I Became the Patron of Villains

101. Malacca Ruins (1)

The dizziness from Deus’s eight murder declarations was short-lived.

By the time Alon reached the entrance of the jungle, passing through numerous mercenaries and explorers.

“Huh?”

A very familiar voice made him turn his head.

“……Count Palatio- no, Marquis?”

“Lian Aguilar?”

There stood Lian Aguilar, the daughter of the Red Tower Lord.

“It’s been a long time. Marquis, and congratulations.”

“It’s been a while. And thank you for the congratulations.”

As she smiled kindly and turned her gaze, her eyes widened.

“……Could it be, the person behind you is?”

“Deus Macallian.”

Deus briefly introduced himself, seemingly understanding that she roughly knew Alon.

Lian Aguilar, who let out a small exclamation of admiration, looked at Deus with a somewhat peculiar expression.

“Oh. Ahem-“

Coming to his senses belatedly, he rolled his eyes as if curious and asked,

“But, by any chance, what brings you two here…?”

Alon quickly noticed that there were two questions mixed in there.

‘It’s a bit strange to see us together like this, considering we’re from different countries.’

Moreover, isn’t Deus quite famous?

“Though our purposes are different, we are traveling together because we have business in the jungle.”

“I see. So, are the three of you traveling together?”

“That’s right.”

At Alon’s nod, Riyan suggested,

“Then, would you like to move with us? We happen to be heading to the camp as well.”

“Hmm…”

In fact, with Deus present, it didn’t seem like there would be much of a crisis whether they moved as three or with more people, but just in case they got lost or something happened.

“Not a bad idea.”

He accepted the proposal.

Before long, Alon was introduced to the people who would be moving with them by Riyan.

The group consisted of fifteen wizards, five mercenaries, and one guide.

However, there was one peculiar thing.

“…They’re not members of the Red Tower?”

“To be precise, there are members of the Green Tower and the Red Tower together. This expedition is a collaboration between the two.”

A collaboration between the two towers – Alon nodded as he confirmed.

“What?”

A slightly rough voice came from beside him.

There stood a man holding a wooden staff as tall as himself, the epitome of what Alon thought a typical wizard looked like.

“Theon. Come here and greet them.”

Despite furrowing his brows at Riyan’s words, the man approached, and after glancing over Alon, Evan, and Deus,

“Greet them. They will be accompanying us to the camp. This is Marquis Palatio and Deus Macallian.”

“What?”

He was startled by Riyan’s words.

But only for a moment.

“Hello. I am Theon, one of the professors of the Green Tower. This is the first sword of Caliburn, and this is Marquis Palatio, correct?”

He quickly managed his expression and bowed to Deus and Alon.

“……Please take care of me.”

“……? Of course.”

After staring at Alon for a moment, he turned around and disappeared.

“He looks young, doesn’t he? Impressive.”

Evan, knowing when wizards earn the title of professor, marveled anew, and Rian nodded.

“Yes, in the Green Magic Tower, he’s considered an exceptional talent. He’s not even twenty-five yet, but he’s already reached the threshold of the 5th rank.”

“Wow, the 5th rank?”

“Yes.”

Evan was even more impressed by her words.

However, Alon remained expressionless, silently muttering.

“……Why does he seem cold only to me?”

He wasn’t particularly bothered by someone being cold to him, but it was still strange.

It felt unfamiliar that he acted especially cold after revealing his name.

“Ah……”

Rian awkwardly laughed, as if realizing the situation.

“Well, it’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?”

“Well, um-“

Rian hesitated for a moment, then whispered after confirming that Theon had already gone far away.

“The rumor about the Marquis…… you know?”

“Rumor?”

“That, about Fenia.”

“Ah.”

“The truth is, Theon likes Fenia.”

“What?”

He looked at Theon with genuine surprise.

Fenia is beautiful.

That’s an undeniable fact.

But the problem is her personality.

He knew his destructive personality would shatter any physical advantages he had.

‘You like that Fenia Crysinne? That arrogant…?’

He asked again with a deeply bewildered expression.

“…So, that man likes Fenia?”

“Yes.”

“Why on earth…? No, is this a bit rude?”

“No, actually, I… don’t really understand it either. Especially since Theon got thoroughly beaten by Fenia once.”

Riyan also glanced at Theon as if he couldn’t understand it either, but only for a moment.

“Anyway, it seems like he’s acting a bit childish because of it.”

“…Alright, I got it.”

Alon nodded without asking further.

Normally, he would have pondered why someone his age would harbor such jealousy, but unfortunately, Alon was more intrigued by Theon than anything else.

‘…Is he a masochist?’

By the time he reached that conclusion.

“Marquis-”

“There’s no need.”

Alon answered firmly to Deus, who spoke as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Even without hearing the rest, he already knew what Deus was going to say.

“…Understood.”

Deus let go of the sword hilt he had been fiddling with, looking disappointed.

“Deus.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

“Have you been experiencing any hallucinations or anxious thoughts lately?”

“…? No, not at all.”

Deus denied it.

…However, Alon’s anxiety only increased a little more.

Afterward, Alon moved with Riyan’s party to the exploration camp, and thanks to their diligent efforts before lunch, they were able to reach the camp before sunset.

“…This feels strange.”

“Does it?”

“Yes. Honestly, I imagined it would feel a bit more rundown, but it actually feels like a small village.”

Alon nodded in agreement with Evan’s sentiment.

“Well, that’s true. There have always been wizards and explorers.”

“Are there no monsters?”

“It’s not that there aren’t any, but in the area where the camp is located, monsters rarely appear.”

As Evan marveled anew at the setting he had seen in the game, Alon also took in the view of the camp.

From noble mtl dot com

‘It feels different from seeing it in the illustration.’

Though it was a faint memory, when he saw the landscape of this village in the illustration from Psychedelia, it felt like just an ordinary village.

However, seeing it in reality, it felt more like a well-organized, large camp village rather than a village.

‘The mix of wooden houses and tents makes it feel more like that. Everything that should be here is here.’

As Alon was thinking this while looking at the shops and inns scattered throughout the village.

“Marquis, I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

On the way to the exploration camp today, he had heard that Rian’s destination was also the ruins of Malacca, so they had promised to accompany each other again tomorrow, and Rian left.

“Let’s take it easy today as well.”

“Alright.”

“Understood.”

Alon’s party also entered the inn to rest.

####

The next day.

Due to the high humidity of the jungle, Alon had a somewhat restless sleep.

“I’ll be off to find Reinhardt for a while.”

“Alright, let’s meet again at night.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember what I told you?”

“If it’s about the blessing, I remember.”

“Yes, if possible, make sure to receive it. It’s better to have the blessing if you want to move around there.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alon and Deus decided to part ways for a while to achieve their respective goals and meet again later.

‘Honestly, I want to keep him with me.’

Knowing that Deus also had things to do, Alon let him go without hesitation.

Deus had no danger as long as he didn’t enter the Selvanus region or any unidentified areas.

A moment later, Alon, who had joined Lian’s party without Deus, said.

“…Isn’t Deus Macallian coming with us?”

“As I said, our objectives are different.”

“I see.”

With a strangely disappointed Lian, they headed towards the ruins of Malacca.

‘…We should finish our business in the jungle as soon as possible and get out.’

Thinking that way.

####

Meanwhile, at that moment.

In the deep prison of the Holy Kingdom of Rosario, where only those with truly heinous crimes were confined.

There was.

“Kr-“

A man with no legs-

Anderde was ‘alive.’

With a strange face, he writhed in terrible pain that engulfed his entire body, but there was a glimmer of hope on his lips.

‘I cannot die yet.’

The reason he could stay alive like this-

No, to be precise, the reason he could take over ‘this man’s’ body was because.

The man imprisoned in this deep prison was operating as part of the Machina he had created.

He had implanted tree trunks into those who became part of the Machina, and at the moment he was attacked by the Marquis, he quickly abandoned his body and transferred his consciousness into the man’s body.

Although his body was completely shattered and he couldn’t escape immediately, that was also part of the plan.

In the deep prison, where no one came except to distribute rotten bread, he slowly recovered his strength and completely took over the man’s body.

Soon, the man’s face, covered with red tree trunks, transformed into Andere’s.

Then, even the two legs began to regenerate slowly.

Confirming all these changes, he said.

“I cannot end like this. I will definitely prepare again and create a world where everyone can be equal…!”

With such ambition in his eyes, he gritted his teeth.

There was no longer a benevolent smile or faith on his lips.

But the madness and stubbornness coiled in his heart gave him new hope.

At that moment.

“…Huh?”

Anderde saw it.

In the deep prison where no one should be.

In the prison where no one should be able to enter due to the thick iron door, standing proudly,

A man with black hair and blue eyes, smiling innocently at him.

“Hello?”

Anderde did not open his mouth at the sight of the man greeting him with a bright smile.

No, he couldn’t.

Because he couldn’t understand this situation.

However, whether Anderde answered or not.

“Well, honestly, I don’t really care what kind of world you dream of or what you’re trying to do, and I’m not really angry-“

Muttering in his characteristic husky tone.

“-But still, touching His Holiness, even for me, that’s a bit much.”

He raised his hand.

Crack-!

Anderde realized that his neck was twisting against his will.

“Wait, no- no! No! No no no no no no no no!!!!!!”

He belatedly started to struggle and twist his body.

Crunch-!

In the end, his neck turned twice and he met his death.

“Why did you touch it?”

The man, who had broken the stubbornness that was left only with madness, quietly disappeared into the darkness.

In that place, only the corpse of Anderde, with eyes wide open as if in disbelief, was left.