Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 342 : ???? Years Old (1)
Previously on Became the Patron of Villains...
Due to the cramped office space, they initially relocated to the tea room, where seating was available for all.
Following that.
Alon poured tea for everyone, then rubbed the back of his neck uneasily amid the lingering quiet.
At that moment—
“Marquis.”
“What is it, Evan?”
“It’s about the auction house matter you stamped last time............”
“Did something go wrong?”
“It seems so. The proposal came up again and I think you should check it now.”
“If that’s the case~”
Evan fetched the document.
Alon rose immediately and announced,
“Sorry, but I’ll go handle this right away. We’ve already introduced ourselves, so go ahead and talk amongst yourselves.”
The group nodded together.
Alon pivoted and exited the space.
Silence once more enveloped the tea room.
Though no overt threats loomed, a peculiar tension hung in the atmosphere.
Even Seolrang, typically prone to chuckling and teasing Rine after such a long absence—
Clink—
Remained rigid, fingers clasped around her teacup, expression locked in place.
And the one who broke the quiet first was—
“Was it Deus Macallian?”
—Nangwon.
“That’s right.”
Deus affirmed steadily.
A short while later.
“Fufufu, I’m impressed you noticed. You must have an eye for such things.”
“Is that so? But it was so well made that I couldn’t help but admire it.”
Contrasting the prior strained vibe, Deus and Nangwon exchanged words with subtle grins.
The cause was—
“To think you’d engrave something like that into a statue—never crossed my mind.”
“If you’re interested, I can show you how I carve it into a statue next time.”
“Oh, I’m looking forward to that.”
—Alon’s statue.
The mood swiftly eased due to the unexpected rapport forming between Deus and Nangwon.
With their voices filling the space—
“Ahem, let me reintroduce myself. I’m Yutia Bloodia.”
“Allow me as well. I’m Magrina, Queen of Fildagreen.”
“I’m Ryanga.”
“I’m Seolrang!”
“I’m Rine.”
“Historia.”
Those who had stayed mute before now shared their names in turn, and the discussion naturally started unfolding.
The atmosphere had warmed up much from the start.
Yet, a faint divide persisted among the attendees, aside from Nangwon and Deus.
For instance—
“As the queen of elves, I’m sure you must have a lot on your plate. But no worries, we’re already supporting Lord well, so there’s no need for you to concern yourself too much.”
“I can’t just ignore it. Ms. Seolrang over there and Sister Rine here are all from foreign lands, so I have to offer a bit more help.”
“It’s fine, really. We’ve already taken care of anything that might trouble our Lord.”
“Still, Brother often needs information. We believe it’s important to support him in the ways he needs.”
Although smiles accompanied their words,
They distinctly addressed one another in separate factions.
It was unavoidable.
Yutia, together with Seolrang, Rine, and Deus, were individuals Alon had rescued about a decade prior.
In contrast, Magrina, Nangwon, Historia, and Ryanga were those he had saved following his journey into the past.
“Our Lord already has plenty of support from us.”
“So do we.”
‘We can support him well enough on our own, so don’t overstep.’
‘Nope, I will.’
That was the message Yutia and Magrina conveyed to each other through their cheerful expressions.
Just as the fleeting unity started to fray and the strain began building once more—
“What a coincidence. Who would’ve thought that everyone with a connection to the Marquis would all gather here today for something important.”
The tea gathering—
“That matter should’ve already been settled though.”
Snap.
With a single remark from Yutia, the ambiance turned icy in an instant.
“Oh my, what do you mean by that?”
Lifting her teacup with a grin, Magrina halted, gently placed it back, and inquired once more.
Yet Yutia responded while holding her smile.
“Just as you heard? The important decision has already been made, so I thought you might feel a bit regretful.”
“You seem to know what that matter is?”
Yutia offered no reply to Magrina’s query.
She merely grinned cunningly with her fox-like eyes and drank from her tea.
“S-Seriously? It’s already over? Wait, didn’t it just begin???”
Ryanga, who had been fidgeting awkwardly until now, exclaimed in astonishment, visibly rattled.
Magrina, fixing her gaze on Yutia, commented.
“As far as I know, it’s not over yet.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. We were supposed to talk about it today.”
“That conversation won’t mean much.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because it’s already been decided.”
“But I heard this person only chooses candidates. The one who really decides is Brother, right?”
Magrina’s resolute comeback.
Yutia maintained her serene look and took another sip of tea.
Sllrp—
Her demeanor stayed utterly poised.
After gracefully lowering her cup, she stated—
“Yes. That’s why I’m telling you now.”
She beamed sweetly.
All eyes turned swiftly toward Yutia.
Faced with her unshakeable assurance, the others found themselves at a loss for words.
“That’s just Yutia’s opinion, isn’t it?”
Rine interjected abruptly.
“Y-Yeah! Yutia! That’s just what you think! We don’t know what Master’s going to decide!”
Seolrang joined in.
The subtle coalition from earlier shattered immediately.
Companions from mere moments past turned into rivals in a flash.
“So it seems.”
“Ahem, it’s true that Chief will make the final call, so nothing’s set in stone yet.”
Magrina chimed in with a grin.
Ryanga balled her hands into fists silently, steeling her determination.
Through it all, Yutia stayed unruffled.
“Is that so?”
As though she had anticipated victory from the outset.
She displayed the grin of a conqueror.
In response, the rest sealed their lips.
Even Magrina, who had sustained her smile thus far, showed a slight stiffening of her features.
If Yutia felt that confident—
Something must be afoot.
Sensing the weight, Seolrang gritted her teeth and wavered.
Should she deploy that?
But dreading the fallout, she wrestled within—
Then reached her choice.
“But still, Yutia isn’t really suited to be a partner, is she?”
She voiced it.
Yutia regarded her steadily amid the hush.
Feeling strangely vulnerable, Seolrang looked away and muttered.
“Yutia’s, uh, like, hundreds of times older than Master…… right……?”
She let it slip.
Shifting her gaze elsewhere—
Yutia went still.
Seolrang’s hidden tactic, fired off wildly, struck Yutia squarely.
And—
“Oh my, is that so.”
In mere moments—
Magrina forged a fresh pact with Seolrang.
“Hmmm~”
“That’s certainly true.”
Ryanga and Rine leaped in promptly.
Historia’s blank stare directed itself at Yutia.
A flawless riposte.
Nevertheless.
After a brief stiffening, Yutia let out a gentle chuckle.
“Fufu~”
She surveyed the group lightly.
A subtle snapping noise echoed—faintly.
“Sorry, Seolrang, but that’s not quite right, is it?”
“Huh? What do you mean—”
“I’m twenty-two years old this year.”
“?”
“?”
“?”
“Eh? That can’t be right. You’re clearly—”
“I said I’m twenty-two.”
“......Aren’t you just insisting on that?”
“Well, what can I do if it’s the truth, Rine? It’s not nice to spread falsehoods, you know?”
Tilting her head, Yutia behaved as if oblivious to her history.
By the point when all wore frustrated expressions, she pressed on.
“Besides, if we’re going to bring up age, I believe most of you aren’t exactly in your teens either. Am I wrong?”
“!!”
“!”
The group hushed again beneath Yutia’s counterstrike.
In reality, her point held water.
Magrina, Ryanga, and even Historia had endured for 600 years.
Moreover, Rine had been confined for 600 years, so she wasn’t exempt.
“Ahem, did you know? High Elves live a really long time? So by elven standards, I’m only around twenty.”
Regaining poise, Magrina invoked a wondrous reckoning approach (?).
“M-Me too! We live for a long time, okay!? If I wanted to, I could live for thousands of years… Uh, wait, how old am I in human years again +.....?”
Attempting to mirror Magrina’s reasoning, Ryanga faltered, eyes swirling.
“I’m the same.”
Historia concurred coolly.
But Rine rebutted.
“I’m still twenty, Yutia.”
“How so?”
“Because I was sealed. I didn’t age.”
“But you were awake for those 600 years.”
“Even so, my physical age didn’t change. If you’re saying I aged during that time, then your logic doesn’t make sense either, Yutia.”
Yutia fell quiet anew at her statement.
And Rine regarded her with a neutral yet oddly victorious look.
“Ahem. Then I must be the one who suits Master best!”
Immediately after, Seolrang dove in boldly.
Right then—
“What.”
Even absorbed in the statue talk, Nangwon caught the exchange and murmured offhandedly.
“Whether it’s 600 years or more… Honestly, that’s still just aging all the same, isn’t it?”
“I agree with that.”
“Right? In the end, by human standards, you’re all kind of Aun—”
He cut off before the final syllable.
The instant Nangwon attempted that term, he and Deus were booted—
By Magrina and Yutia in turn.
And then—
BOOOOOOM—!!!!
[—?!]
“—!?”
Alon, immersed in examining the returned proposal, abruptly detected a burst of fierce magical power and an explosion—
And witnessed the mansion’s wall utterly demolished, with Deus and Nangwon embedded in a bookshelf.
Stunned, he moved to trigger Reverse Heaven.
“I’m sorry, my Lord.”
“Sorry for causing a scene.”
“Yutia… Magrina?”
Alon halted at the emergence of Yutia and Magrina from the dusty debris.
Trailing them were Ryanga, Historia, and Rine.
The trio wordlessly seized Nangwon and Deus by the ankles and hauled them back to the originating chamber.
Alon simply—
Gaped vacantly at the unfolding chaos.
“Don’t worry, my Lord. We just got caught up in a small conversation and things got a bit messy.”
“We’ll be heading back now.”
“Do your best with work, Chief!”
“Good luck, Divine One!”
“See you in a bit, Godfather.”
The women waved lively as they towed the two men off.
Alon slumped into his seat, thoughts utterly empty.
[Meow~]
Then, softly petting Blackie who had leaped into his lap in fright,
“Deus and Nangwon… are they going to be okay…?”
He gazed emptily at the breach in the wall.
***
That evening, following the major uproar at the Palatio Marquis’ estate.
Alexion—
Commenced the interviews.
“Hello.”
“......Good evening.”
“I’m Rine Groff.”
……
“Ah, yes, but um… the letter, where did you get it?”
“It came to me.”
“Oh… You received a letter?”
“Yes.”
“……Uh, sorry, but we didn’t send a letter to a Ms. Rine Groff.”
“Huh?”
“Well, I don’t recall writing a letter to Ms. Rine Groff—”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t send—”
“Huh?”
“..............Come to think of it, I guess I did send it.”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
—Questioning the thief.
“Oh, by the way, I heard the interviews are based on a scoring system?”
“That’s correct.”
“I hope I get a good score.”
“Well, the scoring is based on a number of criteria—”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Rine consented all too readily.
Just as Alexion prepared to adjust his assessment of her to ‘A person who may lack shame, but at least has basic decency’—
CRACK!
Alexion witnessed it.
The golden crown materializing behind Rine.
Seamlessly piercing a neat opening through the desk separating them.
“Ah, I’m so sorry. I’m not used to this body yet, so I messed up. I don’t even have full control over my strength yet… I apologize.”
Rine whispered tonelessly.
At that display—
“L-Let’s begin.................”
Alexion squeezed his eyes closed firmly.
