The Villain Wants to Live

A night with a full moon. In the library of the Imperial University, Yeriel was secretly studying magic. She recently came down to the Islands for a while because staying in Hadekain was a bit too much for her. The cause was the attack on the Palace by the Altar.

For Yeriel these days, every day was torturous. Of course, no one dared to ask Yukline to verify their bloodline, but that was as of yet.

“…Sigh. I’ll do the rest later.”

Around ten o’clock at night, she wrapped up in a cloak and stomped out onto the university yard. Of course, many escorts were hiding in the shadows nearby. After all, given the current situation-

“Huh?”

Yeriel, who was about to return to Deculein’s mansion, suddenly noticed some wizards. Epherene, Maho, and Drent, and other members of their club were gathered nearby.

—But how do we ensure safety? Any thoughts, anyone?

—I don’t know… Ifi, why not just use something solid?

—Then it can’t fly. It’ll be too heavy.

—What if we use something lightweight?

—It’ll be too expensive.

They were chatting with a broken object between them. Yeriel approached out of curiosity.

“What are you guys doing?”

“Huh? Oh~, Miss Yeriel.”

Epherene smiled broadly and waved her hand. Yeriel furrowed her brow.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me by name rather than as a miss… more importantly, what are you doing?”

“It’s a powerful machine. We are preparing items for the exhibition.”

“Oh… that? Is it a power machine?”

A shattered engine, too round for an airplane, with no wings, and a propeller on top lay between them.

“We’re thinking of a name like Helicoptercio Sauron.”

“Really? It’s too long. But why are you struggling between yourselves? You should ask Deculein to help you. He’s your advisor.”

Saying that, Yeriel grabbed her own robe’s hem. She couldn’t appear close to Deculein, and she couldn’t even pretend to be friendly or nice. Externally, they had a very bad relationship, and it had to remain that way.

Since she was Deculein’s Achilles Heel.

“It will probably be difficult. I think the Professor is busy these days.”

It was Drent. Epherene, who was next to him, chimed in.

“Yes. I showed him this, but he completely rejected it. So we’re fixing it right now…”

Epherene sighed and looked at the stock certificate she held. Before long, a sinister smile appeared on her face again.

“Huhu… I am rich.”

Leaving behind Epherene, who was muttering, Yeriel mustered up some courage. She looked up at the high tower. On the 77th floor, Deculein’s office was still bright.

Yeriel said:

“Then, I can try to talk to him,”

Epherene asked.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Even though we don’t get along that well, I can talk more comfortably with him than you guys. I also have something to discuss.”

“Oh! Thank you!”

Yeriel smiled and turned around. She went straight into the tower and up the elevator.

“Whew….”

Ding-!

So, as soon as she reached the 77th floor with a deep breath.

—…If you’re talking about Yeriel.

Deculein’s voice leaked out of the office, filling the dark hallway with strong energy. Yeriel looked for a moment before hiding. A light flickered through the half-open door of the head professor’s office. And there were two people, not one, inside. Deculein, he was with someone else…

—That kid is not even worth negotiating.

* * *

…Thirty minutes ago.

I understood Decalane’s artifact magic science to some extent. First of all, the overall one-line review was as follows:

‘It deserves to be called a rare theory.’

Decalane’s magic, based on engineering, science, biomedical science, and magic schools, made it possible to create a living magical artifact compatible with other magic classes. If most magical theories were pure mathematics, such as geometry or hermeneutics, this magic was more practical.

“But…”

The biggest obstacle was the use of dark energy as a medium. If mana could produce a similar output, this could be the ultimate goal for the many wizards who chose the ductility series.

“It is possible.”

Now I was looking for a clue on how to do that.

“But, ductility.”

Even among wizards, class discrimination existed, and among them, the ductility was a series that hadn’t received a lot of respect. Before Decalane, wizards who majored in casting were called engineers, and their value was recognized only after Decalane’s appearance. Even now, among the etheric rank of wizards, there was only one of the ductility type, Rose Rio.

That must be some of the reason for Decalane’s extremely twisted personality.

“I will need a curriculum.”

There was no need for a monopoly on knowledge, even for the upcoming main quest. I would discover as many talented people as possible and then develop them as quickly as I could. What could be uglier than letting the continent be destroyed by greed? So…

Whooosh-

The wind blew through the window. However, I hadn’t left the window open, and the intruder knew that too. I stared over with a sneer.

“…Are you a Demon Blood from the desert?”

The sudden intruder and the second leader of the desert. A woman with quite a bounty over her head – Elesol sighed her response.

-Yes.

“Why did you come? Isn’t that a waste of your life? Or is Ellie nearby?”

—You don’t need to know that. I will ask without further ado, why didn’t you keep Rohalak’s promise?

“Promise? Are you talking about the gas chambers of Rohalak?”

-Yes.

Elesol frowned. She radiated her mana.

— If you don’t keep your promise, we will have no choice but to tell the Emperor the facts about her.

“…”

For a moment, my expression hardened. I straightened my posture without saying a word. I raised my chin and glared at that cheeky Demon Blood.

“…If you’re talking about Yeriel.”

-That’s right.

“That kid is not even worth negotiating.”

-What-

I grabbed Elesol’s hand, which was about to move, with Psychokinesis. She stood still.

“Again, if there is one hope for you, it will be that child. You must not even think of doing such a foolish thing.”

“Ha!”

The mana released with her exhale disturbed my Psychokinesis. As expected, she was quite strong.

“You have a good spirit even though you’re deaf.”

—Do you think the Emperor would remain silent if she knew about it? Negotiate properly, Deculein. I came here on purpose because I also think like you. Yeriel is our hope.

She moved her fingers delicately.

– Mutual destruction.

“…”

—If we tell the Emperor about this, you will die, and we will die too. So, show that you are at least trying to negotiate with the Emperor. You allowed the gas chamber to start too easily.

I watched her quietly. A smirk tugged at my lips. It was a ridiculous threat.

-What’s funny?

“Yeriel. Before being a Demon Blood, she’s my younger sister.”

─…

“If something like you poses a threat to that child’s life, I swear I’ll destroy you in the name of Yukline.”

The darkness of the night colored the office. Elesol did not respond. She just let out a sigh.

─Even if the Emperor finds out, won’t you abandon her?

The answer to that trivial question was self-evident. It wasn’t worth thinking about.

“Even if the end is ruin.”

─…

Elesol closed her eyes for a moment. She stayed like that as if thinking, and then she nodded with a laugh.

─Okay. You are reliable. So we’ll also tell you that we have obtained the Altar’s next plan. It’s Yuren.

“Yuren?”

-We need your help.

I frowned slightly.

“Was that your purpose for giving me that information from the beginning?”

─Yes. I’m not stupid enough to threaten you needlessly. Whether it be an ally or a foe, it’s important to be mindful.

“Hmph. You’re not brainless. If so, what is their purpose?”

-You know that. Not far from Yuren, there is a volcano filled with Ashes underground. It is a dormant volcano. Hasn’t been active in 300 years.

I grasped the Altar’s purpose.

“Is it the volcano?”

─Yes. The idea is to artificially detonate the volcano. If that happens, Yuren, as well as the Ashes, are at risk. The whole mountain will collapse.

For the expedition to Annihilation and the main quest, Yuren was a necessary backbone to the Empire. If Yuren were destroyed prematurely, the game would be impossible to clear.

“I’m glad. The magic I’m learning these days is the ductility-type.”

—It is not a volcano that can be prevented only with ductility magic.

“Hmph. There are many mysteries in this world that people like you cannot understand.”

─…

Elesol frowned, but she quickly shook her head and continued to sign.

-I’m asking for help. This time, we’ll also support from the desert. But before that… can I ask you one thing?

I nodded.

─…

She stopped talking for a moment and looked at me. Then, she asked with hands trembling.

-What is the difference between the Demon Blood and Yeriel? You hate the Demon Blood, but you cherish Yeriel. Is that antinomy possible?

I answered immediately. It wasn’t worth worrying about.

“It’s simple. Yeriel is a Demon Blood, but the Demon Blood is not Yeriel. Or are you now Yeriel?”

A cold wind blew past again, rustling Elesol’s hair. Soon, she smiled and nodded.

—I understand, Professor Deculein.

She jumped out of the window, hiding.

“…But, don’t be mistaken.”

The Demon Bloods, the most complex race in this world.

“Chief of the Demon Blood.”

I didn’t know if she was listening or not.

“I don’t hate you. Rather, I just pity you and find you pathetic.”

Saying that I stood and opened the door…

“…”

The hallway was dark. However, the moonlight outside the window seeped in, illuminating some water droplets wetting the floor. Transparent sparkling water. Evidence that someone was here.

“Tsk.”

Of course, with the five senses of the Iron Man, I had felt it faintly. I thought it would be Elesol’s bodyguard, so I left it alone.

“…Was it Yeriel?”

I watched those tears that remained silently.

* * *

…Three days later.

Inside the VVIP cabin of the airship to Yuren, I stared at the formula written on the magic paper. And, I was thinking about what to write to Yeriel.

“Tsk.”

What should I say to my younger sister, who shed tears that day, and this damn conversion… how should I solve it?

“Professor. What is that?”

Epherene showed interest by leaning over from the seat next to me.

“It’s a conversion.”

“Hmm… it looks so easy, doesn’t it?”

“…Easy?”

What should I do with this cheeky bastard? Should I flick her forehead or hit her with words?

“Then is this hard?”

Indeed, this problem seemed to be easy on the surface. It was only one or two lines, and if you thought of it as a math problem, it looked very simple.

[Conversion: A/(B+C) – B/(A+C) + C/(A+B) = 1]

Roughly speaking, there were only three independent equations of this magnitude.

“What are you converting? What is A, what is B, what is C?”

“It is the relationship between dark energy and the mana to find it. Dark energy and mana are similar to each other, and in the end, the source has the same power, so this simple conversion formula appeared.”

“Um~, give it to me. I think I can solve this.”

Epherene took the paper.

“Let’s see….”

I glanced at her and shook my head.

…Fifteen minutes later.

“It doesn’t quite work out. But it looks easy.”

Epherene still hadn’t figured out her place. I showed half of the solution to the problem to this fool.

“Take this. It’s the solution.”

“Huh? Oh, but I think I can solve it too… um. What is this, what is it?”

As soon as I took out the solution, her eyes widened.

“They say it’s better to use our heads together. Okay, look and think about it.”

“…”

The problem was one line, but the solution was hundreds of pages. No, it wasn’t finished yet.

“It is a conversion formula that assumes void mana, a kind of mana neutral state, by mobilizing all mathematical concepts, including functions and geometry, as well as magic formulas.”

Epherene swallowed hard. As if she thought it would be easy to convert dark energy into mana…

“Sometimes, what seems easy on the outside is the most difficult.”

“Aha… but are there any theories that you can’t solve?”

I shrugged.

“The verification takes too long. It might be easier if you roughly formulate the conversion formula and solve the right and wrong of it by elimination, but it takes three months to confirm once.”

“How about that test method?”

I was annoyed by her suddenly asking questions, but curiosity was an essential virtue of a wizard.

“You inject the mana based on this conversion formula into a mana stone that contains dark energy and then wait for three months to see the result. Now shut up.”

I focused my eyes on the solution again. The airship was still on its way to Yuren, but.

Tap, tap-

Epherene poked my shoulder again. I stared at her.

“Epherene, would you like to go skydiving? Right now.”

“What? Nope. Rather, look at this.”

She took out her pocket watch.

“There is one more way to use this watch. Take a look.”

She placed a cookie on top of the watch and infused her mana. In an instant, the hour and second hands of the pocket watch rushed past.

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick-

In the meantime, Epherene had her eyes closed, and a smile slowly appeared on my lips. Did thirty seconds pass like that?

“…Whew! What do you think?”

Epherene proudly lifted the cookie. I looked closely at it. The cookie was moldy and then crumbled into dust. It was the result of time travel.

“It is a kind of future, right?”

“Exactly three months. I’m totally fine with this much.”

Epherene crossed her arms and raised her nose. I said to this girl, looking almost cute for the first time.

“…You finally did something worthwhile.”

“Huhuhu!”

At that moment, suddenly, the conversion paper and the solution flew under the seat. Immediately after, the magic paper disappeared completely.

“Huh! What is it?!”

Epherene was the first to respond.

“No!”

Even though I was fine with it, she jumped up and yelled.

“Shit, it’s a thief! Here! It’s a thief! A thiiiiief-!”

VVIP rooms could only accommodate 30 people. At the sudden shout, they all looked at Epherene and me with a frown, but it didn’t matter if it was a thief or something.

“Miss, please calm down. There can be no thieves in this VVIP room.”

“No! Someone just took something by magic! Ah, I didn’t learn it because it’s a backtracking harmony series. What do we do? Do you know how to do it, Professor?”

“…Epherene. Close your mouth.”

Even if someone knew the solution and equation, they wouldn’t be able to solve it in the first place-

“I’m telling you that Professor Deculein’s magic theory has been stolen! Someone took the theory!”

“What? Is that true?!”

The flight attendant turned to look at me with a look of tremendous surprise.

“…”

Without a word, I predicted the headlines of the Empire tomorrow morning.

[Scoop! Deculein’s new magic theory theft case.]

“Nearly 100 million Elnes worth! I mean, it must be worth 1 billion Elnes!”

“No way!”

[Scoop! A case of stealing the new magic theory from Deculein worth 1 billion Elnes!]

An alarm rang inside the airship.