THE PERFECT VILLAIN: Another chance with a system
Chapter 19: Guess! Guess! Guess!

Chapter 19: Guess! Guess! Guess!

Niel stepped out of the cave and headed for the tree where he’d killed the owner of his face. He placed both Dan and Mira by the tree, then walked over to the body.

He used poison to dry it up until it withered like the demon had, then went back to the cave to retrieve their weapons.

---

Mira woke up first, confused by her surroundings, until her gaze settled on Dan, still unconscious.

"Dan." She stumbled over to him and shook him frantically. Dan slowly opened his eyes, trying to make sense of where he was.

"What happened?" he muttered. Only then did she stop. Memories of the demon flashed through her mind.

"Niel!" She turned around immediately, only to see him approaching from a distance. She got up and ran to him, hugging him.

"You’re okay. For a moment there, I thought you were dead." Then, almost immediately, she pulled back as the thought of surviving the demon crawled into her mind.

"Wait—how, how did we survive that? How did you fight the demon?"

Niel wore a dull smile. "Well, I think this blade did a lot of the work. It surprisingly boosts my magic capacity, and it seems to have some kind of sure-hit effect. One swing and it was over. Even I was surprised."

She looked at him for a moment, confused, then back at the blade. She reached for it, and he handed it over.

"Do you think Aurelian’s blade has that much power?"

Niel walked past her toward Dan. "He was a hero, after all. I’d imagine his weapon carries plenty of great abilities."

Niel stopped in front of Dan. He knew it was a lie, but since no one knew more about the blade than he did, questioning it would be pointless. He handed Dan his blade and stretched his hand toward him with a tired smile.

"Need a hand?"

Dan took his blade and slid it back into its scabbard, then reached for Niel’s hand. Niel pulled him up.

"Let’s head back. I’ve had a long day." Niel turned and headed for the village. Dan followed behind, while Mira trailed close, still examining the blade.

---

Soon they arrived at the village and headed to the small guild to claim their quest reward. Afterward, all three headed to a small restaurant in town.

They sat at a round table, each ordering different dishes, eating and drinking like it was any other casual day out.

Niel tried the human food, but the taste he remembered didn’t match what his tongue felt now.

While the others savored their meals, everything tasted bland to him. He forced himself to swallow each bite, and every one seemed worse than the last.

Claire, why is human food this bland now? Have they lost their flavor, or is this a demon thing?

Claire: It’s a demon thing. A demon’s tongue is ten times less sensitive than a human’s. You’d need ten times the spice to reach your acquired taste.

I see.

He reached for another slice of meat and paused halfway.

I recall you saying you don’t have access to anything I don’t know, and that you learn as I learn. How did you know the difference between a demon’s tongue and a human’s?

Claire: You’ve tasted both. I could tell from your reaction the difference in sensitivity to spice. I drew my conclusion from that.

Oh. It’s a theory.

Niel continued the meal, forcing himself to finish the dishes.

Afterward, they moved on to beer. They’d barely started drinking when Mira slammed her mug on the table.

"Hey, if this sword can kill a demon that easily, maybe we could go for higher-rank quests and earn more."

"Yeah!" Dan added, but Niel stayed quiet, his gaze fixed on the beer, his mind elsewhere. He was trying to work out how to get information about the fallen hero’s statue, and why a disgraced hero even had one — no answer seemed to fit, especially since he had no idea how much the owner of this face had actually known.

"Niel!" Mira’s voice cut through his thoughts. "Are you even listening?"

He looked up, drifting back to reality. "Oh, yeah."

"Yeah what?" Mira frowned.

"Sorry, what did you say? I was out of it for a while." Niel sat up, reaching for his beer.

Mira sighed, reaching for her own. "I said, with this sword we’d be able to take on higher-rank missions and earn more. Isn’t that exciting?"

"Yeah, it is," Niel replied, taking a gulp of his beer.

"And we could climb the ranks too," Dan added. Niel responded with a nod.

Mira studied him for a moment, then asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired. It’s been a long day," Niel replied, reaching for his mug again.

Claire: You know, if you’d taken my advice and killed them, we wouldn’t be listening to their silly questions right now.

You’re certainly right about that, but I still need to know what I’m working with — so soon we can say goodbye to this silly party.

The three sat in silence for a moment, then Mira set her mug down again. "Fine, let’s take the rest of the day off, and we’ll—"

Before she could finish, Mia and Anna rushed into the bar.

"Hey, Niel!" Mia said, running toward him. "We’ve been looking for you everywhere!"

"Me? Why?" Niel questioned.

"Guess! Guess! Guess!" Anna chimed in, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Anna, I can’t guess right now. Just tell me," Niel responded.

"Yeah, just tell us. Don’t make a big deal out of it," Mira interrupted firmly.

The glow in their eyes dimmed into a frown. "You always ruin the fun, Mira."

"Yeah, yeah — just spill. What’s got you two so worked up?" Mira asked again.

Their eyes lit back up as they spoke, almost in unison: "A hero is coming to Velroth!"

"Huh?" Niel blurted out before he could stop himself.

"A hero is coming here?" Dan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Which one?" Mira added.

Mia and Anna glanced at each other, as though deciding who would reveal the big secret. Then Mia nodded and turned toward Mira.

"It’s Lady Amira!"

Niel’s eyes widened as he looked at her.