How to Survive as a Trash Extra Villain

Chapter 181

"If I knew that, would I be standing here like this...?"

"Didn't you say your sister was the Star Maiden?"

"She died. More than 100 years ago."

"Ah…."

"But the Star Maiden definitely exists. I've glimpsed the future."

I interjected between the two of them.

"That's right. Lilac received an offer from Cosmos to become the second Star Maiden."

"Then!"

"I see."

Gilbert cheered. The Star Child stopped him from getting his hopes up.

"But Martin. Lilac must have refused, right?"

"Yes."

"Right. Lilac certainly has the qualities of a Star Maiden. I also thought she would awaken as one. But I was wondering why she only received the right to borrow the power of the constellations instead of becoming a Star Child."

The power of the constellations. It's probably about the new skill 'Constellation Descent'.

"Anyway, we have to find the Star Maiden who is somewhere on the continent. I can't do anything about the Demon Lord's brand either. The future I saw was the Star Maiden erasing Elisha's brand. That was the only thing."

"Understood."

In any case, there's hope. There's plenty of time. The scale has tipped, and there will be no more invasions from hell.

'As the Star Child said, I will prepare slowly and surely.'

And then, let's find the Star Maiden and fix Elisha's arm. That's how I'll repay the debt I owe her.

"Oh, by the way, Martin. That Arnold fellow was looking for you."

"Pardon?" The most update n0vels are published on novel·fiɾe·net

Marquis Arnold? Looking for me?

"Yes. A new corruption of the Deminiyan Ducal Family has been revealed."

The Star Child's gaze is a little sharp.

"...It was the Deminiyan Ducal Family who let Kragach's apostle, disguised as a merchant guild master, into Imperium Land. It's information that Arnold found by personally digging through the entry records. There will be a trial at the Imperial Palace, and it seems Arnold wants to have you and your family stand as witnesses."

"Understood."

Deminiyan. The more I peel back, the more I despise that family. Ah, Mary is an exception.

"In the end, the traitor among the Four Great Ducal Families was Frohadin."

"Tsk, so it seems."

The Star Child frowned. He was angry with himself for not being able to block or prepare in advance, even though he knew that one of the dukes would betray them through a revelation.

To top it off, he had only been struggling against the Demon Lords' attack because of the revelation..., his pride must have been severely wounded.

Nevertheless, the reason the Star Child wasn't discouraged was.

"Still..., time is on our side now."

It was probably because he was dreaming of revenge.

***

[Raincloud Deminiyan. The Fall of Absolute Power.]

It was the headline of the Imperium Magazine, the continent's national newspaper.

Carl Peyton, the leading journalist of the imperial press, wrote a special feature himself, and with his outstanding writing skills and exceptional narrative, it was quickly recorded as one of the best-selling newspapers of the year.

[Frohadin, the former Duke of Deminiyan, was a Platinum Knight-class mage who, based on his outstanding political skills, made Deminiyan run at the forefront of the Four Great Ducal Families… (omitted)... However, immediately after losing the exclusive diplomatic rights to Fog Island to Elidore at this banquet, he threatened the Black Knight to his face and made remarks that insulted the great mother of gold and life… (omitted)... From him, the name of Deminiyan shall be revoked, and he shall serve as a common soldier at the border until he dies for his country….]

The events of the banquet hall were recorded in surprising detail, and the story of the trial that followed was also recorded very well.

[The Demon Lord who appeared in Imperium Land. It was revealed by Marquis Elidore that the Deminiyan family was also the one who provided the cause. In exchange for one top-grade mana stone, a demon worshipper disguised as a merchant guild master from a small western country… (omitted)... This act of the Deminiyan Ducal Family was highly intentional, aiming to damage the Land operated by their competitor, Marquis Elidore… (omitted)... Thus, a trial was held regarding the continuation of the Deminiyan family. Marquis Arnold submitted the Land's entry register and various administrative documents as evidence, and summoned Sir Martin, the Princess' Black Knight and guardian of the World Tree, and the members of the coffee wagon he runs as witnesses. The trial was held over three days, and the detailed process is as follows. …(omitted)... Thus, the result of the trial….]

The result of the trial was surprising enough even for a child from the countryside who knew nothing of the world to see.

[The Deminiyan Ducal Family was demoted to the rank of Marquis, and the Elidore Marquisate inherited the ducal title.]

"This is the full story of the incident that was revealed."

I folded the newspaper twice, placed it on the table, and pushed it to the center with my index and middle fingers.

The gazes of Nerjin, Savo, Bianca, and Lilac turned to the newspaper. They had also attended the trial as witnesses.

"The stories I'm about to tell you are the events that happened after the trial. I will tell you what only I was able to see."

It was going to be a rather long explanation, so I lifted my cup to take a sip of the lemon tea Lilac had brought me.

In the meantime, Nerjin opened his mouth.

"It feels new to have a time like this."

"New?"

Nerjin nodded at my question.

"Yes. I'm not complaining, but we've usually been supporting you, President."

Support.

That's right. Usually, they operated the coffee wagon, gathered information, or upgraded my equipment.

Of course, I had benefited a lot from that. However….

"That's right. But…. from now on, I'm thinking of changing our course of action. A little… more actively."

A change in the course of action to a more active direction. Nerjin was pleased on the one hand, but also had a question.

"Oh, is there a reason?"

"A reason."

I didn't trust Adela and Luri. If I had trusted them and given them their opportunities in advance, the number of people who died during Brahmus' terror attack would have been much smaller. My distrust had, in the end, given more power to the apocalypse.

"Savo's swordsmanship has reached a master level. Lilac has also learned Stellar Force and firearms skills. Didn't you also reach a new level this time, Nerjin? And… Bianca is working hard every day to gather information for me. In fact, we should have been doing this all along."

This time too, I had tried to do everything by myself. If I had just leaked the Star Child's revelation to a few people I could trust, things might have been very different.

Because of my arbitrary decision, I had been caught off guard by something that might have been preventable.

'I know myself well. Just because these things happened, I can't easily trust people.'

So… let's start by trusting my own people. Slowly. It's okay if it takes time. Let's have them share my burden. Let's ask them to think about my worries together.

‘Savo.’

"I want to train in swordsmanship."

Savo, who had been a slave, had now completely opened his heart to us.

He may have picked up the sword, drawn by the talent for it engraved in his genes, but he had reached the master level to protect his family.

‘Bianca.’

"President! Did you know?! Lately in the capital…!"

The frail girl who was originally fated to die was praiseworthy even at her young age. She hadn't neglected any of Nerjin's alchemy tutoring, the coffee wagon, or her academy activities.

In particular, collecting rumors from around and making a book out of them was a great help.

‘Nerjin.’

"If I invest the rest of my short life in you, will that be enough?"

Who would have known that he, who I thought was a minor extra, was actually a piece of the key to ending the apocalypse.

Nerjin had cooperated with me to end the apocalypse…, but now he had gone further and become a family.

He was more passionate about the family business than anyone else and did his best to protect his family.

‘Lilac.’

There were so many things she had said to me that if I tried to recall them all, it wouldn't be enough even if I wrote a whole book.

She had been devoted from the time I was nothing until now, and she had gone further and learned Stellar Force for my sake. And… she had performed a miracle and led me to a new level.

"The reason for changing our policy. It's actually nothing special."

I now knew that it wasn't something to be ashamed of at all.

"It's just my heart."

Still, it's embarrassing to say it out loud.

Everyone smiles at my bland laugh.

"Well then, let's start with a briefing. First… the results of the interrogation of Joverka and Kragach's apostles who infiltrated the Imperial Castle."

"The Imperial Castle was invaded as well?"

"Yes. It seems their original destination was the Imperial Castle. The apostles who made Joverka and Kragach descend headed straight for the Imperial Castle…."

In the Imperial Castle, there were not only the Emperor but also over dozens of kings who had come for the Founding Festival. If they had been attacked…, I didn't even want to imagine it.

"Of course, even if there had been a Demon Lord instead of an apostle, the fall of the Imperial Castle would not have been easy."

Bianca answered with a bright smile.

"That's right! There's a rumor that the Elf Queen protected the Imperial Castle!"

The Elf Queen. That was the reason she couldn't go to the front line and stayed in the Imperial Castle.

But it was a necessary task. Even in chess or shogi, protecting the king is the top priority.

"Thanks to Sir Hectia who fought her way up from the Grand Plaza and the Elf Queen who blocked the front, we were able to capture the two apostles. Thanks to that, we were also able to prevent the damage from spreading further. The Demon Lords couldn't get out of Imperium Land."

It was a pity that Imperium Land was in ruins, but it couldn't be helped. The appearance of a Demon Lord was no different from a natural disaster.

"And…."

I shared what had happened that day. Well, in fact, there wasn't much great information.

"That's all for now."

The important thing is from now on.

"And, I'm going to announce our future course of action."

Nerjin, who is well-versed in the principles of the celestial bodies, Lilac, who has received the power of the constellations, Savo, who has reached the master level of the sword, and Bianca, who has learned alchemy. The power of our café is by no means weak.

"The apocalypse that was falling on this world has been postponed. The world's scale has tipped, and humanity has finally seized the right to attack."

There are many more things we can do.

"Until the day the Star Child sets the date for the invasion of hell, we will work normally at the café during the day, and at night, we will carry out our duties as 'Peacemakers'."

It's not a grand task. The continent is currently in a pit of despair.

We can't explain the law of the scale to all of them and ask them to understand.

So we will step forward. Like a kind of security force.

"For the time being, our main job will be to stabilize the security of the Imperial Capital, the center of the continent, but that's not all."

There is a real task to be done.

"First, the search for the Star Maiden."

It's to erase the brand of Joverka that was seared on Elisha's left arm.

Not only that, she will be a great help in the decisive battle against the Demon Lords.

Now that we know of her existence, we must find her and have her join our forces.

"Second, the recovery of the Nature Five."

The Desert Hierophant is with Adela, the Majesty of the Mountain is with the Star Child, and the Authority of the Jungle is with Bord.

But the Heart of the Sea and the Wrath of the Snow remain. They should be with the Kraken King of the deep sea and the Necromancer of the arctic glacier…, so retrieving them will not be an easy journey.

"Last, the third."

The cherished wish of this world. The journey of the original story ended here. Nerjin had longed for this. The Star Child had also fled from this.

"We will conquer the first Time Chaos Dungeon that was created in the depths of the Cosmos Empire, where the Dimension Research Institute was located."