Became the Patron of Villains

It had already been two weeks since Alon received the letter.

An awkward stretch of time, neither enough to really do something nor so little that he could do nothing.

However, during that time, Alon accomplished two things.

One was giving form to divine power so he could see with his own eyes what he had never been able to see before.

And the other was—

“Mmm—assuming divine power operates similarly to magic... I think it should run properly.”

the results of the research they had continued all this time.

“I certainly hope so.”

“If it doesn’t run, then it’ll take even longer to fix.”

“I see. Meaning that although magic and divine power have similar properties, the principles by which they operate are different.”

“Exactly.”

Penia nodded.

Alon fixed his gaze on the intricately drawn magic circle.

It was something he and Penia had made over the past two weeks, a magic circle related to the automation Kalannon had mentioned.

‘On the design level, it’s perfect.’

If the magic circle operated correctly,

then once Alon gave divine power to a specific Apostle, that Apostle would receive 80% of the faith they sent to Alon back for themselves.

Wooooong—!

Alon once more used the faith he had learned from Kalannon and grown familiar with.

Then divinity flowed out of his body like mist and settled into place.

“Hoo—”

After catching his breath for a moment, he began drawing the magic circle using divine power.

Strictly speaking, it was closer to drawing a path than drawing a magic circle.

...Anyway, while he did so, Alon thought,

‘If I had my way, I’d rather research how to leave seeds in those who have faith before this.’

Regrettably, he had not been able to research that second part yet.

First of all, the research Kalannon had mentioned needed to come first, and more importantly, he had no idea where to even begin.

Since the Divine blood in Babiloia had created the True Mages that way, it was entirely possible for Alon as well.

According to the Blue-Eared One, he too was Divine blood.

But even if the possibility was open, he had absolutely no sense of [N O V E L I G H T] where he should start.

That was why he had chosen the side that could be researched relatively quickly first.

‘Once I return from the tower, I’ll need to begin researching it immediately.’

Soon, he withdrew the hand that had been drawing the magic circle.

“Hoo—”

He let out a breath and stretched.

“It isn’t easy.”

“Ah, did you finish drawing all of it?”

Penia looked toward Alon as she asked.

Alon gave a short nod and spoke of the next step.

“Now that the preparations are finished, all that remains is to test it.”

“Mmm, right. I hope it works immediately. Who are you thinking of trying it on first?”

Alon thought for a moment, then spoke a name.

“It’ll have to be Sili or Seamus.”

“Mmm? That’s a little unexpected.”

“In what way?”

“Well, Sili I expected, but with Ryang-a and Historia here too, Seamus is the one that feels a little unexpected.”

Penia tilted her head, thinking of the person who had been standing near the entrance with that intimidating face.

“This is important because faith matters above all else.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Penia let out a little exclamation at Alon’s answer.

She had forgotten for a moment.

“You’re right. The whole structure depends on faith in the first place.”

“Exactly.”

“Then Sili and Seamus do seem like the best choices. Though in Seamus’s case, it’s a little unsettling since we haven’t seen him in a long time—but still, you can take back the divine power you bestowed whenever you want.”

Penia was right.

As Alon nodded, one fact suddenly occurred to him.

‘Come to think of it, there’s something else I need to test too.’

The part he had thought of a few days earlier also needed its own separate test.

He rose from his seat and walked over to Penia.

“Hm?”

Penia looked bewildered by Alon’s sudden approach.

But Alon paid it no mind, brought his face close to hers, and looked at her.

“Eh.”

An odd sound slipped out of Penia at the even more sudden action.

“M-my Lord Alon?”

Unlike before, her voice had somehow grown timid.

Alon called her name.

“Penia.”

“Yes...?”

“Do you believe in me?”

“...Believe in you, my Lord Alon?”

Alon nodded and came even closer.

“Yes.”

“A-all of a sudden, like this?”

For a moment, Penia’s eyes darted around, clearly trying to process what kind of situation this was, then she let out an awkward laugh.

“Ah— ahhh— this is about that, right? The faith thing.”

Penia held her breath so awkwardly it looked like she might hiccup at any moment.

However—

“It isn’t.”

“Eh.”

At that answer, Penia froze.

“No, um— what?”

“Do you believe in me?”

As he asked again, her panic became obvious.

“No, I mean, of course I do, but— this, um... I mean, this situation all of a sudden is a little surprising, or a little... like that? But I don’t hate it, no, yes, um... I mean, of course I don’t hate it, but since something like this suddenly happened without any warning, I’m a little not prepared, posture-wise, I mean—”

She rambled on incoherently.

But at the very last moment—

“Th-that is... right... I do... believe in you...?”

—she turned her head slightly aside and quietly let the truth slip out.

Alon nodded.

####

“...What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s just... I mean... I kind of expected it anyway... yes.”

Alon looked puzzled at Penia, who was staring ahead with a strangely dried-out expression.

She let out a sigh.

“So... you want to test whether I can use your magic too, right?”

“Yes.”

Penia dropped her head.

Then she muttered something under her breath for a moment.

“Hoo—!”

After steadying her breathing, she changed the mood at once.

“But will that even work?”

“To be honest, I can’t say for certain.”

According to the Blue-Eared One, Alon had essentially gained the exact same ability as the black eye that had been attached to it.

Which meant that if it had done something, Alon could do it too.

The problem, however, was that he did not know the method.

“...Mmm, should we approach this the same way we did faith this time too?”

“That’s what I’m thinking for now.”

“...So that’s why you asked earlier whether I believed in you.”

Alon nodded.

“Ahem... To be honest, I can’t really get a feel for this one. Producing gods in bulk by scattering seeds at least follows the principles of this world to some degree, so structurally speaking it didn’t sound completely wrong... But this is more like copying or granting the same ability, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“...Then... mmm?”

“What is it?”

“No, it’s just such an obvious thought that I almost missed it. But if you really think about it, your True Mage magic is ultimately a god’s ability too, isn’t it, my Lord Alon?”

“Mmm.”

“And usually those Apostles use abilities like that from their god.”

“...That’s true.”

“Then if I just become your Apostle, wouldn’t I be able to use magic too?”

At Penia’s conclusion, Alon stopped speaking for a moment.

“...Does it work like that?”

“Wouldn’t it...?”

Without waiting any longer, Alon pushed divine power into her.

“Ooh...?”

The very moment he did, blue light burst from Penia’s body.

Penia let out an exclamation of wonder, but only for a moment.

“Would you like to try it?”

“Yes, I’ll try.”

She immediately began preparing magic, but—

“M-my Lord Alon?”

“What is it?”

“...I think I’ll probably need a little time before I can confirm it.”

“Why is that?”

“I helped you a lot on the theoretical side, but actually using it right away might be a little too much.”

It was difficult for now.

She needed a little more time.

Three days later,

as planned, he planted seeds in Seamus and Sili.

Around the time the group’s preparations to leave the Divine Land and head for the Central Tower of the continent were nearly complete—

“My Lord Alon!”

“What is it?”

“I did it!”

Penia came running over with a flushed face and shouted.

Alon’s eyes widened.

####

Kaland, the youngest vice tower master of the Purple Mage Tower and also Norton’s disciple, was extremely dissatisfied at this moment.

Naturally, there were many reasons.

The first was that, despite not having enough time even if he devoted himself entirely to magical research, he had been dragged out and forced into construction labor to build a castle.

The second was that, as if that were not enough, he had been ordered to deliver an urgent message to the King of Palantia.

...And that urgent message was the absurd question of whether it would be acceptable to add one more castle.

Of course, Kaland knew how things stood.

To begin with, as vice tower master, he was already helping the tower master with the operation of the tower, even if only a little.

Even aside from that, he more or less understood why the two tower masters were so fired up over castle construction.

And why it was him, rather than some other mage, who had now been sent to deliver the message with as much courtesy as possible.

That did not mean his dissatisfaction went away.

“How did I end up like this—”

His shoulders drooping, Kaland was trudging toward the Divine Land when—

“?”

two familiar figures entered his sight in the distance.

One was the King of Palantia he had come to meet, Palatio Alon.

The other was Penia Crysinne, vice tower master of the Blue Mage Tower and rumored to be Alon’s right hand, and she currently had a small mana sphere formed in her hand.

For a moment he only wondered at the scene.

‘I don’t know why they’re outside, but I guess there’s no need to go all the way in.’

It did not seem particularly important, so Kaland walked closer to where the two were standing.

And then, in that instant,

his eyes flew wide open.

Because—

“Refraction.”

a spell phrase flowed from Penia’s lips.

At the same time,

the mana sphere that had been ordinary just moments ago began rotating in a nonlinear pattern.

And the moment he saw that—

“!”

shock spread across Kaland’s face.

‘Th-that’s... Palatio’s magic...?’

Among mages, Palatio’s magic was famous.

It could not be otherwise.

His magic possessed a destructive force greater than any magic ever invented,

and any mage who had seen it even once would never be able to forget how shocking it was.

‘Then why...!?’

Palatio’s magic could only be used by him alone.

As if a god had granted that principle to him and him alone.

That was certainly how it should have been.

And yet Penia Crysinne had used a fragment of Palatio’s magic.

The scene before his eyes was that unreal.

While he stood there stunned,

“See? I’m still a little clumsy with it, but it worked, right?!”

“...Certainly. This proves beyond doubt that if someone receives my blessing, they can use magic.”

the conversation between the two reached him.

‘...Just by receiving Palatio Alon’s blessing... someone can use that magic?’

Suddenly, Kaland remembered that moment.

Back at the Central Mage Tower, the instant Palatio Alon had created a sun.

And then—

‘Q-quickly—’

Watching Alon and Penia’s figures disappear into the distance,

‘Quickly, I have to tell them!’

he hurriedly ran back the way he had come.

For one purpose alone—

to inform the tower master of the miracle he had just seen and heard.