I Became the Narrow-Eyed Villain in a Dropped Novel

In the gambling den of the Northern Federation, a place he had never been before, Wilhelm felt a familiar air.

It was a luxurious and extravagant place, just as its advertisement as a gambling den for high society claimed, but its core was no different from the back-alley gambling tables that reeked of a foul stench.

Bloated desires and dirty tricks.

These were scenes he had seen to his fill in the band of thieves.

It was a sight that he, who had run away from the thieves because he wanted to become an adventurer from a novel rather than a thief, did not like it.

He wanted to turn his head away from the scene, but he couldn't.

Because the familiar face of his employer was in the middle of the gambling table.

“I'll bet double.”

“Again?”

“Isn't it my freedom to place a bet? Now, ladies and gentlemen. Will you follow bravely, or will you die miserably.”

Count Valheit provoked the others, gesturing around with his hand.

Most of them folded their cards, but one very angry gentleman huffed and pushed his money to the center of the table.

“There's a limit to bluffing.”

“It hasn't been a bluff so far. You saw it yourself, so you should know it well.”

“That's why it doesn't make sense.”

As the gentleman who shouted furiously raised the stakes further, the corners of Valheit's mouth rose even higher.

“Are you planning to donate more? I have no reason to refuse.”

The bet was set, and the two men revealed their cards at the same time.

The result was obvious, and the gentleman's face turned even redder.

“This should be enough. I have a party waiting for me, so I'll be taking my leave now.”

“Where do you think you're going? Don't think you can just clean me out and run away, sit down now.”

“Unfortunately, there are restrictions on entry here, but not on exit. Well then, have a good day.”

Leaving the gentleman who was fuming with a flushed face, Valheit turned his head.

“Mr. Wilhelm, you found me well. I was worried if Mr. Ede would be able to deliver the message in time, but I'm glad.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Wilhelm nodded his head awkwardly.

He must have used some kind of trick just now.

Wilhelm's intuition, honed by participating in a hundred crooked gambles, told him so.

However, he had no idea how he did it.

“I didn't use any tricks, so don't stare at me so intently.”

As if he had read his mind, Valheit chuckled.

Since he was caught anyway, he might as well ask frankly.

“High-class gambling dens like this have mana detectors installed, so you probably didn't use magic and it didn't seem like you used sleight of hand either, so how were you so sure of your victory?”

“It was nothing. The cards were reflected in the glasses of a spectator standing behind.”

“Pardon?”

Wilhelm remembered that customer too.

He stood out because he was wearing huge, round glasses and was constantly writing something in a notebook.

His glasses were a bit big, but something was reflected in them?

No, before that, isn't the Count's eyes closed?

He thought there must be some way for him to see, but could he see something that small?

“Were there any useful people?”

Valheit naturally moved on to work talk, and Wilhelm missed the opportunity to ask more.

He had no choice but to talk about the recruitment candidates on the way down.

“This person seems to be definitely skilled, but he didn't feel like the type to stay in one organization for long. It might be okay to entrust him with work occasionally, but to accept him as a member.”

Wilhelm, who was earnestly explaining, shut his mouth.

Because as soon as they came out of the gambling den, burly men blocked their path.

“I didn't expect a welcoming party.”

“Are you the tall bastard who cheated?”

He roughly understood what was happening.

One of the customers who had been cleaned out must have asked them to teach the insolent bastard a lesson.

However, he didn't know how they had set up an ambush before they even came down.

“It's possible to exchange words over a short distance without magic. By using things like hand signals or mechanical devices. Sometimes, the classic methods work better.”

“Are you saying we cheated?”

“Look at you, giving yourself away. Isn't it ridiculous?”

At Valheit's ridicule, the expressions of the already fierce-looking men distorted even more.

Wilhelm cautiously gripped the dagger hidden in his lining.

“You seem to be a person of high standing, but do you think that hollow name will help you in the Federation?”

Before the man could finish his sentence, a black hand grabbed his face and threw him against the wall.

The man fell without even letting out a proper scream.

“It's a mage!”

The guy who shouted out the obvious fact became the next victim.

As three men were thrown like toys, the rest disappeared in an instant.

“Son of a bitch. Why the hell did you have to come and screw up the game we had all set up to fleece.”

The man who had been thrown first got up, screaming, and was immediately crushed by a Mana Grasp.

“You get hit because you step up to fleece someone so obviously. Now then, let's go join Mr. Ede.”

Valheit dusted off his hands and walked briskly through the chaotic alley.

Following Valheit, Wilhelm smiled faintly. It seemed he had found a place that suited his dream.

***

Persuading the baron was more troublesome than I had thought.

He was tempted by the talk of a pardon, but when he heard he had to go all the way to Lanare, his face instantly turned pale.

He gave various excuses, but to summarize, he didn't want to go because he was afraid he would be attacked by demons on the way.

In the end, only after adding the threat, ‘If you become useless, you will die at Cesare's hands before the Demons get you,’ did the baron drag his heavy feet to the carriage.

“There really won't be any trouble, will there?”

“As long as you are useful, yes. I can guarantee this.”

“You said you are a Count? You seem to be from the Empire, I can handle a few dirty jobs for you. So….”

“The longer you keep your mouth shut, the longer your usefulness will last, Baron.”

Only then did the baron stop his whining.

He was able to stay quiet like that for half a day.

I read a book, and the baron wiped his cold sweat, alternately looking out the window and at me.

The awkward and short peace ended when the carriage came to a halt.

“Wh-what is it? Why did we stop?”

The baron, his face turned white, squawked.

I nonchalantly stuck my head outside.

“Mr. Ede, Mr. Wilhelm. What is it?”

“…Demons are blocking the road.”

As soon as Wilhelm, who was holding the reins, answered, the baron let out a hoarse voice.

“What did I tell you? I told you the Demon bastards would come.”

“How many are there?”

“There are 5 blocking the road, but I can feel movement in the forest, so it seems they've surrounded us. It's a bit clumsy, but it looks like we're surrounded.”

At Ede's bright voice, the baron was on the verge of fainting.

He seemed to think his life was about to end.

“Stay hidden in the carriage as if you're dead. Until I tell you to come out.”

The baron, who was trembling like a leaf, nodded his head vigorously and squeezed his body under the seat.

I didn't tell him to go that far, but the sight of him like that suited him quite well, so I left him alone.

As I got out of the carriage, the cold air brushed past my face.

It wasn't just the air.

I could feel a hostile mana directed at me.

Hillia with her finger on the bowstring, Karl brandishing a dagger under the shadow of a tree, and….

“My, it's been a while, but it's disappointing to be stared at like you want to eat me instead of a greeting.”

“Hello Falsh, no, Count Valheit.”

Noah, standing in the middle of the road, waved his hand.

He didn't look very happy to see me, but he also didn't seem ready to rush into a fight right away.

“It's good to see that you all look healthy.”

Although it was just a short greeting, I had already gathered some information.

Noah had become the leader of the Demons, just like in the original work.

I could tell just by looking at Karl, who would have been at the forefront in the past, taking a step back.

The movements of the Demons, who had started as a ragtag group of escaped slaves, had also changed to be quite plausible.

They were not quite soldiers, but they were at the level of guerrillas.

Up to this point, it was similar to the original work.

The difference was that he was avoiding a conflict with Cesare.

“I thought you would come, but I didn't expect you to set up camp so far from Lanare. Aren't you being too cowardly.”

“We're just moving safely. We have a lot of people to take care of.”

“People to take care of?”

“Because there are a lot of people we saved back then.”

‘Ah, I see.’

I realized what I had missed.

In the original work, the rescue operation took place only after many slaves had already been sold off.

Fewer Demons were saved, and Noah didn't have many people with him.

But with my intervention, the number of rescued Demons changed.

It wasn't just that the numbers increased; many children and elderly people who were far from combat were also saved.

Some might have returned to their hometowns, but since they had fled Novosibir as if escaping, he would have had to travel with more people than in the original.

Naturally, his actions were bound to be slower than in the original work.

“So you're running and hiding from the eyes of humans?”

“Who's running and hiding? Do you know how many bastards like that trashy baron you're hiding we've dealt with?”

“But it seems you haven't gotten close to the truth of the matter. Or did you find out the truth but have no way to approach it?”

Noah's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

If he had diligently tracked the ledger I gave him back then, he would have already known that the Dix Autonomous District was behind it.

The reason he was still in the Northern Federation was probably.

“We don't have a way to take all our people with us yet.”

“You admit it quite readily.”

“It's not like the old snake of the Empire wouldn't know even if I tried to hide it.”

“Oh have you done some background checks on me? I'm so embarrassed.”

I joked and gave a slight nod.

Since I had revealed my identity much faster than in the original work, this was expected.

“Considering you came all the way back to the Federation and even deliberately leaked where you were going, can I assume you wanted to meet us again?”

“I brought a gift.”

At the word "gift," not only Noah but the other Demons also looked at me with suspicion.

Hillia, in particular, looked ready to shoot an arrow at any moment.

“And I brought two of them, no less. Aren't you curious?”

“How can we believe what you say?”

As Hillia shot back with a sharp voice, Ede drew his sword.

He was smiling brightly as always, but he looked ready to leap at the Demons and slit their throats at any moment.

“Calm down. We have the upper hand anyway, don't we.”

Hillia opened her mouth to argue but slowly closed it.

Having fought me directly, she must have thought it wouldn't be easy.

“Calm down. There's no harm in just hearing what the gifts are.”

As Noah spoke in a pacifying tone, Hillia nodded her head.

The atmosphere that was about to heat up cooled down.

“The first gift is the bastard inside that carriage.”

As soon as my words ended, the baron kicked open the carriage door and jumped out.

I could feel mana from his feet, as if he had prepared to escape in advance.

It was probably a magical tool with an acceleration spell.

The baron, who had gotten far from the carriage in an instant, couldn't go much further and collapsed.

A large arrow was sticking out of his back.

“Leave the corpse as it is. We will take care of it separately.”

“Do as you please. What's the other one?”

“I will give you a piece of information that will help you all escape this cold and barren place.”

“To be honest, that's suspicious.”

“I will only give you the information. You must make the decision.”

Although I said it coolly, I had prepared an item that was bound to be tempting, as it was a gift I had bought with all the money I won at the gambling den.

“I have bought a ship in the Federation's port. It's a pretty big ship, so it will be able to carry all the Demons you have with you. It might be a little tight, though.”

At my proposal, Noah's expression turned quite serious.

He must be weighing suspicion and profit in his mind.

“However, it's not completely without problems.”

“I thought so.”

“Because of the ship's size, it's impossible to depart secretly from a small port. You'll have to be prepared to be noticed not only by the Federation's barons but also by the real masters of this country. If you're still willing to take it, then you can have it.”

I held out a note with the detailed information to the Demons.

With Noah at the center, the Demons began to quietly share their opinions.

The answer was set from the beginning.

Seeing the look in Noah's eyes, I was certain of it.

“Alright. We'll take it.”