Fated to Be Loved by Villains

“Sorry for the sudden call, Dowd Campbell.”

A voice made of electronic noises let out those words.

“I heard you were supposed to be enjoying your vacation around this time.”

“...Honestly, I wouldn’t call that vacation enjoyable.”

Just thinking back about it a little already gave me war flashbacks.

I mean, recalling how I exposed my naked body to a bunch of people wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory.

As I said such words with a bitter smile, the massive steel figure across from me shrugged.

This fella was the same cyborg I’ve bumped into a few times before.

Alpha, from the Magic Tower. The guy Caliban called an ‘Executor’ and was scared shitless of.

“Still, originally, this was supposed to happen a little later. And yet we just changed the schedule and summoned you without prior notice whatsoever. The apology was warranted.”

“...Can’t argue with that.”

Not that I wanted to argue anyway.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to get dragged here so suddenly either.”

Right now, I was on my way to the Magic Tower with this guy.

Why? Because of the ‘transport’ matter related to Marquis Bogut, or at least that was what they told me.

“Likewise. This is the first time I’ve seen the higher-ups pushing an issue this hard.”

“Pushing this hard?”

“They mentioned that they wanted to see you as soon as possible, and that you’re their top priority research subject or something.”

“I thought I’m just here to escort a prisoner.”

“On paper, yes.”

“...”

Alpha slowly turned his head.

“Well, the guy being escorted is one thing, but it seems your importance inside the Magic Tower has skyrocketed for some reason. I have no idea why.”

Huh? Those folks usually would just hole up in their labs without stepping out. What had gotten into them?

Alpha let out a sigh before continuing.

“They even sent this so you could get there faster... This is really an unprecedented case.”

Saying that, Alpha tapped on the seat of the ‘flying object’ we were currently riding.

In Sera, the most commonly used transportation was carriage.

Considering that it was the most formal-looking and had been used the longest by the people of the world, it made sense, but...

It wasn’t like the tech level of the world was super low. Things like steam-powered trains or fantasy-esque portals are also commonly used here.

However...

An anti-gravity hovercar was just a whole different story...

“...”

“...”

“...”

Eleanor and Chancellor Sullivan—who were riding the thing with me—were clearly dumbfounded as they stared at how quickly we left the ground behind.

I’ve been on planes before, but I’ve never got into a floating car like this.

A floating car that could carry five people at that.

Unlike me, who at least had some experience being up in the air, I could only imagine how shocked Eleanor and Sullivan must be.

Anyway, if you were wondering why these two were here...

Chancellor Sullivan would be acting as the empire’s representative, while Eleanor...

“...”

...Wait, why was she here again?

I mean, she told me, ‘I also got permission to enter the Magic Tower,’ and Alpha didn’t stop her, so chances were it was legit.

...As for how, if I could guess...

It was probably because Professor Astrid—they had met and chatted with once, so it was plausible—hooked her up with the tower.

They probably had made some kind of arrangement prior to this.

“...How high are we going to go?”

While I was thinking that, Eleanor asked while looking uncharacteristically pale.

For someone who wouldn’t even blink in normal situations, she was clearly freaking out. That just showed how terrifying our ascent speed was. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“Pretty high up, for sure!”

That answer came from the back seat.

Marquis Bogut, clad in a tattered prison uniform with wounds all over his body, said so cheerfully.

“There’s a reason why not even a shred of info about the Magic Tower has been revealed to the world!”

“Just so you know, you’re still a prisoner.”

The cheerful voice he let out even though he was in this kind of situation made Alpha say such words in a half-exasperated tone.

It seemed like the man’s relentless optimism had tired him out somehow.

Meanwhile, the hovercar carrying all of us continued its terrifying ascent.

Whatever it was on the ground below had turned into mere dots. We soared so high up that no birds could be found here, as the clouds drifted around the hovercar.

As such a view unfolded before our eyes, Alpha let out a sigh and spoke again.

“Actually, calling it a ‘Tower’ is a bit misleading.”

Indeed. The reason why they called it like that was because its origin was a tower-shaped research facility. They kept the name for symbolic purposes.

As for the actual structure of the Magic Tower itself, it was far from the word tower.

“Let me introduce you all...”

Alpha crossed his arms and said.

“The think tank where the world’s greatest minds gather: The Magic Tower.”

“...? There’s nothing around—“

Before that sentence could fully trickle out...

Something massive broke through the clouds and revealed itself.

“...!”

Eleanor’s and Chancellor Sullivan’s jaws dropped simultaneously.

My reaction probably wasn’t much different.

Then again, anyone seeing a colossal ‘floating fortress’ in the sky would react the same way.

“With a mass of about 40 megatons, a total area of 600 square kilometers... It won’t be a mistake to call it a floating metropolis. Although not many people live here.”

Just as he had described, no matter how far I craned my neck, I couldn’t see the end of it. Hell, I couldn’t even guess how big this thing was.

Surrounding that overwhelmingly majestic structure were massive force fields protecting it from external impacts, and unmanned aerial interceptors patrolling nearby.

“...”

Had the genre changed to sci-fi now?

Those fuckers—the Sera devs—once said in an interview that actually adding the Magic Tower into the game would break the game’s balance, so they just left it as dummy data.

Seeing this, I immediately understood why.

...No wonder they were handing out gear like that so freely.

Now I understood why the tower gave out over-the-top techs like that optical camouflage thing from last time—a ridiculous tech compared to the world’s average tech level—to the imperial nobles just because these punks threw some cash around.

To those people, such things were just trivial trinkets. After all, they were people who could build this.

“...”

But...

Since that was the case, a question popped up in my head.

...Why are people who can build stuff like this suddenly interested in me?

I didn’t know everything about them since the group’s info wasn’t fully revealed even in the game.

Although I knew that the Magic Tower researchers, just like Alpha said, wouldn’t give a shit about anything other than their ‘research subjects’.

So, why the ‘sudden’ interest in me?

“...”

Yeah, I had no idea.

If I had to guess, it probably had something to do with my devil-related powers.

While I was mulling the matter over, the hovercar we were on began to slowly descend.

One of the platforms jutting out from the floating fortress slowly extended outward. Even the landing system seemed to be fully automated—not a single person in sight throughout the process.

“Well then, shall we head in?”

Well...

Even if I were to mull over it more, it wouldn’t change anything.

Unless I face this whole thing head-on, nothing would be resolved.

●

“Whoa.”

As soon as we got off at the ‘stop,’ that exclamation slipped out.

While yes, Alpha told us there weren’t many residents here, I didn’t expect ‘androids’ to be strolling around like it’s nothing.

Eleanor and Sullivan, who got off the hovercar with me, also looked around nervously.

“...The floor is all made of rare metals...”

“...Even the Imperial Palace wasn’t built this extravagantly...”

“...Are those...automated automatons...?”

“For automatons, their movements are way too smooth. They look like real humans...”

These two were big-shots back in their home country, but here, they felt tiny.

Like they said, fear came from the unknown. How could you keep your cool when unknown things were roaming about?

“I’m going to take this guy and toss him somewhere appropriate. In the meantime, we’ll prepare your accommodations, so feel free to rest until tomorrow.”

“Is there something scheduled for tomorrow?”

When I asked as such, Alpha quietly spun his laser-processed lens and looked at me.

“There’s a hearing for Marquis Bogut tomorrow. They’ll probably request your presence there.”

“...But why...?”

“You’ll find out when you get there.”

He said it calmly.

As he spoke, Alpha locked his gaze—heavier than usual—with mine.

“Oh, and. When you attend the hearing, can I ask you for one favor?”

“...What is it?”

What is this all of a sudden?

As I tilted my head, confused...

Alpha let out a smirk after a brief pause, and continued.

“You probably won’t have a pleasant experience while you’re here.”

“Excuse me?”

And then...

“The Magic Tower is corrupt, Dowd Campbell. It’s tainted by evil.”

Those words came out. Out of nowhere.

There was no pretense, no context, no background, no nothing prior to this.

“Professor Astrid, myself, and this fool claiming to be a prisoner have known this for a long time.”

He just said those words clearly.

While looking straight at me as he spoke.

It was hard to read a machine’s expression, but the feelings behind his words were crystal clear.

Pity towards someone getting caught up in a huge trouble.

And...

A subtle hint of an unknown ‘expectation’ lingering at its edge.

“So, resist.”

“...”

“Because the stage has been set for quite some time.”

As I stood there silently, processing the weight of his words...

Alpha let out a chuckle and continued.

“Oh, and...”

His lens glanced over Eleanor and Chancellor Sullivan.

“Have a good night.”

“...”

“All of you probably are going to share the same room.”

Weird. That sentence sounds more ominous than the previous ones... Or maybe it’s just my imagination...?