I Became the Patron of Villains

22. The Grand Cathedral (2)

The battle with the goblins ended in victory.

Thanks to the knights and mercenaries responding calmly, the front line did not collapse.

Alon once again used magic to blow away the detachment that was moving to attack the nobles from behind with bows, causing the front line to tilt in an instant.

Of course, there were casualties due to the sheer number of goblins, which numbered in the hundreds and included mutated individuals, but the number of casualties was very low considering the scale of the battle.

Thus, the battle ended completely when a knight pierced the head of the last struggling goblin.

As soon as the combatants confirmed that the situation was over, they let out a deep sigh of relief and turned their gaze to Alon, who was looking down at the goblin corpses.

Despite having just fought a life-and-death battle, the mercenaries looked at him with a momentary expression of awe, as if the fight had not affected him at all.

The image of Alon turning dozens of goblins into chunks of meat without changing his expression had left a strong impression on both the mercenaries and the knights.

However, Alon, who was being looked at with admiration by the knights and mercenaries, was actually thinking.

‘I almost died in one blow…!’

Though it didn’t show on his face, he was making a great effort to calm his wildly beating heart.

Even though he bore the mark of the unholy, allowing him to use magic three times more than usual, he had become an ordinary person due to the poor capacity of his mana hole after using Wall and Shield twice each.

‘It’s a relief that the knights won.’

Of course, no matter how mutated the goblins were, the chances of the knights and mercenaries losing were remarkably low, so he had some faith. But at the moment when all his abilities to protect himself were stripped away, he couldn’t help but be desperate.

‘…I thought about just dropping off halfway, but I’m glad I stuck with it… More importantly.’

Alon praised his past self for acting rationally, then calmed his pounding heart and turned his gaze to the goblin, soon wearing a serious expression.

He knew all too well the significance of the purple amethyst sprouting from this goblin’s body.

‘Why is there divine possession…?’

It was a peculiar characteristic that occurred to the continent’s monsters when an outer god tried to descend into this world.

Monsters affected by divine possession became even more ferocious and their physical abilities were enhanced.

Of course, the monsters they would encounter on their way to the duke’s territory could be dealt with by the current group, but that wasn’t what Alon was worried about.

It was the fact that divine possession had occurred.

The occurrence of divine possession meant that an outer god would soon descend upon this land.

Outer gods that couldn’t descend unless the Five Great Sins descended.

‘This can’t be happening…’

The descent of outer gods was a very serious matter for Alon.

Even if they weren’t as powerful as the Five Great Sins, if the outer gods from the outskirts began to descend and rampage, one or two kingdoms would easily disappear.

There were six kingdoms on the continent excluding the empire, so there was a one-third chance that his retirement plans would vanish.

No, it would be fortunate if he could even worry about his retirement plans, so Alon looked at the goblin with a serious expression.

However, there were those who wore an even more serious expression than Alon, perhaps one that suggested their entire family had been ruined.

“…”

…It was Count Clyd and Count Edorn.

A few days had passed since the appearance of the mutated goblin, and now there was about a day left until they reached the duke’s house.

It had only been a few days, but in that short time, two changes had come to Alon.

One was that the nobles who had looked at him with blatant contempt and ridicule when Count Clyd and Count Edorn spat out their mockery no longer wore such expressions.

The other change was…

“Count Palatio, I brought some meat from my estate. Would you like to try it?”

“Count, if you don’t mind, I’d like to offer some support to your territory. What do you think?”

Count Clyd and Count Edorn, who had been diligently mocking him for the past few days, had stopped and were now fawning over Alon with expressions that suggested they would give him their liver and gallbladder.

The two counts, who were now clinging to the indifferent Alon with fawning expressions, were in a hurry.

No, it was really urgent.

Just a few days ago, the strength Alon had shown was suspiciously strong to say that he had taken over the Palatio Count’s family by mere ‘luck’.

Moreover, he still remembered the words of the third-rank mage that Baron Amon had brought along to show off his wealth that night.

The words that Alon’s magic was absolutely not of the second rank.

The moment they heard those words, the two counts thought that the rumors circulating in the world might be wrong, as if flipping their palms.

Of course, there were still unresolved questions that made it hard to say the rumors were completely wrong, but that wasn’t important.

What was important was that the two counts realized that Alon was hiding a power strong enough that he didn’t need any guards.

That meant that the power the Palatio Count had, which erased Avalon in a day, could be real, and in the end, the only way left for them was to quickly appease him.

Of course, someone might look at this situation and think, “Isn’t it better to find out the exact circumstances since there are still suspicious points?” But for the two who knew the Palatio Count’s family, that was not applicable at all.

They had witnessed the Palatio Count’s family’s brutality several times.

How cruel they were.

Of course, the third son, Alon, had never shown such behavior, but they were convinced that Alon already had a cruel and brutal personality.

…Because the Palatio Count’s family had been full of scoundrels since his grandfather’s time.

Anyway, thanks to that, Alon had enjoyed a very luxurious life for the past few days.

He ate meat instead of sweet potatoes and corn for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the wine they occasionally brought along was also very good.

However, the reason Alon’s expression did not brighten despite receiving such gifts for several days in a row was still because of the goblin from a few days ago.

‘Who is it…’

In fact, no matter how much Alon pondered, there was no answer.

In the end, divine possession was just a precursor to the descent of an external god, and it was impossible to know exactly which external god would descend at what point in time.

Even if he racked his brains here, it was meaningless.

…Even knowing it was meaningless, it was a problem he couldn’t ignore as his future plans could be ruined in an instant, and he could go from being a noble to a commoner in a moment.

‘I must gather information as soon as I get to the territory.’

Thinking that, Alon looked at the nobles who were flattering him, having thrown away their pride to make up for their previous actions, and once again realized the brutality of the Palatio Count’s family.

‘…I didn’t expect them to act like this just because the rumors might not be true.’

Watching the counts’ antics, Alon turned his gaze.

He realized their brutality, but he didn’t particularly want to dispel their anxiety.

…He thought of himself as cool, but he had a petty side.

In the end, the counts’ antics ended when Alon arrived at the Rotegre Duke’s family.

As soon as he arrived at the Rotegre Duke’s family, what Alon could see was an unbelievably huge mansion, and mansion, and mansion.

‘How many mansions does he have inside the castle? Is he really that rich?’

Alon, who had seen the various mansions with different interior designs, almost thought that collecting mansions was a hobby. It didn’t take long for him to realize that all those mansions belonged to the concubines, and he couldn’t help but stick out his tongue in disbelief.

Would his body even survive? That thought was fleeting. Arriving when the banquet was in full swing, Alon entered the ballroom and was once again astonished.

It was because he realized that money had been lavishly spent on everything in sight.

Even the wine glasses, which should have been the least of concerns, were rimmed with gold. The chandeliers were also made of gold. Alon felt an urge to dismantle and sell those chandeliers as he wandered around the ballroom.

Naturally, the ballroom was filled with numerous nobles.

As expected, the Duke of Rotegre, who had spent a fortune to open the grand cathedral, was there, looking severely emaciated, along with many other nobles engaged in small talk.

Alon did not bother to intrude on the nobles’ conversations this time.

He could easily guess that nothing good would come from intruding.

More so than the last ball.

Therefore, instead of joining the nobles’ conversations, Alon decided to stay nearby, eating moderately and eavesdropping on their small talk.

After all, Evan had left to contact the information guild as soon as they arrived at the territory.

Thus, while putting a dessert similar to an egg tart in his mouth along with some wine, Alon overheard an interesting piece of news from the nobles’ conversation.

“Baron Daldoran, have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“You know, the rumor that Duke Altia and Count Zenonia not only formed an alliance but are also trying to create a faction.”

“Oh, that rumor? I’ve heard it too.”

The nobles, as if sharing a great secret, moved to a corner and started talking quietly. However, Alon, who had enhanced his hearing with magic, could easily hear their voices.

“But is it true? I couldn’t believe that Duke Altia and Count Zenonia had formed an alliance in the first place. If they indeed form a faction, they would become powerful enough to crush all the current factions.”

“That’s right. Something unprecedented might happen.”

Indeed, Alon was surprised to hear this, but he didn’t show a serious expression.

Even if such rumors spread, he believed that the two masterminds would never maintain their alliance for long.

Thinking this, Alon suddenly widened his eyes and nodded at the taste of the egg tart in his mouth.

‘Delicious.’

Naturally, he picked up another egg tart and put it in his mouth.

However—

“But that’s not the problem.”

“What do you mean it’s not the problem? Is there an even bigger rumor?”

“There wouldn’t be a bigger rumor if it wasn’t for this.”

Mumble, mumble, mumble—

“What on earth is it…?”

“This is something I heard very secretly, so don’t spread it around. From what I’ve heard, the head of this faction is neither Duke Altia nor Count Zenonia.”

“…? Then who is the head?”

Mumbling-

“Count Palatio.”

“…Count Palatio?”

“Yes. The head of the faction is… Count Palatio.”

“Is that true?”

“Of course. Do you think I would lie?”

Mumble-?

“???”

…Yes?

– In the story that followed, Alon couldn’t help but turn his gaze to the nobles who were having a secret conversation and gape.