I Became the Patron of Villains

215. The Darkness of the North (2)

Fulton couldn’t properly understand the current situation.

No, it was natural that he couldn’t understand.

He had never actually seen an elf before.

Because the United Kingdom and the elves didn’t have a particularly good relationship.

Elves that he hadn’t even seen properly in the slave market,

But now, there were more than ten of them in front of his eyes.

Moreover.

“……”

Elves with unmistakable skills that anyone could see.

Fulton, having confirmed the situation, immediately enveloped his body in magic.

He couldn’t fully grasp the situation.

Why were there elves near the Kingdom of Asteria?

Why were they enraged, mentioning the Marquis of Palatio?

Fulton didn’t know.

But one thing he was certain of –

‘Danger.’

The current situation was not favorable to him.

‘Run away right now.’

Fulton immediately unleashed his magic.

Blue magic scattered around him.

The elves moved to react to it.

But before they could respond, the magic Fulton released turned into a black mist, obscuring their vision.

“!”

Seeing the elves momentarily flustered, Fulton sneered and turned his body.

‘You should have caught me right away instead of talking.’

In terms of combat ability, Fulton was actually the lowest among the executives of the Black Hand.

In fact, in some aspects, he was considered too weak to be an executive.

However, despite such evaluations, the reason Fulton became an executive of the Black Hand and no other executives had any complaints was one.

His stealth ability was absurd.

Especially his unique ability to ‘transform the properties of magic into mist.’

Once it was deployed, even if they tried to detect him using magic, they couldn’t locate him.

‘First, I need to get out of here quickly and inform them of this situation.’

Fulton immediately moved his body –

And lost consciousness.

“-?”

A very brief moment, his consciousness returned.

Immediately after, the first sensation Fulton felt was the excruciating pain in his side.

The next thing he realized was that he had been struck by something within the mist he had scattered.

And the last thing I could perceive was-

“Hmm- this guy tried to harm the great one’s friend.”

“Ugh-!”

It was a Lizardman with a body so massive that it couldn’t even be compared, lifting me by the neck as if to crush my skull.

At that moment, when the Lizardman’s fierce expression made Fulton’s eyes widen.

“……Lizard, don’t steal our credit!”

An Elf’s voice immediately interrupted, and the Lizardman sneered, tightening his grip on Fulton’s neck.

“You’re talking nonsense. We just caught what you failed to catch.”

“You didn’t even know where it was before we found it!”

“Anyway, if you had missed this guy, you know how much inconvenience the great one’s friend – that is, the Marquis – could have felt, right?”

“We could have caught him without your help.”

As if they had planned it beforehand, the two started raising their voices and arguing.

Fulton looked even more confused at the bizarre sight.

The ones in front of him now were.

Elves and Lizardmen, races that you would never see in the United Kingdom.

And based on their conversation.

It seemed that the Elves and Lizardmen were guarding the Marquis of Palatio.

Not just guarding, but fiercely claiming the right to guard, even using honorifics.

To that.

‘……What on earth is their identity?’

Fulton recalled the seemingly ordinary appearance of the Marquis of Palatio.

At that moment.

“Noisy elf b*stards, more importantly-“

With a chilling smile that anyone would find creepy,

“Let’s hear the story first.”

Looking at the Lizardman who turned his gaze towards me-

“Ah.”

I realized that something was seriously wrong.

####

“……What do you mean by that?”

“Well, it’s a simple story. To put it more bluntly, I’m asking if you’re in love.”

As if asking, ‘What are you having for dinner tonight?’, Siyan’s relaxed voice.

Alon almost asked again but stopped and slowly shook his head.

“It’s not that kind of relationship, but-“

“Is that so?”

“But, may I ask why you are inquiring?”

Siyan tapped his lips with his index finger for a moment and then spoke as if it was nothing.

“Well, it’s just something that’s been on my mind.”

“…Something on your mind?”

“Yes. It’s not something the Marquis needs to know. It’s just a personal curiosity.”

“May I ask what you’re curious about?”

At Alon’s question, Siyan pondered for a moment, then smiled meaningfully.

“I’ll tell you when you come to see me next time.”

“Is that so?”

“So that you’ll come to see me as soon as your work is done, won’t you?”

“…”

Alon was momentarily taken aback.

‘Did he know?’

He maintained a blank expression and turned his gaze aside.

“…I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

“It’s fine. It was just a joke.”

Siyan chuckled softly.

Then she frowned slightly as if she had forgotten something.

With a low exclamation, she handed something to Alon.

It was a box of sweet potatoes.

“Sorry, I forgot about this.”

“…It’s fine.”

“Eat it. I made it around the time the Cardinal was supposed to visit, so it should be warm.”

Siyan handed the sweet potatoes to Alon as if it was the most natural thing.

Alon bowed his head respectfully at the sight.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Eat slowly.”

Siyan watched Alon with a satisfied smile as he skillfully pushed the sweet potato into his mouth, as if he had become quite accustomed to it.

‘…I feel like a zoo monkey.’

Although the pressure had lessened compared to last time, there was still a strange feeling.

After a moment, the sound of eating sweet potatoes echoed.

“Now, shall we hear the story?”

Siyan straightened up again after confirming that Alon had finished eating the sweet potato.

Alon slowly recalled what had happened in Graneef and began to convey it without missing a single detail.

After some time had passed since the report began.

“So, in the end, you have become the god of the elves?”

“…Something like that.”

When Siyan asked with great interest, Alon reluctantly nodded, and she nodded as if she finally understood.

“So, it has become a great power.”

She pondered something deeply.

“May I ask if there were any additional memories after this?”

Siyan shrugged.

“No, there aren’t.”

“I see…”

Then.

“Well, there is one. Although it’s not about the Marquis.”

She added with a slightly playful smile.

Alon was silent for a moment before answering.

“…It seems it will take a long time to hear the story.”

“Indeed. I can tell you when the next memory comes to mind.”

Eventually, she lifted Alon’s lips with her index finger.

“But if it’s too long, it will lose its interest. I’ll give you a hint to keep you intrigued.”

Her relaxed voice flowed as if she were playing with Alon in her hand.

“In a fleeting memory, I saw Cardinal Utia. In a slightly different form than now.”

“A different appearance, you say?”

“Yes, you had your hair swept to the side. Your clothes were different too.”

Like this, Siyan said, sweeping her own hair to the side with her remaining hand.

As Alon pushed his index finger in a little, she slowly withdrew her hand.

“That’s it for now. I’ll tell you the rest next time.”

“Is that so.”

“Oh, and just for reference-“

A playful laugh echoed in the audience chamber.

“Cardinal Yutia looks quite beautiful with her hair swept to the side too.”

“…I see.”

At Alon’s delayed response,

Siyan’s smile deepened.

“Then, in three months- no, I’ll see you at the United Kingdom conference in four months. See you then.”

With those words, the audience time ended.

For some reason, he felt drained.

Upon arriving at the inner castle, Alon saw Yutia waiting for him with Evan.

“Have you finished all your business, teacher?”

“Yes, I’ve had an audience with His Majesty, so I should be going now. But-“

Alon, who was answering, suddenly looked ahead with a strange expression.

In that brief moment-

“…Did something good happen?”

Because Yutia’s expression was brighter than usual.

“Hmm- is that so? I think it’s because I got to see you, teacher.”

“…Is that so?”

But she seemed even happier than that…

“Yes. And on top of that, I met someone I could talk to a bit?”

“Are you talking about His Majesty?”

“Yes, teacher. I’ve been meeting various people lately, and His Majesty was surprisingly easy to talk to.”

“Didn’t you see him once before?”

“I’ve never had a detailed conversation with him until now. Anyway- he’s a very ‘good person,’ so I might be in a good mood.”

Well, if that’s the case, then so be it- Alon nodded, and Yutia asked.

“So, where are you headed, sir?”

“I have some business in the north, so I’m heading that way.”

“Then we can travel together.”

Alon asked back at those words.

“…? Heading north?”

“Yes, I have some matters to attend to in the north.”

“…If you have matters to attend to in the north, is it near Caliban’s outpost?”

“That’s right.”

Alon nodded as if it wasn’t a bad idea.

“Then we can move together.”

Thus, it was decided they would travel together.

“That’s good news.”

Yutia, who had been staring at Alon for a moment, suddenly blurted out.

“…Is it?”

“Yes. Why it’s good-“

Her eyes soon curved gently like petals in full bloom.

“-I told you when we went to see the evening primroses last time, so I won’t bother explaining.”

####

The next day.

Alon started moving towards Caliban with Yutia.

He also got to hear the reason why Yutia was heading north.

‘Because of the Pope.’

Pope Leriterios III of Rosario, who had been in seclusion for almost several years and had not shown himself.

She explained that she was heading north on his orders, but Alon felt a strange doubt.

No, to be precise, he was questioning the Pope’s seclusion.

‘In the original story, there was a setting where the Pope was in seclusion, but at the start of the original story, he wasn’t particularly in seclusion, was he?’

With such doubts in mind.

Before he knew it, about a month had passed, and Alon arrived at Caliban.

He headed straight to Deus’s mansion.

And then he.

Could see.

A statue, adorned in such splendor, far more magnificent than anything in the Marquis’ house.

And in front of it, dozens of knights fervently praying.

“……”

Alon, at a loss for words, was guided by the knight to the office.

The scene that unfolded before his eyes was-

“Brother, how many times do I have to tell you? You need to tilt your wrist about 5 degrees to the side.”

“Li-like this?”

“No! Not like that, like this- like this!”

“……Li-like this?”

Deus, struggling with something.

“You’re off by about 2 degrees! Come on, straight! If you’re going to follow, do it properly!”

“……Ah, got it.”

It was Silly, correcting his posture in real-time.

“……”

For some reason, Alon felt as if the world was growing darker before his eyes……