I Got Reincarnated Into a Game I Was a Top-Ranker in and I Became the Leader of a Villain Group That Will Destroy This Shitty Country - 37

Chapter 37: The Crown Prince’s Growing Discomfort

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“Mmh… Mhh.. Mmhh…”

“…Mhh.. Mhh…”

The sunlight streaming from the entrance of the cave slowly stirred me awake. My neck and shoulders were stiff from sleeping in a sitting position, making it hard for me to move my limbs. However, this discomfort could easily be solved by circulating my magic power throughout my body. This was one of the perks of having the ability to use magic.

Looking down, I ran my hand through Nia’s beautiful silver hair. She was still asleep, using my thigh as her pillow. Soon enough, Chloe stirred. I could feel her moving beside me.

“Mmmh… Ah, good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Chloe, still sleepy, forced herself to sit up and stared at Nia. From today on, the three of us would be moving together as one.

“She’s sleeping really well, huh? Nia.”

“Yeah. Apparently my thigh is her favorite place to sleep on~~ Nia likes to cuddle~ She’s really spoiled~”

“Aha~ Well, but isn’t it only natural for her to be like that? Nia… She’s been shunned by other people around her since she was young, right?”

Last night, we shared everything about our pasts. We were able to form a deeper bond because of it. Hence why Chloe could understand why Nia was acting like this. 

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I said and Chloe nodded.

“The three of us… We don’t know the feeling of love. How it feels to be loved…”

“…That is true.”

“Right? Kai was hated in the world he came from, Nia too. And I… My only best friend died horrifically right in front of me.”

When Chloe witnessed her best friend bursting into pieces, she closed the door to her heart ever since then. The fact that Chloe decided to open her heart for us and trusted us made me feel deeply moved, but at the same time, I also felt a bit confused. No, maybe it was because the three of us shared a common trait. All of us never received love from other people. 

“Comrades, huh… Fufufu…”

Chloe nonchalantly came closer and started combing Nia’s hair, who was still sleeping on my thigh. Nia stirred a little, but she continued to sleep with a happy expression on her face. 

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d become comrades with demons.”

“Ahaha~ So how do you feel now that you’ve joined a group of villains who’s trying to bring down this country?”

“It feels nice. Besides, I was already a criminal to begin with.”

Tilting her head to the side ever so slightly, Chloe then flashed a refreshing smile at me. The juxtaposition of her jovial smile and her words were a bit jarring.

“Let’s happily destroy this empire together~”

“…Yeah, happily, huh.”

We never knew what it felt like to be loved. Hence why, we could shower each other with love without any reservation. The sense of fellowship that was growing in this group of criminals… We were almost like a family, albeit the word ‘family’ didn’t quite fit us either. 

“Let me say it again. It’s nice to have you with us, Chloe.”

In response to my words, Chloe nodded happily. 

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Strange. 

In the Odell Imperial Palace, Adolf, the second prince of the empire, was beginning to feel restless because he still hadn’t received any report from Gebels.

“Don’t tell me, Gebels… No, impossible.”

This kind of thing had never happened before since he appointed Gebels as his trusted aide. Gebels was a madman, someone who was obsessed with dark magic and genuinely enjoyed torturing people for human experiments. However, Gebels was loyal to Adolf and he always achieved remarkable results. 

And yet, Adolf hadn’t received any report from Gebels for more than 5 days. He started to wonder if Gebels had betrayed him. However, upon remembering Gebels’ true goals and his usual behavior, the doubt dissipated from the crown prince’s heart. 

There’s no other choice. I need to send someone to Gebels. 

He thought to himself and as he was about to call a knight…

“Yo-Your Highness!! I have something urgent to report!”

A knight’s flustered voice came from beyond the door and Adolf immediately responded. 

“Come in!”

“Yes!”

The knight that entered his office immediately kneeled to show his respect to Adolf. However, the urgency was evident in the knight’s expression. Adolf furrowed his eyebrows.

“What’s wrong? You look really flustered.””

“That’s….!”

The knight regained his composure before he stuttered his words out. 

“We-We’ve received a report that Ge-Gebels-sama was assassinated in the slum!”

“…………Huh?”

Adolf’s eyes widened in disbelief.

What did this guy just say? Gebels? Assassinated?

“Furthermore, the existence of the underground laboratory operated by Gebels-sama has been revealed by the public. The residents of the slum have started a riot!”

“…….Huh?”

“All the test subjects, remnants of dark magic and even Gebels-sama’s corpse were found in the underground laboratory! The neighboring village has also started raising ques-“

“SILENCE!!”

A chilling sensation ran through Adolf’s body, shivers went down his spine. There was only one word echoing in his mind. 

Impossible. 

His mind refused to accept it.

“That-….! No, in the first place, who was it that killed Gebels?! Besides, the underground laboratory was hidden by barriers set up by the best magician in this empire! Are you implying that Gebels was the one that revealed the location of the laboratory to the public?!”

“…Sha-Shadow…”

“What?!”

“It was Shadow…! Those demons! Our assumptions, those demons were the one that killed Gebels-sama! Considering the reality of the situation, that is the most realistic conclusion we can come up with!”

Adolf’s mind went black. Indeed, he had ordered Gebels to go to the slum to take care of Shadow and also to eliminate the traitor lurking within the hero party. He gave those orders to Gebels so they could make their goal come to fruition soon. 

If Gebels had truly died, then Shadow was the most probable culprit. However, Adolf couldn’t believe Gebels had died. Gebels was the master of mind manipulation magic, arguably the greatest black magician in this world. Adolf just couldn’t believe how someone like Gebels could be defeated by a mere half-breed demon.

“…What about the Hero?”

Squeezing his voice out despite the turmoil brewing in his mind, Adolf’s voice echoed through his office. 

“Where’s the Hero?! Where is he?! He was supposed to be with Gebels in the slum!”

“The-The Hero… Kaltz-sama is currently missing! We think he was defeated along with Gebels-sama by Shadow!”

“I didn’t ask for your assumptions! Haaah… So, Gebels is dead… The Hero is missing… Ha… Haha…. AHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

The crown prince laughed maniacally for a few minutes before he suddenly slammed his desk with all of his might. The knight’s shoulders flinched in response. However, the second prince didn’t even care. Gritting his teeth in fury, his rage dominated the whole office. 

“….Useless fool.”

 The curse he spat out was directed at the hero. While it was still an assumption, it was safe to say that Shadow had killed Gebels. Finally calming his raging mind down, the crown prince started grinding the gear in his brain.

Who would’ve thought those demons are stronger than Gebels? The prophecy of demons destroying this empire… I always thought that prophecy is nothing more than a foolish fairy tale… But look at where we are now…

“…..I shouldn’t have just sent Gebels alone… I should’ve sent other personnel along too… Haha…. HAHAHAHA!!”

Gebels, someone he had sent to nip the bud early, ended up dying humiliatingly. And so, the crown prince decided. It was time for him to gather all of his resources, combining all the power in this empire to treat Shadow as the absolute evil. The rebellious traitors of the empire shall be purged. Now that the empire had lost Gebels, who was one of the key figures in the empire, they couldn’t afford to be lenient anymore. 

“I’m heading to my father’s office. We must inform him of the danger and rally all citizens against them.”

“Yo-Your Highness!”

Adolf was about to leave, but he couldn’t help but to clench his fist upon seeing another knight entering his office.

“What is it? Get to the point quickly.”

“Yo-Your Highness… We’ve received a report that… Chloe, a member of the Hero party, has joined Shadow!”

“…………Huh?”

“Not only that, but she’s also exposing Gebels-sama’s true identity and motives to the public, causing the public opinion of the empire to deteriorate rapidly!”

“……..”

Ha… Haha…. Just what… What… What is happening here? No, this outcome is not a surprise to be honest.

The moment Gebels died and the existence of the laboratory was leaked to the public, it was only natural for the empire to lose the people’s trust. However, that wasn’t the problem. The gnawing discomfort Adolf was feeling wasn’t about losing the people’s trust. He felt as if… As if he was being toyed by someone… As if he was dancing in the palm of someone’s hand. It was as if the other person already knew all the moves Adolf would make. 

The growing discomfort intensified, to the point he felt like he was being strangled by someone. Even though this was only the first incident, but the discomfort he felt was unbearable.

“….All the more reason to report to my father.”

Adolf said with a sinister smile etched on his face. His fingertips were horribly cold from a combination of anxiety and stress.

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T/N: No but can we talk about how Nia is the one being pampered instead?? So cute!! (ㅅ´ ˘ `)