I Became the Patron of Villains

27. Isn’t that a bit excessive? (3)

Malik, a guard working in the capital city of Kirdam in Caliban, fundamentally liked rumors.

The reason was exceedingly simple: for him, who spent all day standing guard in front of the city walls, rumors were one of the ways to make this tedious duty more enjoyable.

As a result, Malik had actually been waiting for this day, or more precisely, the day Count Palatio would arrive.

This was because he had heard through secret rumors that the rascal, who had been running wild under the shadow of his master, had said to call him immediately when Count Palatio arrived.

Of course, Malik did not know why the rascal was looking for a count from another country, but he knew what would happen afterward.

After all, if that rascal was looking for someone, there was only one reason, and thanks to that, Malik thought that today would be quite an interesting spectacle when he confirmed that Count Palatio had arrived.

However, what he saw was a spectacle vastly different from what he had expected.

The one being beaten was not Count Palatio, but Biran, and the one beating him was Deus.

Deus, one of Caliban’s master knights, who had risen to the top of the knights in less than a year with unparalleled talent, and who was now called the Swordless, was beating Biran.

Even that alone was a huge event that would spread rumors throughout the capital in a day, but what shocked Malik was that it didn’t end there.

‘That Swordless, bowed his head…?’

Malik stared blankly at Deus, who was speaking with his head bowed.

“……Did the Swordless just bow his head?”

“The Swordless…?”

The guards, who were also shocked by Deus’s actions, gaped in astonishment.

The reason they were so surprised was that Deus had never bowed his head to anyone except the current king of Caliban.

Even the incident where he slapped the second prince, who had been harassing his only sister, three times was still frequently talked about in the capital, and Deus’s reputation had only risen since then.

Although the second prince was a rascal who had been practically discarded by the kingdom, the fact that Deus had not been punished for his disrespect towards royalty only elevated his reputation further.

This meant that the entire kingdom of Caliban, beyond the king, regarded Deus Macallian himself higher than the second prince, and his reputation soared even more.

But now, Deus, who had never bowed his head even to the royalty of this country,

“Please, get in.”

was bowing his head to a mere count from another country.

“……”

This was enough to shock and astonish everyone who knew the rumors.

Soon, all eyes that knew the rumors were fixed on a single person.

Ahead, the Count of Palatio, who was walking expressionlessly as if this situation meant nothing, even while being directly escorted by Master Knight Deus.

And then.

‘The Count of Palatio, to whom even the Sword of No Return bows his head… who is he really…?’

Everyone, including Malik, who saw the Count’s face, had such questions and gaped.

‘…This situation is peculiar, but why are they looking at me like that?’

Alon, who received the astonished gazes of the people, was bewildered but soon turned his eyes to the carriage that Deus had prepared.

‘…It stands out.’

Unlike other carriages, it was completely dyed in black, making it conspicuous.

Moreover-

Clack-!

-As if to defend the carriage itself, knights were lined up around it, and Alon felt he could somewhat understand the people’s gazes.

Even he thought this was a bit excessive.

“Understood.”

But it would be ridiculous to refuse to ride the carriage after all this, so Alon quietly boarded the carriage.

“Then I will take the carriage.”

With those words from Evan, Alon, along with Deus who had boarded the carriage, headed to the mansion under the escort of the black knights.

A little while later.

‘Is this… a mansion?’

Seeing Deus’s mansion for the first time, Alon showed a surprised expression.

He had heard that the capital of Caliban was larger than the capitals of other kingdoms, but even so, it was the first time he had seen a mansion of such enormous size.

‘Is this success…?’

Alon, looking at Deus’s back, had such thoughts for a moment, and soon after getting off the carriage, he followed Deus, who was leading the way, past the enormous mansion and towards the office.

Entering the office, Alon saw.

“Please, have a seat.”

“…?”

Deus, without hesitation, offered him the seat of honor, and Alon showed a slight expression of doubt.

Even though Alon had almost no etiquette towards nobles, he knew at least the very minimum of manners.

‘Usually, in these situations, doesn’t the host sit at the head seat?’

Of course, if Alon were a noble of a much higher rank, the story would be different, but he was merely a count.

And not even a noble of Caliban, but of the Kingdom of Asteria.

In other words, Deus had no need to treat Alon with such excessive courtesy.

…In fact, from Alon’s perspective, he felt the pride of a father whose son had succeeded, and he was pleased with the treatment, but at the same time, he was slightly worried.

Because there were quite a few things he needed to ask Deus for.

“Hmm…”

Clearing his throat, Alon sat at the head seat, and naturally, Deus sat beside him.

“…”

“…”

A heavy silence followed.

‘What should I talk about?’

Of course, there were mountains of things he needed to ask for, but Alon knew well enough that communication wasn’t just about that.

First, he had to make some small talk.

But Alon had never even exchanged letters with Deus, let alone had a face-to-face conversation like this, so he felt awkward.

Creak-

“I’m a bit late.”

Evan, guided by the knights, cautiously rolled his eyes as he entered the room, and Alon, realizing that he had brought a gift, spoke.

“Evan, the gift.”

“Yes, sir.”

At Alon’s words, Evan placed the gift on Deus’s desk.

“This is…”

“A gift.”

At Deus’s words, Alon let out a small sigh.

He had been wondering how to start the conversation, but the gift had opened the way.

“Thank you.”

Deus bowed his head slightly to Alon.

“…”

“…”

“…….”

And then, silence.

Uh, isn’t it natural to continue the conversation now? That thought briefly crossed Alon’s mind before he finally opened his mouth.

“……Aren’t you going to open the gift?”

“It would be impolite, so I’ll open it later.”

“…….”

Alon knew that it was indeed rude to open a gift and giggle in front of high-ranking people.

But Alon was not a high-ranking person.

‘……What on earth do they think of me?’

Alon, with a slightly confused expression, couldn’t stay bewildered for long.

Because.

Creak-!

“Brother……?”

Before he could continue his thoughts, another girl entered Deus’s office.

The cute girl, with the same eyes as Deus, turned her gaze and looked at Evan.

“Oh, Brother Evan!”

She immediately recognized Evan.

“Oh, Silly!”

Seeing Evan smile and stand up as if he was pleased, Alon realized that she was Deus’s younger sister, whom Evan had been asked to save.

‘They look alike.’

In Psychedelia, only the gruesome details of how the younger sister died in some region were described, so he hadn’t seen her appearance. But even so, Alon nodded at her appearance and then turned his gaze to Deus, flinching.

“…….”

Because Deus was openly making an unpleasant expression.

Moreover, as soon as Silly grabbed Evan’s hand, his eyes became even more intense.

“Silly. Evan is not your brother, he’s an uncle.”

Watching this, Alon realized that Deus was more attached to his younger sister than he had thought.

Hmm, so-

……In short, he was a siscon.

Of course, as it was mentioned in the game, he had a great sense of loss and deficiency regarding ‘family,’ so it was understandable.

While Alon was thinking this, Silly, who had been clinging to Evan just a moment ago, came up to him and started chattering.

“Excuse me, are you Count Palatio?”

“Indeed, I am.”

“I heard from my brother Evan. He said you ordered him to save me.”

At Silly’s words, Alon glanced at Deus, then turned his gaze back and nodded.

“I was just doing my duty.”

‘If you died, your brother could have become a continental killing machine.’

“Thank you so much.”

Seeing Silly bow her head deeply, Alon felt his heart warm up.

Of course, there was some intention behind it, but in the end, doing a good deed and receiving gratitude felt quite pleasant.

Alon smiled faintly.

“Ahem…”

After Silly left, Alon cleared his throat lightly in the relaxed atmosphere and glanced at Deus.

Since his sister disappeared, Deus had been showing a subtly hostile expression towards Evan.

“Deus, the reason I came to see you is because I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor… you say?”

“…? Yes, is something wrong?”

Alon answered Deus’s puzzled question with an equally puzzled expression.

“…No. I’ll listen first.”

However, at Deus’s continued words, Alon hesitated for a moment, wondering what was going on.

When it came time to ask the favor, he found it hard to speak.

The favors he had to ask Deus were two in total, and both were likely to be somewhat troublesome for him.

So, after hesitating, Alon first mentioned the first favor.

“I need to go to the north. Could you come with me?”

“I will.”

“…Can you decide that so easily?”

Seeing Deus accept so lightly, Alon looked at him with a feeling of surprise and spoke.

“I was planning to go on an expedition to the north anyway.”

At those words, Alon felt a sense of relief.

If that was the case, the first favor was essentially a light one.

Alon let out a sigh of relief and spoke the next words.

“Perhaps, it would be good if we could borrow the ‘Ring of the Arrogant One’ from the Caliban royal treasury. Could we possibly borrow it?”

He spoke while watching Deus’s reaction.

In fact, for Deus, borrowing something from the royal treasury was practically the same as indebting oneself to the royal family, which could be very troublesome.

After all, as long as he belonged to the country of Caliban, he could not escape political interests.

However, the ‘Ring of the Arrogant One’ was essential for this plan, to the extent that he had to make such an unreasonable request to Deus.

“Of course, if it causes you any harm-“

Alon was about to open his mouth for compensation and a bit of emotional appeal.

“I understand.”

“…What?”

“The ‘Ring of the Arrogant One’, I will bring it right away.”

Deus, bowing his head as if he wouldn’t ask any questions, left Alon with a bewildered expression once again.

‘No, it’s good… it’s good, but…’

He spoke with a slightly dazed expression.

“…Did you hear where the ‘Ring of the Arrogant One’ is?”

“I heard it’s in the Caliban royal treasury.”

“Isn’t it a bit difficult to bring it?”

“It usually takes about a week by conventional methods, but if you wish, I can bring it right away.”

“…Is there a way?”

Alon asked, suddenly curious about the statement.

Deus, after a moment of silence as if contemplating something, spoke.

“…The king is troublesome, but if I handle about 50 people, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

He said such words.

“…What?”

Evan, who showed a momentary stunned reaction upon hearing those words.

Although it didn’t show on his face, Alon also looked at Deus with a feeling of bewilderment and astonishment, but he showed eyes that had not a single doubt.

‘Is this… something like that? That he can go to such lengths for me… is that what he’s trying to convey?’

Unconsciously interpreting Deus’s words in such a way, Alon spoke after a short silence.

“No, there’s no need to go that far.”

“Is that so… Then I will retrieve the ring as quickly as possible.”

Deus, with a somewhat regretful expression.

Alon, who had briefly thought, “It’s not about retrieving it, just borrowing it,” soon nodded.

‘…It’s really nice that he’s thinking of me, but isn’t this a bit too much…?’

With that thought, he stayed at the mansion for a day until he borrowed the ring.

“I brought it.”

“…What?”

Alon could see the ‘Ring of the Arrogant One’ encased in a precious jewel box.

And then.

“…Count, did you know?”

“What?”

“…I heard that yesterday Deus caused a ruckus in the kingdom demanding they hand over the treasure. I heard the second prince got slapped one more time.”

“…??”

Upon hearing the rumors about Deus from Evan.

‘…What the hell???’

…Alon realized that something was off about Deus.