THE PERFECT VILLAIN: Another chance with a system
Chapter 34: Hero’s Party Of Four

Chapter 34: Hero’s Party Of Four

Vael frowned for only a moment.

This was the one person he had hoped to avoid. But at this point, he had no real choice but to join. The other options were far worse—forcing his way into someone’s home, or sleeping on the street. And sleeping on the street was not an option. Killing someone in a kingdom this large meant he would have to play his role perfectly.

He sighed and looked at the lady.

"I accept."

Then, after a brief pause, a question he had somehow forgotten to ask surfaced in his mind.

"Wait. How much is the pay, and what level is the mission?"

Ciara stared at him for a moment.

Specifics were not commonly asked, especially when it came to working with the hero. These jobs were usually high-paying, and more often than not, the hero did most of the work. Still, it wasn’t illegal to ask, so she answered.

"It’s five gold coins for you if you join."

"Isn’t that too much for a B-rank mission? What are they fighting—a high-level demon?" Vael blurted out.

"Absolutely," Ciara replied at once. "It’s an S-rank demon. I heard it’s a demon heir."

Demon heir?

Vael felt a flicker of excitement.

That meant access to a unique skill, and possibly another demon heir from another clan. The world was about to get much larger.

He looked back at Ciara and gave her a knowing smile.

"Anyway, how long do I have to wait before the hero comes?"

"Only a few moments. He’s with the guild master now. He should be here soon. You can join the others over there." Ciara pointed toward one end of the guild hall.

Two women sat close together there—one blonde with twin side ponytails, the other with chestnut hair.

Vael looked at them for a moment, then back at Ciara.

"Don’t worry. I’ll wait here."

He paused, thinking about how to pass the time.

Then he remembered how much time had passed since he had been killed. If he was going to live as a human, he needed to understand the current state of society properly.

He looked at Ciara again.

"If you don’t mind, do you have a book on the current world map and order? I’d like to keep myself busy for a while."

"Sure." She turned around, took a book from the shelf behind her, and handed it over.

Vael took a seat near an adventurer, though still slightly apart from the main table, and opened the book.

He skimmed through it carefully, noting only the important information.

After a quick review, he realized that not much had changed.

There were still nine great kingdoms in the world. Warstone was still the second-greatest human kingdom. The Church still held enormous political power, which did not surprise him. They were one of the main forces feeding the hatred between humans and demons. If not for the Church, perhaps the humans and demons might have reached some form of truce, and both worlds might have remained sealed from each other.

They were two opposing forces.

And just like the demons, the Church was terrible.

The only new thing he read about was the arrival of the S-rank league. He had not heard of it in his previous life, and according to the record, they had only risen to power three months ago, staying just beneath the heroes.

He closed the book and walked back to return it to Ciara.

That was when Cael stepped out of the guild office.

His presence immediately quieted the entire hall for a moment as everyone turned to look.

Cael had always stood out wherever he went. His striking appearance—long, straight black hair and dark eyes—made him look more like a villain than a hero, and it terrified anyone who did not know him. But to those closer to him, he had always seemed like a gentle and benevolent hero.

At least, that was what Vael had believed in his previous life—until the betrayal.

Cael looked toward Ciara.

"Where are they?"

Before Ciara could answer, both girls ran toward him.

"Good day, Sir Cael. We are the assistants," one of them said.

"And the last?" he asked.

"That would be me."

Vael stepped forward and walked toward them.

The two girls looked at him briefly, then back at the hero in front of them.

"My name is—"

Before either of them could finish introducing herself, Cael cut her off.

"Name is irrelevant now. What are your ranks?"

The girls looked stunned at the bluntness of the question, but one of them answered anyway.

"We are A-ranks, sir."

Without another word, Cael looked at Vael.

Vael instinctively replied, "Oh, I’m B-rank, sir."

Cael looked away and headed for the door, muttering, "Then stick close to the girls. I just confirmed that they’re two demon heirs."

The two girls followed behind him, and Vael trailed after them while giving Ciara a wave before leaving the building.

As they headed toward the carriage, Vael heard the blonde girl whisper to the other one, "Let’s do our best and take out those demon heirs. If he sees how competent we are, he’ll make us permanent allies."

The other girl nodded.

"Yeah. Let’s give it our all."

Typical.

Vael thought quietly to himself. If he were still a hero, he would have warned them about underestimating their opponents. But at that moment, he was nothing more than an escort.

In fact, part of him was looking forward to seeing their faces when they realized what they were up against.

The lowest demon heir was already S-rank.

They soon got into the whirlicote and set out for an abandoned area in Warstone.

The journey was long and silent, and Vael mostly stared out the window the entire way.

Eventually, they arrived at a large pyramid-like structure. It looked like an opened maze stacked atop itself, with a few blocks fallen from the upper sections.

They climbed down from the whirlicote and entered the pyramid without exchanging a single word with the hero.

Frankly speaking, Cael was not the kind of man who gave speeches for any reason at all.

Once inside, they immediately reached a split in the path—one left, one right.

Without hesitation, Cael pointed left.

"All three of you will cover that side." He handed the blonde girl a small bell. "If it gets too dangerous, ring it."

Then he turned to Vael.

"Make sure you stay behind them and assist when necessary."

Vael nodded.

Cael turned to the right and moved down the other path.

The two girls wasted no time and headed left as well.

Vael followed behind them like a watchdog.

He still did not know anything about them—what they could do, how they supported each other, what kind of strength they had—but he was not a hero anymore. And if things turned dangerous, he still had one teleportation skill available.

There was no reason to stress himself over three unnamed adventurers.

They walked for a long while before reaching a place where the cave line narrowed, almost like a doorway carved into the stone.

Vael immediately sensed that something was wrong.

But the girls did not slow down. They kept walking into the narrow passage, and Vael did not stop them. He simply followed behind.

They had barely gone any distance inside when an explosion struck the mouth of the passage, sealing the exit behind them.

A moment later, a firestick flared to life several feet away on the wall, revealing two figures.

They stepped into the light with grins on their faces.

Vael recognized them at once.

Lambadack and Dreece.