The Villainess That Was Once A VRMMO player

Underground Ruins [Part 1]

“It’s been so long.
You’ve done it, Witch.
Sneakily poaching our wyvern hunt from the side.”

(Editor’s note: Basically, kill-stealing, a gamer term)

I remembered them by looking at the chest of a woman in her mid…to late twenties with her arms crossed to emphasize her well endowed bosoms with a thin smile full of sarcastic remarks, and the (hairy) thighs of a cat girl about twenty years old who was at the same table glaring at me with an upward glance.

They were the delightful companions of the eccentric adventurer, the silver-haired Jimmy, whom I had met at the frontier.

Marie and Helga, I think? It’s been two years, hasn’t it?

“…I thought you fled away from your so-called [your wyvern]?”

“No, we were just trying to move into a better position!”

Helga, the cat-beastman, shouts a retort in response to my quip.

The girls found the wyvern, challenged it to a fight, and fled to the city’s outskirts with the wyvern in tow—basically, a monster train.

The knight squadron of the frontier count suffered damage because of this.
Still, to maintain their reputation, the frontier count pretended that it had never happened and that they were not responsible, but it did not stop the rumors.
They were forced to leave the frontier territory with the cold, unforgiving gazes of the people around them.

The reason as to why I am invited to sit at the same table with these girls, even though it had been two years, is because I had tormented Alice, a young pretzel-selling girl.
She was about to get tangled up with some men, so I used the table as a temporary shelter.

“By the way, where are Jimmy and Kenneth?”

“…Oh, that.”

I asked about the flashy Jimmy in his silver shiny armor and Kenneth in his spiky black armor when I didn’t see those two.
Marie, the sorceress, addressed the pair as ‘that’ with a dumbfounded look on her face while pointing them out in a corner of the Adventurer’s Guild.

The male duo Jimmy and Kenneth started buying pretzels from that Alice, and were struck by her cuteness like a small animal.
They were buying so much as if they were paying tribute to her.

… Seriously?

“That girl…she’s a kid, right?”

“Yes, she is! Don’t you think it’s strange? Sure, she’s cute compared to other kids, but she’s only five years old, right? What are they expecting from that kid?”

Helga chimed in to agree with my words about how they reacted to Alice.

Even if she was a heroine, what was going on with her, deceiving men at the tender age of five? And even Helga, who found it funny, said she was pretty.

Could it be that she has an incredibly high charm value? I believe she was a [beloved child] of the spirit, so the spirit’s blessing may have boosted her stats.

I also possess several times the charm value of an average person, but for some reason, all I get around me are stalkers of the wrong kind?

Could this be the difference between a [beloved child] and a [abominable child]…I don’t get it.

Was it essential to make a good impression in general?

“I don’t care about those guys.
I’ve got something good to say to you girls.”

Marie grinned as she dropped Jimmy and the others off.
Even though she was in her prime, she had already cut the guys off, Marie?

“…If you just ask.”

The Adventurer’s Guild did not provide us with detailed information, but it was mentioned that there were ruins spread out under the royal city and some strong monsters in the area.

The Knights of the Royal City managed the several entrances, but the Commerce Guild bought the troublesome entrances around the edges of the Capital and had adventurers come and go from there.

Ah, I see.
That’s why there were so many well-equipped adventurers of the eccentric type.
I didn’t know that because there was no such thing as an Adventurers’ Guild in the Otome game.

But as I recalled, there was a story about dragon zombies appearing from underground in an event to capture the crown prince, wasn’t there? Could those zombie dragons come from the ruins?

Marie said that from where they entered through the entrance meant for adventurers, Marie and her friends found a door leading to the depths.

“We found some strange footprints there, and Helga thinks it’s probably a Minotaur.”

“Yeah, I’m sure of it.”

“…”

I believe its level was lower than wyverns, but by the time I reached a high enough level to hunt them safely, the foodstuffs were not worth much income, so I hardly ever hunted them.

“It’s a hassle, so I’m leaving this one off.”

“…you.”

Apparently, their behavior was like a suicide attempt, so I basically refused to go along.
Also, being a half-elf, I wasn’t attracted to grilled meat.

But, well, I got some good information.
I was a [witch] with a bad reputation among adventurers, so it was hard for me to get information from my peers.
But that being said, there was no way I would work with walking time-bombs like these girls.

It was alright with me, I had a good relationship with the Commerce Guild, and I was able to get some good information from them.
So, while selling my usual steel swords, I also obtained information about the ruins.

The next day, after a good nap, I set out for the ruins at night.