I Became the Patron of Villains

213. North…?(4)

Between the lands of Greniif and the Lizardmen.

At the makeshift negotiation site.

“……You don’t need an escort?”

“Yes, that’s what he said.”

Magrina heard this report from Rim.

“Is it true?”

“Yes, Your Greatness.”

Hazard, who was sitting in front of Magrina.

When he asked, Kurak also bowed his head deeply and nodded.

Seeing this, Hazard stroked his chin several times as if pondering something.

“It can’t be helped. If my friend thinks so, I have no choice but to step back.”

Contrary to expectations, he stepped back very cleanly.

“Hmm- Surprisingly clean.”

“Unlike those who maintain honor on the surface but are shady behind the scenes.”

“It seemed like you were shadier than us in the past-“

“Ahem.”

When the old story came up, Hazard coughed awkwardly and turned his gaze away.

To those of lower rank, it just looked like black smoke swirling around.

But anyone could see that Hazard was clearly flustered.

After a moment.

“Anyway, if my friend says so, there’s no need for us to stay here.”

Hazard stood up as if there was no need for further discussion.

“Then let’s go.”

He turned coolly and left the negotiation site.

Soon, when Magrina was left alone, looking at the place he had left.

“Your Majesty.”

“Speak, Rim.”

Rim called the queen with a slightly regretful face.

If it was decided that the elves would take on the escort this time.

He also wanted to escort the primordial elf at least once.

To Rim – no, in fact, to all elves, guarding the primordial elf, who could be called a ‘god’, was an extremely honorable and prestigious task.

Originally, Pagade would have had no time to guard anyone else, as he had to protect the World Tree from those rising from the roots.

But since the primordial elf visited the roots and they disappeared, Rim, who could now take on other duties, felt even more regret.

“Then, as you mentioned, I will return the Black Leaf.”

As if understanding that sentiment, Magrina smiled quietly and shook her head.

“No.”

“…Pardon?”

“There is no need to return the Black Leaf.”

“Pardon? But surely-“

“Rim, even if he refuses our protection, the primordial elf is someone we must protect. You understand that, right?”

“Yes, I understand well.”

“Yes, that’s the answer. Even though the elf refused, it must be because he was thinking of us.”

In reality, it was Alon’s desperate effort to avoid being discovered, but Magrina, unaware of this, smiled even more deeply.

“So we must guard him. We can’t leave his protection to those lizards, can we?”

That was true.

Rim nodded but suddenly wondered to himself.

‘…What is the relationship between the Queen and that sage?’

The Queen, Magrina, and the Lizardmen’s sage, who had been conversing with her without any formality until just now.

Their relationship.

At least Rim knew that the Queen and the sage had not met often.

Yet, despite that, the two seemed very close, at least to Rim.

…Of course, they had been throwing insults at each other, but it felt more like the banter of old friends than genuine malice.

However, Rim soon erased such thoughts from his mind.

That wasn’t important right now.

“Then we will maintain the Black Leaf as it is.”

“Go ahead.”

“And Your Majesty.”

“Yes.”

“By any chance-“

Just as Rim was about to cautiously make the request she had been contemplating to the queen.

Inside the massive palanquin carried by the lizardmen, Kurak tilted his head in confusion.

“……Are you saying to dispatch the guard forces?”

“Yes.”

A lavishly decorated space, large enough to be called a room.

Kurak was bewildered by Hazard’s command, who was sitting in the center.

Because it was a completely different order from what he had discussed with Magrina a while ago.

“……Didn’t you clearly say earlier that you wouldn’t dispatch them?”

Hazard let out a small laugh at that.

“Of course, that was a lie.”

“But wouldn’t it be something your friend doesn’t want-“

“Well, honestly, I think my friend might not really want it. But this is a separate matter.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m protecting him because I’m worried about him.”

That’s all there is to it, Hazard muttered lowly and continued.

“Anyway, that’s the case, so select and send the guards. But- make sure they are as stealthy as possible so they don’t get caught.”

“……Shall we send the Shadow Veil clan?”

“Hmm- not a bad idea.”

Hazard leaned back further into the backrest, looking satisfied.

Kurak, who had been quietly watching him, suddenly spoke up out of curiosity.

“May I ask a question?”

“What is it?”

“……If you were going to send guards anyway, was there a need to hide it from those pointy-eared folks?”

“Of course there was.”

“?”

“Those pointy-eared folks pretend to know honor, but they are very sneaky. If they were to inform my friend of this, it would just cause unnecessary trouble.”

‘If it’s those pointy-eared b*stards, I know them very well, indeed,’ Hazard nodded.

In other words, the god was worried that the elves might tattle to Marquis Palatio.

Kurak made a strange expression.

Never once.

Had he ever seen the god, who had bestowed power upon him, care about others’ opinions.

But now, Hazard was concerned about being caught by his friend and was wary of the elves.

After a moment of silence, Kurak said,

“Understood. Then, I will make preparations immediately.”

He bowed his head and moved to follow Hazard’s orders.

####

About a week later.

“Marquis, I have looked into what you asked me to investigate last time.”

“Are you talking about Silly?”

“Yes.”

“So, what did you find?”

“It seems that she is indeed being called that.”

“…….”

Alon looked at Evan with a peculiar expression.

“……Why on earth?”

“Well, it appears that after you left, she continued various relief activities around the village near Caliban.”

“……Relief activities?”

“Yes, you know, things like dealing with monsters or distributing relief supplies.”

Evan listed a few things and added,

“Anyway, because of that, she is now being called ‘Saint of Calanon, the Lightning Receiver’ in the villages near Caliban.”

Alon scratched his head unconsciously.

In fact, this situation was not a big problem for Alon.

No, it was rather good.

Silly’s actions were gathering faith for Alon.

‘……Not that I gave her power expecting this.’

However, the reason Alon had a slightly bewildered expression was because this was not what he had intended.

He had only transferred power to Silly to ensure she could protect herself.

Unexpectedly sitting at the top of a multi-level pyramid, Alon thought.

‘Well, it’s not bad, so it doesn’t matter… but should I tell her not to try too hard?’

He didn’t want to make Deus’s sister suffer this much.

After organizing his thoughts, Alon decided to give a hint when he visited Caliburn again.

At that moment.

“Marquis.”

“What’s the matter?”

Evan asked.

“Come to think of it, I remembered something. Didn’t you say we should visit somewhere other than the jungle last time?”

“During the last trip?”

“Yes. Now that I think about it, I don’t think we visited that place.”

A place to visit-

After a moment of contemplation, Alon let out an ‘Ah’ of realization.

“There was a place we needed to visit because of the usage time of ‘Feet Running Through the Past.'”

“Right? Now that I think about it, I also realized we didn’t visit one place, so I asked. Why didn’t we go there?”

“It’s not that we didn’t go, but we couldn’t go. That place can only be visited when we have business in the northern area.”

“Is that so?”

As Evan nodded, Alon let out another exclamation and took out an item.

It was a gem shaped like the red ruby Alon had obtained from the colony.

‘They said it would speak to me if I carried it.’

Alon looked at the red gem.

The ordinary-looking red gem showed no reaction, just as when he had received it from the colony’s Yongin tribe.

‘I had been waiting for it to speak to me… but by now, isn’t there a problem?’

Contrary to the explanation that it would speak within a month or two.

Even though it had been almost half a year since he received it from the colony, there was no word.

‘It seems I should visit the colony after returning from the north.’

Adding a destination to his visit, Alon put the ruby back.

About two weeks had passed.

“Let’s depart.”

Alon set off for Asteria to meet Siyan.

####

While Alon was heading to Asteria,

Hidan was at the Marquis of Palatio’s estate.

Because he had received an order from Yutia.

Originally, he planned to stop by the marquis’ estate on his way to Caliban, grab the items hidden in the hideout, and leave immediately.

…If he hadn’t witnessed a peculiar situation.

Hidan looked ahead.

A presence entered his sight.

It was the lizardmen, exuding an unusual aura.

And that wasn’t all.

On the opposite side,

Elves, all with hardened expressions, were confronting the lizardmen.

“……”

Hidan had never seen any other races besides the beastmen.

Although the beastmen were gathered in the Eastern Kingdom, they were already active in the United Kingdom.

Elves and lizardmen were so rare in the United Kingdom that they were almost nonexistent.

In that sense, the sight of more than ten lizardmen and more than ten elves, all glaring at each other with wary expressions, was quite a spectacle.

Moreover,

Each one of them exuded an overwhelming aura.

However, Hidan prepared to leave soon.

It was indeed an unusual scene, but it wasn’t worth prioritizing over the orders of the Red Moon.

However,

“Get lost, lizards. We’ll protect the marquis.”

“Hmph – don’t talk nonsense, pointy ears. We’ll guard the Marquis of Palatio according to his orders, so you back off!”

“……?”

At the following words.

Hidan momentarily stopped with a puzzled expression.

“Where do these stupid lizards think they can protect the Marquis?”

“It’s only right that we, who are stronger than those honor-bound elves, protect him.”

“No, it’s us elves who protect the Marquis!”

“No, it’s us lizardmen!!”

At the ensuing conversation-

“……???”

Countless question marks floated in his mind.