WeTried Translations
Translator: Goku
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became a Villain Perfect for Leveling Up
Chapter 026
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26. Aquila Knights (5)
“…Captain. You shouldn't do this.”
“I know.”
Although I asked her to stop, uncomfortable with Altair overtly flirting with me. She didn't seem to intend to let go of my hand.
Before I knew it, her face was a handspan away, and a refreshing yet soft scent of flesh reached me.
“Please, stop…”
Though I wasn't unaware it was direct flirting, as someone who had been tormented by many women in other ways until now, her actions merely terrified me.
Unfathomable goodwill cannot be trusted.
I had the tendons in both my arms severed by Maeve, whom I had wanted to trust.
Who could be certain Altair wouldn't do the same?
When I sent her a look filled with fear, her face, which had been meeting my gaze, turned bright red.
“…! I'm sorry.”
Only then did Altair let go of my hand and reflected on her actions.
The act of shyly clenching and unclenching the hand that still held my warmth was no different from that of a girl in love.
“…Haa. Haa…”
With past memories surging in like an unwanted tsunami, I leaned against the wall, slumped to the floor, and took deep breaths.
All the goodwill directed towards me until now had returned as malice.
Altair, too, in the end… must be a villain, not a good person.
“I'll quit…”
“…What?”
“…The Aquila Knights. I don't think I can continue.”
I staggered to my feet and tried to walk past Altair.
But she grabbed my arm, preventing me from leaving.
“Why are you doing this? Was there something uncomfortable?”
“…You know, don't you?”
“……”
At my words, Altair's eyes trembled greatly.
Only then did she realize that her actions had deeply wounded me.
“Dian, do you… dislike me?”
“…Yes.”
“……”
At my direct refusal, she clenched her fist tightly.
“I… understand… But please don't quit the Aquila Knights.”
Even as the emotional distance grew, Altair didn't seem to want me to quit the Knights.
“Dian, you are… a person worthy of being in our Knights.”
“……”
“I'll bow my head and ask.”
With Altair bowing her head and even kneeling, I stopped my steps, which had been about to leave.
At that moment, genuine sincerity was conveyed that such a thing would never happen again, and I was flustered, not knowing what to do.
“It seems only the finishing touches are left… Hm.”
The blacksmith appeared boldly, hammer in hand, and witnessed me standing still and Altair kneeling.
To anyone seeing it without explanation, their appearance was perfectly akin to a lovers' quarrel.
“…I'll keep your secret.”
With a bewildered expression, the blacksmith slowly turned around and disappeared into his workshop.
As the atmosphere was what it was, the awkward air was somewhat neutralized.
As a moment to breathe arose, I realized that Altair's sincerity held no great ill intent.
…Only a strong romantic interest was included.
“Please get up.”
“……”
I extended my hand to help her up, then met her gaze.
“I won't quit. …However, I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from treating me this way in the future.”
“…My apologies.”
As both of us had been awkward and made mistakes, I gave her another chance with the mindset that such a thing simply wouldn't happen again.
The current situation of a Knight Captain apologizing to a new recruit felt subtly strange.
Afterward, we left the blacksmith's shop, having heard from the subtly observing blacksmith that the armor would be finished tomorrow or the day after.
When asked about weapons, I simply stated that I handled daggers and longswords.
“Now, where is our next destination, Captain?”
“The red-light district.”
The place we were heading to afterward was, surprisingly, the red-light district.
Seeing a hint of anger in Altair's voice, it didn't seem to be for the purpose of buying and selling pleasure.
“…Are you nervous? If you want, I can go alone.”
“No. I'll go with you.”
Perhaps seeing that I was nervous because there were people in the red-light district who remembered my face, she, unaware of anything, showed me consideration.
As we entered the decadent street, delinquents and thugs who recognized Altair's face naturally avoided us.
“May I hear an explanation as to why we've come here?”
“There was a slight unpleasant incident yesterday. I've come to resolve it.”
…Unpleasant incident.
It's clearly related to the incident where she rescued me yesterday.
Because for her, the 'me' she met last night was an unprovoked victim.
In fact, the truth wasn't much different.
『Joel Employment Agency』
Passing through the red-light district, we stopped before a familiar sign.
Here, I was tricked by a middle-aged woman wearing an eyepatch, drank opium-infused tea, and nearly became a plaything.
Fortunately, I managed to escape by using my wits, but ultimately, I had to accept death.
“Will you wait here? The matter will be finished quickly.”
“…I'll wait.”
“Alright. I'll be back shortly.”
As it was an obvious situation where my identity would be revealed if I entered there, I chose to lean against the door and wait.
After she entered the employment agency, a quiet silence fell over the red-light district.
Those who remembered my face were startled and hastily vacated the area.
“…Hieek?”
Just then, the woman in decadent attire, who had caused me to have to die yesterday, appeared.
“……”
The woman, whose eyes met mine, quickly tried to flee, but I was one step faster and grabbed her arm, stopping her.
“P-please, save me...!”
The woman, who began begging and rubbing her hands together, seemed to have mistaken me for a ghost.
Due to the red lights spread throughout the red-light district, my expression took on an even more murderous shadow.
“Yesterday, my earnings were bad, so I was in a bad mood...! I didn't deliberately tell the oppas to do it!”
The woman, who began to blubber, revealing all the reasons I hadn't even asked for, was soon fawning over me.
“I-I'll do it for free just this once, so please save me...! I may look like this, but I'm very... Kyaak!?”
“Get lost. I don't even want to look at you.”
Looking at her repulsive fawning, I didn't even feel like killing her, so I let go of her arm as if throwing it away.
The woman, who fell back as if pushed by the recoil, disappeared into some alley without looking back.
I considered killing them right away with Freud’s Fang, which I had tucked away, but since they, too, were destined to die someday, I didn't bother.
Because Aquilian was the place among Desperado Reunion's appearance areas that met the most horrific end.
“Dian? Was there some commotion?”
Altair, who returned after finishing her business at the employment agency, opened the door and called me.
I shook my head, lied that nothing had happened, and then stared piercingly at her.
“Is there... something you want to ask?”
“…What is your relationship with the owner of that employment agency?”
“A business partner. Though there are many questionable aspects, I've often obtained information from them since long ago.”
At Altair's explanation of a business partner, my mind went blank.
A reality completely different from the picture I had expected upon entering the red-light district.
I had expected her to interrogate the employment agency about its crimes.
But this... merely forced me to confront the reality that she, too, was no different, being evil.
…I always only meet people like this.
Nearly taxidermied by someone I thought I could trust.
Not believed even when I conveyed the truth.
Now, even the person I wanted to trust turned out to be in league with evil.
“Dian?! That weapon... where did you get it from, exactly...!”
I took Freud's Fang from my waist and aimed it at Altair.
“My apologies, but my name is Dean, Captain.”
“…!!”
“Thank you for last night, Captain. Thanks to you, I almost felt like trusting people.”
“What... what exactly are you talking about?!”
“You wouldn't believe me even if I told you.”
Even with the dagger aimed at her, Altair didn't show hostility towards me.
In a state where bewilderment preceded anger at the sudden betrayal.
“We can resolve this through conversation!”
“No. It's already too late.”
“Please tell me what's going on! It seems there's a misunderstanding between us!”
I no longer reacted to her shouts, which were trying to mediate the situation.
Because in the end, there was only one thing I had to do.
After feeding blood to Freud's Fang, I transformed it into its whip-sword form.
Altair, who recognized the definite killing intent, only then drew the greatsword from her back.
Soon, the attack began to rage.
It was a paltry force against Altair, who had inherited stats, but a rapid succession of attacks, making it difficult to find an opening.
“Kugh...!”
Altair, deflecting the attacks flying at her, was gradually pushed back.
As she had once grasped Freud's Fang before, she tried her best not to be grazed by the blade, thus failing to seize an opportunity to counterattack.
Only defending, she was eventually grazed on the cheek by the blade.
“…!!”
The paralyzing venom spread in an instant, and her body completely stiffened.
I slowly approached Altair, pondering whether to take her life, but didn't actually act on it.
Even if she was in league with evil, I clearly remembered the fact that she had nursed me last night, when I was floundering in pain.
As such, my actions were a warning conveyed to her.
I walked past Altair and opened the employment agency's door.
“Altair? I told you I don't know anything... said...”
“Nice to see you again.”
“…Y-you. How, how exactly...?!”
The middle-aged woman who had provided the opium-infused water, resting on the sofa, saw me in my undamaged state and her expression was dyed with terror.
“How, you ask...? You'd know better, wouldn't you?”
I shot the whip-sword at her arm, which had been hastily trying to throw a self-defense dagger at me.
Her forearm was cruelly pierced, and due to the spreading paralyzing venom, blood tears flowed from her eyes.
I looked down at her, her entire body stiffened on the sofa.
I had felt vengeful countless times until now, but I had never directly stained my hands with blood because of it.
But strangely. I didn't even feel the emotion of mercy towards this person.
Just a feeling like looking at an insect. Nothing more, nothing less.
“No, Dean! Stop!!”
Altair, whose paralysis seemed to have worn off, belatedly entered the office.
I had already plunged Freud's Fang into the woman's neck.
A gurgling sound of escaping oxygen was heard.
A crimson fountain splattering on her face left a sense of refreshment.
Revenge blew a refreshing wind into my empty emotions.
“…You've come.”
I pulled out the blade, turned around, and smiled chillingly, and Altair instantly flinched, her shoulders trembling.
What kind of being was she seeing in me?
A demon? A murderer? Or perhaps a madman?
“Why... why did you do that, exactly...?”
“Reason, you ask...”
Wiping the blood from around my eyes with my hand, I pondered Altair's question.
“Why don't you put down that greatsword first, and then speak?”
If she hadn't nursed me and shown me goodwill until this morning, there would have been two corpses in the employment agency.
The fact that she saved my life was reason enough not to answer the question.
“Last night... was Joel the culprit who did that to you?”
Altair swung the flat of her greatsword, sending me flying into the wall.
“Kuh-hok...”
“I won't doubt you, Dean. However... this method is wrong.”
As I collapsed to the floor, vomiting blood, she approached me and aimed her greatsword at me.
In Altair's eyes, aimed at me with her greatsword... a multitude of tears were flowing.
“Revenge... leaves nothing behind.”
“……”
“You've ultimately become a villain no different from Joel.”
“…A villain, hah...!”
“…Dean?”
Listening to Altair's admonishment, I started to laugh.
Villain...
Isn't it too late to give me such a label, considering how many I've killed?
“It seems I made the right choice not to kill you, Captain.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Altair, you are...”
You're a good person. The words choked in my throat, and I couldn't utter them in the end.
Because Altair was merely a victim, tricked by the owner of this employment agency.
In the end, I became a villain who committed evil against her without even properly understanding the situation.
My existence was so ugly and shameful that scoffing laughter kept escaping me.
“…I'm sorry, Captain.”
I quietly opened my mouth and apologized to Altair... the Captain of the Aquila Knights.
Though it was only a one-day encounter, I could truly let my guard down during my meeting with her.
“Apologies are to be made after paying for your sins.”
As expected, Altair was about to forgive me and proceed with my arrest.
But I, believing the only retribution I needed was death, secretly smeared blood on Freud's Fang, which had returned to its dagger form.
“Dean?”
“Meeting you, Captain. ...It was good.”
Even if I were to stab my neck and die, my hearing would remain for a few seconds, so for a certain death...
I sincerely wished that if I could meet Altair again someday, it would be in a relationship different from a good-versus-evil dynamic.
* * *
Thwack
The sound of the skull near his jaw being pierced and flesh tearing echoed faintly in the employment agency.
As the blood-stained blade protruded from above Dean's crown, Altair dropped the greatsword she held in her hand.
“Dean...? Dean?! No... no!!”
She hastily covered the bleeding area with her hand.
But it was already too late to reverse Dean's death.
“How could we have just met...!”
Altair knew Dean’s true identity.
She hadn't known that the bruised man from last night and Dean were the same person, but she had quickly seen through his true identity from the moment he enlisted in the Knights.
The one who killed her and sent her back to the past.
The one who gave her a second chance to protect her precious subordinates.
…And, the one who might prevent the ruin.
That's why Altair made persistent efforts to bring Dean into her companionship.
She made an effort to express emotions she was usually stingy with, and took care of him.
She even frankly revealed her romantic interest.
Feeling the emptiness in his eyes, she tried to heal the inner darkness Dean possessed.
But the conclusion brought about by her merely awkward actions was... an irreversible failure.
Altair pulled out Freud's Fang, which had vertically pierced Dean's face, threw it to the floor, and then embraced him.
《 Perk ‘Addicted to Defeat’ activated!
- Your level increases by 14. 》
At the alert that obscured her vision, she momentarily stopped moving.
“…You are!”
The man who had been beaten nearly to death by delinquents in the red-light district last night, whom she had nursed.
Altair, who hadn't forgotten the perk 'Addicted to Defeat,' definitively realized that the man and Dean were the same person.
“……”
At the hopeful truth, Altair stopped her tears.
Her intuition, which had grown along a great curve from a back-alley vagrant to a Knight Captain, told her.
…He surely possessed the ability to resurrect.
That's why she could meet him twice.
As there were countless enemies who possessed resurrection abilities during the ruin, the possibility that this death was not Dean's last was extremely high.
They say the first encounter is coincidence, and the second is destiny.
The fact that Dean, having experienced death, would resurrect again somewhere.
She believed it without a shadow of a doubt.
“Wherever you are... I will find you.”
Altair carefully closed Dean's eyes.
Soon, as his body turned to ash and vanished, Altair wiped away the tears flowing from around her eyes.
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