Episode 2
"This... this wasn't in the prophecy...?"
Staring blankly at the horrendous contents of the penalty, I urgently rummaged through my old travel bag and pulled out a single worn sheet of paper.
Though it might look like useless scrap paper, this is actually our family's heirloom that has been passed down for 1000 years.
So what exactly is written on this scrap of paper that it's been handed down for 1000 years?
The answer could be found by going to the Hero's Statue, the largest structure in the Empire, and reading the contents of the stone tablet beneath it.
- On the 1000th year since the Demon King's disappearance, the Demon King's successor shall appear and swallow the world whole. To stop that successor, a hero with the same power as mine shall be needed.
This is the official testament and prophecy of the great hero who defeated the Demon King, known throughout the Empire.
However, the real prophecy is written on this paper.
Of course, the part about "a hero with power shall be needed" is the same... but after that, it's written in secret characters passed down through our family for generations.
"Father, so it's not runes... nor ancient characters... and it's too systematic to be a code... what exactly is this writing?"
"Aah... that's called Hangul."
For reference, my father called those secret characters 'Hangul'. My father, who deeply respected the Hero in his heart, was proud just knowing those characters... but I don't particularly like them because they're too squiggly.
Anyway, the content written after the widely known hero's prophecy was as follows:
- And that hero shall be my direct descendant born exactly 1000 years after the Demon King's death. Therefore, future descendant, if you are reading this, open your eyes wide.
As written, when I opened my eyes wide, colorful photos and videos began floating in my vision, and the following message greeted me:
- Now entering the walkthrough.
That's right. The legendary hero who repelled the Demon King 1000 years ago and our family's ancestor was a person from another world.
According to the ancestor's lament written in the prophecy, the ancestor was playing a 'game' called 'Dark Tail Fantasy', uttered the insult 'shit game' out loud, lost consciousness from an unknown power, and when they opened their eyes, they had arrived in our world where 'Dark Tail Fantasy' had become reality.
The ancestor's lament, written in magical letters that only our family's direct bloodline can see, continued for dozens of pages, even using spatial distortion magic, rambling on and on.
To summarize roughly, it's a story about how the ancestor, who had nothing, barely managed to reach a happy ending using 'game' knowledge from their original world.
Anyway, the important thing is that in the world where the ancestor originally lived, there was apparently a sequel called 'Dark Tail Fantasy 2' which received evaluations like 'even more fucked than the first one,' 'total shit game,' and 'made by developers who hate their users.'
The ancestor, who entered the series through that game and knew the content well, said that to give the world a 'happy ending' in 'Dark Tail Fantasy 2,' the hero must personally destroy the world once.
Only then can one obtain something called a 'System' through the 'Hidden Route' and see the 'Happy Ending.'
So, in the previous playthrough, I committed all sorts of bad deeds and brought the world to ruin.
Of course, having grown up kind under my father who took pride in being the hero's direct descendant, I couldn't help but feel tremendous guilt... but what could I do? If I didn't wreck the world, the Demon King would burn it down instead.
Thus, having committed countless ugly acts, backstabbed even the Demon King at the final moment, and then returned, I obtained the title 'Path of the Villain' as written in the prophecy.
So in this playthrough, I tried to commit not real evil but 'villainy,' sacrificing myself to protect the Empire and the world... but then the memories of the 'main heroines' of 'Dark Tail Fantasy 2,' women who hated me terribly in the previous playthrough, returned.
"How... every single one of them is a headache... haah..."
I clutched my head and recalled the 'main heroines' whose memories must have returned by now.
'The future prime minister, the continent's greatest genius, the next greatest archmage, the saintess who appears once every 1000 years, the black magician who would have covered the world in darkness if not for the curse, and the Imperial Princess... I'm going to go crazy...'
No matter how I think about it, it's so absurd I let out a hollow laugh.
If I weren't a member of the prestigious hero family that has continued for 1000 years and the only son of a ducal house, I might have been a corpse stabbed by a sword in some marketplace by now.
Moreover, if the Princess wasn't a figurehead existence at the very bottom of the imperial succession line, even that status might have been meaningless.
Of course, the Princess would become succession rank 1 in just a few years with her outstanding talent... but even so, she can't touch me right now.
'...Surely, she won't touch me, right?'
Anyway, according to the 'game' information left by the ancestor, the main heroines were originally designed to have romantic relationships with me... and if done well, a harem might even be possible, but instead of a harem, I'm about to get stabbed by 5 people.
So, it seems I'll have to squeeze my brain to somehow survive the main heroines.
'First... who's the most urgent person...?'
First, since the Academy entrance ceremony is tomorrow, I'll be facing most of the heroines at the academy tomorrow.
For now, my fiancée who will become the future prime minister is excluded. If my memory serves right, she's currently traveling abroad.
The archmage, the saintess... and the Princess are also excluded. Of course I'll meet them tomorrow, but... right now there's nothing I can do.
'Then, what remains is...'
- Knock knock knock
"Excuse me."
While I was deep in thought, someone opened the door to my quarters and entered.
"...Young master, it's time for your meal."
".....Ah."
And the moment I identified who had opened the door, my eyes began to waver.
"...Is something wrong, young master?"
"...No, it's nothing."
The person looking down at me with an expressionless face was our ducal house's maid, at the same time a cursed black magician... and one of the 'main heroines' whose memories from the previous playthrough must have just returned - 'Kania."
With her cool appearance, black bob-cut hair, black suit and white gloves as her trademark, she was wandering the streets with her younger sister when my father recognized her magical talent and took her into our family.
Actually, according to the prophecy, my father had memorized her appearance and was waiting on the streets, and when he thought "ah, it's correct," he picked her up.
Anyway, she has two weaknesses that I hold over her... one is that she's a black magician condemned by the world, and the other is that she's under a curse.
The curse that slowly gnaws away at her life stabilizes only when she's near me, the hero's successor.
So, because of that special situation, she cannot leave my side even for a moment.
"Then, how should I prepare your meal?"
"...The usual."
"...Yes."
I was recalling Kania's information when she asked about my meal in a cold voice, so I requested the usual.
Actually, I don't really remember what I usually ate around this time... but won't she figure it out herself?
'But still... there was definitely killing intent in her voice and eyes. She really has remembered.'
I hoped it was an error or a prank, but it seems the System's content is true.
Then, I can't just stay still.
If I stay still, I might be horribly killed by the 5 heroines. Even now while I'm doing this, the heroines are...
[Villain's Intuition: Powerful killing intent sensed nearby!]
'...Wait? What is this?'
Suddenly a red warning window floated before my eyes. Looking at the content, it seems to be about Kania. But something is strange. I definitely felt killing intent from her earlier too, so why is this only appearing now?
"...System."
After thinking for a moment, I opened the system window in a low voice and touched the 'Owned Skills List' window.
- Owned Skill: Villain's Intuition LV1
Description) With the intuition of a villain, detects threats that could lead to death once per day.
Following the prophecy's knowledge that I had memorized and recited, when I opened the owned skills list, the skill 'Villain's Intuition' was sitting there prominently.
Reading the description carefully, this skill detects threats that could lead to death once per day. In other words, for me who never knows when I might get stabbed, it's a truly necessary skill.
'...Wait, then am I already in danger of dying right now?'
The fact that this skill activated now means Kania, who is preparing food downstairs, is plotting something to kill me.
'...The assassination method would be poison, right?'
For her whose body is weak due to the curse, openly fighting me, a direct descendant of the hero family, is absurd. And for the same reason, she can't use most black magic without my cooperation.
Of course, if she's willing to suffer for hours, she could barely manage to create a lethal dose of poison using black magic.
- Creak...
"...Young master, the soup... you always... drank... I brought it."
While I was thinking about the assassination method, the door to my quarters opened and Kania entered carrying soup.
"Then... please... enjoy your meal..."
".........."
She said with considerable difficulty. It seems she used black magic recklessly.
"...When did I tell you to bring soup?"
"...What?"
I glared at her and began to growl quietly.
"I asked when I told you to bring soup..."
"The soup... is what you always... enjoyed..."
"Who said you could talk back!!"
- Crash!!
Kania, who was struggling to continue speaking, closed her eyes tightly when I shouted and flipped the soup over, then opened her mouth while trembling.
"...Then, what food... would you like me... to bring...?"
"I told you to bring what I always eat, didn't I?"
"............."
"You idiot!! Do I have to tell you? A sandwich! A sandwich!!"
"...Yes, then... I'll prepare it now..."
When I snapped and shouted, she gritted her teeth and staggered out of the room.
[Villain Point 1pt acquired! (Self-defense)]
And simultaneously, a window floated before my eyes.
That's right. The 'Path of the Villain,' a cheat system obtained as a regression special privilege mentioned in the prophecy, gives me points whenever I commit villainy.
And.. those points accumulate and accumulate, becoming the material to save the world.
For me who was once the Empire's greatest villain, it's a truly damned fitting system.
"Young master... the sandwich you ordered..."
Anyway, while I was staring at the system window lost in thought, Kania, looking much more gaunt than before, entered the room carrying a sandwich.
"There's no cheese? Make it again."
"But..."
"...Are you talking back right now?"
"...No, I'm not."
After sending her down again, I kept finding faults and overworking her.
"The bread surface is dry and twisted, again."
"The ham is too thick, again."
"There are too few pickles, again."
"The shape is too ugly, again."
After going back and forth between the room and kitchen for a while, she was reaching her limit, but her eyes were filled with malice as she glared.
"...Come to think of it, I forgot to ask for tuna, again."
But when I ordered the sandwich again for the 11th time, she finally vomited blood from overusing black magic and collapsed to the floor.
[Villain Point 1pt acquired!]
[Survival Bonus 10pt additional acquisition!]
[Accumulated pt: 22pt]
Staring blankly at the windows that appeared in succession when she collapsed, I quietly rose from my seat and approached her unconscious form.
"...I'm sorry, Kania."
With a sullen expression, I offered an apology that wouldn't reach her, then moved her to the bed and reached out my hand to begin infusing life force into her body.
"...Kugh!"
Feeling pain as if my whole body was being torn apart.
That's right. The reason Kania's curse weakens when she's near me isn't because I have special power as a hero.
It's simply that I infuse my life force into her, causing the curse to temporarily improve.
Thanks to that, my lifespan is being shaved away bit by bit, but what can I do? Having decided to live as a villain, it's an inescapable fate.
[Villain Point 30pt acquired! (Self-sacrifice)]
[Accumulated Points: 62pt]
After finishing the life force infusion and feeling my whole body ache, I slumped to the floor and let out a sigh while muttering.
"...This time, don't die in front of me. Kania."
Thus, gazing down at her who had started breathing softly, I began to read the final part of the prophecy again, using the moonlight seeping through the window as light.
- When all things come to an end, the hero shall perish along with the Demon King.
Truly, a damned world.