I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 66 - Sign It for Me! (1)

Chapter 66 – Sign It for Me! (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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It had been three days since Alon personally went and confirmed that something had happened to Al-Kamae.

Having once again begun traveling with the merchants who regularly headed toward the desert city, just as before, Alon let out a deep sigh in the sweltering heat.

“My lord, could you use that just once?”

“If I use it carelessly, you might freeze solid.”

“I think freezing solid would be happier than ending up roasted whole…”

“Even so, no.”

After brushing off Evan’s complaint about not wanting to be roasted, Alon looked up at the blazing sun and thought back to what had happened a few days earlier.

Why had Al-Kamae ended up like that?

Of course, since he had not seen the corpse, he could not know exactly what had happened to Al-Kamae.

Even so, the reason he was certain that something had happened came from the artifact he had brought back.

“……”

He looked down at the shoulder ornament in his hand.

Rather than shining gold, it bore a dull gray color.

In game terms, it was an artifact one could loot from Al-Kamae around the middle of Psychedelia.

The Emblem of the Innocent. I did not expect to get this now.

The ornament, with an index finger covering the very center of an eye, had no function for the moment, but once appraised it would prove to have quite good performance for an item obtained around the midgame.

Just like the ring he had received from Heinkel and still had not used.

On the way to Laxas to release the ring, I should stop by the labyrinth city and get these appraised.

In any case, Al-Kamae had treasured the Emblem of the Innocent greatly and had placed a binding spell on it so that no one could steal it.

Put simply, if Al-Kamae had not died, no one else would have been able to take that shoulder ornament.

Yet the ornament was now in Alon’s hand, and there was no trace of any magical effect left on it, so he became certain that something had happened to him.

So that night, Alon stripped Al-Kamae’s manor bare.

“……”

He turned his eyes slightly and checked the treasure piled up behind the carriage, and a deep smile formed behind his blank face.

And was that all?

His waist pouch was now full of the highest-grade mana potions he had used up in the battle against Kailas.

All of it had come from Al-Kamae’s manor.

The treasure was not as plentiful as I expected, but.

This was not the kind of world where digging in the ground made money come out, so the treasure loaded on the carriage alone was enough to make Alon want to smile broadly.

As far as he was concerned, money was always right.

How long had they been moving like that?

“Everyone halt!”

The caravans crossing the desert all stopped at once at the shout from the front, and a bell rang.

Since it was the caravan’s signal that they would be making camp, Alon, having confirmed that the sun was setting, climbed out of the carriage.

Not long after they started preparing the camp.

“My, Count, were you comfortable again today?”

Unlike the leader of the Golden Foot caravan from last time, this time it was a fairly slender caravan master who came to Alon and bowed.

“Thanks to you.”

“Oh, not at all.”

Though he had done essentially nothing, the caravan master kept bowing and handed Alon the items he had brought with his trademark capitalistic smile.

“…This is?”

“Ah, these are goods handled by our caravan. The bottle over there is wine made in Komur territory, and these here are foods we purchase from Kalmian territory and sell on.”

“I see.”

“I brought them hoping you might give them a try.”

At the overly deep bow, to the point where his face nearly touched the ground, Alon gave a small nod.

“I will enjoy them.”

“Yes, sir. Then please rest comfortably.”

Watching the caravan master disappear while bowing several more times, Alon gave a light shrug.

In the past he had not even been treated properly as a noble, but these days he was receiving rather lavish treatment wherever he went.

That was because not only had his rumors spread far and wide, but so had the rumor that he was effectively the head of Kalpa, the faction currently wielding the strongest influence in the Kingdom of Asteria.

So anyone who knew even a little about the kingdom’s political situation turned into a flatterer the moment they saw him, trying any way they could to get in his good graces.

Well, that only applies to people moving around near the Kingdom of Asteria.

He shrugged while looking at the gifts the caravan master had offered in the hope of securing a new trade route.

Then.

“Oh my, really?”

“Of course.”

He heard Evan’s voice from one side. At some point the camp preparations had ended, and he was chatting with a woman there.

“That is really impressive.”

“Haha. Well, something like that is not difficult.”

Watching the woman enthusiastically responding beside Evan, who was showing off as though he were having a grand time, Alon soon realized who she was.

The caravan master’s daughter, I suppose.

He wore a strange expression as he watched the amicable pair.

A lot of women have been gathering around him lately.

He could roughly guess why so many women had suddenly begun hovering around Evan.

Because of his own fame.

When they heard Evan was the one and only knight of the famous Count Palladio, most women approached him with favorable eyes.

The situation felt oddly like the bear performing the trick while the money went to the monkey, and Alon felt a subtle emotion before shrugging it off.

Well, he has worked hard, so that much is fine.

Watching Evan put on a laughably fake, breezy tone, Alon thought to himself once more.

I wonder whether Evan knows the caravan master’s daughter has eyes like a hawk.

There was no need to ruin the mood, so Alon sat down in front of the campfire to avoid the growing chill now that the sun had fully set.

“This is good.”

The sweet potato Evan had prepared and left there was cooked perfectly.

* * *

One week and one day later, in the early morning.

He was able to see Colony again for the first time in nearly a year.

Hm.

Colony’s appearance had not changed much from before, but since its look had always been unusual to begin with, the scenery still felt novel to Alon.

And as soon as he finished briefly greeting the caravan master and turned away.

“Benefactor!”

He felt Seollang rush straight at him and clamp her body around his.

“Hello!”

Clinging to him like glue, Seollang greeted him brightly.

“It has been a while.”

“It has!”

Watching Seollang wag her tail and bounce in excitement.

“Look over there. Isn’t that Golden Flash?”

“It is.”

“Who is that person with her?”

“I think that is Count Palladio.”

“No way. The mad hound really acts that affectionate?”

Alon soon noticed the very quiet murmuring around them and spoke.

“Seollang.”

“Yes!”

“First, let go a little.”

“All right!”

At Alon’s words, Seollang immediately released the legs she had wrapped around his waist and put her feet on the ground.

“Did I do well?”

“You did well.”

As he watched her tail wag happily at the praise, he realized the surroundings had suddenly gone quiet.

Noticing that, Alon turned his gaze.

“……”

Everyone at Colony’s southern gate was staring at him in shock.

Even the caravan master and his daughter, who had just been speaking to him, were standing there with their mouths hanging open.

…Is this really that shocking?

The atmosphere had grown too quiet, so Alon looked around with a slightly embarrassed expression.

Every one of them wore the sort of face that looked as though they had seen something they absolutely should not have seen, unsure whether this was a dream or waking reality.

Those reactions only left Alon more bewildered.

Had Seollang not made a similar fuss over him a year ago as well?

But the gap in how people looked at them then and now was so large that he stayed confused only for a moment.

“Ahem.”

Clearing his throat from simple awkwardness, Alon opened his mouth.

“Seollang, I would like to head straight to the ruins. Is that possible?”

“Of course it is!”

At Seollang’s words, Alon got into the carriage at once.

And even until the moment his carriage began heading for the ruins, the shock had not left the faces of the people watching.

* * *

On the road toward the forgotten ruins in the carriage Seollang had prepared.

While traveling under the protection of the Golden Mane clan just as before, Alon realized something had changed.

The atmosphere feels different somehow.

Alon looked at Seollang.

Seollang herself was no different from a year ago.

If there was one change, it was only that her brilliant golden hair had grown even longer and now reached near her tailbone, but beyond that she had not changed much.

But unlike Seollang, the Golden Mane clan warriors escorting the carriage felt distinctly different from how they had a year ago.

They used to feel a little friendlier.

Of course, that friendliness had not been directed at Alon but at Seollang. Even so, none of those easy, warmly welcoming attitudes from before could be seen now.

Watching them move while keeping strict watch over the surroundings without a single unnecessary word, Alon recalled what had happened to Seollang a year earlier and nodded to himself.

That betrayal really must have hit hard after all.

And just as he was resolving to treat Seollang even better so that she would not grow twisted.

“Ah, Benefactor!”

Seollang suddenly called out to him as though something had just occurred to her.

“What is it?”

“Can I ask you for one favor?”

The abrupt request left Alon briefly puzzled, but he soon nodded.

“If it is something I can do, then as much as you like.”

Since getting to the ruins comfortably was in large part thanks to Seollang’s help, and since he had been thinking he should treat her a little better anyway, he nodded.

At that, Seollang smiled brightly, took a sheet of paper from her clothes, and handed it to Alon.

Then.

“Give.”

Seollang held a hand out the carriage window, and as if it had been waiting for that, an artifact pen was immediately placed into her hand.

Passing it directly to Alon, Seollang said.

“Here, sign it for me.”

“Sign it?”

“Yes!”

She nodded over and over with a deeply expectant expression.

She nodded so hard that the hair reaching all the way to her tailbone swung around once with a heavy whoosh.

At that.

A guarantee? Does she want me to co-sign something?

Alon looked down at the paper in reflexive tension. There were already signs of complex writing all over the document.

“…?”

Looking at the top of the paper with a puzzled expression, Alon read.

“…Marriage registration form?”

“Sign it for me!”

“……”

He was left speechless.