[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-became-the-patron-of-villains":3,"chapter-became-the-patron-of-villains-became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-338":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Became the Patron of Villains",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},759778,1006,"Chapter 338 : This Wasn’t Part of the Plan (1)","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-338",338,"\u003Cp>The next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you leaving now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, I’ve taken care of everything I needed to.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, well, I’m sorry again that I wasn’t much help this time either, Brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan scratched his head awkwardly with a sheepish grin, but Alon simply looked at him with his usual blank expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t think that way. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have even been able to start the fight. You definitely helped.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I mean it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After exchanging a few more words with Radan, Alon turned to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well then, I should get going now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood, Brother! I’ll see you again later!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan gave his final farewell to Alon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he stood there, watching Alon’s back for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, when Alon disappeared from view—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan wiped the smile off his face in an instant, returning to a calm, neutral expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hoo—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at the empty spot Alon had left behind, then returned to his room and ran a hand down his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep sigh followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I wasn’t any help this time either.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan furrowed his brow as he recalled the battle against the Sin of Sloth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, if he was being honest, he hadn’t been of much help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure, the item Brother gave him had temporarily summoned a stronger version of himself, and it did contribute at the end—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that wasn’t some hidden talent of his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Alon had given it to Seolrang or Eliban instead, the outcome probably wouldn’t have changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, Radan thought of Seolrang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if she used to be like him, she had clearly changed since last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, it wasn’t just a small change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘She’s definitely gotten stronger.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, she had grown stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It might not be obvious on the surface yet, but Radan could feel it clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was growing more powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he could tell—she was only going to get stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Radan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that Radan hadn’t put in the effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After being summoned by Alon in Greynifra and fighting the Sin, he had been constantly striving to improve ever since.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He trained more than usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He searched for more relics and studied how to use them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter how hard he worked—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan wasn’t getting any stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure, every time he obtained a relic and learned how to use it, it expanded what he could do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was just adding variety to his abilities, not truly strengthening him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That sense of helplessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anxiety of watching his companions move forward while he remained stuck in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It began to fill his heart like black mud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Hey—]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice rang out in the empty room—one that sounded far too similar to his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan’s face instantly tensed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But only for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[No need to be so tense.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Radan realized the voice was coming from something in his pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached in and pulled out the source of the voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This thing…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound had come from the blue gem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The very same blue gem Alon had given him right after the battle with the Sin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan stared intently at the gem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he’d first received the blue gem passed on by Alon’s ‘future self’—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan wondered if it held some kind of special power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just a glowing gem, nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t contain any kind of special magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So while he hadn’t understood why his future self had given it to him, he’d simply carried it around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Finally relaxed a bit?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...You’re…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the voice spoke again, Radan felt a strange sense of unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t take long for him to realize what was off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—it was impossible not to realize it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice coming from the gem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one that sounded just like his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—it was his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Correct.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blue gem replied cheerfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Before we go any further, let me say—don’t bother asking how I did this. I’m not answering.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I didn’t have enough time to embed a full consciousness. I’ve only got maybe… five minutes left to talk?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, probably even less.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Murmuring to itself, the gem quickly continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Starting now, I’m going to tell you how to get stronger. You’re stuck right now, wondering what a useless version of yourself can do to grow stronger in this place—or maybe you’re just worried about not falling behind, yeah? That’s what I thought, at least. Though maybe your situation’s a little different—I can’t say for sure.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the gem’s half-muttering, half-ranting words—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can I really get stronger than I am now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Radan asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blue gem responded—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Of course.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a cheerful laugh,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[As long as you follow my instructions carefully—]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[—revive the Sin and devour it.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After parting with Radan, Alon immediately began bidding farewell to the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I’ll see you next time, Saint.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Brother. I hope you’ll visit Rosario soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You mentioned that the goddess Sironia summoned you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After parting with Yuman, Alon ran into—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m coming too, Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...You too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah! I got special permission to take a long break after this mission, so I figured I could go have fun!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Seolrang, ears perked and full of excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t mind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I’m coming with you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do as you like.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yay—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Alon gave his permission, Seolrang stretched her arms wide with joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she stepped away, saying she’d go tell a few people, and the moment she was out of sight—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[W-What nonsense is this!? What did you just do!!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Meow—! MeowMeowMeowMeow—!!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if they’d been waiting for this moment, Basiliora and Blackie burst out of Alon’s ring and pouch with dramatic flair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! I fought so hard in that epic battle and this is how you treat me!?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Meow! MeowMeowMeowMeow!!!!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blackie pounded its front paws furiously, as if to say, “Exactly! This is unacceptable!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon gave a sheepish smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s how upset they are about me taking Seolrang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused and recalled the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the things Seolrang had done to Basiliora and Blackie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, that made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But only for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Seolrang returned, the two creatures vanished as if nothing had happened, slipping quietly back into Alon’s possessions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing their swift retreat, Alon let out a sigh of disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, let’s go, Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seolrang beamed as she grabbed his arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon calmly nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s head out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Penia said she’s going to stop by the Blue Tower again, so I think it’s fine for just the two of us to leave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the carriage departed for the Palatio Marquisate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just over a week later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zzz—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seolrang was sleeping soundly with her head resting on Alon’s lap, looking as peaceful as could be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While gently stroking her hair, Alon received some good news from Evan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You found information about the Jewel of the Closed-Eyed One?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, just earlier at the last village—we heard about it from the information guild.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you find its location?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, not that. But they said they discovered a book with information about it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A book with intel, huh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon nodded slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, even that much is better than nothing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to when they had absolutely no information about the Jewel of the Closed-Eyed One, this was a definite improvement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling somewhat satisfied, Alon asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, where do we go to get the book?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, no need to worry about that. They said they’ll deliver it to us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Feels like I’m just being helped the whole way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm~ that’s kind of true, huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Alon started thinking that maybe he should offer something in return, Evan continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, and there’s something else to report.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Remember how you asked me to check if the Empire was up to anything recently?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, that…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While it was unlikely the Empire would invade given that Ashtalon hadn’t completely collapsed, Alon had still asked Evan to check—just in case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did anything come up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. The information guild said the Empire has remained quiet without any notable activity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that so?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s a relief.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon let out a breath of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he knew the chance of an invasion was slim, it wasn’t zero—so naturally, it had weighed on his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This would all be solved if we could catch the Empire’s spy…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, when the Empire invaded in the original timeline, the main reason was because one of their spies had infiltrated a key position in the kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That spy signaled the Empire to begin their attack when the Allied Kingdom was at its weakest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even knowing that—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon hadn’t tried to track down or preemptively stop the spy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he didn’t know who the spy was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless you reached the Empire-destroyed ending, the identity of the spy never even got revealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s worse, the spy changed every playthrough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So no matter how hard he tried to dig for info or even used the guild—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could never be sure who it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I remember there were a few side quests about the spy around the game’s mid-to-late story. If you followed those, you could eventually catch them.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since he wasn’t playing as Eliban in this world, taking those side quests wasn’t even an option.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After mulling it over for a while, Alon decided to push those unsolvable worries to the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alexion was completely exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was no wonder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Managing the marquisate’s affairs was an incredibly grueling task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, he’d been overwhelmed by the idea of working so hard without even receiving proper compensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All those complaints had long since vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The money Marquis Palatio paid him was far too generous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So generous, in fact, that he couldn’t help but smile every time payday rolled around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, while he was glad to be earning so much, he also felt crushed by the sheer amount of work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he let out yet another sigh, a thought crossed his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Find him a partner… huh.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had a pretty good idea why Marquis Palatio wanted a partner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It must be for that ball happening in three months. The one where the entire Allied Kingdom will gather.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the request had reached him, Alexion knew he had to take care of it one way or another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then it hit him—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no need to overthink this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Come to think of it, weren’t there a ton of noble ladies who had been sending him letters trying to flirt?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The marquis had told him to disregard any personal letters outside of official business, so Alexion hadn’t passed along most of the flirty ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the number of letters was still considerable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the man he served was none other than Marquis Palatio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So naturally—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I could check with the ladies who made a move. Of course, I’ll only consider those who are suitable in rank.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly recalled the list of women who had sent letters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...After I conduct personal interviews, the marquis shouldn’t find any of it uncomfortable. Yeah, that’s probably the best course.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled out his stationery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having no idea that someone was about to arrive...\u003C\u002Fp>",1885,"2026-06-02T12:43:45.412Z",1,"novelbin.me","fcd3863a52b8647ccf3256181e66ebf541896a83cdf0e02e22f1352b7685d3a4","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-339","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-337",479,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbecame-the-patron-of-villains-cover.jpg"]