I Became the Patron of Villains

90. Artificial (1)

The underground of Rosario, the name of the Holy Kingdom and its capital.

In the center of the labyrinthine underground waterway, there was a huge cavern.

A man with a benevolent smile that did not match the dark place.

At the same time, he wore a moon-shaped pendant indicating he was a ‘servant of Sironia’ around his neck and a black holy robe. He was Anderede, the chief cardinal of Rosario.

“You have arrived.”

A small murmur.

From behind the empty cavern, a man in a black robe began to walk out.

“As expected, the cardinal’s eyes cannot be deceived.”

The masked man, whose eyes were playfully curved, walked straight to Anderede and lightly waved his hand.

Thud-

With that, a box fell in front of Anderede.

The box was neither too small nor too large.

“Please check it.”

At the masked man’s words, Anderede knelt down and checked the box.

“Ohhh…”

I couldn’t help but gasp in awe at the countless abyssal creatures inside the box.

For a moment, I marveled at the sheer number, which seemed to be at least fifty. Then, closing the box, Anderede stood up and bowed politely.

“Thank you, brother. Thanks to you, we can proceed as planned.”

“That’s a relief. You mentioned it would be during the Birth Festival, correct?”

“Yes, unless the schedule changes, it should be then.”

The masked man shrugged at Anderede’s words and turned to leave, but then asked,

“By the way, may I ask you something?”

“Feel free to speak.”

Anderede opened his mouth with a benevolent smile.

The masked man hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I was curious why the Cardinal is doing this. Of course, if you think it’s too deep a question, you don’t have to answer.”

Anderede seemed to ponder for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Because I seek salvation.”

“…Salvation?”

The masked man asked again, and Anderede opened his mouth.

“What do you think of God, brother?”

“Well… I’m not sure. I haven’t thought about it in detail.”

“I feel that God is unfair.”

Such words were too alien to come from the Chief Cardinal.

“Let me ask you a question.”

But as the masked man quietly listened to Anderede’s words, he continued.

“There are always believers who pray to God. Some go to the temple every day to pray, some go to battle to protect God’s name, and some do not hesitate to walk the thorny path to fulfill God’s mission.”

“Others leave a sick old woman to go to the holy land to follow God’s commandments, and some commit unwanted killings to uphold God’s will.”

“Some pray to God for a piece of moldy bread because they haven’t eaten for days, and others pray to heal a sick old woman.”

Anderede’s words continued.

Someone’s, some other’s, another’s stories endlessly poured from his lips.

Finally, he threw his last words at the masked man.

“Everyone believes in and prays to Sironia. So, who do you think He will extend His helping hand to?”

“….”

As the masked man pondered the question, Anderede still smiled benevolently.

“Don’t worry too much, there is no correct answer among the choices I gave you.”

“…What?”

The masked man looked bewildered by the sudden words, but Anderede continued to speak.

“As I said, there is no correct answer. He, no, Sironia does not extend a hand of salvation to anyone. It simply acts as it pleases.”

Anderede wore a bitter expression.

“Gods are such beings. The duration of faith does not matter at all. Even if someone has believed in Sironia for decades, if they do not please her, they will receive no power or blessing.”

“On the contrary, if they please the god, they will bestow power even if they do not believe in her. As if faith means nothing, selfishly.”

“Gods are such beings. They wield power as they please, rather than favoring those who offer sincere prayers, faith, sacrifices, and martyrdom.”

After finishing his words, Anderede seemed to fall silent for a while, then smiled again.

“So, I made this decision.”

Very benevolently and sacredly.

“So, I will try.”

The masked man suddenly looked at the great cavity behind Anderede.

“No one will be discriminated against.”

The great cavity was dark, but the torches lit here and there hinted at its enormous size, and beyond the cardinal, there were many people.

“Anyone who believes will be able to share the power equally.”

Men, women, the elderly, children.

Commoners, priests, inquisitors, nuns.

All were praying devoutly towards one place.

“For the believers only.”

At the end of this space, there was a gigantic statue that anyone could see was man-made.

A gigantic statue in the shape of a human.

“A human god.”

“……”

The masked man looked at him.

Anderede was still smiling.

An infinitely warm smile.

The smile in the darkness illuminated by the torches was extremely alien.

“……”

The masked man felt an inexplicable fear.

The shadows cast by the torches deepened Anderede’s benevolent smile on either side.

As if, like a madman.

From noble mtl dot com

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As soon as he used magic, Alon was inwardly very flustered by the sudden burst of intense light.

‘No, why is that glowing? The statue of the goddess Sironia shouldn’t react even if I use magic, right?’

Alon immediately stopped the implementation of the magic, just in case.

However, even though he had already stopped the implementation of the magic, the light emanating from the statue of the goddess Sironia did not go out.

Soon.

[W-What-]

A very flustered, high-pitched voice began to be heard in Alon’s ears.

There is no visible entity.

All that can be heard is the voice, and all that can be seen is the brilliantly shining statue of the goddess Sironia.

Realizing that the voice was that of the goddess Sironia, Alon, with a slightly flustered expression, thought he should first show respect and tried to bow.

[W-Wait-!]

At the urgent voice, Alon awkwardly stopped in the posture of kneeling on one knee.

“?”

Alon looked at the statue with a puzzled expression.

However.

[Who, what are you……?]

“……??”

At the trembling voice of the goddess, Alon finally realized that he was being guarded against by the goddess Sironia.

Why me……? Alon thought, but he couldn’t keep the goddess waiting for an answer for long.

“I am Count Palatio of the Kingdom of Arteria, great goddess Sironia.”

Alon hastily recalled the protagonist’s introduction from a game and answered.

[No, that’s not what I was asking── Huh.]

The goddess Sironia, who had been speaking as if frustrated, suddenly gasped and fell silent for a while.

[Count Palatio. What is your purpose for coming here?]

Soon, in a slightly calmer voice, she spoke again, different from the urgent voice from a moment ago.

……Of course, Alon, who could sense the urgency hidden in that voice, soon fell silent, wondering what to do, and finally spoke up.

“……I came to see if I could receive the necklace of the one who eats eyes.”

The artifact Alon sought in this saint’s chamber, the only one among the many relics in this room that was hidden and not enchanted with tracking magic.

As he uttered its name.

Click-!

The marble floor, which had been to the right of the statue of the goddess Sironia until just a moment ago, lightly opened.

[Extend your hand.]

Sironia’s voice echoed.

As Alon extended his hand.

Thud-!

A white necklace fell into his hand.

“This is-“

[Is this the purpose for which you came here?]

“Yes, but… why suddenly this.”

Alon, having somewhat grasped the intention, asked just in case.

To which Sironia responded.

[Take it.]

“…Really, is it okay to do so?”

[Yes, then is all your business here concluded?]

“Yes, it is.”

[Then, leave now.]

With those words, the white light vanished in an instant.

Like a power outage, the white light disappeared in an instant.

Though her tone had become calm from the middle, anyone could tell that her voice was extremely anxious, and as she vanished, it was as if she was fleeing, leaving Alon bewildered.

‘…Wait, what is this situation.’

Suddenly, this situation reminded him of when he met Heinkel at the Magic Society, and recalling Heinkel’s words ‘behind-!’ he glanced back.

“….”

Of course, there was nothing behind him.

‘What on earth… is this?’

Feeling a strange sense of dissonance, Alon left the saint’s chamber with the necklace of the Eye Eater that he had originally wanted.

####

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Saint Roman of Rosario was astonished, his eyes wide open in disbelief at what was unfolding before him.

There were several reasons for his astonishment.

First, he was amazed by the fact that Count Palatio could converse with the goddess Sironia.

Secondly, he was surprised that the statue of the goddess Sironia shone brighter when Count Palatio was present than when he himself was with her.

But above all, the reason Yuman was so shocked that his mouth hung open was:

‘The goddess herself bestowed a holy relic… directly?’

It was because the goddess Sironia had personally bestowed a holy relic upon Count Palatio.

A sacred act that the goddess only performed when choosing a saint!

…Of course, it was merely at the request of Count Palatio.

Since he couldn’t hear the voice of the goddess unless he was in the saint’s chamber, he found it puzzling.

‘Could it be that Count Palatio knew I was watching and played some trick?’

He decided to conclude as such.

Originally, the goddess Sironia conducted the saintly ceremony in a procedural manner, not in such a hurried fashion.

Therefore, as soon as Count Palatio left, Yuman immediately entered the chamber of the Holy Spirit, knelt down, and began to pray.

After some time had passed,

Wooong-!

The statue of the goddess Sironia began to shine.

[What is it, my child?]

The voice of the goddess Sironia began to be heard.

…A voice that sounded slightly tired.

However, having already witnessed the goddess bestowing the relic upon Count Palatio, Yuman did not notice the subtle difference in her voice and was about to speak.

“Great goddess Sironia, I must inform you that Count Palatio took something from the chamber-“

[Stop.]

The goddess Sironia interrupted Yuman.

[It was I who gave it to him, so you need not worry, my child.]

“Really? Is that true?”

[Yes, if you saw what happened today, pretend you did not.]

With those words, the goddess Sironia disappeared.

And.

Kneeling in the chamber of the Holy Spirit, dazed-

‘Really, did the goddess herself bestow the relic upon Count Palatio?’

– Yuman, who was lost in thought.

“…Then, Count Palatio… is a saint like me…?”

There was no other conclusion to be drawn.