Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 266

Chapter 266

Chapter 266

Alon’s mind was flooded with confusion.

The cause, naturally, was the specific term Yuman had just uttered.

Hidden Saint…? What exactly was a Hidden Saint?

To begin with, Alon had no knowledge of such a title.

Nor could he fathom why Yuman was applying that label to him.

This confusion was entirely justified.

The term “Hidden Saint” was never once mentioned in the lore of *Psychedelia*.

His best guess was—

Given the word “Saint” was attached to it, it likely referred to something akin to a holy figure.

He gazed silently at Yuman.

The man’s eyes were still burning with an intense, unshakable faith.

‘I assumed he was laboring under a massive delusion, but…’

He had anticipated something like this.

It wasn’t the first time such a situation had arisen, and he had attempted to clear up the misunderstanding previously.

…………… He had failed, however, because Yuman projected an attitude that said, ‘Yes, yes, I already know the truth.’

Even so, he hadn’t expected that specific misunderstanding to persist all the way to the present moment.

‘So that explains why he has been so incredibly kind to me this entire time.’

Only now did Alon understand the motivation behind Yuman’s benevolence and why he insisted on addressing him as “Brother.”

He began to contemplate how to handle this predicament.

In truth, it wasn’t a matter of great concern.

He had received significant assistance from Yuman, but now that he knew it was based on a mistake, he couldn’t simply disregard it.

He could have pretended not to notice and continued to accept the kindness, but Alon felt uneasy with that sort of deception.

Therefore, after clearing his throat calmly, Alon spoke.

“Saint.”

“Please speak, Brother.”

“I apologize, but I am not the Hidden Saint you are referring to.”

He spoke with a degree of firmness.

“……Pardon?”

Yuman’s expression went blank for a second.

Alon hadn’t intended to deceive him, yet seeing that reaction made his chest tighten with a pang of guilt.

“I mean exactly what I said, Saint. I don’t know what aspect of me led you to that conclusion, but I am not the type of person you imagine me to be.”

Once more, he stated his position clearly.

He concisely declared that he was not the Hidden Saint.

Having finished his explanation, Alon awkwardly averted his gaze.

・・・・・・The atmosphere had become incredibly uncomfortable.

How much time passed in that silence?

“I see—”

Yuman, who had been observing Alon quietly, nodded as if he comprehended the situation.

“I am sorry.”

“Excuse me……?”

“I was far too careless.”

“Is that so?”

Yuman admitted his error without becoming agitated, displaying a graceful demeanor.

Alon was slightly perplexed, but internally, he breathed a sigh of relief.

‘As expected of a Saint, he doesn’t blame others for his own misconceptions.’

Most people, upon realizing they have misunderstood something, tend to get angry or make the situation awkward.

Alon, impressed that this wasn’t the case here, thought—

“Indeed, the fault lies with me. Even in an emergency, I should never have suggested that you break your vow with the Goddess.”

“?”

The Saint’s next words made Alon realize something was terribly wrong.

“I apologize. Driven by my personal feelings, I spoke out of turn and told you to abandon the vow you have upheld for so long. That was my error.”

Yuman bowed his head politely.

Stunned, Alon quickly helped him up.

“……No, Brother. Please raise your head.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

He needed to clear up the misunderstanding somehow, so he reiterated the truth.

“More importantly, as I have been saying, I am not the Hidden Saint you think I am.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Saint?”

“Yes.”

“I am not the Hidden Saint.”

“I know. I was careless.”

Yuman merely smiled and claimed he understood, giving Alon a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘This feeling… it’s eerily familiar………………?’

It was as if Yuman was saying, ‘Ah, my mistake, was that part of your character setting? Sorry, I’ll play along and protect your secret—’

‘Ah.’

Alon realized it.

It was exactly the same situation as with Magrina.

Thinking of her made Alon let out a sigh.

“Brother. Even so, could you please meet with that person just once?”

Faced with a misunderstanding that showed no signs of being resolved—

・・・・・・Fine.

He nodded quietly.

The day following that conversation.

Alon made his way to the location of the Chamber of the Holy Spirit to fulfill Yuman’s request.

“Ah! You have arrived, Brother.”

“Yes, Saint. But who are these people~?”

There was already a small crowd gathered near the chamber.

“They are the Cardinals of Rosario.”

“……Is that right?”

“Yes. It appears they wish to personally witness you entering the room.”

Alon scanned the five Cardinals.

Observing their uniformly hostile expressions, Alon realized two things.

First, that he was not exactly a welcome guest.

He was momentarily puzzled but quickly surmised the reason.

‘Is it because of the rumors?’

Aside from Yuman, who mistook him for a Hidden Saint, current rumors branded Alon as a lightning rod, the Apostle of Kalannon, or even a deity.

In other words, from the Cardinals’ perspective, this was no different from a heretical god stepping into their holiest sanctuary.

Their expressions were, perhaps, justified.

The second thing he realized was—

・・・・・These Cardinals—these aren’t the faces I remember?

He found the faces of the Rosario Cardinals unfamiliar.

In *Psychedelia*, the corrupt Cardinals of Rosario appeared as antagonists opposing the protagonist.

Because of that, Alon knew most of their faces.

‘So, nothing particularly terrible must have happened in Rosario, then.’

Alon was simply relieved that Rosario seemed to be cleaning up its act.

The very fact that they were wary of him proved it.

Even if these people were corrupt as well, they were surely an improvement over the original Cardinals.

While Alon was engaged in a standoff—that wasn’t quite a standoff—with the Cardinals, a voice spoke.

“You are a bit late.”

“We are.”

The door opened, and Yutia and Sergius walked in.

The two mingled among the Cardinals.

“Then, I will leave it to you.”

Yuman opened the door as if he had been waiting for this moment.

A rare look of displeasure crossed Alon’s face.

With all these Cardinals gathered here—

If absolutely nothing happened when he entered the Chamber of the Holy Spirit, it would be incredibly awkward.

‘Last time, it responded when I used magic first, so I will try that again.’

Alon reluctantly moved his feet, and the interior of the room he had seen years ago came into view.

A chamber constructed of pure white marble, appearing as if not a single speck of dust would be tolerated.

At its center stood a massive statue of the goddess Sironia.

Approaching it, Alon cleared his throat and, just like before, spoke.

“Perceive.”

He cast a spell using the keyword.

However—

There was absolutely no response from the statue.

‘Just as I thought.’

While Alon stood there awkwardly staring at the statue, Sergius, who had been observing the room from the outside, clutched his throbbing head.

It wasn’t because of the scene before him, but due to his grueling schedule recently.

Cardinals typically had a heavy workload.

But Sergius had even more.

The obvious cause was Yutia.

She kept assigning him personal tasks, and he hadn’t had a break in days.

Of course, Yutia would smile and say, ‘If it is too hard, you are welcome to rest.’

But how could he possibly rest?

It was impossible to discern whether she meant he could rest for a short while…

Or rest eternally.

To make matters worse, Yutia had become even more terrifying lately.

She would be deeply focused on something, suddenly smile as if in a great mood, and then, just as abruptly, twist her face into a scowl.

Sometimes, she would puff out her cheeks in odd frustration.

In short, to any observer, she might appear to have severe mood swings or even bipolar disorder.

Sergius had always made an effort not to offend Yutia’s moods.

But now, more than ever, he felt the need to tread extremely carefully.

At that moment—

“Sigh—”

A deep sigh emanated from beside him.

Feeling goosebumps rise all over his skin, Sergius turned toward Yutia.

The face of the woman who had been so happy to meet her beloved Marquis Palatio had turned cold.

Then—

Her blood-red eyes gleamed.

“We should have crushed them from the start.”

She muttered something so quietly that even Sergius, standing right next to her, couldn’t decipher it.

And then—

Fwoooosh—!

Light began to pour from the statue inside the Chamber of the Holy Spirit.

***

Lately, Hidan had been living a rather comfortable life.

It was all thanks to the return of the Great Moon.

When the news of his death had first arrived, it felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

His responsibilities had multiplied exponentially, and he had suffered greatly.

This made his current relaxed lifestyle taste all the sweeter by comparison.

Enjoying this leisure, he moved a bit slower than usual, and as he was on his way to Rosario to report on a task Yutia had entrusted to him, he witnessed a strange spectacle.

A Lizardman and an Elf standing together.

The unexpected pairing made Hidan let out a small gasp.

Weren’t they once so hostile that they would practically bite each other on sight?

But even then, Hidan had no idea.

He had no idea that he was about to witness an even stranger situation.

“I said let go………….”

He looked down upon hearing the commotion.

Below, he saw a familiar face and a man.

Two of them.

One with golden eyes and the other with inverted pupils.

Before he could even question why they were there—

“Let go.”

“You let go.”

“I said let go, didn’t I?”

“You first.”

The sight before him made Hidan’s jaw drop.

Gripping each other’s hair, foreheads pressed together as they growled and hurled curses at one another—

“You want me to rip out all your hair?”

“I’ll pluck out every one of your tail hairs.”

Though overwhelming killing intent radiated from their bodies, the way they were acting looked downright disgraceful, so Hidan gave up trying to comprehend the situation and just silently gaped in shock.