I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain

“You should wash with me.” Ian said, composing his expression.

Maeve retorted, averting her gaze. “If you don’t look, it doesn’t matter.”

“I’m telling you that I wouldn’t have the confidence to do that.” Ian responded as Maeve chuckled, considering it a joke. It was the first smile Ian had seen her smile. She was noticeably more relaxed after their physical and verbal battles.

“I’m tired and we should save time, besides we have a journey tomorrow.” Maeve responded casually as she began removing the armor on her opposite arm.

“I guess that’s true.” Ian, regaining his appetite, began to undo his own armor straps. There was no more conversation. Only the sound of armor being removed continued.

“Oh, are you planning to wash too, Sir?” Philip had returned unexpectedly with clean hands and arms, holding a soaked cloth in his hand. He quickly came over and took the breastplate Maeve had taken off.

“Always grateful, Philip.”

“Of course, it’s my duty, Sir.” Philip gently set down the breastplate. Then he looked at Ian with an eager glint in his eyes.

Ian nodded in agreement. Philip swiftly moved to where the leather armor was placed, and as he looked at the bag placed beside, he asked. “After you’re done, should I apply oil to the leather?”

“Yes, please do.” Philip was quite a devoted follower indeed. Ian stifled a chuckle and stood up.

Maeve, dressed in a red-stained robe, also rose. Without armor, she was about half a head shorter than Ian.

“The waterway above looked a little wider. You’ll find it more comfortable to wash there, Sir.” Philip added, holding the breastplate. He had an expression just as nonchalant as Maeve’s.

“Got it.” Maeve gave a slight nod and began walking briskly.

Ian felt that things are always like this here and he had thought he had adapted to this world. Ian experienced a modern person’s confusion for a moment before he moved his feet. As Philip suggested, as they moved upstream, the width of the stream increased. The moonlight that faintly appeared through the clouds shimmered on the water’s surface. It was a rare and peaceful scene, serene yet vibrant, in this world.

“It’s better for you to go in here.” Maeve, who had been walking silently, suddenly spoke.

Ian scratched his nose and came to a stop. “Understood.”

“I’ll go a little further upstream.” Maeve continued on her way.

“Feels like I’m the caveman now.” Ian sighed to himself and removed his clothes again. Then he stepped into the stream. The water was surprisingly cold, but it made him feel more clear-headed. The central part was deep enough to reach his thighs, so he knelt down and immersed his body. The stickiness and discomfort on his body were gradually washed away.

Soon the sound of splashing water followed, signaling Maeve had also gotten into the water. She wasn’t that far away. “Why am I so conscious of this?” Ian splashed water on his face and washed his body quietly.

Amidst the sound of flowing water. “There was something I didn’t ask earlier.” Maeve spoke up.

Ian was wiping the blood off his shoulders and chest, “Speak.”

“Any injuries?” Maeve asked quickly.

Ian smirked and replied. “No injuries. How about you?”

“Me neither. That’s impressive, you fought with a werewolf, yet you haven’t got a scratch.”

“Good luck, I suppose.”

“I can’t believe that. I saw you fight, it’s hard to put into words.” After a brief pause, Maeve added. “Your fighting style is unique, perhaps because there’s no set form. You were more practical in combat than even a knight like me.”

“You make it sound like I lack foundation.”

At Ian’s rather nonchalant response, Maeve quickly added. “I didn’t mean it in that sense.”

“It’s true that I lack a foundation. I’ve never properly learned.”

A soft exhale came from behind. “Your jokes are amusing. It’s the same as the way you treat Philip. You are obviously no ordinary mercenary, Ian, but it’s not uncommon to be a man freed from the aristocracy.”

Ian paused, “From aristocracy-?”

“Even if you pretend to be a mercenary, you can’t hide your wisdom or insights.”

“I’m from the streets.” Ian corrected her

In response, Ian heard a faint breath and realized that was the sound she made when she laughed. “You don’t have to talk about it.”

Ian finally let out a hollow laugh. Maeve misunderstood and he understood that in this world, even basic words were unfamiliar, and there were many who couldn’t even read. Ian, as a modern person, must have appeared relatively knowledgeable. And that alone could be seen as proof of noble blood. Knowledge and culture were almost solely the domain of nobles.

Maeve’s calm voice continued. “Everyone has at least one story they don’t want to talk about.”

“Do you have such a story?” Ian asked abruptly. More to dispel any misconceptions, he threw out the question.

Maeve fell silent again. This time, she was truly quiet for a time before answering, “I can’t say there isn’t a story.” Maeve spoke in a quiet voice. “I am not a woman of the Liurel family. I am a disciple of Tyr En and dedicated my body to be the kingdom’s sword.”

He hadn’t expected to get an answer. Ian wiped himself off with a towel he had brought and put on his clothes. “There’s something I haven’t been able to ask.” Ian caught onto the end of her sentence. “What kind of god is Tyr En?”

Now that the opportunity had arisen, he wanted to ask the question that had been on his mind. Maeve was a disciple of Tyr En whose disciples received the blessing of the god, wielding divine authority. Of course, the greatest power Maeve possessed was that divine authority. She might become an enemy someday, so it would be good to know about it in detail. If he could find a way to deal with her easily, that would be even better.

“I assume you’re sincerely asking?” Maeve asked.

Ian shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not very close to the gods. I’ve heard the name, but that’s about it.”

The world of Aquilonia had many gods. So if players didn’t find out for themselves, there was no need to explain the name and meaning of the god. Sometimes there were knights who shouted Tyr En’s name or recited prayers, but it didn’t concern Ian, and it wasn’t a name that was important to quests or stories.

“He isn’t someone who can be easily received. Tyr En is the god of condemnation. He is the daughter of the shining Lou Sola and the sword that endures sins.” Maeve’s voice became solemn. “As a disciple of Him, I cannot speak lies or turn away from sins. If we lose the favor of the gods, the blessings will disappear.”

“It must be quite hard in these times,” Ian added, nodding his head. “If his first name is like that, the other name must be even more impressive.”

“You mean his alias?” Maeve’s voice contained a hint of laughter.

Betrayal and corruption were among the major themes in this world, so there was nothing absolute in Aquilonia. Even the gods were not free from this rule and had multiple aliases. Just like “blind faith” was another name for Lou Sola, god of light. Ian asked, “What is his name?”

A calm response followed, “Revenge. To cut away sins ultimately means to take revenge for someone, and sometimes it becomes the target of revenge itself. Condemnation’s other name is revenge. Righteous revenge is protected by Tyr En’s favor.”

“I see.” Ian’s eyes flickered as he mumbled. He had finally learned the secret of the avenger shedding blood in the game. ‘The apostle of condemnation had become the apostle of revenge.’ If her apostolic powers were weakened, it would be much easier to deal with her. Although paladins possessed deceptive combat prowess, they also had many constraints.

Ian pondered the implications of her words. Could the lingering resentment of the avenger that appeared later be the power of Tyr En? The avenging blood-shedder wasn’t just a one-time mid-boss as it later reappeared as a specter named “Avenger’s Resentment”. It played a role in delivering an unexpected blow to the final boss of Chapter 1. The specter quickly dissipated after delivering it’s blow, but the big boss’s health and all stats fell below half as a result.

Of course, it was still quite difficult to fight even in that state. ‘It would be even harder without the specter.’ Ian pursed his lips, making a choice that required giving up one thing for another was not exactly to his taste. ‘I should observe a little longer.’ Perhaps there was a way where he didn’t have to give up anything at all.

“What god do you worship?” Maeve asked suddenly.

Ian stood up abruptly and replied, “None.”

“Do you mean you have no god to worship?”

“Yes. I won’t have one in the future either.” They were the ones who brought him to this world after all. They might have been just fragments of data at one point, but he didn’t know how they became real entities. Anyway, the probability of them being the culprits behind all this misfortune was the highest, so he had no intention of entrusting himself to them in even the slightest way.

“There seems to be a story behind that as well.” Ian left without responding. With Maeve’s calm voice digging into his ears, he wiped away the moisture on his body. “However, surely there is a god watching over you even now. Ian. They might already desire and covet you.”

Ian looked up at the night sky. The moon and stars twinkled between dispersing clouds, as if watching over him. Raising his middle finger toward a patch of sky, Ian said, “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”

—–

After finishing their meal, Philip, who had collapsed in exhaustion the night before, continued to talk about the werewolf. There was nothing else to do while traveling through the forest, so after a few hours Ian pretended to be convinced by Philip. Ian told him a simple version of the story about how the werewolf came and he just chopped it up with a sword.

“Sir, you never exaggerate your stories. What you said about conquering the kobold tribe was also downplayed compared to reality.”

“It wasn’t a tribe, just a lone cottage. It wasn’t conquering, but a battle.” Ian corrected, but Philip walked ahead as if he didn’t hear it.

“A werewolf, huh? It’s the first time I’ve actually seen a creature of that level. Oh, well, only it’s head though.”

Ian retorted with a grumble. “There are plenty of creatures in the south.”

“No, there are hardly any in the border region. The Southern fortress garrison periodically clears them out to prevent them from breeding. Those pirates on the coast established their own countries and would attack whenever there was a chance, so there couldn’t even be any room for creatures, let alone monsters, to intrude.” Philip added with a shrug, “It’s a rare sight to see creatures like that. The Southern region has been quite peaceful since I went there about 6 or 7 years ago. So, even if I heard that monsters were rampant in the kingdom, I never saw it.”

“Now you must be understanding it quite well.”

“To be honest, I still don’t. I’ve hardly encountered any throughout the journey.”

Ian’s brow furrowed. “You haven’t?”

Philip nodded. “Even when I entered the Marquisate, it was pretty peaceful. People seemed to be struggling, but that was because the Southern fortress was preparing for war as well. I’ve only seen true monsters for the first time in that werewolf.”

It couldn’t be true. Ian’s brow furrowed even more. The number of monsters he had encountered after stepping into Agellan was high. Even if he accounted for the setting of the game, he had been surprised that the country thrived despite that number of monsters.

“It’s true.” Maeve agreed. “That’s why Philip was hesitant to believe in the existence of the dark magician. The only monsters we’ve encountered were goblins and a few kobolds.”

Ian suddenly realized something and looked back at Philip. “If you came up to the country from the south, did you move along the Guandu?”

Philip nodded, “Yes, from Balk Castle through the villages.”

Ian finally let out a laugh. “I guess I laid out a flower path behind me.” The first city he had arrived at after getting out of the swamp was Balk City. This was the place he began to work in earnest as a mercenary. Count Rumon, like other lords in this world, was only interested in money and power. Thanks to that fact, the security of the city was a mess. Ian solved the city’s problems for a reasonable fee before moving on to the next town along the Guandu.

“A flower path?” Philip asked

“Your good days are over, Philip.” Ian responded, looking away. “The kingdom is a lot more shit than you think.”

After less than half a day, Philip understood the meaning of those words.

TL: Selwinkat

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