I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain Chapter 193

"Now I feel more at ease. Thank you, sir." Obell, unaware of Ian’s subdued gaze, said this with a cheerful laugh.

Ian nodded as he let go of Obell’s hand. "Don’t ntion it."

"A servant will send the money up shortly."

"I’ll be expecting it. Well then, I’ll head up now."

"Rest well. They’re probably having dinner now. See you in the morning."

As Ian turned to leave, he paused and looked back at Obell.

"Is sothing happening tomorrow morning?"

"Oh, you’ll find out when you go up, but my father has requested a eting with you tomorrow morning. It’s not sothing that happens often. He seems eager to et the brave warriors who easily took down such a monster, and the esteed elder elf."

"... In the morning, not the evening?"

Obell shrugged. "He originally wanted dinner, but I have a banquet planned for the evening. Since you’re my guests, my father had to yield. Though the lady accepted my father’s request, she was hesitant about mine."

Ah, so that’s how it was.

Ian nodded, and Obell lowered his voice. "Could you please persuade her? It wouldn’t be right to have a banquet without the guests of honor."

"I’ll talk to her." Ian nodded, keeping to himself that he wasn’t sure if the banquet would happen at all.

Obell smiled contentedly. "If you feel like drinking, co down anyti. The party will go on."

It seed Obell didn’t expect an answer, as he playfully raised his mug and turned away. He walked off, gulping down his drink.

So he really is the guardian of bread and beer. Maybe his power is to beco more cheerful when he drinks.

"A eting…?" Philip, who hadn’t smiled once, muttered.

Ian laughed dryly and started walking towards the guesthouse.

***

The group ca together in Thesaya’s room for dinner, just as Obell had said.

"Why are you so late, Ian? Lord Westwood had already co and went." Thesaya spoke with a mouthful of at sauce around her lips.

Ian nodded as he unbuckled his sword. "I know. I t him downstairs."

"Oh, did you? Then you must have heard everything?"

"Yeah. You accepted the Count’s request?" Ian asked as he sat down and took the drink v handed him.

Thesaya nodded. "We couldn’t exactly refuse such a request on the spot. So, here’s the plan."

She smiled, popping another piece of at into her mouth.

"Let’s leave tomorrow morning. There’s no good reason to get entangled with the Count. We were just discussing what excuse to use, though we haven’t co up with anything solid."

Charlotte, seated across from Thesaya, added as she raised her beer mug.

"So we waited for you, Ian. You’re bound to co up with sothing clever."

"Well..."

Ian exchanged a glance with Philip before replying.

"We might have to et with the Count."

"Huh…?" Thesaya tilted her head while Charlotte frowned.

v, observing Philip’s expression, spoke up. "You’re already aware of the risk of our false identities being exposed… there must be a reason for this."

"That’s right."

"Sothing happened outside, didn’t it? Where did you go, Ian?" Thesaya asked next.

Ian took a sip of his drink before answering.

"Outside the castle. To the slum."

"The slum…?"

"The place where the sick are quarantined," Philip added.

As Ian’s gaze fell on him, Philip began explaining what they had seen outside in a somber voice. anwhile, Ian downed his beer in one go, though he only intended to take a sip. It was the best beer he’d had recently, not because of its taste—it was still lukewarm—but because it helped rid the lingering stench from his nose.

"So there’s a plague, and a cursed one at that, spreading without the townspeople’s knowledge," v muttered with a serious expression after hearing the explanation.

Ian nodded as he refilled his glass. "That’s right. It doesn’t seem to be widespread enough to call it an outbreak just yet."

Ian gestured to Philip again and the bloated creature, Swamp’s Resentnt, that had been coiled around his finger, dropped onto the table.

The creature gagged and regurgitated a small amount of substance. Though minimal, it was enough to make the group grimace. It was a tar-like, foul-slling, black goo.

Psssss—

The goo dissolved into black smoke almost imdiately.

Philip extended his right hand, and a faint light emanated from his palm, burning away the smoke and goo. It was clear evidence it was a byproduct of a curse.

"So there’s a corrupter operating in Drenorov… and they’ve already created victims," v sighed.

Ian transford Swamp’s Resentnt back into a ring and picked up a fork.

As he took a bite of the at on his plate, Thesaya spoke. "Could this be related to the strange shadow I saw? You ntioned that the darkness from the borderlands is descending."

She and Ian were the only ones still eating. Charlotte and v had put down their forks and were holding their glasses, while Philip hadn’t touched the food at all.

Ian gave a casual nod. "That might have prompted the local corrupters to start their activities in earnest. If it had started earlier, the city would already be in ruins."

"... It could be connected to the person we’re pursuing," v added in a subdued voice.

Ian chewed his at and replied, "Possibly. We’ll find out once we investigate. Of course, if you prefer to leave for Tessen imdiately, I’ll respect that. I’m here to help you with your vengeance."

It was just a formal remark.

As expected, v shook her head without hesitation. "No. Let’s investigate. I can’t ignore the corrupters’ sches now that we’re aware of them, regardless of my personal vendetta."

"If that’s your decision." Ian nodded and resud eating.

There was ample ti to discuss the details after the al. However, it was clear that the others did not share his sentint.

"Do you think the Count and Lord Westwood might be involved?" Thesaya asked with a curious glint in her eye.

Holding his drink, Philip responded, "It’s possible, but personally, I doubt they’re connected to this incident."

"Based on what?"

"If they were involved, there would be no need to quarantine the sick. I don’t know what they stand to gain by spreading the plague, but they would have just let it spread. They wouldn’t have ntioned the fever to us, either. The Count and Lord Westwood are probably unaware of the situation. No matter how much they care for their people, they wouldn’t visit the sick directly."

"Hmm. Quite a reasonable argunt, freckles," Thesaya smiled as she chewed her at, then added, "But that’s incorrect."

"…Incorrect?"

"Yes. It doesn’t prove the Count and Lord Westwood’s innocence."

"Explain your reasoning."

"You ntioned curses create the plague, right? I know a bit of dark magic. The more lethal it is, the greater the cost. Even if the sick were thrown into the city, it wouldn’t spread much. It would kill a few and disappear. Of course, it might create byproducts that cause other side effects."

She glanced at v and Charlotte, then smiled.

"To make the city a total ss, one needs ti and preparation to accumulate the power of the curse. Or they could turn this area into a demonic realm. Even if darkness is spreading here, those steps are necessary. That’s why they might quarantine them—to keep the residents from knowing until the right ti."

Thesaya leisurely added while holding her drink, "The sick might even be the sacrifices. To grow the power of the curse. It’s almost certain‌."

"... You sound like a demon-born elf. Convincing," Charlotte scoffed while raising her drink.

Philip, who had been nodding vacantly, added, "So, we can’t be sure about the Count and Lord Westwood’s innocence after all."

"That’s right. But there’s sothing we can be sure of."

Thesaya confidently continued while stabbing a piece of at with her fork.

"The priests. They are definitely corrupt. Everything fits. There’s a corrupted priest at the monastery in Tessen. And here, it’s the priests who are taking care of the sick. I bet they’re all in on it. So…"

She turned to Charlotte and raised her eyebrows. "Since we’re talking about it, let’s check it out. Stealth is your and my specialty. Let’s quietly sneak into the church and interrogate a few. We’ll find sothing for sure."

"Sounds good to ," Charlotte smiled, showing her sharp teeth, and added, "If we keep one alive, it’ll be enough. Give twenty chances, and they’ll spill everything they know."

Philip frowned and asked, "Why twenty chances?"

"Because they have twenty fingers and toes."

"Oh, I see… right…"

"If you want, we can make it twenty-three. There are the nose and ears too. Don’t worry, they won’t die before we finish." Charlotte assured with a sinister grin, making Philip pale.

"You might have to save that for another ti. The church is in the middle of the city," said Philip.

v nodded in agreent and added, "Yes, according to Thesa’s words, they’re probably accumulating the power of the curse. Even if it’s not perfect, it could cause significant harm."

She looked at Thesaya and Charlotte, who both seed disappointed.

"We need to be careful. The safety of civilians is too important to gamble with. We must approach cautiously and strike swiftly. Avoid conflict at night. The night is their ti."

"Strict as always. Well, then..." Thesaya clicked her tongue and fell silent.

Soon, the faint sound of footsteps approached, followed by a knock on the door. It was a servant bringing the gold coins.

Handing the pouch to Charlotte, the servant added, "When you et the Count tomorrow, please disarm yourselves completely. If you need attire, we can provide it."

"…We’ll comply," Charlotte replied, giving the group a peculiar look. The servant bowed politely and left. Charlotte returned to her seat, holding the pouch of gold, and smiled.

"The Count is quite thorough."

"This is a common precaution, but given the circumstances, it’s hard to accept it without concern."

"Why does it matter? We have Ian’s magic." Thesaya remarked, then turned to Ian with a smile as she received the pouch of gold.

"You’ll keep our weapons safe, right, Ian?"

"Of course."

"Well, that’s convenient. First, let’s confirm if the Count is corrupt. If things go south, we can just hold a blade to his throat."

Ian chuckled as he finished the last piece of at on his plate.

"Quite a roundabout way to reach an obvious conclusion."

"…Was that your plan from the start?"

Swallowing the at, Ian rinsed his mouth with beer before continuing, "There will definitely be a corrupted individual at the eting with the Count tomorrow. Even if it’s not the Count or Lord Westwood, there will at least be a direct connection to them."

"You seem certain."

"Of course. An elder elf appears in the West, with no apparent ties, at this specific ti. They’ll want to know why we’re here and if we pose any threat to their plans. Tomorrow is the perfect opportunity for them to find out."

"…They haven’t considered that it’s also the perfect mont for us to strike. They have no idea that we’re aware," v murmured coldly.

Ian nodded and waved his right hand lightly. "Exactly. We have the evidence. Since they’ve set the stage for us, we might as well use it to our advantage."

"If it turns out that Count Westwood and Lord Obell are indeed allied with the corrupted, what will you do then?" Philip asked cautiously.

Ian, bringing his drink to his lips, t Philip’s gaze and replied.

"Well, what would you do?"

"…I’d eliminate them. Even if it ans being branded and hunted."

As Ian nodded and finished his drink, Thesaya sighed softly.

"I’m exhausted of being hunted."

"If you don’t want that, then you’d better play your part well tomorrow, pointy ears."

"What? What nonsense…"

Before Thesaya could frown at Charlotte’s reprimand, Philip’s eyes lit up as he exclaid, "That’s right. If Thesa plays her part well, we can interrogate the Count and eliminate the corrupt without blowing our cover."

"No, why is that the conclusion…?"

"Don’t worry. Thesa, you just need to rember your lines. We’ll handle the rest. You’ll help, won’t you?"

Philip’s gaze turned to Charlotte and v, who lifted their glasses as if it were a given.

"...." Finally, Thesaya looked at Ian, who also raised his glass. Her mouth hung open in bewildernt.