I Became the Patron of Villains

55. Labyrinth City Lartania (4)

Silence descended upon the conference room.

The mercenaries who had entered late all wore tense expressions, and Maverick, Heman, and Argonia, who were seated, also looked at Alon.

However, even with everyone’s gaze focused on him, Alon’s expression remained calm.

…To be precise, only his outward appearance was calm.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

Behind his expressionless face, Alon thought, sweating nervously.

‘Should I have used another method? No, there was no other way to make such an impact. Freezing Myaon was only possible because it was a surprise attack.’

Alon stared intently into Argonia’s eyes, while also keeping an eye on Myaon, who was in his peripheral vision.

‘Still frozen, I see.’

Using the power of the Ho Gap Tu, he had poured all his magic into the spell, allowing him to use it five times, and Myaon remained in that frozen state.

‘I hope the story progresses before the spell wears off.’

Knowing Myaon’s personality, Alon was certain that once freed from the spell, Myaon would immediately go on a rampage. Alon anxiously watched Argonia.

If Argonia, the strongest among them, acknowledged Alon, there would be no further fighting.

Moreover, Alon had cast the spell here because he trusted Argonia.

He had seen through the game that Argonia was the type to assess the situation calmly and acknowledge what needed to be acknowledged, rather than stubbornly clinging to unnecessary pride.

…To be precise, the situation the protagonist faced in a specific quest in the game was very similar to the current situation, and Argonia had always reacted the same way each time, which is why Alon trusted him.

“…”

In the silence, Alon wanted to speak up and elicit a response, but he didn’t.

Having already cast the spell, whatever he said now didn’t matter.

From now on, it was up to the mercenaries to make their judgment, and above all, to gain their recognition, he had to maintain his composure in this situation.

After a brief moment.

“Are you trying to pick a fight with us now?”

The silence was broken by Maverick’s voice, his expression grim.

Alon thought to himself, this is bad, as Maverick seemed ready to draw his sword, angered by the sudden attack.

“Stop.”

Fortunately, just before Maverick drew his sword, Argonia intervened.

“What? Are you just going to let this slide?”

“We were the ones who ignored him.”

“But still-!”

“I said stop, didn’t I?”

Argonia frowned slightly.

Maverick stared at Argonia, clearly displeased.

“Click.”

He clicked his tongue briefly, as if he had no choice, and sat back down.

Himan also remained silent, showing no dissatisfaction with Argonia’s decision.

Seeing all this, Alon let out a sigh of relief and began to speak again.

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“……When do you plan to descend into the labyrinth?”

“I plan to go down in two days.”

Argonia spoke politely.

“……?”

At that moment, Alon wondered if Argonia was the type to speak formally to someone, but he continued.

“Then let’s continue the meeting tomorrow. With one person like this, we can’t even hold a meeting.”

Alon glanced at Myaon.

Once the severe cold ended, the magic would be released in an instant, but it was clear that Myaon would be furious once the magic was lifted, so he decided to leave for now.

“……Let’s do that.”

With Argonia’s acceptance, Alon stood up without hesitation, turned around, and passed by the mercenaries.

Creak-

He left the meeting room.

With that, silence filled the meeting room.

And then.

‘This is bad for my heart. I must never do something like this again.’

Finally outside, Alon clutched his pounding heart, took a small breath, and quickly left the mansion……

####

Right after Alon left the meeting room.

Maverick, who had sent the soldiers away again, opened his mouth with a face full of irritation.

“Ha, no matter how much I think about it, I don’t like that b*stard. Is it because he’s a noble and has never been beaten?”

Anyone could tell he was targeting Alon with his words.

But.

“Shut up, will you.”

“What?”

“I said shut up.”

“What did you just say……?”

At Heman’s words, who had been silent in the front, Maverick, who usually had a bad relationship with him, frowned deeply.

“Ha, seriously……. Why is this b*stard causing trouble even when spared?”

“What?”

“Don’t you get it? Argonia spared you, you idiot.”

Maverick seemed to not understand the words that followed, then made a displeased expression.

“……Stop, Maverick. Heman is right.”

“What?”

“If you had drawn your sword just now, you might have really died.”

“What the hell is that supposed to-“

As Argonia added her words, Maverick, who had been frowning, closed his mouth.

It was because he finally noticed what he had failed to see earlier, being too filled with annoyance.

The cold sweat trickling down Argonia’s body.

“……Damn.”

Seeing that, Maverick couldn’t help but curse.

He had never seen Argonia break out in a cold sweat like this before.

Even Heman, whom he grudgingly acknowledged as stronger than himself, was also sweating, so Maverick had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

“……Argonia.”

“Why?”

“What is that, exactly?”

Heman, thinking that Argonia, who was known to have lived for hundreds of years, might know something, asked the question. Argonia remained silent.

In fact, she had some idea.

Of course, that knowledge wasn’t something Argonia had acquired herself, but something she had heard from her mother, the Red Dragon, who had long since left this world and vanished without a trace.

“……”

She recalled the memory of her mother, who had declared that there was nothing in this world to fear, but had warned her to be cautious of this one thing.

A long time ago.

‘Remember. If a black eye appears in the night sky, immediately look down and do not gaze upon it.’

‘If you have seen it, turn your gaze away. Do not acknowledge it. Do not remember it. If you become a great wizard in the future, excise that memory.’

‘Remember, my beloved child. Never, ever look directly at the “Eater of Realms.”‘

The story her mother had told her.

……Recalling the advice, no, the warning that remained vivid to this day, Argonia thought back to the recent situation.

The blue eye that had appeared behind Count Palatio-

-Endlessly ominous.

Just looking at it made one feel as if their soul was being sucked out.

Chill-!

Staring at him, with a sly, eye-smiling black gaze.

‘Who on earth is that man…?’

Dragonia quietly swallowed her breath.

####

The next day.

Contrary to Alon’s worries that they might still not acknowledge it and continue to pick a fight, the meeting proceeded very smoothly. As a result, Alon was able to learn two things.

The first fact was that the foreign god was on the 12th floor.

The second fact was that they planned to block the foreign god on the 5th floor.

As soon as he heard that, he immediately began to explain the plan he had originally thought of, one by one in front of them, and soon briefed them on the information about the foreign god.

That took about 30 minutes.

Alon, who had even mentioned the information about the foreign god disguised as information obtained from an ancient book, looked at the gathered mercenaries with a bit of tension, fearing that there might be some strange interference.

‘…After all, I guess we have to compromise?’

The plan Alon had devised was a strategy to capture the foreign god with minimal damage, and he was confident it was the best strategy.

But that was only Alon’s opinion.

The mercenaries here were not under Alon.

In other words, he was not in a position to command them to follow this strategy, but only to suggest it, so he was nervous.

“…Let’s do it that way.”

“I’ll do it that way too.”

“No objections.”

“Me too.”

“…??”

In a situation where it passed so easily, without any complaints, Alon had a bewildered expression.

“…Really, no complaints?”

Alon asked again just in case.

“None.”

“Me neither.”

“Me too.”

“Me too.”

However, hearing the four of them answer as if there were really no objections, Alon couldn’t help but think to himself.

‘…Was the impact yesterday that strong?’

Alon subtly shook his head.

Even though yesterday’s impact was strong, it was impossible for such a small event to make the mercenaries of the five major guilds, including Argonia, so docile.

Therefore.

‘…Could it be?’

Alon subtly turned his gaze to Rine, who had come to the meeting today.

“…?”

Despite her stern expression, Rine’s clear display of doubt made Alon naturally avert his gaze, feeling even more puzzled by the situation.

‘…Something’s strange.’

Alon tilted his head, watching the mercenaries who were now so docile that they even used honorifics, unlike in the game.

Even Myon, who should have been full of resentment after being frozen by him, was unusually quiet. But it was funny to ask why there were no complaints.

“Then, let’s head down tomorrow. It will take some time to prepare.”

With that, Alon ended the meeting.

####

And then, the day of the decisive battle.

Leaving Evan behind, Alon took Rine, who insisted on following him, and began descending to the fifth layer with the foreign subjugation squad.

‘…It’s even more gloomy.’

Although he had seen it dozens of times in the game, the labyrinth in reality exuded a much more sinister atmosphere.

In the darkness where not even an inch ahead could be seen without a torch, monsters would jump out at any moment.

The darkness, like an abyss untouched by light, naturally evoked fear in people.

Of course, with the large number of mercenaries, Alon’s surroundings were quite bright, but that didn’t mean the darkness was completely gone.

‘I must never come here alone.’

Leaving such impressions, Alon descended the labyrinth.

How much time had passed?

When they reached the second layer, during the given rest time, Alon was resting in a safe zone created by the mercenaries inside the labyrinth.

“Hey, do you have a moment?”

He could see Myon, who had approached him unnoticed.

“…What’s up?”

Alon, a bit tense, wondered if she had come to pick a fight.

“Just wanted to chat?”

But surprisingly, Myon sat next to him with a light smile, and soon began to chatter about various things.

Alon, still dazed by the words, replied.

“Ah, but do you perhaps have a distaste for beastfolk, Count?”

“No, not particularly.”

“That’s a relief.”

“What do you mean by relief?”

His brow furrowed at Myaon’s response.

“Um, Count, if I may—”

With a sly smile, Myaon continued.

“—do you perhaps wish to mate with me?”

She spoke the words with such casualness, as if they were nothing.

“……?”

Alon’s mind, for a moment, ceased to function.