Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 291

C291. The Sin of Greed (2)

Seolrang, who had been asleep, made a strange noise as she woke up, and shortly after—

“…So, you came because you wanted to see me?”

“Yes! It hasn’t been long since I arrived! Master!”

Alon, staring blankly at Seolrang who was nodding energetically, felt a doubt arising.

“…..Then, how did you know I was here?”

It was practically impossible for anyone to know that Alon was going to the Eastern Kingdom.

Because when he left the Marquis’s house, he had departed without telling anyone.

“Umm—”

Seolrang averted her eyes to the side without answering.

[Kyuuuuu–!]

Blackie, trapped and unable to escape, was being stretched and squished by her as if it were nothing, and Alon nodded first.

He also had to save poor Blackie, who was screaming like a banshee.

“I understand for now.”

“Yes!”

When Alon relented, Seolrang recovered the brightness in her face and nodded vigorously.

Then she turned her gaze with a strange expression. She was looking towards where Historia was.

“?”

Historia tilted her head slightly, observing Seolrang with her typical empty expression.

But Seolrang ignored her completely and looked—

More precisely, she looked at the white tail wrapped around Alon’s waist.

“Why are you like that?”

She threw the question at her.

It was, in a way, an obvious question.

Historia stood with her mouth slightly open for a moment, then replied:

“Just because?”

She dropped a short phrase.

Seolrang stared at her intensely.

She just stared.

And likewise, Historia returned the fixed gaze.

At a glance, it looked like they were just exchanging meaningless glances.

But Alon was already starting to feel uncomfortable.

‘Do they not get along… well?’

Ever since Seolrang woke up and he introduced Historia, her expression had been ambiguous.

He didn’t know why, but it seemed their compatibility was simply not good.

“Hey, Master looks uncomfortable, you know?”

At that moment, Seolrang’s voice was heard.

It didn’t have any special nuance, but precisely because of that, it conveyed a strange pressure.

Even her face was slightly rigid.

‘…Seolrang could make a face like that?’

Since she always showed only energy and joy in his presence, Alon found it surprising.

“I don’t think so.”

This time Historia spoke.

Then Seolrang replied without yielding:

“And what do you know?”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Because he has never said such a thing until now.”

“Master just doesn’t want to worry you.”

Hearing that, Historia looked at Alon.

“Is that true?”

She asked him, tilting her head.

While Alon hesitated, a bit embarrassed on the inside—

“He wouldn’t say something like that. Because Master is kind!”

Seolrang exclaimed, and Historia’s gaze returned to her.

Again, that exchange of glares began.

They weren’t threatening each other, but there were a lot of things they wanted to say.

Then Seolrang, as if something occurred to her, smiled slightly.

“It must be hard for Master, right? With someone insensitive bothering him all the time.”

She commented.

“Master doesn’t handle annoying people very well—”

It was obvious she was aiming at Historia.

But Historia just looked at her in silence, without responding.

Seeing her lack of reaction, Seolrang frowned.

“Sure.”

Historia nodded with the same indifference, without releasing the tail she had wrapped around Alon’s waist.

“You! I am talking about you!”

Seolrang ended up losing her cool at her apathetic reaction.

But Historia just—

“Eh?”

Looked at her with a face that said: “You mean me? What did I do?”

“Grrr…!”

With eyes burning, trembling with clenched fists, Seolrang was clearly angry.

Alon, watching the scene, intuited that this trip was going to be somewhat chaotic.

And the next day—

“My lord…”

“What is it?”

“Aren’t you tired?”

At Evan’s words, Alon looked to both sides.

To his left and right, Historia and Seolrang were sleeping leaning against the window.

……And around Alon’s waist—

Two tails, one white and one golden, were gently wrapped.

“I’m not tired.”

“Really?”

“…Although I would like to lean back on the window.”

He murmured while settling deeper into the backrest.

Unlike the previous day, where Seolrang had insisted almost angrily that the tail was uncomfortable for Alon—

Ssshhhhk.

That day, Seolrang had her tail tightly wrapped around his waist, almost as a demonstration.

…It was fine when it was just one. But now, with two, he could no longer lean anywhere.

“……I think my neck hurts.”

He said, massaging his stiff nape.

Evan, then—

“Ahem… my lord, you see…”

“What is it?”

“No, nothing… I mean, if you can’t lean on the window, of course it’s going to hurt. That’s why you are turning your head so much.”

It seemed like he was going to say something, but he changed it quickly and awkwardly.

Alon found it strange, but decided to close his eyes while looking at the light coming into the carriage.

When his breathing began to become regular—

Seolrang’s eyes, which seemed closed, opened stealthily.

She thought no one noticed, but both Evan and Penia saw it perfectly.

Simply put, it was very obvious.

Unaware that she was being watched, Seolrang released her tail from Alon’s waist.

And gently—

She took Alon’s arm and pulled him towards herself.

Alon ended up leaning on her shoulder.

She smiled with satisfaction and closed her eyes again.

Moments later—

Historia opened her eyes, looked at Alon leaning on Seolrang, and without hesitation pulled him towards her side.

Alon’s head fell directly onto her.

Historia, verifying this, closed her eyes calmly.

Meanwhile—

Alon, moved from one side to another without realizing it, frowned, uncomfortable.

Evan and Penia averted their gazes and looked at each other in silence.

And after a while of exchanging glances.

They already knew they were thinking exactly the same thing.

That on this trip, Alon would end up not just a little, but quite exhausted.

Approximately two weeks later—

After crossing the land of the Lizardmen, Alon was heading directly to Fildegrin when—

“Ah, my lord!”

“…Eliban?”

He ran into Eliban.

“It’s been a while!”

Eliban ran toward him with a bright expression.

Alon put on an expression of slight doubt, but soon understood.

‘Thinking about it, there was no reason why Eliban couldn’t come here.’

In the game, Alon hadn’t set foot on this land only because he didn’t have the DLC.

But in Psychedelia, where those restrictions don’t exist, Eliban could come without issue.

Alon looked behind him.

“…We greet the noble.”

“A pleasure.”

Yan, Vina, and Ralph, Eliban’s companions, bowed.

“Long time no see.”

Alon felt nostalgic.

Because the equipment Yan, Vina, and Ralph were wearing had nothing to do with what they had the first time he saw them.

‘Wow, they have farmed well.’

And it wasn’t casual farming.

It was equipment that only a veteran expert of Psychedelia, with perfectly optimized routes, could obtain.

While Alon marveled internally—

Suddenly he noticed something strange.

‘…Is that possible?’

He looked more closely at their equipment.

The dungeons those pieces dropped from could only be completed by following an extremely specific order known only to someone who knew exactly which item dropped in each dungeon.

For a normal person, it was an absurd route.

For example, to get all that gear, one had to complete the Caliburn dungeon, then ignore all the others and run straight to Colony, and then go immediately to Asteria—

Something completely illogical for anyone who didn’t know the game’s hidden mechanics.

But before he could think further—

“We were just thinking of going to see you, but we met here!”

Exclaimed Eliban.

“Coming to see me?”

“Yes. When they said you suddenly revived, I wanted to go immediately.”

“…Ah, that.”

More than six months had already passed.

As he recalled that moment, Alon asked:

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Ah, I have business in Fildegrin.”

“A dungeon?”

“Yes. They told me one appeared here. So I came.”

“…Did you have a relationship with Magrina?”

“No, no. An elf with whom I had a casual connection asked me for the favor.”

Since they had the same destination, Alon proposed:

“If you are going to Fildegrin, let’s go together.”

“Really? Can I?”

Eliban looked at him with shining eyes.

Alon nodded.

Just as they were about to leave—

Alon remembered something he heard in the East.

“Eliban, just in case— do you know anything about those called ‘The Martyrs’?”

“The Martyrs?”

“Yes.”

Eliban tilted his head.

“Hmm… No, I think it’s the first time I’ve heard the name. Is it a new organization or something?”

He had no idea.

“More or less.”

“Are they enemies of yours?”

“Not exactly. I was just asking. Don’t worry.”

“I understand. But if anyone is causing you trouble lately, tell me.”

“Thanks for the gesture.”

And so, Alon resumed his journey with Eliban toward Greynifra.

Historia, who always stayed by Alon’s side, observed Eliban in silence as he approached the carriage naturally.

Her face showed an undecipherable expression. Quietly.

The trip to Fildegrin didn’t take long.

When they met Eliban, they were practically already arriving.

As the sun set behind the mountains, Alon and the others arrived and were received by Magrina.

“Magrina.”

“Welcome, big brother. I see you have returned. And I also see friends I missed. Oh, there are new faces too.”

“Hello.”

After greeting Alon, Magrina greeted Historia and Seolrang.

Then she saw the two tails wrapped around Alon’s waist and paused for a moment.

“Ahem.”

She cleared her throat as if it were nothing.

“And these people would be…?”

She turned her gaze toward Eliban and his group.

“A pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”

Eliban stepped forward with a radiant smile.

At that instant—

Magrina’s face froze.

As if she had understood something.

As if something had hit her.

“My name is Eliban.”

Her gaze centered on Eliban’s face—

On those blue, flawless eyes.

With an expression impossible to decipher.

Without even blinking.