Raising Villains the Right Way Novel - Chapter 225

Chapter 225

A fortnight went by, and Alon’s journey culminated at the Marquis’ residence.

“We’ve arrived!”

The moment the estate came into sight, Seolrang let out a gleeful shout.

Alon, observing the manor while distractedly toying with her ears, remarked,

“My goodness! The statue of the Master has been altered!”

“Hmph.”

Seolrang gazed admiringly at the statue featuring two horns, prompting Alon to feel a slight, unnecessary awkwardness.

Just then.

“Oh!”

As if a thought had just occurred to her, Seolrang clapped her hands together.

“Master! Now that I think about it, I heard a whisper—is it true that you utilize lightning!?”

Despite having traveled together for an entire month, she was only now posing the question.

Alon chuckled softly but affirmed it with a nod.

“Not extensively, but I possess the ability to use it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“That’s wonderful~”

Seolrang beamed and embraced Alon tightly.

“What exactly makes it so wonderful?”

He was perplexed.

Why would Seolrang be so happy about his capacity to wield lightning?

“Because it’s the identical power to mine!”

A genuinely innocent declaration.

‘…Is that really the case?’

Well, upon closer examination, it wasn’t precisely the same kind of power.

However, in broad strokes, it was sufficiently alike, so Alon simply nodded.

“I understand.”

“That’s why I love it! It makes me feel like we’ve grown a little bit closer!”

“I suppose that’s one interpretation.”

“Right!?”

“Indeed.”

As he continued to answer Seolrang’s excited inquiries, they had entered the grounds of the Palatio Marquis’ property before he realized it.

“?”

He soon encountered an unforeseen scene.

“Where could she be… Ah!”

A female beastman hurried toward the carriage the moment she spotted it.

Something about her seemed quite recognizable.

‘…Seolrang’s personal aide?’

Alon instantly recognized her.

Concurrently, the other beastmen, who had been actively searching for someone, all directed their attention toward the carriage.

‘Her name was Lime, if I recall correctly?’ Alon tried to remember their previous encounter in the colony.

“Lady Seolrang! How could you just flee like that!?”

A voice penetrated the interior of the carriage.

Alon looked down at Seolrang.

Just moments prior, she had been nestled against his chest, peering up at him.

But now— She slowly averted her head, refusing to meet his gaze.

Then, she darted her eyes around, assessing if she was about to be disciplined.

Alon couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at the spectacle.

After a brief confirmation that more than thirty beastmen were present,

Alon took a seat in his office and listened to the full account from Lime, Seolrang’s secretary.

“So, you were originally en route to establish diplomatic ties with the Ashtalon Kingdom, and you were part of the escort team, but then you abruptly disappeared midway through the journey?”

“Yes, that is accurate, Marquis.”

At Lime’s statement, Alon glanced at Seolrang.

She was still looking away, feigning indifference.

A quick peek.

Even so, she must have been concerned about whether Alon was upset, as her eyes nervously flickered between her lowered ears.

Alon redirected his attention to Lime and inquired,

“But how did you manage to locate her here?”

“It wasn’t difficult to anticipate Lady Seolrang’s destination.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, moreover, Lady Seolrang vanished immediately after learning that you were in Caliban, Marquis.”

When he looked at Seolrang again, she was now inexplicably attempting to whistle.

—Not that she was capable of whistling; only a faint expulsion of breath emerged.

“If you were aware I was in Caliban, wouldn’t it have made sense to simply travel there?”

“If we had gone and found you, that would have been fine. But if you departed before our arrival, it would have taken even longer to pinpoint your whereabouts.”

“…”

“So you deduced that I would eventually return to the Marquis’ estate and decided to wait here?”

“Yes, precisely.”

Lime offered a weary nod.

Alon offered a few comforting words to her, as she appeared utterly exhausted.

“You must have endured a great deal.”

“Thank you…”

Lime looked as though she might break down in tears at any second.

She had likely suffered considerably due to Seolrang’s unpredictable behavior.

Just as she was trying to compose herself—

“Alright, now we must depart, Lady Seolrang!”

“No thanks~”

“At the very least, you need to be present for our return…”

“We’re going back anyway, so what difference does my presence make~”

As Lime tried to pull her away, Seolrang whined and expressed her reluctance.

“But we already accepted their goodwill… We must demonstrate at least this much compliance. If we cause unnecessary friction now, it will only complicate matters for us.”

“It’s no big deal. If they make a fuss, I’ll simply challenge them.”

“Well, they might overlook it, but still, that’s a bit much…”

Watching Lime’s desperate efforts to persuade Seolrang, Alon finally interjected.

“Seolrang.”

“Ah, Master…”

She had been blatantly displaying her annoyance, but at Alon’s summons, her ears immediately drooped.

Her expression became one of anxiety, as if she had completely forgotten his presence.

“For now, accompany Lime.”

“But—”

“I will come to find you shortly regardless, so we can meet up there.”

“Hmm, that’s true~”

At Alon’s words, Seolrang assented.

However, she still maintained a strangely sulky expression.

Noticing her pouting face, Alon considered for a moment, then added,

“…Next time, we should take a trip together.”

“A trip?”

“Yes, provided you have the time.”

He presented her with an incentive.

Seolrang’s tail began to wag happily once more.

“Deal!”

With a joyful affirmative, she promptly got to her feet.

“Then, Master! I’ll see you at the colony, right!?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go, Lime.”

“Huh? Wait, hold on—Kyaaah—!”

She grabbed Lime by the waist and sprang out the window.

“Thank youuuuuu!”

Lime’s voice faded into the distance.

Alon settled down, reflecting once more on her remarkably lively temperament.

“She vanished in an instant.”

As soon as Alon sat down, Evan spoke as if he had been anticipating the moment.

“Indeed.”

The instant Alon nodded—

[Meow?]

With a quick motion, Blackie, who had been virtually undetectable until just now, suddenly emerged from Alon’s clothing near his chest.

[Phew, I genuinely thought I was going to perish!]

At the same time, Basiliora, who had been residing within the ring, also burst forth as if he’d been waiting for a chance.

[That female—! Being absent for more than a month, I was nearly driven mad by the sheer frustration!]

[Meow-w]

[Next time, please make sure to bring me along within seven days!]

[Meowww-!]

[If not that, at least stay separate for only one day out of every three!]

[Meowwwww-!!!!]

Blackie and Basiliora started airing their grievances in perfect synchronicity.

Normally, they were perpetually squabbling—no, it was primarily Basiliora receiving the beating.

But today, observing the two of them chattering ceaselessly like old companions was quite a novel sight.

Perhaps this was the meaning behind the saying, “the adversary of my adversary is my companion.”

After patiently allowing them to vent their complaints, the following day—

‘As expected, this is quite convenient.’

Having completed the processing of the systematically arranged documents prepared by Alexion, Alon once again visited Penia to resume their magical research.

“Oh! I was actually planning to stop by and pay my respects, Marquis!”

“For someone who says that, you haven’t shown your face at all.”

“Well, the truth is… I recently became engrossed in a magic research that was very time-consuming… hehe.”

Penia sheepishly scratched her head as they exchanged pleasantries.

A little later, as he was monitoring his internal energy for an experiment,

‘…It has expanded again.’

He confirmed that the recently emerged Ashen Divinity had grown larger, much like his other divine powers.

Naturally, acquiring new divinities was highly beneficial for him.

However, he still couldn’t grasp why this Ashen Divinity kept forming.

For a moment, he wore a perplexed look.

Then, as he refocused and examined his other divine powers one by one,

his eyes settled on Kalannon’s divinity, and he displayed a hint of surprise.

It had grown even more substantial than before.

‘It seems Sili has been practicing diligently… Wait a moment—shouldn’t she still be up North by now?’

His curiosity was fleeting, and Alon merely shrugged before enveloping himself in Kalannon’s divinity.

“You haven’t been practicing during this period?”

“No, I have been maintaining a steady practice routine.”

“But it feels different from when you last employed your power.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Penia stroked her chin while meticulously scrutinizing Alon’s divine power.

“With this much power, we might be able to move beyond our current research and even conduct experiments on the intrinsic nature of magical power itself.”

“You mean synchronization assimilation?”

“Yes, that’s right. We couldn’t proceed before because we lacked sufficient divine energy.”

With her characteristic look of intense curiosity, Penia swiftly moved closer to him.

She leaned in close, her face right in front of his, exclaiming, “Ooooh~.”

Then—step—step—

As if suddenly realizing something, she abruptly stepped back a few paces.

“…Why are you moving away all of a sudden?”

Alon tilted his head, confused.

But Penia only replied,

“No… I just inexplicably… felt the need to… hahaha.”

She let out an awkward laugh, reminiscent of a wooden puppet creaking.

Her gaze seemed to keep drifting toward his chest.

“Just, ahaha—hiccup!”

Alon thought, ‘If she insists, then that must be the reason,’ and decided not to worry about it.

The following day.

After concluding his regular magic training with Penia, Alon proceeded to his office to attend to the reduced volume of work that Alexion had organized.

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“I heard an interesting rumor, and I became curious. May I inquire about it?”

“What is it?”

“Is Kalannon, the lightning receiver, also considered a god of knights?”

Evan’s unexpected question caused Alon to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“…What are you implying? A god of knights?”

“Ordinarily, gods possess a single attribute, but there are also those with multiple attributes. That is why I asked.”

“Hmm~”

Evan made a valid point.

Some gods did not restrict themselves to one attribute but possessed several.

Even Sironia, the Moon God, was not solely a god of the moon but also embodied life.

However, to the best of Alon’s knowledge, Kalannon’s divinity was strictly confined to lightning.

“Kalannon’s divinity is purely lightning-based. But why are you asking?”

He posed the question to Evan.

“Well, there is a circulating rumor in Caliban that Kalannon is not only the lightning receiver but is actually being revered as the god of knights.”

“…What?”

He had just been presented with entirely unforeseen information.

“A god of knights?”

“Yes.”

He had no way of knowing how such a rumor could have originated.

That evening.

–Wooong

Hidan infused his mana into the magical sphere twenty minutes ahead of schedule to join the Blue Moon’s routine gathering.

As he observed the screen gradually materializing, he looked slightly surprised.

Unlike usual, Yutia and Seolrang were already present within the projection.

Feeling a small spark of curiosity, Hidan prepared to offer his customary greeting.

“Hello t—”

Or rather, he attempted to.

[Let me see it as well!]

[No!]

[Let me see it as well!!]

[Seolrang? As I have informed you numerous times, that was an item bestowed to protect the Great Moon, and it was not meant to be employed with such recklessness.]

[…Then I will inform the Master.]

[…Three times a month.]

[Ten times.]

[Seven times.]

[Ten times!]

“..?”

If not for the bizarre, completely unintelligible exchange taking place between Yutia and Seolrang—