I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 76 - The Pirate King of Laxas (3)

Chapter 76 – The Pirate King of Laxas (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Pellin Kraisinne was a genius.

At a young age, he had already reached the third circle, a genius whose talent no mage would dispute.

Unfortunately, Pellin Kraisinne’s name was not especially well known.

That was because Pellin Kraisinne’s talent could not outstrip the talent of his older sister, Penia Kraisinne.

His genius had been overshadowed by the even greater genius of his sister.

Even so, Pellin did not hate Penia.

Rather, he admired her.

Watching Penia, who so lightly realized magic that he himself could not easily perform.

Watching Penia, who at such a young age had already won the tower master’s recognition and become vice tower master of the Blue Tower.

He instead felt a sort of pride.

The pride that he was of the same bloodline as Penia Kraisinne.

The pride that Penia Kraisinne, who had become vice tower master at such a young age, was his older sister.

So for someone like him.

“It has been a while.”

“I-it has been… a while.”

“Have you been well?”

“Y-yes, of course…!”

The situation unfolding now went beyond merely feeling unrealistic and could only be called shocking.

“So what brings you here?”

“Ah, th-that is… the tower master said there was business in Laxas…”

At the sight of Penia, who behaved arrogantly toward everyone except the tower master, smiling awkwardly, Pellin’s mouth fell open.

Because he had truly never once seen Penia act like that toward anyone.

“No way…”

“What do you mean, no way?”

When Pellin muttered, Evan asked from where he sat in the carriage.

But Pellin, as though he could hear nothing, remained in shock.

“My sister can really speak politely like that?”

“…?”

He wore a hollow expression, as though he had just witnessed his proud sister, who always walked her own path, compromise with the ways of the world.

And yet.

“The same sister who only yesterday slapped a noble brat three times because he was acting like trash, then froze him with ice magic…?”

“??”

“The same sister who, a few days ago, found out a merchant caravan was trying to swindle her, smashed all their wagons, froze the guards who came later, and even chased them to the lord’s castle to make a scene…???”

“…”

Contrary to his expression, Penia’s lawless history poured smoothly from his mouth, and Evan looked at Pellin anew.

There really are a lot of lunatics among mages.

Whether it was Pellin, who admired an older sister who did such ruinous things, or Penia, who went around doing them.

While Evan was updating his prejudice against mages once more after hearing a story worthy of making one faint.

“So that one is your younger brother?”

“Y-yes, yes… I am terribly sorry…! That boy has lived holed up in the tower, so he knows absolutely nothing of the world…!”

Alon answered lightly toward Penia, who lowered her head deeply at his question.

“There is no need to bow that deeply. It seems he acted that way because he did not know.”

“Th-thank you!”

Penia lowered her head again and let out a breath of relief.

“Sister, why in the world are you using honorifics-”

At that sight, Pellin, who had been looking hollow until a moment ago, finally opened his mouth, but his words did not continue.

“Shut up already.”

Whack!

Because Penia immediately began ruthlessly beating him with her staff before he could even finish the sentence.

After a brief while.

“S-sorry… huff, sorry… huff, he is still very young…!”

At the sight of Penia approaching again, apologizing while Pellin twitched behind her, Alon was reminded anew that even in the game settings she was sometimes depicted as slightly broken in personality.

“No, it is fine. More importantly, if you are headed to Laxas, then our destination is the same, so let us travel together.”

“Pardon? No, there is no need for that.”

“Do you dislike the idea?”

“N-no? It is not that. It is just, well…”

At Alon’s question, Penia, who just moments ago had been battering Pellin like a demon with a staff, began glancing around with her eyes moving restlessly.

She looked like a mouse before a cat trying somehow to escape the situation.

“If you dislike it, you do not have to come.”

“Ah, th-that…”

Alon said it lightly because he only meant to offer kindness, but Penia suddenly stiffened as though goosebumps had run all over her body, then muttered.

“I-I will come.”

“Is that so? You really do not have to.”

Seeing her expression remain poor, Alon checked once more.

“N-no. Please let us absolutely come with you.”

Unlike a moment ago, when she had still seemed to be considering whether to accompany him, now the instant he asked again she earnestly insisted that she truly wanted to go.

Her face looked slightly desperate, and Alon felt oddly as though he had threatened her somehow, but he soon nodded.

“Then let us go together.”

####

After settling Pellin and resuming the trip to Laxas, Alon heard two things from Penia.

The first concerned why the two of them had been seeking food in the middle of the road.

It seemed they had had major trouble with the caravan they had been traveling with.

According to Penia, after a slight quarrel she had made a small mistake and they had fled.

…He did wonder how a small mistake led to fleeing without even bringing food, but there was no reason to ask further, and more than that.

“…”

“…”

Seeing Evan and Pellin looking at Penia with different but equally delicate expressions, Alon roughly grasped the situation and naturally changed the subject.

And in the middle of that, he heard one more interesting piece of information from her.

“Ships are disappearing?”

“More precisely, it only happens near the Relic Coast, but they say ships are being dragged beneath the sea.”

“A disaster?”

“No. According to treasure hunters, it seems to be merfolk.”

“…Merfolk?”

“Yes. Of course, it is not certain. Merfolk vanished a long time ago.”

Alon fell silent at Penia’s words.

Why are merfolk appearing now?

Of course, Alon knew that merfolk existed in Psychedelia.

What puzzled him was the timing.

This was still a point before the existence of merfolk should have been revealed.

Since two Outer Gods had already appeared, the timing of appearances had in truth become far less meaningful than before, but even taking that into account, the emergence of merfolk was much too early according to the game’s base setting.

Alon tilted his head slightly.

No, in the first place, merfolk should not be able to appear at this point.

Unlike the Outer Gods, whose appearance timing had existed only vaguely, merfolk alone had a separate specific setting attached to them, and recalling that made him feel uneasy.

Because if merfolk were appearing now, that meant other Outer Gods might also appear.

So while Alon was considering that.

“We have arrived.”

At Evan’s words from outside, Alon put his thoughts in order.

Even if merfolk had appeared, the fact that he still had to go to Laxas had not changed.

After arriving in Kimin territory, which also belonged to Laxas, he immediately left the carriage behind and headed for the harbor.

Because in order to enter the capital of Laxas, one absolutely had to take a ship.

The four of them soon reached the harbor, and fortunately they were able to find a ship just about to depart.

But the problem was.

“One hundred gold per head.”

The man who seemed to be the captain was openly trying to fleece Alon and Penia while wearing a blatantly mocking smile.

“Ha? One hundred gold per head?”

“That is right.”

“Do you really think that makes sense right now?”

“If you think it does not, then take the regular ship that comes in two weeks.”

The captain smiled broadly.

Seeing him act so boldly even though he had roughly guessed Alon was a noble and knew Penia and Pellin were mages.

“Ha. Do you even know who I am?”

Penia spoke threateningly while even letting out mana, yet the captain only flinched slightly and continued.

“Why should I care who you are? Whether you are nobles or mages, this is my ship. I decide the fare.”

The man spoke boldly.

Watching him, Alon could roughly guess why the man could act so brazenly.

He has backing above him.

The only way someone could speak so fearlessly even in front of nobles was if he had powerful connections above him who would cover for all this.

After thinking briefly, Alon.

“So, are we boarding or not?”

Looked at the captain speaking arrogantly and opened his mouth.

“…Then four hundred gold?”

“That is right.”

“I will pay.”

“?”

For a moment the captain’s face went blank.

Apparently he had not expected them to accept such an offer.

But only for a moment.

“Take it.”

When Alon handed over the money pouch, he took it.

He still looked half doubtful, but the captain grinned happily and gestured.

“Board. I will take you.”

As the captain went inside the ship wearing a sly smile behind his thick beard, one that made one want to hit him, Evan asked in startled disbelief.

“My lord, are you really giving it to him? Even accounting for inflated prices, that is nearly ten times too much.”

“There is no helping it.”

As long as he had backing above him, there was no real way around it.

Even if they forced the price down in the end, it was obvious they would still have to pay a great deal or else wait two weeks before reaching Laxas.

…In truth, this was a luxury Alon normally would never even have considered, but thanks to the treasure he had received from the king of Colony, his purse was extremely full right now.

Should I have just made Penia and Pellin pay? They both look like they have plenty of money too…

…Of course, even if his purse was full, it was not as though that thought never occurred to him.

In any case, after paying the price like that, Alon and his group boarded the merchant ship bound for Laxas.

####

One day after the merchant ship bound for Laxas set sail.

Having heard that they would not reach the city for another three days, Alon was resting in the room assigned by the captain when.

“Bleurgh-”

He looked at Evan, who was lying on the bed beside him with a blue face and groaning.

“Are you all right?”

“I think I am dying, my lord… I think it would be better just to die. Urp-”

Seeing Evan run out more than five times already since waking up, Alon learned that he was weak to seasickness.

“Ugh….”

“…”

And in addition, Penia too.

Like Evan, she had gone pale and looked dizzy, and not long after, he saw her clamp a hand over her mouth and rush out just like the person before her.

So even a sixth-circle mage cannot do anything about seasickness.

At the sight of Penia, who had since yesterday become half-dead to the point that she, like Evan, could hardly move a finger, he let out a breath of relief.

It is fortunate I do not get seasick.

How long had it been since he had given a positive evaluation to his own body, whose mana hall was as tiny as a miser’s purse.

Ding ding ding ding!

From the sea, where until just a moment ago there had only been the sound of waves and the rusty ship creaking whenever they struck it, a bell suddenly rang out.

Then.

“En-enemy raid. Pirates!”

“!”

Feeling the merchant ship erupt into chaos in an instant, Alon moved and went outside.

And he was able to see the situation on deck.

Pirates climbing onto the deck in great numbers before anyone had time to respond.

Alon immediately moved the fingers wearing the Frost Gauntlet to activate Extreme Cold, but.

“…”

Soon stopped.

Because if he used magic wrongly here and the ship was shattered, the situation would become extremely dangerous for him.

Realizing that if the ship broke with no additional means of escape, they would all simply sink into the sea, he kept thinking for a moment.

And decided that, for now, he would allow himself to be captured by the pirates pressing swords toward him in the blink of an eye.

####

In the end, Alon was captured by the pirates.

Penia, unable to overcome her seasickness, had fainted half-hanging over the deck railing and was captured without putting up any resistance, her staff confiscated.

Evan and Pellin were the same.

And in that situation.

“A deal, let us make a deal. You can take all the goods. On top of that, there is even a mage and a noble you would probably like. There, over there. That one. He looks like a noble with quite a lot of money. You could surely get a fine ransom for him.”

Seeing the captain, who had been captured together with the other crew and mercenaries, immediately sell them out to the pirates without hesitation, Alon made a baffled expression.

“That bastard…”

Evan likewise flared up and frowned hard.

But Alon did not feel much danger from this situation.

Because in the first place, Alon’s magic required time to form phrases and seals, so he had deliberately let himself be captured by the pirates.

And in addition.

As expected.

Penia, though not in proper condition because of seasickness, had already freed herself from the mana restraints the pirates had put on her and was looking toward Alon.

She clearly looked as though she were waiting to move in accordance with Alon starting first.

Should I give it a try?

Just as Alon finished thinking it through and was about to speak a phrase.

“You are damn noisy.”

From the pirate ship hooked to theirs, one man appeared.

His whole body was covered in silver armor that looked expensive at a glance, and he held a blue trident.

As a man so dignified he hardly looked like a pirate approached the captain with a leisurely expression.

“Sea King…!?”

The captain cried out the man’s epithet in utter shock.

Penia, who had just recovered enough to grasp the situation, became visibly tense.

Because Penia, who had already finished rough advance research before coming here, knew exactly who the Sea King referred to.

The pirate king…!

The strong man called the Sea King because he had unified six of the Seven Isles and carried an enormous bounty in Laxas.

At his appearance, the situation was clearly growing worse and worse.

What in the world is he thinking!?

So while Penia anxiously looked at Count Palladio, who still did nothing and only watched the pirate king even in the current situation.

“That should not be possible… There is a noble?”

The man said to the captain as though he had no interest in such things at all.

“Th-there is. There, there he is.”

And as soon as the stammering captain pointed toward Alon, the man naturally turned his gaze.

“…Huh?”

After a brief silence, surprise spread across his face.

Then.

“…Big brother?”

The man called Sea King and pirate king, Radan, looked at Alon in shock and spoke.

“?”

Everyone’s gaze, including Penia’s, shot toward Alon.