Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 382 : Magic (2)

Following Alon’s rather vibrant birthday celebration, a trio of days had elapsed since the peculiar event where an incensed Seolrang had lunged at Yutia, only to emit a small squeak and tumble headfirst onto the ground.

“Could you manage these documents—”

“Understood, brother.”

“And this one—”

“Ah, I’ll handle it, Master!”

“What are you babbling about? I was waiting before you!”

“Huh? But haven’t I got the paperwork in hand?!”

“You cut in line!”

For reasons unclear, even though the birthday festivities had long concluded, the lingering guests continued to fill Alon’s residence with boisterous activity.

He cast his gaze upon the scene unfolding.

A sheet of paper, stretched taut as if on the verge of tearing.

Ryanga and Seolrang, each gripping an end, locked eyes, their gazes burning with intensity.

Alon could only manage a sigh.

Observing anyone other than the usual assistants, Penia and Evan, bustling about his office felt decidedly peculiar, and he found himself unable to comprehend the motivation behind these two.

Even after receiving Penia’s explanation, the situation still struck him as odd; she had mentioned their current behavior was exceptionally uncommon.

Before long, Alon discerned the root cause of their peculiar actions.

It appeared to originate from the appellation ‘Sister.’

More precisely, they harbored a desire for Alon to address them as ‘Sister.’

Naturally, Alon had no inclination to bestow such a title upon anyone.

Thirteen years prior, when his memory had been lost, every woman had indeed seemed his senior, certainly—

Yet, even then, the notion of actually employing that specific term felt profoundly awkward.

Upon his initial encounter with Yutia, the word had escaped his lips almost involuntarily, but now, at his current age, deliberately calling someone ‘Sister’ felt far too embarrassing.

Crash!

As these thoughts occupied him, Ryanga and Seolrang abruptly departed, their exit marked by considerable noise.

“For someone harboring aspirations, her conduct is rather uncharacteristic,” Penia murmured, quietly resuming her work on the paperwork. Alon found himself in silent agreement.

With individuals as composed as Magrina and Historia, the term ‘Sister’ might have surfaced quite naturally.

However, in the case of Ryanga and Seolrang, such a possibility was virtually nil—they were as distant from that image as one could possibly be.

“……In any event, are we nearing completion?”

“Hmm—indeed. Once this current batch is finished, we shall be done.”

“It’s quite astonishing how much paperwork there is. Did my past self routinely handle such a demanding volume of work?”

Penia responded to his weary query.

“No, not to this extent. It wasn’t this burdensome previously.”

“Is that so?”

“Affirmative. I was present as well, and furthermore, Alexion managed the majority of the territory’s affairs himself.”

“Ah, that fellow…”

Within the game’s narrative, this very individual endured a wretched existence in the slums of Raksas—so why was he now living such a diligent, almost office-worker-like life?

This contemplation surfaced, and Alon offered a nod.

“Then, what accounts for the current abundance?”

“Well, you’ve likely observed this as you’ve reviewed them, but a significant number of matters pertain to the ‘Divine Land’ and ‘diplomacy.’’’

“Hmm, that is accurate.”

Alon recalled the substance of the documents he had processed thus far.

Her assessment was correct.

“The ‘Divine Land’ continues under Sili’s management, yet we are at the juncture where a self-sustaining system needs to be established. This surge in paperwork is a consequence of that. As for diplomacy—that is a direct result of the Divine Blood.”

“The Divine Blood…”

“Precisely. Are there not more reports than actual requests for approval?”

“That is true.”

Alon affirmed.

The majority of incoming diplomatic correspondence at present consisted of reports—

And many of these reports painted a grim picture.

“It appears the Divine Blood have commenced their active phase. You’ve likely noted this in the reports—while direct assaults have yet to occur, encounters with unusual entities are becoming increasingly frequent.”

“So, a period of heightened vigilance is required.”

“Precisely. That’s the reason for the extensive review required on your part. These particular types of reports necessitate your direct scrutiny.”

Penia gestured towards the stack of reports, already nearly two finger-joints thick.

Alon emitted a subdued groan.

’Must accelerate my efforts.’

He contemplated the optimal timing with deep consideration.

####

Three days hence.

The individuals who had convened at Alon’s residence began to depart incrementally.

“Farewell until next time, Master!”

“Indeed.”

After bidding Seolrang farewell, Alon expedited the completion of a few remaining papers and proceeded to the secondary office with Penia, moving at an uncharacteristic pace.

This day was the designated occasion.

The day he would ascertain the practical utility of the concept he had conceived, inspired by Yutia.

“Phew—”

As Alon expelled a breath within the secondary office, Penia, looking up from the documents, remarked,

“There are no significant flaws detected in the spell formula.”

“So, the success hinges entirely on my capacity to properly manifest the magic, correct?”

“Largely so. Naturally, should our underlying hypothesis prove erroneous, it might fail to produce any effect whatsoever.”

Alon briefly closed his eyes, then reopened them and conjured a sphere into his grasp.

A diminutive orb of mana—an artifact any novice mage could bring forth—flickered with a faint luminescence.

—The incantation serves to enforce the magical laws, does it not? Then why must it be vocalized?’

He recalled Yutia’s words.

The reason he had been unable to devise a suitable method for improvement until this point was his perpetual assumption that hand gestures and spoken spells were indispensable components.

These mandated elements invariably extended the casting duration.

Yet, he could not simply disregard them—

Without them, he would merely be perceived as an ‘ordinary’ mage.

Caught in that deadlock, he had reached no conclusion.

But Yutia’s advice had sparked something in him.

Her words had broadened the narrow perspective he’d been trapped in while seeking ways to “improve.”

“Fuu—”

At its core, Alon used hand signs and incantations for one reason: magical power.

But, looking deeper, the true reason was that they allowed him to connect with the laws engraved by the Divine Blood.

The power didn’t increase because of the hand signs or the words themselves—

It was because performing them brought him closer to those laws, granting his spells special properties.

In other words, the essence was simple.

Hand signs and incantations were merely tools to reach the law.

And what Alon intended to do now was—

Let’s try it.

He was attempting to change that “means.”

Staring at the glowing orb of mana hovering over his palm, Alon closed his eyes and began to gather mana again. What he was attempting now was a little different from any magic he had performed before.

This time, the spell he was creating was merely to produce a sound. A sound that resembled his own voice.

In other words, what he was about to test was whether he could replace speech itself—not by uttering words, but by using magic as the medium.

Calmly exhaling, Alon fine-tuned the spell. To make it sound as close to his own voice as possible, he had to constantly adjust multiple aspects in real time.

With his eyes closed and his focus absolute, Alon finally succeeded in creating a perfectly calibrated spell.

Refract.

With a faint crackle through the air, a subtle vibration rippled outward. Opening his eyes, Alon saw it.

“It looks like it worked?” Penia’s voice said beside him.

He looked down to see the small sphere resting in his hand, its surface trembling with tiny, tangled lines of light.

####

“The hypothesis has been proven,” Penia said after confirming the result. “So what’s your next step?”

“What do you mean exactly?” Alon asked.

“The direction of your research. Now that we know a spell can be activated simply by reproducing the syllables through magic instead of your mouth, are you planning to study how to embed those syllables directly into a spell?”

Alon nodded slightly.

“Of course, that’s worth researching. But I think it’s probably just one part of the process.”

“...One part of the process?” Penia tilted her head.

“If you can successfully compress an entire incantation into a single spell, wouldn’t that already mean you’ve solved the enhancement problem?”

“Well, that’s one way to see it.”

She wasn’t wrong. Their goal had been to minimize the time required to perform hand signs and incantations. And this new hypothesis could indeed resolve that issue at once.

“But that’s not what matters most right now.”

“...Not what matters?”

“The key point is that even if you change the means, the magic still works.”

It was true that part of his experiment was to confirm whether magic could serve as a substitute means. But that was only a byproduct.

What Alon truly wanted to confirm was the means itself.

Could magic manifest through something other than speech?

That was the essence of his test—and it had succeeded.

It signified one thing.

The method of reaching the Law was irrelevant.

Which meant—

“If the act of touching the Law matters more than how you reach it,” Alon said quietly, “then it doesn’t matter what means I use, as long as I reach it.”

“What do you—”

“The means can be changed freely.”

Penia froze for a moment, her face blank.

Then her eyes widened in sudden realization.

“No way...!”

Alon’s lips curved into a confident smile.

And at that same moment—

In the Kingdom of Fildagreen—

“My, you’re early,” Rine said softly. “Even Magrina hasn’t returned yet.”

“I had some business to take care of,” Yutia replied.

The two stood facing each other with polite smiles.

And within the shadow nearby—

Hidan trembled silently as he watched the scene unfold.

But the two women paid him no mind, gazing only at each other.

“So,” Rine said, “what business brought you here? You could’ve sent word for me to handle it.”

“Hmm—this is something I can manage on my own.”

“Ah, I see. You came to work and to tease me, is that it?”

Yutia smiled faintly. “Now what makes you think that, Rine?”

“You’re not really asking because you don’t know, are you?”

“Oh, you mean Lord’s birthday? I wasn’t teasing you about that. Why would I?”

“Really?”

“Of course. Whether you came to the party or not wouldn’t change much.”

“That sounds like teasing.”

“Oh my, does it?”

Though Yutia’s tone was mild and her words polite, something in the air hinted at hidden meaning—so much that Hidan instinctively crouched lower.

He could feel that just a few more exchanges and he’d need to run for his life.

But then—

“Well, if that’s how you want to play,” Rine said calmly, “I suppose I’ll have to tease you back.”

Contrary to Hidan’s fears, she didn’t look angry at all.

Her expression remained composed as she reached into her cloak and took something out.

And then—

[Yutia… Sister?]

As Marquis Palatio’s voice boomed from the magic orb, Yutia’s pleasant expression immediately disappeared. “Well,” she purred, “I planned to simply give it to you. But now—” Crack! The orb in Rine’s grasp fractured with an audible snap. “It seems it’s my turn to play a little game.”