The Genius Villain Dies Tomorrow

Maybe goodwill fed the heart, but it certainly did not feed the body.

Rian had barely gotten any sleep, maybe around one to two hours of it. The dark circles under his eyes were so obvious they looked like makeup and he could barely stand straight.

He looked at his status panel, making another crucial decision.

[Estimated Lifespan: 28 days, 23 hours, 48 minutes.]

’Yeah...I can afford to ride inside the carriage.’

Charlotte took one look at his face. "I take it you enjoyed your evening? I did hear soft whimpering during the night...Did you really—?"

"No," Rian snapped before she could finish. "Just...let me rest for the rest of the trip, will you?"

"Oh, my poor maiden heart is broken," she lamented. "How could my own fiancé be so daring...after refusing me, of all people?"

"Charlotte!"

"Alright, alright!"

Laughing softly, Charlotte raised both hands in surrender and leaned back in her seat, turning her attention toward the passing scenery.

Throughout the ride, even if he wanted to rest, the bumpy carriage made it so sleeping was impossible. So all Rian could do, really, was to distract himself with other activities.

He sat cross-legged, closely examining his inner body and trying to figure out only one thing: how to create a second mana circle.

In the novel, it was described as "condensing mana within the body, building the circle piece by piece until it formed around the heart".

In reality, however, it wasn’t that simple. Rian could feel the mana within his body, probably even better than others. If he were to follow what the book said word for word, it’d be impossible.

His mana was comparable to a bunch of chaotic kids. Trying to rein in hundreds or even thousands of them into a circle by himself would be no easy task.

Usually, mages used what was called a ’mana-stabilizer’ to help them create circles. Basically, it was a treat used to bribe the unruly children into standing still.

Unfortunately, Rian didn’t have one currently. And he still didn’t have enough knowledge of this world’s magic as-is to attempt to create a circle without one.

’Yeah...that’ll probably have to wait.’

But as he was focusing, Charlotte’s voice suddenly called out. "Rian! There’s something behind you!"

He wasn’t sure if she was messing with him or if she was being serious. They were in a carriage, how could there possibly be something behind him?

Rian frowned. "What are you talking about?"

He tried to turn around slowly, but the glow immediately drifted out of sight.

"I’m being serious," Charlotte said. "It just moved again."

"Where?"

"Above your shoulder. Hold out your hand."

Although suspicious that she was playing another joke, Rian reluctantly extended his palm out. But to his surprise, something actually began floating towards it.

It hovered above his hand for several seconds before landing. He could barely feel the sensation, yet it felt weightless against his skin.

At first, it appeared to be nothing more than a warm golden sphere of light. Rian blinked several times before rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes.

When he looked again, the light had changed.

A tiny figure now sat in the center of his palm. It possessed the shape of a young woman no taller than his finger, dressed in a simple dress made from the surrounding glow.

Two translucent wings extended from her back, scattering faint particles of light whenever they moved. For some reason, even when they had the windows closed, his own clothes started fluttering faintly as if there was wind inside.

Rian stared as the tiny figure waved at him.

’I knew I needed sleep, but surely not this badly.’

"Charlotte, can you see what’s sitting on my hand?"

She leaned forward and examined his palm. The small woman waved toward her too, but Charlotte seemingly didn’t see it, or else she would’ve reacted already.

"I only see the light..."

"Strange..."

"Wait hold on," Charlotte pulled back and opened the book she had been reading, frantically flipping through the pages until she landed on one. "Look, this could be the same thing in your hand right now!"

The page depicted several ethereal beings. One possessed a humanoid form adorned with elaborate robes and jewelry, while others resembled wolves, birds, and various other fantastical creatures.

"A Spirit...?"

"It could be," Charlotte replied, looking at the descriptions. "Well, according to what I know, uncontracted spirits wouldn’t reveal themselves outside the Spirit Realm."

She continued on. "Usually, a summoner would have to enter the Spirit Realm, locate and form a contract with a compatible spirit themselves."

"And if they refuse?"

"Then the summoner returns empty-handed."

His eyes widened, suddenly remembering details from the book that he had overlooked. The protagonist went on a whole quest to search for a summon, only to be rejected outright.

Rian pulled up his status panel, looking at a specific attribute he had in the back of his mind before. But only now did it make sense.

[Spirituality: 15]

’Is this what determines compatibility with spirits?’

Charlotte watched the light curl affectionately around his thumb.

"Whatever it is," she said, "it seems to like you."

Rian opened his mouth, probably to complain about the fact. But before he could, the carriage had slowly rolled to a stop.

But instead of the scenery being within the city walls like he had expected, they were still inside a forest, which Rian vaguely remembered. After emerging from said forest, they would reach Eisenbran.

So why stop now?

The answer came a few seconds later when Alicia’s voice could be heard arguing with someone. She rarely raised her voice, so something had to have happened.

Quickly glancing at Charlotte, they exchanged a nod before Rian quickly opened the carriage door and stepped out.

Alicia had remained at the reins, but her horses were clearly riled up. Just in front of them was a group of people dressed in armor. They all had a familiar insignia on them, that of an iron sword.

’Eisenbran Knights? What are they doing all the way out here?’

Charlotte got into her role of leader and merchant, quickly approaching the knights and giving them a small curtsy.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?"

"A new entrance fee has been imposed on all travelers coming into and out of Eisenbran," one of the knights said.

Charlotte maintained her pleasant expression. "And how much is this levy?"

"One gold piece for each traveler, three for the carriage, and another for every horse and every box of merchandise."

The smile quickly disappeared from Charlotte’s face. Even Rian, who knew relatively little about ordinary expenses, understood how absurd the amount was.

A small merchant could lose most of their profits merely passing through the gates twice. The levy was clearly aimed at merchants.

"That isn’t an entrance fee."

"Call it whatever you like—after you pay up."

"And what if we don’t?"

The knight had a smug expression on his face, resting one hand against his sword in response to what Charlotte said.

"Then turn back the way you came."

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