Reborn As The Villain

Kohana and Lian were talking in Arnold's assigned room.

There had been constant knocking on the door ever since the two of them got here. It was no doubt people who found out that this room belongs to Arnold. Strangely enough, he didn't give his real name to the organizers, but another name—Nova.

Lian only heard of it from the horde of people who wanted to break the door down to see if "Nova" was hiding anywhere. Does he have some kind of obsession with double personalities? Is he just an edgy young man who likes concealing his power from the people who knew him? If the latter is true, is his current appearance even real?

Lian wondered what sort of man the real Arnold actually was. The same man who befriends evil people and speaks about it so casually.

In any case, Rasuke was busy meditating. But the reason Kohana is here wasn't to not disturb him. He could meditate just fine even with noise. No, the reason she's here is to inquire more about Arnold.

"—You tried to seduce him…?" Kohana looked at Lian as if she saw a ghost, "Lady Lian, I cannot imagine you throwing your arms around a man and smiling coyly at him… You are always such a serious person who sticks to business…"

"You're acting as if you think I'm a virgin. You should know that hundreds of men have been inside me," she said unashamed, "As I was born with the tools to win over the opposite sex, I find it fitting to use it to my advantage."

"Uhm, then have you and Ko J—"

"I know what you're going to ask, but the answer is no. Ko Johun is devoted to his wife and stepdaughter. If I want information on him that could help our cause, I'll either have to get it from third parties or rely on the wife—I mean, the Empress—herself to get it for me."

That, however, came with its own complications. Lian wasn't sure if the Empress would be willing to help.

"His wife isn't part of the inner circle members so we won't have need for her unless it's for specific information that we're sure Ko has access to." Kohana replied, "I suggest we continue focusing on the inner martials. You mentioned that Lord Arnold said he's aiming to become an inner circle member, correct?"

"Yes. He said he wants to make me an inner circle member as well. Since he's my… s-slave (in public), he would be my direct subordinate with equal ties to the inner circle as I do. Since it's a thing to rent out your slave as either a fighter or… nightly pleasures, he suggested we use that to gather information from outer circle members."

"If Ko Johun is desperate enough to keep him on a leash, I don't see why this wouldn't work… Uhm, how is he supposed to get the outer circle members on our side? They value strength above all but I doubt their admiration for his will outweigh the fear they have of Ko."

"Well, for now we should target the women. The banquet that will take place after the tournaments conclude will be the perfect opportunity for that."

"…Do you require my assistance for anything? I cannot show my face at the party but surely there is something I could do?"

"Please assist Rasuke for now with planning out the distraction after the tournament. Attending the banquet is only an If for now. If Arnold's plan works then there will be no need to act friendly to the traitors that sided with Ko Johun."

"Right… We'll need to make sure it's a big distraction with a lot of explosions then. Thank goodness the people will flock to the palace to see the top ten fighters in person. I feared there might be casualties… but if it's just buildings then we can rebuild once we take back our city…"

There was a glint of determination in her eyes. Of course, her underlying hesitation could be heard from her voice.

A knock suddenly came from the nearby window.

"Eh?" Kohana stared blankly as Arnold looked through the window, "W-We're a hundred meters above ground but he's outside the window…"

"…" Lian silently walked towards the window and opened it up for him.

She caught a glimpse of the shining city lights that contrasted the starless void above. The moon was nowhere in sight even though this city is known for being the closest point to the moon than anywhere else in the world. That goes for only settlements though and not mountains.

"—Thanks." That was all Arnold said before hopping inside. Lian stuck her head out to see what he had grabbed onto to get here.

'Eh, nothing? Did he jump…?' There wasn't any rope or even a ladder at the bottom.

Before she could question what she just saw, he spoke first while looking at Lian:

"You should've told the employees at the front desk to not tell other people which room I'm in. The building is crawling with people looking for me."

"Sorry…"

"Good evening, Lord Arnold. I trust you've finished your business?" Kohana took that moment to greet him.

"Not quite but I'm not displeased with how everything went." Arnold narrowed his eyes at Kohana, "I've been meaning to ask this before but why can't I detect you? You aren't a homunculus, are you?"

She's definitely not a martial artist like Rasuke so there should be no way for her to hide her energy signature from him. She's only level 10 and didn't have a combat class but rather an alchemist class like Lian.

"Eh, oh, no." she was confused for a second but quickly explained, "Lady Lian created talismans for my brother and I that can create wards around us that prevents detection." She rolled up her sleeve, showing a strange tattoo on her porcelain forearm, most likely the talisman mark. "We don't want Ko knowing about us since he will suspect we have ulterior motives for being in this city."

"I see."

'The runic pattern is quite simple but enough to ward off detection. I can still remember the review bombing that resulted from this convenient method of cloaking oneself.' The warrior class players were absolutely pissed at the developers—especially the level cap players—but it was never removed despite that.

Given how simple these runes were to use, it wasn't surprising that someone as experienced as Lian could utilize them to resist 'Warrior Sense.' Runes are often used in conjunction with alchemical formulas, depending on the task, so she might have learned to use them in her past life while experimenting with new drugs.

"What are you still doing here this late?" Arnold sat on one of the two beds in the room.

"Lady Lian and I are comrades in arms so we often meet with each other to share information, regardless of the hour. She is also the one helping Rasuke with his training."

"So, that's why he can still move."

"Pardon?"

"His Ki is chaotic. In those circumstances, it would break down."

"That would be because of the various martial arts he practices simultaneously…" Lian replied instead.

"Then it could be conflicting natures from different martial arts that's causing his Ki to go violent within his own body."

An example of this would be fire-based and water-based martial arts. Or Hex and divine martial arts (like necromancer and cleric).

Arnold wasn't well-versed in the martial arts in this world so he couldn't pinpoint the specific martial arts causing the violent ki.

This would typically shut a person's body down, which is why people are heavily discouraged from learning different martial arts to avoid conflicts with each other. Opposite natures aren't the only reason for the conflicts. Taking two martial arts at once that have different origins, requirements and skills can also cause violent Ki to manifest within someone's body.

Ki is only supposed to be a violent energy outside one's body, not within. One method to lower the dangerous levels of Ki within one's body is to have internal energy. Like a dam wall, it will keep the violent Ki contained in the body and help in eliminating it as well if the martial has enough energy.

"Kohana, if even a Celestial Saint is saying this, you should understand why I recommended he rest for a while?"

He didn't know what that was and didn't bother to ask, merely nodding along.

"I've been supplying medicinal pills and meridian-restorative candles to Rasuke for the past two years. They might help restore what's been broken or twisted, but they won't dull the pain and eliminate the dangers."

"Candles?"

Kohana chuckled. "I knew Lord Arnold is a foreigner. Every martial should know this. By lighting them and breathing in the fumes during meditation, you can heal your meridians if they have blockages that occur from violent Ki refusing to flow properly through your body. These are typically very expensive even for nobles, and with the state of our family, we cannot afford to buy that many monthly. That is why we asked if Lady Lian could make some for us."

'I'll need some of those.'

"If you're found out, the authorities might seize everything." Arnold looked at Lian. She nodded, telling him that she already knew that.

"I might even be forced to supply these candles in large production or even teach others my method. Frankly, the ones on the market are far inferior than my own. I'm not sure if the suppliers are cutting corners or if they're really far less skilled than I am despite it not being my profession."

Kohana then chimed in, "Even if they're cutting corners to fill their own pockets, if found out nothing will happen to them. Moon Plum city has been full of corrupt people for centuries but none from the past would show it so openly. Lady Lian is already working without proper pay."

"Ko doesn't care about the corruption unless it doesn't affect him?"

"Yes, even if his citizens are starving at his feet. In his eyes, only talented children or strong martials are important. The rest of us normal folk can die." Kohana gripped her fist close to her chest, "He made us—the remaining members of the imperial family—an offer the day he invaded our empire. Rasuke will be his general and me his slave. I know what that would've meant for me. I can bear being tied up in a dark dungeon until my master needs me for his desires but if word got out that I, a princess of this nation, was reduced to a simple piece of meat used for pleasure, all hope our citizens had of our country being freed from those two tyrants would've been crushed. An imperial family is supposed to lead their countrymen and citizens. Even if hope seems lost, as long as there is a member of the imperial family fighting for the sake of the people, there will always be those who plan a resistance against the oppressors. My brother is not a leader therefore, I want to take this resistance straight to Ko Johun—"

Time suddenly stopped and a ding resounded in Arnold's head.

'I knew it. You just can't resist giving me more work, can you?'

…

…

Time flowed normally again.

"—Lord Arnold?" noticing that Arnold was silently looking at her, Kohana waved her hand in front of his face.

"There are those who will fight to maintain the current society you're living in." Arnold finally spoke after a few seconds of more silence to gather his thoughts, "It won't just be thousands, but possibly hundreds of thousands ready to challenge your little resistance that relies on a sliver of hope to succeed."

"…"

"I can promise you this, if you manage to reach an agreement with my acquaintance then you will get your country back."

A smile appeared on her face and tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. That silent expression of hope was enough to tell him she believed him.

"Are the two of you done with your little discussion? I need to get up early tomorrow for my first match."

"Yes." Kohana quickly stood up and bowed, "I look forward to working with you, Lord Arnold!"

"Mm." Arnold kicked off his shoes and took off his shirt before laying down on the bed.

Lian and Kohana whispered a few things but he could obviously hear them.

He heard something like "If you crawl into his bed, I wouldn't blame you" which made Lian blush a little but she didn't give an exaggerated reaction which made Kohana pout that her teasing didn't work.

Soon, Kohana left the room and he could hear Lian crawling onto her assigned bed.

"—Lord Arnold, may I ask you something? I fear I may not get another chance if things don't go as expected…"

Arnold gave a short "go ahead" with his eyes still closed.

"…What kind of place is the nation you were born in?"

"Same as any. Full of corrupt trash getting paid for more than they're worth. We're a military power despite the corruption. Aside from having the strongest military, we have an inner circle of our own tasked with protecting the emperor—the Great Nobles. My father is one of them."

"Then your father is also strong?"

"You could say that."

By human standards, yes.

"Did you practice your martial arts in the empire?"

"Yeah. I began training under my household's butler, who is primarily stationed in our city outside the imperial capital's walls. After finishing my training, I enrolled in an academy in the empire to improve my swordsmanship."

"…You're pursuing swordsmanship despite what you've achieved without it? What need of that is there?"

"The martial art I'm using is derived from sword techniques. If I want to practice it any further, mastery in swordsmanship is required. I can only go so far with barehanded combat alone."

"Oh... Well, that certainly explains it then... But that is something I rarely hear about."

She was silent for a few seconds.

"Five years… It seems like such a short time but it feels like this empire has endured tyrannical rule for as long as a century." Arnold looked at her and noticed her looking up at the ceiling, "I used to think nothing of these people when I was first reincarnated. My one goal was finding a way to correct my mistakes. 34 years of research was put on hold so that I could aid the emperor's remaining children. You said I could meet with the High Elves and correct my mistakes but somehow, I don't feel like leaving yet…?"

Arnold didn't know what brought this tale on but he responded to her anyway.

"You just want to see it through. To see that enduring everything for the sake of Kohana and Rasuke wasn't for nothing."

"…Yes, that could be it… The two of them are… very important to me and I want to see them succeed. Maybe once that happens, I will finally… know—"

He heard a soft "—what peace is like" before her soft breaths were the only sound in this room.