Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 562: Identity (5)

Penia let out an “Eck—” as though she had suddenly realized something strange.

“Why did you suddenly make that sound?”

Turning toward her with a puzzled look, Kylrus asked.

Penia thought deeply about something for a moment before shaking her head.

“......No, it’s nothing.”

“?”

Kylrus wore a questioning expression.

But separately from that, Alon thought Penia’s decision was the correct one.

Well, in truth, the two of them were only guessing based on Reinysius’s reaction back then. His actual thoughts could have been completely different.

......Hm.

Different, right? Probably.......

“Ahem—”

Clearing his throat while thinking that, Alon spoke.

“So, how long are you planning to stay like that?”

“In this state?”

Kylrus briefly stroked her chin before answering.

“Well...... naturally, I’ll stop once I fully understand the Imagery. Though if you’re asking when I’ll completely understand it, let’s see....... It could take only a few months, but it might take much longer.”

“It’s not as though I can instantly understand it just because I want to,” Kylrus added afterward.

Looking at her, Alon continued.

“......Can you really maintain it as long as you want?”

“Mm, of course. From what I heard, all you need to do is receive the blessing and you become a woman.”

......Then how do you turn back into a man?

Alon nearly asked that before shaking his head.

He did not particularly want to know, for several reasons.

Instead, he changed the subject.

“Have you been spending all your time researching Imagery lately?”

“Well, yes. Though I’m not busy. I’m simply focusing on research.”

“Then could I ask a favor?”

Kylrus lightly nodded.

“Could you help Penia a little?”

“Me?”

Penia pointed at herself with a finger as though wondering whether she had heard correctly.

But Kylrus, acting as though Penia’s reaction did not matter in the slightest, looked directly at her.

“Hmm......? Hooh?”

Only now did she seem to notice something about Penia, her face turning curious.

“What is this? How fascinating. An Imagery? No— no, not that...... this is—”

And then, as though realizing something, her entire face filled with interest.

“Would it be possible?” Alon asked.

Kylrus stared at Penia for a long while before nodding.

“If what you said is merely the basics, then it should be entirely possible. On top of that, she seems to possess rather interesting qualities.”

“Interesting qualities?”

Even when Alon asked again, Kylrus gave no real answer and instead questioned Penia.

“Penia Crysinne. Do you know what exactly you created?”

“......Huh? Me? Uh-uhm...... well, I did establish my Origin in that direction to better use the language of True Mages......”

Penia answered awkwardly.

“Hoh—”

Apparently pleased by something, Kylrus grinned and nodded.

“Good. I’ll take responsibility for this one.”

“You have my thanks.”

Alon nodded and looked toward Penia.

Seeing her still wearing a completely bewildered expression, as though she had yet to properly grasp the flow of the conversation, Alon thought:

‘Truthfully, I hadn’t planned to train her this way.’

Up until now, Alon had never directly pushed any of the companions traveling with him toward growth like this.

There were two reasons.

The first was because he disliked suppressing their freedom through his own unilateral decisions when they themselves did not desire it.

And the second was because he believed he alone could somehow overcome any adversity.

......No, more accurately, he simply did not want to place even heavier burdens on the two people who were already struggling just to follow him.

That was the arrogance and optimism Alon secretly carried inside himself.

The arrogance of believing that he could protect everyone.

The optimism of believing that no matter how powerful an enemy appeared, things would somehow work out.

But through the battle against Al-Akulakka, Alon had realized it.

His power alone was insufficient to protect everyone.

And that was why Evan had been pushed into such a situation.

Of course, Alon would continue growing stronger endlessly.

Divine Land was continuously increasing his divine power, building up strength capable of protecting the world.

And the completed system built from the past was already preparing to elevate him to an even higher level.

The power of creation possessed by him alone was the same.

But even that was not enough.

Because Alon had already seen it.

He had witnessed with his own eyes the War Karma Throne, possessing power so overwhelming it sent chills through him.

He had also witnessed Al-Akulakka, who still possessed terrifying strength despite abandoning all of its power.

Perhaps sensing Alon’s thoughts—

Penia, who had been wearing a puzzled expression only moments ago—

“Understood. I’ll work hard.”

—suddenly smiled brightly for some reason, as though she understood his intentions.

Seeing Penia understand his meaning immediately without him needing to explain further, Alon gave a small nod.

Right after that—

“Then let’s step outside for a moment.”

“Huh? We’re not done talking yet though?”

“Even if we stay here, there isn’t much else for us to discuss anyway. So come along.”

By the time Kylrus dragged Penia away, saying she wanted to conduct a few rough experiments—

“Mm— then I’ll continue the report?”

“Go ahead.”

Alon was able to hear further reports about Divine Land from Sili.

About fifteen minutes passed.

And after listening to her summary during that time, Alon concluded the contents could ultimately be reduced to three major points.

“So to summarize, even among those offering more than enough faith, many still fail to develop abilities?”

“Yes. But it’s difficult to determine exactly why. I thought it was something Lord Alon should know about as well.”

The first issue concerned the structure of Divine Land itself.

“And also, I’ve been thinking it might be time to build the temple soon. What do you think?”

“The temple? Isn’t one already built?”

“Ah, I mean the central temple. Since things have been this way for such a long time now.”

“Mm— now that you mention it, that’s true.”

The second issue concerned the construction of Divine Land’s central temple.

And the third—

“......What is this?”

“They’re offerings dedicated to you, Lord Alon!”

“Offerings?”

“Yes.”

—was a report regarding the offerings presented to Alon.

“......These are offerings?”

“Yes.”

Alon stared blankly at the table.

Instead of gold or jewels, what covered the surface were potion bottles.

Dozens of potion bottles, each radiating colorful light in different shades.

Alon shifted his gaze.

“What exactly are these?”

“They’re elixirs!”

“Elixirs?”

“Yes! They were all crafted at the highest possible level specifically to be presented to you, Lord Alon!”

Sili’s words left Alon looking puzzled.

But then—

“......Crafted?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t tell me...... this is the same thing Kylrus drank?”

“Mm, only this section here!”

At Alon’s question, Sili quickly pointed toward one of the rainbow-colored potions at the edge.

“......Only that one?”

“To be exact, these three nearby bottles as well!”

“And the rest......?”

“Mm— these are Elixirs of Mental Rejuvenation and Elixirs of Rejuvenation! Ah, though those two only have temporary effects!”

Sili pointed at the rainbow-colored potions while explaining.

“Ah, and this one here is simply an Elixir of Regeneration.”

“......An Elixir of Regeneration?”

“Yes. Rather than something you drink during battle, it smooths your skin if consumed! Permanently too!”

“So it’s basically a beauty elixir?”

“Mm— for you, Lord Alon, the effect would probably only amount to that much! Everyone heard you were coming, so they all offered these to you!”

Hearing the excitement in Sili’s voice, Alon silently stared at the elixirs.

Three bottles here, four there, five elsewhere, and twelve bottles of the Elixir of Regeneration.

But that was only understandable because Sili had explained them.

Visually, none of them looked distinguishable from one another at all.

One could probably try to drink a regeneration elixir and accidentally consume something completely different instead.

“......Can you actually tell them apart?”

“Mm? You can’t? This one’s the Elixir of Regeneration, this one’s Rejuvenation, and this one’s Mental Rejuvenation.”

“.......”

Alon suddenly felt as though he had stepped into one of those scenes from a comic.

‘What do you mean? They all look completely different!’

‘Honestly, people who know nothing about elixirs are hopeless! Look more carefully!’

That sort of feeling.

“I’ll gratefully accept them.”

In the end, Alon decided to take the elixirs.

......Naturally, he had absolutely no desire to bring them with him since he had no use for them whatsoever, but rejecting the sincerity of people who had prepared offerings for him also felt wrong.

And above all—

“Yes! I’m sure the others will be really happy too.”

—Sili was wearing a strangely nervous expression.

So Alon accepted the elixirs.

####

Two days later.

While Alon spent his time seriously investigating the abilities that had appeared within Divine Land—

A full-scale war was taking place inside Palantia’s administrative office.

Because the speed at which Nangwon processed paperwork was utterly absurd.

Of course, at first glance, one might think faster paperwork processing should create a more peaceful environment.

Unfortunately, reality was the complete opposite.

Paradoxically, the reason was Nangwon.

Paperwork usually ended in one of two ways.

Either the document was approved by upper management exactly as it was.

Or it was rejected and sent back down.

Naturally, both cases consumed resources.

Whether one needed to deliver approved decisions or explain the reasons behind rejections, the result was the same.

But ordinarily, that alone would never create a situation resembling a battlefield.

There was only one person handling matters at the top, while dozens of people below handled the results.

But at this very moment—

“I-it came back—!”

“What do you mean it came back!? Get back out there!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“Why are you leaving empty-handed!? Take all of this with you too!!”

“......Excuse me? What is this......? I already took all of mine this morning— did someone else’s work get mixed into mine?”

“No, it’s yours.”

“S-someone help me here! The rejection requests never end—!”

“That’s not the issue right now! If approvals were finalized today, then all of them need to be distributed immediately! Finish processing everything first!”

Those dozens of administrative workers were waging war.

Despite being alone, Nangwon was handling enough work for hundreds of people all by herself with terrifying efficiency, causing the entire system to enter a state of emergency instead.

As a result, everyone was screaming while drowning in work.

And among them—

“Ugh......”

Alexion sat buried beneath towering piles of documents, wearing an exhausted expression.

Of course, compared to the external staff who were fighting like maniacs on the front lines, Alexion’s office could still technically be called peaceful.

Even so, his expression looked anything but pleased.

Because of the contents of the document he was currently reviewing.

It was a development proposal regarding the autonomous district that would soon be sent up to Nangwon.

Of course, there was nothing strange about the proposal itself.

Honestly speaking, it was a fairly ordinary development proposal.

But the reason his expression looked so grim was intuition.

The intuition sharpened through years of working this job.

Especially when it involved His Majesty, intuition that almost never failed.

No— honestly, it could hardly even be called intuition anymore.

Srrk—

—because recognizing with certainty that something inevitable was about to happen could no longer truly be called intuition.

And then—

[World Tree Treaty Proposal for Formal Diplomatic Relations with Palantia.]

“......So it’s finally come.”

The moment he turned the page and saw the proposal that was undoubtedly only the beginning—

Alexion squeezed his eyes shut.

Thinking that starting tonight, peaceful sleep would probably become impossible due to the sudden arrival of uninvited guests.