenery of Terea. 

Although he had seen it before, Terea’s landscape was still as grand as ever.
High, sturdy walls befitting the image of a nation’s capital.
As he gazed at it absentmindedly, Alon clicked his tongue.

If he had come to simply tour the capital, his heart would have felt rich and expansive, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
“I hope nothing major happens.”
As Alon gradually entered the inner part of Terea, he unknowingly wished that while watching the passing street scenes.

Of course, he wasn’t really expecting things to go smoothly.
After all, the fact that the Queen had specifically summoned Alon meant that there was something special he needed from him, and it was highly likely that it was related to Kalpha.
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‘………..Will things flow as I want them to?
In fact, Alon had thought of a rather decent plan on his way to the capital this time.
‘If the Queen mentions expanding my power here, I could pretend to be swayed a bit, reduce Kalpha’s influence slightly… and then keep pulling strings, maintaining a balance of power between the factions…’

It was merely a fantasy of his, without any advice from others or consideration of the current situation, but it was still one of the better ideas he could come up with at the moment.
In the first place, no matter what, it wasn’t a situation where he could openly oppose the Queen, so if things went that way, there was a high chance that Alon’s moderate involvement in factional maneuvering could prove useful.
“Sigh.”

He let out a soft sigh as he saw the royal palace drawing closer.
***
Late at night.

Despite it being a night where the moon hung high in the sky, Radan had not yet gone to bed and was waiting in his office.
The reason was that tonight was the regular meeting of the Blue Moon.
Although the meeting was still 20 minutes away, most of the members of the Blue Moon, except for Deus, had already gathered.

It wasn’t because something special had happened.
It was just that all members of the Blue Moon were always required to gather 30 minutes before a meeting.
In fact, the fact that Deus hadn’t yet shown up with only 20 minutes left until the meeting was a bit unusual, but something even more peculiar was happening.

[We’re getting married!]
[I told you last time, no!]
[We’re getting married!]

[I said no!]
Unlike the usual silent meetings, Yutia and Seolrang had been arguing for over 10 minutes before the meeting even started.
[Why not! You don’t have the right to stop me!]

[Still, the answer is no!]
[This is unfair!]
Seolrang was adamantly insisting on getting married, while Yutia was desperately trying to stop her.

Radan, watching this, thought to himself, ‘If she’s that determined, wouldn’t it be better to just secretly get married and report it afterward?’
But then again, ‘That might be tough.’
Considering Yutia’s personality and her unique fanaticism, no one could predict how she would react afterward, so Radan remained silent.

Time passed quietly as they continued to argue.
[Rine! Yutia is being so unfair!]  
With about 5 minutes remaining until the meeting, Seolrang, looking extremely upset, sought help. Radan turned his gaze toward Rine, but…

She appeared deep in thought, as if she hadn’t even heard Seolrang’s plea.  
Seeing this, Radan shrugged his shoulders.  
He hadn’t expected Rine to respond to Seolrang’s complaint anyway.  

However…
[Don’t take it too personally, Seolrang. Yutia has been assisting the Great Moon for much longer than any of us.]  
Radan’s face showed surprise at Rine’s unexpected words. He knew well that during the previous meeting, she hadn’t intervened in their argument, deeming it unworthy of her involvement.  

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[Eh~!]  
[See? Just listen quietly.]  

To be honest, Radan didn’t fully grasp how Yutia’s long service to the Great Moon related to the current situation.  
Nevertheless, seeing Rine show such a surprisingly fresh attitude, he relaxed a bit.
[Oh, now that I think of it, Yutia, I have a suggestion.]  

[Huh? What is it?]  
Perhaps feeling good about Rine taking her side, Yutia gave a pleasant smile, and Rine proposed an idea.  
[I was thinking of sending my own report soon, what do you think?]  

[Is that necessary? I’ve already summarized everything from your team and sent it.]  
[I know, but I wanted to report something regarding ‘Eye of the Tracker.'”]  
[If it’s about that, you could just tell me-]  

Yutia maintained her smile. However…
[Wouldn’t it be better if I delivered it directly rather than going through you?]  
As Rine continued, Yutia’s previously bright smile began to fade.  

[I’ve always handled the reports well so far, haven’t I?]  
[But this is about ‘Eye of the Tracker.’ I’d like to speak personally on that matter, as well as give my own report.]  
…..

[!]  
[!]  
Both Radan and Seolrang were shocked when they saw Rine smile slightly as she spoke.  

Despite spending over 8 years together since childhood, neither of them had ever seen Rine smile before.  
They were stunned for a moment.
[Eheh-!]  

[?]  
[?]  
[?]  

[Ah, excuse me, I just thought of something amusing.]  
As Rine suddenly smiled even wider, baring her fangs, everyone was left dumbfounded.
‘…………Could there be some sort of hypnotic artifact from the Great Moon at work?’ 

Seeing how drastically Rine had changed, Radan couldn’t help but think that.  
It was understandable—since meeting the Great Moon, both Seolrang and Rine had undergone significant changes, much like Deus had before them.  
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Their reverence for the Great Moon had become almost as fervent as Yutia’s, leading Radan to seriously consider whether the Great Moon possessed some kind of hypnotic artifact.  
Just as everyone was still reeling from Rine’s unusual grin…  
[Sorry, I’m a bit late.]  

Deus entered, right on time for the Blue Moon’s regular meeting.  
He briefly looked confused by the sight of the other members, who all had blank expressions on their faces, but quickly gathered his thoughts.  
[I apologize, but I need to urgently share something before the meeting begins.]  

As he spoke, the rest of the members, snapping out of their daze, turned their full attention to him.  
[It seems that an organization called ‘The Proxy’ is targeting the Great Moon.]  
At his words…  

[Huh?]  
[What?]  
[What did you say?]  

[Excuse me, what?]  
Everyone’s eyes lit up with intensity, each reacting strongly to the revelation.