The villain's ending is only death, Chapter 34
"Because of the promise I couldn't keep today and the rudeness I committed just now, I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"The most important virtue of a merchant guild is trust with customers. If I erase the memory, I would have to erase everything, including the fact that you entrusted this task to our guild, and I don't want to go that far."
I frowned deeply at the scope of the memory to be erased.
I almost had to pretend to attend all kinds of balls and search for Bunter.
"So, what do you want to say to me?"
"Please keep the secret of the space you saw today."
"In return, I will provide you with as much information as you want about the person you're looking for, free of charge."
I was taken aback by the unexpectedly generous condition.
What kind of secret space is it that he has to be so tight-lipped about?
"What are the children inside? Are they descendants of traitors?"
"They are orphans who were rescued after being imprisoned and abused by a half-magic organization."
"Half-magic organization……?"
'Does this game have such a deep setting?'
I tried to recall, but nothing came to mind.
Bunter added with a bitter voice.
"As magic began to be commercialized, those who claimed to be devout believers started to strongly oppress the mages, accusing them of practicing heretical black magic that corrupts the doctrine."
"The current royal family also ties their legitimacy to divine revelation, so the treatment of mages is becoming increasingly harsh."
Bunter paused to catch his breath before continuing.
"Among the heretics, there are some who claim that the true emperor chosen by the gods will only be born once all those who practice heretical magic are eliminated."
"Ridiculous as it sounds, many of the empire's nobles share this view."
"The empire's nobles……? Why are they doing this?"
"Mainly those who run businesses mass-producing magical artifacts. They use mages but believe that erasing their existence will allow them to monopolize all markets involving magic."
When I played the game, I couldn't understand why Bunter hid the fact that he was a mage.
'I thought it was just a character setting……'
I never imagined such a deep backstory was hidden.
The background of the crown prince I had encountered before, which I thought was just a basic setting, had its own legitimate reasons.
I couldn't shake the growing sense of dissonance with the original game I knew.
At that moment, Bunter bowed his head and implored again.
"It's a matter of the children's lives."
Above Bunter's head, concerned about the children, [Affection 6%] began to sparkle.
How I responded here would determine whether his affection would decrease or increase.
Just as I was about to answer that I would be careful, a sudden feeling of unease hit me.
Why does affection matter here?
Everything I experienced today was unexpected, especially the hidden quest.
'Didn't the hidden quest of finding Bunter start from a request that wasn't part of the original game story……?'
Thinking this, I suddenly widened my eyes, realizing a major flaw in my thinking.
All the game settings I knew were based on the normal mode.
'……I don't know the hard mode Bunter.'
In the game, Bunter was set to periodically take in orphans from the back alleys and help the poor, maintaining a kind and benevolent image.
[A kind mage, while wandering the slums to help the poor, discovers a real duchess raised by a poor commoner.
With the mage's help, the kind-hearted heroine returns to the duchy and, following him, sincerely helps unfortunate children and generously donates her possessions.]
As I listed the settings in my head, a sudden doubt arose.
'But why did such a kind and benevolent Bunter bring the heroine to Penelope's coming-of-age ceremony?'
The time when the fake duchess would receive the most attention.
It seemed obvious that it was to make Penelope look bad.
After a long silence, Bunter called out to me, sounding puzzled. An odd feeling enveloped me.
The sudden appearance of the hidden quest and the sharp drop in Bunter's affection.
I, who didn't know the hard mode story, had believed without doubt that I was avoiding death while destroying the original story in my own way.
'……But what if all of this is one of the routes included in the hard mode?'
I clenched my trembling hands and turned on the choice options, which I had long turned off.
I needed to confirm immediately.
A white box appeared in front of me.
〈SYSTEM〉 Do you want to turn on the choice options?
I pressed [Yes]. Immediately, the choice options appeared.
2. Well…… I'm not really interested in that idea. Do you have any rare gems?
3. What if I start spreading rumors about the children? What will you do then?
I sighed. Why do ominous thoughts always come true?
In the normal mode, Penelope had already been set to recklessly spread rumors despite Bunter's warnings, earning the enmity of all the male leads.
With trembling hands, I chose one of the options.
"……What if I start spreading rumors about the children? What will you do then?"
My mouth moved on its own, out of my control for the first time in a long while.
However, as soon as I finished speaking, Bunter's eyes, visible through the holes in his mask, hardened with fear.
The aura he emitted was completely different from before.
"Then your meager status will be in jeopardy, my lady."
He whispered this in a chilling voice, not as a request but as a warning.
After all, he couldn't have failed to recognize who I was after I mentioned the white rabbit.
In the normal mode, Penelope was set to recklessly spread rumors despite Bunter's warnings.
I turned off the choice options and finally spoke of my own will.
The murderous aura emanating from the man disappeared at my firm answer. And.
The affection that had plummeted recovered to a level similar to the beginning.
I felt a deep sense of despair at this relief.
"Is that all? It's very late, so I need to leave."
I was too exhausted from the solo masquerade ball.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have come wearing a suffocating mask.
Bunter stood up as well, looking puzzled.
"About the information on the person you're looking for……"
I quickly raised my hand to cut him off. Having made a quick decision, I coldly remarked.
"Actually, I already know who it is from another source."
He stiffened, clearly taken aback.
However, it wasn't particularly satisfying.
Compared to the other male leads, Bunter was extremely normal, but my plan to use him as insurance had failed.
Everything went awry because the hidden quest forced me to learn his secret.
Moreover, Bunter is about to find the heroine in the normal mode.
The beautiful lady he meets regularly in the slums and the mad dog of the duchy who now holds a bomb in her mouth.
I had overlooked that Bunter's 'kindness' was a double-edged sword.
'I might as well go after the others before I meet the heroine.'
I stopped caring how he saw me and passed [Affection 8%] coldly.
Then I suddenly remembered the items I had brought.
"You said you would provide information in exchange for my silence."
I returned to my original spot and took something out of my robe pocket.
"I don't need the information, but please give these to the person. I came here today to add this to the request."
I placed a white handkerchief and an antique velvet box next to the teacup.
"What should I tell them?"
"Say it's a token of gratitude, they'll understand."
His navy blue pupils widened slightly.