Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 211

🗡️ Chapter 211: The Divine and the Delusional

 

Onel, newly distinguished for his abilities, had earned his place in the Solar Eclipse Knights and harbored tremendous pride in becoming part of this force.

That immense pride was entirely justified.

Caliban boasted countless orders of knights.

Yet, none could hold a candle to those led by Caliban’s Five Swords.

Among these elite forces, the Solar Eclipse Knights, commanded by Caliban’s First Sword, Deus Macallian, were overwhelmingly respected and held in the highest esteem.

Caliban’s First Sword, Deus Macallian.

Given that he led the Solar Eclipse Knights, they were naturally considered Caliban’s First Knight Order.

This was precisely why Onel felt such great honor in his membership within the Solar Eclipse Knights.

Indeed, he had certainly felt that pride.

Though his initial thrill had faded, it didn’t mean his deep admiration for the order had vanished.

He still desired to remain a member of the Solar Eclipse Knights.

However, the reason Onel found himself questioning his surroundings was because of his superiors.

No, more accurately, all of his superiors.

“…Senior.”

“Hmm? Onel, what’s up?”

It was his senior, Vidin, who instantly responded to Onel’s call.

Vidin possessed a sturdy, knightly physique, but his face carried an unusually gentle and pleasant demeanor.

“Uh… may I ask you something?”

“No need for formalities. Just ask whatever you’re curious about.”

Vidin let out a robust, friendly laugh.

Onel paused briefly before finally speaking the words.

“Why… why are you praying?”

Praying.

To be honest, the act of prayer itself was not unfamiliar to Onel.

The Solar Eclipse Knights had always had seniors who offered prayers before meals or training exercises.

However, Onel’s reason for asking now was simple.

‘Wait, but why is absolutely everyone of them…?’

Every member who had returned from the jungle with the commander—since yesterday, they had all been praying with intense devotion.

And not in a casual way, but with such fervor that even the priests of Sironia would seem moderate by comparison.

When Onel returned from his mission and witnessed this sight, he had been stunned the entire night.

And since the intense atmosphere persisted today, he finally decided to ask.

Vidin answered as if the question was self-evident.

“Why, it’s a prayer to the divine being, of course.”

He chuckled cheerfully again.

‘A prayer to the divine…’

Onel knew exactly who his superiors were addressing their prayers to.

It was impossible for him to be ignorant of it.

After all, since the previous day, only one name had been on their lips constantly.

“You mean the divine being… is Marquis Palatio?”

“Yes, we offer our prayers to him.”

“…”

Faced with the unwavering and absolute reply, Onel was left speechless.

To be frank, he couldn’t fully comprehend Vidin’s words.

If all these people had been praying to the Goddess of Sironia, it wouldn’t have seemed strange.

But the object of their reverence—this so-called “divine being”—was a human, Marquis Palatio.

Of course, Onel was very familiar with Marquis Palatio.

He was unquestionably worthy of great respect.

He had vanquished not one, but two Outer Gods.

He was the one who had successfully thwarted the artificial Outer Gods crisis that had nearly devastated the Kingdom of Stalian.

Beyond that, there were countless other stories, both major and minor.

Even Onel had sometimes pondered, ‘Could a single human truly achieve all of this alone?’

Furthermore, he had demonstrated extraordinary power in the jungle as well.

And it was after that incident that his seniors had begun to worship him.

Onel had heard about the change from his colleagues.

He could grasp how the whole thing had started, to some degree.

But even so, worshiping a living human as a god…

It felt entirely wrong to Onel.

“Um, Senior.”

“Go on.”

“No matter what, he is still a living person—”

Just as he was about to voice his concern cautiously—

BANG!

“Emergency! The Libirian Knights have insulted the Marquis as a heretic god!”

A knight suddenly burst through the dining hall doors, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Until that moment, the dining hall had been filled with quiet conversation.

And then—

Silence.

In an instant, a chilling stillness descended.

Then—

“Those scum.”

“Where are they?”

“Lead us to them right now.”

Before Onel could even process what was happening, every knight in the hall charged out in perfect unison.

Onel stood frozen, watching the startling commotion unfold.

‘…I’m so glad I didn’t ask anything more.’

He quietly shut his partially open mouth and exhaled slowly.

‘I truly, truly made the right decision by keeping silent.’

Vidin, the senior renowned for his kindness throughout the order, had rushed out with his sword drawn, looking ready to deliver divine retribution himself.

‘…At this point, is this more of a holy knight order than a regular one?’

Perhaps if he had been through the events in the jungle, he would understand.

But for Onel, who knew none of the specifics, his seniors’ actions only became more baffling.

He hesitated for a moment.

‘Should I… discreetly inform the commander about this?’

That thought crossed his mind as he rose to his feet.

Onel knew this much—

The First Sword of Caliban, the man he revered, was extremely close to Marquis Palatio.

However, he also knew one other thing.

Deus Macallian was a man who rigorously separated his public duties from his personal feelings.

Of course, this was what the knights generally believed because Deus never complained about the kingdom’s budget allocations and remained indifferent even when he could have secured more advantages.

But for Onel, who had been recognized for his talent and accepted into the order without prior experience, he could only perceive Deus as someone who strictly separated public duty from private matters in every circumstance.

And just as he stepped out of the dining hall to report the current situation to the commander—

“Ah, Commander!”

By sheer coincidence, he spotted Deus Macallian heading somewhere.

“How dare they insult the Marquis—!”

With eyes blazing with fury, his sword already unsheathed, violet mana crackling around him as he walked with an ominous intensity—

Onel fell silent once again.

It was the start of winter.

---

On his way to the Magic Academy to collect Penia before proceeding to the Marquis’ estate,

Alon muttered,

“…It’s here again.”

“Indeed.”

“So, what’s your rating this time, Marquis?”

“If I had to grade it… a nine out of ten.”

“Oh, that’s one point better than yesterday. What improved the score?”

“…The trees are standing perfectly upright?”

“Hmm, I see your point? Now that you mention it, they do appear to be flawlessly aligned.”

As he spoke with Evan, they both gazed at the trees before them.

Or rather, the artificially manicured trees—

lush and vibrant, completely out of place in the early winter season.

Alon’s expression grew strange as he observed them.

“So, how long has this been going on?”

“Hmm—technically, about two weeks? These trees began appearing the day after we left Caliban.”

Evan looked up at the perfectly arranged trees with a sense of wonder.

“Seriously, who on earth is placing these here? No matter how I look at it, it feels like someone is deliberately arranging them along our entire route.”

“I think so too.”

Alon nodded.

Honestly, the first couple of times he had seen the trees, he hadn’t given it a second thought.

Perhaps someone had decided to place decorative trees along these roads.

But even after two weeks—no matter where he traveled, new landscaping would appear, flawlessly set up, every single day.

‘What the hell is this supposed to be?’

Alon tried to recall if anything similar had occurred back when he had been dealing with Psychedelia.

But he quickly shook his head.

Even though his memories of that period were hazy, he was certain that nothing of this nature had ever happened before.

So, he pondered for a moment.

‘Well, it doesn’t seem like a major threat, so I suppose it’s acceptable for now.’

But Alon knew only too well how every small detail in this world had to be approached with vigilance.

“Are we arriving today?”

“It seems that way.”

Alon decided that as soon as he met Penia, he would ask her about these strange trees.

And just as he took the reins and headed toward the Mage Tower—

“Khrrr…!”

“This is… unjust…”

Beyond the meticulously arranged trees, he could hear the mournful cries of elves— and— a short, victorious laugh from Draim, who was nodding repeatedly with a smug grin.

---

A few hours later, they finally reached the Mage Tower.

Penia joined Alon, looking rather put out.

“Honestly, sister—why do I have to come along?”

“I’m going. Are you refusing to come?”

“I have tasks assigned by the Tower Master…!”

“You can pass them off to someone else.”

Despite Felin’s strong reluctance,

“Wait, no—”

“Shut up and get in!”

BANG!

Penia kicked Felin in the back, sending him soaring into the carriage.

Watching this display, Alon was once again reminded of her forceful personality and offered her a greeting.

“It’s been a while.”

“Ah, yes!”

The moment Alon spoke, Penia instantly shed her intimidating aura.

Meanwhile, Felin, who had just been unceremoniously launched into the carriage, stared in utter disbelief, his face a mix of outrage and shock.

But Penia simply nudged the carriage door shut with her foot.

“My apologies. If it were up to me, I’d have left you in the Tower a little longer, but I need your help with something.”

“Help?”

“Yes.”

As Alon spoke, he casually brought out Kalannon’s Divinity in front of Penia.

Crackle—!

The instant she saw the crackling lightning in Alon’s palm,

Penia’s eyes widened dramatically with surprise.

It was as if she had immediately recognized something profound, as if she had just witnessed proof of her own genius.

“This… no way—!”

“It’s Divinity.”

“…Wow.”

Upon hearing Alon’s confirmation, Penia—who had been dramatically complaining moments ago about not wanting to go—suddenly became radiant, her eyes sparkling.

Like a graduate student who had just discovered the perfect research topic, she was filled with enthusiasm and eagerly grabbed Alon’s hand.

“Show me again…!”

“All right.”

Without hesitation, Alon activated his divinity once more.

Truthfully, his current divinity was still at a stage where even summoning a few sparks required effort.

But it didn’t matter.

After all, the whole reason he was bringing Penia to the Marquis’ estate in the first place was to show her the divinity and have her assist in researching magic.

Thus, as Alon continued to display Kalannon’s Divinity as many times as Penia wished, he suddenly realized that she was much closer to him than he had anticipated.

Her hands and eyes were fixed on Alon’s hand, but from an outsider’s perspective, it looked as if she was practically snuggled up against him.

“Marquis—again, again!”

But Penia seemed utterly unaware of their close proximity as she eagerly urged him on.

“All right.”

Just as Alon was about to activate his divinity one more time—

Snap!

Penia, who had been excitedly bouncing just moments earlier, suddenly froze completely.

Step, step—

Then, without uttering a word, she took precisely two steps back.

Alon looked at her with a puzzled expression, unable to grasp her sudden change in reaction.

But Penia took another two steps back, increasing the distance between them.

“…Show me.”

She spoke in a low voice.

Her earlier excitement had entirely disappeared.

Her large eyes shimmered as if holding back tears.

“Is something the matter?”

Alon asked.

“N-no, nothing at all…”

Penia gave a slight shake of her head, forcing an awkward smile.

Still confused, Alon activated his divinity again.

But Penia’s gaze was no longer focused on his hand.

Instead, her eyes were locked onto the brooch Alon was wearing.

…It was the first snowfall of the year.

---

Several weeks later—bringing along the strangely subdued Penia,

Alon arrived at Marquis Palatio’s estate.

“I salute the friend of the Great One!”

“Greetings, oh Primordial—no, Marquis! I apologize for the sudden appearance, but we have arrived to discuss matters of guarding.”

Just like before, he was welcomed by Zukurak.

And alongside him was Rim, the guide he had encountered in Greynifra.

“…Guarding?”

“Yes, concerning who shall be granted the honor of guarding the Primordial Elf—no, the Marquis. Between the elves and the lizardmen, we must decide who will serve as your escort.”

As the intense discussion continued—

“…???”

You? Guard me?? Why???

Alon could only stare at them with that exact bewildered expression.

—It was certainly a lively return.