I Became the Patron of Villains

158. Why is he so strong? (2)

A temple on an unknown ground.

In the landscape full of alienation, there were three people whose faces were not visible under dark robes.

“Wow, is Pride really dead?”

“Tsk- how foolish. Everything has its time.”

“……”

One spoke in amazement, another in disdain, and one remained silent.

They were the apostles of the five great sins, like the apostle of Pride.

“It’s a bit strange. Even after receiving power from him, dying to those outside is truly laughable.”

The ‘Apostle of Greed’ rested his chin on his hand with a contemptuous look.

“Tsk tsk-“

The ‘Apostle of Sloth’ clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t understand.

“He was just being arrogant. Even though it’s only been ten years since he received the power and he couldn’t use it properly, his confidence was sky-high.”

“Hehe- that’s true. He was extremely arrogant. Ah, is it because he was the apostle of that person? But even considering that, it’s strange. Even though he was the weakest among us, it’s surprising that there was someone outside who could deal with him.”

The topic of conversation naturally shifted to one person.

The one who dealt with Pride.

Sloth nodded.

“That’s unexpected for me too. Well, not that it matters to me.”

“That’s true.”

Greed, who acknowledged it cleanly, glanced at Wrath.

“So, Wrath, what are you going to do now?”

“What?”

An unidentifiable voice.

Pride added to Wrath’s question, whose everything was hidden under a dark robe.

“It’s a literal question. Now that the barrier is lifted and we can go outside, what are you going to do?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

A defensive attitude.

Greed thought for a moment and then spat out.

“Is there a reason to think? We just need to go and retrieve it anyway.”

“……”

Wrath didn’t bother to answer.

“Seems like you don’t want to answer.”

Greed shrugged as if he couldn’t help it.

“Well, since everyone seems to be doing as they please, I should start moving too.”

“Are you going out?”

“With the barrier lifted, there’s no reason to stay here. I need to check and manage the state of the seeds outside, don’t I? Besides, I’m getting restless.”

Greed grinned and stood up,

“Well then, I don’t know when everyone will come out, but see you outside.”

With those words, he left.

“Hmm-“

Sloth, who had been watching, also stood up.

“Then, I’ll be going too.”

“Are you going out too?”

“Like you, I’m thinking. To be precise, I’m planning to judge by watching ‘Greed’. If it’s him, he’ll take care of anyone who might hinder us.”

It’s bothersome for me to deal with it, so I’ll wait until then, Sloth finished and disappeared as well.

Anger sat in the now quiet temple, gazing for a while at the place where sloth and greed had vanished.

####

The office of the Marquis of Palatio.

“Hello, Count- no, Marquis!”

“Yes.”

Alon thought as he looked at the young man who had grown so much that he was unrecognizable compared to when he first saw him.

‘…Indeed, now he exudes the atmosphere of the original protagonist.’

When Alon first met Elivan, he looked so young that it would have been better to call him a boy rather than a young man.

Now, he had become the very image of Elivan from the game.

‘Yes, he’s handsome. There was a reason he was always depicted as a beautiful boy in the game.’

Alon unconsciously made such an assessment.

And the reason Alon suddenly thought about Elivan’s appearance was because of the companions behind him.

Alon looked at the two women and one man behind Elivan.

‘In order, they were ‘Yan, Bina, and Ralph.’

Looking at them, each with the professions of mage, thief, and warrior, Alon recalled the history of how Elivan recruited his companions.

First, Yan was a mage from the Blue Tower whom Elivan met when he first left the village. She joined him after meeting him during a trade trip.

Incidentally, the reason Yan became Elivan’s companion was because he helped her gather some magical ingredients during the trip.

Next, the second to join was the thief Bina, who got involved with Elivan as a typical pickpocket in the next village. It was a bit funny, but she was set up as a rather promising thief(?).

She joined Elivan because he let her go after catching her pickpocketing.

In other words, despite the relatively solid psychedelic storyline, the reasons for the early companions joining the protagonist’s party were surprisingly flimsy, except for Ralph.

In the community, there was often talk about Elivan being an absurdly alpha male.

Alon glanced beyond Elivan to observe the companions.

‘Who would have thought the rumors were true.’

Yan and Bina were clearly showing their affection for Elivan.

Alon felt the unfairness of the world for a moment.

He cleared his throat and organized his thoughts.

“So, what is it?”

“I came to ask for your help, Marquis. Can I receive your assistance?”

“…My help?”

“Yes, I remembered you said to ask if I needed help last time… Is it a bother?”

Alon immediately shook his head.

It was true that he had said such things, and even if Elivan didn’t want it, Alon planned to help him.

Elivan was growing rapidly and there were many things he needed to do.

“What kind of help do you need?”

“I need help with the Gwaemun.”

“Gwaemun?”

“Yes. There’s a Gwaemun we need to deal with this time, but it seems a bit difficult for us alone. Is it possible to get some help?”

Seeing Elivan’s good-natured smile, Alon felt puzzled.

‘…If it’s the Gwaemun that needs to be dealt with at this point, it would be the one I was planning to go to… There shouldn’t be any problem for Elivan’s party to handle it.’

Alon pondered for a moment.

But soon he understood the reason.

‘Come to think of it, in the story, it was originally very dangerous, so they tried to get support from Asteria. But then, due to an unexpected situation, they couldn’t get the support.’

Alon nodded as he recalled the game settings belatedly.

‘Originally, the story was about asking for help from a nearby territory, but this time, since he knows me, he came to ask for my help.’

Thinking it was a good thing, Alon replied.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Oh, the Marquis himself?”

“Yes,”

“Wow! I was just going to ask if you could spare a few soldiers, thank you!”

Elivan bowed deeply.

“No, I said I would help last time as well. Departure… Well, there’s no need to drag it out, so let’s go tomorrow.”

Having made the decision immediately, Alon informed Elivan’s party of a room to stay for a day.

After they left.

“Marquis.”

“What’s the matter?”

Evan approached with a look of disbelief.

“…That guy- Is he the one from a few years ago? The one you took care of-“

“Yes.”

“Wow-“

At Alon’s answer, he gaped in astonishment.

“……The world is so unfair.”

He muttered quietly.

“Hmm, honestly, I think so too.”

He’s ridiculously handsome.

“Right?”

[Hmph- Your face suits your personality perfectly.]

“What did you say, you b*stard?”

[Am I wrong?]

Evan, who was frowning at Basiliora’s sneer, suddenly exclaimed as if he had remembered something.

“……Wait a minute, now that I think about it, Marquis. That guy named Elivan, I didn’t realize it when you mentioned it earlier, but isn’t he a ‘Chosen One’?”

“Chosen One? Ah, yes, that’s right.”

Alon had also momentarily forgotten that setting.

‘……I just skimmed over it after the early part, but there was such a setting.’

The Chosen One.

A title given to those who close the mysterious phenomena occurring in this world, similar to the position of a hero in other games.

Elivan had also dealt with the huge mysterious phenomenon that occurred in the village during the first tutorial, receiving the blessing of Sironia.

‘By now, he would have been recognized by the five great kingdoms……. Ah, was that why Yutia came looking for him?’

Alon recalled the time a month ago when Yutia had briefly visited the territory. He realized it must have been to appoint the Chosen One.

“Wait a minute. So…… did you know that guy would become the Chosen One, Marquis?”

Evan’s question was filled with doubt, and Alon hesitated for a moment, wondering how to explain.

“No, you don’t have to answer.”

“……Why not?”

“It’s not the first time you’ve done something I don’t know about, Marquis. I just accept it as it is.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes. Well- it’s not like you suddenly change just because something suspicious happens. I’ve gotten used to it by now.”

Evan shrugged his shoulders, whether it was indifference or trust, and Alon felt a strange sense of emotion at his acceptance of him as he was.

“……I’ll raise your salary.”

“Really!?”

And Evan was also moved.

Around the time Evan and Alon were exchanging heartfelt emotions.

Thanks to Alon, Elivan and his party had a place to sleep.

“Oh! This is really comfortable!”

“Ah- how long has it been since we’ve had a bed.”

As soon as they entered the room, they joyfully jumped onto the bed.

“Ahhh-“

“This is the taste of nobility-“

Vina and Ralph, rubbing their bodies against the cozy bedding as if they were happy.

Unlike them, who were engrossed in the soft sensation, Yan spoke to Elivan with a sullen expression.

“Elivan, did we really have to come here?”

“Huh?”

“To the Marquis of Palatio.”

“Well- we need support, right?”

Elivan’s simple answer.

However, Yan’s frown showed no signs of easing.

“But, if we do that, we have to share the rewards from the Strange Gate with the Marquis.”

The reason for Yan’s dissatisfaction.

From noble mtl dot com

It was because of the rewards.

Elivan’s party had already entered the Strange Gate about three times and had come out with rewards, and they knew that the level of those rewards was high.

In other words, Yan did not want to share the rewards with the Marquis of Palatio.

For Yan, a wizard, the rewards from the Strange Gate were very sweet.

But Elivan smiled his characteristic good-natured smile.

“Don’t think about it too much, Yan. You never know what might happen. They did say it was very dangerous when we were commissioned for this job.”

“…I think we can handle it on our own.”

“Better safe than sorry, right?”

“Still.”

Yan still looked full of complaints.

Elivan just scratched his head awkwardly.

Yan knew Elivan’s personality, who wasn’t good at saying no to others, so he continued to grumble.

Eventually.

“I honestly don’t like the Marquis of Palatio either. His expressionless face makes it impossible to know what he’s thinking.”

As always, she grumbled and then looked at Elivan, who would soon be smiling awkwardly.

And then.

“…?”

Yan saw it.

Elivan, who was smiling.

However, the smile on his lips was different from the one she had seen before.

Indeed, his mouth was smiling.

But his eyes were not.

Chill-!

Yan felt a chill run through her body.

“Yan.”

Elivan’s low voice dropped.

“Y-Yes?”

Elivan, who had approached her before she knew it, placed his hand on her shoulder.

Then he brought his shining face close to hers-

“Talking about the Marquis like that isn’t very good. What do you think?”

He stared into Yan’s eyes with his shadowed blue eyes.

It was definitely the Elivan she had always seen.

But Yan, feeling the strange fear in those blue eyes, swallowed unconsciously.

“I’m s-sorry… Elivan. I guess I was thinking too selfishly.”

She slowly offered an apology, or rather a reflection.

Elivan, who had gripped her shoulder tightly, said,

“It’s okay, Yan. But let’s be careful next time, okay?”

He stepped back with a smile that made his dazzling face even more radiant.

However-

“…Yes.”

She felt a peculiar fear.

So, the next day.

“Let’s get going.”

“Yes, sir!”

Alon set off towards the Gwaemun with Eliban’s party.