A Villain's Survival Guide

In the training room, Leomaris and Hazel went through everything concerning the Black Arms. His dual revolvers lay beside him while, before him, crouched on the floor and busily etching a magic circle onto the white mask, was Hazel.

"The third-year cadets already have spies operating in the shadows, searching for the headquarters of the Black Arms. They believe they have uncovered a lead, which is why we must depart tonight."

Leomaris stretched out, his bones cracking through the quiet. He grabbed his revolvers from the floor, gave them a little flick, and slipped them into the holsters at his waist.

"I can’t leave Rosay’s side. She’ll be going through hibernation soon, and her sluggishness is only going to get worse. I need to stay as her guard."

Hazel’s head lifted slowly toward Leomaris, her blue eyes meeting his golden ones.

"But if that is the case, how is the Jester of the End meant to reveal himself? I understand that I must present myself as the Herald of the End, and therefore, I will be unable to remain at your side while you protect Lady Rosay. However, our agreement with Lady Rosay requires the Sovereign to reveal himself to improve the likelihood of success."

Leomaris scratched the back of his head. That was the pickle he was in as well. He couldn’t just leave Rosay behind, and he needed this opportunity. Not just to keep his father from killing him, but to build enough reputation for his faction. Enough to stand against the Crimson Order and anyone who might come after Le Mythe des Quatre before he finally got around to consuming the remaining myths.

After turning it over for a moment or two, he decided to go with the shallow solution he’d thought of moments before.

"I will leave her side once a substitute has been found. We require at least one clan member to be sent over under the Jester of the End’s orders as my replacement."

Hazel’s expression darkened, her concern evident. "Are you certain that would work on Lady Rosay, young master? And how certain are you that this person is truly capable of protecting her?"

A soft smile tugged at Leomaris’s lips. The more he mulled it over, the more he thought it wasn’t a bad idea at all.

"They don’t have to be powerful or even particularly capable. The Jester of the End’s presence alone would be enough to guarantee Rosay and her protector remain unharmed."

Hazel still had her concerns, but she chose to trust Leomaris anyway.

Rosay had been targeted by one of her own allies to the point where she couldn’t trust even her own servants. As things currently stood, however, she and all the third-year cadets were believed to be allies of the Laughing End.

If Rosay’s enemies turned up during the mission, they wouldn’t make the mistake of attacking Rosay or anyone connected to the Jester of the End, not once they learned the Jester of the End was a Philosopher.

’But the issue is that I know I’ll need to summon my false entity during the mission, yet I don’t even know what Heliara, the Watching Flame, looks like. Its presence may be detected the moment I summon it, and I have no way of measuring how powerful the myth is. If it proves too weak, its presence will leak everywhere, and even a Magician would sense it.’

He exhaled deeply, massaging his temples and steadying his thoughts. A second later, Hazel turned to him with the mask.

She’d worked her illusion into it, and the once white mask had turned dark, a white question mark hovering within it, looking almost digital.

Leomaris smirked. He’d had no idea what to expect when he asked Hazel to pick a mask for the clan, but he was well chuffed with what she’d come up with.

As far as he knew, "jester" meant the joker or the fool; the same in his previous world as in this one. In tarot cards or fantasy, that was what the jester had always represented.

When he chose the name "Jester of the End," he meant it quite literally... death was the joke, a reference to how everyone met their end according to the author of Arcane Mercenary. So the least he’d expected was an exaggerated laughing mask.

But this... this was very thoughtful indeed...

He didn’t need to ask Hazel what it meant. It spoke of the uncertainty she felt about him, but more importantly, with the original storyline already altered, so too was the end.

’I mean, the whole reason the Epic Arc started and ended up destroying the world was because of the Abyssal Cube... and I’ve already consumed it.’

His gaze found Hazel, his smile holding steady.

"This is very thoughtful of you, Hazel."

Hazel smiled and couldn’t hide her excitement, try as she might. Leomaris was glad to see it. She always did everything he asked of her, and seeing how happy she looked when her work was acknowledged made him feel it ought to serve as a testament to her loyalty.

Leomaris slipped the mask on and was surprised by how comfortable it felt.

His gaze drifted to Hazel, who still hadn’t stopped blushing. He giggled beneath the mask. He’d wear this proudly as a tribute to Hazel’s efforts.

The moment he removed the mask, Hazel spoke, and just like that, his mind was back on the pressing matters.

"I believe I shall have to make another one for the next member. However, who are you planning to choose, young master?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The question was no easy thing to think through. Besides Hazel, Leomaris had three more allies. Charlotte, Raine, and her maid, Ren. But he intended for each of them to lead a different clan on his behalf. And the Laughing End belonged to Hazel and no one else.

"Who should it be...?"

His mind went first to his classmates, but he quickly brushed that aside. Somewhere among them was an enemy, one who’d tried to kill him and failed. Trusting them would be a bad idea.

His mind shifted next to the second-year cadets, and almost immediately, someone came to mind. A cadet who’d had a go at bullying him during his early days at the academy.

Just thinking of him sent a thrill through his body.

His first pawn had finally come in useful.