I’m the Villain? Heck No!

Some time had passed since Raziel entered the hospital, but he still hadn't come back. Clarice was waiting for him with a mix of anxiety and doubt.

She even thought about going in, but refrained herself, fearing he might get angry and change his mind.

While Clarice was contemplating what to do, a familiar figure emerged from the building.After recognizing that it was Raziel, she sprinted in his direction. However, just as she was about to reach him, she tripped on a small hole in the street, causing her to lose her balance.

When she noticed the ground getting closer, Clarice closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain of the impact. But she didn't feel anything.

Actually, Clarice felt a gentle embrace, which likely meant that someone had stopped her from falling to the ground.

When she opened her eyes, a handsome face was looking at her with a slightly concerned expression.

He said, "Hey, are you alright? Don't go running like that. You could hurt yourself.""S-sorry, y-young master," Clarice stammered, her cheeks turning slightly red with embarrassment.

Raziel then helped her to get up, and after ensuring she was not hurt, he said calmly, "I talked with the hospital director, and your mother is going to be transferred to another place."

"Transferred? To where?" Clarice asked, confused upon hearing the news.

"Starting from tomorrow, she's going to be treated at the Haisenvel Imperial Hospital. It seems that's the only place capable of curing her illness, because mana evaporation is very difficult to treat," Raziel said with a hint of concern, but he was confident about being able to save her mother, especially since the principal ingredient was already in his hand.

Clarice had already cried before and decided to suppress her emotions for now, planning to let everything out if her mother was truly saved.

As for Raziel, his mind was now occupied with other thing.

Jasir's belief that the stone held no monetary value led to him losing a very precious artifact. Its true use would later be discovered by mages from the empire around episode five, coinciding with the appearance of a high-density monster Zone known as Rainbow Hell.

That zone will likely reveal the usefulness of the rainbow stone after the Mage Tower Association discovers how to enhance mana using it. This revelation makes each stone worth around two hundred Liridios coins, which is too expensive for common people.

However, the technique of using the rainbow stone for medicinal purposes to treat diseases will only be introduced in episode seven. It seems the current method to treat mana evaporation is quite expensive, with a success rate of around thirty-two percent.

Luckily, Raziel knew how to use the stone because one of the heroines, later known as the current heir of the most famous healer in the empire, discovered a way to convert its dense mana to halt the advance of mana evaporation.

She only discovered that after her father contracted the disease and was on the verge of death, as he did not respond well to the common treatment.

Thanks to Erick, who explored that zone and gave her one stone as a present for her dying father. She then made a collar with the rainbow stone for him, and when he reacted positively to it, she began her research for the cure.

Later in the game, that girl's research made her a very rich and powerful figure in the medicinal market. So this meant he lied about the Haisenvel Imperial Hospital being able to cure her.

Instead, he would secretly visit and administer the correct treatment, leading Clarice to believe her mother's cure was simply luck.

'A perfect plan to ensure I don't attract too much attention and avoid being considered the creator of the cure. After all, if the heroine doesn't discover it herself, I might end up altering the original plot too much.'

Raziel thought that rejecting being a villain would already have a big impact, and helping Clarice's mother would bring about another significant change.

However, he reasoned that there would be no problem as long as he wasn't considered a threat to the protagonist and his harem.

'Good life, here I come. I just need to wait a little longer.'

While contemplating his future life of luxury, he noticed Clarice looking at him with a relieved expression, prompting him to internally curse Erick for having such a beautiful girl at his feet and doing nothing about it.

Or maybe Raziel was just a pervert who never had a girlfriend in his previous life.

"We're heading back home, Clarice so call for a carriage." 

"But don't you want to return on foot, young master?"

"Just if you want to give me a heart attack," Raziel replied with a hint of humor.

"Alright then, I will call for one."

Clarice retrieved an adorned green stone from her pocket and said, "Hello, my name is Clarice, a maid from the Harvestead family

We would like to have a carriage, please."

"Okay, ma'am, what's the address?"

Clarice was speaking to the green stone and a woman voice retored back asking some informations after seeing that Raziel again get impressed by the usefulness of magic.

In this world, the fantasy setting combines medieval themes with crucial modern advancements like sewerage.

Some houses in this world appear somewhat modern yet retain an archaic charm, making him feel at home and simultaneously disconnected due to the absence of pollution and reliable technologies.

Raziel was again lost in intriguing thoughts when Clarice suddenly called out to him, "Young master, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm just thinking that I'll never be able to use a smartphone or access the internet again."

"Smartphone? Internet? Is that some kind of spell?"

"Well... never mind."

He dismissed her curiosity, knowing it would be pointless to explain. Raziel noticed a slight change in Clarice's behavior. Her cold demeanor and expressionless face vanished, replaced by a hint of animation.

He assured himself that Clarice was likely just relieved that he had finally fulfilled the deal, so there was no need for concern.

 

***

 

The next morning arrived, and Raziel was in his room, sleeping like an angel, with a bit of drool coming from his mouth, embracing his comfortable pillow.

But as he dreamed about something, a gentle, girly voice called him, "Young master, it's time to wake up!"

"Zzzzz...."

"Young master, are you going to skip classes again?"

"Let me sleep, Mom.... zzzzz"

Clarice tried to wake Raziel, but he was too comfortable, sleeping like a child, making her sigh.

She had never done this before because he never requested it, and he still hadn't, but she wanted to do it for her own reasons.

"Young master, your breakfast is ready, and if you don't wake up, the food is going to get cold."

After hearing the word "breakfast," Raziel woke up and saw Clarice staring at him with her beautiful purple eyes.

"Oh... good morning..." His voice sounded like he didn't believe this was really happening.

"Good morning, young master. Please get changed and come eat your breakfast."

For some reason, the girl had come to wake him up, and he was certain she had never done that before. Her usually cold demeanor and poker face had truly vanished, contrary to his expectation that she would return to normal today.

Upon seeing that he was truly awake, Clarice left the room so Raziel could change his clothes.

After changing his clothes and finishing breakfast, Raziel decided to walk to the academy since it was just a fifteen-minute distance from his home.

When he arrived, Raziel quickly headed to his classroom, mindful that missing too many classes could anger his father, especially since a lot of money was being paid to keep him there.

Everything was working perfectly up to now, and even the system didn't show up anymore.

But just as a little happiness began to stir inside him, a familiar voice called out irritated, "Raziel, what are you doing sitting there?"

As he looked in the direction of the voice, Raziel saw standing beside him a beautiful silver-haired girl with bright yellow eyes that resembled a refined amber gem.

Her delicate white body was proportionally perfect, not too curvy or skinny, including her medium-sized breasts.

"Didn't I tell you to not get near me again?"

"This is my seat, Sylfi." Raziel replied coldly, not even bothering to stay looking at her, which surprised Sylfi because he had always tried to get on her good side like a maniac.

But she didn't care enough and said, "I still don't want you next to me!"

"Alright then, hey you wanna exchange seats?" Raziel asked a classmate in front of him who seemed intimidated by him, and the classmate nodded nervously.

Seeing the scene before her eyes, Sylfi was astonished by what he did. After exchanging places, Raziel just stayed silently at his desk.

With no reason to continue her scene, she stopped bothering him. However, something seemed very strange, as his attitude made no sense at all.

'This guy is planning something, I can feel it. He probably wants to get revenge for what we did to him that day'

Sylfi was certain about Raziel's intentions, but in reality, he simply wanted to distance himself from her and anyone related to the protagonist.

The teacher then entered the classroom and started his lecture, making her forget about him, at least for now.