I Thought I’d Reformed the Villainous Heroine. But Their True Nature Remained Unchanged, and They Were Still Being Doted On—I Just Don’t Have Enough Lives. - Chapter 7

You’re an Evil Heroine Too

The swarm of low-grade spirits never made it inside the mansion.

They just drifted around outside, circling aimlessly like they had no real goal.

I figured they probably hadn’t been summoned by Ilza. Something else must have happened and lured them here.

“Hah!!”

On the first-floor hallway, an upper-body skeleton was floating, so I launched a surprise attack.

I boosted my physical ability with magic power and smashed it to pieces with the silver sword.

“…The number of spirits is slowly growing. This is getting rough.”

I stayed hidden in the shadows and peeked out the window.

The count of low-grade spirits was creeping higher bit by bit.

One-on-one I could somehow manage, but multiple at once was definitely impossible. If a high-grade spirit showed up, it would be a straight shot to the dead end.

“I’m basically just an apprentice with a bit of fuzz on my chin. Damn it.”

Even though I was boosting my body with magic, I was still just a kid’s body in the end.

My reach was short, and my magic could only fling pebbles. Total trash, through and through.

“Time to rely on the adults… Yeah, let’s go ask for help.”

I quietly ran down the hallway and slipped into the servants’ bedrooms.

Thankfully, because they were farther away, there were no low-grade spirits around. The area was quiet. I could even hear the servants’ breathing.

“Thieves—something thief-like is attacking us~”

I started waking up the nearest servant.

I shook their body gently so they wouldn’t panic when they woke up.

“Hello? Can you wake up please? I’m, um, I’m in a real pinch here?”

No matter how much I shook, they wouldn’t wake.

I tried shaking another servant harder, but they stayed asleep like they’d been drugged.

“Wait, did someone actually spike their food with sleeping pills?!”

W-what the hell is going on?!

Who put them to sleep… Aaaaaah?! Could it be her?!

“She saw the perfect chance and made her move…!”

I clutched my head with both hands.

The fact that I was the only one awake probably meant the drug had been in the meal.

They weren’t waking at all. This wasn’t any ordinary sleeping pill, was it? Something from her guild?

Did it have something to do with the low-grade spirits appearing?

But I hadn’t sensed any connection between Ilza and her yet.

She probably saw right now—while Dad and the others were gone—as the perfect opportunity. The low-grade spirit commotion was most likely just coincidence.

“Doing the worst possible move at the worst possible time…!”

Ilza’s weird behavior. The swarm of low-grade spirits. And her sneaking around in the shadows.

I had to deal with all three at the same time… No way, no way, no way, no way!

I’m just a kid, and in my previous life I was an ordinary salaryman?!

Plus I’m the cannon-fodder villain!

“U-ugh… Is there somewhere safe I can hide…?”

But there was a chance Ilza was getting closer to the original Ilza from the story.

And I had no idea when the swarm of low-grade spirits might all rush into the mansion at once.

If only I had some trump card… something I could actually use…

As if I had anything like that…

“Do I… have something? If I could make her an ally, maybe…”

But if I failed, she might kill me. She’d been living in the underworld since she was little. If it came down to it, she’d erase me without hesitation.

My vision warped from panic and fear.

I wanted to run. I wanted to hide. If I did that, I could stay safe.

“But it would only be temporary… There’s no guarantee I’d be okay tomorrow…”

I steeled myself. Better to go through something painful now than live in hell later.

Ughhh…!!

If I get killed and reincarnate again, please let it be a peaceful world next time!!

With teary eyes, I prayed to whatever god might be listening—and then dashed out of the servants’ bedroom.

“Her location is… probably there.”

I ran down the hallway without letting the low-grade spirits spot me, then killed my footsteps right in front of Dad’s office.

Just as I thought, the office door was half open.

Lamp light was leaking out from the room. I listened carefully as I slowly stepped inside, and I heard her cheerful voice.

“Where’s the treasure, where’s the treasure~? Never thought such a perfect chance would drop into my lap. As expected of me, I’m loved by the gods.”

“Don’t you mean loved by demons? Myris.”

When I cut in, the girl who had been rummaging through the bookshelves straightened her back with a jolt.

Then she turned around with a bright smile.

“Yaa, young master. Good evening. Kids should still be in bed, y’know?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not sleepy at all.”

“…Huh?”

“The servants are all sound asleep. The drug worked perfectly on them… I barely ate anything because I had no appetite.”

“What are you talking about, Gant young master?”

Wow. She got caught searching the house, got called out on the sleeping pills, and didn’t even flinch.

This was the real deal—an actual villain, the thief Myris Kulok.

Myris is the villainess in [Yggdrasil Defense Final Battle].

At first she appears as a playful, mischievous maid. She loves expensive things and acts loose with everyone, playing the comedy-relief role.

But her background is pitch black.

She was raised in a long-established assassin guild.

“Even if you play dumb at a time like this—”

“Ehh, I’m not playing dumb at all~”

“Treasure hunting is dark-guild work?”

“…………Looks like that wasn’t just a random shot in the dark, huh.”

Myris gave a faint smile.

“Nah, that one was random… I didn’t actually think you were really part of something bad.”

“…Got totally played by a kid, huh. Sorry for being a bad maid.”

“To follow an arrogant little brat… you were just too capable. I’ve been on guard the whole time.”

“You’ve been super super impressive lately, young master~ So cool!”

Myris flashed her usual friendly smile.

I couldn’t let my guard down here.

She seemed to have noticed the swarm of low-grade spirits. Even though the servants were drugged asleep, she still chose to go after the treasure first.

A villain to the core.

Tension made my lips dry, but I didn’t want to show any openings.

“Young master, you think the low-grade spirits are the young lady’s doing?”

“Probably.”

“…So the young lady didn’t eat the food either, huh. Even though she’s at that growing age~”

“Ilza can fix any little discomfort with magic.”

When I mentioned my sister-in-law’s outstanding talent, Myris looked interested.

In the original story, Myris becomes fascinated by Ilza’s talent and wicked nature and swears loyalty to her.

She becomes Ilza’s personal maid. Then, using Ilza’s power, she takes over the assassin guild and buries anyone who gets in their way.

I had been thinking of firing her at the right moment and kicking her out of the mansion.

But doing it suddenly would make her hold a grudge, and I didn’t want her getting suspicious. I’d been trying to figure out a way to make her leave peacefully.

“So~ what did you come here for, young master?”

Myris looked me over slowly from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.

It was a cold gaze that said, “This is what happens when you interrupt someone from the underworld.”

“…I, um, I have a favor to ask.”

“Want me to take down the low-grade spirits?”

“Y-yeah. Something like that.”

“Umm, that’s… isn’t that way too careless?”

A chill of killing intent ran through me.

Sensei had pressured me before, but never with real murderous intent. The kind of intent that had no mercy for taking lives made me want to run away.

“It won’t be for free.”

I walked forward with strong steps to hide my trembling legs and stopped in front of the wall candlestick.

Then I pushed the candlestick hard.

Right away the wall beside it made a heavy clunk sound, and a hidden door opened.

“There’s the treasure you’re after in that room… The Eisenburg family’s heirloom that we received when we were granted our title.”

“For real? Is it okay to do that?”

“It’s gonna be mine someday anyway… So I’ll let you use it however you want.”

My heart was pounding like crazy, but I kept staring straight at her without looking away.

Myris seemed happy with my attitude. Then she chanted a spell code.

“Temporary Fix. Fly, sharp fangs.”

“Ugh… gh—?!”

I felt a sharp slice across my right ear. Blood dripped onto my sleepwear.

~~~~~~!! J-just as I thought!!

Something had flown out of Myris’s hand. Was that her unique magic?!

“Gant young master is growing, but you’re still a noble boy. Too soft… Now that the door to the treasure is open, the guard isn’t needed anymore, right?”

Her tone stayed soft like always, but it felt ice-cold.

A far superior mage, the named villain from the original story, had finally bared her fangs at me—