Since I’m Just the Villain Who’ll be Defeated by the Protagonist Anyway, I’ll Go all out and do whatever I want using Forbidden Arts at Full Power until then! …Wait, what? Because I’m actually a good guy deep down, not only does the heroine like me, but the protagonist’s affection level is also maxed out from the start!? No way—that’s definitely just my imagination. I won’t be fooled! - Chapter 3

I wanted food.
To get food, I needed money.
So, I went outside.

That was all I did, and yet everyone who saw me immediately recoiled in disgust.

“Ugh… That’s one of the Clan of the Dark God Klyphot…”

The Leipnitz family has an obvious trait: blue hair and blue-green eyes. Not something you can easily hide with a bucket hat.

In the original story, Monad’s daily life was filled with ridicule that deeply wounded his heart. So much so that he once declared, “The existing order never protected me just because I was born into House Leipnitz—so I’ll create a new order myself,” and then proceeded to try and destroy the world.

I remember feeling a little sorry for him during my first playthrough.
But if you’re on the receiving end of that destruction, your reaction would probably be, “Well, guess we’re fighting back.” That’s war for you.
The winners become heroes, the losers become villains.

And I’m sure I’ll end up as a villain too.
But before that, I’d like to indulge in a few personal pleasures, if you don’t mind.

Anyway—back to the point.
I want food.

But I have no money. I’ll have to get some from somewhere.

That said, there’s no way I’m dumpster-diving again. The old Monad might’ve done it with grim resolve, but me? I’m a modern-day part-time worker from a cushy world of microwavable convenience store meals. I’ve been spoiled.

Just as I was nearing the brink of starvation, I found myself standing before a particularly large building.

“An Adventurers’ Guild, huh?”

Heavily armed warriors were walking in one after another. Everyone seemed to be here in search of work—monster hunting, escort missions, delivery jobs, the usual.

“A Green Dragon!? In the northern mountains!?”

“No way… that’s gotta be S-Rank. How the hell do we even fight that!?”

A massive urgent subjugation notice was posted on the guild’s outer board. Peering over the crowd, I saw a dragon drawn in green ink.

A Green Dragon, huh…?
That smells like money.

My memory of the world map was starting to come back too. The northern mountains, for instance, were often referred to by players as the “Gold Farming Range.”
Why? Because the item drops from monsters there could be sold at sky-high prices.

The Green Dragon was one of the featured quest bosses. It had an S-rank difficulty and a title: “Dragon of Abundance.”

But among players, it was better known as the “Money-Making Dragon”, thanks to one broken drop item—Soul of the Bountiful Dragon.
It completely shattered the game’s economy.

All right, decision made.
I’ll kill the Green Dragon myself.

If I become filthy rich, I can do whatever I want.

“—This is truly ominous. A member of the Clan of the Dark God Klyphot walking so brazenly through town…”

A voice laced with open hostility stabbed into my ears.
Three adventurers were approaching, led by some guy with neatly trimmed bangs and a haughty expression. His armor was covered in glittering gemstones—definitely a noble.

“Um… who are you, exactly?”

“Ha! You live here and yet don’t recognize my face?”

Hmm… Was he a named NPC? Doesn’t ring a bell.
For now, I’ll just mentally refer to him as Bangs Noble.

“I heard that a member of the Clan of the Dark God Klyphot was lurking around this area. As a noble who governs these lands, I’ve come to exterminate the threat myself.”

“Exterminate? I haven’t done anything though?”

“Look around you. Surely you’ve noticed the many eyes filled with contempt?”

“Yeah, they’re glaring hard. It hurts. You’re a noble, right? Can’t you do something about that?”

“…You’re more flippant than I expected.”

Still, I noticed something strange.
Even this Bangs Noble guy was getting a few resentful looks from the crowd.

If I recall correctly, there was some background lore about this town—a tyrannical noble family that imposed absurd taxes, and whose heir would use commoners for live-blade practice if they dared complain.
Wait… is this guy that noble’s son?

“I’ve heard that your father, Gregor, has been acting suspiciously. And you—surely you’re also dabbling in Dark God Sorcery: Apple! In our house, we follow the motto: Punish the suspicious before they act.”

Wait, hold up—you’re going to execute me without even an investigation?
Sure, I did just unlock Apple through a password and technically committed a forbidden act… but still.

The sword Bangs Noble drew was inlaid with several powerful magic stones.
With the right enchantments, it could easily become a flaming blade capable of incinerating monsters in one hit.

And yet, for someone so alarmed by “the Clan of the Dark God,” he sure was underestimating me.
Then again, it has been over half a century since the last confirmed use of Apple. I guess our infamy became more myth than fact.

“As the ruling noble of this land, I hereby sentence you to death. Accept your fate and be slain!”

Could this be any more absurd?

What am I supposed to do?
In my past life, I never had my basic rights stripped away this fast—it’s honestly throwing me off.

…Wait.
I just realized something.

“Ku ku ku ku…”

That coin pouch on his belt—it’s bulging.
That’s gotta be loaded with meal money…!

“What’s so funny? What are you plotting!?”

I suddenly felt the urge to test out Dark God Sorcery: Apple.

“I’m robbing you.”

A black magic circle expanded beneath my feet.

“Hi-hiiiee!! What is this abominable magic circle!?”

“F-Forbidden magic! It’s complete!? Run for your lives!!”

The surrounding adventurers scattered like frightened insects.
Among all known spells, the black magic circle was grotesquely unique. Their instincts must have screamed that Dark God Sorcery: Apple had been activated—and so they fled in sheer panic.

Strangely enough, the three nobles, including Bangs Noble, didn’t run. Maybe they weren’t entirely useless after all.
In fact, they even had enough nerve to sneer once the circle vanished.

“D-damn it… scared the hell out of me…”

Bangs Noble’s sword began to glow with a deep red light—definitely powered by magic stones.

“I’ll show you what real magic looks like. Take this—Flame Flare!”

Whoa, legit magic. His sword actually caught fire. Impressive.

But… it looked like he hadn’t realized that I had already activated real magic of my own.

That earlier black circle had already spread dark matter across the area.
Dark God Sorcery: Apple had long since taken effect, warping the laws of physics—specifically, gravity.

“Gravity Bind: Black Hoedown.”

“Gh—!?”

A rain of gravity.

Boom. The entire area collapsed inward.

Gravity, multiplied dozens of times, crushed the noble trio to the ground.

“G-g-gahhh—c-crushed—!”

“Help meeeeee—!”

“Aaaaaaaaaugh!!”

Like bugs under an invisible giant’s boot, their heads were slammed into the dirt, their skulls flattening under the pressure.
Right before they were about to be pulped completely, I released the spell.

Left behind was Bangs Noble, now looking like a frog that had been run over.

Not dead, though—just thoroughly flattened.
Guess he’s not entirely soft, considering he survived that.

“Let’s call this a self-defense fee.”

“M-my money…!”

I swiped the overstuffed coin pouch from his belt. It felt satisfyingly heavy.

“Knew you were loaded! Alright, I’m off to grab some lunch. Later~!”

Before facing the Green Dragon, I needed a proper meal.
Leaving the unconscious noble behind, I skipped off toward the street stalls filled with food for adventurers.

“Eek…! It’s the Clan of the Dark God Klyphot—AAAAAHHH!”

“Y-you can have the food! Just don’t curse me, please!!”

…Two vendors in a row bolted the moment they saw me.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

I finally have money, and I still can’t buy anything?
The fear of Klyphot’s curse is no joke.

If the next stall turns me away too, I’ll be too hungry to even fight the dragon.
Stomach grumbling, I followed the smell of sizzling meat to a skewer stand grilling up cube steak.

“Ten diced steak skewers, please!”

“Comin’ right up.”

The vendor, sweat glistening on his forehead, didn’t flinch at the sight of me. He just kept grilling.
Thank god. I can finally eat.

“…Let me thank you properly.”

“For what?”

Rather than fear, he looked at me with genuine relief in his eyes.

“That scumbag noble brat you crushed earlier—he’s killed more than a few of my comrades.
We struggled to pay his absurd taxes, and he still went around using us for sword practice, ‘just for fun.’”

“…That so? I mean, all I did was shake him down.”

“Even so… you gave me some damn good closure.”

He packed the ten skewers into a paper bag and handed it to me.

“Well then, here’s your payment—keep the change.”

I placed a gold coin on the counter—enough to buy a hundred skewers.
I’d always wanted to do that.
In my past life, the closest I got to luxury was gacha-game microtransactions.
Maybe this is my way of compensating for that.

But the vendor’s eyes went wide, and he frowned in alarm.

“W-wait! I can’t accept something this valuable! I mean, this was my treat, seriously!”

“Nah, I just really wanted to say ‘keep the change.’
Also, you’re the first person who didn’t treat me like a cursed freak. Consider it my thanks.”

“Even so…”

“Well, I’ll be filthy rich soon anyway. See ya!”

Before he could argue further, I made my escape.

Skewers bought with extorted money tasted amazing.

As I bit into the juicy, fatty meat, I stepped forward—toward the mountain where the Money-Making Dragon awaited.

The hunt was on.