Chapter 33 : Warrior Guild Civil War (1)

“Are you really sure it’s okay?”

“I told you it’s fine. Anyone would think you’re leaving a helpless child alone at home.”

I didn’t argue because, well, they weren’t exactly wrong.

Then, Luminil threw a punch at me.

It barely had any strength behind it, just making a soft thud.

I could feel that she didn’t want to hurt me, not even by accident.

This feeling of being cherished by my favorite character…

I’m really happy…!

“What kind of luxury am I even indulging in?”

I really don’t want to leave.

If I could, I’d spend my whole life with Luminil.

Leaving her alone like this… it hurts my heart.

No, more than that, I’m worried.

As we grew, more and more heroes wanted to exterminate us.

I guess villains will always be seen as villains, after all.

And no matter how strong Luminil has become, There’s no way she can hold out against these kinds of heroes forever.

“This is going to take longer than expected… Will she be okay?”

The Hero Civil War is expected to last quite a while.

Unlike last time, it’s impossible to set up a barrier across the entire Demon Realm.

But leaving Luminil here all alone…

That wouldn’t be right either.

That’s no way to treat my favorite character.

So, I came up with a perfect plan.

“Luminil. That one over there—it’s not me.”

“Oh! You were over here!”

Luminil finally turned around and ran toward me.

She had been staring at Irene just a moment ago.

That was the solution.

Not enough of me to go around?

Then I’ll just make more.

It’s not a perfect copy of me, sadly.

But aside from its lack of magical power, it’s 90% identical to me.

“But for some reason… seeing this puppet Irene gives me the chills…”

“Is it the appearance? I can change it to look like Elian instead.”

As the puppet’s form started to shift, Luminil quickly waved her hands to stop me.

Another moment of being cherished.

This feeling… it’s seriously so good.

I should abuse this more often.

I want to be adored even more.

Even as I thought that, Luminil still seemed uncomfortable with the puppet.

She poked it hesitantly a few times with her finger.

“It’s not gonna suddenly act on its own, right…? Like, try to eat me or something…?”

“Absolutely not. Puppet Irene, what is your purpose?”

At my command, the ‘Irene’ standing on the other side turned to face us.

Then, it repeated exactly what I had programmed into it.

“My purpose is to serve Luminil. To dedicate myself to her. If needed, I am even prepared to sacrifice my life.”

“…Wow, this puppet’s kind of intense.”

“I feel the same way, you know.”

Luminil’s eyes widened as she stared at me.

Her reaction actually caught me off guard.

Isn’t it obvious? Dedicating my life to my favorite character is a given.

I guess my expression made it clear what I was thinking, Because Luminil scolded me.

“You need to value your life! O-of course, I appreciate that you’d go that far for me, but… You should always take care of yourself first!”

“Don’t worry. There’s no way I’d die before you, weak little Luminil.”

“I’m worrying about you, and that’s what you say!?”

Luminil threw another Demon King Punch at me.

Of course, it didn’t hurt.

“I guess this is goodbye for now.”

I took one last look around the Demon King’s castle.

The place was still in ruins, and since I had run out of magic power, the ceiling hadn’t even been fully repaired.

But there was nothing I could do about that.

“Please be careful. If you’re really worried, take the puppet Irene with you.”

“Got it. And don’t worry, I won’t step on any traps!”

I had already spent all my magic on reinforcing the traps.

At least those were perfect now.

I even rearranged the layout, so if a hero comes, they’ll have to start from scratch.

Plus, there won’t be nearly as many of them as there were during the subjugation campaign,
So she should be able to hold out for at least a week.

“But if you really miss me, or if you need help, press the button on the back of the puppet. It’ll connect you to me.”

“…I’m heading into battle. Is it really okay to call you during that?”

“I told you already. There’s no way a war between heroes is more important than you, Luminil.”

Even though my response was the same as always, maybe because it was right before I was leaving, Luminil seemed more emotional than usual today.

Seeing tears in her eyes reminded me of when we first met the Demon Lord.

“Thank you… for looking after me this much. I don’t even know how many times I should thank you.”

“That’s fine. Praise me more. I really love it.”

Luminil’s face turned completely red.

But still, she spoke for my sake.

“Ugh…! Fine, since I’m already doing this, I’ll say it all. Honestly, I don’t even know why someone like you is still here, let alone what you even like about me. But since you say you do… I’ll do my best too. Thank you.”

Luminil…

You were being sincere.

I was truly happy.

I always was, but this time, it felt like our hearts were truly connected.

“Don’t worry. Just being yourself is enough, Luminil. Besides, even if you don’t say anything, you’re always overworking me anyway. You black company boss.”

“Black… company? Wait, are you teasing me?!”

“Ah, looks like it’s time for me to go.”

“…See you later.”

“Don’t change the subject!”

Leaving Luminil behind, I walked out of the Demon King’s castle.

Even Priss, who had been silently watching the entire time, gave a farewell and followed me.

Bye-bye, Demon King’s castle.

See you later.

“All Hero Civil War participants, please have your invitations ready and wait in line!”

By the time the Hero Civil War was about to begin, the Hero Guild was as lively as ever.

The Hero Civil War.

In Laios Fantasy, this was a large-scale PvP event that happened regularly between players.

They basically drop you onto an island and see who survives the longest.

And supposedly, this entire process is safely managed by a committee of judges and high-ranking officials.

…At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be.

But in reality, who knows how it actually works?

This is a world where water comes out of pipes that aren’t even connected to anything, so I guess it’ll work out somehow.

“Irene! We will meet again! It’s so nice to see you!”

While I was standing absentmindedly in the waiting line at the Hero Guild, a woman’s voice called out from behind me.

When I turned around, I saw a woman I didn’t recognize at first.

But actually… her face seemed familiar.

“Nice to see you, Arcia. Was it at the cooking competition?”

The white-haired woman nodded so vigorously that her long gray hair swayed wildly.

She seemed really happy that I remembered her name.

I don’t know… Lately, I feel less like a villain and more like some kind of celebrity.

Now that I looked around, quite a few people in the Hero Guild were staring at me.

“Wait, isn’t that Irene…? Did she finally become a hero?”

“Well, she already works harder than most heroes, so why not?”

“Shh, she might hear you.”

At first, I thought people would freak out about a villain walking into the Hero Guild, but no—everyone just assumed I was joining the guild.

No, assumed isn’t even the right word.

They were completely convinced.

I didn’t even say anything!

And what’s with the people saying, “Well, it’s Irene, so it’s fine”?

I’M A VILLAIN, DAMMIT!

Arcia, as if wanting to add to the absurdity, spoke up.

“That’s true, though. Now that I think about it, it wouldn’t be strange for you to be a hero, Irene.”

“It would be strange.”

I live in the Demon King’s castle and serve the Demon King.

How the hell would that make me a hero?

Not to mention, I don’t have the energy to take on the responsibility of being a hero.

When I shook my head firmly, Arcia just laughed, saying I looked cute.

This woman keeps doing things that annoy me more and more.

I wanted to stop talking to her, but unfortunately, we were stuck in the same line.

And since I was the one who started the conversation, I had no choice but to keep talking with her.

Not that I got anything useful out of it.

Actually, what I did hear was just too ridiculous to believe.

“…Wait, hold on. You’re a duke’s daughter?”

I had to double-check if I had heard correctly.

So, she left her noble family to become a hero?

With zero support from them?

This one’s just as weird as the rest.

Arcia was practically delighted by my reaction, as if she had expected it all along.

“You really do live in the Demon Realm, huh? But I actually like that. People don’t treat me like a normal hero, which gets annoying.”

“Aren’t you ranked in the top tier of 8th-rank heroes? That’s hardly what I’d call normal. Plus, you just admitted you’re a duke’s daughter.”

“Well, that’s one thing, and this is another! Besides, even if I told you I was a duke’s daughter, I get the feeling you wouldn’t care anyway.”

“Correct.”

I hadn’t even bothered showing respect to the Emperor,

So why would I be polite to some noble’s daughter?

I used to think that attitude would be a social disadvantage, but somehow, it kept working in my favor.

Especially with the Emperor.

That guy… What even was he?

People say the whole ‘I turned on the broadcast’ thing was just a joke, but for all I know, he might actually be watching me.

Arcia was the same.

I didn’t sense any ambition from her to use me for success—rather, she seemed genuinely earnest.

She reminded me of Luna.

Of course, she was a duke’s daughter, after all.

For all I knew, this was just another mask.

But I didn’t care.

As long as she didn’t wear that mask around me, that was all that mattered.

Which meant… Arcia was exactly the type of person I was looking for.

So I asked her first.

“Arcia, are you interested in taking down the top team?”

“…Huh?”

“Let’s beat Elian’s team.”

“Wait, you seriously think we can do that?”

“Of course! It’s more than possible.”

Elian stared at his terminal again.

The conversation he had with Irene was still there.

[Irene: Can we form teams for the Hero Civil War?]

[Elian: Up to three people max. Once only ten heroes are left, it turns into a free-for-all. Why?]

[Irene: Just wondering why you didn’t send me a team invite.]

When Elian first got Irene’s message, he was genuinely surprised.

If it were Irene, he figured she’d go solo, relying on her magic to sweep the battlefield.

And that wouldn’t be reckless arrogance—

she’d only say that if she knew she could do it.

So he hadn’t expected her to ask about forming a team.

When he replied with:

[Elian: I already have a team, though.]

Irene immediately fired back.

[Irene: Wow. Did you just throw me away?]

[Elian: Sorry! I promised these guys ages ago!]

[Irene: If I can’t have it, I’ll just destroy it.]

[Elian: …?]

After that, Irene stopped responding.

Elian shivered.

Was that… a death threat?

But as he thought it over—this was actually the perfect opportunity.

Since the competition awarded higher points for taking down stronger opponents, Irene’s elimination score would be insane.

And the same went for Elian.

After all, he was ranked #1.

‘Irene’s definitely going to come after me.’

They had never gone all out against each other before.

Now, with both of them after each other for the biggest points…

They came to the same conclusion.

“We’re taking down Elian’s team.”

“We’re taking down Irene.”

Both of them had one simple goal: kill the other.

And since the Hero Guild was protecting participants from actual death, neither of them had to hold back.

This time, it was a real battle.

“I hope you’re ready, Elian. I’ll make sure you drop dead last.”

While Irene and Arcia were steeling their resolve, Elian and Luna were doing the same.

“Irene, you better prepare yourself! We’re taking you down first!”