I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 89 - Sironia, Goddess of the Moon

Chapter 89 – Sironia, Goddess of the Moon

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Alon knew Cardinal Sergius well.

Or rather, it would have been stranger if he had not known him.

In Psychedelia, Sergius was one of the main villains of Rosaria, and one of the earliest figures used to show the player just how rotten the Holy Kingdom really was.

He had even executed dozens of innocent believers by accusing them of not believing properly.

In other words, from the standpoint of Alon, who knew perfectly well that Sergius was a human wreck of a villain, the present scene could only feel awkward in many ways.

“Yes, so if you move over this way, that is correct. If you proceed in this manner, then once the chief cardinal arrives…”

Sergius was diligently explaining the current arrangements to him while constantly gauging his reaction.

I was sure he would be exhausting to meet, which is why I wanted to avoid meeting him if possible.

Faced with this unexpected version of the man, Alon kept returning to the same question.

…What in the world did she do to make him end up like this?

Alon was not stupid.

He knew very well that the reason Sergius was bowing and scraping before him like this was the woman standing behind him.

Yutia.

Even so, no matter how much he thought about it, he still could not imagine a reason why Sergius would have to watch his footing this much.

At least in Psychedelia, the Sergius Alon knew had been a corrupt villain, but even until the moment he died he had never thrown away his pride.

So,

“…”

Alon cast a sideways glance toward Yutia, who was still smiling sweetly in the distance.

Then, for the moment, that thought was cut off.

“D-did you understand everything…?”

At the following question from Cardinal Sergius, Alon nodded.

“Thanks to you, I understood everything.”

“T-that is truly a relief.”

“By the way, you may stop speaking to me so formally.”

Those were Alon’s words.

No matter that Alon was a noble of Asteria, his counterpart was effectively one of the highest authorities in existence unless one counted only the pope and the saint personally chosen by the goddess.

In terms of rank, there was no reason for Sergius to speak to Alon so deferentially.

So Alon had said it carefully, but,

“N-no no no no no no, how could I possibly do that? We are nothing more than messengers of the god. How could I ever?”

The sheer number of times he refused made the gap between expectation and reality feel almost painful.

…Is this really the same villain from the game who used to openly despise human beings every time we met?

Alon remembered the in-game Sergius calmly saying lines like,

Why should I speak politely to base creatures who do not even believe in the gods, now or ever?

and answered awkwardly,

“I-is that so?”

“Of course, absolutely!”

Ha ha, Sergius laughed in a way that anyone could see was forced.

Alon cleared his throat for no reason and spoke.

“In any case, thank you for going to this much trouble. The cardinal did not need to come out personally to explain this.”

“N-not at all. I am also one of the administrators for this matter, so it is only natural that I handle it…!”

Alon knew that ordinarily an administrator would not handle minor explanations like this himself, but he simply nodded instead of pressing the point.

“I see.”

“Y-yes, yes…”

Sergius bowed his head.

Watching that corrupt cardinal of the Holy Kingdom bend himself at the waist like this, Alon felt one curiosity arise.

“Then are you and Cardinal Yutia very close?”

Of course, they probably were not, but Alon asked just in case.

However,

“Of course, Teacher. Cardinal Sergius and I often speak at length about Lady Sironia in our daily lives.”

It was not Sergius but Yutia who answered his question.

“Is that right, Cardinal Sergius?”

Yutia turned to him with a bright smile, as though merely asking for confirmation.

Sergius, still frozen, nodded like mad.

“Y-yes, yes yes yes! O-of course!”

“Why are you nodding so hard? If you act like that, Teacher might think I am making up stories.”

“H-ha ha ha ha! Was I too awkward? Well, I only wished to express that Cardinal Yutia and I are close, but perhaps I grew a little too enthusiastic…!”

Sergius spoke with desperate intensity.

“Yes, yes. Next time, just act the way you usually do. You understand, don’t you?”

“Yes, I understand…!”

“Relax. Relax.”

“Yes!”

He answered so crisply that he might as well have been a soldier.

Satisfied, Yutia nodded once and turned back toward Alon with a bright smile.

“See? I told you we were close.”

It felt exactly like witnessing a scene in high school where the friend being bullied and the bullies themselves stand in front of the teacher and say, We are close, though.

“I see…”

Alon could only nod quietly.

…And once again, he was reminded that Yutia was one of the Five Great Sins.

* * *

Right after meeting Sergius and receiving a simple explanation of the investiture ceremony, Alon, while speaking with Yutia, raised the question he had not managed to ask the day before.

“Abyssal Cores…?”

“Yes. Do you know anything about them?”

It was the information Deus had brought him about the Abyssal Cores.

After hearing that most of the Abyssal Cores appearing on the market had gone into the Holy Kingdom, Alon had asked in case Yutia knew something.

“Hmm. I have heard of Abyssal Cores, but… I did not know anything about that specifically.”

Yutia seemed to think for a moment and then gave that answer.

“You knew about Abyssal Cores?”

“Yes. Given the effect they have, after all.”

“Ah.”

Alon let out a quiet sound of realization.

Certainly, things like Abyssal Cores would draw clear interest from the Holy Kingdom.

Abyssal Cores and abyssstones were objects that, though only weakly, granted godhead to human beings.

In other words, to the Holy Kingdom of Rosaria they were essentially nothing but deeply heretical objects.

So it was not strange that Yutia knew of them.

“In any case, since you brought it up, Teacher, and if someone in the Holy Kingdom is using Abyssal Cores, then that would be a very serious matter, so I will investigate it.”

“I would appreciate that.”

“No, this is something the Holy Kingdom must deal with regardless.”

Yutia nodded and continued.

“Ah, and I think you will probably be able to enter the Holy Spirit Chamber tomorrow, Teacher.”

“…Tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

At Yutia’s words, Alon was deeply surprised inside.

Honestly, I thought it would take more than two weeks just to get permission.

At least as far as he knew, even priests below bishop rank had to wait a long time just to be permitted entry into the Holy Spirit Chamber.

That was only natural.

The Holy Spirit Chamber itself was, in effect, designated as a relic within the Holy Kingdom.

So for Alon, who had been prepared to wait quietly for about two weeks if necessary, it was entirely unexpected news.

…Though none of that showed on his face.

“This is not too burdensome, is it?”

“Not at all.”

Watching Yutia answer with a smile, Alon felt vaguely uneasy.

…For some reason, he remembered how Sergius had looked earlier and asked once more.

“Yutia.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“I ask just in case. You did not use improper methods just for my sake, did you?”

He had phrased it indirectly because saying violence outright would have sounded too blatant.

Yutia smiled faintly and replied,

“Of course not. Why would I go out of my way to do such a thing?”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. I only talked a little. Nothing like what you are imagining happened, so please do not worry too much.”

“…”

To that, Alon only nodded.

* * *

The following evening, Alon followed Yutia into the inner part of Rosaria’s temple complex toward the Holy Spirit Chamber, and there, inside the temple, met a man.

“Cardinal Yutia.”

“Are you well, Lord Yuman?”

He was a young man in priestly robes who still looked more youthful than fully grown.

Yet because of that youth, none of the holy knights or priests guarding the temple could afford to look down on him.

For the man standing before Yutia and Alon with a dissatisfied expression was one of the saints of the Holy Kingdom of Rosaria.

A man directly chosen by the goddess Sironia.

“…”

Yuman’s eyes turned toward Count Palladio.

“…Allowing an ordinary man who is not even a believer into the Holy Spirit Chamber goes too far.”

The hostility in his tone was obvious to anyone.

Yutia, however, kept smiling.

“As I understand it, the vote has already decided the matter.”

“Ha. Was that not because Cardinal Yutia applied pressure?”

“The vote was conducted openly and transparently. Surely the saint knows that as well.”

“I am saying that the vote itself…”

Yuman, who was about to continue protesting, shut his mouth.

On the surface, Yutia was right.

Count Palladio’s entry into the chamber had been determined by vote.

So Yuman merely let out a small sigh and frowned.

“…Acting in such a way is not right, Cardinal Yutia.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

With that warning, Yuman threw Count Palladio a sharp glance and then passed right by him.

…It seems I have earned his dislike.

Alon felt a little uncomfortable at the sight of someone who was so plainly hostile, but soon shrugged.

In truth, even if Yuman disliked him, it was not especially frightening.

No, more precisely, Alon was not worried because Yuman’s disposition was not violent.

He was a strict principled man grounded in faith, but not evil at heart. If he had been a protagonist, he would have been the kind of saintly character that players cursed endlessly for being too righteous.

So Alon reached the Holy Spirit Chamber with Yutia without much concern.

“Go on in, Teacher.”

He stepped inside.

“…Oh.”

He naturally let out a small sound of admiration as he looked around.

The inside of the room was, exactly as he remembered, covered entirely in pure white marble.

But the reason he was impressed was the statue of the goddess Sironia standing at the far end.

The enormous statue, large enough to occupy more than half the room by itself, was more than enough to overwhelm him.

Ordinarily, brilliant light would come from that statue and one would speak with the goddess.

But that was something only the original protagonist Elivan, the saints, or bishops with very deep faith could do.

…Ah, come to think of it, even bishops and cardinals could not actually make the statue of Sironia shine brilliantly, could they?

Alon remembered the setting that the brighter the statue shone, the more clearly one was connected to the goddess, but it had nothing to do with him.

“Phew.”

To obtain what he wanted, Alon pulled up only a small amount of mana, formed a seal, and spoke the phrase.

“Detect.”

The instant the magic began to manifest,

Wooooooooong!

“?”

Pure white light began pouring out of the statue.

* * *

Yuman, one of only two saints in the Holy Kingdom of Rosaria and a man who enjoyed fervent support from the people within it, did not like Count Palladio.

No, more precisely, he had only recently come to dislike him.

Because Count Palladio was not even one of Sironia’s believers, and yet had used personal connections to enter the Holy Spirit Chamber.

And he had done so through Cardinal Yutia, who moved the Holy Kingdom as she pleased by winning over the cardinals.

Yet even knowing that, the reason Yuman could do nothing was simple.

The goddess Sironia said nothing at all about Yutia.

Why in the world does the goddess leave her alone?

Yuman lamented that inwardly for a brief moment.

But then he immediately moved into another room.

It was a very small chamber beside the Holy Spirit Chamber.

From that tiny confessional-sized room, permitted only to saints, one could look into the Holy Spirit Chamber next door.

So Yuman peered inside to keep watch, fearing that Count Palladio might steal something from that room full of relics.

“…Huh?”

Soon, looking at Count Palladio standing in the middle of the room, he could only let out that blank sound.

Because the statue of the goddess Sironia was emitting brilliant light.

…A light even more radiant than when he, a saint, heard the goddess’s voice.