I Became the Patron of Villains

120. Half (2)

Parkline, the Lord of the Red Tower, was fundamentally not very interested in rumors.

Because exploring the ancient was more enjoyable than being interested in rumors.

That doesn’t mean the rumors didn’t reach his ears.

To be precise, among the many rumors, the one that consistently reached his ears was, “The Marquis of Palatio and Fenia Crysinne are in such a relationship that even the Blue Tower Lord has acknowledged it!”

In fact, due to Parkline Aguilus’s personality, no matter how often he heard the rumors or how true they were proven to be, he never paid attention.

However, recently, Parkline had been listening to the rumors about the Marquis of Palatio and Fenia Crysinne, which he would have originally ignored.

The reason was-

“Hmm-hmm-♪”

-None other than Selaim Mikardo.

“You seem very excited?”

“Do I? Well, if you say so, then I must be.”

Selaim, expressing his excitement with his whole body.

He knew when that excitement had started.

‘It was after the rumor about the Marquis of Palatio broke out.’

Ever since then, whenever Selaim saw him before entering the lecture, he would hum a tune with a broad smile on his face.

…Sometimes, he would even wiggle his hips as if he had sold the authority of the Tower Lord.

The exact reason for his behavior was unknown.

But it was possible to guess.

Selaim Mikardo, at first glance, seemed very difficult to understand, but he was actually quite easy to interpret.

The only factor that determined his mood was magic.

He was always in a good mood when a problem related to ‘magic’ was solved, and in a bad mood when ‘magic’ didn’t go as he wanted.

Other incidents?

Selaim rarely showed emotions about anything other than magic.

Whether the tower was destroyed overnight or the deputy lord of the Blue Tower was furious and tried to kill him, he didn’t show much emotion.

As long as he wasn’t disrespected about magic.

Anyway.

For Parkline, who knew that Selaim was currently working on finding clues to ascend from the 8th rank to the 9th rank, it was easy to predict why he was excited.

‘He must have found a clue to ascend from the 8th rank to the 9th rank.’

And that clue was most likely related to the Marquis of Palatio.

There were three reasons for this assumption.

The first reason is that he, who is basically a laissez-faire person with no political or power ambitions and is only obsessed with magic, would not be excited just because Fenia is dating the Marquis.

The second reason is because of the attitude Selime has recently shown towards the Marquis of Palatio.

‘He treats him like a master.’

Lastly, if you combine the contents of the letter he recently interpreted to exploit him and the fact that the Marquis of Palatio uses primitive magic.

It was not difficult to deduce.

The Marquis of Palatio has a clue that Selime Mikardo will ascend to the 9th rank.

Going a bit further, it is possible to speculate that the Marquis of Palatio might be the mage written on that parchment.

Selime, who has an enormous monopoly on exploration, was already convinced, not just speculating, from the moment he got excited about the Marquis but tried to hide the secret somehow.

The fact that there is definitely something with the Marquis of Palatio.

That was the reason why Parkline has been listening to rumors lately.

Naturally, he is also interested in reaching the 9th rank.

No, he is not just interested, but very deeply interested.

And that’s not all.

The tower masters of the Magic Tower all have a desire to reach the 9th rank.

In the first place, the tower masters of each tower rose to their positions because their genius was combined with their curiosity and desire.

Therefore.

“……Red Tower Master.”

“It’s been a while.”

Parkline came to meet Alon faster than anyone else to stake his claim.

Even if he doesn’t know what he’s hiding, there will definitely be something to gain if he aligns himself.

“That coat looks warm.”

“……This coat?”

“Yes.”

“……Well, it’s quite cold now.”

“It’s hot when it’s hot and cold when it’s cold. Anyway- I want to give you a gift. Will you accept it?”

“……A gift?”

Parkline naturally took out a dark-colored coat from his bosom.

It was similar to what Alon usually wore, but the ends of the coat were decorated with black fur.

“This is an artifact coat I made myself. It has spatial magic cast on it, and the coat itself changes its surroundings to suit the magical properties, making it convenient for magic use.”

“……It’s a very good coat.”

“Yes. Although it’s weak, it also has an artifact built in that maintains a constant internal temperature. How about it?”

“It’s a very good coat, but… why are you suddenly giving me something like this?”

Even in front of the gift, the Marquis asked expressionlessly, and Parkline laughed heartily.

“Well, my daughter has often received help from you. I’m giving it to you as a token of gratitude.”

“…Then I will gratefully accept it.”

“Yes, if you need anything else, let me know-“

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Yes. Riyan also asked me to send his regards.”

The coat was expensive, but from the perspective of the owner of the Magic Tower, it wasn’t something he couldn’t make several of.

It meant that he could make as many as he wanted if he expended his labor.

In other words, Parkline had given Alon a cost-effective gift.

At that moment.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“?”

“?”

Selime Mikardo, who had disappeared as soon as the lecture ended, suddenly appeared.

And with an obviously anxious expression.

And then.

“Marquis, did this person say anything about introducing his daughter to you?”

“Huh?”

“If so, there’s no need to think about it, it’s definitely Fenia.”

Without even having time to think properly, he blurted out the words.

At that sight, Parkline let out a laugh of disbelief.

Unintentionally, he gained a bit more solid conviction.

‘…There really is something about the Marquis…!’

Of course, he didn’t think he said that out of concern for Fenia.

While gaining a strange pleasure from the conviction he obtained, Parkline also warned.

From noble mtl dot com

“Be careful with your words, Selime. I might really break your neck.”

For him, the clue to the 9th rank was insanely precious, but that didn’t mean he would send his precious daughter to that dark man, even if it meant being thrown into the hellfire, into the middle of magma.

However, that was already beside the point.

“Marquis, I have something better to offer you. This is a potion I obtained specifically for you this time-“

“Marquis, come to think of it, there was something I hadn’t given you yet.”

With Selaim taking the lead, the strange battle had begun.

####

In the past few days, Alon has been extremely busy.

More precisely, the nights when he had to meet Heinkel were very busy.

The reason was an event near the central tower that could uniquely enhance his magical power.

In the game, it was an event where you could gain magical power just by clicking the mouse if your intelligence was above a certain level, by solving simple magical patterns.

To perform this, Alon went to the labyrinth of the lake and was surprised by the difficulty of the magic, which was harder than he thought.

To be more precise, the magic was close to basic, and it was more appropriate to see it as solving puzzles within the labyrinth.

Anyway, because of that, Alon headed to the labyrinth every night for more than four days without finding Heinkel, just to solve the puzzles.

During the day, he wandered around the magic tower, drawing the puzzles in a notebook and thinking about how to solve them.

……Of course, originally, he wanted to solve the rumors spread by Fenia’s bravado(?) a few days ago rather than the puzzles, but unfortunately, that was also impossible.

The reason was laughably because of Fenia.

She, who used to cling to him as if she had eaten something wrong, has not been seen by Alon lately.

Even the last time he saw Fenia from a distance, he witnessed her making a strange noise, ‘Ugyahhh-!’ and jumping out of the window from the 18th floor.

Alon decided to focus on solving the puzzles until the end of the academic conference.

……Until this situation came.

“……”

Alon looked ahead.

In front of him, two masters of the magic tower were stacking gifts on books as if performing a trick.

……He couldn’t see ahead anymore.

‘I don’t dislike gifts, but……’

He blankly raised his gaze to the mountain of gifts that had grown to his height.

All of them were good things.

Even the coat that Parkline first gave him was a very attractive artifact for him.

Surely it was,

“Marquis! Look at this, this is-“

“Marquis. This artifact, you see!?”

……For some reason, Alon suddenly craved a sweet potato.

####

A grand ball was being held at the Komalon Duke’s mansion, attracting a multitude of nobles.

They gathered in the lavishly decorated antechamber, exchanging conversations.

Among them was Duke Edgar, the leader of the noble faction, considered the most powerful within the current Ashtalon Kingdom.

“Komalon Duke, it’s been a while.”

“It’s been a while, Duke Edgar.”

He exchanged greetings with Duke Komalon, the host of the ball.

“I always feel this way, but you really don’t seem to age. You look exactly the same as before.”

“That’s a pleasant compliment.”

“Compliment? I’m just saying what I truly think.”

As the leader of a faction, he often uttered words that were hard to distinguish between truth and lies, but at least this time, he was sincere.

A youthful face that seemed untouched by time.

To Duke Edgar, Duke Komalon looked no different from ten years ago.

Unlike himself, whose wrinkles had increased, Duke Komalon still maintained the appearance of a man in his mid-twenties.

What kind of trickery is he using- Just as Duke Edgar was pondering this anew.

“Duke Edgar.”

“What is it?”

“First of all, I must thank you for gathering here.”

Duke Komalon suddenly offered his thanks.

“Hmm…? Is there really a need for thanks?”

“No, I truly thank you.”

“Why?”

Duke Edgar responded, bewildered.

For nobles, the number of attendees at a ball they hosted was a measure of their authority, so expressing gratitude was not unusual.

In other words, the greeting itself was not strange.

However, that was only if it was done once.

Repeatedly expressing gratitude in this manner was odd.

As a strange suspicion began to arise.

Duke Edgar could see it.

The shape of Duke Komalon’s hand.

The duke tilted his head at the sight of the index and middle fingers pressed together to form a seal.

“Well, it’s because you all gathered like this that I was spared the trouble.”

“…What?”

At the following words, I frowned involuntarily.

The next moment.

“Torment”

As the duke’s voice was uttered.

Thud-!

Duke Edgar’s head- exploded.

And that wasn’t all.

The head of the young lady who had been smiling just a moment ago.

The knight who had been guarding the other nobles.

The noble who had been enjoying tea time on one side of the ballroom.

…The heads of all living beings present at the ballroom exploded.

Then.

In the center of the ballroom, decorated with red blood flowers.

Tap-!

Duke Komalon, who shook off the blood stuck to his hair, walked towards the ballroom door with an indifferent expression.

“Let’s begin.”

He announced the start to the dark elf in the shadows.

“Yes.”

The beginning of the great cause.

…The salvation awaited for hundreds of years.

####

Two days later.

The day after Alon completely solved the puzzle in the labyrinth.

“…The foreign god has descended?”

Alon heard such news from Deus.