[{"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-449":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},759539,1006,"Chapter 448: Return (4)","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-449",449,"\u003Cp>[...Did you marry a dragon?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the golden dragon Reinysius’s question, Alon was left speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swallowed down his bewilderment and barely managed to ask back,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did you just say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...Exactly what I said?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinysius looked more puzzled by why Alon found it strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When in the world...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the sudden turn of events no one had seen coming, Penia and Evan, who had been listening from behind, each blurted out a fragment in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon let out a deep sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forgive me, but I can’t make heads or tails of this. I’d like you to explain it from the beginning, slowly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that, Reinysius made a dubious face, then for some reason subtly drew its body back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like it was avoiding something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Alon was still wondering about that, Reinysius spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[There is nothing particularly special about it. Our dragon race, once it finds a mate, basically leaves its scent on the other.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Its scent?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Yes. To make it clear to the other dragons.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving its scent on purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So dragon marriages must be held rather quietly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Not so.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Hm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Most of dragonkind attends a dragon wedding, but... why would you think that?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you go so far as to leave a scent, I assumed it was to make it known to others.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that perfectly reasonable inference, Reinysius nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Well, it is not that. As I said, when dragons marry, the whole race gathers to celebrate. Even so, there is a reason they still leave their scent. Sometimes... troublesome things happen.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a somewhat strange expression, it continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[As you know, dragons are beings blessed by magic power, and the polymorph dragons use is extremely precise. So precise that even dragons cannot recognize one another.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[And roughly a thousand years ago, it became popular among dragons to polymorph into humans and amuse themselves.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then Reinysius fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon felt puzzled, but—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah...!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if she had realized something, Penia let out a dying gasp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And soon after, Alon’s thoughts reached the answer too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...No way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Yes. A little unintentional adultery... And so that custom came into being.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if it did not want to expose any more of its race’s dirty laundry, Reinysius cut its explanation short.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon understood that for a moment, but soon returned to the real issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Putting your words together, are you saying there is a dragon’s scent still left on my body?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Yes. Especially around your waist. Quite a lot of it.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as Alon looked down at his waist, he tilted his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was only natural, because recently he had not met any dragons at—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That far into the thought, Alon let out a sigh before he knew it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come to think of it, there had been one more dragon Alon had met besides Reinysius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You’re talking about Arculainysis... right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Penia’s question, clearly having thought of the same one, Alon nodded and looked again at his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because she, who had done nothing but cry, had always wrapped her tail around his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having roughly grasped the source of the scent, Alon lightly drew in a breath to smell it, but—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Scent is not something you can detect that way.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[And...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinysius looked at Alon with a dubious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[There is something I would very much like to say.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[A dragon’s life is not the same as a human’s.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"? I know that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[What...?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinysius looked startled by Alon’s response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, its eyes filled with even more contempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...You know that?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, at least that the length of their lives is different.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Yes, it is different. No matter what, even if a dragon has lived thirty years, by human standards it is still only a child. In other words, an immature individual.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s true.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...And you married one anyway? An immature dragon?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Alon answered immediately, Reinysius asked again as if it could not believe what it was hearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hk—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Lord Alon?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Hk.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kyuu?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that, Evan and Penia were startled in turn, and so were Basiliora and Blackie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, why are you two reacting like that too...!? was what he wanted to say, but—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I already knew True Mages had unusual tastes, but to think you would do such a thing while knowing that—]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excuse me, but I’d like you to throw out that grotesque assumption that I ever married a dragon before we continue...??\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even hearing Reinysius’s direct condemnation, Alon squeezed his eyes shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thirty minutes later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I keep saying it, over and over, but I did not marry a dragon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...I see.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After painstakingly explaining his relationship with Arculainysis, Alon finally managed to escape the dragon’s suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Whew...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had not even brought up the real issue yet, but the fatigue already crashing over him made his head spin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Reinysius watched Alon sigh, it finally—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Then did you come here... to keep your promise?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—jerked its chin toward Blackie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Do you think I’ve gathered enough strength to keep it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Did you come here without even knowing that?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I also had something I wanted to ask while I was at it. Including how much stronger Blackie would need to become to keep that promise.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinysius looked silently at Blackie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[From what I can see, your Shadow Dragon is already at a level sufficient to free me from the seal.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Really?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[It is not yet an adult... but strangely enough, it possesses power beyond that.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Alon looked at Blackie on his shoulder, it tilted its head adorably and went, \"Kyuu?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Blackie, if you would.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he spoke to it, the creature nodded as though it understood exactly what he meant, then moved toward Reinysius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, as Blackie climbed onto the dragon, black smoke began pouring from its body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwoooosh—!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black smoke instantly covered Reinysius’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, the dark spear that had been lodged in the golden dragon until just moments ago slowly turned into black smoke and scattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwoosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A change began to occur in Reinysius, who until now had been waiting for the day of death with no hope at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwoooosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scales that had emitted only a dull brown light took on a fierce golden radiance, and the hollow brown eyes filled with brilliant gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kwagagagagagagagagak—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along with it, an immense wave of magic power, enough to make one’s skin crawl, ran wild through the entire space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at the final moment—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■■■■■—!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A burst of noise erupted, and Alon witnessed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...Ah, it has been a long time.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The true form of the golden dragon, wrapped in brilliant gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that was not the end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the return of the golden dragon, the overwhelming magic power that spread out in every direction instantly took the shape of chains, linking Alon and Reinysius together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Alon even had time to be startled by the unforeseen turn—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You have kept your promise to me, so it is only right that I keep my promise to you.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Reinysius’s voice, dozens more layers of chains were created and began linking Reinysius and Alon together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at last, when they fused once more into a single chain so massive it could never be severed—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I, Reinysius, in accordance with the great covenant, shall serve the being before me as my master until the moment he is consumed and disappears into magic power.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinysius’s words rang out through the cavern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as the chains that had formed all surged toward Alon at once—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Take good care of me from now on.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon had obtained a golden dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>####\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon gave the golden dragon a rough explanation of everything that had happened until now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...So to summarize, you are saying the Shadow Dragon became able to absorb and use the power of these things called Divine blood?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the conclusion Reinysius had drawn, Alon nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dragon then thought for a moment before speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Even I would have difficulty properly grasping exactly what happened.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Is that so?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[However, there are a few things that come to mind. So if you give me a little time, I will investigate.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Alon nodded, he asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what do you plan to do now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Me?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[What is there to do? You have become my master, so I intend to follow you. Is there some problem with that?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Reinysius asked that, it quickly seemed to realize something on its own and nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see. If I walk around in my true form, it may be inconvenient for both of us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon it began gathering magic power into its body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Reinysius’s form gradually began to shrink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After some time passed—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Shit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evan’s curse came from behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A completely out-of-nowhere curse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Alon did not bother objecting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood exactly why Evan had let out such foul language.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn’t that humanity’s enemy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A violent mutter, as if the whole thing were unfair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon found himself nodding before he realized it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the face Reinysius had after polymorphing into a human was, in truth, so absurdly handsome it could have slapped even that handsome elf across the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ahh—O heavens, why did heaven create me, and then also create Elivan and the golden dragon?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"? That’s complete bullshit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Evan’s wail, Penia immediately went expressionless, then looked at the golden dragon with a strange little frown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Honestly, I’m more offended because he’s too handsome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, that made sense too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By then, apparently having finished the polymorph, Reinysius spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a low voice unlike the one it had possessed as a dragon, Reinysius checked its voice several times, then said to Alon’s group, who were all staring at it with vacant expressions,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This reaction really does not change even after a thousand years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wow, what an unbelievably punchable asshole...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the handsome man shrug in a calm, matter-of-fact way, Penia muttered quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, after that brief commotion, Alon left the great cavern together with Reinysius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two more months passed after that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they had left the wasteland behind, the group stopped nowhere else and headed straight for Palantia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when Alon arrived in {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Palantia—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Evan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the sight that greeted them the moment they entered, he asked the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise rendered speechless by the spectacle before him, Evan—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—continued blankly for a moment before saying,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...The Demon King’s castle...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all he could come up with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gigantic floating island hanging in the sky over Palantia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no other expression that could describe it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'...What happened in the last half year...?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confusion settled into the mind of Alon, who had finally returned home after so long.\u003C\u002Fp>",1791,"2026-06-02T12:43:45.413Z",1,"novelbin.me","6ecbdf9ff74b8f1262a602b6dd4c4fd0831d8e2744eb07dd59c5b48e07c965f3","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-450","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-448",479,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbecame-the-patron-of-villains-cover.jpg"]