Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 312 : What Is This............. (3)

Witnessing the scene before them, Penia’s jaw dropped as she let out a stunned, “Wow, what the—”

A collective breath was caught by everyone present, if only for a fleeting second.

Alon and his companions moved toward what appeared to be the makeshift main entrance of Divine Land.

“......Is this where the line begins?”

“It seems so.”

Regrettably, they were unable to pass through the gates immediately.

An endless queue of people stretched out far into the distance, blocking their path.

“There is no way this entire line is for—"

“It looks like... the rumors really did draw everyone here?”

Following Evan’s observation, Alon’s expression shifted into one of pure disbelief as he stared at the crowd.

“I mean, even accounting for that, are there really this many people?”

“Right?”

Standing beside the skeptical Alon, Evan clicked his tongue in disapproval.

However—

“Really? I don't find it that surprising.”

Penia tilted her head, glancing between Evan and Alon.

“Why not?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You are aware that the Allied Kingdom is in total chaos due to the bandits, right?”

“Well, yes, that is true.”

“I’m telling you, the situation is incredibly dire right now.”

She noted that entire villages they had once passed through had vanished completely by the time they returned.

“So it's only natural that people are desperate for a means of survival and are looking toward Kalannon’s power.”

“......So what they seek is power.”

“That is part of it, but more importantly, it is... well... how should I put it... the sense of legitimacy?”

“Legitimacy?”

“I mean~”

Alon wondered to himself, “What even qualifies as legitimate power in this world?” yet he continued to listen to Penia’s reasoning.

“Look. Those Abyssal Cores? They're utilized by underworld types, right? And if you absorb one, your magic leaks out pitch-black, just like those sorcerers from the Black Tower.”

“True.”

“So even if it grants strength quickly, anyone who values their public image wouldn’t touch that method. Even in Rosario, the penalty for using an Abyssal Core is brutal. Do you remember that artificial Outer God incident?”

As Alon nodded to indicate he was following along, Penia pressed on with her explanation.

“That’s why mercenaries and knights—men who live and die by their reputation—couldn’t even consider that stuff. But now, Kalannon’s power is revealed, and all it requires is some Cultivation? Bam!”

“......Even if it’s just a rumor.”

“Yeah. But the result is—”

She gestured toward the massive crowd as if to say, “This right here,” and Alon found himself nodding instinctively.

It did make a certain amount of sense when she explained it that way.

Still—

Even so, this is a bit excessive—

Regardless of the logic, the current atmosphere felt undeniably heavy to him.

Ever since moments ago, the general noise of the crowd seemed to have died down, replaced by people silently staring in his direction.

“Hey, look, that’s the carriage belonging to Marquis Palatio.”

“You’re right.”

“That must be the man from Kalannon...”

Perhaps because the crowd had fallen silent, their whispers reached his ears clearly.

Just as Alon attempted to focus on Penia’s words and disregard the scrutiny—

“Everyone, halt!!!”

A booming voice echoed from afar, and knights began sprinting toward them.

“Welcome, my lord!”

They formed a line directly in front of Alon’s carriage window and shouted in perfect unison.

Because of that—

The attention already fixed on him now fully intensified upon the Palatio marquis’s carriage.

Alon—

“...Yeah.”

Feeling the weight of the knights' overwhelming loyalty and the sharp gazes of the public, he managed a small nod.

“We will escort you immediately!”

The lead knight responded firmly and began to push the long line aside.

Not that it was strictly necessary, as the crowd was already parting of its own accord.

In any case, Alon’s carriage moved into the Divine Land territory along the cleared path.

“We have arrived!”

Descending from the carriage, Alon was greeted by hushed whispers and a multitude of eyes.

“Salute!!!”

Knights and soldiers stood at rigid attention as if they had been anticipating this exact moment.

From its inception, Divine Land had been established with a focus on strict discipline.

That was certainly true—

But it was now obvious that these knights and soldiers would execute any command without a moment's hesitation.

Then, Alon noticed Deus in the distance, observing his troops with a look of pride.

Suddenly, another thought occurred to him.

“Wait, when did they even get matching uniforms?”

When they were first recruited, the knights lacked uniform armor, save perhaps for their shoulder guards.

It made sense at the time.

There hadn't been enough time to finalize a design or manufacture new gear.

But now—

Even at a distance, their polished, matching armor appeared custom-made and quite formidable.

“When did this happen... and where did the funding come from?”

Questions began to pile up in his mind, and he shifted his gaze away.

Then, he noticed a somewhat familiar face among the knights standing before him.

“...?”

A man with blue skin.

Alon shook his head in surprise.

That distinct blue skin was impossible to mistake.

His initial impression of the man had been so powerful that there was no way he could forget him.

So Alon asked—

“Hey, what are you doing there?”

He was speaking to Blue Ghost, who was standing in the front row of the knights.

Blue Ghost gazed up at the distant sky and whispered—

“......Yeah, seriously, why am I even here...?”

He spoke with the tone of someone who had reached a state of enlightenment and simply stopped trying to make sense of the world.

Blue Ghost’s mind drifted back to a little over a month ago.

Those were the days when White Ghost Ryanga would frequently claim to be depressed, venting her frustrations by thrashing her subordinates under the pretext of “training.”

At the time, he had traveled to the Marquis’s estate in hopes of bringing Alon to her to end her violent outbursts.

Up until that point, everything had been normal.

Upon his arrival, he was informed that Alon was not at the estate but was instead at Divine Land, a day's journey away.

So, he traveled to Divine Land.

That was when things became strange.

“Excuse me, I am searching for Marquis Palatio—”

“Oh, hey, a recruit? What are you doing? Don’t wear those rags—put this on!”

“No, that is not—"

“Shhh! No excuses! Move it! Training begins shortly and the regimen here is harder than it looks!”

“Wait, hold on, I am not a soldier here or anything—”

“Stop grumbling! Just change your clothes already!”

That was the first odd occurrence.

It began the moment Blue Ghost entered Divine Land and asked a soldier for directions to the Marquis.

Before he knew what was happening, he had been forced into training gear.

Then, the next person he ran into was—

“...You.”

“Right, just the person I needed. You have seen me before, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

It was Deus.

The moment Blue Ghost spotted Deus, he approached him to clarify the misunderstanding.

“Did you sign up as a soldier?”

“No way. I am here to see Marquis Palatio—”

“I see.”

“No, seriously, I am not a soldier! I am just looking for the Marquis—"

“A man of your skill would be wasted as a common soldier. I shall promote you to a knight.”

“Take command of Squad 1.”

“No, wait!”

Just like that, he was instantly made a knight.

To be honest, Blue Ghost felt a surge of annoyance at that moment.

And who could blame him? No one was listening to a single word he said.

For a split second, he seriously considered tearing the place apart.

Unfortunately, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

There were two main reasons.

First, this facility had been founded by Marquis Palatio.

Now, whether it was built by Palatio or an entire nation didn't usually matter to Blue Ghost.

However, his leader, Ryanga, held Palatio in very high regard.

Blue Ghost was well aware of this fact.

If word ever reached her that he had caused a scene here...

He knew Ryanga would never let him hear the end of it.

The second reason—

“Being a knight is incredible.”

“You are definitely powerful.”

“Whoa—how did you even do that...?”

It was because the knights and soldiers surrounding him were genuinely acknowledging and admiring his strength.

Of course, it wasn't as if Blue Ghost had never received recognition before.

Even if Ryanga disciplined him occasionally, Blue Ghost was still the second-in-command of the Hundred Ghosts, surpassed only by Ryanga in terms of power.

In other words, respect had always followed him as a matter of course.

But this was different.

Blue Ghost had never known this specific kind of admiration—one that was pure and devoid of prejudice.

Because of his naturally blue skin, he had faced incredible contempt from humans throughout his life.

Even within the Hundred Ghosts, while his power was respected, some still dismissed it as nothing more than an inherited trait.

Naturally, no one dared to say such things to his face.

But he was aware of the whispers behind his back.

So, this type of sincere respect felt entirely new to him.

Furthermore, while the knight training wasn't overly grueling, it was vastly different from the crude and violent style of the Hundred Ghosts.

Unlike the Hundred Ghosts, who would slack off the moment they were given a task—

The knights under his command applied themselves to even the smallest duties.

And while many in the Hundred Ghosts were weak yet arrogant enough to challenge him—

There was no such behavior among these knights.

He didn't feel any of the typical burdens of leadership that had constantly stressed him out back with the Hundred Ghosts.

So naturally—

Blue Ghost had spent the past month growing attached to this place without even realizing it.

Of course, he didn't divulge the entire story, thinking it would sound too bizarre, so he simply said, “It just sort of turned out this way.”

“So yeah, that is the situation.”

He concluded his explanation briefly.

Inside the temporary command tent of Marquis Palatio—

Alon, who had been listening to Blue Ghost with a slightly distant look in his eyes, reached a conclusion.

“So ultimately, you came here because of Ryanga.”

“Correct. I came to bring you back.”

As Blue Ghost nodded, Alon looked somewhat embarrassed.

“I did intend to visit at some point.”

But somehow, he hadn't managed to go until now.

Scratching his head, Alon remarked,

“Well, I was planning to head out regardless. I will drop by shortly.”

“Understood.”

Then Alon added another thought.

“Oh, and I know you were swept up in all this against your will, but... thanks for your hard work. If you wish to quit, you are free to do so.”

Based on Blue Ghost’s story—

He had simply come looking for Alon and ended up working for nothing.

Alon meant it as a kind gesture, but—

“No, it is fine.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I have already secured a position in the knight order. Wouldn’t it be strange to just leave abruptly?”

Blue Ghost’s eyes began to dart around, showing his uncertainty.

“Well, I suppose that’s true... but shouldn’t you be returning to Ryanga?”

“Ah, right…”

Following Alon’s response, Blue Ghost let out a quiet sigh.

For a moment, Alon thought, “What is even going on with him?”

“Marquis.”

“What?”

“Anyone can see he still has lingering feelings about this, right?”

“Yeah, it looks that way.”

“What kind of organization is this Hundred Ghosts group, anyway…”

As Evan whispered beside him, Alon nodded silently in agreement.

“By the way, Marquis! If things are progressing this well… your divine power must have surged as well, right?”

“Oh, that’s a good point!”

Penia clapped her hands together as she asked, and Evan nodded along.

“Is that so…”

At that, Alon closed his eyes to check his internal state.

And the moment he did—

“…?”

He found himself transported to a very familiar location.

A space filled with the shimmering light of a blue galaxy.

“This is—”

It didn't take Alon long to recognize his surroundings.

And soon—

“It has been a long time.”

He was finally able to encounter Kalannon, the lightning receiver, once again.

But—

“Yes, it is me.”

She was no longer a young girl, but a fully matured woman.