I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 67 - Sign It for Me! (2)

Chapter 67 – Sign It for Me! (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Duke Komalon of the Kingdom of Ashtalon, which lay west of the Kingdom of Asteria.

He was a noble who possessed extremely strong power within the Kingdom of Ashtalon, and though most nobles did not know it, he was also a figure of vast influence in the underworld.

No, in truth, there was almost nowhere in the underworld of the Allied Kingdoms, far beyond Ashtalon alone, where his influence did not reach.

That had certainly been true.

Until recently.

“Hmm.”

Late at night.

In a quiet office, Duke Komalon, with a face too young to believe belonged to a middle-aged man who had held a ducal title for over twenty years, looked over documents and abruptly opened his mouth.

“So it has become difficult to exert influence in the Kingdom of Asteria?”

The duke was muttering alone in an office where no one else seemed to be present.

And yet.

“Yes, that is correct.”

With that answer, a man emerged from the shadows and knelt before Duke Komalon.

It was Shutro, the man who, on the duke’s behalf, held vast power in Ashtalon’s underworld.

Without even turning his head, the duke continued questioning him.

“Not even a little?”

“Yes. They have wiped out all of our people over there.”

“Did the organizations that received abyssstone or Abyssal Cores collapse that easily?”

“That is.”

Shutro hesitated briefly before answering.

“There were not yet any organizations on the Asterian side suitable to receive abyssstone or Abyssal Cores.”

“I see. So there was no one to recruit.”

“My apologies.”

Shutro lowered his head.

At that, the duke tapped the quill he was holding a few times with an expressionless face and answered flatly.

“There is no need to bow your head so deeply.”

“My apo.”

Shutro had bowed his head and tried to continue speaking, but.

What?

For an instant, he realized that something was wrong.

And the moment he recognized that dissonance.

The figure of Duke Komalon appeared upside down in Shutro’s vision.

“?”

Shutro’s face filled with confusion as though he could not understand the situation.

And then.

“An apology in death will suffice.”

With the end of those words, Shutro’s body collapsed with a thud.

“Clean it up.”

The moment that low command fell, shadows slipped out of the darkness and began clearing away Shutro’s body from the office floor.

Soon after.

“Injela.”

At Komalon’s call, spoken as casually as if he had not just killed a power broker of the underworld, another figure emerged from the shadows. A dark elf with a black body and long ears, moving like a shadow herself.

“You called for me.”

“Yes. From now on, you will manage what comes after.”

“Understood.”

The dark elf nodded.

Without paying the slightest attention to Shutro’s body being dragged into the shadows, the duke continued.

“And. You said it is not possible to exert influence in Asteria?”

“Yes.”

“That is troublesome. I need it for the plan.”

“Shall we move?”

That was the dark elf’s question.

But Duke Komalon seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head.

“No. This is a time when we should focus on what happened in Laksasha. There is no need to display our strength immediately. So then, the head of Kalpa… was it Count Palladio?”

“Yes. Kalpa, which has occupied Asteria’s underworld, moves around that noble.”

“Count Palladio.”

A trace of interest entered Duke Komalon’s murmur.

And it made sense.

Recently, Count Palladio had interfered with his plans several times.

There did not seem to be any deliberate intent behind it, but there had been cases where he became unnecessarily entangled and forced needless work to be redone again and again.

On top of that, the recent rumors were more than enough to draw the interest of a man preparing a plan.

“Do not move directly. It would be troublesome if they realized we had moved on this side.”

“Understood. Then what shall we do?”

“Tell those who have been taking bribes to express regret toward Count Palladio. Our objective is only to exert some influence anyway. If we shake his prestige even a little, cracks will appear in an instant.”

Komalon said that as casually as a man who knew exactly how fragile a sandcastle built through politics could be.

“This is good timing, then. They have been asking me to keep paying attention to the Asterian side. If the count is dealt with, use that as a pretext to expand our influence.”

“Understood.”

At the dark elf Injela’s answer, he was about to lower his gaze back to his documents, then looked up again as if something had just occurred to him.

“And. How has the experiment gone?”

“…If you mean young master Kamain, he is currently in the isolation chamber.”

“His condition?”

“Up through the previous abyssstone stage, he was still able to function in daily life despite severe anxiety and violence. But from this year onward, after absorbing an Abyssal Core, he has broken to the point that he can no longer regulate his violence or rage at all.”

The dark elf delivered the report calmly.

Yet even after hearing that, Duke Komalon showed no change in expression and only seemed to think for a moment.

“I see.”

“Yes.”

“Very well. Handle the Asterian side properly.”

As if he had already lost all interest, he shifted his gaze away.

“Understood.”

The dark elf lowered her head and vanished on the spot.

And with that, Duke Komalon’s office became quiet once more.

As though no one had ever been there to begin with.

* * *

Alon stared blankly at the marriage registration form and then turned his eyes to Seollang.

Her eyes were shining brightly.

“Let us become family!”

Seollang wore an expression full of expectation.

But Alon, holding the marriage registration form in his hand, looked troubled behind his blank face.

This is a little.

Then he asked.

“Do you have any other favor to ask?”

“Nope!”

“…Unfortunately, I cannot do this one.”

“Eh.”

Seollang’s ears drooped openly in disappointment.

But just because Seollang looked disappointed did not mean Alon had any intention of marrying her right now.

Objectively speaking, Seollang lacked nothing as a bride.

She was extremely beautiful, and her fame and status were in no way lacking.

But that was only from an objective point of view. To Alon, there were several things about her that caught at him.

First, though there was not much age difference between them, he thought of Seollang as more of a daughter.

Second, Alon believed Seollang was asking for marriage not because she purely loved him, but because she wanted to become family.

In other words, she liked him, but did not love him.

Those two things were fairly important factors to someone like Alon, who held reasonably orthodox views on romance, and that was why he did not grant Seollang’s request.

“Uu.”

Seollang let out a pitiable sound and drooped her tail.

Seeing that, Alon thought.

I do need to soothe her, since that betrayal left her with trauma. But saying something like we are family anyway probably would not help much.

He seemed to think for a moment, then made a decision and spoke.

“Let us think about this once you are a little older.”

“…How much older?”

“…Two years from now?”

Too distant an answer did not seem like it would comfort her much, but too near an answer would be strange, so Alon gave her that number purely as a form of consolation and then inwardly sighed.

Did I say too short a period?

But regardless of his inward sigh.

“Okay!”

Seeing Seollang’s tail start wagging again as though she had regained all her energy, Alon let out a breath of relief.

Well, in two years her mind will probably change.

That was all Alon thought.

* * *

Some time later, once he arrived at the forgotten ruins, Alon left Seollang behind when she said she would wait and immediately started moving.

He reached the central tower where he had previously met that unidentified being and climbed it without hesitation.

And then.

“Oh, you have come.”

The very moment he reached the great chamber, something of unknown identity appeared before him as though it had been waiting, and Alon could not help but look startled.

Last time its form had been crumpled and twisted so severely that it had been impossible to make it out, but now its figure was visible clearly.

Though it had a human build, antlers grew from its head and a long tail stretched behind it.

“…A dragon? No. Dragonkin?”

Its full appearance was still not properly visible, but from the shadowed outline he was able to make out its identity roughly.

“Ho. So you can see me now? I suppose that is because your rank rose after defeating an Outer God. Impressive. To be honest, I thought you would fail.”

To the dragonkin that still looked like a living shadow, Alon said.

“I nearly died while doing it.”

“Isn’t it impressive enough that a human handled an Outer God even if it was only to the point of nearly dying? Well. Judging from the rank gathered around you, it seems you killed it before it fully descended.”

It sat cross-legged atop the office desk and rested its chin on one hand.

“Still, it is a little strange. No matter that it had not fully descended, how did you kill it? Under normal circumstances that should be impossible.”

It asked with curiosity, shaping a question mark with its long tail.

“I used self-nature manifestation.”

“…Hm? Self-nature manifestation? You?”

“That is right.”

“…Pfft.”

After hearing that answer, the creature that had until just now been speaking arrogantly and at ease stared at him blankly for a moment.

Then.

Burst out laughing so hard it bent its body like a child.

As though it had heard the funniest thing in the world, it pounded the desk with its fist while laughing, and Alon wore a puzzled expression at that sudden reaction.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. It has been a long time since I heard a joke like that.”

“What part of it is a joke?”

“The part where you said you succeeded at self-nature manifestation.”

The dragonkin wiped at the corners of its eyes with a black hand, as though tears had formed there, and went on.

“Well, yes, I suppose it is a mistake one could make. A mage does require pride, but also a certain arrogance.”

Then, speaking in a tone that was openly mocking, it said.

“To explain briefly, the idea that you succeeded at self-nature manifestation is impossible from the beginning. How could a mere human who has not even grasped mind-image manage self-nature manifestation?”

“…Mind-image?”

“Look at that. You do not even know what a mind-image is, and yet you speak of self-nature manifestation? Pfft.”

Chuckling to itself, the dragonkin placed a hand on Alon’s shoulder and added.

“I think highly of the fact that you defeated an Outer God, but lies are not good. Ah, and if you are embarrassed, I will permit you to go back down and come up again. Off with you.”

Watching it pull its hand away while giggling, Alon asked back.

“…You think I lied?”

“I do.”

“And if I did not lie?”

“If you did not li.”

Looking at Alon as though he were a stubborn child who would not yield, the dragonkin grinned.

“Very well. If you prove before me that your words are not a lie, then from this moment on, I shall call you Master. How is that? Can you prove it?”

The dragonkin threw out that condition like a joke.

“See that you keep that promise.”

With that warning, Alon formed the wisdom-fist seal.

“Yes, yes. I shall keep it. If you truly prove it, that is.”

Watching the thing continue sneering at him in a voice still full of mockery, Alon thought.

Can I do it?

To be honest, reproducing self-nature manifestation with his own mana was close to impossible.

But this was not actual battle.

If all I need is to manifest it on a small scale with no practical combat use, simply to prove it, then my mana should be enough.

With that thought, he began quietly chanting the phrase.

As the magic gradually began to take shape.

Up until the moment the sphere before Alon slowly began to change, the dragonkin still wore a broad smile.

However.

At the instant the sphere of ice before him transformed into a great crystal and a spear formed, the smile vanished from the dragonkin’s lips.

“…?”

And when that spear finally twisted and twisted again, producing the key of self-nature manifestation.

“Huh?”

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

Its white, featureless eyes widened as though it were looking at something that should not exist.

And then.

“Frost Crystal Painted Halberd.”

The moment Alon completed the final phrase and the frozen field manifested.

The dragonkin’s face was dyed with shock.

“That is impossible!?”