I’m the Main Villain but the Heroines Are Obsessed With Me

38 – 18. The Time to Correct (2)

What was placed in the room were chests. And not just any chests, but three incredibly large chests.

Of course, the reason for his surprise was not the chests themselves. More precisely, it was the items contained within the chests.

“This is…”

Ian’s eyes sparkled as he grasped the orange stone in the chest.

Whether knowingly or unknowingly acknowledging the troubled heart, the orange stone emitted a brilliant light.

“The Stone of the Sun?”

– The Stone of the Sun? What is that? Is it something good?

“Yes, it is. It is an incredibly precious item.”

In response to Neltalion’s words, Ian continued to touch the Stone of the Sun.

“The Stone of the Sun is a stone that comes from Sky Peak, the highest mountain in the empire.”

Sky Peak, a place known to be so high that it touches the sky, where an item can be obtained from the lake at its peak.

The lake’s bottom was adorned with stones imbued with mana.

Among them, the stone with the highest quality was given the name Stone of the Sun.

What Ian was holding in his hand was precisely that. Thinking about the mana contained within the Stone of the Sun, Ian smiled as if in disbelief.

“It cannot be compared to the Primordial Gem I obtained in the past, but it is still an item that requires a lot of money to acquire.”

Receiving enough of those stones to fill three chests was a shocking situation. It was only natural for him to be surprised.

“Of course, it is said that all the stones that come from Sky Peak are managed by the imperial family.”

To receive such a large amount like this, is it reasonable?

Even with a rough estimate, if he were to consume all of these stones, it would produce an effect similar to consuming the Primordial Gem.

This realization filled Ian with astonishment.

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Furthermore, what irritated him even more was the sound of laughter that could be heard from outside the window.

“hahahahaha. The day is truly bright! Can there be a better feeling than this, hahahahaha.”

Bedon, visible through the window, was laughing heartily, seemingly in a very good mood, as he climbed onto the carriage.

Surely, by now he must have figured out the true identity of the gift and was doing such a thing.

“I need to correct my thoughts about Bedon. He really is crazy.”

In his heart, Ian wanted to throw it away on the road, but he realized he couldn’t do that, and weakly sat down on the floor.

“Ah, it’s your stubbornness.”

Despite being given another chance by his ancestors, he ended up possessing the driver with uninsulated PC and getting possessed.

Ian knew very well that life doesn’t always go the way he wants it to.

That’s why he knew he had to adapt to the current situation.

“Yes. I’ll just accept what was given and be done with it.”

If Hwangja directly gave it as a gift, would there be any problems? As long as Bedon wasn’t worthless and he was a normal person. It didn’t seem like using the gift would cause any trouble.

“But just in case. I should do something.”

Ian stored Bedon’s message as an important message, captured it, and backed it up before sitting Neltarion on the floor.

– Ian? Why are you suddenly like this?

“You have to open your mouth, Neltarion. I have something to do.”

– Huh? Open my mouth? Okay….

As Neltarion inflated his body and opened his mouth wide, Ian poured out the Sun’s Stone from the chest.

Whoosh!

The precious stones were sucked into Neltarion’s mouth. The Sun’s Stone that entered his stomach began to transform into mana and be absorbed into his body.

After emptying all three chests. A new notification appeared in front of Ian.

[Neltarion has consumed an enormous amount of mana.]

[Due to a large amount of experience, Neltarion is growing.]

[Ian Volkanov, the contractor, also gains the same effect.]

[Neltarion has grown and regained its divine status! Although temporary, it can now manifest the era of the King of Heavens.]

[The speed of the curse, Hatred of the Blade of Revenge, has increased. Hatred has reached 56%.]

Thanks to Bedon’s gift, Neltarion achieved tremendous growth.

Not only did the mana boil, but the curse’s Hatred of the Blade of Revenge, which showed no signs of progress, also began to show progress.

However, there was only one thing that Ian was interested in.

– Ian! I’m shining! This is amazing!

“What on earth is this.”

Neltalion exuded a formidable sense of intimidation, causing one’s body to tremble. It was the moment he reclaimed a part of his divine status.

***

Ian, having concluded the divine festival, boarded the carriage heading for Ashallan. Given the grand scale of the event, there were still tasks that needed to be completed. However, he couldn’t stay longer because he had to return to Arc for his studies.

“Still, most of the important matters have been handled by Eri, so Oliver should be able to take care of the rest.”

Although it was an entirely different line of work from the usual agricultural tasks, Ian believed that Oliver’s abilities were more than sufficient to handle the simple tasks.

The situation was urgent. Leaning back in his seat, Ian shifted his gaze forward.

Ahead, Lya gazed out the window in admiration, and Igor, with his head raised, seemed fidgety.

Igor, who was furrowing his brow, couldn’t stand it any longer and spoke up, “Ugh! Why is my nose so stuffy today?… Hey, Eri, can’t you give me a tissue or something?”

“Here.”

While holding his nose with one hand, Igor fumbled and accepted the tissue Eri offered. It was rather stiff and quite narrow for a tissue.

Was tissue always like this? He momentarily wondered. But Igor decided not to dwell on it for now.

“It doesn’t matter, I guess.”

After all, Eri was a noble youth. They were sensitive to trends and had a penchant for even seemingly impractical items that looked aesthetically pleasing, and they spared no expense. That’s what noble youths were like. So, without any suspicion, Igor brought the tissue Eri handed him up to his nose.

And then he saw it.

“Huh?”

The image of the current Emperor on the tissue.

What Eri handed him was not a tissue but a 1000 Valus bill of the Empire.

Igor, his face stiffened, shook the bill in his hand and looked at Eri.

“Hey! I asked for a tissue, didn’t I?”

“Well, there are no tissues right now. But I have plenty of bills, so use that. You can bring them back for laundering later.”

“Ugh!”

Annoyed, Igor reluctantly handed the bill back to her and quickly wiped his nose with his sleeve.

No matter how urgent the situation, one couldn’t use the Emperor’s image to blow their nose.

“Pff!”

Of course, from Eri’s perspective, it was a source of amusement, but still a rare smile graced her face.

Seeing her rare smile, Ian also smiled.

‘It looks like Erido is gradually adapting.’

Of course, if others were to do such a thing, they would be caught for insulting the emperor and receive punishment. But who could stop Eri when the emperor is her own father?

Furthermore, she didn’t truly mean it. She probably did it to show that she has grown enough to easily use about 1000 Balus.

She had worked hard until now and became wealthy through her success in Dunothu. She must have wanted to bask in that feeling for a while.

“Now that our family has finally gained some breathing room….”

Compared to the poverty Bolkanov had been in until now, it was truly a remarkable improvement.

Of course, the more Ian saw that, the more frustrated he felt in his heart.

“I earned money because I had none… now I have to protect it from those who want to take it away….”

Bedon’s last words were still lingering in Ian’s mind.

“He said that the aura of greed surrounds our family.”

It was highly likely that the disorder of the ancestors was due to that. If they were playing around with emotions, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to make people look foolish.

“Of course, it’s not common for demons to use their hands to destroy a family…. but it’s different when it comes to the Bolkanov family.”

Bolkanov is a family known as the shield protecting the empire.

Part of the reason was because of the surname Byeon. The reason they were called a shield was because if this place were to collapse, the empire would suffer significant losses.

If the place where the barbarians were suppressed disappeared, the damages would entirely fall onto the empire.

“They will rise up and come down to the warm south, abandoning the cold northern land.”

To prevent such a situation, Bolkanov had to be in good shape. Ian had the duty to prevent the family from falling apart.

“That’s right, it’s time to set things right.”

Various methods came to Ian’s mind in an instant.

Replacing the remaining ancestors with new ones. Or taking the time to gradually replace them with capable ancestors….

Of course, those were good methods as well. But could they do anything more than extinguish an urgent fire?

The touch of demons had covered the family for a long time. If the root cause wasn’t dealt with, the same thing would just happen again.

In the end, there was only one method.

“I have to eliminate the cause altogether. First, I need to induce those guys.”

It seemed that he would have to prepare for another fight.

“Let’s begin the mock duel.”

As soon as the thought ended, Ian fell into deep thought.

***

If there were those who reached out their black hands towards the family, what choices should be made?

“There are many ways. For example, secretly investigate and find the cause to punish them. Or classify and eliminate members who are already beyond saving.”

“It might be aggressive, but the effect will definitely be certain.

At least, they can buy time from their touch.

But Ian chose a completely different approach.

Whack! Whap! Whack!

“Hoo! Hoo!”

Ian leaned against the training room wall and watched Igor hitting the sandbag.

He didn’t bother to check on the family situation. He just stayed still.

It might seem irresponsible in a situation where the family is in danger.

But in the current situation, this was the best option.

“To begin with, it’s not like I can do anything by moving.”

Thanks to Bedon’s help, they found out that the main figure of the Greedful Demon was after their family. Moving for the sake of the family in such a situation, would that really be a good idea?

Ian didn’t think so. It was much better to stay still and not move.

“If I act without knowing anything, I’ll just ruin everything.”

In a situation where information was still lacking, moving recklessly would only bring more trouble.

That’s why Ian stayed still. If he did, the enemies wouldn’t realize the situation yet and continue their activities.

“The goal of the Greedful Demon is to ruin our family. It succeeded in its plan to some extent by making Kilaine fall into a demonic distress.”

In such a situation, he suddenly appeared and started reviving the crumbling family.

Then, how would they try to move on their side?

“It’s obvious. They will try to get rid of me, the thorn in their side. Since the plan to ruin the family has already failed, they will start moving in earnest.”

After all, they would be the first to move. Knowing that, there was no reason for him to move hastily.

It would be better to carefully prepare and counter.

“Bedon knows that too, so he gave me the Sun’s Stone.”

He read the flow that a fight would soon occur and prepared items for his own growth.

“How many moves ahead did he predict… It’s getting so scary that it gives me goosebumps.”

It was the moment when Ian was thinking vaguely.

Swoosh.

“Igor, you seem to be training hard, right?”

Using the spirits, Eri made a sandbag and sat down next to Ian.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead with a towel, she looked straight ahead.

“When I see you training so hard, it stimulates something in me. I have been trusting the spirits and not doing anything…”

Note: Translated to the best of my ability without any cultural understanding.

Ian casually replied to Eri’s sudden concern as if it was nothing.

“There’s no need to worry about that. Just being able to use spirits is already enough to show your worth.”

“I know that, but at the same time, it’s a bit disappointing. Without spirits, I feel like I can’t do anything as a human.”

“Can’t do anything, you say…”

The spirit practitioner wanted to tell Eri not to worry about it since it’s a normal occupation for them, but it didn’t seem like it would comfort Eri’s heart.

In the current situation, it would be best to empathize and suggest a solution.

Ian, who had made up his mind, looked at Eri.

“If you’re that concerned, I can teach you some simple techniques to use in close combat.”

“T-Techniques?”

“Yes. Techniques that can help you restrain the enemy when they approach.”

He briefly thought about teaching her boxing, but that idea didn’t last long.

A spirit practitioner who uses fists is a bit unusual.

Luckily, Ian knew a martial art that would be suitable for Eri to use.

“If you learn a few simple chokes, you’ll be able to survive even when facing enemies.”

Once she became familiar with it, she would be able to use it effectively in a situation where she faces enemies alone.

After finishing his thoughts, Ian stood up and moved behind her.

“Then let me teach you.”

Ian moved behind Eri and extended his arms to wrap them around her neck.

Eri seemed flustered by the strange posture and stumbled over her words.

“C-Captain?”

“Don’t think weirdly. It’s not like that. It’s just that the movement itself is like this.”

“D-Don’t worry… you’re not the kind of person who would do strange things. I was just momentarily startled.”

After speaking, Eri relaxed her stiff body and entrusted herself to Ian. It was the moment when she was about to start learning the technique in earnest.

Thump!

“What was that?”

There was a sound of something hitting the door to the training room.

Was someone peeking? With that thought in mind, Ian quickly turned his head towards the door, and he could see.

“A woman with blue hair?”

The woman with blue hair, whose back view he was familiar with, was running away as if trying to escape.