[{"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-448":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},759538,1006,"Chapter 447: Return (3)","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-448",448,"\u003Cp>Serdea Polanticia, wearing a dazed expression, recalled a memory from long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back when she had been very young.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back when her father was still alive and the Empire still shone in glory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Back before the siblings had started slaughtering one another, when she had encountered the guardian dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The meeting itself had not lasted long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At most, not even five minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet that short memory had lodged itself very deeply in her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was how much the meeting with her had been, for Serdea—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>no, for her other siblings as well—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For those burdened with the duty of carrying the Empire forward, it was rare to feel the sheer powerlessness of their own existence merely by standing before a single living being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she retraced the past, she soon thought of Alon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Certainly, Alon Palatio was a rather extraordinary existence, whether by rumor or in person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was extraordinary, yes, but...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'...Alon being the guardian dragon’s father is a bit...'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how she thought about it, it was strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tilting her head, Serdea looked ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There stood the loyal retainer who had delivered the report, tilting his head in the exact same way as if he too could not believe the information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Are you certain of this information?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To be honest, I found it hard to believe as well, so I had it checked again and again. But for now... it seems Contanias described him that way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn’t it possible that idiot just got it wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serdea asked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her loyal retainer thought for a moment before answering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is possible, but I do not believe it is likely.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...To begin with, if someone as prideful as Contanias bowed his head in front of all his retainers, then that means—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...He heard it from the guardian dragon?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. For all his confidence, isn’t he really just a coward? For someone with that temperament to rush all the way to the border that recklessly means...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the retainer’s explanation, Serdea finally nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contanias’s behavior was too strange to dismiss as him merely hearing something somewhere and acting on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There had been too many actions that were utterly unlike him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, putting all the circumstances together—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The claim that Alon is the guardian dragon’s father... is true?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For now, that is the conclusion we’ve reached, but...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since that ultimately meant the report was true, Serdea grew even more confused than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She pictured the two of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'No, do they... look alike?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guardian dragon and Alon Palatio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, they resembled each other in absolutely nothing, starting with their overall presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And on top of that, Alon did not have a dragon’s distinctive aura at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'But if Alon really is the guardian dragon’s father...'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then conversely, all the rumors he had built up in that tiny Allied Kingdom suddenly gained credibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serdea kept thinking for a while with a troubled look on her face, then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...It seems I’ll have to meet him one more time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—came to a decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After I finish what I need to do, how long would it take to reach the Allied Kingdoms?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It would likely take about four months.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Four months...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Murmuring at her retainer’s answer, Serdea soon gave a firm nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>####\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A week passed after Alon crossed through the Northern Empire’s border and continued on his way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher, I think I need to stay here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Stay here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutia suddenly said her goodbyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. There’s a temple here in the Northern Empire that worships Goddess Sironia.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If it won’t take long, we can wait and leave together.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yutia smiled and gave a small shake of her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, I think it will take some time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Will it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. I heard there’s a bit of business I need to handle here. It will probably take a while to resolve, so there’s no need to worry about me. You can go on ahead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At her words, Alon thought it over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this had been the Allied Kingdoms, he would not have been too concerned, but this was the Empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, it would have been strange to insist on staying by her side when Yutia herself said it was unnecessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...All right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then I’ll be off, Teacher.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yutia quickly disappeared into the crowd in the plaza.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A little while later, once they had left the city and passed out through the gates once more—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Puhah-!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kyuu-!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Basiliora and Blackie burst out as if they had been waiting to death for this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I thought I was going to die in there because we stayed so long!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kyuu! Kyuu-!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Basiliora and Blackie chattered away, panting as if they had been stifled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the two of them started yelling and playing around, the carriage, which had been quiet before, became noisy in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...It really is very different when Yutia is here and when she isn’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well—that can’t be helped.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penia gave a bitter smile at Alon’s remark, then soon seemed to remember something and asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"More importantly, Lord Alon. Didn’t Cardinal Yutia seem a little strange?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yutia?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes! Um—it’s hard to point to one exact thing, but overall, it kind of felt like she couldn’t remember things very well...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Alon let out a quiet sound of realization at Penia’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She definitely did have moments like that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon recalled Yutia’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'...She didn’t look like something was wrong.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this trip, Yutia had not seemed all that different from usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet Alon agreed with Penia because, from time to time, Yutia had shown signs of not remembering the past very well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'...Though she always answered smoothly enough and moved past it.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those little pauses of hers had looked, to anyone, like someone forcing a nod over something they clearly did not remember.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well—it’s not that strange for anyone to forget things now and then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think so too. It’s just that it stands out more because it’s Cardinal Yutia.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon agreed with that as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forgetting things here and there was not a serious problem in itself, but the fact that it was Yutia did make it more noticeable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he was only lost in thought for a moment before—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah, so are we completely done with our schedule now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Evan’s question, Alon quickly set the matter aside and answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"More or less. There is one place I need to stop by on the way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, really?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s along the route anyway, so it won’t cost us any extra time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'I should meet the golden dragon before I go back.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he knew it, Blackie had climbed up onto Alon’s lap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he silently stroked it, Penia asked another question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So how is the 'law' now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve learned how to use it, but it still isn’t easy to control.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm—that makes sense. It’s both easy and difficult to handle. There’s a lot to think about in all sorts of ways.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penia quickly sank into thought, tilting her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still, looking at the result, I think you made the right choice. It’s definitely an ability that could become a variable one way or another.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s true. The restrictions mean I’ll have to think carefully about it in many ways.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Alon agreed, Penia twitched her brows and brought up the real point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Actually, there’s something I’ve been a little curious about.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s about the True Mages’ 'laws' and the Divine bloods’ 'laws' we talked about before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They really had talked about that before crossing the border.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What we thought at the time was that the laws possessed by the Divine blood come with restrictions as the price for using a 'law,' while the laws created by the True Mages seem °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° to use magic power as the price... right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, there are other differences too, like how strong the laws are, and how the True Mages’ laws have clearly defined attributes unlike the Divine blood’s.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Alon asked, Penia continued her explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The 'Reverse Heavens' you use is a True Mage’s law, right? And a True Mage’s law offers up 'magic power' as the price.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then doesn’t the price of that law that produces infinite magic power feel a little strange?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s... to begin with... uh...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon was about to refute Penia’s logic on reflex, but soon his eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never paid much attention to it before, but the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence fell inside the carriage for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So it is strange, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I never gave it enough thought before, so it didn’t occur to me, but it definitely...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. No matter how I think about it, Reverse Heavens is... contradictory, assuming our prediction about how the True Mages’ laws and the Divine bloods’ laws work is correct. It’s as if—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Penia’s voice rang clearly through the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"—it were a law made by the Divine blood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>####\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A month had passed since they parted ways with Yutia for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon reached the border faster than expected, and thanks to Contanias’s consideration, he was able to slip out toward the wasteland without much trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This one really did take quite a while. It’s basically the same as having been away for nearly half a year.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Evan’s remark, Alon nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It has been a long time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right? To be honest, it’s not even that we did all that much—it just took a lot of time to travel. Anyway, where are we headed now? You said there was somewhere you wanted to stop by first, didn’t you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon quickly sorted out his thoughts and said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ll head south.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without another word, Alon’s group turned toward the southern wasteland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after several more days passed,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as Alon continued traveling endlessly through the empty wasteland—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—he sensed a bizarre disturbance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic power had begun to wrap around the entire carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Alon quickly realized what it was, and stopped Penia, who had likewise sensed the ominous sign and was about to use magic power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a flash burst before their eyes, and all of them realized they had been moved somewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Lord Alon?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This can’t be—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evan’s deeply startled voice came from outside, and Penia’s eyes widened as if she had guessed the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon rose and headed outside the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...It has been a long time, True Mage.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He came face to face with Reinysius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinysius, who was still looking down at him just as before, with an expression so blank that it carried no emotion whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[.......]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quiet silence flowed between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden look of confusion appeared on Reinysius’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[??]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinysius tilted its head again and again, as if confronted with something it simply could not understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, Alon asked first, though on one hand, he could understand the behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Well, a lot has changed since the last time I came here a few years ago.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long time had passed since then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Alon’s growth now was also far beyond something that could be accomplished in just a few years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No doubt Reinysius was surprised by that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon found himself secretly puffing up a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because it felt as if he were being acknowledged by a dragon, a being that could be called magic itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...True Mage, let me ask you something.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Is there perhaps a dragon outside? No—or are you—]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, the dragon’s question went far beyond what Alon had expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...Did you marry a dragon?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very, very far.\u003C\u002Fp>",1965,"2026-06-02T12:43:45.413Z",1,"novelbin.me","0f72e41a06b71c262d13f4d5bde5f9ab99a0f6ff7b1df5e6c9cd7ffcb8efd4d3","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-449","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-447",479,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbecame-the-patron-of-villains-cover.jpg"]