I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Scarlett POV]

Piers and I were currently at the place where Raul had hidden our crystals. He had buried them beneath a tree shaped like the letter C, near the Eagle Clan's base camp.

"Did you find them?" I asked Piers, who was still digging.

"Yes... I can see a red crystal and several others of different colors," Piers replied as he began pulling the crystals out.

The island seemed unusually quiet right now.

Apparently, their hunt for Raul was still ongoing.

What exactly was making it so difficult for them to defeat a single person?

"Hmm... We have a total of 190 points after combining the Captain's crystals with the ones we collected yesterday," Piers said after finishing his count.

"Is that so?"

I supposed that many points would be enough to secure our position and qualify for the next stage.

Attention... Attention... The first-stage examination has ended. Your artifacts will now activate and return you to the main ship.

I heard Master Erina's loud announcement.

It seemed the examination was finally coming to an end.

"Do you think he's all right?" I asked Piers.

"Huh? Why are you asking about the Captain? Didn't the two of you have a huge argument before?" Piers asked, clearly confused.

"No, it's just... there's something I want to ask him."

Not long afterward, a magic circle appeared around our bodies.

My vision gradually darkened before a blue light surrounded me.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself back aboard the main ship outside the island.

---

[3rd POV]

Deep beneath the earth, inside the underground mine, everyone who remained was rendered speechless after Ariel's unique spell struck Raul and eliminated him from the examination.

Elena, Brian, and Valeria stared at Ariel in disbelief.

It wasn't because she had defeated Raul.

Rather, it was because Ariel had never used an AoE-type spell throughout her entire life.

Yet this time, she had done exactly that.

Ariel—the innocent, kind-hearted girl who despised violence—had used magic to bring someone down.

"Ariel! You actually defeated that bastard!" Brian exclaimed as he hurried toward her.

However, Ariel's expression showed neither happiness nor sadness.

She simply wore a blank expression.

Brian reached out to take Ariel's hand, but the platinum-haired girl avoided his grasp.

"Ariel... What's wrong?" Brian asked, confused.

"Nothing, Brian," Ariel answered normally. "Let me heal your wounds and everyone else's."

Brian could only stare at her response.

Previously, Ariel had never minded physical contact with him.

But now, Brian could sense something different about her.

After healing Brian, Valeria, and Elena, the three of them began discussing what they should do next.

"Um... The examination is over for today, right?" Brian asked.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Yes... But we won't be taking first place because we gave half of our crystals to the Eagle Clan to hunt down that pervert," Valeria replied, sounding slightly irritated at the realization that they would no longer be able to claim the top position.

"What matters is that we accomplished our objective, right?" Elena said optimistically. "In the end, we managed to defeat Raul and avenge our fallen comrades."

Hearing Elena's words, their expressions became more satisfied.

Their struggle over the past three days had not been in vain.

Attention to all surviving students. The first-stage examination has ended. You will now be teleported back to the main ship.

"That's Master Erina's voice."

"Finally... It's over," Valeria said, sounding exhausted.

Ariel remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

Magic circles formed around their bodies.

Not long afterward, their bodies began disappearing until nothing remained.

Darkness filled their vision.

When they opened their eyes again, the four of them had already returned to the main ship.

Several students were standing in rows, waiting for them.

"Huh? What's going on?" Ariel asked, surprised by the crowd gathered before them.

"I don't know," Elena replied, equally confused. "Why are all of you gathered here?"

The students in the crowd smiled.

"What are we doing? Obviously, we're here to celebrate your victory over that bastard noble!"

"Eh? How did you know?" Ariel asked in surprise.

"If I'm not mistaken, the students here can see the signals from the artifacts of everyone who is still alive on the island," Valeria explained, pointing toward a large stone not far from the crowd.

"I see..." Ariel murmured.

The students then invited them down from the ship to play on the beach.

The instructors allowed them to rest and enjoy themselves on the island for two days before departing for the location of the second-stage examination.

"To Ariel, who defeated that noble! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

They held a celebration, lit a bonfire, and played in the water.

Ariel was surrounded by her friends.

She was the star shining brightest that day after defeating Raul with her magic.

Meanwhile, from a distance, a black-haired man silently watched Ariel.

The corners of his lips were slightly raised, as though he were proud of someone.

Not long afterward, the instructors announced the final point rankings for the completed first-stage examination.

First place went to Raul's team, with 190 points.

Eric's team took second place with 140 points.

Taz, Viera, and Tianna's team occupied third place with 120 points.

Meanwhile, Ariel, Brian, and Valeria's team ranked 40th, with only 20 points.

The low ranking of Brian's team was caused by their points being divided among the members who had been eliminated earlier.

Nevertheless, they still qualified for the second stage.

"In the end, he still took first place," Valeria said bitterly.

"Tch, who cares?" Geralt replied. "What's important is that we taught him a lesson, isn't it?"

"Geralt's right. A person's strength isn't measured by how many points they earn!" Brian added.

Valeria glared at the two men in irritation.

But she was far too exhausted to lecture either of them this time.

"Well... We should focus on preparing for the next stage of the examination," Ariel said with a smile.

The three of them nodded in agreement.

There were still two more stages remaining before the survival examination would finally be over.

---

Holy City of Notradame — Headquarters of the Temple of Goddess Diana

Four Cardinals walked through the halls of the Grand Cathedral.

They were discussing the candidates for the next Saint, who would succeed Saint Josephina, who had died six months earlier.

"Markus, have you found our four Saint candidates yet?" asked one of the Cardinals, Nicholas.

"My team has just found several suitable candidates from different nations," Cardinal Markus replied as he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket.

"There are two candidates from the Empire, one from the Kingdom of Weimar, and the final candidate is from the Slavic Tsardom."

"We must conduct the Saint Selection Trial as soon as possible so that we can return our full attention to eliminating the Heretics," said the bald Cardinal, Zeno.

The Heretics were groups or organizations that opposed the teachings of Goddess Diana.

Their existence could weaken the influence of the teachings of Goddess Diana if they were allowed to operate freely.

"We have just lost one of the Holy Knights after he fought one of the Masquerades," said the large-bodied Cardinal, Carlos.

Last month, one of the seven Holy Knights had fought one of the Masquerades, resulting in both of them dying in their duel.

The Cardinals were also preparing to appoint a suitable replacement to fill the vacant position among the Holy Knights.

Cardinal Markus then handed the sheet of paper to Cardinal Nicholas so that he could study the details of the Saint candidates.

"Rose de Bagartina, Maria di Canossa, Agatha von Freidburg, Anastasya Romanova."

However, among the four names spoken by Cardinal Nicholas, not a single one was Ariel.

This meant that Raul had once again altered the future of this world, causing it to diverge from the original storyline that had existed within the game.

---

Somewhere in a Cave within the Republic of Venetia

Six mysterious individuals wearing masks similar to the one Raul wore were gathered inside a cave, discussing something.

"Keeper, have you found a replacement to fill the position of the new Fool?" one of them asked.

"Not yet, Puppeteer. However, I have detected a Masquerade Mask being worn somewhere within the Empire," The Keeper replied.

They were one of the Heretic groups mentioned earlier by the Cardinals.

This time, they were discussing a replacement for The Fool, who had recently been killed by one of the Holy Knights.

"If that's the case, when they wear the Mask again, you'll be able to determine the exact location of its wearer, Keeper?" asked a woman wearing a mask that covered only her eyes and nose.

"That's right, Dancer. When that time comes, we'll recruit them into our group," The Keeper replied.

"If they refuse, we'll kill them and take the Mask they possess."

Who exactly were these six people?

What was their objective?

Why did the followers of Goddess Diana want to eradicate them?

And what would happen next to Raul—the successor of The Fool's Mask they had just been discussing?

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