Third District, Neue Fiona Village

Three days have passed. ​​

Hermes and his butler gradually gained information without getting caught.

The investigation went smoothly as they predicted, but still, being overconfident would put their lives in high danger. Therefore, his butler often told him to be careful about this mission.

One hour later, Hermes rested his body on the bench under a huge tree near the river. His legs stiffened after the long exploration in the village.

He mannerly sat down, cross-legged. Then, he clasped his hands together on his lap.

"Phew, this is life," Hermes muttered.

He heaved a sigh of relief after he got a break.

The harmonic hymn of the birds was so colorful that put his mind at ease. Cooling off, the cold breeze of the wind coming from the east shivered him at first but it made him relax.

Thankfully, there were a few citizens strolling around the place to give him a wonderful viewpoint of the place.

But even the place looked magnificent, there was something he was really worried about. By watching the condition of the entire village, his eyes turned sharp, and placed his mind into contemplating the situation right now.

Thoughtful and doubtful.

How can a village recover from a war without getting its master's assistance? How can they still maintain this peaceful way of living without any hindrance? These questions made him think there was something strange happening in this place. It almost four of the evening after he peeks at his watch.

He exhaled with an exhausting sigh. He and his servant had already done their best to find some clues but for several days of investigation and listening to the gossips around the place, he still failed to get one.

"Boss, are you alright?" Justin, worried, moved closer to him. "Should I buy you some food and drink?"

Hermes blinked his eyes several times as he gazed upon his butler. It took him four seconds to answer.

"Right, I guess we need to eat something. By the way, is this really a village or a town? I'm quite surprised that this fucking place is so huge. Not to mention, the architectural structure of the building is unique, the old design of the pavements are really well-maintained despite the other streets are still untouched, and the traditional market system, rules and regulations, and policies of each district are inconsistent and weaker than I expected. But still, I wonder why did I even attack my territory in the first place. I don't even understand it," he muttered aside that only he could hear.

"Pardon, my Don. What do you mean?" asked Justin, worryingly. "Nevermind. It's nothin'. Go get some food in the nearest store that we passed earlier. I'm going to take a rest for a while. I'll keep in touch," Hermes ordered, pointing his index at the store next to the second block.

That was really strange.

The village had been originally divided into five districts.

Each of these locations had been taken care of by district representatives.

The 1st district was the main place where the Village Hall stationed, the barnyard of the Camelia family stayed, and the Holy Church of Neue Fiona located. It was also the main trading hub as the main import and export point of the merchants.

In its east, the 2nd District was the second key point location where people gathered information through their newspaper. The primary school for children could be found here.

The best tourist spots and hotspots like the Neue Fiona park were located in the 3rd district. This location was considered as the main financial source due to its strategic place for selected vendors to sell their products to the villagers. Children from the orphanage often sent here during lunch break to learn proper etiquette and study society.

The lack of a proper plan for land transportation, lack of proper funding for rehabilitation of the road, and the insufficient education level were the three main problems that the government was trying to solve thus far.

Due to the poor environment, the citizens often used wagons in this pre-industrial era of the 19th century. They had no choice but to rely on the agricultural business of the territory.

The next one, the 4th district located on the eastern side of the second was the shelter of all middle-income earners and immigrants. But even it was safe to live in, the place was unsafe to the eyes of the bandits and criminals during nightfall. There was a big temple that acted as the home of the immortal elders of the village.

In the game, the temple didn't exist at all, and this made him question why the place was established over there.

The last one but not the least, the fifth district. The only place he wanted to investigate further. It was supposedly under the protection of the villagers, but in this timeline, the bandits and criminals occupied it as their home base.

In the game, the female playable characters would gather their reversed harem lovers in this place to commence the main quest, "Massacre of Elven Fry or Elven Fry Massacre."

Why Elven Fry? He wasn't sure at all. It was the solid idea of his female junior back then to include their races in the game setting. But he refused, so the elves were never been added to the list of the characters.

But in this world, they existed. According to the book he read, the elves should already cease to exist after the Empire wiped them out from the world.

Justin tilted his head with a worried face. He noticed his master looked stress. Suddenly, his eyes gazed upon at the first bloc, fifty meters away from their location.

'Someone is watching us from afar,' Justin commented.

"Please pardon me, my Don. I'm sure you're hungry, so I will try to buy some at the nearest store immediately. What do you want me to buy?" he asked, smiling. "Anything not too sweet, but with good taste, Justin." Hermes raised his index, left eye closed. "Make sure it was blended with a good scent and its appearance looks convenient to eat."

The butler placed a hand on his chest and bowed down. Then, he massaged his chin to contemplate his order.

"Anything that was not too sweet? Oh boy, that's hard to imagine. Oh, well. Let it be done. I'm gonna excuse myself. Please stay safe and stay away from any trouble. I'll be back in just a minute, my Don," said Justin, respectfully. "Go on. I'm not going anywhere, though," Hermes waved a hand to shoo him.

'Now, let's see who the hell is this stalker,' Justin's lips curled to a crescent moon.

'Hmm, why is he smiling like that?' Hermes noticed, worryingly.

He turned his gaze at the blue sky.

"What a beautiful view. The village has a simple life like it used to. Phew, the game is still the same. But it is not beautiful compared to my beloved country, which bound with rich resources, home to smiling faces and good singers. Oh, well. The temperature reminds me of the former place I've been living. This place is just one island compare to my country. It has more than 7,100 islands so this is nothing," Hermes commented, recalling his former life on earth.

'I wish I can still go back. Damn it, that Stump G must die at all cost,' he grimaced.

A few minutes later, Hermes realized something wrong. He muttered why his butler was taking his time for too long.

He extended his time to wait for his arrival, but to no avail. Therefore, he decided to follow his track where he went to.

'I wonder what happened to that man,' Hermes worried.

Suddenly, he unruly knelt down on one knee when he sensed a powerful aura. He quickly leaned his left shoulder against the sidewall. This powerful source stopped him to enter the candy store.

Hermes realized the unique skill of his character activated. It was one of the minor abilities possessed by the former Hermes Archnemesis - 'the maternal danger instinct'. The experts commented it as 'the most useless skill in combat, but the useful tool for the foolish villain against the odd'.

This non-combat skill would only activate once the user sensed danger for his life.

He tried to stand up from his position but to no avail. Then, a white thin material hit his face directly.

Infuriated. He quickly removed the object from his face. To his surprised, it was a newspaper. Next, his eyes opened wide with cold sweat after he realized he's in a different place.

'W, where am I? Did this paper do this to me?' he asked, panicky.

He opened the newspaper and read the content.

Breaking news:

[Mission failed: Failed to start some sub-quests. Why you didn't do this?]

[Mission failed: Failed to save the Priestess.]

[Mission failed: Failed to secure the shadow realm of the village.]

[Reputation: Negative 100, you moron.]

[Mission failed: Unable to establish some business.]

[Mission failed: You bastard get betrayed and sold out. Unable to gain favor with an important figure.]

[Mission failed: Failed to sabotage illegal activities around the place. Failed to defeat the hidden bosses.]

[Mission failed: Failed to establish good standing with important key players.]

[Reputation: It's getting even worse, you moron.]

[Due to lack of effort to finish these quests, the villain will be punished and skipped for the main quest.]

What the heck was happening? What are these? Why was he in the dangerous place? There were several questions that kept bothering him.

The street was dull and specks of dirt could be seen in the area. The dry plants scattered on the streets, the pavements were wrecked and full of trash that needed attention and repair, and the canal flooded with moles, corpses, and feces of animals and humans.

'D, don't tell me. Goddamn it, Stump G!'

Fifth District, Neue Fiona Village

5:44:11 PM

He saw a sign of a tavern nearby with a signboard, "Beware of Bandits!". Then, he gulped his saliva and moved forward.

His first plan was to visit Gate 4, but no one was there to talk with. Which means, no one would open the gate for him.

He was doubtful at first when he checked the sign of the district, but his eyes turned dismayed after he read it again. He got transported into the forbidden place, the fifth district.

'I'm just searching for one man, but I'm gonna crawl back with false hope, c'mon. Where the hell are you, Justin?' Hermes grimaced, clenching his teeth.

The cold breeze coming from the east hit him. He shivered at first, but he got used to its climate, so he kept moving forward.

Suddenly, another thin material hit his face.

Infuriated, he grabbed it out of his face and he turned blank after he realized it was just another piece of newspaper.

It stated:

>

[Mission Objective: Upon arriving at the next corner, the host must cross at the old post. There's a group of goons who assaulted an old lady. But beware, the victim isn't an ordinary resident of the place, so the host is advised to keep his back in check. Remember, save her but never get close.

Rewards: Mask of Destruction]

A big question mark appeared on his head. What was this newspaper meant to? The only person he knew who gave him this kind of treatment. It was none other than his arc nemesis.

"Stump G. What's this?" he asked, angrily.

He threw the paper after he tore it apart into pieces.

[Warning: The Host destroyed the page.]

[Punishment: Force Quest Activated]

'What the fuck my body is moving on its own? Goddamn it, it's out of control!'

On his way, he saw a large and old post. He recalled the message left behind by the article.

'D, Don't tell me. Stump G, stop this madness! Oh? I regain control.'

"Somebody, help me!"

An old lady called for help when she saw him. He noticed that all of the thugs immediately formed up.

'Suspicious,' Hermes commented.

"I wonder why an old lady like you went here. Don't you even know that this goddamn place is dangerous?" asked Hermes, scratching his hair in a disappointing gaze. "I, I'm so sorry. Please help me, sire," the old lady begged, crying.

'Should I play along with them? I think this is a trap, or maybe this is another bullshit set up to make fun of me by that self-proclaimed God. Well, whatever. Let's play like we used to,' Hermes heaved a sigh.

Who might be a fool who will enter the place which will risk their lives? But looking at the situation, the old woman looked like someone who made a wrong turn. Then she ended up confronted by the bandits.

'Save her or leave her?'

Play a hero or run away ― another two options appeared on his mind.

What will the former owner of his body do? The answer was run away. He won't lay a finger or interrupted them.

Why? Because Hermes Archnemesis was a selfish brat who won't even help anyone else.

For Aljen Mura, risking his life won't bring anything good. After all, he's an ordinary human being. His character wasn't blessed with overpowered abilities unlike the other Isekai characters in the novel.

The reality was different from fantasy, in short. Not to mention, he's a villain and not a protagonist of this game world. However, something hindered his course of action to escape this event.

Hermes received a forced quest from someone and he realized he won't be able to run away. No matter how many times he calculated his situation, he's already trapped. The only option now was to save her.

Not only that, he's worried that the third punishment would turn worst than the previous.

"Oi, are you going to save her or not?" one of the bandits asked, pointing his knife at the old lady. "Hold it right there," Hermes demanded.

"Oh, he really showed up, "said Rag, the red curbed hair bandit leader. "Foolish mistake. Hmm, this isn't what she told us. According to his background, he should appear after nightfall. Strange, never mind. Did we miss something?"

Rag looked at the old lady and nodded.

"Leader, is that him?" the bald guy asked on his right side. "Yup, it is him," Rag answered, smiling with teeth.

"Hey kid, your luck is running out, huh. To think you showed up early to save this woman. You are being stupid child, aren't you?" The curb-haired blonde man stepped forward, licking his knife from the edge to the point. "Nope," Hermes responded, calmly.

"Do you wish for instant death? I won't hesitate to send you to hell," he inquired. "Oh, well. Sorry lad, I'm going to heaven. No matter what you do, I won't go to hell," Hermes answered bluntly.

Rag and the others laughed out loud.

Hermes looked at the newspaper pinned on the wall. Then, he read the words that appeared on it.

Tutorial mode:

[Secondary Objective: Introduce yourself. Provoke them to fight you.]

Hermes clicked his tongue and heaved an exhausting sigh.

'I'm gonna make sure to introduce my name and ask them properly to leave her alone,' he gave in.

"Greetings, foolish morons. My name is Aljen. An amateur merchant who is doing business at the Neue Fiona Village. I don't know why are you expecting me here, but I don't care anymore. This event is nothing but a mere quest. A forced quest. Let me tell you something. Leave her alone. It's not a request, but an order," Hermes demanded, gravely.

'Fuuuck! That's not what I want to say!' Hermes screamed inside his mind. His mouth unruly moved according to the original monologue.

All he wanted to say, "Please stay away from that woman. If you want to, I'll pay for an equivalent price."

His ears turned red thereafter.

Rag and the others jeered at his introduction.

"Boss, that child has some guts to demand us," the shirtless bald man silently chuckled, holding his tummy.

"Excluding the weird mask he wears, that outfit can be sold at a high price. The shoes have a good price of around 200 Luzers. If we take him as a slave, we could earn a large portion of money!" said Rag, smiling. He tossed his knife up to the air and caught it before it fell on his head.

"Oh my, good idea. Even that's not the plan, I think this is a good opportunity to earn some money through this method. That could be good in our business," the bald man on his left commented.

Hermes gasped upon seeing their sinister gazes.

The character design of Hermes Archnemesis was undoubtedly the most useless thing ever made. He wasn't blessed with magic and any kind of skills despite he's belonged to the noble household.

Although he had a brain and mastered everything related to science and technology, he was a physically weak and worthless human being in the world. Therefore, the only way he needed to do for now was to avoid himself caught in a trap.

'I have to bluff this event this time.'

"Oooh, you dare to approach me? Do you really think you can take me down easily? You gotta be kiddin'," Hermes giggled, hands shrugged off.

"Hmm.., why are you so confident?" Rag surprised, his choice of words tittered him. "Because I am always confident that I won't lose against you all," Hermes answered bluntly.

'Did he realized it quickly? No matter, it is impossible.'

"To think you guys are hurting and targetting that old hag. I'm sorry, I mean old lady. Do you guys have no idea that there's authority will get you and bring you to prison?" Hermes placed a hand on his mouth and giggled. "Of course, we are," Rag chortled.

"What's so funny then?" asked Hermes, gravely. "Some of the guards on that place are working for us, kid. No matter what you do, money will turn them blindly. This means everything is already decided. Not only that, we've already paid out the guards stationed on the Gate, so whatever you do, no help will come. In short, you won't win against us," Rag explained promptly.

'Oh, that explains why the guards are absent in their post, huh,' Hermes's face wrinkled.

"To tell you the truth, this whole area is under our protection, kid. And also, this is one of the villages of Italia. The number one corrupted country in the world!" Rag added, smiling.

Hermes's eyes closed as he contemplated it. Then, he folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head on the side.

'Corruption often conjures up images of people getting rich. But in fact, corruption's connections to poverty are far more numerous and pervasive. Corruption delays distort and divert economic growth. It comes in a variety of forms, and while no two countries are alike, there are common dilemmas for all to see.

The links between corruption and poverty affect both individuals and businesses, and they run in both directions: poverty invites corruption, while corruption deepens poverty. Corruption both causes and thrives upon weaknesses in key economic, political and social institutions. It is a form of self-serving influence akin to a heavily regressive tax, benefiting the haves at the expense of the have-nots. Trust--essential to financial markets and effective governments everywhere--is difficult to build in poor and corrupt societies,' Hermes commented, recalling the book of economics he read earlier this morning.

"Aah, that's explains everything. I see. Poverty is the reason for them to work with you. Unbelievable, money prevails over their dignity. What a shitty development. Money corrupted the world too far. Man, what a disappointing reality. Gosh, why Chief Zamor didn't even tell us about this before? Oh, well. You guys are an asshole, so there is no need to pity you all," Hermes laughed. "Okay, fine. Playtime is over. Capture him," Rag ordered.

"Don't move!" Hermes demanded, gravely. "Huh? What now? Stop bluffing already, kid," Rag questioned.

"Do you truly think I will show up unprepared?" Hermes smirked with a determined face. "Oh, you're bluffing. There's no way you've come prepared for this event. Take him, men," Rag commanded, pointing his nose once at the young Don.

'The plan is simple, right? There is no way this kid will anticipate this. The boss itself told us to play along, though,' Rag worried.

The old lady's eyes turned sharp and looked around.

"Look at the corner, the red wall, you morons." Hermes chided, pointing at the newspaper. "Red wall?" Rag followed and his face turned blue.

"What the hell?" the bald guy complained. "See, I told you," Hermes cheered up.

'Oh, he's good. To think he set up a magical crossbow! Boss, you're wrong about this kid.' The leader thought. He bites his lips for failing to see it through.

'He's prepared!' the other henchmen got worried.

'Oh, it works. To think they are scared at the newspaper,' Hermes simpered.

"Don't move, pal. Something is pointing in this direction," the bald one stopped his companion in moving his feet forward.

Hermes noticed something odd.

'What are they looking at?' Hermes's eyes looked at the huge hole on the right.

'Eh? What the heck, it's a crossbow?'

"Darn it, this is not what we expected. Why the hell there is a weapon around this place?" Rag complained, low voice."Sir, I think that weapon is a magical item. It looks like it resembled a powerful long-range weapon with an explosive arrow. One-shot is enough to kill us all. Damn, this kid has a lot of secrets on his sleeves. No wonder he is too confident to show himself," the bald guy pointed out.

The other bandit touched something on his neck.

"Sir, I'm also in a shit situation. There's a string around my neck," the blonde haired henchmen fretted.

"What?" Rag, surprised, turned his angry face at the young Don. "Y' got us."

"What is this?" the blonde-haired henchmen inquired. "Don't touch it. That string…. That magical string might be a poisonous type. Looking at the purple color, it could be one. I experienced touching something similar to my previous occupation as a merc. I was lucky back then to have an antidote. It was one of the types of assassination items to kill an enemy behind the scene." The bald bandit explained, wiping out his sweat from his face. They turned their gaze at Hermes who had still no idea what's keeping them to move, however. Thus, all of them envisioned him as an evil cunt and a powerful opponent like his background written from the intel.

"What the heck? How did that bastard set up this trap before us?" the blonde-haired henchmen asked, angrily. "N, no, idea," the bald guy answered with cold sweat.

"You dirty bastard," Rag grimaced, looking mad at the young Don. "How did you set a trap in this place?"

'E, a trap? What the hell is he talking about? Seriously, I just warned them to look at the newspaper because they know this creature. But they are afraid of something otherwise.'

Hermes turned his gaze in the direction of the bandit's pointing at. He found a crossbow inside the wall and the string behind the blonde.

'What? I didn't even know there was a crossbow on that side. What the heck are those strings? I don't have any slight idea of what they are afraid of that one. What's special in that simple thing…. Unless they mistakenly thought it was a poisonous weapon. Oooh…' His face turned dark and his scarlet eyes trembled with the scheme. 'What a coincidence.'

"Ooh, you finally realized, maggots." He shrugged his arms and stepped three steps forward. "You see, I already held your asses from the beginning. Judging in your ugly and filthy faces, you're a group of stupid assholes who don't like to negotiate in a good way. As per saying, to make a dog listen to his master's words, he must give them a little bit of taste of food to follow his command. Now, now, now…. put down your weapons in the ground, raise your hands and hand over the old lady immediately."