Became the Patron of Villains

Five days later.  
The news that Kalman and Malian, both Baba Yagas, had targeted Seolrang’s life spread rapidly throughout the entire colony.  
With the testimony of Liyan Aguileras, the daughter of the Red Tower Lord, and the mercenaries who survived the attack, the story gained widespread attention.  

The public was outraged at the fact that two Baba Yagas had cowardly teamed up to take down another Baba Yaga. 
As a result, they dragged down and destroyed the statues of Kalman and Malian that had been erected in the eastern part of the colony.  
Similarly, the guilds associated with the two Baba Yagas quickly disbanded, and within a matter of days, all traces of Malian and Kalman vanished from the colony.  

In their place, Seolrang took over.  
Despite being ambushed by Malian and Kalman, Seolrang not only survived but also dealt with them, returning to immense public support.  
As the testimonies of the Red Tower Lord’s daughter and the mercenaries were increasingly proven true, Seolrang’s popularity soared to unprecedented heights.  

Seolrang was even beginning to be called the “First Baba Yaga” by the public, overtaking Kalman, who had held the title for the longest time.  
Additionally, Count Palatio, who was known to have greatly contributed to helping Seolrang deal with the two Baba Yagas, was also gaining massive attention.  
Currently, he was in the forgotten city of Kahara once more, checking something at the far eastern edge, where he hadn’t been able to visit last time.  

He was looking at the inscription on the eastern stone tablet.  
“Hmm.”  
Alon, who had read all the words on the stone tablet during what could be considered either a long or short time, suddenly thought of a question.  

‘Wait a second? How am I reading this?’  
The words written on the stone tablet were not in the common language of the continent, but despite being unfamiliar, Alon could naturally decipher them.  
It was as if he had been able to read them all along.  

With a puzzled expression, Alon decided to stop by the central tower and ask about this before heading back.  
As he turned around and began walking, he recalled the contents he had just read on the stone tablet.  
‘…… About foreign gods and gods.’  
The eastern stone tablet, recommended by someone who suggested it might give him a rough idea of what was happening, contained stories related to foreign gods and gods.  

However, what stood out to him was that some parts differed slightly from the information he had obtained while playing Psychedelia.  
“……Why are foreign gods and gods described in opposite ways here?”  
In Psychedelia, foreign gods and gods were clearly distinguished.  

Foreign gods referred to gods not originally from this continent but rather deities born from people’s beliefs or from otherworldly realms.  
Gods, on the other hand, were beings that had existed since the beginning when there was nothing on the continent.  
As far as Alon knew, the five great sins were called gods in Psychedelia, and the monstrous deity he encountered in the north was referred to as a foreign god.  

But on this stone tablet, the terms were reversed—what he knew as “foreign gods” were called “gods,” and the five great sins were referred to as “foreign gods.”  
Of course, the stone tablet didn’t directly mention the five great sins or the foreign gods by name.  
Instead, the gods on the tablet were described in metaphors like “those who value honor,” “those who seek forgotten death,” or “those who have delved too deeply into the mysteries of magic.”  

However, having played Psychedelia many times, Alon knew exactly who these metaphors referred to.  
He also knew that metaphors like “the many-handed one” and “the one filled with greed and envy” were referencing the five great sins.  
“Hmm-”  

Alon thought for a moment before neatly folding that information away in his mind.  
Except for the fact that “foreign gods” were described as “gods” and vice versa, the information he read on the stone tablet didn’t conflict with what he already knew.  
This was because the stories mainly told in ‘Psychedelia’ were about the future, not the past.  

‘I wish I could ask about this too.’  
Alon organized the contents of the tablet in his mind as he walked toward the central tower.  
***

In conclusion, Alon could not encounter ‘it’ again.  
This was because the door that had once been in the center of the tower when he first arrived in the city had vanished, as if it had never been there.  
He considered breaking through and climbing up, but didn’t believe he would be able to meet ‘it’ even then, so he ultimately decided to leave.  

“Master!”  
As soon as he stepped outside, he was greeted energetically by none other than Seolrang.  
Seolrang, who had looked bored while waiting for him, beamed the moment Alon appeared.  

Alon, who now sat with her in the carriage, heard:  
“Let’s get married?”  
It was the 19th proposal she had made in the last five days, leaving Alon with a troubled expression.  

Facing Seolrang, who had placed both her hands on his knees, Alon noticed that the distance between them had grown smaller over the days.  
Of course, Alon hadn’t moved closer—Seolrang had been the one to close the gap.  
“Hm?”  

Seolrang perked up her ears and tilted her head slightly.  
Watching her tail swaying behind her, Alon let out a soft sigh.  
At first, it had felt heartwarming, like a cute daughter saying, “I want to marry daddy!” But now, it was becoming a bit troublesome.  

“…………As I said before, I think of you as family.”  
This was his 19th response.  
“But we’re not ‘really’ family!”  

And it was her 19th rebuttal.  
“If we get married, everything will be solved!”  
“What problem?”  

“We’ll become real family!”  
Alon, looking at Seolrang’s face filled with the expression of someone thinking, ‘I’m a genius!’, couldn’t help but feel like this conversation had become like a dialogue loop in a game.  
“Do you even know what getting married means?”  

Alon, deciding to press the conversation forward a bit, asked this question after they had come to the same conclusion 19 times.  
“Of course! I’m confident I can make Master happy!”  
However, realizing that even if he continued this discussion, the content would just circle back, he sighed.  

“Seolrang, marriage is a serious matter. Think about it more carefully.”  
“I ‘am’ serious!”  
“……Think even more seriously.”  

With that, he closed his mouth.  
At this point, he had no thoughts of marrying anyone.  
Additionally, even though he hadn’t raised her himself, Alon still felt that Seolrang was more like an affectionate daughter to him.  

‘She’ll stop saying things like this after a few years.’  
Some time passed, and by the time Seolrang’s pout from being rejected multiple times faded away, they arrived back at the colony.  
Alon immediately prepared to leave.  

He would have preferred to leave a bit later, but due to the nature of the desert crossing, it was safer to travel with the merchant group that departed at specific intervals.  
And so.  
“Let’s meet again next time.”  

“Alright! You have to answer me then!”  
“……Sure.”  
Leaving behind a promise that felt like an empty pledge, Alon departed from the colony.  

***
Seolrang watched Alon and the merchant group disappear into the distance, only turning back to the guild once the carriage was no longer in sight.  
The guild, from which Ralga and her traitorous clan members had vanished, remained unchanged.  

Ralga’s betrayal had enraged the clan that Seolrang had gathered, and many of them were genuinely concerned for her, having been shocked by the betrayal.  
The guild, which Seolrang thought was slowly becoming the ideal organization she had envisioned, should have brought her satisfaction.  
‘Should have.’  

“Haa-”  
Seolrang let out a soft sigh.  
Instead of the usual smile she always wore, her face was now expressionless.  

It was because she had gained a certain realization from this experience.  
No matter how hard she tried, she could never regain the happiness she felt when she was younger.  
“I don’t want that.”  

Seolrang’s disinterested muttering quietly echoed through the empty room.  
It sounded normal, but in reality, her voice carried a hint of gloom.  
The realization that the happiness she believed she could find by creating a “family” was merely an illusion left her with a sense of loss.  

She had genuinely believed that if she gathered her clan and returned to how things were before, she could once again feel happiness.  
But even in the midst of that sense of loss, a smile began to creep across her face, and it was all because of one person.  
Alon.  

In that moment, Seolrang recalled how, during Kalman’s attack, Alon had trusted her completely and stood still, preparing his magic without taking a single step.  
She also remembered how, when Ralga launched her surprise attack, Alon had thrown himself without hesitation to save her.  
He had shown her the image of an ideal family, not through words, but through his actions—like a great moon guiding her.  

Seolrang’s tail swayed happily.  
In just the week she had spent with the great moon, she had glimpsed the path to the “happiness” she had not found in the clan she had gathered over two years.  
The path toward the happiness she sought.  

Of course, he wasn’t family yet, but that didn’t matter.  
If he wasn’t family ‘yet’, then all she had to do was make him family.  
“I want to ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) get married~”  

Seolrang murmured the words she had already said many times before, a cheerful smile on her face.  
Her heart pounded with excitement at the thought of the happiness she would reclaim once the great moon became her family.  
But unfortunately, Seolrang also knew that this couldn’t happen immediately.  

For now, she still had the task of forming a personal guard to protect the great moon and serve him.  
“……”  
In fact, Seolrang hadn’t initially given much thought to that task.  

She had assumed that as long as she gathered enough of her clan, the task given to her by the great moon would be taken care of on its own.  
But now, things were different.  
To her, the great moon was no longer just a Master—he had become someone indispensable.  

So, she had to.  
‘Create it.’ 
Seolrang resolved.  

‘No matter the situation, a personal guard that can protect him from any danger.’ 
Her golden eyes shone brightly with determination.  
***

The night of Alon’s departure from the colony.  
“By the way, did you check?”  
“You mean the ones in Seolrang’s guild? I’ve checked everyone, and aside from Ralga and those who were dealt with this time, no one seems to be showing any suspicious activity.”  

Hearing Evan’s report, Alon nodded.  
After returning from the ruins, Alon had ordered an investigation through the information guild to see if there were any other suspicious figures within Seolrang’s guild, similar to Ralga.  
The reason, of course, was that it would be a problem if Seolrang were hurt again.  

‘I’d rather avoid any unnecessary complications.’  
Once was manageable, but he wasn’t confident that everything would be fine if it happened again. So, Alon intended to deal with any potential problems in advance.  
“Well, that’s a relief.”  

“And since we have the money you gave us, I’ve instructed them to continue briefing us on any developments that might arise.”  
“Good job.”  
After replying to Evan, Alon finally felt like his work in the colony was mostly wrapped up, and he let out a deep sigh, leaning against the carriage.  

Although it seemed like the tasks were done, unfortunately, he wasn’t entirely finished.  
‘…There’s still one more foreign god to deal with…’  
Additionally, the new knowledge he had gained kept floating around in his mind.  

From the reversed roles of the foreign gods and the gods, to the mysterious being’s mention of *order*.  
But above all.  
”Sulli’ (順理).’ 

Alon recalled a fragment of hidden truth about this world—something he had never heard or seen during his time playing Psychedelia.  
‘Is it finally time to go there?’  
He continued to ponder, remembering the destination filled with countless inscriptions that he had been meaning to visit for a long time.  

At that moment.  
[Me]  
In the regular meeting that all members of the Blue Moon, including those from the colony, were required to attend, the previously peaceful atmosphere had suddenly—  

[I’m going to marry the great moon!!]  
[Wha-….?]  
[…]  

—been replaced by a storm.  
A rather fierce storm.