I Became the Patron of Villains

212. The North…? (3)

Inside the office.

Alon stared blankly ahead.

In front of him were two people—no, an elf and a lizardman.

One was the elf Lim, who was radiating unwavering faith towards Alon.

Unlike when they first met in Greynif, her eyes were now sparkling brightly, and she stood in a very polite posture.

The other was the lizardman Kurak, who had visited Alon not long ago, exuding the same cheerful energy as before.

“……”

Alon raised his hand cautiously to rub his temples as he looked at the two.

“So, what did you say?”

“We came to ask who should be in charge of the escort.”

“You just need to decide, my friend! We will handle the rest!”

Lim bowed her head politely, while Kurak burst into hearty laughter.

“No……”

But of course.

What Alon wanted to ask was not a simple conclusion.

First of all, Alon did not know why Lim and Kurak were here together.

More importantly, he did not understand how this situation had come about.

He understood the meaning of ‘providing an escort,’ but.

Why such a conversation had started and progressed to this point.

He had no idea.

‘……Even if I concede a hundred times and understand the elves, why the lizardmen?’

Especially since Kurak was the questionable one, his gaze naturally turned to him.

“Hmm- As expected, the Marquis’s insight is accurate. We are indeed stronger than the pointy-eared ones.”

“This guy-”

He was just looking at them with a complicated mind, without any particular thought.

Kurak drank kimchi soup with all his might, while Lim frowned.

Alon had only been in the office for less than 30 minutes, but he had already sighed several times.

“……I think some explanation is needed first. Can you tell me exactly what the situation is?”

“Ah…… I will explain right away.”

Startled by Alon’s request, Lim immediately stood at attention.

There was no need to be so strict, he thought.

But it was clear that telling them to relax would not work, so Alon quietly listened to her explanation.

After a short while.

“……So, you’re saying that you’re deciding who will be my guard because of that reason.”

“Yes.”

“That’s right.”

“…….”

Rim and Kurak nodded confidently.

Alon was inwardly flustered, despite his expressionless face.

Because his will was not involved at all in their conversation and conclusion.

‘Of course, being guarded itself isn’t that bad…….’

From Alon’s perspective, it was honestly tempting.

In a dark fantasy world full of threats, the more guards, the better.

However, Alon’s concern was that.

This guard rivalry was also partly based on a misunderstanding.

He roughly understood why the elves were acting under a misconception.

But he had no idea what was going on with the lizardmen.

‘No, seriously, how are these guys misunderstanding and acting……?’

Of course, he could infer something based on Kurak’s previous remarks.

But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t guess how things had escalated to the point of a guard fight with the elves.

Even though he had just heard the explanation…….

After pondering for a moment, Alon spoke.

“……I appreciate the thought, but I don’t really need a guard.”

“Ah-“

“Hmm-“

Rim and Kurak sighed softly.

Alon felt a slight regret but steeled his heart.

Receiving a guard without any cost.

It was very tempting, but it was like a seductive trap.

All of this stemmed from a misunderstanding.

Of course, it wasn’t Alon’s intention, but they had simply misunderstood.

Anyway, Alon benefited from their misunderstanding.

But if he went further and tried to gain the advantage of having a guard—

What if the elf or lizardman, who would be constantly by his side, saw Alon’s actions and realized they had been mistaken?

He would suffer losses greater than what he had gained so far.

‘Besides, now that divinity is accumulating.’

Thinking of the divinity that had already accumulated to some extent, Alon secretly sighed and looked at the two.

For now, he had to maintain it.

Their misunderstanding.

“So, I will refuse the guard.”

“……Is that so.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Rim and Kurak couldn’t hide their disappointment.

“Understood, since you insist, I won’t mention it again.”

“I will follow the words of the First Elf.”

Kurak bowed deeply, and Rim, now unabashedly calling him the First Elf, also bowed.

With the situation settled.

As Alon lightly sighed after sending them off, Evan shrugged his shoulders.

“Now they’re desperate to guard you.”

“……I don’t know why they’re like that either.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, Evan made a thoughtful expression.

Then, as if he had remembered something, he raised a finger and pointed to one side.

“Ah, Marquis. Did you see that?”

“That?”

“Yes, that.”

Following Evan’s hand, Alon glanced out the window.

There stood a giant statue that Deus had gifted Alon for his birthday.

“……?”

There was definitely no sign of it when Alon left-

A statue with ‘huge horns’ attached.

“……When did it get horns?”

Alon asked, and Deus answered as if he had been waiting.

“I heard that Deus had contacted them in advance. So, the remaining personnel came on a business trip and attached them before we arrived.”

“……Is it possible to easily attach and detach parts of a statue?”

“Normally, it would be impossible- but I heard that if there’s a wizard, it’s possible. Though it’s a bit expensive.”

Alon stared blankly at the statue with his mouth open.

A statue that had now become something other than human, with two huge horns attached-

As if it had returned from hell, commanding, ‘Stand up, you too!’ with a thunderous roar.

‘……It’s more embarrassing than I thought.’

Alon sighed lowly once again.

####

Two months had passed since Lim and Kurak visited the Marquis of Palatio.

When winter had fully set in and snow was painting the world white.

“Let’s stop here.”

“Oh, already?”

“Yes, it’s more tiring than I thought.”

“Got it.”

Alon was engrossed in magical research with Fenia.

More precisely, in the research of divinity and magic.

Alon, panting heavily, exhaled hot breaths several times.

Fenia handed him a towel and said,

“Still, it seems like you’ve almost achieved the correct implementation with this.”

“Indeed.”

“Yes, but no matter how many times I see it, it’s still amazing. Converting mana into lightning. I had an inkling when you first showed your divinity, but seeing it in person every time is still fascinating.”

Well, that’s why the magic we’re making now is actually possible- Fenia added.

Alon nodded and asked,

“Haven’t you seen something even more amazing?”

“That’s true. Even though you converted mana into lightning, it changed again to match the Marquis’s seal. Just like Kkamang.”

Penia gestured towards the black cat on the desk with a nod.

[Meow?]

The black cat, tapping the magic potion, looked at Penia and Alon.

“It’s definitely worth researching.”

“Always grateful. Thanks to you, the research is progressing quickly.”

“I’m getting what I deserve too. The research is fun.”

After lightly praising Penia, whose face was filled with pride.

Alon sat down and organized the things he had learned while researching divinity over the past two months.

There were three main points.

First, to use divinity in manifestation, one must clearly recognize the abilities of the divinity.

Second, for manifestation, one must clearly recognize the trigger.

The third and final point was that two divinities could not be used simultaneously.

In other words, Alon, who was using the divinity of Kalanon, could not use any other divinity.

‘Exceptionally, the divinity of the primordial elf could be worn, but.’

However, the divinity of the primordial elf could not be manifested either, perhaps because its abilities were not properly understood.

‘……Should I go to Greynif and ask about the power?’

Alon had recently been contemplating how to accurately recognize the power of the primordial elf.

“Ah, Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“I heard you’re moving next month, is that correct?”

At the question, Alon nodded.

“Yes, I’ll probably move next month.”

In fact, if it were just Caliban, he could move more leisurely.

But he intended to move earlier to visit Asteria.

‘Because I have to meet Siyan.’

He had to report to her about his visit to Greynif.

At Alon’s answer, Penia slowly nodded and said.

“Hmm- by then, this research will be over.”

“Indeed. Only the tuning remains now.”

“Still, just in case, even if the tuning is perfect, it would be better to refrain from using it in actual combat. It’s certainly groundbreaking, but there’s still quite a bit of risk.”

Penia muttered to herself, wishing she could conduct research more frequently.

Alon agreed with her.

The current speed and amount of divine power accumulation were insufficient for conducting research without limitations.

‘Well, it’s still a lot more than in the beginning.’

When they first started research at the Marquis’ house.

In fact, they could only conduct research once every three days.

But now, they could almost conduct research once a day.

As Alon recalled this fact, a question arose in his mind.

‘…Huh? Come to think of it, why is the divine power accumulating so much?’

He hadn’t properly considered it before, but now that he thought about it, it was a bit strange.

Thanks to the incident in the jungle last time, faith might be accumulating better.

But even considering that.

The power they could use once every three days could now be used almost once a day?

Alon immediately entered a state of contemplation and expanded the divine power of Kalanon.

And then.

“???”

He could see it.

Just three months ago.

Around the divine power of Kalanon itself and the star of Silly, which directly transferred power, there was nothing but pitch-black darkness.

But now, a blue nebula had formed around it.

‘…What?’

His face was filled with confusion for a moment.

Since he couldn’t continue thinking in Penia’s office.

Alon hurried back to his office.

“Marquis, did you know?”

“What is it?”

“Silly has become a saint.”

“…What?”

He received the news that made his head go blank, without even having time to continue his thoughts.