The Genius Villain Dies Tomorrow

Marie stood at the center of the room.

Even in complete darkness, her piercing golden eyes seemed to shine through. And those very same eyes were definitely judging Rian, trying to figure out where the hell he was going.

"Just going to the bathroom, that’s all."

She looked down at the sling bag by his side, then tilted her head. "You’re bringing your bag with you to do the deed?"

"You never know," Rian shrugged. "What if I get attacked?"

Apparently, the third time was not as effective as the other two. Marie didn’t buy a single thing Rian said. She walked past him and planted herself directly in front of the tent flap, blocking his only way out.

"Fool me once, shame on you."

"..."

"Fool me twice, shame on me."

"But fool me a third time?" Marie shook her head. "That’s not going to happen."

"Tch..." Rian clicked his tongue.

He definitely wouldn’t be able to get past her without offering her some kind of explanation. Obviously, Rian couldn’t tell her that he was going to spy on potential traitors, especially if she was supposed to be the main suspect.

So instead, Rian offered her a more convincing version of the truth. "I’m going to spy on the other groups."

"Why would you do that?" Marie turned her head in confusion.

He simply sighed, placing two fingers to his temples. "This is why I don’t like people from the boonies. They’re all straight-laced and naive."

"Look," Rian continued, pulling out the small map and giving it to her. "Think about what happens tomorrow. What if another group reaches the best hunting grounds before us? What if they already know where certain monsters gather? Do you seriously think they’ll share that information out of kindness?"

"What are you saying?"

"I’m saying that if we don’t gather information tonight, we’ll already be behind the other groups tomorrow." Rian tapped the different routes marked on the map. "If we discover where everyone plans to hunt, we can choose our own route accordingly."

Marie stared down at the map. "That sounds underhanded."

"Do you even want to be admitted?"

Rian’s question seemed to have struck a nerve. Marie went silent for a second before eventually snapping her head back up.

"Fine. Then I’m coming with you."

"No, I work better alone."

"It’ll be easier if I come."

"And why exactly would you make things easier?"

Marie raised one finger to her ear. "My hearing is much better than most people’s. I can listen to conversations from far away, so we won’t have to get too close to the other tents."

Rian opened his mouth to reject her again, only for Marie to suddenly gesture toward the wall on their left.

"The tent to our left is planning to enter the western burial grounds tomorrow. One of them thinks there’s a Bone Hound nest near an abandoned chapel."

Even through the quiet of night, all he could hear was Julius snoring above him and Eliza occasionally shifting beneath her sheets.

"They’re arguing now. Someone wants to hunt Grave Crawlers instead because their cores are easier to retrieve."

’She can hear all that from here?’

Of course, Rian could accomplish something similar with Sylpheed’s power. By controlling the surrounding wind, he could carry distant voices directly toward himself.

But using that ability would cost lifespan, the thing he didn’t have too much of.

More importantly, revealing it would raise several uncomfortable questions about the very thing Marie had noticed inside his right eye.

"Your hearing is irrelevant," Rian said stubbornly. "Stay here."

Marie crossed her arms. "Then I’ll wake Julius and Eliza and ask what they think about you wandering around the camp by yourself."

"You wouldn’t."

She immediately turned toward the bunk beds, causing Rian to flinch.

"Ugh...wait."

Rian stared at her back for several seconds before releasing a long, defeated sigh.

Saying no clearly wasn’t an option. If he left her behind, she would either wake the others or follow him anyway. At least bringing her along meant he could keep her where he could see her.

"Put on your cloak," he muttered. "And don’t make any noise."

Marie smiled victoriously. "I thought you worked better alone?"

"I’m already regretting this."

A few minutes later, the two of them quietly slipped through the tent flap. Rian had entered the night intending to investigate the person responsible for destroying Base Camp D.

Somehow, he had ended up dragging the main suspect along with him.

〈Alter Shade — Gardine〉

Rian draped the curtain of darkness over them, blending them into the shadows and allowing them to sneak through the night.

"You have a Dark Affinity?" she whispered under the veil.

"Something like that," Rian raised a finger to his lips, shushing her. "Stay close."

The first thing Rian wanted to check was obviously the equipment itself. He needed to learn how it all worked, and only then would he be able to figure out how someone could tamper with it.

More importantly, he needed to inspect them without being caught.

If someone discovered Rian and Marie examining the camp’s defenses in the middle of the night, they would look considerably more suspicious than whichever traitor they were trying to find.

Luckily, Marie seemed to understand that much. She followed without making a sound, placing each foot carefully where Rian stepped.

The transportation mirror stood at the opposite end of the camp. Its once-rippling surface had now become a dull black.

However, as Rian approached, he noticed something inconvenient. Orion’s tent had been placed directly beside it.

’You have to be kidding me.’

Out of all four groups, Orion’s had somehow been assigned the tent closest to the mirror. Rian stared at the number stitched onto its entrance.

’This can’t be another coincidence.’

It almost felt as though the original story was desperately trying to place Orion where he belonged, regardless of how many things Rian changed.

Though that didn’t change what he came here to do.

Both of them stopped near the mirror, with Marie crouching down low and closing her eyes to focus on what Orion’s group was discussing.

Rian, on the other hand, had crouched beside the stone platform supporting the mirror. But just as he was about to place his hand on the frame to examine it, Marie suddenly pulled him close.

"What are you...?"

"Don’t move," she whispered.

Footsteps approached, and before long, Instructor Klein stopped just before them. His hand moved toward the sword at his waist.

"Who’s there?"

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