I Became the Patron of Villains

Chapter 161

161. Why So Strong? (5)

“Is that, really true?”

Magrina’s question.

“!”

Perion was astonished.

The Elf Queen Magrina was benevolent and a wise ruler who smiled at everyone, but she never visibly expressed her personal emotions.

That was the position of a king.

A being who must protect the people and always lead for the sake of the people.

She must never show weakness.

Therefore, in the hundreds of years she had held the throne, she had never once revealed any emotions other than benevolence and anger in front of her subordinates.

However, Magrina, who had adhered to that ironclad rule for so long, was now showing emotions other than joy and anger in front of her subordinates for the first time.

Emotions of confusion and hope.

“Hurry, tell me.”

At Magrina’s urging, Filde broke his silence.

“First, let me say it again, Your Majesty. This is my conjecture.”

“But you believe that the Marquis, the primordial elf, is my brother, don’t you?”

“Yes.

“Please, tell me why.”

An impatient urging.

Filde recounted the events that had taken place at the Marquis of Palatio one by one.

The time when the two of them used magic to see the Marquis from the outskirts of the Marquisate.

The time when he had peered into the soul of the Marquis of Palatio with his spiritual eyes.

And finally, the black pupils at the end.

“……Hoo-”

After finishing all the stories, Filde took a breath and summarized the main point.

“So, to summarize the story, the soul of the Marquis of Palatio did not match his body. In other words, there is another person inside the body of the Marquis of Palatio.”

“…….”

“As you know, Your Majesty, it makes no sense for a mere human to possess such a golden soul. Just as no matter how virtuous a king may be, he cannot become a god, and no matter how heroic, he cannot become a deity.”

Filde stared intently at the queen.

“……That is why I have speculated that the Marquis of Palatio might be one of the primordial elves.”

“Then the reason my brother cannot return is-”

“As I mentioned, there is something peculiar attached to the one presumed to be the primordial elf.”

Filde involuntarily gagged at the thought, but quickly regained composure.

“Although I couldn’t confirm it until the end, from what I could judge, that peculiar thing was intertwined.”

“Intertwined, you say?”

“Yes. So intricately and chaotically that they could never be separated. I believe that is why the primordial elf cannot come here.”

Magrina remained silent.

Her eyes were trembling more than ever before.

A mix of hope and confusion consumed her pupils.

“Then-”

From her lips, which she had been biting with her head bowed,

“Couldn’t you at least tell me?”

“…….”

A voice tinged with moisture escaped.

“That he has returned, that he is alive…! Couldn’t you at least tell me that…?”

How long had she searched, how long had she waited.

To her murmuring, Filde responded.

“That part puzzled me as well, but I believe it is due to a ‘restriction’.”

“A restriction-?”

Filde nodded.

“This is purely speculation, but as you know, Your Majesty, it is clearly abnormal for the soul of the dead to inhabit the body of the living. It is something that should never happen. The soul of the dead distorts the ‘human order’.”

“Please, continue.”

“I believe the primordial elf has made a contract with that peculiar entity involving a ‘restriction’. Their souls are that intertwined. And that restriction is likely of the kind that prevents entanglement with past life connections.”

“Why- such a restriction?”

This time, even Filde shook his head.

“That, I cannot guess. It is merely a conjecture based on the fact that he delivered blessings instead of getting involved directly.”

“`

“……”

“Once again, I must emphasize that this is purely my speculation. I have no idea what the reality is. However, the reason I’m telling you this is-“

As Filde glanced at Perion, who had been silent all along, he stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, may I continue from here?”

“Go ahead.”

“……The Marquis of Palatio uses ‘phrases’ and ‘sentences’.”

“!! That means-“

“……Like the primordial elves, he is a sorcerer. Moreover, from my personal investigation, he has accomplished feats that no mere human could achieve.”

After a brief pause, Perion added.

“He has already dealt with two foreign gods in the past, resolved numerous artificial gods, and recently handled a monstrosity. A mere human… accomplished such things.”

“……”

“This is why we speculate that he is a primordial elf.”

Although Perion finished speaking, the queen remained silent.

Her heart pounded fiercely.

In Magrina’s mind, memories from hundreds of years ago.

Memories that could never be forgotten replayed.

‘There’s no one but you.’

‘You must do it.’

‘You must lead the elves well.’

‘I beg you,’

The face of her brother, who had foreseen his death, yet smiled and patted her head.

And then, after a long silence, the queen spoke.

“……Perion.”

“Yes.”

“Prepare yourself.”

“……Yes?”

“I must meet him personally. I must see if he is real. I must confirm it.”

With eyes full of determination, she looked at Perion.

####

As a result, Alon was able to clear the Iron Blood Fortress without any damage, thanks to Elivan’s help.

“`

“Is this what you need?”

“Indeed.”

“I’ll give it to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

And so, he obtained the item he desired.

He wondered if it was okay to take it so easily, but there was no reason to refuse.

Alon accepted the item that Elivan handed over with a bright smile.

It was an object obtained from the Iron Blood Fortress.

More precisely, it was an artifact pretending to be an ‘object.’

‘The Foot Running Through the Past.’

As Alon gazed at the object, forged from dark steel and shaped like a foot running on the ground, he spoke to Elivan.

“……Thank you.”

“No, don’t mention it! After all, you came to help because of my request! Do you need anything else?”

Alon shook his head.

From the beginning, the only thing he needed from this Iron Blood Fortress was this Foot Running Through the Past.

Most of what came out of this place were warrior-type weapons, and even the few mage-type weapons were not very useful to Alon.

“No, this is enough.”

Alon carefully packed the Foot Running Through the Past.

Soon, the strange door that had been open began to slowly disappear.

Alon and his party, who watched the scene together, then moved to the nearest territory, the Duchy of Zenonia.

By the time they arrived at the Duchy of Zenonia, it was already dusk.

“Let’s meet again next time.”

“Yes, understood! Can I ask for your help again if I need it?”

“Sure, as long as it’s not too much.”

“Thank you!”

Elivan bowed deeply and then walked into the territory with his companion.

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“Um… I’ve been feeling something strange for a while, can I say it?”

“Speak.”

As soon as they were alone, Evan spoke as if he had been waiting.

“I’ve been thinking – that friend Elivan, he came to ask for help because he thought it would be dangerous, right?”

“That’s right.”

“…But it doesn’t make sense that he would hide such skills and still come to ask for help from you, does it?”

“That’s true.”

In fact, Alon also felt the same sense of incongruity that Evan pointed out.

Elivan’s words didn’t quite add up.

Alon stared quietly at the place where Elivan had left, with a questioning look beyond his indifferent expression.

‘What on earth?’

He kept his mind open to various possibilities and continued to think.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Among them, he only captured those that seemed somewhat plausible.

Three hypotheses remained.

Elivan had called him here with some purpose.

Or he intended to harm him.

…Or, if not that, he had been asked by someone else.

But Alon soon shook his head.

First of all, it didn’t seem like Elivan intended to harm him.

If that had been his intention from the beginning, there were plenty of opportunities before entering the strange gate, and even inside the gate.

‘…Rather, he seemed overprotective.’

His attitude at the Iron Blood Fortress couldn’t be seen as that of someone with malicious intent.

‘…Then the remaining possibilities are that he called me here with some purpose or was asked by someone else…’

Naturally, neither of these seemed particularly problematic.

If he had suffered any harm in any way, he could have made some guesses based on that, but he had easily obtained what he needed without any loss.

Therefore.

“…What could it be?”

[Kyuu?]

Alon’s puzzlement deepened as he petted the head of the black creature that had suddenly appeared.

“Elivan.”

“Hm? Why?”

“…Why did you hide it until now?”

In an inn at the Zenonia estate.

Elivan looked at Yan, who was hesitating.

“Hm? Hide what?”

“…Your power.”

“Ah-“

He scratched his cheek, looking a bit troubled.

“Sorry? I was planning to tell you someday, but… I thought it was still too early.”

Elivan answered with a smile.

However, Yan’s expression did not easily soften.

“…If you had that much power, couldn’t you have helped in the last situation, and the one before that?”

It was inevitable.

Elivan’s party had crossed the line of life and death several times until now.

“Even when Ralph was about to be crushed to death by the Giant Wood, and when I was almost drained of my soul by the witch, you never showed such power, did you?”

It wasn’t just because Elivan had hidden his power that she was angry.

Despite having that much power, he hadn’t used it in situations where the party members might have died.

In other words, it meant that to him, the death of his comrades wasn’t important enough to reveal his power.

“But the Marquis of Palatio-“

Yan’s brow furrowed even more.

The threat to the Marquis of Palatio seemed far less dangerous compared to the life-and-death situations their comrades had faced.

Yet, Elivan had revealed his secret without hesitation.

A secret he had kept even when their comrades’ lives were at stake.

However, Elivan remained calm.

“…Yan, I know what you’re trying to say.”

“Then-!”

“But, this is something that can’t be helped. How should I put it… It’s like a ‘habit.'”