Chapter 169 : Chapter 169

Chapter 169 : Are They Truly Villains?

I didn't need to visually confirm Bishop Laitna's death.

The moment I landed on the ground, an immense euphoria surged through my body.

Level up.

It was the pleasure felt when leveling up consecutively.

Furthermore, the Skeleton Lord's abnormal behavior that immediately followed was also proof that the bishop was dead.

Berserk.

It was because its mental link with its caster had been severed.

From Skeletons to Skeleton Knights.

The Lord, having indiscriminately summoned undead made of bone, began to march them towards Icata, where countless life forces could be felt.

No. It was about to.

Thwack!

Clatter's flying knee kick, which flew like an arrow, landed squarely on the Lord's temple.

Thwack! Thwack!

After that, it was a one-sided beatdown.

The Skeleton Lord, having lost its reliable healing factor in Bishop Laitna, couldn't even resist and was smashed into the earth, getting miserably crushed and shattered, literally dismantled.

The final blow was to drive the dagger deep into the Lord's broken jawbone.

With a crunching sound, the tip of the dagger protruded from the other side of the skull.

Cracks spread out from the dagger and with a flash of light from the crevices, the skull shattered and exploded.

Boom!

A perfect annihilation.

As the Skeleton Lord was annihilated, the skeletons that were just rising to march on Icata all turned to dust and scattered in the wind.

The sight was quite a spectacle.

Shwaaaa──

And so.

We, Shadow, had won the war against the Beltus Cult.

***

I opened my eyes.

Sunlight seeped faintly through the gap in the curtains.

It was dawn, but this world, just like Earth, had longer summer days than winter.

Was it natural, since this was a world inside a game made on Earth?

‘The way they mix English, Korean, and Chinese characters is also similar.’

Following my stream of consciousness, I started to wash up.

Shwaaa-

After roughly wiping the sleep from my eyes and just gargling.

I changed into my activity clothes and went outside.

The start of my dawn routine.

Tap! Tatak!

While running my jogging course, I would occasionally meet a few other kids running, but it seemed the vacation had truly begun.

With some kids having gone back to their hometowns, there was no one else running but me.

Come to think of it, the Academy itself feels desolate.

It feels quiet and subdued.

‘It’s been a while since it’s been this peaceful.’

The moderately blowing wind feels refreshing.

Once a decent amount of sweat had built up, I sat on the bench I always sat on and caught my breath for a moment.

Then, as if it had been waiting, I felt a presence behind me.

Swish, swish!

Glancing at him sweeping with a constant rhythm, I smirked.

[The request?]

The man disguised as a janitor, Luis, didn't answer.

He was stubbornly just doing his job.

So I stubbornly threw a joke.

[Hey, Luis. Do you dare to ignore your Master's question?]

[…….]

[Answer me. The cult’s request? You brought it, right?]

[……Please stop joking. There’s no way there’s a request from the cult.]

In the end, I burst out laughing and chuckled to myself.

[Is it funny?]

[Oof! Keuk keuk keuk!]

[You’ve relaxed quite a bit. To think you’re joking around so openly when others could be watching.]

[It’s fine. I already checked with Detection. No one’s here.]

[No matter how outstanding the Master's Detection is, this is the Academy. There are professors, so please be careful.]

At his serious tone, I quickly hid my laughter.

[Got it. Mysterious handsome man.]

[……Haaah.]

[If the man with the mysterious appearance, Sir Luis, says so, I must comply.]

Watching him tremble while holding the broom, I burst out laughing again as if I’d never stopped.

The mysterious handsome man.

This mystical yet somewhat cheesy nickname was an epithet given to Luis during the fight with the cult 5 days ago, an event later named the ‘War of Villains’ by the royal government.

I don't know how much we laughed amongst ourselves when we heard it.

Once at the ridiculous name, ‘War of Villains’.

And again at Luis's, in a different sense, fantastical epithet.

We even gathered at Lunatic, drinking and having a pretty serious debate, so that says it all.

Was this mysteriousness an epithet given in reference to his skills of disguise and imitation?

Or was it because of his looks?

It was obviously the former, but Dayle strongly insisted it was the latter to tease him.

[……Please stop.]

Of course, as you can see, the person in question, Luis, absolutely detested this epithet.

“Phew. Ah. Too funny.”

“…….”

I shook my head.

[Alright, alright. I'll stop. So, any special notes?]

Luis calmly began his report.

After the betrayal of the Beltus Cult (which I was going to do first anyway), the long-term contract with the cult was terminated, and the reporting procedures changed.

It was generally divided into two matters.

The first matter was the regular guild report on Shadow's administrative issues or financial situation, just like before.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn't worried.

It's a given that a lot of money goes into rebuilding a guild.

Fortunately, it's still the beginning stages since we properly started our activities and the scale isn't large, so there won't be any huge expenses for now, but.

It’s a given that having enough seed money creates that many more opportunities.

As a contingency, I created and am running a cover bar called Lunatic, but the reality is that Lunatic’s sales are far from enough to cover all the funds.

However, Mr. Parnaci resolved all these worries in one go.

[Mr. Parnaci is investing in our guild?]

[That is correct. Furthermore, he said he has already finished preparing to introduce us to his trustworthy contacts. Looking at the list, it ranges from local influential figures to renowned merchants, and I judge that our financial situation will greatly improve if we sell information to them or take on construction jobs.]

Greatly improve?

He calls it an investment, but this meant he would take on everything from promotion to acting as an intermediary and a point of contact.

‘Just like when he used his old restaurant as an information post.’

With Mr. Parnaci’s connections, secrecy and trust were more or less guaranteed.

If the system was properly established, we could earn much more money than when we dealt with the cult.

It’s a given.

We had to one-sidedly wait for the cult's requests, but with this, we earn as much as we receive.

It was a structure where the more you worked, the more it connected to money.

[The royal government?]

After the regular report, I was receiving reports on rumors spreading throughout the nation and various other news.

Well, I could hear outside news through daily papers like the Royal Dream in here, but the accuracy and speed of the news were different, so to speak.

In Luis's case, he sometimes investigates himself, but he said there's a lot of quality information he hears while selling drinks at Lunatic.

Since the regulars are nobles, he sometimes hears information that hasn't even been made public yet, which is an advantage I hadn't thought of.

In addition to this, Mr. Parnaci is also helping.

[It’s still the same.]

[Yeah? Still the War of Villains?]

[Yes. It’s in full swing. It’s very hot. I cautiously speculate that it will probably die down after 2 weeks.]

Luis said that all the upper-class people who come to Lunatic also talk about the War of Villains and Shadow.

Well, I even think it was a spectacular debut stage.

[Also…….]

As I was listening to the report, a thought suddenly occurred to me and I asked,

[But how's Dayle doing? Is the frostbite on his left arm okay?]

[Yes. He is taking hot baths in water boiled with the Liola Herb you mentioned, and he is getting remarkably better.]

A satisfied smile naturally formed on my lips.

After the War of Villains ended, I heard the whole story from Luis about why this war happened and how it was fought.

The loyalty Mr. Parnaci showed and Luis’s decision to declare war on the cult, unable to betray that loyalty.

And, Dayle’s spirit of sacrifice, throwing himself into a desperate battle with the Death Knight for the success of the operation.

[That's a relief. Tell him to keep doing it, the Liola Herb is good for frostbite.]

After finishing his business, Luis naturally moved away, once again engrossed in his sweeping.

I stared blankly at his retreating back, then looked up at the sky.

A clear sky without a single cloud.

Now that my relationship with the cult has been severed, I could get rid of this secret act, but I've had a valuable experience that sudden changes arouse suspicion, so I decided to maintain this charade for another half a year.

But, this is what’s important.

That the cult is now gone.

That I have escaped from this tedious relationship that had threatened my life since I was possessed.

What was important was that the life-threatening, precarious tightrope walk of having one foot in the Academy and one in the cult was finally over.

I won solely through my own efforts.

And thanks to that, I lived.

I lived.

Yes.

I lived.

I barely hold back a surge of emotion.

My habitual use of [Detection] and my senses didn't pick up anyone, but just.

It would look weird to be crying on such a good day.

Laughing would be one thing.

“Hehehe.”

It felt like all the efforts I had made to overcome the death flag were being rewarded.

Come to think of it, all the people left around me now could be said to be the result of those efforts.

Of course, I know it's too early to celebrate.

Even if I overcame the death flag, that was only what was officially covered in 'Heroes of Frey's' main story.

The fate of this world has long since deviated from 'Heroes of Frey's' mainstream and formed a new branch.

As long as I remained in this Academy and acted as the Skull Mask, a new death flag could be raised at any time.

‘Still…….’

This pleasant feeling of liberation is hard to describe.

‘Should I run a little more?’

After pleasantly finishing my jog and returning to the dormitory.

I saw a daily paper, brought by a staff member, stuck in the crack of each room's door.

The nation’s largest newspaper company, the Royal Dream.

I picked it up familiarly and went inside.

“This must be what Luis was talking about.”

The very first page had an article about us, Shadow.

As I was reading through it, I saw a familiar name.

Reporter, Luslo.

Unless it was a different person with the same name, this was the only reporter I was acquainted with.

The article he covered was an interview, and the subject was Baron Dyman, a Captain of the Capital Defense Force's City Guard and a Villain Behavior Analyst.

A Villain Behavior Analyst.

Curious as to what he would have said about us, I sat up properly and began to slowly read down.

Luslo - Thank you for your valuable time, Baron Dyman.

Dyman - Nice to meet you.

Luslo - You mentioned that you know Shadow well. Could you please briefly explain about them?

Dyman - It was a long time ago. It must have been 12 years ago, when I was a trainee. You might not know, reporter, but back then, Shadow’s influence was quite formidable among us nobles.

Luslo - Why is that?

Dyman - Because the item they use for business is information. From public information to an individual's private secrets. Well, that's one thing, but the problem is, isn't the basic framework that this thing called information must be based on objective facts?

Luslo - I suppose so? If it's false information that's not a fact, there's no reason to buy it with money.

Dyman - Right! But those bastards fabricated that very information and sold it. Fraud. On top of that, they ruined the image of nobles and even tarnished their honor. That's why they were our enemies.

Luslo - I see.

Dyman - Then I can answer the second question on the list you gave me, ‘Is Shadow truly a villain group?’. That's right. They are villains. The group is made up of thieves in the first place, so this isn't even worth questioning.

Luslo - You said they are a villain group. In that case, how would you compare them to the new pseudo-religion that worships an evil god, the Beltus Cult?

Dyman - What is there to say? There's only a difference in degree, but the two are the same. In fact, if you look at the terror cases reported and filed at the Academy, the cult and Shadow have acted together until now. In other words, they are the same kind of bastards.

Luslo - I heard they did a lot of good deeds in the past.

Dyman - Bullshit. Even if it were true, that's just falling for their propaganda and image-making. It's a trick to hide behind innocent citizens by pretending to be good. As an expert, I know their psychology well.

Luslo - But in reality, it wasn't the Central Knights, the Magic Corps, or the Capital Defense Force where you are, Baron, but Shadow who protected Icata and its citizens. What are your thoughts on this?

Dyman - That right there is a subjective analysis that's caught up in the result, obscuring the core issue. Well, I don't know what kind of conflict there was between the cult and the thieves, but it was originally a war between those two groups. It's just that it happened to look like they were saving Icata by chance! I emphasize again, Shadow is a cunning villain group. I hope you are never fooled by their benevolent mask.

Luslo - In that case, lastly, in that critical situation, the Central Knights and the Magic Corps, who have a duty to protect their country, were nowhere to be seen. Do you happen to know anything about this, Baron?

Dyman - Ahem. My throat hurts. We'll end the interview here.

I chuckled and held my stomach.

“This guy is hilarious.”

Still, it's an analysis befitting a Villain Behavior Analyst.

I haven't heard his name in the game, but he has a rather sharp side.

Just as I was putting the name of the new figure, the Captain of the City Guard, Baron Dyman, into my head and looking at the Royal Dream again.

The subject of Luslo’s next interview was a name I knew well.

Luslo - Hello, Professor Chaser. It's an honor to meet you.

Chaser - Haha. Yes. Nice to meet you.

It was none other than my supervising professor, Chaser Idna.

He was close with Section Chief Baron and one of the few professors at the Academy that I personally had a favorable impression of.

I wonder, what kind of view does he have of Shadow?

I was curious about his thoughts.

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