I Became the Patron of Villains

147. Towards the Colony (4)

The territory of Caslot in the Duchy of Luxible.

“Hmm- still the same.”

Reinhardt, one of the five swords of Caliburn, muttered as he looked at the still bustling scenery of Caslot.

“Commander, we need to move quickly.”

“Ah, yes.”

Elize, a woman who was about two heads shorter than Reinhardt and also the vice-captain of Reinhardt’s knight order ‘Siolan’, spoke coldly.

“Please, do not run away again.”

“I said I wouldn’t run away.”

“You said that last time and still ran away.”

“That was due to circumstances…”

“Anyway. This time, absolutely not.”

Despite her small stature, she exuded an overwhelming presence as she rattled off her words.

Reinhardt scratched his head and replied.

“Don’t worry, no matter how reckless I am, I wouldn’t do such a thing as a delegate of Caliburn.”

“It’s a relief that you have at least some common sense left.”

“…What do you think of me?”

“If you run away again, I will ask the commander of the Solar Knights for help.”

The Solar Knights.

At those words, Reinhardt involuntarily frowned.

“Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Judging by your expression, it seems to be true.”

“Ha-”

A deep sigh escaped him.

Just thinking about him made Reinhardt’s head spin.

“You know, if you’re with that guy, you’ll go crazy, right?”

“…Hmm.”

“If you mention anything about magic, Marquis Palatio, if you just say magic, Marquis Palatio, even if it’s a magical tool, Marquis Palatio, ma, ma, ma-! As long as it has ‘ma’ in it, he will summon that marquis and praise him for an entire hour!”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Can’t stop him, it’s even more frustrating! That guy, he’s gotten so ridiculously strong that it’s hard to even spar with him properly now!!”

Reinhardt pounded his chest as if it was about to burst.

Elize, who had been watching him for a moment, nodded her head.

“Indeed, I was just talking about the statue, and suddenly he started praising Marquis Palatio, which surprised me.”

“Yeah, I almost lost my mind too.”

“But that’s why I’ll send him even more. If I say it like this, the commander won’t run away, right?”

“…That’s really too much.”

“Anyway, let’s go quickly.”

Elize turned her small body and walked briskly ahead.

Watching her back, Reinhardt shook his head as if he couldn’t help it and walked towards the royal castle as well.

“By the way, it’s amazing. I didn’t expect the king to deal with those corrupt masses and reestablish the royal authority.”

From noble mtl dot com

“I feel the same. I thought he was just a husk filled with ideals. But I heard he made a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes, thanks to that, Luxible now worships a different god, not the Holy Kingdom of Rosario.”

A different god.

Reinhardt was puzzled.

“…Well, I don’t pray to gods either, but is that okay?”

“Rosario doesn’t care much about Luxible anyway. They might feel bad, but that’s it.”

“So, which god do they worship?”

At Reinhardt’s question, Elize was silent for a moment before answering.

“That, the one who receives lightning, Kalanon, I think.”

“The one who receives lightning, Kalanon?”

“Yes, oh, there it is. That statue.”

They happened to be passing through the square.

Elize reached out her hand towards the center of the square.

Following her gaze, Reinhardt saw a giant statue standing there.

“Huh?”

A statue that looked somewhat familiar to Reinhardt.

“They say they worship that god.”

“…Is that the one who receives lightning, Kalanon?”

“Yes, that’s what I heard.”

“……”

He stopped walking and stared blankly at the statue.

The statue depicted a man in a dark coat, seemingly grasping a lightning bolt, but his face was not drawn.

However, even though the face was not properly depicted,

Reinhardt could unconsciously recall someone.

No, it wasn’t just recalling; if you ignored the erased face, it was just that person.

It was ‘Marquis Palatio.’

And the person who would do such a thing was-

“……Elize.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Is the person who traded with the Kingdom of Luxible Deus Macallian?”

There was no one else…

“No? How could that be?”

Hmm? No??

“Then why did you suddenly ask?”

Leaving the puzzled Elize behind, Reinhardt,

‘……What the hell is this……?’

With a strange expression, he could only stare at the statue for a while.

####

At that moment.

“The Duchy of Luxible changed its state religion?”

“Yes, they changed it to Kalannon, the Receiver of Lightning.”

“……Can they just change the state religion like that?”

“I don’t know either, but that’s what I heard.”

On the first night after reaching the desert and starting the crossing with the caravan as usual,

Alon heard such news from Evan.

“……But I’ve never heard of a god named Kalannon, the Receiver of Lightning. What kind of god is that?”

“It’s my first time hearing it too.”

[Hmm- I think I’ve heard of it before.]

“You?”

When Alon asked again, the small snake nodded.

[Of course, I don’t remember very well because it seems like I heard it a very long time ago, but anyway, it’s not a completely unfamiliar name.]

“So, in the end, you don’t know. Typical snakehead.”

Evan didn’t miss the chance to scratch Basiliora.

To that.

[You human, you have no fear!]

“You’re a snake.”

[I am a god!]

“If you’re a god, why can’t you beat me?”

[Th-that was just because I was extremely unlucky yesterday!]

As the topic shifted to the strange board game they played yesterday, their voices naturally grew louder.

‘…It seems like there are no quiet days these days.’

There used to be no noisy days.

Feeling that way for no reason, Alon soon shrugged.

He thought it was better to be noisy and a bit more human than to be too quiet and lonely.

In the meantime.

“Godfather.”

“Yes?”

“Kalannon, the one who receives lightning, seems to be the indigenous god of the Thunder Snake tribe.”

“The Thunder Snake tribe?”

“Yes.”

Rine, who was riding in the carriage with him, conveyed the new information.

“…So, does that mean the Duchy of Luxible has come to believe in the indigenous god of the Thunder Snake tribe?”

“Well, if you just listen to the story, it seems so?”

“…That’s a strange thing.”

Alon had a peculiar expression.

“Shall I look into it separately if you’re curious, Godfather?”

After a moment of contemplation, Alon shook his head.

“No, there’s no need to go that far.”

Exactly what situation made the Duchy of Luxible trust Kalanon, he didn’t know, but it wasn’t particularly important to him.

“Understood, Godfather.”

Rine, who immediately agreed, handed over something this time.

“Please eat.”

“Sweet potato?”

“Yes. I prepared it in advance, Godfather.”

It was a well-cooked sweet potato, with only the top part peeled, just right for eating.

“……Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Rine smiled innocently, as if she was happy.

Alon accepted the sweet potato she handed over.

However, contrary to his expressionless face, he felt a slight burden.

The reason being, during the journey that lasted a little over a week, Rine had been taking care of him too well.

……Almost excessively.

‘From fetching water for washing as soon as I wake up in the morning, to preparing all three meals by herself……. If there’s something I don’t know, she immediately appears and answers.’

In addition, if Alon said he was hot, she would take out a magic tool for cooling, and even though she was roasting sweet potatoes over a campfire, she brought them without any burnt parts, showing her dedication.

“……It’s delicious.”

“Thank you, Godfather. I’m happy to be praised.”

Rine smiled again.

However, contrary to the title ‘Godfather’ she called him by.

Alon felt a strange sensation as if he was being taken care of by a mature older sister.

“Please ask me anytime, Godfather. I’ll do anything I can to help.”

“……Thank you.”

“No, you’re my only Godfather.”

Alon chewed the sweet potato while listening to Rine’s voice, which flowed like music.

The sweet potato was still sweet.

####

A few days later.

While crossing the desert, Alon stopped the carriage at the sound of a loud alarm and went outside.

“There are many.”

“So many.”

They discovered a band of desert thieves.

Quite a large number of them.

“……Looks like a new band of thieves has formed?”

“Well, bands of thieves naturally form over time.”

“……But there seem to be more of them than the Blood Sand Thieves.”

Alon checked the horizon.

The sand cloud forming there was unusual.

“……There must be at least hundreds of them.”

“Indeed.”

‘……Even if we eliminate the Blood Sand Thieves, it’s impossible for thieves to disappear entirely from a place like this.’

Just as he thought that.

“Show us what you’ve got, Marquis.”

“Isn’t it usually the bodyguard’s job to go out in times like this?”

“Hey- How could I possibly kill them all?”

“……What are you trying to say by denying yourself?”

“Well- I’m just, you know, that.”

What is that…… Alon thought, but he couldn’t help but move forward.

However.

“Godfather. I’ll handle it.”

“……You?”

“Yes. Please wait a moment.”

Rine, who blocked him, moved forward with her usual smile.

Soon, when the band of thieves came into view.

“───”

Kiiing-!

Rine’s voice rang softly, and above her head-

A golden eye appeared like a hologram.

A giant eye with a halo.

And then.

Pssht-!

A golden cylindrical tube emitted a very short and intense sound as it shot out in an instant.

The tube, which had been fired, pierced through the enemies who were charging in dozens of directions in a moment.

It took less than a minute.

What followed was a scene where the dust clouds that had been narrowing the horizon disappeared cleanly.

The bandits who had been charging were all pierced by the golden tube, forming a giant jungle gym.

The merchants and mercenaries, who had been showing tension and anticipation until a moment ago, quietly gasped in astonishment.

Soon, Rine, who had nonchalantly retrieved the golden tube from within, said,

“It’s done, Godfather.”

She smiled with her usual smile, as if nothing had happened, and her eyes crinkled.

“…Yeah. But- that.”

“Yes?”

“…How did you do it?”

Alon, who had witnessed the entire process with Evan, asked unconsciously.

Of course, he knew that Rine had some combat abilities, having fought alongside her against Kylas.

But to this extent…

“It’s all thanks to the items you gave me, Godfather.”

“…The ones I gave you?”

“Yes.”

“…The Eye of the Tracker?”

“Although I’m still not very good at using it, I’ve become a bit more accustomed to it now, Godfather.”

Alon slowly raised his head to look at the giant eye floating behind Rine.

‘Is that the Eye of the Tracker?’

An eye that looked completely different from what he had imagined…

‘What is that…?’

A strange fear colored Alon’s entire body.

A week later.

Alon’s party finally arrived at the colony.

And then.

“Master!”

As soon as he arrived, he was met by Seolang, who jumped straight into Alon.

“Long time no see!”

“…Long time no see.”

Alon barely managed to greet Seolang, who had wrapped her legs around his waist like a snake.

“Now you’ll answer me, right!?”

“…Answer?”

With a beaming smile on her face-

“It’s been 2 years! Are we getting married now!?”

“Ah.”

Alon could only let out a pained sigh at Seolang’s innocent question.