I Became the Patron of Villains

67. Sign it! (2)

Duke Komalan of the Kingdom of Ashtalon, located to the west of the Kingdom of Asteria.

He was a noble with immense power within the Kingdom of Ashtalon, and although most nobles were unaware, he also wielded significant influence in the underworld.

In fact, there was no place in the underworld of the United Kingdoms where his influence did not reach.

That was certainly the case. Until recently.

“Hmm…”

Late at night.

In the quiet study, Duke Komalan, who had held the title for over 20 years, looked at the document with a face that did not seem to belong to a middle-aged man.

“So, it’s difficult to exert influence in the Kingdom of Asteria?”

The duke muttered to himself in the empty study.

Yet, despite the apparent absence of anyone around him.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

A voice responded, and a man emerged from the shadows, kneeling before Duke Komalan.

The man who held immense power in the underworld of the Ashtalon Kingdom on behalf of Duke Komalan was Shtro.

Without turning his head, the Duke continued to ask questions.

“Not even a little?”

“Yes, they have completely dealt with all the ones on our side.”

“Did the organizations that received Abyssal Jade or Abyssal Bodies collapse so easily?”

“That is-“

Shtro hesitated for a moment before answering.

“The Asteria side hasn’t yet brought in any organizations worthy of receiving Abyssal Jade or Abyssal Bodies, so-“

“I see, there was no one to recruit.”

“I’m sorry.”

Shtro bowed his head.

The Duke, tapping the quill he was holding without any expression, replied indifferently.

“No need to bow your head like that.”

“I’m sor-“

Shtro tried to bow his head and open his mouth, but-

“-ry? Ah?”

-At that moment, he realized something was wrong.

When he recognized the dissonance.

In Shtro’s vision, Duke Komalan’s figure was reversed.

“?”

Shtro’s face was filled with confusion, as if he couldn’t understand the situation.

And then.

“Just apologize with your death.”

With those words, Shtro’s body collapsed with a thud.

“Clean it up.”

As soon as the low voice fell, shadows emerged from the darkness and began to clear away Shtro’s body sprawled on the office floor.

Soon after.

“Injela.”

At Komalan’s call, who had nonchalantly killed a power broker of the underworld, a dark elf with a black body and large ears emerged from the shadows and spoke.

“You called?”

“Yes, from now on, you will manage the aftermath.”

“Understood.”

The dark elf nodded.

The duke, without paying any attention to the body of Sutro being dragged into the shadows, spoke.

“And… did you say we can’t exert influence over Asteria?”

“Yes.”

“That’s troublesome. We need it for our plans.”

“Shall we move?”

The dark elf’s question.

However, Duke Komalan, after seeming to ponder for a moment, shook his head.

“No, we need to focus on what’s happening in Rakshasa. There’s no need to show our strength right now. So… the head of Kalpa… you said it was Count Palatio?”

“Yes. Kalpa, which dominates the underworld of Asteria, moves around that noble.”

“Count Palatio.”

A hint of interest flickered in Duke Komalan’s murmur.

It was because Count Palatio had recently interfered with his plans a few times.

Although it didn’t seem intentional, there were instances where he had to redo unnecessary tasks repeatedly.

Moreover, recent rumors had sufficiently piqued his interest in the ‘plan’ he was preparing.

“Don’t move directly. If we get caught moving from this side, it will be troublesome.”

“Understood. Then what should we do?”

“Tell those who have taken bribes to express their displeasure to Count Palatio. Our goal is only to exert some influence. If we shake his prestige a little, cracks will form quickly.”

As if he knew well how futile the sandcastle built by politics was, Komalan spoke nonchalantly.

“That’s good timing. Asteria has been asking us to keep an eye on things. If we deal with the count, we can use that as an excuse to increase our influence.”

“Understood.”

As Dark Elf Ingela was about to lower her gaze to the documents, she suddenly raised her eyes as if she had remembered something.

“And. How is the experiment going?”

“…If you mean Young Master Carmine, he is currently in the isolation room.”

“His condition?”

“Until the previous Abyssal Jade, he was able to live his daily life despite excessive anxiety and violence, but since absorbing the Abyssal Body this year, he has been unable to control his violence and anger, and is in a broken state.”

The dark elf reported calmly.

However, Duke Komalan, despite hearing such a story, seemed to ponder without any change in his expression.

“Is that so.”

“Yes.”

“Understood. Handle the Asteria matter well.”

He shifted his gaze as if he had no further interest.

“Understood.”

The dark elf, bowing his head, vanished in that state.

With that, the Duke of Komalan’s office returned to silence.

As if no one had been there from the beginning.

####

Alon stared blankly at the marriage registration form before shifting his gaze to Seolang.

Seolang’s eyes were shining brightly.

“Let’s become a family!”

Seolang’s face was full of anticipation.

However, Alon, who had received the marriage registration form, thought,

‘This is a bit…’

With a blank expression, he asked with a troubled look behind his face.

“Any other requests?”

“No!”

“…I’m sorry, but I can’t grant this one.”

“Eh-“

Seolang’s ears drooped openly in disappointment.

However, just because Seolang looked disappointed didn’t mean Alon was going to marry her right away.

Of course, objectively speaking, Seolang wasn’t lacking as a bride.

Seolang had a very beautiful appearance, and her honor and status were not to be underestimated.

But that was only from an objective point of view, and Alon had many concerns about Seolang.

First of all, although she wasn’t much younger than Alon, he thought of her as a daughter.

Secondly, Alon believed that Seolang wanted to marry him not out of pure love, but because she wanted to become ‘family.’

In other words, she liked Alon, but she didn’t love him.

These two points were quite important to Alon, who had a fairly traditional view of romance, and that’s why he didn’t grant Seolang’s request.

“Ugh-“

Alon looked at Seolang, whose tail drooped sadly, making a pitiful sound.

‘…I need to comfort him because of the trauma from the last betrayal, but saying something like “we’re family anyway” probably won’t help much.’

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke as if he had made a decision.

“Think about it when you’re a bit older.”

“…How long?”

“…Two years?”

Alon sighed briefly, thinking that saying too far in the future wouldn’t be much comfort, and saying too soon would be strange, so he mentioned a number purely for comfort.

‘Did I say too short a time?’

But regardless of Alon’s sigh,

“Okay!”

Seeing Seolang wagging his tail as if he had regained his energy, Alon sighed in relief.

‘Well, in two years, his thoughts will change.’

Alon thought briefly.

####

After some time had passed, Alon arrived at the forgotten ruins, leaving Seolang, who said he would wait, behind and immediately started moving.

He reached the central tower where he had encountered the unknown entity last time and climbed the tower without hesitation.

And then.

[Oh, you’ve come.]

As soon as he reached the large room, he was startled to see the unknown entity appearing before him as if it had been waiting.

The figure, which had been so crumpled and distorted that it was unrecognizable last time, was now clearly visible.

Despite having a human physique, it had antlers on its head and a long tail growing from its back.

“…A dragon? No… a dragonkin?”

Although the full appearance was not yet visible, he could roughly identify its nature from the shadowy figure.

[Ho- you can see me? Is it because your ‘rank’ has risen after defeating the foreign god? Impressive. Honestly, I didn’t think you could do it.]

Alon spoke to the dragonkin, who appeared like a shadow before him.

“I almost died.”

[Isn’t it impressive enough that a human dealt with a foreign god to the point of almost dying? Well… judging by the accumulated rank, it seems you dealt with it before it fully manifested.]

It then sat cross-legged on the desk in the office and propped its chin.

[Still, it’s a bit curious. How did you kill it, even if it hadn’t fully manifested? Normally, that would be impossible.]

It asked, forming a question mark with its long tail, as if curious.

“I used Self-Manifestation.”

[…Huh? Self-Manifestation? You?]

“Indeed.”

[…Pfft.]

Alon replied, and the one who had been speaking with an endlessly arrogant tone just moments ago suddenly stared at him blankly.

[Hahahahahaha-!!]

Then, it burst into laughter, bending its body like a child.

As if it had heard the funniest thing, it pounded the desk beside it with its fist, laughing, and Alon looked bewildered at its sudden behavior.

[Ah, sorry, sorry- It’s been a while since I heard such a joke.]

“What’s so funny about it?”

[The fact that you succeeded in Self-Manifestation.]

The dragonkin wiped its eyes with its black hand, as if tears had formed.

[Well, I suppose it’s easy to misunderstand- A wizard needs pride, but also arrogance.]

It spoke with a blatantly mocking tone.

[Let me tell you, the idea that you succeeded in Self-Manifestation is absurd. How could a mere human who hasn’t even mastered Mental Dissolution succeed in Self-Manifestation?]

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“…Mental Dissolution?”

[Look, you don’t even know what Mental Dissolution is, and you talk about Self-Manifestation? Pfft-]

The dragonkin chuckled and placed its hand on Alon’s shoulder, adding.

[I commend you for defeating the foreign god, but lying is not good. Oh, if you’re embarrassed, I’ll allow you to go down for a moment and come back up. Go on.]

Alon, who had been watching it giggle and remove its hand, asked again.

“…Do you think I’m lying?”

[Yes.]

“What if I’m not lying?”

[If you’re not lying-]

The dragonkin, who had been staring at Alon with a stubborn expression, grinned.

[Fine, if you can prove to me that you’re not lying, I’ll call you ‘Master’ from now on! How about it, can you prove it?]

The dragonkin set the condition playfully.

“Make sure you keep that promise.”

Alon warned as he formed a fist.

[Sure, sure! I’ll keep it! If you can really prove it, that is.]

Alon thought as he watched the creature still sneering with a voice full of mockery.

‘Is it possible?’

To be honest, it was nearly impossible to reproduce magnetic implementation with his own magic, but this was not a real battle.

‘…If it’s just to prove it, without practical use, I can do it with my magic.’

With that thought, he quietly began to recite the incantation.

The magic began to slowly manifest.

Even as the sphere created in front of Alon began to slowly change, the dragonkin had a broad smile on his face.

However.

At the same time, the ice sphere in front of him instantly transformed into a massive crystal, and the moment the spear was created, the smile disappeared from the dragonkin’s lips.

[……?]

The moment the spear finally twisted and twisted, creating the key to magnetic implementation.

[What?]

For the first time, the dragonkin’s face began to fill with doubt.

As if seeing something terribly wrong, the dragonkin’s eyes widened, showing only white.

And then.

“Ice Crystal Spear.”

As Alon finished the last incantation and looked at the manifested frozen land.

[Impossible…!?]

The dragonkin’s face was colored with astonishment.