Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 20

Episode 20. Irene de Donatien (2)

Irene asked for work instead of introducing people.

After accepting the offer, I followed her and arrived at Bayer Academy.

A beautiful sight.

Although it was not to the extent of being called one of the seven most beautiful views of the empire because of its good use of color contrast like the Imperial Palace, its naturalness without anything standing out gave a sense of stability.

'Stability.'

Of course, the reason I feel this way is probably because this Bayer Academy is one of the main stages of <Let's Kill the Demon King Now>.

This place has a deep connection with the main character, Haydn Reich.

It is also the place where he first saw 'Yurien', and is somewhat related to his past.

It was a place that 'players' often saw in the game.

“So, what can I ask you, Miss Eileen?”

“It’s a simple task.”

Eileen started walking down the well-paved road of the academy. Of course, I followed behind her.

“It’s also what you do best.”

So, what is that?

As I followed her silently, I felt the eyes of those around me turn in my direction.

Among them, there were some who showed a 'fear' tone, and there were others who glanced at me and were on guard.

“Miss Eileen, are you going to the old building?”

At that time, a man spoke to Eileen in the middle of the street.

On his shoulder was the insignia of '4th Rank, Leo', and around his neck was a professor's certificate from Bayer Academy.

He was a professor and wizard who taught magic at Bayer Academy.

“Yes, Sir Hardy Godfrey.”

Eileen smiled and greeted him.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Yurian. I never imagined I’d see you in a place like this.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

The man pretended to know me too.

When I greeted him and gave him a small smile, he flinched for a moment and then quickly turned his gaze to Eileen.

“By the way, Miss Eileen, you’ve been given quite a troublesome job.”

“You say it’s a bother? It’s something I have to do for the students. I’ve never thought of it as a bother.”

“Is that so? Well, considering her origins, I don’t think there’s anything Miss Eileen would be dissatisfied with.”

A man with a slightly contemptuous smile.

I thought we were just acquaintances, but it seems like we're more than just acquaintances and it's an uncomfortable relationship when we meet.

“You’ll have to be patient and work hard to get rid of the label of being from a collateral line.”

“Then Sir Hardy will have to endure something too.”

Irene didn't stay still either.

“What are you talking about?”

“You received a harsher evaluation than I did in the last paper review. Even worse than me, a collateral member.”

“What, what…….”

The man blushed.

Thanks to this, the contemptuous gaze that was only hinted at a moment ago begins to stand out even more.

“You took on the troublesome task and worried about me, but instead of thanking me, you insulted me.”

“Oh, I was worried about you too.”

“Who cares about whom!?”

Rising voice.

I don't know if I'll end up fighting beyond just arguing if I do this wrong.

“Anyway, this is why you shouldn’t promote scumbags from collateral lines. They don’t even know their place…….”

“I guess that’s what Sir Hardy thinks.”

“Ugh…….”

He seemed flustered, as if he didn't know I was interfering.

Yeah, honestly, it's not my business and there's nothing good that can come from meddling. But I don't want to waste time here and now, where every second counts.

Especially if it's because of some trivial quarrel.

“All nobles, whether direct or collateral, are subjects of the Empire. May I take your words as a challenge to His Majesty the Emperor, who established the discipline of the Empire?”

“……Your Majesty Yurian, aren’t you taking things too far? I was simply talking about the lack of collateral bloodlines…….”

“Is that so?”

I smiled broadly as I watched him nod.

“I am also of the collateral line. If what Lord Hardy says is true, then I am also of the inferior line.”

“…….”

As he gave a short smile, the man's face gradually hardened. Soon, a purple haze appeared above his head.

As he tapped the scabbard on his waist, the color of fear shook violently.

“It’s not like an academy professor to judge people based on useless criteria. When I personally cut it, the blood was red regardless of the nobility of the bloodline. Do you need confirmation?”

“……hiccup.”

The man even started to hiccup.

Of course, I only pretended to touch the scabbard and had no intention of pulling it out.

I wish you would learn hard-core what happens if you pick a fight for no reason.

“Then we will go. Let’s go, Miss Eileen.”

“Huh? Ah…… yes.”

Irene started walking, stuttering as if she was flustered. The man nodded at her and followed her.

“……You weren’t really trying to pull out the sword, were you?”

After a while, Eileen asked cautiously.

I think it's because I scared you a little while ago.

“Surely that would be the case?”

“That’s fortunate.”

She let out a small sigh of relief.

“What……thank you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Thank you. For doing the annoying work for me.”

“No problem.”

Soon after, the old building came into view.

As if to show off the Bayer Academy's enormous budget, the old building was built in an architectural style just as sophisticated as the new building.

It's not small in scale either.

The sight of this building being left abandoned, calling it an 'old building', gave me a strong feeling of being a total idiot.

“So, what do you want to ask me?”

“I told you before. It’s what you do best.”

After scanning the large-scale building that was too large to contain at a glance, I turned my gaze back to Eileen and she continued speaking.

“Demon catching.”

You're catching demons?

At Bayer Academy?

“This place is probably protected by the barrier of the resonance stone.”

“I didn’t really believe it either. But then, a small creature was detected inside the old building.”

Eileen took out a case that looked like a compass. Inside was a stone with a bluish glow, called a 'resonance stone'.

“Looking at its size, it doesn’t seem that big…….”

“Judging by the way the resonance stone reacts, it is definitely a demon.”

She nodded.

“It’s a small demon that can be left alone. However, the demon’s appearances have been increasing recently, and the number of damage cases has also been increasing.”

There were also incidents in the slums, Eileen added.

“The atmosphere is tense, so we decided that it would be best to deal with it before opening the old building. Besides, I heard that a religion that worships demons has emerged recently… There’s really nothing to do.”

To cut to the chase, Eileen was in charge of dealing with the demon in the old building.

Normally, it would have been normal to deploy personnel specialized in dealing with demons, such as knights or 'closed eyes', but the demons currently in this old building are too small to reach the barrier of the resonance stone. Perhaps because of this, it seems that the Academy does not want to make a big deal out of it.

“The problem is that this demon is so small that it is outside the sphere of influence of the barrier, and detection magic cannot properly find it.”

“I guess you must be in trouble.”

“Yes, it’s very difficult. How am I supposed to deal with a demon that can’t even be caught by the resonance stone in this large hall?”

Eileen, who was speaking with an expression that clearly showed her fatigue, turned her head slightly and looked at my face.

“So, I’d like to ask you a favor. What do you think?”

"hmm……."

I groaned briefly.

As the saying goes, the size of the old building that was visible in front of me was extremely large.

A large, wide-open space that cannot be captured in one glance.

Killing a small demon that is undetected here is like finding a needle in a haystack.

It wasn't a lie when I said a little while ago that I had been given a bothersome job by a man named Hardy.

‘… … I wonder if that method will work.’

Of course, it's not like there's no way at all.

“As expected, even you can’t do it…….”

I left her behind as she continued to speak and opened the door to the old building entrance.

It was expected that it would smell musty since it had not been used for a long time, but the old building was surprisingly clean.

After crossing the hallway and arriving at the center, I closed my eyes and began to focus all my nerves on the 'mana blood' within my body.

Take a deep breath, exhale again, and repeat several times to start stimulating the 'manahyeol'.

Soon after, mana began to flow out gently from within my body.

The technology that was used to find criminals hiding in the slums is ‘Mana Detection.’

“……If I could have found it with that, I would have found it a long time ago.”

Eileen muttered beside him.

Of course, 'Mana Detection' is strictly the domain of magicians. I don't think I, who only knows the settings and theories of magic and has no actual experience, would be able to handle 'Mana Detection' better than Eileen.

'Then there's no way… … Huh?'

At that moment, a special 'color' began to appear among the manas spreading throughout the old building.

<The Color of Negation>.

A trait that shows the negative emotions held by the other person. However, the locations where the 'color' is visible are passageways that are too narrow for humans to pass through.

For example, places like the ceiling.

“Are you listening to me? Even mana detection is too small for an entity like that…….”

fizzle.

When I made a gesture to tell her to be quiet, she looked at me with her eyes half-open and then closed her mouth.

I started releasing even more mana.

The fluctuating manas were visualized as if they were the 'aura' used by the knight.

I asked Eileen, looking at it filling the old hallway like air.

“Should I ask if there is any damage to the building?”

“Huh? Oh… I don’t think so. We were planning on remodeling anyway.”

That's good.

He drew his sword and slashed at the ceiling.

Crispy──!

A crack suddenly appeared in the ceiling with a sharp sound.

Stone chips fell down with a thud.

“Huh, huh!?”

I could see the small soles of my feet struggling to reach the ceiling.

“It seems to be a demon that lives on rats. Since it’s so small, barriers and detection would be useless.”

A guy desperately trying to climb up to the ceiling.

I swung my sword again and knocked the guy down. Then I cut off his falling torso, making sure to cut off his windpipe.

And then he started spreading the manas out more widely again.

If you see the <Color of Negation>, there must be another demon, but fortunately, there seems to be no other entities besides the one that just died.

“It seems like there’s no one else besides this guy. That’s fortunate, things ended easily.”

“……How did you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The demon’s location! How did you know when it was so small that it couldn’t be detected or even blocked by the resonance stone?”

He asked me as if he was nagging me, but I couldn't answer easily.

How can I say that?

He said he knew the location by reading the <Color of Negation> that the demon was spewing out.

The reason why he scattered mana so thick that it was visible to the eye was to make the <color of negation> more vivid.

“It's a secret.”

Eileen looked pouty, as if she wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer.