I Became the Patron of Villains

36. The City of Colonies on the Desert (1)

In the naturally started story in a situation so confusing that his head was spinning, Alon was able to obtain three pieces of information.

The first was that the alliance between Count Zenonia and Duke Altia was said to have been ordered by Alon.

The second was that this faction called ‘Kalpa’ was created by a letter Alon sent to Count Zenonia.

The third was that the gifts he had received so far were from nobles who wanted to join the faction, seeking permission from the faction leader.

“…….”

Alon, who had barely grasped the fact through the words of Duke Altia and Count Zenonia, looked at them with a dumbfounded expression behind his blank face.

Even though he had barely grasped the fact, there were still many things he did not understand.

……No, beyond that, there were many things he wanted to tackle.

Unless Alon was a dual personality like Jekyll and Hyde, he had never given or received any orders through Count Zenonia.

In other words, he had never really sworn to form an alliance with them……!

‘No, I just wrote a letter saying I didn’t like the other nobles, so how did the story progress to that point?’

Alon’s head spun as he looked at the two with a feeling that it was hard to understand.

‘Is this the realm of genius that criminals cannot understand……?’

Recalling a video he had seen in the previous world, where criminals took words at face value but geniuses listened to the implications behind a single word, Alon looked at the two with somewhat complicated eyes.

‘……Now that I see it, Deus wasn’t a filial son…….’

He recalled the gifts that had been flying in for months.

In fact, Alon had found it strange.

No matter how great Deus’s position was, he didn’t think his fame was enough for other nobles to send expensive gifts from all over to build a connection.

Thinking that far, Alon finally remembered that most of the content in the letter was praise for him rather than for Deus.

‘……It’s not easy.’

Alon closed his mouth, realizing that he had inadvertently helped create a faction through a series of coincidences.

From the moment he realized a few facts, he instinctively knew.

That he could no longer jump off this train called Kalpa.

He had already received too much to do so.

Of course, if he really wanted to get out of here, there was a way, but it was not a good choice.

The moment the royalists and the aristocrats clearly recognized him as an enemy, leaving this faction would be more of a loss than a gain.

……In fact, if the loss was bearable, he would have pressed the escape button without hesitation.

‘……If I say it was all a misunderstanding, I don’t know how those two will react…….’

Alon looked at Duke Altia and Count Zenonia.

The two, who had been looking at Deus until a moment ago, now looked like beautiful nobles, but Alon knew.

How terrifying Count Zenonia was.

Of course, in the case of Duke Altia, the person sitting there was not the character he had seen in the game, but someone who should have originally disappeared, but Alon did not take her lightly either.

He knew well that those who were called “dark figures” had their reasons, and moreover, possessed a sensitivity that ordinary people could not understand.

In other words, even if Alon explained everything well, it was highly likely that those two would think, ‘Ah, this is embarrassing, let’s just kill him.’

Of course, Alon didn’t know them well, but in this game, most of those named “dark figures” were generally personality wrecks.

Therefore, he had to remain the leader of Kalpa, whether he liked it or not.

Yes, whether he liked it or not.

‘…Until I come up with a rough excuse to step down from the leader position later.’

However, Alon had no intention of holding the leader position for long.

He knew that the leader of a faction had many gains, but also many responsibilities.

In other words, for Alon, whose motto was to live a leisurely noble life without working for a lifetime, the leader position did not suit him, so he set a goal.

To retire after holding the leader position for a while and then finding an opportunity.

“So, what do you plan to do now?”

“Hmm.”

At the voice of Duke Altia, which came at the conclusion of his thoughts, Alon let out a short groan.

After talking, it seemed that Duke Altia and Count Zenonia thought Alon had some plan to form a faction, but of course, he had no such plan.

No, there was no way he could have had a plan.

He only found out today that he was the leader of Kalpa.

However, since he couldn’t tell the truth, Alon, who was rolling his eyes appropriately, decided to buy some time.

“First, let’s clean up the underworld.”

“…Clean up?”

“Yes. That way, it will be easier for us to operate.”

Of course, Alon didn’t know how it would be easier.

But, since he couldn’t even remember what topic came up in the grand council today, it was obvious that bringing up a political topic suddenly would be awkward, so he used his head in his own way.

…Clumsy, but it was the best Alon could do.

“Then, I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now.”

Alon stood up and immediately turned around and walked away.

Because if those two asked questions, he had no answers.

“…”

Therefore, Alon, who walked out a bit quickly, soon ran to the carriage in the empty hallway, wondering if someone would catch him.

“…Count?”

“Let’s go straight to the colony.”

That day, he decided to leave for the colony immediately.

‘The letter should have arrived by now. I hope I can get some help, like during the Deus incident.’

With that thought, Alon’s carriage began to move.

……It was an early summer night.

Meanwhile,

“Cleaning up the underworld, huh-”

Count Zenonia muttered, recalling Count Palatio who had vanished like the wind, as if he had nothing more to say. After a moment of contemplation, Duke Altia spoke up.

“……If we’re talking about cleaning up the underworld, there’s only one thing it could mean, right?”

“Hmm, our territory has been neatly under control for a long time. But if we’re being told to clean up-”

“Then it must be the remaining territories.”

“In other words.”

Count Zenonia and Duke Altia fell silent, but soon, without anyone saying who should go first, a smile appeared on their lips.

What they were about to say next would have been an impossible dream if they were acting individually.

But now that they had formed an alliance and factions had emerged, it was possible.

“……Unifying the underworld.”

“That sounds interesting.”

Count Zenonia and Duke Altia smiled deeply.

“I wonder what you’re planning. I’m getting more and more curious.”

“Really. What are you going to show us?”

Ting-

With those words, the wine glasses they were holding clinked elegantly.

“I’m looking forward to it. Truly.”

Praises for Alon spread along with the scent of wine.

A week later.

As Alon was heading south to leave Teria and head straight for the desert city.

“Hmm-”

A man, an agent, was watching the carriage in the distance.

The carriage carrying Count Palatio, who was also his client.

The ‘Agent’ watched the carriage slowly heading south and took out a quill from his bosom, thinking.

‘I was tempted by the Abyssal Body, but there are still some concerns.’

Of course, he could go near Count Palatio right now and draw the quill he was holding in the air to kill him instantly.

However, the reason he was hesitating was none other than the rules shared among those who bear the name of Agent.

‘They said not to make troublesome enemies if possible…’

In fact, Count Palatio did not fall into the category of ‘troublesome enemies.’

Rather, the ones they considered troublesome were the Master Knights in Caliburn, who seemed to have received a great favor from Alon, Deus.

‘He will definitely move.’

Of course, the Agents did not fear Deus’s movements.

They were all skilled beyond the level of Swordmasters, so they could confidently claim that they could kill even the Sword of Caliburn if they set their minds to it.

However, regardless of their skills, creating unnecessary bad blood with those who could wield considerable power in the open was something to be avoided as it would become troublesome in any sense.

Even if a considerable amount of money came in as a commission fee, it was the same.

But the reason the Agent accepted Carmine’s commission was because the reward he offered was too attractive.

‘Three Abyssal Bodies…’

Abyssal Bodies.

They were items secretly distributed in the underworld by Duke Comalon at some point, and when absorbed through a special process, they granted special powers to the absorber. They were items that could not be obtained even with money.

The reason being, Duke Comalon did not distribute Abyssal Bodies well, unlike Abyssal Gems that enhanced physical abilities.

In other words, Abyssal Bodies were being sold at exorbitant prices in the black market, but he did not accept the commission to sell them.

‘How strong would I become if I used them…’

The Agent, who had a characteristic sly smile on his lips as if he was very pleased just thinking about it, soon cleared the distracting thoughts from his mind.

Watching the rapidly approaching carriage, the Agent picked up the quill.

And then.

“No hard feelings, but it’s a commission, so there’s no choice.”

As the Agent’s small murmur accompanied the hand holding the quill moving horizontally—

“?”

The Agent saw it.

That his right hand, which had been holding the quill and soaking the air with black ink until just a moment ago, had been cut off.

The Agent, who momentarily had a look of incomprehension on his face, soon tried to scream in the rising terrible pain.

“Gah-!?”

With a momentarily felt greater pain, the body that had been floating in the air until just a moment ago was instantly thrown into the forest.

And then, the next moment. What the agent, who had crashed into the tree with a bang while clutching his severed right arm, could see was.

“!?”

A boy with black hair and blue eyes.

A boy with a youthful appearance, as if he had not yet reached adulthood.

The agent quickly guessed that the person who had cut off his hand was the boy in front of him and tried to open his mouth.

“!”

He realized that his mouth would not open, as if it had been forcibly shut by something.

“That’s unfortunate.”

A voice sprang from the mouth of the boy who was smiling brightly.

A cheerful voice that did not match the situation.

And then.

The moment the agent looked at the boy’s face.

Crack-!

His neck twisted around twice, and he met his death.

The agent, with a bewildered expression as if he had not even realized how he had died, stopped breathing.

The boy, who had been watching him, soon turned around.

“If it weren’t for the fact that my opponent was the Duke… no, the Count, you wouldn’t have had to die by my hand.”

He turned around and disappeared.

Only the agent’s corpse remained in the forest.

A corpse with a neck twisted around twice.