My Evil System

After spending hours in the mountains, mining boulders and stones, I decided to head back to my hut.

By the way, System, why do some foraging spots reset while others don't?

<It depends on the weight of the natural resources you're trying to forage, Host. It will simply reset the next day if it's just simple materials like grass, stones, and pebbles. However, if you cut trees and mine boulders, those things are either gone forever or reset in a long period of time.>

<A safe way to estimate would be . . . If you have to use tools to forage them, then they would be either gone forever or take a lot of time to respawn.>

I see . . . so that meant that the resources in my territory would also gradually deplete over time.

<That's the beauty of it! And since your tokens can't leave your territory to forage on another property, you don't have a choice but to invade other territories to expand your own and take over their resources!>

. . . Lucky me. I sighed.

I don't need to expand, though. I said to myself. I think I could get by as long as I have a house, a small farm, and livestock.

<Naïve Host. You surely don't know how the world works.>

Let me live my days in peace.

"What are you thinking, my lord?" A voice called out to me.

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When I turned to look, I found that Florin had come over to me. She donned a green robe and an apron around her waist as usual. Despite the scattered smudges of dirt and mud on her face, she still managed to look like a doll. Her hair was tied into pigtails, and her eyes sparkled like jewels.

"Oh, nothing," I said and almost choked. I cleared my throat, hoping she didn't notice the change in my demeanor. Who knew what would happen if she knew that I was back to being a good guy?

<Naïve, you mean.>

Florin looked me in the eyes without blinking. I couldn't breathe under her intense stare, and I didn't know where to put my eyes and hands either.

After one whole agonizing minute, she beamed and put her hands behind her back. "Is that so? You took so long to return that I got worried. So I came to fetch you. It's getting dark too."

I looked away and scratched my cheek. "Ah . . . right. I got distracted with mining, so I didn't realize what was going on."

Florin giggled, and she hopped to my location, the lamp she carried dangling in her arm. "Let's go. I cooked dinner for us," she said and intertwined our hands.

I was uncomfortable with how close she was, but I couldn't just push her aside or pull my hand for fear of making things awkward between us. Why did I even bother? It was already awkward.

"What did you cook for dinner?" I asked instead, wanting to shift our attention to the topic and not to our intertwined fingers.

Florin peeked at me under her lashes and naughtily smiled. "Ara? My lord is interested in my cooking? I thought for sure that you would brush me off and ask if I didn't put any poison in your food."

. . . Must not let her sense my fear. "I . . . I'm just tired, and I know that you didn't put any . . . right?"

Florin laughed. "Of course not. I wouldn't even dream of poisoning my lord . . ." She grinned, mischief evident all over her face before she coquettishly added, "But . . . I might have put 'something else' in there."

". . ." My heart skipped a beat as my mind went wild from my imagination. I shook my head and forced myself back to reality.

She was only sixteen!

But she was still dangerous . . . I thought.

I knew that I mustn't tell her about my other self — anyone shouldn't, for that matter. I feared that they would exploit me if I did.

<You mean exploit you — not your other self.>

Quiet you!

<But the System is glad that Host is finally learning! That's right, you can never trust anyone but yourself! Companions only breed comfort and weakness. Oh! The lonely path you must walk in order to become the Evil Overlord, the greatest villain there is!>

System . . .

<Yes, Host?>

Do you have an item in the Evil System Shop that would shut you up?

<NEGATIVE!>

Eventually, Florin and I made it back to our hut safe and sound. I immediately saw Athena looking at my and Florin's intertwined hands. And for a moment, I saw her look at me in disgust before her expression returned to her usual poker face.

Great. I really made a great first impression in our first meeting, didn't I?

I hope she wasn't thinking what I thought she might be thinking.

<What are you thinking?>

I quickly pulled my hand from Florin's hold, and luckily, the girl didn't mind. She hopped towards a bonfire near the huts.

"My lord!" she waved at me. "Come on, and let's eat! I roasted a bunny I caught a while ago!" She then pointed on the skewers. "There are some lizards here as well."

". . ." My stomach growled from hunger, even if my mind wanted to turn around. It seemed like in the face of hunger, you could eat anything, even if it were some strange beasts covered in charcoal.

I looked over at Athena and offered the skewered beast roasted on the fire. It tasted bland, and the meat was hard when chewed, but it was better than nothing. I wasn't disappointed since I wasn't expecting Florin to be at the level of a master chef.

I was grateful that she cooked for me.

"No, thank you," Athena said firmly.

Florin laughed. "My Lord, tokens don't eat. Remember?"

"It's just common courtesy to give others food while you're eating."

Florin blinked before she smiled mischievously again. "Ara . . . when did my lord become so considerate?"

". . ." I felt the two women's pressuring gaze on me, and I hoped they didn't find my head lowering out of character.

"Athena is one of us. Of course, I'll be considerate with one of our own."

"Hm . . . Is that so?" Florin beamed and didn't ask any more questions, which I secretly thanked her for.

Hiding this other identity was a pain in the ass — that was for sure.