I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain

Chapter 382

Huh, that seems about right.

Though inwardly bewildered, Ian kept his composure and responded flatly. "Probably."

"No way. That halfwit? That halfwit is an elder?" The fairy’s exclamation shattered Ian’s momentary confusion entirely.

His gaze turned dry as he retorted, "For my friend's sake, I'll let that slide once. Watch your mouth. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life as a halfwit yourself."

The fairy, still wearing the leather strap around her neck, blinked. Her expression was less one of fear and more of surprise at the entirely unexpected comment. "This can't be."

Her lips quivered as she stammered. "Everything you've said... it's all true, isn't it, Ian Hope? Thesa—no, the elder really became the head of the family and the clan, and you're her friend."

"That's what I said." Ian turned his gaze away as he answered, feeling oddly sheepish hearing it spoken aloud.

Regardless, ‌the fairy had come to fully believe him.

As Ian drew in another puff of his cigarette, the fairy spoke again. "Now that I think about it, I've been late in introducing myself."

When Ian turned to look, she promptly introduced herself. "My name is Diana. Diana Erenos. I am the Warden of the Deep Forest, the one who walks the shadowed paths of the woods, and the lone eye that watches the most dangerous places."

"Okay. As you know, I'm Ian Hope," Ian replied, shifting the cigarette between his fingers. His introduction was curt and indifferent, but Diana continued without a hint of offense.

"I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I had no intention of insulting the elder. To explain myself, it was simply too unexpected. Our Erenos family is small-framed even by fairy standards, but the elder was especially so. I was startled, and the nickname I remembered slipped out. I'll be careful in the future."

Was she always an outcast?

Ian clicked his tongue as he thought of the silver-haired fairy who had endured countless hardships. Perhaps it was for the best that she hadn't regained her memories.

"And I also want to express my gratitude," Diana added hesitantly, her voice trembling slightly, as though the effort was taking its toll. "I don't know the details, but thank you for making it possible for an elder to be born in Erenos. And for letting me smoke a cigarette again."

It was a truly rare sight. Not only was she upholding her sense of loyalty, but she was even taking it a step further, voluntarily showing gratitude.

Ian briefly observed Diana's eyes, which were reddening, then motioned with his chin. "I'll accept it, so just sit down. You look like you're about to keel over."

"Okay." Diana, her neck clearly sore, quickly sank back down into her seated position. She bent forward and raised her arms slightly, taking a moment to catch her breath.

Ian, observing her, added, "Let's get back to the main point."

"The main point?"

"Yeah. Where do I need to go to find the other surviving humans?"

Diana's gaze darkened instantly as she lifted her head. "Ah, so that's the main point you mean."

She cleared her throat softly, then met Ian's eyes again. "I can't tell you the location."

Ian's brow twitched involuntarily.

This damn fairy, he thought, just as Diana continued speaking.

"Even if I've verified your identity and believe what you say, you're still an outsider, Ian Hope. I can't reveal everything to you just yet. Besides, even if I told you the location, you wouldn't be able to find it on your own."

"Fair enough." The settlements of those who lived here wouldn't be openly visible. They were likely camouflaged in some way to remain completely hidden.

Relaxing his furrowed brow, Ian gestured for her to continue."Go on."

"Well, normally, there are guides who specialize in this sort of thing. Authorized personnel who, upon encountering an outsider, verify their identity and lead them personally. But I'm not a guide. That's neither my role nor my responsibility."

Diana's green eyes flicked to the smoke Ian exhaled before returning to meet his gaze.

"But as I said, this isn't a region outsiders typically enter. There aren't any guides in the area. So, even if I were to guide you myself, it wouldn't be a problem."

"Hmm." A faint smile appeared on Ian's lips.

He placed the cigarette back into Diana's mouth and said, "So, you're saying you'll act as my guide."

"Of course, that would mean you become my responsibility. If you cause any trouble, that'll be on me. And there will be plenty of bothersome procedures to follow, too."

With the cigarette still in her mouth, Diana inhaled deeply. As she exhaled a thick plume of smoke, her voice became even lower and huskier. "But you are a benefactor to Erenos. So I'll accept that burden."

"Responsibility." A faint smirk tugged at Ian's lips. "So, there really is a proper base. Well-organized, too. And it's not just one location, is it?"

"Who knows?" Diana turned her gaze away, mumbling her response.

However, Ian could tell from her expression alone that his deduction was correct. He had noticed earlier—Diana, unlike most fairies, wore her emotions on her face. It was probably because of the mask. If she was always covering her face, there was little need to suppress her expressions.

So, there are multiple bases.

Either way, it was a valuable piece of information. It made sense. Well, even for Chapter Four, making supplies completely unobtainable would've been excessively harsh.

"Regardless, I see no reason to refuse. You're offering to guide us yourself."

"It wasn't an easy decision to—wait, what?" Diana froze and turned to Ian, startled.

"You're not alone?"

"Yeah. I have a companion. They're waiting for me at the camp you were rummaging through."

Diana, who had been frowning, hesitated briefly before parting her lips again.

"A human?"

"Yes."

"Like you, a knight?"

"No, a priest. An Apostle of the Blazing Goddess."

"An apostle? An Apostle of Lu Entre?" Diana's frown deepened further.

Ian nodded and asked, "That's right. Why, is there a problem?"

"No." Diana paused, then exhaled a long stream of smoke before curling her lips into a faint smile. "I'm just surprised. But we'll need to verify that. If you don't mind, I'd like to return right away to check."

Of course, it was going too smoothly.

Ian stifled a quiet laugh. He had caught onto her lie—anyone could tell from that clumsy smile. There was no need to overthink why she was suddenly acting like a typical fairy.

"Well, I suppose it could be a problem," Ian said, picking up the box beside him and storing it back in his pocket dimension.

"Having just me is already a lot to handle. Add in an apostle who's lost their divinity, and it's even more responsibility. No matter how much everything in this land is on the brink of corruption, a god's apostle falling to corruption is an entirely different level of danger."

Even if I swore I'd never let that happen, they wouldn't believe me.

Just as Ian considered adding this thought aloud, Diana's gaze flickered noticeably, and she inhaled deeply from the cigarette again.

Exhaling the smoke, she murmured, "Well, of course. But if you've vouched for them, then I suppose they're trustworthy enough."

She cautiously met Ian's gaze again. "Don't worry, Ian Hope. I'll guide you both safely."

Ian gave her a slight smile as he sprang to his feet, replying, "Thanks for saying that."

He drew the black sword and sent it back into his pocket dimension. Diana flinched reflexively but quickly exhaled a sigh of relief.

"I'll gladly accept that gratitude." Her murmured response trailed off as her gaze shifted sideways.

Ian had moved toward the pile of weapons and was now kneeling by it again. Next to him sat a large box that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"By the way." Watching him work busily, Diana eventually spoke again. "Why are you putting all of that in there?"

She realized Ian was methodically packing the weapons—her weapons—into the box.

As he carefully stacked throwing daggers inside, Ian replied nonchalantly, "I can't just carry all this around, can I?"

"No, I mean, why are you putting them in your box—"

"Speaking of which, where have you hidden your food supplies and other provisions?"

Ian casually interrupted her and turned to face Diana. "I don't see any space here where you could hide a bag."

It was an odd comment coming from someone who could pull items out of thin air, but Diana merely blinked before answering.

"There's a hidden pouch under my arm. I tied the bag and hid it well in the branches near the camp."

"Ah, I see. You planned to travel light for the search. Leave it behind and come back for it later. Smart." Murmuring, Ian turned back to continue packing away the weapons.

Diana's frown deepened. "So, why are you putting all my weapons into your box?"

"Don't worry. I'll give them back," Ian said as he looked over his shoulder at her. "When we safely reach the base."

"Are you seriously telling me to guide you there unarmed?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Ian smiled faintly, placing a repeating crossbow into the box and adding, "You're the guide. Just focus on that role. My companion and I will handle the rest. You won't have to deal with any trouble."

"No, what kind of—"

Before Diana could finish voicing her frustration, Ian closed the box and casually sent it back into his pocket dimension. The only items left were a short sword and her mask.

Holding one in each hand, Ian approached her and continued, "If a truly dangerous situation arises, I'll return this sword to you first. That should ease your mind, right?"

Ian's tone, as if he were doing her a favor, made Diana's brow furrow so tightly it seemed it couldn't furrow any further. It was right after that when Ian casually stored the short sword in his pocket dimension. To Diana's eyes, it simply vanished with a swift motion.

She finally muttered, "W-Where are you even putting that?"

"In a remarkable artifact. Its power disappears when I die."

"It disappears if you die?"

"You're going to ensure my safety, so what's there to worry about?"

Diana froze again at Ian's nonchalant response. In the meantime, Ian calmly walked behind her and began untying the leather strap that bound her neck.

Diana, staring straight ahead, finally spoke. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"I did. At least until you told that painfully obvious lie. Honestly, I've never trusted the words of a fairy. There was only one exception, and you almost became the second. Shame."

With that, Ian untied the leather strap and sent it back into his pocket dimension.

He then untied the knots binding her crossed arms and added, "You can handle the rest yourself. That belt is a favorite of mine, so don't damage it."

Diana gave a small nod, her ears turning a noticeable shade of red—clearly, she was feeling a significant amount of embarrassment. At least she hadn't completely thrown away her sense of dignity.

With a faint smirk, Ian walked past her.

"The mask."

He stopped a few steps away and looked back at Diana, who was staring at the mask in his left hand. "Can't you at least give back my mask?"

"Oh, right. I forgot." Ian shrugged and performed his vanishing trick again, the mask disappearing into his pocket dimension. "I'll return this too once we get back."

"Wait, that's not even a weapon!"

"It just seemed like it's the thing you treasure most."

Diana's jaw dropped in disbelief. The cigarette that had been hanging loosely between her lips fell to the ground.

Ian shrugged and turned away, adding, "You can finish the rest of the cigarette. Consider it a payment for guiding us."

"W-Wait, you're telling me to walk around here without a mask? Hold on. Hey, Ian!" Diana stammered, but Ian didn't look back. She could only watch his retreating figure and the cigarette burning away on the ground.

"Ha… Fucking..." With a sigh, Diana shut her eyes tightly and began untying the remaining restraints around her arms.