Raising Villains the Right Way

“It’s been a while!”

“Ah! You’ve grown so much!”

“Of course!”

Right after reuniting with Ryanga, Alon came down the cliff together with her.

As soon as Penia and Ryanga saw each other, they exchanged cheerful greetings.

After that.

“Let’s go to the hideout first.”

Following Ryanga, Alon arrived at the Hundred Ghosts’ hideout and couldn’t help but make a strange expression there.

“That’s—”

“How is it, Chief? I carved it myself!”

Listening to Ryanga’s voice, which sounded both slightly embarrassed and proud, Alon stared blankly at the cliff inside the hideout.

More precisely, at the carved mural on the cliff.

A mural depicting the back of a man in a black coat fluttering in the wind.

“Wow, you did all that by yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“…You did an amazing job.”

Penia let out a small exclamation of admiration.

Alon also admired it as he looked at the mural.

“Ah.”

He realized something.

‘So that’s why Reinhardt asked if I had some connection with the Hundred Ghosts back then.’

Alon recalled what Reinhardt had said when they first met years ago in the Ronovelli Jungle and nodded.

Though it was somewhat glorified, it definitely looked almost exactly like him casting magic.

‘…No, but was it really worth asking so directly?’

Of course, the carved mural did resemble Alon.

That was something even Alon admitted.

However, he wasn’t the only mage in the world who wore a coat.

He thought it might be a bit of a stretch to assume it was him just from that, but soon shrugged and looked away.

It was already a story from years ago and not something worth worrying too much about.

‘Did she capture my back so precisely?’

With that thought, he looked at Ryanga.

“You did a great job.”

“Right?! I made it exactly the same!”

“I agree. It’s so accurate there’s no way you wouldn’t recognize it.”

Hearing Penia’s agreement, Alon looked back at the mural as if wondering if it was really that obvious.

A mural showing only his back.

It still felt strange, but after nodding, Alon said,

“Alright, let’s go in. It’s not dinner time yet, right? I’ll cook for you!”

“You can cook too?”

“Of course! I’ve been practicing!”

As he followed Ryanga, Alon quietly asked Penia,

“Penia.”

“Yes, Marquis?”

“Is that mural really enough to recognize me just by looking at it?”

At that, Penia turned to check the mural again with a puzzled look.

‘Even an idiot could tell?’

Just seeing the man in the black coat wasn’t enough to immediately identify him as Marquis Palatio.

If the mural only showed his back and if the person didn’t know Ryanga had made it, they might think the figure depicted someone else.

However, one detail stood out.

Two pupils.

Even if you tried not to see them, you couldn’t help but notice the two eyes floating above the head in the carved back view.

Although lately, Marquis Palatio only showed one eye.

Penia recognized him instantly when she saw that.

Anyway, once you saw those eyes, there was no way you wouldn’t know it was Marquis Palatio.

“Uh… if someone has seen you use magic even once, they’d all think it’s you.”

Penia answered.

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

Alon nodded slowly, feeling strangely proud.

Though he didn’t show it much on the outside, the figure of his back that Ryanga had made was actually quite cool.

‘Maybe I should show my back more often from now on.’

Thinking that silly thought, Alon followed after Ryanga.

***

Until just a few days ago, Ganma, one of the poor Hundred Ghosts who got beaten daily under the pretext of training by the gloomy Ryanga, was now rapidly losing his sense of reality.

‘That’s… Boss?’

From afar, Ganma looked at Ryanga sticking closely next to that human man—no, he had heard the story so much he had even memorized the name—Marquis Palatio.

From a distance, she looked so innocent, smiling brightly in a way you could recognize instantly.

Ganma glanced around to see the other members’ reactions.

Some looked shocked.

Some were blankly staring.

Some had an expression as if they were about to vomit.

They were all looking at Ryanga.

It was only natural.

They had spent hundreds of years together with Ryanga.

They believed they knew her better than anyone and were confident they knew exactly what kind of being she was.

However.

‘Is that… really Boss??? Really?’

All the members of the Hundred Ghosts simultaneously recalled Ryanga’s original image.

The only image in their minds was her violent side.

The basic way she handled everything.

Whether it was hierarchy or disputes, she resolved it all with her fists.

Other than that, her daily routine was mostly just sprawling out on the cliff all day.

So for the members of the Hundred Ghosts, Ryanga’s current image was shockingly unbelievable.

“Does this even make sense?”

“Boss can actually smile like a woman?”

“Can you believe it? She’s even linking arms with the Marquis.”

“Ugh—”

“She’s sitting right in front of that human man?”

“She’s acting cute.”

“I feel sick.”

Ryanga’s usual coyness, something she would never normally show, was too much for the members of the Hundred Ghosts to endure, and they all wore shocked expressions as if they were screaming “What the heck?!”

However.

In just a fleeting moment.

The White Ghost leaning against Marquis Palatio’s cross-legged leg turned to glare sharply at the others.

At the same time, they all recognized it.

The shape of her mouth.

‘You. Will. Die.’

Silently mouthing each syllable clearly enough for all the hidden onlookers to read, all the members shivered on the spot and quietly turned around, disappearing to where she could no longer see them.

***

The next day.

“You’re awake!”

“You’re awake!”

“…Uh, yeah…”

Receiving an excessively enthusiastic greeting from the Hundred Ghosts as soon as he woke up, Alon felt confused, but soon after, he met Ryanga, who looked refreshed.

“Did you sleep well, Chief?”

“Yes, thanks to you, I slept well.”

“That’s good— If you sleep comfortably, you could even stay a bit longer.”

Ryanga quickly added.

But Alon shook his head.

“Unfortunately, it’s not possible right now.”

“Really? Well, that’s fine—”

Despite her words, Ryanga pouted slightly, clearly disappointed.

Seeing that, Alon couldn’t help but smile and said,

“Don’t be too sad. I’m just busy right now, but I’ll come visit again soon.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Or you can come visit me yourself.”

“Okay… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ryanga laughed happily and continued as if she was satisfied.

“So, what’s your plan from now on?”

“Hmm, I’ll probably stay in the jungle for about another week.”

“A week?”

“Yes, I’m searching for something.”

“What is it?”

After thinking for a moment, Alon slowly replied.

“I’m looking for the Mask of the One Who Walks Ahead.”

“The Mask of the One Who Walks Ahead?”

“Yes, it’s an item in a ruin in this jungle. I need it.”

“Hmm~”

Ryanga nodded at Alon’s words and asked.

“Where is it?”

“…It’s probably in the area where the ruins are gathered.”

“Do you know the location?”

“Roughly.”

“Can you show me?”

Though puzzled for a moment, Alon soon spread out a map made by explorers and roughly pointed out the location.

Then—

“Hmm~”

Ryanga stroked her chin, nodded as if she understood, and then said,

“Wait here!”

“Wait, hold on—”

Before Alon could stop her, she vanished with a massive boom.

Left with his hand stretched out, Alon stood there awkwardly frozen.

Next to him, Penia, who had been watching the whole time, finally spoke.

“Marquis, I think Ryanga went to get it.”

“It seems that way… As you said, she’ll have quite a hard time.”

Alon nodded in agreement.

The item they were planning to retrieve this time, the “Mask of the One Who Walks Ahead,” was a relic that could only be obtained after solving several riddles inside the ruins.

In other words, if you didn’t know the answers to the riddles, you couldn’t get it.

Therefore.

“…Should we wait?”

“Um… She’s probably struggling there, so maybe we should help?”

“Then it’s better to get ready to go right away.”

While looking in the direction Ryanga had dashed off to, they waited for about an hour, and just as Alon was starting to prepare to move—

Thud!

Ryanga returned with a loud crash.

“…I’m back!”

“Ryanga?”

Ryanga shouted energetically.

When Alon looked at her, not understanding what was going on, Ryanga confidently said,

“Here! Look!”

She then handed the mask to Alon.

The Mask of the One Who Walks Ahead.

At that moment, Alon and Penia were both left blankly staring at the mask in her hands.

“Huh? Isn’t this it?”

Hearing her innocent question, Alon finally snapped out of it and replied.

“No, this is it. Thank you.”

“Aww, don’t mention it— between us—”

Leaving the sweetly smiling Ryanga behind, Alon looked at the mask again with a disbelieving expression.

The mask she brought was undoubtedly the Mask of the One Who Walks Ahead.

The one that could only be obtained after solving several riddles.

Still unable to comprehend it, Alon checked the mask again and again and asked in a daze,

“But… how did you get this?”

“Huh? This?”

“Yes, as far as I know, you can only get this by answering difficult questions…”

‘Could it be that Ryanga knew all the answers?’

Alon’s question, filled with disbelief, made Ryanga pause for a moment in thought.

“Ah~ was that what that was?”

She muttered as if she remembered something.

“I just forced it open and took it.”

She answered brightly as ever.

“You… broke it?”

“Yeah. It just went crack, that’s all.”

Hearing her refreshingly straightforward answer without hesitation, Alon recalled the ruins he had only seen in illustrations.

The doorway, described as several dozen centimeters—or rather, so thick it should be described as several meters.

Not only that, it had been specially reinforced to be unbreakable by physical force, covered with dozens of defensive magic circles.

That’s why Alon, who could only stare blankly at Ryanga, couldn’t help but think.

“…Is this what they mean when they say, ‘If your body is strong, your mind can rest easy’?”