I Became the Patron of Villains

201. Sloth and Thunder (3)

The awkward smile of King Pamilo.

The painted smile of Jenira.

Through that two-shot, Alon could guess the situation in the Duchy of Luxible.

In fact, there was no need to guess.

Anyone could see that King Pamilo had been devoured by Jenira.

‘What happened?’

Alon was curious about the circumstances that led to the current power structure.

But soon he stopped thinking.

It was quite intriguing, but.

After all, the fact that the Thunder Snake tribe, whom he had favored, had taken over the Duchy of Luxible.

It was an extremely advantageous situation for Alon.

……Especially now, when he was being mistaken for Kalanon, the one who receives lightning from the Thunder Snake tribe.

“I am Marquis Palatio.”

“I have heard a lot about you- I mean, I have.”

King Pamilo, who hurriedly changed his words after glancing at Jenira.

Looking around slightly.

The soldiers showed no reaction, as if they were quite familiar with this situation.

After exchanging formal greetings, Alon ended the audience.

Or, to be more precise.

Alon tried to show some formality.

“Ahem- You may leave now, Marquis Palatio.”

“……Is that so.”

With a face that seemed to plead ‘Please get out of here quickly-‘.

Alon had no choice but to step outside.

“Thank you very much for visiting, as you said.”

As soon as he left the audience chamber, the quick Sircal bowed deeply.

Alon shook his head awkwardly.

“No, I came because I had business to attend to in the first place.”

“Please tell me what it is.”

“…Lightning- no, where is my symbol?”

At Alon’s question, Sirkal tilted his head for a moment.

Then, as if realizing something, he let out a small exclamation, “Ah.”

“It is at the place from last time.”

“If you mean the place from last time, are you talking about the ruins?”

“Yes. But-“

He trailed off.

Then, with a very apologetic expression, he added,

“It might be very difficult to go there right now.”

“Why?”

“Have you heard any news about the Ronovelli Jungle?”

The rumor that Evan had conveyed.

“Are you talking about the black magic?”

“Yes, that’s right. Because of that magic, it might be very inconvenient to go there right now.”

“Hmm-“

Alon let out a small sigh inwardly.

He had vaguely anticipated that the situation would turn out this way.

But even so.

He couldn’t just wait here leisurely.

If he couldn’t go there within a week.

Kalanon would disappear.

Although it was unintentional, along with a slight sense of responsibility for having taken away the divinity.

Kalanon’s proposal to teach him how to handle the divinity was also tempting.

Even if he could grasp or surround the nature of the divinity.

He still didn’t know exactly how to use it, the principles and methods.

Moreover.

If the being spreading the black magic was the Apostle of Sloth.

In any case, from Alon’s perspective, he had to deal with him.

In the end, there was only one conclusion.

“Are you certain that the symbol is within those ruins?”

“Yes. May I ask if you intend to enter?”

“It seems likely.”

With that, Sircal bowed again.

“…In that case, we will accompany you.”

Alon shook his head slightly.

“There’s no need.”

“No, we cannot remain here while the one we serve enters a dangerous place. Please, allow us to accompany you.”

But Sircal showed no sign of backing down.

“…”

In truth, if Alon were acting according to his usual nature, he would have taken not only her but as many people as possible.

Unless the difference in power between them and the opponent was immense, having more people was obviously meaningful.

Yet, the reason Alon hesitated was:

‘If that creature is indeed the ‘Sin of Sloth’ as I suspect, having many people would be a disadvantage. The more people gather, the stronger it becomes.’

This was due to the nature of the being that scattered this dark magic.

To prevent the worst-case scenario, Alon pondered.

“Then, please guide us only to the edge of the dark magic’s range.”

He proposed a compromise.

“But the inside of the dark magic is the truly dangerous place.”

Sircal still couldn’t erase her worry and concern.

…It seemed that ordinary persuasion wouldn’t work at all.

Faced with her stubborn attitude, Alon hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath-

“Don’t worry, who do you think I am?”

He declared firmly.

Of course, as soon as he said it, he thought,

Ah, that’s a bit embarrassing.

If he were truly a clear strongman.

There would be no shame in it.

But in truth, he thought otherwise.

It was nothing more than bravado, nothing less.

However.

“Apologies-“

To Sircal, who was mistaken about Alon’s identity.

“It is.”

It became an excellent means of persuasion.

“Lead the way.”

Alon decided to push forward, swallowing his embarrassment.

####

“Ahem.”

Alon cleared his throat awkwardly and climbed into the carriage.

Surrounded by the Thunder Snake tribe and soldiers.

Alon, who was looking outside the carriage, glanced at Evan sitting opposite him.

“Not asking this time?”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, Alon pointed outside the window.

Evan, who always asked questions when he didn’t understand the situation.

But this time, for some reason, he was quiet, so Alon asked first.

“Ah-“

Evan shrugged lightly.

“Well, I roughly understood.”

“…What did you understand?”

“That the Marquis is the one who receives the lightning, Kalanon.”

“……”

“I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?”

“Isn’t it a bit strange to ask ‘Is this real?’ every time we go together, since you’re the Marquis?”

No, if it were me, I would still be curious.

– Alon thought.

Evan, as if resigned, leaned back comfortably against the backrest.

“Well, so I’ve decided to accept everything.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, now I would believe it even if the Marquis said, ‘Actually, I’m the god of Sironia!!'”

“Isn’t the god of Sironia a goddess?”

“I would believe it even if the Marquis were a woman.”

As if he had transcended to some distant realm.

Evan exuded an air of detachment.

[Squeak-]

As if in response, Kkamangi poked its head out of the pocket and looked up at Alon.

“Is that so.”

“Well, yes.”

Silence returned to the carriage.

After a while.

“We have arrived.”

A voice announcing their arrival was heard.

In Alon’s view.

A jungle, no, a territory where black magic swirled came into sight.

“…Is the entire territory in this state?”

“No, not entirely. But half of it has already been consumed, so everyone has evacuated for now.”

As if to prove Circal’s words.

“It’s desolate beyond measure.”

The once bustling Caslot was now empty.

After briefly scanning the desolate scene.

Alon noticed tents set up near the boundary where black magic swirled.

“…What are those?”

“They are the knights of Caliban.”

“Why are the knights of Caliban here?”

“I heard that someone came looking for you.”

“…Looking for someone?”

At the moment of feeling puzzled by the unexpected answer.

“…Huh?”

“Yeah?”

Familiar faces walked out from inside the tent.

“…Reinhardt? And-“

It was Reinhardt, one of Caliburn’s swords, who had briefly moved with them in the jungle before.

“Deus?”

“…Marquis.”

Anyone could see he had become very gaunt.

But his eyes were burning with anger.

Soon, Alon said.

“Deus, what brings you here?”

He could understand why Deus looked like that.

At Alon’s question, Deus clenched his fists tightly.

“…My sister-“

Biting his lips.

He barely managed to utter a sentence.

“She was kidnapped.”

Alon couldn’t say anything.

####

Alon, who had entered the tent, listened to Deus’s detailed explanation.

“In summary, the one who kidnapped Silly called you here, is that right?”

“Yes. But-“

“This sword is powerless because of magic?”

“That b*stard, that son of a-“

Grinding his teeth, Deus lowered his head.

“The deeper I went, the more I saw the thread around Silly’s neck tightening.”

The hands of the guy placed on his knees were trembling finely.

“……Any other conditions?”

“As long as I don’t enter the black magic, Silly’s neck won’t be tightened.”

“In other words, you’re leading someone else to save Silly instead of you?”

“Yes. But the others become puppets the moment they enter.”

Reinhardt chimed in from the side.

“If you don’t continuously cut the threads that are created, you’ll immediately lose control of your body.”

He frowned deeply, as if recalling an unpleasant experience.

After hearing the two men’s explanations, Alon could understand the current situation.

‘They’re deliberately leading someone other than Deus to save Silly. Are they trying to wear down Deus’s mind through the deaths of others?’

He could also easily grasp the apostle’s purpose.

It was not to kill Deus, but to destroy his mind.

By deliberately using Silly’s life as collateral to move other knights, they were gnawing at his spirit.

Ultimately, they were likely to deal with Silly in a shocking way to shatter Deus’s mind.

‘……No, perhaps at this point, Silly is already-‘

Seeing the burning rage in Deus’s eyes, Alon couldn’t bring himself to ask if he had actually seen Silly alive.

At this moment, any question about Silly would surely shake Deus’s mind severely.

So Alon quietly shifted his gaze to the forest visible outside the tent.

“Where is that guy stationed?”

“Here.”

Deus immediately pointed to a part of the map.

Despite his exhausted face, his actions were swift.

At that moment.

“……This place.”

Sirkal interrupted the conversation.

“Do you know where it is?”

He nodded in response to Alon’s question.

“This is where the symbol is.”

“Then this place is-“

“Yes, it’s the ruins where our tribe used to stay.”

At that answer, Alon fell into thought for a moment.

Then he asked Deus and Reinhardt.

“So, what were you planning to do next?”

“Originally, I was going to go in and try to rescue, but it was beyond my ability. I barely managed to escape myself.”

“Did the knights go in with you?”

“Yes, as soon as we went deep enough, they attacked us immediately.”

“The knights…”

Before Alon could finish his question,

Reinhardt made a frustrated expression.

“All… dead.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. At first, I realized they were being controlled, so I thought to knock them all out and bring them back. But as soon as their bodies went limp, their necks snapped right there.”

“……”

“Still, there is one thing we gained.”

“What is it?”

“It seems that the black thread can’t control more than three people at once.”

“Can’t control more than three people?”

At Alon’s question, Reinhardt nodded.

“Yes. If we went with fifteen knights, only about three were controlled at a time.”

“……Were no more than that controlled?”

“That’s right.”

Reinhardt continued to explain.

“Anyway, because of that, I was planning a strategy. If it’s only about three at a time, we can pair up and handle it.”

“……So, we’ll all go in at once and reach where it is?”

“Yes, if we pair the knights into six groups and take turns activating their magic to conserve energy, it won’t be difficult.”

After hearing all his explanations, Alon was silent for a moment.

Because as far as he knew, there were no limits to the sin’s ability to control people.

“Is it restricted because he’s an apostle?”

Alon, who was agonizing over the new information.

Soon reached a conclusion.

And let out a low chuckle without realizing it.

If his thoughts were correct-

“It’s better to abandon that plan.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a trap.”

“…A trap, you say?”

It was definitely a trap.

“The guy who kidnapped Silly can control more than just three people at once.”

“…Not just three? Then why did he-“

A very nasty and cunning trap.

“He intends to draw you in. When you go deeper and can no longer escape, he’ll deal with you all at once.”

“In that case-“

“He deliberately threw out the bait.”

Reinhardt, who was about to argue, closed his mouth as if something came to mind.

Deus clenched his teeth even harder.

So hard that blood seeped out from his lips.

As if embodying uncontrollable anger.

Deus, who was faintly emitting purple magic, looked at the black forest with eyes full of anxiety and anger.

“What should we do-“

At his low murmur.

“Don’t worry.”

“…Marquis?”

Alon spoke in a firm voice.

“I have a plan.”

At that moment.

“Boss-“

“Whyyy-“

Deep in the heart of the Ronovelli jungle.

A girl, sitting on a pile of stones carved out of a cliff, wearing an expression of utmost annoyance.

“Why, did you call?”

She turned her body towards the voice calling her.

She looked down at the man with blue skin.

“Boss, you know that black guy you told me to watch?”

“Yeah- what did he do?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Did he cross the boundary?”

“That’s not it either.”

“Then why?”

The girl’s response was a bit sharp.

The boss, who is usually sharp unless it’s night.

The blue-skinned man scratched his head.

“Well, that… what was it again?”

“If it’s nothing important, I’ll kill you.”

“No, geez- I can’t remember because you’re threatening me.”

“Just tell me quickly.”

“Oh, ah- you know that human you said had legitimacy or something?”

“Yeah.”

“That guy with the legitimacy or whatever seems to be moving towards the black guy? I have a feeling that guy won’t end up well.”

He conveyed the story.

“…What? Wait, why is he- no, before that-“

The girl, who was extremely annoyed.

No, the one who rules one of the four major forces.

“That b*stard, is he going to mess with my legitimacy?”

Baekgui’s expression hardened infinitely.