I Became the Patron of Villains - Chapter 216



216. The Darkness of the North (3)

“Welcome, Marquis!”

“Have you arrived, Marquis……”

As soon as Alon entered the office, Silly greeted him energetically, while Deus, looking somewhat soulless, barely managed to bow his head.

Alon inquired about their well-being.

“So, have you both been well?”

“Yes! Thanks to the grace you have bestowed upon us, we have been very happy!”

“The same goes for me as well……”

Their responses were also contrasting.

Silly chattered with her face forward, while Deus’s face showed clear signs of fatigue.

With a peculiar expression, Alon looked at the two and spoke to Silly.

“By the way, I heard the story.”

“Oh, what story……?”

In that moment, the word “multi-level marketing” almost slipped out of habit.

Alon barely swallowed it back and pondered how to express this.

…Having thought of it as multi-level marketing for so long, a substitute term didn’t come easily.

After a brief contemplation, Alon cleared his throat.

Fortunately, though with difficulty, a word came to mind.

“We’re conducting relief activities with the power of Kalannon.”

“Yes, I’m grateful for the power given by the Marquis, and I’m striving hard not to be ashamed as a recipient.”

“…Is that so.”

“Yes!”

Silly exclaimed with a bright smile.

Well, it’s nice to see her smiling…

After stopping further thoughts, Alon patted Silly’s shoulder.

“Just in case, don’t overdo it.”

Of course, from Alon’s perspective, the more Silly worked hard to gather faith, the better.

But he didn’t want to burden her, Deus’s sister, too much, so he said that.

“Oh- ho, have I done something wrong?”

As soon as she heard that, Silly’s eyes welled up as if the world had collapsed.

Alon was inwardly flustered by the unexpected reaction.

“Just to clarify, it’s not that. Of course, what you’ve done is more than helpful.”

“Then-“

“It’s pure concern. Relief activities aren’t as easy as they sound.”

Fortunately, the misunderstanding was quickly resolved.

Silly’s face bloomed into a smile again as if nothing had happened.

“Don’t worry about that part! I’m not overdoing it at all!”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes! And I think it’s okay to overdo it a little. I’m the saint serving the Marquis, so this is my mission!”

Silly exclaimed with a face full of responsibility, as if she had a great mission.

Deus, standing next to her, clicked his tongue enviously.

But Alon, who had instilled this enormous sense of responsibility in Silly, said,

“Right.”

From noble mtl dot com

Behind the expressionless face, there was a hint of bewilderment.

‘Did I ever say something like that…?’

Well, I had thought about it since I heard the news that Silly was being called a saint.

Alon never mentioned any specific mission when he handed over the power to Silly.

Is that all?

He didn’t instill any sense of responsibility, nor did he ever say anything about appointing Silly as a saint.

But.

“I will continue to work hard!”

To the girl whose eyes sparkled as if she was honored to take on the most noble mission in the world.

‘You’re not really a saint-‘

He couldn’t say that.

“…Please.”

“Yes!”

Alon just shrugged his shoulders.

‘Well- does it matter?’

In fact, he had only focused on the existence of divinity itself, and had never seriously thought about creating a proper order until now.

Alon thought it wouldn’t be too bad to leave it as it is.

As long as he had no intention of creating a professional order.

It didn’t matter much who became a saint or who became a knight.

Therefore.

“If there is anything you need for relief activities, let me know. You are also free to do what you want.”

He said to relieve some of the burden.

“…!! I will work even harder!”

Silly’s eyes widened again, nodding her head vigorously.

‘It seems that a lot of money is indeed spent on relief activities.’

A faint sense of pride seemed to seep into his chest.

After finishing the conversation, Alon, who was leaving the room with his siblings.

Only then did he remember Yutia, who was next to him, and felt a moment of regret.

“…Yutia, were you uncomfortable?”

“Hmm- what made you think so?”

“You believe in the goddess Sironia, don’t you?”

Alon said this, feeling a bit awkward.

‘I haven’t paid much attention to Utia.’

Basically, followers of the goddess Sironia do not reject other gods to that extent.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t feel uncomfortable about other gods.

Alon explained with a slightly apologetic expression.

No matter how close they were and how well Utia followed him.

She was a devout follower of the goddess Sironia and a cardinal of Rosario.

At Alon’s apology, Utia looked at him for a moment and then smiled faintly.

“Hmm- that’s right. As you think, we don’t reject them, but we do feel a bit uncomfortable.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, that’s the general atmosphere. But- it’s okay.”

“…?”

“This time, it’s because it’s you. So it’s okay.”

“Is that… so?”

“If I had to distance myself from you or feel uncomfortable because I believe in the goddess Sironia-“

Contrary to the faint smile on her lips.

Utia’s eyes narrowed like a cat’s.

“-Then I don’t really need such a god.”

She added.

…Isn’t this dangerous if someone else hears it?

It was a dangerous statement.

But Utia casually continued.

“That’s right. If that happens, I would have nowhere to go- so how about you accept me as a saint?”

“No, you can’t!”

This time, Silly intervened.

Clenching her fists tightly.

“Utia, you serve the goddess Sironia! Such words are dangerous!”

“I’m serious.”

“Still, no!”

“Why not?”

“Be-because I am the saint!”

“Hmm- Do you know, Silly? The saint is ultimately chosen by the gods. It can change depending on how the gods decide.”

“St-still, I am the saint!”

Silly looked at Alon, her small body trembling.

Her desperate eyes seemed to say, ‘Right? Isn’t it? Really, isn’t it?’

Not backing down.

Yutia also looked at Alon with eyes filled with subtle expectations.

But only for a moment.

“Of course, I was joking.”

Yutia took a step back-

“Silly, you shouldn’t trouble the Marquis. Because you are the saint.”

She said with a smile.

…A gentle and relaxed smile.

####

The leader of the Black Hand organization, Toolman, was having a happy dream.

No, he couldn’t help but have a happy dream.

The request he received this time.

It might be worth more than all the work he had done so far combined.

Of course, the fact that the target was Marquis Palatio felt like a significant risk to Toolman.

Even so, Fulton didn’t think he would fail.

The request was not something difficult like kidnapping Marquis Palatio, but stealing one of his belongings.

When it came to stealing, Toolman’s Black Hand organization prided itself on having the best skills.

Moreover, Toolman had already planned how to handle the risks after stealing the item.

Of course, that plan was.

After the request was completed, he would deal with the executives involved in the request and use the underlings as scapegoats.

Then he would cleanly wash his hands and escape, a trashy method, but…

From his perspective, it was the best way.

Recently, Toolman was filled with hope for the future.

…Until just a moment ago.

“Ah-“

Toolman stared blankly at the fallen figures before him.

Each one of them had been considered elite within the Black Hand.

But now, all of them.

Were brutally shattered.

And among them.

Incredibly, even Toolman had never seen these two races before.

“We took care of more on our side.”

The Elves.

“No, it was us.”

The Lizardmen.

“Hmph, you were late.”

“We destroyed two more bases than you on our way here. We were much faster.”

Is this reality…?

Toolman was stunned to see the two races he had only read about in books, frowning at each other as they walked.

Just seeing them for the first time was astonishing.

He had no idea why they had attacked the Black Hand’s headquarters.

But his instincts warned him.

To run away quickly.

Toolman tried to turn his wounded body.

Thud-!

“Ugh-!”

Unfortunately, the sword lodged in his heart made escape impossible.

“These pointy-eared b*stards, they distracted me with their talk-!”

“Hmph, it’s your own fault for being inattentive.”

As Toolman felt the strength slowly drain from his body,

“Why…?”

He muttered unconsciously.

Because he truly couldn’t understand.

The Elf and Lizardman heard his voice.

Just a moment ago, they were glaring at each other with frowns.

As if they had made a promise, they looked at the knife embedded in Toolman’s heart-

“Well, that’s because you targeted the Marquis.”

“If you mocked the great one’s friend, you must pay the price.”

They answered indifferently.

With those words as the last.

“Is this the end?”

“Of course, we need to find and deal with the client-“

Toolman’s consciousness was completely cut off.

####

“…Did you say the Black Hand has disappeared?”

“Yes, that’s what I heard.”

“…Is it true?”

“Yes.”

Before heading north, Alon was waiting in Caliburn for about a week to leave with the expedition.

At lunch on the day of departure to the north, he heard unexpected news from Evan.

“…Who dealt with it?”

“Well, it seems that the information guild hasn’t figured that part out yet. I thought you might ask, so I gave you a heads-up.”

Alon unconsciously stroked his chin and thought.

‘…The Black Hand was dealt with? That Black Hand?’

Information that was hard to believe.

The Black Hand was a group that periodically annoyed players until the mid-to-late stages of the game.

And now they suddenly disappeared?

‘Well, it’s not bad that those guys are gone.’

Even so, Alon, curious about who dealt with the Black Hand, tilted his head several times.

“We’re ready!”

Soon, he heard that the expedition was fully assembled.

Moving his steps, Alon saw Reinhardt mixed in with the expedition members.

“Please listen carefully, Reinhardt. Not bowing your head in front of the great Kalanon’s statue is a very illegal act-“

“Bow your head, Reinhardt.”

“Arghhh, shut up!!”

“Lord Reinhardt, please don’t think like that and consider it. You saw his power, didn’t you? If you offer your faith, you too can use that power.”

…He screamed, covering his ears as if in agony.

And next to him-

There was Silly, logically (?) advocating faith without a hint of hesitation.

“……”

Alon seemed to understand why.

Why faith had accumulated so quickly over the past few months.

The journey to the north had begun.