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 9

A hundred million gold was far too much to convert into coins, so I decided to deposit it in a bank. Just like in the game, Cain operated a banking business, and thanks to cutting-edge magical information-sharing devices, I could withdraw funds from any branch.

That said, while I was still trying to wrap my head around the Magic Food Supply Device that Etica’s brother supposedly created, this banking tech was another thing entirely—it had already crossed into what you’d call digital territory. I get that it made the game systems run smoother, but come on, isn’t this a bit much?

“By the way, what do you plan to do with one hundred million gold?” Cain asked, while I was signing the deposit contract. “I assume it’s not to restore the House of Leipnitz…”

“Well, money comes first, no matter what you’re planning to do, right? I was thinking…”

I almost blurted out “buy some women and have fun”, but saying something like that in front of someone as pure-hearted as Etica was too much, even for me.

“A big mansion. Yeah, I want to build a mansion.”

Sure, I still wanted women. But at the end of the day, food, clothing, and shelter are the basics.

I wanted to get out of that haunted wreck of a house and live somewhere fully furnished with the latest magi-tech.

“…I just want to live quietly in a nice, big place. That’s all.”

“I can arrange architects and builders,” Cain replied. “The problem is your reputation. If the local lord doesn’t want to accept someone from the House of Leipnitz, it’s over before it starts.”

Yeah, that’s a given. Being born into the black-blooded House of Leipnitz means that kind of stigma follows you everywhere.

Maybe I should just head for some undeveloped region where the nobility hasn’t stuck their claws in yet. Somewhere with demon or beastkin settlements. Especially demons—they’ve always had close ties to the black god Klyphot. The chances of them accepting me are decent.

But unfortunately, in terms of living standards, human settlements were far ahead. If I wanted to eat decent food and breathe clean air, then yeah… human towns were the obvious choice.

“Th-Then… how about Antenne?”

Etica spoke up hesitantly.

“I live in Antenne, and I’ll talk to the lord for you!”

“That might not be a bad choice,” Cain added. “There are a few good plots of land available for mansion construction.”

“W-Wait a minute.”

…No, this is not a good idea.

Antenne… That’s the hometown of the protagonist, Spino.

And given the current timeline, Spino is probably still living there. Which means if I move into Antenne, I’ll be living right next to the main character.

That’s basically a death sentence.

Wait—Etica lives in Antenne? Then that means there’s a strong chance she appeared in Cheat Chronicle. But I still can’t remember her…

“Although recently, the One-for-All Church has been making inroads into the region,” Cain said.

“But the climate is stable, the water tastes great, and I really think it’d be a nice place to live! Plus, there are demon and beastkin settlements nearby!”

“To be perfectly frank, most people would not consider that a selling point. And the One-for-All Church is your mortal enemy, Master Monad.”

“Ugh…”

Cain wasn’t wrong. Like it or not, most humans still harbored resentment or fear toward beastkin and demons. Sad, but true. Even in the game, beastkin and demons often appeared as villains. The final boss was a demon, after all.

Ironically, Spino—the protagonist—was one of them. Sure, as the story progressed, he ended up marrying beastkin and demon heroines, but he started off with a mindset of “Beastkin are scary! Demons should die!”

He was the polar opposite of Etica. Someone like him would never volunteer to help starving demon or beastkin children.

And the One-for-All Church? Yeah, they’re enemies to anyone who uses Black God Magic—like Apple. Especially the extremist sects that worship the white god Sephiroth to the point where they’d wipe out entire villages. Those fanatics are beyond reason.

But Cain, that’s not the issue.

The One-for-All Church, beastkin, demons—I don’t care about any of them.

The real issue is that monster named Spino, who’s currently living in Antenne.

But how am I supposed to explain that? “This world is actually based on a game, and in the future, the protagonist Spino will awaken his cheat powers and kill me.” Yeah, not exactly convincing material.

“B-But! The people there are really nice, the food is great, and also—!”

While I was still hesitating, the conversation moved on without me.

Etica kept listing all the wonderful things about Antenne. I’m sure it was partly hometown pride, but… there was something else in her voice. A little too much enthusiasm. It felt like she really wanted me to stay close to her.

Which is probably why I ended up asking this:

“Why do you want me to live in Antenne so badly?”

“Fweh…? Um, well… now that you mention it…”

She couldn’t even articulate her own feelings. She just kept mumbling “uhm” and “well” over and over.

“If this were a story, I’d be cast as the villain. I was actually about to wipe out the entire guild with a meteor earlier.”

“Ah! Exactly! Dropping a meteor on the guild? People would’ve died! You can’t do something like that!”

“Wait, are you scolding me right now?”

“Yup! It’s decided! I’ll stay by your side to keep you from doing reckless things!”

“That’s obviously a reason you just came up with on the spot…”

“Hauu…”

Etica started fidgeting awkwardly. It was like I’d made her nervous.

And somehow… she looked kind of cute.

“I mean, I am from the Klyphot bloodline. Aren’t you afraid of me?”

“…But you’re a good person underneath it all, right? Monad?”

…Such high praise feels a little wasted on me, honestly. In my past life, I was a freeloader who wasted money on mobile game gacha, dropped out of high school, and couldn’t even keep a part-time job. A total loser.

“And besides, Monad, it’s not good to give up on yourself and say you’re a bad person.”

For some reason, she genuinely seemed concerned about me.

Maybe she didn’t need a reason. Maybe she just wanted to live near me.

Ah, screw it. I give up.

“All right, guess I’ll look for a place in Antenne.”

“Really!? Yesss!!”

Etica threw her fist in the air with a radiant smile, overjoyed from the bottom of her heart. Honestly, I couldn’t help but feel a little happy too.

Well, whether I live near the protagonist or far away, I’m going to get killed in a year either way. If that’s the case, I might as well live near a girl who’s nice to me.

“Okay! Then put your hand out!”

Beaming from ear to ear, Etica held out her right hand toward me.

“Since we’re going to be neighbors, let’s make it official—nice to meet you!”

“…Yeah. Nice to meet you.”

I ended up shaking her hand without thinking. Just like I expected, her hand was small and incredibly soft. But the moment we touched, she blushed and froze.

“Etica?”

“Ah, s-sorry!!”

Wait, was she really getting embarrassed just from a handshake!?

Damn it. I really want to corrupt this kind of innocent girl in bed… That dark, twisted desire swelled inside me. But she’s so bright and pure, I started to feel like someone like me shouldn’t even touch her.

“Now then, would you mind finishing the signature?”

“Oh—right, sorry.”

Cain reminded me where we were—still inside the bank, signing the paperwork to deposit a hundred million gold.

And yet, even though I’d just snapped back to reality, watching Etica practically bounce with joy beside me sent my thoughts spiraling again. That this sweet, girly girl was also out there working herself to the bone for underprivileged people across the world…

She really was the opposite of those swine merchants. A truly good person.

“Hey Cain, since this is a bank… you can transfer money to other accounts, right?”

“Of course.”

He handed me a transfer slip. I filled in the amount and pressed my magical bl00d seal on it.

“Send this to Etica’s account.”

“As you wish.”

Twenty million gold.

Etica let out a strange, almost squeaky sound when she saw the amount.

“Eh!? That much!?”

“It’s just twenty percent.”

“But that’s twenty million gold! I can’t accept that much!”

“Too bad. It’s already done. Besides, this is a donation—to your humanitarian aid efforts. So there’s no problem, right?”

This wasn’t for her. It was for me.

To be honest, I’d always wanted to try it. A big donation.

You know those mega-rich influencers or athletes who casually drop huge sums for charity? I always thought that was so cool.

Etica was visibly overwhelmed by the enormous sum, but eventually, her expression hardened with resolve. Her lips pressed into a determined line.

“Understood. I won’t let this twenty million gold go to waste! I’ll use it to save children around the world!!”

Nice. That smile alone is worth twenty million gold.

Rich people must get to see moments like this all the time. Honestly, it’s kind of infuriating.

Afterward, we left the bank. Etica boarded a horse-drawn carriage bound for Antenne. Although… it was pretty shabby. Probably cutting costs to the bone. Hopefully she uses that donation to upgrade it soon.

“You’ll be coming to Antenne soon, right?”

“After Cain arranges the architects and finishes the design plans.”

“Then let’s take a walk around Antenne together next time, okay? Promise!”

She gave me another bright, slightly blushing smile and reached through the window for a high five. Then the carriage departed, rumbling down the road toward Antenne.

Wait… isn’t that basically a date?

Every little gesture, every little smile—this was straight out of a high school romance. Man, I wish I’d had a youth like that… wish I’d dated a girl like her…

…Anyway. Back to the question: just what is House Lindwurm?

I’d been trying to connect the dots this whole time, focusing on Spino, the protagonist. But I just couldn’t piece it together. Maybe someone who’d studied the game’s lore thoroughly could have figured it out, but I never bothered with that stuff.

Now that I think about it, Etica did mention having an older brother.

Meanwhile, the protagonist Spino had a younger sister who died before the story began…

…No way.

No, it couldn’t be.

Spino was an anti-beastkin, anti-demon kind of guy at the start of the game. If his family had been doing humanitarian work—especially supporting beastkin and demon communities—I definitely would’ve heard about it.

So there’s no way Etica’s brother is Spino. No way.

And with that “no way” to end that dumb idea, I decided to go out and enjoy a celebratory morning-after party in the entertainment district—because hey, I was officially a millionaire now.