A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 295

Chapter 295: Cactus (1)

“Advance! By command! For the Honor of the Elite!”

The sounds of bustling military training outside signaled the start of another day as Sophien woke up and stared at the ceiling, blinking her eyes.

Blink, blink— Blink, blink—

With her mind unusually clear, Sophien turned her head like a turtle toward the window where outside the desert sun blazed, searing enough to melt glass and warp steel frames, but inside the main building’s room, the air remained cool and refreshing.

“Keiron,” Sophien called.

— Yes, Your Majesty.

"I feel lighter now."

Maybe it was the comfort of the room, but Sophien’s body felt light and completely free from the exhaustion that had been weighing her down, her condition perfect as if she could go three days without sleep, and she glanced around, wondering if the Professor had come while she was out, but there wasn’t a single trace left behind.

— I’m glad to hear it, Your Majesty. However, the ministers are already on their way.

“The ministers are.”

— Yes, Your Majesty.

Sophien winced as the headache returned.

The ministers, bane of all peace, are on their way? The best thing about the desert was being rid of them, yet why must they follow me even here? Sophien thought.

“... And the Professor?” Sophien asked, her tone as casual as a passing breeze—as if the answer meant little.

— The Chairman is scanning the perimeter for possible threats, Your Majesty, using the mirrors placed within a two-mile radius to establish a secure zone around Your Majesty’s presence.

“A secure zone?”

— Yes, Your Majesty.

Indeed, as long as one understands the characteristics of mirrors, it is possible—at least in theory—to eliminate every blind spot, since sight can refract, reflect, and repeat itself without end.

Sophien pushed herself upright from the bed without a word, and the moment she did, her chest tightened as if her heart had clenched on itself.

"Again, again—this damned..."

Thump—

A pain jabbed into Sophien’s chest as if tiny blades were pressing in, then spread, flooding her head in waves and coming without mercy, though it had no clear source.

“... This damned condition again.”

If my feeling for Deculein is love, then isn’t this pain he brings me also part of that love?

“Haa,” Sophien murmured, pounding at her chest as if to knock loose something stuck inside, then pushed herself upright.

Sophien moved in loops around the room with her hands clasped behind her back, and after a while, she perched on the edge of the bed, thumping her chest as if to shake off the weight pressing down on it, then stood again.

“Haa.”

Sophien once again clasped her hands behind her back and circled the room before returning to perch on the edge of the bed, just like before.

“Haa.”

... Sophien repeated the cycle again and again.

“I feel like an idiot.”

Sophien pulled herself together before the hour passed and, for a change of pace, donned a tailored black suit—the one sent from Yuren.

“Ahem,” Sophien murmured, clearing her throat as she lowered herself into the office chair, her eyes on the waiting government agenda documents and her mind already at work.

"This must be one of the reports submitted earlier this morning."

— Yes, Your Majesty. The Elite Guard is standing by for your judgment on the prisoner's consequence.

At the mention of the prisoner’s consequence, Sophien bit down on her lip as her thoughts flashed back to what Deculein had said.

"I was clear in my judgment—they were all to be put to death," Sophien replied.

— Yes, Your Majesty. However, it seems they’re waiting for the Chairman’s direction before taking action.

Sophien’s eyes narrowed to a blade as a wave of unfamiliar emotion stirred within her, but this time she nodded with unbroken composure.

“Indeed, Deculein, that damned fool, asked me to grant the prisoners an opportunity,” Sophien replied, picking up her pen.

Scribble—

Sophien scrawled her signature across the document.

“If that is what he wants, I shall grant them the opportunity he speaks of.”

The Empress’s letter, no more than a single sentence long, hovered under Telekinesis and disappeared into the air.

“This... shall be the only opportunity they’ll receive—from me,” Sophien muttered.

The opportunity—one nearly impossible that it bordered on a miracle—was as follows.

Within two weeks, present a means by which the finest flower may bloom at the heart of the sand dune.

***

... The Empress’s Elite Guard had raised watchtowers across the desert, linking them with a web of radios and radio transceivers.

They deployed troops along the desert’s perimeter, blocking all routes of entry, and within just three days, they had isolated the entire desert and established a complete surveillance network across it.

“Things are happening way faster than they should be,” Ria muttered.

In the heart of the desert, Ria moved across the sand dunes, her clothes soaked with sweat under the searing sun.

“It must be because of Deculein.”

When the incompetent Bell was appointed supervisor, Ria had rejoiced, but Deculein’s influence hadn’t faded, and he chose instead to tighten his stranglehold on the desert.

Of course, Bell looked none too pleased with how things were progressing.

“How did he come up with the idea to block the underground water source?”

Clomp— Clomp—

It was Deculein’s plan to use the Malia tribe, experts at finding water veins, to block every underground water source, which was why Ria kept pushing forward across sand dunes deep enough to swallow her legs whole.

“Phew... this must be the place.”

After everything, Ria reached her destination.

“Okay, this is the underground outpost,” Ria muttered, holding up the map again for confirmation.

I’ve been to this Scarletborn outpost before, during my adventuring days, and I have a pretty close connection with one of the named characters here, Ria thought.

Ria scanned around and double-checked her surroundings, just in case someone had been following her steps.

“Who is it?”

However, before Ria could be certain she was alone, a chilling voice broke through the silence ahead of her.

Whooooosh—!

"It’s me. You remember me, don’t you?" Ria replied with a bright smile.

Then, through the thinning veil of dust, Ria saw a man—his outline silhouetted against the fading swirl of sand.

“... Wait a second?” the man said, his eyes widened as he looked at Ria, clearly taken aback. “Ria—is that really you?”

"Yes, it's me, Mister Kaixel."

Kaixel, a named character of the Scarletborn, was the nephew of Karixel—now imprisoned in Roharlak—and currently held command of the desert’s frontlines.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Ria added.

Ria had a connection to the Scarletborn, and it was only natural that she sought him out for the main quest.

"... What are you doing all the way out here?”

“Take this,” Ria said, offering the document to Kaixel.

The document was top secret in classification, holding Deculein’s entire plan, including watchtower coordinates, ambush zones, and more, but Kaixel just stood there, blinking as if dazed, unmoving, even with the most sensitive intel gleaming inches from his hand.

“Here—take this. I came to help the Scarletborn and the tribes of the desert.”

The role was that of a double agent—dangerous by any measure—but Ria was willing to take it because the destruction of the Scarletborn and the desert wouldn’t help the main quest—no, it would only sabotage it.

“... I didn’t expect to see you, and certainly wasn’t thinking something like this...” Kaixel replied.

“Would you believe me if I said I approached Deculein for this purpose?” Ria said.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I approached him, but it worked out anyway. They say sometimes the best plan is no plan at all, Ria thought.

“On purpose?” Kaixel repeated.

“Yes. People are being killed—just because they’re Scarletborn, whether they are kids or elders, every last one of them,” Ria replied, her tone brave.

“... But—”

“The Empire is even trying to slaughter the desert tribes now, and that is not right. So here,” Ria interrupted, pushing the confidential document toward him again, “take this.”

“Ah,” Kaixel murmured, holding the document close with stiff hands, but his face was drained of all certainty.

Then Kaixel continued, “But Ria, do you even understand what you’re doing? If you’re caught, it’s not just your execution but the complete wipeout of your family—”

“I don’t even have a family, you know, as long as you keep the secret, Mister Kaixel,” Ria interrupted.

“... Of course, I will protect this with my life. I will believe you, whether the information turns out to be true or not—”

“It really is true, because I stole the information from Deculein.”

Kaixel’s eyes widened in shock, his face trembling with disbelief, while Ria, watching him, offered only a bright smile.

“From Deculein, that professor with ice in his veins? How?”

“I was told I look like Deculein’s former fiancée.”

“... Ah.”

Kaixel flinched ever so slightly.

It looks like something crossed Kaixel’s mind, but he didn’t question it, so I guess the rumor is something everyone already knows. Then again, the Scarletborn probably studied and researched everything about Deculein, Ria thought.

“Meaning that it turned out to be easier than I thought,” Ria said, pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper from her pocket. “Here—take this too. It’s a message paper.”

The message paper was a pair of magic paper sheets—whatever was written on one would appear exactly on the other.

“From now on, whenever I come across more confidential things like this, I’ll bury them underground. I’ll mark the spot on the message paper. Then you, Mister Kaixel, can go and find them later.”

Kaixel remained silent.

“I’m a double agent now,” Ria added.

Kaixel nodded without a word, then accepted the message paper and replied, “Thank you, Ria. You are—”

“You don’t have to thank me since I’m going to count this as another adventurer mission—a double agent mission,” Ria said with a smile. “And, Mister Kaixel, once all the misunderstandings are cleared up and the Scarletborn are finally recognized—”

"I give you my word—on the future of my clan—that your reward will come," Kaixel said.

The moment Kaixel made his vow, a quest notification message appeared before Ria’s eyes.

[Main Quest : Future of the Scarletborn]

◆ Mana Point +500 upon the Scarletborn's independence

“Okay, I’ll trust you!” Ria replied with a bright smile.

— Ria came to you and said that herself?

— How?

— Well, now that I think about it, even back in Rekordak, there was something unusual in the way Deculein looked at Ria.

— That is correct.

— Either way, if she takes on the role of a spy, it would be a great asset for us—especially since she is one of the core members of the Elite Guard.

— To think that professor would leak something confidential, Ria must look like his former fiancée after all.

— I’m ending the call.

Click—

“Hoo—!”

“Oh—!”

Shake, shake. Shake, shake. Shake, shake

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