Stealing Heroines’ Affections Is My Job as the Villain

The group made their way down the stone steps of the dungeon's second floor, glancing around as they descended.

Luciana held her magic staff up to cast a soft glow that lit the path ahead so everyone could see without worry.

Beside her, Rosemarie used her [Search Magic] to check for any traps that might be hidden on the stairs. For a dungeon like this, the stairs were often the likeliest place to encounter traps… which, unfortunately, was exactly where they were.

"… Um, I'm not sensing any traps. Not even a monster."

Rosemarie finally said as she scanned their surroundings.

They'd been walking for nearly half an hour without facing any challenges, and the lack of obstacles was starting to make them question if this dungeon was worth their time. If anything, most of them would have preferred to be attacked by monsters by now.

After all, in most dungeons, the more dangerous it was, the more valuable the rewards tended to be. But this dungeon didn't seem to have many traps at all, and it felt like there wouldn't be much worth finding at the end of it.

『Then again I don't think the point of this whole dungeon dive was about treasure. Even though this place might be ancient, it's hard to imagine God Dionysus would come down here himself. If he cared about it, he would've just sent his soldiers, right?』

That was all Rosemarie could think of.

She looked at Sadim and asked.

"Can your detection spell pick up anything?"

"Uh, no…"

He placed two fingers on his forehead, closed his eyes, and focused even deeper.

"Yeah, no. Still nothing. Not even a low-rank monster."

"You're sure?" Rosemarie raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I am! Maybe I'm not as strong as Dionysus, who can shatter an ancient magic seal in seconds, but that doesn't make me incompetent. Stop doubting me."

"Wait… huh?"

Rosemarie was shocked at his out-of-pocket reply.

"I-, I never said I was doubting you. I just wanted you to be at least thorough with it, since you're usually ve──!"

"Very what, Marie?! Reckless?!"

Sadim clucked his tongue and walked past her, his fists clenched with each step and each thought. He really didn't want to shout at her, not in the slightest, but it seemed unavoidable considering how he was currently feeling.

Even now that he was angry, he kept an eye on her from the forefront, where Vritra was. As long as she wasn't near that womanizing young lord, he was more than fine with it.

『I just want everything to get back to normal. When I'm done saving Kaalen Tower City and stopping the Black Divine General, I'll find a way to make some money for Marie and me so we can get out of here… maybe live somewhere peaceful and away from all these politics.』

Sadim slouched a bit and sighed.

On the other hand, Rosemarie was heavily confused.

『What in the three realms is wrong with him? I can't exactly yell back because, deep down, I still feel guilty. Sadim genuinely cares about me, but he'll never be able to have a special kind of closeness with me, all thanks to that jerk, Dionysus. I don't hate him, but he has zero respect for women and just does whatever he pleases.

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Honestly, that kind of charm only works on a woman if she's out of her mind.』

For a moment, Rosemarie's eyes awkwardly shifted to the side, glancing at someone.

It was a sad Luciana.

『Okay, maybe it does work on some women. BUT CERTAINLY NOT ALL OF THEM!』

She folded her arms firmly and frowned.

Silently walking ahead, Vritra finally sensed something.

"Hrmm… just a few meters away, I can sense something like a large chamber."

He formed a ball of fire in his hand.

"Give me a moment."

With a gentle motion, he sent the ball flying forward into the darkness. It illuminated the path until it reached an open space and exploded into sparks that lit up the large chamber ahead.

Ghislaine's eyebrows shot up in delight.

"Ooooo, I didn't pick that up."

She rushed forward to join the young master, and when she got there, she blew him a small kiss.

"Nice one, young master ♡!"

"Idiot…"

Vritra's fist descended, giving her a stern knock in the center of her head that nearly knocked her to the ground.

"ACHHK──!!"

She gritted her teeth and rubbed her head.

"That hurt, young master!"

There were tears in her eyes, and she looked like a stubborn, misbehaving dog, holding back her tears and sniffling.

Without wasting another second, Vritra looked forward.

"How does that hurt you, yet you're able to handle my treatment in bed? Don't lie, young woman."

"Ugh… you could at least kiss my forehead. Don't parents do that after disciplining their children?"

"You're too short. Too bad."

"FACK!"

Vritra chuckled at her reaction and continued walking forward.

━ ━ ━ ━

Some seconds later…

They arrived at the large chamber and looked around, but all they could see was space.

There was nothing else.

Rosemarie folded her arms and frowned.

"Well, it's certainly spacious…"

"That can't be all there is, can it?" Esmeralda replied.

Ghislaine snapped her fingers in frustration. "Damn it! It's probably one of those useless dungeons that has nothing inside it but the decayed corpses of foolish adventurers who tried to clear it."

"I… don't think so…" Luciana said uncertainly.

Sophia adjusted her spectacles, keeping her other hand on the hilt of her sword as she continued looking around.

"Err, I think Esmeralda's right. This can't be all of it. It's called an ancient dungeon that holds the corpse of King Midas, a demigod said to possess the power to turn the entire Three Worlds Domain into gold."

She tilted her head.

"It makes no sense for it to be so…"

"Uneventful?" Rosemarie offered.

Sophia nodded. "Mhm, that's the word I was looking for."

While everyone was eager to find an answer to this mystery, Sadim was not as keen. In fact, he was sweating profusely and looking around as if hoping some sort of exit would appear.

Then he walked to the center of the group and cleared his throat to ease some of his nervousness.

"Uh, I'm not so sure about this, guys. I think it would be better for us to leave now. Don't you think, God Dionysus?"

He turned to the young lord.

"I mean, maybe this entire dungeon is some kind of sham… maybe the gods finally grew a sense of humor and made this dungeon, right? I mean, think about it. The myth also says something about King Midas being a greedy man. What if the whole point of this dungeon is to tell us that our greed will get us nowhere?"

There was a sudden lull after this.

Everyone looked at Sadim, except for Vritra, who seemed to be quietly studying the large chamber.

Esmeralda placed a hand on her glasses. "If I'm being honest, that sort of makes sense… I guess?"

The Imperial Knight nodded in agreement.

"I agree as well… it would be in our best interests for Her Highness, Miss Esmeralda, and Sister Rosemarie to return while we, who are more capable of fighting, continue on. As long as their safety is guaranteed, I'm fine with it."

Naturally, Sophia would suggest this.

Her duty was to escort the young lord and his companions for most of their journey, and ensuring their safety was one of those duties. Yes, the young lord was capable of protecting himself, but the same couldn't be said of his women.

Their safety also mattered.

Sadim was originally pleased they were considering leaving the dungeon, but Sophia's suggestion complicated things.

"Yeah, no, no! We shouldn't do that──!!"

Once again, they all looked at Sadim.

He calmed himself before speaking.

"We should all just leave this dun…"

"Why, though?"

The young lord was the one who asked.

With a confident smirk, he gave a small side-eye to a panicked Sadim.

"You're telling us to turn back and leave now? That sounds quite stupid, considering we're already two floors in. You're a Serathen knight; your kind should be much smarter than this, am I correct? Or do you prefer to shame your commander by running with your tail between your legs?"

Another opportunity to provoke the hero.

Sadim gritted his teeth and was about to respond.

But Rosemarie jumped in at the last moment.

"Uh, God Dionysus… I think you should ju…"

"Shut up, Lovely Rose."

Vritra was quick to silence her.

He looked back at Sadim and narrowed his eyes tauntingly.

"I want an answer as to why you'd make up such a dumb theory, Sadim. Imagine trying to say something as stupid as the gods growing a sense of humor by sealing an ancient dungeon with over fifty layers of magic only to have nothing hidden inside. That sounds like a load of bull you're trying to sell, huh? Do you have something to hide? I'd like to know, or rather…"

Vritra held Rosemarie by the waist and pulled her close.

"…we'd like to know."

The conceited smirk he flashed at Sadim left the young hero boiling like an overheated kettle.

"My apologies, God Dionysus…" Sadim mumbled.

Vritra smiled. "I'm sorry, come again… I can't seem to hear you, young man."

"I said… my apologies. That was a stupid thing to say. It won't happen again."

"I hope it doesn't."

Dragging Rosemarie along by her curvy, round waist, he walked forward into the spacious chamber.

"Come on, let's keep going."

Everybody marched on and left Sadim to stand there feeling very stupid.

[You've disgraced the hero in front of so many women!]

[+100 Fate Value!]

[The heroine's affection for you is down by 60 points!]