Raising Villains the Right Way

“You’re a little late, brother.”

“Sorry. Am I very late?”

“Not at all.”

“That’s a relief. And—”

Alon, who had arrived near Greynifra—in other words, near the land of the elves, Fildagreen—was greeted warmly by Magrina.

“Brother.”

“Nangwon?”

He saw Nangwon.

“Yes. Have you been well, brother?”

“Yes, I’ve been well, but—”

Before he could ask, ‘Why are you here?’ Nangwon opened his mouth first.

“I came to check on something.”

After thinking for a moment, Alon nodded.

‘Come to think of it, we knew each other even back when I saved him.’

Most of the children Alon had saved tended to stick together.

“Brother, since it’s late tonight, let’s talk tomorrow after you’ve rested.”

“Let’s do that.”

At Magrina’s gesture, another elf guided Alon to his room.

“Marquis, you’ve arrived a bit early?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you say you had a few things to ask?”

Evan was right.

Alon had a few questions for Magrina.

But the reason he didn’t ask right away was because of Nangwon.

‘If they’re talking even into the night, it must be something important.’

Alon didn’t want to interrupt Magrina and Nangwon, so he held back.

Besides, he could always get answers tomorrow.

“They seem a little busy.”

“I see.”

As if relieved that Alon had arrived early, Evan shrugged lightly.

“Well then, could you help me dry those over there?”

He pointed to one side.

Alon looked in the direction Evan pointed.

“…”

“Eh—”

There stood Penia, precariously carrying a mountain of books.

‘What is she doing?’

Penia had piled books so high it was a wonder she hadn’t dropped them.

“Well, there’s a bit of a situation…”

“Situation?”

“Yes, you know? I went to the library and oh my! There were tons of books that could help with your magic, Marquis!”

[Wouldn’t that content be more helpful to you? Gah~!]

Placing the tomes on top of Basiliora’s body, Penia continued.

“Ahem, anyway, I carefully selected only the absolutely necessary books—”

“…And that’s how many you picked?”

“Right…?”

Tapping her index fingers together and glancing around with cat-like eyes, Penia cautiously asked.

“So, about that, Marquis…! How long will we be staying here?”

“Well, probably about three days.”

“Then if I sleep just three hours a night—”

Upon hearing Alon’s words, Penia began forming a grand(?) plan in her head.

While Alon admired her unwavering love of magic, in the audience chamber—

“So you’re saying that rumor isn’t true?”

“Did you really come all the way here to ask something so obvious?”

Nangwon and Magrina were having a conversation.

“Obvious or not, the rumor spread like wildfire.”

“Sigh. Who on earth spread such a rumor…”

Magrina sighed quietly as if the whole thing gave her a headache.

Nangwon stared at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You say it’s a headache, but the corners of your mouth are lifted.”

Pointing out the subtle smile on her otherwise calm face, Nangwon made Magrina flinch and hurriedly cover her mouth.

Seeing her cheeks tinged with a blush, Nangwon sighed.

“Wake up.”

“I wasn’t thinking anything like that!”

Magrina furrowed her brows in protest, and Nangwon chuckled.

“Well, I know. You and I both only admire Brother.”

“…Sigh, if you know that well, stop joking. It feels like something sacred is being tarnished.”

At Magrina’s passionate response, Nangwon shrugged.

“For someone who says that, weren’t you planning to just play it off if his reaction wasn’t bad?”

He teased once more.

He could joke so easily because he knew Magrina’s feelings were not so different from his own.

Magrina subtly turned her gaze away.

Nangwon saw it clearly.

Silence instantly spread through the space.

The joy of seeing an old friend vanished quickly, and as the air turned awkward, Nangwon hesitated over what to say.

Trying to break the tension, he opened his mouth—

“Think about the age gap. If you consider the age gap, then—”

“If you say one more word, I will seriously kill you.”

It wasn’t a warning, but a definitive statement.

Nangwon had no choice but to close his mouth.

Yet, even sensing the danger, he continued his train of thought.

“…At this point, she’s basically an old ha—”

He accidentally said out loud what he was only thinking.

BOOOOM—!!

***

“D-Did someone just get attacked!?”

“Calm down.”

“…Is it okay to sleep only four hours a night?”

[You bastards! Help me out of here first!!!!]

Alon and his group turned puzzled faces toward the audience chamber, where the loud noise had come from.

The next day, after being assured by the attendant that it was nothing serious and taking a proper rest—

“Did you and Nangwon fight or something?”

Behind Magrina’s cheerful smile.

That is, with the wall gone and the beautiful World Tree in full view, Alon was about to ask something else—

“No, of course not.”

Alon soon nodded and began the conversation they couldn’t finish the day before.

And—

“So it really was a baseless rumor.”

“Of course it was a baseless rumor. Do you think I would do something like that without Brother’s permission?”

Hearing the slight hint of hurt in Magrina’s voice, Alon hurried to respond.

“I knew it was just a rumor. I only asked because I was curious where it started.”

“Hmm… Honestly, I’m not sure either. Probably only Hazad knows about this.”

“Then it’s likely from that side.”

“Is that so? As far as I know, they don’t have any contact with the humans either.”

To her question, Alon shared his general thoughts, and soon changed the subject.

“So, when should we hold the ceremony?”

“The preparations are all done, so I think tomorrow should be fine.”

“Will it take long?”

“Of course not. Just think of it as a kind of declaration ceremony.”

“I see. Oh, and just in case, let me ask—this ceremony—”

“Don’t worry. It’s going to feel more honorary than anything else. There shouldn’t be anything uncomfortable for you.”

As if she already knew what he was going to ask, Magrina answered right away.

When Alon nodded, this time she asked a question.

“Brother, will you be leaving right after the ceremony?”

“Yes, I plan to head to the Eastern Nation.”

“The Eastern Nation? Ah, right, back then…”

As Magrina nodded, recalling her previous conversation with Hazad, Alon asked.

“Just to be sure, is it possible to go to the Eastern Nation right now?”

“Hmm, there’s no reason you can’t.”

“That’s a relief. What kind of place is the Eastern Nation?”

After a brief thought, Magrina replied.

“The Eastern Nation is the land of the beastkin you saved long ago, Marquis.”

With that, she began to explain the Eastern Nation to Alon, one point at a time.

After the explanation ended—

“Then what will you do after visiting the Eastern Nation?”

“I’ll probably come back here.”

“To this place?”

“Yes, because there’s someone I have to take with me.”

“Ah.”

Magrina looked momentarily puzzled at Alon’s words but then let out a quiet sound of realization.

“...You mean Sister Rine.”

“That’s right.”

Alon recalled the words written on the stone gate where she had been sealed about seven months ago.

“Ten months later.”

At the time, she had asked him to lift the seal after ten months.

And Alon had never once forgotten that request.

No—in truth, it wasn’t something he could forget.

She had made a sacrifice for Alon, and he believed that forgetting her even for a moment would be something utterly unforgivable.

Therefore—

“After returning from the East, I’m thinking of staying here for a while depending on how much time is left. Would that be alright?”

Alon asked.

“Of course, brother.”

“Thank you.”

Magrina nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

And the next day, Alon participated in the ceremony to become royalty among the elves.

***

At the time the ceremony began in Greynifra, unlike Alon, who had already figured out the truth, the words that originated from the supposed source of the rumor—Emperor Stalian V—had already spread across the Allied Kingdom.

Thanks to that, each kingdom was busy devising ways to lure Marquis Palatio to their own lands.

By the time nobles were all busy preparing gifts for the marquis, that story, of course, reached Deus’s ears as well.

“Hmm~”

Truthfully, Deus didn’t have any particular feelings about the rumor.

If Marquis Palatio truly wished to become the elven queen’s consort, Deus had no intention of objecting.

Because that would be the will of the Great Moon.

Of course, aside from that—

If the rumor was nothing more than a baseless tale that could bring harm to the Great Moon, then he would find its source and erase it entirely.

In any case, because the truth had yet to be confirmed, Deus made no judgments for now.

But he was the only one in such a state.

“How dare they… How dare they…!!”

His sister, Sili, seemed to be thinking something entirely different.

Deus blankly stared at Sili and the temple behind her.

Half a year ago, the land had seemed mostly empty aside from a giant cannon.

But now, an impressively grand temple had been built.

So grand, in fact, that it made the money Deus spent on statues seem laughable in comparison.

Even as he wondered where she had gathered the funds, Deus cautiously called to his sister.

“...Sili?”

“What is it, brother…?!”

At his call, Sili whipped her head around in response.

And at the same time—

Crackkk!!

As if responding to her will, lightning shot from behind Sili, from the thing she called “Divine Punishment.”

Deus flinched momentarily but forced himself to speak calmly.

“I mean… no need to get so angry~”

“Of course there is!”

Sili answered even before Deus could finish speaking.

“That ridiculous rumor is trying to drag Him down to our level!”

“…Drag Him down?”

“Isn’t it obvious!? He is a god! That rumor is an attempt to degrade Him from His divine throne! Do you know what we call that!?”

As Sili’s words poured like a waterfall, Deus fell silent.

Of course, he could grasp the gist of what she was saying—

Well, actually, there were quite a few parts he didn’t understand…

And to be honest—

He couldn’t help but think she was overreacting.

But—

“It’s blasphemy! Blasphemy, I say!!!”

It wasn’t hard to guess that directly refuting his sister’s rage would only bring trouble.

So Deus simply looked away.

It was early summer.