Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 113

Episode 113. Underground Waterway (2)

When I heard the news from the Bloodthirsty that they had found the location of 'Aiden's Lab' through the 'Resonance Stone', I immediately headed there.

By destroying and eliminating the essence of the 'Demon Research' that has been organized there, we can eliminate the risk of the 'Event' that occurs later.

'The slum's sewer… … .'

Just hearing the name brings to mind a flood of unclean things.

Yurian's body, which already had 'obsessive-compulsive disorder', fiercely rejected it, and I also agreed with her.

No, no one would want to go to a place with polluted water, smelly and dirty waterways, and rats squeaking all over it.

Nevertheless, I took reluctant steps to eliminate in the bud the event known as 'Bloody Tuesday', which would turn the system into a mess.

But the person I met there was very familiar.

'… … Irene?'

Why is she here?

Even if I think about it, I still don't know.

There has never been a situation like this during a game.

Then I even started to think like this.

'Perhaps to protect Aiden de Donatien's laboratory?'

I've imagined it, but to be honest, it's not even remotely likely.

Because Eileen has a more upright moral standard than other wizards.

Even Aiden, who hated sidelines so much, would never have told Eileen the location of an important research lab.

“Come out, okay?”

While I was organizing my thoughts, I heard Eileen's voice.

Did you notice… … ?

“If you don’t come out, you’ll regret it. It’s hard to control the power of magic used in such a narrow space.”

Damn it! I got caught.

'What should I do?'

We're still in the dark, so our identity hasn't been revealed, but if we continue like this, Irene will react strangely.

If 'Yurien' were here in the first place, anyone would be suspicious.

Aiden's research is related to Yurian.

'I guess I can't help it.'

I used 'Sombra' to make a mask and cover my face.

I didn't expect to use it for a while though.

'Once in a while would be okay.'

Feeling that the mask was complete, I walked towards a bright place and revealed my identity.

Although they are collateral, Eileen is also a member of the Donatien family, so she may be able to join hands with Aiden.

It might be a good idea to subdue it in advance, just in case it gets in the way.

***

I thought so, but I frowned slightly at the feeling of the hard jewel touching my stomach.

'They just won't let it happen.'

The mainstream magic of the Donatien family involves storing mana in gems and using it later when needed.

In other words, the jewels I put on my ship also store mana, and I can use that to convert it into magic at any time.

'It seems like Sombra can defend against it, but I'm not sure how powerful it will be.'

First, we need to try to change the situation through storytelling.

It doesn't make sense, though.

'Why are you here?'

The moment I was about to speak with that thought, Irene opened her mouth first.

The mask of the 'Black Knight' reflected in the red eyes.

Eileen's eyes, looking at it, were filled with questions, not longing or stubbornness.

'Why are you here?'

I too felt a sense of doubt from her question.

If there is a 'Aiden's Lab' here, Eileen would know that it is against the rules that the Empire wields at will.

That is, if there was anyone else here besides herself, she would have a vague idea that it was someone related to the lab or someone who visited to destroy the facility.

'Surely, Eileen has nothing to do with Aiden?'

Just because they are from the same Donatien family doesn't mean they will always be together.

Moreover, Eileen is one of the righteous magicians who is on the side of the swordsman until the end.

Ah, it's not the swordsman who is doing strange things in the Holy Land right now, but the swordsman in the game.

Moreover, she is also a person who goes against the 'pure-bloodism' that Aiden advocates.

“Did you come here chasing the spirit of the soul?”

It was the moment when her mere speculation turned into certainty through her question.

“Then let go of this. I also came here in pursuit of the spirit of the soul.”

After speaking carefully, Eileen took the jewel off my stomach and put it in her bosom.

“It’s incredibly dangerous.”

Looking at her so defenseless, I clicked my tongue in bewilderment.

"yes?"

“You put your weapon away without even listening to my answer. Even if you did listen, there’s a chance I’m lying.”

When wearing the mask of the 'Black Knight', the 'polite speech' is not activated because the trait is not applied.

Thanks to that, I was able to express my absurd feelings openly.

“If I were the enemy, it wouldn’t be strange if I died.”

“If that were the case, you wouldn’t have said that.”

Even I can see that the mask of the 'Black Knight' reflected in Eileen's eyes is truly hideous.

How bold of you to see something like this and not be afraid.

“Besides, you gave me a soul mate.”

“……That’s right.”

After I put away my sword, I reached out to her and Eileen took my hand as if nothing had happened and helped me up.

“Is the ‘spiritual’ energy felt here also related to the royal family?”

"no."

When her question is denied, Eileen is lost in thought for a moment.

It didn't take long for her to open her mouth again.

“Then, does this ‘confusion’ energy mean that the royal family is not happy about it?”

“Why do you think so?”

“You said it yourself before, ‘I work for the royal family.’”

I did. I said it as a joke when I gave you the mixed drink before. Do you remember that?

“That’s a lie.”

Eileen frowned slightly at my attitude, which seemed to be teasing her.

“Actually, I didn’t believe it either.”

Even though he spoke bluntly, he seemed embarrassed.

***

“By the way, why are you here?”

I looked back at Eileen, who was following me as I sorted out the situation and headed deeper into the culvert.

“Maybe it’s for a similar reason to yours?”

“Have you received an order from the royal family?”

As Irene spoke again about what had happened earlier, she cleared her throat and cleared the air around her.

“The demonic manifestation incident that occurred in the slums. I came to the conclusion that the incident was not natural, but man-made.”

“So, you came here to check what this ‘artificial’ thing is?”

“Yes, because they obviously did human experiments.”

As expected, the 5th tier 'Bargo' level wizard is not a rank that was obtained through jokes.

As she said, 'Aiden's Lab' is conducting human experiments. That's what the appearance of a humanoid demon means.

The question is whether Irene will maintain this attitude even after confirming the truth here.

“What if the person conducting the experiment is someone you know?”

“……You know him?”

Yes, that's right, Aiden de Donatien.

It's a name she must know.

“Even if it’s someone I know, I have to do something about it.”

“If you were a wizard, wouldn’t you teach that it is virtuous to relieve your exploratory desires before considering humanity?”

“Because I was a human before I was a wizard.”

That's quite nice to hear.

Most of the guys I've seen so far were guys who called themselves 'wizards' before they were 'humans'.

“But, I still haven’t heard the reason why you are here…….”

"fizzle."

===

⇒ 〈Amazing Intuition〉

⇒ 〈Insight〉

⇒ I detected a negative gaze observing you.

===

I stopped walking and put a finger to my lips. Eileen looked at me with a puzzled face.

After a while, her face became quite serious.

Because a pack of demons that looked like wild dogs appeared from around the opposite corner.

“……Seeing that there’s a demon, it seems my guess was somewhat correct.”

That's right.

That's why I came here too.

“I'll take care of it.”

Just as he was trying to hide his identity by covering the 'Moon Sword' with 'Sombra' like before, Eileen took out a wand and a jewel from her bosom and stepped forward.

The demons cry softly as they look at her.

The guys with purple mucus dripping from their mouths rushed at us without any sign of caution.

“Where the mess is.”

Clang──!

Jewels that decorate the dark underground passages.

As Eileen swung her wand at the demons, the jewels in the air began to blink several times.

“Scattered.”

As Eileen muttered, the jewels in the air shattered into pieces and scattered like dust.

Of course, they weren't just simple powders.

Each piece of powder contained mana granted by Eileen, and was polished like a small blade.

The wild dog demons were running towards us without even knowing it. They didn't even notice that their own bodies were being thrown into the storm and they didn't stop their speed.

– Krug, kruk!

– Kek, kek!

Eventually, it changed to something that was difficult to recognize, like minced meat.

'Oh my god.'

If I had left it alone earlier, wouldn't my body have ended up like that?

When I thought about it, I got goosebumps and laughed out loud.

“I don’t want to waste my time on these worthless demons.”

After using magic once, Eileen's attitude became somewhat triumphant.

“Let’s go inside. It’ll take some time to confirm the truth.”

“Okay… um?”

Just as I was about to head inside the sewer as Eileen had said, the resonance stone in my bosom began to emit a faint light.

It's absurdly small to use as a barrier, but it's extremely effective at finding demons, so I brought it with me just in case.

'This is shining.'

There are still demons around.

As expected, a sharp, life-threatening aura was detected from the crack in the ceiling along with magic.

The stray dog demons that Eileen defeated earlier are exactly the same as those.

'Irene didn't seem to notice.'

Perhaps because of a lack of experience, there seems to be a tendency for follow-up work to be inadequate.

As I placed my hand on the scabbard, I recalled my experience fighting the 'blind warrior'.

An aura that does not lose its form or purpose even when it is away from the user.

There is one thing I realized about the ability that the 'Blind Warrior' was unconsciously utilizing.

'Putting another aura around the border of an aura.'

Through it, you can minimize the mana that is meaninglessly consumed in the air and deal meaningful damage to enemies using 'sword energy'.

“Huh.”

Once, he concentrated and swung at the demon that emerged from the crack as if scattering it.

Kkaeng──!

Then, the wild dog demon that had been hit by the sword sprayed blood and fell to the ground helplessly.

“Wow!”

A dull scream was heard from Eileen's mouth as she walked confidently as a large wild dog demon fell right above her.

“What, what was it!?”

“You can’t tell by looking at it, it’s a demon.”

I left her puzzled face behind, approached the demon who had been struck by the sword, and examined its wounds.

It was sharper and more lethal than the 'sword' that was experimentally used on Fern.

'The attempt to split it in two failed.'

Still, this is enough.

Although I wasn't able to use it unconsciously, I was starting to get a feel for the realm of 'one-stroke writing'.

“No, that’s not it. How did you know the demon was hiding there?”

It was a question that felt a bit awkward, but I didn't want to talk about the 'resonance stone' in my arms.

No matter how small it is, if you are using the 'Resonance Stone' operated by the Magic Tower, there is a high risk of being tracked.

Besides, I can't tell anyone that the 'Black Knight' is Yurian.

“Do I need to know? It’s a secret.”

It's better to keep things that are difficult to talk about a secret.

After saying that, I started walking again in the direction of the lab.

"hmm?"

It's strange. When I looked back, Irene was staring blankly in my direction, as if lost in thought.

“Do you want to go back?”

Are you scared because you saw demons?

That can't be happening.

The magic was also well-developed, and if you were a 5th-tier, level magician, it would be easy to defeat a demon of this level.

Eileen, who woke up from her thoughts at my words, shook her head slightly.

“Oh, no. I’ll follow you.”