Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 619: Tier (7)

Siyan closed her mouth for an instant.

Her expression was somewhat subtle.

Siyan had been looking at Yutia as if trying to determine whether the words she had just heard were sincere or false, then she lightly scratched her head.

“Is that important?”

“It is important, yes?”

Yutia smiled.

Of course, only her mouth was smiling. Her eyes were not, so Siyan let out a hollow laugh.

“It was a joke.”

“It did not look that way, though?”

“.......”

Siyan closed her mouth again.

......Well, it was true that she could not say it was entirely a joke.

But that did not mean she was sincere either.

If one had to specify, would it not be about half serious and half joking?

Siyan was the king of a nation, and she needed someone to inherit the future.

“Hmm-hmm—”

But that did not mean she wanted to die, so Siyan audibly cleared her throat and looked at Yutia.

Yutia was still smiling.

“I apologize. But I will say it again. It was a joke.”

Siyan said that.

The nobles might say, 'Isn’t the king of a nation yielding far too much to a cardinal whose whole country has collapsed?' but Siyan knew.

How strong she was.

No, how she possessed a power that could not be expressed simply with the word “strong.”

That was not all.

Siyan knew that the girl before her could, if something did not sit right with her, calmly commit an act that would leave everyone horrified.

Of course, the current Siyan did not know, but because she had “memories,” she could not help but know.

That was why, while looking at Yutia’s eyes, which were still stiff, Siyan continued.

“By the way, how did you hear about that conversation?”

“Are you curious?”

“Rather than curious...... I do not think he would like it very much.”

At Siyan’s words, Yutia’s pupils trembled for a moment.

......For someone who could blow away even a nation with one finger if it displeased her to care that much about one person’s evaluation really was fascinating, Siyan thought briefly.

“Hmm-hmm—”

Yutia pointlessly turned her head, coughed a few times, and then continued.

“It is for security.”

“......For security?”

“Yes. And besides, right now, it is not operating twenty-four hours a day, and there are restrictions in several ways.”

“......?”

When Siyan looked at Yutia with an expression that seemed to ask, 'Then before, it was running twenty-four hours continuously......?' Yutia cleared her throat once more.

“Anyway—from now on, it would be better not to make jokes like that, yes?”

“.......”

There were several things that bothered her, but Siyan did not bother asking back.

Because she had become certain that if she asked why, the situation might pointlessly become worse than it was now.

So instead, she nodded.

“Mm— good.”

Yutia nodded as if satisfied.

And then, the next moment.

“.......”

She disappeared.

As if she had never been there from the beginning.

But even in that situation, Siyan only let out a thoughtful sound and quietly looked at the place where Yutia had been sitting.

Because she knew Yutia’s ability to some extent, even if not in detail.

After looking at that place for a while, Siyan murmured quietly.

“Still, seeing as she only left a warning instead of a threat like before...... I suppose she really has grown. Well—”

She wiped away the cold sweat that had run down her forehead.

“If she had not grown, I might have died—”

####

From the next day on, Alon worked with Heinkel as usual to interpret the 7th-tier magic formulas.

However, if there was one additional task that had been added—

“......A law?”

“Yes.”

—it was that time to discuss Alon’s law with Heinkel had begun to be inserted in between.

“Mm—”

After hearing the explanation, Heinkel made a thoughtful sound and showed signs of deep contemplation.

“So, like the laws those Karma Seats have, the law you possess is that, right? Placing a restriction and gaining something through that restriction.”

“That is correct.”

“......Specifically, what kind of restrictions can you place?”

“It seems most things are possible for the most part, but I have not been able to experiment.”

“Why......? No, I suppose I should not ask that. That law—you said it cannot be restored, right?”

“That is correct.”

Alon’s law was, at its foundation, the sort of law that allowed him to become stronger based on what could be called “restriction,” by giving up something precious and receiving something greater than that in return.

However, just as much as it granted great power through restriction, what was given up could not be restored.

“Hmm—”

At Alon’s words, Heinkel rubbed her chin and thought before speaking.

“Then what about, hypothetically speaking, a restriction that is not much of a restriction?”

“For example—?”

“I am asking whether restrictions that use something trivial to obtain a major gain can be placed. Mm— something like raising your magic tier itself by two tiers from where it is now in exchange for never eating sweet potatoes for the rest of your life?”

“Ah, since sweet potatoes are that precious to you, maybe that one is a bit different,” Heinkel added.

Alon shook his head.

“I am not that fixated on eating sweet potatoes—but when the restriction is weak in that way, the power does not activate.”

“......Really?”

“Yes. I recently had an occasion to use it once, so I tried it, and I was able to understand that much.”

When Alon spoke while recalling the time he had placed a law on Deus, Heinkel made a thoughtful sound and answered.

“This is a bit of a strange thing to say, but it really is an ambiguous law.”

“As expected, is it?”

“At least from how I feel, a little? In short, it is not easy to calculate the risk. Especially when it comes to the restriction part.”

Heinkel continued.

“The restriction of your law determines the gain value according to how massive that restriction is, like a fixed risk, so to speak, right? But the problem is what standard that risk is based on. From what I have heard so far, it seems to be based on that person, but—”

Heinkel wore a subtle expression.

“If it gives a return based on what each person considers precious, that seems too absurd.”

“That is...... true, I suppose.”

“Right? For example, if you use your ability on creatures like goblins who like shiny things, you might be able to make them absurdly strong, couldn’t you? In exchange for consuming things like shiny jewels.”

“Ah, in the first place, maybe it would not activate then,” Heinkel murmured, then continued.

“Since we cannot experiment, it will be a little troublesome to figure out, but even so, I think we need to clearly find out at least one thing through experimentation.”

“......You mean regarding the restriction?”

“Yes. We need to know what kind of structure your ‘restriction’ is input through so you can use it with the highest expected value. Still, if that is the case, the issue is who will serve as the subject for law experiments—”

“Let us gradually gather volunteers for that,” Heinkel added.

“Ah—!”

Then, as if a good idea had occurred to her, she clapped her palms together.

“......What is it?”

At Alon’s following question, Heinkel spoke.

“Do you want to try experimenting on me once?”

“Suddenly......? On you, Lady Heinkel?”

At Alon’s bewildered reaction, Heinkel answered energetically.

“Yeah! Now that I think about it, it seems like it would be pretty good. And wouldn’t it be better for me to do it than putting other mages on the experiment table?”

“......Uh.”

Alon briefly thought, 'Even so, isn’t that a little dangerous?'

But at Heinkel’s repeated words, Alon nodded with an awkward expression, as if he understood.

“Then let us proceed that way for now. However, we will not experiment with any excessive laws.”

“Mm, you mean large restrictions, right? Of course, I have no intention of doing that either. In the first place, it cannot be reversed, and if we did that, it would no longer be a simple experiment.”

“Mm-hmm—!” Heinkel nodded and asked.

“So, what do I have to do now?”

“Mm— first, you simply tell me what you want to do.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm—”

Heinkel nodded again.

“Mm-hmm—”

She nodded again, Heinkel...... did?

“......?”

For a moment, doubt bloomed at the sight of her nodding without saying anything, as if she had broken.

Then, just as Alon confirmed that the speed of her nodding was gradually slowing and was about to open his mouth—

“Ahem—”

Heinkel cleared her throat as if she had made up her mind and glanced at Alon.

“Um.”

“Yes.”

“The law really can do anything, right?”

“......? As I said, as long as there is a restriction, anything should be possible.”

After confirming Alon’s ability again and again, Heinkel murmured, “I see,” then continued.

“You know.”

“Yes.”

“This is only an experiment, so that is why I am trying it, all right?”

“......Yes?”

“Hmm-hmm— you know? Then, how about growing about five centimeters taller in exchange for completely forgetting 1st-tier magic?”

“......1st-tier magic for five centimeters......?”

“Ah, is that a little too small? Then what about 2nd-tier magic for five centimeters?”

“Uh.......”

“What about 3rd tier for five centimeters...... would that not work?”

They had definitely been talking about an experiment at first, but at some point, Heinkel was earnestly negotiating with Alon, and Alon’s heart grew complicated for a moment.

“F-Fourth tier might be fine too....... But that is too big, so maybe about seven centimeters....... No, 6.5 centimeters.......”

At Heinkel’s continuing words, Alon realized.

That she was even more serious about her height than he had thought.

####

In conclusion, Heinkel’s height did not grow.

To be more precise, it would be more correct to say Alon’s law did not react.

“Even with the law of Divine blood, my height will not increase......?”

Because of that, for some reason, Heinkel’s mind broke, but that was a separate matter.

Rather, through that, Heinkel and Alon obtained concrete data regarding Alon’s law and became able to define the law a little more precisely than before.

Thanks to that, by the time about three weeks had passed, after continuing to research the law, Alon and Heinkel were able to make an unexpected discovery.

That was, Alon became able to feel the sense of incongruity from before the law activated.

Because of that, the research progressed a little further.

Along with that—

“Hoo—”

Alon’s magic was naturally developing as well.

Alon closed the fourth volume, which he had already read through dozens of times.

He had mastered the fourth spell of the 7th tier.

That meant Alon had, before he knew it, reached the level of a proficient 7th tier.

And it was the same as saying he had decoded about three more books since the moment they had discovered the code that said Lord Alon.

Thus.

“It is complete.”

“......It was three volumes.”

“Right. I thought it would not end with this volume either.”

Alon and Heinkel were able to find the hidden message in the next 7th-tier spell.

And there—

“But—”

“......They are numbers.”

“Yes. I checked to see whether I had calculated it wrong, but they are numbers. Well, this is quite good news for you.”

“......This is?”

Alon asked back while looking at the enormous amount of numbers Heinkel had scribbled across the huge notebook.

At that, Heinkel grinned.

“Yeah. This—”

She declared.

“They are coordinates.”

“......Coordinates?”

“Yeah. I do not know where they lead to, but you can roughly guess, can’t you? Both you and I.”

“......!”