Chapter 53
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Villain
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Fifteen days—what could I accomplish in that time?
My mind felt utterly blank.
The voice had faded away quickly, but Rie's words weighed heavily on me.
"…I've heard the whole story, so I'll head back now."
"You're not giving me an answer?"
"Don't I need time to think it over too? I'll give you my answer in five days."
I knew dragging it out longer than that would lead nowhere, so I promised five days.
At the very least, these people wouldn't dare attack me recklessly for those five days.
I climbed out through the window.
Naturally, I scaled down the cliff and returned to my spot.
I hadn't checked every single person here, but they all seemed like folks with no real ties to fighting.
If I fought with my back to the wall, I could probably take down close to twenty of them on my own.
Knowing these people posed no threat to me, I decided to bide my time and observe.
The information I had right now was far too scant.
How much could I trust the village chief's one-sided account?
Either way, hearing only one side was a dangerous move.
Pitiful story?
Anyone could spin a tale like that.
So, my task for the next five days was clear.
Verify the facts.
What happened after five days? The me of five days from now would handle it.
For now, I had to focus on the present.
Staring only at the future would mean failing to resolve the now. I'd already grasped that simple truth.
I spent the night wide awake.
Since I was treated as a guest rather than one of their own, no tasks were assigned to me—but that worked in my favor. I pitched in on others' chores, slipping into their midst.
Few would spill the truth to an outsider.
Blending in was the only way to uncover the facts.
I knew the chief had assigned someone to watch me, but they were weaklings below my level, so I paid them no mind.
I helped around the village, climbed the cliffs to gather rare herbs growing there, and handed them over.
If the game system were more straightforward, I'd bet their affinity for me went up a notch.
That was day one.
I'd gained nothing concrete, but precisely because of that, I felt a bit closer to them.
Here in this village, emitting an unsettling aura didn't matter much.
What difference did one more one-eyed stranger make in a one-eyed village?
I blended into the village as effortlessly as a cup of water poured into the sea.
On the second day, I hunted a beast that had wandered down from the mountains.
Once I stepped up and slew it with a single stroke, the way they looked at me shifted a little.
These mountains used to be free of beasts, but the recent drought had driven them here in search of prey, turning them into a real headache.
It was emaciated and severely weakened.
Beasts aren't dangerous when they're full—they're dangerous when they're starving.
Left alone much longer, casualties were inevitable.
Affinity rose another notch.
They said they'd brew the beast's bones into medicine. It was bittersweet seeing them covet such herbs despite their incurable disease having already healed.
It wasn't about the disease being cured that mattered—it was the obsession with health born from having suffered it.
The beast was too starved for its meat to be edible, but I planned to tan the hide properly and decorate the chief's house with it.
Another day drew to a close.
I'd learned nothing new, but slaying the beast had brought us even closer.
On the third day...
I started talking with the villagers.
Maybe because I'd helped out multiple times and taken on their tedious chores.
Most opened up to me.
Bit by bit, I gathered information.
First up was the cave keeper who rationed out food.
"…My skin was rotting away completely back then. That's when the current chief told me there was a worst possible method, but also the surest way to heal."
He was talking about the ritual that turned them into devil worshippers.
I filed his words away carefully and asked,
"You mean the ritual, right? Do you regret it, by any chance?"
"Regret? Come on. For someone rotting alive in agony day by day, what other choice was there? Sure... I still rot a bit now. But my skin may have melted off, yet there's no pain, and I can walk on my own two legs. That's a huge improvement."
He let out a creepy chuckle.
Even when he tried to smile, it was so unnerving that I couldn't help grimacing.
"I've gotten hideous, haven't I?"
"……No, that's not it."
"No need to make excuses. Even the old me would find the current me grotesque. But hear this: if I could go back in time, I'd undergo the same ritual again."
Despite his curse-like hideousness, his words rang with sincerity—he'd repeat it even if given the chance.
In other words, it wasn't forced.
I bowed my head in thanks for his honest answer and moved on to the next person.
The second was a woman managing supplies for the village operations.
She'd been a prostitute in the past.
Beautiful and beloved by men, she'd eventually caught a venereal disease.
As a popular high-end courtesan, she had plenty of money, but it couldn't buy a cure.
She too had accepted the chief's offer one day and undergone the ritual.
Her beauty had all drained away, but she was content with her restored health,
and used her vast savings from prostitution to hire people who bought supplies for the village.
"Losing my looks is a shame. But... I had money. I didn't want to die without spending it all. Even if I look horrific now, as long as the money's still there... isn't that enough?"
This didn't seem forced either.
She spoke casually of her past and matter-of-factly about her current lot.
Next person.
The third was an elderly woodcutter—the first one to regret undergoing the ritual.
"I should've just died... Now I'm just burdening my kids by clinging to life..."
But his regret wasn't for the ritual itself—it was for surviving this way and troubling his children.
The old man harbored no ill will toward the chief and clearly stated it was his own choice.
After speaking with nearly thirty people, they realized I was digging for info, but no one minded much.
They just answered openly whenever I asked, hiding nothing about their circumstances.
Another day faded, leading into the fourth.
I hadn't talked to everyone, but I'd spoken with close to seventy people so far.
About seven out of ten were satisfied with their lives now; the remaining three had regrets.
"This makes it all the more trustworthy."
If everyone claimed satisfaction, I'd suspect brainwashing.
The fact that a fair number regretted it convinced me their reactions were genuine.
Tomorrow, I'd have to make my choice.
But I still hadn't decided.
"I can't go easy on them just because they're pitiful..."
Telling them the truth and letting them flee, or helping them block the temple? I'd be branded a devil worshipper and burned alive.
What if I fled with them?
I considered it, then shook my head.
How far could we run from the temple's gaze in this world?
Could I even hide back among people?
A young girl radiating this aura? I'd stick out like a sore thumb.
The moment we fled, I'd live as a fugitive forever.
No matter my personal views on the temple, I had no way to help them.
But knowing what was coming, I couldn't just sit idly by either.
Just four days.
Not enough to plumb every truth or heart here—but enough to be certain they were innocent.
So I headed to the chief's house.
I wanted to discuss what was to come.
Perhaps because I'd built sufficient trust.
This time, no cliff-scaling—I took the proper path. Knocking on the door, the chief opened it and looked down at me.
Deep wrinkles, brittle hair, hollow eyes.
He looked utterly exhausted.
The chief stared at me intently, but ignoring his gaze, I strode inside and perched on the table.
"…There are chairs."
"This is more comfortable."
I swung my legs that didn't reach the floor and organized my words.
"In ten days, the subjugation force arrives."
"…I see."
"You're not surprised."
"Priests have come multiple times before, but they pitied us and passed us by. We enjoyed peace for a while because of that, but I half-expected the temple to send a force like this if they kept not returning."
"The previous priests never reported the village's situation to the temple?"
"They tried several times, but were ordered to purify us with fire since we sustained our lives with devil's blood. After that, the priests were deeply disappointed in the temple's actions and said they'd go speak directly... but..."
We both knew their fates without him saying it.
If I tried defending them, I'd meet the same end.
Besides, I had no reason to defend them knowing that.
So what I was about to say might come off as ugly and horrific.
"Fleeing before the subjugation force arrives... honestly, that's tough."
We couldn't take all these people anywhere, nor should we let them flee.
That would leave me shouldering all the blame.
"Rather than being skinned alive or burned, the best I can do is help you enter eternal rest painlessly before then."
This was my answer.
We couldn't let them flee.
Couldn't defend them either.
But leaving them be meant unimaginable torment as they died slowly.
They might even be taxidermied post-mortem as examples, denied peace.
In that case...
Ending it cleanly with my own hands was the path for them.
I could fabricate whatever info I was supposed to gather from them.
Even after priests reported the truth before and were ignored, the temple just needed a story suiting their tastes—not the truth.
If they wanted a story, I'd make one.
What the temple would do to me once they learned all this? No idea.
But for now, this was the best.
I voiced my best effort.
"Please die here. It's the best path for all of you—and for me."
The chief fell silent at my words, then gave a bitter smile as he looked at me.
His eyes held no anger or resentment—only pity.
"……You walk a hard road."
"…Not really."
[Villain E]
"Because I'm a villain."
I could do things like this without a second thought.