The Hero's System: Return of an Extra Villain - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Chapter 8 – I Successfully Completed My First Mission
Even though Madam Fleur was looking at him with narrowed eyes and a frown, Lev maintained a straight face.

“What are you looking at? Please continue with what you were about to say.”

“It seems you’re quite good at appraising valuable items.”

When Madam Fleur glanced at his magic pouch with a look of disgust, Lev finally understood what was happening.

‘There’s no way I’d let a precious magic item like this slip away.’

Lev considered the Memory Orb as loot from the mission given by the Hero’s System. Besides, he had already thought about how he would use the Memory Orb, so he shamelessly took it with a straight face.

“You should be grateful that I took it peacefully.”

“Yes. I know you must hate me.”

“Now that I think about it, why did you tell me that you were involved in the plan to trap me? Were you afraid I’d kill you too?”

“The first reason is that I didn’t want you to take your anger out on the women in my brothel. The second reason…”

Madam Fleur paused and took out an envelope. She handed it to Lev and continued, “If you want to vent your anger, you can kill me now. After all, with the failure of the plan to trap you, I’ll likely end up losing my life anyway.”

When Lev received the envelope from Madam Fleur, his head felt as if it had been struck by lightning. His hair stood on end, and his eyes widened momentarily. What he held in his hands was something he had never expected.

He didn’t pay attention to Madam Fleur’s desperate words. Instead, he focused on the symbol on the envelope. His eyes were fixed on the symbol of a split moon stamped on the envelope. It wasn’t drawn with ink but was an actual seal, making the split moon look incredibly realistic.

The split moon symbol and the Letharis Pill… Lev finally pieced everything together. ‘So, you’ve been planning to ruin my life from the very beginning, huh?’

A mysterious smile appeared on Lev’s face.

“It seems the person who ordered you to trap me wasn’t my little brother.”

“…You already know?”

The contents of the envelope weren’t detailed. The paper inside only contained instructions for Madam Fleur to assist Boris.

“But how did you coordinate so perfectly with Boris’s plan?”

“At first, I only received orders through this envelope. I was quite confused about what to do since there were no specific instructions, but a few days later, your brother came and told me to trap you by letting you sleep with a courtesan of his choosing.”

“Then, the most important question: what’s your relationship with the person who gave you this envelope? Or should I say, who are you really?”

“Actually…”

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me.”

Lev had already guessed Madam Fleur’s identity, the purpose of the Dreamhouse brothel, and who had given her orders through the mysterious envelope with the split moon symbol.

Nightfall Organization.

That was the name of the largest criminal organization on the Avalon continent, and the owner of the split moon symbol. Unlike typical criminal groups, they were highly organized.

It was impossible for Lev not to know about them. They were the organization he had joined after being exiled by his family in his previous life.

They were also the main organization that Hansen fought against.

Of course, even though he had joined the largest criminal organization on the continent, Lev had only held the lowest rank in the Nightfall Organization.

‘If I was only given the lowest rank in the end, why are they targeting me now?’

‘Is it because…’

A light bulb seemed to light up above Lev’s head as he guessed the true intentions of the Nightfall Organization.

‘Sorry, but this time you’ll fail.’

Madam Fleur, who had initially hesitated, now seemed determined to tell Lev everything.

Even though Lev didn’t pressure her to speak, Madam Fleur voluntarily revealed that she was part of the Nightfall Organization.

“Actually, it’s not entirely accurate to say I’m a member of the Nightfall Organization.”

She said she had never been directly involved in the organization’s main activities.

Her tasks had always been to gather information and provide a portion of the brothel’s earnings to them. She had never even met a member of the Nightfall Organization in person. In other words, she had a connection with the organization but wasn’t formally part of it.

There had been a time when Madam Fleur refused their orders, but soon after, several courtesans were mysteriously killed.

If you asked how Madam Fleur delivered money to them or how she responded to their messages, the answer was that she simply left the money or messages in an abandoned house in the slums.

‘But from what I remember, there was no place like Dreamhouse Brothel connected to them.’

When Lev joined the Nightfall Organization, he knew there were many information-gathering points and revenue sources scattered across various kingdoms on the Avalon continent, including the Kingdom of Dragomirov. However, he didn’t recall a place called Dreamhouse Brothel.

‘It seems Dreamhouse Brothel will soon be destroyed, and Madam Fleur and the women here will be eliminated.’

But why?

Didn’t this place—or Madam Fleur herself—successfully carry out the plan to trap me in my previous life?

Lev wondered for a moment, but then he remembered that the Nightfall Organization was the largest criminal group, known for its ruthless actions. Such behavior was entirely expected from them.

“For now, tell them that you were half-successful in carrying out the plan to trap me.”

Lev instructed Madam Fleur to inform the Nightfall Organization that Boris had successfully given Lev the Letharis Pill but failed to record Lev with a female prostitute to humiliate him.

Upon hearing Lev’s conclusion, Madam Fleur looked surprised.

“Don’t you want to kill me?”

Lev stared into Madam Fleur’s eyes for a moment, then said, “…Alright, if you insist.”

Lev pulled the dagger from the female prostitute’s body. He flicked off the blood still clinging to the blade and said softly to Madam Fleur, “Die.”

He swung the dagger toward Madam Fleur’s neck. Throughout the motion, Madam Fleur’s eyes remained calmly closed. There were no signs of fear in her body—no trembling, cold sweat, or attempts to dodge. None of that.

When the dagger was just an inch away, Lev stopped his attack. He lowered the dagger and stored it in his magic pouch.

Seeing Madam Fleur’s eyes still tightly closed, Lev forcibly opened her eyelids and blew into her eyes, like someone blowing dust out of another’s eyes.

“You’re just a puppet. There’s no need to take your life.”

Lev might not have the magical ability to distinguish lies from truth, but he knew Madam Fleur wasn’t what he had initially imagined. He chose to save her.

[Quest Completed!]

[You have successfully completed the mission ‘Foil Your Sibling’s Plan.’]

[Rewards will be granted.]

[You have obtained Black Magic Authority.]

‘It seems my guess was correct.’

It turned out Madam Fleur was indeed the person he needed to save—someone caught in the plan to trap him.

What if his guess had been wrong, and the female prostitute was the one he was supposed to save?

In his heart, Lev told himself it was fine.

After all, he didn’t want to become a slave to the Hero’s System. Living solely to obey the Hero’s System’s commands wasn’t the kind of life he wanted. If the quests or missions given by the Hero’s System aligned with his goals, he would complete them. If not, he would simply ignore them.