Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 557: A Flash (6)

Creeeak—

With the sound of hinges closing shut.

“......”

Silence descended after Reber finished his report and left.

Evan skimmed through the additional report Reber had left behind.

“Hm—”

Letting out a short hum, he set the report down on the desk.

Soon after, he interlocked his fingers behind his head and leaned the chair backward.

Creeeak—

The chair teetered precariously as it balanced itself.

It was a posture Evan instinctively took whenever he fell into deep thought alone, a habit formed long ago.

Then why had he suddenly sunk into thought?

Because there was something serious in the report Reber handed over?

No.

There were certainly things in the report that gave Evan a headache, but not enough to make him lose himself in contemplation.

Was it because, despite having worked nonstop since morning until now, more work had piled up again, leaving him with a strange sense of emptiness?

......At first, even Evan himself thought that was the reason.

He wondered if the gloomy feeling after receiving the report was simply exhaustion.

But soon, he shook his head.

No.

That wasn’t it.

Evan knew.

“Hoo—”

He hadn’t been like this before, but at some point, his sighs had started increasing.

Evan looked around.

The scenery surrounding him was the same as always.

The office he had changed piece by piece at first because he couldn’t adapt to its extravagance.

A scenery that brought him more peace than anything else.

“......”

Evan idly touched the desk.

The exact same texture he had felt a very long time ago flowed across his fingertips.

......No, was it truly the same texture as that desk back then?

“......Has it already been fourteen years?”

Fourteen years.

The amount of time Evan had remained behind alone in this halted past.

Of course, the world itself was still moving.

And yet, strangely enough, Evan felt as though this world had stopped.

He was certainly aging.

Certainly growing stronger.

Certainly becoming more experienced.

And yet despite all that, for some reason, Evan felt as though he himself had stopped moving.

......As though he alone had.

“......”

Even now, Evan did not regret his choice.

He was never the type to look backward so much that he would regret a decision he himself had made, and even if he returned to that moment now, he would make the exact same choice again.

Because he did not doubt for even a second that it had been the correct decision.

But even knowing that himself, the occasional waves of gloom never disappeared easily, and so Evan remained lost in thought with a vacant expression for a long while before—

“Tch.”

Clicking his tongue, he returned the chair to its original position and thought to himself.

Don’t wallow in self-pity.

The choice had already been made, and the deed was done.

Time could not be reversed.

And even if time were reversed, he would still make the same choice.

Then there was no reason to feel depressed.

Instead—

“......I should probably make it soon.”

Evan pulled a ring from inside his clothes.

It was a ring.

The very ring that had once rested in his hand fourteen years ago.

There wasn’t even any special pattern engraved on it, but Evan knew whose ring it was.

And he also knew where it had to be placed.

“Seriously...... I never expected it to turn out like this at first......”

Without realizing it, Evan recalled that moment.

A memory now so old it had become faint.

Yet the sentence itself remained painfully vivid.

‘A friend named Palaon made it.’

“......It really is strange.”

Evan murmured unconsciously.

Why had Alon back then known that name?

‘......I wonder if they’re doing well.’

Absentmindedly, Evan turned his gaze to the side.

What he saw were two desks and two statues.

Evan wondered what it would be like if he could see them just one more time.

Just once, he wanted to casually ask whether they had been doing well all this time, what they had been up to.

But naturally, that could never happen.

Because that was what it meant to be the one left behind.

How much time passed like that?

“Pull yourself together.”

Smack—

Evan slapped both cheeks to shake off the gloomy feeling.

“They’re probably doing well.”

Yeah.

They were surely doing well.

Even while grieving over sacrifices, they would eventually stand back up and keep moving forward.

Because they were that kind of people.

‘So I should do what I need to do as well.’

With that thought, Evan tucked the ring back inside his clothes and picked up the report once more.

And at that moment—

Creeeak—

The door opened.

A very small sound.

Evan frowned slightly in confusion.

The only person capable of opening this door like that should have been Reber, but he had already left.

So—

“What, did you forget someth—”

Evan lifted his gaze.

“Uh—?”

Then a blank sound escaped him.

Because the one entering through the opened door was not Reber.

But someone else.

Someone Evan knew very well.

Someone else.

And so Evan stared blankly ahead.

####

The day after hearing the story from Rine.

Alon, who had been staying in the lord’s castle, decided to return to his territory immediately.

If possible, it would have been better to properly rest and recuperate before moving again, but too much time had already been spent for that.

Far longer than he had expected.

Compared to the original schedule, nearly twice as much time had passed.

‘Though I also promised to meet Arculainysis before leaving.’

Even so, Alon decided he should first return to Palantia once before coming back.

[So I finally get to fly again—!]

Basiliora spoke excitedly.

“You seem way too excited......”

[Kyuu—]

At Basiliora’s behavior, Penia spoke as though she couldn’t quite understand it, while beside her Blackie nodded as if agreeing.

Yet despite their strangely reproachful reactions, Basiliora seemed completely unconcerned.

[Alon, hurry and give me power—!]

Instead, it stared at Alon with sparkling eyes.

Telling Basiliora to wait for a moment, Alon gathered his magic power and looked toward the group.

Everyone’s complexion looked far better than yesterday.

Their exhaustion likely had not fully faded yet, but the atmosphere around Alon’s party was undeniably much brighter than before.

Because the others had also heard the story Rine told yesterday.

‘Of course, even after thinking about it over and over, I still have no idea what Evan was thinking—’

During the past day, Alon had continued trying to deduce Evan’s intentions, but naturally, he could not figure out any answer.

With the knowledge he possessed, he simply could not imagine how Evan—left behind alone in the past without even a strange text phenomenon—could possibly return here.

At times, he even wondered if it was impossible.

But despite that, Alon’s heart still felt lighter.

Because no matter how difficult it was even to speculate about it, the possibility itself still existed.

A possibility called hope.

Thinking that far, Alon soon turned his gaze toward Rine.

Rine smiled at him as though she had been waiting.

“Then I’ll say my goodbye here, Godfather.”

“......You said you had something to do?”

“Yes.”

At Alon’s words, Rine nodded.

“I’ll see you next time, Godfather.”

“Understood. And thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

With smiling farewells exchanged—

Alon’s group began moving toward Palantia.

####

About a week after Alon crossed the Empire and began heading toward Palantia.

After swiftly leaving the Empire’s territory and passing through the neutral zone, Alon briefly found himself thinking about Evan again out of habit.

Then, at the campsite that now felt somewhat emptier, Alon heard about a strange incident that had occurred in the Allied Kingdoms during his absence.

“......Kingdoms were destroyed?”

“Yes. They weren’t any of the major kingdoms, just smaller ones, but apparently they collapsed while we were away.”

“......Could it be Divine blood?”

At Alon’s question—

Penia shook her head.

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. There were too many strange details for it to have been done by Divine blood.”

“Strange details?”

“Yes. For example, only the royal castles were destroyed, while ordinary civilians survived.”

At Penia’s words, Alon made a strange expression.

Because now that he thought about it, there really were odd points.

If it truly had been Divine blood, they wouldn’t have simply destroyed the royal castles. They would have gained power from it instead.

For a moment, silence lingered.

“Ah, and we also received a message.”

At Penia’s next words, Alon tilted his head.

“......A message?”

“Yes. It’s from Reinysius. What should we do?”

Penia asked carefully.

Ever since returning from the past, she had been watching Alon’s mood.

......Most likely because of Evan.

Certainly, a small amount of hope had appeared, but the fact that Evan had ultimately sacrificed himself had not changed.

And Penia also understood.

How long Evan and Alon had spent together.

Feeling a quiet sense of gratitude toward Penia’s consideration, Alon spoke.

“Let’s receive it.”

The moment Alon said that, Penia immediately handed over the crystal orb.

Alon took it and poured magic power into it.

Soon—

Woooong—

With a low hum, a familiar and welcome face appeared.

[It’s been a while.]

“Yes. Something came up, so it was difficult to contact you.”

[I roughly know already. I heard about it.]

Reinysius spoke matter-of-factly.

As soon as Alon nodded, Reinysius continued.

[I’ll hear everything properly once you return anyway, but I contacted you first because there are things I need to report and discuss.]

“What is it?”

[Simple. First, the experiment you mentioned before is progressing quite successfully.]

“The experiment......”

Alon murmured quietly before recalling what Reinysius was referring to.

‘We were trying to create a system in Divine Land that automatically supplies divine power.’

Things had remained chaotic both during the trip to the past and after returning, so only then did Alon finally remember it as he nodded.

“......Sounds like it’s going well.”

[And second, the preparations are complete.]

“......Preparations?”

[Yes. Didn’t you request it last time? You asked me to prepare a way for you to enter the Prison of Time again.]

Hearing that from Reinysius, Alon nodded once more.

He certainly had made that request.

And then—

“......Ah?”

A sound escaped from Alon.

[? What is it?]

Reinysius asked at Alon’s sudden reaction.

But Alon did not respond to him.

Instead, he recalled something Reinysius had once told him before.

‘When I entered that subspace, it wasn’t only the forgotten gods of ancient times that were there. There were figures from even older eras that I had never seen before.’

‘But most of them were in a state similar to Kylrus. As though they were imprisoned in their prime, without a single wound upon them. Some among them even possessed strength I couldn’t comprehend.’

Words Reinysius had spoken to him long ago.

And at the same time, a memory surfaced in Alon’s mind.

The memory of entering that space.

Back then, he had seen a man there.

A man who should not possibly have existed in such a place, yet somehow carried a strangely familiar presence.

He had only seen his back.

But the feeling had been deeply familiar.

......As though he had spent an incredibly long time together with that person.

“Ah.”

A realization escaped Alon’s lips.

The answer—

Was not far away.