The Villain Dreams Of World Peace

Episode 27: Murishi, The Species That Eats Monsters

 

I haven’t finished eating yet, kwiii…

 

“I don’t have time to make kwiyiing noises right now. I’m about to confess to the Demon King.”

 

What’s a Demon King?

 

“A crazy human. Come on! ‘ll fill your stomach again while we’re on the way. Just give me a ride..”

 

Human… Demon King…? Is it scary…?

 

Muriel thought of Kaiton, whose eyes flickered while wishing for her heart to be torn apart.

 

“Oh, it’s really scary.”

 

Kwii… I don’t like scary things…

 

Instead of saying ‘You look scarier’ Muriel gently soothed the Murishi and headed east, promising to help it catch a lot of monsters.

 

In the east lived a reclusive sorcerer named Tyler Hunter. Muriel planned to retrieve the fragment of Ur he possessed.

 

Since there was nothing good about the entire kingdom to see Muriel riding on the despised Murishi pony, she took the secluded path of the mountains.

 

They only had rough paths to choose from, and it took a while for Muriel to get used to balancing on the Murishi’s back while running, but even after being on the road for a long time, they hadn’t reached Tyler’s village.

 

Before she knew it, the surroundings became dark. Muriel’s mind grew anxious, but the pony’s steps slowed down.

 

The village where Tyler Hunter was located belonged to the Dachini territory, so it was a slow journey, considering it had taken three hours with Kaiton to reach the northernmost part of the Pendragon territory.

 

I can’t go any further.

 

The Murishi said, panting heavily in the middle of the mountain.

 

“No. There’s still a long way to go. Let’s just go to the village.”

 

Muriel hastened the Murishi by pulling on its coarse fur like a bridle; she did not want to sleep in the middle of the mountains on a night where monsters appeared. But the Murishi stubbornly planted its overgrown hooves into the ground and completely lay down.

 

“Pony…! Just a little more strength, please.”

 

I’m not a pony.

When Muriel explained that it meant a small and cute horse, Mushi, who liked the name she gave, murmured sadly.

 

I’m hungry… I’m hungry, kwii. You said you would catch monsters for me…

 

“We have to go to the village to catch monsters! I can’t catch monsters myself. We have to pay the knights and make a request.”

 

Liar. A human liar…

 

“Why are you acting cute right now? Whether I catch it myself or pay someone to catch it, the same thing that goes into your mouth. If we stay here, we’ll both become monster food. Hurry up and move!”

 

Muriel, who had been planning to pay knights to provide monsters for them as she had done so far, was perplexed by the Murishi’s insistence that she caught one right away.

 

There was no way Muriel, who couldn’t even properly perform a single attack spell, could catch monsters herself. All she had prepared was six gold lamina.

 

Sob… I was deceived. Exploited by humans. Kyu-kyu. I ran so hard and my legs hurt… Kyu.

 

“Where did you pick up the term ‘exploitation’? You seem overly smart compared to your kyu-kyu noises. Okay, don’t cry, I’ll catch them for you.”

 

The Murishi’s cries were not something one could stand to hear for a long time. Muriel gently comforted the pony and took out a fragment of Ur out of the Nihil.

 

She had vowed by buying the Nihil not to use Ur’s power again, but this was an emergency.

 

Was it because of the Murishi’s crying? As it’d been waiting, a monster soon appeared. It would have been nice if it was just a small creature like before. But what stood in front of Muriel was a gigantic wolf-like monster.

 

“…This is bad.”

 

“Grrrr….”

 

monsters are born when spirits become corrupted, but their appearances vary greatly. It was similar to the decay of food. Just as the appearance and smell of something rotten for a day and a month are completely different, monsters also had different appearances depending on when they were born and the degree of corruption.

 

The monster that was threatening Muriel by showing off its form had been born not long ago and almost fully kept the appearance of a wolf.

 

However, every time it moved, the rotting and exposed flesh fell off and greatly hurted Muriel’s stomach.

 

Eek! T-The monster…! It looks delicious! But it’s scary…

 

The cowardly Murishi pony, while licking its lips at the sight of the lone monster, cowered in fear and hid behind Muriel.

 

“…You’re quite shameless, aren’t you…?”

 

H-hey, human, attack already! You can do it…!

 

If you went by appearances, the pony with huge tusks should be the one protecting her, but it was the other way around. Muriel felt uneasy but still recited an offensive spell as she watched the monster charge at them.

 

“G-Glaekes Kolnum!”

 

This water-based attack was the only one Muriel had cast successfully so far. If successful, it would summon giant ice claws and rip the wolf apart.

 

Crack.

 

The ice claws that was supposed to block the charging monster did not appear. Huh? Why? It was a spell that had never failed even once when using the fragment of Ur that explosively increased magical power. Even before Muriel could prepare for another attack, the monster’s massive beak grabbed her shoulder and tore into it.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

Muriel tightly closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain to come. It was an instinctive reaction since she had lived a normal life experiencing pain before transmigrating into the novel.

 

“Ah… Right. I don’t feel any pain….”

 

Muriel murmured, realizing belatedly that she couldn’t feel the pain after transmigrating. It wasn’t like she was receiving a massage from the monster; she could still feel its teeth digging into her flesh, but it didn’t hurt.

 

A strange feeling. Not feeling pain didn’t mean she couldn’t die. But it was quite a useful trait against opponents, wasn’t it?

 

If she had felt the pain, she would have fainted from the deadly attack, but Muriel, who was fine, shouted another offensive spell.

 

“Glaecas Colnum…!”

 

Yet again, it failed. Muriel looked down at the fragment of Ur in her hand. What was wrong all of a sudden?

 

Grrr! Human is dying! I’m hungry… Human is dying!

 

Sensing something amiss, the pony lifted its front legs and leaped away, leaving Muriel behind.

 

“Hey, don’t run away! I’m not dead! Hey, Pony!”

 

It said it couldn’t even move from fear, but it ran away just fine. Muriel grinded her teeth while looking at the Murishi’s buttocks as they moved away and took out a dagger.

 

“That little brat… I’ll make sure it never gets to eat again.”

 

Puck. Puck. Puck.

 

She struck with all her might, but the monster’s skin was so thick that she couldn’t inflict a proper wound.

 

“Let go… Let go, you punk…!”

 

“Grrr….”

 

The monster shook its head, rendering Muriel unable to resist, and slammed her struggling body onto the ground.

 

“Ugh….”

 

Muriel’s breath seemed to stop as a groan escaped her mouth after she hit a tree while rolling around the ground several times. It felt like her bones were broken. It was hard to breathe, and maybe she’d lost a lot of blood, because her vision was becoming blurred.

 

Was it already too late? She had assured the Murishi that she wouldn’t die, but if magic didn’t work, there was no way out. Her body temperature dropped rapidly, and she could barely move, struggling even to twitch a finger.

 

Thunk.

 

At that moment, a piece fell out of Nihil, which had slipped from her embrace. Muriel realized something only when she saw the shiny real fragment of Ur.

 

…It was a fake! Rovelia Dachini gave her a fake piece. No wonder the magic couldn’t succeed.

 

“…Rovelia Dachini!”

 

It was her own stupid mistake. She hadn’t even considered doubting the piece Rovelia had given her. She felt foolish. She had taken it for granted because she thought Rovelia was a saint.

 

Could she still move?

To get revenge on Rovelia, Muriel had to live for now. But the fragment was far away, and her body was creaking. She wasn’t confident she could move faster than the monster aiming for her throat.

 

“Glaecus Colnum!”

 

The monster lunged at Muriel. Muriel also threw herself towards the fragment. Snap. The monster was slightly faster. However, the magic had also been invoked. With a single swipe, the monster was torn apart like a torn piece of paper by a massive ice claw.

 

“…Kuh… I…survived….”

 

Muriel couldn’t even cast a healing spell before she lost consciousness.

 

Blood flowed from torn and scratched wounds. Soon, a red rose, drawn with blood, bloomed on the ground. The blue of her hair soaked into the red rose, turning dark. The faint breaths of Muriel, with the dark hair that Kaiton hoped for, gradually faded.

 

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

 

Rovelia felt pleased when she imagined Muriel, who had fallen under the love potion, begging for love from that arrogant wizard.

 

That arrogant and unlucky wizard would surely reject Muriel’s confession, and by now, she would be suffering immense pain and heartbreak from being utterly ignored.

 

Hehehe.

 

Muriel couldn’t help but let out a chuckle when she thought of Crawford’s face, which would have been contorted unpleasantly, and Muriel, who would be crying miserably.

 

The love potion idea was partly a joke. A little prank to teach Crawford, who had disregarded her sinceirty, a lesson. However, after hearing the explanation from the owner of the 0 Shop, she realized that her plan was even more brilliant than she had thought.

 

The pain of unrequited love would devastate her mind. Muriel would slowly crumble, as arrogant Crawford would never reciprocate her feelings. Then, the position of the saint would naturally become hers.

 

“Ah… The weather is really nice today. It feels like I can fly.”

 

“…I’m glad you’re in a good mood, Rovelia. But it’s not good to skip class like this. Please don’t play hooky next time.”

 

“I couldn’t help it since the weather is so nice. Would you like a cookie? I baked them myself.”

 

“…No, thank you. I’m fine.”

 

It was the first time August had refused something Rovelia offered, but she didn’t mind. After all, there was no love potion in the cookies she was going to hand to him. She didn’t need to do such a thing in the first place.

 

“Did Muriel say she was going to class?”

“Well… I’m not sure. I haven’t run into her, so I don’t know. August, you’re not interested in Muriel, do you? I was a little upset since it seems you’re becoming closer to her lately.”

 

Rovelia subtly wrapped her hand around August’s and asked. She already knew what his answer was, but she wanted to hear it from his own mouth.

 

“…Well… Muriel is just a friend.”

 August’s tone made Rovelia smile again, as sweet as honey. She liked that he could neither hold her hand nor push her away.

 

“Well, that’s a relief. Since Muriel likes Crawford.”

 

“…Muriel?”

 

Rovelia couldn’t contain her excitement, oblivious to August’s stiffening expression.

 

“Yes. From what I’ve seen, her feelings run quite deep. Alas, poor Muriel. She’s foolishly holding onto unrequited love, not knowing that Crawford will never reciprocate her feelings… It’s quite pitiful.”

 

“…”

 

“Oh, by the way, this is a secret between you and me, August. For Muriel’s sake. Such a love should be kept hidden.”

 

“Yes, I will do as the lady wants. But, Rovelia..”

 

“Yes, August?”

 

August looked at Rovelia, who was smiling continuously as if she were in a good mood, even though she’d just said she pitied Muriel.

 

Ah, even in wicked moments like this, she was still so terribly beautiful. She knew he too, had an unrequited love that could never be confessed or fulfilled, yet she called it foolish.

 

“Muriel is not pitiful.”

 

“…Why?”

 

Rovelia tilted her head as if she didn’t understand. She even furrowed her brow as if Muriel just had to be pitiful.

 

“Because she can love. For Muriel… that’s probably enough.”

 

This was also August’s message to himself.

 

“…Even if it tears her heart apart because it can never be fulfilled? You still say she’s not pitiful?”

 

“Even so.”

 

“Hmph. You don’t know that. How would August know? You haven’t experienced it yourself… Ah!”

 

Rovelia, who’d withdrawn her hand from his in a grumpy manner, realized her mistake when she saw August’s calm expression.

 

“August… what I meant was… I…”

 

Rovelia was taken aback and instinctively held August’s hand, but she couldn’t say anything because she had to pretend not to know his feelings.

 

“I’m fine, Rovelia.”

 

Because I can love you.

 

August swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to say. Then he gently placed his forehead against Rovelia’s hand. He could have pretended it was a gesture of affection and kissed the back of her hand, but he didn’t allow himself even this small intimacy.

 

August thought of Muriel.

---

Rovelia my girl I gave you chances lollll but Muriel is totally justified for coming after you