Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 302 : Knight Order... ? (2)
Previously on Became the Patron of Villains...
Alon let out an involuntary, heavy sigh as he watched Filian depart.
In truth, a noble title was not a burden one could simply cast aside on a whim, no matter how much they wished to be rid of it.
Only at this moment did the weight of his actions sink in; posting a recruitment notice for a Knight Order so casually had been an utterly reckless move.
However, matters had progressed too far to simply dismiss everyone and send them home now.
Massaging his aching temples, Alon steeled himself and summoned the next candidate.
"Hello!"
To his relief, the person who entered was an ordinary civilian he didn't recognize.
Observing the man standing there, stiff with anxiety, Alon felt a small wave of comfort wash over him.
The cycle of interviews resumed.
“The process is moving along more swiftly than I anticipated.”
“It is indeed.”
Alon nodded in agreement with Evan’s observation after another applicant exited.
What had first appeared to be an overwhelming mountain of work was being conquered faster than expected.
With every look toward the staging area, he could see the crowd of hopefuls thinning out.
Encouraged by the progress, Alon called for the next person in line.
“I am Deus.”
Alon found himself speechless once more as Deus strolled into the room with an air of total belonging.
“...Deus?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“W-What exactly are you doing here?”
“I have come for the interview.”
Deus remained perfectly composed, providing a sharp contrast to Alon’s visible bewilderment.
“Deus, are you not the First Sword of Caliban?”
At Alon’s inquiry, Deus gave a confident response.
“It is not an issue.”
“What isn't?”
“If your concern lies there, I have already resolved the matter.”
“And... just how did you resolve it?”
“...Deus?”
“I dealt with it appropriately.”
“...Dealt with what?”
“You didn't... surely you didn't, right?”
“What are you implying?”
Gripped by a dark sense of foreboding, Alon pressed for answers, but Deus simply played the part of the innocent.
“Did you surrender your noble rank or something similar?”
“No, I did not.”
“Then what happened?”
“To ensure my enlistment in the Knight Order caused no friction, I dispatched a letter cautioning that certain unfortunate incidents might arise otherwise.”
That is nothing more than a blatant threat...
With that thought, Alon stole a glance at Evan.
Evan’s expression mirrored his own; he looked completely stunned by the sheer audacity.
A heavy, uncomfortable silence filled the room for a long moment.
“...Get out.”
Alon finally gave the order to leave. Deus nodded with self-assurance and exited the chamber.
The individual who walked in next was—
“Greetings, Master!”
“...Seolrang?”
It was indeed Seolrang.
Giggling, she sprinted across the room and threw herself into Alon’s arms.
She made herself comfortable on Alon’s lap, leaving him too bewildered to even react to her boldness.
“...Are you also here to apply for the Knight Order?”
“I am!”
“Didn’t you claim you had duties to attend to?”
“I left in the middle of them! I caught wind of the fact that you were forming a Knight Order!”
Her ears twitched with excitement, and her eyes seemed to beg for his approval and praise.
Instinctively, Alon found his hand reaching out to pat her head.
“...Aren’t you supposed to be the Baba Yaga of the Colony?”
He felt as though he had repeated this sentiment a dozen times already today.
The faces of all those troublesome—rather, the applicants—passed through Alon’s mind in a blur.
“That's right!”
“Then wouldn't it be more appropriate for you to remain there and protect your post?”
Seolrang tilted her head, pondering his words for a brief second.
“Hmm~ If that is your wish, Master, then I shall!”
She gave a radiant smile and a firm nod.
“I apologize for making you travel all this way for nothing.”
“Don't worry about it, Master! Think of this as a sort of mission!”
“A mission?”
“Yes! I also arrived on a protection detail!”
“...Did someone accompany you?”
“Karsem!”
Seolrang chirped her answer.
Thinking of the prince—the one who was once a pig but had transformed into a striking young man, the heir of King Carmaxes—Alon asked with a sense of dread:
“Please don't tell me Karsem is also—”
“He’s here to join the Knight Order as well!”
The predictable answer forced a helpless chuckle from Alon’s throat.
“Unfortunately, please inform him that he should not take the entrance exam.”
“Understood!”
Nodding with vigor, Seolrang chatted for a few more moments before announcing her departure.
“Well, I’m leaving now, Master!”
“Is it really alright for you to just take off like this?”
“Yup! I still have work to finish!”
And just like that, with a bright wave, she vanished.
Alon sat in the silence left by the whirlwind known as Seolrang, lost in his thoughts.
Evan spoke up from his side.
“My lord.”
“What is it?”
“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but you seem to have grown closer to Seolrang.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just... the sense of distance between you?”
“Is that how it seems?”
Muttering that nothing had really changed, Alon called for the next interview to begin immediately.
“We are done for today.”
“I understand. I will notify the others that the remaining sessions will resume tomorrow.”
With the sun dipping below the mountain ridge, they decided to halt the proceedings.
Though he had hoped to finish everything in one go, it was simply not feasible.
Alon thought back to Karsem, who had marched in with such confidence, and Lian, the daughter of the Master of the Red Tower.
When he had questioned Karsem about his royal status, the prince had boldly proclaimed his readiness to serve in the Order.
When he pointed out to Lian that she was a mage, she had simply countered that she could wield a magic sword.
Sighing softly, Alon walked to the window.
“......”
He had thought the crowd was shrinking, but looking out now, it seemed even larger than it had been that morning.
A bitter feeling settled in the back of Alon’s throat.
***
The following day.
Deus observed the throng of people gathered at the Palatio Marquisate with a peculiar look on his face.
It wasn't the sheer number of people that confused him.
In fact, he was wondering, 'For the Great Moon to be seeking knights, isn't this turnout a bit disappointing?'
Naturally, that was merely Deus’s skewed perspective.
Regardless, what truly baffled him was the Great Moon’s strategy.
To Deus, the Great Moon required no protection from such commoners.
Quite the opposite.
Deus was aware of many individuals, himself included, who were far better equipped to serve as the Great Moon’s shield than this disorganized mob.
He had sensed the presence of lizardmen and elves the moment he arrived.
Under normal circumstances, he would have hunted them down, but since they were here for the Great Moon’s sake, he chose to ignore them for now.
“...... He already possesses more than enough protection.”
Alon, of course, was completely oblivious to the fact that elves and lizardmen were lurking in his shadow.
Unaware of Alon's ignorance, Deus began to analyze the man's potential motives.
As he rubbed his chin in thought—
He suddenly recalled a comment Evan had made the previous day.
“Why is the Marquis forming this Order? To be honest, I don't have all the specifics, but I believe it’s to gather a force to safeguard new lands?”
Evan had mentioned it in passing.
From that solitary clue, Deus reached a startling conclusion.
To any rational person, it might have seemed absurd.
But in Deus’s mind, this theory made everything click into place.
It clarified why Alon was personally vetting every soldier.
It explained why Deus hadn't been immediately welcomed into the Order.
It even shed light on why Alon had scattered Deus and the others across various nations.
Once those points were linked—
Deus found the public recruitment for a Knight Order to be a masterstroke of logic, and he shuddered with sheer exhilaration.
(In reality, Alon was only conducting the interviews because he felt bad leaving the entire burden on Evan. And the only reason he was hiring knights was because he had listened to Rine and thought, ‘I suppose having some knights wouldn't hurt.’)
Ignoring Alon’s actual mundane reasons, Deus—interpreting the world through his own lens—trembled at the imagined brilliance of the grand design.
“...Eh? Deus?”
“Seolrang.”
“What's up? I have to get going.”
“This is of vital importance.”
He shared his deduction—or rather, his newfound "truth"—with Seolrang.
And then—
“...If that is the case, we must start preparing immediately.”
“Precisely.”
And so, a massive and bizarre misunderstanding began to take root.
***
A full week had passed since the start of the recruitment process.
Yet, Alon was still stuck behind the interview desk.
He had never anticipated the line would remain this long.
Despite the high volume of applicants, he hadn't expected it to consume an entire week.
The grueling week of questioning continued, but today, Alon’s mood was lifting.
The end was finally in sight; today would be the last of it.
Looking out, only a few dozen candidates remained.
With a sense of relief, Alon turned his attention back to the current applicant.
“……Greetings. I am Seamus.”
For the first time in quite a while, Alon found himself face-to-face with a character from the world of Psychedelia.
It was Seamus the Mad Dog.
In the mid-game, he was a recruitable ally.
He was a fan favorite not just for his high starting attributes, but because his growth potential far outstripped most other characters.
However, he was also polarizing; many players loathed him for his abrasive personality.
Because of his strength, Seamus was incredibly arrogant and spent the game making biting remarks that grated on the players' nerves.
Some players refused to use him entirely, despite his power.
That thought was fleeting.
Alon soon found himself frowning in confusion.
The face was unmistakably Seamus’s.
The sheer aura of power he radiated confirmed his identity.
But—
He was more than just quiet; he seemed diminished.
Seamus spoke in a low voice, sounding almost as if his spirit had been crushed.
Alon’s confusion deepened.
This was not the Seamus he remembered.
Still—
He couldn't exactly blurt out, 'Wait, aren't you supposed to be a raving lunatic?'
So, after a brief and standard interview, Alon dismissed him.
But the nagging doubt refused to fade.
***
Meanwhile.
Deep within the heart of the Ronovelli Jungle.
Two women stood in the shadows.
One was Historia.
The other—
“So you are claiming the Chief is truly the same Chief we once knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you actually saw him?”
“I did.”
“Then the Chief still remembers me as well?”
“Yes.”
This was the deadliest sector of the Ronovelli Jungle, the domain of the entity known as the King of a Hundred Ghosts.
“...Even though he hasn't forgotten me, he hasn't come to find me?”
Ryanga puffed out her cheeks in a frustrated, sulky pout.