The Butler of the Villainess Has Returned

Chapter 21

This is ridiculous.

When I said whatever I wanted because he told me to, he exuded so much killing intent that it made me dizzy.

Is there no other way?

After a brief moment of thought, I changed my words.

"Then, may I borrow her for a moment?"

"...Just die."

Crackle!

The ground within a 1-meter radius of where Ananta was sitting split violently.

I hurriedly stepped back and shouted.

"Hey, why?! I even used honorifics!"

"Is honorifics the issue right now?!"

"Then what is the issue?!"

"Why are you suddenly being so informal?"

"You said it wasn't important!"

"What kind of crazy bastard is this?!"

For a while, we went back and forth in a battle of words.

I almost got hit by the occasional flying fists, but I managed to dodge them easily since I hadn't spent the past three years just idling around.

"Have your skills improved in the meantime?"

His voice was much calmer. No, it wasn't calm; it was something different.

"So, this was your intention from the start?"

He wasn't angry in the first place.

Ananta smirked.

"Half and half, you bastard!"

Bang!

As soon as he finished speaking, he slammed both of his hands into the ground. The earth-colored aura seeped into the ground and began to engulf the surroundings.

"Sand Sea."

Rustle!

From the ground he had split earlier in his rage, an enormous amount of sand grains surged up.

Forming curves, they fell to the ground and rushed toward me like waves crashing in.

Running in the same direction as the advancing waves, I glared at Ananta.

"Are you really trying to kill me?!"

"It's a skill test!!"

Damn it.

A skill test, my ass.

That old man, even though he looks sly and stupid, is the king of Geollyang, the largest information organization on the continent.

He was clearly trying to gather information about me to leave in Geollyang's records.

The Captain of Moonlight and Butler Yuri.

Living a double life now, I had to be as cautious as possible.

Dodging his attacks by a narrow margin, I shouted at the excited Ananta.

"I'm seriously going to die at this rate!"

"Stop whining! I'll only beat you as much as your sin of coveting my daughter deserves!"

Boom!

The Beggar King's foot struck the ground at the origin point.

"Sand Spear."

The end of the sand wave, which had been flowing like a stream, split into dozens of sharp branches.

Hundreds of sharp sand spears chased after me, aiming for my body.

I drew my sword to counter them, but it was useless.

The long spears made of sand regenerated and charged at me again no matter how many times I cut them.

I shouted in frustration.

"How much longer are you going to beat me?!"

Grin.

Ananta raised one finger.

"Just one hit."

The moment that finger bent.

Boom!

A sound that shouldn't have come from sand erupted as the sand wave compressed.

As it compressed, heat was generated, causing its previously yellowish color to turn a fiery red.

The moment I saw it, I knew instinctively.

In my previous life, the Jormungandr awakened by the Demon God Cult had been pierced and killed by that burning Sand Spear.

Ananta, his face redder than the Sand Spear, shouted at the top of his lungs.

"As long as there's dirt in my eyes, know that you'll never even exchange a word with my daughter!!"

Just as the massive Sand Spear, now spinning, was about to be launched at Ananta's command.

"Hup."

"What the?!"

Splat.

Someone who had approached unnoticed threw sand into Ananta's eyes.

"Aurora?! What are you doing―?!"

"Hiiya."

Splat!

Oof....

And not just a handful, but a whole bucketful.

The woman who threw sand at the face of one of the world's four strongest smiled brightly.

"Oh my, dirt got in your eyes?"

"Gaaahhh!!"

"Can I talk to her now?"

"My eyes, my eyes!!"

Ananta rolled on the ground in agony.

It was a moment when I seriously debated whether I should feel sorry for him or not.

"A humble girl greets her benefactor."

The girl with light pink hair and eyes gently bowed her waist in greeting.

There was no need for further explanation.

"I'm Aurora."

She was clearly the Beggar King's treasure.

Her father might be the Beggar King, but she looked like a princess straight out of a fairy tale who had just woken up.

If she were sleeping in a sunny, deep forest, it felt like animals would come to cradle her.

'This isn't the time to be thinking about that.'

I sheathed my sword and bowed.

"I am Yuri."

"Wow...."

She, who had somehow gotten close to me, clasped my hand gently with sparkling eyes.

"Father spoke a lot about you. You're just as handsome as he said...."

"That old man said that?"

"Yes!"

Swaying as she moved away, Aurora closed her eyes as if reminiscing.

"He said you look like a thug with a rough impression, have a terrible personality, and seem like someone with no friends, but you're a very, very kind person."

"Except for the kind part, that's all insults, isn't it?"

"He must have had his reasons."

They say crabs side with their own kind.

Her overly bright demeanor made me smile without realizing it.

Well, when I met the Beggar King, it was right after my regression, so I was even more irritable and sharp.

So, I decided to understand.

After all, I saved Aurora, and now, I am a person no different from an angel, right?

I bent my knees to meet her gaze.

"So?"

I tucked Aurora's fluttering hair behind her ear and asked.

"What do you think now?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do you think after seeing me in person?"

"Well, it's very...."

Squeeze.

Aurora's small lips closed.

"Very......."

She seemed to be searching for a word suitable to express her thoughts, but it didn't seem to come out easily.

Hoo.

Haa.

After finishing her deep breath, Aurora opened her mouth as if she had made a big decision.

"V-Very much, my heart is moved...."

She trailed off at the end of her sentence and avoided my gaze.

She even pulled back the hair I had tidied up and used it to cover her face again.

Cute.

Just as one finds small animals cute by simply looking at them, Aurora was no different.

"O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-Aurora!!"

Ananta, who belatedly opened his eyes, rushed toward Aurora in a fluster.

"Don't get close! Didn't I tell you he's a filthy guy!"

"What are you saying to our benefactor?"

Hugging the seemingly angry Aurora preciously in his arms, he whispered as if tattling.

"That so-called benefactor asked to take you, Aurora!!"

Seriously, this gentleman is so annoying.

The Beggar King Ananta was not lacking even compared to the kings of other nations, yet the doting father Ananta was like the epitome of a foolish man.

Aurora's lips quivered slightly.

"...Is that true?"

"Yes! You don't like it, do you? It's annoying, right? It makes you angry, doesn't it? Don't worry. This father of yours will take care of everything!"

"But, Father."

Her light pink eyes shone straight and firm.

"Didn't you teach me that we must give anything the benefactor desires?"

"Well, that's true, but―!"

"Then we must give it to him."

""O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O―!"

Ananta grabbed the back of his neck.

Aurora slightly passed by him. She approached me, looked up at me, and smiled.

"P-Please, as the benefactor wishes...."

Aurora....

How could such an angelic daughter be born from that mass of muscles....

Anyway, the person in question has given her permission.

Tep.

I grabbed Aurora's arm and pulled her into my embrace as if dancing.

"Then, excuse me for a moment."

"Eh?"

After bringing our faces close, I smiled and made a request.

"A light kiss will suffice."

"That son of a...!"

Growl.

A mass of beggars collapsed behind us, but that wasn't important right now.

"May I ask for it?"

"H-Huh?"

"I just want to borrow some strength."

To be precise, it was closer to stealing.

She hesitated and fumbled in embarrassment.

"C-Can I be of help?"

"Of course."

Aurora.

You are probably a Saintess.

2.

Ever since I met the Beggar King, I kept thinking.

Why did the Demon God's Cultists in my previous life target and kill Aurora instead of Ananta?

No matter how much I thought about it, it was a foolish act.

The Beggar King, who lost his daughter to the Demon God Cult, went mad with rage. Using Geollyang's vast information network, he repeatedly tracked down and annihilated the cultists.

At that time, nearly one-third of the Demon God Cult's military force was annihilated by Geollyang and Ananta.

Although they quickly recovered their losses due to their cockroach-like reproduction rate, it was still an undeniable major blow.

Even one of the Four Great Demonic Beasts, Jormungandr, which was sealed, was also killed by the Beggar King.

Although it was mutual destruction, it was an achievement that was hard to believe was accomplished by a single human.

And all of this damage started with Aurora's death.

Why on earth?

The Demon God Cult is not a foolish group.

Among the Seven High Priests directly under the Leader, there were those with outstanding strategies.

Why did they have to kill the Beggar King's daughter, even at the cost of enduring his wrath?

Ironically, the answer was thanks to Young Lady Frey.

-You must grow stronger.

-It's a hassle.

-What will you do if even a Demon God appears?

It was when I was giving various advice to the Young Lady, who had little interest in growing stronger.

-The Hero and the Saintess will take care of it.

-Hmph, only the Hero will appear anyway, right?

-What are you saying? I bet my father that it will never happen.

-Yay, I've got a rich dad now.

After saying it, it felt strange.

-But why was it like that in my previous life...?

A Hero and a Saintess had never appeared separately before.

But in my previous life, they did.

The Hero appeared, but the Saintess never showed up until the end.

The Hero died in vain, and the Fake Saintess who protected him also crumbled like a dry leaf.

-Did they kill her in advance?

-What?

-The Saintess. I'm wondering if they found her before her Awakening and killed her in advance.

-Only the Archbishop would know that, right? That man kills you the moment you doubt him.

-...That's true.

-She must be hiding out of fear. Becoming a Saintess doesn't suddenly give you courage.

-Then it would transfer to someone else.

-I guess they're all hiding in a row.

But what if they weren't hiding?

If information leaked through the Archbishop, and the Demon God Cult moved to eliminate the Saintess?

If the eliminated Saintess was the Beggar King's daughter?

The moment my thoughts extended that far, everything started to make sense.

The Hero and the Saintess.

A warning from the Goddess about the Invasion of the Demonic Tribe, and the hope that shines amidst the Great Calamity.

However, in my previous life, there was only the Hero.

After the Massive Invasion of the Demonic Tribe, the Archbishop disappeared, and even his location was unknown.

Because of that, the Hero was incomplete and died in vain at the beginning of the Great War.

If the Hero and the Saintess had been together, they wouldn't have been driven to such a state.

This was because their combination displayed power close to invincibility, at least against the Demonic Tribe.

What if Aurora was the Saintess?

Even if it meant fully revealing myself or turning the Beggar King into an enemy, I would have had to kill her.

It would have been easier to face the Beggar King as an enemy rather than dealing with a complete Hero and Saintess.

That's why, postponing even the celebration party for passing, I came straight to this place.

While I did come to devour the Beggar King, that wasn't the main reason.

'To obtain the Power of the Saintess.'

This power, also called Divine Power, was a force that allowed one to gain an overwhelming advantage against the Demonic Tribe.

Now that the opportunity to obtain it had come, it was only right to seize it by any means.

Above all, if I could acquire that power today, I could leave immediately to rescue Kali.

However, activating Devouring Greed was insufficient.

Devouring Greed was something that could only absorb what was seen and felt. It was still uncertain if she was truly the Saintess, and even if she was, she had not awakened yet.

For accurate judgment and the use of Devouring Greed, physical contact was essential.

That's why I made the request.

"A light kiss will suffice."

Even if she hadn't awakened as a Saintess, her lips, which bestowed the greatest blessing, would still be imbued with Divine Power.

Ultimately, if my deduction was correct, this was an opportunity to rescue Kali more quickly.

I asked once again.

"May I ask for your help?"

"I-if it's a request from my benefactor...."

Aurora closed her eyes and offered her lips.

"Then...!"

She slowly approached me.

Peck.

Soft lips touched mine.