[{"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-400":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},759690,1006,"Chapter 400: What the Hell Is That……? (3)","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-400",400,"\u003Cp>Up until now, the King of Caliban Alon had seen was, in a good way or a bad way, pretty close to the classic image of a monarch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His pride as a king ran high, so no matter who he was dealing with, he didn’t easily throw away his dignity. And yet, for all that, he was a king who was quietly sincere about caring for his people. In the game, and even during the time Alon had actually known him, he’d been the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......So maybe that was why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Truly, I’m grateful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Palmarian nodding earnestly and refusing to let go of the hand he’d grabbed, Alon’s worries only deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Did Palmarian... actually like stuff like that?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hypothesis surfaced in Alon’s mind, but within seconds, he firmly scrapped it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how far back he combed through his memories, he’d never even heard a faint rumor, let alone any information, that Palmarian had that kind of... preference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even if Palmarian did like statues, if the form was “a statue like that striking the northern governor pose”...... wouldn’t anyone turn it down?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Alon immediately considered another possibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe he was being threatened—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon looked into Palmarian’s two eyes, brimming with goodwill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he couldn’t exactly say, If you’re being threatened by Deus, secretly wave a carrot for me, Alon casually turned his gaze to check on Deus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he saw Deus nodding over and over with a face that said, Yeah, yeah, this is right, Alon realized his second assumption was wrong, too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......Or had he seriously been hypnotized or something? With goodwill packed into his very eyes, it honestly felt like a reasonable suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And hadn’t Evan said it was a gift Sili sent? Alon started worrying that there really might be some kind of device built into the statue, but in the end, he denied that as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they’d passed the statue earlier, he hadn’t felt any special power, like magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......Then what the hell was it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest of the group, excluding Deus, also had faces full of confusion. And just °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° as Alon threw the question at himself again—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, we shouldn’t be standing around here. You came to meet that person, didn’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The king carried on the conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s true, but...... I didn’t see them when we entered Caliban.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t hard for Alon to guess who the king meant by “that person.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could you wait here for a moment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Palmarian nodded as if to say not to worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......? Yes, understood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he heard Alon’s answer, he left with Deus. That left Alon and the others stranded in the audience chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief silence fell—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm.......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming there were no knights or guards posted separately in the audience chamber, Evan looked at Alon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Marquis.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......Even if you don’t want to apologize, isn’t it a bit much to hypnotize him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......Are you seriously saying that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, I mean, it does feel kind of weird imagining you bowing your head, Marquis, but—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think it’s fascinating too. There’s no such magic......? Ah, wait—could it be the divine power you awakened this time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penia joined in with Evan. With a complicated feeling tucked behind a blank expression, Alon said, “......If hypnosis is what I can do with divine power, isn’t that weird in its own way?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then it’s not divine power?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So you developed that kind of magic without telling us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......How about we start by stepping away from the premise that I did something to the king.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You didn’t?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really didn’t?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I said I didn’t.......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon let out a sigh under Penia and Evan’s indiscriminate questioning. Penia and Evan, as if they couldn’t get over it, added,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......I was sure it was hypnosis.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Same. I mean, if he liked some other kind of statue, fine, but that one is.......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, I feel the same way. Wow. For the first time in ten million years, we’re on the same page.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ten million years...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s about how far apart we are emotionally.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......You really know how to stab someone without blinking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon blankly listened to Penia and Evan’s back-and-forth for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we go, then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following Palmarian—who had returned to the audience chamber—Alon moved. The place they arrived at was beneath the royal family’s grounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A subterranean vault our royal family made a very long time ago. I don’t know what it was built for, though.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without meaning to, Alon let out a small sound of amazement. Caliban’s underground, reached through the passage, was so wide it was ridiculous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was so huge you could practically call it a massive underground city. Thinking, How can they even build Caliban on top of something this big? Alon kept heading deeper inside after Palmarian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, when they reached a certain point underground—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From here, could you go alone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there a reason?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That person says they want to speak with you one-on-one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Palmarian said it, and Alon nodded, still puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Alon walked alone through the underground—somewhat dark, yet strangely bright enough that he could see as much as he needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a sudden, profound presence, he stopped without meaning to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His calm heart started pounding, and a strange sensation of tension crawled over his whole body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon knew that feeling well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he stayed where he was, slowly lifting his gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then he could see the giant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A giant whose entire body was coated in blue light. A giant so overwhelmingly massive he had to crane his head far back to even look at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meeting its gaze, Alon reflexively made a tense expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grrrk—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he watched the giant rise, he quietly started moving his magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew the other party was Divine blood that had helped Caliban, and that it had said favorable things about him. Still—just in case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at what the giant did next, Alon had no choice but to scatter his magic without thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the giant knelt respectfully on one knee in front of Alon and said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Greetings, Star Eater, friend of the great Divine blood, the One Who Stares into the Abyss.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The giant’s voice rumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, Alon couldn’t open his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just that he was surprised—he couldn’t even get a sense of how he was supposed to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were up to him, since he’d finally run into a favorable Divine blood, he wanted to ask all sorts of things. The problem was that Alon didn’t properly understand this “relationship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he asked something while knowing nothing, and it didn’t line up with what Divine blood assumed, and that caused trouble...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a fight broke out here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......Thinking about the fact that Caliban’s capital was right above them, that absolutely couldn’t happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So while Alon was thinking, Should I act? the giant—silent until now—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[As expected...!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—suddenly spoke on its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon was even more bewildered. But since his face didn’t show emotion by default, the giant failed to notice what Alon was feeling and shouted in excitement,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Incredible...!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Didn’t you kill two Divine blood while wearing the body of a lowly creature for the sake of karma? Truly incredible!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The giant suddenly started clapping passionately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon was flustered by the sight, but—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[However, since you cast aside all your former power and came down for the sake of achievement, you must still be in great danger. Until you regain your strength, I will faithfully attend you.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the giant nodded with a solemn face, Alon understood, to some degree, how the giant saw him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief moment of thought, Alon said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I’ll be counting on you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Yes!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, he decided he’d play along and squeeze information out of the giant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>####\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The Divine blood in front of me thinks I’m the “One Who Stares into the Abyss”’s friend, and that I came down to the human world wearing a human shell and abandoning my original power for the sake of achievements... and it’s misunderstanding all of that.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once he organized it that far, a question came to Alon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why the One Who Stares into the Abyss called him a friend. And what exactly the Star Eater’s “achievements” were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he could roughly resolve the first question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, there were those who spat out curse-filled words at him, but there were also those who answered him in a friendly way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......Of course, he still didn’t know why they spoke to Alon with those feelings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon continued thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How to ask what he wanted without getting caught “acting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a short bout of deliberation, he decided to start with the question least likely to raise suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......There’s something I want to ask.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Speak, Star Eater.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, the giant looked at Alon with sparkling eyes full of respect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......Receiving that burdensome look that felt like he’d seen it somewhere before, Alon forced himself to ask casually,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There should be other countries. Why did you save Caliban?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were many different countries in the Allied Kingdoms. Ashtalon had fallen, but even excluding that kingdom, there were still more than ten nations, large and small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Alon was curious how Caliban had been chosen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To that question, the giant said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Because, of course, this is territory the Star Eater protects.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......Territory I protect?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Yes. The moment I saw the statue here, I understood at once.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......Ah.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did it feel like every puzzle piece clicked into place for Alon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why Palmarian—who didn’t even like statues, and who, for good or ill, was a man close to the word “king”—had treated him with such overwhelming goodwill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[The others likely moved the same way as well.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I... see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the giant’s words, Alon barely managed to nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>####\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world was in utter turmoil because of Divine blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, Saintess Sili Makalian had been living faithfully as always, even recently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, gathering believers for that great person. Or, by that great person’s command, sending “gifts” to each nation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the middle of that—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Saintess!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Sili saw Seamus rush into her office, she asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That... I have something to tell you about the gifts....”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seamus opened his mouth carefully. Sili nodded with an Mmm— as if she’d expected it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recently, following that great person’s will, Sili had been sending gifts starting with the largest nation, in order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And of course, Sili had a sense of how the kingdoms receiving those gifts might react.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a chance they’d see her gifts as a provocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even so, the reason she sent those gifts anyway was because it was something that great person needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That person had to receive faith. The more faith that person received, the stronger that person became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Sili, as that person’s Saintess, held the purpose of converting as many ignorant souls as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So she sent the gifts even knowing there would be backlash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, Sili didn’t care what choice each kingdom made.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they tried anything strange with that person’s statue, she could make an example of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they watched the situation and left the statue alone, then that was faith gained in its own way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......Of course, she would earn the kingdoms’ hostility, but that wasn’t a big problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of the hostility they sent would be dealt with at Sili’s level before it ever reached that person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calmly reviewing her plans in her head, Sili asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Seamus—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every nation in the Allied Kingdoms is clamoring for gifts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—reported the latest news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mmm—Is that so? All the nations in the Allied Kingdoms are dissatisfied with the gifts... no, wait. What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sili, who’d been answering naturally, stopped mid-sentence and asked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......Wait, what did you say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Literally that. Every country is demanding statues.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......Every country?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. We told them production takes time, so we’ll be sending them in order, but... they said they’d pay more, if it meant receiving the statue first....”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even the border state of Kalannon sent an envoy to kneel and beg.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“??”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Sili still couldn’t process what Seamus was saying, a commotion suddenly began outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kraaaagh! Let go of me! I said let go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can’t go in there!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Saintess! Please! Give us that person’s statue first! Please—!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get out, hurry!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please!!! Grant us the statue first!! Pleeeaaase!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before long, the desperate voices vanished along with strange death screams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......No, wait, what....”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>......What is this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sili was utterly dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>",2115,"2026-06-02T12:43:45.413Z",1,"novelbin.me","058e144f41e04e4d606fbd3a84e56ccd38fd68da2e7a34fafcb63c6b293c78c2","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-201","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-399",479,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbecame-the-patron-of-villains-cover.jpg"]