I Became the Patron of Villains

Chapter 145

145. Towards the Colony (2)

“You can look forward to the gift.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“…Then I’ll look forward to it.”

“Please do.”

Evan, who was watching Rine smile slightly beside Alon, whispered softly.

“Marquis, you must be pleased?”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you feel down last time because you didn’t get a birthday present?”

“…I didn’t feel that way.”

Alon answered calmly.

…But Evan’s words weren’t wrong.

In fact, he felt a little bitter.

‘…If I hadn’t heard about it, I wouldn’t have expected anything.’

Of course, he had no intention of blaming Rine for promising a gift back then.

A birthday present depends on the giver’s heart, not something the birthday person demands.

At that moment.

“You were looking forward to it.”

“Don’t mind it, Evan is just saying that.”

Rine laughed softly.

“Don’t worry, godfather. This year, I will definitely give you a present.”

After a brief conversation, Alon finally brought up the main topic of his visit.

“Rine, I read the letter you wrote… Do you know anything more about the Shadow Dragon?”

Rine’s gaze turned to the black creature nestled in Alon’s coat pocket.

“Is that the Shadow Dragon?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm-“

Rine, who was pondering something, slowly began to speak.

“After you asked about the Shadow Dragon, I did some more research. However, there wasn’t much more information available from the sources I could access.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

At Rine’s answer, Alon made a peculiar expression.

‘I expected it since I received the letter, but it seems that the Shadow Dragon is more dangerous than I thought.’

The reason he tried to ask Rine about it since he first obtained the Shadow Dragon’s egg.

It was because he knew that there was a library in Rine’s mind.

That library contains most information except for ‘things that should not be recognized.’

In fact, even more precisely.

Information about ‘things that should not be recognized’ was also in Rine’s mind library.

However, that information was in the forbidden section, and due to the settings, it was sealed, so Rine could not access it.

Of course, Alon knew how to open the forbidden section, but he had no intention of letting that happen.

Because the method was to accept the five great sins.

While Alon recalled that fact, Rine added.

“Still, there is some information I found out.”

“Really?”

“Yes, although I’m not sure if this information is useful.”

She conveyed the rest of the story, and Alon listened quietly.

After some time passed.

“That’s all.”

“Hmm…”

Alon nodded unconsciously.

As she mentioned earlier, not all of it was useful information.

However, there were two things he learned through it.

“If the Shadow Dragon grows and meets certain conditions… it becomes a god?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but according to the information I confirmed, unlike the Spirit Dragon, if the Shadow Dragon overcomes its destructive urges and grows by consuming negative things, it can later gain divinity.”

The fact that the little black one he was raising could become a ‘god’ if it grew well.

“…The little black one is different from other Shadow Dragons?”

“Yes, I only confirmed the information, so I’m not sure, but originally, Shadow Dragons cannot change their form from their original state. That remains true even if they regain their reason.”

“…So, it means it shouldn’t be in the form of a cat like this.”

“You’re right, godfather.”

It was the fact that Kkamangi was special.

Alon stared blankly at Kkamangi.

[Kyuu?]

Kkamangi tilted his head with an innocent face.

‘…It doesn’t really hit home.’

Of course, he had seen it.

How Kkamangi transformed and attacked the opponent.

But since he always looked like this in front of him, the ‘original form’ was just unfamiliar.

After observing the black cat for a while, he suddenly recalled a memory.

‘Then, devouring the Rikrakhamur back then… Could it be part of that?’

He only thought of that scene for a moment before Alon sighed in relief.

If, as Rine said, the Shadow Dragon only devoured the impure, it meant that Kkamangi wasn’t influenced by the monstrous nature.

‘Still, he seems a bit different from the usual Shadow Dragons… Well, I should be satisfied with knowing this much for now.’

Alon patted Kkamangi’s head once and then turned his gaze to Rine.

“Thank you for letting me know, it must have been hard to find the information.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, it was a request from the godfather.”

Rine smiled brightly.

Watching her, Alon cleared his throat for a moment.

There was one more thing he wanted to ask.

“It’s shameless, but can I ask you one more favor?”

“Yes, what is it?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Rine agreed, giving Alon the courage to continue.

“Could you arrange a meeting with Perion?”

“…Perion, the leader of the Kalts Mercenary Corps who settled in Lartania two years ago?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Rine tilted her head curiously.

Of course, she might have had doubts.

Until now, there had been no contact between Alon and Perion.

Nevertheless, Alon wanted to meet him because he had something Alon needed.

Captain Perion of the Kaltz Mercenary Corps.

A character you can meet after progressing quite a bit in the quest in the labyrinth city of Lartania within Psychedelia. On the surface, he pretends to be human, but in reality, he is an elf who came from the territory of the different races in the south.

‘Certainly… It seemed like he came to Lartania to find something.’

Unfortunately, Alon couldn’t remember more than that.

From what he knew, Perion was undoubtedly among the ranks of the strong, but he was a step removed from the player’s story.

‘Maybe he became one of the main characters if you added the DLC.’

However, he had never played the DLC.

While adding the DLC would bring new content, he had heard that it significantly diminished the fun of the main game.

Anyway, Alon’s perception of Perion was simple.

A character who gives items needed for playing as a wizard.

“I have something to negotiate.”

Originally, he planned to meet Perion without asking Line for help.

However, he overlooked one fact: Perion was not an easy person to meet.

As a player, he naturally met Perion while solving several major incidents in the labyrinth, but it was only after entering Lartania that he realized Perion, as a mercenary, did not easily meet anyone.

Of course, Line said,

“If the godfather wishes, I can arrange a meeting for tomorrow.”

“Can you do that?”

As if it was no big deal,

“Of course. If the godfather wishes.”

She answered easily with a smile.

####

Meanwhile,

Beyond the window of Line’s shop, Merd, Yuna was hiding and sitting on a branch, observing Alon’s face intently.

‘Hmm- He doesn’t seem particularly special. Why is the world so fanatical about him?’

She even tilted her head slightly.

It was purely by chance that she was watching the inside from the window where she could see Merd’s office.

She had come to deliver Yutia’s message to Line.

Then, by coincidence, their schedules overlapped, and she was able to see Alon with Line.

After watching the two for a while, Yuna recalled Alon’s earlier remark.

‘…A birthday.’

Birthday.

It wasn’t a word that evoked any special emotions, but now it felt strangely new.

It was because I heard that the great moon, whom the months worship, was a bit sullen for not receiving a birthday present.

‘…Of course, it was just the words of the escort knight, the great moon showed no expression…’

Whether it was a joke from a knight who maintained a very close relationship with the great moon, or the truth, Yuna, who was pondering for a moment, thought,

‘…Should I tell the other months about this first? Since I have to go around to all of them anyway.’

Soon, she decided to convey to the other executives that ‘the great moon seems to be a bit disappointed if the birthday is not celebrated.’

…Perhaps, it was a slightly dangerous decision.

In Alon’s mind, the image of Perrion, the leader of the Kalts Mercenary Corps, was a knight with strong beliefs despite being a mercenary.

Of course, since he was disguised as a mercenary, he looked like a knight who lived his life roughly, but no player thought of Perrion that way.

Ironically, although he was only disguised like that, he didn’t particularly match his actions to his appearance.

Thanks to that, Perrion was openly seen as a person with very strong beliefs, and the players’ interpretation was not so wrong.

In fact, he was an elf called ‘Pagade’, which was treated as a rank slightly higher than the Master Knights in Caliburn.

Anyway, knowing some of Perrion’s circumstances, Alon thought of obtaining the desired item from him through negotiation.

‘…It will take a few days to go down to the labyrinth and get the item Perrion wants, but considering it will be helpful in the future, it would be good to go.’

He finished calculating that it would take a few days.

The next day, moving according to Line’s arrangement, he finally met Perrion.

“…I am Perrion of the Kalts Mercenary Corps.”

“I am Marquis Palatio of the Asteria Kingdom.”

“Oh, yes, I have heard a lot about you.”

“Yes…”

He finally met Perrion.

Not the knight with overflowing beliefs that he knew well, covered roughly on the outside.

“That-”

“Yes, yes, please speak.”

A man who looked very intimidated.

Even during the conversation, Perrion repeatedly glanced and avoided eye contact.