episode_0011

The Villainess, Lucia.

A few things about her came to mind.

As the game progresses, you end up following certain routes.

Among them, there’s a scene where the protagonist and the main heroine get together, and the villainess—out of jealousy—torments the heroine with all sorts of schemes.

‘Listening to the story, though, it didn’t really seem like scheming.’

After hearing the game’s content a few times from the side, it felt like the real villainess wasn’t Lucia, but the main heroine herself.

—No, wait. Just hear me out!

That so-called main heroine was playing the field left and right, and the protagonist ended up as the final candidate in her little game.

The villainess, Lucia, was engaged to another man who was floundering in that same mess.

And in the end, it all concluded with a broken engagement—so wouldn’t that make the main heroine the real villainess?

—No way! Our Cloe isn’t that kind of bitch!!

Whenever I said that, he’d always deny it like that.

Anyway.

That’s not the important part.

The quest referred to Lucia as the villainess.

I didn’t particularly agree with that, but the title of “villainess” carried an ominous weight for no good reason.

“Excuse me?”

Lucia tilted her head slightly, as if calling out to me.

‘Excuse me? What kind of greeting is that?’

I recalled my first conversation with her.

—If you don’t mind, I’ve been curious about you. Could you spare me a moment? —Pardon the intrusion.

Ah, now that I think about it, this exchange might’ve been the problem.

“……We’re not close enough for me to give you my name.” “Hmm, is that so? But could you tell me anyway?”

Despite my cold response, Lucia smiled with her eyes.

A bewitching smile. Yet her gaze was filled with unmistakable fondness.

‘……This is kind of overwhelming.’

More than that, a question arose.

A woman like this exists, and some guy was dumb enough to get caught in her net?

‘Just what kind of idiot was he?’

I’m kind of curious about his face now.

Not that it’s any of my business. I just want to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Judging by your attire, you’re an adventurer.” “Yeah.” “You look tired. I shouldn’t have kept you. Ah, do you have a place to stay? If not…” “I do. An inn where my party is gathered.” “I see. If anything happens with your lodgings, you can come to the Fairy’s Rest in the city center. Just mention Lucia’s name.”

A gentle smile.

A soft, soothing voice.

And yet, her cheeks were faintly flushed as she looked at me with unmistakable affection.

If the modifier “villainess” was meant to enchant men, then it suited her perfectly.

At the same time.

‘She seems nicer than I expected?’

It was said that she was obsessed with me.

Somehow, she seemed better than I’d imagined.

“Lucia Philhart.” “Huh?” “If you ever run into trouble, come find me. I may not look it, but I have some influence here.”

She smiled playfully as she spoke.

To me, it sounded different—like she was saying, “Hiding your name would be boring, wouldn’t it?”

I let out a dry laugh and sighed deeply inside.

“Han Yuseong.” “Han Yuseong… That’s a nice name.”

Lucia smiled faintly.

Not a bad conversation.

If my plans go wrong, I’ll need a place to run to.

And.

‘She’s obsessed with me, they said.’

I don’t know what kind of obsession it is.

But.

Put another way, it was closer to her having goodwill toward me.

“You must be tired, so shall we part ways for today?” “Sure.”

And so, we went our separate ways.

Except.

Contrary to my expectations.

Her obsession went far beyond what I’d imagined.

—

The most important thing from this haul.

There was one thing I had to take care of.

‘Lisiel’s corpse.’

The reason was simple.

I needed it to negotiate with Lisiel’s soul.

—You can retrieve my body? “Yeah.” —Then hurry up and— “Why should I trust you?” —Th-then what do I have to do?

Lisiel’s voice trembled as she asked.

It was nothing major.

I tapped my temple with a finger and spoke.

“I want knowledge.” —Knowledge? “Yeah. I lived in the mountains, so I don’t know much about this place.” —What kind of… How can someone like you not know? “What do you mean, ‘someone like me’?” —Isn’t it obvious? From what you’ve shown me. I thought you were one of the Hero candidates…

Lisiel sounded confused.

‘Hero candidate, my ass.’

Technically, I am a Hero candidate—and apparently one of the frontrunners—but still.

‘Wait, if even Lisiel, who knows nothing, recognizes me…’

Am I more dangerous than I thought?

……Well, there’s still hope. Laying low as an adventurer.

‘Not a chance in hell.’

But after meeting Lucia, some of my worries eased.

……Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about all this.

Let’s set this aside for now.

More importantly.

‘Since I don’t know the basics of this world…’

I needed to extract every bit of information Lisiel had.

And there were a few more critical things.

‘No matter how much she resists, I need the strength to subdue her instantly.’

That was the first.

And the second.

‘What do I do with this corpse?’

I had to preserve Lisiel’s body.

Normally, in clichés like this, you’d just toss it into subspace, and time would freeze automatically.

‘Will that work here?’

I asked Lisiel about it.

—……It will. Subspace is essentially storing things in another dimension.

However.

Lisiel added.

—But the Subspace skill is extremely rare. Even if you searched the entire elf race, only one person possesses it—and that individual is a figure of great renown. “Really?”

So the Subspace skill is that rare, huh?

I glanced out the window. There, Teressa was dragging Lisiel’s corpse in a brown bag toward the inn.

—M-my body!! Y-you! At least handle it properly!

Lisiel wailed.

Ignoring her, I headed downstairs.

“……You’re terrible for making me run errands. I’m exhausted.” “As compensation, I’ll pay you extra.” “You’re nice.”

Her attitude changed fast.

I’ll discuss it with Arme. Giving her a bit more shouldn’t be a problem.

‘But I took Wind’s Whisper for myself…’

What if that affects my share?

If it comes to it, selling it might be best.

“Since you’re here, help me carry it to my room.” “Fine.”

Without another word, Teressa hauled the bag with the corpse into my room.

‘……I was preparing an excuse, but…’

Something like: “While fighting Lisiel, I noticed something strange about her body, so I wanted to check for hidden items.”

‘Well, it’s convenient for me.’

Why isn’t she asking?

Teressa never questioned it.

She just left the corpse and went downstairs.

Not that I’m complaining.

I placed the bag containing Lisiel’s body in my room and opened it.

‘Cold.’

Her body was stiff, like a corpse.

Golden hair, blue eyes.

Her wide-open eyes bothered me, so I closed them.

—I-I’m not dead yet!

Ignoring Lisiel’s protests, I took out Wind’s Whisper.

A rapier gleaming with a silver sheen.

An incredible sword capable of generating emerald-green wind blades when infused with mana.

‘……Hmm.’

I’d love to use it, but…

Wind’s Whisper is too conspicuous. If I wield it, other elves will notice immediately.

And more importantly.

‘I already have Bloodsoaked Dagger.’

Since I have Bloodsoaked Dagger (B), which is a tier above Wind’s Whisper, I can let this one go.

The downside is that Bloodsoaked Dagger requires killing living beings to unlock its full potential.

But the more I unlock, the stronger it gets.

‘Time to organize.’

I can’t leave Lisiel’s corpse lying around forever.

Slot 1 and 2 will be for things I can use.

Slot 3 will be for miscellaneous items—including Lisiel’s corpse.

‘First, I want to test how much it can hold.’

I tried putting in a random pouch I bought from a general store before coming to Yoran.

‘Thankfully, it fits.’

What about the corpse bag?

I placed it inside. Without any resistance, it slid right in.

‘The capacity seems bigger than I thought?’

I tied the corpse bag and the general store pouch together and tried storing both.

“…….”

Nope.

The moment I did, the general store pouch was ejected from subspace.

—Is that a subspace Gift? “Gift? No, I’m not related to that.” —Then did you acquire it from an ancient skill book? You’re a lucky man.

I nodded vaguely at Lisiel’s words.

—Ancient skill books are incredibly powerful, but some are flawed, so be careful. “Flawed?” —For example, say there’s a skill to create flames. It might produce fire strong enough to burn a mountain, but it could also burn the user alive. “…….”

That’s definitely a flawed skill.

‘I should avoid ancient skill books.’

If I ever get the chance to learn, I’ll stick to the safe ones.

Tucking that warning away, I began organizing.

I packed Bloodsoaked Dagger, Wind’s Whisper, a bow and quiver, and throwing daggers into Slot 1.

‘Just in case.’

I might need Wind’s Whisper in an emergency.

Lisiel’s soulstone and Lucia’s obsession (?) went into a pouch in Slot 2.

Lisiel’s corpse went into Slot 3.

‘Now for the next experiment.’

I tested retrieving weapons from subspace.

‘This works.’

A throwing dagger.

Even though it was packed tightly, I could pull it out instantly.

‘If this didn’t work, I’d have to carry everything manually.’

A huge relief.

I stored all my weapons in Slot 1 and equipped a sword and a throwing dagger.

‘Bloodsoaked Dagger is longer than the throwing dagger, but…’

If I don’t have it, I’ll manage.

—You asked for knowledge as part of our deal, right? “Yeah.” —What about swordsmanship? “Swordsmanship?” —Yes. The swordsmanship you stole.

Stole? What’s she—oh, that.

I recalled my fight with Lisiel. I’d never formally learned swordsmanship, so I’d swung my blade based on the instincts from Rogue’s Extreme.

‘When fighting Lisiel, I mimicked her movements as if learning from her.’

Because I already had the knowledge, I could adapt.

Every time she swung her sword, something in my head clicked, and it felt like I was refining my own swordsmanship.

‘Back then, I thought I was going crazy.’

Was it dopamine?

My head burned with excitement. The thrill of growth was intoxicating.

‘This is ridiculous.’

I laughed as I headed out to train.

Me—a guy who never exercised before getting sucked into this game—voluntarily going to train?

As I stepped outside, Lisiel stopped me.

“……?” —Have you ever considered learning dual swords? “Dual swords? Me?” —Yes. If you’re willing, I can teach you the secret swordsmanship of the Darkmoon Clan. “And if I learn it, you know what’ll happen to me, right?” —……No, you won’t. Because that swordsmanship has been forgotten. “Forgotten? Then how do you know?” —None of the elves remember it. So, are you interested? “…….”

Lisiel’s expression was deadly serious.

‘She doesn’t seem like she’s trying to harm me.’

Her top priority is survival.

And that’s only possible if I free her.

I don’t get the sense she’s plotting anything.

“I’ll think about it.”

It seems beneficial, but…

I brushed it off for now. If she’s desperate, she’ll offer something better.

‘More importantly…’

I wanted to head to the training grounds and move my body.