I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 126 - Are You a Heretic (1)
Chapter 126 – Are You a Heretic? (1)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The Karsem Alon remembered was arrogant.
His basic nature was not especially vicious,
but the circumstances surrounding him had been more than enough to twist him in that direction.
In the game,
that temperament never once disappeared.
Even when the player saved him or solved problems for him,
Karsem still spoke casually and acted however he pleased.
He might gradually grow friendlier or more favorable as quests advanced,
but that did not mean his core personality changed.
That was why,
Hyungnim?
seeing Karsem now,
with respectful eyes and proper speech,
was genuinely disorienting for Alon.
Even so,
“Your body has clearly suffered greatly. But after displaying such majesty, I suppose that is only natural.”
for reasons Alon still could not identify,
Karsem’s eyes were shining.
Far too brightly.
Brightly enough to burden Alon.
“I-”
“What is it, Marquis?”
“I do not understand why you are suddenly acting like this.”
When Alon asked in a flat voice,
quite plainly showing that he truly did not understand,
Karsem gave an ah,
then straightened his body rigidly as if he had reached some decision.
“I have come to respect you, Marquis Palladio.”
“…All of a sudden?”
“Yes. Ever since a few days ago, when I saw your great form standing alone against the Outer Gods and against that mage who used such impossible magic, I could not help but come to respect you…!”
“Ah.”
“To speak honestly, I have lived recklessly until now.”
He grew so passionate that eventually spit started flying.
“As you may know, I am far from the line of succession. That was decided from childhood. No matter what effort I made, Father had already decided my older brother would be the next successor. So until now, I did not try.”
At the suddenly unfolding confession,
Alon became even more speechless behind his expressionless face,
but Karsem did not stop.
He went on.
For nearly five minutes.
“And so, that is why I came to respect you…!”
“…”
Honestly,
Karsem’s confession was filled with lines embarrassing enough to make one’s skin crawl.
It was understandable if the battle itself had impressed him.
It was understandable if, on top of that, he had developed a dream of becoming a mage.
But for him to say that merely witnessing Alon’s battle had made him ashamed of the way he had wasted his life after being pushed out of the succession,
and had awakened him completely…
that part was harder to understand.
Even so,
as Alon wondered just what exactly was going on,
he suddenly let out a quiet sound of realization.
Come to think of it, Karsem’s age… was seventeen now, was it not?
Seventeen.
A little late to catch that disease usually associated with fifteen and overflowing sensitivity,
but not so late that it could never happen.
…Looks like it struck late.
Alon inwardly wore a sympathetic expression.
In about two or three years,
Karsem would surely remember the present moment,
when he had given this long confession one by one,
and kick his blankets hard enough to tear them apart.
Still,
there was no need to tell him that.
More importantly,
even if it had been triggered by a flare of adolescent delusion,
Karsem was still sincerely showing the will to gather himself and live properly.
Alon did not want to crush that feeling.
So he could only quietly nod.
####
A week passed after that.
Alon’s body,
which might easily have died because of mana hardening,
was recovering surprisingly quickly.
“Marquis. Good day to you!”
“Marquis. Is your body all right!?”
“Marquis. I have brought dinner!”
That was surely due in part to Filian,
who had become the master of Merkillan territory,
and who was caring for Alon with such earnest gratitude that it bordered on excessive.
“No, really, you do not need to go this far-”
“What are you saying? You saved us, so this much is only natural!”
But in reality,
it was also because a change had occurred in Alon’s body.
“…The mana hardening is being treated?”
“Yes. When I first saw you, it was clearly in a state where mana hardening had spread widely. But now, much of it has disappeared.”
“…Wait. But did you not say before that there was no mana hardening?”
The priest shook his head.
“To be exact, I believe I said that it was not yet to the degree that it would interfere with your life or your use of mana.”
“Was that so…?”
“Yes. Once mana hardening forms, it does not vanish on its own. That is why I warned you before to be especially careful about drinking more potions in the future.”
“…You did say that, now that I think about it.”
As Alon nodded,
the priest continued.
“Originally, your hardening had already progressed to a point where, if it worsened further, it could have reached a stage where you would no longer be able to use mana at all.”
“And yet that hardening is being healed?”
“Yes. Normally, once this condition occurs, it cannot be treated at all. But in your case… it is improving.”
The priest, looking astonished,
poured divine power into Alon’s body several times,
then nodded.
“Yes. It is improving.”
“…Has something happened to my body?”
“I do not believe that is the case.”
“…Then could it be because my mana hall is small?”
He asked in case a tiny mana hall somehow had an advantage.
But,
“Uh… no, I think that is even less likely. If the mana hall is small, hardening actually progresses faster.”
“…I see.”
Alon nodded,
once again realizing that this damned body was of no help from beginning to end.
After the priest left,
“…What is this?”
Alon muttered,
and Evan shrugged.
“Well, what is there to worry about? Good is good, is it not?”
“That is true, but.”
Alon folded his arms,
then dropped them again at the pain and thought.
…It feels like there are even more things I need to think about now.
In truth,
because of the mana intoxication, he had not even been able to think properly for over a week.
But now,
he had many questions to solve.
Beginning with what Duke Komalon had said about those things,
and the matter of formula as well.
On top of that,
there was also the matter of what lay south of the border.
There is too much I need to look into.
It was around then that,
“Ah, Marquis. There is something I should tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Judging from what I just heard, it seems that once your body recovers, you will need to move again. An emergency meeting of the Allied Kingdoms has been called, and they said that you in particular must attend.”
“…Attend?”
“Yes.”
Alon nodded slightly.
Since this had become an incident affecting the whole Allied Kingdoms,
he had expected something like this to happen,
whether in a positive or negative sense.
“By when do I have to go?”
“It seems arriving by next week will be enough.”
“That is tight.”
“It is.”
At the tight schedule,
Alon thought for a moment,
then made his decision.
“…Still, I should go.”
About a week later,
unable to use magic yet,
but recovered enough to move around,
Alon left for Tern,
where the emergency conference of the Allied Kingdoms was to be held.
He took Seollang,
who said, Master, let us go together. I have to go too,
and Filian as well.
####
While heading toward Tern,
Alon did not manage to infer anything new,
but through Seollang,
he did learn one unexpected fact.
“…No one heard the conversation between me and Duke Komalon?”
“Right.”
“…Not just his voice. My voice too?”
“That is right. My body could barely move, but my mind was clear, and I did not hear a single word!”
It was this:
for some reason,
the conversation between Alon and Duke Komalon had not been audible to the people around them.
Everyone had recognized that they were speaking,
but no one had heard what was said.
…Did the duke do something?
Naturally,
Alon had done nothing at the time.
More precisely,
it would be more accurate to say he could do nothing.
At that moment,
of course he had been in better condition than Seollang,
who was blocking most of the attacks aimed at him,
but he had still not been in any state to manipulate something like that.
Even so,
Alon soon stopped thinking about it.
Because they had arrived at Tern.
Hearing that the meeting was already under way,
he headed straight for the kings’ conference chamber.
And there,
“So you have come.”
he saw the assembled rulers.
Several familiar faces stood out.
The first was Critenia Siyan,
looking at him with a relaxed expression.
Then Karmakses III,
King of Colony.
And then,
“Then, without further preamble, let us speak first.”
Shutalian V,
the king of Ashtalon,
looked straight at Alon and said,
“Marquis Palladio. Thank you for stopping Duke Komalon.”
Then the king rose from his seat and bowed deeply.
For the king of a nation to lower his head,
even to a marquis who had saved the kingdom from crisis,
was an honor not easily received.
Shutalian V was a king,
and a king bowing was little different from the whole Kingdom of Ashtalon bowing with him.
“I merely did what had to be done.”
In any case,
Alon returned the courtesy with a calm expression.
Then,
“Now that thanks have been offered, let us move to the real question.”
“What question?”
“Marquis Palladio. What exactly are you?”
“…Pardon?”
That question fell from Shutalian V’s lips.
“…I do not understand the point of the question.”
“I mean exactly what I said.”
Shutalian V’s face was perfectly serious.
“After this incident, I looked into you. I had already heard rumors before, but this time I had you investigated in more detail.”
“…”
“You have now, by all appearances, stopped Outer Gods no fewer than three times. When the Outer God appeared in the north, and when one appeared in the labyrinth city.”
The king kept looking straight at him as he continued.
“I am not certain, but it was the same when you went to Laxas, and the same when you went to the Holy Kingdom. Each time, you dealt with an Outer God as though you had known in advance that one would appear. Though perhaps there were also cases when that was not so.”
His conclusion,
unspoken until now,
was simple.
That wherever an Outer God appeared,
Marquis Palladio appeared with uncanny timing and dealt with it.
This time as well.
“In the end, there is only one thing I wish to ask.”
“…”
“Why is it that you go around hunting Outer Gods?”
After hearing him out,
Alon understood.
Shutalian V suspected him.
And at the same time,
he understood the real meaning of the question.
Though phrased indirectly,
it was effectively the same as asking whether Alon himself had some involvement in the present incident.
Of course,
there was a leap in the king’s logic.
And it was obvious he did not have complete certainty either.
The fact that he was speaking in this roundabout way
proved that he had only suspicion,
not proof.
…Is this because of the matter of compensation that will come later?
Alon understood without difficulty why Shutalian V was throwing suspicion at him.
The present matter had effectively become one caused by Duke Komalon.
That meant the Kingdom of Ashtalon now stood in a position where it had to take responsibility in one sense or another.
Which meant,
from the perspective of a king who had to think of national interest,
there was little to lose from probing at anything that might help.
Put more simply,
it was a case of,
Throw out the line. If it hooks, good. If not, fine.
Of course,
as already said,
there were considerable leaps in Shutalian V’s logic.
Since he was throwing out a line based only on suspicion,
there were many weak points.
This could be explained,
if Alon wished to explain it.
He could even clear himself,
if he wished to do so.
And yet,
the reason Alon stayed silent was simpler.
…How exactly am I supposed to explain why I hunt them?
He could not find a convincing way to explain why he went after Outer Gods.
Because he wanted a peaceful noble life?
If he said that now,
it would only make them more suspicious.
How should I answer this?
It was while he was desperately trying to construct a reasonable explanation,
that a voice suddenly came from behind.
“Do not ask him why he goes around hunting Outer Gods.”
At that,
Alon turned his head.
There,
“…Saint?”
“My apologies. I am a little late.”
stood Yuman,
the saint of Rosaria.
With a small smile on his lips,
he looked at Alon and said,
“It has been a while, Marquis- no, brother.”