I Became the Patron of Villains - Chapter 200



200. Sloth and Thunder (2)

“Give me back my divinity-!!”

With a face that seemed to contain all the grievances of the world, as if saying, ‘I’m really wronged!’

Alon swallowed his confusion and asked.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know, you took all my divinity!”

“……I took all your divinity?”

The girl looked even more resentful at Alon’s reaction.

‘What is this sound?’

Alon first thought calmly.

Why is the girl in front of him asking to return her divinity?

Then.

“Ah.”

Alon let out a low exclamation.

Thunder Serpent Quest.

NPC.

Always appearing.

Girl.

Thoughts connected one after another, leading to a long chain-

Finally, he reached a conclusion.

“…Kalanon?”

Uncertain, but the most reasonable inference at this point.

At that name,

“Why are you pretending not to know!?”

The girl – no, Kalanon – clenched her fists and shouted again.

Alon realized his inference was correct.

But still, he couldn’t understand.

“I took your divinity?”

That he had taken the divinity of Kalanon, the one struck by lightning.

Alon could not agree with that part.

He had never once.

Tried to take someone else’s divinity.

Nor had he ever tried to become a god voluntarily.

But to Alon’s question,

“Huh?”

Kalanon put her hands on her hips and shouted as if it was absurd.

“It’s not just that you took it! You turned me into a complete old hag!”

“Me?”

“Hey! You there! Can’t you see this!?”

Kalanon stretched his hand towards the empty air.

Then, in the space that was clearly the night sky with the Milky Way flowing.

The familiar statues began to appear one after another.

“Here you, there you, at the end there – and over there – and here too!!”

All of them were statues erected by the Thunder Snake tribe.

The girl, showing them while panting heavily, said.

“It’s all you, not me! Because of you! You’re taking all the faith that should come to me!”

She spat out her resentment.

Alon roughly understood the situation.

“Hmm, I roughly understand. But it’s funny to say this – I never acted to take away your divinity.”

“Does that make any sense?”

“I also think it doesn’t make sense, but…”

“Then are you saying that the believers who offered their faith to me are worshipping you for no reason? Why is the faith that should come to me going to you!”

As if to deny it.

Kalanon glared with eyes full of distrust.

But Alon was confident.

From noble mtl dot com

“I’m sorry to say this, but I am innocent.”

Really.

“I have never said or done anything to encourage this situation -“

Not… once?

“…”

Alon stopped speaking.

Because a hypothesis suddenly crossed his mind.

It was so obvious that he had overlooked it until now.

One fact that he had forgotten without paying much attention to it.

‘Could it be because of that passage?’

Alon had never once mentioned that he was the one who received the lightning, Kalanon.

Nor had he ever acted in such a way.

Moreover.

The one who receives the lightning did nothing to be suspected as Kalanon.

Yes, until he didn’t know the girl in front of him was Kalanon.

He was sure he was innocent, he thought.

[Under the low sky, I will come to you, so welcome the dawn with joy.]

Alon recalled.

The phrase he had uttered in front of the Thunder Serpent tribe.

That was it.

The phrase the girl had spoken, which made the Thunder Serpent tribe treat her as a noble guest.

That one time he used it as it was.

It was clear that it made Alon be mistaken for Kalanon.

“Ah.”

Only then did the puzzle of misunderstandings, which he couldn’t understand until now, start to fit together one by one.

One by one, the plausibility was established.

The sporadic doubts gradually resolved-

“Did you?”

However.

“See-! Did you!?”

From the girl Kalanon, who was stamping her feet in frustration.

“……”

Alon had no choice but to turn his gaze away slightly.

####

Alon had used that phrase.

He couldn’t know exactly how the faith gathered through some process.

But the conclusion was always one.

That he was mistaken for Kalanon ‘suddenly’ and took away the divinity that should have gone to her.

That was the conclusion of this story.

“……”

“……”

Alon looked at the girl.

The girl also stared, no, looked at Alon.

His conscience pricked at his unjust eyes.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and apologized.

“…That wasn’t my intention, but I apologize.”

A plain apology.

To this, Kalanon, with a voice full of resentment until now, said-

“Return-“

He tried to say something but.

“Huh?”

“?”

His pupils dilated and he closed his mouth.

“…Hey?”

“….”

“Is something wrong?”

Kalanon, who had stopped as if the screen had frozen.

While Alon tilted his head in confusion.

“…Ah, no.”

Kalanon replied awkwardly, like a rusty machine creaking into motion.

Then, erasing his aggrieved expression, he forced a smile.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize… Thinking about it, I’m not in a position to say anything to you.”

“…Suddenly?”

And now he’s even apologizing?

Alon was bewildered by the sudden change in attitude.

But she continued speaking firmly, with an awkward smile plastered on her face.

“Yes- Anyway, I wouldn’t have been able to help the citizens, and, uh- then I would have naturally been forgotten.”

Alon could easily understand the girl’s meaning.

In the game, Kalanon NPC appeared not at the beginning but after some progress had been made.

‘In reality, I did end up saving her using Eliban.’

After organizing his thoughts, Alon got to the point.

“So, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to return the divinity-“

“No no no no.”

Before he could even finish his sentence.

Kalanon began to shake his head violently.

“Never. Never, that’s not true. Yes, yes, of course…”

“…Didn’t you ask for your divinity back at first?”

“That’s true, but after thinking about it, I realized it’s impossible to get it back.”

“Why?”

Kalanon, who had barely stopped shaking his head, awkwardly clasped his hands together.

“Regardless of my resentment, the faith is already directed towards you. You know the basic principle of divinity, don’t you?”

“Faith accumulates and one can become a god, is that what you mean?”

“That’s right. And since you are already receiving faith as Kalanon, the one who receives the lightning, there’s no way for me to get the faith back.”

“Can’t I just go and explain it myself?”

“No matter how much you say you’re not Kalanon, that belief won’t easily be broken. Faith inherently uses belief as a conduit and symbolism as a destination to produce its results.”

The girl paused for a moment before adding.

“Even if you correct it and redirect the faith to me, my divinity would already be greatly weakened.”

“Why is that?”

“If the object of faith is changed suddenly, faith doesn’t accumulate easily, unless it’s a very long and gradual process.”

After pondering for a moment, Kalanon gave an example.

“Would you believe me if I said I was the primordial god?”

“…I wouldn’t easily believe it.”

“That’s how it is. Faith is built through absolute belief, and if the object changes, the belief itself inevitably weakens. Besides, I don’t have the power to manifest myself right now.”

“……”

“In other words, there’s no way for me to reclaim the faith from you.”

A voice that somehow scatters sadly.

“…Then what happens to you?”

“A forgotten god disappears.”

“But, aren’t you the real Kalanon?”

“I told you, there is no real Kalanon. Gods are ultimately beings created by their followers. Unless they are primordial gods-“

“They are determined by the believers.”

“That’s right.”

Alon felt awkward behind his expressionless face.

It wasn’t intentional.

But somehow, because he had acquired the divinity of Kalanon, the real Kalanon was now on the brink of extinction.

And through his conversation with the girl.

He realized why he could use the divinity of the primordial elf just by being ‘mistaken’ for it.

As he gained this sudden realization and felt a bit embarrassed.

“So, I was wondering, could you do me a favor?”

“A favor?”

Kalanon asked cautiously.

“Yes. Actually, it’s natural for me to disappear like a law, but I don’t want to be extinguished. Could you help me?”

“Do you know a way to avoid extinction?”

“Surprisingly, it’s not that difficult. It’s actually beneficial for you too.”

“…What’s the method?”

“You just need to learn how to handle Kalanon’s divinity from me.”

A method that wasn’t complicated, as the girl said.

“Will that keep you from disappearing?”

“Um- yes. To be precise, there’s a bit more ‘work’ to be done, but if you can fully handle Kalanon’s power, I can avoid extinction. I have my own way.”

“It’s an offer I have no reason to refuse.”

Indeed, it was.

It was rather beneficial for him.

As Alon nodded, Kalanon clapped her hands.

“Then, please find the symbol.”

“…Symbol? Wait, wasn’t that thing in the kingdom the symbol?”

“That was just a stone imbued with Kalanon’s power. The real symbol is elsewhere.”

At those words, as Alon was about to ask something.

Rumble-!

“!?”

Suddenly, the world began to collapse as if it were crumpling.

As a flustered Alon looked at Kalanon, the girl hurriedly opened her mouth-

“Uh, Alon? Please, I beg you. Uh- you have to come to the symbol within a week, okay?”

“A week?”

“Yes, there’s a strange guy near the symbol right now, but please, I beg you?”

“I’ll try.”

“Don’t just try, you must- do it, ple-“

Before she could even finish her sentence.

“Ah.”

“……Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Alon had returned to his original place.

To the palace he had walked into.

He turned his gaze and looked around.

He sighed quietly.

“First, let’s go.”

####

Upon arriving at the audience chamber, Alon faced the King of Luxible.

“……”

Exuding the majesty of a king beyond the name of a duchy.

The King of Luxible, Pamilono, looked down at Alon.

And beside him.

There was a very familiar face.

‘Jenira?’

Jenira, the quick-witted sister of Sircal, who had sought Alon at the previous ball.

She stood beside King Pamilono like a strategist.

Alon stared blankly at her for a moment.

Then he moved his body and approached Pamilono.

“Are you the Marquis of Palatio?”

A deep voice fell.

In response, Alon bowed his head familiarly to give a respectful greeting-

Clang-

-but couldn’t.

“?”

As she lifted her head again.

Pamillono was looking at Jenira with a bewildered face.

To be precise, at the shattered wine bottle piece in her hand.

“Sorry. I accidentally broke the bottle.”

Holding the neck of the wine bottle like a weapon.

Jenira apologized in a tone that didn’t sound sorry at all.

Drip- Drip-

“???”

Like blood.

Red drops slowly falling through the cracks of the broken wine bottle.

For a moment, Alon’s face was filled with confusion.

“Be careful.”

“Yes.”

“Ahem-”

Pamillono cleared his throat once more and said,

“Marquis Pallatio- Welcome to this place.”

He revealed a dignified majesty.

Crash-!

“…….”

Once again.

The wine bottle shattered.

“Oh my, I’m really sorry. I keep making ‘mistakes’.”

Didn’t she just smash it against the wall a moment ago? Alon thought, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Jenira, however.

Just stared at Pamillono, holding the broken wine bottle.

In that incomprehensible situation, Alon was about to tilt his head in confusion when-

“……Marquis Pallatio, welcome to this place.”

Unlike before.

The respectful tone of King Pamillono was heard.

“`

With him, watching Jenira nod her head.

“…Ah.”

Alon could roughly grasp how the situation in this kingdom was unfolding.

He could feel it deeply.

“`