I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 116 - Why Are You Like This.. (3)

Chapter 116 – Why Are You Like This…? (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Magus.

Any mage would know that word.

The magi were figures who had acted during the Era of the Forgotten Gods and, in a sense, could be called the ancestors of modern mages.

It was also widely said that each one of them had been a mighty existence capable of twisting the laws of the world at will.

Beyond that, however, very little was known.

The reason was the loss of information.

Artifacts and relics from the Era of the Forgotten Gods were still found in considerable numbers even now, but things directly related to magi existed so rarely that it was startling.

On top of that, what little remained of magi magic, what was no longer even called magi magic but instead dismissed as primitive magic, was not especially attractive.

That was because there had already been someone who researched the magic of the magi a hundred years earlier.

The seventh-circle mage Silikaman.

Captivated by the magi, who were described as possessing an enormous power capable of twisting the principles of the world, he had researched them together with his disciples.

After an extremely long time, he finally completed his study of the incantations and seals they had used and succeeded in using ancient magic.

Up to that point, everything had been fine.

The problem was that the ancient magic they had deciphered proved to be far worse than they had imagined.

The arrangement of mana was imprecise, which made the manifestation of the spell unstable.

The activation speed of the magic was absurdly slow, to the point that it was difficult to use in practice.

Most of all, despite all those flaws, its power was low.

Even though they had succeeded in reproducing the magi’s magic, it manifested incompletely, as if some crucial piece of the puzzle were missing.

In response, the scholarly world concluded that the magic of the magi could not be used in the present reality.

After that, it acquired the name primitive magic among mages and gradually faded into obscurity.

In the end, only a few of Silikaman’s disciples, unable to abandon their fantasy of the magi, handed down the incantations, preserving them in the form of using only one or two phrases.

Naturally, these days, most mages did not even know that primitive magic originally involved incantations and seals.

But none of that was important to Selaim Mikardo.

What mattered was this.

…Marquis Palladio is a magus…!

That fact alone mattered.

And not only that.

He might be a magus from a forgotten age, one who could perhaps help Selaim cross from the eighth circle to the ninth.

Of course, his conclusion might have been rash, since it skipped over part of the process.

Even so, he was convinced.

There were several clues.

Marquis Palladio had lightly broken through a gate that no one else could solve.

He had also seemed able to read incantations that even Selaim himself could not read.

Most importantly, there was that thing attached behind his back.

A being that could ignore every law of this world, in ways Selaim did not even dare imagine.

What was more, the marquis had already used more than five incantations right in front of Selaim.

Not in the unstable manner associated with primitive magic, but as perfectly and precisely as if they were spells of the current age.

Silikaman, a seventh-circle mage, had not been able to reproduce such a thing perfectly.

Yet a marquis who had only just passed his twenties had done it.

No matter how great a genius he might be, that was impossible.

Unless he was a magus of the old age.

Now that I look at it this way, even the parts that made no sense when I investigated him make sense now.

Selaim recalled one incident that had filled him with questions when he looked into the marquis.

Within only a few years, the former count, the second son, and the first son had all died unnatural deaths, and the underworld organization they controlled had been wiped out in a single stroke.

At the time, rumors had been rampant that Palladio Alon was behind it, yet there had also been many reasons to doubt that conclusion.

Partly because of his young age.

But also because the giant organization under his command, the one said to have cleaned up Avalon in a single day, had revealed neither its form nor its movements in any visible way.

Selaim had found that part strange.

But what if one added the assumption that Marquis Palladio was a magus?

To a magus who could defy and overturn the laws of the world at will, the riffraff of the underworld would be nothing more than insignificant insects.

So then.

Did he steal the body? No, perhaps possession, or a relic? Or perhaps some reincarnation magic lost in the ancient age? Why is he hiding his identity? Is there something more? No… none of that matters.

With eyes that showed a madness almost visible on the surface, Selaim Mikardo decided,

I will get close to him no matter what, without provoking his displeasure as much as possible. I will get close and learn magic from him. And then…

I will reach the ninth circle.

A low, creepy laugh leaked out of him.

What is wrong with this bastard all of a sudden?

Watching him, Parkline showed a trace of unease, even as he remained openly put off.

####

Around the time Selaim was intoxicated with his strange conclusion, Alon was showing the Covenant Ring of Kalgunias to Heinkel.

“…At a glance, it looks like it is simply refusing to be summoned at all.”

“Then what should I do in this case?”

“The method for bringing it out of the ring is simple. Do not pour mana into the ring as a whole. Divide it into small amounts and feed it only into the pattern.”

As soon as Alon obediently followed Heinkel’s advice and directed mana only into the engraved pattern,

a low vibration ran through the ring.

“Oh.”

He succeeded in a summoning that had never worked even once until now.

However, it was very small.

“…Hm?”

Alon stared blankly at the snake on his arm, which was unmistakably Receiver Basiliora.

Its size, compared to its original body, did not even look like half of a half.

It looked closer to one ten-thousandth.

“It is a method used when you want to summon a familiar only for conversation and do not want to waste mana. They cannot refuse that kind of call.”

“I see.”

Heinkel’s explanation answered the question.

But only for a moment.

“You damned human! You locked me inside this sort of ring! Release me at once!!”

“I do not know how to release you.”

“Ha! Do you think I will move according to your wishes? Never! Not a chance! From now on, there will never be a time when you summon me and never a time when I obey your words!”

Watching Basiliora go into convulsions on his arm in his tiny form, as if foam might start spilling from his mouth, Alon let out a sigh without meaning to.

This was not unexpected, but the resistance is harsher than I thought.

“Release me! Release me right now, you barbaric human!!!”

Even while saying that, Basiliora continued his pitiful little fit.

Anyone could see that he was expressing, with his whole body, the determination to never obey.

…To be honest, Alon wanted to punch him once, but he knew he could not touch a spirit body, so he calmly considered his options.

What kind of choice should I offer him?

Since he had expected this situation, he had already prepared something that would hit Basiliora where it hurt.

At that moment,

“May I ask one thing?”

Heinkel suddenly spoke.

“Yes.”

“Is the reason you came to find me mainly because of that brat… I mean, because of the ring?”

“I do wish to receive your instruction as well, but the reason I came to you immediately despite the discourtesy is indeed that.”

“Then would you let me keep it for a while?”

“…The ring, you mean?”

“Yes. I will make it work properly.”

Even from her voice alone, the thick trace of a smile was obvious.

“Would that truly be all right?”

“Of course. Something at this level is not difficult.”

“Then I will entrust it to you.”

As Alon politely handed the ring over,

“Release me!!! I said release me, you uncivilized human!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Come back tomorrow and fetch it.”

She smiled and waved her hand.

“Then I will visit again tomorrow.”

Alon bowed in farewell, left the ring with her, and departed.

####

Basiliora, having acknowledged defeat after Alon’s trickery and been trapped inside the Covenant Ring of Kalgunias, was filled with hatred.

And not only hatred toward Alon.

While trapped inside the ring, he had realized that the Thunder Serpent tribe had also assisted in capturing him, and he had vowed that if he ever escaped this place, he would kill every last one of them.

“Release me, spirit-shell! If you do, then I will-”

His feelings had not changed in the slightest even now, so the moment Alon left, he tried to resist the spirit body before him, but-

“Aaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!”

“!?”

The next moment, he froze when Heinkel suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs.

Then came a crashing sound.

Basiliora watched as the books filling the space were knocked down in showers by the waves pouring out from the spirit body.

And then he saw it.

At some point, a wooden doll had appeared from somewhere, and Heinkel was gripping it by the neck.

Where had something like that suddenly appeared from, and how?

His puzzlement lasted only a moment.

Heinkel raised the thing in her hand.

“Why!!!! Do!!!! I!!!! Have to!!!! Suffer!!!! Like this!!!!!!!!”

And slammed it straight into the floor.

The wooden doll folded in half.

But that was not the end.

As if still unsatisfied, she picked up one of the thick old books that had fallen and began smashing the doll with the corner of the book.

Each time she swung it, the wooden doll caved in more deeply.

Eventually its head shattered and fragments flew, but even that was not enough for her. She set the doll against a bookshelf and punched it.

A cracking sound burst out.

Then, as if she had already gone half mad, the spirit body began ramming her head repeatedly into the neck of the doll.

Watching that, Basiliora shrank back involuntarily.

And so,

panting harshly,

Heinkel, who had utterly wrecked the wooden doll with physical strength absurdly excessive for a mage, stood among the books strewn in disorder and breathed roughly.

Seeing the ominous look in her eyes, Basiliora cautiously opened his mouth.

“Um, first, you should cal-”

He hesitated between telling her to calm down and telling her to calm down politely.

No matter that he was trapped inside a ring, Basiliora was still a god, and his pride in that fact was immense.

So he found himself wondering whether it was right to use honorifics toward a mere spirit body.

It was a mistake.

“What did you just say, bastard?”

Before Basiliora could even finish, Heinkel snatched him up with a speed like light itself.

“Because of who do you think I ended up like this?”

Her eyes were terrifying.

There was not even time for Basiliora to be shocked by the fact that she had grabbed his sealed body. He shrank under the ferocious killing intent.

But soon, as if angered by the fact that he had recoiled, he instead raised his voice.

“What do you mean, because of who? I did nothing at all!!! …Sir.”

He added the last part belatedly when Heinkel’s expression became more frightening by the moment.

Of course, once spoken, the words could not be taken back.

“Hah… heh heh, is that so? So you really did nothing wrong? Is that it?”

The great mage wore a bizarre smile as she clenched Basiliora tighter and began moving toward the half-destroyed wooden doll.

“W-wait a moment…”

“Yes, that is right. Our little snake did nothing wrong. I think so too.”

“No, um… wait? Wait, please?”

“Right. I was the bad one.”

Realizing he was in serious trouble, Basiliora hurriedly tried honorifics after all.

But Heinkel wrapped his body around her fist like a belt and brought it crashing down onto the wooden doll.

“W-wait! Wait!!! Let us talk this out! We are not beasts but rational- aaaaaaaaagh!!!!”

Basiliora’s dreadful scream echoed through the library.

…And continued until morning.

####

The next day, Alon headed out to attend the Blue Tower Master’s lecture.

He was going because of what Millan had mentioned the day before, the lectures given by the tower masters.

Since he had to move at night anyway if he wanted to meet Heinkel, his daytime schedule was open.

Unfortunately,

“I am sorry, but reservations are already closed, and all seats are full, so entry is impossible.”

he found himself unable to attend because every seat had been taken.

I did not know there would be reservations.

He gave a short sigh as he watched the mages standing in line hand over slips of paper and enter inside.

“…Would it be possible to stand at the back and listen?”

“No. No matter that you are a marquis, this is a place where all pursue magic equally. That kind of improper entry is impossible.”

The answer came back immediately and firmly when he asked on the off chance.

The voice was so cold it was nearly frosty, and Alon felt a small flicker of dissatisfaction, but it was also true that there was nothing to be done.

He was about to turn away in disappointment when,

“Marquis Palladio?”

“…Tower Master?”

Alon ended up meeting the Blue Tower Master.

“Ah, good day to you, Blue Tower Master.”

“Ah, yes.”

The mage who had been cold just moments before now greeted Selaim with eyes full of admiration.

Selaim lightly acknowledged him, then abruptly addressed Alon with formal politeness.

“But why are you here, Marquis?”

For a moment Alon only blinked at the sudden honorific tone, then decided to answer first.

“I had some time, so I thought I might listen to a lecture.”

“My lecture?”

“Yes.”

“Hah-”

“?”

“This is a tremendous honor! That the Marquis would listen to my lecture!”

At those words, Selaim broke into a broad smile, looking genuinely honored, and Alon was left baffled.

He knew that the Blue Tower Master was not someone who cared much about authority, but he also knew that when it came to magic, he was prouder and stiffer than almost anyone.

That was why,

“Please come in at once. You there, pass him through immediately.”

“Pardon? But the seats are already-”

“Is this not my lecture?”

“Uh… w-well, that is true, but-”

“Then what are you standing there for? Let him in at once.”

that response left Alon with only one thought.

…Why is this man acting like this?

And the mages who had been waiting in line for the tower master’s lecture stared at the scene with equally blank expressions.