I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 626 626: [Event] [The Beauty And The Beast] [6] Bullying Addicts

”Thank you.”

For a second, I just stared at her—caught off guard, dazed maybe, but not unpleasantly so. Then I smiled.

”Yeah… youʼre welcome.”

There was a lot I wanted to say. A lot of questions I wanted to ask. But now wasnʼt the time. I needed a clear head, and that was something she made very difficult to maintain.

”Weʼll talk more later, alright?” I said.

Elizabeth tilted her head slightly, eyes glowing a brighter shade of crimson.

”Oh? You want to talk more, darling? In my bedroom, perhaps?”

I blinked. ”I—I meant talk as in… real conversation. You know, about you. Your past. What you dreamed about.”

She let out a sigh. ”And here I thought you were finally in the mood for a more... intimate exchange.”

I smiled nervously, already taking a step back. ”Letʼs start with the genuine stuff first. Then… weʼll see where things go.”

And with that, I turned and vaulted off the balcony, landing roughly on the ground below. My knees jolted from the impact—definitely not my most graceful escape, but it got the job done.

”Still the same in every life—always chasing after women,” Rodolf muttered as I dusted myself off and caught up to him.

I shot him a glance. ”And youʼre still the same brainless musclehead. Some things never change.”

His eyes narrowed. ”What was that?”

”Nothing,” I said quickly, waving him off. ”Letʼs just focus on taking down that shady pill network. I think Iʼve already got a lead.”

His eyebrows rose. ”Already? You better not be screwing with me. I donʼt want to waste time when I could be with Cylien.”

”Maybe try caring about your Kingdom too, not just your girlfriend.”

Rodolf snorted. ”Please. Coming from you, thatʼs rich.”

We arenʼt the same case!

Still, one thing was clear: unlike Rodolf and the others, I didnʼt transmigrate. At least, not in the same way. My case… it was something else entirely. Something I still couldnʼt make sense of.

The image of the brain scanner flickered through my memory but I shoved it aside.

Focus.

I turned and took off down the street.

”Follow me,” I called out over my shoulder to Rodolf.

…

…

In the dim-lit alleys of Fangoria—where the streets pulsed with clearly shady energy and only the desperate or dangerous dared to wander—three figures hurried through the shadows.

”I still canʼt believe it, brother!”

”Yeah! What the hell do they mean, no more pills in stock?!”

”Do I look like Iʼve got answers, idiot? Iʼm just as screwed as you!” Raken snapped.

All three of them looked like theyʼd been dragged through hell and spat out the other side—sweaty, trembling, and hollow-eyed. The classic signs of withdrawal were all there. They werenʼt just desperate—they were sick.

From our perch on the rooftop above, Rodolf squinted down at them with disgust.

”These clowns are your lead?” He asked.

”Believe it or not, yeah,” I said with a slight nod. ”You heard them. Theyʼre in the know—maybe not directly, but close enough to the source of those pills.”

Rodolf crossed his arms. ”You got a plan?”

I smirked. ”Just sit back and enjoy the show.”

With that, I leapt down from the rooftop, landing silently behind the trio.

Not so silent, apparently.

”Huh?! Who—?!”

”Itʼs him!”

”The guy from before!”

I plastered on a friendly smile. ”Wow, lucky me. I was just taking a walk, and here I bump into three familiar faces.”

”Youʼre the bastard who hurt big brother!” The smallest one shouted, pointing at me with trembling hands.

”What do we do now?!”

”We get revenge!”

”Are you insane?!”

Their bickering got loud fast. These guys were clearly not used to thinking before acting.

Meanwhile, Raken just stood there, breathing hard, his eyes locked on me like he was seeing a ghost. There was something deeper in his expression—shame, maybe. Or fear. Or both.

Braham Moonfang…

That monster not only ran Behemoth, but he was also flooding his own Kingdom with these toxic pills?

What was his goal exactly?

”You want more pills, right?” I said calmly, watching them flinch. ”Show me where you get them. You help me, and Iʼll help you get your fix.”

The smallest one glared at me immediately. ”Y-You think weʼd betray our own people for a filthy Human?!”

I scoffed. ”Your people? Youʼre a bunch of addicts clawing at whatever you can find. Donʼt pretend this is about loyalty.”

”What did you say?!” He yelled, lunging at me.

Before he got within striking distance, the third one—the most scared one, grabbed his arm and held him back.

”C-Calm down! You saw what he did to Raken. Donʼt be stupid!”

”But—!”

-BAM!

Before the scrawny addict could finish his panicked protest, a dark blur slammed down from above.

Rodolf landed hard and fast, his foot crashing square into Rakenʼs chest with brutal precision. Raken hit the ground with a loud thud—out cold before his head even touched the pavement.

Rodolf stood there on top of him.

”You done playing around with these junkies?” He asked me dryly.

I gave him a lazy shrug. ”Well, that works too, I guess.”

The other two addicts immediately recoiled.

”H-H-Heʼs the Mad Prince… Rodolf!” One of them stuttered, eyes wide with terror.

”G-Give us back my brother!”

”Your brother, huh?” Rodolf muttered, grabbing Raken by the front of his shirt and hoisting him up with one hand like a sack of grain. ”I should have him executed. You two as well.”

”W-What?!”

Their faces went ghost-white.

”If you donʼt want to die pathetic deaths in some gutter,” Rodolf said coldly, ”then you better show us the way to your suppliers. Now.”

The two of them froze for a second, then the taller one cracked under pressure, voice breaking.

”F-Fine! Weʼll show you! Just—please, donʼt kill us! Let him go!”

Rodolf narrowed his eyes. ”Weʼll let him go when you take us to your masters.”

”W-Wait! We donʼt… we donʼt actually know where they are!” The smaller one cried, flinching as Rodolf took a step toward him. ”They use mana teleportation circles to bring us to their hideouts. We never see where weʼre going. But—but they said theyʼd meet us again tomorrow night! Please, we donʼt want to die!”

”Tomorrow, huh?” I asked, squinting at him.

”Y-Yeah,” the tall one nodded quickly. ”We owe them money. If we donʼt pay, theyʼll kill us. They said the pills are out of stock, but I know theyʼre lying… they always say that before new shipments come in.”

I narrowed my eyes, thinking. No... I didnʼt think it was a lie. The supply chain probably was disrupted because of what I or more like Medusa did. But that wasnʼt important. What mattered was that we had a way in—finally.

I gave Rodolf a short nod.

Rodolf groaned. ”Alright then. Youʼre both coming with us. Youʼll be under custody until tomorrow night, and then weʼre going to pay your ʼfriendsʼ a visit. You behave, and maybe youʼll even get your precious pills.”

”Hiii!” They flinched, but they knew they didnʼt have a choice.

And with that, the matter was settled. Messy, loud, and not exactly how I envisioned it, but it worked.

It was frustrating, having to wait until tomorrow night—especially with the threat of Behemoth hanging over us like a sword. These bastards could strike at any moment. But we didnʼt have another lead, and this was the best shot we had.

After we handed the three idiots over to the Royal Castleʼs guards, Rodolf and I finally rejoined the others, slipping back into the roles of regular students heading out on a ʼharmlessʼ field trip.

Yeah. Harmless. As if anything ever was anymore.

…

…

”I really hope those bastards werenʼt lying,” Rodolf muttered under his breath, walking beside.

I sighed. ”They werenʼt. You saw them—completely broken, desperate. People like that donʼt have the strength left to lie, even if they wanted to.”

Rodolf scoffed. ”Maybe. Still hope they didnʼt waste my damn time. Or my life, for that matter.”

Before I could reply, a familiar voice rang out.

”What are you hoping for, Rodolf?” Cylien asked, suddenly popping her head between us with a playful grin. Sheʼd been trailing behind, quiet until now, but clearly eavesdropping the whole time.

”A-Ah, Cylien!” Rodolf jumped, startled. His voice cracked just slightly as he scrambled for an excuse. ”We were, uh, talking about the dinner! Yeah, just wondering if those guys managed to cook up something decent for you.”

Cylien narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. ”Hm? And where exactly were the two of you just now, by the way?”

”T–Thatʼs, uh…”

”Nyr?” She turned to me when Rodolf started floundering.

I decided to throw him a bone in the end. ”He was with me. We went to talk with his weirdo of mother.”

Rodolf glared at me instantly. ”Oi. Who are you calling weirdo?”

”The woman who licked me,” I said, straight-faced.

”W-What?!” Cylien blinked hard. ”Rodolfʼs mother licked you?”

”Sheʼs got a thing for personal space, apparently,” I replied with a shrug and walked on ahead, leaving Rodolf to explain that mess himself.

”Nyr, you bastard! You wanna die?!”

”For speaking the truth?” I called back casually.

Behind me, Cylienʼs laughter echoed while Rodolfʼs groaning curses followed right after.

”Late again, Amael.”

A sharper voice snapped me back into the present as I arrived at the gathering spot. The person addressing me was none other than Priscilla Tepes, the supervising teacher for this entire excursion—and, unfortunately, someone Iʼd very recently pissed off.

I turned to face her. ”I had things to deal with.”

She folded her arms. ”Youʼve been ʼdealing with thingsʼ a lot lately.”

Her tone was icy, but not entirely hostile. Still, it was there especially after everything that happened in Valachia. I was the one whoʼd brought down the walls during the siege. Not exactly something you get applause for around here.

But interestingly enough, she wasnʼt nearly as venomous as I expected. Something in her demeanor suggested confusion more than outright hatred.

”Amael,” Priscilla looked at me trying to understand something, ”have you ever once taken your time at Sancta Vedelia seriously? Even for a day?”

I met her gaze. The question was layered seemed to hide more questions. She was trying to understand me—not accuse, not scold—just… understand.

”Iʼve done things that went against Sancta Vedelia,” I admitted, calmly. ”But I didnʼt do them as its enemy. You can call my actions despicable. Throw every insult you want. But when I made those choices… it hadnʼt been out of malice toward this place.”

I didnʼt raise my voice. I just told the truth.

”When I gave Utopia the seed,” I continued, ”it wasnʼt to spite Sancta Vedelia. It was to save millions of lives. Thatʼs it.”

Priscillaʼs eyes flicked up, narrowing slightly. ”Hadnʼt been?”

I paused. Yeah. I had said that. And I wasnʼt even sure why myself.

But after a second of silence, the answer came to me—simple, but cold.

”I am not the one who painted myself as ʼtheʼ enemy to bring down, just remember that, Professor.”