Hermes Archnemesis closed his eyes and recalled what happened before he appeared on the temple. At that time, he received a new grim mission from the newspaper that he really loathed too much to read again.

'I won't even show up earlier if I didn't learn my lesson back then. Fuck you, Stump G. The newspaper's content told me to let my guard down. For what? My free trial to live longer is expired upon receiving the bad news. Goddamn it, it is unreasonable to demand this unfair mission from you. Fucking asshole. This is fuckin' nuts.' ​​

[Virus Objective: Reveal yourself to the elves and become a captive. Then, the user must be condemned by a human and he must face a court trial. Let the citizens of the Neue Fiona Village explicitly expressed their hatred, rage, and resentment. Failure to comply will punish the user without remorse.]

[First Reward: The popularity will increase from hostile to friendly status. However, the user must suffer, no, face heavy torment from the villagers or else it will be pointless to receive. A human should suffer first before he receives a blessing from God, as per se.]

'Are you fuckin' kidding me? You're calling it pointless now, huh. You want me to suffer to death. What the fuck is wrong with you, goddamn psychopath. That's totally unacceptable!' Hermes complained.

[Second Reward: The reputation of the user from the church will improve and immortalize. However, the user must never do an infidelity relationship with other women.]

'Immortalize? Honestly, I don't get it. Or, it meant something else, I guess. The vocabulary words often used by this newspaper are always in the intermediate level of understanding in my former world. But infidelity? What do you mean by that? I haven't married yet with other women even in my former life, you know. The only thing I ever did was sleeping with my body pillow! Oh, I know. You're making fun of me, aren't you? This is fuckin' bias! Biased mission!' Hermes criticized the content with a wrinkled eye.

[Third Reward: Dopehead Executioner, the user shall be given the right to kill drug abusers who are using children as an experiment rat, sacrificial pawn, and child labor.]

[Time limit of all is one night.]

'What the fuck is the Dopehead anyway? Hello, newspaper. This is no fun at all. Wait, does that mean I will face drug carriers in this world too? Man, this is troublesome,' Hermes heaved an exhausting sigh.

[Virus Warning: The user should be finished the mission before nightfall or else he will receive a heavy punishment. Unable to comply will result in unreasonable death. Good luck!]

'Good luck, my ass! That's really unfair mission, you goddamn lunatic!' Hermes grimaced.

Hermes opened his eyes and looked around. He was stormed by the angry mob. The citizens of the other districts went into trouble to check him in person, the vendors closed their stores with tenacious wrath after they heard he was arrested, and the national media were starting to take some pictures through their cameras, trying to cover the whole situation for their news article.

The street was now crowded with more than a hundred citizens around the village after they received the news of his capture.

The people were surprised upon seeing him like this. Some of them clenched their fist, their eyes trembled in anger, and their bodies shuddered in fear after they saw him in person like a criminal who would face his trial in the village hall.

Everyone was in mixed feelings of anger, pity, and hatred to the young Don. The only exceptions were the paparazzi or mass media who were looking for new coverage for their department that would become a new hit in the market.

[Virus Warning: Do no resist. You will be fine. Do not kill anyone and face the trial full of confidence. Failure to comply will result in the increase of infamy within the village.]

"I don't like to do this, but I have no other choice but to comply," Hermes commented, biting his lower lips to calm himself.

He looked confident outside, but the truth was, he's afraid to face them like this. Facing the trial was one of the important key points where Hermes was judged by the people. Then, the child died as a verdict with no families who would take care of his clan.

The legacy of Hermes Archnemesis was really a tragic story that the international community improved their perspectives on the villains of the Otome games.

Hermes Archnemesis was no doubt the greatest masterpiece of Aljen Mura. He's the only villain who was very popular with the masses.

It wasn't his looks that made him famous in the former earth, but his unique personality and abilities to face the twelve playable female characters in the game were one of the many reasons for his popularity.

'Man, this is making me worried so much. How long should I play along with this situation, huh? C'mon, show up now,' Hermes begged.

Hermes gasped upon seeing his life turned miserable immensely. He reimagined his body hung by public execution.

"Man, it's too early to die. Wait, I can revive though. Why am I being worried about being killed?" Hermes muttered aside that only he could hear. "Master, I don't know what happened earlier, but I don't think I can resurrect you if you die. The newspaper put a restriction in my body, though," said the slime, wearily.

'Fuck this shit. What kind of God is putting a man like me in this position? This is no laughing matter to reckoned with, you know!' Hermes complained inside his head.

The crowd began to torment him through their words, and they threw him with a bunch of baseless accusations one at a time. This made him realized how ignorant the people who only believed in fake news were.

"Die, Hermes Archnemesis. Die!" one of the bystanders shouted at him, crying.

Then, the women followed the same thing. Everyone started to agonize the teenager like nothing but a criminal.

"Bring it back. Bring my daughter back to me! How dare you do this to us? Bring my daughter back, you son of a bitch!"

"Return my son! My son is only seven years old. Bring him back to me!"

"Die, you filthy mafia! Die! You're a corrupt leader like your parents! You should die like them."

"You piece of shit. I suffered a lot from your unreasonable assaults. You tormented us for five years. Just die, you fuckin' mafia! Die!"

"I lost a job because of you. You raided us every goddamn month! This is what you get for messing with the locals, you filthy child!"

'Goddamn it, this is worse than I expected. Man, I was right to void my contract with the mercenary last week, or else, they will sooner attack this place according to the agreement. To think this will turn like this. I'm already seeing myself in the face of the Creator,' Hermes cried inside his head.

"Everyone, please calm down. The child needs some space. The verdict will face a trial, and the moment we've been waiting for will come up close. Please bear in mind. We have a proper justice system to comply with. Hear me out, people. It is still too early to judge, so please stay calm," Elder Kilo reminded, smiling.

'What the fuck? You're making it worse, senile old man. Man, this is why I hate this situation. This, this is why,' Hermes hung his head with a distraught gaze.

"Wow, this man is sure that my master will be convicted for justice, huh. Unbelievable, I have no idea why this elf is trying to mess up with you, master. Do you think I should punish his race for trying to ruin your name in front of these delicious ingredients?" the slime was infuriated and suggested. "No, I don't think it is necessary. Please hold still. Don't do anything unless I order to, got it?" Hermes stopped her and rejected it. "Okay, master. As long as you're fine with that, then I will turn a blind eye temporarily. Geez, I cannot wait to eat them all. Fufu~ I wonder how long will these people around here live after we commence our plan," the slime giggled.

'What the fuck is wrong with this monster? Humans are not a mere ingredient and a portion of food. And, by the way, what are you talking about that I have a plan? I don't have a single plan inside my head, you piece of shit. This is part of the play that was made by Stump G,' Hermes bickered, lips retracted.

"I can see the determination in your lips, master. I will support you no matter what," the slime declared. "Just shut it already," Hermes heaved a sigh once again.

"People, listen up. The exasperation and pique are the audacities to hate this man. I can feel the wrath inside your heart. It is proven that the Archnemesis clan made us suffer under their dictatorship. This time we will liberate the village from the young dictator from this moment, and a new era of peace shall reign the whole island," Elder Kilo declared in front of everyone.

"Bring justice for everyone. Kill Hermes Archnemesis!" the man in the crowd

"Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill," every villager demanded in unison.

This was what Elder Kilo wanted to see by using the people's grudge to empower him.

'Fine, whatever. Torment me since this is the last time I will do this. I don't really like this place anyway. I'm planning to hail to the Unified States and then, I will migrate to the territory of Hispania in Southeast Asia to industrialize it with my money and knowledge from the former earth afterward. That's my plan all along. That's why people. Hate me as long as you want since I will be the one who will win in the end,' Hermes said inside his head.

"But, this is too tiring to play along, though. I wonder what the overpowered transmigrators in the anime and novels will do in this situation? I guess, they will use force to escape. Cut the crap, this is no fantasy novel which will give a villain a plot armor, though," Hermes caterwauled. "Transmigrators? What's that word, master? Is that a food?" asked the slime, confusingly. "You don't need to know. Just keep your mouth shut for now," Hermes instructed, lips pursed.

"A, as expected to master, you're really a bad person," the slime praised him with a blatant tone. "I don't know if I should be proud of or be infuriated at this point," Hermes commented with a wrinkled gaze.

In the Emorial Inn, the priestess slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing that appeared in front of her was the unknown ceiling. Her upper body raised up, her hand removed the towel from her forehead, and her eyes wandered around for a bit.

'Am I dreaming? Where am I anyway?' she asked herself.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and she comprehended her current position inside the room.

'I cannot remember anything. I wonder what happened earlier this afternoon. All I can remember is...'

Her face turned red after she recalled the kiss with her crush. She clutched her hands between her chest, and she drowned herself in the pillow to cover her embarrassment.

She screamed out of loud. Then, a little girl in her clerical clothes embarked in panic with the guards behind her.

Her hands carried a big suitcase on her hands, but she dropped it down to check her liege without a hesitation.

"High priestess, are you okay?" asked Ylla, panicky. "Oh, Ylla. No, wait. Don't look at me," Venus covered her chest with a blanket.

"What the heck are you looking at, people? Get out of this place. The excellency needs space and privacy. I said, get out. Out. Guard the room outside, and forget what you saw. Or else," Ylla pushed the guards out of the room, and she closed the door immediately. Then, she locked it with magic and concealed the whole room with a soundproof spell. "Thank you, little Ylla. I'm glad you did that," Venus thanked her.

"High Priestess, I'm glad you're awake. I'm sorry for being late. Please forgive me for being too hasty. I thought you're being attacked, so I called them over here with me. I promise this situation will never happen again, my liege," Ylla knelt down on one knee, and she apologized out of guilt. "No, no, please stand up. You don't need to apologize for what happened earlier. Please don't blame yourself too much. Please, I insist," Venus spluttered.

Ylla stood up, but her head remained hung down.

"Little Ylla, where am I?" asked Venus, tilted her head on the side. "You're on the third floor of the Emorial Inn. To be specific, this is Lady Daliah's personal room," Ylla answered politely.

"Is that so? Oh, my. No wonder this place looks so stunning suitable for a noble lady. Oh, let me ask you something pretty quick. Have you seen the children?" Venus inquired with a worried face. "They are on the other side of this room. Sleeping nice and sound, milady. There's nothing to be worried about since they are in the safe place today," Ylla responded with a smiling face.

"Phew, thank God. I'm so happy to hear that," Venus clutched her hands between her chest and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Milady, I know this is inappropriate for me to ask. But, please I want to know what happened during your trip?" asked Ylla, clenching her fist behind her waist. "We've been attacked by the remnants of the Second Root organization. One of the ringleaders named Arak the Tamer is with them. Sir. Aljen and I used ourselves as a decoy to block them from taking the children during that incident," Venus explained promptly.

"F-for real? But did you get something from them before you fainted? How did you escape anyway?" Ylla shuddered upon hearing the story. "Yes, Arak is a fashionista ringleader of the group, and this man has a sort of connection with the businessmen working in the textile industry at the capital. Thankfully, all of them truly believe I'm just a petite and naive girl who only wanted to converse with someone like him. I use the opportunity to buy them time to create an escape plan, and thankfully, Sir Aljen saw it through, and used it for their advantage," Venus answered briefly.

"And, after that?" Ylla queried. "Sir Aljen told me to follow them, but I implored to stay. Then, we escaped. And... and... kyaaaa," Venus covered her face and screamed.

'Eh? Wait, this girl... did something happen between them?' Ylla's face turned dark and her lips curled like a crescent moon.

"I'm curious, milady. This is a girl-to-girl talk. Please elaborate on the romantic event that happened between you and your crush," Ylla entreated her to confess with a smug face. "No, I don't want to," Venus diverted her face to the side with a cold sweat.

"Please elaborate on what happened, milady. This servant of yours is begging for information," Ylla pleaded. "N, n, nothing happened. For real. Nothing... happened at all," Venus pressed her index on her lips and smiled a little.

'Bingo. They did it!' Ylla rejoiced inside her head.

Ylla grabbed her hands and shook them up and down.

"Congratulations, milady. You're one step ahead of getting a lover. You've finally got your first kiss. This Ylla here is very happy to hear the good news," Ylla beamed. "H-h-h-huh? I didn't say anything about the kiss. No, little Ylla. Please don't tell it to my fans or outside of their group. Please don't do anything at all. I don't know if it is a genuine kiss or not," Venus sputtered again.

"Why do you say that?" asked Ylla with a confused face."Because I don't feel any love when we did that," Venus answered with a low voice.

'Heeeh~, both of you kissed each other. Gotcha,' Ylla simpered.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that. It must be a misunderstanding," Ylla lowered her head respectfully. "Thank you very much, Ylla. I know I can trust you," Venus heaved a sigh of relief.

'Thank God. Ylla is a trustworthy servant at all. I ensure she will get rewarded after this,' said Venus inside her head.

'I'm gonna tell it to the Al-Ven faction right away,' Ylla declared silently.

"By the way, since you guys kissed each other, I assume you've seen his face personally. Can you describe his face?" Ylla quizzed with a smug face. "Oh, I remember that he has short black hair and scarlet eyes. He has an average look, but I don't care about it at all. All I can see is a man of action. His assertiveness is tickling my heart, and his confidence shows the side of a soldier like a knight in shining armor. I cannot breathe at all in front of him because he looks amazing, and his choice of words is very thoughtful and tactful. Not to mention, he is a gentleman who will never take advantage like a pervert. You see, he covers my body with his clothes after my dress was soaked with water. Kyaaa, I don't know what to do in that situation. I'm falling in love over and over again with Sir Aljen. Kyaaa," Venus jabbered.

The atmosphere froze for a second. Ylla gulped her saliva thereafter.

"W, what?" Ylla shuddered upon hearing the description. "Is there something wrong?" Venus tilted her head on the side with a curious face. "Milady, I don't know if I heard it wrong. Did you say that he has black hair and scarlet eyes?" asked Ylla, panicky. "Yes, exactly," Venus replied her with a smiling face. "T-T-This is bad. This is really bad," Ylla's knees collapsed on the floor.

"Ylla, Ylla, what's wrong with you?" Venus tried to stand up, but her servant stopped her to do so. "Please stay where you are right now, milady. I wish I heard this wrong, but this is really bad for the church. No, it is not only for the church but especially for you, High Priestess Venus," Ylla looked at her with a grave gaze.

"Why do you say that now, Ylla?" asked Venus. "Because his description resembles the lord of this territory. That man has the same feature according to your description. The ruler of this place is a ruthless, cunning, and cold-blooded man on this island. His clan brought nothing but trouble to our territory after he took the power five years ago," Ylla explained, lips pursed.

"Is that a little bit exaggerated?" Venus's eyes turned sharp, but she giggled to ease the tension. "Oh, well. I thought so too. Ever since I joined the church, I lost my interest in this village, so I don't care about it at all. But that's not the point here. The reason behind this, the church would be in big trouble if we formed a relationship with Hermes Archnemesis. There's a lot of rumor that connecting this teenager to all the incidents that kept happening to this territory. The villagers loathed him to the point they wished him publicly executed," said Ylla, raising up her index.

"Ylla, may I ask you a question for a bit. I know this is a serious topic, but please be honest with me, do you hate the man named Hermes Archnemesis?" Venus questioned with a slightly angry look. "Oh, him? Nope. Not a single bit. I don't know. I don't have any grudge against the person. I was in the church, and my family migrated to the capital before he took his power. At the age of 10, he became the lord of his family and the sole lord of this territory, so we didn't experience the same fate of the locals here," Ylla assured.

"If you don't hate the man, why are you pursuing me not to form a relationship with him? Let say, what if Sir Aljen is Hermes Archnemesis, then should I be afraid of him now? Now that I learned the truth, I should close my heart to the man that I love? Ylla, that's a bit too much burden for me. I don't know the full details of the past, but I didn't see any dark personality in front of me at that time. All I witnessed was a man who voluntarily sacrificed himself to save the children, and not to mention, he has a genuine side of him that no one but me has ever seen," Venus said with a determined face.

"Milady, that's not the point. That man resembles a mafia ruler. A criminal ruler in this island, you know," Ylla insisted. "No, Ylla. You're wrong. Despite all of the hardship we've encountered, all I could feel about from him was a man who was suffering inside his heart. To tell the truth, his personality resembled my grandfather. A man who was hiding his identity from the masses because he was loathed for doing the right thing for his people. He was convicted of corruption, but nevertheless, he was pardon after he was proven not guilty. That's why all I assume was, Hermes Archnemesis was falsely accused. Take a look at this point, let me ask you something, how long did the clan rule this place?" Venus inquired with a grave gaze. "For seven decades, milady," Ylla answered hesitantly.

"Ylla, a second question. I heard a lot of bad things about this island, and I'm sure the Archnemesis and Corleon fought five years ago because of an intervention act made by the Godfather. Right?" Venus quizzed a second question. "Y, yes, milady,"

"The war won by the Archnemesis, but let me get a straight answer. Didn't he lose his family during the war?" Venus agitated a bit. "Y, y, yes, milady," Ylla shuddered upon seeing her snapped face.

Ylla realized her point. There must be a reason behind all of this. The sole survivor of the clan who had to lose his family during the war won't even dare to hurt the people his family tried to protect during the war. Someone manipulated the story to make him look like the villain in front of everybody.

"P, please don't get mad at me. I don't mean to infringe anything between us," Ylla genuflected on the floor. "Ylla, please raise your head. I'm not mad at all. I'm just disappointed to hear it from your mouth. That's all," Venus replied with a smile.

Her face looked genuine outside, but she was really upset inside her head.

If Aljen the merchant was Hermes Archnemesis, then she wouldn't be surprised why he was hiding his identity.

She believed the man was investigating the situation of his territory. Due to the bad rumors that kept spreading across the territory, concealing his identity was all he could do. Then, he used this opportunity to help his people by lying.

'What a remarkable ruler!' she commented.

Venus contemplated the situation. She recalled the time when she was kidnapped by Handdog gang.

But why was this group kidnapped her? She didn't understand at all. There must be a hidden meaning behind it.

The State and the Church were two separate entities in this divided nation. But they still held the same power as a jury in terms of a judicial hearing.

'Wait a second. All of the previous High Priestess who took over the Neue Fiona Village died on unknown circumtances. I was the only one who survived it because Sir Aljen saved my life. Don't tell me. Maybe, this is all connected at one point. The attempted kidnapping, the continuous missing of children from the street, and the slow development of the village were all linked to one point. It is economic sabotage and a form of terrorism at all. There is one group behind it.'

"The Second Root," Venus muttered that only she could be heard.

The Second Root organization was the only group she suspected behind it, but since she was lack of evidence, she didn't have a supportive document to prove it.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Someone knocked on the door desperately.

"Who is it?" asked Ylla. "It is me, Lady Ylla. It's Daliah. There is a piece of urgent news that I need to tell the priestess. I heard that she is now finally awake, so may I ask for her permission to speak with her? It is very important that she shouldn't miss," she panted. "You can come in," Venus permitted.

The beautiful waitress entered the room with a worried face.

But she maintained a professional look. She lifted her skirt a bit and greeted the high priestess respectfully.

"Milady, please don't panic after hearing this. I know the two of you formed a good relationship that no one can replace. Please hear me out," Daliah hesitated a bit. "Go on, please tell me what do you want to report?" Venus entreated. "Sir Aljen is arrested, and now he's being held in custody inside the Village Hall. The chief is calling out all of the district representatives to show up at the conference," Daliah answered promptly.

Ylla and Venus were bewildered at the news. But the priestess kept herself calm.

"W, what did you say? For what reason?" asked Ylla. "Elder Kilo found out that he was Hermes Archnemesis. He was publicly revealed in front of everyone. Everyone was distraught to hear it," Daliah explained with a cold sweat.

'I see. That's what they are aiming for a long time. Now, I know what I need to do,' Venus concluded.

"Girls, there is something you need to do. Did you bring an outfit for me, Ylla?" Venus stood up out of her bed. "Yes, your excellency," Ylla answered respectively.

Venus looked at their eyes directly.

"What is it, milady?" the girls asked, worryingly. "Help me dress up," Venus instructed decisively.

The two girls exchanged glances with a muddled look.