I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 71 - Is It Really Fine to Do This.. (4)

Chapter 71 – Is It Really Fine to Do This…? (4)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Extreme Cold spread through the arena, and blue sparks began crackling through the air.

Anyone could tell at a glance that this was no ordinary use of mana.

“Decomposition.”

At Alon’s words, the sparks burst apart, turned into shining blue particles like powder, and scattered in all directions.

Though it was broad daylight, the particles shone as clearly as fireflies.

And then.

“Fusion.”

The moment those words fell, Alon’s body, which had been standing still until just before, began to waver erratically as though one were looking at a mirage.

“!”

Pilsion was already right in front of him.

Using scarlet flames hot enough to burn everything as propulsion, he had leaped forward, and as he looked at Alon’s wavering form, he gripped the sword that had dropped low.

This is different from what I expected, but it is still fine.

It was true that he had been flustered by the fact that Alon was using magic completely different from the ice spells he had expected, but he took that instead as an opportunity.

Because this moment, while a mage was preparing magic, was when the opponent was defenseless.

It would have been better to deal with him after a flashy exchange, but from the moment he began using a different type of magic, the odds of victory would drop exponentially.

I end it now.

Just as Pilsion raised his sword without hesitation to slash down.

“Universal Flux.”

Alon spoke.

And in that fleeting instant.

The face of Alon, who had been looking at him without emotion.

The body of Alon, who had already raised his index and middle fingers and formed a seal.

Crackle-!!!

“Raijin Form.”

Turned into blue lightning itself.

And Pilsion’s thoughts did not continue beyond that point.

####

Boom-!!

With a sound like an explosion bursting out, Pilsion’s body was slammed into the arena, and lightning crossed the battleground, leaving an afterimage behind.

Crackle-!!

One second, or perhaps an even shorter instant.

At that moment, which had passed so quickly that no one could even understand what had happened, the audience witnessed two things.

One was Pilsion’s body crashing into the arena wall hard enough to shatter it.

The other was.

Crackle-!

Alon, wrapped in lightning all over.

No, rather, Alon, surrounded by a blue radiance as though his entire body had become lightning.

Crackle-!

Every time the hem of his dark coat fluttered, lightning snapped and jumped outward in every direction.

Tss-

Then, starting from the edge of the coat, the deep black color slowly began to return.

Soon.

Tzzzzzzz

“…”

The audience, who had watched the whole situation as though a gradient were flowing over him, from the form of lightning back into the figure of Count Palladio himself again.

Only when the commentator, who had lost his words and could do nothing but stare blankly, finally opened his mouth belatedly.

[Th-the winner is Palladio Alon!!]

-■■■■■■■■!!!

Did they leap up from their seats, roar like thunder, and clap so hard that the entire arena shook.

Alon, who was receiving that joyous uproar and frenzied applause all at once.

Damn it-

Without even having time to properly hear the sound of the crowd, cursed under his breath and frowned at the blood beginning to run down beneath his sleeves.

I almost died.

It was not a figure of speech.

He had truly almost died just now from using that magic.

It was true that his mana had been completely drained, but that was not why he had almost died.

The reason was the magic he used.

Damn it-

No, the sentence itself.

Unlike last time, the moment Alon used the sentence, he came to understand the law behind it.

No, he had no choice but to understand it.

If he had not understood, he could not have remained here. The moment the magic ended, he might have been decomposed down to the molecular level and become a person who no longer existed in this world.

To twist the law and replace the body with mana. Why does a crazy spell like this even exist?

The Array of Thunder he used quite literally replaced the body with mana that possessed the properties of lightning.

The following phrases were all the process of fusing, in other words enchanting, the lightning magic he had prepared in advance.

And the final Raijin Form was the magic that realized that fused magical array.

In other words, the self-nature manifestation Sparrow had taught him was, in the most literal sense, a tremendous spell that turned the caster into lightning itself.

And yet the reason Alon felt that this spell itself was insane was the difficulty.

In the end, this Raijin Form was a spell that temporarily turned the body into lightning and allowed the user to use those properties directly.

The problem was that as the irregular mana array of lightning combined with Alon’s body, even the slightest movement of his body threatened to break the original arrangement apart.

In other words, if Alon had not possessed talent in controlling mana arrays, then just now he might truly have vanished after decorating the arena like fireworks.

…It hurts like hell.

Even though he had stopped for more than a second to urgently reconstruct the arrangement of his body, it seemed there had been parts he still had not managed to account for, because he could feel the amount of blood flowing beneath his sleeves increasing little by little.

Sparrow, did that bastard teach me this because he wanted to screw me over?

For a moment he thought of Sparrow’s Staff, which Evan would probably be holding while watching the match.

I should get back first.

Leaving behind the thunderous cheers, Alon returned to the waiting room.

“My lord…”

“What is it?”

“Nothing… I just do not think I will be surprised anymore, no matter what you show us now.”

Hearing Evan speak while looking at him with a strange expression.

And hearing Sparrow’s Staff, which until now had only sneered at him, tremble as it spoke in a voice full of disbelief.

[H-how in the world… how did you do that?]

Behind his blank expression, Alon felt a refreshing sense of satisfaction.

“It seems I won the wager.”

####

A day later.

The fame of Alon, who had become an A-rank fighter in less than a single week, spread rapidly through all of Colony once again.

Because of that, stories about Alon were circulating far more widely in Colony than stories about any other fighter.

Yet the very person at the center of those rumors.

“It is the royal castle now, Benefactor!”

Was quietly heading toward Colony’s royal castle together with Seollang.

The reason was that, now that he had become an A-rank fighter, he could enter the royal family’s treasury.

Ordinarily, even after becoming A-rank, it would have taken another week before he could enter the treasury.

The reason Alon was able to move things along so quickly was Seollang.

Even if a Baba Yaga’s power is great, I did not expect her influence to reach even the royal family.

As Alon was being surprised once more by Seollang’s ability, his carriage passed through the vast walls.

[Hey.]

Sparrow directly addressed him inside his head.

Instead of answering out loud, Alon responded the way Sparrow had taught him.

Sss-

He connected his mana to the staff and replied.

Did you forget the wager?

[Urgh-!]

Sparrow reacted with immediate disgust.

But then.

[…Excuse me, Count, there is one thing I wish to ask you.]

Trembling slightly, he now used extremely polite and refined honorific speech completely unlike the way he had spoken a few days ago.

“What is it?”

[Th-that is, I mentioned it yesterday as well, but might you consider making a contract with me and succeeding my line?]

“As I said yesterday, I believe I told you I would think about it first.”

[No. This is seriously a great opportunity!]

“Hm-”

[…Sir!?]

Only belatedly tacking the honorific back on, Sparrow spoke as though he were frustrated to death.

[Count, no, Count sir, as you already know from using it, my law is incredibly strong. Even if it were merely refined over generations, it would still slap other mages across the face thirty times over and have more to spare. I mean it, seriously-!]

From the moment Alon used Sparrow’s law without even inheriting his mind-image, Sparrow had been urging him, just as the dragonkin had said, to become his successor.

A successor.

From Alon’s position, where he needed to learn magic, taking this staff as his teacher was not actually a bad choice.

Sparrow seemed to possess a great deal of magical knowledge, simply from knowing phrases and sentences.

Even so, the reason Alon still did not answer was the contract Sparrow wanted him to make.

Sparrow called it a master-disciple contract, but there was no reason to draw a magic circle and enter into some contract he did not understand.

In any case, I am going to meet the dragonkin tomorrow. It will not be too late to ask then and decide afterward.

Thinking that, Alon kept fending Sparrow off.

[Please, just seriously think about it one more time…!]

“Hm. By your own words, if I have not even inherited a mind-image, would it not be impossible for me to become your successor?”

[No, that was because I truly did not know. I said I was sorry!]

“No need to apologize. In any case, you were a fool, so becoming your successor would probably have been difficult.”

[…You really hold grudges forever…]

“What did you just say?”

[A-ah, no, I mean-]

As the price for losing the previous wager, Sparrow had to use honorific speech, and he desperately recommended that Alon become his successor right up until the moment Alon set the staff down in the carriage in order to enter the royal castle.

…Though all Sparrow ultimately gained from that was the realization that Alon held grudges much more strongly than expected.

[…Hah. I should not have lost my temper for no reason.]

Left alone in the carriage, Sparrow muttered darkly to himself.

…It was his own fault.

####

Colony’s royal castle gave off a somewhat different atmosphere from the royal castles Alon knew from other countries.

Unlike what one usually imagined of a royal castle, the mood inside itself felt very rough and plain.

There were no noteworthy sculptures or marble inside, and in a way it almost looked rather careless.

And yet the reason Alon did not think, This place is low-class.

Was.

“…”

The countless pieces of gold and jewels hanging on those rough walls.

After walking for a long time past treasures that seemed to stretch on without end, Alon finally arrived, together with Seollang, at the king’s audience chamber.

Soon he knelt and offered his greeting to the king of Colony, who was looking down at him.

“A fighter greets the king of Colony.”

Ordinarily it would have been proper to introduce himself as a noble, but because he had come in order to enter the treasury, he introduced himself as a fighter.

“Raise your head.”

At the dignified voice, Alon lifted his head and was able to see the king’s face.

He was a bold-looking middle-aged man with heavy features, and at a glance one could see both royal authority and confidence in him.

“Count Palladio, I watched your match with great interest. It was truly impressive!”

The king of Colony, Karmakses III, laughed heartily and continued.

“I hear you wish to enter the treasury. It seems there is an item you desire?”

“That is correct.”

At that, Karmakses nodded several times.

“Then you should take it. The royal house of Colony opens its treasury to any who have proven themselves.”

“Thank you for your generosity.”

“Still, I am thinking of giving you one more gift. What do you think?”

“…A proposal, Your Majesty?”

“Yes.”

He spoke as though it were nothing.

“I have a daughter.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think?”

“…Pardon?”

Alon’s mind stopped.

Silence.

But only for a moment.

“Well, receiving that gift is entirely up to you, so think it over calmly.”

Karmakses still had not lost his smile.

“Maksim, take him to the treasury.”

Soon he gave the order to the guardian knight standing beside him.

As Karmakses watched Alon walking away, he let out a small sigh.

“…Hm? Baba Yaga, are you not following him?”

He had realized that Seollang, who until just a moment ago had been beside Alon, was still standing there.

And then.

“Hey.”

He saw that Seollang’s expression, which had been bright and cheerful just a moment ago, had turned completely expressionless.

Soon.

“Enough of that.”

Those cold words fell together with chilling golden eyes.