I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 87 - Investiture Ceremony (3)
Chapter 87 – Investiture Ceremony (3)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Hidan knew very well that the moons, Yutia Bloodia included, revered and worshipped the Great Moon.
Blue Moon’s slogan had always been For the Great Moon in the first place.
Even so,
[I am telling you not to speak of marriage when you do not even properly understand what marriage is!]
[I do understand it properly! I can make the Great Moon happy!]
[That is not for you to decide!]
[That’s right!]
[No, it isn’t!]
…To this degree.
[As I have been objecting for some time now, regarding the matter of sending letters, would it not make more sense for each of us to send our own…]
[As I said, the Great Moon might find that confusing, so did I not say that I would gather them?]
[Would it really be so strange if I were the one doing the gathering?]
[There is no need to change it at this point, is there?]
[I want to change it. So when it comes time to send letters… hu… hi.]
Hidan had honestly never imagined they would be this fanatical.
[Now, listen well. At that time, the Great Moon stood with tremendous dignity even before the Outer God. The sun lowered its gaze before his eyes and stained itself with dusk, while the ashen world regained its snow-white field. And that was not the end. The strike he launched was one that truly filled every person with…]
For twenty minutes already, Hidan had been trapped by Deus’s Now I will begin praising the Great Moon, a thing even the other members besides Yutia feared, and could only wear a dizzy expression.
Of course, Hidan too revered and worshipped the Great Moon, so he did not think this sight was exactly strange.
…It was only a little different from the image he had formed of the moons, and that difference left him slightly flustered.
“…”
…To be honest, part of him cooled off a little too.
[Everyone, stop now. There is something we need to hear.]
Around the time Hidan was secretly letting out a sigh, a voice rang out.
There, unlike the others who were busily making noise, Radan was sitting with a calm, faint smile.
“…!”
That sight matched the image that had once made Hidan feel awe toward the other moons.
Feeling a strange sense of relief, Hidan cleared his throat and looked at the other moons, who had somehow gone quiet.
[Then I will begin my report.]
Strictly speaking, what he had to report today came down to one thing: the forces trying to slander the Great Moon.
[To begin with the conclusion, we still have not located the organization trying to slander the Great Moon.]
[Why?]
He answered the question from the Red Moon, Yutia, who had become serious again.
[They seem to be extremely reluctant to reveal who they are. Even when we find places connected to them and seize their couriers, most of those people turn out to be no more than couriers.]
[…So even the ones acting as couriers do not know the organization itself?]
[That is correct.]
He cleared his throat briefly and continued.
[We did manage to climb above one courier once, but that place too was only being used as another contact point.]
[…So they are hiding their identity thoroughly.]
At the Green Moon, Rine’s, mutter, Hidan nodded.
[Yes. Even so, we did obtain some information that may allow us to identify them.]
[Information?]
[It is barely enough to call information, but we found about eight organizations that the upper group trying to slander the Great Moon uses as couriers. So for now, based on those organizations…]
[How did you find them?]
[It seems that orders were sent down to other organizations telling them to slander the Great Moon. While moving to investigate this matter, I was able to compile a list. The organizations are, starting with Dark Finger…]
At the Purple Moon, Deus’s, question, Hidan began listing the names one by one.
[Then we kill them.]
[…Pardon?]
At the sudden, hesitation-free statement from Radan, who had looked like the only normal one present, Hidan stared blankly for a moment.
[No, well… killing them is correct, but before that we should be moving in the direction of finding the upper organization…]
[Did you not just say that they are trying to slander big brother, no, the Great Moon?]
[That is correct, but.]
[Then we kill them.]
Radan spoke with an expression that seemed to say, Isn’t one plus one being two just obvious?
For an instant Hidan went blank, then spoke again.
[…As the White Moon says, it is true that they all need to die, but would it not also be important to get information on the upper organization first?]
[That is separate from the fact that they are targeting the Great Moon, is it not?]
[…That is also true.]
[Then killing them is right.]
[…?]
[Killing them is right.]
[….]
Watching Radan nod firmly as though making a solemn resolution, Hidan came to a fresh realization.
Radan too was probably not the sort of person Hidan had originally imagined, even though he had failed to notice it because the man had been quiet up to now.
And on top of that,
[This will not do.]
[?]
[I will be back shortly. Dark Finger is attached to Laxas.]
[W-wait a moment, White Moon.]
[What is it?]
[D-Dark Finger is connected to the Laxas royal family as well, so if you touch them carelessly, it may become troublesome for you.]
Hidan said as much.
[I just heard that they are trying to slander big brother. Does something like that matter?]
[!]
Radan turned around with a chillingly expressionless face, as if the smile from moments earlier had been a lie.
Watching him take up his spear and leap out the window from the corner of the projected image, Hidan could only stare with his mouth open.
And a little while later,
“…”
After they eventually concluded that they would look for the ones slandering the Great Moon while leaving aside only a few groups the moons themselves intended to deal with,
the report continued with Radan already gone.
[For the final matter I will report, the Great Moon is currently entangled in a strange rumor.]
[What rumor?]
[A rumor that the Great Moon and the vice tower master of the Blue Tower are in that sort of relationship. It is not an important rumor, of course, but since it concerns the Great Moon, I thought it should be reported.]
At Hidan’s words, Yutia, who had been presiding over the meeting quite leisurely just moments earlier, nodded once and opened her mouth.
[Hm. It is obviously a false rumor.]
[I think so too! My teacher would never fail to keep a promise!]
Seollang nodded as if in agreement.
[I think so as well.]
[Yes, it is a false rumor, so there is absolutely no need to worry. Absolutely none.]
At that, Hidan naturally nodded, but Yutia, still smiling, said,
[Yes, understood.]
[Even if by some impossible chance that false rumor were ever proven true, I would make it into a false rumor.]
[…Pardon?]
[Of course there is no way such a thing could possibly be true and it absolutely must not happen and I know it is the kind of thing that is completely impossible to begin with but if by any chance something like that ever did happen then I would make the rumor into something that never existed so there is absolutely no need to worry.]
[…]
She unleashed the words like rapid fire.
At the same time, the fountain pen in her hand had been crushed flat and ruined.
[…Yes, understood.]
I should give the report about that man I saw before separately tomorrow.
At Yutia’s words, which looked far from calm to anyone with eyes, Hidan simply decided to agree.
And on the following day,
when Hidan heard that Dark Finger had been annihilated overnight, he found himself once again reconsidering the fanaticism of the moons.
* * *
At that time,
after learning that the mercenary band that had caused the disturbance the day before was Ancient Chasers, a guild active in Lartania and led by Myaon,
and after the whole thing ended as nothing more than a simple incident in which Myaon cracked the rookie mercenary’s head twice with a glass bottle and a wooden cup,
Alon was now traveling together with Ancient Chasers out of Nenda.
The reason was that Ancient Chasers’ destination was the same Holy Kingdom of Rosaria.
An extermination commission…
Of course, Myaon had not explained in detail what the Holy Kingdom’s commission actually was or what restrictions were attached to the contract, but remembering what she had said the day before, Alon thought,
…Is something happening in Rosaria?
Without realizing it, he had already begun thinking that way.
How much time had passed like that?
When Alon stopped the carriage for lunch,
“Count, no, should I call you Count now?”
“Call me whatever is comfortable.”
“Then I’ll call you Count, and hey, you, get over here already!”
Soon he saw a mercenary approaching with Myaon.
The man, a full head taller than Myaon, came to Alon and immediately said,
“I am truly sorry! I committed a sin worthy of death!”
Thunk.
He slammed his head into the ground and begged forgiveness.
The moment his forehead struck the dirt, blood began to pool around it.
“Do not worry about it. I will treat it as nothing more than a minor incident.”
Alon was a little startled, but lightly shook his head.
At once, the man who had looked as if he were already dead suddenly smiled like someone who had gotten his life back.
“Thank you! Thank you very much! Really, really, truly thank you!”
As if he owed Alon his life, he bowed several times and went back to where the other mercenaries were.
“Lucky bastard.”
“Wow, he actually lived through that?”
“Incredible.”
They were trying to speak quietly, but to Alon’s ears, enhanced by mana, the conversation came through clearly.
What in the world do they think I am?
His face hid it, but Alon felt a little dumbfounded.
Myaon, also sounding relieved, let out a breath and said,
“That is a relief. I really thought the Count would never forgive him. He is a new recruit, so I felt a little sorry for him.”
“…I did not think that was the impression I gave.”
“But last time, one wrong word and someone turned into an ice statue.”
“…”
That had only been to seize the momentum of the situation, but from Myaon’s point of view it could certainly look that way, so Alon stopped speaking for a moment and then said,
“The situation then was what it was. I am not that merciless.”
“When I heard the rumors, I did not think so.”
“…Rumors?”
“Yes.”
At Alon’s question, Myaon nodded.
“…That anyone you do not like gets buried quietly in the shadows without a trace of hesitation.”
“…”
At Myaon’s words, Alon remembered with sudden grievance how many of the other mercenaries had probably spent their time clinging to each other and crying.
He had never once buried another noble or person just because he did not like them.
…Of course, he knew very well that even if he protested that now, it would not help at all.
So he only let out a small sigh.
“Is it really all right to say that to the person in question?”
“Hmm. Nobles with one foot in the underworld often like stories like that, though. Reputation matters a lot in that world, doesn’t it?”
At Myaon’s relaxed answer, Alon felt his mouth go bitter as he thought that the more time passed, the more bizarre false rumors seemed to pile up around him.
* * *
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
Aside from the uncomfortable little incident at the village inn in the beginning, Alon had been able to travel very comfortably to Rosaria thanks to Ancient Chasers.
And thanks to Myaon as a conversation partner, those two weeks had not been boring either.
More precisely, Myaon had simply come to find him constantly even when Alon had not gone looking for her.
In any case,
thanks to that, Alon had spent the journey to Rosaria in fairly pleasant circumstances.
And in truth, the same was true for Myaon.
For her too, the two-week journey with Alon had been rather helpful.
Of course, Count Palladio had not actually done anything in particular during the trip.
But at the very least, a good deal of familiarity had built up between them.
That was right.
In truth, Myaon was putting in quite a bit of effort in hopes of somehow making something happen with Count Palladio.
Of course, that plan had not been prepared from the beginning.
It had been a hurried scheme that arose unexpectedly after she met Alon on the way to the Holy Kingdom as part of the commission.
Even so, she had more than enough reason to make such a plan.
For beastfolk of the cat tribe, being drawn to a strong male was instinctive in itself, but from the perspective of a cat beastfolk, the conditions Alon possessed were also excellent.
So Myaon kept talking to him about this and that, trying to figure out how to get somewhere with Count Palladio, whom she found very much to her liking, and as far as she was concerned there had even been some success.
…Of course, to Alon it had only felt as though he had gained a fairly pleasant conversation partner.
In any case,
Finally, we’ve arrived.
If I get the chance, maybe I should push a little harder. He seems to dislike it when I come on too strong like last time, so maybe I should handle it more like humans do…
The two of them ended their journey with entirely different thoughts, and by the time they reached the capital of Rosaria,
“You have arrived, Teacher.”
“…Yutia?”
“Yes.”
“…I sent a letter, but it could not have been easy for you to come all the way out to meet me.”
“No, something like this is not difficult.”
“…Is that so?”
Before he even reached the city gate, Alon found Yutia waiting for him together with the holy knights.
And Myaon, watching from the side,
Wow, she is really beautiful.
found herself staring blankly at Yutia.
Even dressed in black priestly robes, Yutia’s beauty had not diminished in the slightest, and the red eyes glimpsed through her smiling gaze seemed to carry a pull strong enough to swallow Myaon’s heart.
But only for a moment.
…Count Palladio really is incredible. I had heard it before, but I did not think he would truly have personal ties even to a cardinal.
Soon Myaon found herself admiring Count Palladio instead.
She too had known that many people were tied to him, but to be honest she had half doubted where the truth ended.
At least as far as she knew, Count Palladio had very deep ties to high-ranking figures in a ridiculous number of countries, even if one could not literally say every country.
So while Myaon watched Count Palladio with a somewhat admiring face,
Maybe I should make the plan a little bolder after all.
just as the desire to somehow make him hers was growing stronger in her heart,
“Teacher, let us move inside first. From here on, our side will escort you.”
Yutia instructed the holy knights to escort the carriage, and the moment Alon’s carriage set off under their protection,
“You look like you are the ones who came under our commission. Am I correct?”
Yutia approached Myaon with a flawless smile and asked.
“Yes, that is right.”
At the smile that seemed as though it could embrace everything like a saint’s, Myaon nodded without thinking.
Once Yutia came close enough, she leaned her face right up to Myaon’s ear.
“?”
Though puzzled, Myaon instinctively judged that the cardinal had something secret to say and leaned in as well.
And then,
“Hey.”
“?”
“Want to die?”
Myaon heard a cold voice that sent gooseflesh all over her body.