I Am a Villain, So What?-Chapter 144: The Root of Decay

"Lily mentioned you’re planning to move the establishment. When you do... may Irina and I come along?"

"Moving. Right."

I nodded.

I had bought this place in the Commercial District because it was cheap and secluded when I was broke and hiding. But now? It was too far from the Academy. The commute was eating into my training time.

With the points from the Elena raid and the gold I’d "earned" (looted) from the slums, I could afford something better.

"No issue," I said. "But why are you so eager to move?"

Merle looked at me. The playfulness vanished from his eyes.

"Because I believe you are Hope, Mr. Lucien."

The old man’s eyes held no trace of deceit. Since the incident with Elena, since he threw that Big Bang card, something in him had shifted. He wasn’t a coward anymore.

"I want to be where the Hope is," he whispered. "And I want Irina to grow up seeing it."

"Alright."

I smirked.

"Then pack your bags, Manager Merle. We’re going to the Academy District."

"Will I run an alchemy workshop there?"

"That’s to be decided. But honestly?"

I looked at the sashim on the counter in the other room.

"Cooking cuisines with your granddaughter in your twilight years sounds romantic, doesn’t it?"

Merle’s face softened. He looked toward the door where Irina’s laughter could be heard.

"Yes," he whispered. "It really does."

****

A month had passed since the incident in the slums.

I had expected the Imperial Investigation Bureau to come knocking down my door regarding the incident where I assaulted the Sewer Guards. I had prepared alibis, bribes, and even a sob story about "stress-induced temporary insanity."

But no news had reached me in all that time. The summons never came.

Come to think of it, it was the same when I got entangled in the Theme park terrorist incident and the Fern nation.

I was expecting an enquiry on how I got the information that even Imperial Investigation department were unaware of.

But that never actually happened, either.

Why?

’Gold is the best lawyer,’ I mused, sipping my tea. ’And the Ashborne family has plenty of it.’

I had greased a few palms in the Administration Office and sent a generous "donation" to the Sewer Maintenance Guild for their "hard work and medical bills." The problem vanished like smoke.

It cost a bit of money, but hey, I don’t lack those resources, do I?

****

"Wow! It’s really spacious!"

Lily’s eyes sparkled as she spun around in the grand foyer. Her maid skirt flared out with her movement.

We had moved.

The small, cozy house in the Commercial District was gone. This was a three-story mansion located in the prestigious Academy District, just a ten-minute carriage ride from the campus gates.

High ceilings, marble floors, a sprawling garden, and a reinforced basement.

"Isn’t it too big for just us, Boss?" Lily asked, her voice echoing in the empty hall. "Cleaning this will take all day!"

"So what if it is?" I replied, walking up the grand staircase. "A villain needs a lair that matches his ambition, Lily. Besides, we have more staff now."

"Indeed."

Alicia stepped out from the shadows of the hallway, her crimson eyes scanning the perimeter. She nodded approvingly.

"The defensibility is excellent, Master. The walls are reinforced with mana-dampening stone, and the garden has clear sightlines for... intruder disposal."

"Glad you like it," I said dryly.

From the basement door, Merle emerged, wiping soot from his face. Irina trailed behind him, holding a box of crystals.

"Mr. Lucien! The basement is magnificent!" Merle beamed. "It’s large enough to install a proper Alchemy Furnace! And the ventilation is perfect for toxic fumes!"

"Just don’t blow up the foundation, Merle," I warned.

"I’ll try my best!"

I watched my motley crew—a cheerful chef, a frenzied maid, a legendary alchemist, and a child.

With this, the foundation of my inner circle was solidified. The capital was safe. Between the Protagonist’s Party handling the main plot and Merle guarding my home, I had a safety net.

’It’s about time to turn my eyes beyond the capital.’

****

[The Study - Late Night]

I sat at my new mahogany desk, a map of the continent spread out before me.

The candlelight flickered over the paper terrain.

’I need to get stronger.’

My stats were good. My equipment was upgrading thanks to Merle. But against the true calamities coming in the late game? I was still a bug.

I needed a game-changer.

’It’d be nice to obtain the Primordial Magics.’

It was one of the legendary settings in Asteria Online.

There were five treasures created from the primordial forces of nature—Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Void. In the original story, the wielders of these forces became walking calamities, surviving until the very brink of the apocalypse.

But, naturally, they were difficult to obtain. Most were guarded by Ancient Dragons or sealed in S-Rank Dungeons.

’They’re not something I can handle with my current strength.’

I tapped the map with my pen.

’I need to level up a bit more first. Something deadly, but manageable. Something the Protagonist’s Party doesn’t touch in the early game.’

If I could preemptively stop a disaster that the original story ignored until it was too late, I would reap massive rewards—both in System Points and hidden artifacts.

My pen hovered over a green patch on the map, located in the neighboring nation.

[The Fern Kingdom]

Also known as the Kingdom of Peace.

It was a neutral nation, famous for its vast forests, druidic magic, and total lack of a standing army. In other words, it had the weakest combat strength on the continent.

But beneath that peaceful surface lay a ticking time bomb.

’There was a hidden Dungeon in the Ecological Park, wasn’t there?’

In the original story, about six months from now, a hidden dungeon called [The Root of Decay] would go out of control. It would spew out poisonous spores that would turn the Fern Capital into a necropolis in a single night.

The Protagonist Party would arrive too late, only able to save a few refugees.

’Alright. Let’s do this.’

I circled the location.

’If I clear it before it erupts, I can claim the Heart of the Forest—a quasi-Primordial artifact.’

But there was a problem.

The Fern Kingdom’s Ecological Park wasn’t a public park. It was a Royal Reserve. Over 80% of its area was closed to the public, protected by barrier magic and guarded by the Royal Druids. It was filled with ferocious beasts and poisonous flora.

To enter the restricted zone legally, one needed the explicit permission of the Warden Family.

House Verdant.

A Duke-level family in the Fern Kingdom, entrusted with guarding the forest for generations.

’Lucky for me,’ I smirked, leaning back in my chair. ’The heir of House Verdant is in Class A.’

I recalled a face from the classroom. A boy who always sat in the front row, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Oliver Verdant.

He was a timid, stuttering mess. He had high magical potential as a Druid, but his cowardly nature held him back.

And naturally, in the original Asteria Online backstory... he was one of Lucien Ashborne’s favorite bullying victims.

’The strategy for the Dungeon itself isn’t a problem.’

I checked my System Interface.

[Current Points: 28,500]

I had amassed a large number of points from the Elena raid and the daily quests. It was enough to boost my combat strength several times over in an emergency or buy specific counters from the shop.

More importantly, I had a trump card.

I opened my drawer and pulled out the [Eye of Lumeveil] that Merle had given me.

’With this eye, I can see the flow of mana in the dungeon traps.’

I closed the map.

’Tomorrow, I need to have a little chat with Oliver.’

The poor guy was probably going to have a heart attack when I approached him, but sacrifices had to be made for world peace.

****

The bell rang, signaling the end of Advanced Monster Ecology.

Most students hurriedly packed their bags, eager to head to the cafeteria or the training grounds. The classroom buzzed with the usual noise of scraping chairs and chatter.

I didn’t move. I sat in my corner seat, my eyes fixed on a specific target in the front row.

A boy with moss-green hair and round glasses was frantically stuffing his books into his bag, trying to leave before anyone noticed him. He moved with the desperate speed of a prey animal sensing a predator.

Oliver Verdant.

Heir to the Verdant Dukedom of the Fern Kingdom. A guy of high potential but zero backbone. And currently, the only person who could legally get me into the Fern Ecological Park.

I stood up.

The sound of my chair sliding back was quiet, but to Oliver, it must have sounded like a gunshot. He froze, his shoulders hunching up.

I walked down the aisle.

The other students parted instinctively. They sensed the "Lucien Ashborne Aura"—a mix of infamy, danger, and the recent rumors of my colorful dating life.

I stopped right beside Oliver’s desk.

"Oliver."

The boy flinched so hard his glasses slipped down his nose. He turned around slowly, trembling like a leaf in a storm.

"Y-Y-Yes?! Cadet Ashborne?!"

"Do you have a moment?"

"I... uh... I actually have... um... a stomach ache! Yes! A terrible stomach ache! I need to go to the infirmary immediately!"

He grabbed his bag and tried to bolt.

Thud.

I placed my hand on his desk, blocking his path.

"It will be quick," I said, my voice low and devoid of warmth. "Sit."