I Became the Patron of Villains

208. Apostle (3)

About three weeks after leaving the Duchy of Luxible.

The moment Caliburn came into view.

“It’s been a while.”

Once again, Alon’s vision suddenly changed.

A world now familiar, where the Milky Way spread out.

In the middle of it stood Kalanon.

“It seems we can talk now.”

“Yes. Though we can’t talk for long.”

“Is this conversation being maintained by the gathered divinity?”

“Well, yes? At first, I operated it purely with the power I had left, but now you and I are practically bound together by divinity.”

Of course, I can’t wield divinity alone- Kalanon sighed with a peculiar regret.

“I had something I wanted to ask you.”

Alon was glad to see Kalanon.

“What part?”

“Do you know anything about the Baekgwi?”

“Hmm- I don’t not know?”

“So, you’re saying you don’t have any personal acquaintance with the Baekgwi?”

“Of course not? From the moment that snakehead attached to you appeared, it was hard enough to gather the power to manifest.”

“Ah.”

Alon let out a gasp without realizing it.

Thinking about it, it was certainly true.

‘Before I trapped Basiliora in the Covenant Ring, it was devouring faith continuously.’

Considering the nature of faith.

It was natural that Kalanon couldn’t manifest just because Basiliora was present.

“I see.”

“But why do you ask that all of a sudden?”

When Alon explained the reason, she shrugged her shoulders.

“That doesn’t seem to be related to me.”

“Is that so.”

“Do you have anything else to ask?”

Of course, there was more.

“Come to think of it, didn’t I tell you before? That you need faith, but you shouldn’t go out of your way to gather it.”

“You did, didn’t you?”

“Why was that? Didn’t you need faith?”

Kalanon nodded briefly, as if understanding the gist of the question.

“This is, um- a bit hard to explain, but faith is a very good but very delicate power in many ways?”

“And so?”

“Faith basically comes from belief in a god, and if you try to obtain it a bit artificially, problems are bound to arise in some way.”

“……Problems?”

“It looks a bit unsightly, so to speak.”

“I kind of get it, kind of don’t.”

Kalanon tapped his head with his small index finger, as if searching for a metaphor.

Then, he clapped his hands with an “Ah!”

“That’s it, that’s it. You know that faith is a true belief in that god, right?”

“I know.”

“But that faith doesn’t build up unless humans truly believe.”

“……So, you’re saying there shouldn’t be a shred of doubt?”

“No, you can have doubts, but the belief itself must be genuine. But if you try to make them believe for some kind of reward or artificially encourage belief-“

“Faith doesn’t build up easily.”

“Yes, in some ways, it can even create a psychological resistance, making it harder to gather faith.”

Artificiality causes resistance, so-

“……Then what should we do?”

“There’s only one way. Just let it happen naturally. As you continue to act and influence here and there, people who revere you will naturally emerge.”

“So that’s why you told me not to try too hard.”

“Exactly.”

Kalanon, who had been muttering that it shouldn’t be too forced, suddenly widened his eyes as if something had come to mind.

“Still, there is a way to quickly gather pure faith.”

“What is it?”

“Massacre.”

“……What?”

Alon asked again, wondering if he had heard correctly.

“If you massacre humans and instill fear, faith will arise, and quite a lot of it.”

Kalanon nodded without a hint of hesitation.

“Of course, I don’t recommend it. If you massacre just to gain faith, many will simply die. And you won’t be able to handle it.”

“……Is there no other way?”

Alon hurriedly changed the subject.

“Another way is to perform miracles.”

“……Perform miracles?”

It was still hard to grasp the meaning immediately.

Kalanon pondered for a moment and then asked Alon.

“Is there a god currently worshipped on the continent?”

“Hmm- The United Kingdom would be Sironia, and to the east, there’s Alte…mia? Right.”

When Alon mentioned the god of the east, which he didn’t remember well, Kalanon made a sound, “Hmm-“.

“They’re not well-known friends, but anyway- don’t the believers of that Sironia perform miracles?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s one of the ways to quickly gather faith.”

Alon, recalling the miracles of the Sironia believers, nodded.

“Indeed, seeing miracles naturally makes faith grow?”

“Exactly. Divinity is ultimately the power of miracles, and showing how to handle that miraculous power naturally creates faith. It’s more stable than the god directly using their power.”

“Hmm.”

“And if the number of believers increases like that, it becomes a complete self-replicating mode.”

“Self-replicating?”

“Yes. Those who receive the god’s power show their strength to increase believers, and if they share a bit of power with those believers, they go to other places, show their power to other humans, increase believers, and share a bit of power again- something like that.”

“Indeed.”

The principle of the cycle continuing and naturally growing in scale.

It seemed quite plausible.

Then suddenly, Alon made a strange expression.

Because it sounded similar to a method from the world he used to live in.

‘…Isn’t this just a pyramid scheme?’

Just a fleeting thought.

“Anyway, that god called Sironia is probably gathering a lot of faith without moving much?”

At Kalanon’s explanation, Alon thought of Rosario and fell into a new sentiment.

He already knew that Rosario wasn’t a place that offered good deeds unconditionally.

But hearing it like this made it seem more business-like than he thought.

‘So that’s why Rosario is left alone even when it gets corrupt in the story…?’

Alon then asked another question.

“Then should I also increase faith in that way?”

“Hmm, it would be nice if you could, but with the faith you have now- it would be a bit difficult.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Well- about two people might be possible. You only need to directly extract and deliver the power the first time, after that, it will naturally sustain through faith.”

“How do I deliver the power?”

“It’s simple. Just extract a small amount of divinity and pass it over. As long as there’s a trace left, it’s fine. After that, it’s up to that friend how to use the power.”

A new plan formed in Alon’s mind.

####

Right after finishing the conversation with Kalanon.

“Whew-“

“Marquis, why did you suddenly sigh?”

“It’s nothing.”

When Evan asked, Alon lightly shook his head.

He calmly recalled the conversation with her.

‘There are three things to organize.’

The first was that Kalanon and the Hundred Ghosts had nothing to do with each other.

The second was the fact that one could gather faith and share power with others.

The last was how to use divinity.

“Hmm-“

Alon recalled Kalanon’s voice.

‘As I mentioned before, the first thing you need to do to use divinity is to understand the ‘traits’ that the divinity possesses. For example, we can ‘convert any type of magic we touch into lightning’ and ‘summon lightning’.’

‘Once you understand those traits, using them is both difficult and easy. First, envelop your entire body with divinity, and as I mentioned, press the trigger. Of course, once you get used to it, you won’t need the trigger, but for now, you will.’

‘Ah, of course, it might seem easy because I’m explaining it like this. Enveloping yourself in divinity is extremely difficult, so you’ll need to practice. Last time, I helped you, and I’ll continue to help whenever you use the power, but you still need to learn how to do it alone.’

‘I was going to explain additional methods of handling power when incarnated, but seeing you use it last time, I don’t think there’s a need for further explanation.’

After recalling up to that point, Alon thought.

‘I know everything I wanted to know.’

Additionally, he learned one more piece of information.

It was about the scale of the divinity Alon possessed.

‘I don’t know how it happened, but I’ve gathered an enormous amount. …Does this even make sense?’

Kalanon chuckled in disbelief, beyond surprise.

“Marquis, we’ve arrived.”

“Really?”

Just then, the carriage arrived in Caliban.

“Are you going straight to the north?”

Evan asked, somewhat cautiously.

After a moment of contemplation, Alon stood up.

“Take a rest for about two days.”

“Understood.”

Evan, excited, energetically got off the carriage.

Following him, Alon thought.

‘To increase faith, I must transfer power – to whom should I give it?’

The power of Kalanon was undoubtedly good, even in his own eyes.

He pondered over whom to bestow this power upon.

Soon enough.

“Marquis! Is there anything uncomfortable for you?”

As soon as he stepped out of the carriage, Silly, who had been waiting, ran up and asked.

“……? Marquis?”

Alon, who was quietly staring at her, said.

“Silly.”

“Yes!”

“You said you mainly learned lightning and ice magic, right?”

“Ah- yes, that’s right!”

“……Do you have any thoughts on using divine power?”

“Divine power, you say?”

As if a good idea had come to him.

He faintly curled his lips.

####

Atop the giant statue carved into the massive cliff.

Around dusk, when it was gradually getting dark.

“Boss.”

“Why?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

The blue-skinned man, Cheong-gwi, asked the black-haired girl.

“Why on earth are you helping that so-called righteous human?”

“Are you curious about that?”

Cheong-gwi frowned slightly and nodded.

“Of course, right? It’s not just that the boss takes care of him so much, but he seems quite intriguing in many ways. I saw an elf with him, he uses divine power, and above all, it’s like the boss is a puppy meeting its owner-“

BOOM-!

Before he could finish his story, Cheong-gwi was struck by Baek-gwi’s fist and flew off, carving into the cliff.

But a moment later.

“Geez, can’t you wait until I finish talking before hitting me?”

Covered in dust, Cheong-gwi climbed back up, and she snorted in response.

“If you don’t want to get hit, speak properly, you idiot.”

“…Can I continue talking?”

“Go ahead.”

“Anyway, aside from being so peculiar, it seemed like he didn’t even know the boss?”

The girl remained silent, but Cheong-gwi kept chattering.

“That’s why I was curious. The boss seems to feel very familiar with him, but that person with all the legitimacy and whatnot didn’t show any signs of it. So I asked.”

“…”

Before he knew it, the girl’s cheeks had puffed up slightly.

Anyone could see she looked a bit sulky.

Clearly, something was bothering her.

Seeing that.

“Wow…”

Cheong-gwi blinked in amazement.

In all the centuries by Baek-gwi’s side, he had never seen such a face.

A face like a sulking child.

And it didn’t end there.

“Next time.”

“Next time?”

“Next time, I’ll find out.”

“?”

Baek-gwi’s voice echoed with a hint of sadness.

And Cheong-gwi’s eyes grew even wider.

“Definitely.”

Baek-gwi gazed at the blue moon that had risen in the night sky.

“…You’ll be able to recognize it.”

He murmured once more, softly.