Became the Patron of Villains

It had been three days since Alon had personally gone to verify the news of an incident in Al-Kamae.
As he began traveling again with the merchants regularly heading to the desert city, like before, Alon let out a deep sigh under the sweltering heat.

“Count, could you just use it once?”
“If I use it wrong, it could freeze everything solid.”
“Freezing sounds better than becoming a roasted corpse…”

“Still, no.”
Listening to Evan’s complaints about not wanting to get roasted, Alon gazed at the blazing sun and reflected on the events of a few days ago.
‘What happened to Al-Kamae?’

Of course, since he hadn’t seen a body, he couldn’t be sure what had happened to Al-Kamae. Yet, the reason he suspected something had gone wrong was because of the artifact he had taken with him.
He looked at the badge in his hand.
The badge, instead of shining gold, was a dull gray.

In game terms, this artifact could be looted after dealing with Al-Kamae in the mid-game stage of Psychedelia.
‘The Symbol of the Innocent… I didn’t expect to get it this early.’
Though the badge had no function at the moment, it was known for having impressive stats when appraised, especially for an item you normally obtain mid-game.

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Just like the ring Alon had received from Heinkel but hadn’t used yet.
‘On my way to Laxas to unlock the ring, I should stop by the Labyrinth City for an appraisal.’

At any rate, this Symbol of the Innocent was something Al-Kamae had cherished deeply and had cast a binding spell on so no one could steal it.
Simply put, if Al-Kamae wasn’t dead, no one else could have taken the badge.
However, since the badge was now in Alon’s hand with no sign of magical interference, he was convinced something had happened to Al-Kamae.

Thus, that night, Alon had thoroughly raided Al-Kamae’s mansion.
….
He glanced at the treasure piled up in the back of the carriage and smiled faintly beneath his expressionless face.
And that wasn’t all.

His waist pouch was now filled with the highest-grade magic potions he had used up in the recent battle against Kailas.
Everything was looted from Al-Kamae’s mansion.
‘The treasure wasn’t as abundant as I’d hoped, but—’

Since this world wasn’t one where money simply popped out of the ground, Alon was more than satisfied with the treasure now loaded in the carriage.
To him, money was always the right answer.
How long had they been traveling this way?

“Everyone, halt!”
Ding-ding!
At the shout from up ahead, the caravans crossing the desert came to a sudden stop, and a bell rang out.

It was the signal from the merchant group to set up camp, and seeing that the sun was setting, Alon stepped out of the carriage.
Not long after they started preparing the camp…
“Ah, Count, have you been comfortable today?”

Unlike the leader of the previous Golden-Haired merchant group, this time, a rather slim merchant leader approached Alon with a bow.
“Thanks to you.”
“Oh no, not at all~”

The merchant leader, who kept bowing even though Alon hadn’t done much, smiled with a characteristic capitalistic grin and handed Alon something.
“…What’s this?”
“Ah, these are products we handle in our group. Over here is wine from the Komur estate, and this side contains food products we get from the Kalmian estate.”

“I see.”
“We brought it hoping you’d give it a try.”
Alon lightly nodded at the exaggerated courtesy, with the merchant leader bowing so deeply that his face nearly touched the ground.

“I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yes, sir! Please rest well.”
As Alon watched the merchant leader bow several times before disappearing, he shrugged lightly.

In the past, he wasn’t treated as a proper noble, but nowadays, he received quite lavish treatment wherever he went.
This was largely due to his growing reputation and the rumor that he was the head of the most influential faction in the Asteria Kingdom.
As a result, anyone who had any awareness of the kingdom’s political situation tried their best to make a good impression on Alon, turning into sycophants the moment they saw him.

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‘Well, that’s only true for people moving near the Asteria Kingdom, though.’
As Alon shrugged his shoulders, looking at the gift the merchant leader had offered in hopes of securing a new business route…

“Oh really?”
“Of course.”
He heard Evan’s voice coming from somewhere, chatting with a woman after they had finished setting up camp.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“Haha, well, it’s not that hard.”
As Alon glanced at the woman enthusiastically responding to whatever Evan was boasting about, he soon realized her identity.

‘The merchant leader’s daughter, huh.’
He made a strange expression as he watched the two.
‘It seems there are more women around Evan these days.’

Alon had a pretty good guess as to why so many women were suddenly flocking around Evan.
It was because of his own fame.
Being known as the only knight of the famous Count Palatio, most women showed interest in Evan, approaching him with admiration.

Though Alon felt a bit of a strange emotion at what seemed like a situation where the bear does the work and the peddler makes the money, he soon shrugged it off.
‘Well, after all the trouble he went through, I suppose it’s fine.’
Watching Evan putting on an exaggerated, boisterous performance, Alon couldn’t help but think once again.

‘I wonder if Evan realizes. The merchant leader’s daughter is looking at him with hawk eyes.’
Since there was no need to spoil the mood, Alon sat in front of the campfire to avoid the increasingly chilly evening.
“Tasty.”

The sweet potato that Evan had prepared was perfectly cooked.
***
A week and a day later, at early dawn, Alon finally saw the colony’s silhouette again after nearly a year.

‘Hmm~’
Though the colony didn’t look much different from before, its unique architecture still appeared fresh and new to Alon.
After a brief exchange of greetings with the merchant leader, Alon turned around when…

“Master!”
He felt the familiar sensation of Seolrang throwing herself at him, hugging him tightly.
“Hello!”

Seolrang, clinging to him like glue, greeted him cheerfully.
“It’s been a while.”
“It has!”

As Alon watched Seolrang wagging her tail excitedly…
“Look at that. Isn’t that the Golden Flash?”
“Yeah, it is.”

“Who’s that with her?”
“Looks like Count Palatio.”
“No way. The Mad Dog is actually being so friendly with someone like that?”

He noticed faint murmurs coming from the surrounding area.
“Seolrang.”
“Yeah!”

“Let go of me for now.”
“Got it!”
At Alon’s words, Seolrang immediately released her grip around his waist and placed her feet on the ground.

“Did I do well?”
“You did.”
Watching Seolrang wag her tail happily after receiving his praise, Alon suddenly realized how quiet it had become around them.

As he glanced around, he saw that everyone at the southern gate of the colony was staring at him with astonished expressions.
Even the merchant leader and his daughter, who had just greeted him, were standing there with their mouths wide open.
‘…Why is everyone so shocked?’

Feeling slightly puzzled by the overly silent atmosphere, Alon scanned his surroundings with a faint look of confusion.
Everyone looked as if they were witnessing something unreal, their faces frozen in disbelief.
Seeing their reactions, Alon himself became confused. 

Hadn’t he received this same kind of excitement from Seolrang a year ago?
But now, the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ difference in their gazes was stark, leaving Alon bewildered for a moment.
“Hmph-hmph—”

Clearing his throat awkwardly to dispel the sudden discomfort, Alon opened his mouth and said, “Seolrang, I’d like to go straight to the ruins. Is that possible?”  
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“Of course it’s possible!”  

With Seolrang’s words, Alon immediately boarded the carriage. Even as he climbed into the carriage and they set off toward the ruins, the looks of astonishment didn’t leave the faces of the onlookers.  
***  
They were on the road to the forgotten ruins, using the carriage Seolrang had prepared. Just like last time, they were traveling under the protection of the Golden Mane tribe, but Alon could sense something had subtly changed.  

‘Something feels different.’  
Alon glanced at Seolrang. Seolrang herself hadn’t changed much from a year ago. The only noticeable difference was that her brilliantly golden hair had grown longer, now reaching down near her tailbone. But aside from that, she was the same as before.  
However, unlike Seolrang, the atmosphere among the Golden Mane tribe members guarding the carriage was distinctly different from a year ago.  

‘They seemed more friendly before…’  
Of course, their friendliness had always been directed toward Seolrang rather than Alon, but now there was none of the lighthearted or welcoming behavior he remembered from before. Instead, they moved in silence, thoroughly watching their surroundings without a word.  
Recalling what had happened to Seolrang a year ago, Alon nodded in understanding.  

‘I guess the betrayal back then hit them harder than I thought.’  
As Alon was thinking that he should be more considerate to Seolrang to keep her from being affected by such things, Seolrang suddenly spoke up.  
“Ah, Master!”  

She called out as if she had just remembered something, and Alon responded.  
“What is it?”  
“Can I ask you a favor!?”  

Alon was a little taken aback by the sudden request but nodded soon after.  
“As long as it’s something I can do, of course.”  
After all, it was largely thanks to Seolrang that they were traveling to the ruins so comfortably, and he had been thinking he should treat her better, so he nodded his head. Seolrang beamed brightly, pulled out a piece of paper from her bag, and handed it to Alon.  

Then, as she reached her hand out the window of the carriage, an artifact pen was placed in her hand, as if on cue.  
Handing the pen over to Alon, Seolrang said,  
“Here, sign it.”  

“Sign…?”  
“Yep!”  
Nodding eagerly, she looked at him with a very expectant expression. She nodded so enthusiastically that her long hair, which reached her tailbone, swayed through the air.  

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At this, Alon couldn’t help but think,  
‘Is she asking me to co-sign for something…?’  

Feeling a bit tense without realizing it, Alon looked down at the paper. The document already had several complicated sections filled in.  
With a puzzled expression, Alon glanced at the top of the document.  
…A marriage registration form?  

“Sign it!”  
Alon was left speechless.