The Heroines All Want to Kill Me

"This... The prophetic book didn't mention this situation...?" I stared blankly at the terrifying content of the punishment clause and hastily rummaged through my tattered travel bag, pulling out a yellowed piece of paper. Although it looked like a useless scrap, it was actually the family tree that our family had passed down for a full thousand years. So, what was written on this ragged paper that made it worthy of being passed down for a millennium? The answer could be found on the stone tablet beneath the largest statue in the empire, the statue of the hero. One only needed to go there and read the inscription.

- In the 1000th year after the Demon King's disappearance, the Demon King's successor will appear and devour the world. To stop him, a hero with the same power as mine is needed. This is the official last words and prophecy of the great hero who defeated the Demon King, well - known throughout the empire. However, the true prophecy was actually written on this piece of paper. Of course, the part about "needing a hero with power" was the same... But the following content was written in the secret script passed down through our family for generations.

"Father, so these aren't Rune characters... nor ancient characters... They're too systematic to be just a code. What on earth are these characters?"

"Ah... That's a script called 'Hanwen'." Incidentally, my father referred to this secret script as 'Hanwen'. My father had deep respect for the hero and thought it was something to be proud of just to know this script... But I didn't like it much because it was so curvy. Anyway, after the well - known hero's prophecy, the following was written.

- And that hero is my direct descendant, born exactly one thousand years after the Demon King's death. So, future descendants, if you're reading this, open your eyes wide. As the words say, when you open your eyes wide, colorful pictures and images will start to appear in your field of vision, and the following words will greet you:

- Now start the strategy.

Indeed. The legendary hero who defeated the Demon King a thousand years ago, also the ancestor of our family, was from another world. According to the sighs of the ancestor recorded in the prophetic book, the ancestor was originally playing a "game" called "Dark Fantasy". After uttering the insulting words "trash game", he was deprived of consciousness by an unknown force. When he opened his eyes again, he had come to our world where "Dark Fantasy" had become a reality. The ancestor's grievances were written in the magical script that only the direct bloodline of our family could see, and later, using space - distortion magic, he filled dozens of pages. In short, the ancestor was originally mediocre but, relying on the "game" knowledge from his original world, barely achieved a happy ending. Anyway, the key point was that in the ancestor's original world, there was a sequel called "Dark Fantasy 2", with reviews like "even worse than the first one", "trash game", and "made by the development company to rip off players". Since you got into this series through that game, the ancestor, who was familiar with the plot, once said that to achieve a "happy ending" in "Dark Fantasy 2", the hero had to destroy the world once with his own hands. Because only in this way could one obtain the "system" through the "hidden route" and see the "happy ending". So, in the last playthrough, I did all kinds of bad things and finally destroyed the world. Although I was raised by a father who was a direct descendant of the hero and full of pride, and I was filled with a huge sense of guilt... But what else could I do? If I didn't mess up the world, the Demon King would burn the whole world to ashes. Just like that, after committing countless evil deeds and even betraying the Demon King at the last moment, I chose to return. As recorded in the prophetic book, I obtained the title of "The Path of the Pseudo - Evil". So this time, I decided not to commit real evil deeds but to sacrifice myself to protect the empire and this world in the name of "pseudo - evil"... However, the "heroines" of "Dark Fantasy 2", who had hated me to the core in the last reincarnation, had actually regained their memories.

"How... They're all such difficult characters... Sigh..." I scratched my hair and recalled the "heroines" who should have regained their memories by now.

"The future prime minister, the top genius on the continent, the budding greatest mage on the continent, the once - in - a - millennium saintess, the dark sorceress who could have shrouded the world in darkness if not for the curse, and the imperial princess... This is crazy..." No matter how I thought about it, it seemed absurd, and I couldn't help but laugh bitterly. If I weren't a member of the hero's family that had been passed down for a thousand years and the eldest son of the duke's family, I would probably already be a poor soul stabbed to death in the streets. And if the princess weren't a puppet - like existence at the bottom of the imperial succession sequence, this status would probably be meaningless. Of course, the princess would rise to the first position in the succession sequence in a few years with her outstanding talents... But at least for now, she couldn't do anything to me.

'... She shouldn't touch me, right?'

Anyway, according to the "game" information left by the ancestor, according to the original setting, the heroines were supposed to fall in love with me... There was even a possibility of a harem. But now, instead of a harem, I was probably going to be stabbed by each of those five heroines. So, I had to rack my brains to figure out how to survive the wrath of the heroines.

'First... Who is the most urgent one...?'

Tomorrow was the college entrance ceremony, and I would meet most of the heroines at the college. However, my fiancée, the future prime minister, could be excluded. If my memory served me right, she was currently traveling abroad. The great mage, the saintess... and the princess could also be put aside for the time being. Although I would definitely meet them tomorrow... But there was nothing I could do now.

'Well, the one left is still...'

- Knock, knock, knock.

"Excuse me." Just as I was deep in thought, someone pushed open the door of the dormitory and walked in.

"...Young master, it's time for dinner."

".....Ah." And when I recognized who had entered, my eyes began to shift uneasily.

"...Is something wrong, young master?"

"...Ah, nothing." Because the person looking down at me expressionlessly was not only a maid of our duke's family, but also a cursed dark sorceress... and one of the heroines who had regained her memories in the last reincarnation - 'Kania'.

She had a cold - looking appearance, short black hair, and was always dressed in a black suit and white gloves. When she was wandering the streets with her younger sister, my father discovered her magical talent and took her in. In fact, my father had remembered her appearance according to the prophecy and waited for her on the streets to pick her up.

Anyway, I had two holds over her... One was that she was a dark sorceress condemned by the world, and the other was that she was cursed. This curse, which was slowly eroding her life, could only be stabilized when she was by my side, the heir of the hero. So, due to this special situation, she couldn't leave my side for a single moment.

"Then, what would you like for dinner?"

"...The usual."

"...Okay." As I was recalling Kania's information, she asked me what to prepare in a cold voice, and I told her to prepare the usual. To be honest, I couldn't remember what I usually ate at the moment... But she should know, right?

"Come to think of it... There's clearly murderous intent in her voice and eyes. As expected, she's already remembered those memories." I hoped it was just a glitch in the system or a joke, but it seemed that what the system showed was true. If so, I couldn't just sit around and wait for disaster. If I did nothing, I might be brutally killed by those five heroines. Even now, they might be...

[Pseudo - Evil Intuition: A strong killing intent is approaching nearby!]

"...Wait? What's going on?" Suddenly, a red warning window popped up in front of me. Judging from the content, it seemed to be related to Kania. But something felt off. I had just sensed murderous intent from her, so why did this window pop up now?

"...System." I pondered for a moment and called out the system window in a low voice, then clicked on the "Held Skills List".

- Held Skills: Pseudo - Evil Intuition LV1

(Description) As the intuition of a pseudo - evil, it can sense a life - threatening threat once a day.

Just as described in the prophetic book that I had memorized, after opening the held skills list, the skill "Pseudo - Evil Intuition" was right there. After carefully reading the description, I found that this skill could sense a life - threatening threat once a day. That is to say, for me, who could be in danger at any time, this was indeed a necessary skill.

'...Wait, does that mean my life is on the line right now?' The activation of this skill meant that Kania, who was currently preparing food downstairs, was plotting to kill me.

'...The method of assassination, it's surely poisoning, right?' With her body weakened by the curse, it would be impossible for her to confront me, a direct descendant of the hero's family, head - on. Similarly, without my assistance, she couldn't use most of her dark magic. Of course, if she was willing to endure hours of excruciating pain, she might be able to barely create a lethal dose of poison using dark magic.

- Creak...

"...Young master, I brought the... soup... you usually drink." Just as I was thinking about the method of assassination, the door opened, and Kania walked in with the soup.

"Then... Enjoy your... meal..."

"......." She seemed to be speaking with great difficulty. It seemed that she had forced herself to use dark magic.

"...When did I ask you to bring soup?"

"...Ah?" I glared at her and started growling in a low voice.

"I asked when I asked you to bring soup..."

"This soup... is what you usually like to drink..."

"Who told you to talk back?!"

- Crash!! Kania, who was speaking with difficulty, immediately closed her eyes when she saw me yelling and overturning the soup bowl. Then, she trembled all over and said,

"...Then, what kind of food would you like me to... bring you...?"

"Didn't I say to bring what I always eat?"

"......."

"You fool!! Do I have to spell it out? A sandwich! A sandwich!!"

"...Okay, I'll... go prepare it now..." I roared angrily, and she gritted her teeth and stumbled out of the room.

[Gain 1 Evil Point! (Self - defense)] At the same time, a window popped up in front of me.

Yes. This was the cheating system obtained by the returnee's privilege mentioned in the prophetic book - "The Path of Evil". Whenever I did an evil act, it would give me points. And these points would accumulate and eventually become the materials to save the world. For me, who was once the most evil person in the empire, this system was damned suitable.

"Young master... The sandwich you ordered..." I was staring at the system window, lost in thought, when Kania, looking even more haggard than before, walked into the room with the sandwich.

"...No cheese? Make it again."

"But..."

"...Are you talking back?"

"...No." After sending her away again like this, I continued to find fault with her.

"The surface of the bread is dry and cracked. Make it again."

"The ham is too thick. Make it again."

"Too few pickles. Make it again."

"The shape is too ugly. Make it again."

Just like that, she shuttled back and forth between the room and the kitchen for a long time. Although her physical strength was approaching its limit, her eyes were still wide with anger.

"...I just remembered I forgot to say to add tuna. Make it again." However, when I asked her to remake the sandwich for the eleventh time, she finally spat out blood due to the forced use of dark magic and collapsed to the ground.

[Gain 1 Evil Point!]

[Extra 10 Survival Points Gained!]

[Accumulated Points: 22] Looking at her collapse, I stared blankly at the continuously popping windows, then silently got up and walked towards the unconscious her.

"...I'm sorry, Kania." With a dejected expression, I conveyed my unheard apology to her, then carried her to the bed and reached out to inject vitality into her.

"...Ugh!" I felt a tearing pain all over my body.

Yes. When Kania was by my side, the effect of the curse weakened, not because I had special powers as a hero. It was just that I injected my vitality into her body, which temporarily alleviated the curse. Therefore, my lifespan was being reduced little by little, but what could I do? Since I had decided to live as a pseudo - evil, this was an inescapable fate.

[Gain 30 Pseudo - Evil Points! (Self - sacrifice)]

[Accumulated Points: 62] After finishing injecting vitality, I felt sore all over and slumped to the ground. I sighed and murmured in a low voice,

"...This time, don't die in front of me, Kania." Just like that, I looked down at her, who had unconsciously started to snore slightly. By the moonlight seeping in through the window, I began to reread the last part of the prophetic book that I had read countless times.

- When everything is over, the hero will vanish along with the Demon King.

What a damned world.