I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 69 - Is It Really Fine to Do This.. (2)

Chapter 69 – Is It Really Fine to Do This…? (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Milanon, a noble of Colony and a child of House Filmaria, could not properly understand the situation before him.

From one to ten, none of it made sense.

First, he could not understand why merely mocking a single noble who had been walking around with a vacant expression had led Seollang, Colony’s first Baba Yaga, to smash all of his private soldiers and then seize his head as though she meant to burst it.

And in that same situation, he could not understand why Yutia Bloodia, one of the cardinals of the Holy Kingdom Rosaria and lately the one whose influence was said to be strongest, had suddenly opened her carriage door and come out only to take the hand of the very noble he had been mocking.

Everything was a question.

But then.

“…Isn’t that Count Palladio?”

“I think it is.”

“Seeing him walking with a Baba Yaga, it must be him.”

At the quiet whispers of the citizens, Milanon finally understood why Seollang had grabbed his head.

Because the rumor that Seollang followed Count Palladio, a noble of the Kingdom of Asteria, calling him her benefactor, had spread quite widely starting about a year ago.

Even so, there was still something he could not understand.

Teacher? Teacher?

He had heard the rumors concerning Count Palladio.

He knew that Seollang, the first Baba Yaga, called him benefactor.

He knew that Deus Makalian, the first Master Knight of the knightly nation of Caliburn, called him benefactor as well.

He even knew that he was very close to one of the upper councilors of the labyrinth city.

But.

He was close even to a cardinal of the Holy Kingdom?

He stared blankly at Alon and Yutia.

Unlike the expressionless Alon, Yutia, standing before him, was filled with powerful goodwill.

Enough goodwill that even if Milanon had actually been the one treated unfairly here, she clearly would never have taken his side.

What in the world is this man?

Just as that horrified curiosity filled Milanon.

“Seollang, stop.”

At the sound of Alon’s voice, he was finally released.

“Ugh.”

Clutching his head in pain that felt as though it might crack, Milanon watched as Alon approached him.

“Are you all right? That was discourteous of us.”

A plain apology.

At those words, Milanon instinctively tried to open his mouth.

Of course, he knew that mocking Count Palladio had been something he should not have done as a noble.

Even so, it was also true that the response had been severe.

And there were quite a few witnesses around them as well.

Of course, since Milanon himself had used his private soldiers to establish a cordon so that only he could watch in comfort, no one present actually viewed him favorably. On the contrary, many seemed to find Seollang’s actions satisfying.

“Even so.”

In any case, once Alon had apologized, Milanon had, in effect, gained a little ground to stand on and was about to say something.

But he could only close his mouth again.

Because standing behind Count Palladio were Seollang and Yutia.

Staring at him.

With red and gold eyes gleaming as though they intended not to miss even one detail of what he did now.

Staring.

So.

“…N-no.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. I-I am fine. Completely fine.”

After frantically waving both hands, Milanon disappeared on the spot as though fleeing.

* * *

Right after the noble, whose identity he did not even properly know, fled in that way.

Alon, still surprised by the sudden meeting, soon moved to Seollang’s guild to avoid the public gaze.

Only then could he finally speak comfortably with Yutia.

“You came to Colony because you had some business here?”

“Yes. So I do not think I will be staying for very long.”

At Yutia’s bright smile, Alon nodded, but also looked at her with a slightly new expression.

A smile so kind that calling her a saint would not have felt excessive.

That image carried a strange sense of dissonance against the one he had held in his mind.

I suppose it is because in Psychedelia I only saw the form she took after becoming Sin. It feels very different.

And realizing anew that though they had exchanged letters often, this was actually the first time he had seen her in person, Alon then thought.

Still, she grew up well.

He felt proud once again.

In particular, because the destructive image of Yutia after becoming one of the Five Sins was engraved so vividly in his mind, the sense of pride felt even stronger with her than with the others.

After glancing around, Alon asked.

“By the way.”

“Yes, what is it, Teacher?”

“…Do the two of you not get along very well?”

That was because Seollang, who was always grinning, seemed oddly tense from the instant Yutia arrived.

But Yutia answered without losing her smile.

“How could that be? Seollang and I get along very well. Right?”

“Right.”

Seollang nodded.

But if one asked whether they really looked close, their relationship still felt a little strange.

Alon tilted his head briefly, then shrugged.

If they themselves said they were close, digging deeper here would only be strange.

Just then.

“Benefactor, when two years pass, you will think about it, right?”

At the sudden question, Alon wore a puzzled expression for a moment, then realized it was about the marriage registration form and gave an evasive answer.

“…Well, when that time comes, I will think about it.”

“Think about what?”

“Ah, that is, earlier.”

Yutia asked with obvious curiosity, and Alon hesitated over how he should explain it.

But.

“He said that in two years he will seriously think about marrying me!”

Before Alon could even open his mouth, Seollang declared it proudly, and he could only let out a helpless sound.

“…What?”

Yutia’s voice was full of genuine surprise, while Seollang had already become even more smug.

As though she had never sulked at all.

Yutia stared blankly at Seollang as she turned those words over in her head.

Then.

“Pfft.”

She suddenly laughed and looked at Alon with a thoroughly relaxed expression.

“You do not need to explain, Teacher. Seollang must have made too unreasonable a request, so you had no choice but to answer her that way. Correct?”

Seeing how she grasped the entire situation at once even without Alon explaining what had happened before or after, Alon found a smile forming inwardly.

To anyone looking, she truly resembled an excellent older sister.

And just as he was about to nod in satisfaction.

“Yes, that must be it. Seollang is a little childish, so if you rejected her she would be terribly sad, and in a situation where you had no choice but to soothe her, you had no choice but to say two years. I know you did it for Seollang’s sake because you had no choice. Lies are not good, but there are unavoidable lies that one must tell because they are unavoidable.”

“…??”

Yutia delivered those words in a single breath without even pausing, still smiling as the logic in the sentence itself began to collapse. A question mark seemed to rise over Alon’s head.

Then, leaving the now-frozen Alon alone, Yutia turned her eyes to Seollang.

“Now, Seollang, you understand, right? You must not make Teacher too uncomfortable. And as I told you before, you are still too young for marriage.”

“I did not make him uncomfortable. And the vice guild leader told me that a five-year age gap is appropriate.”

“I told you no, Seollang. You should not make Teacher uncomfortable.”

Yutia was still smiling as she spoke.

At that, Seollang made a disgruntled face and shouted.

“The one who cannot is you, Yutia. You are old.”

“…And what exactly do you mean by that, Seollang? There is only a two-year gap between us.”

Yutia still had not lost her smile.

However.

“Rine told me. Yutia’s estimated age is over one thou.”

Before the next words could continue.

Bang.

Seollang punched straight through the floor and disappeared to the level below.

“?”

The incident happened so suddenly that Alon could only stare blankly.

Yutia looked at the spot where Seollang had been with a somewhat sharp expression, then, perhaps belatedly noticing that Alon was there, turned back with a gentle smile and said.

“…This building is a little weak, is it not?”

A lie that would not fool anyone.

“The building is weak?”

“Yes.”

“…Really?”

“Truly. It suddenly collapsed, did it not?”

Because she emphasized it again and again as though refusing to admit under any circumstances that she had personally punched Seollang into the floor below.

“…I see.”

Alon had no choice but to nod, and at the same time remembered anew that she had once been one of the Five Sins.

So a woman’s age really is forbidden territory. And one thou. One thousand. I had no idea it would be that much.

Alon stored away that new information he would rather not have known.

“I will go and bring Seollang back first.”

A few minutes later, the conversation ended there, and Alon, seeing Seollang brought back and seated stiffly as though she were a puppet being manipulated, once again grasped the absolute nature of that taboo.

Then about thirty minutes passed.

After talking here and there with Yutia, who had brought Seollang back, Alon heard her speak.

“I think I should be going now, Teacher.”

He nodded at her words.

“Yes. You said you had business here to begin with.”

“Yes. I think I will be here for around three weeks, so while you are staying, I will come show my face often.”

“All right.”

Yutia smiled lightly at Alon and turned, but suddenly clapped as though something had just come to mind.

“Ah, and. Earlier you said you would be entering the colosseum, did you not?”

That was indeed something they had discussed earlier.

“That is right. As I said, there is something I need from the royal treasury.”

“Was it Sparrow’s Staff?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Yutia gave a small nod, then looked as if she understood.

“Then I will come see you again soon.”

She left with a smile.

Soon after, once Alon confirmed that the white carriage was heading toward Colony’s royal castle, he looked at Seollang, who was only then letting out a huge sigh of relief, and thought.

Then I should begin preparing as well.

* * *

The next day.

After spending one night at Seollang’s guild, Alon went straight to the colosseum and registered as a fighter. With Seollang’s help, a process that normally took around a week was completed in barely an hour.

The F-rank fighter badge. Now it begins.

Holding the F-rank badge that one always received first upon registering as a fighter, Alon steeled his will.

And when two more days had passed.

Alon fought his first match in the colosseum arena.

“Hoo.”

Letting out a shallow breath, he looked around.

The spectator seats above were so packed with people that there was not a single empty space, and around one hundred fighters stood in the arena together with him.

His first match was not one-on-one but a battle royale, and the win condition was simple.

Be the last fighter left standing here.

There were no other conditions at all. It was a rule set thoroughly focused on survival.

The reason Alon had chosen a battle royale despite preferring one-on-one matches was very simple. Winning a battle royale would take him from an F-rank fighter directly to D-rank in one jump.

From D-rank onward, a fighter gained the right to challenge someone one rank higher and exchange ranks with them.

So this was a way to skip levels quickly from F-rank.

As he looked around, Alon thought.

There is only one way to enter Colony’s royal treasury and bring out one of its treasures. Become an A-rank fighter.

Of course, if he could become a Baba Yaga, he would gain access to the royal vault containing Colony’s national treasures, but Alon had no need to go that far.

Both the item he had originally been aiming for and Sparrow’s Staff were inside the treasury accessible once one became an A-rank fighter.

This will not be easy.

Alon looked around expressionlessly.

The many fighters in his sight were all gripping their weapons and staring at him.

As if they had made a prior promise.

Some wore tense expressions.

Some serious ones, or faces full of mockery.

And some were cautiously trying to assess the situation. Their emotional states varied, but everyone in this arena was prepared to point their weapons at him.

“……”

Of course, Alon had not failed to anticipate a situation like this.

These fighters, though all still F-rank, were not mere extras. Every one of them had entered the battle royale in hopes of overturning their fate in a single blow.

To trample the other fighters and seize a D-rank badge instead of an F-rank one.

To them, Alon was obviously the target who had to be dealt with first.

Rumors had already spread that he had opposed Outer Gods again and again and had been a major help in dealing with Baba Yaga-class opponents.

In other words, from the perspective of those who had to win, it was only natural to eliminate Alon first.

And as the announcer’s voice became the signal.

The moment he shouted that the match would begin.

Most of the fighters charged at Alon exactly as though they had been waiting for it.

A situation one spark away from explosion.

The crowd’s frenzied cheers filled the air, and the fighters’ battle cries rang in Alon’s ears.

And at the moment the axe of the fighter who had charged first was about to fall onto Alon’s head.

The fingers inside Alon’s dark finger guard moved slightly.

And extreme cold descended on the arena.

The charging fighter’s axe froze in place.

And at that moment.

“Ice Crystal.”

Ice walls began rising around the seal-formed Alon.