I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 95 - Allied Summit (1)

Chapter 95 – Allied Summit (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“…”

At Yuman’s words, Alon fell silent.

More precisely, he was thinking.

…What is he talking about?

Behind his blank face, Alon recalled what Yuman had said.

That he bore the same burden as Yuman? Perhaps one even heavier…? What is that supposed to mean?

Alon looked at Yuman.

The clear respect and awe in the saint’s eyes made it obvious that he was not joking.

“…???”

Alon only grew more puzzled.

Was it something like, I looked that cool?

He thought of the goodwill the priests had been showing him lately, then shook his head.

No matter how he looked at it, what Yuman had said was not that kind of respect or awe.

So,

“…Excuse me, but what exactly are you talking about?”

“Pardon?”

“The part about me bearing the same burden as you, saint.”

Alon asked the question directly.

Yuman seemed bad at catching indirect meaning, so this time Alon made it completely explicit.

Yuman, however, answered without hesitation.

“I mean exactly what I said. That you are in the same position as I am, but bear a burden heavier than mine.”

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

Even though Yuman had now explained it, Alon understood his intent even less than before.

But at the same time, one thing had become certain.

…I think he is misunderstanding something.

There was definitely some kind of misunderstanding.

By any ordinary standard, Alon had nothing in common with Yuman.

In terms of class alone, Alon had been born into House Palladio, while Yuman had been born an orphan and raised in an orphanage.

Their backgrounds were completely different too.

Alon had grown up in a noble house, wanting nothing more than to live quietly, slicing whatever meat was put on the table in front of him and doing as he pleased.

Yuman, on the other hand, had spent his childhood in an orphanage and had then been chosen as a saint while still young.

And beyond that, their personalities, dispositions, and even values.

As far as Alon, who knew Yuman, could tell, there was not a single thing between them that actually matched.

Should I say it?

Alon thought that to himself.

At the same time he realized that Yuman was misunderstanding something, he also realized something else.

That Yuman’s kindness was coming from that misunderstanding.

Which meant that if Alon cleared it up here and now, that kindness would likely disappear.

Alon thought it over, then

I should say it.

made up his mind.

He would correct the misunderstanding.

Of course, Alon did not particularly want his relationship with Yuman to worsen either.

Yuman was the right hand of Psychedelia’s protagonist Elivan, and also a saint of the Holy Kingdom.

Even so, from long experience Alon knew that misunderstandings like this, if allowed to pile up, could create bigger trouble once they were finally exposed.

So after resolving himself, he opened his mouth.

“Saint.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

“I believe you are misunderstanding something, so let me say this clearly. I am not actually in the same position as you at all.”

Alon said it plainly in order to clear up Yuman’s misunderstanding.

However,

“Yes, I know. You bear a burden greater than mine, Marquis. Perhaps you walk a path that can never be acknowledged by anyone.”

“…???”

At Yuman’s response, which was accompanied by a nod as though he understood perfectly, Alon opened his mouth again.

“No, that is not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“…Exactly what I said. I am not saying this in false modesty. I truly am not in the same position as you.”

Now that Alon had stated clearly, in a way that could not possibly be misunderstood, that Yuman was mistaken, he felt a faint headache coming on.

He did not know what misunderstanding Yuman had fallen into in the first place, but situations like this usually became extremely awkward once one clarified them.

Alon disliked that peculiar strained atmosphere, so he had been worried.

But,

“Ah, I see.”

Yuman was absurdly calm instead.

In fact, his eyes showed even clearer respect than before, and he nodded as though he had realized something.

“I have been thoughtless.”

“Pardon?”

“In this matter, I was rude. I still have many shortcomings.”

“No, did you actually understand me? As I said, I am not in the same position as you at all…”

“Yes, I understood you properly.”

The saint smiled as he said it.

Rather than the awkwardness Alon had expected once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Yuman’s reaction was far too mild.

And at that, Alon instinctively realized one thing.

…I do not think he believes me.

That was what Alon was thinking when Yuman spoke again.

“I had no intention of distorting the resolve you carry, Marquis.”

“…No, what I am saying is that you are mistaken…”

“Yes, I understood, Marquis.”

Before Alon could finish, Yuman answered with the sort of tone that said, Yes, yes, I know, so do not worry.

It was almost as though he had decided to pretend not to know what he believed he already understood, and to nod along while claiming he understood everything.

The person involved is telling you that you are mistaken, so what is this…?

Alon was inwardly dumbfounded.

But,

“Then I will pray that the blessings of the goddess Sironia rest fully upon you, Marquis.”

With those words, Yuman left the hospital room.

And Alon, staring blankly at the door through which Yuman had just gone,

“…”

could not think of a single thing to say.

* * *

Three days had passed in the meantime, and by the time Alon’s mana depletion had almost entirely eased, Yutia came to visit him.

“How is your body, Teacher?”

“It is fine.”

Yutia, who had appeared every day together with Yuman, smiled as if relieved when she saw Alon nod.

Then she drew a black fragment from inside her robe and handed it to him.

“…Is this an Abyssal Core?”

“Yes. Just as you said, it seems Anderde used Abyssal Cores. There were forty of them.”

“…Forty?”

“Yes. And that is only what we have found so far. I think the real number is probably higher.”

At Yutia’s words, Alon looked at the empty gray cube whose power had already vanished and thought,

…So one can create an Outer God using Abyssal Cores.

Naturally, Alon had not known this fact at all.

In the first place, Abyssal Cores would not begin appearing in Psychedelia until years later, and even then, in the game they were treated as little more than a setting device to raise monster levels to match the player’s level.

In other words, Psychedelia had dealt with almost no real information about Abyssal Cores.

That meant Alon had known nothing about this related fact at all.

Well, even if it was an artificial Outer God, there was still a clear difference.

Even so, the fact that an Outer God could be created from Abyssal Cores was not something he could afford to ignore.

Because as long as Abyssal Cores were in circulation, it meant that something like this could happen anywhere.

So after finishing his thoughts, he said,

“Yutia.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“If you happen to learn anything about where these Abyssal Cores are being distributed, could you let me know?”

“I understand.”

For the time being, Alon decided to leave a word with Yutia regarding the source of Abyssal Core circulation as well.

Because he knew that the Holy Kingdom did not rely on the information guild, but kept intelligence agents of its own.

They are fast when it comes to dealing with heresy-related matters. If I leave it with Yutia, I will probably hear back faster than I would through the information guild.

As he listened to various additional pieces of information from Yutia about the Abyssal Cores, one possibility briefly came to mind.

…Could this possibly be the Forgotten One?

The thought occurred to him for a moment, but he soon shook his head coldly.

An Outer God that had already fully manifested would surely not have been so sloppy.

By the time two more days had passed after that conversation,

“So you are leaving now, Teacher?”

“Well, my business here is finished.”

“That is true.”

Alon made preparations to leave the Holy Kingdom at once.

And he would do so

“H-hello…! Marquis!”

“Myaon…? What a coincidence. We are returning together as well.”

with the mercenary company whose faces he had not seen even once during the time he had spent in the Holy Kingdom for the investiture ceremony.

“Y-yes… what a coincidence…!”

“It has been a while, but why are you suddenly speaking so formally when it does not suit you?”

“Ah, well, that is… ah, ah! Since you have become a marquis now, I suddenly felt the difference in rank very strongly…?”

Even as she gave that reason, Myaon looked as though she herself was still unsure whether it was convincing.

“Please take good care of my teacher.”

“Yes.”

“You understand?”

“Y-yes…!”

Watching Myaon answer Yutia in a voice suddenly full of military stiffness,

Alon instinctively looked toward Yutia.

But,

“Then I will be waiting for your letter.”

“Yes. I will write once I return.”

when she calmly said her farewell instead,

Well, I suppose it is fine.

Alon simply left the Holy Kingdom after exchanging light farewells.

* * *

Right after Alon left the Holy Kingdom,

inside Yutia’s office,

“Three more have been found.”

Sergius was delivering a report to Yutia.

“How many now?”

“Including the ones found this time, the total is forty-three. But I think many more are probably buried in the underground waterways.”

Despite being a cardinal just like Yutia, Sergius was using honorific speech with her.

And Yutia was receiving that honorific speech as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Yet neither of them felt any discomfort about this relationship.

If anything, as though it were only natural, Sergius even felt a strange sort of comfort in the situation.

Perhaps that was why

“…Lady Yutia.”

“What is it?”

“May I ask one question?”

Sergius ended up asking something he had never once asked before.

“What is it?”

“…Why did you continue watching even until the chief cardinal went that far?”

Sergius knew.

He knew that Yutia had already understood what the chief cardinal had been planning.

After all, she had ordered him a year ago to investigate what Anderde was doing in the underground waterways.

And that was not all.

She had already had Sergius siphon away several of the Abyssal Cores they had been gathering inside the statue.

In other words, the reason Machina, which had appeared a week ago, had failed to fully form the shape of an Outer God and had remained only an unstable mass of vines until the end was because it lacked enough Abyssal Cores.

Which meant that, originally, Yutia could have stopped the chief cardinal before he carried out the act at all.

That was why Sergius asked without thinking.

“Ah…”

The instant the question left his mouth, he realized he had made a mistake and looked flustered.

But,

“Why did I not stop him, hm…”

Yutia smiled as if amused, then opened her mouth.

“Let me say one thing first.”

Slowly, she opened a drawer in the desk.

Woooong.

And floating up from within were nine Abyssal Cores that Sergius had brought in.

Yutia looked over them once.

Then,

crunch. krshhhh.

without the slightest hesitation, she crushed them.

“…”

After instantly destroying Abyssal Cores that would each have cost enough to sell off an entire territory just to obtain one on the black market, Yutia spoke.

“It was not to steal these. Trash like this means nothing to me.”

At the flick of her finger, the fragments of the shattered Abyssal Cores fell to the floor of the office.

Sergius swallowed without thinking as he stared at the pieces, and Yutia called him.

“Sergius.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what gods feed on and grow from?”

“G-gods…?”

“Yes. All gods, including the great goddess Sironia.”

At Yutia’s question, Sergius answered carefully.

“…Are not the gods complete and perfect beings in themselves?”

It was a cautious answer.

Yutia smiled and shook her head.

“No. They are not.”

“Gods require two things. Faith and awe.”

“Faith and… awe?”

“Yes. And this time, what was needed was only the people’s awe.”

As a deep smile formed on Yutia’s lips,

the scene from a week earlier replayed before her eyes.

Alon, beneath the blue moon, hurling a spear of lightning into the Outer God.

“Something more brilliant and beautiful than anything else.”

The image of the Great Moon.

“Something no one will ever forget.”

Yutia’s lips curved.

“Awe meant for him alone.”

And a dark smile entered those red eyes.

By now, that scene was repeating itself over and over again inside them.

“That is the reason.”

At the answer Yutia finally gave,

“…”

Sergius could only swallow dryly and nod.

Because in her eyes there was a clear madness that absolutely must never be touched.