The Lustful Villain: Every Milfs and Gilfs are Mine!-Chapter 79. A Dense Man Who’s in Love is Something That I Love to Manipulate!
Rex saw the bandit start begging like a dog while trying to lick his boots, but then he felt sick right away and wanted to end him.
But then...
A shadow moved behind him too quickly for Rex to see it, even though Foresight had warned him ahead of time. Then the bandit was on the ground with Iris Morr Nightwing’s boot on his back and a dagger at his throat.
"Stay down," Iris said in a calm voice, and the bandit did not move.
She looked up at Rex, and her face went from being neutral to possibly amused. "Oh! It’s you, Rex! It’s funny to see you here."
"Iris," Rex said, keeping his voice steady. "I could say the same thing."
She got up, kept her dagger ready but didn’t threaten anyone, and looked around the camp with the trained eye of someone who had done this kind of search many times before. "Did you come to look for survivors or information?"
"Information," Rex said. "I wasn’t expecting survivors to be a bonus."
"Me too," Iris said.
"Speak, you dog." She kicked the bandit with her foot. "How many more of you sick bastards are still alive?"
The bandit, who clearly thought that working together was the best way to stay alive, held up three fingers with shaking hands.
"Three more hiding out in camp?"
He nodded.
Iris stared at Rex. "Are you going to stand there and look mysterious, or do you want to help me round them up?"
Rex felt a shift in his chest that resembled attraction, but it wasn’t quite that strong. Iris had just found him alone in a bandit camp before dawn with no plausible excuse, and instead of asking questions or showing suspicion, she had immediately switched to partnership mode.
That showed either a lot of trust or a lot of common sense, and either way, it was helpful.
"I’ll take the north side," Rex said.
’She didn’t suspect anything about me, huh...?’
They moved through the camp together, efficiently, as they had done this before.
Rex used his foresight to find out where the other bandits were hiding. He used telekinesis to make noise in the other direction, causing them to run into Iris.
"Oh good! Seems like you found them real fast!" Iris smirks.
And then within ten minutes, all four surviving bandits were sitting in the center of the clearing with their hands bound behind their backs, looking terrified and defeated.
Iris crouched in front of them and asked questions in a calm, matter-of-fact way that made it very clear what would happen if they didn’t answer.
Where did Kruger get the vial?
Who brought it?
Were there any more?
Did they know anything about the distribution network or Mordecai Vrael?
The answers were incomplete and scared, but they made a picture. Three weeks ago, Kruger got the vial from a traveling merchant.
It was part of a larger shipment that was being sent to towns near the border. The merchant didn’t say his name, but he was going west toward the capital when he left.
There were rumors of other groups of bandits that had the Demon Seed and were working much closer to big cities.
Rex listened and remembered everything, putting away every piece of information that could be useful later.
Iris stood up and looked at Rex when she was sure she had gotten everything useful. "We should look in Kruger’s tent."
"That’s where he would have kept any papers or letters."
"Agreed."
They left the tied-up bandits in the clearing and went to the biggest tent at the camp’s edge. It was bigger than the others and had a wooden frame and real furniture inside instead of just bedrolls on the floor.
The search was well-planned. Iris and Rex worked on opposite sides of the tent in comfortable silence, only speaking up when one of them found something worth talking about.
A record of the bandit group’s golds over the past six months. A rough map that shows where other camps are in the area.
A few letters were written in a code that neither of them could figure out right away, but Rex put them in his pocket to look at later.
They also found three more vials of Demon Seed in a locked chest under Kruger’s bedroll. The chest was wrapped in oilcloth and had a false bottom.
Iris held one up to the light, and her face was unreadable. "Lady Valentina will want to see these."
"Yeah, better keep those in better hands, or some fool will use it," Rex said.
She carefully wrapped them up and put them in her pack. Then she turned to Rex with a look that was somewhere between curious and teasing.
"So, do you want to tell me what you were really doing out here before dawn?"
She finally asked that question after the search had concluded.
Rex looked her in the eye and thought about what to answer. His foresight revealed a few possible outcomes.
She would remember it and come back later if he deflected too hard. She would probably believe him and move on if he told her a half-truth.
He said, "I woke up too early in the morning," which was technically true. "I thought I’d check the camp before anyone else did."
"And... it looks like you had the same idea as mine too."
Iris looked at him for a moment, then smiled. It wasn’t the smile of someone who completely believed him, but it was the smile of someone who was willing to let it go for now.
"Great minds think the same, they say. Hahaha."
Rex continued. "Or at least have the same suspicious thoughts."
"That too." She stood up and brushed her hands off. "Alright then, it’s time to go back."
"The sun is up, and people will start to wonder where we went."
As they walked back toward the village, the morning light got stronger with each step. Rex took the time to carefully ask Iris about her thoughts and personality.
He posed seemingly casual questions, aiming to gather valuable information for his future use.
"So Diana said Theo is your nephew," Rex said at one point.
"Technically, second nephew," Iris said. "But you could say we almost grew up together, so it feels like more than that."
"How is he?"
"Stubborn, but loyal to a fault." Iris giggled. "He’s also good in a fight if you need someone to stand between you and whatever wants to kill you."
She looked at Rex. "He’s a shielder, which means he knows how to fight defensively and protect groups, and that makes him perfect for escort duty."
"Knowing that you act like a shielder as well... it seems like you and Theo are going to be great friends." Iris said while patting his back.
Rex tried to ignore that for now because he had other questions. "Diana seems to have thoughts about him."
Iris laughed, and the sound was real. It made her face light up.
"Diana has had a crush on Theo since she was about sixteen... she thinks she’s being subtle about it, but she’s not."
"Does he know?"
"Probably not," she said. "Theo is one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen, but he’s also one of the worst at reading romantic interest."
"Lily has been trying to set things up for years, so maybe something will finally work out."
Rex put that away with a hidden smirk.
’So he’s a typical fool who’s dense, huh? What an easy target!’
Rex now knew that Diana had more weaknesses, one of which was named and would be nearby for a few days during a carriage ride. It was clear what options were available for moving around.
As they walked, they talked about other things. Iris told a story about a mission that didn’t go as planned in an unexpected way.
Rex told a carefully edited story about how he got to the area. The conversation had built a base of effortless rapport that felt natural rather than forced by the time they got to the village.
[IRIS MORR NIGHTWING: 7/100 → 15/100]
Eight points from one morning’s work. Rex noted it with satisfaction and filed it away for later analysis.
...
When they got back, the inn was bustling with activity as people packed and assisted in loading supplies onto carts, which were intended to carry the basic necessities the villagers could bring with them.
Mara and Garrett stood in front of the Broken Wheel Inn, looking at it with sad and complicated looks on their faces. They had lived here for years, made a living here, and built their lives around it.
It was clear that leaving it behind was harder for both of them than they wanted to admit.
Helena saw them and went up to them with the kind of calm authority that comes from years of dealing with tough situations.
"I know this isn’t easy for both of you," she said.
Garrett said, "It’s not, but we know it’s necessary."
Helena went on, "It might help to know that I have a friend in the capital who runs an inn."
"The inn shares the same size and caters to the same type of customers as yours."
"She and her husband have been looking for experienced help for a while now, someone they can trust to take care of things when they need to leave." She looked at both of them. "I can introduce you both if you’d like."
Mara’s face lit up in a way that was clear but carefully controlled. "That... that would be amazing!"
"A-Are you sure about that?"
Helena nodded with a smile. "Of course, it’s my gratitude for letting us all stay in this wonderful inn."
"Thank you so much, Lady Helena!" Mara bowed down, and Garrett followed as well.
"Don’t thank me yet. Marceline operates efficiently, ensuring that you put in a lot of effort," Helena smiled. "But she’s fair, and the pay is good, and you’ll have a place to live while you figure out what to do next."
"Yes! We’ll try our best to help her!"
