I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Raul PoV]

Several days had passed since my battle with the Holy Knight. By now, the Temple Authority had placed me on its wanted list. Everyone across the continent knew that I was a Performer belonging to the group known as The Masquerade.

At the moment, I was on the outskirts of a village, preparing to perform a Soul Jump. A few minutes ago, the artefact ring Puppeteer had given me began to glow, indicating that Keeper wanted to meet with me.

After finding a suitable place, I closed my eyes and activated the artefact.

An overwhelming wave of dizziness washed over me.

Not long afterward, I opened my eyes and saw that everyone had already gathered.

I walked toward them, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

"What? Is there something strange about my face?" I asked.

"Hey, Joker. How old are you, anyway?" Tamer asked curiously.

"Eighteen. Why are you so curious about it?"

Apparently, he still couldn't believe that someone as young as me could have killed a Holy Knight.

"Bah! You're definitely lying! I wouldn't be surprised if there were some old man hiding behind that mask!" Tamer protested.

"I personally confirmed his age when I recruited him," Puppeteer said. "There is no doubt about it. He's a student at Grunbelt Academy."

Hearing that, I glared at Puppeteer.

Why are you spreading my personal information, you tsundere old man?

I'll get you back for this.

"Speaking of personal information, aren't you a toy merchant in Wisperia County?" I asked him.

Puppeteer immediately looked shocked, as if he couldn't believe that I knew where he lived.

"Tamer owns a circus in the Republic of Greco. Dancer is a Belly Dancer in the Kingdom of Kuwalid. Singer is a musician in the Federation of Novgarad . Painter is a professional artist in Britonia Kingdom . And finally, Keeper is a librarian in the Republic of Venetia."

After I revealed the origins and occupations of every Performer, they fell completely silent, their mouths hanging open.

Then, one by one, they turned their attention toward Keeper.

"No, I never told him anything about your personal information," Keeper said, shaking her head. "It's better if we end this and get started with the meeting."

Keeper then explained the current condition of the children from the La Nuevas orphanage.

They had been relocated to a safehouse in the Grand Duchy of Wiena.

"Puppeteer, Joker, I have a new mission for the two of you," Keeper said. "The first is the assassination of an Archbishop. The second is to locate a Cursed Child."

Keeper went on to explain that the Archbishop was planning to conduct a search of every orphanage throughout the Grand Duchy of Wiena. Our task was to assassinate him so that the operation would never proceed smoothly.

As for the second mission, we had to locate a Cursed Child who was going to be auctioned off at a black market.

According to Keeper, the Cursed Child would be put up for auction at the end of the month.

After delivering the missions to the other Performers, Keeper finally ended the meeting.

Puppeteer and I also agreed to carry out our missions separately. He would deal with the Archbishop, while I would handle the recruitment of the Cursed Child.

I opened my eyes.

Above me stretched a beautiful blue sky, while a cool breeze brushed against my face. The weather was calm and peaceful.

But I knew better.

This was merely the calm before the storm.

I took the watch from my pocket.

It was already four in the afternoon.

It was time to return to Cataluna Fortress City and bring our assignment to an end.

I headed toward the center of the village, where Ariel usually treated the villagers. However, I couldn't find her there.

The villagers told me that Ariel was with the children by the river on the outskirts of the village.

When I arrived, I saw Ariel sitting with her back against a tree, surrounded by children. Judging by the way they were gathered around her, she seemed to be telling them a fairy tale.

Without waiting for Ariel to finish her story, I approached them.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"And when the Dragon kidnapped the Imperial Princess, the young man then sw—"

Ariel's words abruptly stopped when she noticed me.

"Raul? Is it already four o'clock?"

"That's right. Let's hurry and head back to the city."

However, just as Ariel was about to stand up, a young boy suddenly stepped in front of me and spread both arms wide.

"I won't let you take Sister Ariel away from us!" the boy declared. "Sister was telling us a story! Why do you always come here to take her away?"

For some reason, this kid reminded me of that noisy Brian.

Will he grow up to become a man just like him?

Ariel then walked over and gently stroked the boy's hair.

He instantly became obedient.

Tch.

Just because a beautiful woman patted your head, you suddenly changed completely.

There's no doubt about it.

This kid is going to become Brian 2.0 someday.

"Raul, can't you wait a few more minutes?" Ariel asked, looking into my eyes. "At least until I finish telling the children this story."

To be honest, I was deliberately doing this to make Ariel think that I disliked these children.

"No, Ariel. If we don't reach the city before nightfall, it will be difficult for the horses to see the road," I replied.

Ariel could only sigh in resignation at my words.

She then said goodbye to the children, promising that she would return in a few days.

Ariel and I walked toward the village gate.

There, we found a wagon loaded with vegetables and fruit, all of it covered by a tarp.

We climbed onto the front seat.

I then cracked the reins and urged the two horses pulling the wagon to begin our journey back to the city.

"Did the villagers ask you to transport their harvest?" Ariel asked.

"That's right. They want it stored in a warehouse at the city market," I replied.

The two of us continued talking about our field practicum while enjoying the sunset spreading across the horizon.

I glanced to the side.

Ariel was also quietly admiring the beauty of the setting sun.

"Hey, Ariel."

The silver-haired woman turned toward me, her beautiful pink eyes meeting mine.

"What is it, Raul?" Ariel asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Don't get too close to the villagers, especially the children you're teaching," I told her.

"Huh? Why?"

Her expression and voice immediately became slightly irritated.

"If something happens to them, you'll lose focus on the mission and act recklessly."

To be honest, what I was doing was called reverse psychology.

The more you forbid someone from doing something they enjoy, the more inclined they become to do it.

I needed Ariel to form a strong emotional bond with the villagers.

The purpose was to awaken her courage and strengthen her mentality when the disaster eventually struck.

"No. Why are you trying to control me and make me stop doing something I enjoy? It's not your right to decide who I can associate with, is it?" Ariel said with a pout.

She then turned her back toward me.

It seemed she intended to ignore me for the rest of the journey.

When we arrived in the city, I dropped Ariel off near the Temple.

She didn't even say goodbye to me as she usually did.

Afterward, I took the wagon to the warehouse at the city market.

Once I finished the task, I immediately headed to Melissa's tavern.

Several of my subordinates were there, drinking and chatting with one another.

"Ah, Captain Raul? Just finished your assignment?" Melissa asked when she noticed me sitting on the stool in front of the bar.

"One Margarita, please, Melissa."

She didn't ask any further questions and immediately began mixing several liquids in a shaker.

I watched Melissa prepare my drink while thinking.

Siena in Reginossa had long black hair and orange eyes, while Melissa had maroon hair and green eyes.

According to Black's report, Melissa frequently traveled to a building on the outskirts of the city.

She wasn't the only one who entered that building, either. Several mysterious individuals also visited it regularly, once every three days.

Most likely, Melissa was one of the agents operating under Siena, who served as the Head of Intelligence for the Republic of Venetia within the Empire.

If my assumption was correct, then their purpose in this city was to spy on the condition of the Margraviate of Cataluna, which bordered the southeastern territory of the Republic.

Could they be planning a large-scale operation once war broke out in this region?

In truth, I could expose and arrest every spy currently operating here.

But I chose not to.

My objective was to make them confident in the intelligence they obtained from this operation, only for me to counter them when they least expected it.

If I captured them here, they would simply become more cautious and cancel their plans to attack this region.

I wanted to catch a much bigger fish when the war finally began.

"Here. Your Margarita is ready," Melissa said, handing me the drink I had ordered.

I took a sip.

The exhaustion that had accumulated after completing my assignment instantly faded, and my body felt refreshed once more.

"Melissa..."

I called out to her.

"What is it, Captain Raul?" she asked, looking curious about why I had suddenly called her.

"Don't travel outside the city at night too often in the coming days."

I took another sip of my drink.

"I have a bad feeling that some kind of disaster is going to befall this region."

Melissa merely nodded at my words, though she looked confused.

I finished my drink and paid a few silver coins.

The Vampires...

They still hadn't made another move after resurrecting that dragon in Grenaut City.

In fact, I had already discussed the possibility of another Vampire attack with Emilia and proposed evacuating the villagers.

However, she told me that it couldn't be done.

The villagers hated being evacuated. They didn't want to leave their homes or abandon their work in the fields and on their farms.

After the first evacuation, the Vampires hadn't attacked immediately.

It seemed they were waiting for moments like this to make their move.

Without any evidence, I couldn't convince Marquis Fran to order another evacuation.

"I just hope the number of casualties won't be too high."

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[Noble Vampire Vilmore PoV]

Ah...

What a beautiful full moon tonight.

In the world now inhabited by demons, we would never be able to find all the beauty that existed in this world.

"Lord Vilmore."

I heard a voice calling from behind me.

I turned around and saw a female Vampire kneeling before me.

"Nuna, have you gathered enough Magical Beasts and monsters?" I asked.

Our current plan was to create massive chaos throughout this region.

The purpose was to lure the Hero into coming here.

After a group of Heretics caused a disturbance in that city, the Temple Authority had significantly strengthened its security.

Attacking the city directly now would be difficult.

There would simply be too many powerful individuals standing in our way.

"The preparations will be completed in a few more days, My Lord. After that, we can begin the plan," Nuna replied.

Nuna's task was to summon the Magical Beasts and monsters she had gathered and unleash them to create chaos throughout the area.

My task, meanwhile, was to find the Hero once he began moving toward this region.

I had to succeed this time.

Otherwise, those humans would become even more cautious than before.

Two teams had been sent to this world.

My team was responsible for killing the Hero, while the other team was tasked with ensuring that the project we were constructing proceeded smoothly so that the invasion of the Demon Race could be carried out several years from now.

The other team was led by none other than the daughter of the Demon King himself—

Lilith ur Luciferus.