Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 57

Episode 57. After Service

On her chest was visible a necklace with the design of a 'golden apple'.

It is the symbol of the 'God Rich' family, a great family with great influence in the social circles of the Adratan Empire.

“……What are you.”

The woman glanced at me with her eyes half-open. Then she opened her mouth to the man who was holding a bucket right next to her.

“What are you doing? You’re not letting me out.”

The man who appeared to be an escort coughed and showed his discomfort. Then he slowly approached her and began to whisper something in her ear.

It didn't take long for her haughty face to distort.

“That guy is the ‘laughing executioner’……?”

“Yes, Erzena.”

No matter how famous a person is, there are many cases where you don't recognize them when you see them in person.

It's the same case as when you see a famous celebrity in a cafe and think, 'I've seen them somewhere before.'

“Huh, hmm…….”

A woman covering her mouth with the fan she was holding in her hand. Herzena stared at me intently, then quickly turned her head away.

“Okay, I’ll come back next time.”

She opened her mouth, pretending as if nothing had happened, but the purple color symbolizing 'fear' was clearly rippling above her head.

She often walked quickly out of there.

In the large workshop, only I and Luger became quiet as if the commotion from earlier had been a lie.

“Damn it, this is why I hate the Godreichs.”

The silence was broken by the swearing of Luger Orland, the master of the 'Twilight Flame'. He frowned, putting a hand to his temple as if his head was throbbing.

“So what brought you here? Are you here to ask why that Black Knight left the system?”

“Lugar grumbled in a voice as angry as fire.

'Huh? You know that too?'

I'm curious, but that's not why I came here today.

“No way. I’m not that idle. It’s just because of the reward.”

With a smile, I placed the Moon Sword on the desk.

In the process of testing his newly acquired ability, a combination with Sombra, he held out a slightly damaged Moon Sword.

“……What a mess. I thought you’d ask for repairs instead of ordering something new.”

Luger muttered to himself and took off the scabbard of the Moon Sword I had handed him.

After that, he looked at the sword for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“The sword is strangely damaged. Judging by its appearance, it seems like they did some kind of experiment using mana.”

That's correct.

He is not called a master craftsman for nothing.

“How much do you think the repairs will cost?”

“……Okay, I won’t take the money.”

At Luger's words, I turned my head towards him.

“Since it was something I made myself, I thought I would take care of it for the sake of my name. That’s what I had in mind when I made it for you in the first place.”

With those unexpected words, Luger put the Moon Sword back into its scabbard.

It's a completely different atmosphere from when I first came to make the 'Moon Jang Sword'.

“How long do you think it will take?”

“3 days.”

"All right."

Luger answers in a blunt voice.

3 days, that's not a short amount of time.

But it's not a time that you can't wait.

The problem is finding a usable sword in the meantime.

“Before you go out, take the sword I placed up there.”

Just as I was about to say my final goodbyes and leave, Luger spoke again.

“I kicked out that damn bitch from the Godreich family earlier. She keeps coming in all the time to ask me to make her a sword, you know how annoying it is.”

Luger's voice was still gruff.

That made it even more puzzling.

In the past, there was a nobleman who was so furious about the production of the 'Moon Jang Sword' even after paying the price.

“You’ve changed. You used to get angry just from asking me to make you a sword.”

I revealed my true feelings.

“It’s not me who has changed.”

Luger spouting out words that are incomprehensible to English.

As I stared at his face, he spoke with a still sullen expression.

“You’re the one who’s changed. Don’t you smell more human now than before?”

At his words, I stood there dumbfounded and looked at him.

Somehow, I felt a mysterious feeling.

I thought that 'Yurien' and I were completely different people, but that wall was slowly breaking down.

“That grim table setting is still there, though.”

… … I agree with that too.

***

I received a sword by chance.

After saying goodbye, I went outside and took the sword I had received from Luger out of its scabbard and examined it thoroughly.

As if he was handing over something insignificant, Luger gave it to him indifferently, but the sword he gave him was far superior to the best swords from ordinary blacksmiths.

'Not only did they give me the Moon Sword, they even gave me this sword.'

I should have felt grateful for the kindness I received, but instead, I felt strange.

It's so bad that I'm starting to think that Ruger might have gone senile.

I went out through the back door of the 'Twilight Flame' and felt the chilly night breeze on my body as I walked back to the mansion.

'……hmm.'

As I walked, a tingling sensation passed through my skin.

It is not a killing intent that is scattered, but one that is clearly expressed towards me.

“Bishop Pintel, or rather, since we’re outside, I should call you Sir Pintel?”

I always felt this way whenever I went to the Dawn Society's hideout, so I said the name of the person who sent this killing intent.

Soon after, Bishop Pintel of the 'Dawn Society' appeared in the alley.

Pintel's face looks somewhat haggard.

His sudden appearance was very disconcerting, but I tried not to show it.

'… … Did you notice?'

The one who recently sabotaged the 'securing of mixed seats' was none other than me.

No matter how much I think about it, the reason Pintel, who has no personal relationship or acquaintance with me, came to see me in person is because he is convinced that I am the culprit who intercepted the 'soul stone'.

‘… … I’m not even alone.’

As if to support this thought, those who appeared to be members of the Dawn Society also appeared in the darkness.

Gulp.

Right now, my beloved sword, the 'Woljang Sword', is also being maintained.

This could be a little risky.

“To treat my colleague like that, did I do something wrong? Sir Pintel?”

I tried to understand Pintel's mind to find out why he was here.

Inside an alley where streetlights don't shine.

There, Pintel's wide-open blue eyes were the only thing that stood out.

“……Yurien, I never once thought of you as a colleague.”

“Is that so?”

I said it with a smile, pretending to be calm and indifferent, but I could feel cold sweat running down my back.

‘… … Did you really notice?’

I was quite embarrassed by the hostility displayed.

No matter how much I think about it, there is only one reason why I came with three members of the sect at this late hour.

I slowly moved my hand to the sword that Luger had given me.

“Didn’t you say from the beginning that you joined for power, not doctrine? You wouldn’t have any regrets.”

The words I said when I first joined the Dawn Society.

You still remember that.

I was so flustered that I just kept talking nonsense.

“In that sense, Yurian, I will help you reach the power you desire more quickly. Cooperate with me.”

huh?

My hand, which was reaching for the scabbard, stops due to the sudden change in the flow of the story.

“Are you saying you will give me strength?”

“The Blacksmith of the Twilight Flame intends to recruit Luger.”

The words that came out of Pintel's mouth were disconcerting, but at the same time, reassuring.

It seems like he still doesn't know that I am the one who intercepted the 'soul stone'.

“If our Dawn Society uses the weapons made by that master, it will lead to an increase in combat power.”

“Do you think that stuffy blacksmith will listen to you?”

“If it comes out like that…, I have no choice but to ‘force’ you to do it.”

Pintel said with emphasis on the word 'forced'.

Seeing him like that, a meaningless laugh came out of me.

“What’s funny?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just funny that you’re asking for my help for something like this.”

Pintel's eyebrows twitched slightly at the word 'just'.

“I said this with the idea of building a cooperative relationship starting from this.”

“I’m sorry, but I think you tend to overestimate yourself.”

"……what?"

In fact, this kind of whining tone is not good. Not only Pintel, but also the members of the church that serve him may show their teeth.

“Cooperation is about a relationship of equals. Have you ever heard the story of a tiger joining hands with a fox?”

But now I vaguely know that it's better to avoid the situation this way. That way, I can avoid attracting useless bugs.

“……Bishops from other branches will soon join us here. Things will proceed even without you.”

“Haha. How many bishops are coming just to recruit one blacksmith? It seems like you all have nothing to do?”

I laughed at Pintel's words and his twitching face became completely distorted.

“Yurien, I’ll tell you one last time. Cooperate with us. Since you’ve turned against Sir Aiden, it’ll be difficult to cooperate with the other Dawn Bishops…….”

“It seems that Sir Pintel is anxious to keep his position.”

Pintel didn't answer, but I felt his murderous intent directed at me grow slightly stronger.

“Well, it makes sense, since you’ve only just been promoted to Bishop. It’s easy to lose something you’ve only just acquired.”

As he continued to speak, Pintel's face darkened as if he had been hit with the point.

Ugh.

The sound of teeth grinding could be heard clearly from the alley.

“As expected! I thought I shouldn’t expect anything from someone like you. I guess I ended up being the only one made a fool of.”

With those emotional words, Pintel disappeared along with the members of the sect he had brought with him.

The surrounding area finally became deserted.

I felt relieved when I realized there was no one there.

‘… … I thought you came to seek revenge.’

But that was only for a moment. The reason Pintel showed up here was to recruit the owner of the 'Twilight Flame', 'Luger'.

'Luger's inclusion… … .'

Obviously, he will reject the offer. If so, then the 'force' that Pintel spoke of will begin.

'Didn't you say it would take three days to repair the Moon Sword?'

If anything goes wrong with Luger now, my 'Moon Sword' won't be repaired properly.

'… Tsk.'

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

Originally, Pintel did not secure the 'Soul Stone', but lost his life to the 'Black Knight' in the process.

Since such a plan was hatched because of the survival of such a Pintel, I began to harbor a needless resentment towards Haydn Reich.

'I don't want to confront the Bishop, but I have no choice but to repair the Moon Sword.'

I looked down at my waist and saw the sword Luger had given me hanging there.

“Master, would you like to go back?”

As I walked towards the carriage I had come in, the butler who had been waiting for me there opened his mouth and gave me a polite greeting.

“I feel like taking a walk. You should go back first.”

I opened the carriage door and took out a case that was loaded in the back compartment.

“A walk…, you mean?”

"yes."

“Understood, master.”

The butler nodded as if he was familiar with it.

It seems that 'Yurian' has been acting like this quite often, as she is quick to accept things.

The sight of a carriage moving away.

As soon as it was completely out of sight, I opened the case I had taken out of the carriage.

Inside is the hood used to steal the 'soul stone' some time ago.

'I brought it out to throw it away, but I never imagined I would use it again.'

I couldn't stop a bitter smile from spreading across my face as I took off the coat I was wearing and changed into a hoodie.

'The disciple is suffering because the teacher is neglecting his duties.

After I finished changing into my clothes, I put on my hood.

But this time, there is also Pintel, the 'Bishop'.

The hood may be removed during intense combat.

'… … By any chance, can you cover your face with Sombra?'

Since I was in a position where I couldn't let my identity be revealed, I decided to use 'Sombra' to hide my face.

[Aura Conversion]

Whether it was because of the new traits she had acquired previously or because she was used to handling it, it wasn't that difficult to figure out the shape of 'Sombra'.

I stretched the Sombra enough to roughly cover my face, then put it on as a mask.

Surprisingly, the fit wasn't bad.

'What does it look like?'

Because of the rain that had fallen yesterday, there was a puddle of water on the ground. I looked into it.

'It looks terrifyingly scary.'

The appearance of the mask was so hideous that it seemed like it might appear in dreams, due to the sculptural form that clearly demonstrated the aesthetic sense of our innate artist, ‘Yurian’.

If the military police discover this scene, it wouldn't be strange for friction to arise.

'It looks like X.'

nevertheless.

‘… … I never thought this would be so bad.’

I guess my aesthetic sense is already polluted.